Prostate Cancer Symptoms Tips What is prostate cancer symptoms? We have tips about prostate cancer symptoms

Ω





That's what an authority on cancer claims.



The increasingly prevalent notion that expensive organic fruits and vegetables are safer because pesticides — used to protect traditional crops from insects, thus ensuring high crop yields and making them less expensive — are a risk for causing cancer has no good scientific support, an authority on the disease claims. Such unfounded fears could have the unanticipated consequence of keeping healthful fruits and vegetables from those with low incomes.



Bruce N. Ames, Ph.D., developer of a widely used test for potential carcinogens that bears his name, spoke at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held here this week. With more than 7,500 reports on new advances in science and more than 12,000 scientists and others expected in attendance, it will be one of 2011’s largest scientific gatherings.



Ames described his “triage theory,” which explains how the lack of essential vitamins and minerals from fruit and vegetables in the diet of younger people can set the stage for cancer and other diseases later in life. A professor emeritus of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California at Berkeley, Ames also is a senior scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, where he works on healthy aging. He developed the Ames test, which uses bacteria to test whether substances damage the genetic material DNA and, in doing so, have the potential to cause cancer. He has received the U.S. National Medal of Science among many other awards.



In the presentation, Ames said that today’s animal cancer studies unfairly label many substances, including pesticides and other synthetic chemicals, as dangerous to humans. Ames’ and Lois Swirsky Gold’s research indicates that almost all pesticides in the human diet are substances present naturally in plants to protect them from insects.



“Animal cancer tests, which are done at very high doses of synthetic chemicals such as pesticides — the “maximum tolerated dose” (MTD) — are being misinterpreted to mean that minuscule doses in the diet are relevant to human cancer. 99.99 percent of the pesticides we eat are naturally present in plants to protect them from insects and other predators. Over half of all chemicals tested, whether natural or synthetic, are carcinogenic in rodent tests,” Ames said. He thinks this is due to the high dose itself and is not relevant to low doses.



At very low doses, many of these substances are not of concern to humans, he said. For example, a single cup of coffee contains 15-20 of these natural pesticides and chemicals from roasting that test positive in animal cancer tests, but they are present in very low amounts. Human pesticide consumption from fresh food is even less of a concern, according to Ames — the amount of pesticide residues that an average person ingests throughout an entire year is even less than the amount of those “harmful” substances in one cup of coffee. In fact, evidence suggests coffee is protective against cancer in humans.



Unfounded fears about the dangers of pesticide residues on fruit and vegetables may stop many consumers from buying these fresh, healthful foods. In response, some stores sell “organic” foods grown without synthetic pesticides, but these foods are much more expensive and out of the reach of low-income populations. As a result, people — especially those who are poor — may consume fewer fruits and vegetables.

But how does a lack of fresh produce lead to cancer and other aging diseases? That’s where Ames’ triage theory comes in.



In wartime, battlefield doctors with limited supplies and time do a triage, making quick decisions about which injured soldiers to treat. In a similar way, the body makes decisions about how to ration vital nutrients while experiencing an immediate moderate deficiency, but this is often at a cost.



“The theory is that, as a result of recurrent shortages of vitamins and minerals during evolution, natural selection developed a metabolic rebalancing response to shortage,” he said. “Rebalancing favors vitamin- and mineral-dependent proteins needed for short-term survival and reproduction while starving those proteins only required for long-term health.” Ames noted that the theory is strongly supported by recent work (Am J Clin Nutr. DOI: 10.3945/​ajcn.2009.27930; FASEB J DOI:10.1096/fj.11-180885; J Nucleic Acids DOI:10.4061/2010/725071).



For example, if a person’s diet is low in calcium — a nutrient essential for many ongoing cellular processes — the body takes it from wherever it can find it — usually the bones. The body doesn’t care about the risk of osteoporosis 30 or 40 years in the future (long-term health) when it is faced with an emergency right now (short-term survival). Thus, insidious or hidden damage happens to organs and DNA whenever a person is lacking vitamins or minerals, and this eventually leads to aging-related diseases, such as dementia, osteoporosis, heart trouble and cancer.

Ω



Soy has recently been reviewed and supported for introduction into general medical practice as a treatment for distressing vasomotor symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, but its use in other medical areas, such as heart health, requires further research, according to a new report reviewing the risks and benefits of soy protein, isoflavones and metabolites in menopausal health from The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)/Wulf H. Utian Translational Science Symposium, published in the July Menopause, the peer-reviewed NAMS journal.



"Although a significant amount of scientific research about soy and soy isoflavones exists, the adoption of soy isoflavones into the care of women in menopause has to date been recommended mainly by physicians and health care practitioners involved in integrative medicine. We believed that facilitating a robust review of the current scientific evidence about the benefits and risks of soy could yield a document useful to physicians to help them make decisions about soy use with their patients, particularly those in menopause," said Belinda H. Jenks, Ph.D., director of Scientific Affairs & Nutrition Education at Pharmavite LLC. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Pharmavite LLC and the Allmen Foundation supported the development of the symposium and report via an unrestricted educational grant.



The report focuses on a review of soy's mechanism of action and processing within the body (bioavailability and pharmacokinetics), as well as on several therapeutic areas, concluding that use of soy isoflavones for hot flashes is reasonable and that soy food consumption is associated with lower risk of breast and endometrial cancer. The report also recommended more research to further characterize the effects of soy isoflavones on bone and cardiovascular health as well as cognition, which involves thinking, reasoning, or remembering.



The report, approved by the NAMS Board of Trustees, was authored by 22 clinicians and well-respected scientific research experts in women's health and botanicals who participated in the symposium in October 2010. They examined basic and clinical research findings from more than two hundred key published controlled trials as well as laboratory studies of the soy isoflavones genistein and daidzein and the daidzein metabolite, S-equol.



Soy-isoflavones Reasonable for Menopausal Symptoms



The NAMS report advises that in postmenopausal women with distressing vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flashes, initial treatment with soy isoflavones is reasonable because of demonstrated modest effectiveness in early post-menopausal women who have at least four hot flashes daily. The report recommends a starting dose of 50 milligrams (mg) or more daily for at least 12 weeks. If a woman responds, the treatment can continue with monitoring for side effects, but for women who do not respond after 12 weeks, other treatment options should be discussed, the authors suggest.



The authors' menopause symptom treatment recommendations were based on a review of 14 studies that included data on soy isoflavone content and dosing, at least 12 weeks of treatment, women who experienced natural (not induced) menopause and the women's average age, their prevalence of hot flashes at study start and their magnitude of symptom improvement.



Potential Protection for Breast and Endometrial Cancer



Soy foods, in populations that typically consume them, appear to protect against breast cancer. Therefore, the NAMS report advises that moderate life-long dietary soy consumption is recommended as part of a healthy lifestyle. The best evidence indicates that there are no adverse effects from this diet and it has potential for prevention of breast and endometrial cancer, the report states.



However, the authors note that specific recommendations regarding soy food or soy isoflavone consumption by breast cancer survivors cannot be made at this time, although such studies in humans indicate either no effect or a protective effect, but in contrast laboratory and rodent studies indicate a potential for risk.



The authors recommend studies of endometrial risk should focus on long-term, postmenopausal exposures to soy. The authors' breast and endometrial cancer recommendations were based on a review of at least 18 studies.

Ω



The shining star among supplements is coenzyme Q10







John Bisognano, M.D., Ph.D and Kevin Woolf, M.D., a cardiology fellow at the Medical Center, conducted the most comprehensive review to date of the evidence behind a wide range of non-drug interventions for the treatment of high blood pressure. The review is featured in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Hypertension.



Woolf said there is not enough data to recommend any of these alternative options on a routine basis, but on an individual basis he thinks they are useful. “Patients have different backgrounds and different approaches to living their lives,” said Woolf. “This is where the art of medicine comes in; getting to know patients and what they will and will not embrace can help physicians identify different therapies that suit their patients’ habits and that will hopefully make a difference for them.”



Woolf and Bisognano, who is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Hypertension, emphasize that all patients with hypertension should adhere to the low-salt DASH diet, which is high in fiber, low in fats and incorporates lots of fruits and vegetables, and follow an exercise and weight loss regimen – lifestyle modifications recommended by the American Heart Association. Any alternative options should be considered for use in addition to these lifestyle changes.



