September 2006 Newsletter

 

by Beth Ley, Ph.D.
www.blpublications.com
NHL Ministries
 

IN THE NEWS

Cholesterol Lowering Statin Drugs May Increase Blood Sugar in Type 2 Diabetes

Atorvastatin is frequently administered for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, a marked deterioration of glycemic control has been reported in some patients treated with atorvastatin. No study had been previosuly done to determine whether atorvastatin adversely affects glycemic control. In the study, researchers found arbitrary blood glucose levels increased from 147 to 177. HbA(1c) increased from 6.8 to 7.2. Atheroscler Thromb. 2006 Apr;13(2):95-100. For more info see: http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4054

Antioxidant Supplements Prove Beneficial to Skin Structure
WITTEN, Germany--A 12-week study done at the Institute of Experimental Dermatology in Witten, Germany, showed supplementation with carotenoids, vitamin E and selenium improved skin roughness and scaling. Thirty-nine volunteers with healthy, normal skin were split into three treatment groups--placebo; a mixture of lycopene (6 mg/d), lutein (3 mg/d), beta-carotene (4.8 mg/d), alpha-tocopherol (10 mg/d) and selenium (75 mcg/d); or a mixture of lycopene (6 mg/d), beta-carotene (4.8 mg/d) alpha-tocopherol (10 mg/d) and selenium (75 mcg/d). Both groups receiving the antioxidants showed an increase in serum levels of selected carotenoids. Using a Surface Evaluation of Living Skin (Visioscan), roughness, scaling, smoothness and wrinkling of the skin improved in both active groups while the placebo group showed no changes in any of the parameters. The study appeared in Skin Pharmacology Physiology (19, 4:224-31, 2006).

Yellow Pigment in Veggies Protects Against Eye Disease Carotenoids in corn, squash and leafy greens cuts risk of age-related vision loss in older women
Yellow pigments found in some vegetables, including corn and squash, may help protect older women against age-related vision loss, a U.S. study suggests.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison studied 1,787 women ages 50 to 79. The study found that those younger than 75 who ate a diet rich in the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin appeared to have a lower risk of intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The findings were published in the August 2006 issue of the journal Archives of Opthalmology.

AMD is the leading cause of blindness among older Americans. There is no cure, and current treatments only slow the progression of the disease. Carotenoids are found in corn, squash, egg yolks, broccoli, peas and leafy green vegetables. Previous studies have suggested that carotenoids may reduce risk of AMD. "This exploratory observation is consistent with a broad body of evidence from observational and experimental studies that suggests that these carotenoids may protect against AMD," wrote the authors of this new study.

For Info on A Safer Suncreen: ( For years I personally have used powerful antioxidants such as alpha lipoic acid as my sunscreen, wanting to avoid the chemicals in most topical products)
see Newsletter

Eating processed meats raises stomach cancer risk
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Eating more processed meats such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs and smoked ham increases the risk of stomach cancer.

A review of 15 studies showed the risk of developing stomach cancer rose by 15 to 38 percent if consumption of processed meats increased by 30 grams (1 ounce) per day, the Karolinska Institute said in a statement. Stomach cancer accounts for nearly one tenth of total deaths from cancer, the institute said.

The research, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, collated studies covering 4,704 individuals between 1966 and 2006 and showed "unequivocal" results, the institute said. "Nobody had carried out this type of analysis into processed meats and stomach cancer," said Susanna Larsson, one of the authors of the study at the institute. "And our results from a mean value show very clearly that there is an association between increased consumption of processed meat products and stomach cancer."

The institute said processed meats were often salted or smoked, or had nitrates added to them, in order to extend their shelf-life, which could be connected to the increased risk of stomach cancer, the fourth most common type of cancer. "We hope that further studies will clarify the interaction between the consumption of processed meats and other factors, such as other dietary factors and the effects of different bacteria on the incidence of stomach cancer," Larsson said.

Berries Offer Brain Benefits to Astronauts and Earthbound
NASA-funded study parses the brain protecting powers of blueberries and strawberries by Craig Weatherby

Most of you know I am not a fan of vaccines... of any kind. Here's more on vaccines:

Key Points
- Berries may reduce damage to astronauts' brains
   from cosmic radiation, and guard earthbound brains
   from age-related oxidative damage.
- Blueberries and strawberries appear to protect
   different brain functions.

