Company that makes gastric bands seek okay for youths

Allergan, the company that makes implantable gastic bands to cut food intake in adults, is seeking the FDA's okay to make them available for adolescents.

Gastric bypass, which is a surgical procedure surgery already performed on persons as young as fourteen, does not have to approved by the FDA. The gastric band is a device so it must be FDA-approved.

Bonnie - I can barley even comment on this because it is so unconscionable. This is a cop out by parents and health professionals who are too lazy to implement healthy eating habits and lifestyle.

Viral disease hitting India affects Western travelers

A viral disease called chikungunya, which causes aches, pains, and fever has sweeped through Inida and, thus, any tourists who have been there.

We have heard from several clients who had recently returned from India complain about having these symptoms, but were unable to definitively nail down the cause.

The virus, carried by mosquitoes, is rarely fatal, but the joint pain can last for weeks and months. There is no drug treatment at this time.

If you do travel to India or have just recently returned, I suggest supplementing with the natural substance Monolaurin, which has an anti-viral fighting property.

Bonnie

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition highlights

These were from the August issue that somehow did not make it into the blog until now!

• The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has increased dramatically in the past decades, in parallel with increasing prevalences of overweight and obesity in the U.S. Sugar-sweetened beverages, particularly soda, provide little nutritional benefit and increase weight-gain and probably the risk of diabetes, fractures, and dental caries. Consumption of these products, including fruit drinks should be discouraged.
  
  
• High-calcium mineral waters, including Sanfaustino (which we recommend often), had absorbabilites equal to milk calcium or slightly better. High-calcium mineral waters should be used to provide useful quantitites of bioavailable calcium.
  
  
• In a large group of community-resident older persons, there was a significant relation between serum magnesium and muscle performance. Magnesium deficiency should be avoided and optimal magnesium concentrations should be obtained through food and supplemental sources.
  
  
• Weight gain in early adulthood is related to a higher risk and earlier onset of type 2 diabetes than is weight gain between 40 and 55 years of age.

Steve - these are all incredibly fascinating studies that should be applied to our daily lifestyles.

Flu sesaon tidbits

We thought the October newsletter Health & Healing brought up some good points:

• Infectious diseases are caused by one of two things: either an excessivley virulent bug, or a weakness in the host. It cannot be due to the virus suddenly becoming more virulent; viruses are equally infectious year round. Therefore, it has to have something to do with the colder, darker winter months. We are weakened during this time because we do not get enough vitamin D.
  
  
• Proponents of the flu shot report that the number of flu-related deaths would be much higher if it were not for the shots. However, researchers from the National Institutes of Health compared winter mortality rates in this age group with vaccination rates over the past 25 years. Although vaccination rates increased 15-20 percent before 1980 to 65 percent in 2001, the influenza-related death rate remained the same.

Bonnie - in addition, experts from the WHO get together every year and make an educated guess as to which influenza viruses are most likely to strike. More often than not, they do not guess perfectly. If tolerated, it is crucuail to supplement with adequate levels of vitamin D. Cod Liver Oil is my first choice for its bioavailability and extra benefit from omega 3's.

ALA-rich walnuts could protect arteries after high-fat meal

Twelve healthy people and 12 patients with high cholesterol levels were randomly assigned to a high-fat meal (80 g fat, 35 per cent saturated fat) supplemented with 40 grams of walnuts or 25 grams of olive oil. One week later, the participants were crossed over to eat the other supplemented high-fat meal. The Barcelona researchers report that blood flow in the arm in the brachial artery was improved in the people with high cholesterol after consumption of the walnut-supplemented meal (24 per cent increase).

“The fact that a single walnut meal positively affects postprandial vasoactivity further supports the beneficial effects of walnuts on cardiovascular risk,” wrote lead author Berenice Cortés in the October 16th issue of Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Inflammation, measured as a function of soluble inflammatory cytokine levels, were found to decrease independently of the meal, except for E-selectin, a molecule that plays a role in cell adhesion, which fell after the walnut meal. “Walnuts preserve the protective phenotype of endothelial cells,” concluded Cortés.

Steve - chalk another one up for walnuts. They are a wonderful Superfood along with other nuts such as almonds and pecans. If tolerated, make walnuts part of your diet. Try to rotate your consumption of nuts so you do not eat the same ones every day. Like consuming any food on a daily basis, developing an allergy or a sensitivity is always a concern.

