In This Issue:

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com
Featured Q&A
Featured Home Remedy
Combination Exercise Improves Blood Sugar Control
Acupuncture Beats Conventional Therapy for Back Pain
Fish Oil for Tots May Ward Off Diabetes
Differences Appear Between Diabetes Drugs
Which Drugs Work Best for Type 2 Diabetes
Diet Debate: Low Fat or Low Carb?
Pomegranate Slows Prostate Tumor Growth

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Best Choices from The People's Pharmacy

We are pleased to announce a new edition of our book, Best Choices from The People's Pharmacy. Best Choices is filled with natural healing approaches for dozens of common conditions including:

• arthritis
• high blood pressure
• constipation
• insomnia
• diabetes
• leg cramps
• headaches
• menopause
• heartburn
• nail fungus
• high cholesterol
• osteoporosis

We also rate prescription drugs so you can get the best buys for your money. Best Choices is packed with remedies that will surprise you, statistics that will shock you, ratings to help assess your treatment options and drug information that could save your life. Purchases from the web site receive over a 25% discount off the list price of $31.95.

This special edition (524 pages) is not available in any bookstore. It contains an expansion of our People's Pharmacy Favorite Picks (home remedies) and a new chapter on Desert Island Drugs and Dietary Supplements. Some of the country's leading experts have contributed their insights on the best treatments for what ails you. This edition is not in stores or on other Internet sites. It is only available from Rodale Books and directly from The People's Pharmacy. We ship book orders Media Mail (5-10 day delivery expected).

http://ppcart.fountainshosting.com/p-249-best-choices-from-the-peoples-pharmacy.aspx

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This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com:

This Week's Radio Show: 650 Heart Health Update
Heart disease is still our number one killer, but how can you keep your heart healthy? Some cardiologists would like to put statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs in municipal water supplies, but there are patients who don't tolerate them well. What are...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/radio_shows/650_heart_health_update.php

Fighting Fear of Flying
Q. I experience overwhelming anxiety and have problems flying and riding in elevators. This problem has gotten worse lately. My doctor prescribes an anti-anxiety drug when I occasionally fly. Is there an alternative to taking prescription drugs to get relief...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/fighting_fear_of_flying.php

Cayenne Pepper Powder To Stop Bleeding Fast
Q. A freak razor blade accident sliced the edges of my nose. The bleeding wouldn't stop. Before going to the emergency room I checked "Stop Bleeding" on the computer. I read that one can make a paste of cayenne pepper--enough...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/cayenne_pepper_powder_to_stop_bleeding_fast.php

Gin-Soaked Raisins Not Right Remedy For Alcoholic
Q. I am a recovering alcoholic and do not want to do anything to jeopardize my sobriety (since 2001). Is there any way you can find out the alcoholic content of the raisins after they're soaked for a week? I...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/ginsoaked_raisins_not_right_remedy_for_alcoholic.php

Patients Pay For Doctors' Lunches
Q. I sat in the waiting room at a local doctors' office for hours while a relative was having tests. An amazing number of pharmaceutical reps waltzed in all day pushing dollies of samples. They waved to the front desk...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/patients_pay_for_doctors_lunches.php

Earn The Right To Eat What You Like
Everyone knows you are supposed to eat right to stay healthy. That usually translates into lots of vegetables, fiber, low-fat dairy products and fish instead of red meat. Reducing sodium by avoiding table salt and processed foods is considered the...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/editorial/earn_the_right_to_eat_what_you_like.php

Treating Giardia
Q. A friend of mine traveled in Costa Rica and now doctors think she has something called "jardia." What can be done to cure it? A. Giardia lamblia is a single-celled intestinal parasite that is a common hazard for travelers....
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/treating_giardia.php

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Featured Q & A

Mixing Ginkgo and Ibuprofen is a Dangerous Combo
Q. I found out the hard way that taking ginkgo while on ibuprofen may cause internal bleeding.

I have degenerative disc disease for which I take ibuprofen, the only medicine that helps control my pain. My daughter encouraged me to try ginkgo a few years ago to improve my mental acuity.

A routine occult blood test showed internal bleeding. Though I was convinced the problem was caused by the ginkgo, my doctor insisted on eliminating all other possibilities. I underwent many procedures, including colonoscopy, but all results were negative. The bleeding stopped as soon as I discontinued the ginkgo.

People should be warned about the dangers of taking ginkgo and ibuprofen together.

A. Ginkgo interferes with platelet aggregation, which is necessary for normal blood clotting. To reduce the risk of hemorrhage, ginkgo should not be taken with anticoagulants like Coumadin (warfarin) or with anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin or ibuprofen. Interaction warnings could be stronger on OTC drugs as well as on herbs.