NASA funds research into ways to reduce the damage that radiation can do to the cells in astronauts' bodies, with special attention to their brain cells. Food-borne antioxidants are known to offer potent protection from the unstable, cell-damaging molecules called free radicals, which are generated by radiation, among other environmental and dietary factors. And the polyphenol pigments that make blueberries blue and strawberries red are among the most powerful found in plants foods.

As part of its radiation-protection research program, NASA funded a study conducted by scientists at Boston's Tufts University and the University of Maryland at Baltimore. Prominent among the USDA-Tufts center researchers is Dr. Barbara Shukitt-Hale, who led the team that published exciting new NASA-funded research on berries, radiation, and brain health. Last year, Dr. Shukitt-Hale joined in publishing a research project that tested the effects of blueberry extract supplements in elderly rats' brains (de Rivera C 2005). After just two months, rat chow containing two percent blueberry extract reversed or retarded normal age-related decline in the aging animals' brain function speed. The study findings suggest that these two berries produce overlapping but distinct benefits (Shukitt-Hale 2006).

New findings offer clues to different berries' varying benefits
As expected, all of the rodents exposed to radiation-whether they were in the berry or plain chow groups-fared worse on both tests, compared with the un-radiated animals. The researchers also found that brain levels of dopamine (a marker for brain signaling) were lower in the irradiated animals.

However, the blueberry-fed and strawberry-fed groups did much better on both brain-function tests compared with the controls that did not receive berry extracts. And, intriguingly, the researchers detected real differences between the blueberry and strawberry groups. The strawberry group excelled in the maze test, while the blueberry group excelled in the test of reversal learning.

In other words, the similar but non-identical groups of polyphenol compounds found in each of the two fruits seemed to benefit different regions of the brain to different degrees. They speculated that the polyphenol antioxidant compounds in blueberries work mainly in the striatum, while those in strawberries produce their biggest benefits in the hippocampus. But it seems likely that each type of berry exerts beneficial effects in both parts of the brain. Even though the striatum area of brain is closely associated with movement, balance, and walking, it is also needed for reversal learning. And while the hippocampus is critical to memory, it is essential to good spatial orientation and navigation.

Sources
• Shukitt-Hale B, Carey AN, Jenkins D, Rabin BM, Joseph JA. Beneficial effects of fruit extracts on neuronal function and behavior in a rodent model of accelerated aging. Neurobiol Aging. 2006 Jul 10; [Epub ahead of print]

• de Rivera C, Shukitt-Hale B, Joseph JA, Mendelson JR. The effects of antioxidants in the senescent auditory cortex. Neurobiol Aging. 2006 Jul;27(7):1035-44. Epub 2005 Jun 13.

U.S. Babies Getting Fatter They're 59 percent more likely to be overweight now than in 1980, study finds
HealthDay News-- American babies carry more "baby fat" now than ever before, a new study finds.

Researchers say infants are 59 percent more likely to be overweight today than they were two decades ago. "The obesity epidemic in our country has spared no age group, even our very youngest children," said lead researcher Dr. Matthew Gillman, an associate professor of ambulatory care and prevention at Harvard Medical School. "Overweight rates are going up in young children, and ours is the first study to show that they are going up in infants, in addition to toddlers and preschoolers," he said.

In the study of 120,680 children under six years of age, Gillman's team found that children, especially infants, are now more likely to be overweight. Looking at records collected from pediatricians working with a Massachusetts HMO for the years 1980 to 2001, they found that the prevalence of overweight children climbed from 6.3 percent to 10 percent during those 22 years. In addition, the proportion of children at risk of becoming overweight grew from 11.1 percent to 14.4 percent overall. The report was published in the July issue of Obesity. Infants had a 59 percent increased risk of being overweight, and the number of overweight infants increased by 74 percent, the researchers found.

How babies are fed plays a role. "Infants that are breast-fed tend to gain weight more slowly than formula-fed infants," the Harvard expert said.Gillman said early weight gain can have dire consequences for long-term health. Studies suggest that gaining excess weight during the first months of life is associated with becoming overweight and developing high blood pressure years later. Other data suggests that infants who gain excess weight are more likely to suffer from wheezing, which can lead to asthma, Gillman noted.

"We need to think about preventing obesity at the very early stages of life," he said. "Women need to maintain exclusive breast-feeding for at least four to six months, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics," he said.
(Beth's note: I would encourage at least a year - longer if possible!)

