Being a needle-phobe, it's hard for me to get my head around the insertion of long, thin needles in various pressure points throughout the body as being anything but painful. That said, acupuncture is growing in popularity as a safe, non-drug option to relieve pain, and an impressive number of studies are backing up its effectiveness too.

Although no heart-related improvements were observed (cardiac ejection fraction or peak oxygen uptake) in a recent study of 17 patients who had suffered from congestive heart failure, the ability to exercise among folks being treated with 10 sessions of "real" acupuncture was very noticeable: They could walk greater distances over a six-minute stretch than those receiving sham treatments that simulated a needle prick but never broke the skin.

What's more, patients in the acupuncture group recovered quicker from their exercise sessions and felt less exhausted than those in the placebo/sham group.

If you hate needles as much as I do, however, acupuncture may not be the best way to treat your pain, no matter how effective it can be. With that in mind, you'll want to read our latest newsletter feature detailing nine strategies that can ease your pain without drugs. Fortunately, only one of them involves needles…

Image source: Kyle Hunter

Heart June 15, 2010

PhysOrg.com July 1, 2010

Still skeptical about the benefits of complementary alternative medicines (CAM) and therapies, like acupuncture and meditation? Perhaps, you should take a second look, based on a review of 77 randomized controlled trials from 1993-2007 on Tai Chi and Qigong.

This review of studies about the benefits of these gentle therapies was broad and positive, ranging from the psychological to the cardiopulmonary, and also included research that measured the effect of Qigong (the art and science of using breathing techniques, gentle movement, exercise and mediation to rechannel and replenish one's health and vitality) and Tai Chi (a subset of Qigong focusing on movement) on physical and immune functioning and bone density.

Unfortunately, there was no way to quantify the benefits of these trials, researchers say, because the design, measures and outcomes of each study varied greatly, probably a relief to skeptics who don't see much value in such treatments. The randomness of analytic methods didn't stop scientists from concluding, however, that Tai Chi and Qigong "demonstrated consistent, significant results for a number of health benefits."

Also, the average age of the patient participating in these trials was 55, and for studies on balance the median shot up to 80, meaning middle-aged folks (me) and seniors who had experienced physical limitations were transitioning successfully to more gentle forms of exercise that allow them to keep moving for their health and improve their quality of life.

Discover more safe, drug-free options to alleviate your pain by reading this month's Health Tips Newsletter, Nine Strategies for Easing Pain Without Drugs.

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American Journal of Health Promotion, Vol. 24, No. 6, July-August 2010

PhysOrg.com June 30, 2010

Some of the more popular posts on our blogsite over the past year have explored the myriad of options available to treat pain naturally, safely and without a drug, from hypnosis to acupuncture and tai chi.

Mastering the ability to meditate is one more effective drug-free alternative that may help patients better handle the emotions that can trigger their pain, according to a British study measuring the pain relief felt by patients with varying degrees of meditation experience (from no background to decades of training). Scientists tested the value of meditation by inducing pain with a laser on the forearm skin of a dozen patients, all the time monitoring their brain activity for signs of anticipating, then feeling, pain.

As in most everything, the more experience one had with meditation, the more he or she was able to dull the searing pain. In addition, scans showed how meditation veterans better anticipated the coming pain in the prefrontal cortex, a sector of the brain that controls attention and thought processes when it perceives of a possible threat.

Meditation also trains patients to focus more intently on the present, rather than anticipating a murkier future, which is why researchers believe it so effectively reduces the recurrence of depression that worsens chronic pain.

Pain May 24, 2010

LiveScience June 6, 2010

ScienceDaily June 2, 2010

With old-school antibiotics and common disinfectants losing their disease-fighting power, science may be taking a more natural path to fight superbugs with the help of essential oils, concentrated liquids containing volatile, aromatic compounds derived from plants, according to a pair of studies.

Thyme was the most effective of the eight essential oils Greek researchers tested in one study, as it virtually eliminated bacteria within an hour. Extracts of thyme and cinnamon were very useful in battling various species of Staphylococcus too.

In a second study on essential oils conducted at Brighton University (at the behest of a UK company), a food-grade version of thyme eliminated the ever-popular methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA (a strain of infection that's resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics), in two hours with no adverse effects on skin.

Learn more about the array of safe and healthy cleaning alternatives you can use in your own home -- for example, mix a few drops of essential oils with water for a clean and natural difference -- by reading How to Deep Clean Your Home, Naturally in our latest newsletter.

ScienceDaily April 4, 2010

News.Scotsman.com March 31, 2010

University of Brighton March 12, 2010

You may recall my recent post about the benefits of music for your health. This time, it's listening to soft music on your iPod or any other music player of your choice in a quiet place that can be just as relaxing and beneficial for your mind and body as a series of massage sessions, according to a new study comparing the effectiveness of various complementary and alternative medical (CAM) treatments to reduce anxiety.

Over a three-month period, 68 patients were assigned either to 10 one-hour therapeutic massage sessions or a pair of control treatments: relaxation therapy or thermotherapy (legs and arms were wrapped intermittently with warm towels and heating pads). All participants were treated on massage tables in a softly lighted room, surrounded by quiet music.

Interestingly, all three groups reported a 40 percent symptomatic decrease in anxiety at the conclusion of this series of treatments and a matching 50 percent drop three months later, surprising researchers that there was no real difference between therapeutic massage, thermotherapy or listening to relaxing music.

As much as I love a good massage, nothing relaxes me more than knowing I can save a few bucks and improve my mental health just by spending a few minutes listening to Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, the Greek composer better known in the world of cinematic music as Vangelis.

Depression and Anxiety February 23, 2010

healthfinder.gov March 19, 2010

ScienceDaily March 11, 2010

Much like acupuncture and tai chi have emerged from the realm of alternative medicine to take their rightful places as valuable mainstream treatments, so has biofeedback, a mind-over-body technique that trains patients to control typically involuntary bodily processes like blood pressure, stress, muscle tension and blood flow.

One expert describes biofeedback as "internal exercise, much like the physical exercise you perform at the gym. It's done with the head instead of the muscles." That's certainly been a very successful treatment option for Canadian skier Alexandre Bilodeau, who credited one form of biofeedback (bioneurofeedback) for helping him win his country's first Olympic Gold Medal at the recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Despite the mainstream acceptance, however, a 2008 American Cancer Society study that polled more than 4,000 cancer survivors found biofeedback, acupuncture/acupressure and hypnosis were rarely used by cancer patients.

An sidenote to readers of our daily blog: In the very same study, taking a supplement was a far more popular choice among cancer survivors.

healthfinder.gov February 4, 2010

WebMD June 27, 2007

The unfortunate downside of using herbal medicines is the subject of a cautionary paper reminding us of the many quality problems still plaguing supplements that we've discussed far too often in this space.

Among other things, the paper, written by an Australian forensic pathologist, warns patients about the risks connected with taking herbal products made in foreign countries, yet sold in America, that can be laced with harmful substances such as lead, arsenic, mercury and, on occasion, standard prescription drugs. Sounds all too familiar to us, considering recent reports of steroid-tainted supplements.

Fact is, consulting your family physician before taking any herbal medicine or supplement often prevents unforeseen and, sometimes, dangerous interactions with a prescription drug, like the effect St. John's Wort has on the anticoagulant warfarin.

Just another reason to do your due diligence FIRST before buying any herbal product or supplement. And, reviewing CNCA's Nutritional Supplement Quality -- The Facts is as good a place as any to start.

Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 89-92, January 4, 2010

ScienceDaily February 12, 2010

You may recall a study we posted about the placebo effect on your brain and spine. One of the oldest healing treatments around -- acupuncture -- may work entirely in your brain to battle pain too.

British scientists discovered the drain of pain while they were scanning the brains of 17 patients during two rounds of acupuncture (a shallow treatment used by Japanese practitioners and deeper insertions, per the Chinese method).

As a patient receives acupuncture successfully, he or she experiences deqi, a composite of unique sensations connected with the clinical efficacy of the treatment. Out of the 17 patients treated, brain scans of the 10 who experienced deqi showed these sensations contributed to a deactivation of pathways in the brain that process pain.

Good to see that conventional medicine is testing complementary and alternative medical practices like acupuncture and tai chi, and paying closer attention to all the real benefits associated with them.

Brain Research, Vol. 1315, pp. 111-118, February 22, 2010

Telegraph.co.uk February 6, 2010

ScienceDaily February 5, 2010

Evidently, the reputation of probiotics -- live microorganisms that are similar to beneficial ones found in the human gut contained in supplements and foods -- has come a long, long way, when a recent health feature in the New York Times fairly questions their value in functional foods like yogurt.

Just like marshmallows containing collagen or selling Cheerios as a heart-healthy product, the piece illustrates the problems with promoting the value of probiotics in processed, albeit functional, foods:

* Listing a probiotic as an ingredient on a label in yogurt, for example, doesn't guarantee the efficacy of the product.

* Product labels can be misleading, considering the recent settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Dannon.

* The value of a probiotic depends on the individual strain, like lactobacillus GG that may be beneficial, not only in reducing diarrhea, but treating milk allergies and atopic eczema, according to the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology.

New York Times September 28, 2009

The Daily Green September 29, 2009

Minneapolis Star-Tribune September 29, 2009

Although it certainly sounds far-fetched, a growing body of research is proving how an animal's extraordinary sense of smell may detect such diseases as tuberculosis, diabetes and even certain forms of cancer.

Some of the more interesting results have come from the Pine Street Foundation, a California-based non-profit group whose mission is to help cancer patients make better treatment decisions through education and research, through their work with dogs. Just three years ago, international research funded by the foundation discovered that a dog's keen sense of smell could rule out or detect the presence of early or late-stage lung and breast cancer an astonishing 90 percent of the time.

With the support of governmental funding, Pine Street researchers are taking the "sniff" test a step further, to determine if a trained group of dogs can detect early-stage ovarian cancer in samples of exhaled breath.

What's more, an Irish study published late last year in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine tracked anecdotal reports from 212 dog owners, all Type 1 diabetics, who reported warnings from their pets about hypoglycemic events.

Even more amazing is how the African pouched rat can be trained to detect explosives as well as tuberculosis cells in a Petri dish more efficiently than conventional methods, as you can see in this awesome YouTube video.

Pine Street Foundation May 14, 2009

People: Pets August 18, 2009

Health.com August 16, 2009

National Geographic June 2, 2009

Perhaps, the Labor Day weekend was another slow news period for the Wall Street Journal, as evidenced by the latest in a seemingly ongoing series of articles appearing in the mainstream media (MSM) slamming the presence of dangerous ingredients in some herbal supplements.

A good portion of the article is devoted to eye-opening, first-person accounts of consumers, young and old, who experienced very serious and very legitimate medical problems, as a result of taking some supplements, followed by citations of reports documenting the health-harming presence of foreign substances -- think steroids and prescription drugs -- in them.

Buried about halfway down, however, was the real moral of the story, voiced by Andrew Shao, vice president for The Council for Responsible Nutrition, whose organization welcomed recent efforts by the FDA to jump-start its enforcement efforts. In a statement, Shao urged consumers to be savvy as well about the supplements they use.

To that end, the rest of the story took a more even-handed approach, detailing the many ways consumers can do their homework to ensure the supplements they use are safe, from surfing the Web to studiously reading product labels to consulting with their physicians before taking them.

Learn more about what you can do to protect your health and that of your loved ones by watching this short, informative video by Dr. Timothy Birdsall, vice chairman of CNCA's Quality Control Unit.

Wall Street Journal September 7, 2009

If you believe the nearly $34 billion spent out-of-pocket on complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) in America over the past year is a lot of money, think again.

Based on data culled from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey funded by the CDC and the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, CAM amounts to just 1.5 percent of the $2.2 trillion spent by consumers on health care and 11.2 percent of the $286.6 billion spent on out-of-pocket treatments.

About two-thirds of those out-of-pocket expenses were spent on self-care costs (classes, materials and products), with a majority (nearly $15 billion) devoted non-vitamin, non-mineral, natural products. The remainder of that total ($11.9 billion) was allotted to more than 350 million office visits with chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists and their peers.

What's more, CAM-related spending on products and office visits represented a mere fraction of the amounts paid by consumers for prescription drugs (about 33 percent) and office visits to physicians (25 percent).

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine July 30, 2009

USA Today July 31, 2009

Nutraceuticals World July 31, 2009