Essential Oils Reduce Inflammation – Confirmed
Researchers have found that six essential oils –from thyme, clove, rose, eucalyptus, fennel and bergamot—can suppress the inflammatory COX-2 enzyme, in a manner similar to resveratrol, the chemical linked with the health benefits of red wine. They also identified that the chemical carvacrol was primarily responsible for this suppressive activity.[i]
Essential oils from plants have long been a component of natural remedies, and even today are used for their aromatherapy, analgesic (e.g. cough drops), or antibacterial properties. The exact way they work is not completely understood. However, Hiroyasu Inoue and colleagues in Japan believed that many essential oils might target COX-2 much like compounds in wine and tea.
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DHA & Vit D in Pregnancy, A Key Role for Both
The Safe Foundation for a Healthy Pregnancy
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The omega-3 DHA is an “essential” fatty acid that the body cannot produce and must be consumed through diet or supplementation. The baby must acquire its DHA from its mother, and she must obtain it by increasing the omega-3s in her daily diet or from daily supplementation.[1] International recommendations suggest that pregnant and nursing women consume 300-600mg of DHA every day to ensure that mothers remain healthy during and after pregnancy, and that their babies have every opportunity for healthy development.[2]
Nutrition, Brain Aging, and Neurodegeneration – A Role for Supplementation
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The onset of age-related neurodegenerative diseases superimposed on a declining nervous system could enhance the motor and cognitive behavioural deficits that normally occur in senescence. It is likely that, in cases of severe deficits in memory or motor function, hospitalisation and/or custodial care would be a likely outcome. This means that unless some way is found to reduce these age-related decrements in neuronal function, health care costs will continue to rise exponentially.
Whats New in The Understanding Of The Immunology Of Ulcerative Colitis?
IBD’s are characterised by wasting and chronic intestinal inflammation induced by many different cytokine-mediated pathways. It is clearly recognised that medical and surgical interventions do not cure Crohn’s disease because relapse is the rule after remission.
Until a few years ago, IBD was classified into Th1-dependent, that is, Crohn’s disease, and Th2-dependent, that is, ulcerative colitis, phenotypes. However, in recent years, it has been shown that new T-cell subclasses, that is, Th17 and regulatory T cells (TR), exist independently of Th1 and Th2 and that they play a central role in modulating IBD.
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Anxiety & Fatigue Respond to Natural Agent Better Than to Benzodiazepines
Use of benzodiazepine anti-anxiety drugs (like Valium) reached epidemic proportions two decades ago, the use of which was enshrined in the Rolling Stones song ‘Mothers Little Helper’. While long-term side effects have led to a significant decrease in use in recent times, modern benzodiazepine derivatives are still widely prescribed.
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Although nutritional approaches to anxiety have not seen much use by the medical profession, consumers have obtained some degree of anxiolytic relief through the use of such OTC items as B-complex vitamins, magnesium, GABA, and herbs like valerian.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Herbs, Phytochemicals and Vitamins and Their Immunologic Effects
Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are used in more than 80% of the world’s population and are becoming an increasing component of the US health care system, with more than 70% of the population using CAM at least once and annual spending reaching as much as $34 billion. Since the inception of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, there has been an enormous increase in the number of basic science and therapy-based clinical trials exploring CAM.
Phosphatidylcholine (PC) Controls Inflammation in Ulcerative Colitis
Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is a major lipid of the gastrointestinal mucus layer. We recently showed that mucus from patients suffering from ulcerative colitis has low levels of PC. Clinical studies reveal that the therapeutic addition of PC to the colonic mucus using slow release preparations is beneficial.
Does Diet Have a Role in the Aetiology of Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Although dietary factors have been extensively studied in many chronic diseases, the role of diet in the epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has received little attention. Fruit and vegetables and dietary antioxidants are thought to play a protective role in the pathogenesis of CVD and some cancers, but few studies have investigated these dietary components in the aetiology of RA.
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The Role of Meat in the Expression of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by inflammation of the synovial tissues in the joints. A number of papers related to dietary components that are associated with this inflammation are reviewed. In addition, the ecological approach is used to study the links between diet and RA. Multi-country data for prevalence of RA for females from eight and fifteen countries were compared statistically with components of national dietary supply.
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The Role of Diet in Susceptibility to Rheumatoid Arthritis: a Systematic Review.
OBJECTIVE: Many studies have examined the role of diet in the management of established rheumatoid arthritis (RA), warranting several recent reviews. However, none have considered the possible link between diet and the onset of RA in detail. Studies investigated a possible effect of individual components of diet and the development of RA, but the lack of a systematic review means there is no unbiased assessment of the evidence.
METHODS: We systematically reviewed studies with comparison groups that examined dietary intake or biological markers prior to the onset of RA. Four electronic databases were searched to identify relevant reports. Six quality criteria were agreed, against which the studies were assessed. The main outcome measure was a diagnosis of RA according to the ARA 1958 or revised ACR 1987 classification criteria.
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