Herbal Cigarettes No Safer Than Regular Cigarettes
Cigarettes made with a blend of medicinal herbs and tobacco are no healthier than regular cigarettes, a new study finds. Increasingly popular throughout the world, herbal cigarettes are marketed as safer and less addictive than regular cigarettes.
For the study, researchers compared 135 people who smoked herbal cigarettes with 143 people who smoked regular cigarettes. Analyzing the participants’ urine samples, they found no significant difference in four key markers that indicate delivery of nicotine and carcinogens.
Sizing up study members’ responses to a questionnaire about their cigarette choices, the researchers also found that 24 percent of participants switched to herbal cigarettes because they believed the products to be a healthier alternative. What’s more, most people who switched to herbal cigarettes reported an increase in the number of the cigarettes they smoked daily.
There are a number of natural remedies that may be helpful to those attempting to quit smoking. These include acupuncture, St. John’s wort, ginseng, and hypnotherapyhypnosis/g/hypnosis.htm”>hypnotherapy.
Herbal Cigarettes No Safer Than Regular Cigarettes originally appeared on About.com Alternative Medicine on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 06:00:33.
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Milk Thistle May Ease Chemotherapy Side Effects
Milk thistle may help curb liver inflammation in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, according to a recent cancer of the white blood cells) were given milk thistle or a placebo. All of the children experienced chemotherapy-related liver problems prior to the study’s start.
In liver-function tests performed 28 days after the treatment period, children who had received milk thistle showed improvements in their liver enzymes compared with children who had received the placebo. Those taking milk thistle were also less likely to have to lower their chemotherapy doses. What’s more, milk thistle did not appear to interfere with the chemotherapy’s beneficial effects.
In past research, milk thistle has been found to benefit people with fatty liver disease and gallstones.
Milk Thistle May Ease Chemotherapy Side Effects originally appeared on About.com Alternative Medicine on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 06:00:08.
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Pine Bark May Preserve Eyesight in Diabetics
New research shows that an extract of pine bark may benefit people in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. A leading cause of blindness among people with diabetes, diabetic retinopathy occurs when leaky blood vessels damage the retina (a light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the inner eye).
For the study, researchers treated 46 diabetic patients with daily doses of the pine bark extract (called Pycnogenol) or a placebo tablet for three months. All patients had early-stage retinopathy, which is marked by swelling resulting from capillaries leaking fluid into the retina.
Study results showed that 18 of the 24 participants treated Pycnogenol had improvement in their vision, while no such improvements were observed in the placebo group. What’s more, all 22 patients in the placebo group maintained the same swelling they’d had at the start of the study.
The study’s authors suggest that pine bark extract may help stimulate circulation in the retina and inhibit swelling, which in turn may improve vision.
Pine Bark May Preserve Eyesight in Diabetics originally appeared on About.com Alternative Medicine on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 23:02:01.
