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Research, Inspiration and Discussion

This page provides convenient links to a growing body of original, engaging and enlightening science-based articles, research and essays which probe the connection between what we eat and the level of wellness we experience. These works are written by Ed Bauman, Ph.D., his colleagues and the Bauman Nutrition staff. Please return to this page from time to time to examine and enjoy new additions .

Click the links below to view these writings.

Nourishing Your Aging Parents and Yourself by Ed Bauman, Ph.D.

New! America's Drinking Problem by Jodi Friedlander, M.S., N.C.

How America's Corn-ucopia is Making Us Fat by Jodi Friedlander, M.S. and Ed Bauman, Ph.D.

Reversing Diabetes & Obesity by Jodi Friedlander, M.S. and Ed Bauman, Ph.D.

Dysglycemia by Ed Bauman, Ph.D.

Hashimoto's Autoimmune Thyroiditis: Eating for Health Applications for Recovery by Ed Bauman, Ph.D.

New! Nutrition and Health - Research Briefs of Interest from the Literature

Propolis
Propolis cures vaginal infection. Int J Gynecol Obstet 2005;89:127–32. Fifty four women with vaginitis douched with 30 ml (about 1 ounce) of a 5% propolis solution once per day for seven days. One week after finishing treatment, 87% of the women reported symptom improvement. The make-up of the vaginal microflora (bacteria and fungi) had shifted toward normal in 75.9% of the women. Six months later, more than 70% of the women who improved reported not needing any further treatment. All of the women had used antibiotics to treat their vaginitis at least once in the six months prior to the study, but the treatment had either failed or a new
infection had occurred.[1]

Pyconogenol
Pyconogenol, a french maritime pine bark extract reduces edema. Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis (Vol. 12, pp. 440-444). Fifty three hypertensive patients. Twenty-three patients suffering from adema of their ankles and feet as a result of antihypertensive medications and being treated with angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (brand
names Mavik, Altace), and 30 patients also suffering from edema and being treated with nifedipine (calcium channel blockers) (brand names Adalat, Procardia) were divided into two groups and supplemented with 150 mg Pycnogenol per day (27 patients) or an equivalent dosage of placebo (26 patients). Those being treated with nifedipine experienced a 36% decrease in ankle swelling , with a 35% decrease in ankle swelling in those receiving the pine bark extract. No effect was seen for the placebo group. [2]

Rhodiola Rosea
Rhodiola rosea helps break down fat. Ramazanov, Z. et al. (1999) "New secrets of effective natural stress and weight management, using Rhodiola rosea and Rhodendron caucasicum" ATN/Safe Goods Publishing, CT. Clinical data showed that the intake of tablets of the Russian herbal remedy Rhodiola rosea extract by obese subjects led to a mean weight loss of 19 pounds (11% reduction). In a control group, in contrast, the weight change was insignificant. Intake of Rhodiola rosea activates hormone-sensitive
lipase, which plays a key role in breaking down the fat stored in adipose tissue.[3]

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe)
Amino acid derivative S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) boosts effectiveness of anti-depression medication. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology (2004;24:661–4). Twenty-three people diagnosed with depression and treated with serotonin-enhancing antidepressants for at least 4 weeks added 400 mg of SAMe two times per day to their medication. All still experienced symptoms at the start of the study. After two weeks, the amount of SAMe was increased to 800 mg two times per day for an additional four weeks. Symptoms were evaluated weekly for the first four weeks and at six weeks. All subjects showed significant improvement at the end of the study compared with the beginning. Sexual function scores also improved significantly from the beginning to the end of the study. [4]

Solanum chrysotrichum
Plant extract solanum chrysotrichum treats dandruff as effectively as conventional chemical shampoos. Planta Medica (2004;70:483–8). The participants, 103 men and women with Malassezia overgrowth (dandruff) were randomly assigned to use either a shampoo standardized to contain 12.5% saponins from the plant S. chrysotrichum, or a shampoo containing 2% ketoconazole. They were instructed to apply the shampoo directly to the scalp, lather, leave it on for five minutes, and then rinse with clean water. Treatments were repeated every three days for four weeks and were evaluated two and four weeks after the treatment began. The S. chrysotrichum shampoo was very well tolerated and was effective for 65% of the participants who used it, whereas the ketoconazole shampoo was effective for 73%. [5]

Supplements
Consumers report adverse effects from supplements. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2006. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2006.09.002. Out of a total 2,743 participants (2002), seventy three percent of respondents said they had used dietary supplements in the past 12 months, while only 4 percent said they had experienced some adverse event attributed to supplements. Seventy-four percent of users reporting an adverse event said they were taking a supplement while also taking a prescription drug. Ninety percent of respondents stopped taking the supplement product on experiencing an adverse event; 48 per cent saw a doctor; 25 per cent
reported the incident to a health authority; 12 percent went to an emergency room, and 9 percent complained to the manufacturer.[6]

Tea
1. Tea in conjunction with sulindac or caffeine reduces cancer risk in mice.
Carcinogenesis. 2003 Feb;24(2):263-7. Mice given green tea, white tea, or sulindac had significantly fewer such precancerous lesions than controls after 12 weeks. The protection provided by either green or white tea was in fact comparable to the proven ability of sulindac in this regard. But mice treated with a combination of white tea plus sulindac had significantly fewer tumors than they did when treated with either substance alone. The same researchers tested four types of tea for their ability to protect the rat colon from a known dietary carcinogen (or cancer-causing substance). Researchers brewed the white tea for five minutes, using two grams of tea to every 100 milliliters of water, which works out to about two-thirds of an ounce of dry tea to a quart of liquid. A second group of rats was given an equivalent amount of just caffeine. In weeks three and four of the experiment, the animals were given a carcinogen derived from cooked meat. An examination of liver enzymes and metabolites in urine at eight weeks suggested that the carcinogen was more rapidly metabolized and detoxified by the rats given white tea than those getting caffeine alone or water. At the end of the study, rats given white tea also had significantly fewer pre-cancerous lesions in their colon. Interestingly, rats given caffeine alone also had fewer such lesions than the controls.[7]

