Men taking beta-carotene supplements for 15 years or more may experience a slower rate of age-related cognitive decline, according to a new study from Harvard.
"In this generally healthy population, the extent of protection conferred by long-term treatment appeared modest; nonetheless, studies have established that very modest differences in cognition, especially verbal memory, predict substantial differences in eventual risk of dementia; thus, the public health impact of long-term beta carotene use could be large," wrote the authors in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Francine Grodstein and co-workers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, tested the cognitive function of participants in the Physicians' Health Study II (PHSII), a continuation of the Physicians' Health Study (PHS) trial looking at the effects of beta carotene and other vitamin supplements on chronic disease, versus placebo.
The subjects included participants from the original PHS (started in 1982) and newer recruits from 1998. Beta-carotene supplementation was 50 mg on alternate days.
The researchers tested the general cognition, verbal memory, and category fluency of 5956 participants, including 4052 participants from the PHS with a minimum supplementation period of 18 years.
The long-term beta-carotene supplementation was associated with a significantly higher mean global score, compared to placebo. This group also performed significantly better than placebo for verbal memory.
On the other hand, men in the short-term group displayed no differences in cognition regardless of whether they took beta carotene or placebo.
The potential mechanism for the protective effects was postulated to be related to the role of vitamin A (beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body) on beta-amyloid protein production.
The study is the first to look at long-term antioxidant supplementation in relation to a decline in cognitive function that occurs with naturally with age, and that precedes diseases such as Alzheimer's.
According to the new trial, the benefits of long-term supplementation in a healthy population are encouraging. "Thus, the public health value of beta carotene supplementation merits careful evaluation," concluded the authors. "Moreover, as these data support the possibility of successful interventions at early stages of brain aging in well-functioning subjects, investigations of additional agents that might also provide such neuroprotection should be initiated."
In the editorial, another researcher stated: "The authors suggest that long-term exposure to antioxidants may be needed to have an effect on the underlying pathologic processes linked to changes in cognition.
"This is certainly plausible, given that the neuropathologic changes underlying clinically significant cognitive impairment appear to take years, if not decades. Thus, neuroprotection may have the greatest benefit early on in the process.
Bonnie - have we not said all along that with studies done on nutrients such as beta carotene, you need to look at long-term prevention in healthy subjects? Well, here it is, finally! The structure and length were ideal. The dose was adequate. Most importantly, Alzheimer's and dementia, as with many chronic, degenerative diseases, slowly create a decline in mental function over time. It is perfectly logical to deduce that an antioxidant taken over a long period of time would have a positive cumulative effect. The antioxidant is fighting daily to protect neurological function against the rigors of everyday life. The researchers postulate the the protective affect could delay the onset of severe symptoms for up to 18 months. Taking into account a slower degradation over time, a little beta carotene can greatly enhance quality of life.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Target seeks label move for treated meat
Discount retailer Target Corp is seeking government approval to add a consumer warning to labels of meat treated with carbon monoxide to keep it looking red and fresh, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Target, which sells packaged meat in 210 of its 1,537 stores, sent a letter Friday to the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeking permission to add a warning to meat labels, the Journal said. According to the Journal, the proposed label states: "Consumer Notice: Carbon monoxide has been used to preserve the color of this product. Do not rely on color or the 'use or freeze by' date alone to judge the freshness of the product. For best results please follow the Safe Handling Instructions."
Steve - it is nice to see a corporation with a conscience. The meat industry is fighting tooth and nail to avoid this kind of labeling. Consumer groups are arguing that without labeling, consumers will be mislead when purchasing meat that looks fresh (red color), but is indeed old.
Target, which sells packaged meat in 210 of its 1,537 stores, sent a letter Friday to the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeking permission to add a warning to meat labels, the Journal said. According to the Journal, the proposed label states: "Consumer Notice: Carbon monoxide has been used to preserve the color of this product. Do not rely on color or the 'use or freeze by' date alone to judge the freshness of the product. For best results please follow the Safe Handling Instructions."
Steve - it is nice to see a corporation with a conscience. The meat industry is fighting tooth and nail to avoid this kind of labeling. Consumer groups are arguing that without labeling, consumers will be mislead when purchasing meat that looks fresh (red color), but is indeed old.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Drugs for ADHD 'not the answer'
Treating children who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with drugs is not effective in the long-term, research has shown. A US study says drugs such as Ritalin and Concerta work no better than therapy after three years of treatment. The findings also suggested long-term use of the drugs could stunt children's growth and create an enlarged heart. The benefits had previously been exaggerated.
The Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health has been monitoring the treatment of 600 children across the US since the 1990s. The report's co-author, Professor William Pelham of the University of Buffalo, said: "I think that we exaggerated the beneficial impact of medication in the first study. "We had thought that children medicated longer would have better outcomes. That didn't happen to be the case. There's no indication that medication's better than nothing in the long run." Prof Pelham said there were "no beneficial effects" of medication and the impact was seemingly negative instead. "The children had a substantial decrease in their rate of growth so they weren't growing as much as other kids both in terms of their height and in terms of their weight," he said.
Bonnie - this piece came from BBC News via their version of "Frontline." Why have we not heard anything about this in the US media? This is a monster story covering a monster issue.
I have been staunchly against the widespread prescribing of ADHD medications. Now that the long-term results are coming in, it does'nt look pretty. This is yet another example of why long-term studies need to be done on medications before approval, especially when it affects our children.
My book, Our Children's Health and Kenneth Bock's Healing the New Childhood Epidemics list some alternatives to medication.
The Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health has been monitoring the treatment of 600 children across the US since the 1990s. The report's co-author, Professor William Pelham of the University of Buffalo, said: "I think that we exaggerated the beneficial impact of medication in the first study. "We had thought that children medicated longer would have better outcomes. That didn't happen to be the case. There's no indication that medication's better than nothing in the long run." Prof Pelham said there were "no beneficial effects" of medication and the impact was seemingly negative instead. "The children had a substantial decrease in their rate of growth so they weren't growing as much as other kids both in terms of their height and in terms of their weight," he said.
Bonnie - this piece came from BBC News via their version of "Frontline." Why have we not heard anything about this in the US media? This is a monster story covering a monster issue.
I have been staunchly against the widespread prescribing of ADHD medications. Now that the long-term results are coming in, it does'nt look pretty. This is yet another example of why long-term studies need to be done on medications before approval, especially when it affects our children.
My book, Our Children's Health and Kenneth Bock's Healing the New Childhood Epidemics list some alternatives to medication.
Antioxidants may stop fat cells formation
Natural antioxidant compounds like flavonoids and phenolic acids could inhibit the formation of fat formation from fat cells, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, which looked at the effects of the flavonoids and phenolics on levels of triglyceride in the cells and GPDH activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (fat cells).
The researchers chose the 3T3-L1 cell line because it has been used widely for several decades as a cell model for fat cell biology research.
Among the 15 phenolic acids and six flavonoids tested o-coumaric acid and rutin were found to inhibit intracellular triglyceride the most, by 61 and 83 per cent, respectively.
