Can Yogurt Really Boost Your Health?

One of the hottest food marketing trends these days involves adding live bacteria to dairy products as a way to boost health.
A lawsuit challenges the health claims of Activia,a probiotic yogurt.Dannon claims Activia can help regulate your digestive system.

Now lawyers have filed a class-action lawsuit against yogurt maker Dannon, one of the biggest sellers of “probiotic” yogurts, saying the claims of a health benefit dupe consumers. The company’s Activia and DanActive line of yogurt products contain live bacteria and claim to help regulate digestion and boost the immune system. The suit, filed in United States District Court in California, seeks redress for consumers who purchased the yogurt products based on what it says are “bogus claims.'’

“Deceptive advertising has enabled Dannon to sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ordinary yogurt at inflated prices to responsible, health- conscious consumers,” said Los Angeles attorney Timothy G. Blood, of the firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins.

In response, Dannon issued a statement saying it “stands by the claims of its products and the clinical studies which support them.'’

“All of Dannon’s claims for Activia and DanActive are completely supported by peer-reviewed science and are in accordance with all laws and regulations,'’ said the statement. “Dannon’s advertising has always been and will continue to be absolutely truthful, and Dannon will vigorously challenge this lawsuit.”

Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that, in sufficient amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. A growing body of research links probiotics to relief of digestive tract complaints such as irritable bowel syndrome, yeast infections, and diarrhea that results from certain illnesses. The idea behind probiotics is to increase the amount of beneficial bacteria in people’s intestinal tracts as a way to aid digestion, boost the body’s natural defenses and fight off harmful bacteria that can cause health problems.

Although the scientific evidence shows that probiotics really can help, questions remain about how well that research translates into the real world, where some marketers may add untested amounts of the bacteria to various foods. While there are thousands of different probiotics, only a handful have been tested in clinical trials and been shown to deliver specific health benefits when eaten regularly. Most probiotic products can be found in the dairy case or as dietary supplements.

Dannon’s Activia line has been a marketing success story for the company, surpassing $100 million in sales in the United States its first year. The yogurt includes a form of Bifidobacteria that survives passage through the digestive tract, arriving in the colon as a living culture. The company claims that “once there, it plays a beneficial role in your intestinal ecosystem.'’ The yogurts are backed by a high-profile advertising campaign as well as a Web site. The site includes a link to company-sponsored studies showing that the bacteria used in Activia significantly improves regularity in study subjects.

The firm’s DanActive line, meanwhile, contains a different type of bacteria the company claims “helps strengthen your body’s defense.'’

The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t do much to guide consumers on the issue, simply policing food packages to make sure that companies do not try to equate probiotic products with disease-curing drugs.

A 2006 report from the American Society for Microbiology noted that “at present, the quality of probiotics available to consumers in food products around the world is unreliable.”

Source: well.blogs.nytimes.com

Sweetener in Chewing Gum Can Damage Your Health

A sweetener used in sugar-free chewing gum, some toothpastes and thousands of other products could be a severe health risk, doctors warned.

Sorbitol, also known as E 420, can trigger severe weight loss, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

A report in the British Medical Journal today highlights the cases of patients who lost up to a fifth of their bodyweight.

The cause was eventually traced to excess intake of sorbitol - one was eating 14-20 sticks of gum a day.

Dentists recommend chewing sugarfree gum to increase saliva production, which reduces cavities and strengthens teeth.

Wrigley, which owns many of the brands sold in the UK, has seen its sales in Europe grow by a third since Sorbitol is also used in sugar-free sweets, some cereals and foods aimed at diabetics.

But gastroenterology experts in Germany say many consumers - and even some doctors - are unaware of the laxative side-effects of sorbitol, which can also hinder the absorption of nutrients into the small intestine.

Professor Herbert Lochs and Dr Juergen Bauditz, from the University of Berlin studied two patients with chronic diarrhoea, abdominal pain and substantial weight loss.

They underwent extensive investigation before a detailed analysis of their eating was undertaken. It found both had been consuming large amounts of sugarfree gum and sweets.

The first, a 21-year-old woman, chewed around 15 sticks of gum a day. Her weight plunged by almost 2st to just 6st 6lb.

The second patient, a 46-year-old man, chewed 20 sticks of gum and ate up to 200g of sweets each day. He lost more than 3st in a year.

After they started a sorbitol-free diet, their diarrhoea stopped and they gained weight.

