A little exercise goes long way for your heart

By Natalie Gott

RALEIGH, N.C. -- There's no need to run. Just going for a brisk walk -- in the park, around the block or on a treadmill -- may be enough to help keep your heart healthy, a small study suggests.

The study, which indicates roughly two to three hours of mild exercise a week at a moderate intensity can significantly cut the risk of cardiovascular disease, supports earlier research.

The findings may encourage people who are reluctant to exercise, said Brian Duscha, the lead author of the research published in the October issue of the journal Chest.

''The classic question always is: What's the minimum amount I need to do to enjoy the benefits of it,'' Duscha said. ''If you just walk 12 miles a week at a brisk pace, it's scientifically proven now that you will get some benefits.''

The conclusions are based on a study at Duke University Medical Center of 133 middle-aged overweight sedentary adults who were at risk for heart disease.

Associated Press

Public Health: Before Avoiding Fish, a Word to the Wise

Printed in today's New York Times...

Federal health officials should think carefully before issuing advisories recommending that women of childbearing age limit their intake of fish, new research suggests.

The warnings are intended to protect fetuses from mercury, which concentrates in some fish and, at high enough levels, can damage the brains of the babies.

But in a series of articles in the current American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers say the effect of the advisories may be detrimental to public health, since the fatty acids in fish help prevent serious problems like stroke and heart disease.

There is also evidence that they help prenatal brains develop.

"These and other potential health effects yield a classic risk-risk trade-off," wrote the lead researcher, Joshua T. Cohen of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Harvard researchers asked experts from a variety of universities to review the literature and decide whether the benefits of reducing mercury in pregnant women's diets was worth the loss of the fatty acids.

"I think we've got two messages," Dr. Cohen said. "If you're not pregnant and you're not going to become pregnant, eat fish. If you are pregnant or you are going to become pregnant, you should still eat fish, but you should eat fish low in mercury."

The problem with the government advisories, the researchers said, is that officials do not try to assess what effect they will have on the public.

They are directed at women of childbearing age, but some experts believe they keep other people away from fish, too. And instead of avoiding just those fish high in mercury, like swordfish and king mackerel, some women avoid all fish.

Bonnie - finally, somebody is making sense. I cannot tell you how many clients have unnecessarily stopped eating fish because of federal health advisories. We need to read the fine print of the advisories or speak to a local health professional, like myself, who has a public health background.

Comments on Ensure's Healthy Mom

As you probably could have anticipated, we do not advocate Ensure's new Healthy Mom Shakes. The ingredients are deplorable:

• sucrose (high glycemic sugar)
  
• maltodextrin (corn binder)
  
• artificial flavor
• calcium caseinate (monosodium glutamate derivative)

Enough said.

Bonnie and Steve

Estrogenic effect of yam ingestion in healthy postmenopausal women

The researchers objective in this 24 person study was to understand why yam has been used to treat menopausal symptoms folklorically.

What they found was that replacing two-thirds of staple food (rice) with yam for 30 days improved the status of the women's sex hormones, lipids, and antioxidant levels. The same results were not seen in a group that was given sweet potato.

J Amer Coll Nutr October, 2005

Bonnie - this is one of the first studies I have seen structured this way and I am impressed, albeit not suprised with the results. I would like them to some more larger studies so wild yam will be taken more seriously.

Treating diarrhea in children younger than one

According to researchers, the feeding of cereal containing probiotics (including lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidus) and zinc, reduced the severity and duration of acute gastroenteritis in 65 young children aged 6-12 months.

J Amer Coll Nutr, October 2005

State of type 2 diabetes commentary

Highlights from a review study in the October issue Journal of The American College of Nutrition:

• monosaturated or polyunstaurated fats appear to have a beneficial effect on insulin action
• breastfeeding for at least two months may lower the risk of diabetes in children
  
• few studies have examined the role of type and amount of carbohydrates in relation to the development of type 2 diabetes; what appears to be...
  
• persons with a diet at the highest level of the glycemic index were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those at the lowest levels
• very little data exists showing the relationship between intake of whole-grain foods and risk of type 2 diabetes
• their conclusion: the public health importance of diabetes prevention is indisputable; to reduce the burden of this devastating disease, prevention programs must target not only the affected individuals, but also families, workplaces, schools, and communities
  

Pesticide Levels in Produce

This is a short list of the most contaminated and least contaminated fruits and vegetables with pesticide residue. Keep in mind, testing does not occur on the outside of the fruit or vegetable, it is tested in the interior.

Most contaminated with pesticides:

• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Grapes (imported)
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Red Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries

Least contaminated with pesticides:

• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn (sweet)
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Onions
• Papaya
• Pineapples
• Peas (sweet)

Steve - even more impetus to go organic when possible!

Epidurals increase birth aid need

Women who have an epidural to ease the pain of childbirth are more likely to need medical help to have their baby, scientists say. A review of 21 studies comparing epidurals to other forms of pain relief showed women who chose them were 40% more likely to need intervention.

The Cochrane Review, an independent health database, reviewed studies involving 6,664 women. The review found women opting for an epidural were more likely to experience a longer second stage of labor - when the baby is pushed out of the birth canal - and to have drugs to stimulate contractions. They also faced a greater risk of being unable to move for a short time after birth and to experience low blood pressure. But there were no significant differences in the risk of having a Caesarean, long-term backache or immediate adverse effects on the baby between the women having epidurals and those who did not.

BBCNews.com

Medical expenses becoming beyond burdonesome

In a study of 1,771 people who filed for bankruptcy, reported this year by four researchers at Harvard and Ohio University, 28 percent said the cause was illness or injury. Most were middle class, educated and had health insurance at the start of the treatment. Many lost phone service, went without meals or skipped medications to save money. Although the study relied largely on people's own accounts of their finances, the figure suggests that as many as 400,000 American families file for bankruptcy each year because of medical expenses.

Steve - This is what our health care system has come to. This figure came from a crushing story the appeared today in the New York Times today entitled, "When health insurance is not a safeguard." The state of health in America requires drastic measures. It is paramount that we do everything we can to keep ourselves as healthy as possible. Eating properly is priority number one.

Cosmetics: the journey into the unkown

Earlier this year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did something amazing. It issued an unprecedented warning to the cosmetics industry that it was time to inform consumers that most personal care products have not been safety tested.

It is possible that in the not too distant future 99 per cent of personal care products could be required to carry a caution on the label: "Warning: The safety of this product has not been determined."

What concerns scientists at the FDA and at environmental health organizations throughout the world is the "cocktail effect" - the daily mixing of many different types of toxins in and on the body - and how this might damage health over the longer term.

On average, we each use nine personal care products a day containing 126 different ingredients. Such "safety" testing as exists looks for reactions, such as skin redness, rashes or stinging, but does not investigate potential long-term problems for either humans or the environment. Yet the chemicals that go into products such as shampoos and hand creams are not trace contaminants. They are the basic ingredients.

Absorbed into the body, they can be stored in fatty tissue or organs such as the liver, kidney, reproductive organs and brain. Cosmetics companies complain of unfounded hysteria, but scientists are finding industrial plasticisers such as phthalates in urine, preservatives known as parabens in breast-tumour tissue, and antibacterials such as Triclosan and fragrance chemicals like the hormone-disrupting musk xylene in human breast milk. Medical research is proving that fragrances can trigger asthma; that the detergents in shampoos can damage eye tissue; and that hair-dye chemicals can cause bladder cancer and lymphoma. An even greater number of substances in personal care products are suspected to present potential risks to human health from this known effect on animals.

If these problems had been linked to pharmaceutical drugs, the products would have been taken off the market. At the very least, money would have been spent on safety studies. But because the cosmetics industry is largely self-governing, and because we all want to believe in the often hollow promises of better skin and whiter teeth, products containing potentially harmful substances remain in use and on sale.

Courtesy of The Independent

Dairy industry flexing organic muscle

A Federal Advisory Board seven months ago sought to close loopholes to ensure that organic dairy cows are raised in pastures, rather than in confined pens. The USDA has yet to embrace their recommendations. Does this smell like a gallon of sour milk? Some believe the USDA is under extreme pressure from large dairy companies to ignore the board's advice.

The organic milk business is booming and conventional, large-scale dairies want a piece. Only, completely altering sardine-can infrastructure for open pasture is not an option. So the dairy industry is pressuring the USDA to allow "organic" to include sardine-can dairies as long as organic feed is used.

Why such a fuss? The reason is a bit complex. If organic cows are not required to be raised in pastures, it will do little good for our health. Maybe the pesticide count will be lower and growth hormone will not be allowed (which many conventional dairies are doing anyway). More importantly, the feed that cows consume in pens, even if organic, is usually soy and corn, which are genetically incompatible.

Beyond lactose intolerance and casein allergy, milk incompatible for humans because it is inflammatory. Omega-6 fatty acids, which exist in force in corn and soy, promote inflammation. Cows were meant to eat grasses. The grasses give the cow's meat and milk copious quantities of bioavailable Omega-3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory.

A USDA ruling forcing organic cows to feed only in pasture will allow us the opportunity to consume other sources of Omega-3's other than fish (which, because of such high demand, will put a huge strain on fish numbers worldwide).

Steve

Excerpts taken from Andrew Martin's Chicago Tribune article

Sleeping Pill Use by Youths Soars, Study Says

The use of sleeping pills among children and very young adults rose 85 percent from 2000 to 2004, in yet another sign that parents and doctors are increasingly turning to prescription medications to solve childhood health and behavioral problems.

And about 15 percent of people under age 20 who received sleeping pills were also being given drugs to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, according to the study by Medco Health Solutions, a managed-care company that makes estimates about medication use in the whole population based on extrapolations from its own data. Drugs used to treat attention disorders can cause insomnia.

Few of the prescriptions given to children and young adults have the approval of the Food and Drug Administration because no sleep medication has been approved for use in children under 18. Still, doctors commonly use medications for patients and disorders for which the drugs have never received formal approval, particularly when those patients are children.

Courtesy of The NY Times

Steve - Reflux Meds, Attention Deficit Drugs, Sleep Medications, and others? This is yet another indictment of parents and their physicians who throw band-aid apporaches to problems that can often be remedied by getting to the cause, diet. Now we are prescribing meds to mask the symptoms created by other meds in children! It is unfathomable to us that the FDA allows these medications to continually be prescribed to children when they have not been researched. Have we not learned anything from depression medications that led to suicides in children and teens? For more info, go to nutritionalconcepts.com to read our piece on the misuse of reflux meds in babies.

High work demands increase heart disease in young men

According to a study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, Finnish researchers measured thickness of the carotid artery in 478 men and 542 women ages 24 to 39 years. They also assessed job strain by asking participants about the pace and mental demands of their work.

Results showed that men who reported high job strain were 29% more likely to have increased thickness of the artery, similar to that of a smoker or poor eater. Women did not show the same effect, possibly because their job stress peaks later in life.

Courtesy of LA Times

Eating more protein helps people feel full longer

What a shocker! Have they not been listening to what we've been saying for twenty years? Have they not looked at our Circle of Health? Of course not.

In "they," we are referring to the organization of 1900 health professionals called the NAASO or The North American Association for the Study of Obesity. They reported at their annual meeting an abundance of "new" evidence supporting diets that foster 30% protein, 20% fat, and 50% carbohydrate increase satiety and accelerate weight loss if overweight.

Steve

Big, fast-growing babies face later obesity risk

Big babies and infants who gain weight very quickly early in life have a higher risk of suffering from obesity.

A review of 24 studies published online by the British Medical Journal on Friday showed that size early in life has a life-long impact.

"In the majority of studies the infants who were heaviest or those with the highest body mass index (BMI), and those who gained weight more rapidly in the first two years of life were more at risk of obesity," Dr Janis Baird, of the University of Southampton, in southern England, told Reuters.

"This was true for obesity in childhood, adolescence and adulthood."

Baird said the results of the review were consistent across the studies which were done in the United States, Britain, other European countries and a couple of less developed nations.

