Townsend Letter: The Examiner of Alternative Medicine back issues from November 2006:
Letter from the publisher.(Editorial)
Nov 01, 2006; ... The wolf conjures up many images for us: predator, wild dog, farm animal killer, and threatened species. The wolf stalks its prey and kills silently, but also lives as a pack, shares a community, and protects its own. The howl of the wolf marks a contented creature, proud to be hunting, ...
Corrections & clarifications.(Correction notice)
Nov 01, 2006 ... In the August/September 2006 issue we reviewed the video "Cancer Conquest" edited by Burton ...
Maureen Kennedy Salaman: April 4, 1936-August 17, 2006.(In Memoriam)(Biography)
Nov 01, 2006; ... The First Lady of Nutrition, Maureen Kennedy Salaman, passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Atherton, California, with loving friends at her side. An internationally-known expert, lecturer, and author in the field of health and nutrition, Maureen's accomplishments could fill ...
William D. Mitchell, DO.(In Memoriam)(Brief article)(Biography)
Nov 01, 2006; ... William D. Mitchell, DO, died on June 30, 2006 at age 80. Integrative medicine lost a dedicated pioneer with his passing. He was a founding member and past-president of the International College of Integrative Medicine (ICIM). His osteopathic internal medicine practice was in Powell, Ohio, ...
Saving the Innocents: a journey to the source to say "neigh" to Premarin.
Nov 01, 2006 ... On Monday, August 21, 2006, Heather Evans from the Live and Let Live Farm, an Equine Rescue facility in Chichester, New Hampshire, arrived at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Headquarters in Madison, New Jersey, in an effort to raise awareness about the cruelty to horses in the production of ...
Prostate Net and Barbers International launch global men's health partnership during Prostate Awareness Month September 2006.
Nov 01, 2006 ... The Prostate Net and Barbers International (BI) will use the power and influence of neighborhood barbershops to persuade men to get screened for prostate cancer and be more proactive about their overall health. The campaign launches September 2006--Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and ...
Water aerobics reduces sick leave for pregnant women: research shows water aerobics is the preferred therapy for lower back pain relief during pregnancy.(Brief article)
Nov 01, 2006 ... For women, lower back pain during pregnancy can interfere with work, daily activities, and sleep. More than one-third of women suffer from lower back pain while pregnant, and in ten percent to 15% of those cases, the pain develops into a chronic condition. A recent study in the Journal of ...
Roundup[TM] for athlete's foot?
Nov 01, 2006 ... A new patient waited in Room Three. He was a 32-year-old male who suffered with a painful, chronic athlete's foot infection. After an introduction and brief discussion about chronic athlete's foot, the patient asked this question; "If my athlete's foot is a fungus infection and a fungus is ...
Homeopathy may play a role in the long-term care of patients with chronic diseases.
Nov 01, 2006 ... In a two-year, prospective, multicenter cohort study involving 3,981 patients who chose to receive homeopathic treatment, findings indicate that homeopathic treatment may have a beneficial role in the long-term care of patients with chronic diseases. The patients included 2,851 adults (29% ...
ConsumerLab.com evaluates cholesterol-lowering supplements: test results available for over 90 products; review of nine popular ingredients.
Nov 01, 2006 ... ConsumerLab.com (CL) has released a major new review of dietary supplements used to improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, about 50% of American adults have elevated blood cholesterol levels, a key risk factor for heart ...
Transcendental Meditation reduces the brain's reaction to pain.
Nov 01, 2006 ... Twelve, healthy, long-term meditators who had been practicing Transcendental Meditation for 30 years showed a 40-50% lower brain response to pain compared to 12 healthy controls, reported a latest NeuroReport article, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (21 August 2006; 17 ...
News from the American College for Advancement in Medicine Educational Foundation's International Symposium.(Conference news)(Brief article)
Nov 01, 2006 ... From May 3 to May 7, 2006, the InterContinental Hotel Dallas was home to the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) Educational Foundation's International Symposium. The topic "Infection and Chronic Illness: Integrative Approaches to Lyme Disease, Stealth Infections and ...
The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reverses lower court decision holding FDA ephedra ban unlawful: Nutraceutical Corporation Appeals.
Nov 01, 2006 ... On August 17,2006, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit overruled a lower United States District Court decision by Judge Tena Campbell for the District of Utah. On April 13, 2005, the lower court held the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) ...
