Health News Tidbits –
July 2005
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Drugs/Meds
Dietary Supplements
Food/Diet
Health Conditions
Therapies
Lifestyle
Public Health
Magnesium Positively Affects C-Reactive Protein Levels -
Most Americans consume magnesium at levels below the RDA. Individuals with intakes below the RDA are more likely to have elevated CRP, which may contribute to cardiovascular disease. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that 68% consumed less than the recommended daily
allowance of magnesium, and 19% consumed less than 50% of the RDA. Those adults who consumed less than the RDA were 1.48-1.75 times more likely to have elevated CRP levels than those who consumed the RDA or above.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol.24, No.3, 166-171 (2005)
Bonnie - as I have been saying since I began practicing nutrition, magnesium is one of the most important yet deficient nutrients in the American diet. Many do not like taking magnesium because it often creates digestive discomfort. This is why many of my clients supplement with magnesium glycinate, which is easy on the gut.
Soy isoflavone may damage fertility, finds new research -
The soy component genistein, one of the isoflavones in soy, could damage human sperm.
Genistein, and other isoflavones, are marketed as dietary estrogens to women as a natural alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT). They are also being investigated for their potential to slow prostate and breast cancer.
But Lynn Fraser, professor of reproductive biology at King's College London, will present evidence today that even tiny doses of the natural compound can cause human sperm to ‘burn out’ and lose fertility.
Speaking ahead of the annual European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference, Fraser said: "Human sperm proved to be even more responsive than mouse sperm to genistein."
Moreover, when the compound is combined with other environmental estrogens, such as 8-prenylnaringenin (found in hops), and nonylphenol that is found in industrial products like paints, pesticides and cleaning products, the damage to fertility could be even more serious.
In particular, the chemicals stimulated the sperm to undergo an acrosome reaction - when the cap on the head of the sperm ruptures and releases enzymes that enable the sperm to penetrate the coverings of the egg. If the acrosome reaction happens before a sperm reaches the egg, then
fertilization is unable to take place because the sperm has lost special 'docking' molecules that allow it to bind to the egg.
Courtesy of nutraingredients.com
Bonnie - whenever fertility is an issue, I suggest reducing or eliminating soy foods or supplements. They may create a fluctuation of women's hormone levels as well as affect men. While this is one of the first studies of its kind, and more research needs to be done, it is compelling nonetheless.
Vitamin D may cut prostate cancer risk, suggests sunlight study -
High sun exposure halved the risk of prostate cancer in men participating in a US trial, said researchers today, likely because of their body’s higher vitamin D stores.
If future studies continue to show that sunlight lowers prostate cancer risk, men may be advised to increase their vitamin D intake from diet and supplements as a safer option to sunbathing, they say.
Writing in today’s issue of Cancer Research, researchers noted that in men with certain gene variants, high sun exposure reduced prostate cancer risk by as much as 65 per cent.
Previous research has shown that the prostate uses vitamin D to promote the normal growth of prostate cells and to inhibit the invasiveness and spread of prostate cancer cells to other parts of the body.
"The genes involved are those that determine the type of vitamin D receptors a person has," said co-author Gary Schwartz of Wake Forest University. "These receptors, which function with vitamin D like a lock and key, vary in their ability to bind vitamin D and thus to influence cell
behavior."
The trial compared 450 non-Hispanic white patients in the San Francisco Bay area who had advanced prostate cancer with a matched control group of 455 men who did not have prostate cancer.
Courtesy of nutraingredients.com
Calcium, vitamin D combat premenstrual ills-study -
A diet high in calcium and vitamin D could reduce the risk of getting premenstrual syndrome, according to a report published on Monday.
Previous studies have shown calcium supplements helped treat the problem, but "this is the first, to our knowledge, to suggest that calcium and vitamin D may help prevent the initial development of PMS," said the report.
The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine did not say why the combination provided a protective effect.
Bonnie - the combination is effective because calcium and vitamin D are not just essential for bone health. The two nutrients are essential for almost every organ system, especially the endocrine and hormone systems, which affect menstruation.
Omega-3 offers hope for new anti-breast cancer drugs -
Omega-3, the fatty acid found in oily fish, could be combined with a commonly used anesthetic to develop drugs to treat breast cancer, according to research published today in the journal Breast Cancer Research. Compounds of Omega-3 fatty acids and propofol reduce the ability of breast cancer cells to develop into malignant
tumors, inhibiting cancer cell migration by 50% and significantly reducing their metastatic activity. These new compounds could be developed into a new family of anti-cancer drugs.
