Black Cohosh: An Effective Natural Remedy for Menopausal Symptoms

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Black Cohosh has been used by Native Americans, Europeans, and Chinese for centuries.

Native Americans used it for a wide variety of female problems. They used it to restore normal menstrual function, to return a woman to her pre-pregnancy state after birth, and for menopause. It has been described as "hormone-like" and a mild euphoric by some. It has scientific evidence to support its effect on improving blood pressure. In addition, it has many claims that were not investigated for the purposes of this article. These claims include: its use as an astringent, an anti-diarrheal, a water pill, and a cough suppressant/expectorant. It is also believed to improve heart rate, increase sweating, and be an antidote to rattlesnake poison.
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Menstrual Cups, at Age 66, Begin to Make Up for Lost Time

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Menstrual cups -- soft, flexible cups inserted to catch menses flows -- were first patented in this country in the 1930's, but never became popular. They are still hardly the rage, but use of them is growing, especially at women's colleges and through alternative health Web sites.

Safety questions have been raised, but so far the cups have not been linked to toxic shock syndrome or any other medical problem.

Two brands are sold in the United States: the Keeper, released in 1987, which is made of latex rubber and is reusable, and Instead, released in 1997, which is made of soft polyethylene and is disposable.

Cranberries might help prevent urinary infections in women

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“UTIs can be distressing, and people often take a self-care approach rather than seeking professional advice,” said Ruth Jepson, a senior research fellow at the University of Stirling, who led the review. “It is a common problem that a great deal of health care time and resources are spent on.”

A diagnosis of a urinary tract infection refers to a presence of a large amount of bacteria in the urine that can cause pain during urination and can lead to more severe infections of the bladder and kidneys.

The aim of the systematic review was to determine whether taking cranberries is an effective way to prevent urinary tract infections.

The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in all aspects of health care. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a topic.

According to the American Urological Association, UTIs are among the most common medical conditions and are responsible for more than 7 million doctor office visits each year. The association reports that about 40 percent of women and 12 percent of men will experience at least one urinary tract infection during their lifetime.

People have used cranberries, especially cranberry juice, for decades to prevent and treat UTIs. The fruit contains organic substances, such as quinic acid and citric acid, which act as antibacterial agents to help eliminate bacteria from the bladder.

The Cochrane reviewers analyzed 10 studies including 1,049 participants of all ages who received either cranberry products (juice or cranberry capsules), placebo juice or water for at least one month.

Of the studies evaluated, there was no consistent dosage or concentration of cranberries given to the participants, but according to Jepson, there was a “typical amount” given daily.

“The most common amount recommended is one glass twice a day,” Jepson said. “Trouble is, there is no general rule as to how long you have to drink that much in order for you to prevent one UTI.”

Jepson and her colleague found that cranberry products significantly reduced UTIs over 12 months compared to the placebo/control groups. The cranberry treatment was more effective for women who suffered from recurrent UTIs. For example, in one study, after six months, eight women in the cranberry group had a least one recurring UTI, compared with 19 women in the lactobacillus group and 18 in the control group.

The Cochrane reviewers pointed to a high number of participant withdrawals within some of the studies, and suggested it was due to the taste of cranberry juice or the juice’s high cost.

Jepson, however, could not recommend that a woman with recurrent UTI use cranberry capsules as an alternative treatment if taste or cost became prohibitive.

“The trouble with capsules is that there is no standardized preparation,” said Jepson. “What we don’t know is if the active ingredient is as effective when taken in the capsule or tablet form.”

Roger Dmochowski, a professor of urology at Vanderbilt University Medical and the American Urological Association’s expert on this topic, and said the association has no official policy toward cranberry juice or products.

