Really?: The Claim: Evening Primrose Oil Soothes Eczema

Really?Anahad O’Connor tackles health myths.

THE FACTS:

It may not exactly be a household name, but evening primrose, a bright yellow plant native to North America, has a large following in the alternative medicine world.

The seeds of the plant contain essential fatty acids, which are used to make an oil that has a variety of uses as a dietary supplement and folk remedy. Its most popular use may be for eczema, the skin condition that affects as many as one in five people. Widely marketed and easy to find, primrose oil contains gamma linoleic acid, which is thought to help reduce skin inflammation without the side effects of other treatments.

But a large new study suggests that people using evening primrose oil for eczema may want to save their money instead.

In the study, a review of evidence published in The Cochrane Library, researchers looked at data from 27 studies involving either evening primrose oil and a similar supplement, borage oil, which is also rich in gamma linoleic acid. The studies, which included about 1,600 adults and children, compared the supplements to placebo.

The researchers did not find that taking either supplement allayed eczema any more than taking dummy pills. But they did find a potential risk. Evening primrose oil can have anticoagulant effects that increase the risk of bleeding, something that is especially dangerous for people already taking blood-thinning drugs like warfarin.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Evening primrose and borage oils are widely used remedies for eczema, but according to research, they provide no benefits.

ANAHAD O’CONNOR
scitimes@nytimes.com

Anahad O'Connor tackles health myths.


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Mapping a Route to Fitness

Springtime fitness tip of the day: Go sit at your computer.

No, I'm not suggesting you slouch there all day moving nothing but your fingers. But exploring some online resources can help your outdoor cardio exercise, whether you're a walker, runner or cyclist.

Basically, these Web sites do for your body what sites like MapQuest and Google Maps do for your car: let you plan, measure and map your fitness "trips." In fact, some of them make use of the Google Maps technology to let you locate, create or share routes anywhere from Dupont Circle to San Francisco to Tuscany. (Hey, an exerciser can dream, can't she?)

Here's a rundown:

Log on to http://www.walkjogrun.net, and you'll see a map of the United States and a space to type in a location name, address or Zip code. Want to go for a lunchtime run in downtown D.C.? Enter Zip code 20036, and -- voila. Zoom in further with the "+" scale.

Because 20036 has been heavily trod by folks who spend lots of their non-running time at a computer, you'll notice a bunch of existing routes marked by numbered yellow diamonds. Check them out (you'll find brief descriptions on the right of your screen), and you might find exactly what you want.

But maybe you want to craft your own route, or compute the miles covered and calories burned on a route that you've walked or run. In that case, click on "Create a route," and then click on the starting point on the map. Make sure to use the key at the bottom of the screen to enter your weight and pace so you'll get customized data about your workout.

Then build your route with additional clicks. As you do, you'll see your distance and time being tracked on the right of your screen. (If there's a curve along your route, you'll have to use several clicks to break it into small straight segments.) You can reposition the map by using the directional arrows or by holding down the left button on your mouse and dragging. When you're done, you can save your route. (Creating a free account is optional, but you'll need it to record changes to your route.)

Much of the technique is the same at http://www.mapmyrun.com, which is somewhat more cluttered but offers some fun options. When you log on, you'll see a map of much of the world. (Go ahead, check out all the bike routes in Sydney!) As you map your route, you can opt to see changes in elevation along the way. And if you register (free), you can create and maintain an online training log.

You never know where in the world you'll land when you call up http://www.sanoodi.com. Once I was greeted with the map of a route in Kalamazoo, the next time with a route in Spain. (Had a different spot in mind? Enter it in the search field.) Sanoodi also ventures beyond the run-cycle maps to show you routes for activities from kayaking to cross-country skiing.

One site that's not powered by Google Maps but that's very helpful for cyclists is http://www.pedaling.com. It offers more than 1,000 routes in the United States and Canada. You can specify not only the location, length, hilliness and type of environment you want, but also the amount of traffic you'll tolerate.

Finally, to keep yourself honest about how much activity you're logging, you may want to look at http://aarp.getfitonroute66.com-- and not only if you're of AARP age. You register (again, free), choose a classic Route 66-era vehicle as your marker, and then use it to track your workouts as you make your virtual way along that legendary highway. Each minute of exercise you enter equals one mile. No, it's not scrupulously scientific, but it's kind of fun. And if it gives you a quirky incentive to get up and exercise, I'm all for it.

