Kava, used for generations in traditional ceremonies by Pacific islanders, is an effective and safe treatment for anxiety, university researchers say. People with “chronic high levels of anxiety” feel less worried and, in some cases, less depressed during a 60-person trial undertaken at the University of Queensland.“We’ve been able to show that kava offers a natural alternative for the treatment of anxiety and, unlike some pharmaceutical options, has less risk of dependency and less potential of side-effects,” said lead researcher Jerome Sarris, a PhD candidate from UQ’s School of Medicine. “We also found that kava had a positive impact on reducing depression levels, something which had not been tested before.”Anxiety levels were reduced in trial participants who took five tablets of kava daily, as opposed to a placebo group that took dummy pills. Critically the study’s participants did not show any signs of potential liver damage – contrary to concerns that prompted European, British and Canadian authorities to ban kava sales in 2002.Kava products sold in those countries were based on ethanol or acetone extracts of the kava plant, Mr Sarris said, not the water-soluble extracts used traditionally by Pacific islanders and approved for sale in Australia. “Our study used a water-soluble extract from the peeled root stock of a medicinal cultivar of the plant, which is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration,” Mr Sarris said. “When extracted in the appropriate way, kava may pose less or no potential liver problems and I hope the results will encourage governments to reconsider the ban.”The Kava Anxiety Depression Spectrum Study (KADSS): a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial using an aqueous extract of Piper methysticum.RATIONALE: Piper methysticum (Kava) has been withdrawn in European, British, and Canadian markets due […]
Kava Helps Treat Anxiety
Kava, used for generations in traditional ceremonies by Pacific islanders, is an effective and safe treatment for anxiety, university researchers say. People with “chronic high levels of anxiety” feel less worried and, in some cases, less depressed during a 60-person trial undertaken at the University of Queensland.
“We’ve been able to show that kava offers a natural alternative for the treatment of anxiety and, unlike some pharmaceutical options, has less risk of dependency and less potential of side-effects,” said lead researcher Jerome Sarris, a PhD candidate from UQ’s School of Medicine. “We also found that kava had a positive impact on reducing depression levels, something which had not been tested before.”
Anxiety levels were reduced in trial participants who took five tablets of kava daily, as opposed to a placebo group that took dummy pills. Critically the study’s participants did not show any signs of potential liver damage – contrary to concerns that prompted European, British and Canadian authorities to ban kava sales in 2002.
Kava products sold in those countries were based on ethanol or acetone extracts of the kava plant, Mr Sarris said, not the water-soluble extracts used traditionally by Pacific islanders and approved for sale in Australia. “Our study used a water-soluble extract from the peeled root stock of a medicinal cultivar of the plant, which is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration,” Mr Sarris said. “When extracted in the appropriate way, kava may pose less or no potential liver problems and I hope the results will encourage governments to reconsider the ban.”
The Kava Anxiety Depression Spectrum Study (KADSS): a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial using an aqueous extract of Piper methysticum.
RATIONALE: Piper methysticum (Kava) has been withdrawn in European, British, and Canadian markets due […]
GM Foods – Are You Aware of Why You Should Avoid Them?
The Academy of Environmental Medicine has released the following statement:Natural breeding processes have been safely utilized for the past several thousand years. In contrast, “GE crop technology abrogates natural reproductive processes, selection occurs at the single cell level, the procedure is highly mutagenic and routinely breeches genera barriers, and the technique has only been used commercially for 10 years.” Despite these differences, safety assessment of GM foods has been based on the idea of “substantial equivalence” such that “if a new food is found to be substantially equivalent in composition and nutritional characteristics to an existing food, it can be regarded as safe as the conventional food.” However, several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signalling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system. Read more here.Genetic engineering (GE) is a radical technology that manipulates the genes and DNA of living things. Unlike traditional breeding processes, GE takes genes from one life form and forces them into another. Using GE, genes from bacteria, viruses, plants and animals have been inserted into soybeans, canola, corn and cotton to grow commercial crops. These GE crops (also called genetically modified organisms or GMOs) are processed into foods and sold in our stores. Most processed GE foods are unlabelled. Right now, millions of Australians are eating GE food without realising it.I am strongly opposed to GM foods – we already have evidence that they cause health problems but I think there will be so much more information coming out over the next 5 years. So far, there has not been any long […]
GM Foods – Are You Aware of Why You Should Avoid Them?
