In This Issue:

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com
Featured Q&A
Featured Home Remedy
Office Desks Are Germ Magnets
Seafood And Pregnancy
Exercise To Boost Immunity
Olive Oil Good For Gastritis
Coffee For The Heart?

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Best Choices from The People's Pharmacy

We are pleased to announce our new book, Best Choices from The People's Pharmacy. Best Choices From the People's Pharmacy is a how-to for consumers trying to work out which treatments, including diet, home remedies, dietary supplements and drugs, are best for what ails them. Click the link below to purchase a copy at a discount of $21.95 plus $5 shipping and handling!

Note: We are shipping single book orders Media Mail with an expected transit time of 3-9 days from shipment, and orders for two or more books by FedEx Ground. Shipping and handling is $5 per book. We also include a FREE copy of Chocolate without Guilt, regularly $14.95, autographed by Terry, with orders for three of more copies of Best Choices shipped to the same address.

http://secure.peoplespharmacy.com/PPcart.asp?pg=products&specific=joppfog0

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This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com:

In our Health News Update radio program, we'll learn about a possible higher risk of certain cancers for heavy milk drinkers, research on the heart benefits of aspirin for women, potential problems in the bedroom for men who spend a lot of time cycling, and the relative benefits of drinking coffee, tea, and wine.
Read a short excerpt of the program or order it on CD by clicking the link below:

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/radio_shows/623_health_news_update.asp

Our newspaper columns this week address how to sterilize kitchen sponges, Ambien side effects, symptoms of hyperthyroidism, recurrent sinus infections, and skepticism about the bar of soap treatment for leg pain:

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/editorial/no_science_behind_soap_remedy.asp

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/sleep_driving_is_scary_side_effect_of_ambien.asp

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/microwave_sponges_to_kill_germs.asp

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Featured Q&A

Q. My hands are so dry and rough my wife doesn't like for me to touch her when we make love. Because I am a dentist, I wash my hands dozens of times a day with antibacterial soap. I've tried a variety of moisturizers, but I have yet to find one I like.

I remember reading in your column about dairy farmers using the creams made for chapped udders. Are these worth trying? If so, where can I find them?

A. People in many different professions must wash their hands frequently and suffer red, dry, cracked skin as a consequence. Some praise the prescription moisturizer Lac-Hydrin, which contains alpha-hydroxy acid (12 percent). It will sting, however, if you rub it into open cracks.

Farmers' wives have recommended a different option. They like the udder creams you mentioned to keep their own hands in good shape. Time-honored Bag Balm contains a disinfectant along with lanolin and petrolatum. The other, Udder Cream, also contains lanolin as well as allantoin to help speed healing.

Both are available in agricultural supply or feed stores, or you may order directly from the manufacturers. There is a link to Udder Cream from our Web site: http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/home_remedies/uddercream_for_dry_skin.asp.

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Featured Home Remedy

A reader asked for an inexpensive solution to fingernail fungus. I, too, had a problem with nail fungus only it involved my toenails. I asked my doctor for a cure, and he just said they would fall off. I realized that professional nail technicians in beauty shops deal with this problem all the time. So, I asked my beauty operator to recommend something.

She told me to go to a beauty supply store and buy Beauty Secrets 100% pure Australian Tea Tree Oil. It came in a small bottle with a brush like a fingernail polish bottle. It cost $6.00.

You paint the affected nail once or twice a day and it kills the fungus. I continued to use it for about 6 months because toenails take so long to grow in. And, I have only used about 1/2 the bottle. The fungus is definitely gone!

You can read more home remedies on our website:
http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/home_remedies/index.asp

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Health Headlines:

Office Desks Are Germ Magnets
The average office desk is an incubator for bacteria. According to University of Arizona professor, Dr. Chuck Gerba, your desk probably has 400 times more bacteria than the office toilet seat. Dr. Gerba tested 100 offices around the country. He found that while women's desks tend to look cleaner than men's they actually harbor more germs. That's because women tended to have more food around their desks and food tends to encourage the growth of microorganisms. They also use more hand cream and cosmetics which help transfer germs. On the other hand, men's wallets and personal digital assistants were hot spots for bacteria. Dr. Gerba suggests occasional office disinfection would be a good idea, especially phones, computer keyboards and desktops. He also encourages men and women to sanitize their wallets and pocket books since they are often highly contaminated with germs.

Seafood And Pregnancy
Women have been warned not to eat a lot of seafood during pregnancy as it may cause too much mercury to accumulate in the developing fetus. Scientists worried that this could lead to developmental problems during childhood. Now researches from the National Institutes of Health, The Universitiy of Illinois at Chicago and The University of Bristol in England have reported that this wisdom may be incorrect and even counterproductive. These investigators analyzed data from nearly 9,000 British mothers and their children. The kids were tracked for roughly eight years. Surprisingly, women who followed the guidelines and ate less than 12 ounces of fish a week did not protect their children from neurological or developmental problems. To the contrary, these children did not do as well on verbal IQ, motor control and social development when compared to children whose mother's ate more than two or three fish meals a week during their pregnancies. In light of the new data perhaps the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency will need to revise their recommendations.
[The Lancet, Feb. 17, 2007] (free registration required)
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673607602773/abstract

Exercise To Boost Immunity
Lifting weights before getting a flu shot may boost immunity. Researchers divided 60 people into two groups. 40 men and women lifted weights for about half and hour before getting a flu shot. The others rested quietly before vaccination. The exercisers had an improved immune response to the shot. The effect lasted for several months after the immunization. Although the scientists don't know how exercise affects the immune system, they suspect that it may increase blood flow to the muscles, boost immune cell reactivity and lead to an overall enhancement of the immune response to vaccination.
[Brain, Behavior and Immunity, Feb. 2007]

Olive Oil Good For Gastritis
Doctors have warned people with heartburn or gastritis to cut back on fatty foods. But doctors may want to rethink this advice and encourage such patients to eat more olive oil. A new study from Spain suggests that antioxidants in olive oil have antibacterial activity against Helicobacter pylori. This bacterium is responsible for many cases of gastritis and stomach ulcers each year. The investigators discovered that compounds in olive oil were capable of fighting several strains of H. Pylori, including a few that have developed resistance to standard antibiotics. If this preliminary research is confirmed in clinical trials, people who are prone to gastritis or peptic ulcers may want to include more olive oil in their diets. It may turn out to be good for the belly as well as the heart.
[Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Feb. 7, 2007]
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/2007/55/i03/abs/jf0630217.html

Coffee For The Heart?
Speaking of heart health, coffee may turn out to have an unexpected benefit. For years people have been warned that coffee drinking could increase blood pressure and cholesterol. But a new study from Sweden suggests that even if this were true, it might not have a negative impact on the heart. Researchers studied over 30,000 women between the ages of 40 and 74. They were tracked for roughly 5 years. Women who drank more than 5 cups of coffee a day actually seemed less likely to experience a heart attack when compared to women who drank 0 to 4 cups of coffee a day. Although the trend was not statistically significant, the researchers reported a 32 percent reduction in heart attack risk among the regular coffee drinkers. Perhaps the antioxidants in coffee provide some cardiovascular protection. Another possibility is that coffee improves insulin utilization and reduces the risk of type-2 diabetes. Regardless of the mechanism, it would seem that a few cups of coffee may be an innocent pleasure that provides some heart health as a bonus.
[American Journal of Epidemiology, February 2007]

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