Professor Lochs said the cases were unusual because the consumption of sorbitol was not enormously high yet the effects had been serious. He said the public, particularly diabetics who buy low- sugar or sugar-free foods, should be warned that too much sorbitol may be "dangerous".

The professor said warnings about possible side-effects were usually "in the small print" of packaging and people who suffered gastrointestinal problems might not make the connection. Doctors also needed to be alert to the possibility.

Professor Lochs said men and women should not try to lose weight using sugarfree gum because their intake of nutrients would be affected..

Wrigley said last night: "It is well documented in medical literature, with studies going back more than 20 years, that excessive consumption of polyols such as sorbitol can have a laxative effect in some individuals.

"Those studies generally indicate that people can consume up to 40g of sorbitol without experiencing a laxative effect - subject to the individual and other diet components - a level not even approached by normal consumption of sugar-free chewing gum."

The company said its labelling carried warnings required by EU regulations.

Jemma Edwards, Care Advisor and registered dietician at Diabetes UK, said "We already know that many sweeteners have a laxative effect.

"Diabetes UK does not recommend 'diabetic' food because there are no added nutritional benefits and it is often more expensive. People with diabetes can eat normal food as long as they have a healthy, balanced diet."

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

10 'Healthy' Foods That Aren't So Healthy

Ever wonder why you can’t lose weight even though you’re eating “healthy?”

More than likely it’s because you’re misinformed as to what really constitutes healthy food, nutritionist and dietician Tanya Zuckerbrot told Foxnews.com.

“When I see some of the food choices people make I wonder if it’s just that people don’t care,” said Zuckerbrot, author of the F-Factor Diet. “But I really think it’s just that people don’t know what’s good for them and what’s not.”

Here are 10 healthy foods that aren’t:

Olive oil: Sure it’s a heart-healthy monounsaturated oil, but it’s also rich in calories and fat. “Oil is oil,” Zuckerbrot said.

“Whether it’s olive oil or some other kind of oil, it still has 120 calories and 14 grams of fat per tablespoon. You’re better off using a pat of butter (for bread) than dipping it in olive oil because the bread sops up the oil like a sponge. So a little bit of butter is better than a lot of olive oil.”

Tuna fish: Think that tuna sandwich is a light lunch? Think again. The average overstuffed tuna sandwich served in a restaurant contains 700 calories and 43 grams of fat.

The reason? The mayo. “Tuna fish has just 35 calories per ounce and it’s full of omega-3s, but mayonnaise has 100 calories per tablespoon,” Zuckerbrot said. “You’re better off having a turkey or even a roast beef sandwich. Even chicken salad is better than tuna salad, because tuna is so fine there’s a lot more surface area for the mayonnaise to fill.”

Granola: The term granola may be used to describe health-conscious people, but the cereal itself is actually quite fattening. That’s because granola cereals often contain oils, including high in saturated fat coconut oil, sugar, nuts and other high calorie foods.

“Something like Fiber One has 60 calories per half cup and 14 grams of fiber versus a half cup of granola, which was 240 calories, 5 to 10 grams of fat and just 3 grams of fiber,” Zuckerbrot said, adding that fiber is the key to feeling full and satiated.

Organic food: Organic food may be preservative and pesticide free, but that doesn’t mean it’s also calorie-free, said Zuckerbrot. “I mean they make organic potato chips so what does that tell you,” she said.

Sushi: Tuna sashimi is very healthy. A California roll or tempura roll, not so much, said Zuckerbrot.

“Japanese food is inherently healthy, but when you Americanize it and start adding things like cream cheese and avocado, that’s when you run into problems,” she said.

Tuna sashimi, for example, has about 35 calories and 1 gram of fat per ounce. But a spicy tuna roll has 290 calories and 11 grams of fat, and a tempura roll has 320 calories and 17 grams of fat. “You’re better off going with tuna sashimi, miso soup (36 calories) and a salad (35 calories with a tablespoon of non-creamy ginger dressing).”

Pizza: “Yes the sauce is high in lycopene, but all the lycopene in the world is not going to convince me pizza is a heart-healthy food,” Zuckerbrot said. “And mozzarella cheese is a good source of calcium, but it’s also high in calories.”

An average slice of pizza sold in New York City has between 600 and 700 calories. A more traditional slice, about one-twelfth of a pie, has between 300 and 400 calories, said Zuckerbrot. “And most people eat at least two slices to feel satisfied,” she said. “Your best bet is to eat one slice and get a salad or a cup of minestrone soup on the side so that you feel satisfied and save on the calories.”

