When a researcher treated patients with Acyclovir for one herpes outbreak and honey for another, overall healing time with honey was 43 percent better than with Acyclovir for sores on the lips and 59 percent better for genital sores. Raw honey (not heat treated), or even better Manuka honey, needs to be used. There were also fewer side effects for the honey group and it must be applied 4 times per day.

Source: Medical Science Monitor 10(8):MT94-98, August 2004

Although artificial human milk is regulated, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention USA found that a thyroid-affecting chemical used in rocket fuel contaminated 15 brands of powdered infant formula - including two that accounted for 87% market share in 2000 in USA. The top offenders included Similac and Enfamil.

And in China, 76 tons of melamine-tainted milk products were recently seized, just two yrs after melamine-adulterated formula killed 6 infants and hospitalised thousands more.

For all these reasons the American Academy of Pediatrics remains less than sanguine about infant formula, recommending exclusive breastfeeding for six months and continued nursing 'until at least the baby's first birthday'. Indeed, they credit mother's milk with everything from breast cancer risk reduction to obesity prevention.

Source: Mother Jones July 12, 2010

You saw the sensational media headlines last week: Calcium supplements cause heart attacks! This was another example of bad research, poorly constructed, but it does contain an element of truth that we all need to understand. The conclusions are "dramatically overstated.....Seven of the 15 trials evaluated had no, or incomplete, data on cardiovascular outcomes....Further, the researchers chose to exclude any trials administering calcium plus vitamin D - including the Women's Health Initiative, which found calcium plus Vitamin D had no effect on the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke".

Supplemental calcium should never be taken alone. It needs additional magnesium, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin K. Calcium plays an important role in building and maintaining bone mass.

The World Health Organisation was urging world governments to put extra calcium in everyone's water supply. So, in effect, one conventional medicine authority is saying the opposite.

Source: Alliance for Natural Health - US

Researchers report that"there is more than sufficient evidence to implicate inadequate dietary magnesium as the main cause of TRD [treatment-resistant depression]. Since inadequate brain magnesium appears to reduce serotonin levels, and since antidepressants have been shown to have the action of raising brain magnesium, we further hypothesise that magnesium treatment will be beneficial for nearly all depressives, not only TRD."
A 2008 randomised clinical trial supports the use of magnesium in depression, with results showing it to be as effective as the tricyclic antidepressant Imipramine in treating depression in magnesium-deficient diabetics, without any of the side effects of Imipramine. Magnesium is low in processed foods, potentially harming the brain, while calcium, glutamate and aspartate - all common food additives - may worsen affective disorders.
Source: Eby GA 3rd, Eby KL. Magnesium for treatment-resistant depression: a review and hypothesis. Med Hypotheses 2010 Apr 2010;74(4):649-660.

Pelvic floor disorders, including urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and faecal incontinence, affect many women, with frequency increasing with age. Vitamin D insufficiency has been linked with poor muscle strength. The analysis showed approximately 82% of women had vitamin D levels below the normal range. Consistent with the researchers' hypothesis, higher vitamin D levels were associated with a decreased risk of any pelvic floor disorder in all women.
Source: Obstet Gynaecol 2010 Apr;115(4):795-803.

In November 2008, the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) doubled the recommended daily intake of vitamin D for infants and children, from 200IU to 400IU. The study revealed that the use of oral vitamin D supplements was low (1-13%) and only 11-25% of American infants met the recommended level of 400IU per day. Both breastfed and formula-fed babies younger than six months of age are at risk of low vitamin D intake.
Source: Pediatrics 2010 Apr;125(4):627-632.

A recent study found that vitamin D supplements reduced the incidence of influenza A in schoolchildren. The multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial studied 430 schoolchildren aged 6-15 years, over the Japanese winter between December 2008 and March 2009. The children were assigned a total of 1200IU of vitamin D3 daily (3 x 200IU tablets twice daily) or placebo. Asthma attacks were also prevented by vitamin D3 supplementation.
Source: Am J Clin Nutr 2010 May;91(5):1255-1260.

Catechins in green tea could help protect against glaucoma and other eye diseases.
Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry February 10, 2010;58(3):1523-34

People who suffer from a rare form of insomnia can die from lack of sleep. Scientists have long known, for instance, that lack of sleep is associated with weight gain. Another study also found that subjects ate significantly more snacks and carbohydrates after a night of only five and a half hours of sleep. We get about 25% less sleep than they did a century ago - and this isn't just a matter of having less energy. As ABC News reported, staying awake for just one night is enough to make you act as though you're legally intoxicated if you get behind the wheel. This shows just how crucial sleep is to your health. It is no less vital than food, water and air.
Source: New York Times April 26, 2010

A new study using fish DNA suggests that some species of tuna, particularly those used by restaurants, have higher mercury levels. Restaurants tend to favour certain species of tuna, such as Bluefin, Akami and Bigeye tuna. Unfortunately, mercury tends to accumulate to a greater degree in muscle than in fat, rendering these highly prized, leaner species of tuna more susceptible to high contamination. Restaurants tend to buy larger sized fish, which in turn contain larger concentrations of mercury due to their size.
Source: Biology Letters April 21, 2010 [Epub ahead of print]