Nutritional Treatments for Insomnia

Diet and nutritional status affect sleep health in many ways, and a host of nutraceutical and botanical supplements can be helpful alternatives to pharmaceutical sleep aids. In this excerpt from his Nutritional Medicine textook, Dr. Alan Gaby looks at a range of options including B vitamins, L-tryptophan, magnesium and others. [ ...Read More]

A New Approach to Promoting Healthy Sleep

Sleep disorders are more varied and complex than simply the inability to fall asleep. They require more than a quickly jotted prescription for sedatives, which can often worsen the problem. To effectively resolve sleep problems, requires an understanding of sleep architecture & the role of deep sleep in regulating metabolism. Glysom, a new amino-acid based product, can help restore healthy sleep cycling. [ ...Read More]

Vitamin D Supplementation Cuts All-Cause Mortality in Elderly Women

A Cochrane Collaboration systematic review of 32 clinical trials involving nearly 75,000 elderly women, concludes that daily supplementation with vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), significantly decrease all-cause mortality.

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Natural Dopaminergic Activator Improves Outcomes of Addiction Recovery

In the past decade,  researchers on neuroanatomy and neurotransmitters have found links between genes, the brain, and addiction behavior. What we now know about the dopamine reward circuits in the brain is helping addiction specialists to create effective holistic approaches to addiction recovery.

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To Prevent Fractures, Consider Bone Flexibility Not Just Mineral Density

Bone mineral density is just one part of the physiological equation that adds up to bone health. Bone flexibility, a reflection of the collagen content in a person’s bone, is equally important but usually overlooked. Vitamin K can help.

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Vitamin D3 Gives Mixed Results for Preventing Flu in Schoolchildren

At

a dose of 1,200 IU per day, vitamin D3 reduced the incidence of Influenza A among a cohort of Japanese schoolchildren, but was associated with an increase in incidence of Influenza B, giving no overall advantage in preventing flu-associated illness.

 

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Vitamin D May Prevent Tamoxifen- Associated Joint Problems

Severe joint pain is a common side-effect of tamoxifen therapy for breast cancer, and it is associated with vitamin D deficiency. Supplementation aimed at pushing serum vitamin D levels over 40 ng/ml can prevent or attenuate the pain.

 

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Calorie Restriction Mimetics: New Tools for Reducing Chronic Disease, Promoting Longevity

 

Calorie restriction—by as much as 50%-70% of normal intake—is the only intervention consistently proven to extend lifespan. But that’s not a realistic treatment option for most people. Fortunately, natural substances including resveratrol, carnosine,  and carnitine can mimic the beneficial effects of calorie restriction.

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Consensus Builds on High-Dose Vitamin D for Breast Cancer Prevention--Despite IOM Report

 

Despite the Institute of Medicine's recent report, many nutrition-minded oncologists believe high-dose vitamin D supplementation—upwards of 4,000 IU/day—has potential to markedly reduce risk of primary breast cancer as well as breast cancer recurrence, with minimal risk of toxicity.

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Who’s in Bed with the IOM? Vitamin D Report Prompts Conflict of Interest Suspicion

The Institute of Medicine’s Nov. 30 consensus statement claiming most Americans do not need supplemental vitamin D—a position that runs counter to the views of many clinicians and researchers⎯has some folks wondering if committee members had preexisting biases or vested interests against supplementation.

It turns out that at least two members of the committee hold patents on synthetic vitamin D analogs in development or already on the market as prescription drugs, and significant relationships with companies involved in vitamin D drug development.

 

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