b'Toxins and Heart Disease riskofcardiovasculardisease.Thestudy Over 80,000 chemicals are currently reg- reviewed37uniqueclinicaltrialswitha istered in the United States for commercialtotalofnearly350,000participantsand use, but very few have been investigatedidentified a significant link between expo-forpossiblecardiovasculartoxicity.Pastsure to chemical toxins and cardiovascular research has shown that exposure to par- disease. Relative risks were high from ar-ticulate air pollution correlates with an in- senic and lead for coronary heart disease crease in cardiovascular mortality, includ- and stroke. Risk for coronary heart disease ingischemicheartdisease,arrhythmias,was more than doubled from exposure to and heart failure. A meta-analysis of thecadmium or copper with a significantly in-research literature published in the Britishcreased risk of stroke as well. Mercury hadPine Bark Extract forMedical Journal evaluated the association ofno statistically significant correlation withFibromyalgiaenvironmental toxic contaminants and thecardiovascular disease.Women comprise over 75% of the 10 ChowdhuryR,Ra- million people who suffer from fibromy-mondA,OKeeffealgia worldwide. A group of 50 female L, et al., Environ- subjects with idiopathic fibromyalgia was mentaltoxicmetaldivided into two subgroups, one receiv-contaminantsanding a French maritime pine bark extract riskofcardiovas- (Pinus pinaster) and the other a placebo. culardisease:sys- Pine bark extract is sold under a variety tematicreviewandof trade names, with some of the most meta-analysis,common being Pycnogenol, Oligopin, and BritishMedicalFlavangenol. All of the women were other-Journal2018,362:wise healthy and had not been diagnosed k3310, doi: 10.1136/ with any other disease or condition, and bmj.k3310. were not using any drug. The percentage of subjects with the symptoms of fatigue, pain, and stiffness decreased significantly in the subgroup with the botanical ex-tract after four weeks, in comparison with Vitamin D and Vertigo standardEpleymaneuverhead-move- the control subgroup. No problems with Scientists in South Korea divided 957menttreatment.Aftersixmonths,theysafety or tolerability were observed. The people with benign paroxysmal position- found that the subjects who received thepercentageofpatientsusingNSAIDs al vertigo into two groups. In one group,vitamin supplement saw sustained ben- (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) peoplewithlowVitamin-Dlevelsgotefits from the head movement treatmentor corticosteroids as rescue medications in regular supplementation of the nutrientcompared with only temporary relief inthe observation period was significantly along with calcium. People in the otherthecontrolgroupthatwasnotsupple- higher in the placebo group. group kept their diets the same and re- mented. Pine bark extract has been described as ceived no supplement as a control. TheJeong S, Kim J, Kim H, et al., Prevention of benigna COX-2 inhibitor. Inhibition of pain-pro-first group took 800 IU of Vitamin D andparoxysmal positional vertigo with vitamin D supple- ducing cyclooxygenases was said to be the 500 milligrams of calcium a day. Prior re- mentation, Neurology 2020, 95(9):e1117-e1125,basis for relief from pain, improvement of search has shown that people with lowdoi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000010343;Sheikhzadehstiffness, enhanced mobility, and well-be-Vitamin-D levels are at higher risk of ex- M, Lotfi Y, Mousavi A, et al., Influence of sup- ing in three clinical studies with pine bark periencing benign paroxysmal positionalplemental vitamin D on intensity of benign par- extract used as an adjunct supplement. vertigo.Theresearchersfoundthattheoxysmal positional vertigo: A longitudinal clinicalReducing the use of nonsteroidal anti-in-people who took the Vitamin-D supple- study, Caspian Journal of Internal Medicineflammatorydrugsbysupplementation ment saw their vertigo attacks decline by2016,7(2):93-98,athttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. with pine bark extract is a considerable roughly 17 percent, compared to an in- gov/pmc/articles/PMC4913711/. benefit by reducing the gastrointestinal crease of 10 percent in the control group.complications and hospital admissions of The subjects who initially had low Vita- osteoarthritis patients. min-DlevelssawadecreaseinvertigoBelcaro G, et al., Idiopathic myalgic pain (fibro-attacks three times larger than those withmyalgia): supportive management and prevention just a slight deficiency. with Pycnogenol,Panminerva Medica 2021, A previous study had already shown63(1): 46-50, doi:10.23736/S0031-0808.20.03955-thatincreasingVitamin-Dintakecould5, at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33541059/; help with vertigo. In that study, research- Rohdewald P, Review on Sustained Relief of Os-teoarthritis Symptoms with a Proprietary Extract ers gave the participants Vitamin-D sup- from Pine Bark, Pycnogenol, Journal of Medicinal plements for two months, along with theFood 2018, 21(1):1-4, doi:10.1089/jmf.2017.0015.H ealtHF reedomN ews /s priNg2021 23NHF_Spring_2021_5-13-21-FINAL.indd 23 5/13/21 9:54 AM'