“Most urologists recommend urine acidification for certain types of infections of the urine,” he said. “However not all UTIs are due to non-acid urine. Therefore, it is reasonable to use cranberry extract, but certainly this does not pertain to all UTI indications. This strategy [cranberries] remains an option for women bothered by recurrent infections but only one of many strategies, which include hydration and judicious use of antibiotics.”
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Low vitamin E levels associated with physical decline in elderly

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Published in the January 23 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association, the study included 698 people age 65 or older who were randomly selected from the population registry in two municipalities close to Florence, Italy. The researchers, led by first author Benedetta Bartali of Yale, collected blood samples to measure the levels of micronutrients including folate, iron and vitamins B6, B12, D and E. They assessed physical decline in the study participants over a three-year period using an objective test of three tasks: walking speed, rising repeatedly from a chair, and standing balance.

“We evaluated the effects of several micronutrients and only vitamin E was significantly associated with decline in physical function,” said Bartali, a nutritionist and a Brown-Coxe Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale School of Medicine. “The odds of declining in physical function was 1.62 times greater in persons with low levels of vitamin E compared with persons with higher levels.”

Bartali added, “It is unlikely that vitamin E is simply a marker for poor nutrition because our results are independent of energy intake, and the effect of low levels of other micronutrients was not significant. Our results suggest that an appropriate dietary intake of vitamin E may help to reduce the decline in physical function among older persons. Since only one person in our study used vitamin E supplements, it is unknown whether the use of vitamin E supplements would have the same beneficial effect.”

Bartali stresses that vitamin E was the only antioxidant measured in the study and further studies are needed to determine whether low levels of other antioxidants would yield the same results.

As an antioxidant, vitamin E may prevent or reduce the propagation of free radicals in the human body, which are associated with physical decline. This may help reduce muscle or DNA damage and the development of pathological conditions like atherosclerosis. Bartali said further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms of how low levels of vitamin E contributes to a decline in physical function.
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Women and Grief

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Women, Mourning, and Grief
Mourning after the death of a friend or family member is normal and goes through predictable stages. However, grief is an abnormal process where mourning is prolonged, delayed, or otherwise unresolved. Unresolved grief may contribute to women's higher rates of depression, anxiety and other psychological disorder. Women are thre to four times more likely to seek professional help when a loved one dies. Part of this difference may be due to women's less aversion to seeing therapists. Women's average reaction may be more functional in the long run than the average man's. Stoicism may have long-term or hidden consequences, but this is all speculated and ahs yet to be deomonstrated clearly.

Women's increased vulnerability to grief and dysfunction after a loved one's death is mostly social. Women define themselves more in terms of their relationships with others. Women are the primary caregivers. They may feel responsible for not preventing death (in their children) or conflicted about being relieved of the responsibilites of caregiving (aged parents) Also, many women are dependent on others for financial support and social standing. Pregnancy loss is a uniquely female experience and has hormonal as well as emotional fall-out.

Three Types Of Abnormal Grief

Chronic or Dependent Grief
When a woman's identity and self-image is too heavily emmeshed in the lost loved one, grief can become chronic and unresolving. Interaction and availability of the loved are essential for the woman's emotional functioning. The woman feels she is not strong, caring, or competent alone. Typically, this affects longtime married women who were homemakers. This is the most common form of abnormal grief reaction.

Distorted or Unexpected Loss Grief
Deaths associated with sudden and unnatural causes like suicide, homicide, and accidents are common here. Women are more prone to Post-traumatic stress disorder and this type of grief is closely associated with it. The woman can experience easy startling, flashback, nighmares, and recurrent thoughts of the death, and flattened emotional response and numbing. The woman's required participation in official investigations or trials related to the death can promote this type of greif reaction. The three Vs -- violence, violation, and volition make a woman high risk. That means if the death was caused by violence, if the loved one was a victim in some way, and/or woman gets preoccupied with establsihing blame or bringing justice to her loved one. If there is media coverage of the death and/or illegal or socially unacceptable behaviors of the loved one involved, women are also at higher risk.

