Natural Health Newsletter from Alternative Health Insurance Services
Features on Alternative Medicine and Natural Therapies
June 2007
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A Personal Note From Steve Gorman, President of Alternative Health Insurance Services, Inc.
We are pleased to present the June edition of our newsletter.
I hope you continue to find the information in our newsletters to be of value and always welcome any thoughts, suggestions, comments, etc. You may view prior newsletters by clicking on the link listed near the bottom of this newsletter.
Each issue will continue to feature information about The Elaine Anestos Gorman Foundation in the hope that our readers will help spread the word and educate more people about the existence of Inflammatory Breast Cancer.
In addition to our usual articles related to natural health, we are pleased to include features from two people who have reported on news and developments in the alternative and complementary medicine community for many years. John Weeks continues to provide us with stories from his publication, The Integrator. Peter Barry Chowka reports on some real issues about Universal Health Care.
This issue also contains news about an exciting new benefit available to our clients that covers acupuncture and chiropractic maintenance as well as herbal remedies.
To our existing clients, thank you again for your continued support. To those receiving our newsletter for the first time, I hope you enjoy it and thank you for the opportunity to be of service.
Sincerely,
Steve Gorman
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and many more articles below.....
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Vitamin, Supplement Safety and Quality Questioned in Article Series
Several McClatchy Newspaper articles target supplement safety and quality, drawing links between the global ingredient quality issue and the dietary supplement industry. In one article, entitled "China has cornered the global market for vitamins but are they safe?", oversight of quality regulations is questioned. In another article, the author cites Consumerlab.com as saying that one in four products don't meet quality or safety standards, being tainted with pesticides, salmonella, glass, bacteria or heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium or lacking ingredients, having improper ingredients, failing to disintegrate properly or being mislabeled.
Internet Resources:
Article on TheState.com
Article in The Charlotte Observer
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Study confirms heart benefits of whole grains
According to a Reuters Health article citing a review of seven studies published in Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases, researchers found that higher whole grain intake was consistently linked to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke.
Internet Resources:
Reuters Health Article
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CDC: Majority of households go smoke-free
The number of U.S. households that were smoke free increased from 43% a decade ago to three out of four households as of 2003, the CDC reports. The report found Utah led the nation in smoke-free homes, with people in nearly nine out of 10 homes saying smoking was never allowed, compared to Kentucky, which came in last with slightly more than half of households banning smoking. Yahoo!/Associated Press
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Study: Herb enthusiasts often do not stick to indications
According to a Reuters Health article citing a report which appears in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings for May, researchers examined more than 30,000 adults who were surveyed regarding their use of six herbs - echinacea for upper respiratory tract infection, garlic for high cholesterol, ginseng for mental performance/diabetes, St. John's wort for depression, soy for high cholesterol/hot flashes, and kava-kava for anxiety. The researchers observed that overall, 55 percent of subjects used herbs for their appropriate evidence-based indications, results showed. However, for most of the herbs, evidence-based usage rates hovered around 32 percent.
Internet Resources:
Reuters Health Article
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Study: Green tea may help prevent bladder inflammation
The catechins found in green tea may offer protection from bladder inflammation, according to a new study. Researchers found that the compounds helped protect normal and cancerous bladder cells from inflammation when exposed to hydrogen peroxide, and they concluded that green tea supplements could represent a treatment option for various bladder conditions. Forbes/HealthDay News
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Researchers warn of overuse of aspirin
Excessive use of aspirin and other blood-thinning drugs has increased the risk of strokes in elderly patients, according to a study reported in the journal Lancet Neurology. Although the drugs can reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack in people with heart disease, they can be harmful to healthy people who take the drugs as a preventive measure, researchers say. The Dallas Morning News/Bloomberg
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RESEARCH NEWS
The Natural Products Assn. (NPA, Washington, D.C.) has challenged recent findings published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute regarding an association between multivitamin use and increased risk of prostate cancer. Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., NPA's vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, said, "As with many cohort studies, there are a large number of variables involved. These missing observations are filled in by the authors' evaluation of the numbers and then the resulting bias, of which there is a great deal in this study." Fabricant also noted that differences in screening practices might have had a substantial influence on prostate cancer incidence. Lastly, he said that considering what a strong factor family risk is for all cancers, prostate cancer might also increase in men who have a family history of breast cancer. "Other potential risk factors of this nature were not accounted for in the study," he said.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has established an Integrative Medicine Consult Service at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center. This service will provide physicians, nurses and other members of the Clinical Clinical Center health care team the opportunity to learn how CAM practices might complement or interact with a patient's care as a research participant at the Clinical Center. The service will also establish a research program and provide CAM education for NIH staff, patients and their families. Director of the consult service will be Patrick J. Mansky, M.D., who joined NCCAM in 2001 as a staff clinician and clinical investigator leading the Oncology Program in NCCAM's Division of Intramural Research. He is involved in research at NCCAM related to CAM interventions in the care and treatment of cancer patients.
