Major Flu Strain Found Resistant to Leading Drug

Virtually all the dominant strain of flu in the United States this season is resistant to the leading antiviral drug Tamiflu, and scientists and health officials are trying to figure out why. The problem is not yet a public health crisis because this has been a below-average flu season so far, and because the Tamiflu-resistant strain, one of three circulating, is still susceptible to other drugs. But infectious disease specialists are worried nonetheless. Last winter, about 11 percent of the throat swabs from patients with the most common type of flu that were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for genetic typing showed a Tamiflu-resistant strain. This season, 99 percent do. “It’s quite shocking,” said Dr. Kent A. Sepkowitz, director of infection control at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. “We’ve never lost an antimicrobial this fast. It blew me away.” The single mutation that creates Tamiflu resistance appears to be spontaneous, and not a reaction to overuse of the drug. It may have occurred in Asia, and it was widespread in Europe last year. In response, the disease control agency issued new guidelines two weeks ago. They urged doctors to test suspected flu cases as quickly as possible to see if they are influenza A or influenza B, and if they are A, whether they are H1 or H3 viruses. The only Tamiflu-resistant strain is an H1N1.

First US count finds 1 in 200 kids are vegetarian

A recent government study estimates that's about 1 in 200 children are vegetarians.

Other surveys suggest the rate could be four to six times that among older teens who have more control over what they eat than young children do.

The new estimate of young vegetarians comes from a recent federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of alternative medicine based on a survey of thousands of Americans in 2007. Information on children's diet habits was gleaned from about 9,000 parents and other adults speaking on the behalf of those under 18.

Bonnie - while in theory, vegetariansim and veganism should promote the consumption of more fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes in young people, rarely is this the case. In the multitude of cases that I have seen where young people become vegetarians and vegans, this is what I am presented with:

• Nutrient deficiencies - B-12, vitamin D, and iron are common deficiencies. Not surprisingly, many of these young perssons are chronically fatigued.
  
  
• Protein deficiency - it is very difficult to get enough bioavailable protein. The biggest reason is they "get bored" with the same protein choices over and over. Some come to me severely malnourished and underweight.
  
  
• Carbohydrate overload - when you are eating little or malabsorbed protein, hunger increases. Carbohydrates become the predominate form of calories. Without balance, these excess carbs create weight-gain.
  
  
• "Junk food junkies" - I see many kids who are so desperate for calories, they cling to anything and everything they get their hands on, including doughnuts, candy, soda, and tons of snacks foods. Kids can't understand how they gained so much weight while on the diet. Unfortunately, weight gain occurs frequently. And many kids do not load their diet with fruits and vegetables.
  
  
• Increased food intolerance/allergy - if young vegetarians consume adequate protein (which is rare), eggs and dairy (and to a much lesser degree, fish) are consumed at almost every meal. Of course, they are two of the most allergenic foods. For vegans who attempt to get their much protein from soy (which for many should not even be considered protein because of how poorly it is absorbed), soy is in the top five most allergenic foods.

So you are probably thinking, how can I get my kid to get back to eating a balanced diet with more animal protein? Here are some tips:

• Appeal to their activism - many young people are turned off by what they see on the Internet: in particular, animals that are being treated inhumanely. Instead of letting them test a diet that could be potentially detrimental to their health. Let them know that there are plenty of farmers and meat producers (especially these days) that treat their animals humanely. Seek them out and have your child contact the company to speak with them. Take a tour of the facility. Have them intern at a farm one summer. Spur your kids on to influence more of these companies to treat animals more humanely.
  
  
• See an nutritional expert - in many cases where a young person comes to see me who is not doing well on a vegetarian/vegan diet, once there is an understanding why it is not right for them (looking at bloodwork, health-related symptoms, family history, genetics, and the general science), they feel much more empowered. And it is not their parents telling them either!
  

January Research Highlights

American Journal Clinical Nutrition

• Insulin Resistant subjects with the metabolic syndrome have a blunted sympathetic neural response to oral glucose compared with insulin sensitive subjects with the metabolic syndrome, which is related to central adiposity.

• Iron supplements do not inhibit the absorption of zinc or copper in healthy breastfed infants at 6–9 mo of age. In addition, researchers found no age-related changes in zinc or copper absorption between 6 and 9 mo of age.

• Prematurity is associated with protracted oxidative stress, and human milk is partially protective.

• Mediterranean diets supplemented with virgin olive oil or nuts down-regulate cellular and circulating inflammatory biomarkers related to atherogenesis in subjects at high risk of CVD. The results support the recommendation of the Med-Diet as a useful tool against CVD.

• Few studies have investigated the association of dietary carbohydrate and fiber intake with breast cancer risk in women in China, where carbohydrate intake is traditionally high. The objective was to prospectively evaluate the association of dietary carbohydrates, glycemic index, glycemic load, and dietary fiber with breast cancer risk and to determine whether the effect of these dietary intakes is modified by age and selected insulin- or estrogen-related risk factors. A total of 74,942 women aged 40–70 y were recruited into the Shanghai Women's Health Study, a population-based cohort study. Our data suggest that a high carbohydrate intake and a diet with a high glycemic load may be associated with breast cancer risk in premenopausal women or women <50>

• The objective was to evaluate the relation between total vitamin A and retinol intakes and the risk of incident total and hip fracture in postmenopausal women. A total of 75,747 women from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study participated. No association between vitamin A or retinol intake and the risk of hip or total fractures was observed in postmenopausal women. Only a modest increase in total fracture risk with high vitamin A and retinol intakes was observed in the low vitamin D–intake group. Bonnie - can we start to put to rest the supposed link between vitamin A and bone loss, PLEASE.

