July 8, 2009

New Values for Vitamin D in Foods
Agricultural Research 07-07-09
Vitamin D is essential for maintaining strong bones. And researchers continue to explore additional ways that vitamin D is important to human health. Now the scientific community is focusing attention on the need to assess the dietary intake of vitamin D in the United States.
To determine how much vitamin D folks are getting in their diets, experts must know how much is in foods and beverages. At the ARS Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC), researchers are working to provide new analytical values for foods believed to be good sources of vitamin D in the U.S. diet.
The vitamin D project team consists of researchers from two groups at BHNRC-the Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL), headed by Joanne Holden, and the Food Composition and Methods Development Laboratory, headed by James Harnly.
First, the BHNRC team worked with other expert analysts to identify methods for analyzing vitamin D in a variety of food types. Existing vitamin D methods were tested by BHNRC chemist Craig Byrdwell, and improvements were made to procedures.
The BHNRC team next prepared a list of foods to be sampled and analyzed. The list of foods included 20 species of raw fish and many types of foods that may be fortified with vitamin D during manufacturing or processing, such as milk, orange juice, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, yogurt, and some margarines.
After review and acceptance of data, the resulting vitamin D values will be incorporated into NDL's nutrient databank system. From there, the data will be released through the NDL-managed USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, or SR22, which will be launched in 2009. These and other nutrient data products can be accessed by going to www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=12-35-45-00.
The new vitamin D values will also be part of the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies, or FNDDS. The BHNRC's Food Surveys Research Group uses FNDDS to process and estimate people's nutrient intakes based on results from national dietary survey data collections.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8484&Section=Vitamins

Vitamin K Research...Another Reason to Eat Your Veggies

Work & Family Life 07-07-09
IT'S OFTEN CALLED the forgotten vitamin. It was I discovered in 1934 by a Danish scientist and the letter "K" stands for the Danish spelling of "Koagulation."
Vitamin K is typically the first nutritional supplement that most American children receive as newborn;. It helps the liver produce several proteins that control blood clotting. In more recent years, additional benefits have been identified as well. Among those new benefits:
The Heart. In a study of 4,800 people over age 55, researchers in the Netherlands compared those with the lowest and highest intake of vitamin K. Those in the highest intake group were 52 percent less likely to have severe calcification of the aorta, the major artery leading to the heart. The research was published in the international journal of "Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Disease" and is summarized on www.healthyfellow.com/138/vitamin-K-and-heart-disease/
The Liver. The "Journal of the American Medical Association" reported a Japanese study that found vitamin K may help control the progression of liver cancer and may lower the risk of liver cancer significantly. See www.docguide.com. Search for vitamin K and liver disease research.
Arthritis. Research published in the April 2006 journal "Arthritis & Rheumatism" found that higher blood levels of dietary vitamin K were associated with a lower risk for osteoarthritis of the hand and knee. For more information: use any search engine and enter the keywords "vitamin K deficiency linked to osteoarthritis."
Osteoporosis. Studies at the Harvard Medical School and also in England have found that women with the highest dietary intake of vitamin K had a 30 percent decreased risk for hip fracture. A British researcher analyzing data from 13 Japanese clinical trials found the rate of spinal fractures reduced by 40 percent and hip fractures by 13 percent. Search online for "Harvard and Tufts vitamin K research."
How much is enough? There's no specific RDA for vitamin K for healthy adults. The suggestion is 90 micrograms (meg) for adult women and 120 for adult men to prevent deficiency.
To maximize your intake, do as you were told as a child: Eat your vegetables-especially the green, leafy variety. Anyone who is on blood thinning medication should talk to their doctor about dietary vitamin K.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8483&Section=Vitamins

Patients tap into 'energy movement' of acupuncture

The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Ind. 07-07-09
Jul. 6--Dr. Brett Kueber recalls his first experience with acupuncture. It was before the Purdue University aeronautical engineering grad went to medical school.
"My golden retriever had severe arthritis. I had to help her to even stand up," Kueber said. The dog's quality of life was so diminished Kueber decided putting the dog to sleep was the most humane thing. But the veterinarian offered a different option.
"He told me he had just taken a course on using acupuncture in dogs. He asked if I would be willing to let him try it." Kueber agreed. The next day at home, after the first treatment, "She ran up to me with her ball and wanted to play. She was running around like nothing was wrong."
For Kueber, it was an epiphany: "There's no placebo effect in dogs," he said.
Seven years of medical school and residency later, plus a 300-hour course in acupuncture at UCLA's Helms Medical Institute, Kueber now incorporates acupuncture into his practice at DeKalb Medical Services in Garrett, which is affiliated with DeKalb Memorial Hospital in Auburn.
Energy-moving treatment
Twelve years ago, the National Institutes of Health issued a consensus statement on acupuncture: "There is sufficient evidence of acupuncture's value to expand its use into conventional medicine and to encourage further studies of its physiology and clinical value." Yet a medical doctor doing acupuncture in northeast Indiana is a rarity.
"Acupuncture is an energy-moving treatment," Kueber said. When he inserts thin needles at strategic points of the skin, turns them or applies mild electrical stimulation, the premise is the blocked energy pathway is opened. Sometimes multiple treatments are needed, other times the response is immediate, as with soft-tissue injuries.
"That's where acupuncture shines," he said. If it's done soon after a sprained ankle, the signals from the brain that elicit a cascade of responses such as swelling and spasms are interrupted.
Studies are also looking at whether acupuncture activates natural pain-reducing chemicals in the brain. Using functional MRIs -- real-time scans of the brain -- changes in the pain centers during acupuncture are visible.
'A firm believer'
Justin O'Rourke, 51, of Auburn, tried numerous things, including muscle relaxants and chiropractic, to ease the pain of a pulled hamstring. Nothing helped. A carpenter by trade, O'Rourke plays with the Indiana Dragons, a lacrosse travel team. He decided to try acupuncture.
"I was hesitant to have a bunch of needles stuck in me." But the needles didn't hurt, he said. After four treatments, the pain was gone for good. His daughter Mollie, 19, also has found relief from headaches with acupuncture.
When he pictured trying acupuncture, O'Rourke said, "I thought you'd go in there and there'd be incense burning, beads hanging in the doorway. Dr. Kueber's office looks like any other regular doctor's office. I was skeptical ... but wow, for me, I'm a firm believer."
Military hospitals are using acupuncture to treat amputees who feel phantom pain in the missing limb. The thinking is that the treatment interferes with the brain's processing centers. In March, a pilot program was begun to train 44 U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army doctors to use acupuncture as part of emergency care in combat hospitals.
Slow to catch on
While the military health system is more aggressively embracing acupuncture, the public sector has been slow to do so. Insurance rarely covers treatments for Indiana patients. But a growing number of consumers are paying out of pocket.
In 2002, Fort Wayne internal medicine specialist Dr. Rebecca Minser moved from a large traditional medical group to an acupuncture-based practice. Like Kueber, she is a graduate of UCLA's Helms Medical Institute, which exclusively trains physicians in acupuncture.
"Medicine has become so complicated. I got really frustrated with the only tool in my toolbox being a prescription pad. So many things I saw that some effort on individuals' parts and some alternative (therapies) could do just as well as medication," Minser said. But she does not cast aside traditional medicine. "The problem with the word alternative is it implies 'either-or.' The whole goal is to have people realize there is a middle ground, and it can all work together."
More time with people
About 60 percent to 70 percent of Minser's patients come for pain relief. She also does specialized allergy-focused work in a system called Nambudripan's Allergy Elimination Techniques.
"Part of what is an advantage to this kind of practice is I have more time with people," Minser said. "I see things physicians haven't had time to see or the people haven't had time to discuss with their doctor." People may need lab tests or X-rays. If the problem is outside her acupuncture practice, patients are referred elsewhere. She recalls one patient who had fallen off a roof and wanted acupuncture for the pain. "I told him, 'You go get an MRI.'
"Acupuncture isn't cookie-cutter," but neither is traditional medicine, Minser said. Prescription medicines are known not to work in 100 percent of patients. "Traditional medicine doesn't know why. Acupuncture is the same way. ...
"We don't really know by stimulating those points what we're doing, but I see things I can't explain except in its own context...we're working with an energy. After that is where the art of medicine comes in."
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8482&Section=Disease

Acupuncture helps ease polycystic ovary symptoms
Last Updated: 2009-07-07 15:59:06 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Acupuncture can help ease symptoms in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a difficult-to-treat hormonal condition affecting about one in 10 women of childbearing age, a small new study shows.
Women with PCOS have high levels of testosterone and other "male hormones," cysts on their ovaries, irregular menstruation, and fertility problems, along with symptoms like excessive facial and body hair and acne. At present, Dr. Elisabet Stener-Victorin of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden told Reuters Health, PCOS treatments are focused on symptoms, and frequently involve hormones.
Stener-Victorin and her colleagues' study was based on the idea that women with the condition have overactive sympathetic nervous systems, which are responsible for the "fight-or-flight" response. Reducing this activity - which has been linked to heart disease and a diabetes-like condition that is seen in women with PCOS -- would help their symptoms, they figured.
The researchers assigned 20 women with PCOS to receive acupuncture for 16 weeks; to do activity that would bring their pulse up to 120 beats per minute for 30 to 45 minutes, at least 3 days a week, also for 16 weeks; or to a control group that received information on healthy diet and exercise but weren't instructed to change their habits.
Women in the acupuncture group received 14 treatments in all, with needles inserted at points in their abdomen and the back of their knees that delivered a low-frequency electrical charge.
The results appear in the American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, published online of June 3.
After 16 weeks, sympathetic nervous system activity in the muscles was significantly lower in the acupuncture and the exercise groups compared to the control group. The exercisers lost weight, but the acupuncture group did not.
However, the acupuncture group did see a reduction in their waist size that didn't occur among the exercisers. The women who received acupuncture also had a reduction in menstrual irregularities and a drop in their testosterone levels, neither of which was seen in the exercise group.
The current report is part of a larger study of 74 women, and Stener-Victorin and her team are currently conducting a more extensive analysis of the effects of acupuncture treatment on PCOS symptoms in these women, including whether it improves their quality of life.
Women with PCOS might want to see if acupuncture can help them, the researcher suggested. "There were no side effects with acupuncture. If you go on hormonal stimulation, there is always side effects," she said. "It's a safe treatment with few complications, so it might be worth giving it a try."
Three or four months of treatment should be long enough to see if the treatment is helpful, Stener-Victorin added.
SOURCE: Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol, online June 3, 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/07/07/eline/links/20090707elin004.html

Hormones may tie caffeine to cancer risk
Last Updated: 2009-07-07 16:22:36 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Coffee and general caffeine intake may affect a woman's levels of estrogen and other sex hormones, a new study suggests -- offering a potential explanation for findings that link caffeine to certain cancers.
Several studies have found connections between caffeine and breast and ovarian cancers, though the findings have not always been consistent.
For instance, different analyses of the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) -- a large, long-running study of U.S. female nurses -- have linked higher caffeine intake to lower risks of breast and ovarian cancers in postmenopausal women, but to a higher risk of ovarian cancer before menopause.
No one knows whether caffeine directly affects the risks of the cancers. But since estrogen and other sex hormones play a role in both diseases, it's possible that caffeine affects the risks of the cancers via hormonal influences, note investigators Dr. Joanne Kotsopoulos and colleagues at Harvard Medical School.
The team looked at the relationship between coffee and caffeine intake and hormone levels among more than 1,200 women involved in the NHS.
At various points during that study, the women had completed questionnaires on their diets and other lifestyle factors, and provided blood samples. Kotsopoulos and her colleagues used those stored samples to measure the women's levels of estrogen and other sex-related hormones.
Overall, the researchers found, the more coffee and caffeine a premenopausal woman consumed, the lower her levels of estradiol, a form of estrogen, during the second half of the menstrual cycle.
Meanwhile, higher caffeine intake was related to higher levels of another sex hormone, progesterone, the researchers report in the journal Cancer.
The findings were somewhat different among postmenopausal women. For them, greater coffee and caffeine consumption was linked only to higher levels of sex hormone-binding globulin, or SHBG. Some studies have linked higher levels of SHGB -- which decreases the activity of estradiol and testosterone -- to a lower risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, Kotsopoulos and her colleagues note.
Exactly what the current findings mean is far from clear, according to the researchers.
In theory, lower estrogen levels in premenopausal women would help protect against ovarian cancer -- so the findings do not explain the earlier results linking higher caffeine intake to a higher risk of premenopausal ovarian cancer.
Still, the researchers write, the results do suggest that caffeine influences sex hormone levels. They say that more studies are needed to see how those influences may affect hormone-related cancers.
SOURCE: Cancer, June 15, 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/07/07/eline/links/20090707elin002.html

U.S. state health dept. response to H1N1 mixed
Last Updated: 2009-07-07 16:16:06 -0400 (Reuters Health)
* Study: Kansas and Texas counties slow to provide information
* Federal government says state, local responsibility key
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Many local health departments in the United States were slow to alert residents to the public health threat posed by the new H1N1 influenza virus in April, according to a report released on Tuesday.
Researchers at the non-profit Rand Corp research organization said only a third of 153 local health departments surveyed posted information about the new swine flu on their websites within the first 24 hours after federal health officials declared a public health emergency.
State health departments did better -- 46 of 50 posting some information about the outbreak within 24 hours of the federal announcement, according to the study published in the journal Health Affairs.
U.S. health officials say communication is often the best way to combat a rapidly spreading infectious disease, and the federal government's flu plan stresses that state and local officials must take much of the responsibility.
The H1N1 outbreak, which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, came at a vulnerable time for cash-strapped state and local health departments, following a decision by Congress last spring to cut $870 million slated for flu preparedness from the economic stimulus bill.
CONCERN ABOUT DRUG RESISTANCE
Late in April, President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion to pay for swine flu measures. The White House has scheduled a H1N1 Flu Preparedness Summit for Thursday to discuss preparations for the possibility of a more severe outbreak of H1N1 this fall.
The H1N1 virus has infected at least 1 million people in the United States alone, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
While it has caused mild flu symptoms in most people, 440 people have died globally, according to WHO, and health experts are keeping a close watch in case it changes into a more serious form that cannot be treated by existing drugs.
According to the Rand study, responses varied widely by local health departments across the five states that had confirmed cases at the outset of the epidemic -- California, Texas, New York, Ohio and Kansas.
While 73 percent of the California counties sampled provided some online information, just 8 percent of the counties in Kansas and 18 percent of the Texas counties quickly provided information online, the researchers found.
They said the swine flu outbreak offered a rare chance to assess how well state and local health departments could respond during an actual emergency.
Companies are currently making test batches of a vaccine against the virus in advance of flu season in the northern hemisphere, and the CDC has asked state and local health departments to draw up plans for administering the shot in case it is needed.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it has scheduled a July 23 advisory panel meeting to discuss clinical trials of the vaccines against the H1N1 influenza virus.

Oily fish may reduce dementia risk: Transcontinental study

Nutraingredients.com, 08-Jul-2009

Increased intake of fish may reduce the risk of dementia by about 20 per cent, according to a new study spanning three continents.
Data from 14,960 people in seven countries indicated that the more fishconsumed, the more beneficial the effects, researchers report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“We showed for the first time that a statistically significant trend toward a lower prevalence of dementia among those with higher dietary fish intake in large population-based samples of older people living in 5 countries in Latin America, China, and India,” wrote the researchers led by Emiliano Albanese from King’s College London.
“Our results extend findings on the associations of fish and meat consumption with dementia risk to populations in low- and middle-income countries and are consistent with mechanistic data on the neuroprotective actions of omega-3long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids commonly found in fish,” they added.
Two earlier studies published in April 2007 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that regular consumption of omega-3-rich food could prevent age-related cognitive decline.
The studies, from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, and the University of North Carolina, stated that only a limited number of studies have looked at the decline in cognitive function that precedes these diseases.
The majority of science for the health benefits of fish and omega-3 consumption has focused on cardiovascular health, but the science for cognitive benefits is growing and almost as compelling as the heart health data.
Transcontinental support
Albanese and his co-workers examined the links between dementia and fish and meat intake in low- and middle-income countries, including China, India, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, and Peru.
“To our knowledge, this is the largest population-based study on this topic to date from either developing or developed country samples,” they said.
Almost 15,000 people aged 65 or over were surveyed. After adjusting for various confounders and pooling the data from all the sites, the researchers report that they observed a dose-dependent inverse association between dementia and fish consumption.
On the other hand, meat consumption was found to increase dementia risk.
“More substantive evidence will come from the incidence phase of our project, in which we will be able to compare the incidence of dementia according to dietary exposure at baseline, and from randomized controlled trials of the effectiveness of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation for the prevention of cognitive decline,” said the researchers.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and currently affects over 13 million people worldwide. The direct and indirect cost of Alzheimer care is over $100 bn (€81 bn) in the US alone. The direct cost of Alzheimer care in the UK was estimated at £15 bn (€22 bn).
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, 24 June 2009, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.2758
“Dietary fish and meat intake and dementia in Latin America, China, and India: a 10/66 Dementia Research Group population-based study”
Authors: E. Albanese, A.D. Dangour, R. Uauy, D. Acosta, M. Guerra, S.S. Gallardo Guerra, Y. Huang, K.S. Jacob, J. Llibre de Rodriguez, L. Hernandex Noriega, A. Salas, A.L. Sosa, R.M. Sousa, J. Williams, C.P. Ferri, M.J. Prince
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Oily-fish-may-reduce-dementia-risk-Transcontinental-study

Modified gum arabic may boost heart health

Nutraingredients.com, 08-Jul-2009

The modified gum arabic product 'SuperGum' may reduce blood pressure, even in people with normal levels, according to a new study from the UK and Japan.
A daily dose of 25 grams of the gum for eight to 12 weeks reduced systolicblood pressure by an average of 5.6 mmHg, according to findings published in the journal Food Hydrocolloids.
“This study has shown a significant beneficial effect of dietary supplementation with SuperGum on blood pressure in both normal individuals and patients with impaired renal function resultant from diabetes mellitus,” wrote the researchers, led by Aled Phillips from Cardiff University in the UK.
“The data therefore further support the ‘dietary fibre hypothesis’ in which it was postulated over three decades ago that there is an inverse relationship between dietary fibre consumption and the incidence on a number of ‘Western’ diseases,”they added.
Hydrocolloids for health
A growing number of studies are looking at the potential of hydrocolloids ashealth ingredients. However, hydrocolloids are currently used in foods at levels is well below that needed to exert a physiological effect, with the exception ofgum arabic in Slim Fast.
But beyond their functional application, Dr Esther Hunter from CPL Business Consultants told FoodNavigator.com there is a lot of potential for hydrocolloids to be developed as health ingredients.
"If hydrocolloid companies do not become more proactive in their approach to the functional food market then many are in danger of simply becoming commodity suppliers; other companies will reap the higher value that can be generated in the health and nutrition sector, an area marked by growing opportunity and general awareness," she said.
In the wider hydrocolloids arena, there are already examples of companies that have successfully developed the market for soluble fibre and digestive health, for example. These include Danisco with its Litesse polydextrose, Beneo-Orafti with Beneo inulin, CNI with Fibregum acacia gum, Taiyo with SunFiberGum partially hydrolysed guar gum, and National Starch with H-Maize resistant starch.
Gum arabic super for blood pressure?
The new study involved 10 normal healthy people, 23 people with early diabetic kidney problems, and 14 people with advanced diabetic problems. All the participants received a daily dose of 25 grams of the gum, mixed in 250 ml of water, and flavoured.
At the end of the study period, which ranged from 8 to 12 weeks, the overall effect was an average systolic blood pressure reduction of 5.6 mmHg (from 138.4 to 132.83 mmHg).
Normal people who were neither hypertensive nor diabetic also experienced significant reductions of 5.5 mmHg (from 129.1 to 123.6 mmHg).
“The reduction of blood pressure seen in the normotensive healthy volunteers is also likely to translate into an improved “vascular” outcome with the realisation that the relationship between blood pressure and risk of cardio/cerebrovascular disease is linear across all blood pressures,” wrote the researchers.
Phillips and his co-workers noted, however, that there no effects observed of the gum on kidney function in patients with diabetic nephropathy.
“It is likely therefore that the alterations in blood pressure that we have demonstrated which occurs over a relatively short time frame, will translate into marked improvement in renal and cardiac outcome,” they added.
Source: Food Hydrocolloids 
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2009.06.020
“Acacia(sen) SUPERGUM (Gum arabic): An evaluation of potential health benefits in human subjects”
Authors: D.A. Glover, K. Ushida, A.O. Phillips, S.G. Riley
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Modified-gum-arabic-may-boost-heart-health

Daily Dose of Broccoli Halts Ulcers and Cancer
David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com  July 8, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Eating just a few ounces of broccoli each day may significantly reduce a person's risk of ulcers and stomach cancer, researchers from Johns Hopkins University have found.

