Once again, a study points to coffee as cardioprotection, at least when it's consumed in moderation. A meta-analysis of prospective studies mostly of people with no MI history saw their risk of incident heart failure follow a J-shaped curve in relation to coffee intake [1]. The risk reached its lowest at daily consumption of four Scandinavian-style servings, or perhaps two cups by US standards.
"That protection slowly goes away with five or more cups per day," according to lead author Dr Elizabeth Mostofsky (Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA). And at levels of 10 European cups per day or more, she said, "there may potentially be harm."
The meta-analysis of five trials, four of which were conducted in Sweden and the fifth in Finland, was published online June 26, 2012 in Circulation: Heart Failure.
In light of the findings, current heart-failure prevention guidelines based on the view that coffee raises risk [2] should be reconsidered, according to Mostofsky. Those recommendations "were based on the best available evidence at the time, but it didn't account for other differences between coffee drinkers and non–coffee drinkers."
Indeed, the new meta-analysis is consistent with abundant other evidence for lower risk of diabetes, stroke, and other conditions with increasing coffee intake.
The combined five-study population consisted primarily of people without a history of cardiovascular disease or hypertension, and the relative-risk reductions with coffee intake were unrelated to sex and history of MI or diabetes in subgroup analyses. And on their own, the individual studies adjusted for demographics and standard cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol levels.
Coffee's prowess in warding off heart failure is probably indirect, according to Mostofsky, who pointed to evidence suggesting coffee cuts the risk of diabetes. "And since that’s a strong risk factor for heart failure, presumably these findings may be showing that coffee consumption is lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, and that in turn is associated with a lower risk of heart failure."
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/766494?sssdmh=dm1.798078&src=nldne
Welcome to my collection of health articles. Most of them contain little nuggets of health wisdom that we can easily apply to our daily lives. As you can gather, I've been consuming all sorts of supplements over the years, most of them from iherb. They deliver on time (DHL), and prices are good. If you're a first-time buyer, use my code 'pot089' to enjoy up to $10 off.
Friday, 29 June 2012
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Blaming dietary sodium for high blood pressure is too simplistic; the real problem may be mineral deficiencies
In popular thought, disputing sodium's link to high blood pressure is equivalent to questioning whether the earth is round. However, some experts now believe that salt will not raise blood pressure in everyone, just in people who are "salt sensitive." Only 10 percent of the population is salt sensitive, according to BioMarkers by Professor William Evans and Dr. Irwin H. Rosenberg.
Of course, far more than 10 percent of us suffer from hypertension, meaning that if these experts are correct, salt intake cannot be the only factor contributing to America's high blood pressure epidemic. In fact, according to Gayle Reichler's book, Active Wellness, only half the people with hypertension have high blood pressure because of their salt intake, making cutting down on the amount of salt you eat a good step toward lower blood pressure, but not a cure-all.
Scientists are still unsure why some people's bodies respond to salt more drastically than others; however, most theories focus on sodium's in vivo interaction with potassium, magnesium and calcium. In fact, some experts believe that these nutrients play more of a role in these individuals' salt sensitivity than sodium itself. Deficiencies in these complementary minerals may actually be the larger culprit in hypertension.
"The problem is just as likely to be too little potassium, calcium and magnesium," emphasizes Alice Feinstein in Healing with Vitamins. Most experts agree that you would do well to consume sodium in balance with potassium in order to maintain healthy blood pressure, but they are still unsure about how this potassium mechanism works. Some experts believe that potassium lowers blood pressure by relaxing small blood vessels, while others think that it works by helping the body expel excess sodium and water.
Another interesting theory asserts that these people actually have hypertension because of calcium deficiency, rather than an excess of sodium. However, as Jean Carper explains in Food: Your Miracle Medicine, proponents of this theory have multiple theories about how it might operate: "One theory is that such individuals retain water when they eat too much sodium, and that calcium acts like a natural diuretic to help kidneys release sodium and water, thus reducing blood pressure. Another, more complex explanation is that calcium works by preventing release of the parathyroid hormone that can raise blood pressure."
As is often the case with uncharted health territory, when it comes to the salt sensitivity explanation for hypertension, theories often pile upon theories. This isn't a bad thing; rather, it makes the intellectual environment ripe for new discoveries. On the other hand, it's important to remember that not all experts agree with the salt-sensitivity theory. "There's no question about it: A great number of comparative studies of people who use no salt and those who use great quantities have proved that high salt equals high blood pressure," writes Gary Null in his Complete Guide to Health and Nutrition.
Dr. William Castelli, director of the famous Framingham Heart Study, also cites demographic studies as support for the mainstream medical viewpoint that consuming excess sodium leads to hypertension, a perspective that some naturopaths also share. Furthermore, in Food Politics, Marion Nestle questions the ethical roots of some of the salt-sensitivity theory's proponents, pointing out some objectionable financial backing: "'There is reason to be concerned that lowering NaCl [salt] intake may have long-term metabolic risks that have not been fully identified . . . we do not have solid evidence that lower NaCl intake prospectively will prevent or control high blood pressure."
However, the review in which this appears was funded in part by The Salt Institute, a trade association for the salt industry. This isn't to say that all experts who believe in salt sensitivity are funded by the salt industry. Like any theory, the salt sensitivity explanation for why some people have high blood pressure and others don't has both its proponents and opponents.
A simple test to determine if you are low in the enzyme renin will show you whether you are salt sensitive, according to Reichler. Of course, an even simpler way is to cut down on your sodium intake for a few months – under the care of a doctor, or preferably a naturopath – and see if your blood pressure goes down. If your numbers go down, then you are salt sensitive; if not, you and your naturopath must then take extra steps to learn the cause of your hypertension.
The point is, as Dr. Bernard Lamport emphasizes in Food: Your Miracle Medicine, "Everyone cannot count on sodium restriction to be a panacea for high blood pressure." In other words, as we all know, obtaining good health requires taking a holistic approach to your body, not just making one change and hoping that it will be a cure-all.
The experts speak on salt and high blood pressure:
Not everyone is "salt sensitive"
Now salt doesn't raise blood pressure in everyone, only in those whom doctors describe as "salt-sensitive." But if you have high blood pressure, chances are that you are salt-sensitive. Even if you're not, reducing your salt intake is a good idea.
Anti-Aging Prescriptions by James Duke PhD, page 402
Conversely, if an individual is salt sensitive, sodium restriction will have a profound effect upon modulating blood pressure. This is an example of matching an appropriate dietary program with the right genotype.
Disease Prevention And Treatment by Life Extension Foundation, page 473
Also, if you have high blood pressure, restricting salt may help curb it especially if you are one of the one-third to one-half of those who are particularly sensitive to blood pressure boosts from sodium. Such "salt responders" are most apt to benefit from sodium cutbacks, say most experts. But you usually only know if you try it. There's even evidence that restricting sodium can depress normal blood pressure.
Food Miracle Medicine by Jean Carper, page 93
Use salt judiciously. In most people, eating salt does not increase the risk of high blood pressure, says Dr. Katz. But for some reason, it may affect a few. So if you have high blood pressure, it doesn't hurt to use salt judiciously -- don't add it to foods at the table, and limit super-salty foods like chips to a once-in-a-while indulgence.
The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Women, page 609
Too much salt is even more problematic for overweight people, says Dr. Kenney. "If you eat a lot of sugar and fat and you gain weight, your insulin levels go up, and it's hard for the body to get rid of salt when insulin levels are high," he explains. "That's probably one reason that overweight people are more likely to have high blood pressure: They may eat the same amount of salt as anyone else, but they have more trouble getting rid of it."
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 151
Lowering sodium is important because this mineral can raise blood pressure in those who are sensitive to it. Unlike many physicians, though, Dr. Whitaker doesn't tell patients to go on low-sodium diets.
Alternative Cures by Bill Gottlieb, page 353
"Some people can tolerate more salt than others, but everybody is sensitive to too much in the diet," he says. "Populations like the Eskimos and Masai, who eat a high-fat diet but have no access to salt, just don't get high blood pressure. Their pressures are virtually the same at age 60 as they were at age 20." Populations like the New Guinea Highlanders and Yanomamo Indians of South America eat a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet -- and no salt. In these groups, too, there's no sign of essential hypertension, notes Dr. Kenney.
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 151
Part of the answer is that putting people on low-salt diets has not had the extensive impact on reducing the health consequences of high blood pressure that scientists had expected.
Healing With Vitamins by Alice Feinstein, page 299
That doesn't mean you should immediately suck on a salt shaker or pig out on pretzels, pickles, and potato chips. Many people with mild high blood pressure can indeed control their hypertension by restricting sodium intake. But if you don't suffer from high blood pressure, or if you are not salt sensitive, there is little reason to deprive yourself of some of life's little pleasures -- like a delicious cup of chicken soup and a saltine cracker.
Graedons Best Medicine by Joe Graedon & Dr Terasa Graedon, page 57
For most people who are on the Reversal Diet, moderate salt won't raise blood pressure, according to Dr. Ornish. He says it's acceptable to use a small amount of salt when you're cooking dishes that could use a little lift. This can even help some people stick to a very low fat diet, Dr. Ornish notes, since a little salt can make a lean entree a lot more palatable. That's why many of the recipes in Dr. Ornish's books call for a small amount of salt.
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 131
Too much sodium can cause high blood pressure in salt-sensitive individuals. (Most people excrete excess salt in urine, however some people may retain salt and excess fluid. The body must work harder to pump excess fluid, resulting in a rise in blood pressure.) sodium is found in table salt and occurs naturally in food, and is often added to processed foods. The American Heart Association recommends that you limit your sodium intake to 2,400 milligrams daily.
Earl Mindells Soy Miracle Earl Mindel RPH PHD, page 123
In the West, the connection between salt and hypertension has been convincing enough that many patients with high blood pressure have been forbidden to eat any but the smallest amounts of salt. This implied that salt was somehow an enemy. Now it is known that such restrictions were too severe -- normal person can eat all the salt he wants without harm to his blood pressure.
Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra MD, page 238
Cutting sodium intake by half will lead to a drop of 5 points (or more) in blood pressure in about half the people with high blood pressure, according to Dr. Kaplan.
New Foods For Healing by Selene Yeager, page 84
Salt is basically safe when used in modest amounts. Some people with salt-sensitive, high blood pressure must avoid it. As a factor in causing high blood pressure, it is implicated in heart disease, as well as in kidney disease. Though salt is safe, it is unwise to consume high-salt-content foods.
Staying Healthy With Nutrition by Elson M Haas MD, page 80
Theories on salt sensitivity
You've probably heard that consuming too much sodium can raise your blood pressure. But you may not realize that consuming too little vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, or calcium can have the same effect.
Blended Medicine by Michael Castleman, page 10
"Blood pressure control is no longer a single-nutrient issue," says David McCarron, M.D., director of the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease clinical nutrition research unit at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. "For some people, salt may not be the real issue at all."
The Complete Book of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 376
Just as too much salt can raise blood pressure in some people, too little of certain minerals seems to be associated with an increase in blood pressure.
Home Remedies What Works by Gale Maleskey and Brian Kaufman, page 271
Because they provide potassium and calcium, experts recommend figs for people with high blood pressure. Both minerals, in combination with eating less sodium, keep your blood pressure under control.
Eat and Heal by the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, page 159
How do these nutrients regulate blood pressure? The exact mechanisms continue to evade researchers. But scientists suspect that they help the body slough off excess sodium and assist in controlling the workings of the vascular system.
Everyday Health Tips by Prevention Magazine, page 70
No one really knows exactly how potassium lowers blood pressure, reports Frederick L. Brancati, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins, who led the study. One theory suggests that potassium relaxes small blood vessels, while another holds that it helps the body eliminate water and salt.
Healing With Vitamins by Alice Feinstein, page 302
Like sodium and potassium, calcium and magnesium are bodily partners in the battle against high blood pressure. Some researchers even contend that calcium and magnesium are more important than sodium and potassium in controlling blood pressure. Calcium plays an important role in regulating heartbeat; magnesium helps to control how blood vessels dilate.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How to Use Herbs and Nutrients to Stay Well by Mark Mayell, page 209
Potassium does a balancing act with sodium, which is one reason that it's so vital in maintaining proper blood pressure, Dr. Tobian explains. It works with sodium but also helps to keep it in check. During nerve transmission and muscle contraction, potassium and sodium briefly trade places across the cell membrane. Then they swap again, returning to their original positions ready for action.
Natures Medicines by Gale Maleskey, page 277
The sodium-to-potassium ratio
Just as important as the total potassium content of food, sodium and potassium should be consumed in the proper balance. Too much sodium in the diet can lead to disruption of this balance. Numerous studies have demonstrated that a low-potassium, high-sodium diet plays a major role in the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease (heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, etc.) Conversely, a diet high in potassium and low in sodium is protective against these diseases and, in the case of high blood pressure, it can be therapeutic.
Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by Michael T Murray MD Joseph L Pizzorno ND, page 529
The body uses potassium to help eliminate excess sodium, which in large amounts can cause blood pressure to rise, says Dr. Webb. The more potassium you eat, the more sodium you lose -- and the lower your blood pressure is likely to be. This is particularly true in people who are sensitive to salt, he says.
New Foods For Healing by Selene Yeager, page 56
Unfortunately, most people get too much sodium and barely enough potassium. This can raise your blood pressure and your potential for fluid retention, Dr. Young says.
Natures Medicines by Gale Maleskey, page 659
Ideally, potassium intake should be greater than sodium intake and, considering that people in North America may consume as much as 18,000 mg. of sodium daily and as little as 1,500 mg. of potassium, it is easy to see that the great amount of sodium compared to potassium could have an adverse effect on blood pressure.
