Herbal Medicine in Peru

by Rob McCaleb

Good news from a new article in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine: knowledge of local medicinal plants is still fairly strong even in a native community only 4 km from a city center and bisected by a highway. The majority of the population still relies exclusively on medicinal plants for self-medication.

In the community of Bajo Quimiriki, despite the vicinity to the city of Pichanaki, traditional plant knowledge has still a great importance in the daily life: 402 medicinal plants were indicated by the informants for the treatment of 155 different ailments and diseases.

Scientists interviewed Asháninka community members who recognized 402 medicinal plants and knew their uses. 84% were wild plants and 63% were collected from the forest. There were only 2% exotics. Knowledge of the plants was significantly correlated with age and gender, with women significantly outscoring men.

Women described a medicinal application in a higher number of [plants]: they scored a total of 310 record of use versus 206 total records of use by men.

Of the 72 plants that researchers had pre-marked, women described one or more medicinal use of 49.5%, while men did so in 26.6%. Unfortunately, the Asháninka language is vanishing, and most younger community members know only the Spanish names of their traditional plants.

The children of the community spend most of the day at school, where they are taught in Spanish. This decreases their chances to learn about the uses of the medicinal plants from the older people.

Among the most interesting discoveries is that plant use by the Peruvian native population correlated well with that of the Malinké of Mali, in West Africa. There is always a stronger likelihood that a benefit is real when widely dispersed populations use the same plant for similar conditions.

Ayurstate

Outside Magazine Cries “Snake Oil” on Omega 3s – Huh?

by Rob McCaleb

This just in via Facebook.

Outside Magazine sez

“Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars on fish oil supplements every year, but studies have never been able to prove their effectiveness.”

I would not recommend seeking health advice from Outside. Sorry, guys.

What the author misses here is that intervention trials for preventive medicine are essentially impossible. We can’t get 1,000 humans to eat Purina Human Chow and live in a controlled environment for decades. Our long lifespan and “confounding variables” make this kind of trial unrealistic.

Further, there’s not enough money in supplements to have drug-like evidence. Try to find such evidence for any food, for example intervention trials that prove orange juice is good for you.

In nearly 100 years of regulation by the FDA, the only over-the-counter drugs approved for the prevention of any disease are fluoride toothpaste, sunscreen, aspirin for blood thinning, and anti-ulcer drugs for preventing indigestion.

Now take a look at the link below. Omega 3 proves more effective than aspirin as an anti-inflammatory. Heart disease, cancer, arthritis, liver disease and many other conditions are now known to be related to whole-body inflammation. The research cited below tested specifically for inflammatory compounds (cytokines) in the blood.

“Aspirin alone had no effect on any factor versus baseline, but EPA+DHA, with and without aspirin, significantly reduced concentrations of 8 of 9 factors. Although EPA+DHA plus aspirin reduced concentrations of a subset of the factors compared to baseline, neither aspirin alone nor the combination significantly reduced the level of any analyte more robustly than EPA+DHA alone.”

AyurGold

Ultrasound May Detect Heart Disease Earlier in Arthritis Patients

HealthDay

WEDNESDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) — A special type of ultrasound can detect heart disease early in people with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis are at increased risk for heart disease, and it is important to be able to spot the disease at an early stage and begin treatment before it progresses to the point where a patient is at danger for a heart attack or heart failure, the researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., explained.

Diagnostic methods commonly used by doctors, however, often underestimate the degree of heart danger in these patients.

“The challenge we’ve had in our studies — and other people have had as well — is identifying patients with rheumatoid arthritis early enough so we can intervene, before the symptoms become clinically apparent,” senior researcher Dr. Sherine Gabriel, a rheumatologist and epidemiologist, said in a Mayo news release.

In this study, the research team used a type of ultrasound called speckle-tracking echocardiography to assess heart function in 100 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 50 people without rheumatoid arthritis or heart disease.

The arthritis patients had heart impairment that wasn’t seen in the healthy people, and this impairment had a unique pattern that could be used to identify heart disease before patients have clinical signs.

The study was presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the European League Against Rheumatism, in Berlin.

A recently published Mayo Clinic study found that two widely used heart disease risk-assessment methods — the Framingham and Reynolds risk scores — often underestimate the heart danger in many rheumatoid arthritis patients, according to the news release.

This ultrasound test could help improve early detection of heart problems in these patients, Gabriel said.

Because the new study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Arthmender

Different Types Of Detox Diets

By : Jonathan Bell

There are numerous sorts of detoxification programs, so to present you a basic idea, let us discuss about a few of these so you'll be aware of the selections. The first is the Master Cleanse Detox Diet that is a mixture of cayenne pepper, lemon juice and maple syrup that is put in water. This is thought to be a less harsh diet because maple syrup is easily integrated helps control the release of toxins as stored fat and therefore turns it to energy slowly.

Another sort of Liquid Detoxification Diet is 'Juice Fast' that might come from fruits, vegetables or the combination of both. That's similar to the master cleanse detoxification diet, although you get additional advantages like enzymes, minerals and vitamins that are well known to assist the cleansing process of the body. Best of all, a body has the ability to integrate the juices directly without producing digestive enzymes.

