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Helpful Links:

Herbal Intensive Classes NEW!
Designed for health care professionals these courses taught by Dr. Low Dog in Santa Fe, NM will expand and deepen your understanding of how botanicals and dietary supplements can be used to address a variety of health topics.

Research & Informational Websites:

Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), NIH
Web site: www.ods.od.nih.gov
The ODS supports research and disseminates research results in the area of dietary supplements. It produces The International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS) database, which provides access to bibliographic citations and abstracts from published, international, and scientific literature on dietary supplements. Users can choose to search the Full IBIDS Database, a subset of Consumer Citations Only or Peer Reviewed Citations Only. Go to dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov and select “Health Information.”

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
www.nccam.nih.gov
NCCAM, as part of the NIH, maintains a free website that provides health information, research, clinical trials, training opportunities and information about
complementary and alternative therapies. You can subscribe on-line for a free “CAM at the NIH” quarterly newsletter.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcindex.htm#complementary
AHRQ is the lead Federal agency charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. As one of 12 agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, AHRQ supports health services research that will improve the quality of health care and promote evidence-based decision making. AHRQ has a section entitled Complementary and Alternative Care that has a number of meta-analyses and/or systematic reviews for treatments such as garlic, milk thistle, omega-3 fatty acids, melatonin, SAMe and others.

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)
Web site: www.cfsan.fda.gov
CFSAN oversees the safety and labeling of supplements, foods, and cosmetics. Publications include “Tips for the Savvy Supplement User: Making Informed Decisions and Evaluating Information.”

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Web site: www.ftc.gov
The FTC is a federal agency that works to maintain a competitive marketplace for both consumers and businesses. It has publications for consumers about supplements, including “ ‘Miracle’ Health Claims: Add a Dose of Skepticism.”

CAM on PubMed
Web site: www.nlm.nih.gov/nccam/camonpubmed.html
CAM on PubMed, a database on the Web developed jointly by NCCAM and the National Library of Medicine, offers citations to (and in most cases, abstracts of) articles in scientifically based, peer- reviewed journals on complementary and alternative medicine. It contains 220,000 citations, has links to full text, and allows searchers to limit retrievals by publication type. Look for the Alerts and Advisories, treatment information, resources, links to other organizations (FDA, AHRQ, ODS etc.).

The Cochrane Library
Web site: http://www.cochrane.org/
The Cochrane Library is a collection of science-based reviews from the Cochrane Collaboration, an international nonprofit organization that seeks to provide “up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of health care.” Abstracts of these reviews can be read on the Web without charge.

Clinical Trial Database
website: http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/intervention=dietary+supplements&recruiting=true
The Clinical Trial Database is the website of all dietary supplement clinical trials being conducted by the US government.

Health Canada
website: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca
The Canadian government regulates natural health products in Canada licensing products with proof of safety and efficacy. This is a very helpful site – it lists products licensed in Canada and has helpful monographs.

Longwood Herbal Task Force
website: http://www.longwoodherbal.org
Provides peer-reviewed monographs, clinician summaries, and patient information as well as carefully-evaluated links to other sites. While not extensive, I find this an excellent reference site.(Free)

Diet Information Websites:

United States Department of Agriculture - MyPyramid.com
Professional site - http://www.mypyramid.gov/professionals/index.html
Consumer site - http://www.mypyramid.gov/index.html
The MyPyramid Web site provides information specifically for professionals, in addition to the content for consumers. There are useful handouts for patients, as well as information for healthcare providers, especially under the Education Framework section.

Mediterranean Diet:
Oldways - http://www.oldwayspt.org/
I love this website.  It has great information about the Mediterranean diet, as well as traditional food pyramids.  Oldways is the widely-respected non-profit "food issues think tank" credited with successfully translating the complex details of nutrition science into the familiar language of food. It is best known for developing consumer-friendly health-promotion tools, including the well-known Mediterranean Diet Pyramid.

DASH diet handout
National Institutes of Health -  learn to manage your blood pressure naturally.  Click below to download a copy of the DASH diet.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf

Seafood
Great website to learn about how to make healthy seafood choices.  You can print a quick pocket guide that can be referred to when dining out or shopping at the grocery store.
http://www.oceansalive.org/enjoy.cfm

Health Calculators (Websites):

Vitamin D Calculator
This Vitamin D calculator is from a commercial company, but is easy to use. Insert your location to find out how much exposure to sun you would need to get an adequate amount of vitamin D.
http://www.thevitamindcure.com/calculator/
This vitamin D calculator is provided by the Norwegian Institute for Research. A little more complex.
http://zardoz.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/VitD-ez.html - Note: It asks you for the latitude of your city. Click below to find the latitude of a US city near you.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001796.html

Heart Health Calculator
This is a risk assessment tool for estimating 10-year risk of myocardial infarction and coronary death. http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/atpiii/calculator.asp?usertype=prof

Osteoporosis Calculator
This calculator gives an approximate prediction of the risk of hip fracture over the next 5 years for postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 79.
http://hipcalculator.fhcrc.org

Additional Websites:

Consumer Labs - this group reports the results of independent quality testing on dietary supplements. It provides very useful information for the consumer not only on quality testing but also on product recalls, FDA warnings, etc. (www.consumerlabs.com)

HerbalGram - a journal that reports both science-based and traditional information on the uses of botanical medicines. (www.herbalgram.org)

HerbMed - provides hyperlinked access to the scientific data underlying the use of herbs for health. It is an impartial, evidence-based information resource for professionals, researchers, and general public. (http://www.herbmed.org/)

Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine - Founded in 1994 by Dr. Andrew Weil, the Program in Integrative Medicine's mission is to lead the transformation of healthcare by creating, educating, and actively supporting a community of professionals who embody the philosophy and practice of Integrative Medicine. (http://www.integrativemedicine.arizona.edu/)

DrWeil.com - a leading online resource for healthy living based on an integrative medicine philosophy. DrWeil.com has helped millions of consumers and health professionals stay abreast of news and information in the field. (http://www.drweil.com)

Databases:

Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database
www.naturaldatabase.com
Frequently updated scientifically based information on natural medicines. Excellent for clinicians.

Natural Standard
www.naturalstandard.com
This is an independent collaboration of international clinicians and researchers who created a database which can be searched by CAM subject or by medical condition. Quality of evidence is graded for each supplement. Soon to have Palm version. (Individual subscriber $99/year)

“The patient’s disease is the pathology.
The patient’s illness is what it represents, symbolizes and means to him or her.
It is the patient’s experience of the disease that we must seek to understand.”

- Dr. Low Dog

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All material provided on the DrLowDog.com Web site is provided for informational or educational purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your healthcare professional or physician.