Lee Swanson Research Update
Lee Swanson, Ph. D
Dear Friends and Valued Customers, Stress can easily be listed as one of the major health issues of the day. After all, it affects all of us. The National Institutes of Health MedlinePlus® website states: "Stress is a normal part of life. In small quantities, stress is good—it can motivate you and help you be more productive. However, too much stress, or a strong response to stress, is harmful. It can set you up for general poor health as well as specific or psychological illnesses like infection, heart disease or depression. Persistent and unrelenting stress often leads to anxiety and unhealthy behaviors like overeating and abuse of alcohol or drugs." Finding a way to help relieve stress requires a lot of scientific research. The results of a recent study published in the Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association show that a special Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) extract can help. Find the details of the study in my report below. As always, I wish you the very best of health. Lee Swanson **********************************
Withania somnifera extract takes up fight against stress
The Withania somnifera extract (WSE) found in the herbal product Sensoril® significantly reduced stress-related parameters and cardiovascular risk, according to a human clinical study published in the Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association.
Sensoril is a GRAS-approved, patented ingredient for food and supplements. Though WSE has been researched extensively, this particular study confirms the therapeutic benefits of standardized WSE in 98 human subjects using modern clinical trials.
Utilizing a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical trial researchers investigated the impact of the WSE, also known as Ashwagandha, contained in Sensoril on experiential and biochemical indicators of stress and anxiety, as well as cardiovascular risk, in chronically stressed adults.
Participants in the study were identified as stressed by being assessed clinically and tested on a modified Hamilton anxiety (mHAM-A) scale. The scale rated common symptoms of anxiety, including irritability, sleeplessness and body aches among others. Participants in all WSE treatment groups experienced significantly improved well-being, with mHAM-A scores decreasing by 39.5% by day 30 and 62.2% by day 60. In contrast, the placebo group showed no significant change in the objective and subjective measures of stress.
Stress hormones in the body were also measured and found to decrease substantially after two months. Serum cortisol decreased by -14.5%, as did other stress indicators. Interestingly, the antiaging, anti-stress hormone DHEAS was found to increase significantly (13.2%) among those taking Sensoril.
Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association 1 11(1), 2008
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New study emphasizes milk thistle’s heart-healthy benefits
An extract of milk thistle reduced the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by up to 86%, according to a study conducted by researchers in Arkansas.
The in vitro study found that the milk thistle extract protected LDL cholesterol against oxidation in a dose-dependent manner, a result with potentially important implications since the oxidative modification of LDL has been reported to play a major role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, and subsequently cardiovascular disease.
Researchers tested both a crude extract and purified forms of the major flavonolignan compounds that make up silymarin, the key flavonone in milk thistle, including silichristin (SC), silidianin (SD), silibinin (SBN) and isosilibinin (IS).
At doses of the milk thistle extract of 38, 75, 150 and 300 micromoles, LDL oxidation was inhibited by 18%, 73%, 82% and 86%, respectively. The individual flavonolignans were also associated with reductions in LDL oxidation with 300 micromole doses of SC, SD, SBN and IS reducing LDL oxidation by 60%, 28.1%, 60% and 30.1%, respectively.
Researchers concluded: “These results showed that silymarin and SBN, likely through antioxidant and free radical scavenging mechanisms of action, inhibit the generation of oxidized LDL.”
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 56(11):3966-3972, 2008