Newsweek Magazine article

Please share your experiences, successes, and failures in using non-drug therapies for RLS/WED (methods of relief that don't involve swallowing or injecting anything), including compression, heat, light, stretches, acupuncture, etc. Also under this heading, medical interventions that don't involve the administration of a medicine to the body (eg. varicose-vein operations, deep-brain stimulation). [This forum contains Topics started prior to 2009 that deal with Non-prescription Medicines, Supplements, & Diet.]
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SJ
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Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:17 am
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Newsweek Magazine article

Post by SJ »

I have found an article in Newsweek Magazine that is about one of the ingredients in my favorite RLS remedy. I have copied the entire article below and I am including a link to a summary of it.
Summary: http://vitacorp.icthus.net/articles/rus ... ogen.shtml

This page has a summary of the article and the link is associated with the company I sell for ( fair disclosure). Also by going to this site I learned something that I did not know. You can buy direct from the company. So, I am not advertising to make a profit here. ( I have been confussed on this point. I am new to sales)

I think the Russian Adaptogens have not been discussed here. There are also five others in my favorite remedy. I also believe that few if any have tried adaptogens. It could be of benefit to RLS because of the calming affect ( helps me Sleep ) but I personally like the energy. This might also be of interest to people with other health problems, like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

News Week--Rhodiola--Herbal Stress Buster?
Health: Herbal Stress Buster?Can a Russian root be good for your health?By Anne Underwood NEWSWEEKFeb. 3 issue — As a Soviet soldier in Afghanistan in 1979, Zakir Ramazanov discovered a tonic that helped him reduce stress, while boosting mental and physical energy. It wasn’t alcohol, but tea—made from the golden-yellow roots of a Siberian plant called Rhodiola rosea, which the Siberian soldiers received in their mothers’ packages from home.NOW A PLANT physiologist and president of National BioScience Corp. in Chester, N.Y., he is supplying extracts of the same root to U.S. supplement makers and researching its beneficial properties. “Given the frenetic pace of American life,” he says, “America needs rhodiola.”Although rhodiola is just starting to create a buzz in this country, it has been used for centuries in Russia, Scandinavia and Iceland. Even the Vikings used it to enhance their endurance. But it was the Soviet Union in the 1960s that began seriously researching it—in part to maximize the performance of its Olympic athletes. Now the herb is poised to take off in the United States, with GNC rolling out Pinnacle’s Rhodax nationwide. “It’s got everything to become an herbal superstar—a high-safety profile, compelling benefits and a reasonable amount of scientific research,” says Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical Council.Most of the studies on rhodiola have been Russian. But in recent years, Western journals have published some intriguing research showing improved performance in medical students during exams and physicians on night call after taking rhodiola. Next month the journal Phytomedicine will publish a trial by Georg Wikman at the Swedish Herbal Institute and Russian colleagues comparing 180 elite Russian cadets before and after routine night duty. Not surprisingly, the cadets were not as strong on abstract thought and memory tests at 4 a.m. as they were when rested. But those on low and medium doses of rhodiola significantly outperformed those taking either a placebo or no pill at all.Scientists are still unraveling the clues to rhodiola’s effects. But animal research indicates that it reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, while optimizing levels of key brain chemicals involved in mood. It also appears to boost synthesis of a molecule known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which cells need to produce energy. “When you see how it works, the effects make sense,” says Dr. Richard Brown of Columbia University, who has given rhodiola to 300 patients for depression and other disorders. “It has no side effects that we’ve noticed—only side benefits.”Still, doctors note that more research is needed on long-term complications and adverse drug —interactions. (So far none have been noted.) And they sound the standard warning that pregnant women should not try new herbs. Even doctors who are open to rhodiola caution that any benefits may be modest. Dr. Andrew Weil, perhaps the nation’s leading herbal arbiter, has been taking rhodiola for six months and notes “increased energy, but nothing dramatic.” Others may have no energy boost at all, if the real problem is a medical disorder such as an underactive thyroid.Rhodiola also won’t help if you buy a bad product. Reliable brands at present include Arctic Root, Rosavin, Rhodax, Clear Energy and Longevia, which cost $20 to $50 for a month’s supply. Look for bottles that say Rhodiola rosea—not Rhodiola sacra or any other rhodiola species, as these lack the active rosavin compounds.But such caveats cannot dampen the enthusiasm of radio host Liz Sterling of Boca Raton, Fla. After taking Longevia for two months, she says, “it’s as if my shoulders have lowered, and stress just rolls off.” We should all be so lucky.



SJ
"Health is worth more than learning."
Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
If you never try anything new, nothing will ever change"

georger
Posts: 62
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2006 4:06 am
Location: Olympia, Washington

newsweek article

Post by georger »

You mentioned that you have a favorite rls medication.....what is it?

Sherry

ViewsAskew
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Post by ViewsAskew »

Sherry, if you go to the link provided in the text, it will show you name of the product. SJ personally likes a specific brand name product, called Lima Plus. She or her husband is a distrubutor of this same product.

Ann
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Baffledsilly
Posts: 27
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 7:02 pm

Re: Newsweek Magazine article

Post by Baffledsilly »

My friend bought me a bottle of it, knowing I can't ingest caffeine. Started taking them, an I admit, I do feel more energetic and less fatigued. I will be looking at more herbal remedies, the only worry is we don't know what happens when you mix more than one together, so have to be careful before you do.

Betty/WV
Posts: 587
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2004 11:11 pm
Location: West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful

Re: Newsweek Magazine article

Post by Betty/WV »

Re: News Week Article----You have to be careful mixing herbs with medication. Also there is no regulations on herbal suppliments. So you don't know how much or what grade or what the fillers are. I have had RLS/WED for over 45 years and tried everything under the sun, soap under the sheets, lol. All kinds of creams, vitamins, you name it....nothing worked until I was put on pramipexole by my neurologist. Its not perfect but it works about 80 or 90% of the time. If this works, GREAT. If anyone wants to try it, that is their priviledge. But I can just about predict the outcome. But believe, me if someone comes up with a cure? I'll jump on the band wagon. Dr. B and others on the RLS/WED Foundation have been doing research for years, funny they never mention anything about this and if anyone knew of a remedy that worked I'm sure they would have/

BETTY/WV
Thanks to rls.org, I have learned so much about my condition. I have received encouragement from my friends here. This is a site I can come to when I am up most of the night, and I vent, and know those who read my messages understand

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