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Alternative Health News
Recent Report Highlights Growing Dangers of Anti-Inflammatory Medications
In the Sept. 27, 2011 posting of the Biomedical Central Journal: Family Practice, R.J. Adams and colleagues commented on concerns raised by the common prescribing of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications.
The Magic of Microcurrent
In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, I found this definition of the word magic: an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source.
Speaking in Code
At this point, I am certain everyone is aware of the CPT codes for billing acupuncture. However, there have been some recent cases where it is clear that not everyone is following the clear-cut rules on how to define and use these codes.
Balance Strategies to Improve Health
You already know how complicated the process of human balance is; but are you aware of the simple tools many providers are using to improve their patients' balance?
Herbs: Revitalizing in Spring to Maintain Youthful Vitality
Spring is the time to revitalize and get moving, but also a time to improve our immune systems so that we can avoid wind-caused health conditions that often proliferate during this season.
CCE Recognition Extended for Only One Year
A storm has been brewing over the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) for more than two years. It began in mid-2009 when the CCE released the first draft of its Accreditation Standards.
News in Brief
Protecting Our Nation's Heroes From Back Pain; Texas Chiropractic College Partners With PA University; AECC Student Awarded Scholarship by FICS; Palmer Toys for Tots Drive: Nearly $2,000 in Donations; New Career Path for Foot Levelers' Jamie Greenawalt; ChiroTouch: $25,000 to FCP; New Face at CLA.
From a Different Playbook
Just to be clear, the above is not the beginning of my article. On the contrary, it is the beginning of "Seven Ways to Boost Your Income with Medical Activities," an article written for medical doctors that was posted in early December 2011 on Medscape.com.
Public Health & Gerontology Groups Support CAM
Two large professional groups recently held annual meetings that featured a number of presentations about acupuncture and CAM topics.
Professionalism, Education and Turf Wars
Most professions have discourse about the "professional." Professions define themselves in part by excluding others. I would like to briefly explore professionalism in Chinese medicine.
The Problem With Statistics
I'm not sure when I began to mistrust statistics; I think it was in college in the late "'60s."
Using the Channel Systems of Acupuncture to Unravel the Mysteries of Disease Progression
Wind is a philosophical representation of change in the Chinese classics. It is also acknowledged as the root of all physiological disturbance. It is stated in chapter 3 of the Su Wen that wind is "the cause of hundreds of diseases."
OIG Reveals Audit Targets for 2012
Each year, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) releases its annual Work Plan for the fiscal year, which details new and ongoing reviews that will be conducted in federal programs such as Medicare.
The Integrated Components of Stability
Use of the term stability is widespread across the physical and rehabilitative medicine disciplines. Stability is generally referenced as a positive outcome we are looking to achieve in order to help alleviate our patient's presenting complaint.
The Big C: What Are You Doing About It?
It is the rare to meet a person these days that doesn't have a concern about cancer. Between the constant headlines, to pink ribbons on everything from planes to phones, to hearing that Aunt Stacy was just diagnosed, it is impossible to not be aware of cancer's presence.
Understanding the Changes of ICD10
Recently, I have been receiving inquiries about the new codes for ICD10. When do they begin and how much of a change will they be?
How Chinese Medicine Can Save Western Medicine
Our country is struggling to reduce the cost of healthcare while simultaneously improving its quality and accessibility. I see a partial solution: use Chinese medicine in Western healthcare settings.
Chiropractors Storm the Capital
On Oct. 29, 2011, a rare early winter snowstorm struck the East Coast of the U.S., blanketing the nation's capital in white. In Washington, D.C., it was the heaviest October snowstorm in history.
Dr. Shi Xue-Min and the Xing Nao Kai Qiao Legacy
To the acupuncture community, Dr. Shi Xue-Min is known as a distinguished acupuncturist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a supervisor of doctoral candidates in China.
A Fresh Look at the Meric System and Modern Neuroscience
The use of manipulation in the management of biomechanical disorders of the spine may now be regarded as a mainstream approach across health care.
The One-Sport Syndrome
I recall that as a kid, I participated in sports based on the season. In spring and summer, it was baseball and basketball; in fall, it was football; and in winter, it was ice hockey.
Do Dietary Supplements Really Increase Mortality?
In an article scheduled to appear in the Feb. 26 issue of DC, I provide the raw data on cardiovascular protection with statin use in the JUPITER trial.
AAAOM Postpones Annual Membership Conference, Leadership Meeting To Be Held
The decision by AAAOM to postpone its annual membership conference for one year was a difficult one.
Helping Pregnant Patients With Their Pain: Using the Fascial System as our Guide
Pregnant women are frequently at a loss for answers with respect to pain associated with their growing abdomen.
The Heart /Kidney Connection
Are you treating health conditions related to or affected by love? This past November I taught at the Pacific Symposium, a large educational conference put on for our industry by the Pacific College in San Diego, Calif.
We Get Letters & E-Mail
Foundation Ad Rejected by Medical Journals: No Surprise; Why Am I Still Struggling? Let's Use Wikipedia to Our Advantage.
Managing Sesamoid Injuries
The word sesamoid is Latin for "sesame seed." These small bones are located inside specific tendons, where they improve mechanical efficiency by pulling the tendon farther away from the joint's axis of motion.
Some Inflammatory Remarks About Manipulation
There is an anonymous quote which reads, "An archer cannot hit the bullseye if he doesn't know where the target is." In the case of some of chiropractic's detractors, that seems to have been the case when it comes to vertebral arteries.


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Massage Today
September, 2002, Vol. 02, Issue 09

Bye-Bye Hormone Replacement Therapy, Hello Alternative Medicine

By James P. Meschino, DC, MS

On July 9, 2002, researchers announced they were stopping the American Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial of 16,000 women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The reason was that after a little over five years of the study, there was a 26 percent increased risk of breast cancer in women taking HRT, compared with those receiving the placebo.

Women taking HRT also showed a 41 percent increased risk of stroke, and a 29 percent increased risk of myocardial infarction.

Prior to this, the Nurses' Health Study indicated that for each year a woman remained on HRT her risk of breast cancer increases by 2.3 percent. Thus, after 10 years she had a 23 percent increased risk of breast cancer, and after 20 years, a 46 percent increased risk of breast cancer compared to postmenopausal women who did not use HRT.

Adding to the alarming results of the WHI trial is the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (July 17, 2000 issue). This follow-up study of 44,241 former participants in the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project showed that women taking estrogen replacement therapy (with no progesterone, known as unopposed estrogen) had an increased risk of ovarian cancer. For women who had used estrogen replacement for 10 to 19 years the relative risk was 1.8, which increased to 3.2 for women who used estrogen replacement therapy for 20 or more years.

These latest findings are changing the way the medical profession views the use of HRT and estrogen replacement (ERT). Doctors are now encouraged to use HRT only in cases where there is an absolute need, and ERT, which was commonly prescribed for women who had undergone hysterectomy, is no longer the treatment of choice. As the results of these findings begin to emerge in the popular media, patients themselves are voluntarily terminating their use of HRT and ERT in large numbers, and this movement is anticipated to continue at a predictable pace.

The question on the minds of consumers and practitioners is if there are natural alternatives to the use of HRT and ERT that are safe and effective in the management of menopausal symptoms. There are three clinically proven natural supplements that all practitioners should be aware of: black cohosh extract, gamma-oryzanol, and soy isoflavones.

In head-to-head studies against HRT, diazepam, and placebo, black cohosh extract (containing 2.5 percent triterpene glycoside content), has been shown to reduce hot flashes, insomnia, nervousness, anxiety, and a host of other emotional and physical menopausal symptoms. The triterpene constituents have been shown to act like the body's weakest estrogen (estriol), and serves as a precursor from which the female body can synthesize progesterone. Black cohosh extract has been widely researched and is a medically approved intervention in many European countries as a treatment for menopausal symptoms. In Germany, it has been in use for over 40 years, with no evidence of serious side effects, contraindications, or harmful interactions with other drugs.

Gamma-oryzanol is a substance derived from rice bran oil, which is a prescription drug in Japan and is used to reduce hot flashes associated with menopause, and to reduce high cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood stream. As heart disease is the number one killer of postmenopausal women, it is convenient that gamma-oryzanol can reduce bothersome symptoms of menopause, and help to lower risk of heart disease by reducing cholesterol and triglycerides by 12-15 percent. Recall that when people with high cholesterol lower their blood cholesterol level by one percent, there is a corresponding reduction in risk of heart disease of two to three percent. Thus, a 12 percent reduction in blood cholesterol translates into at least a 24 percent reduction in risk of heart attack and related cardiovascular events. The dosage of gamma-oryzanol required to contain menopausal symptoms and lower blood lipids is 150 mg, twice daily. Soy isoflavones have also been shown to reduce hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms, and lower cholesterol by 9-12 percent in hypercholesterolemic patients.

Soy isoflavones are also associated with a reduction in risk of breast cancer and have recently been shown, along with black cohosh triterpenes, to help support bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.

These are all attractive features for the postmenopausal woman, who is prone to heart disease, breast cancer, and osteoporosis. For this reason I recommend to postmenopausal female patients (who have no prior history of breast cancer) that they use a combination supplement product that contains all three herbal and accessory nutrients reviewed in this update, in one capsule, at the following doses:

  1. Black cohosh extract: 80 mg, twice daily (standardized to 2.5 percent triterpene glycosides);
  2. Gamma-oryzanol: 150 mg, twice per day; and
  3. Soy extract; 250 mg, twice per day (standardized to 10 percent isoflavones content).

The dangers of HRT and ERT will likely prompt a flurry of questions about the use of safe, and natural alternatives to these drugs. Health care practitioners will be called upon to help postmenopausal patients make informed decisions about the management of menopause, anti-aging and disease prevention strategies, based upon the existing scientific evidence. It is vital that patients be made aware of the evidence-based research in this area, which should help to avoid their reliance upon less effective or ineffective dietary supplements in the management of their menopausal years.

Black Cohosh References

  • Stolze H. An alternative to treat menopausal complaints. Gyne 1982; 3:1416.
  • Warnecke G: Influencing menopausal symptoms with a phytotherapeutic agent. Med Welt 1985;36:871-4.
  • Stoll W. Phytopharmacon influences atrophic vaginal epithelium. Double-blind study: Cimicifuga vs. estrogenic substances. Therapeuticum 1987;1:23-31.
  • Schildge E. Essay on the treatment of premenstrual and menopausal mood swings and depressive states. Rigelh Biol Umsch 1964;18(2):18-22.
  • Bruker A. Essay on the phytotherapy of hormonal disorders in women. Med Welt 1960;44:2331-3.
  • Murray M. Remifemin:Answers to some common questions. AM J Natural Med April 1997;4(3).
  • Gorlich N. Treatment of ovarian disorders in general practice. Arztl Prax 1962;14:1742-3.
  • Gamma-Oryzanol References
  • Murase Y, et al. Clinical studies of oral administration of gamma-oryzanol on climacteric complaints and its syndrome. Obstet Gynecol Prac 1963;(12):147-149.
  • Ishihara M. Effect of gamma-oryzanol on serum lipid peroxide levels and climacteric disturbances. Asia Oceania J Obstet Gynecol 1984;(10):317.
  • Yoshino G, et al. Effects of gamma-oryzanol on hyperlipidemic subjects. Curr Ther Res 1989;(45):543-552.
  • Yoshino G, et al. Effects of gamma-oryzanol and probucol on hyperlipidemia. Curr Ther Res 1989;(45):975-982.

Soy References

  • Murkies AL, et al. Dietary flour supplementation decreases postmenopausal hot flashes: effect of soy and wheat. Maturitas 1995;(21):189-195.
  • Albertzazzi P, et al. The effect of dietary soy supplementation on hot flashes. Obstet Gynecol 1998;(91):6-11.
  • Cassidy A, et al. Biological effects of a diet of soy protein rich in isoflavones on the menstrual cycle of pre-menopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr 1994;(60):333-340.
  • Valente M, et al. Effects of 1-year treatment with ipriflavone on bone in postmenopausal women with low bone mass. Calcif Tissue Int 1994; 54:377-80.
  • Tsuda M, et al. The effect of ipriflavone on bone resorption in tissue culture. J Bone Miner Res 1986;1:207-11.
  • Patter SM, et al. Soy protein and isoflavones: their effects on blood lipids and bone density in postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr 1998:68 (suppl) 137-9.
  • Dalais FS, et al. Dietary soy supplementation increases vaginal cytology maturation index and bone mineral content in post menopausal women Am J Clin Nutr 1998;68 (suppl) 1519 (abstr).
  • Anderson JW, et al. Meta-analysis of the effects of soy protein intake on serum lipids. N Engl J Med 1995;333:276-82.
  • Messina M. Legumes and Soybeans: overview of their nutritional profiles and health effects. Am J Clin Nutr 1999 vol 70 (suppl);439-50.

Estrogen Replacement Therapy and Breast Cancer References

  • Colditz GA. Relationship between estrogen levels, use of hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer. J Nat'l Cancer Inst 1998;90;11:814-823.
  • Health after 50. John Hopkins Medical Newsletter 6-7 Nov. 1999;11(9).
  • Simone B. Cancer and Nutrition. Avery Publishing Group, Inc., 1992:219-23. Use of combination hormone replacement therapy in light of recent data from the Women's Health Initiative. Medscape Women's Health eJournal Posted 07-12-2002.
  • Barclay L. Estrogen therapy, but NOT estrogen-progestin, linked to ovarian cancer. JAMA 2002;288:334-341:368-36.
Click here for previous articles by James P. Meschino, DC, MS.

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