Dietary Supplements

The shining star among supplements is coenzyme Q10, an enzyme involved in energy production that also acts as an antioxidant. Patients with hypertension tend to have lower levels of the enzyme, and a meta-analysis – an overarching analysis of past studies – found that treatment with coenzyme Q10 supplements significantly reduced blood pressure.



Woolf noted that “Coenzyme Q10 has a pretty profound effect on blood pressure, but whenever research is based on a collection of other data you have to have some skepticism.” Woolf said he still thinks the compound is promising.



Woolf also found that potassium helps lower blood pressure, and there is evidence that increasing the amount of potassium we get through the foods we eat could carry some of the same mild benefits as taking supplements.



Herbal Remedies

The potential herbal remedies Woolf identified include mistletoe extract, used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat hypertension. Mistletoe extract reduced blood pressure in animal studies, but Woolf cautions that it may be toxic at high doses. The extract from Hawthorn, a type of tree, is also used, but provides only a slight reduction in blood pressure. Conversely, Woolf uncovered a handful of herbal remedies – St. John’s wort, ephedra/ma huang, yohimbine and licorice – that may increase blood pressure.



Woolf and Bisognano stress that the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate dietary and herbal supplements the way they regulate traditional pharmaceuticals. They say health care providers and patients need to be aware that the safety of these products is not always rigorously established and that formulations can vary.

Ω



Obesity is growing at alarming rates worldwide, and the biggest culprit is overeating. In a study of brain circuits that control hunger and satiety, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found that molecular mechanisms controlling free radicals—molecules tied to aging and tissue damage—are at the heart of increased appetite in diet-induced obesity.



Published Aug. 28 in the advanced online issue of Nature Medicine, the study found that elevating free radical levels in the hypothalamus directly or indirectly suppresses appetite in obese mice by activating satiety-promoting melanocortin neurons. Free radicals, however, are also thought to drive the aging process.



"It's a catch-22," said senior author Tamas Horvath, the Jean and David W. Wallace Professor of Biomedical Research, chair of comparative medicine and director of the Yale Program on Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism. "On one hand, you must have these critical signaling molecules to stop eating. On the other hand, if exposed to them chronically, free radicals damage cells and promote aging."



"That's why, in response to continuous overeating, a cellular mechanism kicks in to suppress the generation of these free radicals," added lead author Sabrina Diano, associate professor of Ob/Gyn, neurobiology and comparative medicine. "While this free radical-suppressing mechanism—promoted by growth of intracellular organelles, called peroxisomes—protects the cells from damage, this same process will decrease the ability to feel full after eating."



After the mice ate, the team saw that the neurons responsible for stopping overeating had high levels of free radicals. This process is driven by the hormone leptin and glucose, which signal the brain to modulate food intake. When mice eat, leptin and glucose levels go up, as does free radical levels. However, in mice with diet-induced obesity, these same neurons display impaired firing and activity (leptin resistance); in these mice, levels of free radicals were buffered by peroxisomes, preventing the activation of these neurons and thus the ability to feel sated after eating.



According to Horvath and Diano, the crucial role of free radicals in promoting satiety as well as degenerative processes associated with aging may explain why it has been difficult to develop successful therapeutic strategies for obesity without major side effects. Current studies address the question of whether, under any circumstance, satiety could be promoted without sustained elevation of free radicals in the brain and periphery.

Ω



The death rate among patients prescribed a statin in a major trial that ended in 2003 is still lower than those given a placebo, even though most participants in both groups have been taking statins ever since. ASCOT, the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial, was stopped early because the statin was so effective at preventing heart attacks and strokes, but a new analysis has shown that eight years on, the most significant difference between the groups is a reduction in deaths from infection and respiratory illness.



The latest findings, from researchers at Imperial College London, were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Paris today and simultaneously published in the European Heart Journal.



In the lipid-lowering arm of the trial, over 10,000 patients in the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia with high blood pressure were randomly allocated either atorvastatin or placebo between 1998 and 2000. In 2003, the trial was stopped early because the statin proved to be highly beneficial in preventing heart attacks and strokes. Since then, most participants from both groups have been taking statins.



The new analysis looked at the number and cause of deaths among the 4,605 participants in the ASCOT trial who are based in the UK. After 11 years' follow-up, overall mortality is 14 per cent lower in the group originally assigned atorvastatin, due largely to fewer deaths from infection and respiratory illness.



"This result is very unexpected," said Professor Peter Sever, from the International Centre for Circulatory Health at Imperial College London, who led the study. "The benefits of statins for preventing heart attacks and strokes are well-established, but after long-term follow-up the most significant effects seem to be on deaths from other causes. It's quite remarkable that there is still this difference between the two groups, eight years after the trial finished.



"Some studies have suggested that statins protect people against death from infectious diseases such as pneumonia. More research is needed to explain how these drugs might have unforeseen actions that prevent deaths from other illnesses."



Amongst UK participants, in the 11 years since the trial began, 460 of the original statin group have died, compared with 520 of the placebo group. The difference is largely explained by a 36 per cent reduction in deaths from infection and respiratory illness. Deaths from cardiovascular disease were also lower in the original statin group, but the difference was not statistically significant. There was no difference in deaths from cancer.



The initial results of the ASCOT lipid arm had a major influence on subsequent guidelines recommending the use of statins for people at risk of heart disease, including those produced by NICE in the UK. Another arm of the trial comparing different combinations of blood pressure-lowering drugs also had an important impact on clinical practice.

Ω



A study presented today at the ESC Congress 2011 by Finnish researchers, showed that high job demands coupled with low job control to meet these demands, refer to a “high strain job” – a situation which is a risk for heart health and even mortality [1, 2]. Also, working long hours is detrimental to health and is associated with decreased cognitive function, higher heart disease and mortality e.g. [3, 4]. Japanese even have a word for this condition: ‘karoshi’ means death from overwork.



Therefore, psychosocial work environment and the hours exposed to stressful work are important indicators of the health and well-being in employed populations. Job strain and overtime are also associated with unhealthy behaviours, weight gain and obesity, albeit the associations are inconsistent [5]. The importance of the association between working conditions and heart disease is highlighted, since modern working life is characterized by work overload, job insecurity, and other psychosocial stressors [6]. Physical demands have, in turn, diminished, but heavy physical workload and environmental exposures are still a hazard to many employees all over Europe.



The associations between job strain and coronary heart diseases and their risk factors have been studied for several decades, and numerous original studies, reviews, meta-analyses and books have been published e.g. [7, 8]. Indirect and direct psychosocial pathways to coronary heart disease have been presented, but the mechanisms that explain the associations are complex and still unclear. Nevertheless, the importance of one’s social and work environment to health has been long recognized and can be traced back even to antiquity. Indeed, occupational health can be said to play a key role in the health of our society. While Hippocrates is known as the “Father of Medicine, Italian Bernardino Ramazzini is often noticed as a father of occupational medicine. He emphasized that it was important to ask patients what their job was, and further continue by enquiring details about the nature of their occupation. His most well-known book is focused on diseases of workers: (”De Morbis Artificum Diatriba”, 1700/1713).



However, it needs to be noted that employed people are generally better off, and being in employment is both important and positive for most people, while those out of workforce, unemployed, and disability retirees have poorer health [9, 10]. In other words, ‘healthy workers’ effect’ means that those who work generally have better health than those who don’t work. In jobs where employees have high control to meet demands, there are good opportunities for learning, applying better resources, and engagement [11-14]. The opposite situation, is that of jobs with high demands and burnout as a result of excessive psychological workload over longer periods of time, with patient’s loss of self-esteem and cynicism.



It is also of note that while organisational changes and interventions may be needed to improve working conditions (for example, to rotate shifts in an optimal way and decrease overtime), interventions at the individual level are also needed [15, 16]. In other words, personal characteristics affect the way employees’ perceive their work environment. A job that can be a considered as a positive challenge to one person may be stressful to another. It is therefore important to help employees to cope with stressful, busy, and uncertain job situations.



Finally, as the British author, philosopher, and mathematician Bertrand Russell wrote in his book “The Conquest of Happiness” (1930): “If I were a medical man, I should prescribe a holiday to any patient who considered his work important”.