Earl Mindell's Secret Remedies by Earl Mindell RPh PhD, page 160
Today, we've reversed the ratio, consuming much more sodium and a lot less potassium. We average 2,300 to 6,900 milligrams of sodium daily, and some people nibble on enough salty processed foods to boost sodium intake above 20,000 milligrams a day. We are the only nonmarine animal to eat diets so high in salt. Primitive cultures today, where people consume diets similar to our ancient ancestors' with ten times the potassium to sodium, have low blood pressure rates, almost no incidence of hypertension, and their blood pressures don't rise with age as ours do.
The Origin Diet by Elizabeth Somer, page 51
Unbalanced sodium and potassium consumption. Those who can reduce their intake of sodium compounds, including table salt, while increasing their consumption of potassium are likely to reduce their high blood pressure.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How to Use Herbs and Nutrients to Stay Well by Mark Mayell, page 190
The balance of potassium and sodium is extremely important to human health. Numerous studies have demonstrated that a diet low in potassium and high in sodium plays a major role in the development of cardiovascular disease (heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes) and cancer. Conversely, a diet high in potassium and low in sodium can help prevent these diseases; and in the case of high blood pressure, it can be therapeutic.
Natural Alternatives To Drugs by Michael T Murray ND, page 112
In order to reduce blood pressure, sodium intake must be restricted while potassium intake is increased. Individuals with high blood pressure should be aware of "hidden" salt in processed foods. Although their salt intake is comparable, vegetarians generally have less hypertension and cardiovascular disease than non-vegetarians because their diet contains more potassium, complex carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fat, fiber, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A and C. According to Dr. Cowden, regular consumption of potassium-rich fruits such as avocados, bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, grapefruit, nectarines, oranges, and vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, green peas, potatoes, and squash can lower high blood pressure. Steaming rather than boiling vegetables helps prevent vital nutrient loss.
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 777
Most blood pressure pills deplete body potassium, thus exacerbating the problem they are designed to solve. By eating three servings of potatoes, oranges, or bananas per day, you can lower sodium intake about ten percent and elevate potassium levels.
Ancient Healing Secrets by Dian Dincin Buchman PHD, page 107
Excessive salt (sodium chloride) consumption, coupled with diminished dietary potassium, greatly stresses the kidney's ability to maintain proper fluid volume. As a result some people are "salt-sensitive", in that high salt intake increases blood pressure and/or water retention. Patients who experience more water retention during the mid-luteal phase may be especially sensitive to salt intake. However, it is simply not a matter of reducing salt intake, as potassium intake must be simultaneously increased. This is easily done by increasing the intake of high-potassium foods (i.e. fruits and vegetables) and decreasing high-sodium foods (most processed foods). Total daily sodium intake should be below 1,800 mg.
Textbook of Natural Medicine Volumes 1-2 by Joseph E Pizzorno and Michael T Murray, page 1507
Potassium, especially in conjunction with a low sodium intake, helps keep your blood pressure under control. It also lessens your chances of having a stroke. Add all that fiber, which lowers your cholesterol and reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke, and you have a tiny but potent heart helper.
Eat and Heal by the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, page 141
Magnesium helps maintain the potassium in the cells, but the sodium and potassium balance is as finely tuned as those of calcium and phosphorus or calcium and magnesium. Research has found that a high-sodium diet with low potassium intake influences vascular volume and tends to elevate the blood pressure. Then doctors may prescribe diuretics that can cause even more potassium loss, aggravating the underlying problems. The appropriate course is to shift to natural, potassium foods and away from high-salt foods, lose weight if needed, and follow an exercise program to improve cardiovascular tone and physical stamina. The natural diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is rich in potassium and low in sodium, helping to maintain normal blood pressure and sometimes lowering elevated blood pressure.
Staying Healthy With Nutrition by Elson M Haas MD, page 176
One of the most powerful methods of producing less stress and more energy in the body is diaphragm breathing. A recent study has shed some light on the effect of breathing in hypertension.Volunteers with normal blood pressure were taught how to breath very shallow. Measurement of the amount of sodium and potassium excreted in the urine indicated that shallow breathing led to the retention of sodium in the body. It was suggested that this breathing pattern may play a causative role in some cases of hypertension due to the retention of sodium.
Textbook of Natural Medicine Volumes 1-2 by Joseph E Pizzorno and Michael T Murray, page 1307
Opponents of the salt-sensitivity theory / Proponents of traditional view that excessive sodium intake leads to hypertension
The first cure most people think of for high blood pressure is to cut down on salt. It may or may not work, depending on your individual biological makeup. Scientists have been arguing for years over the impact of salt on high blood pressure and the debate goes on. It's unlikely that salt is a major cause of high blood pressure, concluded a recent Harvard report. Still, Dr. William Castelli, director of the famed Framingham Heart Study, notes that in the few areas of the world where salt intake is low, high blood pressure is rare and does not rise with age as it does among Americans.
Food Miracle Medicine by Jean Carper, page 92
If you have high blood pressure, the best way to reduce or eliminate your need for medication is by improving your diet, losing weight, exercising, and decreasing your salt and alcohol intake. Mild hypertension can be controlled by proper nutrition and exercise. If these measures do not lower your blood pressure enough and you need medication, hydrochlorothiazide, a water pill (see thi-azide diuretics, p. 100), is the drug of choice starting with a low dose of 12.5 milligrams daily. It also costs less than other blood pressure drugs.
Worst Pills Best Pills by Sidney M Wolfe MD and Larry D Sasich PharmD MPH, page 144
Excess salt is known to be a cause of high blood pressure, ulcers and cancer of the stomach, edema, fear, cravings, kidney damage, diminished absorption of nutrients, and calcium deficiency, resulting in weakened bones, nerves, muscles, and heart. Early signs of excess salt intake are unusual thirst, dark urine and complexion, clenched teeth, and bloodshot eyes.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 164
No matter what its size, the "tank" of your circulatory system can become "overfilled." This can occur when a high-salt diet causes the body to retain excess water, so that the blood volume exceeds the amount the vessels can safely hold. The resulting "too full" tank can create excess pressure on the entire circulatory system. When the "tank" becomes too full or too small or both, the blood pressure rises. If the imbalance between the size of the tank and the volume that fills it becomes too extreme, hypertension results, and the life-giving pulsation of blood pressure turns into a relentless pummeling of blood vessels everywhere in the body.
Healing Moves by Carol Krucoff and Mitchell Krucoff MD, page 210
Most processed foods contain sugar or salt. Although moderate amounts of either of these substances are not particularly harmful for most people, the amounts of sugar and salt in your everyday diet can add up quickly if your diet is composed primarily of packaged foods. People with high blood pressure need to be particularly cautious about their intake of salt, and may find that a diet of processed foods goes beyond the level of salt intake recommended by their doctors.
Home Safe Home by Debra Lynn Dadd, page 226
If you have high blood pressure, the best way to reduce or eliminate your need for medication is by improving your diet, losing weight, exercising, and decreasing your salt and alcohol intake.
Worst Pills Best Pills by Sidney M Wolfe MD and Larry D Sasich PharmD MPH, page 57
If you have high blood pressure, cut down on your sodium intake by reading the labels on the foods you buy. Look for salt, sodium, or the chemical symbol Na.
Vitamin Bible by Earl Mindell, page 92
Not all experts agree on the exact role of sodium, particularly sodium chloride. Some believe that only a quarter of those with high blood pressure are sensitive to sodium. But others, including Dr. Kenney, think that too much sodium is dangerous for everybody, especially when it's in combination with chloride, as in salt.
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 151
Cut way back on salt. It's well known that sodium -- found in table salt and many processed foods -- can damage the heart by raising blood pressure. Yet the average American still consumes 6,000 mg a day -- far more than the recommended 2,400 mg.
Bottom Line Yearbook 2002 by Bottom Line Personnel, page 10
The resulting epidemic of high blood pressure should be no surprise. All this extra sodium can damage the kidneys. Your kidneys filter waste materials from your blood and control blood pressure. They need the right level of sodium to function well.
Complete Guide Health Nutrition by Gary Null, page 13
Yes, we all need sodium, but most of us get too much. Too much sodium results in potassium deficiency and even more serious problems, such as stress, hypertension, muscular weakness and fatigue, liver damage, and pancreas disease. Of these, hypertension is the most dangerous and is in fact one of the leading killer diseases in our country today. One out of every ten Americans may be predisposed to high blood pressure, which is rearing its ugly head even in the lives of our children.
Complete Guide Health Nutrition by Gary Null, page 497
Unless your blood pressure is very high, you may be able to control it with a low-salt diet, exercise, weight loss and other lifestyle factors. Try this approach before considering drug therapy.
Bottom Line Yearbook 2004 by Bottom Line Personnel, page 25
Most people are aware that lowering sodium intake can help reduce blood pressure. It is by no means all that you can do, but it is nonetheless important. Sodium draws water into the blood vessels, and too much water in the artery can lead to too much pressure. Reducing salt intake is really quite easy, and we will go into that in more detail in chapter 9.
Eat Right Live Longer by Neal Barnard MD, page 142
Too much salt at the expense of potassium results in high blood pressure. It also leads to edema and water retention, especially in women during the last half of their menstrual cycle. Excessive salt intake causes kidney stress, once again deregulating the body's natural alkaline-to-acid balance. Salt also disturbs digestion, and has been linked to stomach cancer.
Food Swings by Barnet Meltzer MD, page 56
We know that anyone with hypertension (high blood pressure) should avoid salt. They should also avoid refined sugar. Animal studies suggest that high blood pressure may even lead to blood-sugar disorders.
Get Healthy Now by Gary Null, page 31
Because sodium usually is in excess, potassium has a curative role. For example, if blood pressure is high because of excessive salt intake, one of the first remedies in Western allopathic medicine is to use potassium supplements while restricting salt.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 162
If you're sodium-savvy and watching your blood pressure, you already know to say no thanks to foods such as chips and salty pickles. Yet sodium appears in many foods in which you might not expect it. Baking soda and baking powder, for instance are both sodium bicarbonate. Dried fruit contains sodium sulfite, and ice cream often has sodium caseinate and sodium alginate.
New Foods For Healing by Selene Yeager, page 83
Innumerable scientific studies have connected fat intake to heart disease and cancer, and sodium intake to high blood pressure. Nearly 3 million children between ages six and seventeen suffer from high blood pressure. Many children of the new millennium are overweight, hyperactive, and deficient in the nutrients they need to grow into healthy adults.
Prescription For Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A Balch, page 247
The usual symptoms of high blood pressure are dizziness, headaches, and noises or ringing in the ears. Along with any remedy used for hypertension, the following regime is generally recommended: sufficient rest; regular exercise; abstinence from tobacco, coffee, and alcoholic beverages; a low-salt diet; minimization or, if possible, avoidance of stress-provoking situations; and control of the cholesterol count by correct diet or other means.
Secrets of the Chinese Herbalists by Richard Lucas, page 196
High blood pressure is not an inevitable part of aging as often thought. There are some populations in which older people have the same blood pressure as the younger ones. Diet appears to be a big factor. Diets of these non-acculturated societies differ from acculturated societies -- containing less sodium, simple sugars and saturated fats (meat, butter, whole milk) and containing more complex carbohydrates, fibers and potassium. Exercise also plays an essential role since indigenous cultures tend to live a more rigorous and active lifestyle.
Syndrome X and SX-Fraction by Mark Kaylor PhD and Ken Babal C.N., page 12
Determining whether or not you are salt sensitive
Have your pressure taken again. You can do the opposite if you've been avoiding salt: Try two weeks of a diet that does include salt and see what effect, if any, it has on your blood pressure reading.
Natural Prescriptions by Dr Robert M Giller, page 199
Sodium restriction "not a panacea"
The researchers stated that "the higher the oats intake, the lower the blood pressure," regardless of other factors such as age and weight, or alcohol, sodium, or potassium intake, which are known to affect blood pressure. According to chief researcher Michael Klag, M.D., it is oatmeal's high content of water-soluble fiber (beta glu-can) that produces the heart benefits. A six-year study involving 22,000 middle-aged Finnish males showed that consuming as little as 3 g daily of soluble fiber (from the beta glucan fiber component of oats, barley, or rye) reduced the risk of death from heart disease by 27%.
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 777
Not every one, therefore, should follow the recommendation of the American Heart Association and reduce their intake of salt. Everyone needs to have some salt in their diet, especially those with low blood pressure. When salt is restricted or eliminated from the diet, people tend to have more infections and bone disorders.
Feed Your Body Right by Lendon H Smith MD, page 163
Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/015820_blood_pressure_hypertension.html
Of course, far more than 10 percent of us suffer from hypertension, meaning that if these experts are correct, salt intake cannot be the only factor contributing to America's high blood pressure epidemic. In fact, according to Gayle Reichler's book, Active Wellness, only half the people with hypertension have high blood pressure because of their salt intake, making cutting down on the amount of salt you eat a good step toward lower blood pressure, but not a cure-all.
Scientists are still unsure why some people's bodies respond to salt more drastically than others; however, most theories focus on sodium's in vivo interaction with potassium, magnesium and calcium. In fact, some experts believe that these nutrients play more of a role in these individuals' salt sensitivity than sodium itself. Deficiencies in these complementary minerals may actually be the larger culprit in hypertension.
"The problem is just as likely to be too little potassium, calcium and magnesium," emphasizes Alice Feinstein in Healing with Vitamins. Most experts agree that you would do well to consume sodium in balance with potassium in order to maintain healthy blood pressure, but they are still unsure about how this potassium mechanism works. Some experts believe that potassium lowers blood pressure by relaxing small blood vessels, while others think that it works by helping the body expel excess sodium and water.