Cola consumption may create lower bone density in women

According to the October issue of the American College of Clinical Nutrition, cola intake is associated with significantly lower Bone Mineral Density at each hip site, but not the spine, in women but not in men. The mean Bone Mineral Density of those with daily cola intake was 3.7% lower at the femoral neck and 5.4% lower at Ward's area than of those who consumed <1 serving cola/mo.Similar results were seen for diet cola. The study was conducted on 1413 women and 1125 men in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Bonnie - wow...is this a long time coming! I have said for so many years how excess acid contributes to osteoporosis. There is no substance more acidic to bone than cola!

Med diet can prevent Alzheimer's: study

A study involving 1,984 persons with the average age of about 76 indicated that such a diet can reduce the risk for the degenerative brain disease.

During the one year study period, the subjects' diet was closely monitored. Their age, weight, health conditions and other lifestyle aspects were also factored in the study but diet appeared to play a prominent role in controlling or preventing age-related mental decline.

People whose diets were most similar to the Mediterranean diet had as much as 68 percent lower risks compared to those who did not, the researchers observed.

The study was conducted by researchers from Columbia University and the report was published in the online version of the Archives of Neurology.

Another study in the same issue reports that Omega-3 fatty acid supplements can help slow down the mental decline among patients diagnosed with early or mild Alzheimer's.

Steve - this is basically consistent from what we have seen over the last decade of research with regard to the Mediterranean Diet.

Researchers finding adequate sleep is as crucial to a healthy life as diet and exercise

According to a piece in the LA Times, the Institute of Medicine issued a report in April confirming links between sleep deprivation and an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, stroke, and possibly immune function.

In an Archives of Internal Medicine editorial published in September, the authors called for assessment of sleep habits as a standard part of all medical checkups.

According to most experts, people need about 8 hours of sleep to fully recover from 16 hours of being awake. 40% of Americans get fewer than seven hours of sleep on weekdays.

Bonnie - Sleep regulates leptin and ghrelin. Inadequate sleep also lowers levels of growth hormone and increases risk greater adiposity (leptin and ghrelin are secreted in deepest stages of sleep). Translation...you need 8 hours of sleep!

Pine Bark could improve microangiopathy

In what was described as "clinically remarkable," the results of a small control study in September's Journal Angiology showed that 150mg pine bark extract given to 36 diabetic patients on insulin with severe microangiopathy improved blood flow between 34 and 68%. The 24 patients in the placebo group only showed a 4.7-8% improvement.

Microangiopathy, which is the deterioration of blood flow, affects almost everyone with diabetes.

Steve - there are limitations to this study. First, it was not a double blind control study. Second, it was a small number of patients. Third, the study was funded from the manufacturers of pine bark products. However, the results are statistically significant, and pine bark has also shown to be effective for numerous maladies.

FDA qualifies health claim for canola oil

Canola oil products can include on its labelling the following wording: "Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about 1 1/2 tablespoons (19 grams) of canola oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the unsatured fat content in canola oil. To achieve this benefit, canola oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day. One serving of this product contains [X] grams of canola oil."

Bonnie - while olive oil is my favorite, canola oil is a good choice as long is it is organic and cold/expeller pressed. If it is not organic, canola is a crop that is heavily sprayed with pesticides.

Getting into college taxes teens, parents

The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that today's overscheduled lifestyle is robbing children of the developmental benefits of play. It also cites pressures created by the high-anxiety college admissions process.

The academy discusses this in a new book, Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond. USA TODAY's Mary Beth Marklein spoke with co-authors Marilee Jones, admissions dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and pediatrician Kenneth Ginsburg.

Q: Why the extra focus on college admissions?

Jones: It can be a big driver. Many of us in college admissions have set standards that are so high, and we've been sending the message that kids need to be perfect. We get rewarded by U.S. News rankings for admitting those kids, and as a result we're caught up in it. The other piece is that we have a tendency to want kids to look alike. We want them to take so many AP classes, we fixate on the scores, and oh, by the way, they should have so many activities and they should also be leaders. They get headaches, or migraines, or stomach problems — all the classic signs of stress — because the adults in their world are holding them to such a high standard. There's no room to fail.

