ATMS UPDATE in Healthy Individuals : A Systematic Review . Nutrients . 2022 ; 14 ( 21 ): 4604 . doi : 10.3390 / nu14214604 .
Immune health products represent approximately 10 % of all US dietary supplement sales . Claims made on products to support or boost the immune system are attractive to the otherwise healthy consumer who may or may not be experiencing certain life stressors . The purpose of this systematic review is to critically evaluate the purported benefits and / or potential harms of select dietary supplement ingredients frequently listed on the labels of products having immune health or related market claims . With a focus on resilience , research questions were related to whether dietary supplement ingredients are efficacious in preserving and protecting immune health in healthy individuals ; and when faced with a stressor , whether taking a supplement prophylactically can assist in maintaining health and resisting or bouncing back more quickly . Thirty-nine randomized controlled studies involving populations including children , adults and seniors exposed to stressors , such as air travel , intense exercise , academic stress , and / or exposure to winter weather , met eligibility criteria . The studies included eight of the 27 supplement ingredients identified through a market-driven scoping review . Those ingredients used in single ingredient products were echinacea , elderberry , garlic , vitamin A , vitamin C , vitamin D , vitamin E , and zinc . Whereas some studies may point to evidence for benefit , specific gaps preclude the authors from making firm statements with regard to the overall evidence-base for these products and ingredients and in answering the research questions . As we move toward a vision of health promotion and resilience rather than a sole focus on disease prevention and treatment , further work in this area of dietary supplements is of utmost importance .
ATMS 2022 HDR Scholarship
Teresa Mitchell-Paterson has been awarded the ATMS HDR Scholarship to support her research project The effects of low fibre diets on quality of life in high fecal output stoma patients
This project will be informed by a literature review outlining the lack of studies in this area . It was not until 2021 that research from the Victorian stoma population using the City of Hope Quality of Life , Ostomy Questionnaire ( COH- QOL-O ) was published . The research highlighted the extent of poor quality of life and dietary challenges in a portion of the Australian stoma population . It is a common perception that a high fibre diet is beneficial for bowel health , however this is only relevant to an intact non-diseased bowel . In stoma care a low fibre diet appears to be more suitable . This project is relevant to both the stoma patient , medical institutions and to inform naturopaths and nutritionists on stoma dietary care .
This project will bring attention to the voice of the stoma patient and will potentially lead to changes in health promotion strategies to address dietary concerns of the stoma patient , with the aim of improving quality of life .
ATMS Research Grant 2022
The 2022 ATMS Research Grant was awarded to Dr Cathy Carmont for her project Women ' s self-management of presenting symptoms with trauma-informed massage .
The project is a qualitative study with six participants . Participants will be recruited as , and remain , the clients of a Women ’ s Health Centre . Women form a substantial proportion of Australian remedial massage clients . Data will be sourced from : a ) women ’ s comments about their symptoms during a series of four , monthly massages , b ) the massage therapist ’ s assessment of the location , type of palpable tissue and the appropriateness of its degree of malleability , as noted in the client records , and c ) the content of semi-structured interviews which will explore women ’ s descriptions
and understanding of their presenting symptoms for massage , during four interviews , each a week after a massage .
232 | vol28 | no4 | JATMS