Recent news and Chemist Australia updates.
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22 May 2009 - IntelliGender Boy or Girl Gender Test
Girl or Boy? Find Out Now At Home
Find out the Gender of your baby in just 10 minutes
* Simple urine test
* Lab results show 90% accuracy
* Use in the comfort of your own home
* Works from as early as the 8th week
Australian parents-to-be, can now discover the exciting news of the sex of their baby in the comfort and privacy of their home.
The Intelligender kit gives expecting couples a new milestone in their pregnancy - finding out their baby's sex. The test can be taken from as early as 8 weeks all the way through to the 34th week.
IntelliGender is a non-invasive urine based test that provides results in just ten minutes. Just like a home pregnancy kit, you can tell the sex of your baby by the colour match of the test.
IntelliGender has been proven to be 90% accurate in laboratory tests of pregnant women.
16 May 2009 - Tea touted as weight cure
Jackie Sinnerton
May 03, 2009 12:00am
IS A new tea coming out of Brisbane really a magic bullet for weight loss? Huge waiting lists at chemist shops throughout the state would suggest that many Queenslanders are true believers.
And while a court date late last year has made manufacturer and biochemist Greg Jardine a little cautious, it is impossible for him to keep his enthusiasm for his Spearole tea under wraps.
Mr Jardine is technical director of Dr Red Nutraceuticals, and the Mt Nebo company was last year rapped over the knuckles by Queensland Health for detailing their trial results on the company's website, claiming that their fruit punches killed prostate cancer cells. No convictions were recorded.
In spite of the court case and the recession, Dr Red is a booming success and struggling to meet demand for the brew that appears to lower blood pressure and has a welcome side effect – weight loss.
To seal the deal, the weight loss happens with no more exercise than curling an arm to lift your teacup to your mouth.
Dr Red has developed Spearole and a range of other products based on green tea with enhanced antioxidant concentrations.
"We have practically stripped bare all gunpowder green tea sourced from Madura Tea Estates in Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales," Jardine said. "I would say that we have used about 12-13 tonnes of the home-grown product.
"We can't get enough of the right kind of tea to make our special recipe Spearole tea.
"A company representative is currently sourcing more gunpowder tea in China to fulfil new UK orders."
A cup of Spearole tea contains three full cups of tea (spearmint, olive leaf and green tea), a glass of red wine, and grape skins and seeds.
The cost is 25¢ a cup.
Australians and their money are easily parted when it comes to quick-fix weight loss elixirs.
But this time there seems to actually be some science behind the brew.
Associate professor Lindsay Brown from the University of Queensland's School of Biomedical Science embarked on the research project in 2005.
During the study, overweight lab rats that were fed a fast-food diet washed down with the tea managed to return to normal weight – big news.
Professor Brown said he was amazed by the findings.
"If someone had told me you could do all these things with something as simple as green tea with olive extract, I would have said they'd been out in the sun too long," he said. "It is simply amazing."
The university study also claimed the brew offered a "significant development in the control of cardiovascular disease".
"We set out to determine whether the antioxidants in the tea helped lower blood pressure and heart function – the weight loss was just a side effect," Mr Jardine said.
A stroke of luck for Mr Jardine, who bought Brisbane Vineyards on Mt Nebo, 45 minutes northwest of Brisbane, to fulfil his dream of becoming a vintner.
He has always had an interest in the workings of antioxidants, and decided he would no longer throw away the seeds and skins of the grapes as they were a potentially wasted resource.
He put them back into a wine he called Dr Red.
Ginger punch and blueberry punch came next.
The blueberry punch, like Spearole tea, was well accepted, and news of its powers circulated.
Legendary rugby league referee Barry Gomersall, who died in 2007, spoke openly of his belief that Dr Red's blueberry punch was instrumental in giving him treasured extra time in his long battle with prostate cancer.
"When Barry knew he had prostate cancer, he asked me if I could help," Mr Jardine said. "I came up with a strong version of the blueberry punch – packed full of extra antioxidants.
"We use a quarter of a kilo of blueberries in every 750ml bottle – an expensive addition, but one which is proving to be fruitful."
Doubters may scream the words "placebo effect", and certainly the power of the mind may well be instrumental in some people enjoying successful results.
Others may not be so lucky.
But there is no doubt in Greg Telfer's mind that Spearole tea cured his high blood pressure.
"I am not really the kind of person who likes to take pharmaceuticals, but when my doctor prescribed tablets, I had no option but to take them," the 54-year-old from Cannon Hill said.
"But it didn't sit well with me. Over the last few years I have followed the work of Greg Jardine and was very compelled by his success. So I drove up to Dr Red's at Mt Nebo for a chat.
"That was about four months ago, and I have been taking Spearole tea four or five times a day ever since.
"It worked pretty quickly, although the weight loss has been slow. But that's OK – I was more concerned about my blood pressure. It's amazing, because I have really done no physical exercise."
Greg pays $23 for a box of the tea and gets 100 cups of tea from each box.
"I feel so much better in myself, I have more energy and the tea has replaced the coffee I used to drink – I'd recommend it to anyone," he said.
Despite the glowing endorsements, it is hard not to shake thoughts of the old maxim about if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Then again, when Alexander Fleming published his discovery of penicillin in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology in 1929 , no one listened.
"We are raising our fists to the world to claim leadership in 'food as medicine'," Mr Jardine said.
At the very least, he and his products have provided food for thought.
05 May 2009 - Introducing COAGUCHEK XS - for INR (warfarin) Test
The Coaguchek XS system for INR testing is a compact, convenient and precise device which allows patients on oral anticoagulation therapy who have to regularly monitor their PT/INR results to experience a significant improvement in life quality through increased involvement in the management of their condition.
27 March 2009 - Win a Wii Sports Pack and a 42inch Plasma TV!
Dr Tim’s Success can help you lose that excess weight, but exercise can help you keep it off. A new plasma TV & Wii Sports Pack is a great way for the whole family to exercise and have fun together, whatever the weather!
Join Dr Tim’s Success now to go in the draw for this fantastic prize PLUS, the more Success you have the more chances you get to WIN!
10 April 2008 - Eczema Information Evening - 2nd April
For those who attended it was a very informative evening held at the Brisbane City Hall.
Mr Jim Muir Dermatologist at the Mater Hospital; Dr John Ryan, a Doctor qualified in Nutrition & Environmental Science and Jeanie Ryan, Dietician & Nutritionist, both of the Aspley Medical Centre, presented excellent information in an understandable and entertaining way. The panel answered many questions about varying skin conditions.
The overwhelming conclusion was that skin conditions can be treated, significantly improved and managed by using a coal tar preparation.
Linotar available at Chemist Australia is a coal tar preparation that can help reduce the skin inflammation and itch that occurs with eczema. Unlike other coal tars, Linotar has less odour and is less likely to stain skin and clothes. Linotar requires only a thin layer to be applied and leaves a minimal residue.
We have had an incredible response for a copy of the presentation given. Please click on the individual links below to view a copy of their presentation.