Frozen diet meals: Sure Lean Cuisine and Weight Watcher frozen entrees are fairly low in calories and convenient, but they’re also highly processed and high in sodium.

“I understand the convenience factor, but most of these meals have more than 600 milligrams of sodium and the portions are really small and they’re not really satisfying,” Zuckerbrot said. “So you eat one for dinner and then by 9:00 you’re hungry again. You’re better off eating a slice of whole wheat bread with some light sauce and light mozzarella or an egg white omelet with some vegetables.”

Protein bars: Another convenient food, but not very nutritious. Zuckerbrot describes protein bars as her least favorite food and said they are basically glorified candy bars. They’re also often high in calories, fat and do little to satisfy a person’s hunger.

A better choice, said Zuckerbrot, is hitting the salad bar and grabbing lots of lettuce, artichokes and broccoli, topped with plain balsamic vinegar. For 100 to 200 calories, you get a lot more for a lot less calories.

Pretzels: They’re low in fat and low on nutrition. “They’re basically empty calories,” Zuckerbrot said. “Inherently, pretzels themselves are not unhealthy, but they’re basically all sugar so they’ll make you hungrier and you’ll gain weight as a result of over-eating."

Fat-free, sugar-free muffins: Regardless of whether a muffin is fat free or sugar free, they still usually have around 600 calories, according to Zuckerbrot.

“It’s nothing but cake in disguise, especially these double chocolate chip-type muffins,” she said. “But even bran muffins, they’re very dense, very high in calories. The same thing goes for scones. People think that because they’re not sweet, they’re healthy. But scones are full of butter.”

Source: www.foxnews.com

No-Carb Diet May Curb Prostate Cancer

In Lab Tests On Mice, Prostate Tumors Grow Slower With No-Carbohydrate Diet

www.cbsnews.com

Forgoing carbohydrates may slow the growth of prostate cancer, according to preliminary lab tests in mice.

The researchers aren't making dietary recommendations for men. But they say the topic deserves further study.

"This study showed that cutting carbohydrates may slow tumor growth, at least in mice," Duke University urologist Stephen Freedland, MD, says in a news release.

"If this is ultimately confirmed in human clinical trials, it has huge implications for prostate cancer therapy through something that all of us can control, our diets," says Freedland, who plans to start such trials next year.

Freedland's team split 75 mice into three groups:

• Low-fat diet: 12 percent fat, 16 percent protein, 72 percent carbohydrate
• Western diet: 40 percent fat, 16 percent protein, 44 percent carbohydrate
• No-carb diet: 84 percent fat, 16 percent protein, 0 percent carbohydrate

The no-carb diet was modeled on a special diet sometimes given to prevent seizures in children with epilepsy, Freedland's team notes.

After 24 days on the diets, the mice got an injection of human prostate cancer cells.

The mice on the no-carb diet outlived the mice on the Western diet. The no-carb mice also had tumors that were a third smaller after 51 days than the mice on the Western diet.

Tumor growth and survival were similar for the mice on the low-fat and no-carb diets.

"One could argue that the [no-carb] diet provides no advantage and future studies should focus on a low-fat diet," the researchers write in today's online edition of The Prostate.

But they suggest that the no-carb diets may have other advantages, such as greater weight loss and lower levels of a tumor-promoting chemical.

The study's limits include the fact that it only involved mice and its relatively short time span.

Whether the findings apply to people - and the long-term effects - remain to be seen.

As Freedland's team notes, the no-carb diet used in their study was very high in fat, and high-fat diets have been linked to greater risk of prostate cancer, heart disease , and other health problems.

The type of fat may make a difference. For instance, Freedland and colleagues got different results in a past study that used corn oil as mice's main source of fat rather than milk fat or lard.

Other researchers have shown that intensive diet and lifestyle changes may slow prostate cancer without requiring anyone to give up carbohydrates.

High-Fat, High-Protein Atkins Diet Increase Risk Of Heart Disease

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The high-fat, high-protein and low-carbohydrate Atkins diet of eggs, meat and cheese may put the followers at risk for heart disease in just one month, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the University of Maryland say the popular diet raises your "bad" cholesterol and damages the blood vessels thus increasing the risk of heart disease.

Dr. Michael Miller, lead author of the study said, "I think the Atkins diet is potentially detrimental for cardiovascular health, if maintained for a long duration and without attempts to lose weight."

"A stabilizing Atkins diet is not the way to go," he added.

After putting 26 people on three diets, the high-fat Atkins and the low-fat South Beach and Ornish diets, researchers found that the Atkins Diet raised the study subjects' bad cholesterol by an average of 16 points.

It also brought on symptoms of hardening of the arteries, a precursor to strokes or heart attacks. However, the subjects had better lab tests on the other two diets.

The Ornish Diet lowered their bad cholesterol by 25 points, while the South Beach Diet lowered it by 10 points. The conditions of their arteries also improved on both diets.

Though the Atkins diet does help in losing weight but the experts say the consumption of saturated fats are not good for heart health. In addition, many people experience rebound weight gain which is not good. The results were presented at this week's annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Fla.

Boiled Nuts Help Protect Against Illness

www.foxnews.com

By DEANNA BELLANDI, Associated Press Writer

For lovers of boiled peanuts, there's some good news from the health front. A new study by a group of Huntsville researchers found that boiled peanuts bring out up to four times more chemicals that help protect against disease than raw, dry or oil-roasted nuts.

Lloyd Walker, chair of Alabama A&M University's Department of Food and Animal Sciences who co-authored the study, said these phytochemicals have antioxidant qualities that protect cells against the risk of degenerative diseases, including cancers, diabetes and heart disease.

"Boiling is a better method of preparing peanuts in order to preserve these phytochemicals," Walker said.

The study will appear in Wednesday's edition of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The other co-authors in the study are A&M researchers Yvonne Chukwumah and Martha Verghese, as well as University of Alabama in Huntsville researcher Bernhard Vogler.

Walker said peanuts and other plants use phytochemicals for things such as helping avoid disease and insect attacks.

"These things are not nutrients; at the same time they have health benefits to humans," he told The Birmingham News. "The trick is to keep those health benefits, not to process them out of the foods."

According to Walker, water and heat penetrate the nuts, releasing beneficial chemicals to a certain point. Overcooking the nuts destroys the useful elements.

Alabama is third in the nation in the amount of peanuts produced with a crop valued at more than $67 million last year.

Whole Grain Cereal Reduces Heart Failure Risk

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Results of a new study find that eating whole grain cereals can reduce a person's risk of developing heart failure.

It has long been known that eating cereal with whole grains could reduce one's blood pressure and risk of having a heart attack, but now according to U.S. researchers they can also reduce the risk of heart failure.

For their study, Djousse and colleagues studied the breakfast habits of more than 21,000 male doctors with an average age of 53.7 years for nearly 20 years.

They found that men who ate 1 bowl of whole grain cereal per day, had a 28% reduced risk of developing heart failure compared to men who did not.

"Eating half a cup to a cup of whole grain breakfast cereal may help lower your blood pressure. It may help lower your risk of diabetes and heart disease," said Dr. Luc Djousse of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

"This study adds another piece to the puzzle. It may also lower your risk of heart failure," he added.

According to the CDC each year, an additional 550,000 cases of heart failure are reported in America.

The condition occurs when the heart becomes weak, and is unable to pump blood as efficiently as it is supposed too.

Why garlic is good for the heart

news.bbc.co.uk

Researchers have cracked the mystery of why eating garlic can help keep the heart healthy.

The key is allicin, which is broken down into the foul-smelling sulphur compounds which taint breath.

These compounds react with red blood cells and produce hydrogen sulphide which relaxes the blood vessels, and keeps blood flowing easily.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham research appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

However, UK experts warned taking garlic supplements could lead to side effects.

Hydrogen sulphide generates a smell of rotten eggs and is used to make stink bombs.

But at low concentrations it plays a vital role in helping cells to communicate with each other.

And within the blood vessels it stimulates the cells that form the lining to relax, causing the vessels to dilate.

This, in turn, reduces blood pressure, allowing the blood to carry more oxygen to essential organs, and reducing pressure on the heart.

The Alabama team bathed rat blood vessels in a bath containing juice from crushed garlic.

Striking results

This produced striking results - with tension within the vessels reduced by 72%.

The researchers also found that red blood cells exposed to minute amounts of juice extracted from supermarket garlic immediately began emitting hydrogen sulphide.

Further experiments showed that the chemical reaction took place mainly on the surface of the blood cells.

The researchers suggest that hydrogen sulphide production in red blood cells could be used to standardise dietary garlic supplements.

Lead researcher Dr David Kraus said: "Our results suggest garlic in the diet is a very good thing.

"Certainly in areas where garlic consumption is high, such as the Mediterranean and the Far East, there is a low incidence of cardiovascular disease."

