Tryptophan may help Multiple Sclerosis

A substance found in many foods, including turkey, can suppress an overactive immune system, researchers are reporting.

The substance, tryptophan, produces a breakdown product in the body that, in the study, reversed paralysis in mice with an experimental form of multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disorder that attacks the fatty cells that insulate neurons.

"I have always been a skeptic regarding the interaction of diet and immunity," said Dr. Lawrence Steinman, the chairman of the immunology program at Stanford, who led the study, published in Science last week. "But now I'm getting smacked in the head by my own research."

But he said the next step, and a very large one, was to find out if the treatment is safe for humans. He added that people often asked if they should eat a lot of turkey or buy tryptophan pills to treat autoimmune disorders, "but it probably won't help unless you are starving to death," he said. "A drug that works on the right pathways should be more effective."

Nutritional Concepts unveils two new Action Plans

Nutritional Concepts is very proud to release the next two installments of its Action Plan series, what we call the "Cliffs Notes of Nutrition."

Blood Sugar Balance Action Plan -
Whether pre-diabetic, hyper/hypoglycemic, diabetic,
or have blood sugar issues in your family history,
our Blood Sugar Balance Action Plan is a complete
program to follow. Includes low-glycemic foods,
sample menus, micronutrients, and sugar-substitutes,
all based upon the most cutting edge research.

Babies' First Foods Action Plan -
The definitive step-by-step guide for introducing the
first 40 foods to your child. Starts at 5-6 months and
takes you through 18 months. Ideal for preventing
digestive issues and food intolerances.
Babies' First Foods Action Plan.

Enjoy!

What makes fatty foods so enticing?

New research shows that the allure of greasy treats may come from a special sensor in your taste buds that's tuned to fat.

Both animals and humans show a natural preference for fatty foods. But given that our taste buds are known to detect only five tastes — salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami, which is linked to the taste of meat and cheese — scientists have wondered how we detect fatty foods.

Now Philippe Besnard and colleagues in Dijon, France, have shown that a protein found in the taste buds of rodents may be the elusive fat sensor. The scientists have discovered that when the protein comes in contact with fat on the tongue, it triggers release of stomach juices. Mice missing this protein don't show the typical preference for fatty foods.

Humans also have this protein. Scientists say the finding, published in the Nov. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, might shed light on some forms of obesity.

Steve - They are just discovering this now? The fast food corporations are no dummies. They've know this for years!

Broccoli fights cancer-causing bacteria in humans

H. pylori, is known to cause gastritis and is believed to be a major factor in peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. In humans the cells lining the stomach can act as reservoirs of helicobacter, making it more difficult to get rid of the infection. Nonetheless, in all but 15 to 20 percent of cases it can be tackled with antibiotics.

The findings of the new study, led by Akinori Yanaka of the University of Tsukuba, were presented yesterday at the American Association for Cancer Research's Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting in Baltimore.

The study involved 40 people who were infected with H. pylori. Over a two-month period, 20 of them received 100g of two- to three- day old broccoli sprouts with their food each day. At this young age, broccoli sprouts contain the highest concentrations of sulforaphane.

The other 20 received 100g of fresh alfalfa sprouts.

The rationale for testing broccoli sprouts against alfalfa was that the chemical constituents are very similar. However while broccoli sprouts contain 250mg of sulforaphane glucosinolate per 100g, alfalfa sprouts contain neither sulforaphane nor sulforaphane glucosinolate.

After two months, the broccoli group showed significantly less H. pylori, although the bacterium was not completely eradicated. Participants’ pepsinogen were also reduced. In the alfalfa group however, both H. pylori and pepsinogen remained at pre-intervention levels.

Further tests conducted two months after the end of the intervention showed that both H. pylori and pepsinogen returned to their previous levels when participants stopped consuming the broccoli sprouts.

Commenting on the findings, Yamaka said: "Even though we were unable to eradicate H. pylori, to be able suppress it and relieve the accompanying gastritis by means as simple as eating more broccoli sprouts is good news for the many people who are infected."

Courtesy of nutraingredients.com

Supplements reduce health care costs

A major study into the economics of older Americans taking omega-3 and lutein with zeaxanthin supplements has shown that they may shave a combined $5.6 billion off health care costs over the next five years, and help seniors live independently for longer.

The Lewin Group was commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA) to study the scientific evidence on the two supplements' ability to reduce the risk of disease and developed Congressional Budget Office-type estimates of potential health care savings.

It found that a daily intake of 1800mg of omega-3 by the over-65s could result in conservative savings of around $3.1 billion in five years, from physicians fees and approximately 385,303 fewer hospitalizations.

