Greetings!
 As usual, in this e-Newsletter we are delighted to bring you the latest breaking news on the most recent developments in complementary and natural healthcare research - across the field. We hope you enjoy these articles and that they are useful to you.
Warmest wishes
Jayney
President, Complementary Medical Association
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  New Preparation Including Garlic Extract, Cayenne, L Arginine and Omega 3&6 Dramatically Reduces Cardiovascular Disease |
C ould "Coat Buttons" Treat Type 2 Diabetes?
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 Vitamin B3 Found to be More Effective than Expensive Prescription Drug
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 Transcendental Meditation Proven to Halve the Risk of Heart Attack and Strokes Amongst Heart Disease Patients
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 The 'Love Hormone' - Oxytocin - Can Also Make You Jealous
Click here to read more |
 Researchers Discover the "Despair Gene"
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 Chinese Herbs May Prevent Diabetes in High Risk People
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 Swine Flu: What Options Do YOU Have?
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Researchers Discover the "Despair Gene"
Researchers at the University of Maryland have discovered a gene which is concentrated in the brain, that they are labelling "the despair gene" - PKCI/HINT1 gene - as it is increasingly being linked to mood disorders and could play a major role in biopolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenic conditions.
Finding ways to modulate the effects of this gene could replace the biggest pharmaceutical drugs on the market. (Feb 2008:journal PLoS Medicine, 232.7 million prescriptions for antidepressants - sales of $11.9 billion; IMS).
The lead researchers, Barbier and Wang discovered that mice without the gene gave up trying to avoid apparent danger in tests involving swimming or exposure to light-conditions disliked by mice. Mice without the gene kept trying to escape from danger and demonstrated increased perseverance and reduced anxiety in open spaces.
Read more here
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Transcendental Meditation Proven to Halve the Risk of Heart Attack and Strokes Amongst Heart Disease Patients
After a 9 year study amongst a group of around 200 patients who had a narrowing of the arteries in their hearts (men and women, average age 59), researchers at the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention at the University of Wisconsin in collaboration with the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, have demonstrated that those who practiced Transcendental Meditation® (vs the control group who received health education classes in traditional risk factors, including dietary modification and exercise) had almost 50% lower rates of heart attacks, strokes and related deaths.
The study, presented this week at the American Heart Association's Annual Meeting, also found a clinically significant (5 mm Hg average) reduction in blood pressure - associated with a decrease in clinical events and significant reductions in psychological stress in the high-stress subgroup.
The lead author Dr Schneider claimed that these results were like discovering new, really effective drugs for treating high risk heart disease patients, but added that, "In this case, the new medications are derived from the body's own internal pharmacy stimulated by the Transcendental Meditation practice."
Read more here
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Vitamin B3 Found to be More Effective than Expensive Prescription Drug
A new study published in the NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) found that vitamin B3 (Niacin) was more effective in reducing plaque build-up in arteries than the anti-cholesterol drug Zetia (ezetimibe), from Merck - which is designed to lower levels of LDL.
But the study comparing vitamin B3 with Zetia was curtailed early when the patients taking the inexpensive B3 (niacin) showed a highly significant reduction in the thickness of the plaque forming in the artery of the neck, which supplies blood to the brain.
Besides reducing plaque, niacin increased HDL or 'good cholesterol' by 18.4 percent over the study period.
The chief editor of the American College of Cardiology said "This trial doesn't quite put the nail in the coffin for ezetimibe, but it pushes it way down on the list of medications for cholesterol-lowering therapy."
Sources:
NEJM
InjuryBoard article
Merck Newsroom
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Chinese Herbs May Prevent Diabetes in High Risk People
Chinese herbs may prevent diabetes in high risk people
After an analysis of 16 separate clinical trials involving around 1,400 people and covering around 15 separate different herbal formulations, researchers from the University of Western Australia have concluded that "Using Chinese Herbal Medicines along with lifestyle changes such as weight loss and regular exercise was twice as effective as lifestyle changes alone at normalising high blood sugar levels."
They said that the research results show that people with IGT (impaired glucose tolerance - or pre-diabetes - which normally develops before Type 2 diabetes) who took the herbal formulations were far less likely to develop full blown diabetes during the study period. Plus they didn't suffer from any adverse side effects.
Read more here
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The 'Love Hormone' - Oxytocin - Can Also Make You Jealous
A new study from the University of Haifa has thrown some cold water on the notion of the hormone oxytocin as purely and simply being the "love hormone".
Oxytocin is released during sexual relationships and naturally during childbirth.
It has previously been found to positively affect our behaviour in the areas of altruism, trust, empathy and generosity, but this new study shows that it also has identifiable affects on less positive behavioural traits, such as jealousy and gloating.
The lead researcher, Simone Shamay-Tsoory, explains:
"We assume that the hormone is an overall trigger for social sentiments: when the person's association is positive, oxytocin bolsters pro-social behaviours; when the association is negative, the hormone increases negative sentiments."
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Could "Coat Buttons' Treat Type 2 Diabetes?