Delayed or Conflicted Grief
When a woman has mixed feelings about the lost loved one, this type of grief reaction can happen. Typical situations for women involve death of a parent. Death or parent she was the caregiver for if that caused her to be overloaded is classic. But, even death of a parent she did not completely care for can bring up issues. Often today's midlife women have done more than their share of tending to older parents, yet they grew up in families where their brothers were favored. This gap causes unresolved conflict that may bubble up at the parent's death. And any unresolved issues with parents can lead to this. Unexpressed anger can turn towards the self and lead to depression. Another common situation for women is death of a child through violence, suicide or accident. She may feel anger at the child for his/her role in the death, but at the same time feel her upbringing of the child was inadequate.

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Pesticides on Produce

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Maybe Popeye should buy organic. Spinach is still a super food to eat, but along with those leafy greens, your family gulps down a dose of pesticides. Some good-for-you foods carry a heavy pesticide load, and the amount and toxicity vary widely by crop.

Pesticide residue doesn't wash off spinach leaves, making it one of the dozen fruits and vegetables that carry the highest levels of pesticides. The worst offenders include most fruits and veggies that kids really like to eat- apples, peaches, strawberries, cherries, grapes, pears, sweet peppers, celery, carrots and potatoes. The dirtiest of all: Peaches.

This succulent fruit is tasty to insects, and each peach carries multiple insecticide residues, even after washing. Chemicals soak right through the thin skin into a peach's flesh. The well-armored avocado, on the other hand, ranks in the clean group, along with onions and broccoli which outwit bugs through natural chemical defenses.

"Berries are incredibly good for you," says Dr. Gina Solomon, Senior Scientist with NRDC's Health and Environment Program. "But pesticides get into those little dimples of raspberries and strawberries."

Washing helps in many cases, but it depends on the food and the pesticide, and you really need to scrub. "Pesticides are designed not to wash off with the first rain," says Solomon. "Some are more easily scrubbed than others, for example, raspberries are incredibly fragile." Other foods, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas and carrots, have chemicals buried deep inside.

"Systemic pesticides are applied to the soil. The chemical goes in through the roots and into the food," says Solomon. "It can't be washed off."

For most kids, food is the main pesticide pathway, and switching to an organic diet can eliminate some toxins completely. But with a growing family, and a bursting budget, how do you choose which organic foods to buy?

Produce and milk contain the bulk of food pesticide residues, so buy these organic if your pocketbook allows. Residues are highest on certain groups like berries, stone fruits (apples, nectarines, cherries...) and leafy greens. Select organic for soft and thin-skinned foods.

Pregnant women, infants and children under age 6 face the highest risk. But it's best to avoid pesticide exposure whenever young brains are developing, which includes the teenage years. Women planning to have children should take the same care about 6 months prior to conception.
Organic foods can cost more, so if you can't stretch your dollars to purchase an organic diet, here's some ways to make conventional food safer:

Wash all produce. Washing helps remove pesticides and bacteria from handling and shipping.

Seek out local produce, even if it's not organic. Food intended for local markets avoids extra chemicals that control freshness and ripening.

Steam or boil spinach. Cooking vastly reduces pesticides and E coli, and retains most nutrients.
Peel carrots. Nearly all the pesticides get removed with the outer layer.

Eat lower fat milk, meat and dairy. Toxins accumulate in the fat.

Choose blueberries, instead of strawberries or raspberries. You still get berry-power antioxidants, but ingest fewer pesticides.

Choose American produce. Even imported organic foods have higher pesticide loads. Imported grapes are the worst offenders.

If you're really on a budget, buy frozen or canned. Crops grown for processing don't have to look as nice, so they get sprayed less than fresh crops. They're also often washed, peeled or cooked in processing which also reduces pesticides. Frozen organic exists, too. "We shouldn't be so snobbish about frozen food," says Dr. Solomon. "Flash freezing locks in the nutrients pretty well."
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Take a look at Feel Real Goods

Hello Everyone,

I am so excited to announce that Feel Real Goods is finally up and running! It is the creation of myself and two other amazing women who believe that education and smart choices can be powerful tools of change. Our project is finally in the go stage!

