Healthy Update is a bi-monthly electronic newsletter from HealthWorld Online providing you the latest information, news and resources from the world of natural health. All summaries in Healthy Update link to full articles or expanded resources and services in HealthWorld Online: http://www.healthy.net

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HealthWorld Online Tied for Third Place Worldwide in Lycos Ratings of Health Web Sites

HealthWorld Online received a 92 score in Lycos ratings of health web sites, tying for the third highest score with the National Library of Medicine and the American Medical Association web sites. The Lycos review of HealthWorld Online follows:

Lycos Review: "With a promise to serve as the Internet's most comprehensive wellness resource, HealthWorld has set its sites high -- but it proves itself admirably up to the task. Designed as a colorful virtual village of healthy living, it offers easily accessed and well-rounded resources in such categories as Alternative Medicine, Wellness, Nutrition, Public Health, Fitness and Self-Care. A visit to the Alternative & Complementary Medicine Center found guides to alt-med basics, plus introductions to and research on major systems such as Ayurvedic Medicine and Homeopathy, and prominent therapies such as Aromatherapy, Biofeedback and Guided Imagery. The Newsroom, Professional Center and Forums help keep health-oriented news flowing as well. Though much of the consumer information is free, HealthWorld is a commercial venture, and it's got plenty of stuff for sale in areas such as the Marketplace (which even includes a healthy vacation section). But even if you keep your wallet closed, HealthWorld Online offers a wealth of wellness resources. One of the best additions to this site is its QuikN'dex, which lists all the site's resources on one page, a far cleaner way of getting the lay of the land."

Government Panel Gives Nod to Acupuncture
A high-visibility "consensus conference" at the National Institutes of Health, has provided additional validation for the use of acupuncture for a variety of pain-related conditions, a story from the Boston Globe reports. The very fact that the NIH, the central pillar of the US research establishment, has convened an acupuncture conference is a benchmark of the respectability the once-exotic Eastern discipline has gained among Western scientists and doctors in the quarter-century since President Nixon opened the doors to post-Mao China.

Alternative Cold Treatments Gain Believers
As cold and flu season launches its annual assault, more and more consumers like Sutton are spurning conventional medicines in favor of alternative therapies, such as herbs, vitamins and supplements, dietary changes, acupuncture and chiropractic, reports a story in the Los Angeles Daily News. The popularity of alternative cold and flu remedies is just one reflection of the enormous influence of unconventional healing therapies in the United States. On herbal remedies alone, Americans spend an estimated $3.2 billion a year, part of the $6.5 billion spent on dietary supplements.

Dr. Galland's Integrated Medicine

Friendly Bacteria
A large body of research over the past ninety years has demonstrated the preventive value of eating foods fermented with Lactobacilli or their cousins, Bifidobacteria. Eating these friendly bacteria prevents intestinal infection due to viruses or pathogenic bacteria and preserves intestinal permeability in the face of infection or other types of injury, can prevent antibiotic-induced diarrhea and travelers diarrhea and can lower serum cholesterol levels. Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria also show anti-cancer activity, by two mechanisms: they inhibit the growth or activity of cancer-promoting bacteria and some strains actually produce chemicals which inhibit tumor growth.

News from the Village

Children's Health Update
About one in every six children in the United States is allergic to one or more substances. There are a variety of substances, termed allergens, that may trouble your child. Common allergens include pollen, animal dander, house feathers, mites, chemicals, and a variety of foods. Some allergies primarily cause respiratory symptoms; others can cause such diverse symptoms as ache, fatigue, fever, diarrhea, stomachache, and vomiting. Allergies can also contribute to other chronic health problems, such as acne, asthma, bedwetting, chronic ear infections, eczema, irritability, and even difficulty maintaining concentration. In her article "Allergies," excerpted from her book, Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child, Dr. Janet Zand outlines a comprehensive program for helping your child's allergies, including guidelines for emergency treatment, conventional treatment, as well as dietary guidelines, recommended nutritional supplements, herbs, homeopathic remedies, acupressure and Bach Flower remedies.

Women's Health Update
The decrease in hormones that occurs soon after menopause can cause a number of uncomfortable symptoms, but the long term effects of hormonal loss can produce devastating (and potentially life threatening) consequences. Estrogen protects the heart and bones from aging. With the loss of this hormone, the incidence of osteoporosis and heart attacks increases with age in high risk women. Breast cancer also occurs much more commonly in postmenopausal women, since immune function diminishes with age. In the chapter Osteoporosis, Heart Disease, and Breast Cancer, excerpted from her book, The Women's Health Companion, Susan Lark, M.D. presents basic facts about these three postmenopausal health problems and offers suggestions for vitamins, minerals, and herbs which can help to prevent them.

Natural Medicine Research Update - Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Cervical Dysplasia and Vitamin E
It has been well accepted in the medical community that one of the primary causes of cervical cancer is infection by the human Papillomavirus (HPV). In a study at Lublin Medical Academy in Poland researchers found a statistically significant lower level of alpha-tocopherol in the blood serum of HPV-positive patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) compared to the controls. According to this study, vitamin E, in addition to having antioxidant abilities, apparently has anti-proliferative actions.

New Releases in our Bookstore
From nervousness and anxiety to the effects of caffeine, allergies, and long hours in the workplace, we’re bombarded with emotional and physical stress every day. In Homeopathic Guide to Stress author Miranda Castro presents inexpensive, easy-to-use ways to self-treat its symptoms and to handle its causes. Written in a clear and engaging style, it offers an introduction to homeopathy, with a focus on stress. For more than four dozen specific emotional states or physical causes of stress, Castro suggests several homeopathic treatments, with clear instructions on how to choose the most appropriate solution. These remedies help you cope with current or recent stressors, and also can be taken as preventive measures.

Global Health Calendar -- Hot Picks
"5th International Conference on Anti-Aging Medicine & Biomedical Technology", Las Vegas, NV USA, December 13-15, 1997/ Contact: American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine - (800) 634-6133

Association Network -- Hot Pick
The OEP Foundation (Optometric Extension Program Foundation) is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to educating the general public about the importance of visual hygiene, the prevention of visual and ocular problems, and the development and enhancement of vision. Behavioral optometry seeks to treat the causes of visual disorders rather than merely compensate for refractive error.

Visit Optometric Extension Program Foundation.

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Editor, Healthy Update: James Strohecker

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