St. John’s wort products and extracts have been used for a wide range of medical conditions, the most common being depressive disorders. The most robust research is in the area of mild to moderate depression, with some additional research in anxiety, severe depression, seasonal affective disorder, premenstrual syndrome, and perimenopause/menopause. St. John’s wort is the most thoroughly researched natural antidepressant, but the majority of these studies have not been conducted on menopausal women.
A study of St John’s wort liquid extract showed a statistically decline in hot flashes severity, duration and frequency in the SJW group compared to placebo at week 8.[1]
Another double blind randomized clinical trial demonstrated that after 3 months of treatment, women in the St. John’s wort group reported significantly better quality of life scores, and significantly fewer sleep problems compared to placebo. [2]
About ten years ago, a non placebo controlled, drug monitoring study was conducted in women with menopause symptoms using 900 mg of St. Johns wort for 12 weeks. About three quarters of the women experienced improvement in both the self-rating scale and the physician rating, and significantly improved in psychological and psychosomatic symptoms as well as a feeling of sexual well-being.[3]
The first of three studies using St. John’s wort and black cohosh was published in 1999. This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial used St. John’s wort and black cohosh made by the makers of Remifemin.[4] The Kupperman index for the combination product decreased from 31.4 to 18.7 compared with a decrease in the placebo group from 30.3 to 22.3. Psychological symptoms also improved significantly in the black cohosh/St. John’s wort combination group.
A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study was done using a combination trial of black cohosh and St. John’s wort. The mean Menopause Rating Scale score decreased 50% in the treatment group and 19.6% in the placebo group.[5] The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score decreased 41.8% in the treatment group and 12.7% in the placebo group. In both testing measures the St. John’s wort + black cohosh group was significantly superior to the placebo group.
Another black cohosh/St. John’s wort trial was carried out in peri or postmenopausal Korean women, and was published in 2007.[6] Mean Kupperman index scores at 4 and 12 weeks were significantly lower in the treatment group (P < 0.002). At the end of the study, the average decrease in the Kupperman Index was 20 points in the treatment group and only 8.2 points in the placebo group (P < 0.001). Vaginal dryness and low libido were two symptoms that did not improve, but the average hot flash scores were significantly lower in the black cohosh/St. Johns wort group.
Finally, a study was done in which a combination of black cohosh with or without St. John’s wort was used in 6141 women at 1287 outpatient gynecologists in Germany in a prospective, controlled open-label observational study.[7] The greatest changes occurred with the combination therapy for nervousness/irritability and mood swings, but in the area of depression, there was a reduction in both treatment groups.
St. John’s wort is emerging as an important clinical tool in treating perimenopausal/menopausal women—for hot flashes and/or depression and/or mood swings, as a single agent, or in combination with other therapies.
For more blogs and information from Dr Hudson go to http://www.drtorihudson.com
References
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Abdali K, Khajehei M, Tabatabaee R. Effect of St. John’s wort on severity, frequency, and duration of hot flashes in premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Menopause 2010;17(2): 326-331.
[2] Al-Akoum M, Maunsell E, Verreault R, Provencher L, Otis H, Dodin S. Effects of Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s wort) on hot flashes and quality of life in perimenopausal women: a randomized pilot trial. Menopause. 2009 Mar-Apr;16(2):307-14.
[3] Grube B, Walper A, Whatley D. St. John’s wort extract: Efficacy for menopasual symptoms of psychological origin. Adv Ther 1999;16:177.
[4] Boblitz N, Schrader E, Henneicke-Von Zepelin H, et al. Benefit of a fixed drug combination containing St. John’s wort and black cohosh for climacteric patients-results of a randomised clinical trial )poster presentation from 6th Annual Symposium on Complementary Health Care, Exeter, England, December 2-4 1999). Focus Alt Comp Ther 2000;5(1):85-86.
[5] Uebelhack R, Jens-Uwe Blohmer, et al. Black cohosh and St. john’s wort for climacteric complaints. Obstet Gynecol 2006;107:247-255.
[6] Chung D, Kim H, Park K, et al. Black cohosh and St. John’s wort (GYNO-Plus) for climacteric symptoms. Yonsei Med J 2007;48(2):289-294.
[7] Briese V, Stammwitz U, Friede M, et al. Black cohosh with or without St. John’s wort for symptom-specific climacteric treatment- Results of a large-scale, controlled, observational study. Maturitas 2007;57:405-414.
Showing posts with label women's health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women's health. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Vitamin D and Ovarian Cancer Risk Reduction by Dr Tori Hudson
Women with ovarian cancer and control subjects were analyzed for their vitamin D status as measured by serum 25(OH)D3 level in 7,243 women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).
A high and low status of levels of serum vitamin D was defined as above or below 23 ng/mL (57.5 nmol/L). After adjusting for age, diet and body mass index, ovarian cancer cases were over three times as likely to have inadequate 25(OH)D3 levels compared with the controls.
