Cruciferous: the Cancer Fighting Carb

Research has brought the Cruciferous vegetable family to the forefront of cancer-fighting foods. And yes, they are carbohydrates (moderate starch, low glycemic load). Cruciferous compounds have produced positive data for bladder, breast, colorectal, esophageal, lung, prostate, pancreatic, and stomach cancers.

A recent study performed by Kaiser Permanente showed that subjects who ate raw or slightly cooke cabbage annd sauerkraut more than three times per week were 72 percent less likely to develiop breast cancer than those who had 1.5 or fewer servings.

The growth of cancer is linked with a group of proteins in the body that silences genes relating to natural, programmed cell death. Synergistic chemicals specific to Cruciferous vegetables interfere with this protein group and restores natural cell death, thus harmonizing epigenetic pathways.

A Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology study suggests exposure of a fetus to common carcinogens during the late stages of pregnancy could lead to cancer in childhood. A diet rich in cruciferous vegetables may lessen the toxic impact.

High cruciferous intake may enhance the elimination of dietary carcinogens such as heterocyclic amines (the black char on cooked foods such as meat) and alter the metabolism or activity of hormones (such as bad estrogen) in ways that inhibit the development of hormone-sensitive cancers.

Cruciferous vegetable intake may reduce breast cancer risk, especially in those with a GSTP1 genotype, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Cruciferous vegetables are always the least contaminated by pesticide contamination for good reason. Their anti-carcinogenic chemical structure is so strong that it prevents much of the pesticide residue from absorbing into its tissue. Here is a list of the vegetable equivalents to the "Nutritional League of Justice."

Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chard
Chinese cabbage
Collard Greens
Daikon
Kale
Kohlrabi
Maca Root
Radishes
Rutabagas
Turnips
Watercress
Mustard greens

Raw cruciferous vegetables contain thyroid inhibitors known as goitrogens. People who have hypothyroid function should consider limiting and steaming cruciferous vegetables.

In addition, because of the power cruciferous vegetables possess, they can accelerate the metabolism of certain medications. If this is not the desired effect, speak with you pharmacist about potential interactions

Other important nutrients found in cruciferous: folate, vitamin C, potassium, selenium, fiber, lignans, phytosterols.Epidemiological studies suggest that adults should aim for at least five weekly servings of cruciferous vegetables.

If you cannot stand Cruciferous vegetables, you can receive benefit from taking Maca Root supplements.

Top Pain Scientist Fabricated Data in Studies

Courtesy of WSJ

A prominent Massachusetts anesthesiologist allegedly fabricated 21 medical studies that claimed to show benefits from painkillers like Vioxx and Celebrex, according to the hospital where he worked. Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Mass., said that its former chief of acute pain, Scott S. Reuben, had faked data used in the studies, which were published in several anesthesiology journals between 1996 and 2008.

The anesthesiologist allegedly faked data in 21 studies on the use of various painkillers, including Vioxx. The hospital has asked the medical journals to retract the 21 studies, some of which reported favorable results from the use of painkillers like Pfizer Inc.'s Bextra and Merck & Co.'s Vioxx -- both since withdrawn -- as well as Pfizer's Celebrex and Lyrica. Dr. Reuben's research work also claimed positive findings for Wyeth's antidepressant Effexor XR as a pain killer. And he wrote to the Food and Drug Administration, urging the agency not to restrict the use of many of the painkillers he studied, citing his own data on their safety and effectiveness.

"Dr. Reuben deeply regrets that this happened," said the doctor's attorney, Ingrid Martin. "Dr. Reuben cooperated fully with the peer review committee. There were extenuating circumstances that the committee fairly and justly considered." She declined to explain the extenuating circumstances. Dr. Reuben didn't respond to requests for comment sent through Ms. Martin and left at his former office.

The full article can be viewed at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123672510903888207.html.

Diverticulitis hospitalizations increasing in US

The rates of hospital admissions for diverticulitis have shown a sharp increase in recent years, particularly among younger people, researchers report in the Annals of Surgery.