Ω



Reduced slow wave sleep (SWS) is a powerful predictor for developing high blood pressure in older men, according to new research in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.



SWS, one of the deeper stages of sleep, is characterized by non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) from which it's difficult to awaken. It's represented by relatively slow, synchronized brain waves called delta activity on an electroencephalogram. Researchers from the Outcomes of Sleep Disorders in Older Men Study (MrOs Sleep Study) found that people with the lowest level of SWS had an 80 percent increased risk of developing high blood pressure.



"Our study shows for the first time that poor quality sleep, reflected by reduced slow wave sleep, puts individuals at significantly increased risk of developing high blood pressure, and that this effect appears to be independent of the influence of breathing pauses during sleep," said Susan Redline, M.D., the study's co-author and Peter C. Farrell Professor of Sleep Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.



Men who spent less than 4 percent of their sleep time in SWS were significantly more likely to develop high blood pressure during the 3.4 years of the study. Men with reduced SWS had generally poorer sleep quality as measured by shorter sleep duration and more awakenings at night and had more severe sleep apnea than men with higher levels of SWS. However, of all measures of sleep quality, decreased SWS was the most strongly associated with the development of high blood pressure. This relationship was observed even after considering other aspects of sleep quality.



Participant's average body mass index was 26.4 kg/m2. But the study effects of SWS were independent of obesity and continued to be seen after considering the effects of obesity.



The researchers conducted comprehensive and objective evaluation of sleep characteristics related to high blood pressure in 784 men who didn't have hypertension. They were studied in their own homes using standardized in-home sleep studies, or polysomnography, with measurement of brain wave activity distinguishing between REM and non-REM sleep, and sleep apnea through measurement of breathing disturbances and level of oxygenation during sleep.



Using a central Sleep Reading Center directed by Redline, the researchers assessed a wide range of measurements of sleep disturbances, such as frequency of breathing disturbances, time in each sleep state, number of nighttime awakenings, and sleep duration.



The participants were an average 75 years old and almost 90 percent were Caucasian. All were healthy and living in one of six communities, geographically representative of the United States: San Diego, Calif.; Palo Alto, Calif.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Portland, Oregon. The study was coordinated by California Pacific Medical Center.



Generally, older men and women are more likely to develop high blood pressure than younger people. Sleep disorders and poor quality sleep are more common in older adults than in younger ones. Obesity is also associated with hypertension, researchers said.



In the Sleep Heart Health Study, another large cohort study, researchers found that men were more likely to have less SWS than women. Men were also at an increased risk of high blood pressure when compared to women. The current study raises the possibility that poorer sleep in men may partly explain the male gender predisposition to high blood pressure.



"Although women were not included in this study, it's quite likely that those who have lower levels of slow wave sleep for any number of reasons may also have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure," Redline said.



Slow wave sleep has been implicated in learning and memory with recent data also highlighting its importance to a variety of physiological functions, including metabolism and diabetes, and neurohormonal systems affecting the sympathetic nervous system that contribute to high blood pressure, researchers said.



Good quality sleep is the third pillar of health, Redline said. "People should recognize that sleep, diet and physical activity are critical to health, including heart health and optimal blood pressure control. Although the elderly often have poor sleep, our study shows that such a finding is not benign. Poor sleep may be a powerful predictor for adverse health outcomes. Initiatives to improve sleep may provide novel approaches for reducing hypertension burden."

Ω



A study conducted among cyclists in Copenhagen, Denmark1 showed that it is the relative intensity and not the duration of cycling which is of most importance in relation to all-cause mortality and even more pronounced for coronary heart disease mortality. The study presented today at the ESC Congress 2011, concluded that men with fast intensity cycling survived 5.3 years longer, and men with average intensity 2.9 years longer than men with slow cycling intensity. For women the figures were 3.9 and 2.2 years longer, respectively. The groups were adjusted for differences in age and conventional risk factor levels.



Current recommendations prescribe that every adult should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate physical activity in leisure time, preferably every day of the week. The optimal intensity, duration and frequency still have to be established.



According to Prof Schnor, "this study suggests that a greater part of the daily physical activity in leisure time should be vigorous, based on the individuals own perception of intensity. "Our group has already published similar results for all-cause mortality in relation to walking.

Ω





However, the general health benefits from physical exercise outweigh the increased risk of this heart rhythm disorder



A Norwegian survey carried out between 1974 and 2003 showed that there was a graded independent increase in the risk of AF with increasing levels of physical activity in a population-based study among men with ostensibly no other heart disease. In women the data were inconclusive.



Speaking at a press conference at the ESC Congress in Paris today, Prof Knut Gjesdal from Oslo University Hospital, said that competing athletes seem to be at higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF) than their sedentary mates. Less is known, however, about the training threshold above which the risk for AF increases.



Diseases or life-style factors that influence the development of AF are often present for years before AF appears. Hence the exposition for a risk factor must be recorded at baseline, and the individuals must be followed for several years. Regional large epidemiological studies on individual subjects' cardiovascular risk factors contain such information, including the subjects' self-reported leisure-time physical activity.



"Heavy exercise in leisure-time increases the risk of atrial fibrillation 2 to 3-fold in men. However, the general health benefits from physical exercise certainly outweigh the increased risk of this heart rhythm disorder," explained Prof Gjesdal.



"We had the opportunity to merge data from three population-based Norwegian surveys that used standardized methods and were undertaken during 1974 - 2003. The present analysis comprises 428 519 participants, alive and aged 30-81 years by the end of 2003. The classification of physical activity was:



1. Sedentary: Reading, watching TV, or other sedentary activity.



2. Moderate: Walking, cycling, or other forms of exercise at least 4 hours per week (including walking or cycling to the workplace, Sunday-walking, etc.)



3. Intermediate: Participation in recreational sports or heavy gardening for at least 4 hours per week.



4. Intensive: Participation in hard training or sports competitions, regularly or several times per week. »



The two major challenges were 1) to identify the subjects who later on developed AF, and 2) to exclude from the study all those who had a concomitant cardiovascular disease that could predispose to AF. Such diseases include hypertension, coronary heart disease and heart failure. The ideal group to study would be subjects with "lone AF", that is, subjects whose hearts are normal except for their AF.



Flecainide tablets are mainly used to prevent recurrencies of AF. The drug is fairly efficient and well-tolerated in patients with otherwise normal hearts, but in patients with heart disease beyond AF, serious and even lethal complications occur. Hence flecainide is prescribed only to patients with normal or near-normal hearts, and thus, flecainide users represent lone AF patients. A Norwegian Prescription Database was established in 2004. Without revealing patient identity, flecainide users and control subjects could be linked to information obtained in the health surveys, allowing researchers to compare baseline risk factors to AF.



During the follow-up period from 2004 through 2009, 1183 men and 609 women had a first-time flecainide prescription. They constitute the AF cases. The risk of AF increased with increasing levels of physical activity in men, whereas no such association was observed among women. The majority of the AF cases was 50-69 years old, non-smokers and had higher education. Resting heart rate was inversely related to the risk of having AF. The male cases had also lower levels of the major cardiovascular risk factors.



"We found a strong, statistically highly significant relationship between the level of self-reported leisure-time physical activity and AF, defined as new-onset prescription of flecainide in men. The relationship between physical activity and AF may be clearer than in previous reports since many Norwegian males are physically very active. In women, the number participating in heavy exercise was small, and the study lacks statistical power to answer whether women are running the same exercise-related risk for AF as men.



Since AF is associated with premature death, stroke and heart failure, should we conclude that strenuous leisure-time physical activity is bad for you? "This is definitely not the case. The majority of heavily exercising men have a normal heart rhythm. Our men were more fit, had slower heart rate, lower diastolic blood pressure, lower total cholesterol, they smoked less cigarettes and had more education, all factors that reduce the overall cardiovascular risk," said Prof Gjesdal.



Flecainide is a drug that does not affect physical performance. For this reason it is popular among competitive athletes, and it may be that physically active persons are overrepresented among flecainide users. Due to this concern researchers also analyzed data on sotalol users. Sotalol is an unselective beta-blocker with additional anti-arrhythmic effects. This drug is also used in non-permanent AF, even in patients with coronary heart disease. Reduced endurance capacity is a well-known side effect of sotalol, and athletes tend to avoid this drug. However, in sotalol users, a similar effect of exercise was seen: the more leisure-time physical activity at baseline, the higher was future sotalol use.



