Green tea protects teeth

Many types of beverages can hurt your teeth because they contain sugar and acids, particularly citric acid. But if you have a habit of drinking beverage, there is one type you can drink safely, that is, home brewed green tea. According to the study published in the July/August issue of General Dentistry, home brewed green tea is better than black tea when it comes to tooth protection. For the study, Mohamed A. Bassiouny, DMD, BDS, MSc, PhD compared green and black tea to soda and orange juice for their effect on human teeth. They found that tea just like water does not have an erosive effect. And green tea is better than black tea due to its natural flavonoids and antioxidants. But if you drink tea, you are advised not to use any additives such as milk, lemon or sugar. Tea should be home brewed and you should avoid prepackaged iced teas which contain citric acid and high amounts of sugars says the Academy of General Dentistry.

FDA finds traces of melamine in US infant formula

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081126/ap_on_he_me/infant_formula

Bonnie - this, of course, is a very damaging development considering the trauma it is causing in the Chinese people.

Thyroid disease often seen with celiac disease

Individuals with celiac disease -- a common digestive problem in which the body cannot breakdown and absorb a protein found in wheat -- are at significantly increased risk for developing thyroid disorders, including hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and thyroiditis. Using data from Swedish national registers, researchers led by Dr. Peter Elfstrom at Orebro University Hospital, studied the long-term risk of thyroid disease in more than 14,000 individuals diagnosed with celiac disease between 1964 and 2003 and some 68,000 age- and gender-matched control subjects without celiac disease. They found that people with celiac disease had a greater than fourfold increased risk of being diagnosed with hypothyroidism, a threefold increased risk of suffering hyperthyroidism, and a 3.6-fold increased risk of developing thyroiditis. The reverse was also true, with the same level of statistical significance, for an increased risk of celiac disease in people with established hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and thyroiditis. "The association was seen in all strata (males, females, children, and adults)," the team notes in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, "and did not vanish after adjustment for potential confounders including the presence of diabetes mellitus."

Bonnie - this study is incredibly important for the public to understand. I have seen this with many clients. The damage done is very hard to reverse, so early diagnosis and prevention is of the utmost importance.

Long-Term Antibiotic Use Affects 'Good' Gut Bacteria

Antibiotic treatment, especially when prolonged or repeated, may have a negative impact on beneficial bacteria that live in the gut. Researchers focused on the widely-used antibiotic ciprofloxacin, prescribed for a number of bacteria-caused conditions, including urinary tract infections. Stanford University's Dr. David Relman and colleagues catalogued bacteria in the feces of volunteers being treated with ciprofloxacin and identified more than 5,600 different bacterial species and strains. However, while the patients were taking the antibiotic, the overall abundance of about 30 percent of the bacterial species and strains was significantly affected. The effects of the antibiotic on gut bacteria varied greatly between individuals, with two volunteers showing a strong reduction in bacteria diversity. The study also found that once antibiotic treatment was completed, it took up to four weeks for most strains of gut bacteria to return to pre-treatment levels. While the findings, published online this week in the journal PLoS Biology, reveal aspects of resiliency in gut bacteria, they also suggest that antibiotic treatment may have long-lasting effects on overall health that could go unnoticed, the researchers concluded.

Bonnie - surprise, surprise. By taking probiotics during antibiotic therapy, a four week recovery would not be necessary.

High-protein meals may help overweight burn fat

Higher-protein meals may help overweight and obese people burn more fat. Australian researchers found that overweight men and women burned more post-meal fat when they ate a high-protein breakfast and lunch than when they had lower-protein meals. A number of studies have suggested that high-protein diets may help people shed weight more easily -- possibly, in part, because protein suppresses appetite better than fat or carbohydrates do. The findings were published in the journal Nutrition & Dietetics.

Bonnie - this is a shocker (snicker, snicker).

Navigating the MSG maze

FDA says the popular food additive is safe. But what about the chest pains, headaches and rapid heartbeat 'an unknown percentage' experiences? by Julie Deardorff, Chicago Tribune

Link to article

Bonnie - I have been against MSG since I started as a health professional. I have seen countless reactions in my clients. Please be aware that while some companies say their products contain no MSG, it can still be hidden under ingredient pseudonyms.

Vaccine-Related Chronic Fatigue Syndrome In An Individual Demonstrating Aluminum Overload

A team of scientists have investigated a case of vaccine-associated chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and macrophagic myofasciitis in an individual demonstrating aluminum overload.

This is the first report linking aluminum overload with either of the two conditions and the possibility is considered that the coincident aluminum overload contributed significantly to the severity of these conditions in a patient.

The team, led by Dr Chris Exley, of the Birchall Centre at Keele University in Staffordshire, UK, has found a possible mechanism whereby vaccination involving aluminum-containing adjuvants could trigger the cascade of immunological events that are associated with autoimmune conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome and macrophagic myofasciitis.

The CFS in a 43-year-old man, with no history of previous illness, followed a course of five vaccinations, each of which included an aluminum-based adjuvant. The latter are extremely effective immunogens in their own right and so improve the immune response to whichever antigen is administered in their presence. While the course of vaccinations was cited by an industrial injuries tribunal as the cause of the CFS in the individual, it was not likely to be a cause of the elevated body burden of aluminum. The latter was probably ongoing at the time when the vaccinations were administered and it is proposed that the cause of the CFS in this individual was a heightened immune response, initially to the aluminum in each of the adjuvants and thereafter spreading to other significant body stores of aluminum.

The result was a severe and ongoing immune response to elevated body stores of aluminum, which was initiated by a course of five aluminum adjuvant-based vaccinations within a short period of time. There are strong precedents for delayed hypersensitivity to aluminium in children receiving vaccinations which include aluminum-based adjuvants, with as many as 1% of recipients showing such a response.

While the use of aluminum-based adjuvants may be safe, it is also possible that for a significant number of individuals they may represent a significant health risk, such as was found in this case. With this in mind the ongoing program of mass vaccination of young women in the UK against the human papilloma virus (HPV) with a vaccine which uses an aluminum based adjuvant may not be without similar risks.

Recent press coverage of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or chronic fatigue syndrome has highlighted the potentially debilitating nature of this disease and related conditions. The cause of CFS is unknown.

Steve - these researchers are some of the foremost experts withe regard to how aluminum affects humans. They have implicated high levels of aluminum in subjects with MS, Alzheimer's, and Breast Cancer. Aluminum so saturates our environment that is near impossible to avoid. Four examples of high concentrations of delivery with little defense are cigarettes, vaccines, antiperspirants, and suntan lotion.

