I don't believe I have seen a month go by without reading something in the media regarding some benefit provided by Ginseng. This month (March 2006) the media is crawling with the study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, stating that women who were treated for breast cancer and then followed for up to 6 years, who had been using ginseng before their diagnosis were 30 percent less likely to die than women who had never used the herb.

In addition, breast cancer survivors who had started using ginseng after their diagnosis reported greater emotional well-being and a more active social life than those who never tried the herb.

That's a fairly enticing claim.
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Nutritional tips are every where. They are hanging around office conversations, news reports, and little booklets at the supermarkets. Several of them are good, and some of them seem to conflict with each other. For example there is a large rift between those that feel you should get all of your essential elements from your daily diet, and those that feel supplements are required. I try not to find myself on the extreme side of any debate, because one thing most of the experts agree on is that extremes in your health plan are anti-productive.

The staying power of many of these conflicts can be attributed to the fact that both sides are correct. For example -- this supplement debate; Those that feel supplements are not optimal and suggest that our diets should be enough to provide us with the essential elements we need, are correct. In fact, if you can change your diet enough to insure you are provided with the proper amount of every vitamin, it is much healthier for you. However, many of us simply can not adjust to that extent, and therefore must rely on dietary supplements. Some of us also have deficiencies in areas, despite our change in diet plans. Pregnancy for example, takes a lot out of the body, and prenatal supplements are highly recommended.
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Herbalism, also known as phytotherapy, has been around since... well since man really. There is some interpretive evidence that Neanderthals living 60,000 years ago in present-day Iraq used plants for medicinal purposes. Whether that is true or not is hardly a problem. For the last few thousand years, the use of herbs and plants as medicines has been well documented.

The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Pharmacologists, microbiologists, botanists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and leads that could be developed for treatment of various diseases. In fact, many modern drugs have been derived from plants. Some examples are inulin from the roots of dahlias, quinine from the cinchona, aspirin from willow bark, and digoxin from the foxglove.

As of 2004, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine started to fund clinical trials into the effectiveness of herbal medicine.

So what is the difference, if any, between using willow bark to cure a headache, or ginseng to bring back up the energy of our body, and eating a few bell peppers to enrich our supply of vitamin C, or using Ginseng as a flavor for a soft drink? Why is one considered a dietary, or culinary act, while the other considered rather risky hedge-doctoring?
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Some time ago I wrote several articles on ADHD which get published quite a bit. You can see the latest publication of this one on

The Parenting Weblog

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With arthritis treatments such as Vioxx being removed from the market and the controversy companies such as Merc are facing, many arthritis patients are looking for alternative treatments. Natural arthritis remedies for often find a willing ear, not simply because the remedies are 'Natural' but because of the extreme side-effects accompanying many of the current Pharmaceutical arthritis remedies. The real question though is 'Do these Natural arthritis remedies work?'

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common types of arthritis. Symptoms associated with this type of arthritis are pain and restricted movement. The pain is often chronic with varying degrees of distress when standing and walking. Pain is generally portrayed as aching, sharp, or a burning sensation in the associated muscles and tendons. Often descriptions include loss of mobility and stiffness in the arthritic areas.

Pharmaceutical treatments for arthritis begin with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These include acetaminophen (paracetamol) - which mainly decreases the pain - and agents such as diclofenac, ibuprofen and naproxen. High doses are often required.

All NSAIDs act by inhibiting the formation of prostaglandins, which play a central role in inflammation and pain of arthritis. Unfortunately, there is an increased risk of peptic ulceration with NSAIDs remedies. COX-2 selective inhibitors reduce this risk substantially, but carry a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, and some have now been withdrawn from the market. Studies continue with COX-2 with hopeful signs that better remedies will soon be produced. How soon, at this time, is not known.

Natural Supplements

The natural supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate have recently been shown to improve arthritis symptoms, and to delay progression. Recent evidence however shows that glucosamine is not effective in reversing osteoarthritis of the knee.

Another isolated natural supplement showing promise in the arthritis area is S-adenosyl methionine (SAM-e). SAM-e is an amino acid. Small scale studies have shown it to be as effective as NSAIDs in reducing arthritis pain although it takes about four weeks for the effect to take place. If you do decide to try using SAM-e, make certain your diet includes fruits, vegetables, and a high intake of these three B vitamins: folic acid, B-6, and B-12. Using these can lower homocysteine levels, in case SAM-e raises them.

Though standardized dietary and natural supplement treatment of arthritis is still young, many researchers believe that antioxidants such as vitamins C and E will often help a great deal in the areas of pain relief. In 2005 a report from Arabelovic showed that Vitamin D deficiency is often in patients with osteoarthritis and recommended increasing natural supplement Vitamin D3 for pain relief.

Altman in 1991 showed that rhizome ginger's extract has improved arthritis knee symptoms moderately.

In 1994 a study done by Flynn MA provided an arthritis remedy including large dosages of oral vitamins B9 and B12 significantly reduced osteoarthitic hand pain. This was done by reducing systemic inflammation.

Curtis CL in 2002 introduced the arthritis remedy which included natural supplements of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil which reduces both the "degradative and inflammatory aspects of chondrocyte metabolism."

One thing is very certain, the growing interest in seeking out natural remedies of dealing with the chronic pain associated with arthritis is producing greater results. Most of these arthritis remedies and natural supplements have little or no threatening side effects, and all of them can normally be used in conjunction with on-going pharmaceutical answers.

Always be sure to inform your doctor about arthritis remedies or natural supplements you are interested in, preferably before you try them.

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