• Few studies have examined the association between carotenoid intake (other than β-carotene) and bone mineral density (BMD). We evaluated associations between total and individual carotenoid intake (-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and lutein+zeaxanthin) with BMD at the hip, spine, and radial shaft and the 4-y change in BMD. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted in 334 men and 540 women (mean ± SD age: 75 ± 5 y) in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Energy-adjusted carotenoid intakes were estimated from the Willett food-frequency questionnaire. Carotenoids showed protective associations against 4-y loss in trochanter BMD in men and in lumbar spine in women. No significant associations were observed at other bone sites. Although not consistent across all BMD sites examined, these results support a protective role of carotenoids for BMD in older men and women.

• Metabolic abnormalities and targeted treatment trials have been reported for several neurobehavioral disorders but are relatively understudied in autism. The objective of this study was to determine whether or not treatment with the metabolic precursors, methylcobalamin and folinic acid, would improve plasma concentrations of transmethylation/transsulfuration metabolites and glutathione redox status in autistic children. In an open-label trial, 40 autistic children were treated with 75 µg/kg methylcobalamin (2 times/wk) and 400 µg folinic acid (2 times/d) for 3 mo. Metabolites in the transmethylation/transsulfuration pathway were measured before and after treatment and compared with values measured in age-matched control children. The significant improvements observed in transmethylation metabolites and glutathione redox status after treatment suggest that targeted nutritional intervention with methylcobalamin and folinic acid may be of clinical benefit in some children who have autism. Bonnie - this should be very interesting information for some, reassuring for others who have already implemented these nutrient therapies.

Journal Nutrition

• Taken together, these data suggest that naturally occurring dietary compounds such as 3'-diindolylmethane (DIM), a condensation product of indol-3-carbinol found in Brassica vegetables, and the phytoalexin resveratrol (RES), may be effective agents for dietary strategies against epigenetic activation of COX-2 expression by AhR agonists (xenobiotic environmental compounds such as grilling/charred residues). Bonnie - in short, Brassica vegetable consumption impedes inflammation and the overpopulation of cancer-causing xenobiotics.

• In a cross-sectional study, we examined the relation between intake of 3 common foodstuffs that contain flavonoids (chocolate, wine, and tea) and cognitive performance. 2031 participants (70–74 y, 55% women) recruited from the population-based Hordaland Health Study in Norway underwent cognitive testing. Participants who consumed chocolate, wine, or tea had significantly better mean test scores and lower prevalence of poor cognitive performance than those who did not. Participants who consumed all 3 studied items had the best test scores and the lowest risks for poor test performance. The associations between intake of these foodstuffs and cognition were dose dependent, with maximum effect at intakes of 10 g/d for chocolate and 75–100 mL/d for wine, but approximately linear for tea. Thus, in the elderly, a diet high in some flavonoid-rich foods is associated with better performance in several cognitive abilities in a dose-dependent manner. Bonnie - this is why they are considered superfoods.

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

• Substantial differences in total antioxidant content of different sweeteners were found. Refined sugar, corn syrup, and agave nectar contained minimal antioxidant activity; raw cane sugar had a higher FRAP. Dark and blackstrap molasses had the highest FRAP, while maple syrup, brown sugar, and honey showed intermediate antioxidant capacity.

• A majority of young adults reported they enjoy and value eating with others, but 35% of males and 42% of females reported lacking time to sit down and eat a meal. Eating dinner with others was significantly associated with several markers of better dietary intake, including higher intakes of fruit, vegetables, and dark-green and orange vegetables. Eating on the run was significantly associated with higher intakes of soft drinks, fast food, total fat and saturated fat, and lower intake of several healthful foods. Findings suggest that health services and programs for young adults should encourage taking the time to sit down for meals and to share meals with others.

American Journal Preventive Medicine

• Automated telephone counseling can support the parents of overweight children to reduce the extent to which their children are overweight.

• Neighborhood disparities in access to food are of great concern because of their potential to influence dietary intake and obesity. Additional research is needed to address various limitations of current studies, identify effective policy actions, and evaluate intervention strategies designed to promote more equitable access to healthy foods.

• Policymakers must be able to calculate the comparative effectiveness of interventions to control heart disease if they are to optimize the population impact of programmatic initiatives. A model was created to calculate the number of deaths that would be prevented or postponed if perfect care for heart disease prevention and treatment were achieved—that is, the elimination of risk factors and the prescription of all effective medications before and between acute events, and the delivery of all effective therapies to individuals suffering an acute heart disease event. In this subject group, 44% of all deaths were due to heart disease. Perfect care before the first heart disease event would prevent or postpone 33% of all deaths. Perfect care between acute events would prevent or postpone 23% of all deaths. Perfect care during acute events would prevent or postpone 8% of all deaths. This direct comparison of heart disease prevention and treatment strategies indicates that nearly 90% of the impact from perfect care for heart disease would accrue from interventions before and between acute events. The impact of risk-factor interventions before or between events is amplified by the fact that these interventions also reduce the risk of death from other chronic diseases. Bonnie - once again, the P word, prevention, looms large.

New England Journal Medicine

• We examined 51 bone-biopsy specimens obtained after a 3-year, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging trial of oral alendronate to prevent bone resorption among healthy postmenopausal women 40 through 59 years of age. The patients were assigned to one of five groups: those receiving placebo for 3 years; alendronate at a dose of 1, 5, or 10 mg per day for 3 years; or alendronate at a dose of 20 mg per day for 2 years, followed by placebo for 1 year. The number of osteoclasts was increased by a factor of 2.6 in patients receiving 10 mg of alendronate per day for 3 years as compared with the placebo group. Moreover, the number of osteoclasts increased as the cumulative dose of the drug increased. Long-term alendronate treatment is associated with an increase in the number of osteoclasts, which include distinctive giant, hypernucleated, detached osteoclasts that are undergoing protracted apoptosis. Bonnie - note that osteoclasts take bone away or resorb bone. This is not what one would expect when taking bisphosphonates, considering they are supposed to do the opposite.
  

Journal Allergy and Clinical Immunology

• Asthma is a complex disease, and its incidence is determined by an intricate interplay of genetic and environmental factors. The identification of novel genes for asthma suggests that many genes with small effects rather than few genes with strong effects contribute to the development of asthma. There is thus substantial need to develop better tools for individual exposure assessment in all relevant environmental fields.
  
  
• Glutathione (GSH) is an important antioxidant in the epithelial lining fluid (ELF). We hypothesized that airway GSH homeostasis was altered in children with severe asthma and was characterized by decreased GSH and increased glutathione disulfide (GSSG) concentrations. Compared with controls, subjects in this study with severe asthma indeed had lower airway GSH and increases GSSG. Bonnie - it is apparent that increasing Glutathione levels through supplementation and/or improvement of methylating pathways is crucial.
  
  
• Five-grass-pollen sublingual immunotherapy tablets reduced both symptom scores 39.3% and rescue medication use in children and adolescents with grass pollen–related rhinoconjunctivitis. Adverse events were generally mild or moderate in intensity and expected. No serious side effects were reported.
  
  
• Fenugreek seed powder, an ingredient in spiced foods, contains several potential allergens. There is evidence for a high rate of cross-reactivity to peanut.
  
  
• Staphylococcus aureus–derived enterotoxins, a common cause of food contamination, are associated with antigen responses in atopic dermatitis. Researchers demonstrated in a recent mouse study that S. aureus indeed impairs oral tolerance and permits allergic responses.

Autism researcher: 'Time to start looking' at the environment

Researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute have concluded that the seven- to eightfold increase in the number of children with autism born in California since 1990 cannot be explained by changes in how the condition is diagnosed or how statistics are gathered. Instead, the study, published in the current issue of the journal Epidemiology, suggests research on the cause of the neurodevelopmental disorder should shift to the environment.

"It's time to start looking for the environmental culprits responsible for the remarkable increase in the rate of autism in California," a co-author of the paper, Irva Hertz-Picciotto, said in a news release. "Right now, about 10 to 20 times more research dollars are spent on studies of the genetic causes of autism than on environmental ones. We need to even out the funding."

Hertz-Picciotto, an autism researcher and professor of environmental and occupational health and epidemiology, said the study is important because many researchers, state officials and advocacy organizations have been skeptical of the autism statistics in California. The incidence of autism in the state has increased from nine in 10,000 children (diagnosed by age 6) in 1990 to more than 44 in 10,000 for children born in 2000. The study was conducted using state health records as well as Census Bureau statistics, state birth certificates and vital statistics. The researchers correlated the cases of autism with birth records and excluded children not born in California. They calculated the rate of incidence in the population over time and examined the age of diagnosis.

The study concluded that migration was not the cause of the increase. In addition, inclusion of milder cases of autism only accounted for one-tenth of the increased number of cases. Only 24% of the increase could be attributed to an earlier age of diagnosis.

The M.I.N.D. Institute is currently conducting a study to look at the possible effects of metals, pesticides and infectious agents on neurodevelopment. "If we're going to stop the rise in autism in California, we need to keep these studies going and expand them to the extent possible," Hertz-Picciotto said.

Courtesy of the LA Times

Antipsychotics double death risk in elderly

Anti-psychotic drugs commonly used to treat Alzheimer's disease may double a patient's chance of dying within a few years, suggests a new study that adds to concerns already known about such medications.

"For the vast majority of Alzheimer's patients, taking these drugs is probably not a worthwhile risk," said Clive Ballard, the paper's lead author, of the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related DiseasesKing's College London. at

"Would I want to take a drug that slightly reduced my aggression but doubled my risk of dying? I'm not sure I would," Ballard said.

The research was published Friday in the medical journal, Lancet Neurology.

Courtesy Associated Press

Quest Acknowledges Errors in Vitamin D Tests

The nation’s largest medical laboratory company provided possibly erroneous results to thousands of people who had their vitamin D levels tested in the last two years, the company has acknowledged. The company, Quest Diagnostics, has already sent letters to thousands of doctors listing the patients who might have received “questionable” test results and is offering free retests. The company said it had fixed the problems. An erroneously high result may mean patients will not take vitamin D supplements when perhaps they should, doctors said. And an erroneously low test result might lead in rare instances to a toxic overdose of vitamin D. When the Quest tests have been inaccurate, the reading has typically been too high, although not in all cases. Quest’s action represents “the largest patient test recall I’m aware of in my 20 years in the business,” said Robert L. Michel, editor of The Dark Report, a newsletter for pathologists that first reported on Quest’s action.

Bonnie - do not wait for your doctor to contact you. I would suggest that if you had a vitamin D test done within the last two years, contact your doctor to make sure that you're not on the list of those who may have a skewed result. Another option would be to ask your doctor, or Quest directly, for a retest.

Diet tied to survival in breast cancer patients

Women with early-stage breast cancer may live longer if they maintain a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy, a new study suggests.

This so-called "prudent" diet was not linked to a lower risk of death from breast cancer specifically. However, researchers found, breast cancer patients who ate this way were less likely to die from other causes over the eight-year study period.

"Consumption of a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and poultry, and low in red meat and refined foods may positively influence a woman's overall health and prevent other cancers and chronic diseases," Dr. Marilyn L. Kwan, a researcher at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, told Reuters Health.

The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, are based on 1,901 women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

Kwan's team found that women who'd reported a prudent dietary pattern at the outset had a lower overall death rate than those who'd reported a more "Western"-style diet -- one high in red and processed meats, snack foods, high-fat dairy and refined grains like white bread.

Women with the highest intakes of healthier foods were about half as likely to die during the study period as women with the lowest intakes, even with other important factors taken into account -- like the initial size of the breast tumor, the treatment type and patients' smoking habits.

Conversely, women with the most Western eating habits had a 53 percent higher risk of death overall than those with the lowest intakes of those foods.

Neither dietary pattern, however, was related to the odds of breast cancer recurrence or to women's risk of dying from the disease. Still, the link between diet and overall survival means that eating healthy is "very much an important factor for breast cancer survivors," Kwan said.

Pomegranate’s anti-prostate cancer potential

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles report that extracts of the fruit were associated with a two-fold suppression in the expression of genes linked to prostate cancer. “This study showed that pomegranate products and their polyphenols reduced tumor cell growth and induced apoptosis in both androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cells,” wrote the authors in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry “These anti-proliferative effects were also consistent in hormone-treated cells. This implies the potential possibility that pomegranate and its polyphenols are used as novel dietary supplements with maximum potential for androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate chemoprevention.” Pomegranate juice and extracts were supplied by POM Wonderful.

According to the researchers, early stage prostate tumors are dependent on testosterone levels circulating in the blood, but recurrent prostate tumors become unaffected by circulating testosterone levels. The cancer cells themselves can then increase testosterone synthesis, and this is linked to an over-expression of the so-called androgen receptor (AR). Using androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cell lines, Mee Young Hong, Navindra Seeram, and David Heber from UCLA investigated if pomegranate extract and juice had an effect on the expression of genes for key androgen-synthesising enzymes and the androgen receptor. They report that the polyphenols from pomegranate were capable of stopping the spread of both types of cancer, and that the compounds promoted apoptosis (programmed cell death) in the cells. Building the science The study follows similarly positive results from UCLA published in 2006 in the journal Clinical Cancer Research (Vol. 12, pp. 4018-4026). In that instance, 46 men were given eight ounces (227g) of pomegranate juice (Wonderful variety, equivalent to 570 mg of polyphenols) every day, and followed in three-month intervals. The researchers found that the average doubling time increased from an average of 15 months to 54 months for the men drinking the pomegranate juice.

Steve - while exciting research, we must look at with trepidation because POM may have helped fund the study along with providing the source product. Do we believe that pomegranates have incredible health benefits? Yes. However, we must be as critical with natural product companies that fund research as we are with drug companies.

Blood Sugar Control Linked to Memory Decline

Spikes in blood sugar can take a toll on memory by affecting the dentate gyrus, an area of the brain within the hippocampus that helps form memories. Researchers said the effects can be seen even when levels of blood sugar, or glucose, are only moderately elevated, a finding that may help explain normal age-related cognitive decline, since glucose regulation worsens with age. The study was published in the December issue of Annals of Neurology.

Bonnie - of course blood sugar imbalance promotes memory decline. It is an inflammatory process and memory decline is caused by inflammation. There is a reason experts quietly call Alzheimer's "Type 3 Diabetes."

More Americans getting multiple chronic illnesses

Courtesy of Reuters

More Americans are burdened by chronic illnesses, often having more than three at a time, and this has helped fuel a big rise in out-of-pocket medical expenses, a study released on Tuesday showed. With prescription drugs playing a key role, average annual out-of-pocket medical costs -- those not covered by health insurance -- rose from $427 per American in 1996 to $741 in 2005, researchers wrote in the journal Health Affairs.

Based on government survey data, 44 percent of Americans in 2005 had at least one chronic medical condition, which could include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, cancer, arthritis, heart failure and others.

But the percentage of Americans with three or more chronic illnesses rose even more sharply. It jumped from 13 percent in 1996 to 22 percent in 2005 for ages 45 to 64, to 45 percent for ages 65 to 79, and rose from 38 percent to 54 percent for those 80 and older. Among all ages, it went from 7 percent in 1996 to 13 percent in 2005.

Chronic disease accounts for three-fourths of the more than $2 trillion spent on health care yearly in the United States.

Steve - these are truly astounding statistics for most. However, as public health professionals that work in the trenches every day, they are on the mark. Chronic diseases are the most treatable with the proper individualized dietary and lifestyle treatment. Medication does not heal. It puts a band-aid on the problem(s).

NutraSweet to launch stevia offering

NutraSweet Co. isn't worried about the new plant-based sweetener that is hitting the mass market later this year. The Food and Drug Administration in December cleared the way for Coca-Cola and Pepsi to use a new zero-calorie sweetener. NutraSweet President Bill DeFer said the stevia products aren't direct competition for its existing sweeteners. The company is working on its own product, he said, which is currently referred to as NutraSweet Natural with Stevia. "We're not expecting a lot of impact on our business. The global demand for aspartame continues to increase," Mr. DeFer said. When NutraSweet launches its new Stevia product, it will be sold to the food service industry. The sweetener is being developed at NutraSweet's laboratory in Chicago.

Bonnie - you better believe NutraSweet is worried. Someone who used to work said as far back as ten years ago they were doing everything possible to avoid stevia being approved for the mass market in the US. Now that the time has come, they are scrambling to keep pace.

Skipping sleep 'hardens arteries'

People who scrimp on sleep are more likely to develop hardening of their arteries. Calcified arteries were found in nearly a third of people who slept fewer than five hours a night. This dropped to around one in 10 for those who slept an extra hour, the Journal of the American Medical Association study of 495 adults found. In the study, the volunteers underwent two CT scans, designed to assess the build-up of calcium in the heart's arteries, five years apart. They also filled out sleep questionnaires, kept a sleep diary and wore a wrist monitor for six nights that measured movement to give an estimate of how long they were actually lying still and asleep. At the first scan, none of the volunteers had any calcification in their arteries but five years later 61 of them did. This calcification appeared to be linked with lack of sleep. The risk was lowest for those who regularly had more than seven hours sleep each night.

Improved stool DNA test helps spot colon cancer

A simplified colorectal cancer screening test that detects tumor DNA in stool is an improvement over an earlier-generation assay. In the American Journal of Gastroenterology, researchers report that in a prior evaluation the improved test identified 88% of cancers and had a false positive rate of 18%. In the current study, the researchers sought to validate these findings in stool samples from an independent set of 42 patients with colorectal cancer and 241 with normal colonoscopies. The team found that the accuracy was similar to the earlier figures. Moreover, say the investigators, "The vast majority of cancers were detected regardless of tumor stage, tumor location, or patient age."
In comparison with the older, more complex stool DNA test, they add, the new version is easier to perform, cheaper, and suitable for use in local laboratories.

Steve - this can be a useful tool given the recent data about the effectiveness colonoscopy not being as accurate as once thought.

Statement from Citizens for Health

We are about to embark on some dramatic changes across the board in America. Change is inevitable, but the direction of that change remains to be seen. We wrote last time that in a democracy, silence equals agreement. It's time to put ourselves to the test. We're promoting two important Actions. The second Action will shortly, and will be directed specifically to the FDA on a specific, urgent topic. This second Action will test our effectiveness. But first, we need to test the strength of our voice.

Step One: Letter to the White House Office of Health Reform
The new administration in Washington D.C. is moving fast. We're seeing strategies never used before on a national level. This presents a huge challenge and an equally big opportunity. We need to get our message about natural health in front of everyone we can possibly reach. So our first Action is to send a letter to Washington, D.C.

Who?
Senator Tom Daschle isn't just the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. He will also become the Director of the newly formed White House Office of Health Reform. His Deputy Director will be Jeanne Lambrew, with whom Daschle co-authored the book Critical, published earlier this year. Both Daschle and Ms. Lambrew are part of The Center for American Progress (CAP), whose Founder and Executive Director is John Podesta - the head of Obama's transition team. We look to reach Sen. Daschle and Ms. Lambrew directly at CAP.

Why?
We've identified 2009 as the Year of Change and Challenge. We've made a case for why natural health needs to be at the fundamental core of health care reform. We'll add one more piece to the puzzle here. The Obama Administration's identification of challenges and possible solutions is void of natural health principles. Their effort is admirable, but their strategy incomplete.

How?
We're calling for a direct mail and email. Notwithstanding the ease of sending an email, most social activists agree that a direct mailing has more impact. To be sure, it won't hurt to email the Obama Transition Team. If you do, make sure to use the words "natural" and "natural health" frequently and positively in your email. The Transition Team is using computers to track the frequency of words & topics within the emails they receive.

Please use this form letter if you wish.

Step Two to follow shortly.

Bonnie - I was a charter board member of this organization and have supported it throughout its existence.

Epigenetic highlights

MIT Technology Review

Scientists are developing new ways to selectively boost gene expression in the brain, in the hope of treating psychiatric and neurological disease. A growing pool of evidence shows that compounds that target this mechanism can improve learning and memory in rodents. But existing drugs, which were not developed for this purpose, are relatively weak and unselective, and their long-term safety is not yet clear. Over the past few years, neuroscientists have begun to recognize the importance of epigenetics--molecular processes that change the expression of genes without altering DNA--in the brain, and in memory in particular. One of the key regulators of epigenetics is a group of enzymes known as histone deacetylases (HDACs), which trigger DNA to wind more tightly around neighboring proteins, ultimately dampening gene expression.

While scientists don't yet know exactly how epigenetic regulation affects memory, the theory is that certain triggers, such as exercise, visual stimulation, or drugs, unwind DNA, allowing expression of genes involved in neural plasticity. That increase in gene expression might trigger development of new neural connections and, in turn, strengthen the neural circuits that underlie memory formation. "Maybe our brains are using these epigenetic mechanisms to allow us to learn and remember things, or to provide sufficient plasticity to allow us to learn and adapt," says John Satterlee, program director of epigenetics at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in Bethesda, MD.

The findings suggest that scientists will need to develop compounds that act selectively on the different HDAC enzymes, perhaps inhibiting some and activating others. At this point, little is known about the specific functions of the nearly 20 different enzymes. But Tsai says that her group has identified one enzyme that appears to be specifically involved in memory. The researchers are also developing more selective compounds.


Fetal Exposure to Carcinogens May Lead to Cancer Decades Later

A new study suggests that exposure of a fetus to common carcinogens during the late stages of pregnancy may be even more harmful than exposure after birth, causing long-lasting genetic damage that could lead to cancer in childhood, young adulthood or even middle age.

The findings, done in experiments with laboratory mice exposed to high levels of a class of carcinogen that’s commonly found in the environment, are consistent with other studies that also point to the particular vulnerability of fetuses to cancer-causing compounds, especially in late stages of gestation.

The results were just published in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, a professional journal, by researchers from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. The studies were supported by the National Institutes of Health.

“The study of epigenetics and imprinting has shown that exposure to agents during early stages of development can program gene expression, such that susceptibility to disease in later life is impacted,” the authors wrote in the report. “Studies in human populations find high exposures to environmental chemicals associated with . . . birth weight, behavioral endpoints and cancer.”

The toxic environmental chemical used in these experiments was one kind of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, or PAH, a group of chemicals that scientists believe represent a “re-emerging” environmental concern.

PAHs are associated with the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum, and are increasingly common air pollutants, especially in some places such as China where use of coal for power production is soaring. But they can also get into soils, be taken up by plants and make their way into the human food chain. And cancer is the number one cause of disease-related death in children, with lymphomas and leukemias – some of the types of cancer produced in these animal experiments – at the top of the list.

“What was surprising about our findings is that PAHs appeared to be even more carcinogenic when the exposure was in late-stage pregnancy, instead of nursing,” said David Williams, professor and director of the Marine/Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center at OSU. “Significantly more damage was done in two days of in-utero exposure than by three weeks of exposure through breast milk. This suggests the fetus in late gestation is very susceptible to carcinogens.”

An alternative explanation, Williams said, would be that little of the PAH partitions into the milk, although this PAH is very fat soluble, as are other environmental chemicals of concern in breast milk, such as DDT, PCBs and dioxin. The researchers are investigating these possibilities, as well as performing studies with actual environmental PAH mixtures collected in Beijing by Staci Simonich, an associate professor in the OSU Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.

The idea that exposure to carcinogens during early development can set the stage for cancer years later is gaining more credence as the science of “epigenetics” reveals how genes can undergo permanent changes, based on toxic insults, nutrition or other factors, Williams said. Other laboratory studies have shown nutritional interventions that can help prevent some of the damage from carcinogens.

And research of this type may help explain why some people exposed to carcinogens during adulthood get cancer, and others with similar exposure do not.

While the risk of birth defects through genetic damage is often observed in the very early stages of pregnancy, Williams said, the risk of carcinogens and cancer appears to be linked more to the late stages, and to infancy, when detoxification systems are not yet fully developed.

“Carcinogens have to be metabolized in order to affect the fetus, and the enzymes necessary to do that are not really developed until later stages of pregnancy,” Williams said. “If nothing else, this suggests that avoidance of toxic chemicals and a healthy diet is very important throughout a pregnancy, not just at first.”

The diet that might provide some protection against toxins, Williams said, is essentially the same as that usually recommended anyway – lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and kale that have high levels of indole-3-carbinol, which appears to have cancer chemopreventive properties. More research is needed before it can be determined if dietary supplements would be appropriate, Williams said.

More than 800,000 Americans have leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma, the researchers noted in their report. There are an estimated 135,000 new cases of these cancers and 50,000 deaths every year.

“In order to devise the most efficacious approaches to chemoprevention, we need to know when the greatest period of sensitivity is,” the scientists wrote in this study. “We now show that, in this model, in- utero exposure carries the greatest risk."