Amish & Mennonite genetic-based illness.(Shorts)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Pediatrician D. Holmes Morton, director of the Clinic for Special Children (Strasburg, Pennsylvania), investigates genetic-based diseases found among the Amish and Mennonites. Because members of these Anabaptist religions marry within their communities, the incidence of genetic-based ...
Bladder problems in women.(Shorts)(Disease/Disorder overview)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Women are more likely to have problems with urine storage (urgency, frequency, discomfort, and/or incontinence) than men. While these problems are not life-threatening, they can be embarrassing and burdensome, and they can negatively affect a woman's quality of life. The May/June 2006 ...
Cesarean deliveries.(Shorts)(it's risk factors)
Nov 01, 2006; ... "Can a 29% cesarean delivery rate possibly be justified?" asks Robert Resnik, MD, in his editorial for Obstetrics & Gynecology (April 2006). The number of cesarean deliveries has increased from 5.5% of US births in 1970 to 29.1% in 2004, according to the National Center for Health ...
Dermal fillers.(Shorts)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Injecting dermal fillers to erase facial lines and wrinkles is becoming increasingly popular with people in their 30s and 40s, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Most dermal fillers lose their effect within four to six months, but several longer-lasting products are undergoing FDA ...
Environment & women's health.(Shorts)
Nov 01, 2006; ... A growing body of research is finding a "strong environmental association" to some diseases and conditions that affect women, according to a 2003 report from the Women's Foundation of California. Birth defects, infertility, autoimmune disease, some cancers, and endometriosis have all been ...
US fertility clinics.(Shorts)(fertility treatments)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Competition and patient demand are pushing some US fertility clinics to implant three or more embryos, obtained from in vitro fertilization (IVF), into mothers, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps track of clinics' pregnancy success ...
Hormone replacement therapy.(Shorts)
Nov 01, 2006; ... How did we come to assume that the best remedy for menopausal symptoms is hormone replacement therapy (HRT)? In her book Managing Menopause Naturally Before, During and Forever, Emily Kane, ND, LAc, tracks HRT's beginnings to a 1960s book, commissioned by the manufacturers of the synthetic ...
WIC program nutrition changes.(Shorts)(Women, Infants, and Children )
Nov 01, 2006; ... Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the nutrition program for low-income women, infants, and children, will be adding more whole fruits, vegetables, and whole grains--including corn tortillas and brown rice--to its approved shopping list in 2007. Breastfeeding mothers may also buy canned ...
Bovine Growth Hormone cover-up.(Health Risks and Environmental Issues)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) has been a controversial drug since it was first introduced in the early 1990s by the Monsanto Chemical Company to increase milk output from dairy herds. Early suspicions of an increased risk to breast cancer appear to have merit, as does as an ...
Leadership for change.(Pathways to Healing)
Nov 01, 2006; ... When conventional and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) educators gathered at Georgetown University in June 2005 for The National Education Dialogue to Advance Integrated Health Care (NED), they were looking for ways to create common ground in the education of health care ...
Soy isoflavones for menopausal symptoms.(Literature Review and Commentary)(Brief article)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Seventy-ninepostmenopausal women (mean age, 54 years) were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, 120 mg/day of soy isoflavones in two divided doses or 0.625 mg/day of conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) for six months. There was a significant improvement in menopausal ...
Intravaginal vitamin C for non-specific vaginitis.(Literature Review and Commentary)(Brief article)
Nov 01, 2006; ... One hundred women (mean age, 35 years) with nonspecific vaginitis (NSV; bacterial vaginosis) were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, vitamin C vaginal tablets (250 mg) or placebo once a day at bedtime for 16 days. The vitamin C product was specially formulated to ...
Response of ovarian cancer to fermented soy beverage.(Literature Review and Commentary)(Brief article)
Nov 01, 2006; ... A 56-year-old woman with rapidly progressive, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer began self-treatment with four ounces per day of Haelan951, a commercially available fermented soy beverage. The disease stabilized during a nine-month follow-up period, including improvement in the serum tumor ...
Potassium prevents heart disease.(Literature Review and Commentary)(Brief article)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Some 1,981 men (mean age, 75 years) living in a retirement home in Taiwan were randomly assigned to receive food prepared with regular salt (control group) or with potassium-enriched salt (49% potassium chloride, 49% sodium chloride, two percent other additives) for approximately 31 ...