Previous research has shown that vitamin D induces apoptosis in ovarian CA cell lines, ovarian cancer has been inhibited by vitamin D in animal studies and although studies are mixed–ovarian cancer rates appear to be higher in areas with less sun exposure.
Other research on vitamin D consistently observes that a long list of chronic diseases and cancers are associated with lower vitamin D status, with some showing risk reduction when levels are above 30 ng/mL, 40 ng/mL and even 50 ng/mL. Despite this large and growing body of evidence, the Institute of Medicine recently released its Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D based on a target level of 20 ng/mL and randomized controlled trials, rather than the cornucopia of observational studies. This resulted in recommended doses of 600-800 I.U. per day depending on age. As I stated in a January blog, it is too bad… that these observational studies were not considered, and once again, we may not have optimal prevention and risk reduction guidelines from our government agencies. Many if not most alternative minded practitioners are recommending a routine dosing of 2,000 I.U. of vitamin D per day, in individuals who do not have a history of kidney stones nor elevated serum calcium levels. However, most women will achieve a minimum serum level of 23 ng/mL (as stated in this current ovarian cancer prevention study) at doses of 600 I.U.-1,000 I.U. per day. A simple blood test will confirm. This would be a logical step in women with risk factors for ovarian cancer or a personal history of ovarian cancer.
For more posts by Dr Hudson go to https://www.drtorihudson.com
Reference: Bakhru A, Mallinger JB, Buckanovich RJ, Griggs JJ. Casting light on 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency in ovarian cancer: a study from the NHANES. Gynecol Oncol 2010;119:314-8.
A high and low status of levels of serum vitamin D was defined as above or below 23 ng/mL (57.5 nmol/L). After adjusting for age, diet and body mass index, ovarian cancer cases were over three times as likely to have inadequate 25(OH)D3 levels compared with the controls.
Previous research has shown that vitamin D induces apoptosis in ovarian CA cell lines, ovarian cancer has been inhibited by vitamin D in animal studies and although studies are mixed–ovarian cancer rates appear to be higher in areas with less sun exposure.
Other research on vitamin D consistently observes that a long list of chronic diseases and cancers are associated with lower vitamin D status, with some showing risk reduction when levels are above 30 ng/mL, 40 ng/mL and even 50 ng/mL. Despite this large and growing body of evidence, the Institute of Medicine recently released its Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D based on a target level of 20 ng/mL and randomized controlled trials, rather than the cornucopia of observational studies. This resulted in recommended doses of 600-800 I.U. per day depending on age. As I stated in a January blog, it is too bad… that these observational studies were not considered, and once again, we may not have optimal prevention and risk reduction guidelines from our government agencies. Many if not most alternative minded practitioners are recommending a routine dosing of 2,000 I.U. of vitamin D per day, in individuals who do not have a history of kidney stones nor elevated serum calcium levels. However, most women will achieve a minimum serum level of 23 ng/mL (as stated in this current ovarian cancer prevention study) at doses of 600 I.U.-1,000 I.U. per day. A simple blood test will confirm. This would be a logical step in women with risk factors for ovarian cancer or a personal history of ovarian cancer.
For more posts by Dr Hudson go to https://www.drtorihudson.com
Reference: Bakhru A, Mallinger JB, Buckanovich RJ, Griggs JJ. Casting light on 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency in ovarian cancer: a study from the NHANES. Gynecol Oncol 2010;119:314-8.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Calcium/Vitamin D, IOM guidelines by Dr Tori Hudson ND
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently released their assessment of current data on health outcomes as they related to calcium and vitamin D after being commissioned by the U.S. and Canadian governments. The new reference values, expressed Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), are based on an abundance of information and higher quality published studies than were available for the 1997 government values.
A committee of experts evaluated more than one thousand studies and reports as well as listening to testimony from scientists and others. This committee considered that studies about the health benefits beyond bone health were most often from studies that provided mixed results, inconclusive results, or were not from randomized controlled trials. Thus, these were not considered reliable. Their focus then was on the bone growth and bone maintenance data.
Their new Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is now 600 IU per day for people ages 1 to 70 and 800 IU per day for those 71 and older. The old guidelines from 1997 were 200 IU per day through age 50, 400 IU per day for ages 51 to 70 and 600 IU per day for 71 and older. While I would consider these guidelines conservative to the extreme, (really a one year old and a 70 y.o. need the same amount????) they at least increased a new safe upper limit of 4,000 IU a day for those 9 years old and above, pregnant or not. The greatest concern I have with these guidelines is that they based their bone dosing guidelines on a target blood level of 20 ng/ml per day, rather than 30 ng/ml per day minimum published in most research about levels needed to suppress the parathyroid gland and avoid unnecessary bone loss.
