Vitamins and herbs are often recommended as part of lifestyle advice.
If you purchase best quality vitamins and supplements it is highly recommended that you check the ‘best before’ and ‘use by dates’. If none is stated then it is best to seek out other brands.
Unlike pharmaceuticals, it is not compulsory to state the date for vitamins and supplements products. The shelf-life of supplements depends on:
It is likely that Vitamins B,D will have shorter half lives so they will disintegrate quicker. The same will apply to probiotics, which often require refrigeration.
The best advice is to consult with a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioner who should be able to offer you advice on purchasing the best over-the –counter remedies or preferably they can provide you with ‘practitioner line’ best quality vitamins and supplements which will be specific for your needs.
The current advice given to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been successful to date. A complementary medicine research study published in the early 1990’s led to this turnaround. The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare advised new parents to:
This advice led to a reduction in SIDS related deaths from 100 to 20 per year.
Now, Per Möllborg, Child Health Medical Officer from the University of Gothenburg, has recently conducted further investigations and has provided additional advice
The risk of SIDS was greater if:
As a consequence, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioner should consider when offering additional advice to new parents.
A recent study has revealed that eating a daily handful of almonds or equivalent almond containing foods improves the Healthy Eating Index in both adults and children.
The complementary medicine research study published in December 2015 in the Journal of Nutrition Research carried out a trial where parents were instructed to eat 1.5 ounces of almonds per day and simultaneously give their children 0.5 ounce of almond or equivalent foods with the minimal almond content e.g. almond butter.
The researchers found that this daily intake over a 14-week period resulted in a significantly improved ‘ Health Eating Index’ component scores for total protein and decreased intake of empty calories.
As parents we are often challenged by barriers in promoting healthy eating to our children. Strategies we can utilise to promote good lifestyle advice for us and our children include basic guidelines such as:
Many Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioners promote almonds as part of their regular diet as 1 ounce of almonds delivers 170 calories and has a low GI index. It also contains best quality vitamins and supplements such as:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, has reported the discovery of a new species of bacteria that causes Lyme disease in people. Prior to this finding, only Borrelia burgdorferi was regarded as the causative organism of human Lyme disease. This is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include:
If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.
Researchers have now discovered a new bacteria that causes Lyme Disease i.e. Borrelia mayonii. This discovery was made after studying blood samples from patients in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota who were suspected of having Lyme disease from 2012-2014.
Unfortunately, in many cases of Lyme disease, antibiotics do not always completely eradicate the disease resulting in long-term damage to the body. As a result, many people with Lyme disease often turn to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies for their most problematic symptoms, or as an adjunct to antibiotics. Further investigation is required to validate these findings in all cases of Lyme disease which may lead to improved antibiotic treatment and better Integrative Medicine resources.
When parents bring their sick children to see their doctor or Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioner, they spend time in the waiting rooms playing with toys. Many of these children have infectious disease, which can easily be transmitted to another child when they play with these toys at a later time. As parents we are concerned about the welfare of our kids and we should be aware of the potential of cross-infections from toys in public areas and should warn our kids not to put toys in their mouth. A poignant research study by Merriman et al in the February 2002 edition of British Journal of General Practice highlighted this issue.
They revealed that the toys in waiting rooms of GP surgeries are a potential source of cross-infection i.e.
Hard toys – low levels of contamination
Soft toys – 20% moderate to heavy coliform contamination
90% heavy bacterial contamination
Some Australian GP centres have now acted and removed children’s toys from their waiting rooms. Perhaps it is time that other GP clinics and Complementary and Alternative Medicine practices also follow suit. This also brings into question that improved guidelines regarding cleaning of toys in childcare centres needs to be reviewed.
This prevent cross-contamination due to toys, regular daily cleaning is required at the very least not only in GP surgeries, but also in childcare centres, family day care, OSHC centres and other educational centres.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapies such as Ayurveda have advocated the use of lime as valuable food and nutrition advice for treatment of obesity and high cholesterol.
