Ginkgo Under Attack, and Herbalists Bite Back

Perhaps predictably, a New York Times article raising serious questions about the safety of ginkgo biloba--and the report from the National Toxicology Program on which the article is based--are drawing heavy fire from botanical medicine practitioners and botanical products manufacturers. Below is a portion of comments released today. The bottom line is scientists and herbalists say the government report used the wrong kind of gingko in the study, and that the standard ginkgo used in products in the U.S. is safe.

An excerpt from comments by the American Botanical Council:

"On April 18, both the American Botanical Council (ABC) and the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) issued statements referring to various limitations, concerns, and criticisms of the National Toxicology Report. Both organizations had filed public comments in early 2012 with the National Toxicology Program (NTP) elaborating concerns in the draft report that had been issued for public comment. 

Of particular interest is the fact that even by the NTP’s own language in the report, the results of the report are not to be interpreted as being related to human health. According to the authors, `The actual determination of risk to humans from chemicals found to be carcinogenic in laboratory animals requires a wider analysis that extends beyond the purview of these studies.'

ABC emphasized that the Shanghai Chinese ginkgo extract used in the two-year NTP study was not consistent with clinically tested ginkgo extracts or those standards for ginkgo extract that have been published in official compendial standards, such as national pharmacopeias. AHPA also noted that the Chinese extract was not consistent with those sold in the US market.

According to ABC’s Blumenthal, `Coverage of this subject in the New York Times will presumably result in more media outlets’ picking up this story and spreading to consumers and health professionals, creating what are probably unwarranted concerns about the long-term safety of appropriately manufactured ginkgo extracts.'

In addition, added Blumenthal, the Times’ statement that `Studies have never found any solid evidence that ginkgo [provides any benefit to ‘boost memory’ and ‘prevent dementia’]' is misleading. Blumenthal noted, as he had discussed with the reporter, that there is an impressive body of clinical evidence that the use of the leading German ginkgo extract does provide cognitive benefits to persons with mild dementia, among other noted benefits for patients with age-related cognitive impairment, including increases in quality of life."

New Doubts About Ginkgo Biloba

Millions of Americans take ginkgo biloba supplements to boost memory and prevent dementia. Studies have never found any solid evidence that ginkgo does any such thing, but it did not seem to be doing much harm.

But last month, scientists released the first government toxicology study of ginkgo biloba, which found that the extract — one of the top-selling herbal supplements in the country — caused cancer in lab animals, including an excessive number of liver and thyroid cancers, as well as nasal tumors.

Read the story at nytimes.com

Is Your Sunscreen Protecting You From Skin Cancer? Maybe Not

This may be business as usual for the FDA, but consumers deserve better. Just in time for summer the FDA announced it will delay scheduled implementation of new sunscreen labeling rules because manufacturers said they were having a hard time meeting the deadline. Among the new stricter rules, the FDA was set to bar use of the term “broad spectrum” for products that do not meet a government test for protection against both UVA and UVB rays. It turns out sunscreen manufacturers have been riding roughshod over consumer expectations; the claims on sunscreen bottles are not tightly regulated.

While most of us think sunscreen prevents cancer, it technically prevents sunburn, which is not the only cause of sun-related skin cancer.

Sunscreen use has sky-rocketed since the 1970s--when baby oil and foil-wrapped album covers created legions of dangerously tan American teens--but as sunscreen use has increased so has the rate of incidence of the most deadly skin cancer, melanoma. And even the most common type, squamous cell skin cancer, is on the rise--representing one third of all new cancers diagnosed in the U.S.

In a review of evidence, acccording to consumer watchdog Environmental Working Group (EWG), the FDA said that the available clinical studies “do not demonstrate that even [broad spectrum products with SPF greater than 15] alone reduce the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging.”   The agency also said that it is “not aware of any studies examining the effect of sunscreen use on the development of melanoma.”  hmmmm.... this does not jibe with consumer perceptions.

Here, read about the EWG's list of good and bad sunscreens, including more on a common ingredient that may promote breast cancer.

Are you getting the SPF that's on the label? It's all in how you apply. Click here to find out how.

Click here for a look at the EWG's top rated sunscreens, and help us find the most elegant brands.