Most practitioners and a studious group of consumers realize that there are scores of studies on other potential health benefits found in observational/epidemiological studies including colorectal cancer, breast cancer, select autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease and much more. It is too bad… that these were not considered, and once again, we may not have optimal prevention, risk reduction guidelines from our government agencies.
For a full list of the dosing guidelines by age group, gender, and pregnancy status, you can find these at www.iom.edu/vitamind
For more information on Dr Hudson go to www.torihudson.com
A committee of experts evaluated more than one thousand studies and reports as well as listening to testimony from scientists and others. This committee considered that studies about the health benefits beyond bone health were most often from studies that provided mixed results, inconclusive results, or were not from randomized controlled trials. Thus, these were not considered reliable. Their focus then was on the bone growth and bone maintenance data.
Their new Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is now 600 IU per day for people ages 1 to 70 and 800 IU per day for those 71 and older. The old guidelines from 1997 were 200 IU per day through age 50, 400 IU per day for ages 51 to 70 and 600 IU per day for 71 and older. While I would consider these guidelines conservative to the extreme, (really a one year old and a 70 y.o. need the same amount????) they at least increased a new safe upper limit of 4,000 IU a day for those 9 years old and above, pregnant or not. The greatest concern I have with these guidelines is that they based their bone dosing guidelines on a target blood level of 20 ng/ml per day, rather than 30 ng/ml per day minimum published in most research about levels needed to suppress the parathyroid gland and avoid unnecessary bone loss.
Most practitioners and a studious group of consumers realize that there are scores of studies on other potential health benefits found in observational/epidemiological studies including colorectal cancer, breast cancer, select autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease and much more. It is too bad… that these were not considered, and once again, we may not have optimal prevention, risk reduction guidelines from our government agencies.
For a full list of the dosing guidelines by age group, gender, and pregnancy status, you can find these at www.iom.edu/vitamind
For more information on Dr Hudson go to www.torihudson.com
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Cranberry and Bladder Infections by Dr Tori Hudson
A small study was conducted in 10 Greek postmenopausal women who had at least 3 documented urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the previous year or at least 2 UTIs in the last 6 months prior to the start of the study. Women were given 400 mg of cranberry extract twice per day (2 caps in the morning and 2 in the evening) over 6 months. Urine cultures were taken and proven normal before the start of the study and then every month during the study.
While taking the cranberry extract, none of the women had a UTI over the course of the 6 months and almost all of the urine cultures were sterile (normal). Three women reported mild gastrointestinal problems and their dose was reduced to 2 capsules per day and as a result, their gastrointestinal problems subsided.
Commentary: Cranberries, in the form of juice and capsules have been shown to be effective in previous prevention and treatment of bladder infections. Both cranberries and blueberries belong to the Vaccinium species which are rich sources of dietary flavonoids, including anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins. While the exact mechanism of the benefits of cranberries has not been clearly established, it is thought that the inhibition of adherence of the main bacteria causing infection, Escherichia coli, to the uroepithelial cells that line the wall of the bladder is the main action.
Reference:
Karefilakis C, Mazokopakis E. Efficacy of cranberry capsules in prevention of urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women. J Altern Complement Med 2009;15(11):1155.
For more from Dr Hudson go to www.torihudson.com
While taking the cranberry extract, none of the women had a UTI over the course of the 6 months and almost all of the urine cultures were sterile (normal). Three women reported mild gastrointestinal problems and their dose was reduced to 2 capsules per day and as a result, their gastrointestinal problems subsided.
Commentary: Cranberries, in the form of juice and capsules have been shown to be effective in previous prevention and treatment of bladder infections. Both cranberries and blueberries belong to the Vaccinium species which are rich sources of dietary flavonoids, including anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins. While the exact mechanism of the benefits of cranberries has not been clearly established, it is thought that the inhibition of adherence of the main bacteria causing infection, Escherichia coli, to the uroepithelial cells that line the wall of the bladder is the main action.
Reference:
Karefilakis C, Mazokopakis E. Efficacy of cranberry capsules in prevention of urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women. J Altern Complement Med 2009;15(11):1155.
For more from Dr Hudson go to www.torihudson.com
Monday, September 6, 2010
How Hormones Affect Heart Health for Women
While many women know that cardiovascular disease (heart attack and stroke) is the number one cause of death in women in the United States, most do not know how significant it is. If you add the 2nd, 3rd and 4th causes of death together they do not add up to the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease. Another important detail is that this increased risk does not really become a factor until a certain stage in life called menopause. Consequently, the majority of women go from having a very low risk of cardiovascular disease throughout their life until menopause, when it jumps significantly.
So why such a big jump in risk? What happens at menopause?
You are still eating the same foods, doing the same amount of exercise, and taking the same supplements! Many women can attest that more often it is not until they reach menopause that issues related to cholesterol, blood pressure or body weight become a concern. It begs the question, what happens?