"Our selection of cases comprises only a minority of all lone AF patients. Some subjects with infrequent or mild episodes of AF are not included because they do not want long-term drug treatment. In others the AF may have progressed to a permanent, accepted state, and then there is no longer indication for flecainide," explained Prof Gjesdal.



"In conclusion, there was a graded independent increase in the risk of AF with increasing levels of physical activity in this population-based study among men with ostensibly no other heart disease. For women the data are inconclusive."

Ω



The findings confirm results of existing studies that generally agree on a potential beneficial link between chocolate consumption and heart health. However, the authors stress that further studies are now needed to test whether chocolate actually causes this reduction or if it can be explained by some other unmeasured (confounding) factor.



The World Health Organisation predicts that by 2030, nearly 23.6 million people will die from heart disease. However, lifestyle and diet are key factors in preventing heart disease, says the paper.



A number of recent studies have shown that eating chocolate has a positive influence on human health due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This includes reducing blood pressure and improving insulin sensitivity (a stage in the development of diabetes).



However, the evidence about how eating chocolate affects your heart still remains unclear. So, Dr Oscar Franco and colleagues from the University of Cambridge carried out a large scale review of the existing evidence to evaluate the effects of eating chocolate on cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke.



They analysed the results of seven studies, involving over 100,000 participants with and without existing heart disease. For each study, they compared the group with the highest chocolate consumption against the group with the lowest consumption. Differences in study design and quality were also taken into account to minimise bias.



Five studies reported a beneficial link between higher levels of chocolate consumption and the risk of cardiovascular events and they found that the "highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with lowest levels." No significant reduction was found in relation to heart failure.



The studies did not differentiate between dark or milk chocolate and included consumption of chocolate bars, drinks, biscuits and desserts.



The authors say the findings need to be interpreted with caution, in particular because commercially available chocolate is very calorific (around 500 calories for every 100 grams) and eating too much of it could in itself lead to weight gain, risk of diabetes and heart disease.



However, they conclude that, given the health benefits of eating chocolate, initiatives to reduce the current fat and sugar content in most chocolate products should be explored.

Ω



Research on Mt. Everest climbers is adding to the evidence that an amino acid called leucine -- found in foods, dietary supplements, energy bars and other products -- may help people burn fat during periods of food restriction, such as climbing at high altitude, while keeping their muscle tissue. It was one of two studies reported in Denver at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) on the elite corps of men and women who have tackled the highest peak on Earth, mountaineering's greatest challenge.



In a pilot study of the feasibility of supplementing the diet of climbers with the branch chain amino acid, leucine, scientists studied 10 climbers for 6-8 weeks as they ascended Mt. Everest, which towers 29,000 feet above sea level. Since Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay made the first successful climb in 1953, over 2,500 people have scaled Mt. Everest in the Himalayas. Thousands more tried and failed, with more than 216 deaths. The researchers were studying the physiological benefits of adding leucine to the climbers' diets to help them stay healthy. The researchers are from the University of Utah.



Wayne Askew, Ph.D., and his co-investigator, Stacie Wing-Gaia, Ph.D., who headed the leucine study, explained that the extreme weather conditions, low oxygen levels, treacherous terrain and strenuous exercise during such climbs create a huge nutritional challenge. Weight loss at high altitude is exactly the opposite problem that is on the minds of millions of people in the United States and other countries who are trying to shed excess weight. Climbers often cannot or do not eat enough calories, failing to replenish their bodies with important nutrients. They lose both fat and muscle during an arduous climb, endangering their strength and motor coordination. At high altitudes, fat and muscle loss occurs not only when they are climbing, but also at rest.



"The significant part about this weight loss is that a disproportionate amount comes from the muscle mass," said Askew. "This can be a problem on long expeditions at high altitude because the longer climbers are there and the higher they go, the weaker they get. The body breaks down the muscle for energy, so climbers don't have it available for moving up the mountain.



"We knew that leucine has been shown to help people on very low-calorie, or so-called 'calorie-restricted diets', stay healthy at sea level," said Askew. "It's one of the components, the building blocks, of protein. But no one had tested whether leucine would help people stay healthy and strong at high altitudes, so we added leucine to specially prepared food bars that we gave to the climbers."



Askew didn't climb Mt. Everest, but members of his research team, Dr. Wing-Gaia and Dr. Rodway, went to base camp and measured expedition members' fat and muscle by using an ultrasound device placed on the skin. They are currently examining the data to see whether climbers who ate the leucine bar retained more muscle than those who ate a bar without leucine. One finding that was apparent early on in the study was that the food item in which the leucine was delivered was critically important. The Everest climbers had difficulties consuming the three food bars per day that contained the additional leucine. Askew stressed that this was a small pilot study to test the feasibility of leucine supplementation at altitude, so definitive conclusions of its benefits at altitude await the results of a more controlled clinical study. The researchers plan to improve the palatability of the leucine food vehicle in consultation with military food product developers at Natick Research Development and Engineering Center and conduct a more controlled study at high altitude, possibly with the U.S. Army Institute of Environmental Medicine at their laboratory on Pike's Peak.



Askew pointed out that the findings also could help people at lower altitudes who want to lose weight while preserving their lean body mass, or who are elderly and don't eat or exercise enough to maintain their strength. He predicts that consumers might one day see leucine-rich bars on grocery store shelves, especially at high-altitude locations, such as Aspen and Denver, where high-altitude skiing and climbing activities are popular.



In the other Everest report, John Finley, Ph.D., described a study in which he gave Mt. Everest climbers a type of fat called "medium-chain triglycerides" in their cookies and hot chocolate. They also took an aspirin every day.



"We tried to improve climbers' performances by feeding them medium-chain triglycerides -- fat that we thought would be metabolized better as quick energy," said Finley, who is with Louisiana State University.



At high altitudes, the air pressure is low and the oxygen is less dense -- making less oxygen available for breathing. In response, the body makes more oxygen-carrying red blood cells. This thickens the blood and puts a strain on the heart and lungs, increasing the risk of potentially dangerous blood clots. That's why Finley also had the climbers take aspirin, which is known for thinning the blood and reducing the risks of having a heart attack or stroke. "We found that we could reduce the risk factors involved in having more viscous blood at high altitudes by giving the climbers aspirin," he said.



Finley himself went on the climb and collected urine and fecal samples. The climbers who consumed the medium-chain triglycerides lost less weight and performed better than others on the expedition. The data also suggested that fats aren't absorbed well at high altitudes when the body is losing a lot of weight, possibly because too little bile is produced by the liver to dissolve the fats, he explained.



Finley doesn't have plans to commercialize the medium-chain triglyceride hot chocolate and cookies, but suggests that people going to high-altitude locations talk with their health-care providers about taking a daily aspirin.

Ω



Studies published in the most influential medical journals are frequently designed in a way that yields misleading or confusing results, new research suggests.



Investigators from the medical schools at UCLA and Harvard analyzed all the randomized medication trials published in the six highest-impact general medicine journals between June 1, 2008, and Sept. 30, 2010, to determine the prevalence of three types of outcome measures that make data interpretation difficult.



In addition, they reviewed each study's abstract to determine the percentage that reported results using relative rather than absolute numbers, which can also be a misleading.



The findings are published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.



The six journals examined by the investigators— the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, the Annals of Internal Medicine, the British Medical Journal and the Archives of Internal Medicine — included studies that used the following types of outcome measures, which have received increasing criticism from scientific experts:



Surrogate outcomes (37 percent of studies), which refer to intermediate markers, such as a heart medication's ability to lower blood pressure, but which may not be a good indicator of the medication's impact on more important clinical outcomes, like heart attacks.



Composite outcomes (34 percent), which consist of multiple individual outcomes of unequal importance lumped together — such as hospitalizations and mortality — making it difficult to understand the effects on each outcome individually.



Disease-specific mortality (27 percent), which measures deaths from a specific cause rather than from any cause; this may be a misleading measure because, even if a given treatment reduces one type of death, it could increase the risk of dying from another cause, to an equal or greater extent.



"Patients and doctors care less about whether a medication lowers blood pressure than they do about whether it prevents heart attacks and strokes or decreases the risk of premature death," said the study's lead author, Dr. Michael Hochman, a fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA's division of general internal medicine and health services research, and at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Los Angeles Medical Center.



"Knowing the effects of a medication on blood pressure does not always tell you what the effect will be on the things that are really important, like heart attacks or strokes," Hochman said. "Similarly, patients don't care if a medication prevents deaths from heart disease if it leads to an equivalent increase in deaths from cancer."



Dr. Danny McCormick, the study's senior author and a physician at the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School, added: "Patients also want to know, in as much detail as possible, what the effects of a treatment are, and this can be difficult when multiple outcomes of unequal importance are lumped together."



The authors also found that trials that used surrogate outcomes and disease-specific mortality were more likely to be exclusively commercially funded — for instance, by a pharmaceutical company.



While 45 percent of exclusively commercially funded trials used surrogate endpoints, only 29 percent of trials receiving non-commercial funding did. And while 39 percent of exclusively commercially funded trials used disease-specific mortality, only 16 percent of trials receiving non-commercial funding did.



The researchers suggest that commercial sponsors of research may promote the use of outcomes that are most likely to indicate favorable results for their products, Hochman said.



"For example, it may be easier to show that a commercial product has a beneficial effect on a surrogate marker like blood pressure than on a hard outcome like heart attacks," he said. "In fact, studies in our analysis using surrogate outcomes were more likely to report positive results than those using hard outcomes like heart attacks."



The new study also shows that 44 percent of study abstracts reported study results exclusively in relative — rather than absolute — numbers, which can be misleading.



"The way in which study results are presented is critical," McCormick said. "It's one thing to say a medication lowers your risk of heart attacks from two-in-a-million to one-in-a-million, and something completely different to say a medication lowers your risk of heart attacks by 50 percent. Both ways of presenting the data are technically correct, but the second way, using relative numbers, could be misleading."



Still, the authors acknowledge that the use of surrogate and composite outcomes and disease-specific mortality is appropriate in some cases. For example, these outcomes may be preferable in early-phase studies in which researchers hope to quickly determine whether a new treatment has the potential to help patients.



To remedy the problems identified by their analysis, Hochman and McCormick believe that studies should report results in absolute numbers, either instead of or in addition to relative numbers, and that committees overseeing research studies should closely scrutinize study outcomes to ensure that lower-quality outcomes, like surrogate makers, are only used in appropriate circumstances.



"Finally, medical journals should ensure that authors clearly indicate the limitations of lower-quality endpoints when they are used — something that does not always occur," McCormick said.

Ω



I’m pretty good with oatmeal, beans, fruits, vegetables and nuts. I will consider adding plant sterol supplements:



Diet That Combines Cholesterol-Lowering Foods Results in Greater Decrease in LDL Than Low-Saturated Fat Diet

Persons with high cholesterol who received counseling regarding a diet that combined cholesterol-lowering foods such as soy protein, nuts and plant sterols over 6 months experienced a greater reduction in their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels than individuals who received advice on a low-saturated fat diet. The control diet emphasized high fiber and whole grains but lacked components of the portfolio diet, which emphasized dietary incorporation of plant sterols, soy protein, viscous fibers, and nuts.



Plant sterols are naturally occurring substances found in plants. They are present in small quantities in many fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, cereals and legumes. They are also available as supplements. Effectiveness has been shown with dosages of 2 to 3 grams plant stanols per day. Viscous fiber is the 'sticky' type of soluble fiber found in oats, barley and beans, and certain vegetables such as okra and eggplant. Viscous fibers help binding the cholesterol in your digestive tract and sweep it out of your body. In another word, soluble fiber act as a sponge, absorbing cholesterol and carrying it out of your system.

I’m glad I don’t drink white wine, but stained teeth is the least of my health worries:



White Wine Damages Teeth

Red wine has long had a well-deserved reputation for staining teeth. But studies have found that white wine is not totally without sin in its impact on teeth. White wine is more likely to damage tooth enamel than red wine. The enamel erosion that can come with drinking white wine also can leave teeth vulnerable to stains from drinking tea, among other things.

I eat my lunch out almost every day, which is apparently good for more than my mental health – (I’m big on refrigeration, but my wife isn’tJ)



Desktop Dining Poses Food Poisoning Risk

Desktops hide bacteria that can lead to foodborne illness. When it comes to safe refrigeration of lunches, perishable foods need to be refrigerated within two hours (one hour if the temperature is greater than 90 degrees Fahrenheit) from when it was removed from the refrigerator at home. However, survey results show that 49 percent admit to letting perishable food sit out for three or more hours, meaning foods may have begun to spoil before the first bite.

Well, I guess I’m back to being careful about salt in my diet:



Older adults with too much salt in diet and too little exercise at greater risk of cognitive decline

Older adults who lead sedentary lifestyles and consume a lot of sodium in their diet may be putting themselves at risk for more than just heart disease. A study found evidence that high-salt diets coupled with low physical activity can be detrimental to cognitive health in older adults.



While low sodium intake is associated with reduced blood pressure and risk of heart disease, this is believed to be the first study to extend the benefits of a low sodium diet to brain health in healthy older adults.

I actually do sometimes find a lag in processing what I hear:



Good Cardiovascular Health Can Help Us Process What We Hear

Auditory processing is the ability to make decisions about what we hear and the ability to comprehend what is said to us. Improving cardiovascular health appears to turn back our biological clock. And the good news is that it doesn’t seem to matter at what age we begin — just that we start having a more active lifestyle sooner rather than later.



One of the most important things that we can do to prevent an aging central nervous system and our ability to understand and process what we hear is to maintain an active lifestyle — aerobics, swimming, lifting weights and walking. Even moderate cardiovascular exercise when you’re in your late 80s or early 90s can improve the ability to process what you hear and help the speed of the decision-making process

Any side effects?



Eating prunes helps prevent fractures and osteoporosis

When it comes to improving bone health in postmenopausal women — and people of all ages, actually — a Florida State University researcher has found a simple, proactive solution to help prevent fractures and osteoporosis: eating dried plums. All fruits and vegetables have a positive effect on nutrition, but in terms of bone health, this particular food is exceptional.

I’m not going to consume a “large bolus of whey protein” immediately after exercise, but I will look into leucine:



Muscle-building effect of protein beverages for athletes

Physical activity requires strong, healthy muscles. Fortunately, when people exercise on a regular basis, their muscles experience a continuous cycle of muscle breakdown (during exercise) and compensatory remodeling and growth (especially with weightlifting). Athletes have long experimented with methods to augment these physiologic responses to enhance muscle growth. One such ergogenic aid that has gained recent popularity is the use of high-quality, high-protein beverages during and after exercise, with dairy-based drinks enriched with whey proteins often taking front stage. Many studies have documented a beneficial effect of their consumption. Of particular interest is the effect of the essential amino acid leucine contained in these products.



Consuming the large bolus of whey protein immediately after exercise increased muscle protein synthesis more than when periodic smaller doses of protein were consumed. In the second study, muscle protein synthesis was 33% greater after consumption of the leucine-enriched protein beverage than after the lower-leucine drink.



The researchers concluded that muscle metabolism after exercise can be manipulated via dietary means. In terms of the most beneficial timing of protein intake, immediate postexercise consumption appears to be best. Furthermore, leucine may play an especially important role in stimulating muscle growth in the postactivity recovery period.

My specific health behaviors are looking petty good:



Four Specific Health Behaviors Contribute to a Longer Life

A new CDC report finds that people can live longer if they practice one or more healthy lifestyle behaviors— not smoking, eating a healthy diet, getting regular physical activity, and limiting alcohol consumption. Not smoking provides the most protection from dying early from all causes.



People who engaged in all four healthy behaviors were 66 percent less likely to die early from cancer, 65 percent less likely to die early from cardiovascular disease, and 57 percent less likely to die early from other causes compared to people who did not engage in any of the healthy behaviors.



What You Can Do to Live a Healthier and Longer Life:



Avoid Excessive Alcohol Use



Drink alcohol in moderation (men should have no more than two drinks per day; and women no more than one drink per day).



Avoid Tobacco



Improve Nutrition



- Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and seafood.



- Eat fewer foods with sodium (salt), saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, and refined grains.