FDA Sunscreen Crackdown....continued.

So why doesn't sunscreen work? One widely recognized problem is that sunscreens encourage people to spend more time in the sun, absorbing more carcinogenic UV rays overall. But a darker issue exists: Inferior sunscreens with poor UVA protection that have dominated the market for 30 years, according to the EWG, which publishes an annual sunscreen update (Sunscreens 2012) that rates sunscreens for safety and efficacy.

While many sunscreens effectively prevent sunburn, they do not provide as strong a barrier to skin cancer. And some that contain a Vitamin A derivative called Retinyl Palmitate, may even promote skin cancer, according to documents from the National Toxicology Program, the interagency governmental program employing toxicologists and molecular biologists to evaluate the safety of chemicals in the public realm. Since this government report was made public in January 2011, the EWG has been advocating for action on Retinyl Palmitate by the FDA.

In lab tests, the NTP found that sun-exposed mice developed cancerous lesions faster when wearing cream with Retinyl Palmitate than when wearing cream without Retinyl Palmitate. According to the EWG, fully 25% of all sunscreens and cosmetics that carry sunscreen factors (SPFs) including moisturizers and foundation contain Retinyl Palmitate, essentially magnifying the so-called sunscreens' potential to cause skin cancer. Quips the EWG, "It’s an ironic twist for an industry already battling studies that have questioned whether their products protect against skin cancer."

We are fans of irony, folks, but not when it comes to sunscreen.

Ginseng Fights Fatigue in Cancer Patients, Mayo Clinic-Led Study Finds

from mayoclinic.org

High doses of the herb American ginseng(Panax quinquefolius) over two months reduced cancer-related fatigue in patients more effectively than a placebo, a Mayo Clinic-led study found. Sixty percent of patients studied had breast cancer. The findings are being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting.

Researchers studied 340 patients who had completed cancer treatment or were being treated for cancer at one of 40 community medical centers. Each day, participants received a placebo or 2,000 milligrams of ginseng administered in capsules containing pure, ground American ginseng root.

"Off-the-shelf ginseng is sometimes processed using ethanol, which can give it estrogen-like properties that may be harmful to breast cancer patients," says researcher Debra Barton, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

At four weeks, the pure ginseng provided only a slight improvement in fatigue symptoms. However, at eight weeks, ginseng offered cancer patients significant improvement in general exhaustion — feelings of being "pooped," "worn out," "fatigued," "sluggish," "run-down," or "tired" — compared to the placebo group.

"After eight weeks, we saw a 20-point improvement in fatigue in cancer patients, measured on a 100-point, standardized fatigue scale," Dr. Barton says. The herb had no apparent side effects, she says.

Ginseng has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a natural energy booster. Until this study, its effects had not been tested extensively against the debilitating fatigue that occurs in up to 90 percent of cancer patients. Fatigue in cancer patients has been linked to an increase in the immune system's inflammatory cytokines as well as poorly regulated levels of the stress-hormone cortisol. Ginseng's active ingredients, called ginsenosides, have been shown in animal studies to reduce cytokines related to inflammation and help regulate cortisol levels.

Dr. Barton's next study will look closely at ginseng's effects on the specific biomarkers for fatigue. "Cancer is a prolonged chronic stress experience and the effects can last 10 years beyond diagnosis and treatment," she says. "If we can help the body be better modulated throughout treatment with the use of ginseng, we may be able to prevent severe long-term fatigue."

When Memory Fails, so Can Birth Control: Study Backs IUD and Other Methods That Don't Require People to Comply

From NYtimes.com

Intrauterine devices, under-the-skin implants and Depo-Provera injections — the long-acting reversible contraceptives — are much more effective in preventing pregnancy than the transdermal patch, the vaginal ring or the birth control pill, a new study reports.

Researchers provided 7,486 volunteers with the contraceptive of their choice, then followed them for up to three years. (Women using condoms, diaphragms and natural family planning were not included in the analysis.) There were 334 unintended pregnancies.

Failure rates for pills, patches and rings were more than 9 percent by the end of the study, compared with less than 1 percent for the long-acting reversible methods. The study appeared in the May 24 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Read more about the IUD and birth control study.