Health News Tidbits

Health News Tidbits – March 2003

Government Says Wood Play Sets Pose a Cancer Risk -
Children playing on millions of outdoor wood playgrounds sets nationwide face an increased risk of bladder and lung cancer from arsenic exposure. The study projects that between 2 to 100 children out of one million will get bladder and lung cancer from their exposure to the arsenic. Wood laced with chromated copper arsenate (C.C.A.), an arsenic derivative used to keep wood from rotting, has been used in residential settings and playgrounds the 1930's. Last year, the EPA reached an agreement with wood companies to phase out C.C.A. by the end of 2003. It does not call for companies to remove existing structures that used the wood. Go to epa.gov for detailed information.
Consumer Products Safety Commission

Why Protein-Rich Diets Aid Weight Loss -
A University of Illinois study sponsored by the Dept of Agriculture aims to explain why protein-rich diets aid weight loss. The findings suggest that eating more high quality protein will increase the amount of leucine, an amino acid, in the diet, helping a person maintain muscle mass and reduce body fat during weight loss. The body does not produce leucine, so people need to consume foods rich in it. Of the participants in the study, weight loss was seen as well as a feeling of being less hungry.
Journal of Nutrition, February

Progesterone Cuts Premature Births -
A National Institutes of Health supervised study found that weekly injections of progesterone reduced the chance of premature birth by 34% in 306 high-risk women. Researchers had planned to enroll 500 women in the study, however stopped the study short because of the dramatic results of the progesterone.
Annual Meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Feb 6, 2003

Excessive Coffee Consumption Linked to Stillbirths in Pregnant Women -
According to an 18,000 pregnant women participant study which appears in British Medical Journal, women who drank 4-7 cups of coffee had an 80% increased risk of stillbirth and women who drank eight or more cups a day had a 300% increased risk.

Mediterranean Diet Beneficial for Rheumatoid Arthritis -
Patients who switched to a Mediterranean diet regimen for three months showed a significant reduction in clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. The diet uses olive oil and canola oils as a primary source of fat, and is high in fish, poultry, fruit, vegetables and legumes, and low in red meat and high fat dairy products.
Annals of Rheumatic Diseases 2003;62:208-14

High Intake of "Good Fats" May be Protective Against Alzheimer's -
A study was done on 815 participants aged 65 years or older who were unaffected by Alzheimer's disease at baseline. After approximately four years, 131 developed Alzheimer's. Intakes of saturated fat and trans-unsaturated fat were positively associated with risk of Alzheimer's, whereas polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat actually lowered the risk of Alzheimer's.
Archives of Neurology 2003;60:194-200

Bifidobacteria Effective Against Ulcerative Colitis -
According to this small random study, supplementation with bifidobacteria, a healthy flora considered a probiotic, significantly reduced the exacerbations related to ulcerative colitis (only 27% exacerbations in the bifidium group as opposed to 90% in the non-bifidum group). Bifidum was also successful in maintaining remission of ulcerative colitis and had possible preventive effects on the relapse of ulcerative colitis.
J Amer Coll Nutr Vol. 22, No.1, 56-63 (2002)

Glucomannan Alleviated Hypercholesterolemia and Hyperglycemia in Type 2 Diabetic Subjects -
In 22 diabetic subjects, Glucomannan reduced plasma cholesterol 11.1%, LDL-cholesterol 20.7%, fasting glucose 23.2%, and elevated HDL cholesterol 15.6% compared to placebo. It is believed that Glucomannan improved blood lipid levels by enhancing fecal excretion of neutral sterol and bile acid.
J Amer Coll Nutr Vol. 22, No.1, 36-42 (2003)

Women With Rheumatoid Arthritis Have Marked Risk for Heart Attack -
Women with rheumatoid arthritis have a two-fold increased risk of heart attack compared with those without arthritis. The study was based on data taken from the 121,700 female participant Nurse's Health Study.
Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association 2/18/2003

Estrogen Levels Do Not Correlate With Improvement in Cognition -
While there has been mention of an association between estradiol and estrogen levels and measures of cognitive functioning in women with Alzheimer's Disease, this current study did not produce encouraging results. The 120 female participant study revealed no association between estradiol and estrogen levels and increased cognitive function after either 2 or 12 months of treatment.
Archives of Neurology 2003;60:209-212

Higher Estrogen Levels Are Not Associated With Better Memory Performance -

Out of 210 women and 202 men, aged 60 to 90 years, no association with higher endogenous estradiol were associated with larger hippocampal volumes and better memory performance. Archives of Neurology 2003;60:213-220

Stress During Pregnancy Can Affect Fetal Heart Rate -
A Columbia University study conducted on 32 healthy pregnant women concludes that stress-related changes in a pregnant woman's heart rate and blood pressure, along with chronic anxiety, can affect the heart rate of her developing fetus.
Center for Advancement of Health

Taking Ibuprofen & Aspirin Together Lethal Combination for Heart Patients -
According to the February 14th issue of The Lancet, heart patients taking ibuprofen and aspirin together are twice as likely to die as those who were taking aspirin alone. Scientists believe ibuprofen clogs a channel inside a clotting protein that aspirin acts on. Aspirin gets stuck behind ibuprofen and cannot get where it is supposed to go to thin the blood.

One Out of 133 Americans May Have Celiac Disease -
In the largest study ever conducted on this largely unknown disease, researchers screened 13,000 people in 32 states and found that one out every 133 had celiac disease. That makes it twice as common as Crohn's Disease, ulcerative colitis, and cystic fibrosis combined. Celiac is a digestive disorder in which the protein gluten, found in many grains such as wheat and barley, cannot be broken down, and creates autoimmune reactions
Archives of Internal Medicine, 2/10/2003

High Blood Sugar Links to Lost Memory -
According to a 30 non-diabetic middle-aged and elderly people study, high blood sugar was found to contribute to a smaller hippocampus, which is directly related to memory function. People's memory may be harmed before they develop diabetes. High blood sugar harms blood vessels that supply the brain, heart and other organs.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2/3/2003

Pregnant Women May Not Get Enough Omega-3 -
After reviewing a number of studies on pregnant women and omega-3 intake, researchers have found that concentrations of DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid essential for neurological development in babies, has decreased by 50% in Canada and Australia over the past 15 years. Because the diets of these two countries are similar to the United States, it is believed that this decrease in DHA exists in America as well.
American Journal Clinical Nutrition 2/03;77(2):473-8

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