Recipe for Good Grades

Courtesy of the Dr. Patrick Massey, Columnist, Daily Herald

Can food and vitamins improve academic performance in children?

The answer is yes. In two recent clinical trials, consuming fruits and vegetables as well as a multivitamin every day resulted in improved academic performance in children.

Academic performance, especially on standardized tests, is an important way that the current educational system measures its success. We know that if children consistently miss breakfast or have a nutritionally poor lunch, they seem to have lower academic performance. Current medical research has shown that more nutritious food in the elderly improves cognitive function and memory. It seems to be intuitive that healthy food, in the proper amounts and at the right time, should result in better academic performance for children.

In one study, done at the University of Prince Edward Island, 325 junior high school students kept a food diary. On average, the daily intake of fruits and vegetables as well as milk was below national recommendations. The children who ate the most fruits and vegetables on a daily basis had the best academic performance with average scores at about the 90th percentile. There was no association with milk.

In a second study, conducted at Northumbria University in Great Britain, the effect of a daily multivitamin with minerals on academic performance was evaluated. In this study, 81 healthy children between ages 8 and 14 were enrolled. The participants were randomized to receive a multivitamin plus minerals or a placebo. After 12 weeks, the children were tested. Those who received the multivitamins and minerals performed significantly better.

From my own experience, my mother never let us out of the house without breakfast, and our lunches and dinners were nutritionally balanced because she made them. In addition, a daily multivitamin was a must. Today, it is not uncommon for high school students to breakfast on a large cup of coffee and a sweet roll followed by a mediocre school-based lunch and a pizza for dinner.

If we want our children to do their best in school and beyond, they need the best "fuel" available. This starts with good nutrition and, probably, a good multivitamin. There is increasing evidence that the health of a child will determine the lifelong health of the adult. I don't believe that we need to wait for large, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials before, as parents, we act responsibly.

Bonnie and Steve - we could not agree more with Dr. Massey.

Eyes Are Precious.

Taking preventative, long-term dietary measures to reduce the risk of eye-related diseases is proven. However, many fail to grasp that implementation is as important during preconception, pregnancy, and throughout early childhood as it is during adult life. Here are the most recent, well-researched tips to protect optimal eye health for a specific eye health issue, Macular Degeneration. However, these recommendations can also benefit other eye related problems.

• Manage Total Carbohydrate Intake and Type of Carbohydrates Consumed.
  
  
  • A high-glycemic-index diet is a risk factor for early Macular Degeneration. Low-glycemic-index foods may protect against early AMD. October 2008 Am J Clin Nut
  • Persons at risk of Macular Degeneration progression, especially those at high risk of advanced AMD, may benefit from consuming smaller amounts of refined carbohydrates. October 2007 Am J Clin Nut
  • According to a study in the July 2007 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, heavy consumption of high glycemic foods increase the risk of age-related Macular Degeneration by as much as 40% (in those consuming the highest amount).
  • People whose diet consists of foods that lead to a high dietary glycemic index have a substantially higher risk of progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to recent long-term results from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS). In fact, consumption of highly refined carbohydrates can lead to up to a 17% increased risk of AMD progression, according to data presented at the May 2007 annual meeting of the Association for Vision and Research in Ophthalmology (ARVO).

• Antioixidants a Plenty.
  
  
  • Eating plenty of antioxidant-rich food such as blueberries, artichokes and pecans may help protect against macular degeneration. Antioxidants disrupt a link between two processes in the retina that, in combination, contribute to macular degeneration. Antioxidants also extend the lifetime of irreplaceable photoreceptors and other retinal cells. September 2008 Journal of Biological Chemistry
  • Supplementing with lutein and zeaxanthin is associated with a lower risk for age-related macular degeneration. The research was sponsored by the National Eye Institute under the umbrella of the National Institutes of Health. "Higher dietary intake of lutein/zeaxanthin was independently associated with decreased likelihood of having neovascular AMD, geographic atrophy, and large or extensive intermediate drusen," concluded the authors. September 2007 Archives of Ophthalmology
    
  • Through daily intake of 6-10 mg of lutein with zeaxanthin, it is estimated that $3.6 billion could be saved over 5 years by helping people with age related macular degeneration avoid dependency. Across the five year period, approximately 190,927 individuals could avoid the transition to dependence either in the community or a nursing facility that would accompany a loss of central vision resulting from advanced AMD. The 2007 published study updated research conducted by The Lewin Group in 2004 and 2005 that included a systematic literature review of the most rigorous scientific research available.

• Imbalanced Omega 3:Omega 6 Ratio.
  
  
  • A May 2007 Archives of Opthamology study of 1,115 subjects did not have any symptoms of AMD. They were compared with those who did, including 658 individuals with severe (neovascular) AMD. The authors calculated that dietary omega-3 fatty acid intake was associated with a 39 per cent reduction in neovascular AMD, while docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was associated with a 46 per cent reduction. Increased consumption of the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA) was associated with a 54 percent increase in neovascular AMD prevalence.
    
  • A July 2006 Archives of Ophthalmology study of 681 elderly American men showed that those who ate fish twice a week had a 36 percent lower risk of macular degeneration. In the other study, which followed 2,335 Australian men and women over five years, people who ate fish just once a week reduced their risk by 40 percent.
  • NOTE: we recommend Carlson Liquid Cod Liver Oil as the best source of omega 3s due to its naturally occurring vitamin A, D, and high concentration of EPA/DHA.
    

• Essential Vitamins and Minerals.
  
  
  • Researchers from an NIH-funded study that appeared in the March 2007 Archives of Opthamology suggest that persons older than 55 years found to be at risk for Age-Related Macular Degeneration should consider taking a supplement of antioxidants plus zinc. Compared to placebo, the 3640 subjects used in the study demonstrated a statistically significant odds reduction. Participants received daily oral tablets containing: Vitamin C 500mg, Vitamin E 400IU, Beta Carotene 15 mg, Zinc 80 mg (NOTE: Bonnie never recommends more than 50 mg. total in supplements and diet daily because it can throw off iron and copper balance as well as weaken the immune system), Copper 2 mg
  • The researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey focused on 7,752 individuals who had photographs taken of their retinas, questionnaires assessed dietary intakes, and blood samples were taken to calculate blood vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) levels. When participants were split into five groups based on the level of vitamin D in the blood, those in the highest group had a 40 percent lower risk of early Age-related Macular Degeneration than those in the lowest group. May 2007 Archives of Ophthalmology
  • According to the December 25, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, an eight-year study involved more than 4,000 older residents of Rotterdam, Netherlands found those whose diets included more than the median levels of vitamins C and E, beta carotene and zinc had a 35 percent lower risk of developing macular degeneration. Participants with a below-median consumption of all four of the nutrients had a 20 percent higher risk of macular degeneration.
  • According to Johns Hopkins Researchers, the only proven formula for prevention of age-related macular degeneration is a supplement containing vitamin E (400IU), together vitamin C, beta carotene, and small amounts of zinc and copper. The supplements reduce the likelihood of disease progression by 25% in patients with intermediate age-related macular degeneration. The supplement also reduced the risk of vision loss by 19% over five years in these patients. Archives Ophthamology February 2004
    

• Read Labels on Your Medications.
  
