compiled by n John Clarkson
PN HEALTHYLIVINGNEWS
On a wing and a prayer
Praying for seriously ill patients does not improve their chances of survival,
a new study has shown. The MANTRA II study recruited over 700 patients undergoing
heart surgery. A total of 371 were assigned off-site prayer teams that included
Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist groups, with the remainder having no
prayer group. The investigators, whose findings are published in medical journal
The Lancet, found no measurable treatment effect on major adverse cardiovascular
events, hospital readmission or death.
In addition, half of the patients were also assigned to Music, Imagery and
Touch Therapy (MIT), which involved teaching the patients breathing techniques
and playing relaxing music. These patients showed a slightly lower mortality
rate after six months.
An accompanying editorial said: “The contribution that hope and belief
make to a personal understanding of illness cannot be dismissed so lightly.
They are proper subjects for science, even while transcending its known bounds.”
Pomegranates for prostates
Research
presented to the American Urological Association suggests drinking pomegranate
juice slows the rise of prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels by half in
men with recurrent prostate cancer. Pomegranate juice contains antioxidants
thought to have anti-cancer effects and estrogen-like plant substances called
phytoestrogens that could also be effective against prostate cancer. Encouraging
results in cell culture prompted researchers at the University of California
to conduct a clinical trial of pomegranate juice in 48 men with rising PSA
levels after treatment for their malignancy. The average PSA doubling time,
a measure of tumour activity, is normally 15 months but was shown to have
increased to 37 months among those who received pomegranate juice. Urine testing
confirmed the presence of pomegranate antioxidants in all men. A phase three
randomized trial is now planned. Men with prostate problems should always
inform their doctor if they are taking complementary treatments, such as saw
palmetto or pomegranate, as they can affect the outcome of clinical tests.
Bitter pill sweetened
Most vitamins and mineral supplements taken by people living with HIV will
not be banned in the UK under new EU rules that came into force on 1 August
under a wave of protest. Many HIV positive people feared supplements like
selenium and zinc would become unobtainable under the Food Supplements Directive
(FSD), a regulation to prevent the sales of potentially harmful ingredients
in Europe. Around 20 million people in Britain take vitamins and supplements,
spending over £300m a year. Fear that many popular supplements on UK
shelves would be outlawed prompted a petition of more than one million signatures
in Britain, and a letter of protest to Tony Blair. Under the directive, only
ingredients deemed safe and appearing on the EU’s ‘positive list’
will be legal. The Alliance for Natural Health, set up in 2002 to contest
the FSD, was pleased with the outcome. In a statement it said: “The
fact that requirements for admission to the positive list have been fundamentally
changed now means the majority of high quality vitamin and mineral supplements
will not face a ban.” Here’s a rough guide to how the FSD will
affect availability:
• 99 per cent of supplements will remain unchanged.
•‘Naturally’ occurring forms of vitamins and minerals normally
found in the diet will not be affected.
• Products containing as yet unapproved ingredients will remain on sale
unless existing evidence points to danger.
• Herbal supplements such as ginseng and St. John’s Wort were
never included in the regulations so remain unaffected.
• So-called ‘high-potency’ supplements will also remain
available.
