Alternative Medicine Sales Increase as Cynicism Lessens
February 1, 2010
Daily Mail
Sales of alternative medicines are booming as consumers shake off their cynicism.
Analysts say the market has grown by 18 per cent in two years and is worth £213million a year.
And they predict sales will increase by 33 per cent to £282million over the next four years as more patients reject prescription drugs in favour of natural remedies.
Even relatively unknown treatments such as ayurveda – the Indian holistic system of diet, yoga, massage and herbs – are picking up in popularity.
Analysts Mintel said the rise can be explained by growing official acceptance of many treatments such as acupuncture, which is available on the NHS.
A rise in the number of patients diagnosed with depression and stress has also led to more people exploring holistic approaches in favour of potentially addictive prescription drugs.
Around 1.5million Britons bought St John’s Wort last year, predominantly for depression.
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Pregnant Women Turn To Alternative Medicine To Avoid Swine Flu
November 16, 2009
Chicago Tribune
By Dahleen Glanton
For months, Rachel Aguayo, who is pregnant with her first child, has been bombarded with messages urging her to be among the first in line for the H1N1 flu vaccine.
But the decision about whether to get the shot is particularly grueling for mothers-to-be, who must balance doctors’ orders against a natural inclination to avoid any medication or other substance that could jeopardize the health of their unborn child.
Many pregnant women get inoculated. But Aguayo, 26, made a personal and potentially risky choice when she ignored her midwife’s advice and opted for alternative, holistic ways to fend off the virus — acupuncture, yoga, healthy eating and what she calls “obsessive” hand-washing.
“I personally don’t feel comfortable with the vaccine,” said Aguayo. “Any decision I’m making with my body now isn’t just for me anymore.”
Health professionals have constantly warned pregnant women about the dangers they face if they contract the flu virus — premature labor, miscarriages, landing in the hospital and even death. Most doctors advise that inoculation is the only way to fully protect themselves and their children. Still, some are searching for alternatives.
Herbs, yoga and other holistic methods have long been used to help women conceive and to boost their immune system once they become pregnant. Now, with pregnant women among the high-risk groups for serious complications from the H1N1 virus, some are turning to those techniques in an attempt to protect themselves from the swine flu.
Dr. Chun-Su Yuan, director of the Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research at the University of Chicago, said there is no clinical evidence proving that herbs and other holistic methods can ward off swine flu. It is possible, however, that some herbs may increase immune activity, he said.
“As a medical doctor, I would say the risks of the swine flu vaccine are much less than the benefits, so people should get the vaccine,” said Yuan. “But for people who have decided absolutely not to take the vaccine or if they are allergic to it, looking at herbs and other alternatives could be useful.”
Holistic workers said they have seen a spike in pregnant women who are seeking more natural ways to protect themselves during the pandemic. The vaccine is a particularly hard sell to pregnant women who had difficulty conceiving, according to Tami Quinn, owner of Pulling Down the Moon, a holistic health center in Chicago.
“These women are nervous about everything, every cough, every sneeze,” said Quinn. “They thought they would get married, move to the suburbs and have their baby, and nothing has been easy. Now with H1N1, they feel like, Why me?”
Quinn said she does not make recommendations to women, but she provides services to help them in whatever route they choose.
Medical doctors said there is nothing wrong with using such methods to boost the immune system, but they warn that it is dangerous to rely on holistic measures as the sole means of guarding against H1N1.
“We do see women who are apprehensive, but we tell them that the complications of getting sick are very dangerous and the best way to protect yourself is with the vaccine,” said Dr. Dayna Salasche, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Northwestern Specialists for Women, an affiliate of Northwestern Hospital. “We counsel them, but ultimately it is their decision.”
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How I Stay Warm During the Cold Season…
November 10, 2009 by KT
Filed under Kevin's Blog
If you’re wearing a hat and gloves 24/7, there are things you can do to keep warm besides blasting the heater or wearing wool from head to toe.
How to Stay Warm During the Cold Season
Poor circulation may be one reason why hands and feet get cold, however, it could also be caused by thyroid activity level, kidney and heart disease, anemia, hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking, and poor diet. See your doctor to be sure you do not have a medical condition. Then, try some of these ways to increase your circulation and to stay warm:
- Eat warming foods such as miso soup, red meat, whole grains, root vegetables, cayenne pepper and ginger; not ice cream or soft drinks.
- Indulge in heavier foods. Use more oils when sautéing, or dribble some ghee onto your rice or vegetables. Eat cooked rather than raw vegetables and fruit.
- Drink hot teas containing spices such as cinnamon, ginger, pepper and cardamom.
- Take hot baths, which are soothing and warm the body through and through.
- Try acupuncture, which increases circulation by stimulating nerves that relay information to the brain.
- Practice your favorite stress-reduction technique – meditation, yoga, therapy, laughter, and sex….
- Keep moving; your body generates heat as a byproduct when it moves. Get your heart rate up with brisk walks, bicycling or other forms of exercise.
- Use a rebounder or inversion machine to get the blood moving throughout your body. Much of your body heat is circulated via the blood stream, so wiggle those toes and fingers.
- Open blinds on south-facing windows during the day to let in the sun. Bask in it.
- Remember the old water bottle? Pour some boiling water into it, wrap it, and sleep with it at night to stay cozy. For extra warmth, try placing the bottle under your armpits or on the inside of your upper thighs. Your arteries are close to the surface of your skin there, and your blood can gain a little extra heat to circulate.
- Surprise, surprise – drink plenty of water to keep your machine “well-oiled.” It’s important to keep hydrated, and to use good moisturizing skin products during the cold season as well as the heat of summer.
- Mix raw, organic honey with some soothing cardamom pods into a cup of hot, boiled milk; light some lovely, natural scented candles; relax and enjoy the warmth.
- Flannel sheets and a thick down comforter make night time extra warm and inviting to snuggle into on even the coldest of nights!
If your house is just too cold, there are new space heating technologies such as convection heat and radiant heat that are worth looking into. A portable radiator-type oil heater uses a lot of power, but not nearly as much as a furnace. Tightening up the house by stopping air leaks, having insulated interior coverings on all windows, putting plastic up on the outside of windows, and putting a “jacket” on the hot water heater, all help. Close the heater vents and shut the doors to unused rooms in your home. Warning: electrical emissions from electric blankets and similar warming devices may be hazardous to your health.
Have a great week,
KT
Alternative Medicine Use on the Rise
October 21, 2009
Natural News
By S. L. Baker
Acupuncture, biofeedback, herbs, meditation, yoga, massage therapy and other forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are not routinely used by conventional Western medicine. In fact, they are often dismissed as worthless and unproven or attacked as downright quackery. But an increasing number of Americans apparently disagree.
Here’s proof: a just released report from the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) concludes people in the U.S. are using natural, non-medical healing methods more frequently than ever.
The researchers analyzed data collected in 2007 and compared it to the last time this information was collected, back in 2002. In all, the 2007 National Health Interview Survey found approximately four out of 10 Americans used some form of CAM during the year. Clearly, people want to use these modalities and are willing to pay for the help they provide because alternative and complementary therapies are rarely covered by health insurance. Overall, CAM now accounts for 11.2 percent of total out-of-pocket health care expenses — and that adds up to a whopping $33.9 billion spent yearly.
Acupuncture, naturopathy, biofeedback, guided imagery, meditation, deep breathing exercises and yoga are among the alternative approaches to health that have particularly grown in popularity over the last few years, according to the survey. In a statement to the media, the researchers noted: “It is clear from this data that Americans are utilizing CAM treatments — and psychophysiological interventions (i.e., treatments that affect both the mind and the body such as biofeedback and various forms of relaxation therapies) — with increasing frequency.”
Following on the heels of the 2007 National Health Interview Survey results comes another study documenting the popularity of CAM. Research just released at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting held in San Diego suggests that a growing number of people with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) are turning to complementary and alternative medical therapies for help.
CRS involves inflammation in one or more of the paranasal sinuses and can cause nasal discharge, facial pain, decreased sense of smell, cough, fever and other symptoms that continue for at least 12 weeks. The condition results in around 22 million office visits to doctors and more than 500,000 emergency department visits in the U.S. annually, according to some estimates.
New Research: Yoga Better Than Western Medicine for Back Pain
September 8, 2009
Natural News
By S.L. Baker
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), low back pain is an enormous health and economic problem in the U.S. In fact, Americans spend at least $50 billion annually on the condition. It’s the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work days.
Although most occurrences of low back pain go away within a few days, the NINDS web site states low back pain can become chronic and lead to more serious conditions. However, new research shows there’s natural, drug-free and effective help for those with chronic low back pain — the ancient practice of yoga.
A study just published in the journal Spine found that a group of low back pain sufferers who regularly practiced yoga postures had less pain, improved function, and a better mood. What’s more, they were far less likely to take drugs for their back problem than a matched group who received standard medical therapy.
“Proponents of yoga have long described its benefits in reducing back pain,” researcher Kimberly Williams, Ph.D., of West Virginia University’s Department of Community Medicine said in a statement to the media. “But not everybody was convinced. This is a much bigger, much more rigorous evaluation than had been done before.”
The $400,000 study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), covered three years and involved 90 people. All had mild to moderate functional disability from their back pain. Half were randomly assigned to study Iyengar style yoga and half received conventional medical therapy. Those practicing yoga took 90 minute classes two times a week for 24 weeks, working with postures targeted to relieve chronic low-back pain.
The classes were taught by certified instructors of Iyengar yoga. Iyengar yoga. One of the world’s most widely-practiced forms of yoga, Iyengar yoga emphasizes individualized asanas (postures) to build strength, stamina, balance and flexibility. Classes also typically end with a deeply relaxing asana.
The research team followed up on with the research participants both during the trial and six months after the medical therapy or yoga classes ended. The results were dramatic: the yoga group had far less pain, less functional disability and less depression when compared with the control group. “These were statistically significant and clinically important changes that were maintained six months after the intervention (yoga),” Dr. Williams stated.
The research team found that a significantly greater proportion of yoga subjects reported improvements in their conditions after both 12 and 24 weeks of taking yoga classes. When those in the yoga group did have pain, it was less intense. “There was also a clinically important trend for the yoga group to reduce their pain medication usage compared to the control group,” the authors of the study concluded.
The Spine study is another example of how mainstream Western medicine is finally taking a look — and validating — the health benefits of yoga. As NaturalNews previously reported, researchers have also already found yoga can help prevent middle-age weight gain, alleviate postpartum depression and treat post traumatic stress syndrome. A Wake Forest University study published earlier this year In Psycho-Oncology documented that yoga practice significantly reduced depression and increased feelings of peace and meaning in women with breast cancer, too.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Yoga: Research Finds Natural Way to Control Weight, Beat Middle-Age Spread
August 19, 2009
Natural News
By Sherry Baker
The origin of the word “yoga” is the Sanskrit word yuj, meaning “yoke or union.” And practitioners of this ancient discipline, which combines physical postures, meditation, breathing exercises and a philosophy of mindfulness, aim for a union between the mind and the body. Now western science is backing up this basic tenet of yoga. It appears yoga does help link the mind to the body. What’s more it can link appetite control to weight loss.
According to a new study headed by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, people who practice yoga regularly are less likely to be obese. The reason isn’t necessarily the exercise part of yoga but the mindfulness part that promotes a slim body. Simply put, practicing yoga makes people mindful of what and how they eat — and that, the scientists say, can help prevent the dread phenomenon of middle-age spread in normal-weight people. In addition, it may promote weight loss in those who are overweight.
The new research, just published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, was inspired by a previous study by the same team of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists. Four years ago, Dr. Alan Kristal and his colleagues first found that regular yoga practice seemed to promote weight loss. The researchers theorized that the weight-loss effect might have more to do with increased body awareness than the actual increased physical activity of yoga practice.
Specifically, the scientists suspected that people who practice yoga and mindfulness become more sensitive to feelings of real hunger and also real satiety. Bottom line: yoga practice makes you less likely to eat except when you are actually hungry and more likely to stop eating when you are full. The result? A slimmer body, controlled appetite and a healthy BMI.