  
  • Pharmaceuticals, such as bisphosphonates for osteoporosis, may adversely affect eye health. If you have a family history of eye related disease, please consult with your doctor or pharmacist about the potential risk before taking any prescription or over-the-counter medication.

• Reduce Food Chemical Consumption.
  
  
  • According to a report in New Scientist, in rats that were fed a high monosodium glutamate (MSG) diet, retinal nerve layers thinned by as much as 75%, as well as diminished visual acuity. The Japanese study appeared in Experimental Eye Research (vol. 75, p 307 2005)

Another thumbs up for Vitamin D

The lack of sunshine during winter may diminish vitamin D levels in the body and harm cardiovascular health, U.S. researchers say. "Chronic vitamin D deficiency may be a culprit in heart disease, high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome," study author Sue Penckofer, a professor at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing at Loyola University in Chicago, said. She and her colleagues said rates of severe heart disease or death may be 30 percent to 50 percent higher in sun-deprived heart disease patients. Diet alone isn't sufficient to manage vitamin D levels. The preferred range in the body is 30-60 ng/mL of 25 (OH) vitamin D. "Most physicians do not routinely test for vitamin D deficiency. However, most experts would agree that adults at risk for heart disease and others who experience fatigue, joint pain, or depression should have their vitamin D levels measured," Penckofer said. The study was published in the current issue of the journal Circulation.

Bonnie - as I have been harping on, get your vitamin D 25(OH)D level checked.

Professor offers Alzheimer's tips

Excerpts from cnn.com

Edythe London, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of California, Los Angeles, has five tips for keeping your memory sharp. London says they help work on memory centers of the brain, including the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus.

1. Antioxidants
London makes sure her mother takes vitamins A, C, and E. They're antioxidants, which prevent cell damage and are believed by some to slow down diseases of aging. "There are studies that suggest antioxidants might prevent dementia," she says.

2. Fish oil supplements
Dr. Gary Small, director of the UCLA Center on Aging, says aging brains show signs of inflammation, and fish oil has anti-inflammatory properties.

3. Phosphatidylserine supplements
Phosphatidylserine is a lipid found naturally in the body. Small says he's not 100 percent convinced these supplements will help stave off dementia, but they're worth a try. "If I start having memory problems when I get older, I'll give them a trial run and see if they help," says Small, author of the new book "iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind."

4. Curry
Small, who's 57, says that as he gets older, he might also try eating more foods with curry in them. "Some studies in Singapore show that those who ate curry once a week had better memory scores," he said.

5. Cross-training your brain
"Our brains can be made stronger through exercise," says Andrew Carle, assistant professor of in the department of health administration and policy at George Mason University. "In the same way physical exercise can delay many of the effects of aging on the body, there's some evidence cognitive exercise can at least delay the onset of Alzheimer's."

Fast-food ad ban could cut child obesity

Banning fast-food advertising on television in the United States could reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent. But the team at the National Bureau of Economic Research questioned whether it would be practical to impose that kind of government regulation -- something only Sweden, Norway and Finland have done. For their study, funded in part by the federal government, Chou and colleagues used data on nearly 13,000 children from the 1979 Child-Young Adult National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

"The advertising measure used is the number of hours of spot television fast-food restaurant advertising messages seen per week," researchers wrote in the Journal of Law and Economics. "Our results indicate that a ban on these advertisements would reduce the number of overweight children ages 3-11 in a fixed population by 18 percent and would reduce the number of overweight adolescents ages 12-18 by 14 percent."

Steve - unfortunately, this probably will not happen because the fast food conglomerates are so large and vital now to investors (they are some of the select few who are performing well in these economic times). It would also crush the McDonald's gold standard marketing model which is to get in the minds of youths early and often. If accomplished, you have a customer for life.

Managing Sjogren's Syndrome

Jane Brody, health columnist for the New York Times, recently wrote about Sjogren's Syndrome, one of the three most common autoimmune disorders. Although the article was valuable for alerting people to it's "chameleon" symptoms for faster diagnosis, Brody missed the "management" of the disease entirely.

Because there is no known cure, management of symptoms (eye drops for dryness and inflammation, drinking water constantly so food doesn't get stuck in the throat, etc) is the medical route. But even though Brody mentioned gluten sensitivity, digestive problems, yeast imbalance, and sensitivity to spices are common symptoms, she did not suggest that food intolerance is the major causative factor and can be treated by avoiding the offending foods.

Gluten Intolerance (celiac is 100% gluten intolerance) is an autoimmune disease that if untreated, becomes lymphoma - which Rheumatologists check their Sjogren's patients for regularly. In a 2004 report in Archives of Internal Medicine, 34 Sjogren's patients were tested for celiac. Five patients had it. Many more may have had gluten intolerance, but inflammatory.

In a 2005 article posted in Cellular Molecular Life Science, Sjogren's was listed as one of the most common disorders caused by gluten intolerance. Thus, I recommend that all individuals with Sjogren's take a test for gluten intolerance (or avoid gluten for two months). If the test is negative, then one needs a food intolerance test, such as Biotrition, the lab that we use to test IgG reactions to over 200 foods, spices, and food chemicals.

