Sloane Mak's List: Naturally Plus

• people soon putting a higher premium on health than wealth
• So many women, so much time."

• Muscular young men saunter by in sandals, T-shirts and cargo shorts. Young blond women sport clingy, sleeveless tops, oversize sunglasses and the astounding array of subtle variations available in flip-flops and painted toenails. 

   

   Is this the future? you ask de Grey.

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• Nature Medicine 13, 688 - 694 (2007)
  Published online: 7 May 2007 | doi:10.1038/nm1577

  Hydrogen acts as a therapeutic antioxidant by selectively reducing cytotoxic oxygen radicals

• February issue of the Journal of HortScience, which contains a report on the sorry state of American fruits and veggies. Apparently produce in the U.S. not only tastes worse than it did in your grandparents' days, it also contains fewer nutrients — at least according to Donald R. Davis, a former research associate with the Biochemical Institute at the University of Texas, Austin. Davis claims the average vegetable found in today's supermarket is anywhere from 5% to 40% lower in minerals (including magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc) than those harvested just 50 years ago.

• The intake of 400-600 g/d of fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced incidence of many common forms of cancer, and diets rich in plant foods are also associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and many chronic diseases of ageing
• Several studies have suggested a strong link between dietary phytochemical intake and a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease
• Phytochemicals also reduce platelet aggregation, modulate cholesterol synthesis and absorption and reduce blood pressure.
• There is established evidence which relates the protective benefit of fruit and vegetable intake against cancers of the lung, colon, breast, cervix, oesophagus, oral cavity, stomach, bladder, pancreas and ovary

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• Medicinal products are primarily intended to heal, alleviate, prevent or identify diseases, suffering, physical defects or health disorders, or to influence the condition, state or function of the body or the mental state
• or be advertised with claims relating to healing, alleviating or preventing diseases (Prohibition of health-related advertisement, cf. also § 12 Food and Feed Act (Lebensmittel- und Futtermittelgesetzbuch, LFGB)
• owever, there is no sufficient scientific backing for the claim that high-dosage vitamin intake can prevent specific diseases such as cancer or heart attacks and no international studies have confirmed this so far.
• a diverse, balanced diet covers the daily vitamin and mineral requirements.
• sufficient supply with certain nutrients is not always possible through food intake.
• As a general rule, a balanced diet which includes frequent consumption of fruit and vegetables is always preferable to food supplements.
• Time and again, there is talk about a decrease in vitamin content of fruit and vegetables and of mineral content in our soils. Is this true?
• In its 2004 Nutrition Report, the German Nutrition Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung, DGE) concludes that a comparison of nutrient data of selected food of vegetable origin over a period of 50 years shows no decrease in mineral and vitamin concentrations.
• Against this backdrop, labels and packaging of food supplements as well as their advertisement must not contain any reference claiming or pretending that a diverse, balanced diet is generally inadequate to supply an appropriate and sufficient nutrient intake.

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• In Groups 1L and 2 L/A, mean eye macular pigment optical density increased approximately 0.09 log units from baseline,
• Patients who received the placebo (Group 3) had no significant changes in any of the measured findings.
• In this study, visual function is improved with lutein alone or lutein together with other nutrients. Further studies are needed with more patients, of both genders, and for longer periods of time to assess long-term effects of lutein or lutein together with a broad spectrum of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals in the treatment of atrophic age-related macular degeneration.

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• The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions, recommendations, and educational or informational materials of licensed Wisconsin optometrists on lutein and zeaxanthin and eye health.
• Most respondents felt moderately to very informed about the relationship between lutein and zeaxanthin and eye health. Most participants thought the information on lutein and zeaxanthin and eye health was adequate to make recommendations to patients. Most respondents recommended a lutein or zeaxanthin supplement, spinach or other foods rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, a zinc supplement, and a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement to patients with, or at risk of, age-related macular degeneration. About half of respondents who distributed educational or informational materials had materials on lutein and zeaxanthin.
• Optometrists felt informed about lutein and zeaxanthin and eye health and recommended spinach or antioxidant supplements for age-related macular degeneration.

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• Prevention

   

  There is growing evidence that by improving your diet, you may also improve the health of your eyes.

• Foods to Enjoy

   

  Eat the freshest and brightest fruits and vegetables. Pick the most colorful vegetables and fruits you can find - red, dark green, orange, or yellow. These foods play a key role in keeping your eyes healthy:

   
   
  • Carrots
   
  • Corn
   
  • Kiwi
   
  • Pumpkin
   
  • Yellow squash
   
  • Zucchini squash
   
  • Red grapes
   
  • Green peas
   
  • Cucumber
   
  • Butternut squash
   
  • Green bell pepper
   
  • Celery
   
  • Cantaloupe
   
  • Sweet potatoes
   
  • Dried apricots
   
  • Tomato and tomato products
   
  • Dark green leafy vegetables
   
  • Spinach
   
  • Kale
   
  • Turnips
   
  • Collard greens
   
    

  Fish

   

  Eating fatty fish such as salmon, tuna or mackerel two to three times per week can slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) according to a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

   

  This research further confirms earlier studies that suggested eating fish can help reduce the risk of getting AMD and demonstrates that some of those already affected by the disease can benefit as well.

• Vitamins and Supplements

   

  The National Eye Institute’s Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) found that taking a specific high-dose formulation of antioxidants and zinc significantly reduces the risk of advanced AMD and its associated vision loss.
• a few taking zinc alone had urinary tract problems that required hospitalization

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• The prevalence of nuclear cataract was lower among women in the group with high lutein intake
• A 32% lower prevalence odds of nuclear cataract was observed for women in the highest quintile category of serum lutein plus zeaxanthin
• Women in the highest tertile categories of intake of fruits, vegetables, and fruits plus vegetables were approximately 30% less likely to have nuclear cataract
• We observed a moderate decrease in the prevalence of nuclear cataract among women with diets high in lutein plus zeaxanthin compared with those with diets lower in these carotenoids. This association was stronger when examining intake of lutein plus zeaxanthin across all of the levels of intake in this sample (by quintile categories) than when comparing the 2 groups of women sampled who had lutein and zeaxanthin intakes above the 78th and below the 28th quintiles. Associations were similarly strong for serum lutein plus zeaxanthin.
• These results are consistent with a body of evidence that supports a protective relationship between lutein and zeaxanthin and nuclear cataract.
• There have been no significant associations reported between the intake of lutein and zeaxanthin and opacities in other regions of the lens. This may be owing to the fact that opacities in other regions are less common and there is commonly low statistical power to assess these relationships

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