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HealthWorld Online Launches Business-to-Business Internet Network, Natural Products Industry Center (NPI Center)
The Natural Products Industry Center (NPI Center), a Business-to-Business Internet Network for Natural Products Industry, was officially launched by HealthWorld Online November 13th at the SupplySide 98 trade show in Phoenix, Arizona. NPI Center makes valuable information about the natural products industry easily accessible to executives, sales people, retailers, buyers, growers, media and associations. The NPI Center contains 18 comprehensive searchable directories for companies and products, including branded manufacturers, private labelers, custom manufacturers, raw materials suppliers, industry associations, analytical labs, libraries, industry regulations, and professional services. The extensive databases will be kept current by the companies themselves through an online editor, to assure that companies can have the most accurate and up to date information possible. NPI Center also hosts a wide range of resource and information centers such as the online press room, global calendar, industry regulations, quality assurance, free Medline, cybrarian research service, stock watch, library and business center. In addition, each major link in the supply chain--Growers, Raw Material Suppliers, Manufacturers, Brokers, Distributors, and Retailers--have their own "Centers" which offer information specific to the needs of these segments of the industry.

English Translation of German Commission E Monographs on Botanical Medicine Now Available
In 1978, the German government established an expert committee, the Commission E, to evaluate the safety and efficacy of over 300 herbs and herb combinations sold in Germany. The results were published as official monographs that give the approved uses, contraindications, side effects, dosage, drug interactions and other therapeutic information essential for the responsible use of herbs and phyto-medicines. For the first time, the complete set of all Commission E monographs has been compiled, translated into English and edited for use by physicians, pharmacists, health professionals, researchers, regulatory agencies, consumers and the herb industry -- The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. Mark Blumenthal, Executive Director of the American Botanical Council and HealthWorld Online Advisory Board member, directed this ambitious and invaluable project and served as senior editor. This English edition of the German Commission E Monographs should become as indispensible to health professionals as the PDR, and belongs in the office of every health professional.

Diet Herb Maker to Sponsor Science Lab at UCLA
Dietary supplements manufacturer Pharmanex Inc. said it will fund a research laboratory at the University if California, Los Angeles, to study herbs and other nutritional supplements. The goal of the Pharmanex Phytochemical Laboratory at the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition is to apply to the development of dietary supplements the same sort of scientific rigor typically found in the pharmaceutical industry, said Ray Cooper, Pharmanex's vice president of research.

High Vitamin E Levels Linked to Better Brain Function
High levels of vitamin E may help prevent the intellectual decline that can come with aging, an Austrian study suggests. In this month's issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers reported that among 1,800 adults ages 50 to 75, those with higher vitamin E levels were less likely to have low scores on a standardized test of intellectual capacity. Low scores, they noted, indicate intellectual decline and possible dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, a progressive brain disorder marked by memory loss, confusion and problems with perception.

Dr. Galland's Integrated Medicine
In his latest column, "Eating Safely in a Polluted World: You Don't Have to Choose Between Microbes and Chemicals!": Part III: Hazards of Organochlorines," Dr. Galland offers solutions to these troubling health hazards. Recent alarms have been raised by worldwide pollution with these chemicals, which include: the pesticide DDT, banned in the U.S. in 1972 but still sold by U.S. corporations to other countries and still found in our own soil and water; the herbicide dioxin; and PCBs, which have been widely used in making electronic equipment, plastic, inks, adhesives, rubber and carbonless duplicating paper. Food, milk and water everywhere contain organochlorines.

Mind Body Health Newsletter
Findings from a recent Stanford University Medical School study may come as no surprise: older and middle-age people reported sleeping better when they added regular exercise to their routine, reports Dr. David Sobel his latest column, Exercise Improves Sleep." After 16 weeks in a moderate intensity exercise program, subjects were able to fall asleep about 15 minutes earlier and sleep about 45 minutes longer at night.

Natural Medicine Research Update
Increased levels of anxiety and depression during winter months occur in the normal population and are most likely related to short days with lower light levels, reports Dr. Sahelian in his latest column, "Vitamin D and winter mood." Some individuals are very sensitive to this decrease in sunlight and thus develop seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or "winter depression." More than 80 percent of SAD sufferers are women with an age of onset generally in the third decade. Symptoms of SAD include carbohydrate craving, hypersomnia, lethargy, and changes in circadian rhythms. Several theories have been proposed to explain SAD including disrupted circadian rhythms, delayed circadian rhythms, low levels of serotonin, and low levels of melatonin.

Discussion Forums
Visit the many HealthWorld Online discussion forums, including, "Vaccination," "Mind/Body Approaches to Chronic Illness," "Issues in Integrated Health Care," "Legal/Legislative Issues," and Qigong." Interact with our forums leaders: Elliot Dacher, MD; William Collinge, PhD, MPH, Emmett Miller, MD; Randall Neustaedter, OMD; Roger Jahnke, OMD; and William Dailey, Esq. Let your voice be heard!

Association Network -- Hot Pick
The American Herbalists Guild is a peer-review organization for professional herbalists specializing in the medicinal use of plants. AHG promotes excellence in herbalism, serves as an information referral center for the herbal community, and serves as a liaison that interfaces with professional associations and regulatory agencies.

Visit the American Herbalists Guild.

Global Health Calendar -- Hot Picks

American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) - Fall Convention: Cardiovascular Disease in the 21st Century: Prevention, Reversal and Permanent Restoration. November 19-22, 1998, Phoenix, AZ -- presented by American College for Advancement in Medicine - 949-583-7666

"Live" Dietary Supplements: Beyond the Obvious. (Dietary Supplements and the Internet). Part of the IBC Dietary Supplement Series. San Diego Hilton Beach and Tennis Resort. December 1-2, 1998. San Diego, CA.(508) 481-6400

The Psychology of Health, Immunity & Disease - NICABM 10th International Conference. December 7-13, 1998, Hilton Head Island, SC -- presented by The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine - 800-743-2226

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Professional Referral Network

Alternative Medicine Center

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HealthWorld Online Vision and Mission

HealthWorld Online Advisory Board

Editor, Healthy Update: James Strohecker

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