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Swine Flu Fish Oil Warning - healthyfellow.com
"I know what you may be thinking: “Fish oil?! I thought fish oil was supposed to be healthy! One day you say we should take it, now you’re saying it puts us at risk for Swine Flu?” Well, there is a reasonable answer, but it doesn’t come in the form of a simple “fish oil is good” or “fish oil is bad” kind of package. The truth is that eating fish and taking fish oil is very often extremely beneficial for a great number of health conditions. But there is no substance on Earth that is 100% healthy under every conceivable circumstance. Take water, for example. Drinking plenty of pure water is a healthful practice. On the other hand, drinking excessive amounts (water intoxication) can lead to serious bodily damage and even death.
The August issue of the Journal of Nutrition reports on a study conducted on two groups of mice fed either a fish oil or corn oil enriched diet. (4) All the mice were infected with the flu virus and were then examined over a two week period. Several interesting observations were made at the conclusion of the trial:
* The mice receiving the fish oil exhibited lower levels of lung tissue inflammation. This confirms the known anti-inflammatory activity of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish.
* However, these same mice suffered a “40% higher mortality rate”, a “70% higher lung viral load” and “a prolonged recovery period following infection”.
* The researchers also noted a decline in NK (natural killer) cells in the spleens of the mice that were fed fish oil and a decrease in CD8+ T cells. NK cells and cytotoxic T cells are vital players in the body’s ability to deal with infections."
Omega 3-tillskott bör sannolikt undvikas under influensapandemin - Läkartidningen sect=0 art=12663
Ett tillräckligt intag av omega 3-fettsyror i vår kost är viktigt såväl för normal utveckling av det lilla barnets hjärna som för att bibehålla hälsan hos vuxna individer. Vetenskapliga studier har visat gynnsam effekt på flera normalfysiologiska funktioner såsom syn och minnesförmåga samt på hjärtats retledningssystem och blodfetter. Det finns även epidemiologiskt stöd för att ett högt omega 3-intag sannolikt skyddar mot uppkomst av vissa tumörsjukdomar. Studier talar dessutom för att omega 3-syror kan dämpa inflammatorisk aktivitet.
På molekylär nivå medieras omega 3-syrornas effekter sannolikt via flera mekanismer såsom genreglering och förändrad balans mellan prostaglandiner och leukotriener samt genom direkta effekter på cellmembranernas struktur och funktion. I vår diet är fet fisk från kalla hav särskilt rik på omega 3-syror.
Är omega 3-syrorna då alltigenom nyttiga och sjukdomsförebyggande? Om man får tro hälsokosttillverkarna tycks det vara så. Under den nu allt snabbare accelererande influensapandemin kan det emellertid vara av vikt att belysa en potentiell hälsorisk med omega 3-syrorna.
Jämfört med vanlig influensa karakteriseras den nya influensan (H1N1) bl a av att individer som insjuknar drabbas av mer uttalade skador på luftvägsslemhinnan, och de tycks ha högre risk för aggressivt förlöpande viral pneumoni.
Mediterranean Diet Helps Control Diabetes
"Aug. 31, 2009 -- Eating a Mediterranean-style diet may help people with type 2 diabetes keep their disease under control without drugs better than following a typical low-fat diet.
A new study from Italy shows that people with type 2 diabetes who ate a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetables and whole grains with at least 30% of daily calories from fat (mostly olive oil) were better able to manage their disease without diabetes medications than those who ate a low-fat diet with no more than 30% of calories from fat (with less than 10% coming from saturated fat choices).
After four years, researchers found that 44% of people on the Mediterranean diet ended up requiring diabetes medications to control their blood sugars compared with 70% of those who followed the low-fat diet.
It’s one of the longest-term studies of its kind, and researchers, including Katherine Esposito, MD, of the Second University of Naples, say the results “reinforce the message that benefits of lifestyle interventions should not be overlooked.""
Effects of a Mediterranean-Style Diet on the Need for Antihyperglycemic Drug Therapy in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes - Ann Intern Med
Effects of a Mediterranean-style diet on the need for antihyperglycemic drug therapy in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial.
Esposito K, Maiorino MI, Ciotola M, Di Palo C, Scognamiglio P, Gicchino M, Petrizzo M, Saccomanno F, Beneduce F, Ceriello A, Giugliano D.
Ann Intern Med. 2009 Sep 1;151(5):306-14. Erratum in: Ann Intern Med. 2009 Oct 20;151(8):591.