Bonnie

Use of Antipsychotics in Children Is Criticized

Powerful antipsychotic medicines are being used far too cavalierly in children, and federal drug regulators must do more to warn doctors of their substantial risks, a panel of federal drug experts said Tuesday. More than 389,000 children and teenagers were treated last year with Risperdal, one of five popular medicines known as atypical antipsychotics. Of those patients, 240,000 were 12 or younger, according to data presented to the committee. In many cases, the drug was prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders. But Risperdal is not approved for attention deficit problems, and its risks — which include substantial weight gain, metabolic disorders and muscular tics that can be permanent — are too profound to justify its use in treating such disorders, panel members said. “This committee is frustrated,” said Dr. Leon Dure, a pediatric neurologist from the University of Alabama School of Medicine who was on the panel. “And we need to find a way to accommodate this concern of ours.” The meeting on Tuesday was scheduled to be a routine review of the pediatric safety of Risperdal and Zyprexa, popular antipsychotic medicines made, respectively, by Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly & Company. Food and Drug Administration officials proposed that the committee endorse the agency’s routine monitoring of the safety of the medicines in children and support its previous efforts to highlight the drugs’ risks. But committee members unanimously rejected the agency’s proposals, saying that far more needed to be done to discourage the medicines’ growing use in children, particularly to treat conditions for which the medicines have not been approved. “The data show there is a substantial amount of prescribing for attention deficit disorder, and I wonder if we have given enough weight to the adverse-event profile of the drug in light of this,” Dr. Daniel Notterman, a senior health policy analyst at Princeton University and a panel member, said when speaking about Risperdal.

Steve - thank goodness this panel is showing some sanity.

Peppermint oil, fiber can fight Irritable Bowel

For some patients, the best therapy for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may be fiber and peppermint oil. According to researchers, these simple treatments have fallen out of favor because of the availability of newer (and more expensive) drugs, some of which have been taken off the market due to safety concerns. But more traditional therapies should become first-line treatments in guidelines for the treatment of IBS, the experts say.

The report is published in the Nov. 14 online edition of the British Medical Journal. For the study, researchers reviewed trials that compared IBS treatment with fiber antispasmodics and peppermint oil to a placebo or no treatment. The trials included more than 2,500 IBS patients. The researchers found that fiber and peppermint oil were effective treatments for IBS. There were no serious side effects associated with any of these treatments, the researchers note. Peppermint oil appeared to be the most effective therapy of those reviewed. In trials comparing fiber with placebo, only soluble fiber reduced symptoms.

Bonnie - this is significant because of the soluble fiber finding. Fibersure (inulin) is my favorite. Psyllium husk is very aggressive on the digestive tract. Peppermint oil, while effective, can be an agitator for some.

Now Big Pharma Doesn't Want You to Read Drug Labels

Steve - just how low can Big Pharma stoop? Well I guess the abyss is limitless. According to Alabama attorney James Barton Jr., who represents pharmaceutical companies, says information on side effects that appear on drug labels really is intended for physicians, not consumers. So, what he is saying is that because most doctors do not discuss side effects with their patients, and most patients do not read the labels anyway, that consumers should just be ignorant.

Here are excerpts from two articles, one discussing how pharmacists need to be of more assistance to patients because their doctors are not, and the perspective of Big Pharma.

Power of Suggestion: When Drug Labels Make You Sick.
Wall Street Journal

Is it a good idea to read about all the possible side effects of medications you're taking? Not if you have difficulty concentrating, headaches, fatigue, dry skin, irritability, a big project due, or an active imagination. Research has shown that expecting to feel ill can bring illness on in some instances, particularly when stress is involved. The technical term is the "nocebo effect," and it's placebo's evil twin. "It's not a psychiatric disorder -- it's the way the mind works," says Arthur Barsky, director of Psychiatric Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Michael SloanNocebos can even be fatal. In one classic example, women in the multi-decade Framingham Heart study who thought they were at risk for heart attacks were 3.7 times as likely to die of coronary conditions as women who didn't have such fears -- regardless of whether they smoked or had other risk factors. "All that information is really for the doctor, not the consumer," says James Barton Jr., a Birmingham, Ala., attorney who represents drug makers.

Under the Learned Intermediary rule, once a company warns the prescribing doctor about a drug risk, responsibility in case it occurs shifts to that doctor. "There's an incentive to warn everybody about everything, but it fosters this climate of supervigilance and alarm," says Dr. Barsky. If you are inclined toward health anxiety, reading up on your malady or medication on the Internet can fuel your fears. "Once you are anxious, there is all kinds of ambiguous information you can find that will make it worse," says Dr. Barsky. Doctors may unwittingly foster placebo or nocebo effects by how enthusiastically or warily they discuss medication. "Physician communication with patients is the closest thing to magic. It gets communicated in incredibly subtle ways—a flash in the eye, a smile, a spring in the step," says Daniel Moerman, an emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Should doctors discuss all those risks with patients, or can they be a self-fulfilling prophecy? It depends on the patient and the drug. "Patients should be made aware of anything that could be dangerous, so they don't keel over on the street," says Flavia Golden, an internist in New York City. "But if it's minor like a headache, I don't mention it. It's better to keep the channels of communication open and say, 'Call me if you have any problems.' " Some patients are more prone to worrying about side effects and researching them, in which case a discussion of nocebos might be helpful.

Steve - nocebo effect or not, I want to know about the potential side effects of any medication I would put into my body. It is amazing how cavalier the people quoted in this article were.

Dispensing advice Pharmacists are being relied on more as medical counselors, but some physicians are concerned about the new role.
Baltimore Sun

A new brand of pharmacy is on the rise, known as medication therapy management, in which pharmacists counsel patients on managing chronic diseases and are core members of the medical team.

In a nation with a large aging population, a staggering array of prescriptions on the market and increasingly complex drug therapies, pharmacists say their medication expertise is needed more than ever. Unlike busy primary care physicians, pharmacists say, they have the time to advise patients about medications. Such advice is critical to patient safety, they point out, and can reduce health care costs.

Some physicians fear the trend could erode the role of the primary care doctor as the coordinator of a patient's care. But pharmacists say the model is struggling, as overburdened primary care doctors have less time for patient counseling. Meanwhile, more patients have chronic diseases and are taking numerous medications, increasing the need for supervision and advice.

The medication therapy management model can succeed only if doctors and pharmacists join forces, said Brewer, who has partnered with the Wyman Park practice for a decade. Brewer is employed by Hopkins and bills for his services separately from the doctors at the practice. His patients' insurance covers their visits with him.

"I'm not talking about you coming to the drug store and consulting with you over the counter," said Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, chairwoman of the department of pharmacy practice and science at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. "You should have the right to sit one-on-one, privately with the doctor and someone reviewing your medication."

Medication errors are among the most common medical errors, injuring about 1.5 million people annually and costing hospitals about $3.5. billion a year, according to a 2006 report from the National Academies' Institute of Medicine. The report suggests that more monitoring from pharmacists can prevent problems.

Steve - I don't blame pharmacists for getting involved. They have a conscience and see how some of the millions of errors can be prevented.