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CATASTROPHIC BEE COLONY COLLAPSE IS NOT AFFECTING ORGANIC HIVES
As previously reported in Organic Bytes, beekeepers in 24 states are experiencing record losses of honeybees. Some states have reported up to 70% disappearances of commercial bee populations. Researchers are struggling to find the causes of this mysterious collapse. A crucial element of this story, missing from reports in the mainstream media, is the fact that organic beekeepers across North America are not experiencing colony collapses. The millions of dying bees are hyper-bred varieties whose hives are regularly fumigated with toxic pesticides by conventional beekeepers attempting to ward off mites. In contrast, organic beekeepers avoid pesticides and toxic chemicals and strive to use techniques that closely emulate the ecology of bees in the wild. Researchers are beginning to link the mass deaths of non-organic bees to pesticide exposure, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and the common practice of moving conventional bee hives over long distances.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/bees.cfm
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Special Report: Universal Health Care and Alternative Medicine
Universal Health Care Marches On,
And Other Outrages
(c) By Peter Barry Chowka
(June 1, 2007) It continues to be popular in many CAM (complementary alternative medicine) circles to focus on issues (or non-issues) like the FDA's CAM Guidance document or this or that piece of proposed Congressional legislation that might at some future time negatively impact the public's ability to access nutritional supplements. In this writer's opinion, this kind of preoccupation is equivalent to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic while the ship is bearing down on the fatal iceberg.
The "iceberg" looming ahead for proponents of CAM and alternative medicine, as well as for every American who believes in freedom of medical choice, is universal (government-controlled) health care. And surveying the political landscape, seventeen months before the 2008 Presidential and Congressional elections, it looks like it will take a miracle to stop its final advance.
Click here to read the complete article.
Peter Barry Chowka is an investigative journalist and medical-political analyst who specializes in reporting on alternative and innovative therapies and the politics of health care. Between 1992 and 1994, he was an advisor to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Alternative Medicine. His website is: http://chowka.com.
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Integration News from the Integrator Blog News & Reports
http://theintegratorblog.com
As an on-going monthly feature, Alternative Health Insurance Services will link you to articles of interest from the Integrator, edited by John Weeks. Weeks is a 20-year veteran reporter and organizer in the field of complementary and integrated health care. The Integrator seeks to serve leaders in creating the connectivity between the diverse disciplines and stakeholders in the emerging field. June picks look at the legacy of the first NIH NCCAM director, some insight into what may promote more hospital-based integration, a debate over the value of conventional coding for whole person practice, and, well, a little bit of glamour. Contact john@theintegratorblog.com with any news tips or commentaries.
Invited Voices: The Legacy of NIH NCCAM Director Stephen Straus, MD (1947- 2007)
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EXPANDED ACUPUNCTURE, CHIROPRACTIC & HERBAL REMEDY BENEFIT AVAILABLE TO CLIENTS OF ALTERNATIVE HEALTH INSURANCE SERVICES
Beginning July 1, 2007, clients of Alternative Health Insurance Services (AHIS) will be given the option to improve their benefits for acupuncture and chiropractic, as well as add a benefit for herbal remedies.
AHIS currently provides a complimentary benefit for all health insurance clients that includes up to 20 visits per year with just a $20 co-payment for medically necessary acupuncture and chiropractic services.
The new expanded plan that clients can purchase will expand coverage for acupuncture and chiropractic to include maintenance treatments which are not medically necessary.
The expanded benefit plan also includes an annual benefit for herbal remedies up to $500.
Services must be obtained from providers who are part of the Landmark Healthcare network.
Existing clients will be receiving more details on how to enroll this month and can enroll into the expanded plan effective July 1. Those who do not enroll at that time will not be eligible to enroll until July 1, 2008.
New clients will be able to enroll at the time their regular health insurance purchased through AHIS becomes effective. If they do not enroll at that time, they will not be eligible to enroll until the next July 1.
Please contact Steve Gorman at AHIS for more details (800 331-2713 or by e-mail to steve@alternativeinsurance.com.
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The Elaine Anestos Gorman Foundation
We have established The Elaine Anestos Gorman Foundation for the purpose of raising consciousness about inflammatory breast cancer (IBC).
IBC is an advanced and accelerated form of breast cancer usually not detected by mammograms or ultrasounds. Some women who have inflammatory breast cancer may remain undiagnosed for long periods, even while seeing their doctor to learn the cause of their symptoms. The symptoms are similar to mastitis, a breast infection and some doctors, not recognizing IBC, will prescribe antibiotics. If a response to antibiotics is not apparent after a week, a biopsy should be performed or a referral to a breast specialist is warranted.
For more information, visit www.RememberElaine.org. The website is constantly being updated with new information and links.
The Foundation is a tax exempt organization under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to the Foundation are deductible under section 170 of the code.
If you wish to make a contribution, please send checks payable to:
The Elaine Anestos Gorman Foundation
3265 Falerno Way
San Jose, CA 95135
I hope you will share this website with many people and help us make more people aware of this deadly and little known disease, which is on the rise.
Sincerely,
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Quick Links...
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LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
WE PROVIDE AT NO EXTRA COST:
TO RECEIVE A FREE QUOTE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE:
LEARN MORE ABOUT HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS (HSA):
Access Previous Editions of our Newsletter:
FIGHT INFLAMMATORY BREAST CANCER -
THE ELAINE ANESTOS GORMAN FOUNDATION WEBSITE:
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