Log on to www.feelrealgoods.com to check out our delightful (and still growing) selection of practical necessities such as natural feminine hygiene products and organic aromatherapy body products.

Also check out www.naturalfemale.org to find a dynamic reference base of important women's information.

FYI, Natracare organic, non-chlorine bleached, bio-degradable feminine hygiene products as well as the Aromascents aromatherapy sprays and lotions are the products that I am personally behind and I am very excited about them.

Educate yourself and be a smart consumer! Support small businesses and sustainability! Shop Feel Real Goods!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank-you and Love,

Cherie

P.S. Sign up for the e-mail list to receive notice of specials and discount offers:)

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The Endocrine System

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1. What is the endocrine system?

The endocrine system is a complex network of glands and hormones that regulates many of the body's functions, including growth, development and maturation, as well as the way various organs operate. The endocrine glands -- including the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, thymus, pancreas, ovaries, and testes -- release carefully-measured amounts of hormones into the bloodstream that act as natural chemical messengers, traveling to different parts of the body in order to control and adjust many life functions.

2. What is an endocrine disruptor?

An endocrine disruptor is a synthetic chemical that when absorbed into the body either mimics or blocks hormones and disrupts the body's normal functions. This disruption can happen through altering normal hormone levels, halting or stimulating the production of hormones, or changing the way hormones travel through the body, thus affecting the functions that these hormones control. Chemicals that are known human endocrine disruptors include diethylstilbesterol (the drug DES), dioxin, PCBs, DDT, and some other pesticides. Many chemicals, particularly pesticides and plasticizers, are suspected endocrine disruptors based on limited animal studies.

3. What are some likely routes of exposure to endocrine disruptors?

Exposure to endocrine disruptors can occur through direct contact with pesticides and other chemicals or through ingestion of contaminated water, food, or air. Chemicals suspected of acting as endocrine disruptors are found in insecticides, herbicides, fumigants and fungicides that are used in agriculture as well as in the home. Industrial workers can be exposed to chemicals such as detergents, resins, and plasticizers with endocrine disrupting properties. Endocrine disruptors enter the air or water as a byproduct of many chemical and manufacturing processes and when plastics and other materials are burned. Further, studies have found that endocrine disruptors can leach out of plastics, including the type of plastic used to make hospital intravenous bags. Many endocrine disruptors are persistent in the environment and accumulate in fat, so the greatest exposures come from eating fatty foods and fish from contaminated water.

4. How do we know that endocrine disruptors are dangerous?

Many plant and animal species are showing signs of ill health due to exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals. For example, fish in the Great Lakes, which are contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other man-made chemicals, have numerous reproductive problems as well as abnormal swelling of the thyroid glands. Fish-eating birds in the Great Lakes area, such as eagles, terns, and gulls, have shown similar dysfunctions.

Scientists have also pointed to endocrine disruptors as the cause of a declining alligator population in Lake Apopka, Florida. The alligators in this area have diminished reproductive organs that prevent successful reproduction. These problems were connected to a large pesticide spill several years earlier, and the alligators were found to have endocrine disrupting chemicals in their bodies and eggs.

5. Should humans be concerned for their health based on evidence that fish, birds and alligators have been affected?

Yes. All vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, including humans) are fundamentally similar during early embryonic development. Scientists can therefore use the evidence acquired on other species to make predictions about endocrine disrupting effects on humans.

6. Is there direct evidence that humans are susceptible to endocrine disruption?

Yes. In the 1950s and 1960s pregnant women were prescribed diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen, to prevent miscarriages. Not only did DES fail to prevent miscarriages, but it also caused health problems for many of these women's children. In 1971, doctors began reporting high rates of unusual vaginal cancers in teenage girls. Investigations of the girls' environmental exposures traced the problem to their mothers' use of DES. The girls also suffered birth defects of the uterus and ovaries, and immune system suppression.