Dr Rafat Siddiqui, from the Methodist Research Institute and Indiana University in Indianapolis, and his colleagues studied the effect of two Omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), combined with propofol on a breast cancer cell line in vitro. Omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA have a minimal effect on cancer cells when applied alone. Propofol is a potent anti-oxidant known to inhibit cancer cell migration by only 5-10%.
The results of the study show that propofol and DHA or EPA have a much more significant effect on cancer cells when used in combination, as conjugates, than when used alone. The conjugates inhibit cancer cell adhesion by 15% and 30% respectively, reduce cell migration by 50% and increase apoptosis by 40%.
"These results suggest that the novel propofol-DHA and propofol-EPA conjugates reported here may be useful for the treatment of breast cancer" conclude Siddiqui and colleagues.
Drugs/Meds -
Bronchitis & Conjunctivitis Sufferers Can Skip Antibiotics
A study found that bronchitis sufferers who are otherwise healthy do not get better any faster by taking antibiotics. "Antibiotics for the vast majority of people don't seem to make much difference," said Dr. Paul Little, author of the five-year study of patients in England. Moreover, many bronchitis cases are caused by viruses, which antibiotics do not fight.
Little said that otherwise healthy patients can skip the drugs to treat the chest infections, even though they will feel crummy for a couple of weeks. But patients with conditions such as chronic lung and heart disease that can cause bronchitis to develop into pneumonia should see their doctors, he said.
In the study, coughing lasted an average of 11 days after patients saw their doctors, whether they got antibiotics or not. Other symptoms, such as phlegm and shortness of breath, were reduced by less than a day for people treated with amoxicillin or erythromycin.
The study, based on 640 patients ages 3 and older, was published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. The study excluded patients with conditions that could complicate their bronchitis, such as asthma or heart and lung disease.
Courtesy of AP 6/22/2005
One in eight children develop the eye condition conjunctivitis each year and in many cases family doctors use the antibiotic chloramphenicol to treat it.
But an Oxford University study in the Lancet said the cure rate was nearly the same if the drops were used or not.
Researchers urged parents to wash children's eyes with warm water rather than use the drops.
The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the UK drugs regulator, announced earlier this month the eye drops would become the first antibiotic to be made available without prescription.
Steve - Like this is a surprise? We have been saying for years that antibiotics do not treat viral infections. Finally, doctors are starting to take notice and reducing the amount of antibiotics they prescribe.
Senator Releases Report Exposing FDA & Drug Companies -
Conspiracy of Silence: How the FDA Allows Drug Companies to Abuse the Accelerated Approval Process
Download this document if you have time to read twenty-five compelling pages. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) has put together a very concise report showing how medications are rapidly approved without adequate safety data. Markey's report also lists many of the medications with safety data still pending, even though they are being marketed to consumers (some as far back as 1996).
http://www.house.gov/markey/Issues/iss_health_rep050601.pdf
Steve
Food/Diet -
Milk may cause weight gain in kids -
A survey of more than 12,000 children aged 9 to 14 showed that those who drank more milk weighed more than those who drank less.
"Children who drank the most milk gained more weight, but the added calories appeared responsible," the team at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard University in Boston wrote in their report, published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
"The take-home message is that children should not be drinking milk as a means of losing weight or trying to control weight," Berkey said.
Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, who worked on the study, said he was concerned about the heavy advertising of milk.
"The basic beverage should be water," Willett added. "We know that in many parts of the world, kids don't drink any milk at all and they end up with healthy bones."
In March a study in the journal Pediatrics showed that exercise was at least as important for building strong bones in children as eating calcium-rich foods was.
Children who drank more than three servings a day were 25 percent more likely to become overweight than those who drank two to three servings a day.
Bonnie - The USDA's 2005 MyPyramid now recommends 3 dairy servings daily for everybody!
Apples = Antioxidants! -
A Canadian government study that measured the levels of antioxidants in eight varieties of apples found that Red Delicious contain the highest concentrations of the health enhancing chemicals.
The skin of Red Delicious apples — the most common variety grown in the United States — contains over six times more antioxidant activity than the flesh.
The study, to be published in the June 29 issue of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, compared apple varieties popular in Canada, some of which are available only regionally in the United States.
Red Delicious, which account for 27 percent of U.S. apple production, has more than six times the antioxidants as the bottom-ranked Empire variety. Northern Spy was No. 2, followed by Cortland, Ida Red, Golden Delicious, McIntosh and Mutsu.
And in every variety tested, the skins of the apples contained substantially higher levels of antioxidants than the flesh.
Though apples have significantly lower concentrations of antioxidants than other fruits, especially many berries, researchers say year-round availability and greater popularity might make them a better source for many people.
Courtesy of AP 6/6/2005
Dark chocolate seen healthy for arteries -
Eating dark chocolate may have a protective effect on the cardiovascular system in healthy people, the results of a new study in the American Journal of Hypertension.