N-acetylcysteine for obsessive-compulsive disorder.(Literature Review and Commentary)(Brief article)
Nov 01, 2006; ... A 58-year-old woman with a history of obsessive-compulsive disorder since childhood had a stable but partial response to fluvoxamine (Luvox; a selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor), which she had been taking for 12 years. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) was added at a dose of 600 mg/day, which ...
Antioxidants for chronic pancreatitis.(Literature Review and Commentary)(Brief article)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Thirty-six patients with chronic pancreatitis, many of whom had problems with alcohol or drug dependence, were randomly assigned to receive, in double-blind fashion, an antioxidant tablet or placebo four times a day for ten weeks, and then the alternate treatment for an additional ten ...
Eating cherries reduces inflammation.(Literature Review and Commentary)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Eighteen healthy men and women consumed 280 grams (about ten ounces) of Bing sweet cherries per day for 28 days. The mean serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration decreased compared with baseline by eight percent (p = 0.11) after 14 days and by 25% (p < 0.05) after 28 days. Four weeks ...
Eating overcooked food may impair protein utilization.(Literature Review and Commentary)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Eighteen healthy adolescent males (aged 11-14 years) were randomly assigned to consume a diet that was either low (white diet) or high (brown diet) in Maillard reaction products for two weeks. After a six-week washout period, each person consumed the alternate diet for an additional two ...
FDA approves Gemzar for ovarian cancer despite its lack of efficacy.(The War on Cancer)
Nov 01, 2006; ... This summer, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took the rare step of overruling one of its own advisory panels and approved the drug Gemzar (known generically as gemcitabine) for the treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer. Earlier this year, the prestigious Oncologic Drugs Advisory ...
Pediatric Lyme disease: over- or under-diagnosed?(Townsend's New York Observer)(Disease/Disorder overview)
Nov 01, 2006; ... In July 2004, the Lyme Disease Association (LDA) published my book-length report Lyme Disease Update. One chapter digested studies in medical journals on the difficulties in diagnosing Lyme, and it contained case histories of children with persistent infection. Because symptoms of Lyme can ...
Homeopathy for acute women's problems: bladder infections, morning sickness, and other problems.(Healing with Homeopathy)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Women and Homeopathy: A Harmonious Marriage It is no coincidence that it is often women who introduce their families to homeopathic medicine--moms who have done their homework about natural approaches for their kids, spouses who urge their partners to seek out an alternative to ...
Polycystic ovarian syndrome.(Chinese Medicine)(Disease/Disorder overview)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, gynecology, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), infertility ********** Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder affecting two to five percent of women of reproductive age. The etiology of ...
Phytotherapy for uterine fibroids.(Phytotherapy Review & Commentary)(Disease/Disorder overview)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Uterine fibroids, more correctly known as uterine myomas or uterine leiomyomas, are said to be among the most frequently encountered gynecological problems. (1) They are the most common solid pelvic tumor in women, occurring in 20% to 40% of women during their reproductive years ....
Sickness Syndrome: the link between inflammatory diseases and depression: Part II.(Therapeutic Nutrition)(Disease/Disorder overview)
Nov 01, 2006; ... In Part I of "Sickness Syndrome," (Townsend Letter. 2006;279:58-61) I discussed the causes and effects of this relatively new medical phenomenon. Sickness Syndrome can be identified by a host of non-specific symptoms, directly caused by peripheral inflammatory cytokines triggering the ...
Are you frustrated ... struggling to care for your patients who have increasingly complex and serious symptoms but wish that your treatment methods worked faster with long-lasting results?
Nov 01, 2006 ... What if there was a way ... ... that you could simply and effectively help your patients repair damaged organs, clear deep-seated toxins and rejuvenate their bodies at an accelerated rate? What if there was a way ... ... that you could help your patients ...
Chronic pelvic pain Part I: prevalence, etiology, diagnosis.(Disease/Disorder overview)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Chronic pelvic pain in women can present one of the more difficult diagnostic challenges in women's health. Even once diagnosed, the cause is often difficult to manage, let alone cure. Numerous gynecologic and nongynecologic disorders are associated with chronic pelvic pain. In cases of a ...