7. Are children at greater risk from endocrine disruptor exposure?

Yes. Because endocrine disruptors affect the development of the body's vital organs and hormonal systems, infants, children and developing fetuses are more vulnerable to exposure. And as was the case with DES, parents' exposure to certain chemicals may produce unexpected -- and tragic -- effects in their children, even decades later.

8. These days don't chemicals have to be safe to be allowed on the market?

No. The majority of the more than 2,000 chemicals that come onto the market every year do not go through even the simplest tests to determine toxicity. Even when some tests are carried out, they do not assess whether or not a chemical has endocrine interfering properties.

9. What can I do to reduce my risk of exposure?

• Educate yourself about endocrine disruptors, and educate your family and friends.
• Buy organic food whenever possible.
• Avoid using pesticides in your home or yard, or on your pet -- use baits or traps instead, and keeping your home especially clean to prevent ant or roach infestations.
• Find out if pesticides are used in your child's school or day care center and campaign for non-toxic alternatives.
• Avoid fatty foods such as cheese and meat whenever possible.
• If you eat fish from lakes, rivers, or bays, check with your state to see if they are contaminated.
• Avoid heating food in plastic containers, or storing fatty foods in plastic containers or plastic wrap.
• Do not give young children soft plastic teethers or toys, since these leach potential endocrine disrupting chemicals.
• Support efforts to get strong government regulation of and increased research on endocrine disrupting chemicals

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Spanish study feeds into pesticide controversy

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The Spanish study, carried out by the University of Granada, examined the contamination levels of certain persistent organic pollutants in a sample of the adult population (387 individuals) and tried to find determining factors associated with such levels. People from both urban and semi-rural areas were part of the sample.

According to the results, published in late 2007, 100% of Spaniards carry at least one type of harmful chemical in their bodies. The researchers also detected more of these potentially harmful substances in women than in men and more in adults than younger people. They also found that diet is an important factor in the concentration of these substances.

Higher concentration in women and older people is "possibly due to the great persistence of these substances in the environment, which results in their biomagnification in the food chain and in their bioaccumulation over time," explained Juan Pedro Arrebola Moreno.

The researchers took a sample of each volunteer's fatty tissue via surgery, and asked questions about their place of residence, lifestyle, eating habits and activities throughout their life. The six substances sampled included compounds related to industrial processes, such as PCBs , and fungicides used to prevent spread of fungi in crops as well as insecticides.

The substances, which can enter the body through food, water and air, tend to accumulate in human fatty tissue through which they enter into the organism, with potential significant adverse effects on human health. These include cancers and damage to reproductive or immune systems.

Regarding the importance of diet as a factor in the concentration of these chemicals in the body, the study argues that the "ingestion of some aliments, particularly those of animal origin and high fat content, triggers a greater presence of these toxic substances in the human organism."
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Oatmeal's health claims strongly reaffirmed, science shows

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Dr. James W. Anderson, professor of medicine and clinical nutrition at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, co-authors "The Oatmeal-Cholesterol Connection: 10 Years Later" in the January/February 2008 issue of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.

Anderson presents a contemporary analysis to determine if newer studies are consistent with the original conclusion reached by the FDA. His report says studies conducted during the past 15 years have, without exception, shown:
-- total cholesterol levels are lowered through oat consumption;
-- low-density lipoprotein (LDL, the "bad" cholesterol) is reduced without adverse effects on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL, the "good" cholesterol), or triglyceride concentrations.

"Whole-grain products like oatmeal are among some of the best foods one can eat to improve cholesterol levels, in addition to other lifestyle choices," Anderson said. "Lifestyle choices, such as diet, should be the first line of therapy for most patients with moderate cholesterol risk given the expense, safety concerns, and intolerance related to cholesterol lowering drugs.”

