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Well, it’s officially summer and I hope you’ve
been spared the floods if you are here in the northeast. I
was near the Delaware river this past weekend and saw a lot
of furniture on the curbs waiting for the dump trucks. None
of these folks homes were taken from them and I’m sure
that their most precious possessions and memories were saved – but
my heart did sink at the thought of all those who lost their
homes. It immediately made me think of Katrina – and
kudos to those who have done anything to help. While
we donated money, I’m particularly impressed and heartened
by all the college students that used their semester breaks
to live in tents and bang nails. Maybe it’s
just my experience, but there seems to be a great deal of
apathy and sense of entitlement among teens and college students – I’m
really hoping that is changing.
This newsletter, I’ll catch you up on industry news
about black cohosh as well as an interesting survey about
the use of herbs and women approaching menopause. Finally,
I will complete my calcium piece by addressing the different
types of supplements and how to evaluate them.
BEWARE OF SUBSTITUTE BLACK COHOSH
An
interesting study just came out about black cohosh used in
products like ours. Published in the Journal of Agriculture
and Food Chemistry, and funded by the NIH Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine (it does not necessarily reflect
the views of the NIH, but usually validates the methodology
as they wouldn’t get a grant otherwise) the study found
that 3 of 11 or almost one third of black cohosh products
tested were found to have an asian species that resembles
black cohosh but is not the native North American plant that
we use in all of our Oöna products. This
asian derivation is also less expensive and does not contain
the same medicinal constituents. It is considered to
be inferior.
What was also interesting about this
study is that it explains what we have said and experienced
all along – that
it is the quality of our extracts that make the performance
of our product so much better than others on the shelf. We
pay about 3X the amount for our extract than others available. Price
does not always mean better quality, but in this case we
feel that the price we pay is insuring the culmination of
the best plants, care in the extraction method as well as
adequate and subsequent testing throughout.
What this study explains is that there appears to be great
differences in the amounts of triterpene glycosides as well
as phenolic constituents in black cohosh among the products
they chose. These two groups are believed to mark or indicate
the medicinal value of the plant. There are other variables
as well, but to keep it simple, the article suggests that
as a result, there exists differences in the performance
of product.
So as we say, you may have tried
black cohosh before, but if you haven’t tried Oöna we don’t
feel you really know if it works for you. If you have
tried Oöna and it doesn’t work for you,
you can be sure that you can pass over black cohosh and move
on to something else.
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/jafcau/2006/54/i09/html/jf0606149.html
http://www.ahpa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=69&aId=288&zId=1
MORE WOMEN TURN TO HERBS FOR MENOPAUSE
In
a survey conducted at Stanford University Medical School
and published in “Menopause: The Journal of the North
American Menopause Society” are some notable experiences
of 781 women aged 40-60.
90% of women in this age group have
experienced some sort of menopause symptom in the past
with 79% of them experiencing symptoms now. The most prevalent
are headaches, sleeplessness, mood swings and weight gain. (Notice
the absence of hot flash on the list.)
Interestingly, more women are now
using an herbal or soy remedy than hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) to address their menopause symptoms. 37%
of women use HRT, while 31% of women use herbs with another
13% using soy.
Of the women taking an herbal remedy,
almost two-thirds of them find it effective. 70% of former
users did not feel herbs helped. I only looked at reviews of this research
and did not see the actual number of women who stopped taking
herbs because they didn’t work.
Overall, only 29% of women were aware
of the results of the Women’s Health Initiative study
that pointed to the risks of HRT - primarily increased
risk of heart attacks, stroke and breast cancer.
Yet, 55% of women said they used
an herbal remedy because they had concerns about HRT. 45% said they preferred
something natural. Of women who stopped taking hormone therapy,
three-quarters (74%) were not taking any other kind of treatment. This
suggests that women are either in one camp or the other and
are swaying more to the natural route.
Only about half of women taking herbal
supplements tell their primary physicians – although 71% of women said
that they consider their doctor to be their most trusted
source of information. 45% of these women said the
information provided by their doctors was conflicting and
confusing and 20% said their doctors had not given them adequate
information about alternative therapies for menopausal symptoms.
The most interesting point to me
in this whole thing is that we women are in fact doing
the research and have enough knowledge to know when our
physicians aren’t up to
speed when it comes to alternatives. I’m
certainly not suggesting that we don’t tell our physicians
what we are doing but my hope is that they will stop discounting
the value of alternatives. Obviously, women are experiencing
the value.
One last note – this survey is funded by GlaxoSmithKline
the pharmaceutical company. They had no input in the
method of the study, etc. but I wonder if the researcher,
Dr. Jun Ma has an affiliation to the firm because of her
tone, which I took out and just presented the facts. It
may certainly be her opinion, but she really makes it sound,
once again, that herbs are completely unsafe etc. etc. I
did not see any affiliation through a Google search but they
did fund her study.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/health/20meno.html?ex=
1152244800&en=8a5a731d424fa001&ei=5070
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Menopause/tb/3561
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=
Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16735949&query_hl=5&itool=pubmed_docsum
CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS
In the last
newsletter, I went through the basics of calcium nutrition,
absorption and life style. This month, I’m going
to look at calcium supplements. To recap - Children
4-8 require 800 mg. per day (elemental calcium). For ages
9-18 it jumps to 1300 mg. a day. Men and women from 19-50
need about 1,000 mg. of calcium daily and after the age of
50 it jumps to 1,200 mg.