As weight gain becomes problematic earlier in life, other chronic disease can be expected to do the same. If overweight becomes commonplace among babies, heart disease may well become commonplace among adolescents, as type 2 diabetes is already. The trend is also troubling because the nature of weight gain varies with age. Infants and adolescents are far more adept at generating new fat cells than adults, he explained, and obesity caused by a high number of fat cells is harder to reverse than obesity caused by enlarging pre-existing fat cells.

Chemo Shows More Side Effects Than Expected Breast cancer patients had more hospital visits than anticipated, study finds
HealthDay Tuesday, August 15, 2006

The side effects and added costs of chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer patients are probably higher than thought, new research suggests. A study in the Aug. 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found the number of adverse events related to chemotherapy, and the associated costs, may be underestimated when chemotherapy moves from clinical trial patients to the general population.

"When we looked at the rates of side effects commonly associated with chemotherapy, we found women experienced more hospitalizations or emergency room visits for these side effects than previous clinical trials would have estimated," said study author Dr. Michael Hassett, a clinical instructor in medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston.

To better assess the incidence of side effects, Hassett and his colleagues gathered data from a pool of 12,239 women who had been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. All were under the age of 63. In this group, 4,075 women received chemotherapy. The researchers looked at hospitalizations and emergency room visits in the year following the initial diagnosis for both women who received chemotherapy and those who did not. Women on chemotherapy were much more likely to visit the emergency room or be hospitalized for any cause than women who didn't have chemotherapy -- 61 percent compared to 42 percent. Fever and infection were the most common causes women were hospitalized or visited the emergency room. Low blood cell counts were the next most common reason, followed by dehydration or an electrolyte imbalance. Women who received chemotherapy also had more than $1,200 in additional health-care expenditures related to chemotherapy and more than $17,000 in additional costs for ambulatory care than women who didn't receive chemotherapy.

If you have cancer and are considering chemotherapy, I highly recommend reading my book, Chlorella, the Ultimate Green Food


I bet you didn't know.... Ethanol could leave the world hungry One tankful of the latest craze in alternative energy could feed one person for a year, Lester Brown tells Fortune.
Read the whole story at:
Fortune

(Fortune Magazine) While crop-based ethanol -the latest craze in alternative energy - promises a guilt-free way to keep our gas tanks full, the reality is that overuse of our agricultural resources could have consequences even more drastic than, say, being deprived of our SUVs. It could leave much of the world hungry. In effect, supermarkets and service stations are now competing for the same resources.

This year cars, not people, will claim most of the increase in world grain consumption. The problem is simple: It takes a whole lot of agricultural produce to create a modest amount of automotive fuel. The grain required to fill a 25-gallon SUV gas tank with ethanol, for instance, could feed one person for a year. If today's entire U.S. grain harvest were converted into fuel for cars, it would still satisfy less than one-sixth of U.S. demand.

Worldwide increase in grain consumption
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that world grain consumption will increase by 20 million tons this year, roughly 1%. Of that, 14 million tons will be used to fuel cars in the U.S., leaving only six million tons to cover the world's growing food needs.

Already commodity prices are rising. Sugar prices have doubled over the past 18 months (driven in part by Brazil's use of sugar cane for fuel), and world corn and wheat prices are up one-fourth so far this year. Iowa State University economist Bob Wisner observes that if all those plants are built, distilleries would use the entire Iowa corn harvest. In South Dakota, ethanol distilleries are already claiming over half that state's crop.

Less costly alternatives
There are truly guilt-free alternatives to using food-based fuels. The equivalent of the 3% of U.S. automotive fuel supplies coming from ethanol could be achieved several times over - and at a fraction of the cost - by raising auto fuel-efficiency standards by 20%. (Unfortunately Detroit has resisted this, preferring to produce flex-fuel vehicles that will burn either gasoline or ethanol.)

Or what if we shifted to gas-electric hybrid plug-in cars over the next decade, powering short-distance driving, such as the daily commute or grocery shopping, with electricity? By investing not in hundreds of wind farms, as we now are, but rather in thousands of them to feed cheap electricity into the grid, the U.S. could have cars running primarily on wind energy, and at the gasoline equivalent of less than $1 a gallon. Clearly, solutions exist. The world desperately needs a strategy to deal with the emerging food-fuel battle. As the world's leading grain producer and exporter, as well as its largest producer of ethanol, the U.S. is in the driver's seat.

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