Another interesting theory asserts that these people actually have hypertension because of calcium deficiency, rather than an excess of sodium. However, as Jean Carper explains in Food: Your Miracle Medicine, proponents of this theory have multiple theories about how it might operate: "One theory is that such individuals retain water when they eat too much sodium, and that calcium acts like a natural diuretic to help kidneys release sodium and water, thus reducing blood pressure. Another, more complex explanation is that calcium works by preventing release of the parathyroid hormone that can raise blood pressure."
As is often the case with uncharted health territory, when it comes to the salt sensitivity explanation for hypertension, theories often pile upon theories. This isn't a bad thing; rather, it makes the intellectual environment ripe for new discoveries. On the other hand, it's important to remember that not all experts agree with the salt-sensitivity theory. "There's no question about it: A great number of comparative studies of people who use no salt and those who use great quantities have proved that high salt equals high blood pressure," writes Gary Null in his Complete Guide to Health and Nutrition.
Dr. William Castelli, director of the famous Framingham Heart Study, also cites demographic studies as support for the mainstream medical viewpoint that consuming excess sodium leads to hypertension, a perspective that some naturopaths also share. Furthermore, in Food Politics, Marion Nestle questions the ethical roots of some of the salt-sensitivity theory's proponents, pointing out some objectionable financial backing: "'There is reason to be concerned that lowering NaCl [salt] intake may have long-term metabolic risks that have not been fully identified . . . we do not have solid evidence that lower NaCl intake prospectively will prevent or control high blood pressure."
However, the review in which this appears was funded in part by The Salt Institute, a trade association for the salt industry. This isn't to say that all experts who believe in salt sensitivity are funded by the salt industry. Like any theory, the salt sensitivity explanation for why some people have high blood pressure and others don't has both its proponents and opponents.
A simple test to determine if you are low in the enzyme renin will show you whether you are salt sensitive, according to Reichler. Of course, an even simpler way is to cut down on your sodium intake for a few months – under the care of a doctor, or preferably a naturopath – and see if your blood pressure goes down. If your numbers go down, then you are salt sensitive; if not, you and your naturopath must then take extra steps to learn the cause of your hypertension.
The point is, as Dr. Bernard Lamport emphasizes in Food: Your Miracle Medicine, "Everyone cannot count on sodium restriction to be a panacea for high blood pressure." In other words, as we all know, obtaining good health requires taking a holistic approach to your body, not just making one change and hoping that it will be a cure-all.
The experts speak on salt and high blood pressure:
Not everyone is "salt sensitive"
Now salt doesn't raise blood pressure in everyone, only in those whom doctors describe as "salt-sensitive." But if you have high blood pressure, chances are that you are salt-sensitive. Even if you're not, reducing your salt intake is a good idea.
Anti-Aging Prescriptions by James Duke PhD, page 402
Conversely, if an individual is salt sensitive, sodium restriction will have a profound effect upon modulating blood pressure. This is an example of matching an appropriate dietary program with the right genotype.
Disease Prevention And Treatment by Life Extension Foundation, page 473
Also, if you have high blood pressure, restricting salt may help curb it especially if you are one of the one-third to one-half of those who are particularly sensitive to blood pressure boosts from sodium. Such "salt responders" are most apt to benefit from sodium cutbacks, say most experts. But you usually only know if you try it. There's even evidence that restricting sodium can depress normal blood pressure.
Food Miracle Medicine by Jean Carper, page 93
Use salt judiciously. In most people, eating salt does not increase the risk of high blood pressure, says Dr. Katz. But for some reason, it may affect a few. So if you have high blood pressure, it doesn't hurt to use salt judiciously -- don't add it to foods at the table, and limit super-salty foods like chips to a once-in-a-while indulgence.
The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Women, page 609
Too much salt is even more problematic for overweight people, says Dr. Kenney. "If you eat a lot of sugar and fat and you gain weight, your insulin levels go up, and it's hard for the body to get rid of salt when insulin levels are high," he explains. "That's probably one reason that overweight people are more likely to have high blood pressure: They may eat the same amount of salt as anyone else, but they have more trouble getting rid of it."
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 151
Lowering sodium is important because this mineral can raise blood pressure in those who are sensitive to it. Unlike many physicians, though, Dr. Whitaker doesn't tell patients to go on low-sodium diets.
Alternative Cures by Bill Gottlieb, page 353
"Some people can tolerate more salt than others, but everybody is sensitive to too much in the diet," he says. "Populations like the Eskimos and Masai, who eat a high-fat diet but have no access to salt, just don't get high blood pressure. Their pressures are virtually the same at age 60 as they were at age 20." Populations like the New Guinea Highlanders and Yanomamo Indians of South America eat a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet -- and no salt. In these groups, too, there's no sign of essential hypertension, notes Dr. Kenney.
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 151
Part of the answer is that putting people on low-salt diets has not had the extensive impact on reducing the health consequences of high blood pressure that scientists had expected.
Healing With Vitamins by Alice Feinstein, page 299
That doesn't mean you should immediately suck on a salt shaker or pig out on pretzels, pickles, and potato chips. Many people with mild high blood pressure can indeed control their hypertension by restricting sodium intake. But if you don't suffer from high blood pressure, or if you are not salt sensitive, there is little reason to deprive yourself of some of life's little pleasures -- like a delicious cup of chicken soup and a saltine cracker.
Graedons Best Medicine by Joe Graedon & Dr Terasa Graedon, page 57
For most people who are on the Reversal Diet, moderate salt won't raise blood pressure, according to Dr. Ornish. He says it's acceptable to use a small amount of salt when you're cooking dishes that could use a little lift. This can even help some people stick to a very low fat diet, Dr. Ornish notes, since a little salt can make a lean entree a lot more palatable. That's why many of the recipes in Dr. Ornish's books call for a small amount of salt.
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 131
Too much sodium can cause high blood pressure in salt-sensitive individuals. (Most people excrete excess salt in urine, however some people may retain salt and excess fluid. The body must work harder to pump excess fluid, resulting in a rise in blood pressure.) sodium is found in table salt and occurs naturally in food, and is often added to processed foods. The American Heart Association recommends that you limit your sodium intake to 2,400 milligrams daily.
Earl Mindells Soy Miracle Earl Mindel RPH PHD, page 123
In the West, the connection between salt and hypertension has been convincing enough that many patients with high blood pressure have been forbidden to eat any but the smallest amounts of salt. This implied that salt was somehow an enemy. Now it is known that such restrictions were too severe -- normal person can eat all the salt he wants without harm to his blood pressure.
Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra MD, page 238
Cutting sodium intake by half will lead to a drop of 5 points (or more) in blood pressure in about half the people with high blood pressure, according to Dr. Kaplan.
New Foods For Healing by Selene Yeager, page 84
Salt is basically safe when used in modest amounts. Some people with salt-sensitive, high blood pressure must avoid it. As a factor in causing high blood pressure, it is implicated in heart disease, as well as in kidney disease. Though salt is safe, it is unwise to consume high-salt-content foods.
Staying Healthy With Nutrition by Elson M Haas MD, page 80
Theories on salt sensitivity
You've probably heard that consuming too much sodium can raise your blood pressure. But you may not realize that consuming too little vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, or calcium can have the same effect.
Blended Medicine by Michael Castleman, page 10
"Blood pressure control is no longer a single-nutrient issue," says David McCarron, M.D., director of the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease clinical nutrition research unit at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. "For some people, salt may not be the real issue at all."
The Complete Book of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 376
Just as too much salt can raise blood pressure in some people, too little of certain minerals seems to be associated with an increase in blood pressure.
Home Remedies What Works by Gale Maleskey and Brian Kaufman, page 271
Because they provide potassium and calcium, experts recommend figs for people with high blood pressure. Both minerals, in combination with eating less sodium, keep your blood pressure under control.
Eat and Heal by the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, page 159
How do these nutrients regulate blood pressure? The exact mechanisms continue to evade researchers. But scientists suspect that they help the body slough off excess sodium and assist in controlling the workings of the vascular system.
Everyday Health Tips by Prevention Magazine, page 70
No one really knows exactly how potassium lowers blood pressure, reports Frederick L. Brancati, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins, who led the study. One theory suggests that potassium relaxes small blood vessels, while another holds that it helps the body eliminate water and salt.
Healing With Vitamins by Alice Feinstein, page 302
Like sodium and potassium, calcium and magnesium are bodily partners in the battle against high blood pressure. Some researchers even contend that calcium and magnesium are more important than sodium and potassium in controlling blood pressure. Calcium plays an important role in regulating heartbeat; magnesium helps to control how blood vessels dilate.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How to Use Herbs and Nutrients to Stay Well by Mark Mayell, page 209
Potassium does a balancing act with sodium, which is one reason that it's so vital in maintaining proper blood pressure, Dr. Tobian explains. It works with sodium but also helps to keep it in check. During nerve transmission and muscle contraction, potassium and sodium briefly trade places across the cell membrane. Then they swap again, returning to their original positions ready for action.
Natures Medicines by Gale Maleskey, page 277
The sodium-to-potassium ratio
Just as important as the total potassium content of food, sodium and potassium should be consumed in the proper balance. Too much sodium in the diet can lead to disruption of this balance. Numerous studies have demonstrated that a low-potassium, high-sodium diet plays a major role in the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease (heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, etc.) Conversely, a diet high in potassium and low in sodium is protective against these diseases and, in the case of high blood pressure, it can be therapeutic.
Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by Michael T Murray MD Joseph L Pizzorno ND, page 529
The body uses potassium to help eliminate excess sodium, which in large amounts can cause blood pressure to rise, says Dr. Webb. The more potassium you eat, the more sodium you lose -- and the lower your blood pressure is likely to be. This is particularly true in people who are sensitive to salt, he says.
New Foods For Healing by Selene Yeager, page 56
Unfortunately, most people get too much sodium and barely enough potassium. This can raise your blood pressure and your potential for fluid retention, Dr. Young says.
Natures Medicines by Gale Maleskey, page 659
Ideally, potassium intake should be greater than sodium intake and, considering that people in North America may consume as much as 18,000 mg. of sodium daily and as little as 1,500 mg. of potassium, it is easy to see that the great amount of sodium compared to potassium could have an adverse effect on blood pressure.
Earl Mindell's Secret Remedies by Earl Mindell RPh PhD, page 160
Today, we've reversed the ratio, consuming much more sodium and a lot less potassium. We average 2,300 to 6,900 milligrams of sodium daily, and some people nibble on enough salty processed foods to boost sodium intake above 20,000 milligrams a day. We are the only nonmarine animal to eat diets so high in salt. Primitive cultures today, where people consume diets similar to our ancient ancestors' with ten times the potassium to sodium, have low blood pressure rates, almost no incidence of hypertension, and their blood pressures don't rise with age as ours do.
The Origin Diet by Elizabeth Somer, page 51
Unbalanced sodium and potassium consumption. Those who can reduce their intake of sodium compounds, including table salt, while increasing their consumption of potassium are likely to reduce their high blood pressure.
Off The Shelf Natural Health How to Use Herbs and Nutrients to Stay Well by Mark Mayell, page 190
The balance of potassium and sodium is extremely important to human health. Numerous studies have demonstrated that a diet low in potassium and high in sodium plays a major role in the development of cardiovascular disease (heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes) and cancer. Conversely, a diet high in potassium and low in sodium can help prevent these diseases; and in the case of high blood pressure, it can be therapeutic.
Natural Alternatives To Drugs by Michael T Murray ND, page 112
In order to reduce blood pressure, sodium intake must be restricted while potassium intake is increased. Individuals with high blood pressure should be aware of "hidden" salt in processed foods. Although their salt intake is comparable, vegetarians generally have less hypertension and cardiovascular disease than non-vegetarians because their diet contains more potassium, complex carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fat, fiber, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A and C. According to Dr. Cowden, regular consumption of potassium-rich fruits such as avocados, bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, grapefruit, nectarines, oranges, and vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, green peas, potatoes, and squash can lower high blood pressure. Steaming rather than boiling vegetables helps prevent vital nutrient loss.
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 777
Most blood pressure pills deplete body potassium, thus exacerbating the problem they are designed to solve. By eating three servings of potatoes, oranges, or bananas per day, you can lower sodium intake about ten percent and elevate potassium levels.
Ancient Healing Secrets by Dian Dincin Buchman PHD, page 107
Excessive salt (sodium chloride) consumption, coupled with diminished dietary potassium, greatly stresses the kidney's ability to maintain proper fluid volume. As a result some people are "salt-sensitive", in that high salt intake increases blood pressure and/or water retention. Patients who experience more water retention during the mid-luteal phase may be especially sensitive to salt intake. However, it is simply not a matter of reducing salt intake, as potassium intake must be simultaneously increased. This is easily done by increasing the intake of high-potassium foods (i.e. fruits and vegetables) and decreasing high-sodium foods (most processed foods). Total daily sodium intake should be below 1,800 mg.
Textbook of Natural Medicine Volumes 1-2 by Joseph E Pizzorno and Michael T Murray, page 1507
Potassium, especially in conjunction with a low sodium intake, helps keep your blood pressure under control. It also lessens your chances of having a stroke. Add all that fiber, which lowers your cholesterol and reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke, and you have a tiny but potent heart helper.
Eat and Heal by the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, page 141
Magnesium helps maintain the potassium in the cells, but the sodium and potassium balance is as finely tuned as those of calcium and phosphorus or calcium and magnesium. Research has found that a high-sodium diet with low potassium intake influences vascular volume and tends to elevate the blood pressure. Then doctors may prescribe diuretics that can cause even more potassium loss, aggravating the underlying problems. The appropriate course is to shift to natural, potassium foods and away from high-salt foods, lose weight if needed, and follow an exercise program to improve cardiovascular tone and physical stamina. The natural diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is rich in potassium and low in sodium, helping to maintain normal blood pressure and sometimes lowering elevated blood pressure.