"Colonic diverticulosis," lead investigator Dr. David A. Etzioni told Reuters Health, "is widely believed to result from a Western diet which is increasingly deficient in fiber. Diverticulitis -- a complication of diverticulosis -- is an infection of the wall of the colon that can range widely in clinical severity, from mild and self-limiting to life-threatening. Our research shows a dramatic increase in the rates at which younger individuals in the US are hospitalized for diverticulitis."

Dr. Etzioni of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and colleagues examined US national data for 1998 to 2005 including 267,000 patients admitted with acute diverticulitis and 33,500 who underwent elective surgery for diverticulitis.

The team found that in this interval, the age-adjusted admissions for acute diverticulitis increased by 26% (from 120,500 in 1998 to 151,900 in 2005). There was an 82% increase in patients aged 18 to 44 years, compared to a 36% increase in those aged 45 to 74 years. The rate of increase in surgery was also greater (73%) in the younger patients.

Dr. Etzioni added that his group suspects the increase is due to "more diverticulosis -- resulting from dietary risk." Other possibilities are that "more patients with diverticulosis are developing diverticulitis, or our healthcare infrastructure has an increasing propensity to hospitalize patients with diverticulitis."

Although the underlying cause of this emerging disease pattern is unknown, the investigators conclude that it "certainly deserves further investigations."

Michelle Obama’s Agenda Includes Healthful Eating

Excerpts Courtesy of the New York Times

Mrs. Obama was praising the menu last week at Miriam’s Kitchen, a nonprofit drop-in center serving this city’s homeless. And she seized the moment to urge Americans to provide fresh, unprocessed and locally grown foods to their families and to the neediest in their communities.

“You know, we want to make sure our guests here and across the nation are eating nutritious items,” said Mrs. Obama, who served lunch to several homeless men and women and delivered eight cases of fresh fruit to the soup kitchen, all donated by White House employees.

“Collect some fruits and vegetables; bring by some good healthy food,” she said. “We can provide this kind of healthy food for communities across the country, and we can do it by each of us lending a hand.”

In her first weeks in the White House, Mrs. Obama has emerged as a champion of healthy food and healthy living. She has praised community vegetable gardens, opened up her own kitchen to show off the White House chefs’ prowess with vegetables and told stories about feeding less fattening foods to her daughters.

White House officials say the focus on healthy living will be a significant item on Mrs. Obama’s agenda, which already includes supporting working families and military spouses. As the nation battles an obesity epidemic and a hard-to-break taste for oversweetened and oversalted dishes, her message is clear: Fresh, nutritious foods are not delicacies to be savored by the wealthy, but critical components of the diets of ordinary and struggling families.

In a speech at the Department of Agriculture last month, Mrs. Obama described herself as “a big believer” in community gardens that provide “fresh fruits and vegetables for so many communities across this nation and world.”

“It’s like: How do we keep the calories down but keep the flavors up?” said Mrs. Obama, who also praised a healthy broccoli soup prepared by White House chefs.

“That’s one of the things that we’re talking a lot about,” she said. “When you grow something yourself and it’s close and it’s local, oftentimes it tastes really good.

“And when you’re dealing with kids, for example, you want to get them to try that carrot. Well, if it tastes like a real carrot and it’s really sweet, they’re going to think that it’s a piece of candy. So my kids are more inclined to try different vegetables if they’re fresh and local and delicious.”

The secret to that creamless creamed spinach? Sautéed spinach, olive oil and shallots are whipped into a purée that is light and delicious, according to Cristeta Comerford, the White House executive chef.

Even so, Mrs. Obama conceded, the dish was not a hit with Sasha. No matter what you do, she said ruefully, “sometimes kids are like, ‘It’s green!’ ”

Some of those who had called on President Obama to use the White House as a bully pulpit to help improve Americans’ eating habits are cheering Mrs. Obama on.

They were thrilled to learn that the White House gets fresh fruits and vegetables from farms in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. And they delighted in the news that the Obamas had served organic wine at their first big White House dinner, a gathering of the nation’s governors last month.

Danny Meyer, the restaurateur, praised Mrs. Obama for speaking “in real human terms about what kind of choices real human beings can make in terms of their own lives.”

Ruth Reichl, the editor of Gourmet magazine, said she was impressed to see Mrs. Obama showcase a soup kitchen that serves only fresh food — nothing canned or processed — to the poor.

“They’re not just saying, I want to feed my family this; this is good for us,” said Ms. Reichl of the Obamas. “Clearly Mrs. Obama is making a point. She thinks communities across the nation deserve to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.”

In the March 9 issue of People magazine, for instance, the first lady described her early morning workouts with the president and bared her famously toned arms on the cover. And in the November issue of Parents magazine, she and her husband described their decision to ditch juice boxes and processed foods.

“A couple of years ago — you’d never know it by looking at her now — Malia was getting a little chubby,” Mr. Obama told the magazine.

They took action, Mrs. Obama said, when “her doctor — he really monitors this type of thing — suggested we look at her diet. So we cut out juice boxes, sweets and processed foods.”

Bonnie - the First Family setting an example is always a positive step. Keep up the good work Michelle.

Prostate test overdiagnose cancer

As many as two of every five men whose prostate cancer was caught through a PSA screening test have tumors too slow-growing to ever be a threat. The work "reinforces the message that we are overdiagnosing prostate cancer," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld of the American Cancer Society, who was not involved in the new study. There begins the list of problems: Most men who undergo a biopsy for an abnormal PSA test often signal a benign enlarged prostate. Of those who do have cancer, there's no proof yet that early detection saves lives — as most prostate tumors grow so slowly that had they not been screened, those men would have died of something else without the anxiety.

Depending on how it's calculated, anywhere from 23 percent to 42 percent of PSA-detected cancers would otherwise never have been detected in the man's lifetime, concluded the team led by researchers at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands. The study was published online Tuesday by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Why is overdiagnosis such a concern? Because finding an early tumor forces men to choose among contested treatments — "watchful waiting," surgery, hormone therapy, radiation. And because some treatments can cause incontinence and impotence, men whose tumors wouldn't have been a threat can suffer serious side effects for no gain. In fact, national health guidelines issued last year said men over age 75 shouldn't undergo PSA screening, while younger men should make an individual choice after hearing the pros and cons and weighing their own cancer risk.

Study links blood types to pancreatic cancer risk

People with type O blood have a much lower risk for pancreatic cancer, while those with type B blood have the worst risk. Compared to people with type O, those with blood type A have a 32 percent higher risk of pancreatic cancer, those with type AB have a 51 percent higher risk and those with type B have a 72 percent higher risk, the researchers found. The findings, appearing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, were based on 107,503 men and women whose health has been tracked since the 1970s and 1980s. The findings are not likely to have immediate value for doctors and patients dealing with the disease, but could play a role in the future in developing useful screening methods, said Dr. Brian Wolpin of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and Harvard Medical School, who led the study. "There are very few known genetic risk factors for pancreatic cancer. And what this study shows is that blood type, which is defined by a gene on your ninth chromosome, appears to be associated with risk of developing this disease," Wolpin said.

Bonnie - in my clinical experience, blood type B's do poorly when consuming corn products in large amounts. It could be possible that continual corn consumption epigenetically triggers DNA to act adversely.

North American Children are Omega-3 Deficient

A recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that most Canadian children are deficient in Omega-3 EPA/DHA. The study found that 78% of the children trialed were not receiving adequate amounts of Omega-3 EPA and DHA in their diets.

Researchers from the University of Guelph in Ontario found that the median daily consumption of Omega-3 EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) was only 31.5 mg, in a sample group of four to eight year olds. In this study researchers used the suggested daily intake recommended by the Institute of Medicine which is only 90 mg of Omega-3 EPA/DHA per day. Even using this low recommendation level, the study shows that 78% of the sampled Canadian children were well below the recommended level.

The study also notes that the recommendation by the American Dietician Association and the Dieticians of Canada is 351 mg of EPA/DHA per day. Based on this recommendation 90% of the children in the study were deficient in Omega-3 EPA/DHA. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that in the United States the average consumption of Omega-3 EPA/DHA for children four to eight years of age is only 50 mg/day. Therefore, although the study only involved Canadian children, we know that American children are also well below the recommended levels.