It is best to get your calcium from food as it may be up to 8.79 times
more available to the body. We also need adequate protein, weight bearing
exercise and a diet that avoids soda, sugar and white bread, among other things
you might enjoy. It isn’t easy to get all the calcium we need in
a day, so many of us, including myself need supplements. So what should
we buy?
In my experience, I had read or heard
and believed that calcium citrate was the way to go as
it is the most readily absorbed. I needed a ratio of 2:1 calcium/magnesium. So
I went out and bought 750 mg. capsules with 500mg. of calcium
to 250mg. of magnesium. I was taking two a day at night
close to eating and I thought I was all set.
I was wrong. My biggest mistake is that I didn’t
read the label and my 500 mg. of calcium citrate only has
100mg. of “elemental calcium”. That means
I need to take 8 capsules a day if my diet is providing at
least what I think it is. So I’m not sure that
calcium citrate is the best option for me. I don’t
do well taking anything more than 2x a day.
Before I get to the different types of calcium, a couple
of important points to note:
Do not take calcium supplements if you have kidney stones
or a history of kidney stones.
Don’t go cheap, go reliable. A lot of resources
point out that some refined calcium carbonate products (sources
include oyster shell, bone-meal and dolomite) may have lead. You
need to be sure that the company you buy from is reputable
and screens for lead and other toxins.
Make sure that your calcium supplement
dissolves – calcium
is known to have difficulty breaking down. Simply
put it in a ½ cup of vinegar and swirl it every once
in a while for a ½ hour. Your tablet/capsule
should be 100% dissolved by then, with no little clumps left. In
general, capsules are usually a better choice for calcium
supplements.
It is vital to keep in mind that
just adding calcium to your diet does not necessarily mean
that it will improve bone density. Your body requires other vitamins and
minerals, most importantly vitamin D. According to
Holistic Primary Care (Summer 2005), there are 25 different
trials showing that without vitamin D no form of calcium
is well absorbed. As you know most of us can get enough
vitamin D by spending 15 minutes in the sun without sunscreen
or supplement with 400-600 IU’s a day.
One final note before I get to types
of calcium. Most
experts agree that the body can not absorb very much calcium
at one time. Spread out your intake throughout the
day (500 mg. intervals max), and if it’s calcium carbonate,
take it with food. (I certainly wasted a lot
of money on calcium!)
Most of the discussion about calcium
supplements is about the source – mostly calcium carbonate vs. calcium citrate
and then there was the big excitement for a while about coral
calcium. There is nothing that I came across that substantiated
that coral calcium was superior in anyway and certainly not
worth the price. It is a form of calcium carbonate.
Here’s the pros and cons of
the two:
Calcium carbonate contains TWICE
as much elemental calcium (40%) as calcium citrate BUT
calcium carbonate can be harder to digest/absorb. It requires hydrochloric acid from
the stomach. Therefore, it should be taken with meals
and may not be the best source for elderly people who do
not produce enough hydrochloric acid. It is also more
likely to cause constipation and bloating
Calcium citrate is much easier to
absorb as it is water soluble BUT contains just 20% elemental
calcium. You
really need to take a lot of it. Calcium citrate can
be taken with or without food but it may be better taken
without food.
One study quoted in Holistic Primary
Care said that a combination of calcium citrate and calcium
carbonate, taken on an empty stomach with vitamin D provides
the best overall absorption. I
kind of like this idea…
And what about magnesium?
Yes, it is also important for absorption
and the 2:1 ratio I was taking is correct (not as vital
as vitamin D). There
is conflicting opinion about whether the two taken together
compete for absorption in the body. A couple of sources
say that you should take your magnesium at a different time. The
sources I have come to trust over the years do not mention
this, so I’m coming down on the side that taking them
together is fine.
Here are some other tips I found helpful:
- Calcium
does interfere with the absorption of iron, so do take
them separately.
- Take Vitamin
C with calcium as it also helps with absorption.
- Vitamin K is important in calcium regulation (leafy green
vegetables) as well as B6, folic acid, zinc, boron, and
essential fatty acids.
- Antacids are not a good source of calcium because they
neutralize stomach acid that is needed to absorb it.
I’m now going to switch to a combination of Citrate
and Carbonate and see how I fare. I will try and find
one with the magnesium already in there and I think I get
enough vitamin D. I’m good for two times a day
and for the middle of the day, I’m going to sneak one
of those dark chocolate balls with 500mg. of calcium! There
ya go.
Short list:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_261/ai_n13471769
http://paleodiet.com/losspts.txt
http://bariatricadvantage.com/information/scientificdata_nnfaoncalcium.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calcium-supplements/AN00964
http://www.vitacost.com/science/hn/Supp/Calcium_Best.htm
http://www.prairieontheweb.com/pseweb/Optimal%20
Health%20Home/tips_on_taking_calcium.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_3953_absorb-calcium-supplements.html
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium.html
http://www.enzymestuff.com/calcium.htm#9
That's it for this month! As always,
check out our website for lots more information at www.oonahealth.com. In
Good Health,
The Oöna Team
Questions or comments? Write valerie@oonahealth.com
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