Nutrition Org. Myth Busts Women's Alternative Medicine
source: http://womensenews.org/story/medicine/120324/tai-chi-and-yoga-pass-mainstream-health-test
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- Womens_eNews
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The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has authoritative research on which non-mainstream therapies work and which don't.
Forty percent of Americans--a majority of them women--spend 10 percent of their out-of-pocket health care dollars on complementary and alternative therapies.
Given the money and hopes pinned on these therapies, their proven benefits were discussed earlier this month as one of the topics at the Women's Health 2012 conference in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Josephine P. Briggs, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, based in Gaithersburg, Md., reported on findings from the agency's large-scale double-blind trials for alternative therapies. The center is the federal government's lead agency for scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine.
Evening Primrose oil, it turns out, has not been any better than a placebo in these trials at relieving menopausal symptoms or PMS. On the benefits of gingko biloba, an extract from the leaves of the ginkgo tree, Briggs was likewise discouraging.
Other findings from her agency's research:
Echinacea is not effective in treating or preventing colds.
Black cohosh and red clover are not effective for menopausal hot flashes.
Saw palmetto doesn't help with prostate problems.
Shark cartilage is not effective against cancer.
Cranberry juice doesn't prevent recurrent urinary tract infection.
http://womensenews.org/story/medicine/120324/tai-chi-and-yoga-pass-mainstream-he...
Forty percent of Americans--a majority of them women--spend 10 percent of their out-of-pocket health care dollars on complementary and alternative therapies.
Given the money and hopes pinned on these therapies, their proven benefits were discussed earlier this month as one of the topics at the Women's Health 2012 conference in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Josephine P. Briggs, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, based in Gaithersburg, Md., reported on findings from the agency's large-scale double-blind trials for alternative therapies. The center is the federal government's lead agency for scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine.
Evening Primrose oil, it turns out, has not been any better than a placebo in these trials at relieving menopausal symptoms or PMS. On the benefits of gingko biloba, an extract from the leaves of the ginkgo tree, Briggs was likewise discouraging.
Other findings from her agency's research:
Echinacea is not effective in treating or preventing colds.
Black cohosh and red clover are not effective for menopausal hot flashes.
Saw palmetto doesn't help with prostate problems.
Shark cartilage is not effective against cancer.
Cranberry juice doesn't prevent recurrent urinary tract infection.
http://womensenews.org/story/medicine/120324/tai-chi-and-yoga-pass-mainstream-he...
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- groups:
- Women
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- tags:
- Health, Medicine, Alternative, echinacea
