/oss/taxonomy/term/368/all en /oss/article/health-you-asked/women-worried-about-using-estrogen-menopausal-symptoms-are-resorting-various-alternative-therapies <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?p=5168"><img alt="" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2013/05/black-cohosh-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>Black cohosh. This plant native to North America has traditionally been used to treat menopausal symptoms with mostly anecdotal evidence for efficacy. Dr. Katherine Newton of the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle decided to put black cohosh to a scientific test and enlisted 351 menopausal women between the ages of 45-55 who experienced at least two hot flashes a night. The women were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups: 160 milligrams of black cohosh daily; a multi-botanical supplement containing 200 milligrams black cohosh and 9 other herbal ingredients including alfalfa, pomegranate and Siberian ginseng; a multi-botanical supplement plus increased soy consumption; hormone therapy; or placebo capsules. After 3, 6, and 12 months, black cohosh was no better than placebo in reducing the frequency or severity of hot flashes or night sweats. The same was true for the other herbal products. Women who were given hormone therapy had significantly fewer hot flashes and night sweats than women given placebo. Another issue with black cohosh is its potential to interfere with the effectiveness of drugs used in cancer therapy. <a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/05/06/women-worried-about-using-estrogen-for-menopausal-symptoms-are-resorting-to-various-alternative-therapies-what-popular-treatment-has-recently-been-shown-to-be-ineffective">Read more</a></p> Mon, 06 May 2013 21:40:06 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1930 at /oss /oss/article/environment-you-asked/refrigerators-and-climate-change <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?p=5194"><img alt="" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2013/05/CFC-150x150.gif" width="150" /></a>The walls of refrigerators have to be heavily insulated in order to maintain efficient cooling. Polyurethane foam insulation has been the classic material used for this purpose and guess what it used to be “blown” with? Chlorofluorocarbons! Foams are created by blowing a gas into an appropriate substance to form bubbles. Of course the gas must not react with the material, and in the case of insulation, should not transmit heat. CFCs, the same substances used as refrigerants, were ideal, at least until their environmental consequences were discovered. Legislation was then introduced that called for the removal of the refrigerant from any discarded refrigerator. But, surely surprising to most people, far more CFCs were used for foam blowing than for refrigeration.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/05/06/by-law-chlorofluorocarbons-cfcs-used-as-refrigerants-in-refrigerators-must-be-removed-before-the-appliance-can-be-discarded-this-only-solves-part-of-the-ozone-depletion-and-global-warming-problem">Read more</a></p> Mon, 06 May 2013 21:51:09 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1932 at /oss