Staying Healthy With Nutrition by Elson M Haas MD, page 176
One of the most powerful methods of producing less stress and more energy in the body is diaphragm breathing. A recent study has shed some light on the effect of breathing in hypertension.Volunteers with normal blood pressure were taught how to breath very shallow. Measurement of the amount of sodium and potassium excreted in the urine indicated that shallow breathing led to the retention of sodium in the body. It was suggested that this breathing pattern may play a causative role in some cases of hypertension due to the retention of sodium.
Textbook of Natural Medicine Volumes 1-2 by Joseph E Pizzorno and Michael T Murray, page 1307
Opponents of the salt-sensitivity theory / Proponents of traditional view that excessive sodium intake leads to hypertension
The first cure most people think of for high blood pressure is to cut down on salt. It may or may not work, depending on your individual biological makeup. Scientists have been arguing for years over the impact of salt on high blood pressure and the debate goes on. It's unlikely that salt is a major cause of high blood pressure, concluded a recent Harvard report. Still, Dr. William Castelli, director of the famed Framingham Heart Study, notes that in the few areas of the world where salt intake is low, high blood pressure is rare and does not rise with age as it does among Americans.
Food Miracle Medicine by Jean Carper, page 92
If you have high blood pressure, the best way to reduce or eliminate your need for medication is by improving your diet, losing weight, exercising, and decreasing your salt and alcohol intake. Mild hypertension can be controlled by proper nutrition and exercise. If these measures do not lower your blood pressure enough and you need medication, hydrochlorothiazide, a water pill (see thi-azide diuretics, p. 100), is the drug of choice starting with a low dose of 12.5 milligrams daily. It also costs less than other blood pressure drugs.
Worst Pills Best Pills by Sidney M Wolfe MD and Larry D Sasich PharmD MPH, page 144
Excess salt is known to be a cause of high blood pressure, ulcers and cancer of the stomach, edema, fear, cravings, kidney damage, diminished absorption of nutrients, and calcium deficiency, resulting in weakened bones, nerves, muscles, and heart. Early signs of excess salt intake are unusual thirst, dark urine and complexion, clenched teeth, and bloodshot eyes.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 164
No matter what its size, the "tank" of your circulatory system can become "overfilled." This can occur when a high-salt diet causes the body to retain excess water, so that the blood volume exceeds the amount the vessels can safely hold. The resulting "too full" tank can create excess pressure on the entire circulatory system. When the "tank" becomes too full or too small or both, the blood pressure rises. If the imbalance between the size of the tank and the volume that fills it becomes too extreme, hypertension results, and the life-giving pulsation of blood pressure turns into a relentless pummeling of blood vessels everywhere in the body.
Healing Moves by Carol Krucoff and Mitchell Krucoff MD, page 210
Most processed foods contain sugar or salt. Although moderate amounts of either of these substances are not particularly harmful for most people, the amounts of sugar and salt in your everyday diet can add up quickly if your diet is composed primarily of packaged foods. People with high blood pressure need to be particularly cautious about their intake of salt, and may find that a diet of processed foods goes beyond the level of salt intake recommended by their doctors.
Home Safe Home by Debra Lynn Dadd, page 226
If you have high blood pressure, the best way to reduce or eliminate your need for medication is by improving your diet, losing weight, exercising, and decreasing your salt and alcohol intake.
Worst Pills Best Pills by Sidney M Wolfe MD and Larry D Sasich PharmD MPH, page 57
If you have high blood pressure, cut down on your sodium intake by reading the labels on the foods you buy. Look for salt, sodium, or the chemical symbol Na.
Vitamin Bible by Earl Mindell, page 92
Not all experts agree on the exact role of sodium, particularly sodium chloride. Some believe that only a quarter of those with high blood pressure are sensitive to sodium. But others, including Dr. Kenney, think that too much sodium is dangerous for everybody, especially when it's in combination with chloride, as in salt.
The Complete Book Of Alternative Nutrition by Selene Y Craig, page 151
Cut way back on salt. It's well known that sodium -- found in table salt and many processed foods -- can damage the heart by raising blood pressure. Yet the average American still consumes 6,000 mg a day -- far more than the recommended 2,400 mg.
Bottom Line Yearbook 2002 by Bottom Line Personnel, page 10
The resulting epidemic of high blood pressure should be no surprise. All this extra sodium can damage the kidneys. Your kidneys filter waste materials from your blood and control blood pressure. They need the right level of sodium to function well.
Complete Guide Health Nutrition by Gary Null, page 13
Yes, we all need sodium, but most of us get too much. Too much sodium results in potassium deficiency and even more serious problems, such as stress, hypertension, muscular weakness and fatigue, liver damage, and pancreas disease. Of these, hypertension is the most dangerous and is in fact one of the leading killer diseases in our country today. One out of every ten Americans may be predisposed to high blood pressure, which is rearing its ugly head even in the lives of our children.
Complete Guide Health Nutrition by Gary Null, page 497
Unless your blood pressure is very high, you may be able to control it with a low-salt diet, exercise, weight loss and other lifestyle factors. Try this approach before considering drug therapy.
Bottom Line Yearbook 2004 by Bottom Line Personnel, page 25
Most people are aware that lowering sodium intake can help reduce blood pressure. It is by no means all that you can do, but it is nonetheless important. Sodium draws water into the blood vessels, and too much water in the artery can lead to too much pressure. Reducing salt intake is really quite easy, and we will go into that in more detail in chapter 9.
Eat Right Live Longer by Neal Barnard MD, page 142
Too much salt at the expense of potassium results in high blood pressure. It also leads to edema and water retention, especially in women during the last half of their menstrual cycle. Excessive salt intake causes kidney stress, once again deregulating the body's natural alkaline-to-acid balance. Salt also disturbs digestion, and has been linked to stomach cancer.
Food Swings by Barnet Meltzer MD, page 56
We know that anyone with hypertension (high blood pressure) should avoid salt. They should also avoid refined sugar. Animal studies suggest that high blood pressure may even lead to blood-sugar disorders.
Get Healthy Now by Gary Null, page 31
Because sodium usually is in excess, potassium has a curative role. For example, if blood pressure is high because of excessive salt intake, one of the first remedies in Western allopathic medicine is to use potassium supplements while restricting salt.
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 162
If you're sodium-savvy and watching your blood pressure, you already know to say no thanks to foods such as chips and salty pickles. Yet sodium appears in many foods in which you might not expect it. Baking soda and baking powder, for instance are both sodium bicarbonate. Dried fruit contains sodium sulfite, and ice cream often has sodium caseinate and sodium alginate.
New Foods For Healing by Selene Yeager, page 83
Innumerable scientific studies have connected fat intake to heart disease and cancer, and sodium intake to high blood pressure. Nearly 3 million children between ages six and seventeen suffer from high blood pressure. Many children of the new millennium are overweight, hyperactive, and deficient in the nutrients they need to grow into healthy adults.
Prescription For Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A Balch, page 247
The usual symptoms of high blood pressure are dizziness, headaches, and noises or ringing in the ears. Along with any remedy used for hypertension, the following regime is generally recommended: sufficient rest; regular exercise; abstinence from tobacco, coffee, and alcoholic beverages; a low-salt diet; minimization or, if possible, avoidance of stress-provoking situations; and control of the cholesterol count by correct diet or other means.
Secrets of the Chinese Herbalists by Richard Lucas, page 196
High blood pressure is not an inevitable part of aging as often thought. There are some populations in which older people have the same blood pressure as the younger ones. Diet appears to be a big factor. Diets of these non-acculturated societies differ from acculturated societies -- containing less sodium, simple sugars and saturated fats (meat, butter, whole milk) and containing more complex carbohydrates, fibers and potassium. Exercise also plays an essential role since indigenous cultures tend to live a more rigorous and active lifestyle.
Syndrome X and SX-Fraction by Mark Kaylor PhD and Ken Babal C.N., page 12
Determining whether or not you are salt sensitive
Have your pressure taken again. You can do the opposite if you've been avoiding salt: Try two weeks of a diet that does include salt and see what effect, if any, it has on your blood pressure reading.
Natural Prescriptions by Dr Robert M Giller, page 199
Sodium restriction "not a panacea"
The researchers stated that "the higher the oats intake, the lower the blood pressure," regardless of other factors such as age and weight, or alcohol, sodium, or potassium intake, which are known to affect blood pressure. According to chief researcher Michael Klag, M.D., it is oatmeal's high content of water-soluble fiber (beta glu-can) that produces the heart benefits. A six-year study involving 22,000 middle-aged Finnish males showed that consuming as little as 3 g daily of soluble fiber (from the beta glucan fiber component of oats, barley, or rye) reduced the risk of death from heart disease by 27%.
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 777
Not every one, therefore, should follow the recommendation of the American Heart Association and reduce their intake of salt. Everyone needs to have some salt in their diet, especially those with low blood pressure. When salt is restricted or eliminated from the diet, people tend to have more infections and bone disorders.
Feed Your Body Right by Lendon H Smith MD, page 163
Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/015820_blood_pressure_hypertension.html
Probiotic L reuteri may protect children from diarrhea
The probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri may reduce the incidence of diarrhea in children in developing countries, according to a study published online April 9 in Pediatrics.
Rina Augustina, MD, from the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Child Health, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, and colleagues conducted a 6-month randomized controlled trial involving 494 children aged 1 to 6 years who resided in a low-socioeconomic community of Indonesia during 2007 to 2008. The researchers randomly assigned the children into 4 groups, with 124 children receiving low-lactose milk with low calcium (about 50 mg/day) content and others receiving regular-calcium (about 440 mg/day) milk with placebo (126 children), Lactobacillus casei CRL431 (120 children), or L reuteri DSM17938 (124 children). Their objectives were to determine whether supplemented calcium and probiotics alleviated the incidence and duration of diarrhea and acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in the community studied.
The researchers found that for all of the reported diarrheal episodes, on a broadly defined basis (2 or more loose/liquid stools in 24 hours), the children receiving the regular-calcium milk and L reuteri had a 32% lower incidence of diarrhea (relative risk, 0.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.46 - 0.99) compared with children receiving regular-calcium milk and placebo. None of the other interventions affected the incidence of diarrhea or the incidence or duration of ARTIs.
When the researchers applied a narrower World Health Organization (WHO) definition of diarrhea (3 or more loose/liquid stools in 24 hours), they found no significant difference among the groups. "Although the WHO definition is the best validated, it may not be generalizable to different settings such as our intervention, which included children of older age and in an urban community setting," the researchers write.
However, when they restricted their analysis to children with lower nutritional status, defined as those children who were below median height and weight for their ages, the researchers saw a significant protective effect of L reuteri under both definitions of diarrhea.
"Our results indicate that the effect of a probiotic, such as L reuteri DSM17938, on diarrhea is modified by nutritional status and is confined to children with lower nutritional status," the researchers conclude.
The authors report that their study is the first large randomized controlled trial involving calcium with or without 1 of 2 probiotic strains to reduce diarrhea and ARTIs. Previous studies, they write, provided mixed results and differed in strains.
In this study, mothers were instructed to provide 180 mL of sweetened chocolate milk twice a day for the children to drink through straws coated inside with oil drops as placebo, with L casei, or with L reuteri. The milk, packed in tetra packs, was kept cold throughout, and the probiotic dosage (5 × 108 colony-forming units/day) fell within guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/WHO. The children maintained their regular diet but were requested to exclude any other "probiotic, prebiotic, or high-calcium foods/drinks other than the supplied ones."
"Our results underline that probiotic effects are strain specific, as we found protective effects of L reuteri DSM17938 against acute diarrhea in children, whereas supplementation of L casei CRL431 (without other strains) was without effect," the researchers write.
Although the results need to be confirmed by at least 1 more independent study, the authors conclude that L reuteri supplementation with regular calcium milk may reduce the burden of infectious diarrhea in children.
The researchers write that diarrhea and ARTIs contribute to 25% and 16%, respectively, of the mortality rate for young children in Indonesia, according to the republic's Ministry of Health.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/761711?sssdmh=dm1.774171&src=nldne
Rina Augustina, MD, from the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Child Health, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, and colleagues conducted a 6-month randomized controlled trial involving 494 children aged 1 to 6 years who resided in a low-socioeconomic community of Indonesia during 2007 to 2008. The researchers randomly assigned the children into 4 groups, with 124 children receiving low-lactose milk with low calcium (about 50 mg/day) content and others receiving regular-calcium (about 440 mg/day) milk with placebo (126 children), Lactobacillus casei CRL431 (120 children), or L reuteri DSM17938 (124 children). Their objectives were to determine whether supplemented calcium and probiotics alleviated the incidence and duration of diarrhea and acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in the community studied.
The researchers found that for all of the reported diarrheal episodes, on a broadly defined basis (2 or more loose/liquid stools in 24 hours), the children receiving the regular-calcium milk and L reuteri had a 32% lower incidence of diarrhea (relative risk, 0.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.46 - 0.99) compared with children receiving regular-calcium milk and placebo. None of the other interventions affected the incidence of diarrhea or the incidence or duration of ARTIs.
When the researchers applied a narrower World Health Organization (WHO) definition of diarrhea (3 or more loose/liquid stools in 24 hours), they found no significant difference among the groups. "Although the WHO definition is the best validated, it may not be generalizable to different settings such as our intervention, which included children of older age and in an urban community setting," the researchers write.
However, when they restricted their analysis to children with lower nutritional status, defined as those children who were below median height and weight for their ages, the researchers saw a significant protective effect of L reuteri under both definitions of diarrhea.