More recent data indicate that whole-grain oats, as part of a lifestyle management program, may confer health benefits that extend beyond total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol reduction, Anderson said. Recent studies suggest eating oatmeal may:
-- Reduce the risk for elevated blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and weight gain
-- Reduce LDL cholesterol during weight-loss
-- Provide favorable changes in the physical characteristics of LDL cholesterol particles, making them less susceptible to oxidation (oxidation is thought to lead to hardening of the arteries.)
-- Supply unique compounds that may lead to reducing early hardening of the arteries

“Since the 80’s, oatmeal has been scientifically recognized for its heart health benefits, and the latest research shows this evidence endures the test of time and should be embraced as a lifestyle option for the millions of Americans at-risk for heart disease,” said Anderson.
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Treatments and Prevention of Urinary Tract Infections

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Tips for Preventing Urinary Tract Infections

The most important tip to prevent urinary tract infections, bladder infections, and kidney infections is to practice good personal hygiene. Always wipe from front to back after a bowel movement or urination, and wash the skin around and between the rectum and vagina daily. Washing before and after sexual intercourse may also decrease a woman's risk of UTI.

Drinking plenty of fluids (water) each day will help flush bacterium out of the urinary system and emptying the bladder as soon as the urge to urinate occurs may also help to decrease the risk of bladder infection or UTI. Some physicians recommend urinating before and after sex as well as a mean of flushing out any bacteria that may enter the urethra during sexual intercourse.

Vitamin C makes the urine acidic and helps to reduce the number of potentially harmful bacteria in the urinary tract system.

Wear only panties with a cotton crotch--cotton allows moisture to escape whereas other materials may trap moisture and create a potential breeding ground for bacteria.

Cranberry juice often helps to reduce frequency of bladder infections. Cranberry supplements are available over-the-counter and many women find they work amazingly quickly when an UTI has occurred, however, a physician's diagnosis is still necessary even if cranberry juice or herbals reduce pain or symptoms.

If you experience frequent urinary tract infections changing sexual positions that cause less friction on the urethra may help. Some physicians prescribe an antibiotic to be taken immediately following sex for women who tend to have frequent UTIs.
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Last-Minute Inserts Offer Benefits in Medicare Bill

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These examples illustrate how power is exercised in the final, chaotic hours before Congress adjourns. Obscure provisions of interest to just a few lawmakers were quietly stuffed into a grab bag of legislation, with no indication of their parentage or purpose.

The White House has indicated that President Bush will sign the bill, which deals not only with health care but also with a variety of tax and trade issues. The bill, for example, creates a special tax depreciation allowance for property used to produce ethanol from corn stalks, regulates the use of wine names like Champagne and Chablis, and suspends the tariff on imported rayon fibers used in making certain tampons.

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The Truth About Tampons

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Recently there has been much controversy regarding the presence of Dioxin, Rayon, and other harmful agents in feminine hygiene products, mainly tampons and sanitary napkins. Dioxin, which has been called one of the most toxic substances ever created by humans, is a by-product of the chlorine bleaching process used in the production of tampons and pads. Dioxin is potentially carcinogenic (cancer-causing), and is known to impair the immune and reproductive systems.

Swedish studies have shown a link between tampons containing dioxin, and other chlorine by-products, and an increased risk of cancers of the female reproductive tract (especially the uterus, ovaries and bladder).

Rayon itself poses another risk. Unknown to most women, rayon and rayon-cotton blend fibers are widely used in commercial feminine hygiene products. Rayon used to make tampons is usually treated with chemicals to increase the absorption capability.

These super absorbent fibers then absorb not only the menstrual blood, but normal vaginal secretions as well, causing drying, and ulceration of vaginal tissues. The fibers can also become imbedded in the vaginal walls. Rayon fibers have been scientifically proven to amplify the production of Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin TSST1.

Toxic Shock Syndrome is a rare bacterial illness that caused over 50 deaths between 1979 and 1980. Unlike medical grade cotton, upon which the TSS toxin will not grow, the rayon acts like a petri dish encouraging bacterial growth. What makes these toxic residues even more disturbing, is that they come in direct contact with some of the most absorbent tissue in a woman's body.

According to a doctor at New York University Medical Center, almost anything placed on this tissue, including Dioxin, gets absorbed into the body.

Why is it acceptable to have toxic substances in our feminine hygiene products? The tampon industry is convinced that women need bleached white products. They seem to think that we view this as "pure" and "clean." The fact is, if Dioxin puts women at risk for cancer and Dioxin is stored in fatty tissue (just like that found in the vagina), and a woman uses as many as 11,000 tampons in her lifetime, could the long term use of tampons increase cancer risk?

An FDA report said that "the most effective risk-management strategy would be to assure that tampons, and menstrual pads, contain no Dioxin." Although the FDA currently requires tampon manufacturers to monitor Dioxin levels, the results are not available to the public. The dioxin tests, are done by the manufacturers themselves, who insist their products are safe. Tampon manufacturers are not required to disclose ingredients to consumers, although many will do so voluntarily.

How much Dioxin exposure is considered safe for humans? Why has there been more research done on the possible health effects of chlorine-bleached coffee filters than on chlorine bleached tampons and related products? Women need to demand that more research be done on these issues. We have a right to know about any potential hazards associated with tampons and related products. It is only when women fully understand the consequences that we can make informed decisions regarding our health and well being.

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Could tea help fight ovarian cancer?

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Swedish researchers have found tantalizing but far from conclusive evidence that drinking a couple of cups of tea every day might help reduce the risk of developing ovarian cancer.

The study involved 61,057 Swedish women who answered a questionnaire about their diets and then were tracked for an average of 15 years through 2004. During that time, 301 women developed ovarian cancer. Those who reported drinking two or more cups of tea a day were 46 percent less likely to develop the disease than women who drank no tea. Drinking fewer than two cups also appeared to help, but not as much.

The researchers did not break out the results by tea types, but most of the tea drinkers consumed black tea. Both black tea and green tea contain polyphenols—substances thought to block cell damage that can lead to cancer.

Previous studies on whether tea might help prevent various kinds of cancer have yielded conflicting results. Researchers Susanna Larsson and Alicja Wolk of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said more research is needed to sort out the inconsistencies. Their study was published in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine. "If these findings are real, they'd be important because ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in women," said Marji McCullough, a nutritional epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society.

Julie Buring of Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital, who studies chronic diseases and cancer, said that factors other than tea drinking might explain the results and that the tea drinkers may have been healthier than the other women.

"Certainly the idea of exploring agents or lifestyles that could make a difference on ovarian cancer would be very timely and important," Buring said. "My concern is with these kinds of studies, that people who drink two cups of tea daily are different from people who don't in ways that go through their whole lifestyle."

Ovarian cancer is diagnosed in more than 20,000 U.S. women yearly. On average, U.S. women face about a 1-in-58 chance of developing the disease. It is hard to detect early because its symptoms, including abdominal bloating, indigestion, and urinary urgency, can be vague and mimic less serious conditions.

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Sleep Disturbance Increases Spontaneous Pain In Women

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Sleep continuity disturbance impairs endogenous pain-inhibitory function and increases spontaneous pain in women. This supports a possible pathophysiologic role of sleep disturbance in chronic pain, according to a study published in the April 1st issue of the journal.

"This study finds that fragmented sleep profiles, akin to individuals suffering from middle of the night insomnia, health care workers on call, and parents caring for infants, alter natural systems that regulate and control pain, and can lead to spontaneous painful symptoms," said Smith. "Our research shows that disrupted sleep, marked by multiple prolonged awakenings, impairs natural pain control mechanisms that are thought to play a key role in the development, maintenance, and exacerbation of chronic pain."

Recent studies associate lack of sleep with serious health problems such as an increased risk of depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Experts recommend that adults get between seven and eight hours of sleep each night to maintain good health and optimum performance.

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Citrus Juice, Vitamin C Give Staying Power To Green Tea Antioxidants

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A study found that citrus juices enable more of green tea's unique antioxidants to remain after simulated digestion, making the pairing even healthier than previously thought.

The study compared the effect of various beverage additives on catechins, naturally occurring antioxidants found in tea. Results suggest that complementing green tea with either citrus juices or vitamin C likely increases the amount of catechins available for the body to absorb.

"Although these results are preliminary, I think it's encouraging that a big part of the puzzle comes down to simple chemistry," said Mario Ferruzzi, assistant professor of food science at Purdue University and the study's lead author.

Catechins (pronounced KA'-teh-kins), display health-promoting qualities and may be responsible for some of green tea's reported health benefits, like reduced risk of cancer, heart attack and stroke. The problem, Ferruzzi said, is that catechins are relatively unstable in non-acidic environments, such as the intestines, and less than 20 percent of the total remains after digestion.

"Off the bat you are eliminating a large majority of the catechins from plain green tea," Ferruzzi said. "We have to address this fact if we want to improve bodily absorption."

Ferruzzi tested juices, creamers and other additives that are either commonly added to fresh-brewed tea or used to make ready-to-drink tea products by putting them through a model simulating gastric and small-intestinal digestion. Citrus juice increased recovered catechin levels by more than five times, the study found. Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, used to increase shelf life in ready-to-drink products, increased recovered levels of the two most abundant catechins by sixfold and 13-fold, respectively.

The study, published this month in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, also found that soy, dairy and rice milk appeared to have moderate stabilizing effects. But Ferruzzi said the result is misleading; a chemical interaction between milk proteins and tea catechins apparently helps shelter the complex from degradation, a force likely overcome by enzymes within a healthy human digestive system.

Lemons and tea go even better together than their popularity might suggest. Lemon juice caused 80 percent of tea's catechins to remain, the study found. Following lemon, in terms of stabilizing power, were orange, lime and grapefruit juices. Ferruzzi said both vitamin C and citrus juices must interact with catechins to prevent their degradation in the intestines, although data made it clear that citrus juices have stabilizing effects beyond what would be predicted solely based on their vitamin C content.

"If you want more out of your green tea, add some citrus juice to your cup after brewing or pick a ready-to-drink product formulated with ascorbic acid," Ferruzzi said.

Ready-to-drink green tea products should optimally contain 100-200 mg of catechins, but oftentimes do not have sufficient levels of tea extract since some people do not like green tea's flavor, Ferruzzi said.

Although this study only examined green tea, Ferruzzi said he suspects that some of the results also could apply to black tea, which is produced by fermenting green tea. Many prefer black tea's flavor, although it contains lower total levels of catechins.

Studies have shown catechins from the green tea plant, Camellia sinensis, are able to detoxify toxic chemicals, inhibit cancer cell activity and stimulate production of immune-strengthening enzymes. Finding methods to improve uptake of these catechins may, therefore, be important in improving health, part of the study's goal, Ferruzzi said.

Ferruzzi currently is conducting an in vivo study, or study on a live organism, to quantify the ability of juices and vitamin C to increase levels of catechins in the intestines and bloodstream of animals and, by extension, in humans. He collaborates with the NIH-funded Purdue Botanicals Research Center on this project.

"This next study is designed to get us past the limitations imposed by our digestive model, which is really just a simple screening process that relies on preset physiology parameters," he said. "Human digestion is a lot more complicated."

To see if juices and vitamin C actually increase catechin absorption, researchers will have to find out if increased levels of intestinal catechins translate to higher levels of absorbed catechins in live animals and humans. They also will need to better document effects upon catechin metabolism in order to prove, for instance, that increased levels of absorbed catechins are not leveled off by metabolic factors, Ferruzzi said.

"This study tells us a lot of interesting things, but it raises many questions that have yet to be answered," he said.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Adapted from materials provided by Purdue University.
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