Moreover, the same two compounds were found to be the most potent inhibitors of GPDH, reducing activity by 54 and 67 per cent, respectively.
The compounds also up-regulated expression of adiponectin, a hormone that modulates a number of metabolic processes.
Steve - translation...eat your fruits and vegetables and take your vitamins.
The researchers chose the 3T3-L1 cell line because it has been used widely for several decades as a cell model for fat cell biology research.
Among the 15 phenolic acids and six flavonoids tested o-coumaric acid and rutin were found to inhibit intracellular triglyceride the most, by 61 and 83 per cent, respectively.
Moreover, the same two compounds were found to be the most potent inhibitors of GPDH, reducing activity by 54 and 67 per cent, respectively.
The compounds also up-regulated expression of adiponectin, a hormone that modulates a number of metabolic processes.
Steve - translation...eat your fruits and vegetables and take your vitamins.
Pill linked to higher cervical cancer risk
The study, published in The Lancet, said the risk increases the longer the pill is taken but returns to normal 10 years after use of the pill stops. Doctors also said the risk is more than outweighed by the protective effect of the pill against ovarian and endometrial cancer.
The findings were based on a review of 24 studies of pill use. The report estimated that taking oral contraceptives from about the age of 20 to 30 increased the incidence of cervical cancer by the age of 50 from 3.8 to 4.5 per 1,000 women living in developed countries. In less developed countries, cervical cancer incidence rose from 7.3 to 8.3 per 1,000 women, the newspaper said.
Bonnie - this a review study, so must be scrutinized further. However, this is the second study in a week showing detrimental effects of the pill.
The findings were based on a review of 24 studies of pill use. The report estimated that taking oral contraceptives from about the age of 20 to 30 increased the incidence of cervical cancer by the age of 50 from 3.8 to 4.5 per 1,000 women living in developed countries. In less developed countries, cervical cancer incidence rose from 7.3 to 8.3 per 1,000 women, the newspaper said.
Bonnie - this a review study, so must be scrutinized further. However, this is the second study in a week showing detrimental effects of the pill.
US among worst in modernized world for infant death
The United States ranks near the bottom for infant survival rates among modernized nations. A Save the Children report placed the United States ahead of only Latvia, and tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia.
Poor nutrition in utero, heavy child tomorrow?
Fourteen percent of U.S. preschoolers are overweight. This fact alone points to perhaps the strongest evidence for the effects of fetal programming.
Multiple studies have shown that either underfeeding or overfeeding the fetus during pregnancy can affect how a child's body will respond to food over a lifetime, increasing the risk for diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.
"The fetus is reading the environment during development and is using that to predict what the environment will be once it's born," says Jerry Heindel, a fetal-programming expert at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. "If the fetus gets poor nutrition, it will set itself up to be able to adjust to that. If it has poor nutrition during life, it will do quite well. But later in life, if nutrition changes and becomes like the food we're eating today, that is a mismatch, and that will increase the susceptibility to disease."
At a recent nutrition conference in Boston sponsored by Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the audience of nutritionists and nutrition researchers is rapt as Barker elaborates on this provocative message: Attempts to prevent such common chronic diseases as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes have largely failed because the origins of such diseases most likely begin in the womb.
Exposure to a high level of blood sugar or fat before birth can change the development of fat cells and the pathways in the brain that regulate appetite, says Beverly Mühlhäusler, a researcher at the University of South Australia's Early Origins of Adult Health Laboratory and an authority on fetal diet and adult disease.
"What research is now showing is that consuming an excessive amount of high-fat, high-sugar foods during pregnancy can alter the development of the baby in such a way that predisposes that individual to becoming obese later in life," she says.
Scientists from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research recently found that children of pregnant women untreated for high levels of blood sugar were 89% more likely to be overweight and 82% more likely to be obese by the time they were ages 5 to 7 compared with children born to women who had normal blood sugar levels during pregnancy. The study was published last month in Diabetes Care.
Mounting evidence suggests that fetuses are surprisingly susceptible to outside influences such as food, environmental pollutants, even stress.
What women eat, touch and breathe during pregnancy now appears to be more important to their babies' health than anyone ever imagined. Mounting scientific evidence suggests that fetuses are surprisingly susceptible to outside influences, such as food, environmental chemicals and pollutants, infections, even stress. Under this theory -- called fetal programming -- babies are born not just with traits dictated by their parents' genes, such as brown eyes and olive skin. They may be born with a tendency to develop asthma, diabetes or other illnesses based on what their mothers ate and were exposed to during pregnancy.
"Fetal life and early infancy are now recognized as periods of remarkable susceptibility to environmental hazards," says Dr. David Barker, a British researcher who is widely credited with recognizing the link between low birth weight and later cardiovascular disease. "The diets of mothers have massive long-term effects on their babies."
Still, many fetal-programming experts say reproductive-age men and women need to know that they probably have more control over their children's future health than they realize.
History has delivered several sobering reminders that the human fetus is vulnerable to outside influences. Birth defects caused by medications such as thalidomide in the late 1950s and more recently the acne drug Accutane demonstrate that doses that have little effect on an adult can cause devastating changes in a fetus.
Other studies have linked low levels of the vitamin folate and increased levels of the amino acid homocysteine with an increased risk of schizophrenia. In a study published in January in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers found that high homocysteine levels in the third trimester doubled schizophrenia risk in the offspring, perhaps by altering brain structure or function or through subtle damage to the placenta to reduce oxygen delivery to the fetus. And increasingly, scientists fear that fetuses and young children may be harmed by pesticides and pollutants that, at the same level, cause no measurable harm in adults. For example, some common pesticides are thought to be so-called endocrine disrupters, chemicals that change hormone function in utero and can affect reproductive organ development and function later in life. A study in the March issue of Human Reproduction found that women who ate more than seven servings a week of beef during pregnancy had sons who were more likely to have poor sperm quality as adults -- possibly due to the hormones fed to cattle.
Likewise, levels of air pollutants commonly found in many urban areas may cross the placenta of a pregnant woman and affect her fetus. More than a dozen studies worldwide have linked air pollution to low birth weight, stillbirth and intrauterine growth retardation. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution can impair lung function in the womb.
The implications of fetal programming are profound, Heindel says. Some preliminary research suggests that an environmental influence in pregnancy may not only affect the fetus but also future generations as well.
For example, pregnant women who took the medication diethylstilbestrol -- used from 1938 to 1971 to prevent miscarriage and other problems in pregnancy -- gave birth to daughters with higher risks of infertility, menstrual irregularities and a rare genital-tract cancer after puberty. Now the children of the so-called DES daughters are reaching adult age, and studies suggest that the defect may persist into a third generation.
Sons of the DES daughters have a higher risk of hypospadias, a misplaced opening of the penis. Daughters of the DES daughters may have altered reproductive tract function, according to a study published last year.
