Mar 10 2010 - Cholesterol-cardiac connection un-proven
Recently in Norway, one of the healthiest nations in the world, 85% of men and 20% of women over 40 would be in-accurately classified as having high cholesterol or low density lipoprotein (LDL). The new classification of a healthy LDL below 1.81 mmol/l could potentially put most of the Western world's adult population on statin therapy. One of the safest ways to modify LDL is to lower carbohydrate consumption and lose weight which will improve insulin sensitivity and lipid (LDL) profiles.
<U. Ravnskov et al., BMJ 2006:332:1330 & Am J of Clin Nutr 2006:6:1550>

Mar 09 2010 - What happened to 100 million missing baby girls?
Answer: gendercide. 'Son/male perference' particularly in East and South Asia has lead to the wholesale slaughter of infant baby girls. Thanks to sex determining technology [available to remote areas where there isn't even running water,] female fetus are routinely aborted. Or at birth they are drowned or intentionally strangled with the ambilical cord. The world's sex ratios have become distorted with 100 million females missing from the population.
<Economist March 6/10 p77-80>

Mar 08 2010 - Treating brown ageing skin spots
Bleaching creams are inexpensive, and only mildly effective. Retinoid creams are moderately effective in lightening the spots and are somewhat expensive. Chemical peels are effective, expensive and recovery time is matched to the strength of the solution.
<Harvard Health News 2010>

Mar 07 2010 - One brazil nut
One brazil nut delivers more than 100% of your daily selenium needs. [Selenium is a trace mineral or micro-nutrient necessary in the human diet.] Whole grains, beef, fish, poultry and walnuts are also rich sources.
<Runner's World April 2010 p35>

Mar 06 2010 - Soiled doves
The 1848 California gold rush brought many Chinese men to the American West by choice. Female Chinese children, girls and women were imported as sex slaves. They arrived in San Francisco, were held in holding pens and auctioned off in the flourishing sex trade. During the early 1890s a one year old went for $100 and a 14 year old for $1,200. These "daughters of joy" or "100 men's wives" were kidnapped in China or sold by impoverished families. Female infants in China were worthless, chronic victims of infanticide. The streets of Chinese cities littered with abandoned babies.
<The Poker Bride, New York Times Book Review p12 Feb 21/10>

Mar 05 2010 - The selfish brain: competition for energy resources
The brain occupies a special hierarchial position in the organism. The brain controls both its own and peripheral organ energy supply. The brain gives priority to its energy needs.

It is separated from general circualtion by the blood-brain barrier, has high energy consumption requirements, low energy storage capacity, & uses only specific substrates (nutrients, eg glucose, fatty acids).

The brain's limbic-hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (LHPA) system specifically controls allocation and intake of nutrients and therefore energy supply - which is ATP concentration.

The LHPA system operates by two feedback mechanisms, at a certain setpoint of activity. Extreme stress, stravation, exercise, infectious diseases, hormones, drugs, substance abuse, chemicals can alter the setpoint. Body mass changes (weight) are downstream from these events.
<Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews 2004:28:2:143>

Mar 04 2010 - Exercise protects against dementia
People who are physically active seem less likely than sedentary people to experience cognitive decline and dementia in later life. The Nurses' Health Study reported that higher activity levels over two years among 18,000+ nurses was associated with improved cognitive scores. A study by Abbott et al., reported that men who walk at least two miles a day are 1.8 times less likely than sedentary men to develop dementia over a six year follow-up.
<JAMA 2008:300:9:1027>

Mar 03 2010 - Dairy and bone health II
The mechanisms by which milk products benefit bone amd prevent osteoporosis and fractures remains to be clarified. Several studies have identified mechanisms related to calcium and Vitamin D in relation to bone remodeling and turnover. Other nutrients in dairy products support bone mineralization and collagen formation.
<www.dairynutrition.ca>

Mar 02 2010 - Dairy and bone health I
Bone health is the resultant of bone mass, bone architecture, and body mechanics. Nutrition supports all three components, with the principle nutrients concerned being calcium, protein, and vitamin D. Potassium, magnesium, zinc, and several vitamins are also involved to varing extents. It is difficult to devise a diet that is "bone healthy" without including three servings of dairy per day, not just because of calcium, but dairy protein and potassium as well.
<R.P. Heaney, J Am Coll Nut 2009:28:suppl 1:82s>

Mar 01 2010 - Eat probiotic yogurt for digestive health
To confer probiotic character yogurt must contain bifidobacteria or bactobacilli bacteria strains. These strains of bacteria reach the colon and provide healthy intestinal flora, immune system reinforcement, decrease lactose intolerance, decrease cholesterol, & anticancer activity.
<Cooking with foods that fight cancer (2007)>

Feb 28 2010 - Anti-cancer properties of citrus fruits
Consumption of citrus fruits reduces by half the risk of developing digestive cancers. This is largely due to two molecules present in citrus; monterpenes and flavanones. These molecules interfere with cancer cell growth and reduce inflammation. Also citrus increases the level of other anti-cancer compounds present in food.
<Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer (2007) >

Feb 27 2010 - A practical self-care measure to take if you are depressed
A Beligum researcher, Michael Maes, colleagues and others, over the past twenty years, have amassed compelling evidence that depression is a novel form of neuro-degenerative disease ignited or enhanced/potentiated by inflammation.

Inflammation is the body's immune system responding to anything it preceives as foreign or abnormal. Macrophage cells engulf foreign matter and secrete cytokine proteins which regulate moleclular immune response. This response induces stressors which dysregulate the metabolism of fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids have been routinely found to be depleted in people with depression. Fatty acids are an essential component of the cell membrane which gives the cell structural integrity and also lines various cellular component membranes.

Omega-3 fatty acids are derived from plant and marine origins. [SELF CARE MEASURE:-If you are depressed it makes bio-sense to increase the amount of mercury-lite fish and vegetables, nuts, pulses, grains, fruit etc (plant food) in your diet right away. Have your doctor refer you to a qualified registered dietitian (designation protected by law, must have university degree in nutrition science).]
<Journal of Affective Disorders 2009:dio:10.1016,& 2010:120:231-234 Biol Psychiatry 2009:65:9:723-741>

Feb 26 2010 - Properties of milk beyond nutritious
Besides being the best dietary source of the micronutrients calcium and Vitamin D milk has other features. They are as follows: anti-microbial in controlling gut flora, antiviral, anticancer, immunomolulation, antioxidation, bone protective, appetite suppressant, and anti-hypertensive.
<dairynutrition.ca 9th annual syposium report>

Feb 25 2010 - Women excluded from olympic ski jumping -outright gender bias and discrimination
Gian Franco Kasper, the president of the International Ski Federation, in 2005 told a National Public Radio reporter that the sport "seems to be inappropriate for ladies from a medical point of view". To put the lie to that statement Vic Method, an advocate and vice president of Women's Ski Jumping USA said that over the past three years 30 women from nine nations have finished in the top six at Continental Cups, the highest available level of competition for women in ski jumping.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) states women's ski jumping does not have enough elite female competitors to warrant inclusion. Vic Method says there are more than 160 women from 18 countries registered with the National Ski Federation.

A Canadian Supreme court ruled against 15 women who sued to have women's ski jumping included in this year games.
<New York Times Feb 22/10 pD1&D6>

Feb 24 2010 - Nutrient-rich foods (NRF) index
The U of Washington has developed the NRF index to help people get the most nutrients from their calories. The current fact panels on foods are complicated, NRF indexes will provide "nutrition at a glance". North Americans are not consuming enough protein, fiber, vitamins A,C and E, calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium. These nutrients are the top weighted ones in the NRF index or foods high in these macro and mirco nutrients score well. While some nutrient rich foods can be very expensive, the best sources of nutrients per dollar are eggs, milk, pulses, pasta and potatoes.
<dairynutrition.ca 9th annual symposium>

Feb 23 2010 - How marijuana affects the brain
THC, a key ingredient of marijuana, attaches to cannabinoid receptors throughout the body. Several areas of the brain have high densities of these receptors which explain the psycho-neuro phenomenon of "getting high".
<Wall Street Journal Jan 19/10 pD1>

Feb 22 2010 - Pregnancy affects the mother's brain
The physiology of the pregnant woman undergoes multiple changes, most of which are for benefit of the fetus/baby/autograft. One major change is the stress responding hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (H-P-A). In women and mice the H-P-A is remarkedly suppressed to physical and psychological stressors in late pregnancy. [Women often remember this has the most blissful time of their lives.]

These changes are controlled by dramatic elevations in reproductive hormones which are neural/brain based. Sudden withdrawal of reproductive hormones at delivery results in acute postpartum/delivery depression in at least 50% of women. Within three months 10-15% of women continue to have a chronic problem of postpartum depression.
<Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2008:9:11-25>

Feb 21 2010 - The cytokine hypothesis of depression
For twenty years a Belgium researcher, M. Maes, and colleagues have been gathering evidence that inflammation is a cause of depression. Cytokines are proteins (pro & con) that regulate inflammatory response.

Inflammation is feature of the human immune system that responds to anything within the body preceived as foreign. At the cellular level there is a dilatation of small vasculature - arterioles, capillaries and venules - to increase permeability and blood flow to the area of insult/injury/cancer.

Inflammation combined with free radicals caused by oxidative and nitrosative stress and leaky gut which allows gram-negative bacteria to escape into circulation access the brain. These processes are neuro-degenerative and believed to result in depression and other pathophysiological dysfunction.
<Biol Psychiatry 2009:65:9:732 & Neuro Endocrinol Lett 2008:29:3:287>

Feb 20 2010 - Depression can be caused by inflammation
In 1991 a researcher, R.S. Smith, submitted an article to the journal Medical Hypotheses titled "The Macrophage Theory of Depression". Macrophages are cells that engulf foreign matter and secrete cytokines which are proteins that regulate inflammatory response. Smith found that the pro-inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-1(IL-1) could provoke the hormone abnormalities linked with depression. Many diseases where there is inflammatory action - heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke - have a significant association with depression. The 3:1 female/male incidence of depression ratio is accounted for by estrogen's ablility to activate macrophages. Japan's low national rate of depression is consistent with high omega-3 fatty fish consumption having a suppressive effect on macrophage activity.
<Med Hypo 1991:36:2:178, Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2008:9:46>

Feb 19 2010 - Flexible working conditions improve health
The Cochrane Database, the repository of the best available studies, found flexible working conditions benefited workers. There were significant improvements in blood pressure and heart rate, tiredness, mental health, sleep duration, sleep quality, and alertness. Overall, the findings indicate that flexibility in work patterns which give employees more choice and control are likely to have positive effects on health and wellbeing.
<Pabayo, JC et al., Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews 2010:2>

Feb 18 2010 - Lactose-intolerant doesn't mean dairy-intolerant
Dr. Eric Sibley of Stanford U and others have discovered that most adults deteriorate in their ability to digest milk and dairy products. This appears to be caused by a decrease in the body's production of lactase, an enzyme that breaks down milk sugar called lactose. Dr. Gilman Grave counsels adults not to give up milk and dairy products because the gut can be conditioned to processing lactose even with less lactase. Grave also points out milk consumption is the most efficient/effective way to met dietary calcium requirements.

Lactose-intolerance which is the decreased production of lactase with age is totally different from milk allergy. Some children are allergic to the protein in milk, this typically fades in adulthood.
<WSJ Feb 16/10 pD3>

Feb 17 2010 - Working out in dry cold air
Even in people who don't normally suffer from asthma, breathing winter air can hamper lung function. According to Dr.K W Rundell, director of respiratory research at Marywood U, asthma is common for those who exercise hard outdoors in winter. Cold air is very dry, sucking moisture from bronchial passages and creating inflammation which narrow airways. Symptoms included coughing, gasping, mucus production and chest tightening. For relief check out various cold weather masks ranging from $20-$90.
<WSJ Feb 16/10 p.D3>

Feb 16 2010 - Olympic atheletes often have cognitive edge
Jimmie Heuga, dead at 66, was the first American to win an Olympic bronze medal in downhill skiing at the 1964 games in Innsbuck, Austria. Six years later, at the age of 26, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), an incurable neuro-degenerative disease.

He was advised to conserve energy and not to exercise as that could exacerbate symptoms. Heuga found that following this medical advice was causing him deteriorate. He contravened the instructions and swam daily, rode a bike, and adapted to a new style skiing.

He founded what is now called the "Can Do Multiple Sclerosis" organization. His program of physical activity etc., improved his physical condition, keeping him out of wheelchair longer, and improved his outlook. The program runs for 10,000 people annually.

[ He brilliantly made rational sense out of the situation for himself. The available medical advice at the time was wrong.]
<New York Times Feb 12/2010 p B14>

Feb 15 2010 - Something you might want to know about health care..
Hospitals and doctors have largely avoided the information technology of the computer age. The health care industry has been quick to adopt breakthrough technology in medical devices, procedures and treatments. However, far less attention has been focused on networking and communication innovations.

[No computers to look up anything in patient examining rooms - just jar of tongue depessors, blood pressure cuff, cotton swabs etc. Nothing has really changed in those examining rooms for half a century. Patient files are still paper based, although technology exists to digitalize and automate the whole system. Banks commenced the automation process 40 years ago.]
<Wall Street Journal Oct 20/08 pR6>

Feb 14 2010 - Diagnostic manuals flawed - not science based
"To date, the diagnosis of mental disorders has been based on clinical observation, specifically: the identification of symptoms. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Disease, are currently undergoing revision. It is thus timely to ask whether neuroscience has progressed to the point that the next editions of these manuals can usefully incorporate information about brain structure and function." quoted from 'Can neuroscience be integrated into the DSM-V' by S.E.Hyman
<Nature Rev Neuroscience 2007:8:9:25>

Feb 13 2010 - Is psychiatry quackery, a pseudo-science?
The January 3, 2005 New Yorker magazine carried an article about the un-scientific way the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders' (DSM) was complied.

Starting in 1974, and over the next 16 years, Dr. Robert Spritzer fattened the DSM from 150 pages to 900 pages. He appears to have added items to the DSM based on what he alone thought was appropriate. Conversations and notes taken at committee meetings largely underpin the 200 mental disorders Spritzer added to the manual.

In the article Spritzer admits to "creating" the DSM. This dubious creation is what the insurance industry uses as an authority.
<New Yorker Magazine Jan 3/05 p56-63>

Feb 12 2010 - Kick start to psychoanalysis in America
It wasn't Sigmund Freud's 1909 visit to the barbaric (as he termed it) United States that popularized psychoanalysis on this side of the Atlantic. Until World War II mental illness was not discussed and a highly stigmatized phenomenon. The event that changed the American perception of metal illness was the draft. 12 percent of draftees or two million men were rejected for "neuropsychiatric" reasons. Psychiatric problems were shown to be common.
<'American Therapy' New York Times Book Review p16-17 Dec 21/08>

Feb 11 2010 - Tougher for women to quit smoking than men
Women find it more difficult to quit smoking than men and are more likely to start again. Female smokers are more likely to develop lung cancer and twice as likely to have a heart attack. Nicotine replacement therapies appear to not work as well for women as men. Women who timed quiting smoking to the follicular or early part of their menstrual cycle were more successful than women who waited until post ovulation or the luteal phase.
<Harvard Health Publications Jan 2010>

Feb 10 2010 - Alcohol addiction in women..differs from men
It was only in the early 1990s that investigators started to notice gender differences in addictions. Women tend to develop alcohol dependence more quickly than men do. Brain atrophy and liver damage occur more rapidly in women. Female body tissues contain less water and more fatty tissue causing higher retention of alcohol. Organs sustain more exposure to alcohol's damaging effects. Also women do not metabolize alcohol as well as men causing more alcohol to enter the blood stream.
<Harvard Health Publications Jan 2010>

Feb 09 2010 - Breast cancer and Vitamin D
Studies have reported an inverse relation between Vitamin D intake and breast cancer. Improvements in survival after a diagnosis of breast cancer are found with higher levels of Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is found in up to 75% of women with breast cancer. Data is indicating Vitamin D affects up to 200 genes that influence resiliency and healthy function at the cellular/molecular level. Adequate Vitamin D also improves bone mineral density, mood and quality of life generally.
<Nutrition 2010:26:3:255-262>

Feb 08 2010 - Mechanism of how plant foods lower cholesterol
Two sterol metabolites found in plant food - phytosterols and stanols - significantly lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL). 2 grams/day of plant sterols have an antioxidant effect by inhibiting lipid peroxidation and reducing oxidative stress at the molecular/cellular level.Several other studies have shown sterol/plant/vegetable consumption to be protective against cardiovascular disease, colon and breast cancer.
< Nutrition 2010:26:3:296-304>

Feb 07 2010 - What gives you a second wind in the middle of exercising?
Your body relies on both carbs and fats for fuel during exercise. Carbohydrates are the most accessible energy source, while fats are the most abundant. In the beginning of a run or exercise yor primary fuel source is carbohydrates. After about 30-40 minutes of moderately intense work out, your body also starts tapping into your stored fat. That's when you may get a surge in energy - second wind - because the simultaneous use of both energy sources temporarily makes the exercise effort seem easier.
<Runners' World March 2010 p34>

Feb 06 2010 - Heart-healthy tap water
Cardiovascular disease rates may be inversely related to hardness of tap water. Rates of cardiac mortality and sudden death are 10-30% greater in soft water area (low magnesium and calcium mineral concentrations) than in hard water areas (high magnesium and calcium). Adequate dietary magnesium (220-410 mg/day) appears to prevent arrhythmias(irregular heart beat) Adequate dietary calcium (800 mg/day) also helps regulate smooth cardiac-muscle contractions (heart beats).
<The American Journal of Medicine 1998:105:125-30>

Feb 05 2010 - Some doctors have questionable ethical compass - whirling out of control
The US Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) has recently sent a warning letter to Dr. Leslie Baumann, a well known dermatologist and researcher in Miami Beach. The doctor was cited for expressing premature enthusiasm in the media for Dysport, an injectable anti-wrinkle cream not yet approved by the FDA. The FDA contends the doctor violated restrictions on drug promotion - drugs cannot be promoted before the agency approves them. In 2007 in fashion magazines and on various TV shows Dr. Baumann promoted un-approved Dysport as being better than Botox.
<New York Times pB1 & B6>

Feb 04 2010 - Bottled mineral water, source of calcium
Besides Warren Buffet, there is another oracle from Omaha NE and he is Robert P Heaney. His publications in the scholary research literature, on the subject of the micronutrient calcium, span more than 50 years.

A report from his lab in 2006 found naturally occurring calcium-rich mineral waters an alternate to milk. In the results he states all high-calcium mineral waters had absorbabilities equal to milk or slightly better.

Calcium intake in North America is subtantially below recommended amounts. Heaney concludes with while bottled mineral water can help close the gap, it doesn't compare to the broad array of nutrients plus calcium that milk delivers.
<Am J Clin Nutr 2006:84:371-4>

Feb 03 2010 - Study finds fish oil preventive of early psychotic symptoms
Monday's issue of Archives of General Psychiatry reports on a study of 81 people 13-25 years of age with psychotic symptoms. The people were sleeping more or less than usual, growing suspicous of others, believing someone was putting thoughts in their heads or believing they had magical powers.

Half the group received four fish oil pills a day for three months and the other half received dummy pills. After a year of being monitored only TWO in the fish oil group went on to full psychosis. ELEVEN in the dummy pill group became psychotic.

The theory is that people with schizophrenia don't process fatty acids correctly, leading to damaged brain cells. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil may be helping brain cells/neurons repair and stablize.
<Wall St Journal pD3 Feb 3/10>

Feb 02 2010 - Emerging treatment for brain injury, stroke and degenerative disease
In pregnant mammalian females, to include women, progesterone levels increase more than 10-fold and remain high throughout gestation of the fetus. Within one hour of delivery progesterone levels drop dramatically.

Progesterone appears to have evolved to primarily protect the developing fetus against oxidative stress and immune inflammatory rejection. Progesterone also appears crucial to normal neural development of fetus brain.

Many of the processes of central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) repair recapitulate the steps taking place during fetal development. Progesterone appears to be a central key factor in repair of nervous tissue and a promising agent to treat traumatic brain injury, stroke, and various degenerative diseases.
<AJR:2010:194:20-21>

Feb 01 2010 - What's in your drinking water?
It might be an idea to contact your local municipal water authority and inquire about the mineral content of your drinking water.

Tap water is an important source of mineral intake because they are in an ionic (molecular) form, they are easily absorbed by the gut. Not alot is known about the beneficial health effects of trace and ultra-trace minerals/metals in the human diet. (More is known about deficiencies of minerals.)Regions of Texas and Japan with slight tap water elevations in Lithium have lower suicide rates.

Nutrition science chronically works towards improving knowledge of metals in the diet by establishing recommended daily allowances (RDA) and recommended daily intakes (RDI) where there is enough evidence.
<J Gen Intern Med 2001:16:168-175, The Jn Nutr 1996;126:2377s-2385s, Present Knowledge in Nutrition 2005 >

Jan 31 2010 - How to secure federal dollars for research
In 1981 North Dakota Senator Andrews and his wife paid an imprompu visit to the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center. Mrs. Andrews was especially interested in research that discovered that daily intake of 26 grams of Waldon strain hard red spring wheat bran in leavened bread prepared from low-extraction wheat flour reproducibly (reliably)decreased LDL cholesterol and improved blood sugar levels. The senator and Mrs. Andrews commenced eating muffins prepared with the Waldron bran. At her next annual check-up Mrs. Andrews's serum cholesterol concentration was remarkably lower. Senator Andrews shared the wheat bran with several senatorial colleagues and they too lowered their serum cholesterol levels.
<Neilsen FH et al The Journal of Nutrition 2009:139:173-177>

Jan 30 2010 - Nix negative thoughts
Being pessimistic can promote a surge of hormones like cortisol, which divert the body's energy away from healing an injury and instead cause further stress on the body. If you find yourself thinking about doomsday scenarios (I'll never run/workout again) you could picture a red stop sign that would remind you to move away from that negative thinking.
<Runners' World March 2010 p57>

Jan 29 2010 - Women's risk of heart disease never equals that of men
There is no increase in heart disease for women starting at menopause and never has been according to Hugh Tunstall-Pedoe of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit in Dundee Scotland. As he states in The Lancet medical journal..It is unarguable that risk of myocardial infraction and coronary death is lower in women than in men in middle age. However, there is a myth that risk in women is held low until menopause, around 50 years, when it rebounds, equaling, and later surpassing that in men. Although challenged over 30 years by different mortality data and in reviews this MYTH persists..
<The Estrogen Errors 2009 p120-121 see Nov 26/09 news item>

Jan 28 2010 - Healthy dietary fats
There is wisdom in including healthy fats even in a low-fat diet according to Dr. Sheldon S. Hendler, co-editor of PDR for Nutritional Supplements. Omega-3 fatty acids may decrease the risk of cardiovascular and degenerative diseases. These include the omega-3 in fish oils called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentanenoic acid). Also includes the omega-3 in plant fats such as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) found in flaxseed oil and olive oil. The phytosterols and phytostanols derived from plant foods lowers cholesterol levels.
<New York Times Jan 26/10 pD2>

Jan 27 2010 - Strength training improves brain function in older women
Jan 25/10 the Archives of Internal Medicine reported on 155 women, ages 65-75, randomly assigned to strength training or balance and toning exercises. A year later those women doing stength training saw significant improvement in their executive brain function - decision making, conflict resolution, and ability to concentrate. Those doing toning etc saw a slight deterioration.
<New York Times Jan 26/10 pD6>

Jan 26 2010 - FDA to study effects of medication during pregnancy
About two-thirds of women who give birth take a least one prescription medication during pregnancy. However very few clinical trials test the safety of medications in pregnancy due to concerns about health of mother and child.

