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Herbal Remedies Natural Health Newsletter, April 2005, Issue 246

Herbal Remedies April 2005 Natural Health Newsletter Issue 246 Sponsored by www.HerbalRemedies.com Toll Free for orders 1-866-467-6444 Issue Editor - Heather Bowman

Herbs - Vitamins - Minerals - Magnetics - Candles - Aromatherapy - Holiday Gifts - Bath & Beauty - Essential Oils - Condition & Ailment Guide - Women's Health - Men's Health - Weight Loss - Health Books The Benefits of Magnesium - Click here for full story. Early Treatment for Pre-Cancerous Skin Cells - Click here for full story. How Fish Oils Reduce inflammation - Click here for full story. Honey Found to Contain Food for the "Good Bacteria" our Bodies Need - Click here for full story. DHEA May Prove Effective Against Obesity, Diabetes - Click here for full story. Product Spotlight -CortiCept Rx Just like Relacore ™ and CortiSlim, CortiCept Rx ™ is an all natural dietary supplement that works in concert with your body's metabolism to support healthy Cortisol (Hydrocortisone) levels and supports naturally healthy weight management. Not only is this our feature product, but it is also in our RED HOT SALE ITEMS Our Sponsors Enter coupon code "NL041805" when checking out to obtain discounts on your next purchase from http://www.HerbalRemedies.com

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The Benefits of Magnesium Reprinted with permission from www.hsibaltimore.com, Health Sciences Institute e-Alert, January 24, 2005 If your body could tell you what it wants, here's what it would say: "I want magnesium ." And how does your body love magnesium? Let me count the ways. WAY NUMBER ONE: MAGNESIUM MAKES YOUR BRAIN WORK BETTER A recent laboratory study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reveals that an adequate amount of magnesium is necessary to maintain the "plasticity" of synapses - the connectors that move information from neuron to neuron in the brain. In this case, plasticity refers to the ability to change. When synapses are flexible to change, learning and memory are enhanced. The study hasn't been published yet, so details about the exact methodology will have to wait. But according to a report released by the MIT News Office, the researchers believe their results confirm that cognitive function is stunted when magnesium is deficient, but clearly improved when magnesium intake is abundant. Other conditions that have been associated with a magnesium deficiency include depression, anxiety and attention deficit disorder. WAY NUMBER TWO: MAGNESIUM GIVES YOU ENERGY Researchers with the USDA Agricultural Research Service recruited 10 postmenopausal women to participate in a three-phase diet and exercise study. During phase one (35 days), the women followed a controlled diet that delivered an adequate amount of magnesium. (The current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for women is 320 mg daily. For men; 420 mg daily.) In the second phase (93 days), each subject consumed a diet that contained less than half the RDA for magnesium. In the final phase (49 days) the subjects returned to a diet with adequate magnesium. At the end of each phase, subjects took exercise tests, as well as physiological and biochemical tests. Results showed that when magnesium intake was low, exercise increased heart rate and required more oxygen compared to exercising when magnesium intake was adequate. Also, when magnesium levels in muscles were low, more energy was required and subjects tired more easily compared to subjects with adequate magnesium levels. WAY NUMBER THREE: MAGNESIUM STRENGTHENS YOUR BONES Scientists have already shown that magnesium increases bone density in postmenopausal women, so researchers at Tel-Aviv University in Israel used an animal study to test magnesium as an osteoporosis preventive agent. A group of female rats were divided into two groups to receive either a diet with adequate magnesium or a magnesium deficient diet. Over a one-year period, urine samples were collected every three months and a blood sample was taken from each rat at the end of the year. Bone samples from the thighs and vertebrae of each rat were also analyzed for bone density. Results showed that bone density was significantly higher in the rats that received adequate magnesium in their diets. Microscopic examination of the bones revealed signs of osteoporosis in only the rats that received inadequate magnesium. Also, less force was required to break the bones of these rats compared to the bones of the rats that received proper amounts of magnesium. Over the past week I just happened to come across the three studies mentioned above. But these are by no means the only ways that the body puts magnesium to good use. In previous e-Alerts I've told you how magnesium intake has been shown to help heart muscle cells relax, reduce blood pressure, and even lower homocysteine levels. No surprise then that magnesium deficiency has been linked to elevated heart disease risk. But about half of all Americans don't get an adequate intake of magnesium. And to complicate the situation, many factors contribute to magnesium depletion. High stress and menstruation can take their toll on magnesium levels, while a heavy intake of starches, alcohol, diuretics and some prescription drugs (such as antibiotics) can increase urinary excretion of magnesium. Magnesium is naturally present in green leafy vegetables, avocados, nuts and seeds, and whole grains, but usually only in small amounts, so you'd need to eat a wide variety of these foods regularly to get all the magnesium you need. In the e-Alert "Mind Over Matter" (5/27/05), HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., offered these guidelines on magnesium supplementation: "I've always recommended 500 mg/day, since absorption of most forms isn't that great. "My limit for oral magnesium is that which causes any loosening of the stools, and there's always a distinct dose that will do it. I'm careful to warn people not to go over that limit for the simple reason that food is moved through the GI tract too quickly with too much magnesium, and that cuts down on absorption of nutrients (both from foods and supplements). However, that amount is usually between 400 and 1500 mg/day. "Now, bear in mind that that's ELEMENTAL magnesium. In a supplement, such as magnesium oxide, the tablet that is sold as a 400 mg tablet only has 241.3 mg of elemental magnesium. So, when you take a '400 mg' tablet, you aren't getting 400 mg of magnesium anyway. Plus, even the label says you can take 2 per day, or 800 mg." Whatever way you choose to get it, you can be sure that your body will love a daily supply of magnesium. Sources: "MIT: Magnesium May Reverse Middle-Age Memory Loss" Medical News Today, 12/1/04, www.medicalnewstoday.com "Dietary Magnesium Depletion Affects Metabolic Responses During Submaximal Exercise in Postmenopausal Women" Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 132, No. 5, May 2002, www.nutrition.org "Lack Energy? Maybe It's Your Magnesium Level" Science Daily, 5/10/04, www.sciencedaily.com "Prolonged Magnesium Deficiency Causes Osteoporosis in the Rat" Journal of the American College of Nutrition" Vol. 23, No. 6, December 2004 "Magnesium Deficiency Linked to Osteoporosis" Natural Products Insider, 1/10/05, www.naturalproductsinsider.com