Engage in Physical Activity



- Participate in moderate intensity physical activity 5 or more days per week (150 minutes), such as brisk walking, or



- Practice vigorous physical activity 3 or more days per week (75 minutes) such as jogging or race walking.

More on specific health behaviors:



Exercise - (I wish I could exercise more!)





15 minutes of moderate daily exercise lengthens life

Exercise for 15 minutes a day, or 92 minutes per week, extended expected lifespan by three years compared to people who are inactive. A person's risk of death from any cause decreased by 4 percent for every additional 15 minutes of exercise up to 100 minutes a day over the course of the study. Those exercising for 30 minutes daily added about four years to life expectancy. These benefits were applicable to all age groups, both sexes and those with cardiovascular disease risk.

Exercise may help prevent brain damage caused by Alzheimer's disease

Regular exercise could help prevent brain damage associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, according to research published this month in Elsevier's journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Exercise allows the brain to rapidly produce chemicals that prevent damaging inflammation.

Aerobic exercise bests resistance training at burning belly fat

This isn't the fat that lies just under your skin and causes the dreaded muffin top. Belly or abdominal fat – known in scientific communities as visceral fat and liver fat -- is located deep within the abdominal cavity and fills the spaces between internal organs. It's been associated with increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, and certain kinds of cancer.



The Duke study showed aerobic training significantly reduced visceral fat and liver fat, the culprit in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Aerobic exercise also did a better job than resistance training at improving fasting insulin resistance, and reducing liver enzymes and fasting triglyceride levels. All are known risk factors for diabetes and heart disease.



Resistance training achieved no significant reductions in visceral fat, liver fat, liver enzyme levels or improvements in insulin resistance. The combination of aerobic with resistance training achieved results similar to aerobic training alone.

Moderate drinking - I’m not keeping up on my moderate drinking:





Moderate drinking protects against Alzheimer's and cognitive impairment

Moderate social drinking significantly reduces the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment, according to an analysis of 143 studies by Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers. Researchers reviewed studies dating to 1977 that included more than 365,000 participants. Moderate drinkers were 23 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Wine was more beneficial than beer or spirits. Moderate drinking is defined as a maximum of two drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women.

Light-to-moderate alcohol intake, especially of wine, may be more likely to protect against, rather than promote, weight gain



I’ve always believed this, but it’s great to see (and I don’t consider myself obese):



Fat and healthy? Study finds slim isn't always superior

A study out of York University has some refreshing news: Being fat can actually be good for you. Published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, the study finds that obese people who are otherwise healthy live just as long as their slim counterparts, and are less likely to die of cardiovascular causes.



"Our findings challenge the idea that all obese individuals need to lose weight," says lead author Jennifer Kuk, assistant professor in York's School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health. "Moreover, it's possible that trying – and failing – to lose weight may be more detrimental than simply staying at an elevated body weight and engaging in a healthy lifestyle that includes physical activity and a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables," she says.

Things that are good for me:



More evidence that caffeine lowers risk of skin cancer



Omega-3s reduce stroke severity



Study Links Low Omega-3 Fatty Acids Levels to Suicide Risk



Fish oil's positive impact on cognition and brain structure



Vitamin D acts as a protective agent against the advance of colon cancer



Researchers Demonstrate Green Tea Compound is Effective in Treating Genetic Disorder and Two Types of Tumors



Ω

Ω



The essential element zinc has been shown in a new study to be a likely tumor suppressor in the commonist form of pancreatic cancer, University of Maryland scientists report in the current issue of the journal Cancer Biology & Therapy.



“The report establishes for the first time, with direct measurements in human pancreatic tissue, that the level of zinc is markedly lower in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells as compared with normal pancreas cells,” concludes lead author Leslie Costello, PhD, (at right) professor, Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Maryland School of Dentistry (SOD).



The researchers detected a decrease in zinc in cells at the beginning stages and at the advancing stages of cancer.



“The fundamental implication is that we now know something about the development of pancreatic cancer that was not previously known,” continues Costello. “It provides a potential approach to treatment, that is, to find a way to get zinc back into the malignant cells, which will kill them,” he said.



The scientists further uncovered an important genetic factor that may eventually play into developing an early diagnostic tool. Malignant cells shut down a zinc transporting molecule called ZIP3, which is responsible for guiding zinc through the cell membrane and into the cells. In essence, the researchers have discovered an early genetic/metabolic change in the development of pancreatic cancer. Cancer researchers previously did not know that the ZIP3 gene expression is lost in malignant pancreatic cells, resulting in lower zinc.



Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). There are about 42,000 new cases annually in the United States, of which the NCI estimates 35,000 will die.



Patients with pancreatic cancer are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease because pancreatic cancer often spreads before symptoms develop. Current treatments may extend survival slightly or relieve symptoms in some patients, but they rarely produce a cure.



Pancreatic adenocarcinoma accounts for the vast majority of pancreatic cancer cases. Tumors arise from epithelial cells that line pancreatic ducts.



Costello and Renty Franklin, PhD, professor at the School, have collaborated for many years at the forefront of zinc relationships with prostate cancer, which led them to the more recent studies of pancreatic cancer. The collaborators initiated the current study in late 2009 because substantial evidence had emerged that zinc may be a tumor suppressor in the development and progression of some cancers.



“We wondered why malignant cells show a lost ability to take up zinc,” said Franklin. “Certain levels of zinc are toxic to the malignant cell.” The researchers say their work implies that it may be possible to develop a chemotherapeutic agent for pancreatic cancer that will get zinc back into and kill the malignant cells.



The pancreas is a vital organ that produces digestive enzymes that go into the intestine and help digest proteins. Early diagnosis of cancer in the pancreas has been difficult because of a lack of information on the factors involved in the development of pancreatic cancer.



The newly discovered involvement of the changes the ZIP3 gene expression may help identify early states and pre-malignant stages. “The fact that we see the loss of the zinc transporter and a decrease in zinc in the early stages of the cancer indicates that those changes occur even before the cancer is evident. The genetic changes and the changes in zinc levels occur before the pathologist will see any changes in cells under the microscope. That is the kind of early biomarker that people need for cancers,” said Costello.

Ω



A diet rich in omega-3s reduces the severity of brain damage after a stroke, according to a study conducted by Université Laval researchers. The team, co-directed by professors Jasna Kriz and Frédéric Calon, showed that the extent of brain damage following a stroke was reduced by 25% in mice that consumed DHA type omega-3s daily. Details of the study can be found on the website of the journal Stroke.



Researchers observed that the effects of stroke were less severe in mice that had been fed a diet rich in DHA for three months than in mice fed a control diet. In mice from the DHA group, they saw a reduction in the concentrations of molecules that stimulate tissue inflammation and, conversely, a larger quantity of molecules that prevent the activation of cell death.



"This is the first convincing demonstration of the powerful anti-inflammatory effect of DHA in the brain," underscored Frédéric Calon of Université Laval's Faculty of Pharmacy. This protective effect results from the substitution of molecules in the neuronal membrane: DHA partially replaces arachidonic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid known for its inflammatory properties.



"The consumption of omega-3s creates an anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective environment in the brain that mitigates damage following a stroke," summarized Jasna Kriz, of Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine. "It prevents an acute inflammatory response that, if not controlled, is harmful to brain tissue."



Professor Calon believes that this anti-inflammatory effect is likely transferable to humans. "Since DHA is readily available, inexpensive, and reduces the risk of a number of health problems without causing significant side effects, the risk–benefit ratio tends to favor the regular consumption of fish or DHA," he concluded.

Ω



Aerobic exercise is your best bet when it comes to losing that dreaded belly fat, a new study finds.



When Duke University Medical Center researchers conducted a head-to-head comparison of aerobic exercise, resistance training, and a combination of the two, they found aerobic exercise to be the most efficient and most effective way to lose the belly fat that's most damaging to your health.



This isn't the fat that lies just under your skin and causes the dreaded muffin top. Belly or abdominal fat – known in scientific communities as visceral fat and liver fat -- is located deep within the abdominal cavity and fills the spaces between internal organs. It's been associated with increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, and certain kinds of cancer.