The US government Food and Drug Administration (FDA)will collaborate with the HMO Research Network Centre for Education and Research in Therapeutics (CERT), Kaiser Permanente, and Vanderbilt University to study medication in pregnancy.

This study is to overcome the challenges presented by the lack of clinical trial data about the use of medications during pregnancy.
<www.inpharm.com/news 20/01/10 >

Jan 25 2010 - Mechanisms of alcohol induced cancers
Chronic ethanol/alcohol consumption is a strong risk factor for the development of cancers of the digestive tract, liver, large intestine, and female breast. Multiple mechanisms are involved in alcohol mediated carcinogenesis. Two cohorts of humans have been found to have genetic defects in metabolizing alcohol which strongly increases their risk of the above cancers.

The genetic defects involve the metabolism of the first metabolite of ethanol oxidation known as acetaldhyde (AA). AA is highly toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic. Up to 40% of Asian populations have a genetic enzyme defect which does a poor job of metabolizing AA. This defect results in elevated concentrations of AA in tissues and increase risk of cancers. In Caucasian populations a genetic defect has been isolated that causes increased synthesis of AA in tissues and therefore increases risk of cancers.

[If you have first degree relatives with cancer, suggesting genetic predisposure, don't drink alcohol.]
<Genes Nutr October 22, 2009 >

Jan 24 2010 - An apple a day..
Eating one Red Delicious apple a day can result in an 8% decrease in an LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Cornell Universtiy researchers also found that Red Delicious are the most antioxidant rich apples followed by Granny Smith and Galas. Eat the whole apple as more than two thirds of the heart-healthy fibre and almost all the antioxidants are found in the peel/skin.
<Zoomer Canada March 2010 p36>

Jan 23 2010 - The potential of dietary fatty acids to improve neuro-transmissions in the ageing brain
The neuro-transmitter acetylcholine (ACh) appears to decline with ageing, causing motor (movement) and cognitive (thinking) impairment and dysfunction. ACh is rapidly in-activated by the enzyme AChE (acetylcholinesterase). Evidence is accumulating that a dietary intake adequate in fatty acids can inhibit the action of AChE, potentiating/enchancing the action of ACh. Fatty acids may also improve the synthesis and release of ACh.

It appearings likely that the older/ageing brain can maintain/improve motor and cognitive function by getting adequate fatty acids from diet. Vegetable oils, fish, green leafy vegetables, and nuts are the best sources of poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Walnuts are the richest whole food source of alpha-linoleic acid an omega-3 fatty acid which strongly implicated as an AChE inhibitor.
<Genes Nutr 2009:4:309-314>

Jan 22 2010 - Mechanisms of ethanol/alcohol induced liver injury
Acute and chronic consumption of alcohol have multiple toxic effects at the molecular level on liver cells. It's appearing that ethanol, acting itself as a fuel for mitochondria, replaces in a "competitive way" fatty acids. Under normal conditions fatty acids represent the major source of energy for the liver cell. The mitochrondria reacts badly to this change in metabolic fuel - by enlarging, swelling, shortening and disorganizing - and consequently function poorly.
<Genes Nutr online Dec 24/09>

Jan 21 2010 - British 19th Century Queen Victoria on motherhood and marriage
Queen Victoria loathed being pregnant. She felt more like a pig or cow than a queen she said..unfortunate given she had nine children. 81 months of pregnancy intermingled with pain and postnatal depression, her description of infants as ugly and froglike and her statement that "I think our sex is an unenviable one" sums up her experiences and views on motherhood as negative.

..she was also cynical about "very selfish men" and marriage. She told her daughter she was tired of congratulating brides: "The poor woman is bodily and morally the husband's slave. That sticks in my throat. When I think of a merry free happy young girl - and look at the ailing, aching state a young wife is doomed to, which you can't deny is the penalty of marriage."
<Newsweek Jan 25/10 p17>

Jan 20 2010 - Olive oils - healthiest choice
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine 2006 found that minimally processed olive oils such as virgin or extra-virgin contain the most antioxidant polyphenols (see news item below). They also did a better job of improving cholesterol levels than nonvirgin or light refined oils.
<Runners World Feb'10 p37>

Jan 19 2010 - Eat plant foods for healthy brain function
Foods of plant origin are rich sources of phytochemicals called phenolic or polyphenolic compounds. The most common sub-classification of phenols are called flavonoids and the major dietary sources are fruits, vegetables, and tea. Recently there has been intense interest in the neuroprotective effects that flavonoid metabolites (from consumed plant food) appear to impart to brain function. In particular grapes (vitis vinifera), tea (camellia sinensis), cocoa (theobbroma cocoa) and blueberries (vaccinin spp) have been demonstrated to improve vascular (blood circulation) and brain function.
<Genes Nutr 2009:4:225-226>

Jan 18 2010 - How one company created/grew its panty liner market
Seasonale is a newly available contraception pill that offers months of having no menstrual cycle or suppression/stopping of menstruation. Unfortunately it doesn't work. Predictable monthly menses/flow is stopped only to replaced by unpredictable/unexpected and without warning flow/bleeding.

With this situation of unpredictable bleeding women taking Seasonale can be sold on wearing panty liners every day. Proctor and Gamble, makers of panty liners, now co-market Seasonale.
<The Estrogen Errors 2009 - see Nov 26/09 News item>

Jan 17 2010 - Mercury-rich fish to avoid
Blood mercury levels were found to be predictable by the quantity and type of fish consumed. Albacore (white) tuna, swordfish, shark,and king mackerel have US federal advisories due high mercury levels. The US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2004)found blood mercury levels high amoung women of affuence, eating mercury-rich fish, and of Asian or island ethnicity.
<Environmental Health Perspectives 2009:117:1;47-53>

Jan 16 2010 - Mercury-lite tuna
Accoding to the FDA canned light tuna has lower mercury levels than solid white tuna. White tuna comes from albacore, a large predatory species, which accumulates three times the mercury in its tissues than does the smaller skipjack (light) tuna. Evaluation of the most commonly consumed fish as sources of mercury and omega-3 fatty acids indicate that salmon followed by shrimp are the principal sources of heart/brain healthy omega-3s and are lesser sources of mercury.
<Runners World Feb 2010 p37. Environmental Research 2008;107:1:20-29>

Jan 15 2010 - Regular vs free range eggs
"Free range" eggs only means uncaged chickens. It doesn't necessarily mean the eggs have higher beta-carotene, omega-3 fatty acids or Vitamin D. Its cheapest to just buy regular eggs.
<Runners World Feb 2010 p 37>

Jan 14 2010 - Humans evolutionarly programmed for chronic movement
Austrialian researchers tracked 8,800 people who said they watched TV for more than four hours per day. 46% of those people were more likely to die of any cause and 80% were more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than people spending less than two hours TV watching.

One of the most surprising findings is that couch potatoes and exercisers alike increased their risk of death with excessive TV watching.

The results support the emerging hypothesis that sedentary inactive lifestyles are at the core of chronic diseases. And prolonged periods of inactivity can affect the body's processing of fats and other substances that contribute to heart risk. People can mitigate risk simply by avoiding extended periods of sitting.

This study is to be published Tuesday in the American Heart Association journal called Circulation.
<Wall Street Journal Jan 12/10 pD1 & D4>

Jan 13 2010 - Water down your calories
A typical 12 oz. sugared beverage = 140+ calories. Water = 0 calories. Replacing just one sugared beverage a day, with water can trim 50,000 plus calories a year from your diet.
<From the label of a PolandSpring bottle of water bought Jan 12/10>

Jan 12 2010 - Lifestyle behaviors associated with lower risk of metabolic syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors that predispose to cardiovascular disease and diabetes in 25% of Americans. Evidence is accumulating that risk factors for developing metabolic syndrome are also self-modifiable lifestyle choices. Diet, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption appear to be the key pivotal factors in risk control.

Reseachers at the Medical College of Wisconsin analyzed data from the US government Third National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES III). Low physical activity, high carbohydrate consumption and current smoking were associated with significant risk of having metabolic syndrome.
<Metabolism Clinical and Experimental 2004:53:11:1503-1511>

Jan 11 2010 - For violent, rageing, agressive behaviors etc., try mineral water and vegetables
A dietary intake high in grains and vegetables and mineral water can boost your intake of the trace mineral lithium. Lithium is found in soils, from which it is taken up by plants and enters the food chain. Because animals eat plants, dairy products and meat are also a source of lithium. A 1989 report on the composition of various bottled mineral waters revealed that upwards of 2mg per day of lithium could be achieved from these products. A 1990 study in Texas and 2009 Japanese study (see Dec 15/09 News item below) have shown lithium naturally occurring in drinking water significantly reduced suicidal behaviors.
<Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2002:21:1:14-21 & Nutrtion Research Newsletter May 1989, H.E. Allen et al.>

Jan 10 2010 - Natural anticarcinogens - functional foods
The following foods offer a protective effect against cancer. Broccoli, spinach, lettuce etc.,due to folic acid content. Milk and dairy products due to calcium content. Green and black teas due to catachins content. Broccoli, cauliflower and cruciferae vegetables due to metabolites that decrease bio-availablity of estrogen. Soy and derivatives also decrease estrogen in target tissues. Lemon and citric fruits due to limonene content. Oils and fats due to Vitamin D and Vitamin E content. Soil rich vegetables due to Vitamin E and selenium content. Green leaf vegetables and oils due to retinoids content.
<Ferrari C.K.B et al Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy 2003:57:251-260 & Maturitas 2007:58:327-339>

Jan 09 2010 - The oldest continously published science journal
Since 1665 the British Royal Society has continously published the science journal Philosophical Transactions. The Royal Society was founded in 1660 to discuss the ideas of Francis Bacon. Bacon basically proposed that aquiring new knowledge was power and could advance/improve the human condition. Math, science, and printing were evolving rapidly at this point creating an exciting atmosphere of new ideas (electricity), new inventions(telescope, microscope, barometer) and new perceptions of social order (building codes, personal hygiene) shaped by science.
<Melvin Bragg BBC 4 History of the Royal Society Jan/10>

Jan 08 2010 - Evidence based neuroscience to replace psychiatry's pseudo-science
Thomas R. Insel MD and director of US National Institute of Mental Health writes "Much of what I learned as a resident in psychiatry 30 years ago has been proven utterly wrong."

He goes on to state "I believe that this science will revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and that it will transform psychiatry, ultimately realigning it with neurology and potentially creating a new discipline of neuroscience."

Understanding the brain through applied neuroscience of neural circuits, cortical maturation, neural substrates etc., will be a major improvement in treating disorders. Psychoanalysis never helped anyone's ulcers, autism etc.
<The Journal of Clinical Investigation 2009:119:700-705>

Jan 07 2010 - Medicine does poor job of diagnosis
A Dutch study has revealed that unexplained complaints are common in primary care, and often remain without diagnosis a year later. 444 patients of whom 73% were women with a median age of 42 were enrolled in the study. The most common chief complaints were fatigue (69%), musculoskeletal (17%), and abdominal (14%). About half the patients received a label for their complaint that can only be characterized a nebulous - depression, stress etc. Of 254 patients whose complaints remained unexplained at one year 40% were asymptomatic (whatever it was had cleared up) and 43% still had the same complaint. The rest were lost to follow-up.
<Fam Pract 2009:26:6:455-65>

Jan 06 2010 - MRI scans for breast cancer refused - reason?
Claustrophobia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) requires thirty minutes in a closed machine, unable to leave/exit. Of 1,214 women eligible for MRI because of breast cancer risk 42.1 % declined. Claustrophobia and time constraints were the given reasons for refusals.
<New York Times Jan 5/10 pD6>

Jan 05 2010 - Why it might be a good idea for women to hang on to their reproductive organs: Harvard's Nurses' Health Study
Bilateral oopherectomy (surgical removal of both ovaries) and hysterectomy (removal of uterus) for benign disease ( eg. fibroids or heavy flow)are co-procedures that 300,000 US women have each year.

Oopherectomy before menopause leads to an abrupt reduction in endogenous (naturally occurring) estrogen and androgen hormone production. Postmenopausal ovaries continue to produce significant androgen hormones (testosterone and androstenedione) which are converted to estrogen peripherally (extra-glandular, adipose/fat tissues).

Late age of menopause (meaning reproductive organs are intact and functioning) has been associated with a reduced risk of death from coronary heart disease and stroke. Studies show that preserving ovarian function is associated with a lower risk of coronary disease.

Per year cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main cause of death among US women (not breast cancer). CVD annually kills 324,900 women and stroke kills another 86,000. Ovarian cancer, which is the main rationale for oopherectomy, is rare at 14,700 deaths per year. Harvard's Nurses' Health Study showed conservation of ovaries appears protective against heart disease, decidely outweighing the small risk of ovarian cancer.

[using 'single citation matcher' download this article (pdf) free from www.pubmed.gov. Journal info below.]
<Parker WH. Obstetrics and Gynecology 2009:113:1027-37>

Jan 04 2010 - Ancient humans sought oblivion with alcohol
As early as nine thousand years ago, before the wheel invention, Neolithic village inhabitants in China were brewing a type of mead. Mead is a honey and fruit mixture that ferments producing a 10% alcohol content.

Dr. Patrick McGovern, a biomolecular archaeologist U of Penn. Museum, made the mead discovery. The discovery fits with his thesis that the development of agriculture was the result of an irrepressible urge toward drinking and intoxication - "consuming high energy sugar and alcohol was a fabulous solution for surviving in hostile environments with few natural resources".

[It is known that modern humans have physiologically changed very little from their stone age ancestors.]

<New York Times Jan 3/10 p4 The World>

Jan 03 2010 - How much exercise do you really need?
According to Frank Booth professor of biomedical sciences U of Missouri, any activity is better than none because activity protects so many organs from disease. Inactivity is looking like one of the underlying causes of chronic diseases.

The US Department of Health and Human services have produced the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines based on the most current evidence available. Two and a half hours per week of walking (150 minutes) equals 500 Metabolic Equivalents of Task (MET). [METs are science terms/measures for energy metabolism at rest and are used as multiples for activity above resting.] That amount of walking per week or equivalent is basically what you need to get a health benefit. At the upper end physical activity for seven hours a week provides a 40% lower risk of early death than those who are active for less than 30 minutes per week.
<New York Times Dec 30/09 >

Jan 02 2010 - Why exercise make you less anxious
Exercise appears to cause the birth of new neurons in rat brain and most probably humans. These new neurons seem to be biochemically buffered or resilent to stress at the molecular level. Oxidative stress did less damage to these neurons and the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin were not dysregulated (which normally happens with anxiety/stress).

When exercise is chronic and of set duration - eg., running every second day for one hour for months - the biochemical/anti-anxiety effect is maximized. The message from Benjamin Greenwood Ph.D of University of Colorado is "don't quit" , keep running, cycling or swimming and you will build to "profound" changes in your brain's molecular biochemical activity
<New York Times Magazine Nov27/09 p16>

Jan 01 2010 - Antidepressants and effect on infants
In a well designed Danish study over a twenty year period 57,000 pregnant women were followed. 329 of these women took antidepressants called serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during their pregnancies. The infants of these women had higher rates of preterm deliveries, higher rates of admission to neonatal intensive care units, and higher rates of poor/low Apgar scores. [An Apgar score is a numeral expression of the newborn's state at one minute after delivery - a thriving healthy baby gets a high score. A baby with survival and other problems gets a low score.]
<www.essentialevidenceplus.com>

Dec 31 2009 - Drinking milk: a recent evolution in humans
It was only with the domestication of sheep, goats and cows nine thousand years ago that milk became accessible as a food. Pastoral peoples adopted drinking milk because of a genetic mutation which enabled them to digest milk. The mutation was that they continued to produce the enzyme lactase throughout adult life and were able to breakdown the milk sugar lactose without discomfort in the gut. Today about 50% of the world's population descend from these herders and shepards and can drink milk. The other 50% suffer bloating and flatulence with milk drinking because they have evolved without the lactase enzyme.
<Eating Well, Living Well. 2009>

Dec 30 2009 - Threshold theory of breast cancer
In 2003 breast cancer rates in women over 50 fell 15% after steadly rising since 1945. The pattern held into 2004. The dropping rates of cancer appear to be linked to a dramatic plunge in the sales of Prempro (synthetic estrogen and synthetic progestin). In 2002 Prempro, often called hormone replacement therapy, was found by the Womens Health Initiative study to increase the risk of heart disease and breast cancer. The theory is evolving that breast cancers that would have remained small, undetected and not a problem became lethal under the influence of Prempro.
<New York Times Dec 29/09 pA1 & A16>

Dec 29 2009 - First study of cancer prevention
In 1775 the Englishman Percivall Pott came to a conclusion about the epidemic of scrotal cancer killing young chimmey sweeps in Europe. He believed it was due their draconian working conditions. Starting at the age of five chimmey sweeps were chronically exposed to hydrocarbons from coal combustion/burning. Toxic particles accumulated on never-washed skin and were absorbed. The recommendation by the Chimmey Sweeps' Guild to have a daily bath as opposed to annually proved to be an effective measure in containing the disease.
<Eating Well, Living Well. 2009>

Dec 28 2009 - Hysterectomy - un-necessary?
Making an adequate living from a medical practice is primary to most doctors, and rightly so. The physician in clinical practice is paid on a piece-work basis or fee-per-service. Insurers and governments pay doctors per procedure, surgery or consultation. The more piece-work performed, the greater the payments. Un-necessary surgeries and over-servicing can result.

Hysterectomy, for example is a sugical procedure to remove the uterus with or without the cervix, and with or without the ovaries. Every day in the United States 3,000 women undergo hysterectomies or approximately 600,000 per year. The peak incidence of hysterectomy is between 45 and 52 years of age, coinsiding with peak incidence of heavy menstrual flow (menorrhagia, which contributes to poor iron status and hair loss). Frequently post operative specimens show no abnormality, suggesting the vast majority of hysterectomies are un-necessary.
<Heather Ewart, What to do about losing your hair. 2007 p25>

Dec 27 2009 - Cleanliness, a relatively recent thing
For the past four hundred years bathing was largely distrusted. Medical opinion was that water and washing carried disease/plague into the skin and pores clogged with dirt were a means of blocking it out. The court physician for the young French King Louis XIII, born in 1601, noted he was not given a bath until he was almost seven. Elizabeth I of England bathed once a month. James I her successor washed only his fingers. In 1884 France's ministry of public education reported that ".. cleanliness does not always extend beyond the visible body parts." In 1937 George Orwell pointed out "The habit of washing yourself all over every day is a very recent one in Europe.." In 1940 just over half of American households had a proper bathroom. In 1951 nearly two-fifths of English households lacked a bath.
<Economist Dec 16/09 p139>

Dec 26 2009 - Fibroids & menstrual flooding during perimenopause
Fibroids are not tumors and they are not commonly cancerous. They are harmless nubbins of muscle tissue that grow in the uterus walls. Fibroids and heavy menstrual flow (flooding) frequently occur together during the perimenopausal transition but the fibroids are not bleeding. The bleeding is from the monthly sloughing off the uterine wall. The higher estrogen levels of transition and the lower progesterone levels cause both the fibroids and the flooding.

Menorrhagia (heavy periods) can be managed with Ibuprofen which will decrease the flow by 30% and one iron table per day for one year. If un-treated perimenopausal fibroids and menorrhagia will completely resolve over five years or so and be gone in the post menopause.

A neuro-molecular-hormonal cross-talk is believed to go on between the ovaries and brain, even in the post-menopausal years. When the uterus and one or both ovaries are removed before the age of 45 and the cross talk is severed, there is significant increased incidence of dementia.
<Neurology 2007:69:11:1074-1083, Endocrine Reviews 1998:19:397-428, cemcor.ubc.ca>

Dec 25 2009 - Season's greatings
Happy holidays and new year.
<femalebrain.com>

Dec 24 2009 - TV watching promotes obesity
Overweight adults who cut their TV watching in half for three weeks used about 120 more calories a day then a match group of TV viewers. 120 calories is equivalent to the number of calories burned in walking one mile. Over a year that might prevent a gain of 12 pounds. The participants did not eat less but spent time being active - TV watching is the most sedentary of all pastimes. This study is published in the Dec 14-28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. J.J. Otten was the lead author.
<New York Times Dec 22/09 pD6>

Dec 23 2009 - Gender, trauma, stress hormones and depression
Depressive disorders occur twice as commonly in women than in men. Why is that? The major difference between men and women is the enourmous monthly hormonal swings and childbirth/perimenopausal tidal waves of female physiology. This continually changing hormonal milieu specific to women, and not to men, is now believed to be a major dysregulator of the close-by stress-responding hypothalamic-pitutary-adrenal axis (HPA).The HPA is more sensitized to malfunction in women at the neuro-molecular level.

[Seldom do research articles of this type mention the fact that over the past 100 years men have been four times as suicidal as women.Would it be that women cope better?]
<Molecular Psychiatry 2010:15:23-28 online>

Dec 22 2009 - High fish diet reduces chronic depression in women
Over 3000 men and women were followed for twenty years in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. A pronounced inverse relationship was found in women participants who had the highest intake of fish with depressive symptoms. [ The high omega-3 fatty acid content of fish is believed to protect the brain from oxidative stress, neuron death and therefore depressive disorders.]
<Nutrition 2009:25:10:1011-19>

Dec 21 2009 - The best food choices to make a meal heart healthy
Franco and colleagues found the following daily meal components reduced cardiovascular disease by 75%. Wine (150ml/day), fish (114g/wk), dark chocolate (100g/day), fruit and vegetables (400g/day), garlic (2.7g/day), and almonds (68g/day. These are functional foods, with pharmaceutical properties to prevent or amelioate heart disease.
<The Polymeal:.. British Medical Journal 2004:329:1447-1450>

Dec 20 2009 - Health benefits of eating fish
Communities/countries that can be characterized as fish eaters generally have lower heart disease and depression rates. Fish consume the under-water plants plankton and algae. The fatty acids contained in these plants are metabolized by fish through a process of desaturation and chain elongation. The fish become a rich source of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fat acids eicospaentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexenoic (DHA).