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Early Treatment for Pre-Cancerous Skin Cells Reprinted with permission from www.bottomlinesecrets.com, Daily Health News, March 7, 2005 My husband had a scratch on the tip of his nose that didn’t heal, so I suggested he go to the dermatologist. Interestingly, the dermatologist wasn’t concerned about the scrape (which turned out to be a broken blood vessel), but he was concerned about the scaly skin surrounding it. This, he said, was pre-cancerous skin cells on his nose. Fortunately, the problem was caught and taken care of early. Now he is growing back a new layer of healthy skin. To learn more about how to cope with actinic keratoses – pre-cancerous growths that appear as patches of rough, dry or scaly skin -- I consulted Barney Kenet, MD, a dermatologist at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in New York City, and Michael Traub, ND, of the Lokahi Health Center in Honolulu. What IS Actinic Keratoses? These skin lesions, which most commonly develop on the face, scalp, arms and hands, result from years of sun exposure. They may be tan, pink or flesh-colored. Although actinic keratoses, or AKs, are most common in fair-skinned people over age 40 -- like my husband -- dermatologists are beginning to see them in teenagers in such sun-drenched climates as Florida and southern California. Its best to nip skin abnormalities like these in the bud. Left untreated, AKs may develop into squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer that metastasizes and invades deeper tissue. A Dermatologists Recommendations According to Dr. Kenet, there are three primary ways to treat Aks:. CRYOSURGERY. This is the most commonly used treatment. Liquid nitrogen is used to freeze surface skin and destroy the abnormal cells. The damaged skin flakes off and is replaced by new, healthy skin. The most common side effect is redness. TOPICAL CHEMOTHERAPY. A topical anticancer cream or lotion (most commonly 5-fluorouracil, brand name Carac or Efudex) is applied once or twice daily for three to four weeks. Common side effects include redness, dryness, burning, pain, erosion (loss of the upper layer of skin), swelling and eye irritation. Dr. Kenet notes that a side benefit of this treatment is healthy clearing of skin. PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY. This is a two-part process. First, a chemical is applied to make skin more sensitive to light. Several hours later, the skin is exposed to a blue light that activates the chemical to destroy AKs. This creates a focused destruction because cancer cells take up the chemical more readily than healthy cells, explains Dr. Kenet. Exercise caution, however. Skin should not be exposed to light afterward -- it is extremely vulnerable. If some exposure is unavoidable, it is absolutely essential to cover up completely with clothing and a broad-brimmed hat. Sunscreen cannot protect treated skin from photosensitivity after treatment. Dr. Kenet adds that photodynamic therapy is not the first choice in treatment, and insurance is more likely to cover the other two options. Following therapy, the traditional choice for helping skin heal is steroid cream. Dr. Kenet explains that this is used for only one or two weeks at a time to avoid such side effects as pimples. My husband opted for a milder non-steroidal cream. There also are natural alternatives. The Naturopathic Point of View To learn about natural alternatives to heal skin after treatment of AKs, I contacted Dr. Traub in Hawaii. He suggested several soothing topical remedies... ALOE VERA. Apply aloe vera gel to relieve pain, promote healing and decrease inflammation and itching at the treatment site. Dr. Traub notes that aloe vera contains salicylic acid, which acts as an analgesic and an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting prostaglandin production. CALENDULA OFFICINALIS. Available in cream form, the soothing anti-inflammatory impact of calendula officinalis, or marigold, is thought to be due to compounds known as triterpenoids. Studies show that this herb also has antimicrobial and immune-enhancing properties. MATRICARIA CHAMOMILLA. According to Dr. Traub, research demonstrates that topical chamomile is as effective as hydrocortisone in treating contact dermatitis. The anti-inflammatory, wound-healing and antimicrobial effects of chamomile are attributed to chemical compounds such as sesquiterpene alcohol, bisabolol, chamazulene and flavonoids. Dr. Traub notes that there is evidence that drinking tea can help prevent skin cancer from developing in the first place. Teas contain polyphenolic compounds, which have valuable antioxidant qualities. Studies comparing the effectiveness of black and green teas in protecting against UV-induced skin tumors are not conclusive as to which is more beneficial. Research also suggests that tea is not for drinking alone -- topical application can be beneficial as well, and may protect against inflammation and tumor initiation. Many cosmetics and skin-care products have recently been supplemented with green tea . Keep an Eye on Your Skin To protect yourself from pre-cancerous skin changes and skin cancer, exercise smart sun protection (see the June 17th, 2003 Daily Health News, and monitor your skin for suspicious changes. Also, visit a dermatologist for an annual body check. The American Academy of Dermatology offers periodic free skin-cancer screenings. For more information, visit www.aad.org/public/SkinCancerScreenings/skincancerscreen.htm Sources: · Barney Kenet, MD, dermatologist at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, New York City, coauthor of Saving Your Skin,(Four Walls Eight Windows) and cofounder, American Melanoma Foundation. · Michael Traub, ND, Lokahi Health Center, Honolulu, past president, American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, and author of Essentials of Dermatological Diagnosis and Natural Therapeutics (self-published). www.balancerestored.com · American Academy of Dermatology, www.aad.org

