Posts Tagged ‘physicians’

Super Blue Green Algae

January 21st, 2010

 

Photo Credit: www.ehow.com

Photo Credit: www.ehow.com

Super blue green algae is a supplement whose makers claim can help people lose weight by suppressing the appetite, boosting a person’s immunity, and increasing the energy. Instead, not only does this product probably not work, but it might cause but it might cause some to local problems for some people and probably should be avoided.

I well remember taking super blue-green algae in the mid-1990s. I had a friend who had started taking it and lost a lot of weight. She recommended it to us, and we figured if it works for her it would work for us. It came in a capsule form, with what look like green stuff inside the capsule. That turned out to be very significant, because the main thing my wife and I noticed was that our stools were suddenly dark green all the time, and it felt like we always had to continually be going to the bathroom and working hard to keep ourselves feeling clean. We each took these pills for about three weeks, before finally deciding that this wasn’t for us. Four months after my friend had reached her lowest weight, she gained half of it back, which proved to all of us that this super blue-green algae did not work.

Super Blue Green Algae Pills

Super Blue Green Algae Pills

As it turns out, the original company, K. C. Laboratories, had already been sued and ordered to stop making the product in 1986 when a judge declared that the therapeutic claims that it been made for the product were invalid. What the company did instead was remarket the claim as a supplement instead. However, the Canadian Health Protection Branch in 1999 stated that products containing blue-green algae might be toxic and harmful to the liver. They did some testing and found that as long as the level of microcystin stayed relatively low, that’s a supplement may not be harmful overall, but click on his some gastrointestinal discomfort and general malaise in some people.

The people marketing this super blue-green algae are now claiming that it can help people overcome Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), but independent testing seems to indicate that those claims are false. Overall, it seems that people who take super blue-green algae receive no medicinal benefits and very little of nutrients by taking these pills. Instead, most physicians will still recommend that a balanced diet and exercise will achieve greater benefits than super blue-green algae could ever hope to provide. However, for anyone who decides to still take it, they should make sure not to give it to children because it could cause dire consequences with their systems because of possible contamination by toxic substances in the algae.

See more:
Blue Green Algae Health Risk
Why Blue Algae Makes Me Tires
Wikipedia Cyanobacteria (Blue Green Algae)

Saw Palmetto Multiple Uses

November 4th, 2009

 

Photo Credit: www.nbbd.com

Photo Credit: www.nbbd.com

Saw Palmetto is a plant whose herbs have been used by Native American tribes for many issues, but mainly for urinary and reproductive system issues.  It’s also a herbal supplement sold in many stores to help men with prostate issues.

It has a long history that most people don’t know about.  The Mayan culture used it, as well as the Seminoles.  Though it’s mainly considered as a medicinal plant, it was also used as food or as a spice in other foods.  However, it’s supposed effect on urinary issues is why it’s been used most of the time.  This usage is greater in Europe than it is in the United States.

Saw Palmetto was one of the first “super herbs,” promoted in 1898 as something that could address multiple issues, almost like St. John’s Wort is promoted today.  For instance, it can be used as a cold medicine; it can be used to help asthma.  It can help one’s appetite and digestion.  It can even help reverse hair loss.

It’s definitely been touted as a legitimate treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia, which is the fancy way to say an enlarged prostate.  However, a study that was performed by the University of California, San Francisco, and the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, Oakland, from 2001 and 2004, and reported on in 2006 by the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that they could find no significant improvement in anyone who had taken saw palmetto in their tests when compared to people who were given placebos.  This was counter to a study done by the Scientific Research Institute of Urology, Moscow, which indicated significant improvement.

What does this mean?  Overall, it probably means that you can try to take saw palmetto, and it will either work or it won’t.  Some physicians have stated that they wouldn’t want to recommend that anyone take it without getting a PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) exam first.  Other physicians say the herb won’t affect those levels at all.  In other words, it’s up to you to decide what to do if you have any issues you want to try to correct.

Be cautious, and pay attention to any changes, positive or negative.

See more:
Saw Palmetto Uses and Safety
How does Saw Palmetto work on enlarged prostate?
History of Saw Plametto Uses