Evaluation of Coriolus versicolor supplementation in LSIL HPV patients.(Disease/Disorder overview)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Introduction The treatment of human papilloma virus (HPV) cervical lesions is presently undergoing a re-evaluation process. The traditional process, which includes such treatment options as conventional surgery, including laser surgery, cryosurgery, and loop electrosurgical ...
Exercise is medicine: the anti-inflammatory effects of high intensity exercise.
Nov 01, 2006; ... Exercise is a readily accessible, safe, and inexpensive anti-inflammatory medicine. Inflammation is the body's natural means of stimulating healing, but when continuous and chronic, it becomes damaging and detrimental to health. Properly performed exercise releases signaling molecules that ...
Energetic healing as a means of improving women's health.
Nov 01, 2006; ... Abstract: This article examines how the "REBA[R] test device" can be used in the diagnosis and identification of a treatment regime for gynecological disorders and illnesses. A prevailing theme is that emotional trauma is frequently the underlying cause of many conditions that can be ...
Questions & answers about vitamin D supplementation.
Nov 01, 2006; ... How Much Vitamin D Should I Take? Before I answer, I have a few questions for you. Where do you live (latitude)? How much do you weigh? What skin type do you have? How much do you go into the sun? How much vitamin D do you get in your diet? How much do you get in supplements? ...
The cause, prevention, and treatment of early childhood tooth decay.
Nov 01, 2006; ... If the current theory were true, that Early Childhood Caries is caused by drinking sweetened juice from bottles or eating sweet and sugary foods, then my daughter would not have decayed teeth. My daughter has never consumed fruit juice or processed sugar, and she has only eaten small ...
Hoodia gordonii: an overview of biological and botanical characteristics: Part I.
Nov 01, 2006; ... Hoodia gordonii is a cactus-like plant from Southern Africa that contains substances which suppress hunger, appetite, and thirst. (1-24) The use of Hoodia as an appetite suppressant is supported by colorful folklore history and recent scientific studies. (1-24) Hoodia is well known to the ...
Cortisol and diabetes.(Letter to the editor)
Nov 01, 2006; ... A naturopath recently commented that he thought excess cortisol secretion could be a factor in type 2 diabetes. I had to admit his theory was logical. Here's why: Cortisol is a primary stress hormone secreted by the adrenal glands when there is inflammation from infection, injury, or ...
Finding my path to treating endometrial cancer.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the editor)
Nov 01, 2006; ... I understand that the August issue was about alternative treatments for cancer. I was diagnosed with endometrial adenocarcinoma in December 2002. I declined the offered hysterectomy, considering surgery a last resort, not a first-line intervention. My acupuncturist and I collaborated on ...
Setting the record straight: Dr. Nick Gonzalez responds to Gar Hildenbrand's "a bottoms-up summary of past and recent impressions regarding coffee enemas".(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the editor)
Nov 01, 2006; ... As you know, I have long been a reader of Townsend Letter, and certainly, like many others, I appreciate the hard work that goes into your journal. However, I was somewhat perplexed by Gar Hildenbrand's article on coffee enemas appearing in the August-September issue of Townsend Letter ("A ...
What I know about endometrial cancer.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the editor)
Nov 01, 2006 ... * It can be healed by natural means. * Cleaning up the metabolism is of the utmost importance. Otherwise, nothing else will work. * Flooding is part of the healing process and should be encouraged, not stopped. It is self-limiting. It can be induced with chaste tree ...
What I did (not necessarily in order of importance): a personal routine.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the editor)
Nov 01, 2006 ... * I cut my practice down; cut down number of Workers' Comp patients. * I changed my diet, not radically; mostly I increased greens and improved the quality of food I eat. I eat lots of organic vegetables, especially in summer; salad every day. I find I have much less interest ...
Specific probiotic strains are effective for genitourinary infections.(Editorial)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Various strains of "friendly" bacteria (typically referred to as probiotics) have been found to accelerate recovery from certain types of infections and to help prevent recurrences. Probiotics are used to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs), vaginal infections, Clostridium difficile ...
Women, hormones, & self-care.(Managing Menopause Naturally Before, During, and Forever)(Book review)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Managing Menopause Naturally Before, During, and Forever by Emily A. Kane, ND, LAc Basic Health Publications, Inc. 8200 Boulevard East, North Bergen, NJ 07047; 201-868-8336 Paperback; ISBN 1-59120-063-6; c. 2004; $14.95 (US)/ $23.95 (CAN); 184 pp. ...