Scientists refer to such changes as epigenetics. During critical time periods of human development, the body alters gene expression (even though the DNA sequence itself is unchanged), which may lead to a predisposition to disease in the offspring.
"That means what your grandmother was exposed to could affect your health today," says Heindel. "That is what makes this so scary. The data is so scanty at this time that we don't know how strong that is. If it turns out to be true, it could be very important."
Although many questions about fetal programming remain, enough is now known to alert consumers.
"Knowledge is power," he says. "The more you can know about having healthy babies, the better."
Bonnie - these two pieces are quite profound and mirror some of the issues we have been focusing on this year, such as epigenetics and reducing our toxic load. Now, it is not just about taking care of ourselves anymore. If you are at a reproductive age, male or female, every lifestyle choice you make affects not affects you, but several generations after you.
The same report noted the United States had more neonatologists and newborn intensive care beds per person than Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom — but still had a higher rate of infant mortality than any of those nations.
Bonnie - as we alluded to when a UNICEF report came out late last year, this is beyond unconscionable. Until prevention and nutrition are taken seriously for every cycle of pregnancy, including fertility preparation and preconception, these numbers will not likely improve. See the following pieces published by the LA Times.
Poor nutrition in utero, heavy child tomorrow?
Fourteen percent of U.S. preschoolers are overweight. This fact alone points to perhaps the strongest evidence for the effects of fetal programming.
Multiple studies have shown that either underfeeding or overfeeding the fetus during pregnancy can affect how a child's body will respond to food over a lifetime, increasing the risk for diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.
"The fetus is reading the environment during development and is using that to predict what the environment will be once it's born," says Jerry Heindel, a fetal-programming expert at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. "If the fetus gets poor nutrition, it will set itself up to be able to adjust to that. If it has poor nutrition during life, it will do quite well. But later in life, if nutrition changes and becomes like the food we're eating today, that is a mismatch, and that will increase the susceptibility to disease."
At a recent nutrition conference in Boston sponsored by Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the audience of nutritionists and nutrition researchers is rapt as Barker elaborates on this provocative message: Attempts to prevent such common chronic diseases as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes have largely failed because the origins of such diseases most likely begin in the womb.
Exposure to a high level of blood sugar or fat before birth can change the development of fat cells and the pathways in the brain that regulate appetite, says Beverly Mühlhäusler, a researcher at the University of South Australia's Early Origins of Adult Health Laboratory and an authority on fetal diet and adult disease.
"What research is now showing is that consuming an excessive amount of high-fat, high-sugar foods during pregnancy can alter the development of the baby in such a way that predisposes that individual to becoming obese later in life," she says.
Scientists from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research recently found that children of pregnant women untreated for high levels of blood sugar were 89% more likely to be overweight and 82% more likely to be obese by the time they were ages 5 to 7 compared with children born to women who had normal blood sugar levels during pregnancy. The study was published last month in Diabetes Care.
Mounting evidence suggests that fetuses are surprisingly susceptible to outside influences such as food, environmental pollutants, even stress.
What women eat, touch and breathe during pregnancy now appears to be more important to their babies' health than anyone ever imagined. Mounting scientific evidence suggests that fetuses are surprisingly susceptible to outside influences, such as food, environmental chemicals and pollutants, infections, even stress. Under this theory -- called fetal programming -- babies are born not just with traits dictated by their parents' genes, such as brown eyes and olive skin. They may be born with a tendency to develop asthma, diabetes or other illnesses based on what their mothers ate and were exposed to during pregnancy.
"Fetal life and early infancy are now recognized as periods of remarkable susceptibility to environmental hazards," says Dr. David Barker, a British researcher who is widely credited with recognizing the link between low birth weight and later cardiovascular disease. "The diets of mothers have massive long-term effects on their babies."
Still, many fetal-programming experts say reproductive-age men and women need to know that they probably have more control over their children's future health than they realize.
History has delivered several sobering reminders that the human fetus is vulnerable to outside influences. Birth defects caused by medications such as thalidomide in the late 1950s and more recently the acne drug Accutane demonstrate that doses that have little effect on an adult can cause devastating changes in a fetus.
Other studies have linked low levels of the vitamin folate and increased levels of the amino acid homocysteine with an increased risk of schizophrenia. In a study published in January in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers found that high homocysteine levels in the third trimester doubled schizophrenia risk in the offspring, perhaps by altering brain structure or function or through subtle damage to the placenta to reduce oxygen delivery to the fetus. And increasingly, scientists fear that fetuses and young children may be harmed by pesticides and pollutants that, at the same level, cause no measurable harm in adults. For example, some common pesticides are thought to be so-called endocrine disrupters, chemicals that change hormone function in utero and can affect reproductive organ development and function later in life. A study in the March issue of Human Reproduction found that women who ate more than seven servings a week of beef during pregnancy had sons who were more likely to have poor sperm quality as adults -- possibly due to the hormones fed to cattle.
Likewise, levels of air pollutants commonly found in many urban areas may cross the placenta of a pregnant woman and affect her fetus. More than a dozen studies worldwide have linked air pollution to low birth weight, stillbirth and intrauterine growth retardation. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution can impair lung function in the womb.
The implications of fetal programming are profound, Heindel says. Some preliminary research suggests that an environmental influence in pregnancy may not only affect the fetus but also future generations as well.
For example, pregnant women who took the medication diethylstilbestrol -- used from 1938 to 1971 to prevent miscarriage and other problems in pregnancy -- gave birth to daughters with higher risks of infertility, menstrual irregularities and a rare genital-tract cancer after puberty. Now the children of the so-called DES daughters are reaching adult age, and studies suggest that the defect may persist into a third generation.
Sons of the DES daughters have a higher risk of hypospadias, a misplaced opening of the penis. Daughters of the DES daughters may have altered reproductive tract function, according to a study published last year.
Scientists refer to such changes as epigenetics. During critical time periods of human development, the body alters gene expression (even though the DNA sequence itself is unchanged), which may lead to a predisposition to disease in the offspring.
"That means what your grandmother was exposed to could affect your health today," says Heindel. "That is what makes this so scary. The data is so scanty at this time that we don't know how strong that is. If it turns out to be true, it could be very important."
Although many questions about fetal programming remain, enough is now known to alert consumers.
"Knowledge is power," he says. "The more you can know about having healthy babies, the better."
Bonnie - these two pieces are quite profound and mirror some of the issues we have been focusing on this year, such as epigenetics and reducing our toxic load. Now, it is not just about taking care of ourselves anymore. If you are at a reproductive age, male or female, every lifestyle choice you make affects not affects you, but several generations after you.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Vitamin D may help slow down the aging process
Researchers from King's College, London, measured telomeres - part of a chromosome which shortens with age - in more than 2,000 women and found those who had higher levels of vitamin D in their body had longer telomeres.
Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the scientists looked at 2,160 women aged 18 to 79 years and measured leukocyte telomere length (LTL). LTL is a predictor of aging-related disease and decreases with each cell cycle and increased inflammation, the scientists said.
Scientists measured concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (the 'storage' form of vitamin D) and found a link between increased concentrations and telomere length.
The team concluded that higher vitamin D concentrations, which are "easily modifiable through nutritional supplementation", are associated with longer LTL, which underscores the potentially beneficial effects of vitamin D on aging and age-related diseases.
Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the scientists looked at 2,160 women aged 18 to 79 years and measured leukocyte telomere length (LTL). LTL is a predictor of aging-related disease and decreases with each cell cycle and increased inflammation, the scientists said.
Scientists measured concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (the 'storage' form of vitamin D) and found a link between increased concentrations and telomere length.
The team concluded that higher vitamin D concentrations, which are "easily modifiable through nutritional supplementation", are associated with longer LTL, which underscores the potentially beneficial effects of vitamin D on aging and age-related diseases.
Studies support Kaprex for inflammation
Bonnie - you guys already know this, but it is nice to see it in the public domain.
The publication of a round-up of studies on the safety and efficacy of Metagenics' NG440 formulation (Kaprex) of rho iso-alpha acids (RIAAs) from hops, rosemary and oleanolic acid adds weight to its use in medical foods for inflammation.
Traditionally, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and COX-2 inhibitors have been used to counter inflammatory conditions. However these have been associated with gastrointestinal complications.
Moreover, serious safety and public health concerns were raised about COX-2 inhibitors in 2004, when studies found a connection between the use of some such drugs on the market and an increased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke. The drugs in question, including Vioxx, were subsequently withdrawn.
Dr Robert H Lerman, MD, PhD, Metagenics director of medicine and bariatric surgery said:
"Doctors and their patients are seeking safe alternatives to NSAIDs including COX2 inhibitors… Thus, there is a growing acceptance by physicians of efficacious alternatives.
"With a patient's health at stake, more and more practitioners are counselling their patients to make the natural choice."
He added, though, that this acceptance would be more widespread if insurers covered natural products such as NG440 in the US, in the same way prescription medicines are covered.
Metagenics' NG440 formula was developed after company researchers tested more than 200 natural compounds.
The published report is a round-up of studies conducted to investigate factors such as pain relief in patients suffering from osteoarthritis and joint discomfort, safety and toxicity studies, and potential cardiovascular or gastrointestinal side effects. The conclusion of the published paper was that "NG440 may serve as a safe and efficacious alternative in some areas where specific COX-2 inhibitors have traditionally been used".
Safety studies
Animal toxicology study
A group of mice were given either a control or one of three doses of NG440-1 for 21 days (25, 75, or 250 mg/kg).
No adverse effects were found.
Cardiovascular health parametres
Four separate clinical trials looked at the safety of NG440 constituents RIAAs, rosemary and oleanolic acid as determined by prostacyclin production, blood pressure and clinical chemistries.
RIAAs were seen to have no effect on secretion of either PGIM or TxB2 prrostanoid secretion.
No significant changes were seen in systolic or diastolic blood pressure.
No significant changed were seen in general chemistries.
Gastrointestinal health parametres
A randomised, 14-day crossover study with healthy men aged 18 to 45 compared the effects of naproxen and NG440-1 on gastrointestinal health, and specifically on the production of fecal calprotectin (a measure of gastrointestinal injury).
While naproxen was seen to raise faecal calprotectin to 154 per cent above baseline, no difference was seen in the levels of those taking the NG440-1, either 14-days after treatment or during three-year follow up.
Efficacy studies
A clinical multicentre trial using NG440-2 was conducted to determine relief of pain symptoms. This involved 56 adults aged between 28 and 85 years, of unspecified sex.
Twenty-six of the 56 subjects responded to NG440 therapy.
A three-arm, open-label clinical study with six subjects in a Latin square design assessed the effects of two different doses of NG440-1 versus a standard dose of 200mg of COX-2 inhibitor on the inhibition of PGE2 synthesis.
Inhibition of PGE2 synthesis was seen in all subjects, regardless of whether they were taking the NG440-1 or the COX-2.
Reference
Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (National Research Council Canada)
DOI: 10.1139.Y07-055
Title: Clinical safety and efficacy of NG440: a novel combination of rho iso-alpha acids from hops, rosemary, and oleanolic acid for inflammatory conditions.
Authors: Deanna Minich, Jeffrey Bland, Jeffrey Katke, Gary Darland, Amy Hall, Robert Lerman, Joseph Lamb, Brian Carroll, and Matthew Tripp.
The publication of a round-up of studies on the safety and efficacy of Metagenics' NG440 formulation (Kaprex) of rho iso-alpha acids (RIAAs) from hops, rosemary and oleanolic acid adds weight to its use in medical foods for inflammation.
Traditionally, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and COX-2 inhibitors have been used to counter inflammatory conditions. However these have been associated with gastrointestinal complications.
Moreover, serious safety and public health concerns were raised about COX-2 inhibitors in 2004, when studies found a connection between the use of some such drugs on the market and an increased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke. The drugs in question, including Vioxx, were subsequently withdrawn.
Dr Robert H Lerman, MD, PhD, Metagenics director of medicine and bariatric surgery said:
"Doctors and their patients are seeking safe alternatives to NSAIDs including COX2 inhibitors… Thus, there is a growing acceptance by physicians of efficacious alternatives.
"With a patient's health at stake, more and more practitioners are counselling their patients to make the natural choice."
He added, though, that this acceptance would be more widespread if insurers covered natural products such as NG440 in the US, in the same way prescription medicines are covered.
Metagenics' NG440 formula was developed after company researchers tested more than 200 natural compounds.
The published report is a round-up of studies conducted to investigate factors such as pain relief in patients suffering from osteoarthritis and joint discomfort, safety and toxicity studies, and potential cardiovascular or gastrointestinal side effects. The conclusion of the published paper was that "NG440 may serve as a safe and efficacious alternative in some areas where specific COX-2 inhibitors have traditionally been used".
Safety studies
Animal toxicology study
A group of mice were given either a control or one of three doses of NG440-1 for 21 days (25, 75, or 250 mg/kg).
No adverse effects were found.
Cardiovascular health parametres
Four separate clinical trials looked at the safety of NG440 constituents RIAAs, rosemary and oleanolic acid as determined by prostacyclin production, blood pressure and clinical chemistries.
RIAAs were seen to have no effect on secretion of either PGIM or TxB2 prrostanoid secretion.
No significant changes were seen in systolic or diastolic blood pressure.
No significant changed were seen in general chemistries.
Gastrointestinal health parametres
A randomised, 14-day crossover study with healthy men aged 18 to 45 compared the effects of naproxen and NG440-1 on gastrointestinal health, and specifically on the production of fecal calprotectin (a measure of gastrointestinal injury).
While naproxen was seen to raise faecal calprotectin to 154 per cent above baseline, no difference was seen in the levels of those taking the NG440-1, either 14-days after treatment or during three-year follow up.
Efficacy studies
A clinical multicentre trial using NG440-2 was conducted to determine relief of pain symptoms. This involved 56 adults aged between 28 and 85 years, of unspecified sex.
Twenty-six of the 56 subjects responded to NG440 therapy.
A three-arm, open-label clinical study with six subjects in a Latin square design assessed the effects of two different doses of NG440-1 versus a standard dose of 200mg of COX-2 inhibitor on the inhibition of PGE2 synthesis.
Inhibition of PGE2 synthesis was seen in all subjects, regardless of whether they were taking the NG440-1 or the COX-2.
Reference
Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (National Research Council Canada)
DOI: 10.1139.Y07-055
Title: Clinical safety and efficacy of NG440: a novel combination of rho iso-alpha acids from hops, rosemary, and oleanolic acid for inflammatory conditions.
Authors: Deanna Minich, Jeffrey Bland, Jeffrey Katke, Gary Darland, Amy Hall, Robert Lerman, Joseph Lamb, Brian Carroll, and Matthew Tripp.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Pomegranate king of the exotic fruits
Pomegranate, a rich source of antioxidants, has been linked to improved heart health, but a growing body of science indicates the fruit protect against prostate cancer and slowing cartilage loss in arthritis.
It is these antioxidants, and particularly compounds like punicalagin, which accounts for about half of the fruit's antioxidant ability, that are reportedly behind the proposed health benefits.
Researchers presented old and new data supporting the potential role of pomegranate juice and extracts to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, a disease that is diagnosed in over half a million men worldwide every year. Over 200,000 deaths occur from the disease.
The transition from a healthy prostate to the development of cancer as a result of chronic inflammation can take between 10 and 15 years, he said, making it "ideal for nutritional prevention."
Recapping results from the clinical trial published last year in Clinical Cancer Research, researchers state that a daily dose of eight ounces of pomegranate juice was associated with an increase in the doubling time of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) from 15 to 54 months, indicating improved prostate health.
Bonnie - pomegranate is cheaper, better researched, and better observed than any of the other "hyped" exotic fruits currently on the market. Refer to my The Power of the Pomegranate blog.
It is these antioxidants, and particularly compounds like punicalagin, which accounts for about half of the fruit's antioxidant ability, that are reportedly behind the proposed health benefits.
Researchers presented old and new data supporting the potential role of pomegranate juice and extracts to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, a disease that is diagnosed in over half a million men worldwide every year. Over 200,000 deaths occur from the disease.
The transition from a healthy prostate to the development of cancer as a result of chronic inflammation can take between 10 and 15 years, he said, making it "ideal for nutritional prevention."
Recapping results from the clinical trial published last year in Clinical Cancer Research, researchers state that a daily dose of eight ounces of pomegranate juice was associated with an increase in the doubling time of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) from 15 to 54 months, indicating improved prostate health.
Bonnie - pomegranate is cheaper, better researched, and better observed than any of the other "hyped" exotic fruits currently on the market. Refer to my The Power of the Pomegranate blog.
Birth Control Pills May Clog Arteries
Birth control pills taken by about 100 million women worldwide may clog arteries when taken more than 10 years, according to a study. Women on oral contraceptives were 20 percent to 30 percent more likely to have buildup of fat and cholesterol in their arteries, reducing blood flow, according to a study of 1,301 Belgian women ages 35 to 55. Most used birth control now made by companies like Johnson & Johnson and Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. for more than 10 years. Fatty clogs can lead to heart disease and stroke. The pills in the study were older forms that combined estrogen and progestin, two sex hormones. The research was reported at the American Heart Association meeting in Orlando.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Tips for tossing leftover meds
New government guidelines on disposal of leftover medications:
- Don't flush unused drugs down the toilet, unless they're one of a handful that expressly advises that on the prescription label.
- Crush or dissolve leftover medicine in a little water. Then mix with a yucky substance — cat litter, coffee grounds, even dog waste — in a sealed plastic bag or other unmarked container, and put in the trash. That renders the drug unpalatable if a child, animal or drug abuser rummages through the trash.
- Remove and destroy the prescription label and any other personal identifying information from the original drug container before throwing it away.
- An alternative is to call pharmacies or local environmental or hazardous waste collection sites, to see if they run drug "take-back" programs.
- Some medicines should never be left over. Antibiotics in particular come in the exact quantity you're supposed to take. Stop before they're gone and your infection can return, possibly in a harder-to-treat form.
Sources: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Steve - this is important to remember because if we do not properly dispose of them, it goes back into the environment and circulates into the water supply and soil.
Prilosec for infants?
This was posted on the blog of one of our favorite columnists, Julie Deardorff of the Chicago Tribune:
Doctors are overprescribing antireflux medications in infants, according to a new study released today in Pediatrics. Gatroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) occurs when stomach acid goes the wrong way, flowing back into the esophagus. It's caused when a valve between the esophagus and stomach does not close properly. But how common is it in colicky infants? And why are we seeing an increase among children in the use of a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors, the most powerful of three major classes of antacids?
To find out, the researchers measured the reflux or regurgitation of acid from the stomach into the esophagus of 44 infants in a New Orleans medical center. They found that while only eight of the infants had abnormal pH levels indicating GERD, 42 of 44 infants were on antireflux medication. When medication was withdrawn from the infants who did not meet GERD criteria, reflux symptoms did not worsen.
One concern with overtreatment is that there are currently no known safe or effective dosages in infants, because the drugs are prescribed off-label to children. Another issue stems from a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found long term use of proton pump inhibitors, particularly at high doses, is associated with an increased risk of hip fracture, said New Orleans pediatric gastroenterologist Vikram Khoshoo, lead author of the Pediatrics study. "Older people are not laying down new bone. Younger people are," Khoshoo told me. "There’s a lot of concern emerging, especially for children. Are we going to be changing bone mineral content? Do we have any data? "There's a lot of parental anxiety and impatience that gets fueled by a doctor...who wants the mom off his back," Khoshoo said. "A kid spits up a couple times and everyone freaks out... Then a mom comes in and says, 'fix my kid!' (so they prescribe the medication). It's the same story with colds and coughs and antibiotics: parental impatience." (Antibiotics, which are used to treat bacteria, are ineffective against colds, which are caused by viruses.)
Khoshoo said there's also a misconception among parents that PPIs will decrease regurgitation. They actually work by shutting down acid production but this won't necessarily reduce spit-ups. "So if you have a child with regurgitation who is very irritable because of heart burn and you put this unhappy spitter on antacids, you're simply converting him to a happy spitter. The spitting (up) doesn't change. If the child is spitting up, it's a laundry issue, not a medical issue."Untreated, chronic GERD, of course, is a real issue. It can cause ulcers, bleeding from the esophagus lining, narrowing of the esophagus and Barrett's esophagus, which is a change in the cellular makeup of the esophagus that boosts the risk of esophageal cancer.
But drugs are not the only way to fight it. Lifestyle, including alcohol use, smoking, obesity and pregnancy as well as citrus fruits, chocolate, garlic, onions, spicy food and tomato-based foods all can cause GERD symptoms. For infants, who hopefully don't have any pre-existing alcohol, smoking or weight issues, Khoshoo recommends two simple tools: reassurance and conservative management."If your child is gaining weight, happy, feeding well and does not have recurrent respiratory problems, then it's uncomplicated reflux," he said. "Just because he's throwing up a lot and parents are anxious is not a reason to succumb (to medication). Just give them reassurance, that's it. There's no copayment or price tag. With time, some things get better."Regurgitation, he said, is usually just a maturational problem."Why do old people lose hair?" he asked. "Most of these kids will get better by 18 months."
Bonnie - hallelujah! I wrote about this in 2005 when I wrote Reverse Reflux in Your Child Action Plan. Hopefully this study will create a downward trend in prescribing this for young children.
Doctors are overprescribing antireflux medications in infants, according to a new study released today in Pediatrics. Gatroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) occurs when stomach acid goes the wrong way, flowing back into the esophagus. It's caused when a valve between the esophagus and stomach does not close properly. But how common is it in colicky infants? And why are we seeing an increase among children in the use of a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors, the most powerful of three major classes of antacids?
To find out, the researchers measured the reflux or regurgitation of acid from the stomach into the esophagus of 44 infants in a New Orleans medical center. They found that while only eight of the infants had abnormal pH levels indicating GERD, 42 of 44 infants were on antireflux medication. When medication was withdrawn from the infants who did not meet GERD criteria, reflux symptoms did not worsen.
One concern with overtreatment is that there are currently no known safe or effective dosages in infants, because the drugs are prescribed off-label to children. Another issue stems from a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found long term use of proton pump inhibitors, particularly at high doses, is associated with an increased risk of hip fracture, said New Orleans pediatric gastroenterologist Vikram Khoshoo, lead author of the Pediatrics study. "Older people are not laying down new bone. Younger people are," Khoshoo told me. "There’s a lot of concern emerging, especially for children. Are we going to be changing bone mineral content? Do we have any data? "There's a lot of parental anxiety and impatience that gets fueled by a doctor...who wants the mom off his back," Khoshoo said. "A kid spits up a couple times and everyone freaks out... Then a mom comes in and says, 'fix my kid!' (so they prescribe the medication). It's the same story with colds and coughs and antibiotics: parental impatience." (Antibiotics, which are used to treat bacteria, are ineffective against colds, which are caused by viruses.)
Khoshoo said there's also a misconception among parents that PPIs will decrease regurgitation. They actually work by shutting down acid production but this won't necessarily reduce spit-ups. "So if you have a child with regurgitation who is very irritable because of heart burn and you put this unhappy spitter on antacids, you're simply converting him to a happy spitter. The spitting (up) doesn't change. If the child is spitting up, it's a laundry issue, not a medical issue."Untreated, chronic GERD, of course, is a real issue. It can cause ulcers, bleeding from the esophagus lining, narrowing of the esophagus and Barrett's esophagus, which is a change in the cellular makeup of the esophagus that boosts the risk of esophageal cancer.
But drugs are not the only way to fight it. Lifestyle, including alcohol use, smoking, obesity and pregnancy as well as citrus fruits, chocolate, garlic, onions, spicy food and tomato-based foods all can cause GERD symptoms. For infants, who hopefully don't have any pre-existing alcohol, smoking or weight issues, Khoshoo recommends two simple tools: reassurance and conservative management."If your child is gaining weight, happy, feeding well and does not have recurrent respiratory problems, then it's uncomplicated reflux," he said. "Just because he's throwing up a lot and parents are anxious is not a reason to succumb (to medication). Just give them reassurance, that's it. There's no copayment or price tag. With time, some things get better."Regurgitation, he said, is usually just a maturational problem."Why do old people lose hair?" he asked. "Most of these kids will get better by 18 months."
Bonnie - hallelujah! I wrote about this in 2005 when I wrote Reverse Reflux in Your Child Action Plan. Hopefully this study will create a downward trend in prescribing this for young children.
Popular college drink risky
Young people who mix energy drinks with alcohol are twice as likely to end up harmed than those who just drink alcohol, a study says. The report said it was because energy drinks masked feelings of drunkeness. Energy drinks typically contain high levels of caffeine as well as other stimulants such as ginseng. It has become popular among young people to mix them with alcohol, particularly vodka.
The web-based survey of 4,271 students, presented at an annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, found a quarter of those who had drunk alcohol in the previous 30 days had consumed energy drink cocktails. Compared with students who did not mix alcohol with energy drinks, they were twice as likely to be hurt or injured, twice as likely to require medical attention, and twice as likely to travel with a drunk driver. They were also more than twice as likely to take sexual advantage of someone else, and had almost double the risk of being taken advantage of sexually. In a typical drinking session, they drank up to 36% more than the other students, and they also reported twice as many episodes of weekly drunkenness.
Steve - aside from the potential of harming others, the physical damage that can be done to oneself by mixing these substances can have lasting consequences.
The web-based survey of 4,271 students, presented at an annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, found a quarter of those who had drunk alcohol in the previous 30 days had consumed energy drink cocktails. Compared with students who did not mix alcohol with energy drinks, they were twice as likely to be hurt or injured, twice as likely to require medical attention, and twice as likely to travel with a drunk driver. They were also more than twice as likely to take sexual advantage of someone else, and had almost double the risk of being taken advantage of sexually. In a typical drinking session, they drank up to 36% more than the other students, and they also reported twice as many episodes of weekly drunkenness.
Steve - aside from the potential of harming others, the physical damage that can be done to oneself by mixing these substances can have lasting consequences.
Friday, November 02, 2007
10,000 Toxic Chemicals Need to Be Retested for Human Safety
Approximately 10,000 chemicals currently on the market need to be retested for possible toxicity, according to a study published in the journal Science.
The study authors warn that approximately one-third of carbon-based chemicals currently in commercial use may need to be retested, based on limitations of the tests previously used to determine toxicity.
The danger rests on a class of chemicals referred to as "bio-accumulative," or "persistent organic pollutants," which concentrate in the bodies of animals. The concentrations of these pollutants tend to increase higher up in the food chain, as animals absorb the toxins stored in the body of their prey. Because of the health and ecological danger posed by persistent organic pollutants, 12 varieties have been globally banned under the Stockholm Convention, including DDT, dioxins and PCBs.
In the current study, researchers warn that many chemicals currently classified as safe may actually be persistent organic pollutants.
Steve - while we cannot control all the toxins in our environment, there are many aspects of our lifestyle that we can control. Don't add to your toxic burden...lessen the load.
The study authors warn that approximately one-third of carbon-based chemicals currently in commercial use may need to be retested, based on limitations of the tests previously used to determine toxicity.
The danger rests on a class of chemicals referred to as "bio-accumulative," or "persistent organic pollutants," which concentrate in the bodies of animals. The concentrations of these pollutants tend to increase higher up in the food chain, as animals absorb the toxins stored in the body of their prey. Because of the health and ecological danger posed by persistent organic pollutants, 12 varieties have been globally banned under the Stockholm Convention, including DDT, dioxins and PCBs.
In the current study, researchers warn that many chemicals currently classified as safe may actually be persistent organic pollutants.
Steve - while we cannot control all the toxins in our environment, there are many aspects of our lifestyle that we can control. Don't add to your toxic burden...lessen the load.
F.D.A. Unable to Ensure Drugs Are Safe
The Food and Drug Administration cannot guarantee the safety of the nation’s drug supply because it inspects few foreign drug manufacturers and the inspections it does carry out abroad are less rigorous than those performed in this country, witnesses told a Congressional subcommittee yesterday. While foreign companies manufacture as much as 80 percent of all ingredients used by American drug makers, the drug agency’s record keeping is so poor that it cannot say which of those have not been inspected, according to the testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. “More than nine years after we issued our last report on this topic, F.D.A.’s effectiveness in managing the foreign drug inspection program continues to be hindered by weaknesses in its data systems,” Marcia Crosse, director of health care for the Government Accountability Office, said in a statement to the committee.
The agency is supposed to inspect domestic drug makers every two years, but there is no such requirement for foreign suppliers, even though foreign factories are more likely to have quality problems, witnesses said. At the current rate, the agency would take more than 13 years to inspect each foreign establishment once — and those are just the factories it knows about, Ms. Crosse said.
The accountability office, the investigative arm of Congress, also found that the drug agency relied on volunteers to conduct foreign inspections and that inspections were often determined by travel schedules and not need. Another problem, witnesses said, is that the agency gives foreign drug makers advance notice of inspections, in contrast to the unannounced inspections in the United States. In some cases, agency inspectors have to rely on the company being inspected to provide translators.
The agency is supposed to inspect domestic drug makers every two years, but there is no such requirement for foreign suppliers, even though foreign factories are more likely to have quality problems, witnesses said. At the current rate, the agency would take more than 13 years to inspect each foreign establishment once — and those are just the factories it knows about, Ms. Crosse said.
The accountability office, the investigative arm of Congress, also found that the drug agency relied on volunteers to conduct foreign inspections and that inspections were often determined by travel schedules and not need. Another problem, witnesses said, is that the agency gives foreign drug makers advance notice of inspections, in contrast to the unannounced inspections in the United States. In some cases, agency inspectors have to rely on the company being inspected to provide translators.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Experts weigh in on omega-3
Board Certified Neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Maroon of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Professor of Neurosurgery at U of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Dr. Barry Sears, creator of the Zone Diet and former research scientist at MIT, recently answered the following questions about omega-3 fatty acids:
1. It seems like there's a new study every day about how great omega-3s are, but what do they do when they get into the body to boost brain power and ward off everything from heart disease to the common cold?
Maroon: Because every cell in the body has a cell membrane made mostly out of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, fish oil-a source of omega-3 fatty acid-has the potential to affect every organ system in the body. The fact is our body does not produce fatty acids; they must be consumed in our diets. Therefore, a dietary deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids can have profound adverse health effects. Not only do fatty acids help to make up the structure of our cell membranes, they are also used by the body on a cellular level to produce localized hormone-like compounds that can act to increase or decrease the amount of inflammation within our bodies.
Sears: [The question of why omega-3s are] almost universal in terms of their ability to improve health is because they reduce inflammation. That's the underlying cause of virtually every chronic disease, and really the underlying cause of the aging process.
2. Is it possible to get sufficient omega-3s from food, or should we supplement for optimal health and benefits?
Maroon: Most natural fatty acid sources, such as walnuts, flaxseeds, soy and canola oil, have fatty acids that can be converted by our bodies to omega-3 fatty acids, but generally not in very large amounts. Fatty acids from fish are generally very concentrated and also with a high proportion of fatty acids being the omega-3 type. This means that fish oil supplements that are certified as purified of potential contaminants are the best way to obtain the omega-3 fatty acids our bodies need.
Sears: Obviously, the Japanese have shown you can eat enough fish. But there was a study at Tufts University several years ago where they paid volunteers $1,500 and they got all their foods free for a six-month period. But the only caveat was that they would contain the same amount of omega-3 fatty acids as found in the Japanese diet. The experiment was terminated after three days. All the volunteers gave their money back and said, "I cannot eat all this fish." So the answer is yes, you can do it. But the reality for Americans is we won't do it.
3. We've heard a lot about the importance of the right ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 in the diet. How can consumers tell if they've achieved that balance?
Sears: In the Japanese population the ratio is about 1.5 [meaning three parts omega-6s to two parts omega-3s]. In the Greenland Eskimos, it's about .7, or about half. For comparison, the average American is [at] about 15. We're not only the fattest people on the Earth, we're the most inflamed.
4. With so many foods now enriched with omega-3s, can we get too much of it?
Maroon: The marketing of foods supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids is generally just hype and a marketing tool. Generally, the level of omega-3 fatty acids found in these products is infinitesimal compared to what would be a recommended dose. Therefore, in general, the only practical way to consume sufficient levels of omega-3 fatty acids is through fish oil supplements. The dose requirements vary by age, health status and other omega-3 intake, but in general we don't recommend taking more than 3 grams of EPA/DHA (the most active form of omega-3 fatty acids) without consultation with your healthcare provider.
Browse our suggested fish oil products on our Supplements Page.
1. It seems like there's a new study every day about how great omega-3s are, but what do they do when they get into the body to boost brain power and ward off everything from heart disease to the common cold?
Maroon: Because every cell in the body has a cell membrane made mostly out of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, fish oil-a source of omega-3 fatty acid-has the potential to affect every organ system in the body. The fact is our body does not produce fatty acids; they must be consumed in our diets. Therefore, a dietary deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids can have profound adverse health effects. Not only do fatty acids help to make up the structure of our cell membranes, they are also used by the body on a cellular level to produce localized hormone-like compounds that can act to increase or decrease the amount of inflammation within our bodies.
Sears: [The question of why omega-3s are] almost universal in terms of their ability to improve health is because they reduce inflammation. That's the underlying cause of virtually every chronic disease, and really the underlying cause of the aging process.
2. Is it possible to get sufficient omega-3s from food, or should we supplement for optimal health and benefits?
Maroon: Most natural fatty acid sources, such as walnuts, flaxseeds, soy and canola oil, have fatty acids that can be converted by our bodies to omega-3 fatty acids, but generally not in very large amounts. Fatty acids from fish are generally very concentrated and also with a high proportion of fatty acids being the omega-3 type. This means that fish oil supplements that are certified as purified of potential contaminants are the best way to obtain the omega-3 fatty acids our bodies need.
Sears: Obviously, the Japanese have shown you can eat enough fish. But there was a study at Tufts University several years ago where they paid volunteers $1,500 and they got all their foods free for a six-month period. But the only caveat was that they would contain the same amount of omega-3 fatty acids as found in the Japanese diet. The experiment was terminated after three days. All the volunteers gave their money back and said, "I cannot eat all this fish." So the answer is yes, you can do it. But the reality for Americans is we won't do it.