In a study published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, scientists assigned 50 people in Japan to eat either 2.5 ounces of broccoli sprouts or 2.5 ounces of alfalfa sprouts each day for two months. 

Broccoli, a cruciferous vegetable, contains high levels of the protective phytochemical sulforaphane. Alfalfa is not a cruciferous vegetable and contains no sulforaphane.

At the beginning and end of the study, the researchers analyzed participant stool samples for a chemical called HpSA, known to be a reliable marker of infection with the Heliobacter pylori bacterium. H. pylori causes chronic inflammation of the stomach lining, significantly increasing the risk of stomachcancer and duodenal or stomach ulcers. 

While 25 to 30 percent of people in the United States carry the bacteria in their stomachs, 80 percent show no symptoms of the infection. Infection rates are much higher in Japan, at nearly 90 percent, due in part to crowding. 

The researchers found that among those who ate broccoli sprouts, HpSA levels decreased 40 percent by the end of the experiment. Participants were then told to stop eating broccoli sprouts. After another two months, HpSA levels had returned to pre-study levels.

Consumption of alfalfa sprouts had no effect on HpSA levels.

"H. pylori is a known carcinogen," Fahey said. "The fact that we were able to reduce the effects of an infectious agent that is also a carcinogen gives us hope that if someone were to eat broccoli sprouts or broccoli regularly, it would reduce levels of H. pylori and, over a period of many years, reduce the chance that they would get that cancer. It is not proven, but the results are highly suggestive."

The researchers also found that inflammation levels in the stomach were reduced by consumption of broccoli sprouts.

"The fact that the levels of infection and inflammation were reduced suggests the likelihood of getting gastritis and ulcers and cancer is probably reduced," Fahey said.

"The evidence is all pointing toward broccoli or broccoli sprouts being able to prevent cancer in humans."

The researchers believe that much of broccoli's protective benefit comes from its high levels of sulforaphane. In addition to functioning as an antibiotic, this chemical stimulates the body to reduce a number of enzymes with different health benefits. Prior research has shown that some of these enzymes protect the skin from sun damage, while others act to reduce inflammation or prevent heart disease.

In a second experiment, the same team of researchers fed H. pylori-infected mice either plain water or broccoli-sprout smoothies for eight weeks. They then examined the animals' stomachs for levels of H. pylori. Infection levels had not changed in mice drinking water, but were significantly reduced in the broccoli group. When the researchers genetically engineered another group of mice for inability to activate certain protective enzymes, however, a diet of broccoli-sprout smoothies had no effect on H. pylori infection.

According to Steven H. Zeisel of the University of North Carolina, who was not involved in the study, sulforaphane also stimulates the body to produce liver enzymes that help deactivate carcinogens.

"People who eat more broccoli tune up their liver and other cells to destroy cancer-causing agents," he said. Although cooking has been shown to reduce sulforaphane levels by 90 percent, Zeisel said that even two to three ounces of cooked broccoli per day would provide a benefit. Othervegetables also stimulate the body's anti-cancer mechanisms, he added, recommending an increase in "the amount of plants in the diet."

He warned that supplements alone can not provide the same benefit as a diet high in vegetables.

"It's probably a combination of ingredients in the plant that is responsible," he said. "When you try to extract them out to make a pill, it usually doesn't work."
http://www.naturalnews.com/026574_broccoli_ulcers_sprouts.html

Shocker: Medical Research Frequently Bogus
S. L. Baker, NaturalNews.com  July 8, 2009 

(NaturalNews) If you read research in a scientific or medical journal, especially one that is peer-reviewed, you know it is presented as accurately as possible, right? Researcher Daniele Fanelli of the University of Edinburgh decided to study the scientists doing the studies to see if she could find the answer.

After conducting the first meta-analysis of surveys questioning scientists about their misbehavior behind the scenes -- notably, falsifying their research -- she came up with results that are nothing less than shocking. It turns out that researchers apparently alter or just plain make up data far more frequently than previously estimated. And the practice seems to be particularly high in medical and drug research.

Bogus science isn't new, of course. In recent years researcher Hwang Woo-Suk's stem-cell lines were shown to be fake and cancer researcher Jon Sudbo was outed for making up cancer trials. These and other examples have demonstrated that made-up research can be easy to publish, even in some of the top, prestigious journals.

The media and many in the scientific community have mostly explained these cases as rare instances of non-ethical researchers. However, Fanelli's study, just published in the journal PLoS ONE, suggests scientific misconduct and outright fraud might be relatively frequent. 

Previous estimates on bogus research have been based on not-very-accurate indirect data such as counting official retractions of scientific papers or random audits that show data were incorrect. Other researchers have tried simply using surveys to ask scientists all over the world about fraudulent research practices. But because of many different methods and questions used in the surveys, those results have been labeled inconclusive.

To try and sort all this out, Fanelli conducted a meta-analysis to specifically focus on behaviors that actually distort scientific knowledge. She excluding data about plagiarism and other kinds of professional malpractice and concentrated on documenting the frequency of scientists who recalled having committed a particular fraudulent activity at least once, or who knew a fellow scientist who did.

The results from all the surveys showed that only about two percent of scientists admitted to either making up or altering data to improve the outcome of a study at least once. Because the surveys asked very sensitive questions, Fanelli pointed out that it likely that some respondents did not reply honestly, especially when asked about their own activities. So the two percent figure is probably a very conservative estimate.

A much larger number, around 34 percent, admitted to other questionable research practices that can totally skew the results of a study -- including "failing to present data that contradict one's own previous research" and "dropping observations or data points from analyses based on a gut feeling that they were inaccurate." What's more, 14 percent of the scientists said they knew someone who had fabricated, falsified or altered data, and the vast majority, around 72 percent, said they knew someone who had taken part in other questionable research practices.

In all the surveys examined by Fanelli's meta-analysis, misconduct was reported most frequently by drug and medical researchers. So what's the bottom line? Either scientists studying drugs or working on health issues are more open and honest than other researchers when they answer questions about bogus research, or frauds, trickery and bias are disturbingly more frequent in pharmacology and medicine. In a statement to the media, Fanelli concludes the last interpretation supports growing suspicions that industrial sponsorship, including the mega-bucks provided by Big Pharma, could be severely distorting scientific evidence to promote commercial treatments and drugs.

Fanelli D (2009), How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data. PLoS ONE 4(5): e5738. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005738
http://www.naturalnews.com/026573_medical_research_drugs_cancer.html

Job Programs Protect Public Health During Periods Of Recession

ScienceDaily (July 8, 2009) — Market crashes could lead to rises in homicides and suicides, unless governments invest in labour market protections, according to a study published in The Lancet.
Researchers at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Oxford University estimated that soaring stress brought on by job losses could prompt a 2.4% rise in suicide rates in people under-64 years of age, a 2.7% rise in heart attack deaths in men between 30 and 44 years, and a 2.4% rise in homicides rates, corresponding to thousands of deaths in European Union countries, such as the UK.
Government spending to keep people in employment and quickly get them back to work when they lose jobs could prevent these rises in deaths from occurring, the study says. When spending on such "active labour market programmes" is above US $190 (£115; €135) per person, financial crisis would not be a major killer.
The report also suggests that in poor countries, where investments in active labour market programmes are much lower or virtually non-existent, the death toll brought on by the financial meltdown would be much worse.
The study, entitled The public health effect of economic crisis and alternative government policy responses in Europe: an empirical analysis was written in the wake of concerns that health might suffer as a result of the financial crisis. It is thought to be the most comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between economic crises, unemployment and mortality in Europe and the first to consider the role of specific government responses.
"Financial crisis causes hardship for many ordinary people, but it does not have to cost them their lives", social epidemiologist David Stuckler, who led the research said. He continued, "Our findings show that investing in active labour market programmes can both help the economy and save lives."
The researchers studied mortality rates for over 30 causes of death from the World Health Organisation's Health for All Database between the years 1970 and 2007. They then compared the results to unemployment data from the International Labour Organisation, and data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development describing different types of government social programme expenditures during the same period. Models were used to control variables such as past employment and mortality trends, differing degrees to which countries monitor suicides and unemployment, and population ageing.
Previous studies in individual countries had found mixed results – in Sweden, finding no effect of financial crises on health, but in Spain and the US, finding some negative effects and in some cases improved health. The researchers found that whether more people died depended on how much countries spent on social protections, including active labour market programmes.
In the UK, where currently about US$150 (£91; €107) per head per year is spent on active labour market programmes, the researchers estimated that at least 25 to 290 suicides would occur as a direct result of the financial crisis.
Professor Martin McKee at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and one of the report's authors, noted that "Suicides are just the tip of the iceberg – rising suicide rates are a sign of many failed suicide attempts and high levels of mental distress among workers and families."
As with any ecological study, the analysis had several limitations. The analysis focused on the experience of entire populations, and vulnerable groups, such as migrants or refugees, could suffer disproportionately even when social spending was high. Data on social protections were also missing for many countries, in particular for most central and eastern European countries, where unemployment rates tended to be higher than the west EU and social spending was much lower.
The researchers estimated that rising unemployment rates by 3% could prompt a 2.4% rise in suicide rates in people under-64 years of age and a 2.4% rise in homicides rates, but a drop in traffic fatalities by 4.2% in European Union countries, such as the UK. The study's findings were consistent with recent reports in the UK of rising suicides and falling traffic volume. Unemployed persons have two times the risk of death as employed persons due to suicides, and during recession people walk instead of drive or use public transit, reducing risks of road injury and death.
Sanjay Basu, at University of California at San Francisco pointed out that, "The analysis suggests that governments may be able to do something to protect their populations, specifically by budgeting for measures that help people get back into work." He continued, "This report shows that government spending programmes designed to stimulate the economy could also be used to prevent potentially thousands of deaths."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090707201211.htm

Massive Imbalances Found In Global Fertilizer Use, Resulting In Malnourishment In Some Areas And Serious Pollution Problems In Others
ScienceDaily (July 8, 2009) — Synthetic fertilizers have dramatically increased food production worldwide. But the unintended costs to the environment and human health have been substantial. Nitrogen runoff from farms has contaminated surface and groundwater and helped create massive "dead zones" in coastal areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico. And ammonia from fertilized cropland has become a major source of air pollution, while emissions of nitrous oxide form a potent greenhouse gas.
These and other negative environmental impacts have led some researchers and policymakers to call for reductions in the use of synthetic fertilizers. But in a report published in the June 19 issue of the journal Science, an international team of ecologists and agricultural experts warns against a "one-size-fits-all" approach to managing global food production.
"Most agricultural systems follow a trajectory from too little in the way of added nutrients to too much, and both extremes have substantial human and environmental costs," said lead author Peter Vitousek, a professor of biology at Stanford University and senior fellow at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment.
"Some parts of the world, including much of China, use far too much fertilizer," Vitousek said. "But in sub-Saharan Africa, where 250 million people remain chronically malnourished, nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrient inputs are inadequate to maintain soil fertility."
China and Kenya
In the Science report, Vitousek and colleagues compared fertilizer use in three corn-growing regions of the world--north China, western Kenya and the upper Midwestern United States.
In China, where fertilizer manufacturing is government subsidized, the average grain yield per acre grew 98 percent between 1977 and 2005, while nitrogen fertilizer use increased a dramatic 271 percent, according to government statistics. "Nutrient additions to many fields [in China] far exceed those in the United States and northern Europe--and much of the excess fertilizer is lost to the environment, degrading both air and water quality," the authors wrote.
Co-author F.S. Zhang of China Agriculture University and colleagues recently conducted a study in two intensive agricultural regions of north China in which fertilizer use is excessive. Their results showed that farmers in north China use about 525 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per acre (588 kilograms per hectare) annually--releasing about 200 pounds of excess nitrogen per acre (227 kilograms per hectare) into the environment. Zhang and his co-workers also demonstrated that nitrogen fertilizer use could be cut in half without loss of yield or grain quality, in the process reducing nitrogen losses by more than 50 percent.
At the other extreme are the poorer countries of sub-Saharan Africa, such as Kenya and Malawi. In a 2004 study in west Kenya, co-author Pedro Sanchez and colleagues found that farmers used only about 6 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per acre (7 kilograms per hectare)--little more than 1 percent of the total used by Chinese farmers. And unlike China, cultivated soil in Kenya suffered an annual net loss of 46 pounds of nitrogen per acre (52 kilograms per hectare) removed from the field by harvests.
"Africa is a totally different situation than China," said Sanchez, director of tropical agriculture at the Earth Institute at Columbia University. "Unlike most regions of the world, crop yields have not increased substantially in sub-Saharan Africa. Nitrogen inputs are inadequate to maintain soil fertility and to feed people. So it's not a matter of nutrient pollution but nutrient depletion."
U.S. and Europe
The contrast between Kenya and China is dramatic and will require vastly different solutions, the authors said. However, large-scale change is possible, they said, noting that since the 1980s, increasingly stringent national and European Union regulations and policies have reduced nitrogen surpluses substantially in northern Europe.
In the Midwestern United States, over-fertilization was the norm from the 1970s until the mid-1990s. During that period, tons of excess nitrogen and phosphorus entered the Mississippi River Basin and drained into the Gulf of Mexico, where the large influx of nutrients has triggered huge algal blooms. The decaying algae use up vast quantities of dissolved oxygen, producing a seasonal low-oxygen dead zone in the Gulf that in some years is bigger than the state of Connecticut.
Since 1995, the imbalance of nutrients--particularly phosphorus--has decreased in the Midwestern United States, in part because better farming techniques have increased yields. Statistics show that from 2003 to 2005, annual corn yields in parts of the Midwestern United States and north China were almost the same, even though Chinese farmers used six times more nitrogen fertilizer than their American counterparts and generated nearly 23 times the amount of excess nitrogen.
"U.S. farmers are managing fertilizer more efficiently now," said co-author Rosamond Naylor, director of Stanford's Program on Food Security and the Environment. However, environmental problems have not disappeared. "The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico persists due to continued fertilizer runoff and animal waste from increased livestock production," said Naylor, a professor of environmental Earth system science and senior fellow at Stanford's Woods Institute and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
Low nitrogen in Africa
In sub-Saharan Africa, the initial challenge is to increase productivity and improve soil fertility, the authors said. To meet that challenge, co-author Sanchez recommends that impoverished farmers be given subsidies to purchase fertilizer and good-quality seeds. "In 2005, Malawi was facing a serious food shortage," he recalled. "Then the government began subsidizing fertilizer and corn seeds. In just four years production tripled, and Malawi actually became an exporter of corn."
Food production is paramount, added co-author G. Philip Robertson, a professor of crop and soil sciences at Michigan State University. "Avoiding the misery of hunger is and should be a global human priority," Robertson said. "But we should also find ways to do this without sacrificing other key aspects of human welfare, among them a clean environment. It doesn't have to be an either/or choice."
For countries where over-fertilization is a problem, the authors cited a number of techniques to reduce environmental damage. "Some of these--such as better-targeted timing and placement of nutrient inputs, modifications to livestock diets and the preservation or restoration of riparian vegetation strips--can be implemented now," they wrote.
Designing sustainable solutions also will require a lot more scientific data, they added. "Our lack of effective policies can be attributed, in part, to a lack of good on-farm data about what's happening with nutrient input and loss over time," said co-author Alan Townsend, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado-Boulder. "Both China and the European Union have supported agricultural research that yields policy-relevant information on nutrient balances. But the U.S. is particularly lacking in long-term data for a country with such a well-developed scientific enterprise."
Even in Europe, with its strong research programs on nutrient balances and stringent policies for reducing fertilizer runoff, nitrogen pollution remains substantial. "The problem of mitigation of excess nitrogen loss to waters is not easily resolved," said co-author Penny Johnes, director of the Aquatic Environments Research Centre at the University of Reading, U.K. "Society may have to face some difficult decisions about modifying food production practices if real and ecologically significant reductions in nitrogen loss to waters are to be achieved."
According to Vitousek, it is important in the long run to avoid following the same path to excess in sub-Saharan Africa that occurred in the United States, Europe and China. "The past can't be altered, but the future can be and should be," he said. "Agricultural systems are not fated to move from deficit to excess. More effort will be required to develop intensive systems that maintain their yields, while minimizing their environmental footprints."
Other co-authors of the Science report are Tim Crews, Prescott College; Mark David, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Laurie Drinkwater, Cornell University; Elisabeth Holland, National Center for Atmospheric Research; John Katzenberger, Aspen Global Change Institute; Luiz Martinelli, University of São Paulo, Brazil; Pamela Matson, Stanford University; Generose Nziguheba, Columbia University; Dennis Ojima, The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment; and Cheryl Palm, Columbia University.
This work is based on discussions at the Aspen Global Change Institute supported by NASA, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation; and at a meeting of the International Nitrogen Initiative sponsored by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618144000.htm

Component Of Vegetable Protein May Be Linked To Lower Blood Pressure

ScienceDaily (July 7, 2009) — Consuming an amino acid commonly found in vegetable protein may be associated with lower blood pressure, researchers report inCirculation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers found that a 4.72 percent higher dietary intake of the amino acid glutamic acid as a percent of total dietary protein correlated with lower group average systolic blood pressure, lower by 1.5 to 3.0 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Group average diastolic blood pressure was lower by 1.0 to 1.6 mm Hg.
Systolic blood pressure is the force when the heart beats; diastolic pressure is the pressure when the heart rests between beats.
This average lower blood pressure seems small from an individual perspective. But, on a population scale, it represents a potentially important reduction, said Jeremiah Stamler, M.D., lead author of the study.
"It is estimated that reducing a population's average systolic blood pressure by 2 mm Hg could cut stroke death rates by 6 percent and reduce mortality from coronary heart disease by 4 percent," said Stamler, professor emeritus of the Department of Preventive Medicine in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill.
Based on American Heart Association 2009 statistics, 6 percent of stroke deaths would be more than 8,600 people and four percent of coronary heart deaths represents about 17,800 lives saved per year.
"High blood pressure is a major cardiovascular disease risk factor, and blood pressure tends to rise with age starting early in life so that the majority of the U.S. population age 35 and older is affected by pre-hypertension or hypertension," he said. "We have a massive public health problem, and trying to address it by the strategy that has prevailed for years — diagnosis and drug treatment — is inadequate. While clinically useful, it fails as a long-term approach for ending this massive problem."
The only long-term approach is to prevent pre-hypertension and hypertension by improved lifestyle behaviors, Stamler said. This includes maintaining a healthy body weight, having a fruit and vegetable-rich eating pattern and participating in regular physical activity. His previous study, INTERSALT, was instrumental in helping show that high-salt diets contribute to high blood pressure.
In the current study, researchers examined dietary amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Glutamic acid is the most common amino acid and accounts for almost a quarter (23 percent) of the protein in vegetable protein and almost one fifth (18 percent) of animal protein, Stamler said.
Researchers analyzed data from the International Study on Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure (INTERMAP), on 4,680 people ages 40-59 in 17 rural and urban populations in China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. INTERMAP is a basic population study aiming to clarify the role of multiple nutrients in the etiology of unfavorable blood pressure patterns prevailing for most middle-aged and older individuals. Stamler and colleagues analyzed data from eight blood pressure tests, four diet recall surveys and two 24-hour urine collections for each participant.
"Although our research group and others earlier reported an association between higher consumption of vegetable protein and lower blood pressure, as far as we know this is the first paper on the relation of glutamic acid intake to blood pressure," said Ian J. Brown, Ph.D., co-author of the study and a research associate in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Imperial College London.
Common sources of vegetable protein include beans, whole grains — including whole grain rice, pasta, breads and cereals — and soy products such as tofu. Durum wheat, which is used to make pasta, is also a good source of vegetable protein.
Stamler noted that there are no data on the possible effects of glutamic acid supplements and emphasized the importance of "improved habitual food intake for the prevention and control of hypertension, not popping pills."
Stamler said the INTERMAP Study may help explain on a molecular level why the Dieatary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet lowers blood pressure. The DASH eating pattern, developed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat and nonfat dairy products as well as whole grains, lean poultry, nuts and beans. The pattern is recommended by the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the key sponsor of the INTERMAP study.
"The DASH eating pattern resembles the Mediterranean eating style for the 21st century, including reduced salt intake," Stamler noted. "Multiple modifications supply multiple nutrients helpful for the prevention and control of high blood pressure, including glutamic acid.
Although the current study examined just one element in the dietary mix, amino acids, Stamler said there's no one "magic bullet."
Other co-authors include: Martha L. Daviglus, M.D., Ph.D.; Queenie Chan, M.Phil.; Hugo Kesteloot, M.D., Ph.D.; Hirotsugu Ueshima, M.D., Ph.D.; Liancheng Zhao, M.D.; Paul Elliott, M.B., Ph.D.; for the INTERMAP Research Group. Author disclosures are available on the manuscript.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090706161204.htm

Sugar Substitute Appears To Prevent Early-childhood Cavities

ScienceDaily (July 7, 2009) — Children given an oral syrup containing the naturally occurring sweetener xylitol may be less likely to develop decay in their baby teeth, according to a new report.
Early childhood caries (cavities), also called baby bottle tooth decay or nursing caries, continue to increase in prevalence, according to background information in the article. "Poor children experience rates twice as high as those of their more affluent peers, and their disease is more likely to be untreated," the authors write. "Poor oral health affects diet and nutrition and significantly diminishes quality of life. However, tooth decay is a disease that is largely preventable."
Xylitol, approved in the United States for use in food since 1963, has been shown to effectively prevent tooth decay by acting as an antibacterial agent against organisms that cause cavities. These previous investigations have primarily involved chewing gum or lozenges used in school-age children with permanent teeth. Peter Milgrom, D.D.S., of the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues evaluated the effectiveness of applying oral syrup containing xylitol among 94 children age 9 to 15 months in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, where early childhood tooth decay is a serious health care problem.
Two active treatment groups received 8 grams per day of xylitol syrup divided into two (33 children) or three (32 children) doses per day. A third, control group of 29 children received a small amount (a single 2.67-gram dose) of xylitol syrup per day because the internal review committee appointed by the secretary of health of the Republic of the Marshall Islands did not permit the use of a placebo.
After an average of 10.5 months, eight of 33 children (24.2 percent) receiving two doses of xylitol per day and 13 of the 32 children (40.6 percent) receiving three doses of xylitol per day had tooth decay, compared with 15 of the 29 children (51.7 percent) in the control group. The average numbers of decayed teeth were 0.6 in the two-dose xylitol group, one in the three-dose xylitol group and 1.9 in the control group.
"Our results suggest that exposure to xylitol (8 grams per day) in a twice-daily topical oral syrup during primary tooth eruption could prevent up to 70 percent of decayed teeth," the authors write. "Dividing the 8 grams into three doses did not increase the effectiveness of the treatment. These results provide evidence for the first time (to our knowledge) that xylitol is effective for the prevention of decay in primary teeth of toddlers." More research is needed to develop vehicles and strategies for optimal public health, but in populations with high rates of tooth decay, xylitol is likely to be a cost-effective preventive measure, they conclude.
This study was funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau and by a grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Danisco USA donated the raw materials used to make the syrups in this study.
Editorial: Xylitol Could Help Solve Problem of Early-Childhood Tooth Decay
"Early childhood caries is well understood by microbiologists and research dentists—if not by the general public and their health care providers—as ordinary tooth decay run amok," writes Burton L. Edelstein, D.D.S., M.P.H., of the College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, in an accompanying editorial.
"It most commonly manifests as extensive tooth destruction and associated pain, with or without infection, by age 22 months and sometimes much earlier," Dr. Edelstein continues. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than one-quarter of all U.S. toddlers and preschoolers (28 percent) are affected."
"Findings reported herein by Milgrom and colleagues that xylitol application holds strong promise to significantly dampen early childhood caries occurrence are encouraging and suggest the addition of this approach to pharmacologic management in public health and individual care settings. Xylitol application, like fluoride varnish application, will likely become a routine element of early childhood caries control. The finding, however, that early childhood caries prevalence remained at 24 percent to 41 percent among treated children at the close of the trial in a high-caries-experience population reminds us that no single 'silver bullet' is going to solve the problem of early childhood caries."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090706161206.htm

Exercise Helps Patients With Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (July 7, 2009) — Counseling patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on how to increase physical activity leads to health benefits that are independent of changes in weight. These findings are in a new study in the July issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). 
NAFLD is the most common form of chronic liver disease in developed countries. It is associated with the metabolic syndrome, which also includes obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, and is characterized by elevated liver enzymes. Currently, patients with NAFLD are encouraged to alter their lifestyles, however the focus has been on weight loss through dietary changes. The effects of increasing physical activity alone have not been thoroughly investigated.
Researchers led by Jacob George of Sydney West Area Health Service in Australia, examined the health outcomes of patients who were counseled on how to increase physical activity. They prospectively enrolled 141 patients with NAFLD from the Sydney West Area Health Service. The participants were divided into a control group, a low-intensity lifestyle intervention group, and a moderate-intensity lifestyle intervention group.
The patients in the intervention arms worked with exercise scientists who provided individually tailored counseling on how to increase both planned and incidental physical activity. Walking was the main type of exercise discussed and patients were encouraged to be active for at least 150 minutes per week.
After three months, participants in the intervention groups were nine times more likely to have increased their physical activity by an hour or more per week, compared to patients in the control group. Those who were active for more than 150 minutes per week, and those who increased their level of fitness, also showed improvements in liver enzymes and other metabolic indices. The effect was independent of weight loss.
Interestingly, there was no dose-response effect for exercise increases above 60 minutes per week. However, those who increased exercise by at least 60 minutes per week had beneficial changes in liver enzymes, insulin resistance and metabolic risk factors.
While greater increases in exercise time appeared to be related to greater weight loss, there was no additional benefit to liver enzymes or glucose homeostasis. “The reason for this is unclear,” the authors write, “but we hypothesize that the threshold for change in liver enzymes may be low so that even a slight increase in physical activity is sufficient to improve liver tests.”
Patients who remained sedentary over the course of the study had no improvement in metabolic parameters, and even trended toward deterioration in these areas, even if they lost weight. “The metabolic pathway by which physical activity improves insulin sensitivity may be different to that of weight loss and this is particularly relevant for patients with NAFLD,” the authors write. “Physical activity improves insulin resistance through positive changes in fatty acid metabolism in muscle which cannot be achieved through energy restriction.”
“We have shown here that physical activity counseling can result in significant increases in physical activity and fitness and subsequent improvement in health, without the need for supervised exercise sessions,” the authors conclude.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701131336.htm

Fruit and vegetable intake in pregnant women reduces risk of upper respiratory tract infection
Boston University Medical Center, July 8, 2009
 (Boston) – Boston University School of Medicine researchers (BUSM) have observed in a study of pregnant women that consumption of at least seven servings per day of fruits and vegetables moderately reduced the risk of developing an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). The BUSM study appears online in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
URTIs include the common cold and sinus infections, which can lead to lower respiratory problems, such as asthma or pneumonia. Even though the majority of URTIs are uncomplicated colds, identifying ways to prevent their occurrence is important because colds are the most common reason for school and work absences. Eating nutritious foods, especially fruits and vegetables, improves immunity but hadn't previously been associated with reducing the risk of URTIs in pregnant women.
BUSM researchers studied more than 1,000 pregnant women and found those who ate the most fruits and vegetables were 26 percent less likely to have URTI relative to those who ate the least amount. Neither fruit nor vegetable intake alone was found to be associated with the five-month risk of URTI. The patterns observed for total fruit and vegetable intake and either fruit or vegetable intake alone in relation to the three-month risk of URTI were consistent with those when assessing the five-month risk of URTI. Women in the highest quartile of fruit and vegetable intake had a stronger reduced three-month risk than the five-month risk of URTI. Moreover, there was a significant decreasing linear trend for the three-month risk of URTI with consumption of fruits and vegetables.
Pregnant women have been recommended to consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This study showed that intake of higher levels, 6.71 servings per day, was associated with a moderate risk reduction for URTI.
"Pregnant women may require more fruits and vegetables than usual because of the extra demands on the body," said senior author Martha M. Werler, M.P.H., Sc.D., professor at Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-07/bumc-fav070809.php

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health-Science/Stress-can-make-you-fat/articleshow/4752793.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health-Science/Health/Carbohydrates-can-suppress-tumours/articleshow/4748429.cms

NASA satellite shows 'dramatically thinned' Arctic ice

Associated Press, July 8, 2009

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Arctic sea ice thinned dramatically between the winters of 2004 and 2008, with thick older ice shrinking by the equivalent of Alaska's land area, a study using data from a NASA satellite showed Tuesday.
Using information from NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Satellite (ICESat), scientists from the US space agency and the University of Washington in Seattle estimated both the thickness and volume of the Arctic Ocean's ice cover.
ICESat allows scientists to measure changes in the thickness and volume of Arctic ice, whereas previously scientists relied only on measurements of area to determine how much of the Arctic Ocean is covered in ice.
Scientists found that Arctic sea ice thinned some seven inches (17.8 centimeters) a year, or 2.2 feet (67 centimeters) over four winters, according to the study by NASA and the University of Washington, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans.
They also found that thicker, older ice, which has survived one or more summers, shrank by 42 percent.
"Between 2004 and 2008, multi-year ice cover shrank 595,000 square miles (1.5 million square kilometers) -- nearly the size of Alaska's land area," a report of the study's findings said.
The Arctic ice cap grows each winter, when the northerly region grows intensely cold as the sun sets for several months.
Then, in the summer, wind and ocean currents cause some of the ice to flow out of the Arctic, while warmer temperatures make much of it melt in place.
Thicker, older ice is less vulnerable than thinner ice to melting in the summer months.
But in recent years, the amount of ice replaced in the winter has not been sufficient to offset summer ice losses, the ICESat study showed.
That makes for more open water in summer, which absorbs more heat, warming the ocean and further melting the ice, the report of the scientists' findings said.
The research team attributed the changes in the overall thickness and volume of Arctic Ocean sea ice to recent warming and anomalies in patterns of sea ice circulation.
"The near-zero replenishment of the multi-year ice cover, combined with unusual exports of ice out of the Arctic after the summers of 2005 and 2007, have both played significant roles in the loss of Arctic sea ice volume," said Ron Kwok of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California who led the study.
Data from the study will help scientists to better understand how fast the volume of Arctic ice is decreasing and how soon the region might be "nearly ice-free in the summer," said Kwok.
A study published in April by the Colorado-based National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) also showed that the Arctic ice cap is thinner than ever and the maximum extent of Arctic ice was at an all-time low.
The same month, US researchers warned that the Arctic could be almost ice-free within 30 years, not 90 as scientists had previously estimated.

New climate strategy: track the world's wealthiest

Reuters, Mon Jul 6, 2009 11:04pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To fairly divide the climate change fight between rich and poor, a new study suggests basing targets for emission cuts on the number of wealthy people, who are also the biggest greenhouse gas emitters, in a country.
Since about half the planet's climate-warming emissions come from less than a billion of its people, it makes sense to follow these rich folks when setting national targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions, the authors wrote on Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
As it stands now, under the carbon-capping Kyoto Protocol, rich countries shoulder most of the burden for cutting the emissions that spur global warming, while developing countries -- including fast-growing economies China and India -- are not required to curb greenhouse pollution.
Rich countries, notably the United States, have said this gives developing countries an unfair economic advantage; China, India and other developing countries argue that developed countries have historically spewed more climate-warming gases, and developing countries need time to catch up.
The study suggests setting a uniform international cap on how much carbon dioxide each person could emit in order to limit global emissions; since rich people emit more, they are the ones likely to reach or exceed this cap, whether they live in a rich country or a poor one.
For example, if world leaders agree to keep carbon emissions in 2030 at the same level they are now, no one person's emissions could exceed 11 tons of carbon each year. That means there would be about a billion "high emitters" in 2030 out of a projected world population of 8.1 billion.
EACH PERSON'S EMISSIONS
By counting the emissions of all the individuals likely to exceed this level, world leaders could provide target emissions cuts for each country. Currently, the world average for individual annual carbon emissions is about 5 tons; each European produces 10 tons and each American produces 20 tons.
With international climate talks set to start this week in Italy among the countries that pollute the most, the authors hope policymakers will look at the strong link between how rich people are and how much carbon dioxide they emit.
"You're distributing the task of doing something about emissions reduction based on the proportion of the population in the country that's actually doing the most damage," said Shoibal Chakravarty of the Princeton Environment Institute, one of the study's authors.
Rich people's lives tend to give off more greenhouse gases because they drive more fossil-fueled vehicles, travel frequently by air and live in big houses that take more fuel to heat and cool.
By focusing on rich people everywhere, rather than rich countries and poor ones, the system of setting carbon-cutting targets based on the number of wealthy individuals in various countries would ease developing countries into any new climate change framework, Chakravarty said by telephone.
"As countries develop -- India, China, Brazil and others -- over time, they'll have more and more of these (wealthy) individuals and they'll have a higher share of carbon reductions to do in the future," he said.
These obligations, based on the increasing number of rich people in various countries, would kick in as each developing country hit a certain overall level of carbon emissions. This level would be set fairly high, so that economic development would not be hampered in the poorest countries, no matter how many rich people live there.
Is this a limousine-and-yacht tax on the rich? Not necessarily, Chakravarty said, but he did not rule it out: "We are not by any means proposing that. If some country finds a way of doing that, it's great."
This week's climate talks in Italy are a prelude to an international forum in December in Copenhagen aimed at crafting an agreement to follow the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. At the same time, the U.S. Congress is working on legislation to curb U.S. carbon emissions.
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE56562Y20090707?sp=true

Global warming as big a threat as the Nazis, says Gore


The Scotsman.com  08 July 2009

CLIMATE change poses as great a threat to civilisation as the Nazis did during the Second World War, former US vice-president Al Gore said yesterday.
He also claimed that public awareness about the "catastrophe" of climate change is not high enough to pressure politicians into taking action

Mr Gore, who shared a Nobel Prize in 2007 for his environmental campaigning and brought mass awareness of climate change with his 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth, said politicians will only do more once the people who elect them force the issue.

He insisted that voters needed to tell leaders they must act on the environmental concerns if countries are to strike a new deal on global warming at UN climate talks in Denmark later this year.

In a speech at the Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment in Oxford, Mr Gore evoked the global threat posed by Nazi Germany in the Second World War. 

He said: "Winston Churchill aroused this nation in heroic fashion to save civilisation. 

"The only way we can get one (a consensus] is if politicians in each country act and the only way that can happen is if awareness rises to the level to make them feel it is a necessity.

"We can berate politicians for not doing enough and for compromising too much and for not being bold in addressing this existential threat to civilisation.

"But the reason they don't is because the level of concern still has not risen to cross the threshold that makes the political leaders feel they must address it."

Countries will meet in the Copenhagen in December to try to agree a global deal to restrict man-made climate change. 

It follows claims by scientists that global warming is taking place at a quicker pace than previously thought and will lead to more diseases, flooding, extreme weather and crop failures.

Preparatory talks on planned emissions cuts have stumbled on rows between rich countries and poor states, who say they did the least to contribute to global warming, but will suffer the most from the consquences.

http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Global-warming-as-big-a.5437207.jp

Folate linked to lower colorectal cancer risk: Study
Nutraingredients.com, 06-Jul-2009
Increased intakes of folate from the diet may reduce a woman’s risk of colorectal cancer by about 50 per cent, according to new findings from Korea.
The highest intakes of folate, a B-vitamin found in green leafy vegetables, chick peas and lentils, were associated with a 66, and 70 per cent reduction in a woman’s risk of cancers of the colon and rectum, respectively, report researchers in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (EJCN).
However, men did not benefit from the vitamin, said the researchers from Korea’s National Cancer Center, Hallym University, Inha University College of Medicine, and Seoul National University.
The study adds to an ever-growing body of case-control and prospective cohort studies have reported that increased intakes of folate may reduce the risk ofcolorectal cancer by 40 to 60 per cent.
Benefits for babies
An overwhelming body of evidence links has linked folate deficiency in early pregnancy to increased risk of neural tube defects (NTD) - most commonly spina bifida and anencephaly - in infants.
This connection led to the 1998 introduction of public health measures in the US and Canada, where all grain products are fortified with folic acid - the synthetic, bioavailable form of folate.
Preliminary evidence indicates that the measure is having an effect with a reported 15 to 50 per cent reduction in NTD incidence. In Chile, the measure has been associated with a 40 per cent reduction in NTDs. Parallel measures in European countries, including the UK and Ireland, are still on the table.
Contradictory results
Over 30 case-control and prospective cohort studies have reported colorectal cancer risk reduction associated to the vitamin. Similar risk reductions have also been reported for the lesion that precedes the cancer, the adenomatous polyp. However, some studies have linked folic acid intakes to an increased risk of the disease.
A review paper published in the April issue of Nutrition Reviews by Joel Mason from USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University addressed the potential Janus effect of folate on colorectal health.
“Under most circumstances, adequate intake of folate appears to assume the role of a protective agent against cancer, most notably colorectal cancer,” wrote Dr Mason. “However, in select circumstances in which an individual who harbours a pre-cancerous or cancerous tumour consumes too much folic acid, the additional amounts of folate may instead facilitate the promotion of cancer.”
The complex links between folate and cancer have created a “global dilemma”, said Dr Mason, with regards to instituting folic acid fortification programs in other countries.
Korean data
The Korean researchers analysed data obtained from 596 men and women with colorectal cancer, and compared this to data from 509 people free of the disease. All the participants were aged between 30 and 79.
According to the EJCN report, the overall data showed that the highest levels of folate intake were linked to a 53, 58 and 52 per cent reduced risk of colorectal, colon, and rectal cancer, respectively for all the people studied.
However, when the researchers focussed on the sex of the participants, only women were found to benefit, with the highest levels of folate intake were linked to a 64, 66, and 70 per cent reduced risk of colorectal, colon, and rectal cancer, respectively.
“We found a statistically significant relationship between higher dietary folate intake and reduced risk of CRC, colon cancer and rectal cancer in women,”concluded the researchers.
Folic acid versus folate
A possible explanation for the contradictory results of studies with the vitamin and colorectal cancer may be the difference between the synthetic and natural forms of the vitamin. “The fact that folic acid, which is not a naturally occurring form of the vitamin, is used by food and pharmaceutical industries for fortification and supplementation is potentially of importance,” wrote Tufts University’s Mason in Nutrition Reviews.
On passage through the intestinal wall, folic acid is converted to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, the naturally circulating form of folate. However, some studies have suggested that oral doses of folic acid in high doses may overwhelm this conversion pathway, leading to measurable levels of folic acid in the blood.
“There has been some concern that this oxidized, non-substituted form of folate might feasibly be detrimental because it is not a naturally occurring co-enzymatic form of the vitamin,” he added.
Source: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.37
“Folate intake and the risk of colorectal cancer in a Korean population”
Authors: J. Kim, D.H. Kim, B.H. Lee, S.H. Kang, H.J. Lee, S.Y. Lim, Y.K. Sun, Y.O. Ahn
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Folate-linked-to-lower-colorectal-cancer-risk-Study

US consumers think natural is greener than organic, says survey

Foodnavigator-USA.com, 06-Jul-2009

American consumers believe that a ‘natural’ label claim is a better indicator of an eco-friendly product than ‘organic’, according to a new survey from advertising firm the Shelton Group.
Consumers are increasingly seeking out ‘greener’ products, and environmental sustainability has moved up among manufacturers’ priorities in recent years, as public awareness of the impact of their food on the environment has increased. But consumers have become more skeptical of manufacturers’ green credentials, accusing them of ‘greenwashing’, and are lacking the knowledge necessary to make the most meaningful choices at the grocery store.
The Shelton Group conducted a survey of 1,006 US consumers and found that nearly two-thirds said they were looking for greener products when shopping. But when asked ‘How do you know a product is green?’ the top response was ‘don’t know/not sure’, at 22 percent, followed by 20 percent who responded ‘says so on the package/label’.
Suzanne Shelton, president and CEO of the Shelton Group, said: “People are uncertain what to trust, so there's almost a ‘buyer beware’ attitude in the market.”
Organic perception
Despite well-defined certification standards, organic products are among those that consumers distrust; 31 percent of respondents said ‘100 percent natural’ is the most desirable eco-friendly product label claim, compared to 14 percent who chose ‘100 percent organic’.
Shelton said: “Many consumers do not understand green terminology. They prefer the word ‘natural’ over the term ‘organic,’ thinking organic is more of an unregulated marketing buzzword that means the product is more expensive. In reality, the opposite is true: ‘Natural’ is the unregulated word. Organic foods must meet government standards to be certified as such.”
Meanwhile, the popularity of natural products has boomed, and it is now the leading label claim on new products, according to market research organization Mintel, featuring on 23 percent of new products launched globally in 2008.
One company taking advantage of the consumer perception of the natural claim is Horizon, America’s largest organic milk brand, which has announced its intention to launch its first ‘natural’ (but not organic) products – a yogurt aimed at toddlers, and single-serve milk targeted toward children. The dairy products are produced conventionally, but the company said they are “naturally produced without added growth hormones, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives and no high fructose corn syrup.”
The decision to launch its first non-organic products was driven by demand for foods that are “easier on the pocketbook”, the company said.
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/US-consumers-think-natural-is-greener-than-organic-says-survey

Recession pushed 90 million into extreme poverty-UN
Last Updated: 2009-07-06 10:02:26 -0400 (Reuters Health)
* Recession has pushed millions more into extreme poverty
* Sickness more prevalent, life-saving drugs out of reach
* U.N. Secretary-General calls for continued aid in crisis
GENEVA (Reuters) - The global recession has pushed up to 90 million more people into extreme poverty, the United Nations said on Monday, warning that a reduction in foreign aid could cause more hunger and disease.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said impoverished people have already suffered most from the economic crisis and urged rich countries not to cut their assistance budgets.
"The numbers of people going hungry and living in extreme poverty are much larger than they would have been had progress continued uninterrupted," Ban said in a foreword to the U.N.'s annual progress report, which he launched in Geneva.
Several aid groups also published studies on Monday warning that the souring economy had made more people dangerously sick.
A drying-up of foreign aid "is likely to lead to preventable deaths and disease," according to a UNAIDS/World Bank report, which found that many patients are struggling to gain access to life-saving drugs because of the downturn.
"The global economic crisis has the potential to affect the lives of 3.4 million people on antiretroviral treatment, another 7 million who also need the treatment but don't have access to it and others who will need treatment in the future," it said.
"There is a strong risk that prevention programmes for populations at higher risk will be cut. This would increase the numbers of new infections and people who need treatment in the future, imposing higher future costs."
FUNDING SCARCE
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), which links together 186 national aid groups, warned of growing epidemics of dengue fever, meningitis, and other diseases that poor countries will need help to fight.
"Resources for tackling epidemics of infectious diseases are scarce," it said in a report, warning that preoccupied wealthy nations could end up exposing themselves to public health risks.
Health emergencies expert Tammam Aloudat told reporters in Geneva, where the IFRC is based along with most United Nations aid operations, that 14 million people die every year from infectious diseases, mainly needlessly.
"We are today affected by more numbers of infectious diseases in history than ever," he said.
According to the United Nations, 55 million to 90 million more people are living in extreme poverty this year than was projected before the economy faltered. Emerging countries whose fast growth had dented poverty are now facing bleaker prospects.
In his report, the U.N. chief called on donor governments to keep providing funds for projects like the building of toilets and latrines for the 1.4 billion people living without them, who face higher disease risks as a result.
Ban also said it was important for programmes to continue to improve maternal and infant survival rates and to tackle hunger and malnutrition in the young, estimating that in developing countries more than one quarter of children are underweight.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/07/06/eline/links/20090706elin008.html

Amino acid may curb hair-pulling disorder
Last Updated: 2009-07-06 16:01:23 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The amino acid N-acetylcysteine seems to curb symptoms of compulsive hair-pulling in people with the psychiatric disorder known medically as trichotillomania, according to the results of a small study released Monday.
There currently is no approved treatment for trichotillomania, a condition related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Trichotillomania is characterized by the recurrent pulling out of one's hair, which results in noticeable hair loss; an increasing sense of tension immediately before pulling out the hair or when attempting to resist the behavior; and pleasure, gratification or relief when pulling out hair.
In the Archives of General Psychiatry, Dr. Jon E. Grant and colleagues from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, note that N-acetylcysteine has shown promise in the treatment of repetitive or compulsive disorders and acts on the glutamate system, the largest neurotransmitter system in the human brain.
This led them to study the effects of N-acetylcysteine therapy in 50 adults with trichotillomania. Twenty-five were randomly assigned to receive 1,200 milligrams to 2,400 milligrams of N-acetylcysteine per day for 12 weeks; the other 25 received placebo.
After 12 weeks, patients taking the active medication had significantly greater reductions in hair-pulling symptoms than those taking placebo.
"Fifty-six percent of patients 'much or very much improved' with N-acetylcysteine use compared with 16 percent taking placebo," the investigators report. None of the subjects on N-acetylcysteine reported any side effects.
Grant and colleagues say the magnitude of improvement seen with N-acetylcysteine was higher than that seen with other medications and similar to that reported for "talk therapy" alone or combined with medication, suggesting that N-acetylcysteine compares favorably with existing treatment options.
SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry, July 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/07/06/eline/links/20090706elin024.html

Melatonin eases post-op distress in kids: study
Last Updated: 2009-07-06 15:46:27 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Giving children melatonin before surgery can significantly reduce the occurrence of delirium after surgery, research suggests.
The prospect of surgery can cause intense anxiety leading up to the surgery. While some amount of stress is normal, extreme anxiety before surgery can contribute to what doctors call "emergence delirium" - distressing behavior changes such as crying and thrashing that may surface immediately upon "waking up" from anesthesia.
Immediate post-surgery delirium can also lead to problems long after the surgery, such as the onset of nightmares, bed wetting and separation anxiety.
The new study, published in the journal Anesthesiology, shows that pre-surgery melatonin reduces post-surgery delirium, but not anxiety, in children having anesthesia and surgery.
"Studies conducted in adults have revealed that oral administration of melatonin before surgery beneficially reduced anxiety levels, but relevant similar treatment data for children undergoing anesthesia and surgery are limited," Dr. Zeev N. Kain from University of California, Irvine, noted in a statement.
Two recent studies reported that melatonin was as effective as midazolam, a sedative widely used to ease preoperative anxiety, in reducing preoperative anxiety in children, but there were methodological issues with both studies.
In their study, Kain's team investigated the effects of melatonin on reducing preoperative anxiety and delirium in 148 children undergoing anesthesia and surgery.
Children treated with midazolam showed significantly less anxiety than did children treated with melatonin, they report.
In contrast, children treated with melatonin showed a reduction in the occurrence of delirium after surgery.
"As 3 million children undergo surgery in the U.S. each year, these findings reveal noteworthy health care and treatment implications," Kain said.
SOURCE: Anesthesiology, July 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/07/06/eline/links/20090706elin027.html

Nitrates May Be Environmental Trigger For Alzheimer’s, Diabetes And Parkinson's Disease
ScienceDaily (July 6, 2009) — A new study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital have found a substantial link between increased levels of nitrates in our environment and food with increased deaths from diseases, including Alzheimer's, diabetes mellitus and Parkinson's. The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
Led by Suzanne de la Monte, MD, MPH, of Rhode Island Hospital, researchers studied the trends in mortality rates due to diseases that are associated with aging, such as diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes and cerebrovascular disease, as well as HIV. They found strong parallels between age adjusted increases in death rate from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and diabetes and the progressive increases in human exposure to nitrates, nitrites and nitrosamines through processed and preserved foods as well as fertilizers. Other diseases including HIV-AIDS, cerebrovascular disease, and leukemia did not exhibit those trends. De la Monte and the authors propose that the increase in exposure plays a critical role in the cause, development and effects of the pandemic of these insulin-resistant diseases.
De la Monte, who is also a professor of pathology and lab medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, says, "We have become a 'nitrosamine generation.' In essence, we have moved to a diet that is rich in amines and nitrates, which lead to increased nitrosamine production. We receive increased exposure through the abundant use of nitrate-containing fertilizers for agriculture." She continues, "Not only do we consume them in processed foods, but they get into our food supply by leeching from the soil and contaminating water supplies used for crop irrigation, food processing and drinking."
Nitrites and nitrates belong to a class of chemical compounds that have been found to be harmful to humans and animals. More than 90 percent of these compounds that have been tested have been determined to be carcinogenic in various organs. They are found in many food products, including fried bacon, cured meats and cheese products as well as beer and water. Exposure also occurs through manufacturing and processing of rubber and latex products, as well as fertilizers, pesticides and cosmetics.
Nitrosamines are formed by a chemical reaction between nitrites or other proteins. Sodium nitrite is deliberately added to meat and fish to prevent toxin production; it is also used to preserve, color and flavor meats. Ground beef, cured meats and bacon in particular contain abundant amounts of amines due to their high protein content. Because of the significant levels of added nitrates and nitrites, nitrosamines are nearly always detectable in these foods. Nitrosamines are also easily generated under strong acid conditions, such as in the stomach, or at high temperatures associated with frying or flame broiling. Reducing sodium nitrite content reduces nitrosamine formation in foods.
Nitrosamines basically become highly reactive at the cellular level, which then alters gene expression and causes DNA damage. The researchers note that the role of nitrosamines has been well-studied, and their role as a carcinogen has been fully documented. The investigators propose that the cellular alterations that occur as a result of nitrosamine exposure are fundamentally similar to those that occur with aging, as well as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
De la Monte comments, "All of these diseases are associated with increased insulin resistance and DNA damage. Their prevalence rates have all increased radically over the past several decades and show no sign of plateau. Because there has been a relatively short time interval associated with the dramatic shift in disease incidence and prevalence rates, we believe this is due to exposure-related rather than genetic etiologies."
The researchers recognize that an increase in death rates is anticipated in higher age groups. Yet when the researchers compared mortality from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease among 75 to 84 year olds from 1968 to 2005, the death rates increased much more dramatically than for cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease, which are also aging-associated. For example, in Alzheimer's patients, the death rate increased 150-fold, from 0 deaths to more than 150 deaths per 100,000. Parkinson's disease death rates also increased across all age groups. However, mortality rates from cerebrovascular disease in the same age group declined, even though this is a disease associated with aging as well.
De la Monte notes, "Because of the similar trending in nearly all age groups within each disease category, this indicates that these overall trends are not due to an aging population. This relatively short time interval for such dramatic increases in death rates associated with these diseases is more consistent with exposure-related causes rather than genetic changes." She also comments, "Moreover, the strikingly higher and climbing mortality rates in older age brackets suggest that aging and/or longer durations of exposure have greater impacts on progression and severity of these diseases."
The researchers graphed and analyzed mortality rates, and compared them with increasing age for each disease. They then studied United States population growth, annual use and consumption of nitrite-containing fertilizers, annual sales at popular fast food chains, and sales for a major meat processing company, as well as consumption of grain and consumption of watermelon and cantaloupe (the melons were used as a control since they are not typically associated with nitrate or nitrite exposure).
The findings indicate that while nitrogen-containing fertilizer consumption increased by 230 percent between 1955 and 2005, its usage doubled between 1960 and 1980, which just precedes the insulin-resistant epidemics the researchers found. They also found that sales from the fast food chain and the meat processing company increased more than 8-fold from 1970 to 2005, and grain consumption increased 5-fold.
The authors state that the time course of the increased prevalence rates of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes cannot be explained on the basis of gene mutations. They instead mirror the classical trends of exposure-related disease. Because nitrosamines produce biochemical changes within cells and tissues, it is conceivable that chronic exposure to low levels of nitrites and nitrosamines through processed foods, water and fertilizers is responsible for the current epidemics of these diseases and the increasing mortality rates associated with them.
De la Monte states, "If this hypothesis is correct, potential solutions include eliminating the use of nitrites and nitrates in food processing, preservation and agriculture; taking steps to prevent the formation of nitrosamines and employing safe and effective measures to detoxify food and water before human consumption."
Other researchers involved in the study with de la Monte include Alexander Neusner, Jennifer Chu and Margot Lawton, from the departments of pathology, neurology and medicine at Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
The study was funded through grants from the National Institutes of Health. Two subsequent papers have been accepted for publication in the near future that demonstrate experimentally that low levels of nitrosamine exposure cause neurodegeneration, NASH and diabetes.
De la Monte, Suzanne M., Alexander Neusner, Jennifer Chu and Margot Lawton. Epidemilogical Trends Strongly Suggest Exposures as Etiologic Agents in the Pathogenesis of Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 17:3 (July 2009) pp 519-529
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090705215239.htm

Drug Tests Are Flagging Natural Health Products for Narcotics
David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com  July 7, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Police in the United States and Canada have been arresting people when their natural health, food and body products falsely test positive for drugs.

Police widely rely on narcotics identification kits (NIKs) to test suspect substances for drugs -- the problem is, these kits have a strong tendency to identify benign substances as narcotics.

"The NIK's false positive rate is about 10 percent," said Adam Eidinger of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps. "This is an estimate from the hundreds of times I've experimented."

To use an NIK, law enforcement officers mix the suspicious substance with liquid in a vial then watch to see if it turns purple, indicating the presence of narcotics.

In 2007, punk musician Don Bolles was arrested by Newport Beach police for possession of the date rape drug GHB. Bolles did not have any drugs on him, however -- police had relied on an NIK test that falsely flagged his Dr. Bronner's peppermint castile soap as positive for the drug.

Another notorious case includes the experience of Nadine Artemis and Ron Obadia, owners of the natural health company Living Libations. In August 2008, the pair were cited by Canadian Border Services for possession of marijuana when a sample of their Living Libations organic chocolate tested positive.

In September 2008, the pair was arrested again while trying to cross the border north from New York. This time, not only their chocolate but also a natural disinfectant and a bottle of tea tree oil all tested positive.

"The FBI agent had never heard of tea tree oil, so it was comical and frustrating at the same time," Obadia said.

The Living Libations duo eventually got both sets of charges dropped, but only at great legal cost. Obadia later purchased an NIK online and tested several different brands of chocolate with it. All tested positive.

Consumer health advocate Mike Adams also tested a number of natural health products with an NIK, finding two nutritional powders that turned purple.

"With these tests, anyone can find anything they want in the results," he said.
http://www.naturalnews.com/z026563_health_natural_health_natural_health_products.html

Legal Action You Can Take Against Forced Vaccinations (Opinion)
Barbara Minton, NaturalNews.com  July 7, 2009 

(NaturalNews) If you are living in the U.S. or many other parts of the world, you may soon be forced to accept a vaccination that is actually a biological weapon created with the intent of causing your death or injury, according to evidence compiled by journalist Jane Burgermeister. To defend yourself and your countrymen you can now take legal steps using documents she has created specifically for this purpose. After many days of intense effort and two failed attempts due to hackers, Jane has these documents ready to be downloaded. She gives them freely with the hope that others will follow her lead in standing up for their rights while there is still time.

Any person can call his or her local district court and find out how to file a criminal complaint as a private citizen. Then complete the blanks in her Criminal Charges document, and hand it in. This document is a 112 page comprehensive masterpiece reflecting months of exhaustive evidence gathering and assembly. It exemplifies a dogged devotion to purpose and cause.

The Criminal Charges allege a crime has been committed

As reported on June 25th by Natural News http://www.naturalnews.com/026503_p... Jane alleges the crime involves acts of bioterrorism that are in direct violation of U.S. law. These acts have been and are being committed by a group operating within the U.S. under the direction of international bankers controlling the Federal Reserve, against the U.S. population by use of a genetically engineered flu pandemic virus with the intent of causing death. Her Criminal Charges file contains a mountain of verifiable, unambiguous and consistent evidence to back up these allegations.

According to her, there is no need for you to hire a lawyer to file these forms. As this is a criminal complaint, not a civil complaint, there is no fee required for filing it. If you are wanting to bury your court in evidence, you can include the extra back-up evidence file which presents over 100 pages of additional information and documentation.

Every citizen is entitled and even required by the moral imperative to report a crime if there is evidence. In this case, the evidence is overwhelming. No person reporting a crime can be accused of defamation because he or she is supplying proof. The person reporting a crime will not be labeled a political extremist because he is not making a political statement but simply reporting a crime.

The evidence supporting the charges is available to anyone who sifts through the huge amount of information available in scientific journals and other publications, keys in on the significant facts, and presents these facts in a legal context.

Because the alleged crimes directly affect you and your countrymen, you have the special right to file these charges. It is the responsibility and mandate of law enforcement agency to initiate an investigation if anyone presents credible evidence of a crime. That is what they are there for. They cannot refuse to accept your charges.

You are not guaranteed a conviction simply because you have filed charges. State-sponsored crimes are more difficult to prosecute for obvious reasons. The criminals you are charging have infiltrated high government offices and now use the apparatus of the state to carry out and cover up their crimes, and they will try to stop investigative and enforcement actions from taking place.