The Academy of Environmental Medicine has released the following statement:
Natural breeding processes have been safely utilized for the past several thousand years. In contrast, “GE crop technology abrogates natural reproductive processes, selection occurs at the single cell level, the procedure is highly mutagenic and routinely breeches genera barriers, and the technique has only been used commercially for 10 years.” Despite these differences, safety assessment of GM foods has been based on the idea of “substantial equivalence” such that “if a new food is found to be substantially equivalent in composition and nutritional characteristics to an existing food, it can be regarded as safe as the conventional food.” However, several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signalling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system. Read more here.
Genetic engineering (GE) is a radical technology that manipulates the genes and DNA of living things. Unlike traditional breeding processes, GE takes genes from one life form and forces them into another. Using GE, genes from bacteria, viruses, plants and animals have been inserted into soybeans, canola, corn and cotton to grow commercial crops. These GE crops (also called genetically modified organisms or GMOs) are processed into foods and sold in our stores. Most processed GE foods are unlabelled. Right now, millions of Australians are eating GE food without realising it.
I am strongly opposed to GM foods – we already have evidence that they cause health problems but I think there will be so much more information coming out over the next 5 years. So far, there has not been any long […]
Did You Realise Your Teenager is Sleep Deprived?
The teenage years are a time when school, homework, extracurricular activities, active social lives and part time jobs keep kids busy from early in the morning until late at night. They are likely to try to make up for a lack of sleep by “sleeping in” on the weekends. Unfortunately this contributes to an irregular sleep schedule and actually makes the problem worse, setting them up for a kind of jet lag when Monday morning rolls around.In addition to having difficulty turning off the worries of their day, most teens show signs of delayed circadian rhythms –which contribute to their inability to fall asleep until later at night. During puberty, the biological clock in their brain naturally sets to a later time. The pineal gland releases melatonin later at night and this causes teens to fall sleep later.Then, when it’s time to get up, a teenager’s body clock is likely to still be producing the night time hormones. This makes it hard for them to feel active and energetic in the morning. Since many teens aren’t sleepy until around 11.00pm, but need to be at school by 7.30 or 8.00 they do not get an adequate amount of sleep.A growing body of research suggests that starting high school later, more in line with their natural body rhythms, improves attendance, achievement, and grades and reduces tardiness, in a landmark study a few years ago, the morning school bell was delayed for an hour in Edina, Minnesota. As a result, test scores on the SAT college entrance exams jumped more than 100 points on average. Unfortunately, most schools are not set up to start later and accommodate teen’s sleep needs.Lack of sleep can be very dangerous […]
Asthmatic Children Benefit From Supplements
Recent research has highlighted the nutritional deficiencies that affect Asthmatic kids. In a randomised, double blind trial, 60 asthmatic kids with an average age of 8, were supplemented with omega 3 fatty acids ( EPA & DHA), zinc and vitamin C. All three nutrients were associated with significant improvements in asthma measures, lung function and inflammatory sputum markers. Improvements occurred with single and combination supplementation. Omega 3 and zinc have an anti-inflammatory effect with vitamin C counteracting viruses and bacteria. Asthma is a multifactorial disease process with genetic, allergic, infectious, environmental, emotional and nutritional components. The underlying pathology of asthma is airway inflammation. Asthma is characterized by episodic airway obstruction, increased bronchial responsiveness and airway inflammation.The main symptoms include:? spasm of smooth muscle around the airways? oedema of mucosa in airways? increased mucous secretion? Injury or airway epithelial tissueImportance of Friendly BacteriaInfant and prenatal supplementation with probiotics such as Lactobacilli may help reduce the development of atopic disease. This is particularly important as optimal intestinal microflora may play a protective role by reducing the transport of antigens through the intestinal mucosa. Furthermore, probiotic supplementation during lactation may increase the immunoprotective potential of breast milk. I have seen many times the powerful benefits of probiotic supplementation of both mother and baby. The important thing is to ensure that you are both taking the correct strains of probiotic and also are getting enough probiotic (fuel source for the probiotics!) as well. I often put mothers on probiotics in the last trimester of pregnancy – not only to avoid Strep B but also to decrease the incidence of asthma, eczema and food allergies in their baby. Talk to me at your next consult about this. Omega-3 fatty […]
Probiotics May Reduce Cold and Flu Symptoms for Children