Ginsburg: College admissions is just one of the factors that is pushing kids too fast too soon to grow up but, unlike, say, poverty, it's one of the forces we can address easily.

Q: Where do parents fit into all of this?

Jones: Parents are a big problem, covertly and overtly. There are some parents who want their kids to win no matter what. And that means getting into a top-tier school. The majority of parents, though, want to do the right thing for their kids. But they look at neighbors and at other parents, and they worry that if they just let their child grow whatever way their child happens to grow, that somehow they'll be failing their child. They don't know how to behave, and that's why Ken and I wrote this book.

Ginsburg: It's also important to note that there are no villains here. Most parents absolutely have the best intention of helping their child succeed. We're trying to help them step back, get off the treadmill, and think, what is success? Success is not about getting your kid into the top school. Success is about developing a happy, resilient, thoughtful, generous, compassionate kid. When parents understand that, they'll also see that the current definition of success is hurting their child.

Q: Are parents who need this most going to recognize themselves?

Ginsburg: I don't know, but it's why we're trying to start a conversation. In the book we suggest talking with neighbors, so you realize you're not alone. Our book may not change the minds of every parent, but their community might be changed.

Jones: We're hoping people get it for their book club.

Q: Beyond concerns about personal health and happiness, are there other consequences?

Jones: From my perspective at MIT, I have deep fears about the future of innovation. I don't see as much individual creativity anymore among applicants. They're so busy, they don't have a chance to daydream. They're just moving from activity to activity to activity to try to satisfy the needs of all the adults in their lives. The Thomas Edisons of the nation, the individuals who will change the world, I don't see that. And that has dire consequences for our nation's ability to compete.

Ginsburg: Every great innovation was preceded by many failures. It has to be OK to not do well in your first 30 attempts.

Q: You mention MIT. Is this really a widespread problem? Or is it really just about the talented few who aspire to highly selective, prestigious schools like MIT?

Jones: It's much bigger. In this country's system of education, there is this kind of weird drive to try to mold kids a certain way and not really value who they are. It's not just the rich kids. It hits the kids at the low end, too. I believe that's the reason a lot of those kids drop out. They're not appreciated for who they are, they're not seen for who they are.

Steve - This article appeared in USA Today. It is a very important issue. Being a father of two young children myself, I am always torn by how far to push the envelope with them.

Vitamin A may minimize inflammation

Vitamin A supplements could reduce the levels of a marker for inflammation by 30 per cent, particularly among the young.

The vitamin is thought to aid the immune system in fighting certain infections and inflammations, such as measles and infections caused by some food-poisoning organisms. Indeed, the impact of vitamin A supplements on diarrhea in children is reported to be due to an effect on the immune response in the intestine. The body’s response to a gastrointestinal infection by organisms such as E. coli is inflammation, which reduces the colon’s ability to absorb water and results in diarrhea.

The new science, published in the current issue of the Journal of Nutrition (Vol. 136, pp. 2600-2605), looked at the effect of vitamin A supplements on levels of the molecule, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), which is associated with a state of increased inflammation. The researchers, from ten different universities and hospitals in the US and Mexico including Harvard, the University of Texas, and the Universidad Autonoma de Queretero, recruited 127 Mexican children between the ages of 5 and 15 months and randomly assigned them to receive either a vitamin A supplement or a placebo at two month intervals.

“Overall, children who received the vitamin A supplement had reduced fecal concentrations of MCP-1 compared with children in the placebo group,” reported lead author Kurt Long from Harvard School of Public Health. Reduce levels of MCP-1 is associated with less inflammation, which in term suggests less diarrhoea. The supplementation also impacted on MCP-1 levels in children with infections, like the bacteria Escherichia coli or the human roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides. For children infected with E. coli and given the vitamin A supplement, MCP-1 levels were 62 per cent lower than the placebo group, while children infected with A. lumbricoides had MCP-1 levels 38 per cent lower after vitamin A supplementation than placebo. “These findings suggest that vitamin A has an anti-inflammatory effect in the gastrointestinal tract by reducing MCP-1 concentrations,” concluded the researchers.

Bonnie - for the bad rap vitamin A has been getting, we see here why it is such an important nutrient.

Drinking tea helps reduce stress

Regular cups of tea can help speed recovery from stress, researchers from University College London (UCL) said on Wednesday.