EPA and DHA are believed to improve the function of mitochondria (sources of energy/fuel of cells and neurons) at the molecular level in a number of ways. Improved energy supply to tissues and organs benefits the health of the whole human.
<Prevention and Treatment of Age-related Diseases (2006) & Arterioscler Throm Vasc Biol 2007:27:2499>

Dec 19 2009 - Consumption of three or more drinks of alcohol per week increase breast cancer recurrence
ML Kwan, a scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Research division, and colleagues reported a 30% increase in recurrence of breast cancer with three to four alcohol drinks per week.

The Life After Cancer Epidemiology Study followed 1,897 breast cancer suvivors for eight years. 50% of the study population were drinkers. The most at risk were moderate plus drinkers who were overweight and postmenopausal.

Animal studies have shown alcohol of any type to increase circulating estrogen levels. [Obesity is an extra-glandular source of estrogen. Estrogen is carcinogenic in target tissues.]
<New York Times Dec 15/09 pD6, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research News 12/10/09>

Dec 18 2009 - Over 65 and falling?
Each year one in three people aged 65 and over experience at least one fall. These are not accidents or caused by tripping. The most likely cause is myopathy or muscle weakness and pain from Vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D binds to nuclear receptors in muscle tissue facilitating the de novo (new) synthesis of protein needed for bone renewal and turn-over. Oral daily supplemental doses of Vitamin D3 of 700-1000IU reduced falls by up to 26% in this age group. A blood/serum level of 25(OH)D (Vitamin D) of 60nmol/L should be achieved for optimal bio-availability to muscle.
<British Medical Journal 2009:339:b:3692 online>

Dec 17 2009 - Eggs, cheese, potatoes, meat and nuts are good for you
Eating the whole egg provides a perfect protein, Vitamins A and D and minerals such as zinc and iron. In most cases eating eggs will not raise cholesterol levels. Cheese is a rich source of calcium, magnesium, and high-quality protein. Potatoes contain four grams of fiber, 35% of daily Vitamin C requirement, 20% of potassium requirement, and a wealth of metabolites that fight chronic diseases. Red meat is a rich source of protein (3 ounces = 22 grams protein) and the B vitamins thiamin, riboflavin, and B6. Nuts are rich in heart healthy monounstaturated fat and are packed with vitamins and minerals such as manganese.
<Runner's World Jan 2010 p39-40 >

Dec 16 2009 - Anti-depressant effect of vegetables
Micromolar concentrations of Lithium can be detected in various vegetables. The Lithium content of vegetables varies from 6.1-24.5 mucmol of lithium/kg dry weight, with the exception of spinach and aubergines which have much higher concentrations.
<Clin Sci (Lond) 1987:72:1:81-6.>

Dec 15 2009 - Anti-suicide effect of Lithium in water supply
Lithium often occurs naturally, in trace amounts, in water supplies particularly in areas with a high concentration of granite. The British Journal of Psychiatry has reported that communities in Japan's Oita Prefecture with higher levels of naturally occurring lithium in their water supplies have fewer suicides than those with lower levels. The amounts range from 0.7 to 59 micrograms per liter. These exceedingly low levels are believed have a cumulative effect over time and build resistance to mood swing in the same way that much higher pharmaceutical doses (600-700 mg) of lithium do for bipolar disorder.
<The New York Times Magazine Dec 13/09 p50>

Dec 14 2009 - Get milk
Low fat or no fat milk contains proteins, carbs, and vitamins and minerals that are key agents for fueling the active person. Milk supplies 30% of the Daily Value (DA) for calcium requirement, 10% for potassium, and 25% for Vitamin D. Milk has 25% of the DV for B3 especially necessary for women runners/exercisers.
<Runner's World Jan 2010 p42>

Dec 13 2009 - Physician knowledge gaps
Because so many doctors don't know that breast MRIs are influenced by the menstrual cycle, says oncologist Julie Cralow of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, about 15% of the diagnoses for which she provides a second opinion are wrong.
<Newsweek Oct 26/09 p43-44>

Dec 12 2009 - Beans to the rescue
Studies show that people who eat beans four times a week have a 22% lower risk of heart disease than non-bean eaters. Beans are a good source of cholesterol lowering soluble fiber and folate, a B vitamin that lowers damaging homocysteine. [When blood levels of homocysteine are elevated it is a bio-marker for low Vitamin B12 and folate status, smoking, high alcohol consumption, depression and ageing.]

One cup of beans is equivalent protein to two cups of milk. A combining of grains and beans provides all the essential amino acids (proteins) not synthesized by the body. One cup of cooked beans is a rich source of complex carbohydrates ideal for rebuilding energy after long runs and extensive exercise.
<Runner's World Oct'09 p 44>

Dec 11 2009 - Fears - phobic, post-traumatic, stress-related - erased!
Well not quite, but Elizabeth A. Phelps NYU professor of psychology and colleagues have discovered an exciting adaptive mechanism of brain function. From their research there appears to be a window of opportunity to change a fear memory every time it is remembered. Timing of the therapeutic invention, which is extinction, is the key effective agent. If the intervention is started within the six hours following the retrieval of the fear memory, called reconsoliation, new information from extinction therapy can diffuse/neutralize/erase the fear.
<New York Times Dec 10/09 pA24>

Dec 10 2009 - Never married individuals as happy as married people
Data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the US has found that people never married and over 40 are well adjusted and happy. Never-marrieds who are high on mastery of their lives and self-sufficiency actually have better emotional well-being than married people.

The study suggests marriage inculcated as the best lifetime relationship goal is flawed. Because a certain level of interdependency is necessary for marriages to work, individual self-sufficiency is eroded.
<Journal of Social and Personal Relationships Nov 30/09 from Medline Plus>

Dec 09 2009 - Do alternative cancer therapies work?
The short answer is NO. For a more definitive answer the American Cancer Society has recently released the 'Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies'. This massive reference book spells out the evidence, or lack of it, for hundreds of therapies, as well as side effects.
<StayHealthy by Dr Ranit Mishori Parade Dec6/09 p18>

Dec 08 2009 - So you want a Tattoo? Think about it!
According to the American Academy of Dermatology there can be complications. Such complications that could occur are getting a staph or other skin or tissue infection, getting a bloodborne disease such as hepatitis or developing an allergic reaction or sensitivity to the inks used. Also there could be a flawed reading of an MRI or similar imaging test due to iron oxide and heavy metal pigments used in some tattoos.
Remember dermatologists are making a fortune removing unwanted tattoos.
If you do want a tattoo make sure to use an approved tattoo artist who is issued regular inspection certificates.
<American Academy of Dermatology, Dec, 08,2009>

Dec 07 2009 - Physicians are not some favored class, brighter than the rest
The head of emergency medicine (EM) at Dartmounth General Hospital, Pat Croskerry is enormously concerned with improving how EM doctors and allied professionals think. Dr. Croskerry's numerous scholarly publications basically suggest that patient outcomes could be improved if doctors etc., were to become mindful of their cognitive/thinking styles. [For example many physicians are un-aware that they have less intrinsic value for women than they do men - gender bias.]
<Academic Emergency Medicine 2000:7:11:1223-1231>

Dec 06 2009 - Tomatoes great for brain
Considerable scientific interest has been shown in the antioxidant lycopene. This phytochemical is found in tomatoes, tomatoe products, watermelons, pink grape fruits, apricots and pink guavas. It is one of the most potent antioxidants against the damaging singlet oxygen free radicial, having ten times the quenching ability of Vitamin E. Lycopene from tomatoe products is easily absorbed and increases serum/blood levels. A 1999 study showed that lypcopene and Vitamin E were significantly decreased in Parkinson's disease and vascular dementia.
<Nutritional Neuroscience 2002:5:5:291-309>

Dec 05 2009 - Endogenous antioxidants
The enzymes catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and the protein glutathione are antioxidants naturally present in human tissues at the molecular level. Chronic alcohol intake and/or intoxication decreases the level of the last three antioxidants and reduces their ability to protect against cell/neuron damage.
<Chart of neuro-protective/restorative agents 2009>

Dec 04 2009 - Antioxidants may protect against neurodegenerative diseases (NDD)
Accumulation of oxidative damage in neurons either primarily or secondarily may account for the increased incidence of stroke, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's etc., in aged populations. Growing evidence implicates free radical toxicity and genetic/heritable mitochondrial dysfunction in clinic manifestations in NDD.

Recent research interest has focused on antioxidants which are substances that prevent or repair oxidative damage cells/neurons. A healthy balanced diet can provide the following antioxidants - Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, phenolic compounds. Curcumin, found in turmeric, the yellow spice traditional to Indian cooking is a phenolic compound. Curcumin was reported to be several times more powerful than Vitamin E as a free radical scavenger or antioxidant. [India has an extremely low incidence of Alzheimer's.]
<Nutritional Neuroscience 2002:5:5:291-309>

Dec 03 2009 - The Decade of the Brain
Neuro-science is a field that has grown exponentially during the last decade, the so called decade of the brain.

As the essential fatty acids linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) cannot be synthesized by the human body, they must be gotten from diet. Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil contains considerable amounts of LA and
ALA. This diet is advisable as the nutritional base for adults and children to meet fatty acid requirements in cell/neuron membranes to maintain healthy function.

Data is growing about the relationship between nutrients and synthesis of neuro-transmitters (molecular highways that conduct the business of brain and spinal cord function). It's now in-escapable that a strong and direct relationship exists between food and brain function.

[Well into the 1970s it was falsely believed that no relation existed between nutrients from food and the brain. This can be a severe knowledge gap amoung physicians now in practice who are 50-65+ years old.]
<Nutritional Neuroscience 2002:5:311-320>

Dec 02 2009 - Can vegetable soup promote healthy brain function/mental health?
Phenolic acids are metabolites synthesized in plants. These chemicals give plants anti-oxidant capacity to resist/diminish damaging oxidative stress at the molecular level. When humans consume plant foods (fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds) the anti-oxidant pharmaceutical properties are passed on.

In 1937 Tracy Putnam, co-developer of the world's first EEG lab at Boston City Hospital, tested phenolic compounds for anti-seizure properties. Convulsion/seizure is the most visible example of excito-toxic brain dysfunction. The anti-seizure drug Dilantin (Phenytoin) first available from Parke, Davis in 1938 was the result.

[Just how therapeutic to brain is a bowl of vegetable soup?]

<Drug Discovery, A History. 2005>

Dec 01 2009 - Healthy brain function related to fruit and vegetable consumption
In 2007 researchers at the U of South Carolina made an interesting discovery in data collected by the US government called the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). They found that the serum/blood levels of vitamins and carotenoids (anti-oxidants) were low in the portion of adults who attempted suicide. Low consumption of fruit and vegetables has been reported in individuals with psychiatric disorders. Adequate consumption of anti-oxidant rich fruit and vegetables may reduce oxidative stress in neurons and protect mental health/healthy brain function.
<Nutritional Neuroscience 2007:10:1&2:51-58.>

Nov 30 2009 - Why is HRT given to protect heart, When there is a lack of Proof?
It was found that by 2003-2004 there were still 6 million US women taking HRT. Of that it was noted that 8 percent (480,000) women with heart disease and 14 percent of women with two or more heart disease risk factors were still taking hormone replacement therapy.
The findings suggested that women with heart disease or at the highest risk for heart disease were likely getting hormone replacement therapy to reduce heart risks, even though the therapy was never proven for this indication and ultimately found to be ineffective.
<American Journal of Public Health, December 2009>

Nov 29 2009 - Food in the Kitchen can help boost Immunity
Choosing the right foods can help you fight off disease and build a strong immune system.
In the field of nutritional immunology, scientist are finding evidence of the role nutrition plays in fighting infectious disease such as influenza.
Experts say that diets rich in vitamin A, found in the colorful fruits and vegetables, and zinc, found in seafood, whole grains and nuts, can provide critical fuel that is needed by the body to fight off disease, heal injuries and survive illness when it strikes.
<WSJ. Personal Journal, Laura Landro, Nov. 24, 09>

Nov 28 2009 - An unquiet mind
The heading is the title to a book by Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison. She is a medical doctor and professor of psychiatry at John Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1995 she wrote the above book revealing that she suffers from bipolar disorder. In a recent book 'Nothing was the Same' she states "I had studied and written about depression and bipolar illness for 20 years..If I couldn't be public about it, it was scarcely reasonable to hope others would."
<New York Times Book Review Nov 15/09 p19>

Nov 27 2009 - My Stroke of Insight
On December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a 37 year old Harvard trained neuro-scientist, experienced a massive stroke to the left side of her brain. The above title is the name of the book she has written about the events and her stroke experience.

As the left hemisphere of her brain is filling with blood and her right side becomes paralyzed she thinks "Remember, please remember everything you are experiencing!.." Her instinct as a scientist over-riding her critical state to be able to report back and help others.
<A brain scientist's personal journey. 2006>

Nov 26 2009 - The Estrogen Errors: Why Progesterone is Better for Women's Health
The above title is a book by Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, physician-researcher and UBC professor of endocrinology (study of hormones).

Dr.Prior is probably the world's leading authority on female hormone physiology as it relates to perimenopausal transition. Her expertise is possibly related to the fact that she personally has just completed a decade-plus transition from hell.

Similar to the neuro-scientist, Jill Bolte Taylor in 'My stroke of Insight', Prior's first instinct was to research & report back so that others could be helped.

The book is expensive but a portion of the proceeds go to Dr Prior's non-profit Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research.
<www.cemcor.ubc>

Nov 25 2009 - New female viagra drug
"Sad and randy" is how the comedian Sue Perkins described the effects of this new drug on BBC's News Quizz last Friday.

The drug, called flibanserin, was being tested by Boehringer Ingelheim as an anti-depressant in women and men. While found ineffective as an anti-depressant, women reported increased sexual desire as a side effect.

Three clinical trials later, involving 1,900 women, has confirmed ONE addtional satisfying sexual event a month results from taking daily doses of flibanserin for weeks.

Eyeing the 1.9 billion Pfizer made from Viagra last year, Boehinger Ingelheim is hotly pursuing drug approval of [almost useless] flibanserin.
<Economist Nov 21/09 p82>

Nov 24 2009 - Cancers that are...not cancerous
The medical science reporter for the New York Times, Gina Kolata, recently wrote a column based on a report in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Data from two decades of screening breast and prostate cancer calls into question what is known about cancer. Many small tumors if not found and/or left alone would not be a problem. They are apparently destined to stop growing, shrink, or even disappear.

[Is Barbara Ehrenreich (below) aware of this research? Has she read Sharon Begley's Newsweek report of serious physician knowledge gaps and non-standardized oncology care/treatment problems? Did she ask her oncologist if she was a candidate for a 'wait and see' approach? Is the New York Times the last place you might expect to find optimistic ideas about breast cancer?]
<New York Times Oct 27/09>

Nov 23 2009 - Optimism is not positive thinking
Barbara Ehrenreich, author of best seller 'Nickel and Dimed' in a new book reveals wholly appropriate anger at having a bout with breast cancer. She found the pink ribbon, think positive and smile ethos choking and outrageous.

Hanna Rosin, of DoubleX, reviewed 'Bright-sided' for the New York Times. Of concern is the reviewer may not be clear that learned optimism - or unlearning a pessimistic cognitive and declarative style - is not positive thinking.

Existing in a state of preparedness, alert to ideas/openings/opportunities where you don't expect to find them is not positive thinking. It is the resiliency to/or containment of blinding pessimism, the precursor to black depression.

<opinion Heather Ewart>

Nov 22 2009 - Holy dodo
Human gut is full of bacteria that aids digestion and provides immunity. Its now emerging that some gut bacteria evolved to facilitate fattness to carry early humans through times of famine and food scarcity. It may be that fat people have a higher portion of bacteria called firmitcutes and thin people have more bacteroidetes.

The theory was tested in mice by trans-planting lean bacteroidetes bacteria into fat mice to see if it made them thinner and vice versa. A report in this week's Science Translation Medicine confirmed the role of fat inducing human firmitcutes and lean inducing bacteroidetes in mice.
<Economist NOV 14/09 p98>

Nov 21 2009 - Survival of grandchildren
A report in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B gives evidence of genetic relatedness affecting longevity of grandchildren. Because of the XX female and the XY male chromosomes paternal grandmothers are more genetically related to their granddaughters. Maternal grandmothers are more genetically related to their grandsons.

A study of 43,000 children in seven different societies has revealed that granddaughters with paternal grandmother nearby have a 4.5 fold improved chance of survival. A boy was found to have his chances of living increased if his maternal grandmother lived nearby.
<Newsweek Nov 23/09 p25>

Nov 20 2009 - Vitamin D and it implications for musculosketal health in women
Vitamin D is actually a hormone that controls phosphorus, calcium and bone metabolism and neuro-muscular function. Vitamin D deficiency, common in women, worsens the risk of muscle weakness, falls and fractures. The simplest way to correct hypovitaminosis is adequate Vitamin D in diet and supplements (D3 1,000-2,000 IU/day) over winter months when sunlight is weakest. However few patients with osteoporosis and fractures receive adequate supplements. A blood test is the only way to check Vitamin D status and you are looking for a level between 30-60 ng/mL.
<Maturitas 2007:58:117-137>

Nov 19 2009 - Food for the Brain
It needs a diet rich in unsaturated fats. DHA, the omega-3 fatty acid found in fish such as salmon and mackerel, is essential for brain development, and helps slow the growth of lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Canola, soybeans, flax and walnuts are rich sources of alpha-linolenic acid, a plant omega-3. Omega-6, another essential fat, is found in all plant oils and any cooking oil.
Blueberries, the ideal brain berry, contains potassium, vitamin C and folate, a B vitamin.They also have anti-oxidants that enhance cognitive abilities and anti-inflammatory properties.
Dark green, leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale, are rich in folate and other B vitamins.
Vitamin B12 is found in animal protein, milk and dairy products and eggs, but there are no plant sources of it.
Get your vitamins and minerals from foods not supplements. Studies show those who use supplements come up short.
And remember exercise. A variety of exercises several times a week will increase circulation of blood and nutrients to the brain.
<Windsor Star, Nov, 19,2009>

Nov 18 2009 - Oncologist uncovers gender bias in supports to tumor patients
Dr. Marc Chamberlain, chief of oncology at the elite Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has detected and confirmed a pattern of male preference. Male brain cancer patients typically receive much-needed support from their wives. However, a number of his women patients were going it alone, ending up separated or divorced.

A study of 515 patients appearing in the journal Cancer confirms that women with serious illness are seven times more likely to be separated or divorced [off-loaded when they become a burden] than men with similar problems.
<New York Times Nov 17/09 pD8>

Nov 17 2009 - New Guidlines for Mammograms and Breast Self Exam
Isn't it interesting to see how the self serving American College of Radiology is outraged over these new recommendations. Do you think this outrage comes from the thought that they may be losing a lucrative source of income? Yes sir/mam keep the women in fear. They sound like a bunch of Drug Companies.
Follow the new guidelines that women aged 50 to 74 years old have screening mammograms every other year rather than annually. Those aged 40 to 49 don't need routine screening.

<US Preventive Services Task Force, Monday Nov 16, 2009>

Nov 16 2009 - Ex Smokers have Speedier recoveries from Surgery
Quitting smoking will make it more likely that you'll recover from an operation without anything going seriously wrong. This is a recommendation of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
The group also said:
Within hours after you quit, your body will begin to heal.
Within less than a day, blood flow throughout the body will get better, thus boosting the chances of avoiding complication from surger.
<American Society of Anesthesiologist, news release, Nov. 9, 2009>

Nov 15 2009 - Yo-Yo dieting compared to Addiction
Y0-yo dieting is a common habit of many chronic dieters, that generates dependence. It was found that a history of dieting and relapse generates anxiety. The next attempt to avoid junk foods is going to be more painful and stressful than the previous one, and therefore the likelihood of relapse is going to be progressively higher and higher.
<Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Online>

Nov 13 2009 - As you age, Walk Faster
A study of 3208 men and women, ages 65 to 85 over 5 years found that seniors with the slowest walking speed were 44% more likely to die than the fastest walkers. The slowest walkers also had a three-fold higher risk or cardiovascular death.
<BMJ, news release, Nov. 10,2009>

Nov 12 2009 - MS risk increased in Women who were obese as teens
This information is from the Nurses Health Study and the Nurses Health 11 study.
Women who were obese at age 18 had a 2.25 times greater risk of developing MS. Being overweight vs obese seemed to increase the risk slightly, but not to a level that was statistically significant.
There were 238,000 women in the study.
<Neurology, Nov 10, 2009>

Nov 11 2009 - Eating Veggies during pregnancy good for child?
A study of 6,000 5 year olds found that 3 percent either had fully developed type 1 diabetes or had elevated levels of antibodies that indicate a risk of developing the disease. This risk was twice as high in children whose mothers rarely ate vegetables during pregnancy, and lowest among children whose mothers ate vegetables every day of their pregnancy.
I suspect that the children of the vegetable eaters continued to get plenty of vegetables from birth to age 5.
<Pediatric Diabetes, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg.>

Nov 10 2009 - Cruise Lines need to improve Restroom Cleaning Practices
A study that checked 273 cruise-ship restrooms on 1,546 occasions, found that only 37 percent of them were cleaned daily. Toilet seats were the best-cleaned objects and baby changing tables were the least thoroughly cleaned objects. Toilet area handholds were largely neglected and accounted for more than half of the uncleaned objects on 11 ships.
The thoroughness of restroom cleaning didn't differ by cruise line.
<Clinical Infectious Diseases, Nov 1, 2009>

Nov 09 2009 - Lower Alzheimer risk - Increase your muscle power
It has been found that older people with stronger muscles are at reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease compared to their weaker peers.
The findings in this study support the link between physical health and cognition in aging and the importance of maintaining good physical function and strength.
<Archives of Neurology, November 2009>

Nov 08 2009 - Peanut Butter Good for you?
Actually yes. Nuts that are unsalted and roasted in their own oils, and peanut and other nut butters, contain polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. These can help lower LDL (bad cholesterol) without lowering healthy cholesterol (HDL).Make sure you are using the no-sugar varieties of peanut butter.
What about Nuts? In a study of 80,000 women, those who ate nuts two or more times a week were less likely to pack on the pounds through the years, even though nuts are fairly high in calories.
<Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nov 3, 2009>

Nov 07 2009 - Obesity causes 100,000 US cancer cases each year
Not only that but the federal and other research estimated that obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10% of all medical spending in the United States or an estimated $147 billion per year.
Estimates of cancer types that could be prevented annually if Americans stayed slender.
Esophageal - 35% or 5800 people
Pancreatic - 28% or 11,900 people
Colon - 9% or 13,200 people
Breast - 17% pr 33,000 people
Endometrium - 49% or 20,700 people

<Medline Plus, 11/05/09>

Nov 06 2009 - Want to keep weight off? Your Home Matters
Researchers found that people's home environment mattered when it came to keeping weight off. They found that the weight loss maintainers had fewer TVs in their homes, and were less likely to be stocking their shelves with fatty foods.
The weight loss maintainers also had more exercise equipment than the control groups.
<Annals of Behavioral Medicing, Oct, 2009>

Nov 05 2009 - PAP Test overprescribed
New screeening guidelines were introduced in 2002 and 2003 for the Pap Test(cervical cancer-detecting test). A study has now found that fewer than one-third of U.S. primary care doctors follow those guidelines.
Only 28% of internal medicine doctors, 21% of general practitioners and 16% of obstetricians/gynecologists use the Pap screen in the recommended way.
Bottom line,"patients should be their own advocate. Sit down with your doctor and ask what's the recommendation for you?" Get them to show you the actual report.
<Medline plus, 05/11/09>

Nov 04 2009 - World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report 2009
There is a website: www.weforum.org where a report on the condition of women around the world is detailed.
When it comes to the equality of women vs men North Americans may be surprised to find that Canada ranks 25th and the United States ranks 31st.
The wage gap between men and women is extreme with women earning only 65% of what men do and the Political Empowerment of women is extremely low.
<World Economic Forum, Gender Gap Report 2009>

Oct 31 2009 - Body Image Charter for Modelling industry in Quebec
In Quebec about 3% of females aged 12 to 30 suffer bull-blown bulimia; another 10% have a constant preoccupation with their weight and body image. That translates to about 30,000 young Quebec women with anorexia or bulimia, and three times that many who are seriously affected.
The Charter states:"We recognize that beauty ideals based on extreme thiness can harm self-esteem," and sets in motion seven action by which signatories hope to promote a more realistic image of women in the media-and by which to fight an epidemic or eating disorders.
<Windsor Star,Oct 31, 2009 >

Oct 30 2009 - Diet and Breast Cancer
According to a review by the American Cancer Society, body weight is the one factor next to alcohol consumption that is clearly linked to breast cancer.
Researchers estimate a balanced diet high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and low in fat and sugar, could reduce breast cancer incidence by a least 30%.
<Windsor Star, Oct 30,2009>

Oct 28 2009 - Why don't We know who the best Doctors and Cancer Centers Are?
"The disparities in treatment don't reflect who has the newest multimillion-dollar machine, but who gets the diagnosis right and minimizes the chance of recurrence."
"Little delays with a nonaggressive cancer might not matter, but a two-week delay with an aggressive cancer can mean the difference between life and death."
Why do cancer centers not publish their outcomes data so that we know which are the best centers for treatment. Published records would likely be an inducement for the under achievers to sharpen up.
Key point "There are vast differences in outcomes between many cancer centers."
<Newsweek, Oct. 26,2009 Begley and Interlanci>

Oct 27 2009 - Vitamin D Again
According to Dr. Carlos A. Camargo, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Harvard Medical School, Vitamin D boosts the activity of a gene that makes cathelicidin, a natural antimicrobial compound that is part of the body's defenses against infection.
There is growing evidence that Vitamin D does protect against a number of respiratory infections and it is also clear that many Americans do not get enough of the vitamin.
<Boston Globe, Oct 26,2009>

Oct 26 2009 - Warren Buffett on Wall Street and the Financial Industry
The idea that the people who move money around are some favored class--is getting pretty far away from where we should be."
"I was lucky at birth," Buffett said. "I shouldn't delude myself into thinking I am some superior individual. Most of the rich people in the United States and the U.K., they wouldn't have done quite as well if they were in Bangladesh or some place like that."
<BBC, Radio 4, Oct 26, 2009>

Oct 25 2009 - Health Literacy and Health Outcomes
Choosing a healthy lifestyle, knowing how to seek medical care, and taking advantage of preventive measures require that people understand and use health information. The ability to obtain, process, and understand health information needed to make informed health decisions is known as health literacy.
Given the complexity of the healthcare system, it is not surprising that limited health literacy is associated with poor health.
<Fact sheet/www.gov/communication>

Oct 24 2009 - Decoding the Numbers
A news report says that something doubles your risk of getting a disease. Does that mean you should be scared? Only if your chances of getting the disease are already high. News report can make medical problems seem more common than they are. If your risk "doubles" from 1 in 1,000 to 2 in 1,000 that's still a pretty small risk. And if you have a 1% chance of getting a disease, that means you have a 99% chance of not gettin it.
<Figuring out Health News, Nemours Foundation>

Oct 23 2009 - Chocolate Milk, not Just for Kids
Chocolate milk, loaded with carbohydrates and protein, refuels muscles, reduces muscle breakdown and rehydrates the body. From studies at Indiana University, George Mason and other campuses the suggestion is that drinking low-fat chocolate milk after exercise is just as effective in helping tired muscles recover as a high-carbohydrate sports drink.
Milk also contains vitamins A,D,B-6 and B-12;niacin;riboflavin;thiamin;
calcium;magnesium;phosphorus;and zinc.
Not a bad health food.
<Omaha World-Herald. Oct 22, 2009>

Oct 22 2009 - Benefits of Screening for Some Cancers Overstated
The American Cancer Society is now saying that the benefits of detecting many cancers, especially breast and prostate have been overstated.
The fact is that some cancers are not dangerous and some might actually go away on their own. It was finding these insignificant cancers that led to the soaring rates of breast and prostate cancer. According to one doctor this overdiagnosis is pure, unadulterated harm.
With more research into how to distinguish between innocuous tumors and dangerous ones, people hopefully will be more realistic about what screening can do.
<WSJ, Oct 21, 2009, Pg A1 and A24>

Oct 21 2009 - Controlling some fall allergies
Try staying indoors as much as possible, especially on sunny, windy days and early in the morning during peak pollen times, will decrease symptoms. Close your windows and use the air conditioning. Antihistamines may also help decrease symptoms.
<BismarkTribune.com, Sept 13, 2009>

Oct 20 2009 - Soy Formula or Breast Milk?
Soy contains plant estrogens, thus there are concerns about the health effects on babies raised on soy formula.
Part of the concern about soy formula is that there is not a great deal of good data on it yet.
Some rat studies involving soy formula have detedted changes in the way the body metabolizes drugs, which might make them less effective.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has backed away from giving soy its whole-hearted endorsement.
Bottom Line: consider that soy formula comes with an unspoken "drink at your own risk warning"
<Health and Fitness News, Oct 20, The Oregonian>

Oct 19 2009 - Fresh Pumpkin instead of Butternut or Acorn Squash
Just make sure that you are using sugar pumpkins, not those intended for carving.

Pumpkins are loaded with the antioxidant beta-carotene, potassium and fiber. Plus, with only 49 calories per cup(cooked) this tasty squash is a great fit for a healthy diet.
<Denver Post, fitness, 10/19/2009>

Oct 18 2009 - Smoking bans reduce heart attack risks among non smokers
A report from the Institute of Medicine should influence the debate on smoking bans.
Heart disease is a more immediate consequence of smoking or breathing others smoke than is lung cancer. About a third of all heart attacks in the U.S. are related to smoking. Both actively smoking and breathing others smoke can damage blood vessels and increase heart attack-causing blood clots.
So do bans help? This study found drops in the number of heart attacks that ranged from 6 percent to 47 percent.
<Institute of Medicine, Oct 15, 2009>

Oct 17 2009 - Media multitaskers are not good at it!
In a study by Stanford University researchers to determine what skills helped these multitaskers stay on task the results astonished them.
The media multitaskers are these people who seem to be able to chat over the phone, listen to music, surf the Net, text, e-mail, read, write, play computer games and watch video etc all at once.
The researchers assessed three key cognitive skills: filtering out extraneous information, recalling important information from memory and switching easily from one task to another.
To quote one of the study's authors, Professor Clifford Nass, "we were trying to figure out what they were good at, and it turns out: nothing"
He also said,"In fact, the more likely you are to multitask, the worse you are at it."It turned out that the high multitaskers overly focus on the irrelevant, keep their memory very sloppy, and they're very bad at switching from one task to another."
<Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct 13, 2009>

Oct 16 2009 - The violation of Sexual and emotional boundaries of Adult Women by Catholic Priests
A landmark study in 1990 by the scholar A.W. Richard Sipe, a former Benedictine, found that 20 percent of Catholic priests were involved in continuing sexual relationships with women, and an additional 8 percent to 10 percent had occasional heterosexual relationships.
If you think things have changed ask the group Good Tidings, founded by a woman and her husband a former priest.
She has said that in 25 years they have been contacted by nearly 2000 women who said they were involved with priests, with many of the women having signed child support and confidentiality agreements.
<New York Times Oct 16,2009>

Oct 15 2009 - Some tips on keeping teeth white
Keep the teeth clean. Brush or at least rinse right after eating particularly if you've consumed food or drink that stains teeth easily. Floss daily.
The major tooth stainers are berries, chocolate, coffee, tea, colas, root beer, red wine and tobacco. Where possible use a straw or swallow quickly to limit the fluids contact with the front teeth.
Hard raw fruits and vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and apples will help scrape away plaque, which makes teeth look dull.
<Atlanta Constitution Journal/New Town Dental Arts of james City County, Va>

Oct 14 2009 - 5 Indicators that a Restaurant is serving safe Food
1. The dining room is clean. If the tables, chairs, utensils and glasses aren't clean chances are things aren't clean in the kitchen either.
2. Restrooms are clean. This is an important indicator. Attention to detail is a very good thing.
3. Staff are dressed neat and clean. Food handlers should wear clean gloves and not touch their face or hair.
4. The health inspection sanitation certificate should be displayed. If they don't make the grade, make tracks for the door.
5. The cold food should be cold and the hot food hot. Lukewarm foods lurk in the danger zone, where bacteria love to grow- 40 degrees to 140 degrees.

<AtlantaConstitution Journal -better health, 2009/10/14>

Oct 13 2009 - Promising Research regarding Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Two thirds of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in a trial conducted by a team led by Judy Mikovits at the Whittemore Peterson Institute were found to have tested positive for XMRV genes, compared with just eight out of 218 healthy controls. Although this group of investigators suspect that XMRV causes CFS there will need to be more work done to prove conclusively that this is so.
<Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1179052>

Oct 12 2009 - Why don't We Exercise?
We can always find an excuse for not exercising but here are some ways to counteract these excuses.
If you feel you don't have time, just go out for a 10 minute walk. You'll be surprised how soon you'll want to increase that amount.
When you feel you are too tired at the end of the day to exercise, try doing it over the lunch break or in the morning before work.
If you don't like to exercise with others do it alone. Go for a walk or work with a DVD class or TV class.
We do get aches and pains so do some stretching before and after.
If the weather is too cold or hot, make use of your local mall.
Mix your routines in order to remove the boredom of those that you like.
It costs little to exercise. You can use canned goods as weights and a run or walk cost little.
<Womenshealth.gov. October 12, 2009>

Oct 11 2009 - Shoe Choice can Affect the Future of your Feet
In a study reported in Arthritis Care and Research it was documented how shoe choice affects the feet of women.
Shoes were classified into Good"(sneakers, athletic shoes), average(hard soled leather shoes or rubber-soled shoes), and Poor (heels or pumps, sandals, or slippers).
It was found for women, wearing "good shoes" reduced the likelihood of having pain in the heel, ankle and lower Achilles tendon-know collectively as the "hindfoot"-by two thirds.
The question then becomes "what price fashion?"
<Arthritis Care &Research, October 15, 2009>

Oct 10 2009 - During Flu season eat right
From the Ohio State University extension service the following advice regarding boosting your immune system.
Stay hydrated. Eat lots of vegetables, fruit and whole grains, which are loaded with vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants and phytonutrients. Moderate exercise boosts the immune system,while too much or too little can weaken it. In addition, you might consider consuming more yogurt and other foods containing probiotics, or "good bacteria".
<Cincinnati Enquirer, Oct 7, 2009>

Oct 09 2009 - Canned Salmon Very Healthful
Maybe it's even more healthful than fresh salmon if you canned choose canned salmon with bone in.
It is high in omega-3 fatty acids that makes skin and hair look more youthful. It's also good for your brain and heart. It contains acarotenoid that improves skin's elasticity, and canned with bone provides 231 mg of calcium vs 15 mg with fresh salmon.
<Health and Fitness, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct, 06,2009>

Oct 08 2009 - Osteoporosis. Who gets it?
The following list or risk factors for osteoporosis is from the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
-Being older or female
-Having osteoporosis in the family
-Having a small stature or thin frame
-Being white, Asian or Hispanic
-Having a prior bone fracture
-Having low sex hormones
-Getting insufficient exercise
-Getting insufficient dietary calcium and vitamin D
-Eating a diet that's high in caffeine, sodium and protein
-Using alcohol or tobacco
-Having eating disorders or rheumatoid arthritis
-Using certin drugs, such as steroids
<Health Day July 13, 2009>

Oct 07 2009 - Womeans Health USA
The following are some stats from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the Health Status of Women.
14% of women 18 years and over are in fair or poor health
Womens Health Risk Factors:
30% of women 18 years and over engaged in regular leisure-time physical activity
18% of women 18 years and over currently smoke
14% of women 18 years and over had 5 or more drinks in 1 day at least once in the past year
35% of women 20 years and over are obese
33% of women 20 years and over have hypertension
<Fastats, womens health. CDC. >

Oct 05 2009 - Warning Signs of Dehydration
The following is a list of warning signs of dehydration compiled by the U.S. National Library of Medicing.
-Dryness or a sticky feeling in the mouth
-Urine that is a dark yellow color
-Not urinating as much as usual or not at all
Inability to produce tears
Eyes that appear sunken
-Feeling tired or having no energy
<Health Day, sept, 17, 2009>

Oct 04 2009 - Tips to Cavity Prevention
The following are tips by the National Library of Medicine on how to help prevent cavities.
-Practice good oral hygiene, whichmeans flossing each day, brushing at least twice daily and getting a professional teeth cleaning twice a year
-Minimize snacking, which increases acid production in the mouth
-if you want something sticky, sweet or chewy, eat it with other foods as part of a meal instead of alone. Brush your teeth or rinse you mouth with water afterward.
-Avoid high-sugar drinks, chewinggum with sugar, or sucking on sugary candy.
-use mouth wash and toothpaste with flouride
<HealthDay News Sept, 22, 2009>

Oct 03 2009 - Strong Thighs May Mean Less Knee Pain for Women
Stronger thigh muscles can help protect women, but not men, from the pain or arthritic knees.
This study finds that "stronger quadricep(thigh) muscles may protect older adults from developing the combination of osteoarthritis on X-ray and daily pain or stiffness in their knees".
One implication of these new findings is that quadricep strength may protect against developing symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.
Exercises that people can do, and tend to do correctly, and can do on their own, are climbing stairs - up and down.
Climb stairs slowly, making the best use of the thigh muscles. You can go up and down even one or two steps at a time- that helps strengthen the leg muscles. Strong leg muscles not only support knee health, but they support your indeendence as you get older.
<Medline Plus, Health Day, August 27, 2009>

Oct 02 2009 - Varicose Vein Prevention
The following are things you can do to help prevent these swollen, dark veins that commonly appear in the leg.
-Apply sunscreen to help protect your skin
-Get regular exercise that focuses on strengthening the legs and improving circulation. Walking or running are good choices
-If you are overweight, lose weight to reduce pressure on the legs
-Sit with your feet on the floor, rather than crossing your legs. And when you can, prop up your feet.
-Avoid sitting or standing for too long
-Support the legs with elastic support stockings, but avoid tight-fitting clothing
-Stick to a diet that's low in salt and high in fibre
<Health Day News, Oct. 1, 2009>

Oct 01 2009 - Use 2% of the total minutes in a Day for Exercise
There are 1440 minutes in a day. Use 30 of these for some physical exercise. Why not try walking briskly for 30 minutes?
<Medline Plus, Sept 29, 2009>

Sep 28 2009 - Health Benefits of Physical Activity
Regular physical activity may help control your weight and may help
1. Reduce your risk of or manage chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, and some cancers.
2. Build strong muscles, bones and joints.
3. Improve flexibility.
4. Ward off depression.
5. Improve mood and sense of well-being.
<Weight control Information Network>

Sep 27 2009 - 10 Tips to Healthy Eating and Physical Activity For You
1. Start your day with breakfast
2. Get Moving
3. Snack smart
4. Work up a sweat
5. Balance your food Choices-don't eat too much of any one thing
6. Get fit with friends or family
7. Eat more grains, fruits and vegetables
8. Join in physical activities
9. Foods aren't good or bad
10.Make healthy eating and physical activities fun

<The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports>

Sep 26 2009 - Vitamin D and healthy brain and immune function
For 20+ years it has been known that vitamin D exerts marked effects on immune and neural cells. Diminished Vitamin D levels are associated with autoimmune diseases and various brain diseases.

At the molecular level Vitamin D is a substrate necessary for immune and neural cells to be produced. The vitamin is actually a seco-steroid hormone produced photochemically in the skin as long as sunlight is adequate.

Vitamin D deficiency may lay at the foundation of various brain pathologies - Parkinson's, epilepsy, depression. The immune-mediated disorder of multiple sclerosis (MS) is a strong candidate of Vitamin D deficiency. (Moving towards the equator MS drops in prevelance to zero). Rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, lupus and inflammatory bowel disease may also have a Vitamin D deficiency related etiology.

[Vitamin D, a neuro-immunomodulator: implications for neurodegenerative and autoimmune disease.]
<Psychoneuroendocrinology online July 2009>

Sep 25 2009 - Risk factors for Vitamin D deficiency
From November through to February humans living above the latitude of Boston receive an in-adequate strength of sun light to metabolize Vitamin D in skin.

Non-milk drinkers are not receiving the benefit of the Vitamin D fortification in milk. Babies only getting breast milk don't get Vitamin D.

Ageing reduces skin production of Vitamin D and so do fat malabsorption syndromes such as Crohn's disease.

Dark skin pigmentation, medications, sunscreen, vegetarianism and obesity all reduce bio-availablility of Vitamin D.
<www.dairynutrition.ca >

Sep 24 2009 - Nutrition and brain health
Nutrition directly affects wiring(neuro-circuitry) of the brain. Among other processes nutrition affects myelination - the coating of neural axons allowing trafficking, signaling, cross talk, synapsis, and information flow between neurons.

Adequate intake of calories, protein, iron, iodine and folate are essential in the formation of neural substrates for healthy brain/neural function. Recent evidence suggests a pivotal role for Vitamin B12, zinc and Omega-3 fatty acids for optium neural health. Dairy products, animal protein, nuts, seeds, eggs, fortified cereals are food choices that meet nutrient requirements of the brain. To further upgrade omega-3 consumption choose oils such as canola, flaxseed, walnut, and soybean oils.
<www.milknutrition.org 'Food for thought' spring 2005.>

Sep 23 2009 - Two strategies to prevent or survive bowel cancer
Get adequate Vitamin D from sun exposure and diet. Get adequate exercise/physical activity. 1000IU of Vitamin D and a diet rich in calcium and Vitamin D should induce an adequate blood level of 30ng/ml. Daily exercise, especially outside, is a stong protective factor against bowel cancer.
<Journal of Clinical Oncology 2008:26:18:2937-9.>

Sep 22 2009 - Benefit of adequate Vitamin D
Evidence is accumulating that adequate Vitamin D impoves bone, brain, and heart health. The vitamin also improves immune system function and protects against some cancers. Get your blood level checked for Vitamin D, the value should be between 30 to 100 ng/ml. Expose your skin to sun, eat salmon and fortified dairy products and take 1000IU of Vitamin D daily to get an adequate blood level.
<Dr. Mark Liponis in Parade Sept 20/09 p14>

Sep 21 2009 - The indignity of being born female
The New York Times husband and wife reporting team of Kristof and WuDunn in a new book tell of the atrocities human females of the second and third worlds suffer. In 'Half the Sky' they state gendercide, the daily slaughter of girls in the developing world, steals more lives in any decade than all genocides of the 20th century. From sex trafficking to maternal mortality, from obstetric fistulas to acid attacks, the authors reveal the shocking draconian conditions most of the world's females endure.
<New York Times Book Review Sept 8/09 p6>

Sep 20 2009 - Inappropriate medications Increase the risk of falls in older women and men
A four year study in France involving 6343 women and men who were on average 74 years old found the following:
Use of long-acting benzodiazepine led to 1.4 times risk of falling versus those not using this type of anti-anxiety medication.
They also identified similar risks amongst the elderly reporting regular use of tranquilizers, muscle relaxants and anti-spasmodics.

Definition:
Inappropriate Medication: drugs likely to have a greater effect on elderly individuals than on their yourger counterparts, as well as medications (taken singly or with other drugs) with side effects (dizziness and drowsiness) potentially associated with increased risk for falling.
<BMC Geriatrics, July 23, 2009>

Sep 19 2009 - The purpose of sleep
It has yet to be determined why humans and four thousand other mammalian species require some form of sleep. Jerome M. Siegel, Department of Psychiatry U of California, proposes that sleep be viewed as an adaptive state of inactivity which reduces brain and body metabolism.

There is a 30% reduction in cerebral/brain energy consumption during non-Rapid Eye Movement (non-REM)phase of sleep. This is a phenomenal conservation of energy considering that the brain constitutes only 2% of total body weight yet uses 20% of the body's caloric fuel or energy. During this phase of sleep the human brain is still able to process sensory signals and trigger wakefulness within milliseconds if need be.

The other phase of sleep, Rapid Eye Movement (REM) is the deepest part of human sleep and evolved interwoven with non-REM probably to facilitate alertness upon awakening.
<Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2009:10:747-753>

Sep 18 2009 - What women of the third world endure
Since India began to really grow it economy in the 1990s it has become necessary to accept women into the urban workforce. The number of working women has roughly doubled in 15 years.

Always a nation of strong male dominance and male-child preference with low intrinsic value for women, atrocities against women are now evident. Voilence against women has increased, rape has increased by 30%, kidnapping and abduction by 50% and torture and molestation have also sharply jumped.