Magnesium may be key to calcium’s cancer benefits

The anti-colon cancer effects of calcium may be linked to magnesium levels, suggesting a need for both minerals in reducing the risk of the disease. Researchers from Vanderbilt University found that low ratios of the minerals were associated with reduced risk of colorectal cancer, according to findings presented at the Seventh Annual American Association for Cancer Research International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. The potential implications of the results include accounting for the status of both nutrients in individuals before recommending supplementation with one or the other alone.

Both high magnesium and calcium levels have been linked to reduced risks of the disease, but studies have also shown that high calcium levels inhibit the absorption of magnesium. According to researchers, Americans have high calcium intake, but also a high incidence of colorectal cancer. Results from a large clinical trial that found indeed that supplementation of calcium only reduced the risk of cancer recurrence if the ratio of calcium to magnesium was low, and remained low during the intervention period. "The risk of colorectal cancer adenoma recurrence was reduced by 32 per cent among those with baseline calcium to magnesium ratio below the median in comparison to no reduction for those above the median," said researchers.

Bonnie - after their first visit, many of my clients question why I take them off supplemental calcium temporarily. Here is your reason. Most Americans have a grossly inverted calcium to magnesium ratio. While off of calcium, I supplement with magnesium to bring up that level. When I add back calcium, I then make sure that the ratio does not exceed 2:1.

Birth defects risk rise with fertility techniques

Infants conceived with techniques commonly used in fertility clinics are two to four times more likely to have certain birth defects than are infants conceived naturally.

The findings applied to single births only, not to twins or other multiples. The defects included heart problems, cleft lip, cleft palate and abnormalities in the esophagus or rectum. But those conditions are rare to begin with, generally occurring no more than once in 700 births, so the overall risk was still low, even after the fertility treatments.

The procedures that increased the risk were so-called assisted reproductive techniques, like in vitro fertilization. The study did not include women who only took fertility drugs and did not have procedures performed, which was published online on Sunday by the journal Human Reproduction.

The study included only 281 women who had fertility procedures, so further research with larger population sizes need to be performed.

November Research Highlights

American Journal Clinical Nutrition

• Polymorphism of the C677T MTHFR homozygote variant (TT) presented a 3.0-fold increased risk of Colorectal Cancer, thus showing an association between different folate intakes on risk of CRC. Bonnie - once again, this shows that incredibly important need to supplement with all three forms of folate (which you will find exclusively in Mmetagenics Actifolate).

• Short-term weight-loss programs based on very-low-calorie diets tend to be unsuccessful in the long term. Clearly, it takes more than simple changes in the macronutrient composition to maintain weight loss, and change in lifestyle must occur at the same time. The frequency of exercise after the diet program is the strongest predictor of weight loss maintenance, while television viewing is associated with weight gain. Current guidelines to prevent weight gain recommend 60 min per day of at least moderate-intensity physical activity. Clinicians should emphasize to their patients that there are no magic ways to lose weight. A healthy diet should be a life-long strategy. To prevent weight cycling, long-term diet approaches with gradual weight loss should be considered a one-way ticket to good health. Bonnie - Amen.
  

• Among 20,167 men participating in the Physician's Health Study diagnosed with prostate cancer revealed that those consuming fish 5 times/wk had a 48% lower risk of prostate cancer death than did men consuming fish less than once weekly. A similar association was found between seafood n–3 fatty acid intake and prostate cancer mortality.

• Flavonoid intake (tea, apples, pears, chocolate, and broad beans for catechin intake and tea, onions, leek, apples, pears, and sweet peppers for flavonol/flavone intakes) may contribute to maintaining body weight in the general female Dutch population.

• Researchers examined the association between the Mediterranean diet and an established plasma marker of oxidative stress, the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione, in a well-controlled study of twins. The association between the Mediterranean diet and plasma oxidative stress is robust and is not confounded by genetic or shared environmental factors. Decreased oxidative stress is a plausible mechanism linking the Mediterranean diet to reduced cardiovascular disease risk. Bonnie - Med diet trascends genetics...whoah.
  

• Three percent of "kids meals" met all National School Lunch Program criteria. Those that met all criteria offered a side of fruit plus milk. These meals may contribute to the nutritional status of children. Bonnie - may contribute? This is the first analysis done on these awful meals.

The Journal of Nutrition

• Rosmarinic Acid (derived from rosemary) may be an effective preventative agent against COX-2 activation by AP-1-inducing agents in both cancer and nonmalignant mammary epithelial cells. Bonnie - one of the active ingrediennts in Metagenics Kaprex.

• Tocotrienols (four of the eight components of vitamin E) have an inhibitory effect on angiogenic factor secretion from cancer cells and revealed the possible mechanisms, providing new information about their antiangiogenic effects.

• Supplementing young women with both zinc and iron protects zinc-related antioxidant indicators previously impaired by iron supplementation without impairment of iron status.

Journal Epigenetics

• Epigenetic modifications play a key role in the patho-physiology of prostate cancer. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play major roles in prostate cancer progression. HDACs are part of a transcriptional co-repressor complex that influences various tumor suppressor genes. Because of the significant roles played by HDACs in various human cancers, HDAC inhibitors are emerging as a new class of chemotherapeutic agents. HDAC inhibitors have been shown to induce cell growth arrest, differentiation and/or apoptosis in prostate cancer. The combined use of HDAC inhibitors with other chemotherapeutic agents or radiotherapy in cancer treatment has shown promising results. Various HDAC inhibitors are in different stages of clinical trials. In this review we discuss the molecular mechanism(s) through which HDACs influence prostate cancer progression, and the potential roles of HDAC inhibitors in prostate cancer prevention and therapy. Bonnie - zinc is a mineral that assists histone inhibitors.

EPA's Database on Mercury-Containing Products and Alternatives

http://www.epa.gov/mercury/database.htm

They take the time to publish this database because of the mercury concern, but it is fine to administer through intramuscular injection?

The Flu Shot: to have or not to have?

Bonnie & Steve - most of the following was extracted directly from Centers for Disease Controls website, www.cdc.gov. After reading, you can decide if we are all taking part in one big influenza experiment.


Who Decides Who Gets Vaccinated?
The Center for Disease Control’s 15-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) makes recommendations each year on who should be vaccinated. Ten years ago, for the 1999–2000 season, the committee recommended that people over age 65 and children with medical conditions have a flu shot. Seventy-four million people were vaccinated. Next season (2000–01) the committee lowered the age for universal vaccination from 65 to 50 years old, adding 41 million people to the list. For the 2002–03 season, the ACIP added healthy children 6 months to 23 months old, and for 2004–05, children up to 5 years old. For the 2008–09 season the committee has advised that healthy children 6 months to 18 years old have a flu shot each year.

