Cancer Research Journal » Nutrition

FDA Recalls 2 Herbal Supplements Containing Carcinogens

Lisa — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:31:13 +0000

The US Food and Drug Administration has announced the recall of two herbal supplements because they contain high levels of aristolochic acid, a potent carcinogen and nephrotoxin found in certain plants and botanicals.

Aristolochic acid has been linked with kidney cancer and kidney failure.

Both of the carcinogen-containing products, Tou Tong San (Headache Formula) and Du Huo Ji Scheng Tang (Du Huo Joint Relief), are manufactured by Herbal Science International, Inc.

These dietary supplements are two of twelve items voluntarily recalled by Herbal Science International (also known as Jen-On HerbalScience) because they pose potentially serious health hazards or they contain human placenta, an ingredient banned in the US.

The recalled products were sold on the internet, by acupuncturists, and at herbal stores nationwide. Consumers who purchased the products should immediately discontinue their use and return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Those who’ve experienced an adverse reaction after taking the products should contact their doctor. Adverse events should also be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch program at 1-800-FDA-1088 or online at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm.

If you’d like to learn about the other Herbal Science International supplements being recalled, you can read the company’s press release here. Additional information can be obtained by calling the company at (626)333-9998.

Source: FDA MedWatch

Related Podcast: It’s Easy to Miss the Memo on Product Recalls from NPR

Technorati Tags: dietary supplements; natural medicines; oncology; renal cell carcinoma; kidney disease; genitourinary cancers; arthritis; migraines; urothelial carcinoma

Campaign Calls for Alternative Treatments in Clinical Trials

Lisa — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:06:58 +0000

An alternative health company is asking citizens of the United Kingdom to support legislation which would include herbal supplements and other natural treatments in clinical trials comparing the effectiveness of investigational drugs against a placebo.

Sweet Cures of York, a marketer of herbal products and natural remedies, has launched a campaign to gain public support for required testing of alternative medicines alongside new pharmaceuticals and placebos in clinical research that’s conducted as part of the drug approval process.

Representatives from the company point out that evaluating the effectiveness of natural remedies under the same laboratory conditions as investigational medications and placebos gives a truer indication of drug efficacy.

It could also provide healthcare consumers and professionals better scientific evidence for determining which alternative treatments actually work and which don’t — a conclusion that’s often hard to come by given the conflicting claims and limited peer-reviewed research available for many of today’s popular natural products.

Opponents of the proposed measure have expressed concerns that adding alternative medicines into the research mix would make the approval process for new chemotherapies and other prescription medications longer and more expensive than it already is.

Whichever side you support, discussion about using herbal supplements, food-based remedies, and lifestyle changes to treat cancer and other serious conditions is likely to continue. As one herbal expert put it,

“Until tamoxifen and raloxifene are compared to standardized bean soup and/or to kudzu no one knows for sure – not you, me or the ACS.”

James Duke, PhD
The Herbal Insider

If you’d like to learn more about the use of alternative medicines in the US, you can visit the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine from the National Institutes of Health.

Source: Medical News Today

Related Links: MD Anderson Cancer Center; ScienceDaily

Technorati Tags: allopathic medicine; holistic medicine; health policy; healthcare reform; patient-centered care; clinical oncology; botanicals; pharmacology

FDA Says Sweetener is Still Safe, Italian Scientists Not So Sure

Lisa — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:00:56 +0000

Debate over the safety of aspartame has reignited as a result of a second Italian study linking the artificial sweetener to several cancers in rats.

The controversial research, conducted by the European Ramazzini Foundation in Bologna, Italy, showed an increased instance of leukemia, lymphoma and renal cancers in a population of Sprague Dawley rats who consumed high doses of the common additive over the course of their lives. Unlike rats in a previous study who were killed at the two-year point, these rats were allowed to live until they died naturally.

The findings prompted the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) to call for an urgent review of the product by the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, according to an FDA spokesperson, the agency presently has no plans to conduct a review since the conclusions from the European Ramazzini Foundation study are inconsistent with those drawn from a large number of other completed studies evaluating aspartame’s safety.

Aspartame, commonly marketed as Equal or NutraSweet, is widely used in diet soft drinks and is also sold in packets for use in coffee, tea, or other foods.

Source: CNN

Related Podcasts: MSNBC

Tags: Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center; Merisant; United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization; Morando Soffritti; Michael Jacobson; Michael Herndon; Environmental Health Perspectives; U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Coca-Cola

Garlic Gives Bigger Benefits When You “Chop, Then Stop”

Lisa — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:58:28 +0000

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is serving up a valuable piece of kitchen advice for cooks who are trying to make their meals healthier: Chop, then stop, when using garlic in your recipes.

As their experts explain, garlic’s natural cancer-fighting properties first get activated when you chop or crush it, but those benefits can be lost if you immediately expose it to high temperatures in a cooking pot, oven, or microwave.

To fix the problem, they recommend preparing the garlic at the beginning of your cooking process and then giving it a ten-minute break at room temperature before exposing it to extreme heat. Research indicates that this delay allows an amino acid in the garlic, known as alliin, to restructure itself into various anti-cancer components called allyl sulfur compounds.

Letting the garlic rest on your cutting board a few additional minutes gives the enzymes responsible for the transformation the time they require to complete their work and provides you–and your dinner guests–the maximum health benefits from this popular ingredient.

Source: American Institute for Cancer Research

Low Carb Diets Linked with Higher Risk of Bowel Cancers

Lisa — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 22:44:45 +0000

Researchers from Aberdeen’s Rowett Research Institute discovered a link between consuming carbohydrates and the presence of a cancer-fighting acid called butyrate.

The study showed that a group of men which consumed a low carbohydrate diet of only 24g a day experienced a four-fold drop in the level of a bacteria which is key to butyrate production. Professor Harry Flint, leader of the research, stated “it is possible that such diets could contribute to colorectal cancer” since butyrate has been shown to protect against the disease.

Although the study only included men, Professor Flint said it is likely the results would be the same in women.

Source: BBC News