The new minister of India Railways, a female named Uttar Pradesh, has commenced providing women commuters with female-only trains. This is to free them from being taunted, harassed, pinced, groped and verbally abused by men on their daily treks to and from work.
<New York Times Sept 16/09 pA1 & A12>

Sep 17 2009 - The truth about cancer
For forty years it has been predicted that a cure for cancer is near. But cancer deaths have hardly budged. Most new cancer drugs cost a fortune while only giving patients few, if any, added weeks of life. Dr Richard Pazdur, the director of the US Food and Drug Administration's cancer drug office, is subject to constant pillory for a situation he has no control over. He demands only that drug makers prove with near certainty that their products are beneficial. The sad fact is the industry is not producing many good cancer treatment drugs.
<New York Time Sept 16/09 pA1 &A23>

Sep 16 2009 - Cardiac benefit of chocolate
Researchers in Sweden have found evidence that people who eat chocolate have increased survival rates after a heart attack. Compared with people who ate none, those who ate chocolate less than once a month had a 27% reduction in risk of cardiac death. Those who ate it up to once a week had 44% reduction, and those who indulged twice or more a week had 66% reduction of dying of a heart attack. This study followed 1,169 men and women hospitalized for a heart attack for 12 months. The type of chocolate they ate was not screened for but it is known that dark chocolate has more of the protective flavonoid factor than milk chocolate.
< New York Times Sept 15/09 pD6>

Sep 15 2009 - Sex hormones and depression in women
Variations in the reproductive/sex hormones in women during reproductive years are bound to affect the neural stress system or the hypothalamic/pituitary/adrenal system. Overlap/neural cross-talk with the hypothalamic/pituitary/ovarian system of reproduction because of proximity is un-avoidable. The prevalence of depression increases during reproductive years, especially during times when sex hormone levels show rapid fluctations. Premenstrual, antepartum, postpartum, perimenopausal transition phase and menopause are all times of enormous hormone fluctation and of potential neuro-psychic-emotional upheaval.
<Ageing Research Reviews 2005:4:141-194>

Sep 14 2009 - Are you taking your Medications Safely?
To prevent problems with medications the University of Virginia offers the following suggestions:
1.Understand that even vitamins, herbs, supplements and over-the-counter medications can have adverse effects if taken incorrectly.
2.Always follow label instructions, paying particular attention to any warnings.
3.Learn how other medications and foods interact with a particular medicine.
4.Don't be afraid to ask questions of your doctor or pharmacist if your prescription changes or if you take a new medicine.
5.Learn about any potential side effects of medications you take, and always call your doctor if you have any problems.
6.Keep medications stored safely, and keep a record of all medications you take.
7.Make sure all of your doctors have a complete list of your medications.
<Medline Plus, Sept 10,2009>

Sep 13 2009 - Runner's World Magazine - great advice
Even if you are not a runner, Runner's World contains about the best nutrition advice available for adults. In the October'09 issue the New York Times food journalist shares his brilliant but simple healthy, tasty and quick meal ideas. The regular "Frigde Wisdom" column by Liz Applegate, professor of Nutrition U of California and a runner, is cutting edge current with healthy eating advice. October's "Fuel" column shares how to cut the calories of favorite comfort foods. For five or so dollars you could not get a better lifestyle improvement reference than buying Runner's World.
<Runner's World Oct'09.>

Sep 12 2009 - Silion valley legend, Andy Grove, critical of modern medicine
Andrew Grove, former CEO of Intel computer chip maker, is 73, has Parkinson's and is a prostate cancer survivor. He has come away from his interactions with the health care service system with the following complaints. The industry innovates much too slowly. There is a complete lack of electronic medical records and smart clinical decision systems. Clinical trials are slow moving with bureaucratic weight.

In the current health care system he sees no evidence of quick 'knowledge turns' that the computer industry uses. Knowledge turns are accelerated cycles of learning and innovation to produce a profit generating item (eg., ipod) to take to market. A knowledge turn in the computer chipmaking business is around 18 months, in medicine its 10-20 years.
<Economist Sept 5/09 p35-36>

Sep 11 2009 - Thin thighs associated with heart disease
Researchers took detailed measurements and evaluated the body composition of 1,436 men and 1,380 women in Denmark. They tracked the health of the subjects for a decade. People with the thinnest thighs had two times greater risk of heart disease. Fat and sugar metabolism are muscle dependent. Too little muscle mass in the thigh area may affect metabolism and predispose to heart disease.
<reported in British Medical Journal as cited by bloomberg.com>

Sep 10 2009 - Humans evolved from monkeys
The sequencing of the human genome in 2003 revealed that we have 98% plus of the same DNA as monkeys. It is an incontrovertable scientific fact that humans and monkeys share a commom ancestor. Yet the scientist and author Richard Dawkins states in his recent book (The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution) 40% of Americans still refuse to accept that human beings share a common ancestry with animals. These people believe in intelligent design or are creationists, thinking that humans just appeared in their present form 10,000 years ago.
<Economist Sept 6/09 p90>

Sep 09 2009 - Erasing fear memories
Italian researchers may have found a way to disrupt consolidation or re-collection of fear memories in adult mice. After a certain age, net like molecules of proteins and sugars in the amygadala - storing/retrival memory brain region - make fears resistant to being erased. Researchers used an enzyme to break-up the net-like protein/sugar structures in the amygadala. One month later the mice receiving the memory desolving enzyme seemed to completely forget the shock experience they had been conditioned to fear.
<WSJ Tuesday Sept 8/09 pB10 & Science 2009:325:5945:1214-1215>

Sep 08 2009 - Two way street between head and heart
What's going on in your heart and arteries can, in turn, affect your mental health. Positive emotions, personal connections, stress-busting techniques like exercise and meditation, anger-management etc., can protect the heart and brain. Feed your brain and body with more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and other lean proteins, and vegetable oils. These healthy lifestyle and nutrition choices reduce the release of stress hormones that constrict blood vessels, dysregulate heart beat and affect vascularization of the brain. Important, simple, cheap behavioural strategies totally within your control, no doctor necessary.
<www.health.harvard.edu>

Sep 07 2009 - Exercise as treatment for parkinsonism
Would a program of motor therapy retard the neurodegeneration process that occurs with Parkinson's disease (PD)? Clinical evidence going back to 1956 and through to 2000 supports such a conjecture. The influence of motor activity on neurodegeneration may be relevant to the progressive nature of the disease itself.

As movement becomes more difficult inactivity becomes more prominent. Patients making behavioural choices of less activity exacerbate the condition promoting further degeneration.

Forced exercise in rodent models reduced destruction of dopamine neurons. Also neuro-protection and restoration were promoted from increased availability of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a potent survival factor for dopamine neurons.
<Experimental Neurology 2003:184:31-39>

Sep 06 2009 - Effects of diet on aging rat heart mitochondria
Two supplements - carnitine and lipoic acid - were hypothesized to improve mitochondrial function in heart cells. A study in rats showed come cardiac improvement with the supplements. [A balanced diet with adequate fat and fruit and vegetables might be one way to achieve healthy heart function -see below article]
<Ann NY Acad Sci 2002:959:491-507>

Sep 05 2009 - Effects of diet on brain mitochondria
Older dogs were feed an antioxidant or vegetable and fruit rich diet. Dogs develop cognitive decline from progressive accumulation of oxidative damage which deteriorates mitochondrial function. A similar sequences of neural events happens in ageing humans.

In a U of California study an antioxidant diet was found to improve mitochondrial function and therefore brain function in elderly dogs. A balanced diet, rich in plant foods, is thought to deliver adequate Vitamins E and C and lipoic acid (a fat) and carnitine ( plant metabolite) which are protective of the cell's or neuron's mitochondrial organelle.
<Experimental Neurology 2009 e-Pub ahead of print>

Sep 04 2009 - Eric Kandel reframes psychiatry
Eric Kandel is a Columbia U neuroscientist and psychiatrist and he has this to say about his training "In the summer of 1960 ...began residency at Harvard's Massachusetts Mental Health Center. I was trained with 20-odd other now prominent young doctors..and there was no required or even recommended readings. We were assigned no textbooks, rarely was there a reference to scientific papers in conferences or in case studies. Much of this attitude came from our teachers..They made a point of encouraging us not to read." He shares this story to emphasize the need to train psychiatrists in the structure and function of the brain (neuro-sicence, neurobiology, neuro-physiology). The current training is in-adequate and minimal.
<Am J Psychiatry 1998:155:4:457-469.>

Sep 03 2009 - Health literacy
About 50% of adult Americans - 90 million - do not understand basic health information and services. Being un-informed and illerate in terms of human physiology (relating to diagnosis, medications, healing/proactive behaviors etc.,)is associated with poorer outcomes form common chronic diseases such as asthma and depression.

A study of 172 hospital patients discharged from an internal medicine floor revealed that 15% didn't know that they had been prescribed new medication. Only half knew specific information about their drugs such as dosage, schedule and purpose.

An appalling disconnect between patients and doctors was demonstrated in terms of adverse effects of medications. Only 11% of patients recalled being told about adverse effects. Physicians routinely report the belief that almost all of thier patients understood adverse drug side effects.

[TAKE HOME MESSAGE - if you are prescribed a drug go to drugs@FDA and find out about it for yourself.]
<Mayo Clinic Proceedings May 2008:83:554-558>

Sep 01 2009 - Exercise, learned helplessness, and stress-resistant brain
There is now extensive evidence that habitual exercise/physical activity can reduce the incidence and severity of stress-related mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. The protective effect of exercise can be as effective as conventional pharmacotherapy. Exercise can equal the large protective effect in depression that it has in cardiovascular disease.

What is unknown is exactly how exercise imparts this stress resiliency to the brain. Very recent rodent research using the research model of 'learned helplessness' (believed to be similar to human depression and anxiety) hints at the underpinning neurobiology. Brain functioning is controlled by genes ( DNA recipes for the production of building-block proteins). The researcher B.N. Greenwood has demonstrated that serotonergic neurocircuitry can be protected from hyperactivity by exercise. Gene expression is altered by chronic exercise and synthesis of serotonin molecules(5-HT neurons) is suppressed.
<Neuromol Med 2008:10:81-98>

Aug 31 2009 - For heart health eat atlantic salmon
Atlantic salmon - farmed or wild - contains the largest amount of the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Three control trails (gold standard of research) of 32,000 people confirm DHA and EPA can dramatically reduce cardiovascular disease.

Salmon fatty acids improve heart health by enriching the membranes of cells with phospholipids (fatty acids, glyerol, plus phosphate) which increase flexibility and movement of molecules in and out of the cell. Improved cell function and molecule transport results in decreased irregular heart beat, lower blood pressure, improved blood circulation, blood thining, and better central nervous system function.
<Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2008:83:3:324-332>

Aug 30 2009 - Addictions and the physician
The health care industry is depressing work because injury, disease, dying and death, the currencies upon which it is based, are all sad. Doctors are not immune from their work environment having drug and alcohol abuse rates that are similar to and exceed the general population. 10-12% of doctors develop substance abuse disorders. A study of 904 doctors, 87% male, found alcohol the primary drug of abuse, then opioids, followed by stimulants and other substances. The specialities of anesthesiology, emergency medicine and psychiatry were over-represented with substance-abusing doctors.

Like airline pilots, doctors have remarkably good recovery rates after completion of rehab programs. 74-90% are able to abstain from further drug and alcohol use.
<Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2009:84:7:625-631>

Aug 29 2009 - Regular exercise is the best protector of mental health
Any amount of exercise is better than none at all. But to mitigate the damaging effects of stress on health, chronic or regular exercise is more protective than intermittant or irregular exercise.

Greenwood et al. (2005) discovered the cumulative effect/benefit of regular exercise in rats. The duration of access to running wheels was found to be important. Six but not three weeks of voluntary wheel running was sufficient to prevent learned helpless and anxiety behaviors in rats subjected to uncontrollable noise stress.

Routinely/chronically meeting a mininum theshold of physical activity appears to protect against the negative psychological effects of stress.
<Stress 2008:11:6:425-437>

Aug 28 2009 - Is there a relationship between Neighborhood Income and Individual Education on Survival after Myocardial Infarction?
According to a study printed in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings yes.
The conclusion was that low neighborhood income and lower levels of individual education were associated with a worse clinical presentation.
The association between low neighborhood income and increased mortality risk persisted even after controlling for a variety of potential confounders.
An interesting and sad note in the discussion was that "increasing evidence suggests that patients with MI(myocardial infarction) living in low-SES(socioeconomic status)neighborhoods are older, are more likely to be female, and have more cardiovascular risk factors and comorbidity. Despite their higher risk, these patients are less likely to receive evidence-based medical therapies (ie. aspirin, statins, and B-blockers) or to be treated aggressively with invasive cardiac procedures.
<Y. Gerber et al: Mayo Clinic Proc. June 2008:83(6):663-669>

Aug 27 2009 - Radiation from CT and PET scans = cancer risk
Tens of thousands of cases of additional cancers are projected to be caused by radiation from diagnostic CT and PET scans. The use of these scans has quadrupled in the past twenty years as more and more doctors have bought/leased the scanners. A study appearing in today's New England Journal of Medicine suggests that four million Americans received cumulative doses of radiation exceeding 20 millisieverts a year from scans. The average American receives about three millisierverts per year from all sources.
<New York Times Aug 27/09 pA22>

Aug 26 2009 - Caning of woman over beer
An Islamic court in Malaysia has put on hold the caning of a woman found guilty of drinking beer in public. The minister of women, family and community indicated the sentence was too harsh. The minister stated the caning of 32 year old Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno will be deferred until a review has been completed. [Outside of the industrialized west - where there are some statutes protecting gender equity and women - women are routinely beaten, abused and tryannized.]
<New York Times Aug 26/09 >

Aug 25 2009 - Physicians un-informed about drugs they are prescibing
A study - in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety - found that the average doctor did not know the correct FDA approval status for half of the drugs on a presented list.

Confusion was greatest with psychiatric drugs, the survey of 600 doctors found. One in five doctors who prescibed Seroquel (quetiapine) in the past year thought it was approved for dementia and agitation. The FDA - drugs@FDA - has a "black box" warning that that Seroquel is dangerous for elderly patients with dementia.

One in three doctors used lorazepam - trade name Ativan - to treat chronic anxiety. The FDA has a warning advising against this use for lorazepam.
<New York Times August 28/09 pD6>

Aug 24 2009 - Drug-free mood improver
According to a recent study, less than a half hour of moderate exercise can substantially improve your mood. The study at the U of Vermont found everyone in the exercise group showed significant positive effects on mood - regardless of gender, age, or fitness level - for up to 12 hours after only 20 minutes of moderate-intensity cycle exercise. The participants worked at 60% of aerobic max capacity which is the equivalent of light cycling or brisk walking. A recent finding at the Mayo Clinic is that exercise induced increase in body temperature has a calming effect.
<Parade Aug 23/09 p17>

Aug 23 2009 - The House of God
In 1978 a training physician wrote a novel, titled The House of God, exposing the draconian, tyrannizing and abusive internship he and colleagues experienced at Harvard's Beth Israel Hospital. The novel by Stephen Bergman, under the pen name Samuel Shem, has been in print ever since selling more than two million copies.

[The sad fact is the public remains totally un-aware of how most of medical care is un-therapeutic, badly managed, with absolutely no system-wide quality assurance standards.]
<New York Times Aug 18/09 pD5 & D7>

Aug 22 2009 - US army to give mental resilience train 1.1 million soldiers
The army will be using 90 minute training sessions to give soldiers a new non-pathological or non-pessmistic vocabulary geared to mental resilience and toughness. U of Penn's Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman (author of "Learned Optimism") and staff are working with the army to implement training.

The training goal is to improve performance in combat and reduce depression, post-traumatic stress, and suicide that has plagued 20% of troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

As Seligman points out trauma and stress generally result in growth experiences for people, and not disorders/dysfunctions.
<New York Times Aug 18/09 pA1 & A3>

Aug 21 2009 - Surprising news about religion and social dysfunction
The online journal Evolutionay Psychology last month reported findings by Gregory Paul regarding non-religious societies. The societies with the lowest rates of social dysfunction - based on 25 measures such as rates of homicide, abortion, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, unemployment, and poverty - have become secular (non-religious). Those societies with the highest rates of dysfunction, such as Portugal and the USA are the most religious when measured by self-professed belief, church attendance, prayer etc.
<Newsweek Aug 24 & 31/2009 p30>

Aug 20 2009 - Synergy of diet and exercise preventive of Alzheimer's
A Columbia University study followed just under 2,000 people in their 70s. Those who followed the healthiest Mediterreanean-style diet were 40% less likely to develop Alzheimer's. Those who exercised were 37% less likely to develop the disease. Those who both ate a healthy diet and exercised were 59% less likely to receive an Alzheimer's diagnosis.
<New York Times Tues Aug 18/09 pD6>

Aug 19 2009 - Money contaminated with cocaine
A study by the U of Massachusetts Darmouth found that 90% of banknotes contain traces of cocaine. That's up from 67% in a similar study two years ago. The researchers found that bills from Washington had the highest prevalence of cocaine at about 95%. Over all, $5, $10, $20, and $50 bills had more cocaine than $1 or $100 bills. Currency from Brazil and China were also tested and showed 80% and 20% cocaine traces respectively. Cocaine, a fine powder, spreads easily through counting machinery and handling.
<New York Times Aug 18/09 pD3>

Aug 18 2009 - Is your Doctor Perfect?
Many doctors, a study reports, prescribe medicine without explaining its purpose, discussing its side effects, offering instructions about its use or even mentioning its name.
The above were the conclusions of researchers who audiotaped 45 doctors during their encounters with 909 patients, identifying 185 visits in which 243 medications that had not been used before by the patient were prescribed.
<New York Times. Oct.3/06 pD6>

Aug 17 2009 - Quick Cholesterol Screening Tests are Inaccurate
Most of these quick tests do not meet any objective scientific standard.The US government's Center for Disease Control and Prevention offer a standard certification through its Cholesterol Reference Method Laboratory Network. Most of the quick screen tests available have not been through the centers' certification process.
<Health. Wall Street Journal. Nov 28/06 pD7>

Aug 16 2009 - What's good the heart is good for the brain
Adults who had slightly elevated cholesterol in their 40s were at increased risk of dementia decades later. The Kaiser Permanente HMO followed 9,000+ members who had blood work done from 1964 to 1973 when they were 40-45. Between 1994 and 2007 the risk of a developing dementia was from 50 to 57% with increasingly high cholesterol. this study appears in Dementia & Geriatrics Cognitive Disorders.
<New York Times Aug 11/09 pD6>

Aug 15 2009 - TV linked to high blood pressure
Children who watched the most TV - 1.5 to 5.5 hours per day - had significantly higher diastolic and systolic blood pressures than those who watched the least TV (less than half hour per day). Data from accelerometers showed that the increased blood pressure was NOT associated with sedentary behavior, it was specifically linked to the increased TV watching.This study appears in the August 2009 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
<New York Times Tues Aug 11/09 pD6>

Aug 14 2009 - Women wearing light green slacks , A crime in Sudan
12 Women were arrested and face a fine of $100 and 40 lashes for wearing green slacks in public. Some have already been flogged. The arrests were made based on Article 152 of Sudan's criminal law which forbids "indecent clothing in public". Welcome to the dark ages.
Fortunately one of the women is fighting back. Lubna Hussein has been very effective in rallying world support for her fight against what she feels is a misinterpretation of the Koran.One women carried a placard proclaiming that "Lubnas's struggle is every woman's" She is convinced she has done nothing wrong in the eyes of the Koran.
<Economist,Aug8/09:p43>

Aug 13 2009 - Radiation/Cancer Risk from CAT Scans
A full body CT scan measures an estimated 12-25 millisieverts which is a measure of radiation exposure.
A mammogram measures .84 millisieverts. Americans get 3.6 millisieverts a year from natural sources. A 10 millisievert level is associated with an increase risk of cancer.
Radiation dangers are lost and forgotten in the pursuit of a diagnosis.
<Worries Mount over Excessive CAT Scans" Wall Street Journal Nov.2/06 PD1 and D7>

Aug 12 2009 - Reshape Your Fitness Thinking
Walking a few minutes a day may not cause your weight to drop much, but it will reduce your risk or cardiovascular disease, anxiety, depression, diabetes and many other conditions.
Get a cheap pedometer and find what your normal number or steps are during a day. Then, set a reasonable goal to increase this number. Then, gradually up the goal. Little bits are much easier to accomplish than feeling we have to be a marathoner instantly.
<Dr. Tim Church of Pennington Research Center Baton Rouge in Parade:Aug9/09:P21>

Aug 11 2009 - Why Weight loss is Important
Two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that overweight people will live shorter lives.
Among women in the trial there was a greater risk of death in any weight over normal.
<New York Times, Aug.23, 2006:PA16>

Aug 10 2009 - Is Marriage Good for the Brain?
A paper studying 1400 people in Finland beginning at age 50, found that individuals with the greates risk for Alzheimers disease were those who were widowed or divorced at midlife and remained so.
According to the authors, having a partner might provide additional mental and social challenges that stimulate the brain and delay the onset of dementia.
Key message: People who maintain a healthy and active lifestyle - physically, socially, mentally and maritally - appear to have a lower risk of developing the disease.
<Parade: Aug.9/09:page16>

Aug 09 2009 - Hospitals Clean and Safe?
US hospital infections kill 90,000 people a year and cost 4.5 billion, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control)said. It urges better sanitation and a more-conservative use of antibiotics.
<Wall Street Journal, Oct 20/06 pA1>

Aug 08 2009 - Obesity and Breast Cancer
In a published review article the author identified obesity as one of the few risk factors for breast cancer that can be modified throughout life. The strongest evidence for this came from the Nurses Health Study.
She concludes with a statement, "weight management with diet and (physically active) lifestyle should be an integral part of the follow up of women with breast cancer."
<Carmichael A. Obesity as a risk factor for development and poor prognosis of breast cancer. BJOG 2006;113:1160-1166>

Aug 07 2009 - Alcohol and Cancer
Alcohol appears to spur the development of new blood vessels to support cancerous tumors. In mice, given the equivalent of 2-4 alcololic drinks per day for a month, tumors were twice the size as those of mice with tumors given only water.
<Cancer, 2005, Jan 15:103(2):422-31>

Aug 06 2009 - Who Gets Poor Quality Health Care?
Seems like we all do! The New England Journal of Medicine recently reported that we are not generally receiving 100% of the defined proper procedures in treating various ailments.
Patients with an income level of $50,000 or more received 57% of the recommended care and patients making less than $15,000 per annum received 53% of care. Only a 4% improvement as you move uup the wage scale.
<The Atlantic. July/August 2006:297:6:54>

Aug 05 2009 - Cholesterol in Women may be Lowered by Workouts
From a study in the August Journal of Lipid Research it was found that with as little as one extra hour a week of moderate physical activity women had lower levels of bad cholesterol than than those who exercised less.
Each hour of moderate exercise or half-hour of vigorous activity was associated with a decrease of almost 4 milligrams per deciliter of LDL in white women and more than 10 milligrams for black women. For the women past menopause, the benefits were even greater. It was 5.9 milligrams for whites and 14.68 for blacks
<New York Times, Aug.4/09 pageD6>

Aug 04 2009 - Do Childrens EAR INFECTIONS require antibiotics?
Most middle ear infections, (the kind that affect kids) are caused by viruses, quite often a cold virus is the culprit. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommend a wait and see approach. Most ear infections will clear up on their own in 72 hours.
<Cleveland.comhealth. July 27, 2009>