Speaking of which, it's time to get off the computer. Grab your route and go. ·

Lennie Magida is certified as a personal trainer by the American Council on Exercise. There's no Moving Crew chat today. Catch our online fitness discussion next Tuesday and write to us anytime atmove@washpost.com.


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Fitness Epiphanies -- and Things That Hold Us Back

It's two weeks into 2007, and chances are you've already broken your new year's resolutions. We know how it goes.

Now that Redskins football is over, we recall with regret the number of pigs-in-a-blanket that we ate in a futile but spirited effort to cheer on the team. So we make the same promise to ourselves that we do every year: to start working out.

Right. Just as soon as Joe Gibbs leads us to the playoffs.

The problem is that a new year's resolution -- essentially a glorified to-do list -- frequently isn't enough to inspire dramatic life change. Lasting change has to come from a deeper place.

Ed Ingebretsen, director of training for Results, The Gym, believes motivation stems from two emotions: fear and desire. We are afraid life will get worse if we do nothing, although some research suggests that's not enough to get many of us moving. We fervently hope we can reverse that course.

There are some lucky people who seem as though they're born with such drive. Like, say, Yankees player Derek Jeter or boxer Laila Ali. But for many of us, inspiration is more elusive. It comes in a flash, like an epiphany -- a moment when we have run out of excuses and are forced to make a decision.

"You have to get to a certain point in your head, and then it's for real," said 36-year-old Jennifer Brandel of Arlington, who has long struggled with her weight. "You'll actually do it."

For Brandel, that point came about a month ago, when she realized that she had only one pair of pants left that fit.

"It's so disturbing when I walk by a store window or any reflective surface, and I think, 'Who is that chubby girl? Oh, my God, it's me,' " Brandel said.

She signed up with a personal trainer. Already, she has noticed a change in her posture and mental state.

"You have your worst moment, and that's it," she said. "You're done with the wavering."

Ingebretsen said he can spot many clients seeking that moment of inspiration when they walk through the health club's doors for their first consultation. Some get it; some don't. But those who do see results, such as one guy who walked in unable to do a push-up and six months later had lost 75 pounds, Ingebretsen said.

"That moment of desire, unencumbered by other things, may not happen again soon," he said.

A co-worker of mine has started taking prenatal yoga classes even though her baby bump is only now becoming visible. She had been a little suspicious of the classes before -- would it be too touchy-feely? -- but then she had her epiphany. A friend had exercised heavily all through her pregnancy, including intensive Brazilian butt-lifting classes. When she finally went into labor, her doctor watched her push in amazement.

"What have you been doing?" he marveled. My co-worker was sold. She signed up for her first prenatal yoga session shortly after that.

My epiphany came in 1999, in Paris, where I was partying as hard as only a college sophomore unleashed in the City of Light with her girlfriends could: We piled on the booze, cheese, street crepes oozing butter and Nutella. We teetered on ridiculously high heels. We partied so hard once that two of us almost missed the bus back to our guest house.

She -- a former gymnast and a formidable swimmer -- sprinted to the stop, arriving just before the bus began to pull away. I huffed and puffed behind her, my lungs unused to powering anything more strenuous than a brisk walk from a parked car to the mall.

That's when it hit me: I needed to get in shape. I was 19.

My self-assessment shouldn't have come as a surprise. Growing up, I was always picked last for kickball, and my high school math team didn't require any physical exertion. Sure, I had occasionally pumped soup cans to the TV show "Body Electric" and even bought a Jane Fonda workout video. But I rarely broke a sweat -- and it never bothered me until that moment when I realized the bus, not to mention my life, was passing me by.

So I decided to start working out. It began with a weekly aerobics class at my college gym, where at first I thought I would pass out mid-grapevine from the shock. Eventually, I added ballet and hip-hop dance classes and jogs around the park.

Seven years later and 15 pounds lighter, it has snowballed into an AIDS marathon and twice-weekly sessions with a personal trainer. Finally, I can cross "start exercising" from my new year's resolutions.

Now, if only I could stop eating Popeye's. ·

Tell us what inspired you to change your life and get in shape. Entries should be 200 words or less. Send them tomove@washpost.com. No fitness chat this week. We'll be back online Jan. 23.


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