It is the body’s declining production of hormones that significantly affects a woman’s health.
Due to the Women’s Health Initiative results in 2002 indicating that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) could increase the risk of breast cancer and stroke, many women have been concerned about hormones in general. HRT was introduced over 40 years ago by doctors who knew the importance of a woman’s own hormones on health and believed that re-introducing them into the body, either synthetic or equine formulation, was the best way of reversing the ill effects from loss of hormones. Since then, we have seen that foreign hormones introduced into the body may have side effects, as well as concern over the amount of hormones introduced into the body, the form of administration and/or how long they should be taken. Another issue is the body needs to metabolize foreign hormones in order to make them available; consequently this can have an impact on liver and kidney function, in essence inversely affecting our body’s ability to detoxify. Also HRT is often just two hormones: estrogen and progesterone. It is typically not a patient-specific combination of all the hormones, which a woman may need.
What is understood and accepted is that throughout our life the body’s OWN hormones have supported a healthful state. This ability to support the body’s production of hormones is what makes Femmenessence so unique and exciting. Without introducing hormones into the body, it naturally supports the body’s own production of not one or two hormones, but ALL hormones.
So what do our own hormones do:
• Estrogen increases HDL “good cholesterol,” which reduces plaque build up and possible blockage in arteries.
• Estrogen reduces LDL “bad cholesterol,” which can cause plaque build up and possible blockages in arteries.
• Estrogen also maintains the elasticity of arteries and blood vessels. Triglycerides may contribute to hardening of the arteries or thickening of the artery walls, which increases the risk of heart disease.
• Progesterone protects arteries from spasms. Women’s arteries are much smaller than a man’s and spasms of heart arteries can adversely affect blood flow to the heart.
• Adrenal hormones like cortisol, testosterone, and DHEA, affect sleep, energy, hair growth, muscle growth, and weight just to name a few. Adrenal fatigue and the biological effects of stress, mediated by hormones produced in the adrenal glands, plays a major role in obesity and its deadly consequences, including inflammation, insulin resistance, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and other conditions that together constitute “metabolic syndrome.”
• Thyroid Hormones control how quickly the body burns energy, makes proteins and how sensitive the body should be to other hormones.
Not only does Femmenessence™ create the optimal hormone balance by positively impacting estrogen, progesterone, thyroid, adrenal levels, and reducing FSH levels, but in our double blind placebo controlled clinical trials we saw it increase HDL, reduce LDL, reduce body weight, reduce triglycerides, and empirically we have seen it improve blood pressure from long term use.
It is important to note that there is no such thing as a magic bullet and Femmenessence isn’t the sole answer. Exercise, healthy diet and emotional support are also important. Dr Christiane Northrup in the Wisdom of Menopause talks about the part emotional stress plays in this equation. “Emotions such as depression, anxiety, panic, and grief have been shown to cause constriction in blood vessels, thereby impeding the free flow of blood. And anything that causes constriction in your blood vessels makes your heart and your vessels work harder to do their job. I’ve seen happy, joyful women with high cholesterol counts live healthy lives into their eighties and nineties, while much younger women whose lives were characterized by depression, anxiety, or hostility might have the first sign of heart disease symptoms in their early fifties despite normal cholesterol levels.”
Using Femmenessence™ for 3-4 months continuously should be the first step in creating the balance that promotes a healthy heart. Ideally it would be combined with emotional support, a stress reduction therapy like meditation, and a top quality fish oil, Niacin, and possibly CoQ10 .
• Fish Oil: Decreases the risk of irregular heartbeats that can lead to sudden cardiac death. Improves blood vessel function, decreases triglyceride levels, lowers blood pressure, and decreases the growth rate of plaques that clog arteries.
• CoQ10: Used mainly in heart conditions: congestive heart failure (CHF), heart attack, heart valvular disease and heart muscle disease.
• Niacin: Very effective in supporting lipid levels.
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So why such a big jump in risk? What happens at menopause?
You are still eating the same foods, doing the same amount of exercise, and taking the same supplements! Many women can attest that more often it is not until they reach menopause that issues related to cholesterol, blood pressure or body weight become a concern. It begs the question, what happens?
It is the body’s declining production of hormones that significantly affects a woman’s health.
Due to the Women’s Health Initiative results in 2002 indicating that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) could increase the risk of breast cancer and stroke, many women have been concerned about hormones in general. HRT was introduced over 40 years ago by doctors who knew the importance of a woman’s own hormones on health and believed that re-introducing them into the body, either synthetic or equine formulation, was the best way of reversing the ill effects from loss of hormones. Since then, we have seen that foreign hormones introduced into the body may have side effects, as well as concern over the amount of hormones introduced into the body, the form of administration and/or how long they should be taken. Another issue is the body needs to metabolize foreign hormones in order to make them available; consequently this can have an impact on liver and kidney function, in essence inversely affecting our body’s ability to detoxify. Also HRT is often just two hormones: estrogen and progesterone. It is typically not a patient-specific combination of all the hormones, which a woman may need.