Aug 03 2009 - Do you need to drink eight glasses of water a day?
This myth probably came from a 1945 Food and Nutrition Board recommendation. Basically it said that everyone take in about 2 quarts of fluid a day, but also said that much of this fluid can come from the foods we eat.
The available evidence would suggest that the foods and other beverages we consume satisfy our needs and the body is very good at telling us when we need a drink.
Bottom line: No scientific reason to support the 8 glasses a day recommendation.
<Cleveland dot com health 07/27/2009>

Aug 02 2009 - We are Never too Old to Benefit from Exercise
Since the recent mapping of the human genome the genetic differences between the species are far smaller than originally thought. Humans share 88% of their genes with rodents, to include mice. This high degree of evolutionary genetic conservation makes exercise research findings in mice all that more likely to be applicable to humans.
At the California Salk Institute old-unfit-never-exercised mice were encouraged to exercise on running wheels placed in their cages. On swim tests to find and remember submerged platforms they out performed their sedentary peers by 15 seconds.
Post-mortem examination of brain tissues showed that the mice allowed to exercise in old age had enhanced neurogenesis (the development of new neurons/brain cells) as compared to sedentary peers.
<The Economist 2005:Dec.24:108&2005:Sept.24:97>

Jul 31 2009 - Credence Goods or Customer Faith
Economists call the services of surgeons, car mechanics, and taxi-drivers "credence goods".
This means that customers take it on faith that the supplier has given them what they need, and no more.
The Swiss over the 1990"s studied the services of surgeons and found that more operations were performed than strictly necessary.
Two things protected patients against un-necessary operations:
1. If you were a doctor-representing the most informed of patients - you underwent the knife much less often than average
2. If you were the wife of a lawyer, you underwent hysterectomies less often than average.
<Economist 2006:379:8473:April 15-21>

Jul 30 2009 - Eating Fish Vs Dementia
A study to appear in the August issue of The american Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that older adults who consume fish lowered their risk of developing dementia.
It found that those who ate fish nearly every day were about 20% less likely to develop dementia than those who ate fish just a few days a week. Those who ate fish a few days a week were 20% less likely to develop dementia than those who ate no fish at all.
<New York Times: Tuesday July 28, 2009:pg D9>

Jul 29 2009 - The Right Breakfast Cereal - Easy Weight Loss
An article in Runners World stated that "Research shows that those who eat cereal for breakfast have smaller waists, lower cholesterol and body mass indexes, and are better able to maintain weight loss than those who eat other foods or skip the a.m. meal entirely".
<Runner's World, September 2006, page 56>

Jul 28 2009 - FattyAcids in Some Fish May protect Eyes
In 2006 two studies appeared in the Archives of Opthalmology suggesting that people who eat fish at least once or twice a week could lower the risk of age related macular degeneration from 36-40%. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in old age.
<WSJ.July 11,2006 page D3>

Jul 27 2009 - Avoiding Bedbugs when you Travel
Check headboards, mattresses and box springs for bedbugs and the dark blood spots they leave behind.
Hang all clothing. Leave nothing lying on the bed or furniture
Avoid unpacking clothes and storing them in the hotel's furniture drawers
Don't allow your baggage to sit on the floor. Store it on a luggage rack as far from the bed as possible
If you notice evidence of bedbugs, request another room or change hotels
on returning home, leave luggage in the garage or basement until you are able to thoroughly inspect it for bedbugs
Vacuum suitcases upon returning and immediately wash clothing in hot water
<Philly.com:07/24/09>

Jul 26 2009 - Prepared properly- Slow Cooked Vegetables can keep their nutrients
If you keep the lid on tight and eat the broth you will get the benefit of the healthy compounds from the vegetables. Use the heat friendly vegetables such as carrots, celery, broccoli, tomatoes and zucchini. They release more healthful polyphenols then they do raw. Garlic is an excellent additions to the slow cooked vegetables.
A little added olive oil will help your body absorb the vitamins and minerals.
Leave the skin on. Many nutrients are just under the skin of the vegetable.
<The You Docs: 7/13/2009>

Jul 25 2009 - Be Careful Vegetarians
If you don't eat meat or dairy products you could be lacking in Vitamin B-12. You need 25mcg of B-12 daily. A deficiency of B-12 can cause irreversible nerve damage masquerading as Alzheimer's disease.
<Expositor, June 13, 2007, Pg A7-A8>

Jul 24 2009 - Bio-identical progesterone protects against neural damage in brain injury
Progesterone and/or its metabolite allopregnanolone, save neurons from the effects of excessive excitatory neurotransmitter release in response to brain injury. Both hormones work to minimize brain damage.
MPA, a synthetic analog of progesterone is not able to reverse excitotoxicity and prevent loss.
<Endocr Rev 2007 28:4:387-439>

Jul 20 2009 - Is sleep essential?
The core function of sleep or what purpose it serves is one of the great un-answered questions of biology. Sleep deprivation has two consequences that never fail to occur. First there is intrusion of sleep into wakefulness, or falling asleep during the day. Second performance deteriorates, especially cognitive function. These two consequences strongly suggest that the brain, over other body parts, suffers most from sleep deprivation. Sleep appears to have a restorative effect on the neural activity of the brain. The slower EEG or electrical activity of the brain during sleep suggests sleep is necessary to renormalize synapses to a baseline level that is sustainable and ensures cellular homeostasis (balance).
<PLoS biology August 2008:6:8:e216:1605-11>

Jul 19 2009 - Characteristics of the creative personality
In particular, such persons are disposed to be independent, nonconformist, unconventional, bohemian, and they have a wide interests, openess to new experiences, conspicuous behavioral and cognitive flexibility, and more risk taking and boldness. The creative personality often provides a fine illustration of atypical cognition being coverted to optimal functioning. Music, art, inventions, furniture, appliances, novels, TV, entertainment and on and on are all examples of someone who thought differently and brought the idea to market.
<American Psychologist 2000:151-158>

Jul 18 2009 - Limited benefits to most cancer screening
Nearly every body part susceptible to cancer now has an advocacy group, politician or athlete with campaigns to promote routine screening tests. It is well established that most screenings do not affect or reduce mortality risks. Dr. Susan Love, surgeon and author specializing in breast cancer, has asked Florida Democrat Debbie Schultz not to go forward with legislation bill to promote screening in women under 40. Breast cancer is rare in young women.
<New York Times July 17/09 pA15>

Jul 17 2009 - If you are having a difficult transition, get your weight down
The Womens Health Across the Nation (SWAN) has shown that higher body mass index (BMI) or heavier women produce less progesterone from age 49 on. Larger body size appears to negatively influence corpus luteum function which is the largest source of progesterone in the female. Obesity appears to increase menstrual cycle dysfunction by causing longer follicular phases, lower gonadotropins, low serum progesterone, and high serum estrogens.
<jcem 2004:89:6:2622-2631>

Jul 16 2009 - The best way to get micro-nutrients
Vitamins and minerals are micro-nutrients that humans must consume to function and be healthy. Evidence is accumulating that the best delivery route of micro-nutrients is via diet and not supplementation with multivitamin pills. A diet containing the right portions of macro-nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) and micro-nutrients is the best way to meet human nutrition requirements.

Pill supplementation delivers higher than required doses of micro-nutrients that may prove harmful. A 2008 Cochrane Collaboration review found that supplementation with Vitamins A, E and beta carotene resulted in higher death rates. Supplementation with folate may contribute to colorectal cancer. In 2009 the Women's Health Initiative following 160,000 postmenopausal women found that multivitamins did not protect against chronic diseases or lower death rates.
<Getting your vitamins and minerals through diet. www.health.harvard. educ/newsletters>

Jul 15 2009 - 33.3% of Americans now qualify as fat
According to the standards of the US military 40% of young women and 25% of young men weigh too much to enlist. Eric Finkelstein, health economist, has pointed out that soft drinks account for 7% of all calories ingested in the US. This makes pop the number one food consumed in the American diet. He calculates that if the average American drank water he or she would weigh 15 pounds less.
<New Yorker July 20/09 p73-76>

Jul 14 2009 - Five behavior choices that improve quality of life
In 1938 W.T.Grant underwrote a Harvard study to systematically inquire into 'the kinds of people who are well and do well'. Three hundred Harvard graduates were followed for the next 50 years.

No matter what good or bad happened in life, the following five behavior choices, which if used chronically to shape their perspectives and actions, positively improved their lives; altruism, suppression, anticipation, humor and sublimation.

Altruism - a victim of child abuse choses not to deteriorate but tell her story and help others, volunteers in shelters etc. Suppression - a WWII veteran trapped in a diving bell 40' underwater with 8 minutes of oxygen left. He choses to calmly but unhappily wait for the end, suspending panic. Anticipation - the fully informed more seriously ill patient often has better outcomes than the less informed not as sick patient. Sublimation - making lemon-aid out of lemons. Humor - the strongest demonstrator of behavior choice, the ultimate liberty of any human being, in any situation.
<American Psychologist Jan 2000 p89-98>

Jul 13 2009 - Why do we gravitate to certain places inside the house?
The answer it turns out has a lot to do with what architects call isovists, the region of visibility from particular vantage points. People prefer locations with sweeping views, especially when those views include doors and windows. The best architects intuitively understand this psychological preference as they construct spaces that naturally lead us from one expansive isovist to the next.

Colin Ellard, behavioral neuroscientist at the U of Waterloo, probes the above and other aspects of human spatial intelligence in his book "You are Here - Why We Can Find Our Way to the Moon But Get Lost In the Mall".
<New York Times Book Review July 12/09 p11>

Jul 12 2009 - Milk peptides and blood pressure
In 1984 the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)turned up an inverse relationship between milk consumption and blood pressure. Low milk consumption was found to be associated with high incidence of hypertension. Several subsequent epidemiological studies have confirmed the NHANES observation of milk and dairy products having anti-hypertensive properties.

Biologically active peptides are formed when milk proteins are broken down by digestive enzymes. Peptides inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). ACE is thwarted in its normal work of converting angiotensin I to angiotensin II which acts as a vasoconstrictor and raises blood pressure.

A secondary mechanism for anti-hypertensive effect is milk peptides can bind to opoid receptors throught out the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). This characterizes milk as having opioid-like properties positively affecting circulation and blood pressure.
<The Journal of Nutrition 2007:137:825s-829s>

Jul 11 2009 - Pessimists due better in law school than optimists
A pessimistic explanatory style (the diathesis) - believing the cause of negative events to be stable, far reaching and internal - has been related to passivity, poor problem solving, helplessness, indecisiveness, and continued failure. In contrast, an optimistic explanatory style - the cause of a negative event is external, unstable, and highly specific - has been associated with high motivation, persistence, aggression and resiliency.

A study of law school students was hypothesized to show that optimistic students did better than pessimistic students. The outcome was that pessimistic students outperformed on measures of grade point averages and law journal success. [Law could be a profession to avoid.]
<Behavioral Sciences and the Law 1997:15:95-105>

Jul 10 2009 - Runnning exercise can stop seizures
Diane Van Deren, 49, is one of the world's top ultra runners. Running was always Diane's self-prescribed antidote to seizures. Whe she felt an aura, a thingling sensation that signaled an upcoming seizure, she would lace her running shoes, and go out the door. She never had a seizure while running.

Two neuro-physiological events are working for Diane. First exercise to exhaustion is known to normalize an EEG reading or return the electrical activity of the brain to baseline. Second regular exercise shifts the brain from glucose to fat as the primary metabolic fuel which suppresses seizures.
<New York Times July 9/09 pA3, & Epilepsia 1990:31:1:88-94 >

Jul 09 2009 - Kirstie Alley regained entire 75 lb weight loss, plus some more
In a May 18/09 People Magazine interview Alley acknowledged what was sadly obvious, she was obese again. Her spokes-person role with Jenny Craig had ended liberating her to eat more. She is embarking on a new weight loss regime that she is developing.

Let's hope this time she does some basic research first..for example; The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 1993 filed deceptive advertising charges against Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Diet Center Inc., Nutri/System Inc., and Physicians Weight Loss Centers. Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig fought the charges until 1997, finally settling when they agreed to publicize the fact that MOST DIETERS REGAIN THE POUNDS THEY LOST or WEIGHT LOSS IS TEMPORARY. Ms. Alley is living proof-positive.
<Fatness in Women..2006 www.femalebrain.com>

Jul 08 2009 - Cruciferous vegetables may prevent gastic and lung cancers
Cabbage, kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts and cauliflower - any member of the cruciferous vegetables to include brassicas - [when cooked] produces metabolites preventive of cancer. [Some fat needs to be served with vegetables to facilitate absorption.] One of the metabolites alters urinary estrogens in women possibly inhibiting the development of hormone-sensitive cancers.
<Proc Nutr Soc 2009:68:1:103-10, Pharmacol Res 2007:55:3:224-36, Adv Exp Med Biol 1999:475:159-68 >

Jul 07 2009 - Very happy people
In the psychology literature investigations into happy people are rare and the literature on very happy people is non-existent. Scholarship has largely focused on psychopathology. A 2002 report by Ed Diener and Martin E.P.Seligman (author of Learned Optimism)found that the happiest people had a very strong social network, were extraverted and more agreeable. These people did experience negative moods but reacted appropriately to life events.
< Psychological Science Jan 2002:13:1:81-84>

Jul 06 2009 - GABA receptors, progesterone and severe premenstrual syndrome
Depression and anxiety are common health problems affecting women, occuring two to three times as often in women than men. Neuro-hormonal factors are likely to contribute to the overall inceased risk of developing mood disorders. Women with severe premenstrual syndrome (pms) are now believed to have a dys-regulation involving neuro-transmitters and steroid/reproductive hormones.
<Arch Womens Ment Health 2003:6:23-41>

Jul 05 2009 - Transition from fertile to sterile un-studied
Did you know the dynamics of reproductive hormones that characterize the decade (plus or minus)long perimenopausal transition are incompletely understood? The first published research data from the SWAN (Study of Women's Health across the Nation)of daily hormone study only appeared in the scholarly literature in 2004.

[If you are perimenopausal with a host of related complaints - mood swing, headache, weight gain etc, - you may be miss-managed medically. Most physicians are not informed about difficult menopausal transition, the information is only now coming into the literature. It will be a decade or so before it is taught in medical schools.]
<J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2004:89:6:2622-2631>

Jul 04 2009 - Quality of diet after age 60
The US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) examined the quality of diet in a representative group of over 60 aged Americans. Only 17% of older adults were found to consume a good quality or healthy diet. Adults with more education ate better than did smokers. Persons in poor health with missing teeth ate a less varied diet than persons with teeth who rated their health higher. Obese females ate fewer dairy products, ate more saturated fat and had a lower quality diet. This research demonstrates the older adult diet needs improvement because it appears to ameliorate/mitgate aging process/decline.
<Adv Data 2008:20:395:1-16>

Jul 03 2009 - Credence goods or customer faith
Economists call the services of surgeons, car mechanics, and taxi drivers 'credence goods'. This means that customers take it on faith that the supplier had given them what they need, and no more. The Swiss over the 1990s studied the services of surgeons as suppliers and found that more sugeries were performed than strickly necessary. Two things protected patients from un-necessary operations -(1) if you were a doctor, representing the most informed of patients, you underwent the knife much less often, (2) if you were a lawyer's wife your chances of [un-necessary]hysterectomy was reduced.
<Economist April 2006.>

Jul 02 2009 - Vitamin D research currently
Over the past 25 years evidence has been building that Vitamin D has a significant role in healthy brain function. When metabolized or synthesized to its active form calcitriol, the vitamin is involved with forming synaptic connections (synaptogenesis), memory formation (synaptic plasticity), calcium signaling and balance (homeostasis), neurotransmissions and neurotransmitter synthesis, dopaminergic and other neuron survival and differentiation, and control of free radicals. These processes directly relate to learning, memory, motor control, social behavior, and rate of ageing.
<FASEB Journal 2008:22:982-1001>

Jul 01 2009 - History of Vitamin D
Vitamin D was first discovered in 1913. By 1940 it was evident that without adequate Vitamin D bone health would suffer, eg rickets. Irradiation, the application of ultraviolet rays, to skin and foods was found to increased the metabolism and synthesis of Vitamin D. This revealed that in the winter months little Vitamin D was being produced in the skins of humans. This caused the rise of Vitamin D fortified dairy products and other foods. In the late 1960s it started to become evident that Vitamin D, metabolized first by the liver and then the kidney, had more the attributes of a hormone.

Its major biological function is to maintain normal calcium and phosphorus levels in the blood by enchancing the efficiency of their absorption from diet. Vitamin D and calcium are clearly interdependent for bone health. [It made rationale sense to fortify calcium-rich dairy products with Vitamin D.]

By the early 1990s evidence was mounting that adequate Vitamin D was preventive of multiple sclerosis and ameliorating in other central nervous system and autoimmune disorders.
<Am J Clin Nutr 2004:80:suppl:1689s-96s>

Jun 30 2009 - Evolutionary origin of depression
Randolph Nesse, psychologist-researcher U of Michigan, believes that depression evolved in humans as a warning mechanism. The purpose was to stop people from pursuing un-reachable goals which wasted energy and resources. This contention is supported by other research which shows that people who identify and dis-engage from unattainable goals early and re-engage with new more achievable goals suffer far less depression in the long run. Persistence to achieve overly ambitious goals is the American way of life and could be the reason that country has the highest depression rate in the world.
<Economist June 27/09 p87>

Jun 29 2009 - Why one author writes
The Harvard economist, John Kenneth Galbraith, states in his memory "One of my greatest pleasures in writing had come from the thought that perhaps my work might annoy someone of comfortably pretentious position. Then comes the saddening realization that such people rarely read."
<A Life in our Times. 1981.>

Jun 28 2009 - Treating cellulite
There is no outstanding effective treatment for cellulite, the dimpled uneven skin that mars the backsides and thighs of women everywhere. This dermal news is according to Dr. Molly Wanner of Harvard Medical School. She is the author of an evidence-based review of existing treatments in 2008. Cellulite develops because of the interplay between skin, fat and vertical connective tissue which permits fat to bulge irregularly. Men don't have cellulite because their connective tissue is net-like keeping fat evenly distributed.
<New York Times June 25/09 pE3>

Jun 27 2009 - Got depression, anxiety, negative affect? Maybe give alcohol a miss
For more than a decade A. Leslie Morrow and colleagues at the U of North Carolina have been studying rodent models of ethanol/alcohol consumption. Chronic intermittent consumption is a model of social drinking and chronic ethanol consumption is reflective of alcoholism. Both patterns of consumption affect/modulate the brain's major inhibitory/tranquilizing neuro-molecular-receptor system called the gamma-aminobutyric (GABA)system. If you have re-occurring problems with any of the above captioned emotional states the chances are your GABAergic mechanisms are already challenged and alcohol consumption of any kind will be further damaging and detrimental.
<J of Neurochemistry 2002:82:110. Pharmacol Ther 2007:116:1. Psychopharmacology online 2009>

Jun 26 2009 - How to get adequate B12 , protective against cognitive decline
Vitamin B12 deficiency is estimated to affect 10-15% of people over 60, is associated with Alzheimer's disease, and found in 75-90% of individuals presenting with neurological symptoms. All psycho/neuro symptoms - dementia, hallucination, frank psychosis, paranoia, depression, violent behavior, and changes in personality - should prompt an investigation of Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) serum level. Milk products contain Vitamin B12 and may be more bio-available than the only other source which is animal protein. Dairy products can contribute 31% of the Vitamin B12 necessary in an average diet.
<www.dairy goodness.ca>

Jun 25 2009 - Suprising people are gender bias
Identical scripts for plays were sent to artistic directors and literary managers across the country. The only difference was half named a man Michael Walker as the writer and the other half named Mary Walker. Mary's scripts received significantly worse ratings in terms of quality, economic prospects, and audience response than Michael's. And the surprise? These results were driven exclusively by the responses of female artistic directors and literary managers.[Pulling up the ladder once arrived, no help for sister female.]
<New York Times June 24/09 pC1&4>

Jun 24 2009 - French government to outlaw the Burqa
France is home to the largest immigrant Muslim population in western Europe, estimated at five million. A tradition Muslim garment for women is the burqa, which can be anything from a head scraf to an enormous tent-like affair covering the whole woman to include her face and head. The French president, Sarkosy, in addressing the parliment on Monday, stated "The issue of the burqa is not a religious issue. Its a question of women's dignity...I want to say solemnly that it will not be welcome on our territory." In 2004 the country outlawed head scarves and religious conspicuous symbols in public schools.
<New York Times June 23/09 pA4>

Jun 23 2009 - Protein for muscle recovery
A four ounce chicken breast packs 36 grams of protein. A 165 pound runner needs 75 to 120 grams of protein per day or .45-.72 grams per lb of body weight. Workouts stress muscle fibres and adequate protein is restorative and builds muscle.
<Runner's World July 2009 p27>

Jun 22 2009 - When measured for efficacy most medical procedures worthless
David Eddy, a Stanford trained doctor and mathematician, in the 1980s started to track various diseases, treatments and outcomes. His stunning conclusion was that many big ticket, big profit medical procedures such as annual chest X-rays, back pain and glucoma treatments, bone marrow transplants for breast cancer, many cardiac surgeries all simply didn't work. HE states "In many cases, we simply don't know what we are doing". There is no proof that a large part of the $2 trillon spent annually on US medical care and medicine actually works.
<Medical Guesswork. BusinessWeek May 29, 2006>

Jun 21 2009 - If you are thinking of moving to Sarnia Ontario...
you should know that it is home to 20% of Canadian's petroleum refineries and has the highest asbestos exposures anywhere in the world. The town also has five times the level of mesothelioma as the rest of the region. Almost 1,500 cases of the disease were diagnosed between 1981 and 2001, about one victim a week. Impressive for a town population of 70,000. For a 16 year period the Ontario government knew about and tolerated asbestos levels in Sarnia estimated to be 8500 times higher than the legal limit. During that time workers were never informed and production was not stopped.
<D.Davis The Secret History of the War on Cancer. 2007>

Jun 20 2009 - Got poor memory and attention span? Try running
The life-long birth of new granule neurons (called neurogenesis) in the brain's of rodents and humans is assumed to be important for maintaining memory function. Radiation therapy, stress, ethanol, and impoverished environments can all reduce neurogenesis resulting in signifcant hyperactivity and cognitive impairment. Voluntary running is known to increase neurogenesis in the rodent hippocampus (brain's memory center) with concomitant improvements in cognitive function, spatial memory and learning. The same may be true for humans as there is evidence that exercise reduces risk and severity of dementia.
<PNAS 2008:105:38:14632-14637>

Jun 18 2009 - Positive thinking not the answer to building self-esteem
Dr. Joanne Wood, U of Waterloo, suggests that positive self-statements cause negative moods in people with low self esteem because they are so divergent from their views of themselves. Since the 1960s psychologists have known that people are more accepting of ideas closer to their personal views and resistant to those that differ. Dr. Wood and colleagues have recently published related research in 'Psychology Science' journal.
<Economist June 13/09>

Jun 17 2009 - Vitamin D for cancer prevention
Higher blood levels of Vitamin D are associated with lower incidence rates of colon, breast, ovarian, renal, pancreatic, aggressive prostate and other cancers. A new model of cancer etiology suggest seven phases of development - disjunction, initiation, natural selection, overgrowth, metastasis, involution and transtion. Vitamin D metabolites and calcium prevent disjunction of cells and are beneficial in other phases. Substantial increase in Vitamin D and calcium intake may accure to an enormous public health benefit in the prevention of cancer.
<Ann Epidemiol 2009:19:7:468-83>

Jun 16 2009 - Infertile? Examine your diet
In normal slim and obese women adequate consumption of simple carbohydrates/starchy foods - cold breakfast cereals, white rice and potatoes - can disrupt ovulation. The ovaries are apparently insulin sensitive and can dsyfunction with high sugar/glucose from carbohydrates. Changing diet composition without weight loss can re-commence ovulation. Eating the more complex harder to break-down carbohydrates such as brown rice, whole wheat, or whole grain products can result in fertility and pregnancies.
<European Journal of Clinical Nutrition Sept 19/07 online>

Jun 15 2009 - Exercise protects brain function
Execise increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Molecules of BDNF increase neuronal survival, enhance learning and protect against cognitive decline.
<Expercise & Sport Sciences Review 30:2:75-79>

Jun 14 2009 - Eat fish to improve brain function
If you have high blood pressure or high blood levels of fats/lipids and memory problems add fish to your diet. Cold water fish - salmond, tuna and mackerel - and other foods of marine origin are high in unsaturated fatty acids which reduce oxidative stress and the risk of neurodegenerative disease.
<Ingestive Behavior and Neurosciences, Journal of Nutrition 2008:138:1165>

Jun 13 2009 - Healthy diet is preventive of cancer not supplements
Vitamin supplements do not compensate for insufficient fruits and vegetables in the diet. In fact two studies have shown that high doses of Vitamins A and E increase the risk of certain types of cancer. However, generous consumption of fruit and vegetables with innate vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals may be able to prevent cancer.
<R. Beliveau et al., Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer p50>

Jun 12 2009 - Regulation of body fat
According to George N. Wade a reseacher at the Center for Neuoendocrine Studies U of Mass., humans are best at responding to underfeeding.

