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October 2001
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Herb-Medication Interactions: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
By Catherine Golub M.S., R.D.
(Part one of a two-part series on drug interactions.) Americans are taking herbal preparations more then ever, yet rarely inform their doctors, either because they view herbs as innocuous or because they fear the doctor’s disapproval. But besides occasional side effects from the herbs themselves, there lies a greater danger—interactions with medications. Researchers are just beginning to explore what they see as the tip of this iceberg.
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Beyond Sodium: Strategies That Take Aim Against High Blood Pressure
By Adrienne Forman, M.S., R.D.
Got high blood pressure? The knee-jerk reaction of most people faced with that diagnosis is to cut back on salt. That’s what family and friends tell them—and sometimes the only diet advice their doctors mention. But that’s seriously shortsighted. Increasingly, researchers are confirming that sodium, a component of salt, is but one factor in a long list of dietary and lifestyle habits that affect a person’s blood pressure.
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There’s More to Whole Grains Than Whole Wheat
By Luanne Hughes, M.S., R.D.
It’s hard to beat whole grains. They are packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber that you just don’t find in plain white bread, processed cereals or white rice or even in many healthful-looking enriched "multi-grain" breads, for that matter. Plus, whole grains have a new health cachet, now that researchers have uncovered disease-fighting properties from the phytonutrients they contain (see EN, February 2001).
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It’s Never Too Late to Start Exercising
Regular aerobic exercise, such as walking, jogging or cycling, may reverse the negative effects of years of inactivity in middle-aged men, suggests new research from the University of Texas and the University of Copenhagen.
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Do Vitamin E and Heart-Protective Statins Mix?
Vitamin E just can’t seem to get any respect these days. The latest salvo came from research that pointed a finger at E for interfering with the ability of drugs known collectively as statins to boost blood levels of HDL’s (high-density lipoproteins, the "good" cholesterol).
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Harvard Researcher Builds a Better Pyramid
You probably know the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s pyramid. It’s often seen on food labels, especially cereal boxes. How valuable is it in helping you build a healthful diet? Not very, claims Walter C. Willett, M.D., chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, certainly someone with the credentials to back up such a claim. He is a top researcher with the ongoing Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, prolific producers of nutrition research.
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Web Finds
Want the facts on fiber? Access the website of the HCF Foundation (which promotes carbohydrates high in fiber) for the lowdown from James Anderson, M.D., a fiber expert at the University of Kentucky.
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Plenty of Nutrients in the Pumpkin Patch
The Folklore: If ever there was a symbol of Halloween, it’s the pumpkin. But it wasn’t always so. As far back as seventh century Europe, it was smaller gourds, turnips, potatoes and beets that were carved into scary faces to ward off evil spirits and Stingy Jack (of jack-o’-lantern fame), a fabled Irishman destined to roam between heaven and hell for eternity. Only later, when the Irish emigrated to America, close to the pumpkin’s native land (Mexico), did it become the preferred canvas for carving.
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Research Roundup
A low-fat diet and a few spoonfuls of flaxseed each day may slow the growth of prostate cancer, according to a small pilot study from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Twenty-five men awaiting surgery for prostate cancer followed a diet low in fat (20% of calories) supplemented with 30 grams (about three heaping tablespoons) of ground flaxseed daily.
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