Consumer
Publications and Information
If
you're looking for information on how to buy and use dietary supplements,
as well as up-to-the-minute reportage on nutrition, these links
will take you to a variety of informative sites. General guides,
newsletters, book reviews and on-line publications are contained
in this area.
Alternative/Complementary
Medicine
at University of Maryland Medicine
www.umm.edu/altmed/index.html
This consumer-friendly site on Alternative
and Complementary Medicine contains easy-to-read articles
about dietary
supplements in regard to how they are used, dietary sources
and how to take the supplement. Additional information includes
precautions and possible interactions, and a listing of research
associated with the supplement. Covered supplements include all
vitamins, minerals and amino acids, plus a substantial number
of other supplements. Similar information is supplied for herbal
supplements, as well as uses
for herbs and supplements, and a comprehensive set of
medical
conditions from abdominal wall inflammation to yeast infections.
One can also find out about interactions between drugs and supplements.
Alternative
Medicine Foundation
www.amfoundation.org
Focusing on alternatives
to conventional Western medicine, this site provides both
"responsible and reliable information for patients and consumers"
and "evidence-based research resources for health care professionals."
The site hosts both HerbMed (a searchable database of approximately
100 herbs) and TibetMed (an information resource about Tibetan
medicine). Other features include lists of books, journals, schools,
and herbal medicine courses, plus organizations and referral sources,
search services, and Web resources.
Altmedicine:
Alternative Health News Online
www.altmedicine.com
Altmedicine.com provides both abstracts of and links to news
about alternative, complementary, and preventive health
from a wide range of news sources, both layman and scientific.
Published by reporter Frank Grazian, the website presents information
on health news, diet and nutrition, alternative medical systems,
longevity, recommended books, and healthy living. The site has
both archives and a search engine. Searching for "folic acid"
found sixteen articles; searching for "echinacea" found four.
American
Society for Nutritional Sciences
www.nutrition.org/nutinfo
These descriptions
of 43 vitamins, minerals and several other nutrients were
prepared by nutrition research experts. They describe the nutrient
and symptoms of deficiency (often toxicity as well). Both dietary
recommendations (how much is enough) and food sources are given,
as well as descriptions of recent research. A short bibliography
of further information is included, as well as author name(s)
and contact information.
Arbor
Nutrition Guide
www.arborcom.com
Contains many links
to a variety of nutrition information. The clinical area
contains several pages of especially useful information.
Arthritis
& Glucosamine Information Center
www.glucosamine-arthritis.org
This
site about arthritis
and glucosamine offers top quality information on arthritis
and glucosamine, the latest research, details on arthritis medications
and treatments, and tips for effectively managing your pain.
Botanical.com
www.botanical.com
This
book promotion site features A
Modern Herbal, first published in 1931. A plant and
herb index and index of poisons make interesting reading. Includes
a hypertext
version of the book with medicinal, culinary, cosmetic
and economic properties, cultivation and folklore of herbs.
CRN:
Council for Responsible Nutrition - website brochures
www.crnusa.org/about_gen.html
A wealth of information about all
varieties of dietary supplements and supplement labels.
Delicious
www.healthwell.com/delicious-online
Online
version of Delicious,
a monthly paper publication of New Hope.
Environmental
Nutrition
www.environmentalnutrition.com
Environmental
Nutrition offers authoritative, practical guidance on
balancing your diet to protect against disease, manage your weight,
minimize risk from pesticides, and live a longer, healthier life.
Every month, they review scores of research reports, talk to experts
and regulators, analyze the information and provide sensible,
practicaland sometimes surprisingguidance on foods
that will help lower the risk of heart disease, cancer or diabetes.
Among as many as 15 articles a month are also cutting-edge reports
on questionable "miracle" supplements and cautions on food safety
as well as succinct updates on current research.
HealthWorld
Online's Vitamins and Dietary Supplement Center
www.healthy.net/nutrit/nutinfo/dietsup
Articles about all of the major
and minor vitamins and minerals cover their sources, functions,
uses, deficiency, toxicity, and how much of the substance people
need. Additional articles include other varieties of dietary
supplements.