American J Clinical Nutrition Highlights

It has been a while. Below are September and October highlights.

• Finding from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study indicate an association between dietary glycemic index (how fast carbohydrates turn into sugar) in foods and selected predictors of type 2 diabetes on older adults, particularly in men. The more high glycemic index foods consumed, the higher the diabteic risk.

• Vitamin D may reduce susceptibility to gingival inflammation through its antiinflammatory effect.

• A dietary pattern higth in sugar-sweetened soft drinks, refined grains, diet soft drinks, and processed meat but low in wine, coffee, cruciferous vegetables, and yellow veegtables, was associated with an increased risk of diabetes in women participating in the prestigious Nurse's Health Study.

• Greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with elevated antioxidant capacty and low LDL cholesterol concentrations which help explan its benefit with the cardiovascular system.

• In addition to adequate deitary calcium intake, appropriate intakes of vegetables and fruit have a beneficial effect of total bone mineral content in boys aged 8-20.

• Dietary habits were significant predictors of poor hospitalized outcome in very old hospitalized patients. A questionnaire on dietary habits can serve as a useful tool in assessing nutritional status and prognosis.

Govt. Summary on Omega 3 Fatty Acids

According to the National Institute's of Health Office of Dietary Supplements,

Most American diets provide more than 10 times as much omega-6 than omega-3 fatty acid. There is general agreement that individuals should consume more omega-3 and less omega-6 fatty acids to promote good health. Good sources of ALA are leafy green vegetables, nuts, and vegetable oils such as canola, soy, and especially flaxseed. Good sources of EPA and DHA are fish. Impact on cardiovascular disease: According to both primary and secondary prevention studies, consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, fish, and fish oil reduces all-cause mortality and various CVD outcomes such as sudden death, cardiac death, and myocardial infarction. The evidence is strongest for fish and fish oil supplements. Impact on CVD risk factors: Fish oils can lower blood triglyceride levels in a dose-dependent manner. Fish oils have a very small beneficial effect on blood pressure and possible beneficial effects on coronary artery restenosis after angioplasty and exercise capacity in patients with coronary atherosclerosis. Impact on other conditions: Omega-3 fatty acids can reduce joint tenderness and need for corticosteroid drugs in rheumatoid arthritis. Data are insufficient to support conclusions about the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on inflammatory bowel disease, renal disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, bone density, and diabetes. Safety: Adverse events related to consumption of fish-oil or ALA supplements are generally minor and typically gastrointestinal in nature (such as diarrhea). They can usually be eliminated by reducing the dose or discontinuing the supplement.

Health Benefits of Soy Limited

According to the NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements October Newsletter, soy products do not have significant effects on blood pressure, bone health, cancer, kidney disease, endocrine function, reproductive health, neurocognitive function, or glucose metabolism. However, daily consumption may lower LDL cholesterol (by about 3%) and triglycerides (6%), and soy isoflavones (at doses of 17.5 to 100mg daily) may reduce hot flashes in postmenopausal women.

The evidence was reviewed by the federal government's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Reasons to go organic

1. organic food delivers more nutrition
2. reduces pesticide exposure
3. decrease intake of food additives
4. no hormones or antibiotics
5. mostly GMO (genetically-modified)-free
6. stays fresher longer

from Food as Medicine Fall 2005

Veggies may prevent cancer

Chemicals in certain vegetables and herbs -- including broccoli sprouts, cabbage and gingko biloba -- appear to help prevent cancer, new studies found.

Highlights of the findings, which were presented Monday in Baltimore at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research:

*Japanese scientists found that eating fresh broccoli sprouts cut infections from a type of bacteria linked to stomach cancer. Sulforaphane -- a chemical in broccoli sprouts -- helps fight molecules that damage DNA and can lead to cancer. Broccoli sprouts are two- to three-day-old broccoli plants.

*Researchers at the University of New Mexico, Michigan State University and the National Food and Nutrition Institute of Warsaw found that women who ate three servings a week of lightly cooked cabbage or sauerkraut might have a lower risk of developing breast cancer.

*Scientists in Boston found a reduced risk of ovarian cancer in women who consumed ginkgo biloba, an herbal supplement derived from leaves of the gingko tree. Women who took the supplement for six months or longer had a 60 percent lower risk.

*In the final study, a component of garlic was found to curb the effects of a suspected cancer-causing agent released by cooking meats and eggs. Researchers at Florida A&M University tested the substance on human tissue and found it blocked the cancer-causing enzyme.

Courtesy of Bloomberg News

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