PMID: 19721018
Conclusion: Compared with a low-fat diet, a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean-style diet led to more favorable changes in glycemic control and coronary risk factors and delayed the need for antihyperglycemic drug therapy in overweight patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.
One-Year Comparison of a High-Monounsaturated Fat Diet With a High-Carbohydrate Diet in Type 2 Diabetes - Diabetes Care
One-year comparison of a high-monounsaturated fat diet with a high-carbohydrate diet in type 2 diabetes.
Brehm BJ, Lattin BL, Summer SS, Boback JA, Gilchrist GM, Jandacek RJ, D'Alessio DA.
Diabetes Care. 2009 Feb;32(2):215-20. Epub 2008 Oct 28.
PMID: 18957534
doi: 10.2337/dc08-0687
CONCLUSIONS—In individuals with type 2 diabetes, high-MUFA diets are an alternative to conventional lower-fat, high-CHO diets with comparable beneficial effects on body weight, body composition, cardiovascular risk factors, and glycemic control.
The Diet-Heart Hypothesis: Subdividing Lipoproteins - Whole Health Source
The Diet-Heart Hypothesis: Subdividing Lipoproteins
Two posts ago, we made the rounds of the commonly measured blood lipids (total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides) and how they associate with cardiac risk. It's important to keep in mind that many things associate with cardiac risk, not just blood lipids. For example, men with low serum vitamin D are at a 2.4-fold greater risk of heart attack than men with higher D levels. That alone is roughly equivalent to the predictive power of the blood lipids you get measured at the doctor's office. Coronary calcium scans (a measure of blood vessel calcification) also associate with cardiac risk better than the most commonly measured blood lipids.
Lipoproteins Can be Subdivided into Several Subcategories
In the continual search for better measures of cardiac risk, researchers in the 1980s decided to break down lipoprotein particles into sub-categories. One of these researchers is Dr. Ronald M. Krauss. Krauss published extensively on the association between lipoprotein size and cardiac risk, eventually concluding (source):
The plasma lipoprotein profile accompanying a preponderance of small, dense LDL particles (specifically LDL-III) is associated with up to a threefold increase in the susceptibility of developing [coronary artery disease]. This has been demonstrated in case-control studies of myocardial infarction and angiographically documented coronary disease.
Krauss found that small, dense LDL (sdLDL) doesn't travel alone: it typically comes along with low HDL and high triglycerides*. He called this combination of factors "lipoprotein pattern B"; its opposite is "lipoprotein pattern A": large, buoyant LDL, high HDL and low triglycerides. Incidentally, low HDL and high triglycerides are hallmarks of the metabolic syndrome, the quintessential modern metabolic disorder.
Krauss and his colleagues went on to hypothesize that sdLDL promotes atherosclerosis because of its ability to penetrate the artery wall more easily than large LDL.
Sham vs. Wham: The Health Insider: Selenium Supplements and High Cholesterol
"New research study published in a peer-reviewed publication Nutrition indicates that selenium may be linked to higher cholesterol readings in those who supplement. This one may push it over the edge for me on taking selenium supplements . . .
Scientists at the University of Warwick Medical School said consuming too much selenium can have adverse effects. While it has strong antioxidant properties, and the above-mentioned perception that it can reduce cancer risks, there is now an apparently legitimate concern that higher quantities of selenium found in some supplements may be a bad thing.
The scientists reached this conclusion after examining the relationship between plasma selenium concentrations (levels of selenium in the blood) with blood lipids (fats in the blood). A cross-sectional study of the1042 participants in the 2000-2001 National Diet and Nutrition Survey (United Kingdom) revealed that among those with higher plasma selenium (more than 1.20 µmol/L) there was an increase in the average total cholesterol level of 8 per cent (0.39 mmol/L (i.e. 15.1 mg/dL). Researchers also found a 10 per cent increase in non-HDL cholesterol levels, which is the bad cholesterol most closely linked to heart disease."
Low vitamin D levels associated with several risk factors in teenagers
"• Low levels of vitamin D were associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome in teenagers.
• The highest levels of vitamin D were found in whites, the lowest levels in blacks and intermediate levels in Mexican-Americans.
PALM HARBOR, Fla., March 11, 2009 — Low levels of vitamin D were associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome in teenagers, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention."
Vitamin D Shows Heart Benefits in Study - Well Blog - NYTimes.com
"A new study suggests many Americans aren’t getting anywhere nearly enough of the vitamin, and it may be affecting their heart health.