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How Fish Oils Reduce inflammation Reprinted with permission from www.NutraIngredients.com, March 8, 2005 Further support for the action of omega-3 fatty acids on inflammatory conditions comes from new research on lipids in humans that are triggered by aspirin, as well as fish oil. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to benefit patients with cardiovascular disease and arthritis, although the mechanism for these actions is not yet fully understood. Discovery of mechanisms help support the use of nutritional ingredients for prevention of disease and could add to evidence of omega-3’s benefit to joint health. Foods containing omega-3s are allowed to make a qualified health claim in the US for their action on heart health. A similar claim is expected in coming weeks from the UK’s voluntary health claims body. However joint health claims have less support. Makoto Arita from the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and US-based colleagues have recently identified a new class of aspirin-triggered bioactive lipids in humans, called resolvins, that could partly explain fish oils’ anti-inflammatory effects on joints and blood flow. Resolvins are made from the omega-3 fatty acids by cellular enzymes and can reduce inflammation in mice. The main bioactive component of this class of lipids, identified in mice, has been named resolvin E1. The researchers have now identified this lipid in plasma taken from volunteers given omega-3 fatty acids and aspirin. Writing in the 7 March issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine (vol. 201, no. 5, 713-722), the authors said that human resolvin E1 inhibits both the migration of inflammatory cells to sites of inflammation and the turning on of other inflammatory cells. This study also reveals a potential pitfall of COX-2 inhibitors, drugs designed to block inflammation but recently been shown to have negative side effects on the cardiovascular system. COX-2 is involved in making resolvin E1 and the authors suggest that inhibition of vascular COX-2 by these drugs might block the synthesis of resolvin E1, which would eliminate an important anti-inflammatory pathway.