"Our results indicate that the effect of a probiotic, such as L reuteri DSM17938, on diarrhea is modified by nutritional status and is confined to children with lower nutritional status," the researchers conclude.
The authors report that their study is the first large randomized controlled trial involving calcium with or without 1 of 2 probiotic strains to reduce diarrhea and ARTIs. Previous studies, they write, provided mixed results and differed in strains.
In this study, mothers were instructed to provide 180 mL of sweetened chocolate milk twice a day for the children to drink through straws coated inside with oil drops as placebo, with L casei, or with L reuteri. The milk, packed in tetra packs, was kept cold throughout, and the probiotic dosage (5 × 108 colony-forming units/day) fell within guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/WHO. The children maintained their regular diet but were requested to exclude any other "probiotic, prebiotic, or high-calcium foods/drinks other than the supplied ones."
"Our results underline that probiotic effects are strain specific, as we found protective effects of L reuteri DSM17938 against acute diarrhea in children, whereas supplementation of L casei CRL431 (without other strains) was without effect," the researchers write.
Although the results need to be confirmed by at least 1 more independent study, the authors conclude that L reuteri supplementation with regular calcium milk may reduce the burden of infectious diarrhea in children.
The researchers write that diarrhea and ARTIs contribute to 25% and 16%, respectively, of the mortality rate for young children in Indonesia, according to the republic's Ministry of Health.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/761711?sssdmh=dm1.774171&src=nldne
Friday, 22 June 2012
Exposure to antibacterials may predispose children to allergies
Exposure to the common antimicrobials triclosan and parabens was significantly associated with allergic sensitization, according to a recent study. The concentration-dependent association was found between the antimicrobials and aeroallergen and food sensitization. Both triclosan and parabens are endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs).
Jessica H. Savage, MD, from the Johns Hopkins Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues presented the results of an analysis of existing data from a national health survey in an article published online June 18 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The authors used the large, nationally representative sample to investigate the relationship between EDCs and atopy. Urinary EDC levels were used as a biomarker of exposure.
The authors used data from the 2005 to 2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which included a total of 10,348 patients, of whom 859 were children aged 8 to 16 years with complete data for the analysis of EDC levels. Aeroallergen and food sensitization were defined by the presence of at least 1 positive (≥0.35 kU/L) specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) level to an aeroallergen or food.
After adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, urinary creatinine level, and income, the investigators determined that the odds of aeroallergen sensitization significantly increased with the level of triclosan and propyl and butyl parabens. Comparing the third vs the first tertile of urinary triclosan, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for aeroallergen sensitization was 1.73 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 - 2.69; P = .02). Similarly, the adjusted OR for propyl paraben was 2.04 (95% CI, 1.12 - 3.74; P = .02), and for butyl paraben it was 1.55 (95% CI, 1.02 - 2.33; P = .02).
The authors found that the increased risk for sensitization was most pronounced for men. There was no association between EDCs and a history of atopic asthma, wheeze, or total IgE level.
The authors acknowledge the limitation inherent in a retrospective, cross-sectional study. The cross-sectional study is also limited by the possibility that patients with allergy may be more likely to use products containing triclosan and parabens.
The 'Flip Side of the Hygiene Hypothesis'
Mark Holbreich, MD, FAAAAI, from Allergy and Asthma Consultants in Indianapolis, Indiana, spoke with Medscape Medical News about the article. "I think what's interesting is that it continues to support the idea that what we are exposed to early in life affects the development of allergies," Dr. Holbreich said. Previous cross-sectional and prospective epidemiological studies have demonstrated a relationship between bacterial flora and allergic disease.
Although acknowledging that the current study is preliminary, Dr. Holbreich was intrigued by the "flip side of the hygiene hypothesis." He explained that the traditional understanding of the hygiene hypothesis is that certain populations of children are protected from allergies. Typically, these protected children are characterized as children from farms who may be exposed to a wider variety of bacterial flora. Investigators acknowledge that this farm effect is likely the result of a combination of factors.
The hygiene hypothesis drives the question: Why are certain groups of children more protected and other children more vulnerable to allergies? Although the current understanding is that children with allergies are not having critical biological exposures, this article raises the possibility that children with allergies may be having chemical exposures that are creating a vulnerability to an allergic response, Dr. Holbreich said.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/766114?sssdmh=dm1.795939&src=nldne
Jessica H. Savage, MD, from the Johns Hopkins Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues presented the results of an analysis of existing data from a national health survey in an article published online June 18 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The authors used the large, nationally representative sample to investigate the relationship between EDCs and atopy. Urinary EDC levels were used as a biomarker of exposure.
The authors used data from the 2005 to 2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which included a total of 10,348 patients, of whom 859 were children aged 8 to 16 years with complete data for the analysis of EDC levels. Aeroallergen and food sensitization were defined by the presence of at least 1 positive (≥0.35 kU/L) specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) level to an aeroallergen or food.
After adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, urinary creatinine level, and income, the investigators determined that the odds of aeroallergen sensitization significantly increased with the level of triclosan and propyl and butyl parabens. Comparing the third vs the first tertile of urinary triclosan, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for aeroallergen sensitization was 1.73 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 - 2.69; P = .02). Similarly, the adjusted OR for propyl paraben was 2.04 (95% CI, 1.12 - 3.74; P = .02), and for butyl paraben it was 1.55 (95% CI, 1.02 - 2.33; P = .02).
The authors found that the increased risk for sensitization was most pronounced for men. There was no association between EDCs and a history of atopic asthma, wheeze, or total IgE level.
The authors acknowledge the limitation inherent in a retrospective, cross-sectional study. The cross-sectional study is also limited by the possibility that patients with allergy may be more likely to use products containing triclosan and parabens.
The 'Flip Side of the Hygiene Hypothesis'
Mark Holbreich, MD, FAAAAI, from Allergy and Asthma Consultants in Indianapolis, Indiana, spoke with Medscape Medical News about the article. "I think what's interesting is that it continues to support the idea that what we are exposed to early in life affects the development of allergies," Dr. Holbreich said. Previous cross-sectional and prospective epidemiological studies have demonstrated a relationship between bacterial flora and allergic disease.
Although acknowledging that the current study is preliminary, Dr. Holbreich was intrigued by the "flip side of the hygiene hypothesis." He explained that the traditional understanding of the hygiene hypothesis is that certain populations of children are protected from allergies. Typically, these protected children are characterized as children from farms who may be exposed to a wider variety of bacterial flora. Investigators acknowledge that this farm effect is likely the result of a combination of factors.
The hygiene hypothesis drives the question: Why are certain groups of children more protected and other children more vulnerable to allergies? Although the current understanding is that children with allergies are not having critical biological exposures, this article raises the possibility that children with allergies may be having chemical exposures that are creating a vulnerability to an allergic response, Dr. Holbreich said.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/766114?sssdmh=dm1.795939&src=nldne
Low vitamin D in diet linked to increased stroke
New data from the Honolulu Heart Program show that low dietary vitamin D at baseline was independently associated with higher risk of stroke over the next 34 years.
"Increasing dietary vitamin D intake might be beneficial for stroke prevention," first author Gotaro Kojima, MD, from the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Department of Geriatric Medicine in Honolulu, told Medscape Medical News.
Although some other studies have found an association between vitamin D deficiency and incident stroke, most of these studies looked at serum vitamin D levels. Less is known about the association between dietary vitamin D intake and risk of stroke.
There was only one study "which demonstrated that higher vitamin D intake was associated with lower stroke incidence. Our study's findings were consistent with this previous study. However, we had a 10-fold larger population size and a 3-fold longer follow-up period," Dr. Kojima said.
The findings of Dr. Kojima and colleagues were published online May 24, 2012, in Stroke.
The Honolulu Heart Program
Study participants included 7385 Japanese-American men who enrolled in the Honolulu Heart Program, a long-running, prospective, population-based observational study, between 1965 and 1968. They were 45 and 68 years old at the baseline examination and were followed through 1999 for stroke.
At baseline, the men's average intake of dietary vitamin D was 3.62 µg/day (range, 0.00 - 211.60 µg/day). During 34 years of follow-up, incident stroke occurred in 960 men. There were 651 (68%) thromboembolic strokes, 269 (28%) hemorrhagic strokes, and 40 (4%) strokes of unknown type.
Age-adjusted rates of stroke were significantly higher in the lowest dietary vitamin D quartile (0 - 1.12 µg/day) compared with the highest quartile (4.13 - 211.60 µg/day).
Using Cox regression and adjusting for age, total caloric intake, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, pack-years of smoking, physical activity, cholesterol level, and alcohol intake, patients in the lowest quartile of dietary vitamin D intake had a significantly increased risk of incidence of any stroke and thromboembolic stroke but not hemorrhagic stroke, relative to those in the highest quartile.
Interpret Cautiously
JoAnn E. Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, cautioned that this is an observational study and "association does not prove causation."
"The association was modest, and the problem is that there are many potential confounding factors in these studies," Dr. Manson told Medscape Medical News. "Dietary factors often correlate with many other lifestyle factors that can be linked to heart disease and can confound the association."
"There may be a cause-and-effect relationship, but we certainly cannot determine that from this type of study. The only way to understand for sure whether higher dietary intake of vitamin D prevents cardiovascular disease and other health outcomes is randomized clinical trials that will balance out equally these other factors," added Dr. Manson, who was not involved in the study.
Dr. Manson is principal investigator of the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial, or the VITAL trial. Launched in 2010, VITAL is the first large, randomized clinical trial undertaken to study whether daily dietary supplements of vitamin D3 or omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and cancer in people who do not have a history of these illnesses.
She is coauthor of another recent article, published in the June issue of Stroke, looking at 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and stroke risk in women participating in the observational Nurses' Health Study. These results show a "modest" correlation between vitamin D levels and subsequent stroke. Investigators carried out a meta-analysis using data from 6 other prospective trials that also suggest a relationship.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/766055?sssdmh=dm1.795939&src=nldne
"Increasing dietary vitamin D intake might be beneficial for stroke prevention," first author Gotaro Kojima, MD, from the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Department of Geriatric Medicine in Honolulu, told Medscape Medical News.
Although some other studies have found an association between vitamin D deficiency and incident stroke, most of these studies looked at serum vitamin D levels. Less is known about the association between dietary vitamin D intake and risk of stroke.
There was only one study "which demonstrated that higher vitamin D intake was associated with lower stroke incidence. Our study's findings were consistent with this previous study. However, we had a 10-fold larger population size and a 3-fold longer follow-up period," Dr. Kojima said.
The findings of Dr. Kojima and colleagues were published online May 24, 2012, in Stroke.
The Honolulu Heart Program
Study participants included 7385 Japanese-American men who enrolled in the Honolulu Heart Program, a long-running, prospective, population-based observational study, between 1965 and 1968. They were 45 and 68 years old at the baseline examination and were followed through 1999 for stroke.
At baseline, the men's average intake of dietary vitamin D was 3.62 µg/day (range, 0.00 - 211.60 µg/day). During 34 years of follow-up, incident stroke occurred in 960 men. There were 651 (68%) thromboembolic strokes, 269 (28%) hemorrhagic strokes, and 40 (4%) strokes of unknown type.
Age-adjusted rates of stroke were significantly higher in the lowest dietary vitamin D quartile (0 - 1.12 µg/day) compared with the highest quartile (4.13 - 211.60 µg/day).
Using Cox regression and adjusting for age, total caloric intake, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, pack-years of smoking, physical activity, cholesterol level, and alcohol intake, patients in the lowest quartile of dietary vitamin D intake had a significantly increased risk of incidence of any stroke and thromboembolic stroke but not hemorrhagic stroke, relative to those in the highest quartile.
Interpret Cautiously
JoAnn E. Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, cautioned that this is an observational study and "association does not prove causation."
"The association was modest, and the problem is that there are many potential confounding factors in these studies," Dr. Manson told Medscape Medical News. "Dietary factors often correlate with many other lifestyle factors that can be linked to heart disease and can confound the association."
"There may be a cause-and-effect relationship, but we certainly cannot determine that from this type of study. The only way to understand for sure whether higher dietary intake of vitamin D prevents cardiovascular disease and other health outcomes is randomized clinical trials that will balance out equally these other factors," added Dr. Manson, who was not involved in the study.
Dr. Manson is principal investigator of the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial, or the VITAL trial. Launched in 2010, VITAL is the first large, randomized clinical trial undertaken to study whether daily dietary supplements of vitamin D3 or omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and cancer in people who do not have a history of these illnesses.
She is coauthor of another recent article, published in the June issue of Stroke, looking at 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and stroke risk in women participating in the observational Nurses' Health Study. These results show a "modest" correlation between vitamin D levels and subsequent stroke. Investigators carried out a meta-analysis using data from 6 other prospective trials that also suggest a relationship.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/766055?sssdmh=dm1.795939&src=nldne
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Thursday, 21 June 2012
Apples again top 'Dirty Dozen' list for pesticides
Apples again have the dubious honor of nabbing the top spot on the ''Dirty Dozen'' list of produce with unacceptable pesticide residues, issued by the Environmental Working Group.
EWG has also issued its updated "Clean Fifteen" list of produce least likely to be tainted with pesticides.
For the first time, the group also tested prepared baby food consisting of green beans, pears, and sweet potatoes. Its evaluation shows that some green bean and pear samples had pesticide residues, while sweet potatoes had virtually no detectable residues.
"Our advice to consumers is to choose the organic version of the fruits and vegetables on the dirty dozen list," Johanna Congleton, PhD, MSPH, an EWG senior scientist, tells WebMD.
While EWG scientists prefer organic versions of some produce, they do concede that ''eating commercially grown produce is better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all."