Steve - these are two very well-respected research bodies. We will continue to see more data regarding the importance of epigenetics, especially during fertility and pregnancy stages.

10 Nutrition Tips for a Happy, Healthy New Year

1. Go on a Smart Cleanse or Smart Detox 2 Week Action Plan.
   The charitable trust Sense About Science recently reviewed 15 "detox" products, from bottled water to face scrub, and found many detox claims were "meaningless". We have warned about these products for years. In response we created our plans for safe, efficacious, and intelligent detoxification, potential weight loss, and/or energy boosting. Both Action Plans can be found at our website.
   
   
2. Eat at leas 6 oz. of fish high in omega- 3 fats 3 times per week.
   Sardines, wild salmon, and canned low mercury tongol tuna are the best sources. Fish helps prevent breast cancer, dementia/Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and Type II Diabetes. If you hate fish, fish oil in liquid or capsule form from a mercury-free source would help slightly.
   
   
3. Eat nuts/seeds daily.
   A handful of nuts/seeds (about ¼ cup) is a great energy booster and snack. Nuts/seeds are great for heart health and packed with hard-to-get minerals, such as magnesium and selenium. Magnesium is a catalyst for over 300 bodily functions and deficient in almost 75% of the U.S. population.
   
   
4. Take a Vitamin D supplement.
   Especially in the winter, it is very difficult to get enough vitamin D from the sun. A deficiency may lead to a weakened immune system, bone loss, autoimmune disease, cancer, and neurological disorders. If your multi has 400 i.u. of vitamin D, take at least another 400-800 i.u. from other sources. The best supplemental sources of vitamin D are Carlson Cod Liver Oil and Vitamin D-3 capsules.
   
   
5. Eat a variety of anti-inflammatory fruits and vegetables.
   Cherries, apples, pomegranates, blueberries, onions/garlic, cruciferous vegetables, and avocados are particularly beneficial. Try to get at least five different colors daily for a “rainbow” of health benefits.
   
   
6. Eat more healthy fats.
   Yes, you heard me correctly! Healthy, unsaturated fats, such as olives/olive oil, nuts/seeds (and their butters), and avocado are more filling than other foods. Their intake triggers the release of a compound called oleoylethanolamide (OEA) in our small intestine, activating a brain reaction that makes us feel fuller and more satisfied. This makes it easier to lose weight or to maintain a healthy weight.
   
   
7. Fill up at lunch.
   Eating most of your food at night encourages weight gain, even if you eat a hearty breakfast. Munching at lunch on lean protein, healthy fat, and low starch vegetables (such as greens/salad) will prevent a late afternoon physical and mental crash. You then won’t be tempted to overeat at dinner or late at night.
   
   
8. Check your water bottle.
   If plastic, your bottle should say “BPA free” on the bottom. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a compound that can accelerate the growth of cancer cells. Also, if your water is carbonated, make sure that it is natural carbonation, not carbon infused. Natural sparkling mineral water helps to alkalize and promote bone health. Carbon infused sparkling (fizzy) water creates an acid environment that encourages bone loss. If you like to have bottled water with you at all times, there are cheap, more environmentally-friendly water bottles outfitted with their own filters. Aquamira, Fit & Fresh LivPURE, and the Watergeeks Laboratory are brands we have heard about.
   
   
9. Eat more home prepared meals with your family.
   Eating at home is not only less expensive, but it’s a time to reconnect with your loved ones. Home prepared meals are usually much healthier because you can control the ingredients, especially to avoid excess salt, sugar, trans fats, and harmful food additives.
   
   
10. Try out at least five new, healthy recipes each month in 2009.
    By December, you’ll have 60 new recipes to add to your repertoire! Focusing on healthy Mediterranean and Asian cuisine is a step in the right direction. Check out our Recipes to Live By (6.95) for over 100 recipes that are both delicious and nutritious!
    

The Best Practice for Disease Prevention is Practicing a Healthy Lifestyle

In response to recently released scientific studies, which have examined the efficacy of individual vitamin supplements for preventing chronic diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement industry, issued the following statement.

Statement by Andrew Shao, Ph.D., vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, CRN:

"The very nature of science is that it is an evolutionary discipline - we learn things from one study, and then seek to confirm those results, look in a different direction, or test for even more possibilities. Over the past several decades, a series of observational trials resulted in exciting prospects for the benefits of antioxidant vitamins and chronic disease. These encouraging results led the scientific community to conduct the recently released randomized, controlled trials (RCTs), which seemed to be the next logical step. While everyone - researchers, industry, and consumers - would have been thrilled to see the positive findings from observational studies confirmed, this has not been the case. This leads to more intrigue for the scientific community - to try to determine why the results from these recent RCTs are in apparent conflict with the existing body of data.

One explanation is that the effects of nutrients in the human body are complex and influenced by many variables. Understanding the causality of chronic disease is equally complex. RCTs may be inherently limited in their capacity to address the unique challenges presented by nutrients and dietary interventions. Nutrients appear to work best in combination with other nutrients, yet RCTs tend to examine effects of unique chemical molecules in isolation - which is how pharmaceuticals work. Further, in using RCTs to study nutrition questions, there is the challenge of being able to create a true control or placebo group. For example, in contrast to pharmaceuticals, it is both impossible and unethical to ensure participants in the control group are not exposed at any level to vitamins and minerals.