However, by filing these charges you are guaranteed that your local law enforcement officials will be required to read them and assess the evidence you have presented. Their mandate as law enforcement officials dictates that they must. At the very least, they will become aware that there are bioterrorists in the U.S., and that they are sitting in high government and corporate places. If enough people file charges in the U.S., a District Attorney somewhere may actually take action and prosecute.

The Evidence Document contains additional facts and arguments to support the notion that an international financial crime group that has annexed high government office is using the artificial pandemic virus for the purpose of genocide prior to allowing World Health Organization and United Nations troops to occupy the U.S.

Put down your blind faith and insist on accountability from your government

Not even the President of the United States is above the law. There is no office of power great enough to abolish the Constitution. It is the Constitution that grants all government officials their power. Therefore, no government official including the President of the United States can abolish the Constitution by any executive order without abolishing his own power as well.

In addition to filing charges or instead of filing charges, you can write letters to your state congress and senate representatives and add links to these documents and the evidence they contain.

You can also learn about the Vaccine Resistance Movement Petition and how to sign it at http://www.naturalnews.com/026496_N...

If you witness a crime being committed by the government, Jane is urging you to file new charges. You always have that right. Insist on accountability from law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Constitution was created to protect you.

Whether you file charges or not, these documents must be read

Links to these forms and files can be found at http://birdflu666.wordpress.com/ , under the date of June 24th. Whether you have an interest in filing charges or not, the Criminal Charges is a document that must be read. It will undoubtedly move you to some sort of action.

Steps to safeguard liberty must be taken now

At a time when we have just completed the annual celebration of our Constitution with its Bill of Rights, we must recall that the Constitution says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

And from the Bill of Rights, "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Today we find that our government and other governments around the world have become corroded and corrupted by greed and hunger for power. We are facing a resurrection of Nazi style totalitarianism, under which people are being reduced to the status of slaves who are expendable when they get in the way of wealth and power accumulation.

The deliberate release of an artificially created virus by men with the purpose of triggering forced vaccination with a toxic substance indicates that governments around the world have joined forces with the criminal corporate elite against the rest of humanity.

Yet, we have been slow to wake up to this fact because we have come to believe that if we don't hear about something on television or read about it in the mainstream media, it can't be true. We have failed to realize that these traditional information outlets are owned and controlled by the very people who are plotting against us. Any mention of their true agenda is prohibited in traditional information outlets.

The powers that scheme against us have tried to make us distrustful of the information found on the internet, the one remaining source for freedom of speech. Their representatives deride reports of what we witness everywhere around us as being conspiracy theory. But once we have read the Criminal Charges, we can no longer fail to recognize the tightening grip of totalitarianism.

We have failed to safeguard our most precious possession, our liberty. We have devoted ourselves to the mindless accumulation of goods and services and we have used our possessions as weapons against each other. We have allowed our possessions to divide us, and we have become complacent and compliant in the face of what really counts. It is time to wake up from our national stupor and realize we are about to lose the only possession that really counts.

The charges filed by Jane Burgermeister with the FBI on June 10th may be the force that galvanizes us into action. By filing her charges she has rubbed our faces in the fact we are rapidly losing out liberty. This fact can no longer be denied. Many Americans are embarrassed that while our heads were buried in the sand, these charges were filed by a person living in Austria. And now we know that she has paid a high price for trying to save us.

On June 30th, Jane was unexpectedly fired from her job as European correspondent for the publication Renewable Energy, just days after receiving a promotion from them, and immediately after the Natural News exclusive article appeared. Renewable Energy is a publication of PenWell, a company geared toward coverage of the power generation industry. Jane was already an employee of Renewable Energy when it was acquired by PenWell in 2007. She believes the decision to fire her was the result of the information presented in the article. If she is correct, her firing follows the pattern of other journalists who have recently been fired as the result of standing up for what they believe is true. This muzzling of journalists is one more symptom of descending totalitarianism.
http://www.naturalnews.com/z026562_vaccinations_NaturalNews_The_Constitution.html

New Evidence That Vinegar May Be Natural Fat-fighter
ScienceDaily (July 7, 2009) — Researchers in Japan are reporting new evidence that the ordinary vinegar — a staple in oil-and-vinegar salad dressings, pickles, and other foods — may live up to its age-old reputation in folk medicine as a health promoter. They are reporting new evidence that vinegar can help prevent accumulation of body fat and weight gain. 
Tomoo Kondo and colleagues note in the new study that vinegar has also been used as a folk medicine since ancient times. People have used it for a range of ills. Modern scientific research suggests that acetic acid, the main component of vinegar, may help control blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and fat accumulation.
Their new study showed that laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet and given acetic acid developed significantly less body fat (up to 10 percent less) than other mice.
Importantly, the new research adds evidence to the belief that acetic acid fights fat by turning on genes for fatty acid oxidation enzymes. The genes churn out proteins involved in breaking down fats, thus suppressing body fat accumulation in the body.
Kondo et al. Acetic Acid Upregulates the Expression of Genes for Fatty Acid Oxidation Enzymes in Liver To Suppress Body Fat Accumulation. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2009; 090609114939008 DOI: 10.1021/jf900470c
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622103820.htm

Understanding The Anticancer Effects Of Vitamin D3
ScienceDaily (July 7, 2009) — The active form of vitamin D3 seems to have anticancer effects. To try and understand the mechanisms underlying these effects, researchers previously set out to identify genes whose expression in a human colon cancer cell line was altered by the active form of vitamin D3.
One gene identified in this previous study was CST5, which is responsible for making the protein cystatin D. Now, a team of researchers, at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain, and the Universidad de Oviedo, Spain, has studied this protein in detail and determined that it has tumor suppressor activity that likely accounts for some of the anticancer effects of the active form of vitamin D3.
The team, led by Alberto Muñoz and Carlos López-Otín, initially established that the active form of vitamin D3 directly activates the CST5 gene in human colon cancer cell lines, increasing levels of cystatin D protein. Functionally, cystatin D was shown to inhibit the growth of human colon cancer cells lines in vitro and when they were xenotransplanted into mice. As knocking down expression of cystatin D in human colon cancer cell lines rendered them unresponsive to the antiproliferative effects of the active form of vitamin D3, the authors conclude that CST5 is a candidate tumor suppressor gene and that it mediates a large proportion of the anticancer effects of the active form of vitamin D3. These data provide rationale for clinical trials examining the preventive and therapeutic potential of the active form of vitamin D3 in colon cancer.
Cystatin D is a candidate tumor suppressor gene induced by vitamin D in human colon cancer cells. Journal of Clinical Investigation, July 6, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090706171500.htm

Intestinal Cells Surprisingly Active In Pursuit Of Nutrition And Defense

ScienceDaily (July 6, 2009) — Every cell lining the small intestine bristles with thousands of tightly packed microvilli that project into the gut lumen, forming a brush border that absorbs nutrients and protects the body from intestinal bacteria.
In the June 29, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Matthew McConnell, Matthew Tyska, and colleagues now find that microvilli extend their functional reach even further using a molecular motor to send vesicles packed with gut enzymes out into the lumen to get a head start on breaking down their substrates.
Microvilli have traditionally been viewed as passive scaffolds that increase the surface area of the gut wall. The apical plasma membrane tightly wraps around each protrusive bundle of actin, providing more space for nutrient processing and absorption. The motor protein myosin-1a (myo1a) maintains this structure by connecting the plasma membrane to the actin filaments.
In 2007, Tyska and colleagues found that myo1a functions in isolated brush borders to actively move membrane along the length of the microvilli, like a "membrane escalator." To their surprise, at the top of these escalators—the tips of the microvilli—the membrane pinched off to form small vesicles that were released into the surrounding medium. According to Tyska, when they showed their data to gastroenterologists, they immediately asked "Why would brush borders do that? They're wasting perfectly good apical membrane!" Tyska therefore wanted to see if vesicle shedding was a bona fide physiological function for microvilli.
Sure enough, scanning electron micrographs of rat intestines showed protrusions at the tips of microvilli that looked similar to budding vesicles. And a look at the gut's contents revealed vesicles enriched in the brush border enzyme intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP). The vesicles were packed with classical brush border membrane proteins such as aminopeptidases and sugar-processing enzymes, suggesting that the vesicles were derived from microvilli. The vesicles also contained several proteins such as annexin A13 that bend cell membranes and could form part of the vesicle budding machinery.
One protein definitely involved in vesicle formation is myo1a. Myo1a knockout mice still produce lumenal vesicles but they are irregularly sized and no longer enriched in specific proteins like IAP. Tyska thinks that these knockout vesicles are actually chunks of microvillar membrane that are nonspecifically shed when myo1a isn't present to keep them attached to the actin core.
Returning to the gastroenterologists' question: Why would brush borders do that? McConnell et al. showed that the packaged enzymes were exposed on the vesicles' outer surface and were catalytically active. Releasing the enzymes in vesicles might increase their mixing with substrates in the gut's contents. Tyska is particularly interested in IAP, which has recently been shown to detoxify the bacterial outer-membrane component lipopolysaccharide. Releasing IAP in lumenal vesicles could be an important defense mechanism against intestinal pathogens.
Reference: McConnell, R.E., et al. 2009. J. Cell Biol. doi:10.1083/jcb.200902147.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629100637.htm

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health-Science/Vegetable-protein-linked-to-lower-BP/articleshow/4748576.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health-Science/Carbohydrates-can-suppress-tumours/articleshow/4748429.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health-Science/Health/Adopt-a-proper-diet-to-control-diabetes-/articleshow/4737725.cms

More evidence that BPA leaches from plastic bottles and into people.

Environmental Health News, Jul 07, 2009

Carwile, JL, HT, Luu, LS, Bassett, DA, Driscoll, C, Yuan, JY, Chang, X, Ye, AM Calafat and KB Michels. 2009. Use of polycarbonate bottles and urinary bisphenol A concentrations. Environmental Health Perspectives doi:10.1289/ehp.0900604.
Synopsis by Heather Patisaul, Ph.D.

Bisphenol A levels in urine are significantly higher after drinking liquids from plastic bottles, a finding that provides further evidence that BPA can leach from plastic containers into their contents.

A new study from Harvard University has found that urine levels of BPA are 69 percent higher after drinking cold liquids from polycarbonate plastic bottles.
Heating has long been known to enhance the migration of BPA from polycarbonate containers but this is the first study to show that urinary levels of BPA are elevated after drinking cold liquids. The report is another in a growing list of studies showing that food and beverages stored in containers containing BPA can become contaminated.
For this study 77 Harvard students drank cold liquids from polycarbonate bottles known to contain BPA for a week. BPA levels in urine samples collected at the beginning and end of this week were then compared. To minimize BPA exposure before the experiment started, students were given stainless steel bottles and asked to use those in place of plastic bottles for several days before the first urine samples were collected.
Compliance with this request was quite high. Urinary levels of BPA were 69 percent higher following polycarbonate bottle use demonstrating that BPA readily leaches from plastic containers, even when the contents are not heated.
The results from this study are consistent with the Center for Disease Control’s conclusion that more than 95 percent of Americans have BPA in their bodies, most likely the result of consuming BPA contaminated food and beverages.
BPA is found in a wide variety of household products most notably polycarbonate containers and the epoxy lining of aluminum food and beverage cans such as soda cans. Bottles with the number 7 on the bottom are polycarbonate and may contain BPA. BPA is also used to manufacture medical devices, compact discs, eye glasses, plastic water pipes and to line the insides of water storage towers.
BPA is an endocrine disruptor and can interfere with the action of hormones, including estrogen and thyroid hormones, in the body. High urinary levels of BPA have also been associated with chronic disease in humans including heart disease and diabetes.
Last year the Food and Drug Administration reaffirmed its position that BPA exposure does not pose a significant risk to human health. Despite this position, many polycarbonate bottle manufacturers including Nalgene and most baby bottle producers, voluntarily agreed to stop using BPA in their products. The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to evaluate the safety of BPA in medical devices, a process that will likely begin later this year.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/more-evidence-bpa-leaches-from-plastic-bottles-into-people

Celiac Disease Becoming More Common

Celiac disease, a serious immune system reaction to the protein in wheat and other grains, is far more common today than it was 50 years ago, a new study shows.
People who have celiac disease can’t tolerate gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye or barley. Life with celiac is difficult because gluten is found in many medications and processed foods. When gluten is consumed, the body’s immune system damages the small intestine and nutrients can’t be absorbed.
While it’s been known that the incidence of celiac is on the rise, it hasn’t been clear whether doctors are simply looking for it more often, and therefore finding more cases. But new research from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., suggests that the disease is four times more common today than it was in the 1950s, and not just because doctors are more likely to test for it.
The study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, analyzed blood samples collected from 9,133 healthy adults collected at Warren Air Force Base between 1948 and 1954. Another 12,768 gender-matched subjects from a study in Olmsted County, Minn., were also analyzed for signs of celiac disease.
Of the blood samples collected 50 years ago, only 0.2 percent had celiac disease. In the more recent blood samples, the incidence of celiac disease was more than four times greater. Today, it’s estimated that about one in 100 people have celiac disease.
Doctors don’t know why celiac is on the rise. It may be due to changes in the way wheat is grown and processed, or the ubiquity of gluten in medications and processed foods. Symptoms of celiac disease include diarrhea, abdominal pain and weight loss. Nutritional problems are also common, and anemia, loss of teeth and premature bone loss can occur.
The trend is concerning because celiac disease is often misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome or another condition. It’s been estimated that for every person diagnosed with celiac disease, another 30 people have it but haven’t been diagnosed. Once diagnosed, the disease can be managed by eating a gluten-free diet. But when people don’t know they have the problem and continue to eat gluten-containing products, the intestines become severely damaged, leading to long-term health problems and a higher risk of dying compared to people who don’t have celiac.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/celiac-disease-becoming-more-common/

Secrets Revealed About How Disease-causing DNA Mutations Occur

ScienceDaily (July 5, 2009) — A team of Penn State scientists has shed light on the processes that lead to certain human DNA mutations that are implicated in hundreds of inherited diseases such as tuberous sclerosis and neurofibromatosis type 1. The results one day could influence the way couples who seek to have children receive genetic counseling.
The team, led by Kateryna Makova, an associate professor of biology, also includes Erika Kvikstad, a graduate student in the Department of Biology, and Francesca Chiaromonte, an associate professor of statistics.
The scientists examined insertions and deletions -- mutations in which small fragments of DNA are either added or subtracted from the genome -- and they found patterns in the DNA sequences immediately surrounding the mutations. "The patterns in the DNA sequences that surround insertions and deletions suggest mechanisms that may have generated the insertions and deletions," said Chiaromonte. According to the researchers, the study is the first to detect patterns in the DNA sequences adjacent to insertions and deletions of DNA fragments at the genome-wide scale.
The team also found striking differences between insertions and deletions. For example, they found that recognition sites for the enzyme topoisomerase, which is responsible for winding and unwinding DNA, were more prevalent near deletions than near insertions. "We were surprised to find that the patterns of DNA sequences surrounding insertions versus deletions are unique because scientists previously have lumped the two types of mutations together," said Kvikstad.
Scientists also previously had believed that insertions and deletions are formed mostly by errors taking place during DNA replication, but the team found that the mutations also can form by mechanisms related to recombination. "What's striking is that most insertions and deletions are thought to occur by replication errors and, while this is a primary source generating the mutations, we discovered that recombination also is very important," said Kvikstad.
For one of the first times in a genome-wide study, the team used a statistical method, called wavelet analysis, which allows scientists to look at variability in a sample at multiple scales simultaneously. For example, JPEG image files, which preserve an image's different qualities regardless of whether the image is made smaller or larger, use a similar wavelet-like method. According to Chiaromonte, "When you run a wavelet analysis you are characterizing the signals simultaneously at many scales. In our case, the signal was the composition of the DNA sequences surrounding insertions and deletions. To be able to look at these sequences with a multi-scale approach was really important for our ability to find interesting features."
Using the wavelet analysis, the team confirmed that scale is important in detecting patterns of DNA sequences adjacent to insertions and deletions. For example, they were able to detect an increased number of DNA sequences responsible for pausing DNA polymerase, an enzyme involved in DNA replication, at the finest scales (10 to 20 DNA base pairs), but not at larger scales.
Both replication and recombination errors can lead to disease-causing mutations in humans. According to the researchers, if we know that certain diseases are more likely to be caused by recombination than by replication errors, doctors can provide better advice to couples who want to have children. "For example, there is a difference among males and females in the number of replication rounds that their germline cells undergo. Males undergo more rounds of DNA replication than females and the number of replication rounds increases with a male's age. If we know that a disease is due to a replication error rather than a recombination error, doctors can provide better genetic counseling to couples," said Makova.
These findings will be published in the July 2009 issue of the journal Genome Research.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701182912.htm

Rush Of Blood To The Head: Anger Increases Blood Flow

ScienceDaily (July 4, 2009) — Mental stress causes carotid artery dilation and increases brain blood flow. A series of ultrasound experiments also found that this dilatory reflex was absent in people with high blood pressure.
Tasneem Naqvi and Hahn Hyuhn from the University of Southern California and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center evaluated carotid artery reactivity and brain blood flow in response to mental stress in 10 healthy young volunteers (aged between 19 and 27 years), 20 older healthy volunteers (aged 38 to 60 years) and in 28 patients with essential hypertension (aged 38 to 64 years). They found that in healthy subjects, mental stress caused vasodilation. This was accompanied by a net increase in brain blood flow. In hypertensive subjects, mental stress produced no vasodilation and no significant change in brain blood flow.
During the experiments, the volunteers were set a series of tasks designed to provoke mental stress, including reading, arithmetic and anger recall tests. The researchers used ultrasound imaging to measure the effects of this activity on the carotid artery and an artery within the brain, while also measuring blood pressure and heart rate.
According to Naqvi, "Inappropriate vasoconstriction, or lack of dilation in response to mental stress in stable coronary heart disease, contributes to the genesis of myocardial ischemia and confers an increased risk in patients with coronary artery disease. It will be interesting to see whether the lack of mental stress induced dilation we found defines subjects at increased risk of future cerebral events." Lack of required blood flow increase to the brain during mental activities may potentially affect cognition and cerebral performance during complex cerebral tasks.
Tasneem Z Naqvi and Hahn K Hyuhn. Cerebrovascular mental stress reactivity is impaired in hypertension. Cardiovascular Ultrasound, (in press) 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090703065222.htm

New Treatment For Receding Gums: No Pain, Lots Of Gain

ScienceDaily (July 4, 2009) — Tufts dental researchers conducted a three-year follow-up study that examined the stability of a treatment option for receding gums and found that complete root coverage — the goal of the surgery — had been maintained. This specific tissue regeneration application, developed at Tufts, reduces the considerable pain and recovery time of gum grafting surgery.
The case study of six patients is published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Periodontology.
“Patients have a less invasive treatment option for receding gums and we now have evidence to support the stability of this relatively painless procedure. Instead of leaving the dental office with stitches in the roof of their mouth, a patient leaves with a small bandage on the arm that can be removed in an hour,” said Terrence Griffin, DMD, associate professor, chair of the department of periodontology, and director of postdoctoral periodontology at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston.
“One of our previous research studies showed that all of the post-operative bleeding and most of the post-operative pain were related to the gum tissue removed from the roof of the mouth for use as a graft,” he continued.
Traditional gum grafting surgery requires surgically excising tissue from the roof of the mouth (the palate) to replace the gum tissue lost around the teeth. Unfortunately, removing tissue from the roof of the mouth extends recovery time and is a major source of patients’ discomfort or pain. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, periodontal disease is the primary cause of tooth loss in adults aged 35 and older. Periodontal disease includes gum recession, also called gingival recession, which can result in tooth root decay and tooth loss.
The new tissue regeneration application from Tufts uses platelet concentrate gel applied to a collagen membrane as the graft instead of using tissue from the roof of the mouth. The graft is soaked in the patient’s platelets, using blood drawn in the same visit. Placed over the receding tooth root, the graft is then surgically secured.
In order to examine three-year efficacy of the treatment, measurements were taken from six patients in the gum recession area at baseline, 6, and 36 months after surgery. At six months, 24 out of 37 teeth from the six patients had complete root coverage (65 percent). At 36 months, 21 out of 37 teeth from the six patients had complete root coverage (57 percent). The authors said that the recession over three years was minimal and that the results are comparable to traditional gum grafting surgery.
 “Our previous research determined that pain and discomfort were barriers to receiving traditional gum grafting surgery. We have also shown previously that this treatment for gum recession results in proper coverage of the tooth root, better esthetics than those found with traditional gum grafting surgery, and enhanced patient satisfaction with the results,” said co-author Wai Cheung, DMD, MS, assistant professor in the department of periodontology at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.
Over the last decade, Griffin and his colleagues, including Cheung, have studied alternatives to traditional gum grafting surgery and have more than 20 publications on the topic.
“Gum disease affects most American adults and research is linking periodontal disease to other health problems, including heart disease. Encouraging patients to undergo surgery to fix receding gums can be difficult because the mere thought of this dental surgery is often associated with considerable pain. This treatment, while only marginally more expensive for the patient, is more time-consuming and technically more difficult for us but the end result — improved esthetics, reduced pain, and, most importantly, improved oral health for the patient — make it a valuable and important alternative,” said Griffin.

The Problem With Self-help Books: The Negative Side To Positive Self-statements

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2009) — In times of doubt and uncertainty, many Americans turn to self-help books in search of encouragement, guidance and self-affirmation. The positive self-statements suggested in these books, such as "I am a lovable person" or "I will succeed," are designed to lift a person's low self-esteem and push them into positive action.
According to a recent study in Psychological Science, however, these statements can actually have the opposite effect.
Psychologists Joanne V. Wood and John W. Lee from the University of Waterloo, and W.Q. Elaine Perunovic from the University of New Brunswick, found that individuals with low self-esteem actually felt worse about themselves after repeating positive self-statements.
The researchers asked participants with low self-esteem and high self-esteem to repeat the self-help book phrase "I am a lovable person." The psychologists then measured the participants' moods and their momentary feelings about themselves. As it turned out, the individuals with low self-esteem felt worse after repeating the positive self-statement compared to another low self-esteem group who did not repeat the self-statement. The individuals with high self-esteem felt better after repeating the positive self-statement--but only slightly.
In a follow-up study, the psychologists allowed the participants to list negative self-thoughts along with positive self-thoughts. They found that, paradoxically, low self-esteem participants' moods fared better when they were allowed to have negative thoughts than when they were asked to focus exclusively on affirmative thoughts.
The psychologists suggested that, like overly positive praise, unreasonably positive self-statements, such as "I accept myself completely," can provoke contradictory thoughts in individuals with low self-esteem. Such negative thoughts can overwhelm the positive thoughts. And, if people are instructed to focus exclusively on positive thoughts, they may find negative thoughts to be especially discouraging.
As the authors concluded, "Repeating positive self-statements may benefit certain people [such as individuals with high self-esteem] but backfire for the very people who need them the most."
Wood et al. Positive Self-Statements: Power for Some, Peril for Others. Psychological Science, 2009; DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02370.x
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702110503.htm

Doubts Cast On Credibility Of Some Published Clinical Trials

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2009) — Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) are considered the 'gold standard' research method for assessing new medical treatments. But research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Trials shows that the design of a remarkable 93 percent of 2235 so-called RCTs published in some Chinese medical journals during 1994 to 2005 was flawed, casting doubt on the reliability of research that is likely to influence medical decision-makers.
Researchers led by Taixiang Wu of the Chinese Cochrane Centre at Sichuan University, China and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute investigated clinical trials published in China between 1994 and 2005, searching the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) electronic database for RCTs on 20 common diseases. To determine how many of these met recognised standards for randomly allocating participants to treatment groups, trained investigators interviewed the first or co-authors of 2235 trial reports by phone.
Less than seven percent of self-described RCTs published in some Chinese medical journals meet criteria for authentic randomisation. The researchers looked at both conventional and traditional Chinese medicine trials, but there was no difference between these in terms of study authenticity rates. However, all RCTs of pre-market drug clinical trial were authentic, and RCTs conducted at hospitals affiliated with medical universities were more likely to be authentic than trials conducted at lower tier level three and level two hospitals. More than half of the trials at university-affiliated hospitals met RCT criteria, which means lower-tier hospital research is the least rigorous in design terms.
"The fact that so many non-RCTs were published as RCTs reflected that peer-review needs to be improved and a Good Practice of Peer Review, including how to identify the authenticity of the study, urgently needs to be developed," says Wu.
Misleading reporting of medical research is not unique to China. Studies labelled as RCTs are more likely to influence health policy-makers meaning falsely reported RCTs have the potential to mislead health care providers, consumers and policy-makers. The results of this study suggest authors of systematic reviews – articles that combine the results of multiple RCTs – need to be aware that RCTs in some Chinese journals may not be RCTs at all.
The approximately 1100 medical journals now active in China are rapidly increasing their output of research reports, including many identified by their authors as RCTs. But these trials present mostly positive results (they favour the treatment being investigated), which can be influenced by inadequate randomisation of patients when designing the study.
This study was funded by the Chinese Medical Board of New York.
Taixiang Wu, Youping Li, Zhaoxiang Bian, Guanjian Liu and David Moher. Randomized trials published in some Chinese journals: How many are randomized? Trials, (in press) 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702184146.htm

Vegetarian Diets Can Help Prevent Chronic Diseases, American Dietetic Association Says

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2009) — The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on vegetarian diets that concludes such diets, if well-planned, are healthful and nutritious for adults, infants, children and adolescents and can help prevent and treat chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes.
ADA's position, published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, represents the Association's official stance on vegetarian diets:
"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes."
ADA's position and accompanying paper were written by Winston Craig, PhD, MPH, RD, professor and chair of the department of nutrition and wellness at Andrews University; and Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, nutrition advisor at the Vegetarian Resource Group, Baltimore, Md.
The revised position paper incorporates new topics and additional information on key nutrients for vegetarians, vegetarian diets in the life cycle and the use of vegetarian diets in prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. "Vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle," according to ADA's position. "There are many reasons for the rising interest in vegetarian diets. The number of vegetarians in the United States is expected to increase over the next decade."
Vegetarian diets are often associated with health advantages including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, according to ADA's position. "Vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and have higher levels of dietary fiber, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids and other phytochemicals. These nutritional differences may explain some of the health advantages of those following a varied, balanced vegetarian diet."
The position paper draws on results from ADA's evidence analysis process and information from the ADA Evidence Analysis Library to show vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. Additionally, an evidence-based review showed a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease.
A section in ADA's paper on vegetarian diets and cancer has been significantly expanded to provide details on cancer-protective factors in vegetarian diets. An expanded section on osteoporosis includes roles of fruits, vegetables, soy products, protein, calcium, vitamins D and K and potassium in bone health. "Registered dietitians can provide information about key nutrients, modify vegetarian diets to meet the needs of those with dietary restrictions due to disease or allergies and supply guidelines to meet needs of clients in different areas of the life cycle," the authors said.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701103002.htm

Healthy Sex Life After A Cardiac Event

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2009) — Resuming sexual activity is expressed by patients as extremely important after a myocar dial infarction (MI). In spite of this, sex counselling is an area of nursing practice that is frequently neglected and needs more evidence-based knowledge.
An active sex life is an important condition of life, both before and after an acute or chronic disorder, but evidence concerning the sex life, marital life and marital functioning of patients after having suffered a cardiac event is relatively inadequate. More than 50 percent of patients describe a decrease in sexual activity and satisfaction after an MI.
The most important reason given is the fear of triggering a (re-) infarction, which creates stress and anxiety in the sex and marital life of a couple.
“Counselling should focus on encouraging patients to live a physically active life and not on abstaining from sexual activity. However, sex counselling is frequently neg lected by cardiovascular nurses and the area needs more evidence-based knowledge with regard to sex and marital life, leading to both primary and secondary recommendations and actions,” says Professor Bengt Fridlund, School of Health Sciences in Jönköping.
Accordingly, European cardiovascular nursing researchers (UNITE study group) within the European Society of Cardiology with strong affiliations to the School of Health Sciences have had this as a focal area since 2009. The study group has conducted a European survey regarding cardiovascular nurses’ sex information, counselling and attitudes to patients suffering a cardiac event.
Moreover the SAMMI study group, based at the School of Health Sciences and Växjö Universi ty, has an ongoing nationwide survey aimed at studying patients’ and their partners’ sex life and marital function one year before as well as after a first MI.
The CONCORDES study group, affiliated to the School of Health Sciences, Linköping University and the University of Kalmar, has instigated an investigation similar to the one conducted by UNITE to assess the knowledge and attitudes of cardiovascular teams regarding sex life and marital function in relation to a car diac event in three south-east counties in Sweden, and will extend the study to include patients as well as their partners.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090703065458.htm

Toxic Chemicals Release Report Shows Mercury, PCB Pollution Rise Dramatically

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com  July 3, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Releases of mercury, PCBs, lead and dioxin into the environment increased significantly between 2006 and 2007, according to the annual "Toxics Release Inventory," published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"This information underscores the need for fundamental transparency and provides a powerful tool for protecting public health and the environment," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. "Serving the public's right to know is the crucial first step in reducing toxic chemicals in the places where we live, work and raise children." 

The "Toxics Release Inventory" classifies all releases together, including legal and illegal dumping, disposal in mine reclamation ponds (which leach into groundwater) and disposal in toxic dump sites.

Between 2006 and 2007, PCB releases increased by 40 percent, due to disposal of supplies manufactured before the substances were banned in 1979. Mercury releases, mostly due to mining, increased by 38 percent. Dioxin releases increased by 11 percent, and lead releases increased by 1 percent. Overall releases of all persistent, bioaccumalitive and toxic chemicals or metals increased by 1 percent.

PCBs and dioxins are highly toxic to animal life, particularly birds. Both accumulate in animal (including human) bodies and disrupt the body's hormonal and reproductive systems. Lead and mercury can cause neurological and behavioral problems, particularly in children. All four pollutants are especially dangerous to pregnant women and children, due to their effects on the body's development.

According to the "Toxics Release Inventory," slight decreases in air and water pollution occurred between 2006 and 2007 -- 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

In December 2006, the Bush administration implemented a rule decreasing the thoroughness of the EPA's toxics release reporting program. In March of this year, however, President Obama signed a law overturning the Bush policy.

"The public has a right to know about chemicals in their air and water," said New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who authored the law. "The Bush administration watered down this law and let facilities hide critical data about their toxic chemical emissions. It is time to restore the public's right to know about the release of toxic chemicals in their communities."

http://www.naturalnews.com/026550_chemicals_PCB_mercury.html

Widely Used Cancer Drug Causes Potentially Deadly Holes in GI Tract

S. L. Baker, NaturalNews.com  July 3, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Bevacizumab is the generic name for the widely used Genetech cancer drug marketed as Avastin. It inhibits tumor growth by blocking angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels. But according to an article just published in the June edition of The Lancet Oncology, cancer patients treated with Avastin in combination with chemotherapy are at a heightened risk of experiencing a potentially catastrophic side effect. In fact, it's a side effect that could kill them before their malignancy does -- a gastrointestinal (GI) perforation (a hole in the wall of the stomach, small intestine or large bowel).

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), gastrointestinal perforations lead to leakage of intestinal contents into the abdominal cavity, causing an inflammation known as peritonitis. Symptoms of this condition may include severe abdominal pain, chills, fever, nausea and vomiting. Treatment includes antibiotics and sometimes surgery. In a patient already weakened from previous surgery and chemo, additional major surgery and drugs clearly pose serious risks. 

There have been concerns about the use of bevacizumab and GI perforation in the past, spurring the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a black-box warning stating the drug should be discontinued in patients who already had a GI perforation. However, a direct link between the drug and perforation hasn't been firmly established -- until now.

A huge hole in your stomach

As reported in The Lancet Oncology, scientist Shenhong Wu and colleagues from Stony Brook University Cancer Center in New York conducted a meta-analysis of 17 randomized trials involving 12,294 patients with a variety of solid tumors to find out whether bevacizumab causes GI perforations. The researchers also investigated whether the dose of bevacizumab is related to an increased risk of developing GI perforations and whether having a specific type of cancer ups the risk, too.

The results of the study showed that the incidence of GI perforation was almost one percent, with two times the increased risk of GI perforation in patients receiving bevacizumab compared with controls. What's more, the researchers found a mortality rate of 21.7 percent in cancer patients who developed GI perforation. 

The chance of developing a GI perforation was found to be dose-dependent. Lower doses of bevacizumab (2.5 mg/kg per week) increased the chance of GI perforation by 61 percent; while at a higher dose (5 mg/kg per week), the risk of a GI perforation increased by 167 percent. The incidence of GI perforation with bevacizumab also varied depending on what type of cancer the patient had. The highest incidence was found among patients with advanced colorectal cancer and renal cell cancer, and the lowest was in patients with pancreatic cancer.

"As bevacizumab is extensively used in routine cancer treatment...it will be increasingly important to recognize symptoms indicating perforation and intervene promptly to reduce morbidity and fatality...our study might help to identify a subset of patients receiving bevacizumab at high risk of bevacizumab-associated perforation," the study authors concluded in their article.

This is not the first time bevacizumab, a.k.a. Avastin, has had some bad publicity. First approved by the FDA in 2004 for metastatic colon and non-small cell lung cancer, the drug was also approved to treat metastatic breast cancer in 2008. That decision generated controversy because it went against the recommendation of the FDA's own advisory panel. The reason? FDA approval for late-stage cancer treatments is supposed to be contingent upon data showing a drug extends or improves the quality of patients' lives. According to Genentech's own application for the approval of Avastin, this drug does neither.

http://www.naturalnews.com/026549_cancer_avastin_cancer_treatment.html

Taurine Keeps Immune Systems Strong and Protects Organs

Barbara Minton, NaturalNews.com  July 5, 2009 

(NaturalNews) A seldom thought of amino acid called taurine is turning out to have remarkable properties. New research has revealed that taurine deficiency can compromise the immune system, while supplemental taurine can boost white blood cell count even during chemotherapy. Taurine is protective of organs during oxidative stress and injury, and is a powerful protector of the heart.

Scientists in China have found that taurine plays an important role in the functioning of leucocytes, the white cells in blood that are the backbone of the immune system. They investigated the enhancing effect of taurine on leucocytes after the administration of chemotherapy to mice with induced lung cancer. Some of the mice were given a chemotherapy drug alone, and some were given the drug plus supplemental taurine. The researchers studied the results through the use of indexes that included tumor inhibition rate, count of bone marrow nucleate cells, count and classification of white blood cells, spleen, and thymus.

The lymphocyte proliferation and phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophage and peripheral blood neutrophilic granulocyte and monocyte activity were tested to analyze the effect of taurine on enhancing leucocyte function after the chemotherapy drug was administered. The mice receiving taurine supplementation were given 40 mg/kg, 80 mg/kg, or 160 mg/kg ofbody weight.

The tumor inhibition rates for all groups taking taurine combined with the chemotherapy drug were higher than those in the group treated with the chemotherapy drug alone. Compared with the drug only group, all three of the taurine supplemented groups showed increases in count of bone marrow, nucleate cells, count and classification of white blood cells, spleen, thymus, lymphocyte proliteration, and in the phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophage, and peripheral blood neutrophilic granulocyte and monocyte function. (European Journal of Pharmacology, May 31)

Chemotherapy targets cells that are growing quickly with the mission of killing cancerous cells. This is why chemotherapy is so devastating to hair, the digestive system, and bone marrow where white blood cells are made. People receiving chemotherapy face a high risk for developing infections, and they are less able to fight off infections once they develop.

Although different types of chemotherapy affect the immune system differently, this research suggests that humans undergoing chemotherapy may be able to enhance the function of their leucocytes with taurine. Although not as detrimental to the immune system as chemotherapy, radiation also has a suppressing effect on the production of leucocytes that may be mitigated by taurine.

Another research team in China has just completed an investigation of the effects of taurine supplementation on the immune system. This group fed baby quail a diet containing 0.01%, or 0.05% taurine for 42 days and concluded that taurine supplementation had a beneficial effect on immune response and performance. (Poultry Science, July)

Taurine protects major organs from oxidative stress

Two other new research studies on taurine highlight its ability to act as an important antioxidant. Other researchers in China studied the ability of taurine to deal effectively with induced reactive oxygen species that can be highly injurious to kidney cells. Rats were administered ethylene glycol and ammonium chloride with restrictions on intake of drinking water for 4 weeks. Simultaneous treatment with taurine was given. At the end of the study, indexes of oxidative stress and renal injury were assessed. The data documented that severe oxidative injury of the kidneys occurred, and hyperplasia of mitochondria developed in kidney epithelial cells. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase, two of the most powerful antioxidants produced in the body, decreased and the mitochondrial membrane showed oxidative injury.

Taurine treatment alleviated the oxidative injury of the kidneys, improved SOD and glutathione peroxidase activities, and improved mitochondrial membrane injury. Less crystal deposition was found in the kidneys of the rats treated with taurine. (Urology Research, June 10)

An investigation of whether taurine could play a protective role against a potent neurotoxin in the rat brain was carried out by researchers in India. They administered arsenic to rats that resulted in increased intracellular accumulation of heavy metal, production of reactive oxygen species, and superoxide radicals. Oral administration of taurine at a dose of 100mg/kg of body weight for 5 days was found to be highly effective in the prevention of arsenic induced oxidative impairment in the brain tissue of the rats. (Drug Chemistry Toxicology, 2009)

Taurine halts cardiac arrhythmias

Natural News recently ran an article spotlighting the research of Dr. George Eby showing taurine could effectively prevent cardiac arrhythmias in humanshttp://www.naturalnews.com/026380_t.... In a special report, Dr. Eby cites the work of E.I. Chazov who demonstrated that taurine could reverse EKG abnormalities such as S-T segment changes, T-wave inversions, and extra heartbeats such as premature atrial contractions and premature ventricular contractions in animals.

Taurine restores youthful energy levels

Dr. Eby refers to taurine deficiency as "the little old man/little old lady syndrome, known and clearly evinced by the mental image invoked." According to him the problem of low taurine levels appears simple to alleviate with supplemental dietary taurine, available at nearly all healthy food stores, pharmacies and grocery stores in the U.S. and elsewhere. He notes that taurine is why some energy drinks give people energy. These drinks contain taurine and restore taurine levels in the body to the levels of youth, when energy levels were at their peak.

Taurine is highly concentrated in animal and fish protein and is often lacking in the diets of vegetarians. Taurine is a non-essential amino acid which can be derived from food or synthesized from the amino acid cysteine when adequate levels of vitamin B6 are present. Writing on taurine, Dr. Eby says it is "essential to fetal and newborn central nervous systemdevelopment. The infant cannot initially manufacture taurine and must obtain taurine from its mother's milk. Taurine plays a variety of roles in the normal functioning of the brain, heart, gallbladder, eyes, and vascular system. It is the most important and abundant free amino acid in your heart and contributes to your heart muscle's contractility and regulation of its rhythm."