They point out that the elasticity or stiffness of arteries "are important determinants of cardiovascular performance and are predictors of cardiovascular risk."
The researchers examined the effects of flavanoid-rich dark chocolate on blood-vessel function in 17 young, healthy volunteers over a 3-hour period after they consumed 100 grams of a commercially available dark chocolate.
The investigators saw that an artery in the arm dilated significantly more in response to an increase in blood flow. Chocolate consumption also led to a significant 7-percent decrease in aortic stiffness.
Courtesy of Reuters 6/24/2005
Bonnie - Music to my ears. I have telling this to clients for years and it is nice to see it in a prestigious cardiac journal. Make sure the cocoa content is 61% or above. Dark chocolate is ALWAYS
milk-free.
Fish may protect against colorectal cancer -
People who regularly eat fish are less likely to develop colorectal cancer, reveals new data out today from the biggest ever investigation into diet's impact on cancer incidence.
The new study, based on data from around half a million participants in the EPIC trial, also confirmed that red meat consumption significantly raises the risk of this cancer, while
fiber protects against it.
The findings are reported in today’s issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (vol 97, 12).
In contrast, eating 100 grams of fish daily reduces the disease risk by half. People eating less than 14g of fish a day were 40 per cent more likely to develop the cancer than those eating more than 50g per day, the researchers report.
Higher protein better for elderly bone mass -
Elderly women may need more protein than currently recommended to protect their bones from risk of fracture, suggests a new study.
The effect of protein intake on bone density is still uncertain but research increasingly suggests that it may be more important than previously thought.
Researchers from the University of Western Australia in Perth and other Australian institutions used data from a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of a population-based sample of 1077 women aged around 75 years old.
The results show a positive correlation between protein intake and qualitative ultrasound of the heel, as well as hip bone mineral density, even after adjusting for age, body mass index, and other nutrients, write the researchers in this month's issue of the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition (vol 81, no 6, pp1423-1428).
For those women with the lowest intake, (less than 66g of protein per day), ultrasound of the heel was 1.3 per cent higher than women with the highest intake (more than 87g protein per day) and hip BMD was 2.6 per cent more.
Raisins fight oral bacteria -
Compounds found in raisins appear to fight bacteria in the mouth that cause cavities and gum disease.
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago said yesterday that one of five raisin compounds tested, oleanolic acid, was particularly effective in killing bacteria.
The findings counter the public perception that raisins promote cavities.
"Raisins are perceived as sweet and sticky, and any food that contains sugar and is sticky is assumed to cause cavities," said lead author of the study Christine Wu, professor and associate dean for research at
UIC.
"But our study suggests the contrary. Phytochemicals in raisins may benefit oral health by fighting bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease."
The data, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology running in Atlanta this week, come as food manufacturers and oral care companies show increasing interest in natural compounds that can fight gum and tooth disease.
Dental floss and other products containing cranberry extracts have recently been launched in the US on the back of research showing that the fruit contains compounds that prevent adhesion of the bacteria Streptococcus
mutans, an agent for dental caries, to teeth.
The new study shows that a raisin compound may have the same action.
Courtesy of nutraingredients.com
Health Conditions -
Cauliflower a weapon against breast cancer -
Women who eat cauliflower regularly could provide the body with powerful tools to help fight breast cancer, as a new Italian study reveals the chemo preventive
compounds of this popular vegetable.
Cauliflower is a member of the Brassicaceae mustard/cabbage family that includes Brussels sprouts and broccoli, and a raft of studies have already suggested these ubiquitous winter vegetables could be an important source of health benefiting compounds.
“Cell growth inhibition was accompanied by significant cell death at the higher juice concentrations,” they report in the June issue of The Journal of Nutrition.
The scientists stressed that they found all cauliflower varieties tested suppressed cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner.
Mending Sports Injuries
We thought an 6/20/05 LA Times article on sports injuries was telling. What a shocker...experts are now saying that to increase recovery time, add extra protein in your diet to optimize tissue repair. In addition, increase your vitamin C and zinc intake to aid in healing and repair. These are two things that we have been suggesting to our clients for years!
Non-Dieters Weigh the Same, but They're Happier -
In a paper published this month in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers found that obese women who used a nutrition and behavior approach that ignored weight and body mass index, or B.M.I., a common measure of weight in relation to body size, were psychologically healthier at the end of a two-year trial period than those on conventional weight-loss diets.
Forty-one percent of dieters dropped out of the program; only 8 percent of nondieters quit. Nondieters lost no weight during the trial. Dieters initially lost weight, and then gained it back, showing no weight loss after two years. Nondieters felt significantly better about their bodies and showed highly significant decreases in depression, as measured by a widely used test.