The scientists were particularly interested in the hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemic potential of the plant. In animal trials against the standard diabetic drug Glibenclamide, the Tridax preparation performed very well, and managed to reduce blood sugar significantly - and was proven to be non-toxic and free of undesirable side effects. Glibenclamide, on the other hand is associated with complications including cholestatic jaundice and when used in combination with Metformin (another commonly used anti-diabetic drug) significantly higher mortality rates in patients are noted.
Read more here
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New Preparation Including Garlic Extract, Cayenne, L Arginine and Omega 3&6 Dramatically Reduces Cardiovascular Disease
Since 1900,
Cardiovascular Disease has been the number one killer in the United States, every year but 1918?
Nearly 2,600 Americans die of CVD everyday? (that's an average of 1 death every
33 seconds!) CVD claims more lives every year than cancer, chronic lower
respiratory disease, diabetes mellitus, influenza and pneumonia combined?
150,000 of those lives are claimed before the age of 65. The same is true
across Europe and especially in the United Kingdom where more than
180,000 people die from Cardiovascular disease every year.
What are the risk factors for CVD ?
* High blood cholesterol
* High blood pressure
* Smoking
* Obesity
* Lack of physical activity
* Diabetes
* Poor circulation
* Stress
Stress Can Be A Killer!
It is estimated that 75% of physician/doctor visits each year are stress
related , and if your stress goes unmanaged, you are significantly increasing
your risk of heart disease. Stress also affects brain function. Unmanaged
emotional stress is now regarded as MORE important than physical measures in
predicting heart disease outcomes.
When you stress, your blood vessels are more prone to damage due to your
increased blood pressure. Damage to the blood vessel inner lining causes
"plaques" to build up - also known as atherosclerosis or clogging of
the arteries. Once the system is damaged, it is more vulnerable to acute
stressors.
A new product called 'HeartFast' provides unique support for your heart and circulatory system: Heartfast is a combination of stabilized allicin, omega 3 and 6 fish oil, L
arginine and cayenne pepper. It is able to immediately improve the quality of
your circulating blood and reduce the stress on your heart. It will reduce
blood pressure if it is elevated and can return ageing arteries back by many
years.  Above: Live Blood Analysis - Patient's Blood on Arrival at Clinic. Note clumped 'rouleaux' formation  Above: Live Blood Analysis - Patient's blood only 10 minutes after taking Heartfast for the first time - clumping improved  Above: Live Blood Analysis - Patient's blood after taking 2 capsules Heartfast everyday for 1 month - blood looks normal Click here to learn more about how you can use Heartfast with your patientsBack to top |
Swine Flu: What Options Do YOU Have?
Learn How to Protect Yourself The Natural Way
This new book - "The Survivors Guide to Swine Flu: The Complementary Medical Approach" - will give you all the information you need to make an informed decision about which health options you should take against Swine Flu. It covers both Conventional Medical options - including drugs like Tamiflu and vaccination approaches - as well as spelling out the Complementary Medical options you should consider - including Homeopathy, Herbal Medicine, Aromatherapy and Nutritional approaches.
Be informed, know your options.
The author, Jayney Goddard, is a well-known writer and broadcaster on all Complementary Medical issues and is the President of The Complementary Medical Association. The book is a thoroughly researched and well thought through approach to Swine Flu prevention and treatment and includes over 500 scientific references.
Retail Price: £14.95
Available from The Complementary Medical Association or call us on 0845 129 8434 (Lo Call Rate) to place your order. Also available from all bookshops.
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Gaps, Weird fonts and strange spaces . . .
We are aware that there is a technical glitch with this email - and we have made our email service suppliers aware of this - they blame Microsoft - Microsoft say that it isn't their fault - so we're hoping that someone works out what the problem is and fixes it soon. Please accept our apologies and we hope that this doesn't spoil your enjoyment of this e-newsletter too much.
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Latest Complementary Medicine and Natural Healthcare World News
A new MRSA strain linked to 50% Mortality Rates
A strain of
MRSA that causes bloodstream infections is five times more lethal than other
strains and has shown to have some resistance to the potent antibiotic drug
vancomycin used to treat MRSA, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.
The study
found that 50 percent of the patients infected with the strain died within 30
days compared to 11 percent of patients infected with other MRSA strains.
Five people died
from swine flu during the hajj,
Saudi Arabia said Sunday
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The Evidence YOU Need!
Complementary & Alternative Medicine: The Scientific Verdict on what Really Works, written by Dr Steve Bratman and edited by Jayney Goddard is an enormous collection of scientific trials across the field of Complementary Medicine and Natural HealthCare. Jayney Goddard says: "In order to edit Dr Bratman's excellent work I had to look at the results of over 10,000 trials - the vast majority of which were RCTs. It was painstaking work but a very useful addition to the current literature in the complementary medical field. This book makes those thousands of trials accessible to all readers with even a basic understanding of the tenets of complementary medicine. It is, however, particularly useful to CAM practitioners and students and also to conventional medics who would like to know more about the evidence base for CAM."
Price £20.00 + P&P
Available from The CMA or by calling us on 0845 129 8434
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What is The CMA?
As you probably know, The Complementary Medical Association is one of the world's largest Professional Membership bodies for highly qualified Complementary Medical Practitioners, CAM Students and Training Colleges. However, there is so much more to us than that - More . . . | |