Another fantastic study that demonstrates the benefit of probiotics in keeping your child’s immune system strong and healthy. This clearly shows that probiotics not only reduce the need for antibiotics but also reduced days off from child care and the awful symptoms of colds and flus. So, if you weren’t convinced by previous posts on my blog, you should be by now! Most importantly, ensure that your child receives a high quality probiotic that contains the correct strains in the right therapeutic doses. If you need to consult a naturopath then I recommend doing so and getting a product that will work as opposed to shooting in the dark and self prescribing. A daily supplement of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains may reduce the incidence of cold and flu-like symptoms in children by 50%, says a new study from Danisco. A combination of the two strains was linked to reductions in fever incidence by 73%, a reduction in the occurrence of runny noses by 59%, and drop in the incidence of coughing by 62%, according to findings published in Pediatrics.“Daily probiotic dietary supplementation during the winter months was a safe effective way to reduce episodes of fever, rhinorrhea, and cough, the cumulative duration of those symptoms, the incidence of antibiotic prescriptions, and the number of missed school days attributable to illness,” wrote the authors, led by Gregory Leyer from the Department of Research and Development for Danisco in Madison. “L acidophilus NCFM alone was effective. There was, however, a trend for a broader protective effect with the combination of L acidophilus NCFM and B lactis Bi-07.”Indeed, when L. acidophilus NCFM was used alone the fever incidence was cut by 53 per cent, the occurrence […]
Probiotics Intake Beneficial Against Infections in Kids
This is an extremely interesting study that clearly demonstrates the health benefits of probiotics in strengthening a child’s immune system. Just a note about the study – the children were given 10 billion colony forming units of Lactobacillus GG (LGG) which is a good therapeutic dose. Ensure that your child is receiving the correct dose of probiotics. I always use probiotics for a period of 3 months before child care is commenced to allow enough time for a strong immunity to develop. LGG can decrease the risk of upper respiratory tract infections including rhinitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis, otitis, and the common cold in children attending day care centers, claims a new study. The findings of the researchers, which were published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, also found that the rate of absence from childcare centers due to infections was lower in children receiving LGG in comparison to those who were not. According to UNICEF, a global average of 16% of children under five suffer from acute respiratory infections. The team behind the research explained that while the efficacy of probiotics in the prevention of infections in children who attend day care centers has been investigated in several studies, these have yielded contradictory results, and thus further studies are required to evaluate their efficacy. Method The researchers said the objective of their study was to investigate whether LGG administration could play a beneficial role in the prevention of both gastrointestinal and respiratory tract infections in children who attend day care centers. They said that they undertook a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 281 children who attend day care centers in Zagreb, Croatia. According to the authors, the children […]
Fair Trade – Why You Need To Support It!
What is Fair Trade?“Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South. Fair Trade organizations (backed by consumers) are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.”Why Fair Trade?International trade has been a historical link between peoples of the world. It can be used to increase corporate profits without benefit to the wider community and to promote intercultural understanding, grassroots development and economic justice. The advantages of current international trade practices are not visible to all people in the world. For small farmers, access to market or price information is difficult and as a result, many become increasingly dependent on middlemen and receive smaller and smaller returns for their work. In bad times, many lose their only property – their land – and thus, their livelihoods.Similarly many plantation workers endure low pay, unsafe working environments and poor living conditions. Too often they lack the opportunity to participate in decisions that affect their lives on the plantation. The way that many products are produced, traded and consumed is simply unjust; this is a major cause of continuing world poverty.Fair Trade is an alternative approach to conventional trade. It is a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency and respect that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing rights of, marginalised producers and workers – especially in low-income regions.Fair Trade is about giving disadvantaged people power: by […]
Submissions to the government’s food labelling review close this Friday 20th November!
Ok, it’s time to get active and also activate your networks – we need to let the government know how important it is that GE foods are labelled properly. Many governments in Europe have either banned GE or implemented mandatory labelling already. The only way to completely avoid GE foods is to eat organic.We all have a right to know what we’re eating. That’s why over 30,000 people signed the ‘Our Right to Know’ petition calling on the government to label genetically engineered (GE) foods. On October 23, the federal government finally announced it would review food labelling laws in Australia and promised to take GE ingredients into consideration. We’ve managed to get the government to listen to our concerns about GE food. But will it act? We now have an important chance to make sure it does.The review has only allowed a four-week period for public submissions, which closes this Friday, November 20. Take action now by emailing a quick submission to FoodLabellingReview@health.gov.au and copy in the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Mark Butler: mark.butler.mp@aph.gov.au. Your submission doesn’t have to be long; it can be a few lines on your personal feelings on GE food and why you want it labelled.You can also help increase the pressure on the government to label GE food asking your friends and family to make a quick submission to the review.Read more about it here. Make sure you watch this fabulous video on organics, makes me warm and fuzzy! Store Wars