The research covered people born between 1927 and 1994.

Courtesy of Reuters

More vitamin D may mean healthier gums

People with higher blood levels of vitamin D may be less likely to develop gum disease, a new study suggests.

Using data from a national U.S. health survey, researchers found that teenagers and adults with the highest blood levels of vitamin D were 20 percent less likely than those with the lowest levels to show signs of gingivitis -- a milder form of gum disease in which the gums become swollen and bleed easily.

The current study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is based on data from 6,700 Americans who took part in a federal health study between 1988 and 1994.

It's this anti-inflammatory benefit that may explain the vitamin's link to healthier gums. Gingivitis arises when bacteria build up between the teeth and gums, leading to inflammation and bleeding.

Courtesy of Reuters

Comments on today's Associated Press article, "Baby Can Eat The Darnedest Things."

If you did not see this article appear in today's Chicago Tribune, take a gander.

In short, the crux of the article states that we discard everything we know about feeding babies, because the advice on how to wean infants onto solid foods is more myth than science. A Stanford professor and spokeswoman from the American Dietetic Association both profess that 6 month-olds can eat many of the things their parents do.

Just when you think you've heard everything, now this. At least they had the decency to mention that if you have a family of history of allergy, introduce one food at a time to watch for reactions. If everyone followed the suggestions of this article, the rate of gastrointestinal issues in babies would be much higher than it is even now. They suggest that one does not have to wait until one year to introduce peanut butter. This is dangerous. I do not recommend it until at least two years.

In my experience, we always start with bland foods first. I have found the most positive results from squash, sweet potato, avocado, peas, and green beans first. Then, iron-enriched rice cereal because extra iron is usually needed after six months of age.

From there, parents can gradually add and test their family's foods one at a time to test for reactions. Never test high protein foods before six months of age because they are more difficult to digest and cause more allergic reactions than do carbohydrates.

Bonnie and Steve

Magnesium-Infused Milk?

A client sent us a copy of a French adveritsement for milk with added magnesium. The copy stated, "Lactel Magnesium, the milk that helps you look at life on the bright side." I always find it interesting that when it comes to food products, the Europeans always seem to "get it."

Bonnie

Probiotics help dermatitis in children

Children given a probiotic supplement for four months showed a significant improvement in symptoms of atopic dermatitis, said Australian researchers this month.

The new study adds to previous research by the University of Helsinki into the merits of probiotics on dermatitis in children, but uses an independent analysis index to confirm the results.

Twenty-seven children aged between 6-18 months were given 1 billion cfu of L fermentum freeze-dried powder twice daily for 16 weeks. The remaining children received maltodextran without probiotics twice daily for the same duration.

Results indicated that the reduction in the SCORAD severity scale over time was significant in the probiotic group – 92 per cent scored better at 16 weeks than at baseline – but not the placebo group.

Further tests proved that the probiotic group enjoyed a reduction in severe AD symptoms, with 54 per cent recording a drop from acute to mild AD, compared with the placebo group who saw a 30 per cent decline in severe conditions.

The SCORAD index, originally developed by the European Task Force on AD as a referent clinical severity scale, scores the extent and subjective symptoms according to clinically approved consensus agreed by more than 20 dermatologists.

Courtesy of nutraingredients.com

Corn sensitive - be on the lookout for hi-maize

Hi-maize and Z-TRIM, brands of corn-based fiber and resitant starch, may be appearing in your grocery items and on restaurant menus. While the intent of these products is admirable, to increase insoluble and soluble fiber intake, many Americans have trouble tolerating corn-based products. All the more reason to look at your grocery labels and be cognizant about what you order in a restaurant.

Bonnie

Food allergic rejoice!

Starting January 1, 2006, the Food Allergen Labelling Consumer Protection Act goes into effect. In short, any consumable product that contains or is derived from the top 8 allergens must be labeled as such. The big 8 allergens are: milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans. No more hidden allergens!

