Chinese herbs are good for what ails you! I came across this study review on Huang Qin Tang. I myself have only taken Huang Qin Tang once and for only a short time during a particularly nasty GI virus. I won’t lie to you- the taste is not for the faint of heart. But I am guessing if you are trying to treat colon cancer like the mice in this study,
Gravity: Just a Theory
As moderator of this blog, I get the privilege of sorting through real comments versus spam comments. The spam filter mostly does a great job, but periodically a few slip through. Usually I can tell immediately what is spam versus what is real because the authors of spam typically link to websites offering me a hot long night with my new laptop so I can work at home and make $12K a month in real estate. But this post comment has me confused enough that I let it through. Specifically, it says,
“Chinese herbs do work because it is time tested.”
If I was a betting women, and those of you who have played poker with me know I am, I would bet this is actually spam. The tells on this comment are:
So at the risk of offending Alexa Stewart, you’re wrong.
However, Alexa brings to my attention something that I hear more often than I would like, this notion that Chinese herbs “work because they are time tested.” (I’m sorry, I just could not leave that subject-verb agreement mistake alone).
This brings me to Isaac Newton. I know, it’s a jump, but hang in there with me. (more…)
Oh precious, I have you in my sights
Imagine my pleasure when I came across this article reporting that scientists have determined the mechanism by which the polyphenols in red wine inhibit cancer cell growth. Hooray for red wine! But wait, there’s a catch. Dr Gerald Weissmann, MD is quoted in the article:
“As long as they are taken in moderation, all signs show that red wine and green tea may be ranked among the most potent ‘health foods’ we know.”
There’s that sticky word, moderation.
It reminds of a time, just after college when my best friend and I took a celebratory trip to Spain. We toured around, saw sights, ate the food and drank the wine. One particularly hot and sunny day, we spent the afternoon in the sun on the beach. That night we met up with some other Americans for dinner, and started drinking red wine. After dinner, it hardly seemed fashionable to end the party, so we drank some more wine. In particular, we drank just about the cheapest Spanish rioja available. It was so cheap that $5 bought the bottle, the guy uncorked it, and then handed us 4 waxed paper cups to drink it out of. (more…)
An actual case of heavy metal contamination
When my husband and I got married 5 years ago, many people had their doubts whether we would make it for two fundemental differences in our beliefs
But as time passes, and once respectable media outlets like the New York Times continue to run sensationalist crap, I find I am being pulled into the right wing conspiracy.
Specifically, this latest article reported the recent findings of a GAO report on dietary supplements.The first paragraph of the article reads:
Nearly all of the herbal dietary supplements tested in a Congressional investigation contained trace amounts of lead and other contaminants, and some supplement sellers made illegal claims that their products can cure cancer and other diseases, investigators found.
Anyone who bothers to continue reading will find in the second paragraph that those tested supplements that contained lead in fact “did not exceed thresholds considered dangerous”. But really, how many readers get to the second paragraph? (more…)
Are there gators in there?
This article reviews a survey of physicians, most of whom are in the UK, about their perception of their own understanding and attitudes about herbs. Try not to be too shocked here, but generally, they don’t like herbs, they don’t know anything about herbs, and most of all, they don’t want their patients taking herbs. To be fair, I added the emphasis on that last bit. But in looking at the underlying survey results, it’s not terribly inaccurate. (more…)
Does talking to your doctor feel like this?
I came across this Candian study, Consumers of natural health products: natural-born pharmacovigilantes? wherin the researchers interviewed people who had self reported adverse reactions to natural health products (NHP), which included ”…vitamins (regardless of source), minerals, traditional Chinese medicines, Ayurvedic medicines, Native North American medicines, traditional herbal remedies and homeopathic medicines.” Specifically, the researchers wanted to understand, when people had an adverse reaction to NHPs, who did they tell?