Steve - there is one easy, affordable, powerful nutrient that address omega-3 and vitamin D deficiencies...Carlson Liquid Cod Liver Oil.

More evidence to support Mediterranean Diet

Spanish researchers said the Mediterranean diet may reduce waist circumference in a high-cardiovascular risk population, reversing the negative effect 12Ala allele carriers of the PPARgamma gene appeared to have (Br J Nutr. 2009). Researchers noted the beneficial effect of this dietary pattern seemed to be higher among type 2 diabetic subjects. A total of 774 high-risk subjects (aged 55 to 80 years) of the Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED) randomized trial participated. There were three nutritional intervention groups: two were a Mediterranean-style diet and the third was a control group advised to follow a conventional low-fat diet. Carriers of the 12Ala allele allocated to the control group had a statistically significant higher change in waist circumference compared with wild-type subjects after two years of nutritional intervention. This adverse effect was not observed among 12Ala carriers allocated to both Mediterranean diet groups. In diabetic patients, a statistically significant interaction between Mediterranean diet and the 12Ala allele regarding waist circumference change was observed.

Vitamin C wards off gout in men

Men with a higher intake of vitamin C from food or supplements have a lower risk of developing gout, a form of arthritis from uric acid build-up that causes inflamed joints, researchers said on Monday.

"Vitamin C intake may provide a useful option in the prevention of gout," Dr. Hyon Choi and colleagues at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver said in a paper published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Gout victims are typically men age 40 and older, although the malady can also strike women. Vitamin C appears to lower the levels of uric acid in the blood, the research team said.

Gout can lead to permanent joint damage and is linked to alcohol abuse, obesity, high blood pressure and a diet heavy in meat and cheese. It is increasingly common and afflicts 3 million people in the United States.

A look at nearly 47,000 U.S. men studied from 1986 to 2006 for a variety of health issues found that every 500 milligram increase of daily vitamin C intake produced a 17 percent decrease in the risk for gout.

Among the men studied those with daily intake of 1,500 supplemental mg a day had a 45 percent lower risk of gout than those who took in less than 250 mg a day, said the team headed by Choi, who is now at Boston University.

Bonnie - a long-term preventative study looking at many different dosages of vitamin C. Hallelujah!

For worse, we are what we eat

George F. Will,
THE WASHINGTON POST
March 8, 2009

We're from I-o-way, I-o-way,

State of all the land

Joy on ev'ry hand ...

That's where the tall corn grows.

– Iowa's unofficial song

Tom Vilsack, Iowa's former governor, calls his “the most important department in government,” noting that the Agriculture Department serves education through school nutrition programs and serves diplomacy by trying to wean Afghanistan from a poppy-based (meaning heroin-based) economy. But Vilsack's department matters most because of the health costs of the American diet. If Michael Pollan is right, the problem is rooted in politics and, in a sense, Iowa.

Pollan, author of “The Omnivore's Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food,” says that after World War II the government had a huge surplus of ammonium nitrate, an ingredient of explosives – and fertilizer. Furthermore, pesticides could be made from ingredients of poison gases. Since 1945, the food supply has increased faster than America's population – faster even than Americans can increase their feasting.

Agricultural commodity prices generally fall. But when a rare surge in food prices gave the Nixon administration a political scare, government policy, expressed in commodity subsidies, has been, Pollan writes, to sell “large quantities of calories as cheaply as possible,” especially calories coming from corn.

“All flesh is grass” says Scripture. Much of the too-ample flesh of Americans (three of five are overweight; one in five is obese) comes from corn, which is a grass. A quarter of the 45,000 items in the average supermarket contain processed corn. Fossil fuels are involved in the planting, fertilizing, harvesting, transporting and processing of the corn. America's food industry uses about as much petroleum as do America's automobiles.

