Neem Therapist, Kathy McMahon
| 20 April 2005 |
| St. John's Wort Equivalent to World's Best-selling Antidepressant |
St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L., Clusiaceae) is one of the world's best-researched phytomedicines. One criticism from the medical community, however, has been that most of the clinical research on St. John's wort (SJW) has matched it against the tricyclic antidepressants, rather than newer, more commonly used agents. It should be noted that during the time at which most SJW research was conducted, doctors favored the tricyclic antidepressants. Now, physicians claim that in order for research results to be truly meaningful, SJW must be compared with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants.
The latest clinical trial investigating the antidepressant effects of SJW does just that, by comparing it to fluoxetine (Prozac®) - the world's best selling antidepressant (Schrader, 2000). This German study was funded not by a pharmaceutical company, or by a company that manufacturers SJW extract, but by the German medical insurance system. The results were impressive. The study concluded, "…the two treatments are essentially equipotent in their antidepressant effects." Furthermore, the researchers asserted that there was "…no evidence to suggest an advantage in treating these patients with fluoxetine." |
posted by Kathy Mcahon @ 9:04 pm
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| 08 April 2005 |
| Democrats place hold on EPA nominee |
A Florida senator said Thursday that he was placing a hold on the nomination of Stephen Johnson to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency because of a pesticide program involving children in the state.
Nelson's announcement came one day after Johnson clashed with senators at a hearing over questions concerning an agency program, which reportedly paid low-income families in Duval County, Fla., $970 if they agreed to observe the impacts of pesticides used in their homes on their children. |
| posted by Kathy Mcahon @ 12:45 pm
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| 06 April 2005 |
| Neem patent revoked: Victory over biopiracy |
The EPO has cancelled the patent granted to an American multinational W R Grace in 1994. The decision brings to end an 11-year-old dispute.
"It means that the US government and this company and the companies holding other similar patents cannot threaten Indian farms and farmers who use Neem freely in our economy. A patent in their hands gave them the right to prevent anyone else for making, using, distributing, selling the patented product," said Vandana Shiva, an environmental activist.
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| posted by Kathy Mcahon @ 5:00 pm
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| Herbs to relieve tooth-ache |
Tooth ache is the most common problem. Most of the time we can’t go to the doctor immediately and in the mean time we need some remedy for the aching tooth. Many herbs have been employed to relieve tooth aches and gum problems.
Neem leaves in dried form is also very useful in treating toothache.
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| posted by Kathy Mcahon @ 4:55 pm
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| Monkey See, Monkey Do . . . |
| Observations of chimpanzees' feeding behavior in Tanzania, East Africa, have led to the discovery of medicinal properties and other potential applications for two types of plants. This type of study, involving the ways animals use plants, is referred to as zoopharmacognosy, a term coined in 1992 from Greek roots: zoo- = animal; pharma- = a drug or poison; and -cognosy = to recognize |
| posted by Kathy Mcahon @ 4:50 pm
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| 50 Dangerous Pesticides Found in Food |
" More than 50 dangerous pesticides contaminate Britain's food, official tests reveal. All have been found to be poisonous or are suspected of causing cancer or having 'gender bender' effects by international regulatory bodies.
" The tests found 80 pesticides in food ranging from apples to aubergines, butter to bread, and chocolate to chicken nuggets. The survey concluded that 52 of these 'have been designated by international authorities as having harmful effects on health'. These included 33 identified by the World Health Organisation as acutely toxic, and 28 listed by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer, the European Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency as suspected carcinogens.
" Another 12 are suspected by a range of international authorities of disrupting the hormone system, causing 'gender bender' effects, cancers and reproductive disorders. |
| posted by Kathy Mcahon @ 4:42 pm
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| EU Court may reject food supplement laws |
" In a stinging indictment of EU rules on food supplements and vitamins, which opponents say could outlaw thousands of health food products, the European Court of Justice's Advocate General Leendert Geelhoed said they broke basic principles of EU law.
" The Alliance for Natural Health, one of three groups that originally brought the case in Britain, called the opinion "tremendous news ... for the millions of people in Europe who choose to use food supplements."
‘It is commendable that the EU Advocate General has seen through the flawed science and law of the Food Supplements Directive and reached his recommendations today,’ said Dr. Robert Verkerk, Executive Director of the ANH.
David C. Hinde, Solicitor and ANH Legal Director, added: ‘This is a very significant Opinion in a landmark case. Advocate General Geelhoed is the most senior Advocate General at the ECJ and his considered reasoning vindicates ANH’s legal analysis and position. We are very optimistic that the Court will adopt his recommendations.’
See Also: Alliance for Natural Health Statement
See Also: "US Health Movement v. Big Pharma" |
| posted by Kathy Mcahon @ 4:33 pm
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