In the study, researchers looked at tens of thousands of healthy adults 50 and older whose vitamin D levels had been measured during routine checkups. A majority, they found, were deficient in the vitamin. About two-thirds had less vitamin D in their bloodstreams than the authors considered healthy, and many were extremely deficient.
Less than two years later, the researchers found, those who had extremely low levels of the vitamin were almost twice as likely to have died or suffered a stroke than those with adequate amounts. They also had more coronary artery disease and were twice as likely to have developed heart failure.
The findings, which are being presented today at an American Heart Association conference in Orlando, don’t prove that lack of vitamin D causes heart disease; they only suggest a link between the two. "
Low Vitamin D Levels May Raise Heart Risk
"Study Shows Vitamin D Supplements May Be Useful in Preventing Heart Disease
Nov. 16, 2009 (Orlando, Fla.) -- Some men with low levels of vitamin D in their blood are at particularly high risk of developing heart disease and weakened bones that can lead to osteoporosis, researchers report.
In a study of more than 1,000 men, those with low levels of both vitamin D and the sex hormone estrogen were at significantly increased risk of having cardiovascular disease, says study head Erin Michos, MD, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins.
"They were also at dramatically increased risk of osteopenia," or bone loss that can lead to osteoporosis, she says.
"Our results suggest that vitamin D supplements, which are already prescribed to treat osteoporosis, may also be useful in preventing heart disease," Michos tells WebMD.
Men with low levels of vitamin D and testosterone, on the other hand, were not at heightened risk for heart disease or osteopenia."
Netbooks are dead. Long live the notebook. | Tech Sanity Check | TechRepublic.com
"Netbooks — those underpowered mini laptops with 7-inch screens and unusable little keyboards — are a dying fad. However, the legacy of the netbook will be that inexpensive notebook computers are here to stay, and they are lighter and thinner than ever.
Analysts and pundits will continue to use the term “netbook” but I’m going to argue that the device that we originally called the netbook is being phased out — and thankfully so.
It’s important to remember that the netbook had its origins in the OLPC and the original ASUS Eee PC. Those little computers were designed for school children in the developing world (hence the little keyboards, which weren’t so bad for tiny fingers). These machines cut corners on hardware in order to create super-cheap PCs in the $100-$300 range that could be widely deployed overseas in places that had extremely limited budgets."
A phase 2 trial exploring the effects of high-dose (10,000 IU/day) vitamin D(3) in breast cancer patients with bone metastases. - Cancer. 2009 Nov 13. - Wiley InterScience :: Article :: HTML Full Text
A phase 2 trial exploring the effects of high-dose (10,000 IU/day) vitamin D(3) in breast cancer patients with bone metastases.
Amir E, Simmons CE, Freedman OC, Dranitsaris G, Cole DE, Vieth R, Ooi WS, Clemons M.
Cancer. 2009 Nov 13. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 19918922
DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24749
METHODS:
Patients with bone metastases treated with bisphosphonates were enrolled into this single-arm phase 2 study. Patients received 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 and 1000 mg of calcium supplementation each day for 4 months. The effect of this treatment on palliation, bone resorption markers, calcium metabolism, and toxicity were evaluated at baseline and monthly thereafter.
CONCLUSIONS:
Daily doses of 10,000 IU vitamin D3 for 4 months appear safe in patients without comorbid conditions causing hypersensitivity to vitamin D. Treatment reduced inappropriately elevated parathyroid hormone levels, presumably caused by long-term bisphosphonate use. There did not appear to be a significant palliative benefit nor any significant change in bone resorption. Cancer 2010. © 2009 American Cancer Society.
Dietary protein and bone health: a systematic review and meta-analysis -- Darling et al. 90 (6): 1674 -- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Dietary protein and bone health: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Darling AL, Millward DJ, Torgerson DJ, Hewitt CE, Lanham-New SA.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Nov 4. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 19889822
Animal Pharm: 'Roid Rage: Vitamin D3 -- DO IT (Part II)
"Vitamin D is not just a sun-derived vitamin, but is a crucial steroid precursor that is transformed into one of the most potent hormones in the human body for strength, power, lung function and regulating gene expression in every organ system.
Athletes need Vitamin D.
Dr. Cannell has written quite extensively about the role of vitamin D in athletes"
High doses of vitamin D could cut relapse rate among MS sufferers - Times Online
"Powerful new evidence about the ability of vitamin D to stem a wide range of diseases has brought the prospect of a nationwide programme to prescribe it in Scotland as a dietary supplement significantly closer.