Another expert not involved in the report has some criticisms. "Their rankings are just very arbitrary," says Carl K. Winter, PhD, director of the FoodSafe program and an extension food toxicologist at the University of California, Davis.
"I think consumers should eat lots of fruits and vegetables, whether organic or conventional," Winter says, and there is no reason to fear these foods.
Dirty Dozen, 2012 Version
Besides apples, 11 other fruits and vegetables -- in order of the amount of pesticide residues, from more to less -- earned a spot on the Dirty Dozen list:
Celery
Sweet bell peppers
Peaches
Strawberries
Nectarines (imported)
Grapes
Spinach
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Blueberries (domestic)
Potatoes
This year, EWG scientists added a "Plus" category to highlight two crops -- green beans and leafy greens such as kale and collard greens. They did not meet the criteria typically used for the Dirty Dozen list but were commonly contaminated with highly toxic organophosphate insecticides.
These insecticides, Congleton tells WebMD, are toxic to the nervous system. They have largely been removed from agriculture over the past decade. But they are not banned, so they still sometimes show up on crops.
According to EWG, pesticide exposure is linked with a range of other health problems, including hormone disruption, cancer, brain toxicity, and skin, eye, and lung irritation.
Clean Fifteen, 2012 Version
Making the updated "Clean Fifteen" list because they were found to be lowest in pesticides are:
Onions
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Avocado
Cabbage
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Mangoes
Eggplant
Kiwi
Cantaloupe (domestic)
Sweet potatoes
Grapefruit
Watermelon
Mushrooms
Produce & Pesticides: Baby Foods
In the baby food evaluation, green beans tested positive for five pesticides. The evaluation of pears found 92% positive for at least one pesticide residue.
Sweet potatoes came up cleanest.
Making the Lists: Methods
The EWG has issued the lists for the past eight years. EWG scientists used pesticide testing data generated by USDA and FDA scientists to create the lists. In most studies, produce was tested after it was washed or peeled.
"Contamination was measured in six different ways," says Alex Formuzis, an EWG spokesman.
These include:
Percent of samples tested with detectable pesticides
Percent of samples with two or more detectable pesticides
Average number of pesticides found on a single sample
Average amount (in parts per million) of all pesticides found
Maximum number of pesticides found on a single sample
Total number of pesticides found across all samples of the same produce type
"The foods on the dirty dozen list contained the highest amount of pesticides," Congleton says.
Regarding the Clean Fifteen list, she says, "Some of them do have detectable levels of pesticides. However, they are the lowest out of all the foods we evaluated. Some had undetectable levels of pesticides."
Produce and Pesticides: Another View
Winter of UC Davis explains why he says the lists are arbitrary. "What they are not doing is addressing the three important components that scientists have to use to establish whether there is any risk," he says.
The three components include the amount of pesticide, how much is consumed, and how toxic it is.
Winter concludes that "the average amount of exposure is negligible."
"Consumers should not fear conventionally produced fruits and vegetables," he says. "The levels of residues are at levels so low there should not be concern."
Winter says he gets no funding from chemical, agricultural, or food industries.
The full EWG lists can be found at www.ewg.org/foodnews.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765987?sssdmh=dm1.795565&src=nldne
EWG has also issued its updated "Clean Fifteen" list of produce least likely to be tainted with pesticides.
For the first time, the group also tested prepared baby food consisting of green beans, pears, and sweet potatoes. Its evaluation shows that some green bean and pear samples had pesticide residues, while sweet potatoes had virtually no detectable residues.
"Our advice to consumers is to choose the organic version of the fruits and vegetables on the dirty dozen list," Johanna Congleton, PhD, MSPH, an EWG senior scientist, tells WebMD.
While EWG scientists prefer organic versions of some produce, they do concede that ''eating commercially grown produce is better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all."
Another expert not involved in the report has some criticisms. "Their rankings are just very arbitrary," says Carl K. Winter, PhD, director of the FoodSafe program and an extension food toxicologist at the University of California, Davis.
"I think consumers should eat lots of fruits and vegetables, whether organic or conventional," Winter says, and there is no reason to fear these foods.
Dirty Dozen, 2012 Version
Besides apples, 11 other fruits and vegetables -- in order of the amount of pesticide residues, from more to less -- earned a spot on the Dirty Dozen list:
Celery
Sweet bell peppers
Peaches
Strawberries
Nectarines (imported)
Grapes
Spinach
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Blueberries (domestic)
Potatoes
This year, EWG scientists added a "Plus" category to highlight two crops -- green beans and leafy greens such as kale and collard greens. They did not meet the criteria typically used for the Dirty Dozen list but were commonly contaminated with highly toxic organophosphate insecticides.
These insecticides, Congleton tells WebMD, are toxic to the nervous system. They have largely been removed from agriculture over the past decade. But they are not banned, so they still sometimes show up on crops.
According to EWG, pesticide exposure is linked with a range of other health problems, including hormone disruption, cancer, brain toxicity, and skin, eye, and lung irritation.
Clean Fifteen, 2012 Version
Making the updated "Clean Fifteen" list because they were found to be lowest in pesticides are:
Onions
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Avocado
Cabbage
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Mangoes
Eggplant
Kiwi
Cantaloupe (domestic)
Sweet potatoes
Grapefruit
Watermelon
Mushrooms
Produce & Pesticides: Baby Foods
In the baby food evaluation, green beans tested positive for five pesticides. The evaluation of pears found 92% positive for at least one pesticide residue.
Sweet potatoes came up cleanest.
Making the Lists: Methods
The EWG has issued the lists for the past eight years. EWG scientists used pesticide testing data generated by USDA and FDA scientists to create the lists. In most studies, produce was tested after it was washed or peeled.
"Contamination was measured in six different ways," says Alex Formuzis, an EWG spokesman.
These include:
Percent of samples tested with detectable pesticides
Percent of samples with two or more detectable pesticides
Average number of pesticides found on a single sample
Average amount (in parts per million) of all pesticides found
Maximum number of pesticides found on a single sample
Total number of pesticides found across all samples of the same produce type
"The foods on the dirty dozen list contained the highest amount of pesticides," Congleton says.
Regarding the Clean Fifteen list, she says, "Some of them do have detectable levels of pesticides. However, they are the lowest out of all the foods we evaluated. Some had undetectable levels of pesticides."
Produce and Pesticides: Another View
Winter of UC Davis explains why he says the lists are arbitrary. "What they are not doing is addressing the three important components that scientists have to use to establish whether there is any risk," he says.
The three components include the amount of pesticide, how much is consumed, and how toxic it is.
Winter concludes that "the average amount of exposure is negligible."
"Consumers should not fear conventionally produced fruits and vegetables," he says. "The levels of residues are at levels so low there should not be concern."
Winter says he gets no funding from chemical, agricultural, or food industries.
The full EWG lists can be found at www.ewg.org/foodnews.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765987?sssdmh=dm1.795565&src=nldne
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Higher salt intake ups vascular damage markers
A high intake of sodium over a long period of time is associated with increases in serum uric acid and urine albumin excretion, both of which are considered markers of vascular endothelial damage [1]. These are the findings of a new study published online June 18, 2012 in Circulation.
"Serum uric acid and urine albumin excretion tend to rise over time, as people get older," lead author Dr John P Forman (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA), a nephrologist, told heartwire . "But what we found in this cohort of people, without hypertension at baseline, is that these values rise more quickly in the people who eat the most sodium."
He likens this to a kind of "positive feedback loop" and says this would argue against the stance of those people who say that altering sodium intake at the population level is not necessary because only around a third of people are salt sensitive. "Maybe if you're on a high-salt diet for long enough you become one of those people who are salt sensitive and then you develop hypertension. This study supports the view that populations should reduce sodium intake," he says. However, he stresses that this theory is, until confirmed, "speculative."
First link between higher sodium intake and rising uric acid
Forman and colleagues prospectively analyzed the associations between sodium intake and the change in serum uric acid (n=4062) and urinary albumin excretion (n=4146) among participants of the Dutch Prevention of Renal and Vascular End Stage Disease (PREVEND) study.
They also examined the association of sodium intake with the incidence of hypertension among 5556 participants. Median follow-up was 6.4 years.
After multivariate adjustment, each 1-g higher sodium intake was associated with a 1.2-µmol/L increase in serum uric acid (p=0.01) and a 4.6 mg/day increase in urinary albumin excretion (p<0.001).
The relationship between sodium intake and incident hypertension varied according to serum uric acid and urinary albumin excretion.
For each 1-g higher sodium intake, the adjusted hazard ratio for developing hypertension was 0.98 among those in the lowest tertile of uric acid and 1.09 among those in the highest tertile. Corresponding HRs were 0.99 among those with the lowest urinary albumin excretion (<10 mg/day) and 1.18 among those with the highest (>15 mg/day).
The researchers say their study has a number of strengths, including the fact that sodium and albumin were ascertained via multiple 24-hour urinary specimens. There were also limitations, however, including the fact that most of the participants were white, which restricts the generalizability of the findings, they point out.
Forman and colleagues say that, to the best of their knowledge, this is the first time that the relation between sodium intake and increasing serum uric acid has been demonstrated. But the effect of sodium intake on albumin excretion has been observed before, they note, in several clinical trials and large observational studies.
Does a positive feedback loop explain so-called salt sensitivity?
"Those who had a high salt intake compared with low salt intake were at a higher risk of hypertension if they had higher levels of urine albumin excretion and serum uric acid," Forman explains.
"But in the people in the lowest categories of urine albumin excretion and serum uric acid there was no association between sodium intake and the risk of developing high blood pressure, suggesting--although this is purely speculative--that it's the people who have some sort of level of vascular damage that, if they eat a high-salt diet, are at a high risk of developing hypertension.
"If you take both of those findings and put them together and you think of the lifetime of an individual, you could extrapolate and say that maybe eating a very high-salt diet is leading first to vascular damage, which we can see by an increase in the blood and urine levels of markers, and then if you continue the high-salt diet, that can lead to hypertension."
However, he stresses, that this theory needs to be tested in other prospective cohorts and, if possible, in randomized trials.
And while Forman says "It's too far away to talk about screening people for endothelial dysfunction, so that we know whether or not they should eat a low-salt diet," he points out that guidance on salt intake already exists for many individuals.
"For example, the AHA recommends a very low-sodium diet for African Americans, those over 50, and those with hypertension or diabetes. These individuals are more likely to fit into the higher levels of urine albumin excretion and serum uric acid classes and are more likely to have endothelial damage."
But he also stresses "that for everyone else in the population, they still recommend a low-sodium diet, much lower than we are eating in general."
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765937?sssdmh=dm1.795387&src=nldne
"Serum uric acid and urine albumin excretion tend to rise over time, as people get older," lead author Dr John P Forman (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA), a nephrologist, told heartwire . "But what we found in this cohort of people, without hypertension at baseline, is that these values rise more quickly in the people who eat the most sodium."
He likens this to a kind of "positive feedback loop" and says this would argue against the stance of those people who say that altering sodium intake at the population level is not necessary because only around a third of people are salt sensitive. "Maybe if you're on a high-salt diet for long enough you become one of those people who are salt sensitive and then you develop hypertension. This study supports the view that populations should reduce sodium intake," he says. However, he stresses that this theory is, until confirmed, "speculative."
First link between higher sodium intake and rising uric acid
Forman and colleagues prospectively analyzed the associations between sodium intake and the change in serum uric acid (n=4062) and urinary albumin excretion (n=4146) among participants of the Dutch Prevention of Renal and Vascular End Stage Disease (PREVEND) study.
They also examined the association of sodium intake with the incidence of hypertension among 5556 participants. Median follow-up was 6.4 years.
After multivariate adjustment, each 1-g higher sodium intake was associated with a 1.2-µmol/L increase in serum uric acid (p=0.01) and a 4.6 mg/day increase in urinary albumin excretion (p<0.001).
The relationship between sodium intake and incident hypertension varied according to serum uric acid and urinary albumin excretion.
For each 1-g higher sodium intake, the adjusted hazard ratio for developing hypertension was 0.98 among those in the lowest tertile of uric acid and 1.09 among those in the highest tertile. Corresponding HRs were 0.99 among those with the lowest urinary albumin excretion (<10 mg/day) and 1.18 among those with the highest (>15 mg/day).
The researchers say their study has a number of strengths, including the fact that sodium and albumin were ascertained via multiple 24-hour urinary specimens. There were also limitations, however, including the fact that most of the participants were white, which restricts the generalizability of the findings, they point out.
Forman and colleagues say that, to the best of their knowledge, this is the first time that the relation between sodium intake and increasing serum uric acid has been demonstrated. But the effect of sodium intake on albumin excretion has been observed before, they note, in several clinical trials and large observational studies.
Does a positive feedback loop explain so-called salt sensitivity?
"Those who had a high salt intake compared with low salt intake were at a higher risk of hypertension if they had higher levels of urine albumin excretion and serum uric acid," Forman explains.
"But in the people in the lowest categories of urine albumin excretion and serum uric acid there was no association between sodium intake and the risk of developing high blood pressure, suggesting--although this is purely speculative--that it's the people who have some sort of level of vascular damage that, if they eat a high-salt diet, are at a high risk of developing hypertension.
"If you take both of those findings and put them together and you think of the lifetime of an individual, you could extrapolate and say that maybe eating a very high-salt diet is leading first to vascular damage, which we can see by an increase in the blood and urine levels of markers, and then if you continue the high-salt diet, that can lead to hypertension."
However, he stresses, that this theory needs to be tested in other prospective cohorts and, if possible, in randomized trials.
And while Forman says "It's too far away to talk about screening people for endothelial dysfunction, so that we know whether or not they should eat a low-salt diet," he points out that guidance on salt intake already exists for many individuals.
