Articles by Dr. Gene Bruno, DBM, MHS, Professor Emeritus of Nutraceutical Science
A Comparison of Benzodiazepine Drugs and the Amino Acid L-theanine
Stress and anxiety are commonplace for many Americans—and there is a class of medications known as benzodiazepines that are widely prescribed for anxiety. In fact, hundreds of millions of prescriptions for benzodiazepines are written every year.1 L-theanine (gamma-ethyl-amino-L-glutamic acid) is a neurologically active amino acid, which is also used for stress and anxiety.2 While benzodiazepines ...
Specific Antioxidants for Specific Benefits
The term antioxidant has become a mainstay in the lexicon of the natural products industry. Furthermore, as I pointed out in an article last year from this same issue of Vitamin Retailer magazine, over the past few decades the choices for nutraceutical antioxidants have increased exponentially, as have the number of articles written about those ...
Sugar Alternatives: The Benefits of Stevia
Last year, in my article on sugar alternatives for Vitamin Retailer magazine, I included information on several natural sugar alternatives, including stevia. Since not much has changed since then with regard to any new natural sugar alternative entering the market, I decided to make stevia the focus of this year’s sugar alternatives article with an ...
Garcinia Cambogia: More Than Weight Loss
Last year, I wrote an article on Garcinia cambogia for Vitamin Retailer. In that article, I focused on the weight loss-related benefits of this nutraceutical. In this article, I will share other research that demonstrates Garcinia cambogia’s value in lowering triglycerides, increasing glycogen production and preferentially promoting the use of fat as a fuel source ...
Supplement Delivery Systems: More Options
When the natural products industry first began, there were four basic types of delivery systems for dietary supplements: tablets, capsules, powders and liquids. Today, those basic four still exist, and still probably represent the majority of supplements on the market. However, delivery system options have expanded and now include soft gels, liquid caps, lozenges and ...
Men’s Sexual Health: The Testosterone Connection
As men age, there is often a decline in levels of testosterone. Research1 indicates that testosterone levels in men fall progressively with age and that a significant percentage of men over the age of 60 years have serum T levels that are below the lower limits of young adult men (age 20-30 years). Some studies2 ...
Ubiquinone (CoQ10) & Ubiquinol Research Update
Previously, I wrote an article called “Coenzyme Q10 as Ubiquinone & Ubiquinol: For Cardiovascular Health & More” for the February 2014 issue of Vitamin Retailer. That article reviewed some of the vital cellular functions and health/wellness applications for coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). This article will focus strictly on new human research that has been published in ...
Women’s Sexual Health
Sexual dysfunction in men and women are relatively common, with research indicating that 40-45 percent of adult women and 20-30 percent of adult men have at least one sexual dysfunction (e.g. erectile dysfunction, hypogonadism/low T, low estradiol and sexual dissatisfaction), the prevalence of which increases with age.1 Other research2 shows that sexual dysfunction is also ...
Cellular Health: Nutraceutical Support
Our bodies are made up of tens of trillions of cells.1 They are the fundamental building blocks of our tissues, organs and virtually everything that makes us a living organism. Naturally, it is vital that our cells stay healthy so they can function optimally, including the ability to replicate and make new cells as needed.Despite ...
Konjac Root/Glucomannan for Weight Control, Blood Lipids & Constipation
The konjac plant (Amorphophallus konjac), native to warm subtropical to tropical eastern Asia, has been used in China, Japan and South East Asia as a food source (to make noodles, tofu and snacks) and as a traditional medicine (for treating asthma, cough, hernia, breast pain, burns as well as hematological and skin disorders) for more ...
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