Reports at the weekend suggested that experts were increasingly convinced that the so-called sunshine drug — whose significance was first revealed in detail by The Times last year — could make a difference to the country’s appalling health record.
New research suggests that high doses of vitamin D could dramatically cut the relapse rate in people with multiple sclerosis. According to scientists in Canada, more than a third of sufferers taking high levels of supplement
Vitamin D and MS: Burton
"Dr. Jodie Burton is the acting principal investigator (PI) of the dose-escalation trial of oral vitamin D3 with calcium supplementation in patients with multiple sclerosis with Dr. O'Connor. She started the trial as his fellow, while doing an additional 2 years of training in MS specifically after she received her neurology certification. She completed her fellowship training in 2007. Now she is staff doing clinical research and continuing with the vitamin D trial. As of August 2009, she will be Assistant Professor in Neurology in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience in Calgary and at the University of Calgary. She will be part of the MS team there with Dr. Luanne Metz and the MS group.
Please scroll down for an abstract of the trial:
A Phase I/II dose-escalation trial of oral vitamin D3 with calcium supplementation in patients with multiple sclerosis."
Conclusions:
High-dose VD3 (~10 000 IU/day, possibly higher) in MS is safe and tolerable, with evidence of clinical improvement.
High Doses of Vitamin D Cut MS Relapses
"April 28, 2009 (Seattle) -- High doses of vitamin D dramatically cut the relapse rate in people with multiple sclerosis, a study shows.
Sixteen percent of 25 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) given an average of 14,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day for a year suffered relapses, says Jodie Burton, MD, a neurologist at the University of Toronto. In contrast, close to 40% of 24 MS patients who took an average of 1,000 IU a day -- the amount recommended by many MS specialists -- relapsed, she says.
Also, people taking high-dose vitamin D suffered 41% fewer relapses than the year before the study began, compared with 17% of those taking typical doses.
People taking high doses of vitamin D did not suffer any significant side effects, Burton tells WebMD."
Vitamin D and cognitive performance in adults: a systematic review. - Eur J Neurol. 2009 Oct;16(10):1083-9. - Wiley InterScience :: Article :: HTML Full Text
Vitamin D and cognitive performance in adults: a systematic review.
Annweiler C, Allali G, Allain P, Bridenbaugh S, Schott AM, Kressig RW, Beauchet O.
Eur J Neurol. 2009 Oct;16(10):1083-9. Epub 2009 Jul 29.
PMID: 19659751
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2009.02755.x
This systematic review shows that the association between serum 25OHD concentrations and cognitive performance is not yet clearly established. The inconclusive results of the reviewed studies could be due to methodology, types of the cognitive tasks used and/or the cellular mechanisms of vitamin D.
Vitamin D-Related Changes in Physical Performance: A Systematic Review. - [J Nutr Health Aging. 2009] - PubMed result
Vitamin D-Related Changes in Physical Performance: A Systematic Review.
Annweiler C, Schott AM, Berrut G, Fantino B, Beauchet O.
J Nutr Health Aging. 2009;13(10):893-898.
PMID: 19924350
Conclusions: The findings show that the association between vitamin D and physical performance remains controversial. Observational studies and clinical trials yielded divergent results, which highlights the complex and to date still poorly understood association between serum vitamin D concentration or vitamin D supplementation and physical performance.
Elintarvikkeiden asetaldehydistä puutteellisesti tietoa
"Myös elintarviketeollisuus käyttää aromiaineena äskettäin syöpävaaralliseksi luokiteltua asetaldehydiä. Kukaan ei kuitenkaan tällä hetkellä tiedä, ovatko tuotteisiin lisätyt määrät terveydelle haitallisia. Asiasta kirjoittaa perjantain Maaseudun Tulevaisuus.
Kansainvälinen syöväntutkimuslaitos IARC luokitteli lokakuussa alkoholitutkimusten perusteella asetaldehydin syöpää aiheuttavaksi aineeksi.
Elintarviketurvallisuusvirasto Eviran mukaan asetaldehydiä lisätään joihinkin maitovalmisteisiin, jälkiruokiin, leivonnaisiin, makeisiin, virvoitusjuomiin ja hedelmämehuihin.
Elintarvikepakkauksessa asetaldehydistä ei kuitenkaan ole mainintaa. Jos sitä on tuotteeseen lisätty, nykysääntöjen mukaan pelkkä maininta aromista riittää. EU:n sallimia aromeja saa käyttää suhteellisen vapaasti eikä käyttökohteita tai määriä ole lisäaineiden tapaan rajoitettu. "
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