In an editorial he points out "Throughout evolution..humans and other animals have not been endangered from a surfeit of calories. Thus there would have been selective pressure to develop mechanisms to combat obesity..Indeed...counter-productive..On the other hand, obtaining enough calories for survival and reproduction has often been the challenge, and developing mechanisms for coping with energy deficits would be highly beneficial."

In short, the brain is hardwired to prevent starvation and has no evoluntary mechanisms to prevent obesity.
<Am J Physiol Reg Integr Comp Physiol 2004:286:R14-15>

Jun 10 2009 - Protein-rich foods have pharmaceutical properties
Milk, eggs, meat and vegetables are rich sources of dietary proteins which metabolize during digestion to bio-active peptides. Depending on their amino-acid sequence these peptides exert pharmaceutical effects on the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and nervous system beyond nutient utilization. To exploit the anti-hypertensive cardiovascular benefit of milk and cheese proteins fermentation is currently being experimented with to amplify their innate bio-active peptide components.
<Curr Pharm Des 2003:9:16:1297>

Jun 09 2009 - Bred-in-the-bone human predisposition for high calcium intake
Modern humans are almost physiologically identical to Stone Age ancestors. Anthorpologists believe these first humans to have consumed 1,800mg of calcium per day fron uncultivated plant food and some wild game. The diet of evolving humans was extremely calcium rich.

Today, the ameliorating effect that just adequate dietary calcium has on hypertension, premenstrual syndrome, postpartum depression, polycystic ovary syndrome, osteoporosis and obesity demonstrates a bred-in-the-bone human predispositiom for high calcium intake.

By cows eating calcium rich plants, the benefit is passed on to humans in the form of milk and dairy products.
<Fatness in Women. www.femalebrain.com. 2006>

Jun 08 2009 - Italian goat cheeses may have pharmaceutical benefit from GABA
Gama-aminobutyric acid (GABA)possesses well known physiological functions such as neuro-transmission, induction of hypotension, diuretic and tranquilizing effects. GABA has been used in the treatment of depression, sleeplessness, autonomic disorders, alcoholism, immune dysfunction, and diabetes. Several functional foods enriched with GABA have been developed - green tea, rice germ, brown rice, wheat, fermented beverages, dairy products and red-mold rice.

Italian researchers have found high concentrations of GABA in five goat cheeses ripened for five months and they are as follows: Pecorino di Filiano, Pecorino Umbro, Pecorino Leccese, Pecorino del Reatino, Pecorino Marchigiano. The lactic acid bacteria used as starters for these five cheeses are also the best GABA producing strains of bacteria.
<Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2007:73:7283>

Jun 07 2009 - Wacky Oprah, loose cannon of mis-information
This week's Newsweek article reported that in 2007 Oprah blew out her thyroid with stress and travel. She apparently sought the medical advice of a obstetrician/gynecologist. The thyroid is an endocrine gland and problems are best managed by an endocrinologist - medical doctor specializing in hormone physiology.

According to Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, UBC Professor and doctor of endocrinology, the risk of hypothyroidism increases with age and strikes 30-40% of women.

There is abundant probablity for symptom-ridden menopausal transition and thyroid dysfunction to un-mercifully overlap.
< Newsweek June 8/09 p55-62 & www.cemcor.ubc >

Jun 06 2009 - Poverty is femine and economic dignity is masculine
In 1967 Muriel F. Sibert, age 35, became the first woman to purchase a $445,000 seat on the New York Stock Exchange. All the other 1,365 members were men. There was not a single women's restroom on the exchange floor. [The same year the immensely appropriately titled 'Man and his World' Exposition was held in Montreal.]
<New York Times June 5/09 pA18>

Jun 05 2009 - Newsweek magazine cover calls Oprah wacky
"After one day on bioidentical estrogen, I felt the veil lift," Opra wrote in O. "After three days , the sky was bluer, my brain was no longer fussy, my memory was sharper. I was literally singing and had a skip in my step."

[News flash to Miss Winnfrey - adipose/fat tissue is a major extra-glandular source of estrogen. You are now up over 200 lbs, you don't need any exogenous estrogen you are producing plenty. You are at great risk of developing cancer in estrogen target tissues - breast, uterus, brain etc.]

Please see News items for Feb 21, 17,&6/09 where femalebrain.com was an early reporter on the wacky state of Oprah land.
<Crazy Talk Newsweek Magazine June 8/09 p55-62.>

Jun 04 2009 - Can the aging process be slowed down?
One factor, physical exercise, has been shown to prolong life in humans by significantly lowering risk of dying from any cause. Also life-distrubing disablities are less likely to develop in exercisers. A second less appealing approach is marked calorie restriction. The intake of just enough macro and mirco nutrients to prevent malnutrition has consistently been shown to prolong life in experimental animals.
<Vanders et al., Human Physiology. 2001. p156>

Jun 03 2009 - World-wide morbidity and mortality from unsafe abortions
There are 19 million unsafe abortions a year and they kill 70,000 women or 13% of maternal deaths. More than two million a year suffer serious complications. According to Unicef unsafe abortions cause 4% of deaths among pregnant women in Africa, 6% in Asia and 12% in Latin America and the Caribbean. In countries such as South Africa and Kenya where contraception is available and used abortion rates have decreased. In Tanzania where contraception use is low abortion rates are high.
<New York Times June 2/09 pD1&6>

Jun 02 2009 - Allergies and rhinitis (runny nose)
If your symptoms occur in the spring you are probably allergic to tree pollen, in the summer grass and weed pollen and fall ragweed. If your symptoms are year round then your probably sensitive to dust mites, mold and animal dander. Strategies to reduced symptoms included having an air-conditioned environment to retreat to and making that environment hypo-allergenic with no carpets, no pets, and minimizing dust mites with allergen encasements for bedding and frequent washing of bedding in 120 degree F hot water.
<www..health.harvard.edu/newsletters>

Jun 01 2009 - Obesity management beyond weight loss
Emerging evidence supports the notion that a lifestyle modification program characterized by increased physical activity and a balanced diet can reduce obesity. The focus is taken off dieting and weight loss. While weight loss is important, the above life style choices reduce associated cardiometabolic risks from obesity with or without weight loss.
<Nautre Reviews Endocrinology 2009:5:319-325>

May 31 2009 - Neuro-biological benefits of exercise
The general physiology and benefit of exercise has been well known for 40 years now. The accumulating evidence of the neurobiolgical benefits from exercise is not ubiquitous. Emerging evidence suggests that physical activity may confer protective health benefits for several neurological diseases including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, ischemic stroke and injury-related falls in the elderly. One protective mechanism at the molecular level is the stimulation by exercise of growth factors and development of new brain cells. Also exercise may protect against ischemic neuronal damage in the brain's hippocampal formation and neurotoxic damage in the neostriatium.
<Neurobiology of exercise. Obesity 2006:14:3:345-356.>

May 30 2009 - Ontario doctors making less than plumbers
"71% of family doctors are earning less thay your plumber, or your Maytag repairman when he comes and charges you $90 for a visit" states Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, president of the Ottawa Academy of Medicine.

Using the freedom of information act researcher Ken Rubin discovered that 31% or 7,000+ Ontario doctors earned less than $100,000 in 2007. Typical overhead for a doctor running a practice is about 40% of gross income and that includes start-up costs.

[May we at a femalebrain suggest that there is an over-representation of women doctors in those earning less. When a profession becomes feminized wages always and unfairly go down.]
<Expositor Tues May 19/09 pA5>

May 29 2009 - Circadian rhythm
It is well established that the solar light-dark cycle is the primary environmental time cue for synchronizing the circardian system of most living organisms - plants, animals and bacteria - to the 24 hour day. Due to developed cognitive and social capacities and before recent advance in molecular biology it was thought humans could effectively over-ride the systemic effects of day/night cycles. Huge problems with shift work and jet lag are demonstrating that humans are subject to their circadian (circa - about and dian - day) rhythms. These rhythms or patterns are centered around sleep/wakefullness, body temperature and secretion of certain hormones such as melatonin and cortisol. The secretion rate of melatonin has recently proven to be a reliable bio-marker of circadian rhythms in humans.
<Sleep 2007:30:11:1460-1483>

May 28 2009 - Traditional thinking on hormones up-ended
In the past two decades, in lock-step with science and technology advances, the view that hormones are substances secreted by specialized glands for blood circulation to target organs has been discarded. Hormones are now considered molecular messengers that allow cells to commuincate with each other. All kinds of tissues produce hormones and receptor sites are everywhere in the body. The evidence is accumulating that hormones have a crucial role in maintaining equilibrium or homestasis in living things to include humans.
<G.P. Chrousos Sleep Med Clin 2007:2:2:125-145>

May 27 2009 - Bridge table and clues to lucid old age
Fewer than one in 200 have lived past 90 without a trace of dementia. These high mentally functioning seniors are the most successful agers on earth, the question is how do they do it. Laguna Woods, a Los Angeles retirement community of 20,000, is the center of the world's largest decades-long study of health and mental acuity in the elderly. Since 1981 the U of Southern California has studied 14,000 people aged 65+ and 1,000 aged 90+. The evidence suggests that people who spend long stretches of their days, three hours and more, engrossed in some mental activities like cards may be at reduced risk of developing dementia.
<New York Times May 22/09 >

May 26 2009 - What money can and cannot buy
A bed, but not sleep. Books, but not brains. Food, but not appetite. Finery, but not style. A house, but not a home. Medicine, but not health. Luxuries, but not culture. Amusment, but not happiness. Companions, but not friends. Flattery, but not respect.
<www.daytripping.ca May-June 2009:15:2>

May 25 2009 - Two soft drinks per day linked to heart disease
Harvard's Nurses'Health Study, ongoing since 1976, has revealed a significant association between sweetened drink consumption and heart disease. 88,0000 nurses filled out diet questionnaires eight times in 24 years. The highest frequency of sweet beverage consumption was two drinks per day, the lowest was less than one per month. The association between high consumption of sugary drinks and heart disease was most robust for colas and fruit drinks.
<Clin Nutr 2009:89:1037-1042>

May 24 2009 - Chocolate milk better than sports drinks
For post-exercise recovery hydration and nutrient replacement needs can be more than adequately met with chocolate milk. Being 85% water, chocolate milk supplies a carbohydrate-protein combination that maximimizes recovery. Its sodium and potassium content restore electrolyte balance as well as calcium and Vitamin D which promote muscle, bone and cardiovascular health.
<Elizabeth Mansfield, Sports Dietitian and Exercise Physiologist, Peak Performance Ottawa>

May 23 2009 - Milk & dairy products reduce risk of colon cancer
A meta-analysis conducted in 2009 that consisted of 60 epidemiological studies among adult men and women revealed that higher levels of milk product consumption reduces the risk of colon cancer. Those who drank at least one glass of milk per day were 15% less likely to develop colorectal cancer. Each two glass (250 ml/glass) increase in milk intake was associated with a 12% reduced rate of colon cancer. The protective effects of dairy products may stem from components of calcium, vitamin D, butyric acid, sphingolipids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
<Nutrition and Cancer 2009:61:1:47-69>

May 22 2009 - Palaeolithic pornography
Nicholas Conrad of the U of Tubingen describes his find of what is probably the oldest human statue yet discovered. It is 6cm tall, female, carved from mammoth tusk, 35 thousand years old and found in a cave in Germany. And not to put too fine a point on the matter its obscene. Goes to show pornography is not a recent phenomenon, arriving in Europe with first humans as they wandered up from Africa.
<Economist May 16/09 p86.>

May 21 2009 - Knowledge improves outcome
"The most enduring power comes from knowledge, not status or wealth. Drive deep into the data, then trust your gut." Andy Grove, CEO Intel.
<Wall Street Journal November 28, 2006>

May 20 2009 - Fish improves memory
Consuming 13 ounces of salmon or trout weekly improves memory a study funded by the US National Institutes of Health has found. Both types of fish are excellent sources of DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid, which may be linked to improving memory.
<Living June 2009 p44>

May 19 2009 - Leafy greens
Spinach, kale, swiss chard, collard greens and dark lettuce are loaded with folate/folic acid. A 2007 Dutch study found that those who had 800 micrograms(mcg) of folate daily for three years saw siginficant memory improvement. Half a cup of cooked spinach contains about 100 mcg. Taking a multivitamin and eating fortified cereal will boost folate levels further.
<Living June 2009 p44>

May 18 2009 - Medroxprogesterone is not bio-identical progesterone
Most physicians are unaware that the generic labels progestagen or progesterone do NOT represent a single agent(see NEWS item May 17/09). There are many laboratory created and then manufactured progesterone-like compounds. These synthetic progestins can lock into the same hormone and neuro receptors as bio-identical progesterone.

The trouble is the pharmaceutical properties and adverse side effects of synthetic progestins are very different from bio-identical progesterone. For example HRT and contraceptives are compounds of synthetic conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) and synthetic medroxyprogesterone (MPA). Three large cohort studies HERS 1998, WEST 2001, and WHI 2002 are remarkably concordant that synthetic HRT causes stroke in the postmenopausal female.

The one absolutely bio-identical progesterone prescription drug product available is oral micronized progesterone, trade name Prometrium. Prometrium has no serious side effects, it does not cause clots (which lead to strokes), migraine or breast cancer. It does prevent uterine cancer. Progesterone also has anti-hypertensive properties.
<Endocrine reviews 2007:28:4:387-439. www.cemcor.ubc.ca 2007 >

May 17 2009 - Real time processing and the medical model
In 1985 Vivek Ranadive founded the Silicon Valley software company TIBCO dedicated to "real time" processing. TIBCO's software powers most of the trading floors on Wall Street. The competitive advantage derived from the software is buy/sell decisions are instantly made with the most current/emerging data/evidence. End of the month, end of the quarter and end of year financial reconciliations are dinosaurs as market intelligence in the stock/equity trading world.

[The historic, current and emerging data/evidence in the bio-medical science world does not flow through to the run-of-the-mill physician in real time. There is no computerized service system dedicated to instantly filling a gap or correcting an error in the doctor's knowledge base so that the patient is receiving the latest and/or best evidenced-based treatment and management. Most doctors are not up to date and not current in the literature and this is reflected in poor quality practice. Most physicians stay within the culture of medicine by doing in practice what their peers do. This way of functioning is at the expense of evidence/science based practice.]
<New Yorker May 11/09 p42 -43>

May 16 2009 - If you are going to take vitamin and mineral supplements...
take them with some food that contains fat states Dr. Sheldon S. Hendler co-author of The Physicians' Desk Reference for Nutritional Supplements. The water soluble vitamins B & C can be taken on an empty stomach but the fat soluble vitamins A,D,E, & K need to be taken with fat to be absorbed. This is also the case for carotenoid metabolites lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, astaxanthin and fucoxanthin. Minerals should also be taken with food.
<New York Times May 5/09 p D2>

May 15 2009 - What has descended to us from paleolithic ancestors in terms of weight reduction
Humans first appeared approximately 50,000 years ago. We have changed only minimally in physiology from ancient ancestors. The first humans, hunter-gathers, averaged an individual intake of 3,000 calories/day and expenditure of 1,000 calories/day, a 3:1 ratio.

A sedentary modern human, in a rich western country, on average consumes 2100 calories/day and expends 300 calories, a ratio of 7:1. To prevent obesity and re-establish the 3:1 ratio of the ancients, a modern human being needs to burn 700 calories/day. An hour per day of aerobic exercise to burn 400 calories is necessary to prevent weight gain.
<Fatness in Women: www.femalebrain.com 2006>

May 14 2009 - What profession has the highest suicide rate?
Medical doctors. Every year 300-400 doctors take their own lives - roughly one per day. No other profession has a higher suicide rate. In the general population men are four times as suicidal as women. However, female and male doctors have equal suicide rates. A PBS documentary "Struggling in Silence" explores this little known and dark side of medicine.
<Newsweek April 28/08 p16>

May 13 2009 - Get micro-nutrients (vitamins & minerals) from food not supplements
A study this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrates that combining exercise and vitamin supplements is counter-productive. German researchers, lead by Dr.Michael Ristow, gave young men vitamin C & E supplements and then measured insulin sensitivity and oxidative damage after they exercised. The was no improvement in insulin action (meaning glucose up-take by muscle cells) and the body's natural oxidative stress response was suppressed. Dr. Ristow believes that supplements deliver too high a dose of anti-oxidant and block the beneficial effects of exercise on insulin and metabolism. Anti-oxidants from fruit and vegetables are believed support the body's natural oxidative response.

<New York Times Tues May 12/09 D6>

May 12 2009 - Calcium plus Vitamin D anti-hypertensive
Pfeifer and colleagues reported that short term supplementation with calcium plus Vitamin D3 significantly decreased systolic blood pressure in community-dwelling women aged 70 years and older. Diastolic blood pressure was also lower.
<J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2001: 86:1633-1637>

May 10 2009 - When dealing with surgeons have low trust and verify
The New Jersey attorney general, Anne Milgram, has reached a settlement with Synthes, a medical device maker. Synthes makes an artifical spinal disk called the ProDisc. Surgeons who tested ProDiscs were compensated with stock in the Synthes company. This compensation, a blatant and outrageous conflict of interest, was un-disclosed to the FDA, the public and patients.
<New York Times Thursday May 7/09 pB4>

May 09 2009 - No lie can live for ever. Truth crushed to earth shall rise up and be heard
A back-pain researcher, Dr. Richard Deyo recalls the uproar the last time federal officials implemented surgical practice standards. Deyo's 1990s research found that spinal fusion surgery did nothing for acute back pain. A federal guideline to curtail and stop spinal fusions was attacked by spine specialists. The medical device maker Medtronic sued unsuccessfully to have Deyo's report blocked. The federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, that sponsored Deyo's report, took a real beating with funding drastically cut and guideline writting stopped. Now, 15 years later, the Obama administration is reversing this silencing of the truth and spending 1.1 Billion to find evidenced-based medical and surgical procedures that actually work.
<New York Times May 7/09 pB1&B4>

May 08 2009 - The healthiest and cheapest way to eat well
The short answer is freeze it. If you conscientiously use the freezer part of your fridge in two ways you will eat better, healthier and cheaper. The first: take raw ingredients you have too much of and freeze them. The second: take things you have already cooked and freeze them. Don't forget to label them. Fresh herbs, dough, vegetables, leftover pasta - just about anything can be frozen now and defrosted at a later date when you don't have the time/energy/patience to cook.
<New York Times May 6/09 pD1 &D7>

May 07 2009 - Egg consumption protects vision
Eggs contain lutein and zeaxanthin metabolites which help decrease the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is a leading cause of central vision blindness in people over 65. Since 1987 there has been a 16% decrease intake of luetin by men and women aged 40-69. It is believed that adequate consumption of the above metabolites protect the macula of the eye from harmful blue light rays that the sun produces. In addition the metabolites act as antioxidants neutralizing chronic disease causing free radials.
<Doctor Game Expositor May4/09 p A6>

May 05 2009 - Wall St. Stock Broker dies at 107
Albert Gordon went into the office everyday until he was 105, making cold calls well into his 90s. His obiturary stated he owed his long healthy life to physical fitness - he started running marathons in his 80s - not smoking, no alcohol and not salting his food. In the 1960s and 70s he offered Kidder Peabody employees cash rewards to quit smoking. He always flew economy. Once, when he noticed a Kidder VP in first class, he sent a note asking what the food was like up there.
<New York Times May 2/09 pA14>

May 04 2009 - Smokers definitely drug addicts.
The latest neurobiology research is confirming that people who smoke are drug addicted. The brain's inhibitory/tranquilizing GABAergic neuro-circuitry is activated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nACHRs). nACHRs are activated by nicotine from cigarettes. As the brain adapts to nicotine exposure - a psychoactive drug - higher and higher doses are needed to get the inhibitory/tranquilizing/calming effect.
<J Neurophysiol 2001:86:3043-3055 & Philos Trans R Soc Lon B Biol Sci. 2008:12:363:1507:3159-68>

May 03 2009 - Cranberries may be effective in preventing urinary tract infection (UTI)
Cranberries contain a substance that can prevent bacteria from sticking to the walls of the bladder. This may help to prevent UTI. A meta-analysis of ten studies involving a thousand plus participants compared cranberry with placebo, juice or water. There was some evidence that canberries (juice or capsule) can prevent recurrent infections in women. Efficacy in older men and women and people with catheters was not supported.
<Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Issue 2, 2009>

May 02 2009 - Surprising news about breast examinations
It appears that breast self-examination does nothing to reduce cancer mortality risk. What the examinations did do was increase the chance of having a biopsy - twice as many as the control group - with benign results. This information comes from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, an organization that examines medical science literature for sensitive/valid/reliable evidence-based practices.
<Cochrane Breast Cancer Group Specialised Register PubMed Oct 2007>