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Featured Home Remedy

White Vinegar for Lice
Last year it seemed every kid in the state contracted lice, and I caught them from my granddaughter. She and I tried every possible shampoo, rinse and remedy and combed our hair with special combs, all to no avail. It was awful!

What finally worked was white vinegar. Wet the hair and towel it partly dry. Pour the white vinegar all over the hair and let it set there awhile. That's all we had to do to end the nightmare.

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

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Health Headlines:

Combination Exercise Improves Blood Sugar Control
Experts have been debating what kind of exercise is best for type-2 diabetics...aerobics or strength training? New research demonstrates that both are effective for improving blood sugar control. When they are combined, however, results are even more impressive. The authors conclude that aerobic training and resistance training each improved glycemic control and that a combination of the two forms of exercise is superior to either exercise alone.
[Annals of Internal Medicine, Sept. 18, 2007]
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/147/6/357

Acupuncture Beats Conventional Therapy for Back Pain
Acupuncture may be more effective than conventional treatments for lower back pain. German scientists randomly assigned over 1000 patients suffering from chronic back pain to either true acupuncture, sham acupuncture or standard therapy. The sham acupuncture involved placing needles superficially into skin in places that did not correspond to acupuncture meridians. Conventional treatment was defined as medication, exercise and physical therapy. After six months, 47 percent of the patients getting acupuncture had improved compared to 44 percent of those getting sham acupuncture. Only 27 percent of the people receiving conventional therapy achieved a satisfactory improvement. The authors conclude that acupuncture was almost twice as effective as conventional therapy and offers a promising treatment option for chronic low back pain with few side effects.
[Archives of Internal Medicine, Sept. 24, 2007]
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/167/17/1892

Fish Oil for Tots May Ward Off Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a mysterious disease in which the body attacks its own insulin-producing cells. Investigators suspect that there is a genetic predisposition, but recognize that environmental factors, such as infection, may also play a role. New research in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that diet may also be important. More than 1700 children at increased risk for Type 1 diabetes were followed for more than six years. Those who had more omega-3 fats in their diets were less likely to develop Type 1 diabetes. If these results are confirmed, children with a family history of Type 1 diabetes may benefit from fish oil supplements throughout childhood.
[Journal of the American Medical Association, Sept. 26, 2007]
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/298/12/1420

Differences Appear Between Diabetes Drugs
The battle between the diabetes drugs Avandia and Actos has been heating up. Several months ago, a study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting that people taking Avandia had a higher than average risk of heart attacks. Actos is the same type of drug, so some doctors and patients wondered if it too would carry the same type of danger. More recent studies have suggested that although both drugs can cause congestive heart failure, Actos does not increase the likelihood of a heart attack. A preliminary report suggests that Actos may be better than Avandia in controlling blood sugar and lowering blood fats. The apparent duel between the two drugs points up the need for more information about how medications affect patients' overall health.
[European Association for the Study of Diabetes, Sept. 2007]

Which Drugs Work Best for Type 2 Diabetes
Health care professionals have long been worried by the difficulty in evaluating which medicines are best in treating type 2 diabetes. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality commissioned a group of experts to review the scientific evidence that could be used to make a decision. After evaluating more than 200 controlled trials and two major reviews, the expert panel concluded that older, less expensive drugs like metformin or glyburide are usually better for controlling blood sugar and related problems.
[Annals of Internal Medicine, Sept. 18, 2007]
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/147/6/386

Diet Debate: Low Fat or Low Carb?
The great diet debate rages on and pits a low-fat approach against a low-carb approach. The latest research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that the low-carb advocates may be winnng. 93 people who needed to lose weight were randomly assigned to either a low-carb or low-fat diet for two months. In addition to weight, scientists measured mood and cognitive function.
The people on the low-carb diet lost significantly more weight during the study but both groups of dieters had an improvement in mood and cognitive functioning. Those on the low-fat diet, however, were a little faster on a test of visual processing. Overall the researchers conclude that the low-carb diet is slightly better than a conventional diet for weight loss.
[Am. J. Clin. Nutrition, Sept. 2007]
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/3/580

Pomegranate Slows Prostate Tumor Growth
Pomegranate juice may slow the development of prostate cancer. Pomegranates contain compounds called ellagitannins. So do raspberries, strawberries and muscadine grapes. During digestion, ellagitannins are converted to urolithins, which concentrate in prostate tissues. The UCLA researchers grafted human prostate cancer cells into mice, then gave the mice either pomegranate extract or placebo solution. Mice receiving pomegranate had smaller prostate tumors at the end of the study. Research is needed to determine if pomegranate juice has similar benefits in human males. In the meantime, men have a great excuse to enjoy some tasty fruit!
[Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Sept., 2007]
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/2007/55/i19/abs/jf071303g.html

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