During World War II, when meat, dairy products and sugar were scarce, heart disease plummeted. It rebounded when rationing ended. “When you adjust for age,” Pollan writes, “rates of chronic diseases like cancer and type 2 diabetes are considerably higher today than they were in 1900.” Type 2 diabetes – a strange epidemic: one without a virus, bacteria or other microbe – was called adult onset diabetes until children began getting it. Now it is a $100 billion-a-year consequence of, among other things, obesity related to a corn-based diet, which is partly because steaks and chops have pushed plants off the plate.

Four of the top 10 causes of American deaths – coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer – have, Pollan says, “well-established links” to diet, particularly through “the superabundance of cheap calories of sugar and fat.” What he calls America's “national eating disorder” is not just the fact that Americans reportedly eat one in five meals in cars (gas stations make more from food and cigarettes than from gasoline) and that one in three children eats fast food every day. He also means the industrialization of agriculture, wherein we developed a food chain that derives too much of its calories – energy – not from the sun through photosynthesis but from fossil fuels.

In 1900, Vilsack says, Iowa's population was larger than California's and Florida's combined. But it is the only state whose population did not double in the 20th century. Yet Iowa's fewer farmers, planting (as government has exhorted) “fencerow to fencerow” and deploying an arsenal of chemical fertilizers, can tickle five tons of corn from an acre.

Corn, which covers 125,000 square miles of America – about the size of New Mexico – fattens 100 million beef cattle, and at least that many bipeds. Much of the river of cheap corn becomes an ocean of high-fructose corn syrup, which by 1984 was sweetening Coke and Pepsi. Disposing of the corn also requires passing it through animals' stomachs. Corn, together with pharmaceuticals and other chemicals – a Pollan axiom: “You are what what you eat eats, too” – has made it profitable to fatten cattle on feedlots rather than grass, cutting by up to 75 percent the time from birth to slaughter. Eating corn nourished by petroleum-based fertilizers, a beef cow consumes almost a barrel of oil in its lifetime.

Vilsack's department is entwined with the food industry that produces a food supply unhealthily simplified by the dominance of a few staples such as corn. This diet, Pollan says, has made many Americans both overfed and undernourished.

Hippocrates enjoined doctors: “Do no harm.” He also said something germane to a nation that is harming itself with its knives and forks: “Let food be thy medicine.” That should be carved in stone over the entrance to Vilsack's very important department.

Bonnie - this should not be shocking for those of you who read this blog. However, Iowa is loving the fact that many are turning to gluten-free products, most of which are loaded with corn!

To echo George Will's point, this appeared in the Wall Street Journal today:

"Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the government should move quickly to increase the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline.

Ethanol producers asked the Environmental Protection Agency last week to increase the amount of ethanol that refiners can blend with gasoline from a maximum of 10% to 15 percent, which could boost the demand for the renewable fuel additive by as much as 6 billion gallons a year. However, automobile and small engine manufacturers have said there's no certainty yet that such an increase will not harm engines and fuel lines.

"We can, we believe, move fairly quickly to move the blend rate to 12 or 13% in the interim," Mr. Vilsack told a friendly audience of farmers on Monday, adding that it could eventually be boosted to 15% or 20%."

He is definitely looking out for his own!

Diabetes drugs given too soon

One in three people with type 2 diabetes are given medication too soon, instead of being urged to eat better and do more exercise. A study of 650 people in south west England found 36% were put on tablets within a month of being diagnosed. But guidelines recommend first trying lifestyle changes to control diabetes. The Royal College of GPs agreed diet and exercise should come first.

Metformin is the first drug of choice, but more drugs can be added if that is not doing enough to control blood sugar levels. The researchers found that 13% of participants were actually on two types of tablets within the first few weeks of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Study author Dr Rob Andrew, a senior lecturer at the University of Bristol, said they had not expected the figures to be quite so high. "There is quite clear guidance that says when you're first diagnosed, you should have the opportunity to concentrate on lifestyle then if that doesn't work the next stage is metformin. "When people are diagnosed, they're ready to make a lot of changes but if you give them a tablet, you're saying it is not their lifestyle that is the problem."

Bonnie - even if a patient is on a diabetes drug, they still need to pay strict attention to diet and lifestyle.