What is understood and accepted is that throughout our life the body’s OWN hormones have supported a healthful state. This ability to support the body’s production of hormones is what makes Femmenessence so unique and exciting. Without introducing hormones into the body, it naturally supports the body’s own production of not one or two hormones, but ALL hormones.
So what do our own hormones do:
• Estrogen increases HDL “good cholesterol,” which reduces plaque build up and possible blockage in arteries.
• Estrogen reduces LDL “bad cholesterol,” which can cause plaque build up and possible blockages in arteries.
• Estrogen also maintains the elasticity of arteries and blood vessels. Triglycerides may contribute to hardening of the arteries or thickening of the artery walls, which increases the risk of heart disease.
• Progesterone protects arteries from spasms. Women’s arteries are much smaller than a man’s and spasms of heart arteries can adversely affect blood flow to the heart.
• Adrenal hormones like cortisol, testosterone, and DHEA, affect sleep, energy, hair growth, muscle growth, and weight just to name a few. Adrenal fatigue and the biological effects of stress, mediated by hormones produced in the adrenal glands, plays a major role in obesity and its deadly consequences, including inflammation, insulin resistance, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and other conditions that together constitute “metabolic syndrome.”
• Thyroid Hormones control how quickly the body burns energy, makes proteins and how sensitive the body should be to other hormones.
Not only does Femmenessence™ create the optimal hormone balance by positively impacting estrogen, progesterone, thyroid, adrenal levels, and reducing FSH levels, but in our double blind placebo controlled clinical trials we saw it increase HDL, reduce LDL, reduce body weight, reduce triglycerides, and empirically we have seen it improve blood pressure from long term use.
It is important to note that there is no such thing as a magic bullet and Femmenessence isn’t the sole answer. Exercise, healthy diet and emotional support are also important. Dr Christiane Northrup in the Wisdom of Menopause talks about the part emotional stress plays in this equation. “Emotions such as depression, anxiety, panic, and grief have been shown to cause constriction in blood vessels, thereby impeding the free flow of blood. And anything that causes constriction in your blood vessels makes your heart and your vessels work harder to do their job. I’ve seen happy, joyful women with high cholesterol counts live healthy lives into their eighties and nineties, while much younger women whose lives were characterized by depression, anxiety, or hostility might have the first sign of heart disease symptoms in their early fifties despite normal cholesterol levels.”
Using Femmenessence™ for 3-4 months continuously should be the first step in creating the balance that promotes a healthy heart. Ideally it would be combined with emotional support, a stress reduction therapy like meditation, and a top quality fish oil, Niacin, and possibly CoQ10 .
• Fish Oil: Decreases the risk of irregular heartbeats that can lead to sudden cardiac death. Improves blood vessel function, decreases triglyceride levels, lowers blood pressure, and decreases the growth rate of plaques that clog arteries.
• CoQ10: Used mainly in heart conditions: congestive heart failure (CHF), heart attack, heart valvular disease and heart muscle disease.
• Niacin: Very effective in supporting lipid levels.
Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/naturalhealthint
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom
As big supporters of Dr Northrup's work we are happy to announce that she has just revised her best selling book Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom which we often refer to customers to increase their understanding on how the body works. To get the most up to date version go to http://bit.ly/cCUjS7
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Maca - as posted on the forum What Nobody Tells You About Maca Root Powder – Dangers And Side Effects
Firstly thank you for your input Nan and Tim. Also I want to make a disclaimer that I am the CEO of Natural Health International www.naturalhi.com and we produce Maca-GO which is the ingredient in Femmenessence our women’s product and Maca-OG the ingredient in Revolution Macalibrium our men’s product. FYI these are NOT normal maca products they are concentrated, pre gelatinized and specific phenotype combinations of maca.
I think this blog is very interesting as it taps into all the good, bad and ugly in our industry in one. The below is not meant to be an advertisement for NHI but instead giving you some real insights into our industry and what we do, to try and do everything right. Our products only cover certain areas of health so I am a consumer just like you and I pick companies apart before I buy their products because I know what they can do if they chose to and are willing to go the extra mile. I am also going to post this on our blog http://naturalhealthint.blogspot.com so please feel free to ask me additional questions there.
