Managing the Effect Stress Has on Skin

Stress can cause problems with skin, hair and nails. The American Academy of Dermatology has recommendations on how to curb those effects.

Testing Well-Being Effect of Cosmetics

The R&D department of the Dermscan Group has developed a series of new tests that evaluate the well-being effect of beauty products on a consumer.

Chinese Herbs May Help Alleviate Menstrual Cramps

A study involving nearly 3,500 women in several countries suggests that Chinese herbs might be more effective in relieving menstrual cramps than drugs, acupuncture or heat compression.
Australia-based researchers said herbs not only relieved pain, but reduced the recurrence of the condition over three months, according to the Cochrane Library journal.
“All available measures of effectiveness confirmed the overall superiority of Chinese herbal medicine to placebo, no treatment, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), OCPs (oral contraceptive pill), acupuncture and heat compression,” said lead author Xiaoshu Zhu from the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at the University of Western Sydney.
Period pain affects as many as 50 percent of women of reproductive age and between 60 percent to 85 percent of teenaged girls, leading to absences from school and work.
While the cause is still under debate, it is believed to be linked to an imbalance in ovarian hormones.
Chinese herbal medicine has been used to treat the condition for hundreds of years and women are increasingly looking for non-drug treatments.
The survey involved 39 trials — 36 in China, and one each in Taiwan, Japan and the Netherlands.
Participants given herbal concoctions were prescribed herbs that regulated their ‘qi’ (energy) and blood, warmed their bodies and boosted their kidney and liver functions.
Some of these include Chinese angelica root (danggui), Szechuan lovage root (chuanxiong), red peony root (chishao), white peony root (baishao), Chinese motherwort (yimucao), fennel fruit (huixiang), nut-grass rhizome (xiangfu), liquorice root (gancao) and cinnamon bark (rougui).
In one trial involving 36 women, 53 percent of those who took herbs reported less pain than usual compared with 26 percent in the placebo group.
But the researchers said more studies were needed because of the relatively small numbers of participants in each of the trials.

Reuters, October 17, 2007

Coca Cola Opens Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Center

The Coca-Cola Company today announced the official opening of The Coca-Cola Research Center for Chinese Medicine at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing.

New York Spa Introduces Specialized Treatments

Increasing its menu options, Enhance Face & Body Spa in Hartsdale, NY, has introduced a chiropractor-provided Cold Laser Therapy for extremity injuries and an age-lifting acupuncture face lift treatment from a licensed acupuncturist. 914-997-8878

Personal Care Workers Have Highest Rates of Depression

Personal care workers have the highest rates of depression among full time workers in the United States.

How to Handle Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

For many, wintertime means holidays spent with loved ones, warm nights snuggled by the fire and cool, sunny afternoons on the slopes. However, for up to eight million Americans who suffer with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), this time of year can be very difficult. In fact, even more people experience sub-syndromal SAD, a mild form of SAD often referred to as "the winter blues" or "the winter blahs."

Acupuncture Eases Low Back Pain Better Than Medical Methods

Six months of traditional Chinese or even sham acupuncture treatment appeared more effective than conventional treatment ...