Its recommendations for influenza vaccination now covers 256 million Americans – 84 percent of the U.S. population. Only healthy people ages 19–49 not involved in some aspect of health care remain exempt. Pharmaceutical companies have made 146 million influenza vaccines for the U.S. market this flu season.

Bonnie & Steve - why the rush to get the entire country vaccinated? Almost all the ACIP members who make these recommendations have financial ties to the vaccine industry. The CDC therefore must grant each member a conflict-of-interest waiver.


How the Strains for the Influenza Vaccine Are Selected.
The WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network's selection of viruses for the vaccine manufacturing process is based on its best estimate of which strains will be predominant the next year, amounting in the end to well-informed but fallible guesswork. The 2007-2008 Northern Hemisphere vaccine was described as 40% effective.

Bonnie & Steve - they have yet to get it right so far.

Vaccine Policy Opinion Presented in the British Medical Journal (2006).
"Public policy worldwide recommends the use of inactivated influenza vaccines to prevent seasonal outbreaks. Because viral circulation and antigenic match vary each year and non-randomized studies predominate, systematic reviews of large datasets from several decades provide the best information on vaccine performance. Evidence from systematic reviews shows that inactivated vaccines have little or no effect on the effects measured. Most studies are of poor methodological quality and the impact of confounders is high. Little comparative evidence exists on the safety of these vaccines. Reasons for the current gap between policy and evidence are unclear, but given the huge resources involved, a re-evaluation should be urgently undertaken.
Source: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7574/912

Influenza Vaccines Available to the Public.
Injections contain inactive (dead) influenza viruses. FluMist Nasal Spray is a live virus and in some cases can cause the flu. Recently, there have been several vaccine recalls and closings due to non-compliant manufacturing practices.

Bonnie & Steve - the preservatives added to the vaccines are abominable.

• Influenza (Afluria)
  Beta-Propiolactone (disinfectant considered a carcinogen in mice/rats; no data available for humans), Calcium Chloride, Neomycin (antibiotic), Ovalbumin, Polymyxin B (antibiotic), Potassium Chloride, Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Taurodeoxychoalate.
  

• Influenza (Fluarix)
  Egg Albumin, Egg Protein, Formaldehyde or Formalin, Gentamicin (antibiotic), Hydrocortisone (steroid), Octoxynol-10 (spermicide), Tocopheryl Hydrogen Succinate, Polysorbate 80, Sodium Deoxycholate, Sodium Phosphate, Thimerosal (<3>)

• Influenza (Flulaval)
  Egg Albumin, Egg Protein, Formaldehyde or Formalin, Sodium Deoxycholate, Phosphate Buffers, Thimerosal (mercury)

• Influenza (Fluvirin)
  Beta-Propiolactone, Egg Protein, Neomycin, Polymyxin B, Polyoxyethylene 9- 10 Nonyl Phenol (Triton N-101, Octoxynol 9), Thimerosal (multidose containers mercury), Thimerosal* (single-dose syringes <3>

• Influenza (Fluzone)
  Egg Protein, Formaldehyde or Formalin, Gelatin, Octoxinol-9 (Triton X-100), Thimerosal (multidose containers mercury)

• Influenza (FluMist Nasal Spray)
  Chick Kidney Cells, Egg Protein, Gentamicin Sulfate (antibiotic), Monosodium Glutamate (excitotoxin), Sucrose Phosphate Glutamate Buffer

Reported Adverse Events From the Flu Vaccine.
Injected Flu Vaccine Adverse Events Reported - 30,497
Flu Mist Nasap Spray Adverse Events Reported - 1,077 (available since 2003)
Source: CDC's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) Query 1990-October 2008

Who Should Not Get the Influenza Vaccine.

• Tell your doctor if you have any severe (life-threatening) allergies.
  
• Influenza vaccine virus is grown in eggs. People with a severe egg allergy should not get the vaccine.
• A severe allergy to any vaccine component is also a reason to not get the vaccine.
• If you have had a severe reaction after a previous dose of influenza vaccine, tell your doctor.
• Inactivated influenza vaccine is not approved in children younger than 6 months of age. NEW Nov 2008
• Tell your doctor if you ever had Guillain-Barré Syndrome (a severe paralytic illness, also called G.B.S.).
  
• People who are moderately or severely ill should usually wait until they recover before getting flu vaccine.
  

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/should-not-vacc.htm


Is Vaccine Safety Finally a Priority at the CDC?
"CDC supports vaccine safety research. Vaccine safety research is on the way. Funding opportunities are available at PA-08-256 and PA-08-257." Source: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Immunization Safety Office Scientific Agenda: 4/10/2008
30 Immunization Safety Office (ISO) 5-Year Research Needs

Specific Vaccine Safety Questions -

• Are vaccines associated with increased risk for Guillain-Barré Syndrome?
• Is live, attenuated influenza vaccine associated with increased risk for asthma and/or wheezing, particularly in young children or persons with history of wheezing?
• Is exposure to thimerosal associated with increased risk for clinically important tics and/or Tourette syndrome?
• Are acellular pertussis vaccines associated with increased risk for acute neurological events, particularly hypotonic-hyporesponsive episodes?
• Is immunization associated with increased risk for neurological deterioration in children with mitochondrial dysfunction?
• Is combination measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella vaccine associated with increased risk for febrile seizure and if so are there sequelae?
• Are varicella vaccines (chickenpox) associated with increased risk for clinically important events related to varicella vaccine virus reactivation?

Safety of Vaccines and Vaccination Practices -

• HPV Vaccine "has no long-term safety studies."
• Zoster (Shingles) Vaccine "because of higher rates of serious adverse events compared with placebo."
• Influenza vaccine has "vast safety data gaps for children 5-18 years."
• Non-antigen components of vaccines (other than thimerosal or ASO4 in bivalent HPV vaccine)
• Simultaneous vaccination is "incompletely studied at time of licensure."
• Safety of different products within the same vaccine category.
• Off label use of vaccines
• Vaccine-drug interactions

Assessing Hypersensitivity Reactions to Vaccines -

• Safety in Special Populations
• Premature and low birth weight infants "are on same vaccine schedule as normal weight, full-term infants."
• Pregnant women are excluded from "prelicensure vaccine trials and data is limited."
• Adults aged ≥65 years "show waning in immune function and little data suggests safety or effectiveness."
• Persons with primary immunodeficiency.
• Persons with secondary immunodeficiency.
• Persons with autoimmune disorders.
• Children with inborn errors of metabolism.

