Green tea may help guard against oral cancer, according to recent research.

For the study, researchers focused on 41 people with oral leukoplakia, a precancerous sore that develops on the tongue or the inside of the cheek in response to chronic irritation. For three months, study members took either green tea extract at one of three doses - 500 mg per meter squared of body mass (mg/m2), 750 mg/m2, or 1,000 mg/m2 - or a placebo daily. Of those taking the two highest doses of the extract, 58.8 percent had a clinical response, compared with 36.4 percent in the lowest-extract dose and 18.2 percent in the placebo group.

The green tea extract also led to an improvement in a number of biomarkers that may play a crucial role in predicting cancer development. What's more, the green tea extract was well tolerated, although it did produce some side effects (including insomnia and nervousness) in the high-dose group.

For people coping with chronic pain, a brief training in mindfulness meditation could help improve pain management. In a recent study that tested meditation's effect on perception of pain, meditation-trained participants had less of a response to pain while meditating and even experienced less pain sensitivity when they weren't meditating.

The study involved three experiments in which harmless electrical shocks were delivered to participants in gradual increments. Among those who'd undergone three daily 20-minute meditation-training sessions, researchers observed a significantly reduced sensitivity to pain. The study's authors suggest that meditation may help practitioners tune into the present moment rather than dwelling on the negative emotions caused by pain.

Past studies indicate that meditation may benefit people suffering from low back pain. Mind-body practices such as yoga, guided imagery, and tai chi may also ease stress, lessen anxiety, boost well-being, and even provide some symptom relief for people with other types of chronic pain.

Protein extracted from pumpkin rind could help fight off yeast infections, a new study suggests.

The study focused on a number of germs, including Candida albicans (C. albicans), a type of fungus known to cause vaginal yeast infections. In lab experiments on cell cultures, scientists discovered that the pumpkin-rind protein Pr-2 hindered the growth of C. albicans without harming cells. The study's authors suggest that Pr-2 could be used in a natural medicine for treating yeast infections in humans.

A condition estimated to occur in three out of four women over the course of their lifetime, vaginal yeast infection may be triggered by the use of antibiotics, oral contraceptives, or steroids. Yeast infections also often affect women who are pregnant, diabetic, or in their post-menopausal [link: http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/womenshealth/a/Menopause.htm] years. Natural remedies thought to relieve yeast infections include probiotics and tea tree oil.

When it comes to easing chronic low back pain in minority populations, yoga may make for a sound alternative to standard treatment. That's the key finding from a recent study of 30 back-pain-plagued adults, all of whom were recruited from community health centers that serve racially diverse, low-income neighborhoods. Use of yoga and other complementary therapies for low back pain is fairly uncommon among minorities and low-income individuals, possibly due to lack of access to such treatments, according to the study's authors.

For 12 weeks, participants either took part in weekly, 75-minute yoga classes (focusing on meditation and breathing in addition to yoga poses) or received standard treatment for their back pain. Members of the yoga group were also given yoga CDs, mats, and props in order to keep up a daily yoga practice at home.

By the study's end, pain had decreased by one-third among those practicing yoga (compared to just 5 percent in the participants receiving standard care). What's more, pain medication use in the yoga group dropped by 80 percent, but remained the same among the other study members.