Vitamin B2 may prevent migraine headaches

Courtesy of the People's Pharmacy which appeared in the LA Times

Riboflavin (vitamin B2) has been reported to help prevent migraines in some people (Current Treatment Options in Neurology, January 2008). Other possibilities include magnesium, Coenzyme Q10 or the herbs feverfew and butterbur. Not everyone will benefit from such therapies, but we are pleased to learn that riboflavin worked for you.

Green tea may protect gums against disease

Consuming green tea may offer protection against gum disease, suggests a new study from Japan. Researchers from Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan suggest that the antioxidant catechins may be responsible for the protective effects. Previous research has indicated that the antioxidant has anti-inflammatory effects, and gum disease has been linked to an inflammatory response to periodontal bacteria in the mouth. The researchers report their findings in the Journal of Periodontology. The Fukuoka-based researchers report that of 940 men who regularly drank green tea had superior periodontal health than their peers who drank less green tea.

Menopausal women often use alternative therapies

Almost half of women who have discontinued hormone therapy for menopause but still have symptoms turn to complementary and alternative medicine, commonly referred to as CAM.

Among 563 such women, representing every U.S. state but Hawaii, 45 percent reported using CAM to seek relief from menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats, Dr. Elizabeth M. Kupferer and colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing found.

Among the women using CAM, 27 percent reported taking vitamin and calcium supplements, 21 percent said they used the herbal supplement black cohosh, and 19 percent used soy supplements and foods for symptom relief.

Another 14 percent reported taking antidepressants for relief of menopausal symptoms, the investigators report in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing.

The women who participated in the study were about 58 years old on average and had entered menopause about 14 years earlier. CAM users were more likely between 40 and 50 years old, and less than 5 years post-menopause.

Bonnie - I became a certified menopause educator to let women know there are options beyond synthetic HRT.

Carbs, Glycemic Load Affect HDL

Total carbohydrates and dietary glycemic load intake were inversely associated with plasma HDL concentrations in a recent European Journal of Clinical Nutrition study. The study population comprised of 2,043 20-year-olds randomly selected from Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiological Study (CURES). Participants with self-reported history of diabetes or heart disease or on drug therapy for dyslipidemia were excluded from the study. Both dietary glycemic load and total dietary carbohydrate intake were significantly associated with higher serum triglyceride levels and lower serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. The pattern of decrease in HDL for the lowest to highest quintile of glycemic load was more pronounced among men than women.

Statins diminishes libido in men due to CoQ10 depletion

The greater the drop in cholesterol from taking statin drugs, the more sexual pleasure is reduced, suggests a study due Friday at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Chicago.

This may be the first research to pit statins against placebos to see how the blockbuster statins affect the ability to have orgasms. The findings should spur doctors to ask patients routinely about changes in sexual pleasure because those with problems may want to try another statin or drop the medications.

The six-month, government-funded study involved more than 1,000 adults with high LDL — the bad cholesterol — but no heart disease. Participants were randomly selected to take either statins or a placebo. In the study, sexual pleasure sank along with LDL levels, says study leader Beatrice Golomb of the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine.

Patients who took simvastatin, or Zocor, had the biggest LDL drop, but men rated their sexual pleasure as sinking by nearly half over the study period. Women were somewhat better off, "but some definitely were affected," Golomb says. Pravastatin, or Pravachol, the other statin tested, reduced LDL less and didn't have a significant effect on orgasms.

The researchers believe that statins may reduce Coenzyme Q10, a nutrient that helps cells convert oxygen, blood and glucose into energy. "Orgasm is a high-energy activity," so losing CoQ10 could weaken sexual pleasure, they say.

Steve - we've said it before and we'll say it again. If you are on a statin, you need to supplement with CoQ10. Men value their libido. So for those of you still holding out on CoQ10, maybe this study will sway you.

Half of Black Teens May Be Vitamin D Deficient

Many teens today, especially black teens, aren't getting enough of vitamin D. Blacks take in less of the sun's rays than whites, causing less vitamin D production. The report was published in the March 3 issue of Pediatrics. Researchers collected data on 2,955 youths, 12 to 19 years old, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III. Overall, 14 percent of adolescents in the study were vitamin D deficient. However, black teens were 20 times more likely to be vitamin D deficient than white teens. Vitamin D deficiency among girls was more than double that of boys. In addition, twice as many obese teens were vitamin D deficient as normal-weight teens. Researcher also noted that more recent data puts the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among teens at 40 percent to 50 percent.