Is there any scientific evidence that backs this age-old treatment?
Limonoids, is the constituent which causes of bitterness in citrus juice, and has previously been reported to possess substantial antioxidant and anticancer activities.
A 2013 complementary medicine research study by Boshtam et al studied the antioxidant activity and atherosclerosis progression in rabbits using the antioxidant rich lime peel. The study revealed that the presence of fatty streaks in coronary arteries and aorta of the treated animals (lime juice peel) were significantly reduced compared to the hypercholesterolemic control group.
Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) peel and juice is known to increase plasma antioxidant capacity in rabbits, and also reduces the process of atherogenesis. However, lime peel was shown to be more effective than lime juice. This observation may be due to the fact that lime peel and juice have different types of flavonoids. For example, hesperidin, naringenin and eriocitrin are found in lime juice, whilst polymethoxylated flavones (PMF), limonoid, and diosmin are found in the peel.
The higher ascorbic acid content of fresh lime juice results in significantly higher serum antioxidant capacity than lime peel, but the latter caused significantly more reductions in fatty streak grade in rabbits. The researchers concluded that this difference may be related to the effects and absorption of each type of flavonoid.
Whilst this research study has only been carried out in rabbits, there is an indication that the age old Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapeutic advice may be useful in the acute treatment of hypercholesterolameia. It goes without saying that this food and nutrition advice is only a treatment component in the integrative healthcare solution for the treatment of obesity and high cholesterol.
Mindfulness meditation as daily lifestyle advice has grown in popularity over recent years as we seek solutions to combat the stresses of modern day living. However, by its very nature mindfulness meditation can be an important Complementary and Alternative (CAM) intervention in the treatment of mild ADHD.
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to improve behavioural and neurocognitive impairments in adolescents and adults with ADHD. A complementary medicine research study in 2008 study by Zylowska et al showed that 8-week mindfulness meditation program resulted in:
Although this was a small scale study the science behind mindfulness meditation makes this a viable integrative healthcare solution for the treatment of mild ADHD.
Sciatica is basically the experience of sharp and shooting pain through the gluteus and down the leg. Sciatica occurs when there is an impingement of the sciatic nerve which is compressed by the discs of the lumbar spine.
While there are numerous causes of sciatica, the most common are:
It is important to manage the pain and manage the inflammation.
Conventional therapeutic protocols include physiotherapy guided exercises such as McKenzie extensions and core strengthening exercises. However, the inclusion of integrative healthcare solution such as Remedial Massage Therapy can dramatically improve clinical outcomes.
An experienced Remedial Massage practitioner has a range of techniques at their disposal such as:
If the problem still persists and /or becomes severe then consultation with a GP for anti-inflammatory medication for pain management or a CT-guided periradicular nerve root injection is highly recommended.
Continuum of care should still include the aforementioned complementary therapies and also consider the incorporation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Therapies such as Yoga (similar to MET principle), Bowen treatment and Acupuncture to resolve the issue.
Statistics show 20% of women are affected by perinatal major depressive disorders and 10% of women are affected by perinatal anxiety. Despite the availability of effective pharmacological treatment, pregnant women have concerns regarding the side effects of pharmaceuticals. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is used by approximately 40% of the American adult population.
Perinatal yoga is traditional yoga therapy that has been specifically designed for women during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Proponents of perinatal yoga state that this therapy:
Is there any scientific proof for the benefits of Perinatal yoga?
Sheffield et al 2015 conducted a systemic literature review on the use of perinatal yoga on a woman’s mental health and well being.
The methodology consisted of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), 4 major databases were reviewed to yield a total of 13 hits. Following the review of the 13 studies, results suggested the use of yoga was effective in reducing anxiety and depression in pregnant women.
The complementary medicine research review concluded that perinatal yoga may be a useful Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapy and potentially offers women and their providers functional alternatives to pharmaceutical medication for treatment of perinatal depression and anxiety which are common women’s health issues in pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