HealthWorld
Online search engine
www.healthy.net/library/search.htm
The HealthWorld Online website has 30,000 pages covering a wide
range of medical
information, both conventional and "alternative", which
you can access through their search engine. HealthWorld
Online's mission is to empower individuals to take charge of their
own health through "well care" or "Self-Managed Care" rather
than "disease care".
The
Herbal Bookworm
www.herbological.com/bookworm.html
Informal, highly literate and gently humorous, The Herbal Bookworm
is in simple form a short compendium of book
reviews relating to herbs and their medicinal use. But
there is more here than meets the casual eye. General editor Jonathan
Treasure, an English herbalist currently practicing in Eugene,
Oregon, is about the fascinating business of "developing a practical
constitutional physiology for western herbal therapeutics." This
site, like a bright fire on a chilly night, illuminates a host
of issues while inviting long contemplation.
Herbnet
www.herbnet.com
Sponsored
by the Herb Growing and Marketing Network, Herbnet offers a wide
range of information
on herbal associations, gardens, herbal studies, publications,
special events, and more. Includes an "Ask the Herbalist"
feature.
HerbalGram
www.herbalgram.org/browse.php/defaulthome
HerbalGram is the journal of the American Botanical Council
(ABC) and the Herb Research Foundation (HRF). It contains a wealth
of detailed information on the most up-to-date research
on herbal supplements, as well as information about health benefits,
news about rainforests and other horticultural regions, plus news
about FDA regulations on herbs.
LEF
Magazine
www.lef.org/magazine/mag.html
Online version of the Life
Extension Foundation's monthly magazine publication. Selected
articles are published on the website, going back to 1995.
Life
Extension Foundation
www.lef.org
Life Extension Foundation is a nonprofit organization. It conducts
research and sells supplements and other substances that
it has found to be life extending. From its website: "Life Extensionists
are people who believe in taking advantage of documented scientific
therapies to prevent diseases and slow aging. The medical
literature contains thousands of papers on the use of antioxidant
supplements, hormone therapies and medications that have been
shown to improve the quality and quantity of life. Life Extensionists
attempt to use this scientific information to improve their chances
of living longer in good health.
NIH
Clinical Center, Facts About
Dietary Supplements
www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements/
These fact
sheets about dietary supplements were developed by registered
dietitians (RDs) at the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center,
which is the clinical research hospital at the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) in Bethesda MD, in conjunction with the NIH Office
of Dietary Supplements. Each undergoes extensive scientific review
by recognized experts from the academic and research communities.
As of June 2004, this growing series includes vitamins A, B6,
B12, D, E, and folateplus the minerals iron, selenium, and
zinc.
Nutrition
Health Directory
www.nutrition-guides.com
Contains
many links to websites about alternative
health, dietary options, disease prevention, nutrients
in foods, organizations and resources, as well as chats and forums.
Especially useful are their links to websites about dietitians
and nutritionists.
Tufts
University Health & Nutrition Letter
www.healthletter.tufts.edu/index.html
An outstanding example of a university-sponsored newsletter, this
site benefits from a direct relation with the Tufts School of
Nutrition Science and Policy. Tufts was led for many years by
Jean Mayer, a world authority on health and nutrition. The newsletter
includes numerous articles
on dietary supplements and their use. On-line article
indexes date back to 1995.
USDA
National Nutrient Database
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl
The
US Department of Agriculture (USDA) maintains a National Nutrient
Database. The database contains approximately 20,000 raw
foods, cooked foods, and brand-name packaged foods, and gives
data on calories, protein, fiber, carbohydrates, fatsplus
vitamins, minerals and amino acids. One can get information for
a variety of serving sizes, including cups, grams, slices, and
whole items of fruits and vegetables in various sizes.
For
each of 38 nutrients, one can also get two reports showing how
much of that nutrient is found in these foods. One report lists
the foods alphabetically; the other by nutrient content (the best
sources first). These nutrients include seven macronutrients as
well as 11 vitamins, 10 minerals, and several phytochemicals as
well as caloric, protein, carbohydrate and fat content.
VitaCost.com
www.vitacost.com/science/hn/Index/Drug.htm
Information
on drug-supplement
interactions is available via HealthNotes at this online
supplement store.
Vitamins
and Nutrition Center
www.vitamins-nutrition.org
The
Vitamins and Nutrition Center provides a wealth of information
about vitamins and nutrition, including research and descriptive
articles about vitamins and important minerals.
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