2. Drinking tea reduces ovarian cancer risk. Archives of Internal Medicine
(2005;165:2683–6). Dietary evaluations of over 60,000 women between ages 40 and 76 over a 15 year period and 301 subsequent ovarian-cancer diagnosis' led researchers to conclude that the more tea the women drank, the lower their risk of ovarian cancer. Drinking just one cup of tea per day reduced the risk of ovarian cancer by 24%, and women who drank two or more cups per day were 46% less likely to develop ovarian cancer than women who didn't drink tea. For each additional cup of tea consumed, the risk decreased by another 18%. [8]

Valerian and Lemon Balm
Herbal remedy of of valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) treats restlessness and sleep disorders in children. Phytomedicine 2006;13:383–7. Nine hundred and fourteen children aged from infancy to 12 years old experiencing restlessness and sleep disorders were treated with a valerian–lemon balm combination for four weeks. Each herbal tablet contained 160 mg of valerian and 80 mg of lemon balm, and the amount used varied depending on age and symptom severity, up to a maximum of 2 tablets twice per day. Nearly 62% of the children experienced restlessness or dyssomnia every day at the beginning of the study, but after four weeks of treatment with the herbal combination only 12% of them had daily symptoms. No side effects were seen.[9]

Vitamin B
1. B vitamin supplimentation can correct B12 and folate abnormalities. Am J Clin Nutr 2001; 73: 338-346. In a four month randomized, controlled intervention trial, 130 elderly subjects were given either a diet of foods enriched with multiple micronutrients (at or less than the RDA levels), exercise, or a combination of thse, with or without a social program. The supplimentation program, but not the exercise program resulted in
significantly higher levels of vitamin B12 and folate, with reductions in homocysteine and methylmalonic acid levels. There was no change in the neuropsychological test scores.[10]

2. B-Vitamins ease leg cramps for pregnant women. Int J Gynecol Obstet 2006 Aug 17. Eighty-four pregnant women who had been experiencing severe leg cramps were randomly assigned to one of four groups: group 1 received 500 mg of calcium carbonate once per day; group 2 received 182 mg of magnesium (as magnesium aspartate) twice per day; group 3 received 100 mg of thiamine (vitamin B1) plus 40 mg per day of pyridoxine (vitamin B6) per day; and group 4 received no treatment. After four weeks, of the women in the calcium carbonate group (group 1), 52% had "absolute improvement," meaning that muscle cramps were completely absent at the end of the study. An additional 43% of the calcium group had "relative improvement," meaning that the muscle cramps had decreased in their frequency and intensity. Only 5% of the women taking calcium carbonate had no change in their symptoms. All the women in the magnesium aspartate group (group 2) improved to some extent from their treatment: 71% had relative improvement and 29% had absolute improvement. For the B-vitamin group (group 3) the symptoms of 72% of those taking the vitamin B1 and B6 combination were completely resolved; another 19% reported relative improvement, and only 9% experienced no change. [11]

3. Women with low dietary intakes of B1, B2, B12 and folic acid at a higher risk for Cervical Cancer. Cancer Causes and Control (2003;14:859–70). Two hundred and fourteen women aged 18 years and older with low- or high-grade cervical dysplasia (the pre-cancerous stage of cervical cancer) and 270 healthy women completed questionnaires regarding their typical daily diet. Specific nutrient levels were calculated based on intake from food alone, supplements alone, and food and supplements combined. Each woman was also tested for HPV infection. More than 70% of the women diagnosed with cervical dysplasia were infected with HPV, compared with 10% without cervical dysplasia. HPV infection was more associated with high-grade cervical dysplasia than low-grade cervical dysplasia. Higher intake of vitamins B1 and B2 from food sources, vitamin B12 from supplements, and total folic acid (from food and supplements) was associated with a decreased risk of developing high-grade cervical dysplasia. Low-grade cervical dysplasia risk decreased as intake of vitamin B2 from food and total folic acid increased. The risk dropped by 50 to 90% for the highest intake of these nutrients, compared with the lowest intake. A significant increase in high-grade cervical dysplasia was observed in smokers or alcohol drinkers (even in small quantities) with low levels of B vitamins, compared with nonsmokers and nondrinkers with high intakes of these nutrients. Thus, HPV infection may be associated with low nutrient
intake of B vitamins and women who are relatively depleted of these vitamins may be more susceptible to cervical dysplasia.[12]

[1] Int J Gynecol Obstet 2005;89:127–32
[2] Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis (Vol. 12, pp. 440-444)
[3] . Ramazanov, Z. et al. (1999) "New secrets of effective natural stress and weight management,
using Rhodiola rosea and Rhodendron caucasicum" ATN/Safe Goods Publishing, CT.
[4] Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology (2004;24:661–4)
[5] Planta Medica (2004;70:483–8)
[6] Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2006. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2006.09.002
[7] Carcinogenesis. 2003 Feb;24(2):263-7
[8] Archives of Internal Medicine (2005;165:2683–6).
[9] Phytomedicine 2006;13:383–7
[10] Am J Clin Nutr 2001; 73: 338-346.
[11] Int J Gynecol Obstet 2006 Aug 17
[12] Cancer Causes and Control (2003;14:859–70).