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Honey Found to Contain Food for the "Good Bacteria" our Bodies Need By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, March 29, 2005, abstracted from “In Vitro Investigation into the Potential Prebiotic Activity of Honey Oligosaccharides” in the March 18, 2005 online edition of the Journal of Agricultural Food and Chemistry Despite being used for thousands of years, research continues to support the health benefits of honey.(1) Honey’s considerable antioxidant capacity(2) and antibacterial properties,(3) including the ability to prevent wound infection,(4) continue to reinforce the value of including this foodstuff into your diet. Now a new study(5) has found that honey can be tremendously beneficial to your digestive system. In the study, researchers used an in vitro fermentation system to study the effect of honey on the growth of fecal bacteria. What they found was that a type of sugar found in honey, called oligosaccharides, increased the populations of bifidobacteria and lactobacillus, the “good bacteria” in our gut that are known as probiotics. What this means is that honey can be vital to establishing and maintaining a healthy digestive tract by providing us with prebiotics, the food that probiotic bacteria need to grow. These results led the researchers to conclude that “oligosaccharides from honey seem to present potential prebiotic activity, increasing the populations of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli” but cite that “more studies on the digestibility of honey oligosaccharides need to be performed.” Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at ChiroDocPSUalum@msn.com or by visiting his website at www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com Reference: 1 Yaniv, Z.; Rudich, M. Medicinal herbs as a potential source of high quality honeys. In Bee Products; Mizrahi, A., Lensky, Y., Eds.; Plenum Press: New York, 1996; pp 77-81 2 Schramm, D. D.; Karim, M.; Schrader, H. R.; Holt, R. R.; Cardetti, M.; Keen, C. L. Honey with high levels of antioxidants can provide protection to healthy human subjects. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2003, 51, 1732-1735 3 Molan, P. C. The antibacterial activity of honey 1. The nature of antibacterial activity. Bee World 1992, 73, 5-28 4 Cooper, R. A.; Molan, P. C.; Harding, K. G. Antibacterial activity of honey against strains of Staphylococcus aureus from infected wounds. J. R. Soc. Med. 1999, 92, 283-285

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DHEA May Prove Effective Against Obesity, Diabetes Reprinted with permission from www.supplementinfo.org, Dietary Supplement Research Update, December 3, 2004 ST. LOUIS-- Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) administration was shown in animal studies to have the ability to reduce abdominal fat accumulation and protect against insulin resistance, but scientists from Washington University have now established DHEA's possible efficacy in decreasing these levels in humans. The scientists examined the possibilities of DHEA replacement therapy and its ability to decrease abdominal fat and improve insulin action in 56 men and women aged 65 to 78 years with age-related decrease in DHEA level. In the randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted from 2001 to 2004, participants were randomly assigned to receive 50 mg/d of DHEA or matching placebo for six months. Any change in visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat was measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and glucose and insulin responses to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Of the 56 men and women enrolled, 52 underwent follow-up evaluations. Compliance with the intervention was 97 percent in the DHEA group and 95 percent in the placebo group. Based on intention-to-treat analyses, DHEA therapy compared with placebo induced significant decreases in visceral fat area (-13 cm2 versus +3 cm2, respectively) and subcutaneous fat (-13 cm2 versus +2 cm2). The insulin area under the curve (AUC) during the OGTT was significantly reduced after six months of DHEA therapy compared with placebo. Despite the lower insulin levels, the glucose AUC was unchanged, resulting in a significant increase in an insulin sensitivity index in response to DHEA compared with placebo. The scientists concluded DHEA replacement could play a role in the prevention and treatment of the metabolic syndrome associated with abdominal -- obesity. The study is published in the Nov. 10 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (292, 18:2243-2248, 2004) (http://jama.ama-assn.org). Check out all of our new products Herbal Remedies has added to our wide variety of natural health products! Do you have a question for us? If so please send in your questions to newseditor@herbalremedies.com We will answer all email ASAP!

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