GMO Ban in Scotland (1 slide)

Transcription

1 GMO Ban in Scotland (1 slide)

2 Scotland remains Clean and Green Scotland has become the 10 th European country to ban the cultivation of GMO crops Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg and Romania all have GMO bans Meanwhile, in the United States, the House has passed GMO legislation that allows for voluntary labeling of GMO foods Very controversial bill. Many health advocates are concerned this will override already existing state level mandatory requirements for GMOs (for example, in Vermont) Many people want mandatory, not voluntary, labeling of foods containing GMOs

3 Herb of the Day: Devil s Claw (3 slides)

4 Devil s Claw in the News The New York Attorney General has accused 13 companies of selling the wrong species of plant as Devil s Claw The same AG was behind accusations of dietary supplement adulteration earlier this year those cases received much criticism from botanical experts because the results were based on flawed DNA testing These same experts note that there are two very similar species of Devil s claw that can be used interchangeably as they contain the same medicinal compounds a fact that the New York Attorney General has chosen to overlook While Devil s Claw is not a well-known herb it does have significant health benefits

5 Relieve arthritis pain with Devil s Claw Plant native to South Africa long history of use for pain relief Randomized, double-blind study of Devil s claw versus prescription NSAID (Vioxx) in patients with back pain Twice as many people taking Devil s claw experienced pain relief (responders) versus the drug group Pain was reduced about 50% in both groups In other words for the people who experienced pain relief, Devil s claw and the drug worked equally well, but about twice as many people benefited from Devil s claw versus the drug Double-blind, randomized trial of Devil s claw versus prescription anti-inflammatory drug for knee and hip arthritis pain Both Devil s claw and the drug were equally effective at reducing arthritis pain Three times as many people in the drug treatment group experienced adverse effects versus the Devil s claw group

6 How does Devil s claw work? Anti-inflammatory Reduces inflammatory COX-2 by 31% COX-2 in a enzyme which triggers the production of inflammatory compounds in the joints (and other areas of the body) Rebuilds cushioning cartilage between the joints 38% increases in glycosaminoglycans natural building blocks of tissue that acts as a shock absorber between the joints 41% increase in chondrocytes cells that maintain cushioning cartilage in the joints Key compound in Devil s claw? Harpagosides Some extracts contain as little as 2%; look for at least 20% harpagosides for best benefits

7 Coffee in The News (2 slides)

8 Coffee helps Colon Cancer Patients Colon cancer patients who enjoy a few cups of coffee a day appear to survive their cancer better, and they're less likely to die early, than non-coffee drinkers Researchers followed almost 1,000 people with Stage 3 colon cancer (cancer of the colon which has spread to the lymph nodes) Those who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were 42 percent less likely to have their cancer come back than non-coffee drinkers. They were 33 percent less likely to die of their cancer or of anything else during the study. NOTE: consuming caffeine from sugary soda was associated with a worse outcome, and tea and decaffeinated coffee had neutral results

9 It s not all good news for coffee drinkers In other new research, just one cup of coffee was found to interfere with blood sugar levels Researchers tested the effects of caffeine equivalent to one, two or four cups of coffee in 10 overweight men They found that even one cup of coffee had short-term negative effects on blood sugar levels The researchers plan further studies to examine the long-term effects on blood sugar

10 Shingles Vaccine (2 slides)

11 Shingles Vaccination for 50 Year Olds Not Worth It New Study: Routine shingles vaccination for 50 years old with healthy immune systems not worth it People in their 50s not that likely to have a problem with shingles, and the effectiveness of the vaccine wears off Person vaccinated at age 50 will have zero vaccine efficacy at 60 The older we get, the less responsive our immune systems become to the shingles vaccine SO the older you get the less likely the vaccine will help Shingles is cased by the same virus (varicella-zoster) which causes chicken pox Virus can stay dormant in the nervous system May reactivate if the immune system weakens

12 How to stop shingles or relieve the pain of a shingles outbreak Keep the immune system strong Healthy foods Immune boosting nutrients: elderberry has anti-viral activity as does vitamin A as retinyl acetate combine with other nutrients including Vitamins C and D, calcium, magnesium and zinc Pain Relief: Curcumin, boswellia, DLPA and nattokinase Topical pain relief: comfrey cream Nerve support: alpha lipoic acid, bioactive B vitamins, benfotiamine, chelated minerals, chromium

13 Vitamin D for Asthma (2 slides)

14 Children with Asthma Benefit from Vitamin D In children previously diagnosed with asthma, vitamin D supplementation led to a 74% reduction in risk of asthma attacks This is not the first study to report such results a previous study found an 83% reduction in asthma attacks Other studies have also reported that the lower the vitamin D levels in asthma patients, the more likely they are to have asthma attacks One study of over 21,000 asthma patients found that those with low D levels were 25% more likely to have an asthma attack How does vitamin D help? Researchers aren t certain, but some evidence suggests that vitamin D brings down abnormally high levels of an immune system protein that is associated with asthma attacks

15 How Much Vitamin D? A recent study found that asthma patients taking 4,000 IU daily of Vitamin D were able to reduce their dosage of steroid asthma medications Steroids are effective at controlling asthma, but do have significant side effects such as weight gain and increased risk of diabetes and high blood pressure Most experts suggest 5,000 IU daily or more depending on your vitamin D levels