"When it comes to increased health risks, where fat is deposited in the body is more important than how much fat you have," says Duke exercise physiologist Cris Slentz, Ph.D., lead author of the study published in the American Journal of Physiology. "Our study sought to identify the most effective form of exercise to get rid of that unhealthy fat."



The Duke study showed aerobic training significantly reduced visceral fat and liver fat, the culprit in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Aerobic exercise also did a better job than resistance training at improving fasting insulin resistance, and reducing liver enzymes and fasting triglyceride levels. All are known risk factors for diabetes and heart disease.



Resistance training achieved no significant reductions in visceral fat, liver fat, liver enzyme levels or improvements in insulin resistance. The combination of aerobic with resistance training achieved results similar to aerobic training alone.



"Resistance training is great for improving strength and increasing lean body mass," says Slentz. "But if you are overweight, which two thirds of the population is, and you want to lose belly fat, aerobic exercise is the better choice because it burns more calories." Aerobic training burned 67% more calories in the study when compared to resistance training.



The eight-month study followed 196 overweight, sedentary adults (ages 18-70) who were randomized to one of three groups: aerobic training; resistance training or a combination of the two. The aerobic group performed exercises equivalent to 12 miles of jogging per week at 80% maximum heart rate. The resistance group performed three sets of 8 – 12 repetitions three times per week. All programs were closely supervised and monitored to ensure maximum effort in participation.



While the training programs were rigorous and substantial, Slentz says their previous research leads him to believe similar results could be achieved with a more moderate aerobic exercise program.



"What really counts is how much exercise you do, how many miles you walk and how many calories you burn," he says. "If you choose to work at a lower aerobic intensity, it will simply take longer to burn the same amount of unhealthy fat.

Ω



Persons with high cholesterol who received counseling regarding a diet that combined cholesterol-lowering foods such as soy protein, nuts and plant sterols over 6 months experienced a greater reduction in their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels than individuals who received advice on a low-saturated fat diet, according to a study in the August 24/31 issue of JAMA.



Efforts have been made to improve the ability of conventional dietary therapy to reduce serum cholesterol through the inclusion of specific foods or food components with known cholesterol-lowering properties, singly or in combination (dietary portfolio), according to background information in the article. The long-term effect of such diets compared with conventional dietary advice has not previously been assessed.



David J. A. Jenkins, M.D., of St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto, and colleagues conducted a multi-center trial to determine whether advice to eat a dietary portfolio consisting of foods recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as associated with lowering serum cholesterol achieved significantly greater percentage decreases in LDL-C levels compared with a control diet at 6-month follow-up. The control diet emphasized high fiber and whole grains but lacked components of the portfolio diet, which emphasized dietary incorporation of plant sterols, soy protein, viscous fibers, and nuts.



What are plant sterols and stanols?



Plant sterols and stanols are naturally occurring substances found in plants. They are present in small quantities in many fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, cereals and legumes. They are also available as supplements.



Why are plant sterols and stanols important?



Research has shown that plant sterols/stanols included with a heart healthy eating plan may reduce your risk for heart disease. The sterols/stanols work by blocking the absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine. This lowers the low density cholesterol known as the 'bad' cholesterol (LDL ) by 6-15%, without lowering the good cholesterol known as the high density cholesterol ( HDL). Clinical research trials have documented safety and effectiveness for use by the entire family. Plant stanols/sterols do not interfere with cholesterol lowering medications.



The National Cholesterol Education/Adult Treatment III program guidelines recommend plant sterols/plant stanols as part of a heart healthy eating plan. Eating a heart healthy low fat diet that include eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grain foods, plant sterols/stanols, plus regular physical activity help reduce the risk of heart disease. The Food & Drug Administration approved the health claim regarding the role of plant sterols esters in reducing risk of heart disease.



Effectiveness has been shown with dosages of 2 to 3 grams plant stanols per day.



Viscous fiber



There are 3 categories of cholesterol-lowering foods. One of them is viscous fiber - the 'sticky' type of soluble fiber found in oats, barley and beans, and certain vegetables such as okra and eggplant. Viscous fibers help binding the cholesterol in your digestive tract and sweep it out of your body. In another word, soluble fiber act as a sponge, absorbing cholesterol and carrying it out of your system. People at less-developed countries (such as China) are less prone to having high blood cholesterol because their diet are high on viscous fiber.



According to the recent American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 83, No. 3, 582-591, March 2006) report, eating 1.5 cups of cooked oatmeal a day typically produces cholesterol-lowering results. Including 10 grams of viscous fiber a day has been shown to decrease LDL cholesterol by about 5%.



How to do it ? Start the day with oatmeal or psylliu-enriched cereal (I always add a bit of sugar to it). Try bean and barley-based soups, marinated bean salad, hummus sandwiches, black bean burritos and roasted eggplant. Flax is good, too. Not only does it have soluble fiber, but it's high in omega-3 fatty acids and lignans-also good for cholesterol.



Participants received dietary advice for 6 months on either the low-saturated fat therapeutic diet (control) or a routine or intensive dietary portfolio, for which counseling was delivered at different frequencies. Routine dietary portfolio involved 2 clinic visits over 6 months and intensive dietary portfolio involved 7 clinic visits over 6 months.



In the modified intention-to-treat analysis of 345 participants, the overall attrition rate was not significantly different between treatments (18 percent for intensive dietary portfolio, 23 percent for routine dietary portfolio, and 26 percent for control).



The researchers found that the change in LDL-C levels from the beginning of the study to week 24 in the control diet were -3.0 percent or -8 mg/dL. In the routine and intensive dietary portfolio interventions, the respective percentage changes were -13.1 percent or -24 mg/dL and -13.8 percent or -26 mg/dL for LDL-C levels.



"Percentage LDL-C reductions for each dietary portfolio were significantly more than the control diet. The 2 dietary portfolio interventions did not differ significantly. Among participants randomized to one of the dietary portfolio interventions, percentage reduction in LDL-C on the dietary portfolio was associated with dietary adherence," the authors write.



"In conclusion, this study indicated the potential value of using recognized cholesterol-lowering foods in combination. We believe this approach has clinical application. A meaningful 13 percent LDL-C reduction can be obtained after only 2 clinic visits of approximately 60-and 40-minute sessions. The limited 3 percent LDL-C reduction observed in the conventional diet is likely to reflect the adequacy of the baseline diet and therefore suggests that larger absolute reductions in LDL-C may be observed when the dietary portfolio is prescribed to patients with diets more reflective of the general population," the authors write.

Ω



Promotion of leisure time activity is likely to become increasingly important in younger populations as people’s daily routines become more sedentary.



The benefits of physical activity accumulate across a lifetime, according to a new study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Researchers in England and Australia examined the associations of leisure time physical activity across adulthood with physical performance and strength in midlife in a group of British men and women followed since birth in March 1946.



“Maintaining physical performance and muscle strength with age is important given that lower levels in older populations are associated with increased risk of subsequent health problems, loss of independence, and shorter survival times,” commented lead investigator Rachel Cooper, PhD, Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing. “As the global population ages, there is a growing need to identify modifiable factors across life that influence physical performance and strength in later life. We found that there are cumulative benefits of physical activity across adulthood on physical performance in mid-life. Increased activity should be promoted early in adulthood to ensure the maintenance of physical performance in later life. Promotion of leisure time activity is likely to become increasingly important in younger populations as people’s daily routines become more sedentary.”



The study, conducted by investigators from the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health, London, United Kingdom, and the School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Australia, used data from about 2,400 men and women from the UK Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development. They analyzed self-reported leisure time physical activity (LTPA) levels at 36, 43 and 53 years of age. During the 53-year investigation, grip strength, standing balance, and chair rise times were measured as indicators of strength and physical performance.



Grip strength is a measure of upper-body muscle condition. Chair-rise times are associated with lower body strength and power, as well as cardiorespiratory fitness. Standing balance requires mental concentration and subtle motor control and measures a number of neurophysiological and sensory systems.



Participants who were more active at all three ages showed better performance on the chair-rise test. Persons more active at ages 43 and 53 had better performance on the standing balance test, even after adjusting for covariates. However, physical activity and grip strength were not associated in women and, in men, only physical activity at age 53 was associated with grip strength.