3. We've heard a lot about the importance of the right ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 in the diet. How can consumers tell if they've achieved that balance?
Sears: In the Japanese population the ratio is about 1.5 [meaning three parts omega-6s to two parts omega-3s]. In the Greenland Eskimos, it's about .7, or about half. For comparison, the average American is [at] about 15. We're not only the fattest people on the Earth, we're the most inflamed.
4. With so many foods now enriched with omega-3s, can we get too much of it?
Maroon: The marketing of foods supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids is generally just hype and a marketing tool. Generally, the level of omega-3 fatty acids found in these products is infinitesimal compared to what would be a recommended dose. Therefore, in general, the only practical way to consume sufficient levels of omega-3 fatty acids is through fish oil supplements. The dose requirements vary by age, health status and other omega-3 intake, but in general we don't recommend taking more than 3 grams of EPA/DHA (the most active form of omega-3 fatty acids) without consultation with your healthcare provider.
Browse our suggested fish oil products on our Supplements Page.
Quercetin may help improve heart health
The research, published in Atherolsclerosis, found quercetin and its metabolites may help prevent chronic inflammation leading to cardiovascular disease, via their effect on cells lining the blood vessels.
"We can confirm that eating quercetin-rich foods may help prevent chronic inflammation leading to cardiovascular disease because the metabolites still have an effect on the cells lining the blood vessels", researchers said.
Flavonoids have been receiving increasing attention of late, with a mounting body of science, epidemiological and laboratory-based, suggesting a wide range of health benefits, including cancer-fighting potential, immune system benefits and cardiovascular health benefits.
"We can confirm that eating quercetin-rich foods may help prevent chronic inflammation leading to cardiovascular disease because the metabolites still have an effect on the cells lining the blood vessels", researchers said.
Flavonoids have been receiving increasing attention of late, with a mounting body of science, epidemiological and laboratory-based, suggesting a wide range of health benefits, including cancer-fighting potential, immune system benefits and cardiovascular health benefits.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Label the use of carbon monoxide on meat
A small company in Kalamazoo, Mich., has the meat industry on the run over how the meat you buy is packaged.
Kalsec has waged a two-year fight and spent $800,000 to battle food regulators and meat producers over a fledgling practice of packaging fresh meat with a harmless dose of carbon monoxide.
The gas keeps meat an appealing red for more than 20 days — about twice as long as other popular packaging and far longer than the few days unwrapped meat stays red in a butcher's case.
The red color is the problem, say Kalsec, consumer groups and several lawmakers. The gas not only keeps meat red while on the shelf but after it's spoiled.
They say consumers — who consider color when picking meat — will be fooled into buying spoiled or old meat and not smell trouble until they open the package at home.
The packaging presents "serious consumer deception and food-safety risks," Kalsec says in a filing to the Food and Drug Administration. It wants the practice banned.
The meat industry disputes Kalsec's claims and says it is running a "baseless" scare campaign because carbon monoxide packaging would obliterate a rival Kalsec product.
A family-run firm with 300 employees, Kalsec sells natural colorings, spices and herbs. One of its products is a rosemary extract that meat processors use in packaging that keeps meat a nice red for about half as long as the carbon monoxide-infused packaging.
The meat industry says shoppers are tipped off to bad meat by bulging packages in stores and expired use-or-freeze-by dates. By keeping meat fresh-looking longer, the industry hopes to save millions of dollars a year by selling meat that consumers would have shunned before because of poor color.
In what foodmakers call "modified atmosphere packaging," a combination of gases — nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide — battle the aging effects that regular air has on foods. Leafy-green companies and potato-chipmakers use MAP, but they don't use carbon monoxide. Kalsec's rosemary extract is used by meat producers in a non-carbon-monoxide MAP format.The chair of the House's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee has co-authored a bill that would require a safety notice on meat, seafood and poultry using carbon monoxide packaging.
He says committee investigators recently found healthy-looking imported fish packaged with carbon monoxide to be decomposed. The proposed notice would warn consumers to "discard any product with an unpleasant odor, slime, or a bulging package."
The FDA has so far allowed carbon monoxide packaging for beef, pork and raw tuna when used as an ingredient in tasteless smoke, used as a preservative.
Other regulators have been tougher. The European Union doesn't allow it for meat and tuna. Canada bans it in fish; Singapore does for fresh tuna.
Courtesy of USA Today
Vitamin D cuts colon cancer death risk
A team led by U.S. National Cancer Institute epidemiologist Michal Freedman tracked 16,818 people who joined a nationwide U.S. government health survey between 1988 and 1994, following them through 2000. Among them, 536 died of cancer. The participants provided blood samples that the researchers used to determine the level of vitamin D in their blood. People with higher levels of vitamin D when they entered the study had about a 72 percent reduced risk of dying from colorectal cancer compared to those with the lowest levels of vitamin D, as reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Steve - not surprising to us of course. However, very nice to see in a large, government funded study.
Steve - not surprising to us of course. However, very nice to see in a large, government funded study.
Mold theory on depression
Almost one in five people with mold in their homes is depressed, a figure more than twice as high as among those who don't live with the stubborn, sometimes foul-smelling fungus, a study found.
The link between mold and depression remained strong even after researchers from Brown University in Providence, R.I., took into consideration physical illnesses that may be caused by the mold, and a homeowner's feeling of helplessness in controlling his environment. This surprised the authors, who said they set out to prove that factors beyond the mold may be responsible for the connection.
The data were taken from surveys of 2,982 households in eight cities, including Angers, France; Bonn; Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest; Ferreira do Alentejo, Portugal; Forli, Italy; Geneva; and Vilnius, Lithuania.
"The type of message we want to send is that healthy homes can promote healthy lives," he said.
Steve - while an unfortunate symptom of mold exposure, it is a revelation to see a study with such vision. There is no doubt in our minds that consistent exposure to mold in the home creates numerous adverse effects. This study echoes our most recent piece, Solutions to Reducing Your Toxic Load.
The link between mold and depression remained strong even after researchers from Brown University in Providence, R.I., took into consideration physical illnesses that may be caused by the mold, and a homeowner's feeling of helplessness in controlling his environment. This surprised the authors, who said they set out to prove that factors beyond the mold may be responsible for the connection.
The data were taken from surveys of 2,982 households in eight cities, including Angers, France; Bonn; Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest; Ferreira do Alentejo, Portugal; Forli, Italy; Geneva; and Vilnius, Lithuania.
"The type of message we want to send is that healthy homes can promote healthy lives," he said.
Steve - while an unfortunate symptom of mold exposure, it is a revelation to see a study with such vision. There is no doubt in our minds that consistent exposure to mold in the home creates numerous adverse effects. This study echoes our most recent piece, Solutions to Reducing Your Toxic Load.
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