The first point I would like to address is that statistically in medicine they estimate that no matter what product you use around 5-10% of the population will either have no reaction or an adverse reaction. So straight away even the best product on the planet 1 out of 20 people or even slightly higher it wont work. What we see with many products is even lower - say for example looking at women’s health – Black Cohosh (60% success rate), Red Clover and Soy (45%-55%) and many others which are even lower. Also these success rates fail to point out that while they may be 60% effective (ie 6 out of 10 women they work for) but they may only reduce symptoms statistically significantly eg 50%-60% instead of highly significantly. As an aside Hormone Replacement therapy has a 90% success rate and 80%-100% reduction in symptoms which is why so many women use it. Obviously it has lots of risks but when you see those statistics and understand how people can play with them it gives you an idea of the huge variance between natural products and pharmaceutical products. In relation to Femmenessence (Maca-GO) we had an 84% success rate and highly significant reductions over 80%. The other aspect that isn’t pointed out is which symptoms? Black Cohosh, Red Colver and Soy we see reduce hot flashes and night sweats but in Bio identical and Femmenessence we see changes in mood, vaginal dryness, mood and many other areas of health which relate to hormones.
Secondly who’s research. Let me assure you 99% of ALL research is paid for either directly or indirectly by a company. The question is who conducted the research? Was it a doctor in a clinic who works for the company or was it done by a third party who does not have a financial interest in the success of the product and has their own credibility to consider like a University. How many people was it done on? Did they do pharmacology and toxicology? Was there an ethics commit and credible board determining the methodology? What was the methodology of the trial and was it not just subjective like many herbal clinical trials are – by that I mean was there actually something tangible that we could measure like cholesterol, hormones, bone density instead of just how do you feel? Also was the research actually done on that exact product or someone else’s and they used it. And most importantly where was this research published? Was it in a peer reviewed credible medical journal or just written up by the company. Which third party doctors have then reviewed the research and given positive comments or even use the product with patients? What you will find with maca is nearly all the research was done on someone else’s product and companies are piggy backing off that research. The credible research you will see has been done by Dr Gonzales in Peru primarily on men and Dr Meissner on women. This research has been published in international medical journals. As an aside we had an ethics commit of over 12 experts in Europe, our trial was conducted by the Institute of Medicinal Herbs in Europe and our double blind placebo controlled clinical trial was conducted on hundreds of women measuring every hormone from estrodiol, progesterone, LH, FSH, thyroid etc to lipid, cholesterol, bone density and all menopausal symptoms. It was conducted at three geographically displaced hospitals with different socio economic groups. The research has been published in Menopause (which is published by the North American Menopause Society and group funded by mainstream and pharmaceutical companies which as you can imagine would be very discerning of natural products like ours) also Pharmacology and Toxicology and the International Journal of Biomedical Science. Taking it even further some of the most influential doctors in women’s health in the world have reviewed it and written about it such as Dr Christiane Northrup (Oprah’s Women’s Health expert), Dr Tori Hudson regarded as the top Naturopathic Doctor in the US for women’s health, Dr Toru Tabei in Japan, Dr Maryon Stewart in the UK and Jan Roberts best selling author, practitioner and expert in fertility in Australia.
Thirdly as Tim has emphasized where do the companies get their products? Most of the companies in our industry are marketing companies. They don’t do their own research, don’t have their own manufacturing and don’t grow their own herbs. Know who you are getting products from and where they get their products. Also are they organically certified, kosher, GMP, fair trade etc. depending on your beliefs and what is important to you. Natural Health International is vertically integrated in that we have our own fields, manufacturing and control the whole process. We are USDA, European Union and Japanese Organically certified as well as GMP, Kosher and Halal. We have joint ventures and mutually beneficial relationships in every country where we co own with the local people all operations. We value add in each country instead of exporting simple raw materials which increases the revenue into those countries and creates industries not just trade.
And finally what are the claims companies made based on? Which products, what research or what anecdotal evidence. In relation to maca anecdotally we have seen that if Peruvian’s with their genetics and gastro intestinal profile consume cooked, high quality maca, in food amounts (ie higher doses) for extended periods of time ie years - yes their hormones will be in balance (although there is no scientific evidence of this), they will experience improved fertility, energy and health. What we have seen with American’s is that generally they will see the same benefits (if they take it longer term as mentioned above) with the caveat that SOME will have gastro intestinal reactions, some will have other adverse reactions, some need much lower doses, many have other conditions which need to be addressed first. The important fact to point out is NO research on normal maca has been able to prove scientifically effects on hormones in peri and post menopausal women, increases in bone density, improvements in cholesterol and lipids except Maca-GO (Femmenessence). Why? We believe that to date the combinations of maca types used have been focused on men’s health, low concentrations and low bio availability. This doesn’t mean that we wont have research from other companies in the future like ours, it is just to date no one has been able to mirror our results which is why we have doctors, pharmacists and medical groups talking about and using Femmenessence and such mixed results with normal maca. But again as mentioned Femmenessence is only 84% effective which means 3 women out of 20 it doesn’t work for or have reactions.
I hope this information helped. I am definitely trying to get our information out there because I too believe this is an amazing herb and don’t want people to be disheartened if they get the wrong product for them. Personally I believe any women wanting to use maca for women’s health issues should use Femmenessence (there is one for younger, peri and post menopausal women). Any woman or man wanting to increased energy and a general super food for smoothies look to an organic, gelatinized maca powder specifically black maca as Tim pointed out. Any man with low hormone levels and cardiovascular health – Revolution macalibrium.