The answers varied, but had a common theme: not their doctors. (more…)
Increasingly,traditional Chinese herbs are showing up in the news. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, often times misrepresented. My request to all of you, if you see an article, or news report, or blog post, or even a really interesting looking advertisement about Chinese herbs, send me the link. Chances are pretty good that I am going to have a correction to make or additional information to add, or, at the very least, an opinion. And that all belongs here! There are plenty of avenues to send links to me, but the most direct is to email me: jeanine@herbalogic.net
This British article was brought to my attention this morning. Once again, sensationalism sells- if you read the article, you’ll notice that it has painfully little to do with the headline. In fact, upon reading the headline, I was all set to start bashing the article as once again being irresponsible journalism. But upon reading the whole thing, I find that I agree with some of what is said, though not all of it. (more…)
My husband sent me a link to this science blog with a review on a patent dispute between Pfizer, makers of Viagra, and Eli Lilly & Co., makers of Cialis. And though I am not entirely clear on the legal details, somehow the Chinese herb, Yin Yang Huo, aka Horny Goat Weed, has entered into the patent dispute.
But what I particularly want to highlight about this author’s review of Viagra versus Yin Yang Huo is his comment:
“Horny goat weed extract must be used at unbelievably high concentrations – far more than can be achieved in the bloodstream – to cause only 1/10th the effectiveness of sildenafil [active ingredient in Viagra] in a rabbit penile blood vessel model.”
And I would like to suggest that maybe that’s not a bad thing. (more…)
Recently the article Alternative Medicine Warning: Some Chinese Herbs May Increase Cancer Risk came to my attention. The Fox News report reviews an academic article published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Having more than a passing interest in Chinese herbal medicine, I chased down the original article, Population-Based Case-Control Study of Chinese Herbal Products Containing Aristolochic Acid and Urinary Tract Cancer Risk (Lai, Wang, et. all). The authors concluded, “Consumption of aristolochic acid–containing Chinese herbal products [mu tong] is associated with an increased risk of cancer of the urinary tract in a dose-dependent manner that is independent of arsenic exposure.”
A long time student of mathematics and a more recent student of public health and biostatistics, I set about critically analyzing this paper. I have two observations that cause me to personally call to question the validity of the authors’ conclusion.
Which herb are we talking about?
In traditional Chinese herbal medicine, there are two different herbs that are colloquially referred to as mu tong. Guan mu tong, or aristolochia, contains aristolochic acid, a known nephrotoxin. In modern practice, this herb is rarely used and is banned from importation to the United States by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Chuan mu tong, or caulis mutong, on the other hand is not known to contain aristolochic acid. Chuan mu tong is effectively used to treat urinary tract infections and promote lactation in cases of blocked milk ducts.
The authors of the study make no distinction in their report if they are reviewing cases of people using chuan mu tong or guan mu tong, though considering their interest in aristolochic acid, I would guess they are studying the potentially carcinogenic effects of guan mu tong. Considering that guan mu tong is neither legal nor widely available for use, I question why Fox news took such an interest in this publication initially.
Confounding variables
In stastical analysis, a confounding variable is something that relates to both the dependent and independent variable. Study methodologies need to control for confounding variables in order to avoid making invalid inferences about the relationship of the variables being studied.
For example, suppose a study wants to determine if performing regular weight-bearing exercise is an effective way to prevent osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. Women are selected for the study and categorized as either doing the exercise or not. But suppose also that the women in the weight-bearing exercise also regularly take a calcium supplement, which is known to prevent osteoporosis. Without taking this fact into consideration and making appropriate statistical adjustments, analysis might incorrectly conclude that the weight-bearing exercise had a greater role in preventing osteoporosis than it actually did.
In the study concerning mu tong, the authors considered and accommodated for the presence of significant levels of arsenic in the subjects’ drinking water (arsenic is known to cause urinary tract cancer). However, the authors site in their limitations section that smoking status was not considered during analysis. Personally, I have reviewed many articles regarding cancer and possible causative agents and I cannot think of one that was considered authoritative in which smoking tobacco products, a well established carcinogenic habit, was not considered and controlled for.
Personally, I am appalled to think that a combination of poorly designed scientific research and irresponsible journalism could lead people to the conclusion that Chinese herbs cause cancer.