Health News Tidbits - September
Autism or Mercury Poisoning? - (adapted from the New Developments
Newsletter Summer 2000)
On July 18, 2000, Congressman Dan Burton (R-Indiana), the grandfather of two children
with autism, held his second hearing on the autism-vaccine connection. While previous
hearings emphasized the relationship between vaccines and autism, this round focused on
thimersol, the preservative used in the 1930's to prevent bacterial contamination in
vaccines and biologics. Thimersol contains 49.5% ethyl mercury, known to be toxic,
especially to fetal brains. The amount of mercury given to babies greatly exceeds
government standards of .1mcg per kilogram/day. By age 2 months, children who have
received routine vaccines have had 730 times the recommended maximum exposure.
A 1982 FDA report concluded that thimersol is toxic and ineffective in killing or
controlling bacteria. The FDA has never concluded safety studies on thimersol in vaccines.
While the government sees no danger in vaccines containing thimersol, it is committed to
removing all sources of mercury from children by mid-2001, as a "precautionary
measure." Although adequate supplies of vaccines without thimersol are available,
most physicians and clinics still use those containing mercury. Let's reiterate that all
recommended vaccines are available without mercury. For a list of vaccines products and
thimersol/mercury content, read the July/August issue of Autism-Aspergers Digest
available through http://www.immunize.org.
Study looks at drop in heart disease -
Healthier habits rather than better medicine may account for most of the dramatic drop in
heart disease among U.S. women over the past two decades, a long-running study of nurses
suggests. The findings emerged from the Nurses Health Study, which found that the
incidence of heart disease among the more than 80,000 participants dropped by nearly a
third from 1980 to 1994. Researchers at Harvard's medical and public health schools also
examined some of the factors that contributed to the drop and concluded that two-thirds of
that decline was explained by the nurses eating healthier diets and not smoking - the two
biggest factors. Compliments of the Associated Press
Researchers Find Phytochemicals In Apples May Fight Off Cancer -
According to a recent report in the journal Nature (Vol. 405, No. 6,789), phytochemicals
in apples seem to slow the rate at which collections of cancer cells grow. "Our
results indicate that natural antioxidants from fresh fruit could be more effective than a
dietary supplement," writes Marian V. Eberhardt, who published the study along with
colleagues from Cornell University’s Department of Food Sciences. The researchers
measured the antioxidant capacity of 100 grams of apple extract and found it was about the
same as 1,500 milligrams of vitamin C. Because there is only about five milligrams of
vitamin C in that amount of apple extract, the researchers knew the antioxidant effect
must come from other phytochemicals (plant chemicals) in the extract. An average-size
apple weighs about 140 grams. "This is an interesting finding, and the possibility of
unlocking which of these nutrients provides the chemoprotective effects is very
exciting," says David Ringer, Ph.D., scientific program director for the ACS.
Chemoprevention is the use of natural or lab-made substances to lower cancer risk.
"But this study wasn’t designed to prove which specific nutrients in the apples
protect against cancer, or how," Dr. Ringer says. "And since we don’t know
yet, the surest way to get that protection is to eat a wide variety of fruits and
vegetables every day, and at least five servings a day. We know that from very large
dietary studies that have been done." American Cancer Society NewsToday
Linoleic Acid Supplementation Could Help Type 2 Diabetics -
New evidence suggests that including conjugated linoleic acid in the diet may help control
type 2 diabetes. Researchers from Purdue University, led by Dr. Martha A. Belury, gave
conjugated linoleic acid to 11 type 2 diabetics while 8 other diabetics followed their
normal diet. None of the patients was receiving medication for type 2 diabetes. After 8
weeks, triglyceride levels dropped by an average of about 50 mg/dL in patients taking
linoleic acid, but only by about 10 mg/dL in patients on control diets. Body mass index
dropped by a mean of 0.5 in study subjects, while it rose slightly in the control
patients. Leptin levels also dropped in patients receiving linoleic acid but rose slightly
in controls, Dr. Belury said. Compliments of Reuters Limited
Green Tea Consumption Enhances Plasma Antioxidant Capacity -
Drinking as little as 300 mL (10 oz) of green tea significantly increases the total
antioxidant capacity of plasma, according to a report in the July issue of the European
Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Epidemiologic studies have reported a lower incidence of
coronary heart disease and cancer among drinkers of green tea, the authors explain, but
few studies have measured its antioxidant effects. These increases (7% at 1 hour and 6 %
at 2 h) are similar to those previously reported after ingesting 300 mL of red wine (18%
at 1 h and 11% at 2 h), the researchers explain. "Green tea and red wine are readily
available drinks that contain high levels of antioxidants," Dr. Min told Reuters
Health. "Although green tea contains less antioxidant effect than red wine, green tea
is considered to have high value as favorite food or drinks as it does not contain
alcohol." Eur J Clin Nutr 2000;54:527-529
Junk Food Diet Blamed for Asthma in Children -
Junk food and ready-made packaged meals may be causing the alarming rise in the world's
childhood asthma rates. Scottish researchers found children who have diets low in
vegetables, vitamins and minerals are three times more likely to suffer from wheezing,
infections and other asthmatic symptoms. Children who eat less processed or frozen food
and more locally grown fresh vegetables are far less likely to be asthmatic. Although
doctors suspected diet might also play a role in the increasing levels of asthma in
western societies, the research, in the journal Thorax, shows that children who had the
lowest intake of vegetables, milk and vitamin E were at a significantly greater risk of
developing asthma. The Independent, London
Diet Significantly Reduces Serum Homocysteine Levels -
A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods and low in saturated and total
fat significantly reduces serum homocysteine levels, researchers report in the August 29th
issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association."The more I know
about cardiovascular disease," Dr. Appel told Reuters Health, "the more I
realize that this is a disease of adverse lifestyles, and we can prevent the vast majority
of cardiovascular events if people make changes in lifestyles."
Circulation 2000;102:852-857.
First Human Studies Promising For CLA Supplement -
The long-awaited first results of human studies of a popular dietary supplement,
conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), indicate that the supplement may help overweight adults to
lose weight and fat, maintain weight loss, retain lean muscle mass and control adult-onset
diabetes. The findings were presented at the 220th national meeting of the American
Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. Overweight people who
participated in two of the studies, one conducted in Norway and the other in the United
States, experienced statistically significant reductions in body fat gain with no serious
side effects. In another Norwegian study, people who took CLA lost statistically
significant amounts of weight, without otherwise changing their diets. Marketed online and
in health food stores as a nutritional supplement, CLA is a naturally occurring fatty
acid. Found in many dairy products and in beef, its biological activity has been studied
intensively since it was discovered more than a decade ago. In animal studies, CLA has
been found effective in fighting several types of cancer, atherosclerosis and diabetes;
enhancing immune functioning and energy; and helping to control weight. American
Chemical Society
Zinc May Promote Growth -
Zinc supplements may encourage growth in stunted children. According to the June 10th
issue of The Lancet, a study done involving 200 Ethiopian babies showed a 2.8 inch length
gain in the babies given the supplement as opposed to 1.1 inch gain in babies given the
placebo. Additionally, zinc was found to reduce coughing, diarrhea, fever, and vomiting.
The typical Ethiopian diet, researchers say, is deficient in zinc.
Health News Tidbits - June
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