Regards,
James Frame
CEO
Natural Health International
I think this blog is very interesting as it taps into all the good, bad and ugly in our industry in one. The below is not meant to be an advertisement for NHI but instead giving you some real insights into our industry and what we do, to try and do everything right. Our products only cover certain areas of health so I am a consumer just like you and I pick companies apart before I buy their products because I know what they can do if they chose to and are willing to go the extra mile. I am also going to post this on our blog http://naturalhealthint.blogspot.com so please feel free to ask me additional questions there.
The first point I would like to address is that statistically in medicine they estimate that no matter what product you use around 5-10% of the population will either have no reaction or an adverse reaction. So straight away even the best product on the planet 1 out of 20 people or even slightly higher it wont work. What we see with many products is even lower - say for example looking at women’s health – Black Cohosh (60% success rate), Red Clover and Soy (45%-55%) and many others which are even lower. Also these success rates fail to point out that while they may be 60% effective (ie 6 out of 10 women they work for) but they may only reduce symptoms statistically significantly eg 50%-60% instead of highly significantly. As an aside Hormone Replacement therapy has a 90% success rate and 80%-100% reduction in symptoms which is why so many women use it. Obviously it has lots of risks but when you see those statistics and understand how people can play with them it gives you an idea of the huge variance between natural products and pharmaceutical products. In relation to Femmenessence (Maca-GO) we had an 84% success rate and highly significant reductions over 80%. The other aspect that isn’t pointed out is which symptoms? Black Cohosh, Red Colver and Soy we see reduce hot flashes and night sweats but in Bio identical and Femmenessence we see changes in mood, vaginal dryness, mood and many other areas of health which relate to hormones.
Secondly who’s research. Let me assure you 99% of ALL research is paid for either directly or indirectly by a company. The question is who conducted the research? Was it a doctor in a clinic who works for the company or was it done by a third party who does not have a financial interest in the success of the product and has their own credibility to consider like a University. How many people was it done on? Did they do pharmacology and toxicology? Was there an ethics commit and credible board determining the methodology? What was the methodology of the trial and was it not just subjective like many herbal clinical trials are – by that I mean was there actually something tangible that we could measure like cholesterol, hormones, bone density instead of just how do you feel? Also was the research actually done on that exact product or someone else’s and they used it. And most importantly where was this research published? Was it in a peer reviewed credible medical journal or just written up by the company. Which third party doctors have then reviewed the research and given positive comments or even use the product with patients? What you will find with maca is nearly all the research was done on someone else’s product and companies are piggy backing off that research. The credible research you will see has been done by Dr Gonzales in Peru primarily on men and Dr Meissner on women. This research has been published in international medical journals. As an aside we had an ethics commit of over 12 experts in Europe, our trial was conducted by the Institute of Medicinal Herbs in Europe and our double blind placebo controlled clinical trial was conducted on hundreds of women measuring every hormone from estrodiol, progesterone, LH, FSH, thyroid etc to lipid, cholesterol, bone density and all menopausal symptoms. It was conducted at three geographically displaced hospitals with different socio economic groups. The research has been published in Menopause (which is published by the North American Menopause Society and group funded by mainstream and pharmaceutical companies which as you can imagine would be very discerning of natural products like ours) also Pharmacology and Toxicology and the International Journal of Biomedical Science. Taking it even further some of the most influential doctors in women’s health in the world have reviewed it and written about it such as Dr Christiane Northrup (Oprah’s Women’s Health expert), Dr Tori Hudson regarded as the top Naturopathic Doctor in the US for women’s health, Dr Toru Tabei in Japan, Dr Maryon Stewart in the UK and Jan Roberts best selling author, practitioner and expert in fertility in Australia.
Thirdly as Tim has emphasized where do the companies get their products? Most of the companies in our industry are marketing companies. They don’t do their own research, don’t have their own manufacturing and don’t grow their own herbs. Know who you are getting products from and where they get their products. Also are they organically certified, kosher, GMP, fair trade etc. depending on your beliefs and what is important to you. Natural Health International is vertically integrated in that we have our own fields, manufacturing and control the whole process. We are USDA, European Union and Japanese Organically certified as well as GMP, Kosher and Halal. We have joint ventures and mutually beneficial relationships in every country where we co own with the local people all operations. We value add in each country instead of exporting simple raw materials which increases the revenue into those countries and creates industries not just trade.