"There is an extraordinary amount of scientific research that documents that dieting is not an effective health or weight-loss strategy," said Dr. Linda Bacon, the lead author. But, she said, "there is abundant research to show that when people make lifestyle changes, they improve health."
Courtesy of NY Times 6/14/05
Bonnie - Amen. It should not be about dieting. Discovering what foods are right for you and making those changes should be considered a lifestyle change. That is why I have never liked to use a scale or B.M.I. I have found in most cases for it to be counter-productive. When an individual is eating the right foods for their genetics and make the effort to change their lifestyle, weight comes off naturally and healthfully.
Children can learn to like healthful foods with some encouragement from their families -
Excerpts taken from article by Sally Squires, Special to The L.A. Times
Children can indeed learn to eat smart and move more. And they do so, a new study finds, if their parents give them access to healthy food, encourage regular physical activity and set a good example for these habits themselves.
The Dietary Intervention Study in Children focused on 663 children ages 8 to 10, for which fatty snacks, desserts and pizza accounted for about a third of the daily calories, as they do for most children today.
All participants were encouraged to daily get 60 minutes of physical activity. Half the children were then randomly assigned to a control group that received standard educational material on heart-healthy eating. The other half — the intervention group — enrolled in a yearlong, intensive program that included group meetings, individual sessions with registered dietitians, behavioral training and advice about boosting daily physical activity. These youngsters and their families received a guide that categorized food into three groups:
• "Go" foods that are nutrient rich and have little saturated fat, trans fat or cholesterol, such as fruits and vegetables without sauces or butter; whole grains; lean meat and poultry without the skin; egg whites; beans and nonfat or 1% dairy products; water and diet soda.
• "Slow" foods that are higher in fat and cholesterol, including Canadian bacon, lean ground beef, low-fat salad dressings and mayonnaise, 2% milk and 100% fruit juice, sports drinks and dried fruit.
• "Whoa" foods that should be eaten "once in a while" because they are calorie-dense or high in unhealthy fat. Examples include French fries, fruit in heavy syrup, fatty cuts of meat, chicken with the skin, whole eggs, cookies, cake, buttered popcorn, whole milk and regular soda.
Not only did the lower-calorie, low-fat regimen have no adverse effects on growth or development, but the study found that children learned healthy habits that lasted. Three years after the study began, kids in the intervention group consumed 67% of their calories from heart-healthy "go" foods, compared with 57% for the control group.
The results show that "families can learn to enjoy healthy foods and to be selective about their food choices" if they have "the right tools to help them make positive lifestyle changes," said Elizabeth G. Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which funded the study.
To provide those tools, the National Institutes of Health last week launched the We Can! program to help reduce childhood obesity, increase physical activity and cut sedentary behavior.
Here are some suggestions:
• Help kids reach for "go" foods.
• Get youngsters moving. Children are more likely to be active — and stay active — if you do physical activities with them.
• Fists are for food. Serving sizes are usually too large for most kids, so use your child's fist as a portion size for food.
• Quench thirst with water.
• Serve dessert, but make it fruit. The study found that even children who otherwise improved their eating habits fell short on fruit.
• Make fruit and vegetables part of each meal. Linda Van Horn, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University and lead author of the study, says, "Hungry kids will eat whatever is there, even the healthy stuff."
The study appears in the journal Pediatrics. www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/index.htm.
Steve - We say similar things to parents who are deathly afraid of changing their children's eating habits. It takes time and a lot of hard work, but we have seen many, many success stories! You can do it!
Public Health -
USDA Won't Enforce Rules against Junk Food Sales in Schools -
The junk food industry won a major victory yesterday, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture rejected a petition that it enforce its own competitive foods rule, which prohibits public schools from selling "foods of minimal nutritional value" during mealtimes in school cafeterias. The rule was designed to promote the health of school children, but enforcement today is lax to non-existent. The petition simply requested that the USDA enforce the rule as written.
A Wall Street Journal poll in February, 2005, found that 83% of American adults believe "public schools need to do a better job of limiting children's access to unhealthy foods like snack foods, sugary soft drinks and fast food."
In March, the USDA admitted in a report that it does not know whether schools are complying with prohibitions against the sale of foods of minimal nutritional value during school mealtimes. The report stated, "it is unclear to what extent federal and state regulations [against the sale of foods of minimum nutritional value] are enforced at the local level".
Foods of minimal nutritional value are defined as soda pop, water ices, chewing gum, and certain types of candies, such as hard candies, jellied candies, licorice and marshmallows.
Bonnie & Steve - What could we add to this that is not said already?
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