DALLAS – July 24, 2008 – One of the reasons people on low-carbohydratediets may lose weight is that they reduce their intake of fructose, atype of sugar that can be made into body fat quickly, according to a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Elizabeth Parks, associate professor of clinicalnutrition and lead author of a study appearing in a current issue of the Journal of Nutrition, said her team’s findings suggest that the right type of carbohydrates a person eats may be just as important in weight control as the number of calories a person eats. Read the rest of this entry

There have been several studies over the past few years that suggest taking fish oil during pregnancy is a must. Any acupuncture or nutrition patient I see that is pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant I always suggest that they get a good fish oil supplement. Now another study was just released that began in 1990 with 533 pregnant women at week 30 who were assigned to 3 groups. Read the rest of this entry

A just published acupuncture research article concluded that acupuncture improves osteoarthritic knee pain symptoms above ’sham’ acupuncture.    Granted the research group was small, only 34 active acupuncture subjects and there is no such thing as true ’sham’ acupuncture, but the methodologies of this pilot study were sound as they used pain as the endpoint measurement which showed significant difference. Read the rest of this entry

Another recent acupuncture research article demonstrated that acupuncture can be effective for people whose salivary glands are damaged by radiation or chemotherapy.  In this study the acupuncture point Large Intestine 2 (LI 2 on the index finger just distal to the knuckle) was stimulated (the only point that was used!) to determine if it increased saliva production over ’sham’ acupuncture. The ’sham’ acupuncture was a point on the pinky side of the anterior forearm a couple of inches up from the wrist crease using a non-insertive needle.  Read the rest of this entry

Here is a research article from several years ago showing that acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine is effective for seasonal rhinitis. (Of course it came out of Germany as they lead the world in non-invasive medical care). I certainly have many patients that call right before the springtime allergy season for their tuneups. It really helps either eliminate or cut down on their medications. Read the rest of this entry

Here is an interesting review paper that looked at whether auricular acupuncture is effective for reducing post-operative pain.   Auricular acupuncture is acupuncture on only the ear.   The ear contains a hologram of the entire body where certain ear acupuncture points correspond to body point.   Ear acupuncture is most well known for the treatment of drug detoxification and smoking cessation.  However it can also be used to manage pain. Read the rest of this entry

A recent review study showed that acupuncture in conjuction with in-vitro fertilization improved the chances of a rates of pregnancy and live births.   (This really shouldn’t come as a surprise since there have been many studies showing that acupuncture helps couples conceive.)   This study was a review of 7 trials and over 1300 women undergoing IVF, so it wasn’t just a small pilot study, it did have some significance. The It was a 1.65 odds ratio which suggests that acupuncture increased the odds of clinical pregnancy by 65% compared with the control groups. However the authors correctly state that this is an overestimation and what it actually means is that for every 10 women that get treated there will be one more live birth.  Consider the exorbernant cost of IVF acupuncture is very cost effective.   Still this is significant, especially if you are one of those 10.

I’m always amazed at how incredible acupuncture is for regulating female hormones.   So it isn’t a surprise that acupuncture helps with pregnancy. The authors concluded: “Current preliminary evidence suggests that acupuncture given with embryo transfer improves rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation.”

In Health,
George Mandler
Licensed Acupuncturist
Licensed Dietitian / Nutritionist

Maynard, MA & Cambridge, MA

A recent review study looked at fish oil supplementation as a primary prevention method of age related macular degeneration. (Age-related macular degeneration :An eye disease with its onset usually after age 60 that progressively destroys themacula , the central portion of the retina , impairing central vision.) Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) rarely causes blindness because only the center of vision is affected. However, injury to the macula in the center of the retina can impair the ability to see straight ahead clearly and sometimes make it difficult to read, drive, or perform other daily activities that require fine central vision. Read the rest of this entry

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Acupuncture and Chinese medicine in Wokingham, Crowthorne and Reading, Berkshire, UK.

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