And finally what are the claims companies made based on? Which products, what research or what anecdotal evidence. In relation to maca anecdotally we have seen that if Peruvian’s with their genetics and gastro intestinal profile consume cooked, high quality maca, in food amounts (ie higher doses) for extended periods of time ie years - yes their hormones will be in balance (although there is no scientific evidence of this), they will experience improved fertility, energy and health. What we have seen with American’s is that generally they will see the same benefits (if they take it longer term as mentioned above) with the caveat that SOME will have gastro intestinal reactions, some will have other adverse reactions, some need much lower doses, many have other conditions which need to be addressed first. The important fact to point out is NO research on normal maca has been able to prove scientifically effects on hormones in peri and post menopausal women, increases in bone density, improvements in cholesterol and lipids except Maca-GO (Femmenessence). Why? We believe that to date the combinations of maca types used have been focused on men’s health, low concentrations and low bio availability. This doesn’t mean that we wont have research from other companies in the future like ours, it is just to date no one has been able to mirror our results which is why we have doctors, pharmacists and medical groups talking about and using Femmenessence and such mixed results with normal maca. But again as mentioned Femmenessence is only 84% effective which means 3 women out of 20 it doesn’t work for or have reactions.
I hope this information helped. I am definitely trying to get our information out there because I too believe this is an amazing herb and don’t want people to be disheartened if they get the wrong product for them. Personally I believe any women wanting to use maca for women’s health issues should use Femmenessence (there is one for younger, peri and post menopausal women). Any woman or man wanting to increased energy and a general super food for smoothies look to an organic, gelatinized maca powder specifically black maca as Tim pointed out. Any man with low hormone levels and cardiovascular health – Revolution macalibrium.
Regards,
James Frame
CEO
Natural Health International
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Your Health & the Healthcare Industry
The terms integrated and holistic health now include so many different therapies and health modalities that many consumers, patients and doctors alike are getting lost in the maze, or overwhelmed with choices. This Blog has been written to offer information, guidance and opinions on all therapies based on experience, research and inside knowledge. It will also offer advice and information on specific key health concerns such as fertility, cancer, menopause, osteoporosis, PMS, sleep disorders, heart disease, how to lose weight healthily, nutrition and the list goes on.
Let me start with the premise that I believe that your health should be founded on addressing four key areas: Diet & Nutrition, Exercise & Movement, Environment & Lifestyle and Empowerment (this includes emotional and spiritual health as well as attitude to your health and knowledge). This foundation should be aligned with treatment or wellness therapies that are in line your own person health time line, your own belief system and combined to form your own person health plan.
Your own personal health time line relates to your personal health situation at that time. For example if your liver has failed and you need a transplant, dialysis is only going to do so much and milk thistle isn’t an option. However if you aren’t at this critical stage on your own health time line there are a variety of therapies whether they are allopathic or complementary that offer you solutions. Your healthcare choices are very much a personal decision and this Blog will simply put forward options, information and advice based on knowledge and a vast amount of experience by our blogging team. This Blog will also comment on events and realities in the health and natural products industry which being on the “inside” gives us access to and that I think it is important to make known to the public.
The natural products industry we believe is no different to every other industry and is focused on making money. Making money isn’t a bad thing as books like Sacred Commerce discuss. If business creates a win/win/win result for the consumer, employee, company, community, environment and everyone involved. It is when companies, whether consciously or unconsciously, create a win/lose scenarios that business becomes a negative relationship. However fortunately there are a number of individuals and companies that do try to make a difference, have the best quality products and focus on win/win/win results.
One of my personal business philosophy’s is that if you put people before profit, profit will come.
Please leave me your comments and questions and our team will always get back to you.
Regards,
James
Let me start with the premise that I believe that your health should be founded on addressing four key areas: Diet & Nutrition, Exercise & Movement, Environment & Lifestyle and Empowerment (this includes emotional and spiritual health as well as attitude to your health and knowledge). This foundation should be aligned with treatment or wellness therapies that are in line your own person health time line, your own belief system and combined to form your own person health plan.
Your own personal health time line relates to your personal health situation at that time. For example if your liver has failed and you need a transplant, dialysis is only going to do so much and milk thistle isn’t an option. However if you aren’t at this critical stage on your own health time line there are a variety of therapies whether they are allopathic or complementary that offer you solutions. Your healthcare choices are very much a personal decision and this Blog will simply put forward options, information and advice based on knowledge and a vast amount of experience by our blogging team. This Blog will also comment on events and realities in the health and natural products industry which being on the “inside” gives us access to and that I think it is important to make known to the public.
The natural products industry we believe is no different to every other industry and is focused on making money. Making money isn’t a bad thing as books like Sacred Commerce discuss. If business creates a win/win/win result for the consumer, employee, company, community, environment and everyone involved. It is when companies, whether consciously or unconsciously, create a win/lose scenarios that business becomes a negative relationship. However fortunately there are a number of individuals and companies that do try to make a difference, have the best quality products and focus on win/win/win results.
One of my personal business philosophy’s is that if you put people before profit, profit will come.
Please leave me your comments and questions and our team will always get back to you.
Regards,
James
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