Furthermore, "Taurine acts as a neurotransmitter in your brain where it is the second most abundant amino acid. It also protects and stabilizes the brain cells' fragile membranes. It is an inhibitory calming neurotransmitter. Taurine acts by regulating the sodium and potassium concentration in the cells and the magnesium level between the cells. This has everything to do with the electrical activity of the cells and subsequent communication between cells. By this mechanism, it has anti-anxiety and anti-convulsant activity. Taurine is found in high concentrations in your eyes and is the most abundant amino acid in your retina. Taurine is known to re-invigorate the natural killer cells of your immune system and to stimulate the release of the immune substance, Interleukin-1."

Taurine plays a role in the decreasing cataract development, and in managing chemical sensitivities. It aids in the absorption and metabolism of fats, and the ability to reduce body cholesterol levels. It is useful for anxiety, agitation, hyperactivity, insomnia, depression, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, alcoholism, gallbladder disease, and macular degenerations/retinitis pigmentosa. It helps potentiate and improve the action of insulin.

Dr. Eby notes that the Life Extension Foundation has reported extensively on taurine, and credits it with hypotensive and diuretic activity that make it useful for people with hypertension. Much of the diuretic action of taurine comes from preserving potassium and magnesium, and by promoting sodium excretion. Taurine reduces blood pressure by acting as an antagonist to the pressure-increasing effect of angiotensin, a circulating protein that is activated by the hormone renin. When both blood and urine taurine levels decrease, renin is activated and angiotensin is formed, resulting in constricted blood vessels that allow for water and salt retention. Taurine suppresses renin and breaks the renin-angiotensin feedback loop.

According to Life Extension, a Japanese researcher has established an amino acid-stroke association. He studied a strain of rats, genetically susceptible to stokes, and found the rats had a much lower incidence of stroke, dropping from 90% to 20% if their diets were supplemented with the amino acids methionine and lysine as well as taurine. Japanese researchers found that 4 grams of taurine, given for 4 weeks, brought relief to 19 of 24 patients with congestive heart failure.

Taurine acts like the drug digitalis to increase contractility of the heart muscle, forcing its pumping action. It tends to dampen activity in the sympathetic nervous system and the outpouring of epinephrine. As this system is quieted, the heart tends to beat less aggressively and the blood pressure is lowered. Researchers have shown that incidence of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia were significantly reduced when taurine was supplemented.

http://www.naturalnews.com/026544_taurine_chemotherapy_blood.html

Study Reveals Coconut Oil Improves Cholesterol Profile and Waistline

Elizabeth Walling, NaturalNews.com  July 3, 2009 

(NaturalNews) A recent study reveals new evidence that could turn the tide in the ongoing debate about which fats are the healthier choice: saturated fats like coconut oil or polyunsaturated fats like soybean oil. Many natural food experts will tell you without question that coconut oil is one of the healthiest fats, but since giants like the Food and Drug Administration and the American Diabetes Association maintain that saturated fats are bad, the public is tossed back and forth between two polar beliefs.

The study - which is yet to be published in print - included 40 women between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. All of the women were instructed to follow the same balanced, low-calorie diet while maintaining a moderate daily exercise routine over a 12-week period. Half of the women were given a 30 ml supplement of coconut oil each day, while the other half was given 30 ml of soybean oil. Over the course of the study, overall carbohydrate and caloric intake decreased. Fat, protein and fiber intake remained unchanged during the study.

One week before the study and one week after, the women were evaluated on a number of factors: waist circumference, lipid levels, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol were all noted, as well as the HDL:LDL ratio. At the beginning of the study there was no significant difference in these factors in either group of women.

At the end of the study, both groups showed a decrease in body mass index (BMI), but only the women taking coconut oil showed a notable decrease in waist circumference as well. Evidence shows that a decrease in waist circumference can significantly lower one's risk for conditions like type II diabetes and heart disease.

The study also showed that the women taking coconut oil had an improved cholesterol profile, with higher HDL levels and a higher HDL:LDL ratio. Those taking soybean oil, however, did not receive the same benefits. In fact, the soybean oil group had higher total cholesterol, higher LDL cholesterol, lower HDL cholesterol, and a lower HDL:LDL ratio.

In the words of the study authors: "It appears that dietetic supplementation with coconut oil does not cause dyslipidemia and seems to promote a reduction in abdominal obesity."

In layman's terms, results like this completely contradict what the FDA and other major associations have been spoon-feeding the public for decades while the rate of disease and obesity climb at alarming rates. Maybe it's time to rethink our conventional theories about fats.

http://www.naturalnews.com/026547_coconut_oil_fats_health.html

Vitamin A could be Clue to Future Breast Cancer Treatment

Michael Jolliffe, NaturalNews.com  July 3, 2009 

(NaturalNews) A special form of vitamin A could be the key to the future of breast cancer prevention and treatment, according to researchers at the University of Chicago.

A team of scientists, headed by Professor Kevin Brown of the University's Institute for Genomics and System Biology, investigated the link between the vitamin form, known as retinoic acid, and the effect of estrogen in stimulating cancer growth. Many forms of breast cancer are 'estrogen sensitive', meaning that the hormone estrogen helps them to grow. The researchers looked into the ability of retinoic acid to suppress cancer-related genes that estrogen would stimulate to promote tumor growth. They discovered that the vitamin Aderivative was able to switch off nearly 150 genes fueled by the hormone and that in nearly half of all cases the two compounds competed in 'see-saw' fashion to simultaneously activate or switch off the same genes.

Writing in the journal Cell, Professor Brown expressed his belief that the results suggest "new ways to think about preventing the disease in those at high risk." [1]

The link between breast cancer prevention or treatment and vitamin A has been known since as far back as 1993, when a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that women eating less than one serving of vitamin A-rich foods each day were 20% more likely to develop the disease. [2]

In 1999, a study published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggested that pre-menopausal women with a family history of breast cancer but higher vitamin A intakes were significantly less likely to suffer from the disease than those with lower intakes. [3]

Also in 1999, a derivative of the nutrient known as fenretinide was found to prevent women with pre-existing cancers from developing a second tumor. Researchers in Italy treated 3,000 patients with fenretinide or no therapy after surgery and discovered that those in the treatment group were around 30% less likely to suffer further progression of the disease. Lead researcher Albert Costa of the European Institute of Ocology Breast Division in Milan stated that the compound could be "an effective treatment for patients" and "a potential preventative for healthy women at high risk". [4]

Retonic acid is already licensed to treat a rare form of cancer known as acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Commenting on the current study, Dr Myles Brown of Harvard Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute stated that "this work reveals important insights on the interplay between vitamin A and estrogen action. These insights will hopefully lead to new approaches for the prevention and treatment of the most common form of breast cancer."

http://www.naturalnews.com/026545_brst_cancer_vitamin_A_estrogen.html

Vitamin B12 Protects the Heart, Mind, Eyes and More

Melanie Grimes, NaturalNews.com  July 3, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Vitamin B12 is one of the eight B vitamins, and is important for brain function and the formation of blood. B12 deficiency can cause many diseases. Deficiency can be treated by diet or by B12 injections. Since B12 is hard to assimilate through the stomach, sublingual B12 is advised. B12 is water-soluble, is made up of a complicated chemical structure, and contains the element cobalt. The type of B12 used in food supplements is called cyanocobalamin.

Brain scans can now measure brain volume and a study of patients deficient in vitamin B12 showed their brain volume at half of those with high blood levels of vitamin B12. It is an important component of the nervous system and for DNA synthesis. Without B12, the body can`t manufacture blood and leads to anemia. Vitamin B12 is also responsible for maintenance of memory. Deficiency of B12 causes fatigue, diarrhea, memory loss, anemia and poor nerve function.

Another function of B12 is that it lowers the blood level of homocysteine. Homocysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid in protein, but without enough B12 in the blood, homocysteine creates inflammation. Homocysteine is now considered a more important marker for heart disease and stroke than cholesterol. Since heart disease and stroke are the main causes of death of many Americans reducing homocysteine in the blood is important and B12 is one of the important nutrients that does so.

Research has also shown that homocysteine can also prevent migraines and age-related macular degeneration. Headache pain and severity were both reduced when homocysteine levels were brought down by B12 and folic acid supplementation. Age-related macular degeneration risk increased four-fold in those with lowered levels of B12 (under 125 pmol/L). Over 2000 participants were studied via photographs of their retinas.

B12 is contained in many meats and fish. It is hard for vegetarians to get enough B12 because most of the sources are of animal origin. The best source of B12 is clams and other mollusks. There is nearly 85 mcg of B12 in just 3 ounces of clams. The next best source is liver, with 47 mcg in a slice. Salmon and trout have 5 mcg in three ounces.

Recommended dosage of B12 is 500 mcg a day. The supplement is inexpensive but difficult to absorb through the digestive system. So look for sublingual (under the tongue) forms, those that are sealed to prevent destruction in the gut, or get a B12 injection. Be sure to get enough vitamin B12 to fuel your brain, your blood, and your heart.

http://www.naturalnews.com/026522_vitamin_B12_blood_homocysteine.html

These Top Seven Herbs Promote Healthy Blood Sugar and Support Diabetes

Elizabeth Walling, NaturalNews.com  July 3, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Finding ways to naturally manage blood sugar and diabetes has become increasingly important as we become more aware of the adverse effects of prescription medications. Lifestyle changes are a crucial step in managing blood sugar levels, but at the same time, it can be difficult to maintain lifestyle habits like eating right and exercising when the blood sugar roller coaster has you under its thumb.

Natural herbs can offer a solution to fluctuating blood sugar levels that can help you regain the control you need to make permanent lifestyle changes and enjoy a better quality of living. Here are seven of the top herbs recommended for blood sugar management:

Cinnamon bark. Studies show that less than half a teaspoon of cinnamon each day can help lower blood glucose levels in people with type II diabetes. These benefits seem to only apply to Cassia cinnamon (also known as Chinese cinnamon), which is the form you commonly find on the spice rack. Just a teaspoon of cinnamon is packed with antioxidants and phenols, which fight disease and the inflammation associated with high blood sugar levels. To enjoy this spice's health benefits, you can simply add a dash of cinnamon to your morning oatmeal, or you can take a cinnamon bark supplement if you prefer.

Glucomannan. Although it's recently received a lot of press as a weight loss supplement, glucomannan is packed with fiber that can help keep blood sugar levels under control.

Gymnema sylvestre. The traditional name of this herb means "destroyer of sugar." Gymnema sylvestre was commonly used in ancient ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for diabetes. A study published in Ethnopharmacology in 1990 showed a daily dose of 400 milligrams was effective in lowering blood glucose levels in diabetics over the long term. Some participants were even able to stop using their prescription medications after taking gymnema sylvestre.

Fenugreek. This herb is a popular traditional remedy for high blood sugar, and there have been a number of clinical trials which showed that fenugreek could improve both blood sugar levels and cholesterol profiles.

Prickly Pear Cactus. Clinical evidence shows prickly pear cactus may lower blood glucose levels in diabetics by up to 46 percent. Broiled stems of the nopal variety seem to produce the best results. This variety was also shown to be effective for lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, while preserving HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

Stevia. Finally sweeping the nation, the herbal sweetener stevia is more than just a replacement for sugar. Research has shown that stevia can also reduce blood glucose levels in those with type II diabetes. So replacing sugar with stevia in your morning coffee or tea can have a doubly positive effect.

Turmeric. A traditional Indian culinary spice, turmeric may have a positive effect on blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

If you have been medically diagnosed with blood sugar issues or diabetes, then be sure to discuss any herbal supplements you're taking with your physician. This is especially important if you are already on insulin or other medications.

http://www.naturalnews.com/026519_blood_sugar_blood_sugar.html

Vegetarians less likely to develop cancer, say researchers

Nutraingredients.com, 02-Jul-2009

Vegetarians will develop less blood, bladder and stomach cancer than meat eaters, according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer.
The grouping of two studies featured more than 61,000 vegetarians over a timespan of 12 years and found they contracted less cancer, independent of factors such as smoking, alcohol use and obesity than those who consumed meat or fish or both.
Differences in stomach and bowel cancer rates were not as pronounced as may have been expected given previous research and indeed, vegetarians had slightly higher, but not significantly so, rates of colon and rectum cancer.
Cervical cancer rates were twice that of meat-eaters among vegetarians. Breast and prostate cancer rates were similar, although there was less risk for prostate cancer among fish eaters than meat eaters.
Participants were drawn from a pool of British men and women who were eithermeat eaters and/or fish eaters or vegetarians. Of the total study population, 3,350 were diagnosed with one or more of the twenty cancers the researchers tested for.
They noted that 33 out of a hundred meat eaters will develop some form of cancer but only 29/100 non-meat eaters.
For some cancers such as multiple myeloma, which strikes bone marrow, vegetarians were 75 per cent less likely develop the condition.
Cancers of the blood and lymph such as leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma were 50 per cent less likely in vegetarians than carnivores.
More study required
"More research is needed to substantiate these results and to look for reasons for the differences," said lead researcher, Tim Key, from the Cancer Research UK epidemiology unit at Oxford University.
"At the moment these findings are not strong enough to ask for particularly large changes in the diets of people following an average balanced diet."
The researchers said the reasons for lower cancer rates among vegetarians were not clear but suggested it could be down to viruses and mutation-causing compounds found in meat such as N-nitroso which are thought to damage DNA.
The temperatures at which meats are cooked could also produce damaging carcinogens.
Study detail
The study population contained 15 571 men and 45 995 women, one third of whom were vegetarian.
Levels of physical activity were higher in vegetarians and fish-only eaters than in meat eaters, who also had higher body mass indexes (BMIs).
But the researchers said none of the findings were conclusive despite some evidence linking, for instance, high intake of fruit and vegetables and onset rates of some cancers.
“There is also some evidence that a high intake of fruit and vegetables might reduce the risk for stomach cancer, but the data are not consistent and, although on average vegetarians eat more fruit and vegetables than meat eaters, the difference in intake is modest,” they wrote.
Source:
British Journal of Cancer
(2009) 101, 192–197. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6605098
‘Cancer incidence in British vegetarians’
Authors: TJ Key, PN Appleby, EA Spencer, RC Travis, NE Allen, M Thorogood and JI Mann

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Vegetarians-less-likely-to-develop-cancer-say-researchers

Bilberry extract may ease the damages of stress: study

Nutraingredients.com, 27-Oct-2008

Extracts from bilberry may reduce stress-induced damage in the liver, according to a new study with mice.
The researchers used restraint of the animals to induce oxidative stress, and found that five days of supplementation with bilberry extract exerted a protective antioxidant activity, according to findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
“Our results showed that bilberry extract attenuated oxidative stress by changing the oxidative status and improving antioxidative processes in mice subjected to stress,” wrote the authors from affiliated with two Chinese universities and Singapore’s Cerebos Pacific.
If the results can be repeated in humans, it could see bilberry extracts positioned as a potential supplement for people leading a stressful lifestyle.
Study details
Previous studies have shown that restraint of an animal promotes lipid peroxidation in liver tissue, said the researchers. This in turn leads to oxidative damage. Serious liver damage was observed in the new study following 18 hours of restraint of the mice. This was associated with increases in blood levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and decreases in the oxidative activity of the blood, measured by the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) values in the plasma.
Mice supplemented with an anthocyanin-rich bilberry extract (Mirtoselect, Indena) at doses of 50, 100, and 200 milligrams per kilograms per day experienced lower ALT levels than non-supplemented restrained animals (17.23 versus 107.68 units per litre, respectively).
Moreover, levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) - a byproduct of lipid peroxidation – were significantly lower in the bilberry-supplemented groups, said the researchers.
Blood levels of vitamin C were found to be significantly lowered following restraint of the animals, with free mice having average vitamin C levels of almost 400 micrograms per gram of tissue, compared to only 173 micrograms per gram in the stressed, un-supplemented animals.
Following supplementation with 100 or 200 mg per kg per day of the bilberry extract, vitamin C levels were measured at 347 and 451 micrograms per gram of tissue, respectively.
“This study showed the beneficial health effects of bilberry extract through its antioxidative action,” concluded the researchers.
Bilberry info
Bilberries are closely related to the North American blueberry but contain a very distinct anthocyanin profile. Bilberry extracts are relatively expensive, with the price per kilo now estimated at around €600. Concerns are rife within the industry of lower-price extracts reported to be mixed with mulberry or black bean skins or azo-dyes.
Concerns were raised last year when Australian scientists discovered that azo dyes were used to mimic the colour of bilberries in a commercial product (J. Agric. Food Chem 2006, Vol. 54, Issue 19, pp. 7378 -7382). This has since expanded to reports of mulberry or black bean skins being used to increase the anthocyanin content of the extracts.
The anthocyanins content is used as the standard for bilberry, and UV spectrometry is needed to verify the 25 per cent anthocyanins. However, according to unconfirmed reports, this has led to extracts masquerading as bilberry but actually containing mulberry (22-24 per cent), or black bean skin (20 per cent).
Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Volume 56, Issue 17, Pages 7803-7807, doi: 10.1021/jf800728m
“Protective Effects of Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) Extract on Restraint Stress-Induced Liver Damage in Mice”
Authors: L. Bao, X-S. Yao, C.-C. Yau, D.Tsi, C.-S. Chia, H. Nagai, H. Kurihara
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Bilberry-extract-may-ease-the-damages-of-stress-study

St. John's Wort Again Proven Better than Antidepressant Drugs
David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com  July 6, 2009 

(NaturalNews) The popular herbal extract St. John's wort is more effective at treating the symptoms of depression than any antidepressant drug, and has fewer side effects, researchers from the Centre for Complementary Medicine in Munich have concluded.

"Overall, the St John's Wort extracts tested in the trials were superior to placebo, similarly effective as standard anti-depressants, and had fewer side effects than standard anti-depressants," lead researcher Klaus Linde said.

In a study published by the Cochrane Library, the researchers compiled the results of 29 prior trials, involving a total of 5,489 participants who were randomly assigned either St. John's wort, a placebo, tricylclic antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to treat mild to moderately severe depression. All studies were double-blind, meaning that neither patients nor researchers knew what kind of treatment each participant was receiving.

St. John's wort was found to be more effective than a placebo and at least as effective as both tricylics and SSRIs, but with fewer side effects. Patients receiving the herbal treatment were significantly less likely to drop out of studies due to negative side effects than those assigned to take tricyclic antidepressants.

The researchers called their study the most thorough to date, and possibly the first to show that St. John's wort is effective at treating not only mild, but also severe depression (also known as major depression).

St. John's wort, known officially as Hypericum perforatum, is a native European perennial herb with distinctive yellow flowers and now grows wild in many parts of the Americas as well. It derives its common name from the tradition of harvesting its flowers on St. John's day (June 24). Also known as Klamath weed or Tipton's weed, the plant has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy for depression and sleeping problems.

In recent years, the popularity of the herbal antidepressant has soared as new concerns continue to emerge over pharmaceutical antidepressants, especially SSRIs. In Germany, doctors regularly prescribe it to children and teenagers. In the United Kingdom, it is currently used by two million people.

SSRIs have been shown to significantly increase the risk of suicide in those under the age of 18, and evidence suggests that they may have a similar effect on adults, as well. Recent evidence has also linked use of the drugs by pregnant women with an elevated risk of oral and heart-related birth defects.

With Western health care systems emphasizing drugs for the treatment of mental illness, however, many doctors feel they have no alternatives but to prescribe tricyclics or SSRIs, in spite of the risk. The new study may lead more doctors to prescribe St. John's wort instead.

Another recent study, conducted by St. James' University Hospital in Leeds, England, found that St. John's wort was the only herbal supplement effective at treating depression, in contrast to cat's claw, ginseng, gingko biloba, liquid tonic and royal jelly.

Researchers remain unsure precisely how St. John's wort works, in part because the plant contains chemicals from at least seven different families. The most favored explanation is that the herb acts much like an SSRI, slowing the rate at which the neurotransmitter serotonin is removed from the brain. The chemical hyperforin is posited by some as the most active chemical agent in the herb, and has been linked to slowed uptake of not only serotonin but also the neurotransmitters dopamine, noradrenaline, GABA and glutamate. St. John's wort extracts from which hyperforin has been removed, however, have still been shown to function as effective antidepressants.

Hyperforin has also been shown to have antibacterial properties and appears to reduce alcohol consumption in those that take it.

Linde and colleagues did offer a few caveats to their findings. In the first place, they said that anyone who decides to take St. John's wort should inform their doctor, since the herb can react with certain prescription drugs, sometimes dangerously. A handful of cases have been reported of liver failure caused by a combination of liver drugs with St. John's wort, and the extract can also reduce the effectiveness of cholesterol drugs and hormonal contraceptives. Those who mix St. John's wort with blood thinners or pharmaceutical antidepressants may increase their risk of stroke. People should also not assume that there is no risk at all of side effects, as these do sometimes occur - albeit significantly less frequently than with pharmaceuticals.

In addition, St. John's wort extracts are far from standardized, and it can be hard to know what you're getting.

"There is no patent protection on herbs; therefore, more or less anyone can market hypericum extracts," Linde said. "The products on the market vary enormously in their quality and content in active ingredients." 

This means that some extracts may be more effective than others; Linde expressed doubt in particular about the effectiveness of those containing less than 300 milligrams in a daily dose.

But research suggests that even a weak supplement might be a better bet than a pharmaceutical antidepressant, even if it only functions as a low-risk placebo.

"There's a whole body of literature now that shows placebo can have a direct effect on the pathways of the brain and work like an antidepressant," said Charles Raison of the Emory University School of Medicine.

St. John's wort typically alleviates the symptoms of depression within two to four weeks. Pharmaceutical antidepressants typically act within a month and a half, although doctors prefer to see an improvement of symptoms within one week.

The "longer it takes [a traditional antidepressant] to work, the more vulnerable people are to have a relapse," Raison said.
http://www.naturalnews.com/z026557_depression_SSRI_St_Johns_Wort.html

Discover the Benefits of Barley
Sheryl Walters, NaturalNews.com  July 6, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Nothing helps beat off the winter blues quite like a big bowl of chunky, hot vegetable soup. Not only does it warm your belly, but it also provides you with a stack of nutrients to help your body combat any viruses that might slow you down. But there is one ingredient that many people rarely think to add that will give your soup a beautiful distinctive flavor and turn it in to a super food.

Barley is one of the most cultivated grains in the world. It has a nutty flavor, a texture not dissimilar to pasta and as with all grains it is very versatile. It can be used as a rice substitute and tastes great when served with a curry or stir fry. But you really can't beat making it a vital ingredient in yourwinter soups.

By far the greatest health benefits of barley can be found in its high dietary fiber content. Just 200gms of barley can contain 55% of the recommended daily fiber intake. That is more than most people consume from the average diet.

Dietary fiber is essential in making your digestive system run smoothly. A sluggish digestive system is one of the main causes of colon cancer, so staying regular is vitally important to your health. A regular intake of barley has also been found to help the body create two chemicals known as short-chain fatty acids. These acids are called propionic and acetic acid and are used as fuel by the cells that make up the liver and muscles.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recently published a report that said barley's high fiber content also has multiple beneficial effects on cholesterol. This is because dietary fiber is high in beta glucan, which connects tightly to bile acids and helps remove them through the feces. Bile acids are made up from cholesterol so when they are passed out through feces the body must make up more, therefore using up unwanted cholesterol.

Barley has also been found to have significant cardio vascular benefits especially in postmenopausal women. It took a three year study of over 220 postmenopausal women with cardio vascular disease to fully understand the full benefits of barley. The results were published in the American Heart Journal, and showed that adding barley to your diet slowed progression of atherosclerosis, which is the build-up of plaque that narrows the blood vessels.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026554_barley_fiber_food.html

Self-help 'makes you feel worse'
Bridget Jones is not alone in turning to self-help mantras to boost her spirits, but a study warns they may have the opposite effect.
Canadian researchers found those with low self-esteem actually felt worse after repeating positive statements about themselves.
They said phrases such as "I am a lovable person" only helped people with high self-esteem.
The study appears in the journal Psychological Science.
A UK psychologist said people based their feelings about themselves on real evidence from their lives.
The suggestion people should "help themselves" to feel better was first mooted by Victorian Samuel Smiles 150 years ago.
“ Repeating positive self-statements may benefit certain people, such as individuals with high self-esteem, but backfire for the very people who need them the most ” 
Joanne Wood University of Waterloo
His book, called simply "Self Help", sold a quarter of a million copies and included guidance such as: "Heaven helps those who help themselves".
Self-help is now a multi-billion pound global industry.
'Contradictory thoughts'
The researchers, from the University of Waterloo and the University of New Brunswick, asked people with high and low self-esteem to say "I am a lovable person."
They then measured the participants' moods and their feelings about themselves.
In the low self-esteem group, those who repeated the mantra felt worse afterwards compared with others who did not.
However people with high self-esteem felt better after repeating the positive self-statement - but only slightly.
The psychologists then asked the study participants to list negative and positive thoughts about themselves.
They found that, paradoxically, those with low self-esteem were in a better mood when they were allowed to have negative thoughts than when they were asked to focus exclusively on affirmative thoughts.
Writing in the journal, the researchers suggest that, like overly positive praise, unreasonably positive self-statements, such as "I accept myself completely," can provoke contradictory thoughts in individuals with low self-esteem.
Such negative thoughts can overwhelm the positive thoughts.
If people are instructed to focus exclusively on positive thoughts, negative thoughts might be especially discouraging.
Real life
The researchers, led by psychologist Joanne Wood, said: "Repeating positive self-statements may benefit certain people, such as individuals with high self-esteem, but backfire for the very people who need them the most."
However, they say positive thinking can help when it is part of a broader programme of therapy.
Simon Delsthorpe, a psychologist with Bradford District Care Trust and spokesman for the British Psychological Society, said self-esteem was based on a range of real life factors, and that counselling to build confidence - rather than telling yourself things are better than they are - was the solution.
"These are things like, do you have close family relationships, a wide network of friends, employment and appearance.
"If you're not close to your parents, don't have many friends, are unemployed and are unhappy with your appearance, it might be hard to have high self-esteem.
"But if your experience is the reverse of that it would be much easier to say 'I'm OK' and believe that."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8132857.stm

Obscene Drug Profits: Where They Go
Kim Evans, NaturalNews.com  July 6, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Recently, a couple of Federal Budget Analysts from Washington, DC wondered about the profits in pharmaceutical drugs and came up with some interesting figures. Turns out that to purchase the active ingredients for many drugs is often pennies, while a hundred dollar plus price tag is passed on to consumers.

They found a 100 tablets of 20 mg Prozac runs the consumer about $247.47, while the active ingredients only cost $0.11. Yes, that's right. Eleven cents for all one hundred tablets. It's a 224,973 percent mark-up, a profit margin most business owners dream of - but could never get away with.

Even more profitable, Xanax customers regularly pay $136.79 for a hundred 1 mg tablets, while the active ingredients cost just under three cents. The mark-up is an unbelievable 569,958 percent.

Of course, the active ingredients aren't the only expense in making these chemical concoctions. Drug companies regularly pay more than a million dollars per drug to their regulators, the FDA, in order to put their drug on the market. They are exorbitant fees, which all too often beg the question about any real regulation taking place, when the regulatory agency is funded by those it's supposed to be regulating.

If you were regulating the person writing your paychecks, how hard would you be on them? Maybe, perhaps, you'd cater to them? Catering is exactly what a group of FDA scientists told Congress was happening at the drug approval agency in a letter last October.

In connection to the letter the New York Times reported, "The scientists have documentary evidence that senior agency managers 'corrupted the scientific review of medical devices' by ordering experts to change their opinions and conclusions in violation of the law."

Wow, change their opinions and conclusions. Could this be done in the name of profits, not protection or health? And if this is done at the FDA, theregulatory agency, how credible do you think the studies are which are funded directly by drug companies and their paid researchers, on staff or University bound?

Then, of course, there's the advertising expense.

A 2008 study found that pharmaceutical companies spend about 24 percent of their sales dollars on advertising and promotion, in contrast to just 13.4 percent on research and development. This promotional expense includes direct to consumer advertising and the continual wooing and "educating" ofdoctors - their front line sales force.

While consumers are bombarded with drug ads in magazines, newspapers and on TV, most would be surprised to know that this expensive form of advertising makes up only 14 percent of drug companies' promotional dollars - although it's an enormous source of income for most mainstream media.

It's been found that each family doctor receives about 28 visits each week from drug reps, who come bearing drug samples, dinner invitations, and often invitations to posh resorts and locales for more "education." In 2000 alone, the ten biggest drug companies spent just under 2 billion dollars on promotional events. In fact, drug companies spend about $8,290 per doctor to gain and maintain this exclusive relationship. When you look at it this way, it's no surprise that so many doctors think drugs are the only solution to anything that ails the body. They're being hit with the message in-person, from drug reps, about 5 times each working day.

Combine that with the fact that drug companies are funding professors at medical schools, the Universities themselves, and University bound researchers, and you'll get an even more clear picture of why medical doctors think drugs are the only viable avenue in health care.

At Harvard Medical School, about 1,600 professors and lectures confessed earlier this year that they or a family member were taking pharmaceutical dollars. They admitted this after being required to, upon pressure from students protesting the undue role of the drug companies in their education.

Of course, these dollars play a large role in determining what is studied, what is not, exactly how the findings are presented, as well as what is taught and what is not. UCSF researchers took a look at 192 published studies comparing different drugs and determined that the source of funding for a drug trial greatly influenced the outcome. They found that if the results favored a drug it was "about 20 times more likely" to have been funded by the manufacturer of that drug.

Now, factor into the equation that the pharmaceutical industry spends more to lobby government officials than any other sector, and it's all too clear why drugs are the dominant health care solution promoted today.

A 2005 investigation by the Center for Public Integrity found that in the seven years prior, the pharmaceutical and health products industry spent more than $675 million to lobby for the influence of public officials, saying it's lobbying operation is "the biggest in the nation" and that "no other industry has spent more money to sway public policy in that period." When you combine campaign contributions with those lobbying costs, the drug industry was outdone only by the insurance industry, with whom it has close connections.

So if you were wondering where all of those excessive drug profits were going, now you know. They're buying influence with the FDA, media, doctors, medical schools, professors, researchers and last but not least, politicians. They're all on the payroll and with plenty of extra money to go around; wonder what each of those influential sources will prescribe for you?

http://www.naturalnews.com/026556_drug_companies_drugs_health.html

Decreased stomach acid might be linked to osteoporosis
In an article published in the June, 2009 issue of Nature Medicine, German researchers report an association between defective gastric acid secretion and reduced bone mineralization in mice.
LIFE EXTENSIONS  July 03, 2009
The predominant mineral in bone is calcium, whose normal levels in the blood are maintained in a process known as homeostasis. When blood levels are low, parathyroid hormone stimulates the small intestine to absorb dietary calcium and cells known as osteoclasts to mobilize calcium from the bone. Osteoclasts mobilize bone calcium by secreting hydrochloric acid via a proton pump and chloride channel to release calcium into the blood stream, thereby maintaining calcium homeostasis. Increased osteoclast activity causes osteoporosis, a condition characterized by decreased bone density, which is the opposite of that which occurs in osteopetrosis, a potentially lethal disease caused by a mutation that prevents osteoclasts from breaking down or resorbing bone during development, leading to excessive bone density.
In the current research, mice that were deficient in an enzyme needed for osteoclast activity showed signs of osteopetrosis but did not have low blood levels of calcium, demonstrating that osteoclast dysfunction alone does not affect calcium homeostasis. Another group of mice bred to lack a gene (Cckbr) needed for gastric acid secretion had mildly low levels of calcium, but high parathyroid hormone levels and large numbers of osteoclasts, which, because they mobilize calcium from bone, apparently prevented the mineral from becoming severely low. The team showed that calcium gluconate was more effective than calcium carbonate at treating the osteoporosis that occurred in these animals, presumably, as noted by Brendan F. Boyce in an accompanying editorial, because it dissolves better at a higher pH. “These results suggest that alterations in calcium homeostasis can be driven by defects in gastric acidification, especially given that calcium gluconate supplementation fully rescues the phenotype of the Cckbr-mutant mice,” the authors conclude.
According to Dr Boyce, the current findings suggest that calcium deficiency associated with low stomach acid can induce osteoclasts to degrade bone enough to result in osteoporosis, and asks whether the approximate one-third of older individuals who are deficient in stomach acid could represent the majority of those who develop the disease.
http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2009_07.htm#decreased-stomach-acid-might-linked-to-osteoporosis

Slow Aging with BlueBerries
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News 07-06-09
Jul. 3--Millions of people enjoy blueberries because they taste good and are versatile enough to be part of many different menu items. Blueberries, however, are also nutrient-rich and offer a host of health benefits, one of which may be slowing down the aging process.
This isn't to say that blueberries can turn back the hands of time, but they may help slow down some of the typical side effects of aging, most notably diminished mental capacity. In a USDA Human Nutrition Research Center laboratory study, researchers fed blueberry extractions to lab mice. The extractions were the equivalent of a human eating one cup of blueberries per day. The mice were then run through a series of motor tests. The mice who were given the blueberry extractions performed better than the control group on motor functions and memory. They also showed an increase of exploratory behavior.
The antioxidant components of blueberries that give them their vivid colour help reduce oxidative stress, as observed after looking at the brains of the treated mice. Oxidative stress is damage to cell membranes and DNA from free radicals. Antioxidants are known to find and eradicate free radicals. Oxidative stress is thought to be a main culprit in many of the dysfunctions and diseases common to aging.
The research on mice bodes well for people, primarily because the senior population in so many countries continues to grow. By 2050 it is estimated that more than 30 percent of the population will be over 65. It's likely that these individuals will be interested in looking and feeling their best for years to come.
Because of their neurological, motor-function link, blueberries may be essential to reducing the severity of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's and other dementias.
Apart from anti-aging properties, blueberries and their antioxidants can help with general health as well. There have been links to diets rich in blueberries and urinary tract health due to reduction of the adhesion of bacteria. Plus, blueberries may play a role in preventing certain cancers and cardiac issues.
Individuals interested in adding blueberries to their diet can do so in many ways. Whether enjoying blueberries atop cereals, on muffins or simply straight out of the refrigerator, incorporating servings of this fruit into a diet can be beneficial and delicious.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8474&Section=Nutrition

Caffeine reverses memory impairment in Alzheimer's mice

New studies show caffeine markedly reduced the hallmark protein for Alzheimer's disease in the brains and blood of the mice

University of South Florida Health, July 5, 2009
Tampa, FL (July 5, 2009) – Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup. When aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease were given caffeine – the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day – their memory impairment was reversed, report University of South Florida researchers at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.
Back-to-back studies published online today in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, show caffeine significantly decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer's disease, both in the brains and in the blood of mice exhibiting symptoms of the disease. Both studies build upon previous research by the Florida ADRC group showing that caffeine in early adulthood prevented the onset of memory problems in mice bred to develop Alzheimer's symptoms in old age.
"The new findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease, and not simply a protective strategy," said lead author Gary Arendash, PhD, a USF neuroscientist with the Florida ADRC. "That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people, it easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process."
Based on these promising findings in mice, researchers at the Florida ADRC and Byrd Alzheimer's Center at USF hope to begin human trials to evaluate whether caffeine can benefit people with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease, said Huntington Potter, PhD, director of the Florida ADRC and an investigator for the caffeine studies. The research group has already determined that caffeine administered to elderly non-demented humans quickly affects their blood levels of β-amyloid, just as it did in the Alzheimer's mice.
"These are some of the most promising Alzheimer's mouse experiments ever done showing that caffeine rapidly reduces beta amyloid protein in the blood, an effect that is mirrored in the brain, and this reduction is linked to cognitive benefit," Potter said. "Our goal is to obtain the funding needed to translate the therapeutic discoveries in mice into well-designed clinical trials."
Arendash and his colleagues became interested in caffeine's potential for treating Alzheimer's several years ago, after a Portuguese study reported that people with Alzheimer's had consumed less caffeine over the last 20 years than people without the neurodegenerative disease. Since then, several uncontrolled clinical studies have reported moderate caffeine consumption may protect against memory decline during normal aging. The highly controlled studies using Alzheimer's mice allowed researchers to isolate the effects of caffeine on memory from other lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise, Arendash said.
The just-published Florida ADRC study included 55 mice genetically altered to develop memory problems mimicking Alzheimer's disease as they aged. After behavioral tests confirmed the mice were exhibiting signs of memory impairment at age 18 to 19 months – about age 70 in human years – the researchers gave half the mice caffeine in their drinking water. The other half got plain water. The Alzheimer's mice received the equivalent of five 8-oz. cups of regular coffee a day. That's the same amount of caffeine – 500 milligrams -- as contained in two cups of specialty coffees like Starbucks, or 14 cups of tea, or 20 soft drinks.
At the end of the two-month study, the caffeinated mice performed much better on tests measuring their memory and thinking skills. In fact, their memories were identical to normal aged mice without dementia. The Alzheimer's mice drinking plain water continued to do poorly on the tests.
In addition, the brains of the caffeinated mice showed nearly a 50-percent reduction in levels of beta amyloid, a substance forming the sticky clumps of plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Other experiments by the same investigators indicate that caffeine appears to restore memory by reducing both enzymes needed to produce beta amyloid. The researchers also suggest that caffeine suppresses inflammatory changes in the brain that lead to an overabundance of beta amyloid.
Since caffeine improved the memory of mice with pre-existing Alzheimer's, the researchers were curious to know if it might further boost the memory of non-demented (normal) mice administered caffeine from young adulthood through old age. It did not. Control mice given regular drinking water throughout their lives performed as well on behavioral tests in old age as normal mice who received long-term caffeine treatment, Arendash said. "This suggests that caffeine will not increase memory performance above normal levels. Rather, it appears to benefit those destined to develop Alzheimer's disease."
The researchers do not know if an amount lower than the 500 mg. daily caffeine intake received by the Alzheimer's mice would be effective, Arendash said. For most individuals, however, this moderate level of caffeine intake poses no adverse health effects, according to both the National Research Council and the National Academy of Sciences. Nonetheless, Arendash said, individuals with high blood pressure or those who are pregnant should limit their daily caffeine intake.
If larger, more rigorous clinical studies confirm that caffeine staves off Alzheimer's in humans, as it does in mice, this benefit would be substantial, Arendash said. Alzheimer's disease attacks nearly half of Americans age 85 and older, and Alzheimer's and other dementias triple healthcare costs for those age 65 and older, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-07/uosf-crm070109.php