In a statement to the media, Dr. Kristal explained the new study confirms his research team’s initial ideas about yoga’s connection to weight control and weight loss. “In our earlier study, we found that middle-age people who practice yoga gained less weight over a ten year period than those who did not. This was independent of physical activity and dietary patterns. We hypothesized that mindfulness — a skill learned either directly or indirectly through yoga — could affect eating behavior,” said Dr. Kristal, who heads the Cancer Prevention Program in the Public Health Sciences Division at the Hutchinson Center.
The researchers discovered that people who ate mindfully, meaning they were aware of why they were eating and did not engage in binge eating or munching even though they weren’t truly hungry, weighed less than those who ate mindlessly and in response to anxiety or depression. The scientists did not find a similar association between other types of physical activity, such as walking or running, and mindful eating.
“These findings fit with our hypothesis that yoga increases mindfulness in eating and leads to less weight gain over time, independent of the physical activity aspect of yoga practice,” said Kristal, who is also a professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health. “Mindful eating is a skill that augments the usual approaches to weight loss, such as dieting, counting calories and limiting portion sizes. Adding yoga practice to a standard weight-loss program may make it more effective.”
Dr. Kristal, who has practiced yoga himself for 15 years, explained in the press statement that yoga leads to mindfulness in a variety of ways, such as being able to hold a challenging physical pose by observing the discomfort in a non-judgmental way while accepting these feelings with a calm mind and by focusing on breathing. “This ability to be calm and observant during physical discomfort teaches how to maintain calm in other challenging situations, such as not eating more even when the food tastes good and not eating when you’re not hungry,” he said.
Other yoga research is being actively pursued by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), too. According to the NCCAM’s web site, studies are underway to see how yoga might help a variety of medical conditions including high blood pressure, chronic low-back pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, HIV and multiple sclerosis.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Acupuncture Proves Successful in Helping People Quit Smoking
August 21, 2009
Natural News
By Sheryl Walters
Anyone who has tried to quit smoking knows how hard it can be. The withdrawal symptoms can be too much for many people to cope with for long, and as the stress and edginess builds the first thing they reach for is their trusty old smokes. There are many products and therapies such hypnosis, chewing gum, patches and yoga that all claim to take the edge off and help ease you through the difficult process of quitting smoking. But there is one therapy that many people would never consider, and one that is recommended by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), acupuncture.
The first thing that many people try on the road to becoming a non-smoker is patches. These patches work by putting the addictive nicotine back in to the body therefore reducing your craving to smoke. The problem is that your body is still used to receiving nicotine, and as soon as you stop wearing the patches you will instantly reach for the smokes to satisfy this craving.
Another popular treatment for people who wish to stop smoking is hypnosis. Hypnosis is meant to work by strengthening your will power. It does this by repeating over and over again that you don’t want to and don’t need to smoke. This is all done while the patient is in a relaxed hypnotic state making the subconscious more open to outside suggestion. Hypnosis practitioners claim that taking part in these sessions will increase your chances of stopping smoking by 1000%. This jump goes from just 6%, with will power alone, to 60% with hypnosis sessions. The main problem with this form of treatment is that you have to believe 100% in hypnosis itself and as there is no real scientific evidence to back it up that can be very difficult for many people.
Acupuncture works by placing long thin needles at specific points all over the body. This will stimulate blood flow, therefore increasing the amount of oxygen that is delivered around your body and the number of toxins that are flushed out. These points are known as acupoints and have been used for thousands of years to help cure all sorts of ailments. But when it comes to smoking acupuncture is so effective because it deals with the main reason that most people smoke in the first place, stress. Experts claim that acupuncture has a success rate of around 85 and 90%, which would make it one of the most successful procedures for helping people quit smoking. The procedure helps relax the mind and releases endorphins in the body. These endorphins will give you an enhanced feeling of wellbeing and will block out any of the negative feelings associated with withdrawal symptoms.
It is thought that the majority of people who quit smoking will relapse at some point or another no matter what treatment they use. This makes your own will power the ultimate tool in the battle to quit the smokes. So in the end it comes down to one simple question, how much longer do you want to live?
Click here for the full report from Natural News