May 01 2009 - Peri-menstrual irritability ranging from increased temper to explosive rage
The above captioned heading represents one of the most debilitating features of severe premenstural syndrome (PMS). This same episodic/monthly penting up and discharge of paroxysmal anger and rage is also seen in women with the more florid neural PMS symptom of peri-menstrual (catamenial)seizure. Note is often made of the predominately goodnatured, conscientious or even devoutly religious nature of these women for the most part. EEG readings confirm the excitatory neural events that relate to a (normal) shift in estradiol/progesterone hormone balance but for some reason causes rage/anger and/or seizure in the neuro-sensitive PMS female.
<A.G. Herzog. J of Affective Disorders 1998:48:215-225>

Apr 30 2009 - Smoking and alcohol contra-indicated if you seizure
For reasons that aren't clear, pregnant women with epilepsy who smoke appear to have a substantial increased risk of premature contractions and preterm delivery. Alcohol immediately raises glucose levels in the brain which predisposes a subset of people to seizure (see news item Jan 21/09).
<USA Today April 28/09 8D &J Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism 2009:29:891>

Apr 29 2009 - Butterbur herb may help allergies and associated migraine
Butterbur from the petasites hybridus plant has had historic use to treat asthma, allergies and headaches. Recent research has shown butterbur to be as effective as Zyrtec without causing drowsiness. Make sure the purchased produce is labeled "PA free" meaning harmful alkaloids have been removed. Also make sure the product is labeled "standardized" for consistent dosage.
<Buffalo News April 28/09 pC3>

Apr 28 2009 - Herbs and spices that lower blood sugar and prevent diabetes
Allspice, cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves, nutmeg, witch hazel, oregano, and black and green tea have been shown to have an insulin-like biological activity. Essential oils composed of pumpkinseed oil, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, cinnamon, fenugreek, cumin, fennel, myrtle, allspice and ginger lowered blood glucose concentration and increased insulin sensitivity in rats.
<Am J Clin Nutr 2007:85:1552-6>

Apr 27 2009 - Got high cholesterol? Try pinto beans
Sixteen people - 7 men and 9 women - with mild insulin resistance (predisposes to diabetes and heart disease) were randomly assigned to three groups to eat half a cup per day of pinto beans, black-eyed peas or carrots. After eight weeks the pinto bean group showed significantly lowered total cholesterol and low density lipprotein cholesterol, thereby reducing risk of heart disease.
<J Am Coll Nutr 2007:26:3:243-9>

Apr 26 2009 - Four dietary choices for healthy weight loss and slimness
The four following food choices may affect bio-chemical pathways involved in fat oxidation and caloric burn; Vitamin C, animal protein, vinegar and nuts. These choices may stimulate energy expenditure, promote satiety and or modulate fat production. Combined with regular exercise and a prudent diet these diet choices may magnify these efforts.
<J of Amer Coll of Nutr 2005:24:3:158-65.>

Apr 24 2009 - Vitamin C and blood pressure control
About 20% of Americans are Vitamin C (VC) depleted. Low levels of VC result in more oxidative stress and this can raise blood pressure. Epidemiological studies have shown a strong inverse relationship between VC and blood pressure and so have animal studies. Some studies have reported a reduction in blood pressure when patients had VC supplementation.
<R.J. Johnson et al., 'The planetary biology of ascorbate..' Med Hypotheses 2008:71:1:22-31>

Apr 23 2009 - Vitamin C for lipolytic (fat burning/oxidizing) response
Adequate Vitamin C (VC) may protect against adisposity (fatness) when consuming a high fat food/diet. Individuals with adequate VC status oxidize 30% more fat during a moderate exercise than individuals with low VC status. VC depleted individuals may be more resistant to fat mass loss. The recommended daily allowance for VC is 75-90 mgs per day. Oranges, strawberries, melons, broccoli, tomatoes, and peppers are all produce that contain more than 30 mg VC per serving.
<C.S. Johnston 'Strategies for healthy weight loss: From VC to Glycemic response' J Amer Coll of Nutr 2005:3:158-65.>

Apr 22 2009 - Mothers with PMS may be able to spare their daughters
In 1953 Dr. Katharina Dalton, a British physician, coined the term premenstrual syndrome (PMS)and was the first medical expert. Based on a study of twins (British Medical Journal 1987:295:1027) and clinical experience she believed PMS was heritable from mother to biological daughter.

Now the Harvard Nurses Health Study (NHS), commenced in 1976 and still ongoing, has yielded an important discovery relating to diet and PMS. The finding was that a diet adequate in calcium and Vitamin D may prevent the development of PMS.

If you have PMS and you want to spare your daughters this misery, make sure they get four measured cups of low fat or no fat fortified milk per day, which is adequate consumption. Four cups of milk per day delivers 1200 mg of calcium and 400 IU of Vitamin D which the study found was enough to significantly reduce risk of PMS. Calcium and Vitamin D pill supplementation was not beneficial, the benefit appears to come from dairy food.

FOUR CUPS OF MILK PER DAY CAN ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE SYMPTOMS AND SEVERITY IN DEVELOPED PMS.

Go to www.pudmed.gov (the world's largest medical library, operated by the US government) and search PubMed for 'Arch Intern Med 165:1246'. You can download and read the entire original research free of charge. The full title is as follows "Calcium and Vitamin D Intake and Risk of Incident Premenstrual Syndrome" by E.R. Bertone-Johnson et al.
<Archives of Internal Medicine 2005:165:1246-1252>

Apr 21 2009 - Broccoli has antibiotic effect on gastro-intestinal tract
Broccoli appears to be effective against the helicobacter pylori germ that causes peptic ulcer and predisposes to stomach cancer. A study in The April issue of Cancer Prevention Research reported on fifty people infected with the germ. Over eight weeks half the group ate two and a half ounces of broccoli sprouts per day while the other half ate an equal amount of Alfalfa sprouts. At the end the broccoli eaters had significantly reduced levels of the germ.
<New York Times April 14/09 pD6>

Apr 20 2009 - Out of shape? Short of breath going up stairs? Improve your Vo2max
Vo2max is the maximum oxygen consumption an individual can obtain. A person's Vo2max is not fixed at any given value but can be altered by habitual level of physical activity. Prolonged inactivity or sedentary lifestyle can decrease Vo2max by 15-25% - hills and stairs start to become an effort. Intense long term endurance exercise can improve Vo2max by the same 15-25%. For example, jogging 20-30 minutes three times a week at 4-8mi/hour definitely produces a significant training effect and improved Vo2max in most people - hills and stairs become effortless.
<Vander A. et al. Human Physiology. eigthth ed. 2001>

Apr 19 2009 - Intergeneration growth in intelligence/IQ
Race and sex can affect IQ. Impoverished environments and gender differences in brain structure contribute to IQ differences. However over the last 70 years a psychological measurement called the Flynn effect shows substantial growth in IQ has occurred. The IQ gap between white and black Americans has been erased in the past 30 years. Boys used to outnumber girls 13 to 1 in the top .01% of US math scores. Now it is down to 2.8 to 1.
<Newsweek April 20/09 p53>

Apr 18 2009 - Individuals with seizures and epilepsy get un-informed/bad lifestyle advice
Frequently physicians advise people with epilepsy to avoid "most types of exercise". [This advice is their personal non-objective & non-evidenced based opinion. Much of what physicians tell patients stems from their personal reservoirs of un-substantiated beliefs. And patients unknowningly accept the mis-information as medical fact.]

It is no surprise that adults with epilepsy are prone to depression and emotional distress [- who won't be with un-predictable or un-controllable seizures?] As in the general population, several researchers have found that exercise has the same antidepressant and anti-obesity effect in people with epilepsy. Active subjects report fewer seizures than inactive subjects. Acute exercise may provide immediate neuro-physiological improvement as brief exercise to exhaustion has been shown to have a normalizing effect on an EEG.

[Anything to do with human physiology must consider the enormous interpersonal variation. As with exercise induced asthma, there is a small sub-group that will experience exercise induced seizure. Go at exercise is a dose-dependent way, find out what exercise and how much you can tolerate and then do it for life.]
<Epilepsia 1994:35:6:1248-55>

Apr 17 2009 - Adverse effect of anti-epileptic drug Valproate on intelligence of offspring
Pregnant women who took valproate (trade name Depakote) had children whose IQ scores were significantly lower those whose mothers took a different medication. Cognitive assessments were conducted in 258 two-three year olds born to 252 mothers of whom 53 had taken Valproate. Children exposed to valproate has a mean IQ of 92, compared to 101 for chidren exposed to Lamotrigine, 99 for phenytoin, and 98 for carbamazepine. The study will be published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
<New York Times April 16/09 pA15>

Apr 16 2009 - five healthy snack foods
JERKY with seven grams of protein per serving is a healthy post run snack. POPCORN if air-popped has only 125 calories per four cup serving. Also gives you five grams of fiber. PUDDING of the low-fat premade snack pack variety is a good source of calcium and Vitamin D. DARK CHOCOLATE is high in chronic disease preventing anti-oxidants. SALSA is high in vitamins and anti-oxidants and has just 70 calories per cup.
<Runner's World May 2009 p44>

Apr 15 2009 - Easy to miss heart defect in new born
Dr. Darshak Sanghavi posted at the nytimes.com/well: Birth defects, especially heart, are an improtant cause of infant death. How to identify these healthy looking babies before they leave hospital, become critically ill? A new screening test called pulse oximetry has shown promise. In Norway doctors checked half the infants born in that county last year with pulse oximetry. A further 75% of heart defects were diagnosed with the new device. Those defects would have been missed.
<Postings New York Times April 14/2009 pD8>

Apr 14 2009 - Running to lose weight
Sorry but you won't automatically drop five pounds just because you run, says Nancy Clark R.D. author of 'Nancy Clark's Food Guide for New Runners'. You also need to reduce your daily food intake. Each mile you run burns roughly 100 calories. Cut out a cookie or two each day and you can add 100 calories to your weight loss effort, theoretically amounting to 10 pounds per year of weight loss. Remove 200 calories per day and you will lose 20 pounds by the end of the year. Try eating smaller portions and less fried food.
<Runner's World Magazine May 2009 p65>

Apr 13 2009 - Inderal a high blood pressure medication effective in erasing fear of spiders
In a Dutch human study Inderal (proranolol) appeared to erase the fear of spiders. The researchers conditioned the volunteers to fear spiders because that fear is especially resistant to extinction. It seems that fear memories require de novo (new) mRNA synthesis and 40 mg of Inderal can disrupt that synthesis and irradicate the fear memory.
<HeathDay Reporter Feb 15/09, Nature Neuroscience 2009:12:3:256-258, Learn Mem 2008:15:10:747-755.>

Apr 12 2009 - The SSRI discontinuation syndrome
When selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs are discontinued there appears to be a tagged on syndrome. It is usually mild, commences within a week of stopping treatment, resolves spontaneously with three weeks, and consists of diverse physical and psychological symptoms. Dizziness, nausea, lethargy and headache are the commonest complaints. To avoid this syndrome SSRIs should be withdrawn gradually, in tapered dosages.
<J Psychopharmacology 1998:12:3:305-313>

Apr 11 2009 - If your anti-depressant medication is not working..
Both low folate and low Vitamin B12 status have been found in studies of depressive patients. And an association between depression and low levels of the two vitamins is found in studies of the general population. Low folate levels are furthermore linked to a poor response to antidepressants. Treatment with folic acid is shown to improve response to antidepressants. A recent study also shows that high Vitamin B status may be also be associated with better treatment outcome.

[Ask your doctor for a referral to a registered dietitian and have your diet assessed for adequate intake of B-complex vitamins.]

<J Psychopharmacol 2005:19:1:59-65>

Apr 10 2009 - Neuro-science on the threshold of irradicating un-wanted memories
A State University of New York (SUNY) scientist, Dr. Tod C. Sacktor, is the lead investigator in research that found a specific memory molecule in the brain. The molecule is called PKMzeta. Blocking the action of PKMzeta with an experimental drug called Zip competely erased electric shock fear and food disgust memories in mice.
<New York Times April 6/09 pA1 &A10>

Apr 09 2009 - Calorie restriction may prevent cancer
Calorie restriction in most species, to include humans, can extend life. This amazing benefit is likely due to the evolutionary advantage of keeping alive under suboptimal nutrient availablity.(Food scarcity being the chronic state for humans until relatively recently). Calorie restriction - the limiting of calories to below normal levels without reaching malnutrition - may delay the onset of cancer. Suppressing the signaling pathway mediated by insulin might be the crucial factor for the anticancer effect.
<Nature 458:713-714 April 2009>

Apr 07 2009 - Why poverty endures through generations
Poor families produce children who, in turn, are poor as adults. A U of Pennsylvania study, lead by Martha Farah, may have found a major cause of inter-generational proverty. It appears that poor children are neurologically damaged by the higher levels of stress in poor households. The brain damage manifests in deficits of working or declarative memory. Children with stressed lives and smaller memory banks find it harder to learn. They are not as bright as children from middle income families.
<Economist April 4/09 p82>

Apr 06 2009 - Six hours sleep necessary for health
"Short sleepers" put on more pounds than people who sleep seven to eight hours a night. Other studies have linked skimping on sleep with the high risk pool for heart attacks, diabetes, and early death. The risks are more pronounced for people who sleep less than five hours a night, but the danger seems to extend to those averaging less than six hours.
<www.health.harvard.edu>

Apr 05 2009 - Chocolate may be healthy food choice
Chocolate consumption may relax blood vessels and therefore reduce blood pressure. The most likely explanation for chocolate's positive cardio-vascular effect is cocoa beans contain metabolites called flavonols that stimulate the production of nitric oxide. This chemical improves blood flow. Tea has the same metabolites and is also known to improve circulation.
<Harvard Health letter >

Apr 04 2009 - Heart muscle cells remodel and renew
Bone is constantly remodeling, replacing old cells with new cells. Apparently the heart, to a lesser extent, does the same thing. Using an ingenious method Swedish researchers have found that over a normal life time half the heart muscle cells are replaced.

In animal research radio-active labeling of cells is used to trace cell activity. Dr.Jonas Frisen, lead Swedish researcher, realized that nuclear testing ongoing until 1963 had labeled the cells of the entire human population. Fall-outs of radio-active carbons entered the food chain. Dr. Frisen devised a way of dating cardiac cells by their level of radio-activity to gauge if renewal was ongoing.
<New York Times April 3/09 pA8>

Apr 03 2009 - Most cancer screening doesn't change mortality risk
It appears from emerging research that it doesn't matter whether cancer is found early or late. Early detection in asymptomatic people seems to be finding cancers that progress very slowly, are less life-threatening, whether treated or not. The chief result is an increased number of people knowing for a longer time that they have/had a slow growing cancer. Cancer will still kill them at some point in the distant future, their mortality risk not being reduced.
<Newsweek April 6/09 p44>

Apr 02 2009 - How one drug found a new application
One night in 1912 a German psychiatry resident, Alfred Hauptmann, was not getting any sleep on the epileptic ward he was supervising. He decided to sedate all the noisy convulsing patients with newly available sedative/hypnotic drugs. To his surprise phenobarbital not only quieted the patients but reduced the number and severity of their seizures. Thanks to Hauptmann's selfish act many epileptic patients were able to leave institutions and be sustained in the community on phenobarbital.
<Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment 2005:1:4:329-343>

Apr 01 2009 - Pleasures and sorrows of work
The above captioned is the title to a new book by Alain de Botton. And here is a citation from the book "..the start of work means an end to freedom, but also to doubt, intensity, and wayward desires..How satisfying it is to be held in check by the assumptions of colleagues, instead of being forced to contemplate, in the loneliness of the early hours, all that one might have been, and now will never be."
<Economist March 25/09 p93>

Mar 31 2009 - Getting adequate Vitamin B12
If you don't eat animal protein, getting adequate Vitamin B12 from food becomes difficult. Vitamin B12 is unique among the B-complex family because it is found naturally only in meat, fish, poultry, eggs and milk products. The richest source of Vitamin B12 is a 100 gram (tiny)serving of cooked beef giving you 125% of your daily needs.
<www.beefinfo.org>

Mar 30 2009 - How to get adequate dietary zinc
The mineral and micro-nutrient zinc is found in every human cell. Zinc is important for optimal immune and brain functioning. The best most absorbable sources of zinc is animal protein - beef, poultry, fish. When animal protein is eaten with plant foods the absoption of zinc form the vegetables, pasta etc., is improved.
<www.beefinfo.org>

Mar 27 2009 - Oral health
Chewing gum containing xylitol and sorbitol helps to prevent cavities. Daily rinsing with chlorhexidine containing mouth-wash doesn't prevent cavities or delay tooth decay.
<Evidence-based Denistry 2009:10:10-11 &13-14.>

Mar 22 2009 - Female physiology stubbornly retains body fat
When previously sedentary men and women follow exercise training programs and eat freely, men lose body, but women do not. Various energy-regulating hormones and appetite were measured in nine obese men and nine obese women. The results showed that in men, but not in women, appetite after exercise was suppressed. In women, exercise altered energy-regulating hormones in a direction expected to stimulate energy intake. The data are consistent with the paradigm that mechanisms to maintain body fat are more effective(stubborn)in women.
<Am J of Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2009:296:2:r233-42>

Mar 21 2009 - Adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs (AED) on fetus
A 2006 study across the US and Britian monitored 333 epileptic mother/child pairs to determine congential malformations and other serious adverse outcomes linked to AED. Pregnancies resulting in serious adverse outcomes for each AED were as follows: carbamazepine 8.2%, lamotrigine 1.0%, phenytoin 10.7%, and valproate 20.3%. The study concluded that fetal outcome varies as a function of AED used and valproate had the highest risk to the fetus.
<Neurology 2006:67:3:407-412>

Mar 20 2009 - Why you should eat breakfast and what to eat
Eating breakfast is about the best thing you can do to get the right nutrients and avoid diseases caused by a nutritional risky diet. The healthiest breakfast choices are a whole grain cereal with milk and fruit. This selection increases your intake of fibre, calcium, Vitamin D, iron, potassium, magnesium, folic acid and Vitamin Bs. The whole grain can be any type of grain: wheat, oats, corn, rice, barley etc. There is mounting evidence that people who eat breakfast daily have lower body weights than people who skip breakfast.
<www.dairygoodness.ca>

Mar 19 2009 - Most women are still a husband away from poverty
The living standards of men are independent of family structure. For the bulk of women the major way to escape poverty and a low income life is to partner/marry a man and live within a traditional family structure.

For men resources spent on education directly translate into full time employment. In stark constrast, for women education barely raises their chances of entering full time work. Women in couples and with part-time jobs are better off than women who rely only on their ability to translate their education on the labour market into an above poverty living standard.

An alternative escape from poverty for educated women is to completely decide against having children. This decision is highly associated with leaving the low income sector.
<British Journal of Sociology 2009:1:60:96-121>

Mar 18 2009 - 100 steps a minute for walking fitness
A study in The American Journal of Prevention Medicine counted the steps and heart rates of volunteers going at various speeds on treadmills. A pace of 100 steps a minute or more was enough for the workout to become of moderate intensity. For the government fitness recommendation of five 30 minute sessions a week, the goal would be 3,000 steps or more in half an hour. Buy a pedometer and get going!
<New York Times March17/08 pD6>

Mar 17 2009 - Why exercise is protective against breast cancer
Fat tissue is an extra-glandular source of estrogen. Abdominal fat especially increases the levels of cytokines, insulin and other hormones that tend to promote cancer.

The large Women's Health Initiative study showed that sedentary women had significantly high levels of endogenous estrogens (estrone, and estradiol). They also had significantly less sex-hormone-binding-globulin which binds to estradiol and de-activates it. Other studies have shown breast cancer to be higher in postmenopausal women with high estrogen [probably from obesity and in-activity].

Exercise reduces obesity and estrogen levels and is preventive of breast and other cancers.
<www.health.harvard.edu>

Mar 16 2009 - Mental illness and over-indebtedness
A German study found that participants who found their personal debt threating and did not have a functioning social network were at risk of experiencing mental illness. Another study found that lone parents were at high risk of depression from debt and lack of social connections.
<Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol 2009:Mar.9 & Psychol Med 2003.>

Mar 15 2009 - Special diet food not necessary to loose weight
People often think they need a certain diet program or diet products to loose weight. The opposite is true. To accomplish weight loss goals whole real foods can be used and they taste better, provide more nutritional value and are more satisfying. Lean proteins, boatloads of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and low fat dairy tend to satiate with the right proportions. Whole foods offer a limitless range of eating which protects against feeling deprived.
<Runner's World April 2009 p68>

Mar 14 2009 - Science based tips for weight loss
SLEEP: A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) found that people who get less sleep eat more snacks, especially high carbohydrate snacks. Without enough sleep your energy levels, immune system and mood drop.

ENERGY DENSITY OF FOOD: Researchers in a 2007 American Jornal of Clincal Nutrition study found that consumption of lots of energy dense food increases body weight. Eating lots of less dense foods like vegetable soup with higher water content caused people to weigh less.

COLORFUL DIET: Another AJCN article supported the notion of adding colour to your diet with berries twice a day. Berries have the added value of lowering blood pressure.

REDUCE BODY WEIGHT BY 25%: A 2007 American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism study found that to lose 25% of your body weight in a year you need to run 15 miles per week and take 300 calories per day out of your diet. People who did the running but not the calorie restriction lost 22% of their body weight.

<Runner's World April 2009 p71>

Mar 13 2009 - Carbohydrates needed in diet to improve cognitive function
An Austrialian study found that low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) and high carbohydate low fat (HCLF) diets were similarly effective for weight loss, mood improvement and most cognitive functions. One significant difference was reported in speed of processing visual information. The HCLF consuming participants showed more improvement on inspection time tests which assess working memory and speed of processing.
<Halyburton A., et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007:86:580-7>

Mar 12 2009 - Run off hunger
In a 2008 study, British researchers reported that aerobic exercise reduced participants' self-reported hunger levels and affected hormones that suppress appetite more than weight training or no exercise.
<Runner's World April 2009 p38>

Mar 11 2009 - Mental fatique can cut into physical performance
The Journal of Applied Physiology reports on a study of 10 men and 6 women. Their bicycling exercise performance after mentally taxing computer work was measured. Their exercise performance after watching a documentary movie, a totally passive activity, was then measured.
Bicyclers consistently tired about 15% more quickly after the mental straining work than after watching movies.

<New York Times March 10/09 pD6>

Mar 10 2009 - Three meal planning tips that save time, money and calories
(1) Use meat, poultry and fish as a condiment, in small amounts added to main-dish salads, soups and sauces

(2)Try main-dish soups and salads for filling yet low calorie meals. Soups can be made in large amounts and frozen.

(3)Consider buying a slow cooker for efficient one dish meals
<New York Times March 3/09 pD7>