Next up is the Mono Fruit Detoxification Program, and from the word 'mono', you can probably already know that the program just involves eating one type of fruit. The best part about this diet is that this may be done for a long period since a fruit supplies the body with healthy water allowing the bodies cells to clean itself. When it gets inside, it can easily go out taking with it detrimental waste items, but the usage of just a single fruit has one more benefit. It leaves the human body's pH level much more stable and makes the sugar levels in your blood less erratic.

There is also a Raw Food Detoxification Program in which eating food raw helps prevent the loss of vitamins, minerals and other essentials created by cooking or cleaning. The human body is additionally capable of getting digestive enzymes which will aid in the metabolic process and strengthen the immune system. The best thing of consuming uncooked food is the fact that it holds good potassium-to-sodium ratios that enhance cell functioning as well as pH balance which is the overall objective of a detox diet. Read more...

How to Go on a Fruit Diet

By Sandra Rathbun

Obesity is the most common beauty issue for men and women all over the world. You can lose weight in a healthy manner by switching over a fruit diet. You can enjoy fruits instead of those high calorie desserts, biscuits, cakes and chocolates. You can relish fresh apples during your snack time instead of consuming a fried apple pie. Keep some fruits in your bag and munch them whenever you feel a lack of energy.

Fruit diets can help you achieve amazing results. They assist you in eliminating toxins and help you get relief from respiratory problems. Since they help removing wastes and poisonous compounds from your body, you feel completely refreshed and full of energy.

Summer is a great time to start on a fruit diet since fruits are abundantly available during this season. It is however advisable to continue on a fruit diet in all seasons, especially in winter, since your body tends to accumulate more toxins and waste elements. Toxins drain your energy and lead to many health disorders. Adding fruits to your diet can help you get relief from all these problems.

Fruits are the richest source of vitamins, minerals, fibers and antioxidants. They are low in calories. You can go in for longer fruit diets to eliminate severe health problems like gallstones, gout, digestion problems, kidney stones, chronic constipation and bronchial problems.

Adding fruits to your daily diet can help you maintain a healthy weight. Fruits can reduce the risk of certain types of cancers, strokes and heart diseases. They supply a lot of essential vitamins and minerals. Selecting the right combination of fruits can give you significant benefits. For example, apple is rich in antioxidants and fiber but low in vitamin C. You can therefore add strawberries to the fruit diet to get that indispensable nutrient.

You can add more varieties of fruits in your fruit diet. This helps you in getting away from the boredom of eating mere fruits. Adding different colored fruits in the diet can enhance the pleasure and interest of consuming more fruits. You can change the combinations in your fruit diet often. Add yummy fruits like mangoes and pineapples in your diet instead of taking just apples and bananas everyday. Try adding at least one new fruit in a week. Read more..

Eat Raw Fish ... Get a 9-Foot Tapeworm

By LAUREN COX

ABC News Medical Unit

Abc News

One summer day in August 2006, Anthony Franz went to a Chicago area hospital carrying a 9-foot worm.

He did not find it in his garden.

Anthony Franz case is one of a growing few in urban cities across the world and in the United States discovering (or rediscovering) that some of the most popular fish can host tape worms.(Getty Images/Courtesy Centers for Disease Control)

Franz is one of the few, but growing number of tapeworm victims in cities across the world who are discovering (or rediscovering) that some of the most popular fish can host parasites.

Although still rare, a study this June showed salmon tapeworm infestations tripled from an average of 0.32 cases per 100,000 people each year in Kyoto, Japan, to at least to 1 case in 100,000 people in 2008. As more people adopt sushi and undercooked fish diets around the world so too, has the worm spread.

The article, printed in Emerging Infectious Diseases, tracked the movement of tapeworm infection for 20 years as reports migrated from rural fishing villages in Japan to urban centers around the world, including France, Switzerland and the United States. Read more...

Battle Over the Baby Bottle: Should Containers With Bisphenol A Be Banned?

By MICHAEL B. FARRELL

Staff Writer, The Christian Science Monitor

Abc News

The California Senate recently passed a bill to outlaw the sale of sippy cups and baby bottles that contain bisphenol A, or BPA, adding momentum to a campaign against the chemical that's gaining support in statehouses across the United States.

Consumer groups and industry forces are locked in debate over the real risks of bisphenol-A (BPA) in plastics.(Getty Images)

In recent weeks, Minnesota outlawed baby-food containers made with the chemical that some scientific studies suggest is a health hazard for young children as well as adults. Chicago decided to nix baby bottles made with BPA from city shelves, and a ban in Connecticut passed the legislature and awaits the governor's signature.

In total, some 55 bills in 20 states aim to curtail the use or sale of baby-food jars and cans of formula that contain BPA, which is widely used to harden plastic bottles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Urged by consumer groups and a growing number of concerned parents, state lawmakers have taken on the cause with such gusto that the chemical industry and bottle and can manufacturers have been caught off guard, says Doug Farquhar of NCSL. "I don't think they anticipated this would be one of their bigger issues," he says. Read more...