Question: From Megan

Could you please give me your thoughts on Wild Yam. I have been told by several female friends that it is an excellent natural alternative for helping with menstrual complications. But when I did some internet searches I came across only negative statements/studies.

Thanks

Response From Brett:

Hi Megan

Thanks for your question. I know I have written about this before but haven’t been able to locate that reader’s question.

Anyway, I know what you mean! The wild yam content you would have come across is typical of what’s happening on the web nowadays. Unqualified people posting content on which they have no idea whether it is factual, incomplete or predominantly wrong. These people are simply doing internet searches themselves and then copying/re-wording the mistakes of other unqualified website authors.

Wild Yam is an extremely useful medicinal herb for women! It is a precursor (to human sex hormones) able to help with menstrual cramps/pain, hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms.

Much of the negative content you probably came across about Wild Yam’s oestrogenic effects is quite misleading (clinical studies for traditional Wild Yam are difficult to come across outside of a laboratory conversion.)

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So, who isn’t interested in anti aging wrinkle cures? If you’re a part of the baby boomer’s generation (or younger) then I bet you’ve got some kind of anti aging program or strategy going on.

Of course you know as well as I do that there is a literal mountain of products out there, all of which supposedly give you the anti aging wrinkle results you so desperately desire. If you’re well read however then you know all too well that most anti aging products barely do anything!

The fancy marketing presentations (aka ‘lies’ and ‘mis-truths’) that manufacturers come up with to ‘spin’ their products are designed to mis-lead you and tell you what you want to hear. They also cleverly hide any and all weaknesses that each product contains. But, their days of basking in the vast profits that amass from consumers lack of knowledge are fast coming to an end!

Over the past 10 years researchers have been hard at work learning what actually works and why. So, let’s just cut to the chase!

When it comes to anti aging wrinkle cures what works and what doesn’t work? And just how many ‘PROVEN” anti aging wrinkle substances actually exist?

Well, according to a recent review in The Archives of Dermatology, there are THREE treatments out there waiting for you which are “proven clinically effective”!

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I’m staying on the ‘behavior of drug companies’ theme today. So, here’s another story that will probably make you shake your head in disgust.

I’m sure you’ve already heard the stories!

Drug companies authorizing and training their sales reps to ‘take care’ of doctors and nurture the relationship so that in return the doctors will gratefully prescribe the companies drugs to their patients.
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A few days ago I was scanning down a ‘Readers Comments’ thread on a popular health website when one reader’s response caught my eye.

This person made 3 comments in his post, all of which I have seen quite regularly on health sites around the web and ALL 3 represent common misconceptions with regard to nutritional supplements!

These particular misconceptions are proof of the popular saying “If you throw enough mud for long enough some of it will stick!”

And the Internet only serves to exacerbate this problem!

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Your nutritional vitamin supplement contains Folic acid, right?

Well it very well may cause you cancer - according to a recently released article!

That’s exactly what Harvard Medical School researchers have said in the March 2008 edition of their Harvard Men’s Health Watch newsletter.

They also cited studies to say that other multivitamin ingredients, namely [tag-tec]antioxidants[/tag-tec], [tag-tec]vitamins B6[/tag-tec], B12 and [tag-ice]Folic acid[/tag-ice] don’t prevent disease (cancer and heart disease).

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Question: From Tricia

“I would like to know if you have evaluated Dr Ben Kim’s Greens powder”.

Thank you

Response from Brett:

Hi again Tricia

I’ve looked through Dr Ben Kim’s website and I’m sorry to say it’s just another example of a ‘doctor’ taking advantage of consumers lack of knowledge about supplement quality and nutrition.

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