Body, Mind & Spirit Articles and Latest News

Native to China, astragalus has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. In the United States, the herb gained popularity in the 1980s. This fact sheet provides basic information about the herb’s common names, uses, potential side effects, and resources for more information.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced a final rule establishing regulations to require current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) for dietary supplements. The rule ensures that dietary supplements are produced in a quality manner, do not contain contaminants or impurities, and are accurately labeled.

"This rule helps to ensure the quality of dietary supplements so that consumers can be confident that the products they purchase contain what is on the label," said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D. "In addition, as a result of recent amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, by the end of the year, industry will be required to report all serious dietary supplement related adverse events to FDA."

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On June 22, Ruth L. Kirschstein, M.D., Acting Director NCCAM, presented the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget request of $121,699,000 for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine NCCAM) to the Senate Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations.

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NCCAM’s Centers of Excellence: Focusing on the Big—and (Very) Small—Picture

What do Chinese herbal formulas, mindfulness meditation, electromagnetic beams, and the supplements alpha-lipoic acid and gamma tocopherol have in common? They are among CAM treatments being studied in depth at eight NCCAM-supported research centers.

In Memoriam: Stephen E. Straus, M.D.

Stephen E. Straus, M.D., founding Director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), died of brain cancer on May 14, 2007.
He was 60.

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