Clinical Outcomes from Administering Vaccines -

• Autoimmune diseases
• Central nervous system demyelinating disorders "such as Multiple Sclerosis are being investigated in a study to rule out the administration of the influenza vaccine being a cause."
• Encephalitis/ encephalopathy "has a causal relationship with the DTP vaccine.""
• Neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
• Vasculitis syndromes
• Myopericarditis (not associated with smallpox vaccine)
• Clinically important outcomes associated with postimmunization fever.
• Postvaccination syncope and sequelae - "Vaccine providers should strongly consider observing patients for 15 minutes after they are vaccinated."
• 46 cases of Bell's Palsy were noted among people in Switzerland who received the newly licensed intranasal influenza vaccine. The manuscript for this study is currently under development and will soon be published.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/00_pdf/draft_agenda_recommendations_080404.pdf; http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vsd/vsd_studies.htm

Bonnie & Steve - does it not beg the question: why haven't these issues been researched extensively and addressed BEFORE making the current vaccine schedule all but mandatory?

One area of research we think the CDC is getting right concerns the genetic affects of vaccines. The CDC is indirectly admitting that we may not be "one size fits all" and individual needs do exist, even for the vaccines.

Vaccine Safety and Human Genetic Variations Why people develop vaccine-associated adverse events (VAEs)? Do they have genetically determined differences in their immune responses to vaccination, compared to those who do not experience adverse events?

Few studies have been published on the genetic risk factors for VAEs. So CDC is working with partners to study the relationship between human genetics and vaccine safety. Identifying genetic associations and risk of serious VAEs eventually may allow—

• Screening for markers of susceptibility.
• Improved guidance for vaccination.
• Development of safer vaccines.

CDC's Immunization Safety Office (ISO) is developing a genomics initiative to—

• Develop a scientific approach to understanding the genetic basis for VAEs and their proper public applications.
• Increase cooperation between federal agencies, academia, and industry.
• Perform studies to identify genes that may be associated with an increased risk for VAEs.
• Identify strategies for integrating genomics into vaccine safety.

This initiative's long-term goal is to identify genetic features that can be determined before vaccination, so doctors can tailor vaccine schedules to the patients personal risk.

There is increasing appreciation for how human genetic variation may affect the risk for medication-related and vaccine-related adverse events. While substantial research has been done on the genetic basis of medication safety, relatively little research has been done on the genetic basis of vaccine safety.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/cisa/genomics.htm

Closing Comment

Bonnie - as a public health professional, it is difficult to give my blessing to clients who inquire about the flu shot. The evidence is compelling enough that when evaluating risk/reward, please take a "watchful waiting approach." It seems that many Americans agree, as is evidenced by this Consumer Reports Health Survey "hot off the press."

Forty-eight percent won’t get a flu vaccine this year according to a nationwide poll of 2,011 adults. Among the excuses we give for not getting a flu shot:

• 67% of us say it’s better to build our own natural immunities.
• 45% of us say we don’t get sick.
• 41% say someone we know has gotten sick from the vaccine.
• 35% are worried about side effects.
• 27% don’t like getting shots.
• 26% believe the vaccine is ineffective.
• 23% don’t like going to the doctor.
• 16% say we don’t have time.
• And 5% of us even said that we’d rather get sick than go to work.

Cancer: One coffee a day can protect you

Drinking one or more cups of coffee every day can protect you against three cancers – even if you smoke or drink.

Coffee seems to have a protective effect against oral, pharyngeal and esophageal cancers, and that effect remained strong even among those more likely to suffer from one of the cancers, such as cigarette smokers and heavy drinkers.

Even drinking just one cup of coffee a day seems to help, as researchers discovered when they explored the lifestyles of 38,679 Japanese people aged between 40 and 64 years. Over a 13-year period, 157 cases of one of the three cancers were recorded, but participants who drank one or more cups of coffee a day halved their risk, according to this week's American Journal of Epidemiology.

Alzheimer's: Power lines double the risk

Living near a power line can increase your risk of Alzheimer's and senile dementia, according to this week's American Journal of Epidemiology.

People who live within 54 yards, or 50 m, of a power line more than double their risk of a neuro-degenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s compared with people who live at least 600 m from a line.

The time you live near a power line also determines the risk level. Living within close proximity of a line for 15 years or longer doubles your risk compared with someone who has lived close to a power line for less than five years.

These findings are based on a study of 4.7 m people living in Switzerland.

Steve - we alluded to this in our Solutions for Reducing Your Toxic Load piece last year.

'Bulge' ups risk of premature death

A large waistline increases the risk of premature death even for people who are not technically overweight. For those in the top fifth of the midriff bulge range the chances of dying are doubled. Among individuals with the same relative body mass, each five centimeter increase in waist circumference was shown to increase mortality risk by 17% in men and 13% in women. Comparative hip and waist size also appeared to have a significant bearing on life-span.

The study, which involved more than 350,000 people from nine European countries, strongly supports theories about the dangers of too much waistline fat. Experts are increasingly coming to the conclusion that fat deposited between the hips and navel is a better health indicator than Body Mass Index (BMI). The new study found that even people with "normal" BMIs who are not defined as overweight are at a higher risk of dying if they have thick waistlines.

Bonnie - it's about time they com around to my way of thinking. BMI has been outdated for decades.

U.S. trails other nations in chronic illness care

Chronically ill Americans are more likely to forgo medical care because of high costs or experience medical errors than patients in other affluent countries.

The researchers questioned 7,500 adults in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Britain and the United States. Each had at least one of seven chronic conditions: high blood pressure, heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis and depression.

Dutch patients had the fewest complaints, while the Americans had plenty, according to the study by the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based health policy research group.

Fifty-four percent of Americans surveyed said high costs prevented them at some point from getting recommended medical care, filling prescriptions or seeing a doctor when ill. Seven percent of the Dutch cited cost as a barrier to treatment.

In addition, 41 percent of the U.S. patients said they spent more than $1,000 over the past year on out-of-pocket medical costs. That compared to lows of 4 percent in Britain and 5 percent in France.

A third of U.S. patients said they were given the wrong medication or dosage, experienced a medical error, received incorrect test results or faced delays in hearing about test results, more than any of the other countries.

WASTED TIME

Almost half of the U.S. patients said their time had been wasted because of poorly organized care or had received care of little or no value during the past two years. These views were lowest in the Netherlands and Britain.

The Commonwealth Fund's Cathy Schoen, who worked on the study, said the United States spends twice as much on health care as the others, with the current economic woes putting more people at risk of losing employer-provided health insurance.