The hidden dangers of heartburn

Steve - a client emailed us an incredible article entitled, "The Hidden Dangers of Heartburn: How a Common Health Problem is Quietly Becoming an Unsuspected Killer," from the October 10th issue of theWall Street Journal. We cannot reprint it for but the highlights are as follows:

• Esophageal adenocarcinoma, the cancer most often linked with heartburn, has jumped fivefold in the past 30 years.
• Experts believe the way doctors and patients treat heartburn symptoms may be making things worse by prescribing acid-suppressing drugs. Long-term use of acid-reducing drugs alter then environment in the digestive tract in a way that allows cancer to take hold in certain patients.
• Studies show that acid-suppressing drugs may not be enough to stop continuing damage to the esophagus.

How timely that this article just came out as we recently exposed how babies and young children are being prescribed reflux meds like candy. What the Journal article did not emphasize enough is the importance of diet in eliminating heartburn. For those of you looking to eliminate or greatly reduce heartburn symptoms without meds, you can follow our Reversing Relux in Your Child Action Plan (it works for adults as well) or our Pain Relief Diet.

Changing eating habits in america

Highlights of this fascinating Chicago Sun-Times article are as follows:

• Percent of in-home main meals including fresh produce dropped from 55.5% in 1985 to 45.9% in 2004.
• Annual restaurant meals eaten in the car per person has risen from 19 in 1985 to 32 in 2005.
• Sandwiches are the number one most often eaten food in America.
• The annual number of main meals skipped per person went from 102 in 1985 to 114 this year.

What's most obvious from the "Eating Patterns in America" report is that since 1985, not much has changed in what Americas want to eat. Sandiwches, potatoes, cereal, bread, and chips are all in the top 10 most consumed foods.

Lose sleep from heartburn? Read on...

According to U of Arizona's Dr. Ronnie Fass, if you lose sleep from heartburn you may want to cut back on your carbohydrate consumption, specifically carbonated soft drinks. High acidity cann trigger nightime heartburn. Researchers studied 15,000 people, and those who drank more than one carbonated soft drink daily were about 25% more apt to have heartburn while asleep than those who did not consume a soft drink. Being overweight also increased nighttime heartburn risk by 30%.

Eating fish regularly delays dementia: study

Eating fish at least once a week slows the toll aging takes on the brain, while obesity at midlife doubles the risk of dementia, a pair of studies concluded on Monday.

Omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish have been shown to boost brain functioning as well as cutting the risk of stroke, and eating fish regularly appears to protect the brain as people age, the six-year study of Chicago residents said.

"The rate of (mental) decline was reduced by 10 percent to 13 percent per year among persons who consumed one or more fish meals per week compared with those with less than weekly consumption," wrote Martha Clare Morris of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

"The rate reduction is the equivalent of being three to four years younger in age," she added in the report published online by the Archives of Neurology.

The protective effect from eating fish was evident even after researchers adjusted for consumption of fruits and vegetables.

In another study published in the same journal, Swedish researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm concluded that obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels at midlife each doubled the risk of dementia later in life.

Subjects who suffered from all three of the health problems at midlife multiplied their risk of developing dementia six times compared to people free of the risk factors, she said.

Nearly 1,500 subjects who have been part of a study that began in 1972 were reexamined. The 16 percent who were obese at midlife were at double the risk of dementia compared to the one-quarter of those with normal weight at midlife and the half who had been slightly overweight.

"Midlife obesity, high systolic blood pressure, and high total cholesterol were all significant risk factors for dementia, each of them increasing the risk around two times," study author Miia Kivipelto wrote.

Courtesy of Reuters

Steve - Enough said? Will this convince consume fish and/or fish oil?

Phytochemicals May Protect Cartilage, Prevent Pain in Joints

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that plant-derived compounds known for their ability to protect tissue also appear to block the activity of an enzyme that triggers inflammation in joints.

Their findings could lead to new arthritis treatments and better methods of making artificial cartilage.

The discovery was detailed in a paper published in the Sept. 27 edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"The beneficial phase 2 enzymes somehow seemed to prevent the activation of the inflammatory COX-2 enzyme," said Zachary R. Healy, a doctoral student and lead author of the journal paper. "The phase 2 enzymes inhibited the inflammation and the apoptosis -- the cellular suicide we'd observed."

Some prescription drugs like Vioxx keep COX-2 enzyme at bay by temporarily blocking its ability to send the biochemical signals that set off pain and inflammation. When the medication is stopped, however, the stockpiled COX-2 enzyme can resume its damaging ways. Unlike these traditional pain killers, Healy said, the phase 2 enzyme inducers seemed to stop the increasing activity of COX-2 enzyme.

"That means these compounds could be useful as a preventive measure, perhaps before strenuous exercise," Healy said. "This has the potential for stopping pain and inflammation before they start."

Phase 2 enzymes can detoxify certain cancer-causing agents and damaging free radicals in tissue, including cells that line blood vessels. These phytochemicals can be found in cruciferous plants, including broccoli.

By showing a way to ward off inflammation and by providing insights into the effects of shear stress, the new chondrocyte research may also aid tissue engineers who are trying to grow artificial cartilage or seeking to revitalize human cartilage in the lab. This is important because human bodies cannot make new cartilage to replace tissue that's lost to injury or disease.

Funding for the research was provided by a DuPont Young Professor Award, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and an Achievement Reward for College Students Fellowship. Healy's co-authors on the PNAS paper were Talalay, Konstantopoulos, Norman H. Lee of the Institute for Genomic Research, Xiangqun Gao of the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Mary B. Goldring of the Harvard Institutes of Medicine, and Thomas W. Kensler of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Lack of B-Vitamins May Contribute to Cognitive Decline

High homocysteine concentrations in people over age 60 were associated with decreasing levels of cognitive performance. High vitamin B12 levels correlated with better cognitive performance.

Am J Epidemiology, October 1, 2005

About face with regard to eggs

According to the President of the American Heart Association, "eggs certainly can be a part of a healthy diet." This is a far cry from their position of only two tears ago. Eggs recently were awarded a Heart Tick from the National Heart Foundation, Asutralia's equivalent of the AHA. They go on to say that "we do not restrict consumption of eggs for the general population."

Bonnie - my position has never wavered on eggs, even when they were the "pariah" of the AHA. Eggs are a superfood, especially if they are organic and infused with omega-3 DHA.

Doctors warn about toddler diets

According to the American heart Association, there is an increasing number of overweight 2-year olds. This coincides with toddlers introduction to "grown-up" food, which often is too much junk and too few vegetables.

Exercise to cut dementia risk

According to a study in Lancet Neurology, people in their late 40s and early 50s who exercise for half an hour at least twice a week during midlife can significantly cut a person's risk of dementia later by as much as 60%.

Make This Year a Healthier Halloween

Do you cringe around Halloween time? Weeks of parties, school events, and trick-or-treating increase your child's (and sometimes your) candy/sweet consumption ten-fold over any other time of the year. Do you find your child's attention span off, emotional and physical highs and lows more pronounced? More immune-depressed than usual? All the excess sugar and chemicals help to create these symptoms.

Here are some ideas to make Halloween a bit healthier:

• Trick-or-treating: what to do with all the candy! If you are an enterprising parent or child, turn that candy into cash! We have used the following method for two generations of Minsky children. Tell your child that for every piece of candy, they will receive a nickel or dime (your choice). When you explain to them what it can add up to, and they can use the $ to spend as they wish, they usually jump at the chance. Don't forget to let them know that they can still eat a piece or two of their spoils (if interested).
  

• School Parties or Events: we always recommend kids eating healthy snacks instead of candy. Although, if your child is going to eat candy, try to accompany them with their own candy (free of artificial ingredients and hydrogenated fats) and always, ALWAYS accompany it with a healthy fat (like nuts/seeds) or lean protein (jerky, deli turkey, etc.). This will protect against blood sugar highs and lows.
  

• Handing Out Candy: do your visiting trick-or-treaters a favor. If you are going to pass out candy, try to offer the best of the worst (free of artificial sweetners, artificial flavors, artificial colors, hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated fats).

Happy Halloween!! Bonnie and Steve