Men who drank black tea four times a day for six weeks were found to have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol than a control group who drank a fake tea substitute, the researchers said in a study published in the journal Psychopharmacology.

The tea drinkers also reported a greater feeling of relaxation after performing tasks designed to raise stress levels.

In the study, 75 tea-drinking men were split into two groups, all giving up their normal tea, coffee and caffeinated drinks.

Half were given a fruit-flavored caffeinated tea mixture made up of the usual constituents of a cup of black tea.

The others were given a caffeinated substitute, identical in taste but without the active tea ingredients.

Neither the participants or the researchers knew who was drinking real or false tea.

At the end of six weeks the participants were given a series of tests designed to raise their stress levels, including being given five minutes to prepare and deliver a presentation.

The researchers found that stress levels, blood pressure and heart rate rose similar amounts in both groups.

But 50 minutes after the tasks cortisol levels had fallen an average of 47 percent among the tea drinkers, compared to 27 percent in the fake tea group.

Steptoe said it was not known which ingredients in tea were responsible for the effects found in the study.

Courtesy Reuters

Diabetes-cancer link examined

A large study of Japanese adults has found that those with diabetes were more likely to develop cancer, especially of certain organs such as the pancreas and liver.

Men with diabetes in the study of nearly 98,000 people were 27% more likely than non-diabetics to be diagnosed with cancer, the study by the National Cancer Center in Tokyo found. Women afflicted with diabetes were also more at risk for cancer, though the association was not as clear as with men.

One theory holds that adult-onset diabetes produces excess insulin that may promote cancer cell growth in the liver or pancreas. Diabetes may also alter levels of sex hormones that could contribute to ovarian cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. The study was published in the Sept. 25 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Bonnie - this makes a strong statement for never eating a carbohydrate alone! The study is especially timely as a Journal Pediatrics study just released data that 1 in 523 Americans under 20 have diabetes.

Americans fed up with fad diets

Americans seem to have lost their appetite for fad diets, a new national survey finds.

More than two-thirds (69 percent) of respondents said they're less likely to try a specialized or fad diet today compared to five years ago. Men are more skeptical than women of fad regimens, the survey found.

The poll was released Wednesday by the nonprofit group America On the Move, involved 2,339 adults age 18 or older.

Some other survey results:

• Two-thirds of those surveyed said they'd started a new weight-loss or control program or diet at least once within the past five years. Sixty-five percent said those attempts to shed pounds failed, however.
• Seven out of 10 respondents said they're currently doing something to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Of those, 14 percent said their current diet, activity or program isn't working, and they're frustrated with the lack of success. Another 7 percent said their attempts at weight loss/control are working, but they're not optimistic about long-term success.
• One-third said that food and beverage companies need to create more choices and more affordable options for healthier foods.
• Three-quarters of those polled percent said government has a role to play in tackling the obesity problem in the United States and helping people develop healthy lifestyles.

Bonnie - It's about time! Finding the right dietary balance for you as an individual has always been and always will be the real way to optimize and maintain health.

Study: Communities unready for elderly

Less than half of the nation's communities have begun preparing to deal with the needs of the elderly, whose ranks will swell dramatically with the aging of the baby boomers, according to a study to be released today.

A survey of more than 1,790 towns, counties and other municipalities found that just 46 percent are looking at strategies to deal with aging America.

The issue is critical because the baby boomers - those born between 1946 and 1964 - began turning 60 this year and are rapidly approaching retirement age. By 2030, the number of people over age 65 in the United States will exceed 71 million - double the number in the year 2000, according to the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, or n4a, one of the sponsors of the study.

The report, titled "The Maturing of America - Getting Communities on Track for an Aging Population," looks at health care and nutritional programs, transportation, public safety and emergency awareness, volunteer opportunities and other services.

Among the key findings in the report:

- Health care. In one-third of the communities surveyed, older adults do not have access to services such as health screenings, counseling on prescription drugs or health education.

- Nutrition. Some 80 percent of communities have programs providing home-delivered meals for the elderly, but just 25 percent provide nutrition education.

- Exercise. More than one-third of communities do not have fitness programs for older adults.

- Housing. Just half of communities have home modification programs to help the elderly with physical limitations stay in their houses.