The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, was the latest to show the U.S. health care system is performing worse than those in comparable countries. Unlike many rich nations, the United States does not have universal health care.

Bonnie - isn't this lovely? All the more reason to implement as many preventative therapies/paradigms as possible into your lifestyle.

Reflux meds and Plavix don't mix

Popular heartburn pills may keep the blood-thinner Plavix from working effectively, according to a new study that could shake the market for several drugs. The 16,690-person study by pharmacy-benefits company Medco Health Solutions Inc. suggests that people who combine a heartburn pill like Nexium or Prilosec with Plavix at their doctors' direction have a 50% higher risk of a heart attack or other cardiac event compared with those taking Plavix by itself. The study could have serious implications for millions of patients who take Plavix.

Urgent regulation needed for nanomaterials

More testing and regulation of nanomaterials used in an increasingly number of everyday products is urgently.

"...having analyzed the potential health and environmental impacts which flow from the properties of nanomaterials, we concluded that there is a plausible case for concern about some (but not all) classes of nanomaterials," the Royal Commission experts from the scientific, legal, business and medical communities wrote in a British government-funded report.

In particular the report cited tiny soccer-ball shaped carbon molecules called buckyballs that may have potential uses ranging from novel drug-delivery system to fuel cells, as well as carbon nanotubes and nanosilver.

Recent studies have found buckyballs -- short for buckministerfullerenes -- may threaten health by building up fat and have linked carbon nanotubes to potential lung cancer risk.

"We are very conscious of the extent to which knowledge about the potential health and environmental impacts of nanomaterials lags significantly behind the pace of innovation, although this could change as new scientific information arises," the study said.

Nanotechnology, the design and manipulation of materials thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair, has been hailed as a way to make strong, lightweight materials, better cosmetics and even tastier food.

Major corporations and start-ups across almost every industry invest in nanotechnology, which found its way into $147 billion worth of products in 2007, according to Lux Research.

But scientists are only just starting to look at the impact such tiny objects might have, and the British report warned existing regulations may not be able to keep up with technology.

"We are also concerned that more sophisticated later generation nanoproducts will raise issues which cannot be dealt with by treating them as chemicals or mixtures of chemicals," John Lawton, an ecologist, who chaired the report, said in a statement.

Steve - we are in full agreement. This is why we do not endorse any dietary supplements or functional foods that openly include nanoparticles.

Two Thanksgiving Recipes From Bonnie & Carolyn.

Macadamia Roasted Asparagus

Macadamia nut oil has, at about 79 percent, the greatest concentration of monounsaturated fats of just about any oil out there. That’s good news for your cholesterol count, as monos effectively reduce the “bad” LDL cholesterol without lowering the “good” HDL variety. Monounsaturated fats may also improve insulin sensitivity, which helps prevent metabolic syndrome, a condition in which the body becomes resistant to its own insulin.

2 bunches fresh asparagus
2 T. macadamia nut oil
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup shaved parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange asparagus on a baking sheet; brush with macadamia nut oil, and add salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, then top with parmesan. Serve immediately SERVES: 4


Pumpkin Soup

½ c. green onions, chopped
½ c. white onions, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 T. canola or grapeseed oil
1 (16 oz.) organic canned pumpkin
5 c. vegetable broth (Imagine Foods “No Chicken” or Pacific Foods vegetable broth)
2 T. fresh parsley
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. allspice
dash of San-J Tamari Lite (wheat-free soy sauce)
dash of sea salt (optional)

Sauté onions and carrots in oil in a 4 quart pot. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for about ½ hour. Puree soup in a blender. This soup may also be served hot or cold. SERVES: 8

Canned confusion: Yam I am ... or not.

Adapted from Jim Romanoff, Associated Press

They're irresistibly sweet, creamy, and in many parts of the world considered a snack treat: No, not candy, sweet potatoes.

And if that's not enough to get you eating more of them, consider this: a 3.5-ounce serving contains twice the recommended daily amount of Beta Carotene (precursor of vitamin A_, is a good source of vitamin C, and has a mere 141 calories.

Along with all this good news comes a bit of confusion. This healthy root vegetable is consistently misidentified as a yam, which is a much larger tuber grown in tropical climates, but with less sweetness, less Beta Carotene, and a starchy texture.

True yams, which do not have the same nutritional benefits of sweet potatoes, are not common to North America and usually are found only in ethnic markets. But many stores label sweet potatoes as yams, and what are sold as canned yams are actually sweet potatoes (read the label carefully).

When buying sweet potatoes, which can be light yellow to ruby red (darker usually means moister), choose those with smooth skins and free of bruises.

Unlike most other canned vegetables, which suffer significant nutrient loss during processing, canned sweet potatoes (yams) are just as nutritious as fresh, as long as they contain no added sugar or harmful additives.

Shari's Gluten-Free, Wheat-Free Apple Crisp

Shari's Apple Crisp Recipe
(Steve's Wife)

Directions:

1. Position rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Have ready an unbuttered 2-quart glass baking dish, 2 inches deep.
   
2. Peel and core: 8 medium honeycrisp or semi-tart) apples
   
3. Cut the apples in half and then into 1-inch chunks.
   
4. Spread them evenly in the baking dish.
   
5. Combine:
   3/4 cup quinoa flour
   3/4 cup sugar-in-the-raw
   1/2 tsp. sea salt
   1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
   1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
   Add 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter (or trans fat-free butter substitute), cut into small pieces
   
6. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles course breadcrumbs or do this in a mixer or in a food processor, taking care not to blend the butter too thoroughly. Scatter the topping evenly over the fruit. Tap the dish on the counter once or twice to settle the crumbs. Bake until the topping is golden brown, the juices are bubbling, and the apples are tender when pierced with a skewer, about 50 to 55 minutes.

New heart disease test could become routine

Excerpts from the San Francisco Chronicle

A simple, low-cost blood test that could help assess one's risk of heart disease could soon become part of regular medical exams along with blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, says Dr. Anthony Steimle, chief of cardiology at Kaiser Permanente's Santa Clara Medical Center. Known as CRP, the test measures whether people have elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels, an indication of inflammation that can be associated with increased risk of heart disease.

Bonnie - the fact that CRP is not already part of a routine physical is a joke. Inflammation accounts for approximately 50% of cardiac risk. Cholesterol is only a small piece of the pie when assessing total cardiac risk.

If Big Pharma has its drothers, statins will be the "band-aid" treatment for CRP (as evidenced by the JAMA study released yesterday). Of course, fish oil and getting to the root of the cause works just as well and is the best long-term solution.