Create health (instead of treating illness).(Natural Choices for Women's Health)(Book review)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Natural Choices for Women's Health by Laurie Steelsmith, ND, LAc Three Rivers Press (an imprint of Crown Publishing/Random House), New York, www.crownpublishing.com Quality paperback, c.2005, $15.95 US, $22.95 CAN, 404 pp. Most of our modern ...
Coconut Cures, Preventing and Treating Common Health Problems with Coconut.(Brief article)(Book review)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Coconut Cures, Preventing and Treating Common Health Problems with Coconut by Bruce Fife, ND Piccadilly Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado Quality paperback, c. 2005, $15.95, 256 pp. In Coconut Cures, Bruce Fife explores the health benefits of ...
Supreme Properties of Hoodia Gordonii.(Brief article)(Book review)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Supreme Properties of Hoodia Gordonii by Stephen Holt, MD Wellness Publishing c/o Nature's Benefit, Inc., 61 Stevens Avenue, Little Falls, New Jersey 07424; 973-890-2378 Quality paperback, c. 2005, $19.95, 128 pp. Hoodia has become a ...
The Health Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms.(Brief article)(Book review)
Nov 01, 2006; ... The Health Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms by Mark Stengler, ND Basic Health Publications, 28812 Top of the World Drive, Laguna Beach, California 92651; 800-575-8890 Paperback, c. 2005, $4.95 US, $7.95 CAN, 43 pp. The health benefits of ...
Maitake Gold 404, The Ultimate Immune Supernutrient.(Brief article)(Book review)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Maitake Gold 404, The Ultimate Immune Supernutrient by Mark Stengler, ND Basic Health Publications, 28812 Top of the World Drive, Laguna Beach, California 92651; 800-575-8890 Paperback, c. 2003, $4.95 US, $7.95, 41 pp. Stengler devotes his ...
Early exposure to synthetic estrogen puts "DES daughters" at higher risk for breast cancer.(diethylstilbestrol)
Nov 01, 2006 ... So-called "DES daughters," born to mothers who used the anti-miscarriage drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) during pregnancy, are at a substantially greater risk of developing breast cancer compared to women who were not exposed to the drug in utero. Reporting in the August issue of the journal ...
Archives of Internal Medicine study finds one black cohosh effective for treating menopausal symptoms: other black cohosh studies showed mixed or poor results.(treatment of menopause related symptoms)
Nov 01, 2006 ... A July 24 review article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (2006;166:1453-1465) concluded that alternative and complementary therapies are generally ineffective for treating menopause-related symptoms. Among the biologically based studies, only one--on Remifemin[R]--out of the ...
Rx for panic attack of the gut.(the brain-gut connection in irritable bowel syndrome)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Ever wonder why our gastrointestinal (GI) tract is considered the source of intuitive knowledge or wisdom? And, furthermore, why so many of us are plagued by the seemingly random and at times incapacitating disturbances in that area? Perhaps the GI tract is much more than that serpentine ...
Calendar.(events)(Calendar)
Nov 01, 2006 ... CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE OF INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE meeting on women's health in the integrative medical office (Sept. 20-22, 2007 in Detroit, Michigan). CONTACT: Wendy Chappell, 610-585-8464; wendy@icimed.com OCTOBER 20-22: RIFE INTERNATIONAL HEALTH CONFERENCE ...
Election integrity; following the money.(Web Page Potpourri)(Website list)(Column)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Our national health policy is set by our elected officials, so it's worth devoting a column to election integrity. This column includes tools you need to track political contributions and to understand in detail some current and past rifts in election integrity. It might perhaps belie my ...
Pelvic pain syndromes--vulvodynia, interstitial cystitis, endometriosis, and prostadynia.(Pain Free 1-2-3)(Column)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Pelvic pain can be caused by many processes. When pelvic pain is caused by myofascial/muscle trigger points, treating sleep disorders, hormonal problems, and infections and offering nutritional support can be very helpful. In this column, we'll review vulvodynia, interstitial cystitis, ...
Cervical dysplasia.(Nutritional Influences on Illness)
Nov 01, 2006; ... Cervical dysplasia is a premalignant lesion that may progress to cervical cancer, the second most common cause of cancer death among women. There is considerable evidence that the lesion is caused by sexually transmitted infection with an oncogenic (tumor-causing) strain of the human ...