This leads us to the question, 'what should consumers do?' The best advice for consumers is to engage in a lifetime of healthy habits - like not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a well-balanced diet and appropriately supplementing with vitamins, regular exercise, and regular visits to a healthprofessional. These appear to be best practices. Vitamins play a vital role in promoting overall general health and filling specific nutrition gaps. Despite the results from recent studies, there is additional research that suggests antioxidant vitamins may play a role in helping to lower the risk of chronic diseases. However, vitamin supplements are just one piece of the puzzle, which may be why we didn't see the results we anticipated from the recent clinical trials.

Perhaps we need to revise our expectations that one single healthy habit will serve as a 'magic bullet' and allow us to live disease-free-after all, one piece does not complete the whole puzzle, but we certainly don't discard the piece just because it doesn't fit in a particular spot. Within the research community and academia, we encourage scientists to engage in additional studies that are designed to answer questions about the effects of nutrients on chronic disease and explore the apparent inconsistencies created by the existing research. Scientists, policymakers, healthcare professionals and consumers alike should continue to question commonly accepted research models, such as: whether the current approach used in RCTs of studying nutrients in isolation is appropriate; whether observational data are adequate to make policy decisions as is the case with food; and whether we're studying the appropriate populations or subgroups, with the appropriate dosage and combination of nutrients for the correct length of time are other questions. There are still many more questions to be answered. Science is constantly evolving and by shifting the current paradigm of disease research to a paradigm of nutrition and prevention, we can better aid consumers in living healthier lives."

Bonnie - Mr Shao takes the high road here. He eloquently explains that supplements are what their definition says they are...supplements. They are a supplement to a healthy diet and lifestyle, not a miracle drug/cure. I have always said that supplements are 25% of the picture. Diet and lifestyle are 75%.

Shao, however, does not mention the use of synthetic forms of vitamin C, E in these trials. In addition, the dosages used in the trials would be deemed therapeutically insignificant by health professionals such as myself. For these reasons alone, I cannot accept the results of this research.

For a breakdown of each study, please look over our blogs and newsletters over the last few months.

Young diabetics low in vitamin D

Over 75 per cent of young type-1 diabetics may require vitamin D supplements, after a US study reported ‘surprisingly’ high levels of insufficiency. Writing in The Journal of Pediatrics, Boston-based researchers surveyed 128 youths aged between 18 months and 17.5 years with type 1 diabetes. They found that 61 per cent of the youths had insufficient levels of vitamin D, and 15 per cent were clinically deficient. Insufficient levels of the vitamin may increase the risk of complications later in life, said the researchers, most notably in terms of weakened bone strength, and an increased risk of risk in middle and older age. The researchers are suggesting supplementing with 400IU vitamin D.

Bonnie - as I have been saying incessantly, testing for vitamin D3 or 25(OH)D, in children and adults is crucial. Deficiencies are at epidemic levels in the U.S.

Whole Foods pulls 'gluten-free' products from shelves after Tribune story

Responding to a Chicago Tribune investigation and mounting consumer pressure, Whole Foods Markets said Tuesday it has pulled three popular "gluten-free" products because the items actually contain the substance.

The grocery chain also said it will devise a strict definition of "gluten-free" for products sold in its stores and begin monitoring the items so such problems don't recur.

The Tribune reported last month that its testing showed three Wellshire Kids brand "gluten-free" products sold exclusively at Whole Foods—Dinosaur Shapes Chicken Bites, Chicken Corn Dogs and Beef Corn Dogs—contained between 116 and 2,200 parts per million of gluten.

While the federal legal definition of "gluten-free" is imprecise, most experts view "gluten-free" as containing less than 20 ppm.

Bonnie - while we have never recommended those three products, we have taken notice to be even more aware of mislabeling to protect our gluten-free community. Due to cross-contamination of oat products during processing or shipping, I do not recommend oats (even if the label states gluten-free) while on a strict gluten-free diet.

Antifungal pills could help treat asthma-study

Pills used to treat common skin infections caused by fungi also appear to help some people with severe asthma. Volunteers with an allergic reaction to one or more fungi showed significant improvements in their asthma after taking antifungal itraconazole pills. Airborne fungi can worsen asthma but the study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine is the first to show that antifungal therapy can actually improve severe asthma symptoms, the researchers said. Nearly 60 percent of the volunteers showed significant improvement in their asthma symptoms during the eight months they took the antifungal drug. Their asthma -- marked by runny noses, sneezing and hay fever-like symptoms -- worsened within four months after people stopped taking the pills, the researchers added. All those in the study had tested positive for a fungal allergy. "This pioneering study indicates that fungal allergy is important in some patients with severe asthma, and that oral antifungal therapy is worth trying in some difficult-to-treat patients," Robert Niven of the University of Manchester, who worked on the study, said in a statement.

Bonnie - what this says to us is that yeast overgrowth (yeast is fungus), is a legitimate, major issue. If curtailed, it can help reduce many adverse symptoms.