- Work force development. More than 40 percent of communities do not offer formal job training or retraining programs.

- Human services. Many communities have failed to create a central point for seniors to go to seek information.

Courtesy AP

Steve - for further reading on prevention through nutrition, view Bonnie's most recent article, Aging Gracefully and the Importance of Geriatric Nutrition.

Curcumin could cut plaque build-up linked to Alzheimer’s

Curcumin, found extensively in curries, could boost the body’s ability to clear the build up of plaques in the brain that are linked to Alzheimer’s disease, suggest results from a small laboratory study from the US.

Although the mechanism of Alzheimer’s is not clear, significant data exists supporting the build-up of plaque from beta-amyloid deposits. The new research appears to indicate that curcumin, the natural pigment that gives the spice turmeric its yellow colour, could help the body’s immune system clear away these deposits and reduce the risk of developing the disease. “Curcumin improved ingestion of amyloid beta by immune cells in 50 percent of patients with Alzheimer's disease,” said Dr Milan Fiala from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The research, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (Vol. 10, pp. 1-7), adds to this by reporting on a small laboratory study using blood from six Alzheimer's disease patients (aged 65 to 84) and three healthy controls.

The new study extends previous findings examining the neuroprotective effects of curcumin. Experts recommend however that consumers wishing to make use of curcumin's properties consume it in supplement form rather than eating more curries, which tend to be rather high in fat in their Western form. The study was funded by the Alzheimer's Disease Association and private donors.

A joke of a study

Results of a new study do not support current thinking that a high consumption of 100 percent fruit juice and sweetened fruit drinks contributes to the rising number of overweight and obese children.

"More prospective studies are needed before any conclusive statement is made about beverage consumption and overweight," Dr. Theresa A. Nicklas from the Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told Reuters Health.

Nicklas and two colleagues investigated ties between the types and amounts of beverages consumed and weight status in 1160 preschool-aged children in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1999-2002.

They report in the journal Pediatrics that, on average, the 2- to 5-year-olds drank less than the two servings of milk each day recommended for this age group by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

"Only 8.6 percent drank low-fat or skim milk, as recommended for children who are older than 2 years," they also report.

"Children consumed a mean amount of 4.7 ounces of 100 percent fruit juice per day, which meets the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation of no more than 4 to 6 ounces per day," Nicklas told Reuters Health.

A key finding, she said, was that increased beverage consumption, regardless of type of beverage consumed (i.e. milk, 100 percent fruit juice, fruit drinks, soda), was associated with an increase in total caloric (energy) intake but not with body mass index.

That is, "despite the increase in total caloric intake, beverage consumption was not associated with overweight," Nicklas explained.

Summing up, Nicklas said "dietary factors associated with childhood obesity are poorly understood and identifying single foods/beverages as the sole contributor to the obesity problem is unfounded."

"What makes intuitive sense," she said, "is that the obesity problem may reflect a combination of eating patterns that vary considerably among children, and their cumulative effect on overweight over time."

"There is no simple answer to a rather complex problem. If there were, we would have solved it."

Dr. Nicklas is a member of the speaker's bureau for the National Dairy Council, the National Cattlemen's and Beef Association, and a member of the advisory board for Cadbury Schweppes, Grain Food Foundation, and holds additional positions in the food and beverage industry.

Courtesy Reuters

Steve - Dr. Nicklas was almost able to indemnify or promote every special interest he represents in this study! The motive is so obvious...just confuse the public more, saying there is no simple answer. Unfortunately for the special interests, the data on fruit juice is so overwhelming with its contribution to obesity that the above should not sway the public.

Probiotics protect the gut when you take an antibiotic

A new meta-analysis of six studies, involving 836 children who were prescribed an antibiotic, discovered that those who were also given a probiotic suffered far less diarrhea than those who just took the antibiotic.

Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2006; 175: 377-83.

Steve - we have said that you must take meta-analyses with a grain of salt. However, we have seen almost every one of these six studies. We have been recommending probiotics, including acidophilus, bifidus, and saccromyces boulardii to every client that goes on an antibiotic for many years.

Lip-Gloss Cure?

According to the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, new lip gloss products (can be found at joeynewyork.com) have fragrances that shows signs of being able to reduce food and nicotine cravings.

Steve - just when you think you have heard it all...