"For example, the AHA recommends a very low-sodium diet for African Americans, those over 50, and those with hypertension or diabetes. These individuals are more likely to fit into the higher levels of urine albumin excretion and serum uric acid classes and are more likely to have endothelial damage."
But he also stresses "that for everyone else in the population, they still recommend a low-sodium diet, much lower than we are eating in general."
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765937?sssdmh=dm1.795387&src=nldne
Coffee may ward off progression to dementia
Patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may be able to avoid developing dementia by drinking several cups of coffee a day, the results of a new study suggest.
The study showed that patients with MCI who have a plasma caffeine level of 1200 ng/mL avoided progression to dementia over the following 2 to 4 years.
These patients exhibited a plasma cytokine profile that was exactly the same as that of Alzheimer's disease (AD) transgenic mice that were given caffeinated coffee and didn't progress to dementia. It's therefore very likely that it's caffeine from coffee, and not from other sources, that affords the cognitive protection, said study senior author Gary W. Arendash, PhD, research scientist, Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Hospital, St. Petersburg, Florida.
The research also suggests that certain cytokine patterns could signal for impending conversion to dementia among those with MCI, said Dr. Arendash.
The study is published in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
Lower Caffeine Levels
The new case-control study included 2 cohorts of 124 participants in a Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center study of persons aged 65 years and older. All participants had undergone a battery of baseline neurologic assessments and cognitive tests and were categorized as normal, MCI, or dementia. As well, researchers had access to fasting blood samples taken at baseline.
Over the next 2 to 4 years, researchers annually reassessed the cognition of the participants. They separated the participants into 5 groups: (1) initially normal and remained normal, (2) initially normal but converted to MCI, (3) initially MCI and remained so, (4) initially MCI but converted to dementia, and (5) initially dementia and remained so.
Analysis of plasma caffeine levels from the initial visit showed significantly lower caffeine levels in participants with MCI relative to the normal group (P < .03). Caffeine levels were also lower in participants with dementia than in those with normal cognition, but this association did not reach statistical significance (P < .07).
There was a 26% lower plasma level of caffeine in normal persons who converted to MCI over the course of the study compared with those who remained normal, but this was not significant because of considerable variability in caffeine levels among individuals in both of these subgroups.
However, 11 patients with MCI who progressed to dementia had plasma caffeine levels that were 51% below levels at study initiation vs those with MCI who remained MCI (P < .02).
None of the MCI participants who converted to dementia had initial caffeine levels above 1200 ng/mL while half of those with stable MCI had higher levels. Baseline plasma caffeine levels greater than 1200 ng/mL in MCI patients were associated with a 100% chance of avoiding progression to dementia during the 2- to 4-year follow-up.
Patients with MCI in both the Miami (n = 81) and the Tampa (n = 43) study cohorts independently showed the same relationship between blood caffeine levels and later risk for dementia progression.
Critical Level
That 1200-ng/mL level appears to be an important threshold, said Dr. Arendash. The amount of coffee needed to reach this critical level appears to be 3 to 5 cups of daily, with a target of 5 cups or 500 mg of caffeine. Those previous AD mouse studies showed that 1 to 2 cups, or between 100 and 200 mg of caffeine (which is what typical Americans drink daily), was not enough to ward off dementia, he said. It's not known whether it's necessary to spread those 5 cups throughout the day, he added.
It's important to remember, though, that half of the patients with stable MCI in the study who had caffeine levels below 1200 ng/mL also didn't progress to dementia. Clearly, other factors play a role. Such factors probably include the level of cognitive and physical activity, the presence of hypertension, and antioxidant intake, especially from fruits and vegetables, said Dr. Arendash.
The study also found that 3 cytokines — granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF), interleukin-10, and interleukin-6 — were lower in the plasma of patients with MCI who were destined for AD conversion than in both the nonconverting MCI participants and the participants with dementia. None of the 8 other plasma cytokines that were measured showed any such profile when the same 2 MCI subgroups were compared.
"When that initial blood sample was taken, MCI patients that went on to convert to AD had low levels of all those cytokines," said Dr. Arendash. "That could be diagnostic; it could be a very important plasma indicator of impending AD."
The studies of AD transgenic mice, which produce the same abnormal human protein as the human brain, amyloid-beta, demonstrated that long-term oral administration of caffeinated coffee prevents cognitive impairment.
The cytokine profile of the participants in this current study was the same as that in these AD mice. "Their profiles matched identically to the mice given coffee but not other sources of caffeine;" said Dr. Arendash. "That's why we strongly believe that most, if not all, of those MCI patients who did not convert were on habitual coffee intake."
The mouse research allowed investigators to identify disease-modifying mechanisms for caffeine. The studies showed that caffeine alone suppresses brain levels of enzymes required for amyloid-beta production via targeting of specific signal transduction mechanisms. This research also suggested that something in coffee increases plasma levels of those 3 key cytokines: G-CSF, interleukin-10, and interleukin-6. G-CSF, in particular, has beneficial cognitive actions in AD mice that involve synaptogenesis and neurogenesis.
Aside from caffeine, coffee is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that may also contribute to reduced risk for AD.
This study was a retrospective analysis, so a definitive relationship will have to be derived through a clinical trial in which participants consume caffeinated coffee, other caffeinated products, or decaffeinated coffee, over a period several years, said Dr. Arendash. He suggested that residents of China, where coffee consumption is very rare, would make an ideal control population for such research.
Accumulating Evidence
Reached for a comment, Karen Ritchie, PhD, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom and Directeur de Recherche, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Montpellier, France, said the study, which involved a direct measure of caffeine in plasma rather than just reports of caffeine consumption, adds to accumulating evidence of a beneficial effect of caffeine.
However, she said the study's "weak point" is that, unlike the epidemiologic studies, such as the ones she and her colleagues have carried out, alternative explanations of this observation were not taken into account.
"For example, persons drinking less coffee may also have more hypertension, more depression, more heart disease, less social activity than those with higher levels, and these factors are in themselves related to onset of dementia."
Still, one of Dr. Ritchie's own previous studies, published in Neurology , concluded that the psychostimulant properties of caffeine appear to reduce cognitive decline in women without dementia, especially at higher ages.
The question of whether some people are protected against dementia because they drink coffee or because they do or have something else that non–coffee drinkers don't, remains unanswered, she said.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765781?sssdmh=dm1.795387&src=nldne
The study showed that patients with MCI who have a plasma caffeine level of 1200 ng/mL avoided progression to dementia over the following 2 to 4 years.
These patients exhibited a plasma cytokine profile that was exactly the same as that of Alzheimer's disease (AD) transgenic mice that were given caffeinated coffee and didn't progress to dementia. It's therefore very likely that it's caffeine from coffee, and not from other sources, that affords the cognitive protection, said study senior author Gary W. Arendash, PhD, research scientist, Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Hospital, St. Petersburg, Florida.
The research also suggests that certain cytokine patterns could signal for impending conversion to dementia among those with MCI, said Dr. Arendash.
The study is published in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
Lower Caffeine Levels
The new case-control study included 2 cohorts of 124 participants in a Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center study of persons aged 65 years and older. All participants had undergone a battery of baseline neurologic assessments and cognitive tests and were categorized as normal, MCI, or dementia. As well, researchers had access to fasting blood samples taken at baseline.
Over the next 2 to 4 years, researchers annually reassessed the cognition of the participants. They separated the participants into 5 groups: (1) initially normal and remained normal, (2) initially normal but converted to MCI, (3) initially MCI and remained so, (4) initially MCI but converted to dementia, and (5) initially dementia and remained so.
Analysis of plasma caffeine levels from the initial visit showed significantly lower caffeine levels in participants with MCI relative to the normal group (P < .03). Caffeine levels were also lower in participants with dementia than in those with normal cognition, but this association did not reach statistical significance (P < .07).
There was a 26% lower plasma level of caffeine in normal persons who converted to MCI over the course of the study compared with those who remained normal, but this was not significant because of considerable variability in caffeine levels among individuals in both of these subgroups.
However, 11 patients with MCI who progressed to dementia had plasma caffeine levels that were 51% below levels at study initiation vs those with MCI who remained MCI (P < .02).
None of the MCI participants who converted to dementia had initial caffeine levels above 1200 ng/mL while half of those with stable MCI had higher levels. Baseline plasma caffeine levels greater than 1200 ng/mL in MCI patients were associated with a 100% chance of avoiding progression to dementia during the 2- to 4-year follow-up.
Patients with MCI in both the Miami (n = 81) and the Tampa (n = 43) study cohorts independently showed the same relationship between blood caffeine levels and later risk for dementia progression.
Critical Level
That 1200-ng/mL level appears to be an important threshold, said Dr. Arendash. The amount of coffee needed to reach this critical level appears to be 3 to 5 cups of daily, with a target of 5 cups or 500 mg of caffeine. Those previous AD mouse studies showed that 1 to 2 cups, or between 100 and 200 mg of caffeine (which is what typical Americans drink daily), was not enough to ward off dementia, he said. It's not known whether it's necessary to spread those 5 cups throughout the day, he added.
It's important to remember, though, that half of the patients with stable MCI in the study who had caffeine levels below 1200 ng/mL also didn't progress to dementia. Clearly, other factors play a role. Such factors probably include the level of cognitive and physical activity, the presence of hypertension, and antioxidant intake, especially from fruits and vegetables, said Dr. Arendash.
The study also found that 3 cytokines — granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF), interleukin-10, and interleukin-6 — were lower in the plasma of patients with MCI who were destined for AD conversion than in both the nonconverting MCI participants and the participants with dementia. None of the 8 other plasma cytokines that were measured showed any such profile when the same 2 MCI subgroups were compared.
"When that initial blood sample was taken, MCI patients that went on to convert to AD had low levels of all those cytokines," said Dr. Arendash. "That could be diagnostic; it could be a very important plasma indicator of impending AD."
The studies of AD transgenic mice, which produce the same abnormal human protein as the human brain, amyloid-beta, demonstrated that long-term oral administration of caffeinated coffee prevents cognitive impairment.
The cytokine profile of the participants in this current study was the same as that in these AD mice. "Their profiles matched identically to the mice given coffee but not other sources of caffeine;" said Dr. Arendash. "That's why we strongly believe that most, if not all, of those MCI patients who did not convert were on habitual coffee intake."
The mouse research allowed investigators to identify disease-modifying mechanisms for caffeine. The studies showed that caffeine alone suppresses brain levels of enzymes required for amyloid-beta production via targeting of specific signal transduction mechanisms. This research also suggested that something in coffee increases plasma levels of those 3 key cytokines: G-CSF, interleukin-10, and interleukin-6. G-CSF, in particular, has beneficial cognitive actions in AD mice that involve synaptogenesis and neurogenesis.
Aside from caffeine, coffee is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that may also contribute to reduced risk for AD.
This study was a retrospective analysis, so a definitive relationship will have to be derived through a clinical trial in which participants consume caffeinated coffee, other caffeinated products, or decaffeinated coffee, over a period several years, said Dr. Arendash. He suggested that residents of China, where coffee consumption is very rare, would make an ideal control population for such research.
Accumulating Evidence
Reached for a comment, Karen Ritchie, PhD, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom and Directeur de Recherche, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Montpellier, France, said the study, which involved a direct measure of caffeine in plasma rather than just reports of caffeine consumption, adds to accumulating evidence of a beneficial effect of caffeine.
However, she said the study's "weak point" is that, unlike the epidemiologic studies, such as the ones she and her colleagues have carried out, alternative explanations of this observation were not taken into account.
"For example, persons drinking less coffee may also have more hypertension, more depression, more heart disease, less social activity than those with higher levels, and these factors are in themselves related to onset of dementia."
Still, one of Dr. Ritchie's own previous studies, published in Neurology , concluded that the psychostimulant properties of caffeine appear to reduce cognitive decline in women without dementia, especially at higher ages.
The question of whether some people are protected against dementia because they drink coffee or because they do or have something else that non–coffee drinkers don't, remains unanswered, she said.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765781?sssdmh=dm1.795387&src=nldne
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
High beta-carotene levels may block action of vitamin A
High intake of beta-carotene, found naturally in carrots, could actually block certain functions of vitamin A function.
A team of scientists led by Professor Earl Harrison have found that certain molecules derived from beta-carotene have an opposite effect in the body – by blocking certain actions of vitamin A, which is critical to human vision, bone and skin health, metabolism and immune function.
"We determined that these compounds are in foods, they're present under normal circumstances, and they're pretty routinely found in blood in humans, and therefore they may represent a dark side of beta-carotene," said Harrison.
"These materials definitely have anti-vitamin-A properties, and they could basically disrupt or at least affect the whole body metabolism and action of vitamin A.”
Because the anti-vitamin-A compounds are derived from beta-carotene at the same time as vitamin A, Harrison predicts that higher intakes of the antioxidant will inevitably lead to a larger amount of the potentially harmful molecules as well.
However he said that more work is needed, adding: “We have to study them further to know for sure."
Implications
Harrison explained that because vitamin A provides its health benefits by activating hundreds of genes: “This means that if compounds contained in a typical source of the vitamin are actually lowering its activity instead of promoting its benefits, too much beta-carotene could paradoxically result in too little vitamin A.”
Hesaid the findings also might explain why previous clinical trials have found that people who were heavily supplemented with beta-carotene had a higher incidence of lung cancer than participants who took no beta-carotene at all.
"Those trials are still sending shockwaves 20 years later to the scientific community," said Harrison. "What we found provides a plausible explanation of why larger amounts of beta-carotene might have led to unexpected effects in these trials."
However, the authors were keen to stress that they are not recommending against eating foods high in beta-carotene.
Study details
The US based research team manufactured a series of beta-carotene-derived molecules in the lab that match those that exist in nature. They then exposed the molecules to conditions mimicking their metabolism and action in the body.