Dr. Cooper added that the findings in relation to chair rising and standing balance performance suggest that promotion of leisure time physical activity across adulthood would have beneficial effects on physical performance later in life and hence the functional health and quality of life of the aging population, especially as the size of the differences in performance detected may be clinically relevant.

Ω



A new study suggests that low levels of the highly unsaturated omega-3 essential fatty acids, in particular DHA, may be associated with increased risk of suicide. Researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) drew this finding following analysis of a large random sampling of suicide deaths among U.S. military personnel on active-duty between 2002 and 2008. The results of this retrospective study appear in the August 23 online version of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.



“We were surprised to find just how low the levels of omega-3 fatty acids were in the entire sample,” said Army Col. (Dr.) Michael D. Lewis, lead author on the study and assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at the USU. “There still was a significant suicide risk when we stratified the population. When we compared the 1,400 samples with the lowest levels of DHA to the remaining 200, there was a 62 percent increased risk that the samples were from a documented suicide. We need to continue to evaluate these results with a well-designed interventional study, but this represents a potential simple nutritional intervention that warrants further investigation.”



“Our findings add to an extensive body of research that points to a fundamental role for DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids in protecting against mental health problems and suicide risks,” said U.S. Public Health Service Capt. (Dr.) Joseph Hibbeln, acting chief of the Section of Nutritional Neurosciences in NIAAA’s Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics and corresponding author. “For example a previous placebo-controlled trial demonstrated that 2 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day reduced suicidal thinking by 45 percent, along with depression and anxiety scores among individuals with recurrent self-harm.” He adds that in a prior study they found low blood levels of DHA correlated with hyperactivity of brain regions in a pattern that closely resembles the pathology of major depression and suicide risk.



Omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients that the body cannot make, so they must come from food sources. DHA, the major omega-3 fatty acid concentrated in the brain, is important throughout life for optimal brain development and function. Seafood is a major dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids. Previous studies have associated low levels of omega-3 fats or low dietary intake of seafood, with suicide, thoughts of suicide, and depression. Many, but not all, treatment studies also have reported mental health benefits of supplemental DHA, including reduced anxiety, depression and risk of psychosis.

Ω



Not exactly current research, but interesting:



Red wine has long had a well-deserved reputation for staining teeth. But studies have found that white wine is not totally without sin in its impact on teeth.



A German study conducted in 2009 found that white wine is more likely to damage tooth enamel than red wine. German researchers, using teeth removed from men and women aged between 40 and 65 and soaked in various wines, found a significant increase in the loss of minerals in the teeth soaked in white wine. The study also recommended not brushing immediately after white wine drinking, as it could contribute to the damage. The good news may be that the researchers recommended eating cheese, which is high in calcium, while drinking white wine, to temper the damage.



The enamel erosion that can come with drinking white wine also can leave teeth vulnerable to stains from drinking tea, among other things. This was the finding of a New York University College of Dentistry study.

Ω



A whopping 83 percent of Americans typically eat in their office or cubicle in an effort to save time and money, but not practicing proper food safety could end up costing them both. When it comes to protecting themselves against foodborne illnesses, many professionals are still “out to lunch.”



According to a new survey, a majority of Americans continue to eat lunch (62 percent) and snack throughout the day (50 percent) at their desks, while 27 percent typically find breakfast the first thing on their desktop to-do list. Late nights at the office even leave a small percentage (4 percent) dining at their desktop for dinner.



“For many people, multitasking through lunch is part of the average workday,” says registered dietitian and ADA Spokesperson Toby Smithson. “While shorter lunch hours may result in getting more accomplished, they could also be causing workers to log additional sick days, as desktops hide bacteria that can lead to foodborne illness.”



Top of the Workplace To-Do List – Washing Hands and Surfaces



Only half of all Americans say they always wash their hands before eating lunch. In order to reduce the risk of foodborne illness, Smithson recommends washing your hands before and after handling food with soap and warm water, and keeping your desk stocked with moist towelettes or hand sanitizer for those times you can’t get to the sink. “A clean desktop and hands are your best defense to avoid foodborne illnesses at the office,” she says.



According to the Home Food Safety survey, only 36 percent of respondents clean their work areas—desktop, keyboard, mouse—weekly and 64 percent do so only once a month or less. A study updated in 2007 by the University of Arizona found the average desktop has 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen table and 400 times more than the average toilet seat. “Treat your desktop like you would your kitchen table and counters at home,” says Smithson. “Clean all surfaces, whether at home or work, before you prepare or eat food on them.”



Forget the Water Cooler, Gather Around the Refrigerator



Even though virtually all work places now have a refrigerator, only 67 percent of those surveyed say it is where they store their lunch. Frighteningly though, approximately one in five people admit they don’t know if it is ever cleaned or say it is rarely or never cleaned. Smithson recommends not only cleaning the office refrigerator, but also using a refrigerator thermometer to ensure food is safely stored below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.



When it comes to safe refrigeration of lunches, perishable foods need to be refrigerated within two hours (one hour if the temperature is greater than 90 degrees Fahrenheit) from when it was removed from the refrigerator at home. However, survey results show that 49 percent admit to letting perishable food sit out for three or more hours, meaning foods may have begun to spoil before the first bite.

Microwave Continuing Education



Besides a refrigerator, nearly all office kitchens also have a microwave oven (97 percent), making leftovers and frozen meals easy, quick and inexpensive lunch options. It is crucial to follow the microwave cooking instructions on the package closely when cooking prepared food in the microwave.



Microwave ovens can cook unevenly and leave cold spots, where harmful bacteria can survive. The recommended way to ensure that food is cooked to the correct temperature, thereby eliminating any harmful bacteria that may be present, is to use a food thermometer. Re-heat all leftovers to the proper temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ω



Older adults who lead sedentary lifestyles and consume a lot of sodium in their diet may be putting themselves at risk for more than just heart disease.



A study led by researchers at Baycrest in Toronto – in collaboration with colleagues at the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, McGill University and the Université de Sherbrooke – has found evidence that high-salt diets coupled with low physical activity can be detrimental to cognitive health in older adults.



The finding, which appears online today in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, ahead of print publication, may have significant public health implications, emphasizing the importance of addressing multiple lifestyle factors that can impact brain health.



The study followed the sodium consumption and physical activity levels of 1,262 healthy older men and women (ages 67 – 84) residing in Quebec, Canada, over three years. The adults were recruited from a large pool of participants in the Quebec Longitudinal Study on Nutrition and Successful Aging (NuAge).



While low sodium intake is associated with reduced blood pressure and risk of heart disease, this is believed to be the first study to extend the benefits of a low sodium diet to brain health in healthy older adults.



"We have generated important evidence that sodium intake not only impacts heart health, but brain health as well," said Dr. Alexandra Fiocco, a scientist with Baycrest's Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied and Evaluative Research Unit (KLAERU) and the study's lead investigator.



Health Canada's sodium reduction strategy recommends that people 14 years of age and older consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day in their diet. In the Baycrest study, senior participants were assessed as low, mid or high level sodium consumers based on a food frequency questionnaire they each completed. Low sodium intake was defined as not exceeding 2,263 mg/day; mid sodium intake 3,090 mg/day; and high sodium intake 3,091 and greater (this went as high as 8,098) mg/day.



Researchers used a modified Mini-Mental State Examination to measure cognitive function in participants at year one (baseline) and annually for three additional years. Physical activity levels were measured using the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly.



"The results of our study showed that a diet high in sodium, combined with little exercise, was especially detrimental to the cognitive performance of older adults," said Dr. Fiocco.



"But the good news is that sedentary older adults showed no cognitive decline over the three years that we followed them if they had low sodium intake."



"These data are especially relevant as we know that munching on high-salt processed snacks when engaged in sedentary activities, such as watching TV or playing in front of the computer, is a frequent pastime for many adults," said Dr. Carol Greenwood, a senior author on the study and internationally-renowned scientist in the field of nutrition and cognitive function in late life.



"This study addresses an additional risk associated with lifestyles that are highly apparent in North American populations."



With brain failure rates expected to rise significantly as Canada's large boomer demographic ages, educating the public about lifestyle changes that can help delay or prevent normal, age-related cognitive decline – including adopting a healthier diet – is a way to give people some control over how their brain health will hold up in later years, said Dr. Greenwood, senior scientist with Baycrest's KLAERU and professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto.