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A Healthy Relationship?
The 2nd Annual Blackmore’s Institute Symposium 2015, held in Melbourne late last month, was titled “Translating Research into Practice”. The speaker line-up was impressive, as their workbook states, “catering for the clinical needs of a wide spectrum of healthcare professionals, including general practitioners, pharmacists, naturopaths, nutritionists and complementary medicine practitioners”. I was therefore surprised at…
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The National Centre for Research on Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIM) – What is it?
The National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) recently changed its name. It replaced the word ‘Alternative’ with ‘Integrative’, to reflect both the “growth of integrative health care within communities across the US” and its research focus. This is the third time this agency has been re-named. Is this just another attempt to give…
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A Constant Stream of Expensive Drugs
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, November 16, 2015 It would be novel indeed to see a news media report entitled “Life- Saving Vitamins.” That’s a headline about vitamins that would be true for once. Instead, I see folks on TV speaking about those drugs they so desperately “need” while they plead with drug companies to just…
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Hay fever options
An interesting article written by a number of academics promises to give some relief to the 15% of Australians who experience hay fever, or allergic rhinitis. Predictably, they list oral and nasal decongestants, antihistamines, nasal steroid sprays and immunotherapy as the best medical options. I was therefore surprised to note the absence of isotonic saline…
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Crazy, cruel cancer ‘cures’
Some cancer patients, ignoring medical advice, are choosing ‘natural’ approaches to their disease. Steve Jobs (co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc), Penelope Dingle, Sharyn and her daughter, Jess Ainscough, all used alternative interventions before dying of cancer. Despite phenomenal progress with medical treatments, cancer quackery remains a flourishing and lucrative business throughout the developed…
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PSA Media Releases – Pharmacists have a real role in advising on use of complementary medicines
September 10, 2015 Pharmacists have a real role in advising on use of complementary medicines The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, the peak organisation representing pharmacists across all sectors of the profession, has issued a position statement recognising that complementary medicines may have a role in the management or treatment of some conditions and that pharmacists…
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Paracetamol – not so safe?
One of the most common questions I’m often asked relates to the safety of natural medicines with warfarin therapy. Many theoretical issues occur within a test tube environment, but the word “warfarin” sends many pharmacists into a spin. Misunderstanding and misinformation about the interaction between omega-3 fish oils and warfarin has been topical since Adam…
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Vitamin C Infusions – where’s the evidence?
Soon after finding an engorged tick in my hair, during a recent visit to northern New South Wales, I found myself nursing a sore head in the waiting room of a busy ‘Integrative Medicine Clinic’. This was not the first time I had experienced a tick bite, so, as a cancer patient concerned about infection,…
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Vitamins and Surgery: The Real Story A Report from the Front. Well, Maybe a Bit Lower.
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, August 24, 2015 Over 100 million Americans will undergo surgery this year, and I was one of them. Not a big deal: a routine outpatient hernia repair, caused by sure-I-can-lift-that-extremely-heavy-box syndrome, the tendency towards which is almost certainly carried on the Y chromosome. In their personalized how-to-prepare-for-surgery instructions, both the surgeon…
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Menopause and “alternative” therapies
The recurring press chestnuts just keep rolling on and on, just as predictable as the four seasons. It seems that medical efforts to classify menopause as a disease state have failed miserably. Women are now seeking advice on other options from their medical practitioner. However, because of poor training, poor understanding of what role menopause…