I’m in San Antonio for the holiday season visiting my parents. This evening the wind is blowing so hard from the north that my mother had me take her Christmas wreathes down from the front doors lest they be blown away. For those of you not experienced in the ways of the Central/ South Texas winter, rest assured, there is plenty of cedar pollen riding in on that wind.
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.
According to the local report, mountain cedar pollen has arrived in central Texas. It’s low now, but there’s going to be more. Thursday the count is expected to be high due to dry, windy weather conditions.
What this means for cedar fever sufferers- sneezing, coughing, itchy eyes, nose and ears, headache, and generally feeling rotten. Don’t make your family and friends miserable on Christmas Day- get your Easy Breather now (because seriously, do you want to be running around looking for Easy Breather on Christmas Day?)
Give me your sneezing, your feverish glows,
Your huddled coughers yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your snotty nose.
Send these, those suffering cedar fever to me,
I lift my green bottle to your woes!
What can I say? I am a bad poet with dreams, and possibly a budding satirist. But I am also a trained traditional Chinese herbalist, and I am much better at that. If you’ve missed my other reminders on this topic, or riding down the river denial, mountain cedar fever season is fast approaching. If you have suffered in years past, it’s likely that you will again this year. Don’t delay- make a plan for acquiring your Easy Breather today.
I have been talking a lot about cedar fever season lately. But as I notice the stress of Christmas has gradually moved my shoulders and ears together, I would like to remind everyone, including myself, this is a great time to try some Decompress drops. Here on the Herbalogic team, we often flipply summarize, “Decompress is for stress.” But that hardly does it justice. Decompress is for the uncomfortable physical symptoms of stress- shoulder and neck tightness, stress headaches, and stress-induced nausea just to name a few (oh wait, that’s my personal list- well you get the idea).
OMG- is it really only 8 days until Christmas!?
As a side note, trying to get my blog to auto post to Facebook is causing me to need increasingly more Decompress
It hardly constitutes scientific data, but my father swears to me that his sneezing fit this morning heralds the beginning of mountain cedar fever season in central- south Texas. I suggested he try taking some Easy Breather drops.
In my estimation of the holiday season, every mother should have a bottle of Decompress in her stocking. And we need those stockings on the day after Thanksgiving!
And as cedar pollen is officially starting to show up in the allergy forecasts, don’t forget, Easy Breather, as well as the other Herbalogic formulas, are available at Wheatsville Coop
By central Texas standards, it’s a cold day here in Austin. The forecasted high is 48 degrees. While it is true that I spent 5 years living in Chicago (forecasted high of 12 degrees) and 5 years living in Boston (40 degrees is close to 48 until you factor in the wind) it is also true that I don’t know where my gloves are nor can I find my hat. So while mountain cedar may be just around the corner, I am taking my Decompress today to relieve the blahs I feel at being cooped up in my house. And for those of you still in Chicago and Boston, my sympathies because you have a long winter ahead of you.
Juniper pollen has shown up on the allergen reports in the Austin area. Juniper is like a cousin to cedar pollen (a better mannered, well behaved cousin that has the decency to wipe his muddy boots on the door mat before walking across your freshly washed floor). But people who are allergic to juniper pollen are also usually allergic to mountain cedar pollen. It’s a good time to start taking Easy Breather if you’re allergic.
I check multiple allergy reporting sites daily, and they are not entirely in agreement. Some of them are reporting trace amounts of mountain cedar while others are not (though they all agree that the mold levels are high). Regardless, cedar pollen in central/ south Texas is like death and taxes (and for those of you allergic, just about as pleasant).
I have compiled a list of simple strategies for reducing cedar allergy symptoms this season: