In This Issue:

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com
Featured Q&A
Featured Home Remedy
Medication Works As Well As Angioplasty For Chest Pain
Drug-Coated Stents Raise Risks Of Clots
Hawthore Extract Helps Heart Failure Patients
Dietary Flavonoids Ward Off Cardiovascular Problems
Cocoa Compounds Relax Blood Vessels
Duct Tape No Help For Warts In Grown-Ups

---

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

---

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com:

We host huge numbers of bacteria in our bodies—so many, in fact, that there are more bacterial cells than human cells in each of us. What are those bacteria doing there, and what happens when our personal ecological systems get disrupted?
Read a short excerpt of the program or order it on CD by clicking the link below:

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/radio_shows/627_probiotics_for_health.asp

Our newspaper columns this week discuss the food fight between Adkins and Ornish, beeswax for dry, sore hands and the effect of caffeine on iron absorption:

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

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

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/coffee_tea_cocoa_interfere_with_iron_absorption.asp

---

Featured Q & A

Q. My daughter had a migraine at least once a month from the age of twelve. Then I heard the TV and radio doctor, Dr. Dean Edell, talk about the herb feverfew for preventing migraines. He said it was worth trying and rarely has side effects.

My daughter started on feverfew right away and hasn't had a migraine since then. It has been over three years! I've told so many people about feverfew and they all say they are grateful for the relief.

A. Feverfew, like chamomile, is a member of the daisy family. Centuries ago, British herbalists used it to treat severe headaches, but it went out of style.

Studies in the early 1970s suggested that this herb might be helpful in preventing migraine attacks. More recent research has produced mixed results, but at least one double blind trial has shown that dried feverfew leaf reduces migraine pain.

Concern has been raised that some feverfew preparations may contain very little active ingredient. Without standards, people have no good way of telling which product is reliable.

---

Featured Home Remedy

I read about Archway Coconut Macaroons helping relieve diarrhea associated with Crohn's disease. I don't have that problem, but I've had diarrhea for more than two years. Even the Mayo Clinic can't explain why.

I tried all sorts of things with no relief. I really didn't believe cookies could help, but my family nagged me until I finally tried them.

They are nothing short of a miracle. At last I don't have diarrhea any more. I have to eat more than two, though. I rely on four to six cookies a day, seven days a week. My gastro doctors are amazed. I could have saved several thousands of dollars and avoided much weight loss had I known about this sooner. When I can't find the cookies I buy bulk shredded coconut and eat four or five tablespoons a day.

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

---

Health Headlines:

Medication Works As Well As Angioplasty For Chest Pain
The widespread use of angioplasty and cardiac stents has been called into question. Over half a million people undergo this procedure each year, but a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that traditional drug therapy could be just as effective. Medications are less expensive and not as risky as surgery.

More than two thousand heart patients were followed for five years. At the end of that time there were no significant differences between the group that received angioplasty and stents compared to those who took standard heart medicines alone. Many interventional cardiologists believed that stents would reduce the likelihood of heart attacks, strokes and premature death. This research shows, however, that they do not prolong life any better than drug therapy. Of course if someone is experiencing a heart attack, angioplasty can open up a closed coronary artery and reduce the likelihood of damage to the heart muscle.

[N. Engl. J. Med. March 29, 2007]
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/NEJMoa070829

Drug-Coated Stents Raise Risks Of Clots
Previous research suggested that high-tech drug-coated stents are no more effective at preventing heart attacks than the old-fashioned bare metal stents. Now a study from Denmark has shown similar results. More than 12,000 patients were randomly assigned to have either plain or drug-coated stents placed in their arteries. Patients given the drug-coated stents were less likely to need a second procedure, but the same number of patients in each group died. Those who had received the drug-coated stents were more likely to have blood clots in the stents and heart attacks as a consequence after a year. The study ran 15 months, so no one knows if the problem will continue or even become worse over the next several months or years. The investigators concluded that the benefits of the drug-coated stents still outweigh the risks.
[American College of Cardiology Annual Meeting, March 26, 2007]

Hawthore Extract Helps Heart Failure Patients
Congestive heart failure is often difficult to treat effectively. A study of more than 2,600 people found that a standardized herbal extract could prolong the lives of people with congestive heart failure. People taking the extract were 20 percent less likely to die from cardiac causes over the course of 18 months. The extract comes from the hawthorn tree, which has traditionally been used for heart problems in Europe. The German maker of the extract suggests that this study shows the product is safe and effective, but it will likely be some time before American physicians adopt its use.
[American College of Cardiology Annual Meeting, March 27, 2007]

Dietary Flavonoids Ward Off Cardiovascular Problems
People who want to prevent heart disease should consider a varied and colorful diet. Food frequency questionnaires from nearly 35,000 women in the Iowa Women's Health Study showed how often the women ate foods rich in flavonoids. Those who consumed the most were least likely to develop cardiovascular disease. The healthy diet is also tasty, with foods such as apples, pears, strawberries, grapefruit, chocolate and red wine.
[American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, March, 2007]
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/3/895

Cocoa Compounds Relax Blood Vessels
Chocolate has been getting attention lately for its ability to relax blood vessels. Although there are skeptics, the evidence just keeps on growing. A small study compared cocoa to a placebo beverage and measured the amount of blood vessel dilation. Blood vessel dilation was worse after people drank the placebo beverage. It was modestly improved after people drank cocoa. The beverage with sugar did not work as well as the artificially-sweetened cocoa, so the investigators caution that people should not start eating more chocolate. Nonetheless, it does indicate that cocoa flavonoids seem to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system.
[American College of Cardiology Annual Meeting, March 26, 2007]

Duct Tape No Help For Warts In Grown-Ups
One controversial home remedy for warts has just been put to the test in a double-blind trial. Children are more likely to get warts, but their warts also go away more readily. At least one study showed that duct tape applied to children's warts was as effective as removal by freezing and far less traumatic for the kids. Now a study in 90 adults shows that duct tape is no better than moleskin at getting rid of warts in adults. The investigators compared plain moleskin, adhesive pads used to prevent blisters, with duct tape. The treatments were used for two months. Roughly one fifth of the warts in each group disappeared during that time. Many returned after six months. The dermatologists concluded that duct tape doesn't work.
[Archives of Dermatology, March, 2007]
http://archderm.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/143/3/309

And that's the health news from the People's Pharmacy® this week. Thank you for reading! --Joe and Terry Graedon