The University of Arizona’s Program in Integrative Medicine recently received a $2 million loan from its medical school in an effort to remain open. The program was suffering from a $1 million debt and was in fear of being closed. Founded by integrative guru Dr. Andrew Weil, the clinic was one of the first to combine traditional Western medicine with a complementary course, which considers mind-body-spirit, to form a unifying approach to healing.
According to a study presented at a meeting of the American Society of Hypertension, a low-salt, low-fat diet, combined with high amounts of fruits and vegetables, is as effective as taking medication prescribed to lower hypertension. The study focused on more than 400 individuals who had either hypertension or normal to high blood pressure (above 120/80). A portion of participants were asked to maintain their regular diet, while others were asked to partake of the medically prescribed diet. Those who ate the special diet lowered their blood pressure.
A recent study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology determined ginseng may benefit the lungs of patients who suffer from cystic fibrosis. Mice whose lungs were infected with the bacteria aeroguinosa were treated with either ginseng or a placebo for the duration of one week. The lungs of those given the herb cleared more quickly. Subsequently, those given ginseng also lived longer.
According to Mary Ellen Camire, associate professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Maine, Orono, eating dried blueberries can relieve diarrhea. Apparently, certain compounds found in blueberries, like tannin, stop the proliferation of bacteria associated with diarrhea. It is important to remember, however, only dried blueberries can alleviate diarrhea; blueberries that are either fresh or frozen may actually compound the situation.
Adding salt to already existing wounds (literally), the House, the Senate and President Bush all voted in March to repeal former-President Clinton’s ergonomic regulations that specifically addressed repetitive stress injury and debilitating ergonomic injuries (e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome) affecting nearly 1 million Americans. Former-President Clinton’s ergonomic standard, issued in November 2000, would have protected as many as 500,000 work-related injuries per year and would have covered more than 100 million workers.
A new study conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found the brain has the ability to heal itself after a serious stroke (cortical reorganization). Published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, the study reveals the brain’s plasticity with regards to a debilitating attack which often results in damaged and/or malfunctioning limbs. Researchers studied 13 stroke survivors for 2–3 weeks and invoked rehabilitation therapy. The therapy (constraint-induced movement) requires the patient to not use the unaffected, or “good,” limb by restraining it.
Researchers from the University of Mississippi Medical Center found some alternative therapies can assuage sufferers of migraine headaches. Of the remedies tested (biofeedback training, hypnosis, stress-management therapy and relaxation training), the most effective proved to be an integration of behavioral treatments with drug therapies. These therapies consist of both clinic-based and home-based interventions. The latter approach teaches patients how to develop self-help skills at home.
Casein? Albumin? If you’re like most Americans, you have no idea what these formal words mean. But if you’re one of 7 million Americans who suffer from food allergies, you’re probably quite aware these terms refer to milk and eggs, respectively. The problem? According to a recent investigation by the Food and Drug Administration, 25 percent of manufacturers investigated failed not only to list the formal names of these and other common allergens, they do not list all the ingredients found in their products whatsoever.
Unfortunately, as many of you are well aware, Americans are working more and playing less. In two separate surveys, one administered by the National Restaurant Association and the other for Oxford Health Plans, 32 percent of people work and eat lunch at the same time and 31 percent skip lunch altogether; also, 32 percent never leave their place of work during the day. Much of the reasoning behind the statistics lies in the fact that many employees feel guilty for breaking. Of course this all comes at a high price to one’s health — stress.
Heart disease, nerve damage and kidney failure are long-term effects of Type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the body no longer can make enough, or doesn’t respond to insulin — the body’s blood-sugar-regulating hormone. Research presented at the American Diabetes Association’s annual meeting suggests those complications associated with Type 2 diabetes can be minimized simply by exercising, which, in turn, regulates blood sugar by sensitizing muscle and liver cells to insulin.
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