School Lunches Still Too Fatty and Sugary, Critics Say

Despite some improvements, U.S. school meal programs are still laden with unhealthy fat, salt and sugar, nutrition experts contend. Students also have limited choices in foods available in vending machines, á la carte in cafeterias, at school stores and snack bars and for fund-raisers, they say in a series of articles in a supplement to the February issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Echoing these sentiments, a Chicago chef brought to the White House to cook for the Obamas has said that too much of the food available at schools also is high in additives and preservatives. Unhealthy eating at school, these food experts believe, is contributing to the surge in obesity rates among U.S. children.

"Of course, school meals are only one part of the problem," said Anne R. Gordon, a senior researcher at Mathematica Policy Research in Princeton, N.J., and co-author of a paper on school lunches in the supplement. "It's very clear that USDA needs to update the standards of schools" related to nutrition, Gordon said. "They know what they're aiming for, but … having standards is not enough." "We need to explore other ways of making change, which could include items such as providing more training and technical assistance to schools, providing more funding for nutrition education," she said.

B-vitamins help celiac management

Daily supplements of B vitamins may improve the overall health of people with celiac disease by reducing levels of an amino acid linked to heart disease. A study with 51 adults with celiac disease and 50 healthy controls found that people taking daily supplements of vitamin B6, folate, and vitamin B12 had significantly lower levels of the amino acid homocysteine, according to findings published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

According to researchers, “even if villous atrophy persists, B-vitamin supplements can normalize B6, folate, B12 status, and homocysteine levels.” People with celiac disease, an intolerance to gluten in wheat, are reportedly at increased risk of having high levels of the amino acid homocysteine. Because celiac disease is a typical example of a malabsorption syndrome, sufferers are at increased risk of various deficiency states, including folate and vitamin B12. Furthermore, high homocysteine levels, or hyperhomocysteinemia, are significantly more frequent in newly diagnosed celiac disease patients than healthy controls.

Celiac disease patients who used the vitamin supplements had higher serum levels of all three B-vitamins, said the researchers, compared to non-users. Furthermore, homocysteine levels were significantly lower in patients using vitamin supplements than in patients who did not or healthy controls. “The consequences of higher homocysteine levels in celiac disease may include an increased tendency to develop occlusive venous and arterial disease,” wrote the researchers. “Although this has been an understudied area, data are emerging that celiac disease confers an increased risk of vascular complications.”

Bonnie - while a very small study, I consider B-vitamin status and Ferritin levels in all clients I suspect have gluten intolerance or celiac.

Blood Thinner, Heartburn Drugs May Be Risky After Heart Attack

Heart attack patients given the blood thinner Plavix, plus a proton pump inhibitor such as Prilosec or Nexium, may be at increased risk of death or another heart attack. Many patients are given Plavix (clopidogrel) to help reduce the risk of another heart attack after treatment for a first heart attack. Plavix makes blood platelets less sticky, helping to prevent clots from forming. Many doctors also prescribe proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are drugs used to help prevent gastric reflux, but they help prevent gastrointestinal bleeding while taking Plavix.

For the study, the research team collected data on 8,205 patients discharged from 127 Veterans Affairs hospitals after suffering a heart attack or unstable angina. Among these patients, 63.9 percent were prescribed a proton pump inhibitor.The researchers found that 29.8 percent of patients given a PPI and Plavix died or were re-hospitalized, compared with 20.8 percent of the patients given Plavix alone. The combination of Plavix plus a PPI was associated with a 25 percent increase in the risk of dying or being re-hospitalized, compared to the use of Plavix alone. For any given patient, the risk of re-hospitalization was greater when both drugs were prescribed.

The findings were published in the March 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In January, researchers reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that people taking Plavix and a proton pump inhibitor after a heart attack had a dramatically higher risk of a second heart attack than those taking Plavix alone.