Of the 11 synthetic molecules produced, five appeared to function as inhibitors of vitamin A action based on how they interacted with receptors that would normally launch the function of vitamin A molecules.
"The original idea was that maybe these compounds work the way vitamin A works, by activating what are called retinoic acid receptors,” said Robert Curley, who co-authored the study.
“What we found was they don't activate those receptors. Instead, they inhibit activation of the receptor by retinoic acid," he explained.
Once that role was defined, the researchers sought to determine how prevalent these molecular components might be in the human body. By analyzing blood samples obtained from six healthy human volunteers, the scientists in the lab found that some of these anti-vitamin-A molecules were present in every sample studied – suggesting that they are a common product of beta-carotene metabolism.
The researchers are continuing to study these compounds, including whether food processing or specific biological processes affect their prevalence.
Engineered vitamins
The research also has implications for industry efforts to bio-engineer staple crops that contain excess beta-carotene, which is considered a sustainable way to provide these populations with pro-vitamin A in developing countries.
"A concern is that if you engineer these crops to have unusually high levels of beta-carotene, they might also have high levels of these compounds," Harrison said.
Source: Journal of Biological Chemistry
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1074/jbc.M111.325142jbc.M111.325142.
“Naturally-occurring eccentric cleavage products of provitamin A beta-carotene function as antagonists of retinoic acid receptors”
A team of scientists led by Professor Earl Harrison have found that certain molecules derived from beta-carotene have an opposite effect in the body – by blocking certain actions of vitamin A, which is critical to human vision, bone and skin health, metabolism and immune function.
"We determined that these compounds are in foods, they're present under normal circumstances, and they're pretty routinely found in blood in humans, and therefore they may represent a dark side of beta-carotene," said Harrison.
"These materials definitely have anti-vitamin-A properties, and they could basically disrupt or at least affect the whole body metabolism and action of vitamin A.”
Because the anti-vitamin-A compounds are derived from beta-carotene at the same time as vitamin A, Harrison predicts that higher intakes of the antioxidant will inevitably lead to a larger amount of the potentially harmful molecules as well.
However he said that more work is needed, adding: “We have to study them further to know for sure."
Implications
Harrison explained that because vitamin A provides its health benefits by activating hundreds of genes: “This means that if compounds contained in a typical source of the vitamin are actually lowering its activity instead of promoting its benefits, too much beta-carotene could paradoxically result in too little vitamin A.”
Hesaid the findings also might explain why previous clinical trials have found that people who were heavily supplemented with beta-carotene had a higher incidence of lung cancer than participants who took no beta-carotene at all.
"Those trials are still sending shockwaves 20 years later to the scientific community," said Harrison. "What we found provides a plausible explanation of why larger amounts of beta-carotene might have led to unexpected effects in these trials."
However, the authors were keen to stress that they are not recommending against eating foods high in beta-carotene.
Study details
The US based research team manufactured a series of beta-carotene-derived molecules in the lab that match those that exist in nature. They then exposed the molecules to conditions mimicking their metabolism and action in the body.
Of the 11 synthetic molecules produced, five appeared to function as inhibitors of vitamin A action based on how they interacted with receptors that would normally launch the function of vitamin A molecules.
"The original idea was that maybe these compounds work the way vitamin A works, by activating what are called retinoic acid receptors,” said Robert Curley, who co-authored the study.
“What we found was they don't activate those receptors. Instead, they inhibit activation of the receptor by retinoic acid," he explained.
Once that role was defined, the researchers sought to determine how prevalent these molecular components might be in the human body. By analyzing blood samples obtained from six healthy human volunteers, the scientists in the lab found that some of these anti-vitamin-A molecules were present in every sample studied – suggesting that they are a common product of beta-carotene metabolism.
The researchers are continuing to study these compounds, including whether food processing or specific biological processes affect their prevalence.
Engineered vitamins
The research also has implications for industry efforts to bio-engineer staple crops that contain excess beta-carotene, which is considered a sustainable way to provide these populations with pro-vitamin A in developing countries.
"A concern is that if you engineer these crops to have unusually high levels of beta-carotene, they might also have high levels of these compounds," Harrison said.
Source: Journal of Biological Chemistry
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1074/jbc.M111.325142jbc.M111.325142.
“Naturally-occurring eccentric cleavage products of provitamin A beta-carotene function as antagonists of retinoic acid receptors”
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Breakfast decreases type 2 diabetes risk
Eating breakfast is associated with a decreased chance of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), according to results of a new study. Andrew Odegaard, PhD, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, presented the research here at a poster session at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 72nd Scientific Sessions.
Nutritional guidelines have long recommended that people eat breakfast, but there has been little research on the relationship between morning eating habits and development of T2D.
The researchers conducted an analysis of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which is a longitudinal study of 5115 black and white women between the ages of 18 and 30 years who were initially examined in 1985 through 1986. To date, participants have been reexamined at year 2, year 5, year 7, year 10, year 15, and year 20 (2005 - 2006).
Data collected include a number of cardiac risk factors, including smoking, blood pressure, and cholesterol, as well as behavioral and psychological data and a dietary history questionnaire that recorded dietary caloric intake and breakfast frequency.
In the current study, researchers looked at 3598 participants who did not have T2D at the time of their year 7 examination in 1992-1993 (age, 25 - 37 years; average age, 32 years; body mass index [BMI], 26.7 kg/m2; breakfast, 4.1 days/week).
T2D was defined as a fasting glucose level of 126 mg/dL or higher, 2-hour postchallenge glucose level of 200 mg/dL or higher, HbA1c level of 6.5% or higher, or taking antidiabetic medication. The researchers used Cox regression to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for T2D, adjusting for year 7 age, sex, race, clinic, alcohol intake, smoking, physical activity, diet quality, fast food visits/week, and total energy intake.
For each additional day/week of breakfast intake, there was a 5% decrease in risk of developing T2D (HR, 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.91 - 0.99).
Compared with participants who ate breakfast between 0 and 3 times per week, those who ate breakfast 5 times or more had a 31% reduction in T2D risk (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.54 - 0.88). They also gained less weight (0.5 kg/m2 less weight gain; P = .01).
Those with higher diet quality had lower incidences of T2D, but breakfast frequency was more important, as it predicted T2D risk across diet quality score quartiles.
When the researchers adjusted for year 7 BMI, the risk reduction for breakfast 5 or more days/week was less and no longer statistically significant (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.68 - 1.10).
"Overall, our findings show an inverse relation between increasing breakfast frequency and T2D, probably mediated by BMI," the researchers write in the abstract.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765390?sssdmh=dm1.792721&src=nldne
Nutritional guidelines have long recommended that people eat breakfast, but there has been little research on the relationship between morning eating habits and development of T2D.
The researchers conducted an analysis of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which is a longitudinal study of 5115 black and white women between the ages of 18 and 30 years who were initially examined in 1985 through 1986. To date, participants have been reexamined at year 2, year 5, year 7, year 10, year 15, and year 20 (2005 - 2006).
Data collected include a number of cardiac risk factors, including smoking, blood pressure, and cholesterol, as well as behavioral and psychological data and a dietary history questionnaire that recorded dietary caloric intake and breakfast frequency.
In the current study, researchers looked at 3598 participants who did not have T2D at the time of their year 7 examination in 1992-1993 (age, 25 - 37 years; average age, 32 years; body mass index [BMI], 26.7 kg/m2; breakfast, 4.1 days/week).
T2D was defined as a fasting glucose level of 126 mg/dL or higher, 2-hour postchallenge glucose level of 200 mg/dL or higher, HbA1c level of 6.5% or higher, or taking antidiabetic medication. The researchers used Cox regression to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for T2D, adjusting for year 7 age, sex, race, clinic, alcohol intake, smoking, physical activity, diet quality, fast food visits/week, and total energy intake.
For each additional day/week of breakfast intake, there was a 5% decrease in risk of developing T2D (HR, 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.91 - 0.99).
Compared with participants who ate breakfast between 0 and 3 times per week, those who ate breakfast 5 times or more had a 31% reduction in T2D risk (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.54 - 0.88). They also gained less weight (0.5 kg/m2 less weight gain; P = .01).
Those with higher diet quality had lower incidences of T2D, but breakfast frequency was more important, as it predicted T2D risk across diet quality score quartiles.
When the researchers adjusted for year 7 BMI, the risk reduction for breakfast 5 or more days/week was less and no longer statistically significant (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.68 - 1.10).
"Overall, our findings show an inverse relation between increasing breakfast frequency and T2D, probably mediated by BMI," the researchers write in the abstract.
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765390?sssdmh=dm1.792721&src=nldne
Dental plaque associated with 'premature' cancer death
Poor oral hygiene, reflected by dental plaque, was associated with increased cancer mortality in a Swedish study, published online today in BMJ Open.
After taking into account other risk factors, dental plaque was associated with a significant 79% increased risk for premature death from cancer.
The study was conducted by Birgitta Söder, PhD, and colleagues from the Department of Dental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Huddinge, Sweden, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland.
The researchers note that a high amount of dental plaque indicates poor oral hygiene and an increased risk for dental infections. In turn, these could trigger systemic reactions and lead to malignant transformations in a variety of tissues.
"The high bacterial load on tooth surfaces and in gingival pockets over a prolonged period of time may indeed play a role in carcinogenesis," they speculate.
However, the researchers emphasize that their findings do not prove that dental plaque causes or definitely contributes to cancer.
Assessment of Mouth Hygiene
The 1390 study participants were randomly selected in Stockholm; they were in their 30s and 40s when the study began, and had no signs of periodontitis. They completed a questionnaire about risk factors for cancer, including smoking, and they underwent a mouth hygiene check to assess levels of dental plaque, tartar, gum disease, and tooth loss.
The absolute risk for premature death was low; only 58 of the 1390 study participants were no longer alive when the study ended after 24 years. Of those who died, 35 died from cancer. Breast cancer was the most common type of cancer in women; the malignancies in men were varied.
When the researchers looked at the mouth hygiene results, they found that participants who had died had more dental plaque than the those who had survived. The dental plaque index, which indicates how much of the tooth is covered in plaque, was consistently higher in those who died from cancer than in the survivors (0.84 to 0.91 vs 0.66 to 0.67; P < .001).
In this study, the average age at death was 60 years for women and 61 years for men. According to demographic data for Sweden, the women should have lived another 13.0 years and the men another 8.5 years, so these deaths could be considered "premature," the authors note.
In addition to the presence of dental plaque, the other risk factors that significantly increased the risk for premature death were sex and age. Nearly two thirds of all those who died were men.
This same team of researchers showed an association between periodontal disease and breast cancer, with an odds ratio of 2.36 (Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2011;127:497-502), and previously reported that an association between periodontitis and missing teeth increased the risk for premature death from life-threatening disease, including cancer (J Periodontal Res. 2007;42:361-366).
A recent review article, which included these and other studies, asked whether oral and dental disease are linked to cancer (Oral Dis. 2011;17:779-784). Those authors conclude that "evidence in the literature remains inadequate to allow final conclusions to be drawn on whether infectious diseases of the mouth are a true risk factor for the development of malignancies. Some epidemiological data indicate an association but no causal relationship has been established."
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765436?sssdmh=dm1.793222&src=nldne
After taking into account other risk factors, dental plaque was associated with a significant 79% increased risk for premature death from cancer.
The study was conducted by Birgitta Söder, PhD, and colleagues from the Department of Dental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Huddinge, Sweden, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland.
The researchers note that a high amount of dental plaque indicates poor oral hygiene and an increased risk for dental infections. In turn, these could trigger systemic reactions and lead to malignant transformations in a variety of tissues.
"The high bacterial load on tooth surfaces and in gingival pockets over a prolonged period of time may indeed play a role in carcinogenesis," they speculate.
However, the researchers emphasize that their findings do not prove that dental plaque causes or definitely contributes to cancer.
Assessment of Mouth Hygiene
The 1390 study participants were randomly selected in Stockholm; they were in their 30s and 40s when the study began, and had no signs of periodontitis. They completed a questionnaire about risk factors for cancer, including smoking, and they underwent a mouth hygiene check to assess levels of dental plaque, tartar, gum disease, and tooth loss.
The absolute risk for premature death was low; only 58 of the 1390 study participants were no longer alive when the study ended after 24 years. Of those who died, 35 died from cancer. Breast cancer was the most common type of cancer in women; the malignancies in men were varied.
When the researchers looked at the mouth hygiene results, they found that participants who had died had more dental plaque than the those who had survived. The dental plaque index, which indicates how much of the tooth is covered in plaque, was consistently higher in those who died from cancer than in the survivors (0.84 to 0.91 vs 0.66 to 0.67; P < .001).
In this study, the average age at death was 60 years for women and 61 years for men. According to demographic data for Sweden, the women should have lived another 13.0 years and the men another 8.5 years, so these deaths could be considered "premature," the authors note.
In addition to the presence of dental plaque, the other risk factors that significantly increased the risk for premature death were sex and age. Nearly two thirds of all those who died were men.
This same team of researchers showed an association between periodontal disease and breast cancer, with an odds ratio of 2.36 (Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2011;127:497-502), and previously reported that an association between periodontitis and missing teeth increased the risk for premature death from life-threatening disease, including cancer (J Periodontal Res. 2007;42:361-366).
A recent review article, which included these and other studies, asked whether oral and dental disease are linked to cancer (Oral Dis. 2011;17:779-784). Those authors conclude that "evidence in the literature remains inadequate to allow final conclusions to be drawn on whether infectious diseases of the mouth are a true risk factor for the development of malignancies. Some epidemiological data indicate an association but no causal relationship has been established."
Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765436?sssdmh=dm1.793222&src=nldne
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