January 2007 Natural Health News Daily cuppa beats stress effects
Who among us has not reached for a cup of tea as a remedy for a stressful day? It turns out that’s exactly what you should be doing. Researchers from University College London split 75 tea-drinking men into two groups, all giving up their normal tea, coffee and caffeinated drinks. Half were given a fruit-flavoured caffeinated tea mixture made up of the usual constituents of a cup of black tea. The others were given a caffeinated substitute, identical in taste but without the active tea ingredients. At the end of six weeks, the participants were given a series of tests designed to raise their stress levels, including being given five minutes to prepare and deliver a presentation. The researchers found that stress levels, blood pressure and heart rate rose similar amounts in both groups. However, 50 minutes after the tasks, levels of stress hormones in the blood had fallen an average of 47 per cent among the tea drinkers, compared to 27 per cent in the fake tea group. So tea can’t make stress disappear — but it can help you adapt to it.
Source: Psychopharmacology Antarctic ice collapse due to greenhouse
Scientists have found the first direct evidence linking the collapse of an ice shelf in Antarctica to global warming. Shifts in winds whipping around the Southern Ocean, tied to human emissions of greenhouse gases, have warmed the Antarctic peninsula and contributed to the break-up of the Larsen B ice shelf in 2002. The chunk that collapsed into the Weddell Sea in 2002 was 3250 sq km (1255 sq miles), making it bigger than Luxembourg. British and Belgian scientists say there’s evidence that global warming and a thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica, caused by human-produced chemicals, has strengthened winds blowing clockwise around Antarctica. The Antarctic peninsula's chain of mountains, about 2000 metres (6500ft) high, used to shield the Larsen ice shelf on its eastern side from the warmer winds. If the westerlies strengthen, the number of times that the warm air gets over the mountain barrier increases dramatically. Recent data has revealed that two major glaciers in eastern Antarctica are also starting to discharge ice into the sea.
Source: Journal of Climate Aromatherapy relieves PMS
A mixture of essential oils can reduce the severity of menstrual cramps. If you’re one of the millions of women suffering from painful periods, massaging an aromatherapy blend of essential oils of lavender, clary sage and rose onto your abdomen just before and during your period could give you some relief. In the study, a group of women were divided into three groups. One group received 15 minutes per day of gentle abdominal massage using a mixture of lavender, clary sage and rose essential oils in a base of sweet almond oil. Another group also received abdominal massage using sweet almond oil, but without any essential oils, and a third group had no treatment. The treatments started one week before the women’s periods began and lasted until the first day of their menstrual cycle. The severity of menstrual pain decreased by more than 50 per cent in the women who received aromatherapy massage, whereas the other groups did not improve. As if you needed another reason to get yourself a sweet-smelling massage!
Source: Journal of Altern & Comp Med Oil lowers blood pressure
A new study has found Ylang Ylang essential oil can lower blood pressure. Forty volunteers in one study rubbed 1ml (about 20 drops) of ylang-ylang essential oil in a sweet almond oil base over their abdomens for five minutes. In the control group, sweet almond oil with no ylang-ylang oil was used. Both groups breathed pure air by mask to prevent them from smelling the oil’s fragrance during application. During the trial, the people were monitored for physiological and behavioural changes. Those receiving ylang-ylang oil experienced significantly decreased systolic blood pressure and greater calmness and relaxation. In contrast, the systolic blood pressure of those in the control group went up and they experienced none of the other benefits. These results demonstrate that not only is ylang-ylang oil absorbed through the skin, but it has relaxing effects in the autonomic nervous system, which controls blood pressure and stress reactions.
Source: Phytotherapy Research
Source: Optics Letters Meditation as medicine
People who meditate every day might lower their chance of developing risk factors for cardiovascular disease. More than 100 people with heart disease took part in the 16-week trial that compared the effects of the daily practice of transcendental meditation with that of a health education program on risk factors for heart disease. At the end of the study, the people who had been practising meditation had significantly lower systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) and their insulin sensitivity was much improved. Heart rates in the meditating group were also less variable, suggesting the meditation had a positive effect on the stress. The authors concluded: “Our findings suggest that interventions that target neurohumoral pathways, especially via meditation or related techniques, may be beneficial for coronary heart disease reduction.”
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine St John’s wort a “major” treatment
St John’s wort extract is the best-known herbal treatment for depression, but the caveat is always applied that it works for “mild to moderate depression”. Can it be used to treat major depression as well? A new clinical trial attempted to answer these questions. Researchers enrolled in their study 332 volunteers with major depressive episodes. They were randomly assigned to receive 600mg once a day of St John’s wort extract, 600mg twice a day (1200mg per day) of the same extract, or a placebo for six weeks. Both groups taking St John’s wort extract experienced significantly greater relief than those taking the placebo. The effects of 600mg once a day were greater than those found in a previous placebo-controlled study of major depression, in which participants took 300mg three times a day. There was no significant difference between the effects of 600mg a day and 1200mg a day of St John’s wort. So the researchers concluded St John’s Wort is better than placebo in some instances of major depression. It should be noted that two of the authors are employees of the pharmaceutical company that manufactured the St John’s wort extract used in the study.
Source: BMC Medicine |