Judy O'Sullivan, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This interesting study suggests that garlic may provide some heart health benefits.

"However, there remains insufficient evidence to support the notion of eating garlic as medicine in order to reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

"Having garlic as part of a varied diet is a matter of personal choice.

"It is important to note that large amounts in supplement form may interact with blood thinning drugs and could increase the risk of bleeding."

Tea may prevent osteoporosis

www.sciencealert.com.au

New research by Australian scientists has shown that women between 70 and 85 who drink green or black tea have higher bone density in their hips than women who don't drink tea.

Tea drinkers also lost less bone density over a five year period than non tea drinkers.

The study confirmed previous research, which suggested that tea preserves hip structure in elderly women and may protect against osteoporosis, a condition that affects one in two Australian women over 60.

The results were published in the October edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The researchers from the University of Western Australia studied 275 women between the ages of 70 and 85 over five years.

The authors said that more research was needed to uncover exactly how tea drinking affected bone density.

Low-fat Dietary Pattern May Lower Risk Of Ovarian Cancer

www.sciencedaily.com

A diet low in fat could reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in healthy postmenopausal women, according to new results from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Dietary Modification Trial. Researchers found that after four years, women who decreased the amount of dietary fat they consumed were 40 percent less likely to develop ovarian cancer than women who followed normal dietary patterns. As expected, no effect was found during the first four years because preventive benefits on cancer often take many years to develop.

Ovarian cancer affects about 1 in 60 U.S. women in their lifetimes and has the highest mortality of all cancers of the female reproductive system.

“Low-Fat Dietary Pattern and Invasive Cancer Incidence: Further Results from the Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial,” is published online October 9 by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The WHI Dietary Modification Trial was conducted in 40 clinical centers throughout the United States and is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

The WHI Dietary Modification clinical trial followed 48,835 healthy, postmenopausal women for an average of 8.1 years to test whether a low-fat diet would reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Nearly 20,000 women in the intervention group were counseled to decrease fat intake to 20 percent of calories and to replace calories from fat with calories from vegetables, fruits, and grains. The control group (nearly 30,000 women) received diet-related education materials only.

Women in both groups started with average consumption of more than 35 percent of calories from fat when they joined the study. By the end of the first year, the low-fat diet group reduced average total fat intakes to 24 percent of calories from fat, about 11 percent less than the women in the usual diet group. By the end of the study, women in the low-fat diet group averaged 29 percent calories from fat, compared to 37 percent calories from fat in the usual diet group. The low-fat diet group also increased their consumption of vegetables, fruits, and grains.

Researchers found that women who started with the highest fat intake and who reduced their fat intake the most during the study lowered their risk of ovarian cancer the most. In addition, although no effect on rates of endometrial cancer were found, the new results suggest a small reduction in overall risk of cancer among the women who ate less fat, but this finding was not statistically significant.

In the study's primary findings published in the February 8, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, women in the low-fat diet group had a tendency toward reduced risk of breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke, and no reduction in risk of colorectal cancer. The overall 9 percent reduction in breast cancer was not statistically significant; however, like the results for ovarian cancer, the study found that women who started with the highest fat intake lowered their risk of breast cancer more markedly.

The WHI is the most comprehensive study to date of the causes and prevention of the major diseases affecting the health of older women. Over 15 years, the study’s findings on heart disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and osteoporosis have stimulated many changes in clinical practice. The WHI is also one of the largest studies of its kind ever undertaken in the United States and is considered a model for future studies of women’s health.

This study of low-fat dietary pattern is one of the three randomized clinical trials that make up the WHI. The others included trials of hormone therapy (estrogen plus progestin and estrogen alone). Both trials were stopped early because of increased risk of diseases like stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer, and because the hormones failed to reduce risk of heart disease. The third clinical trial studied the effects of calcium and Vitamin D supplementation on osteoporosis-related bone fractures and on colorectal cancer. As reported in February 2006, the study found that calcium and vitamin D supplements provide a modest benefit in preserving bone mass and prevent hip fractures in certain groups of healthy postmenopausal women, especially those over age 60, but do not prevent other types of fractures or colorectal cancer.

Scientists Advise Pregnant Women to Eat Fish

www.sun-sentinel.com

By Sally Squires

In a major break with current U.S. health advice, a coalition of top scientists from private groups and federal agencies plans to advise pregnant and breast-feeding women to consume at least 12 ounces of fish and seafood per week to ensure optimal brain development of their babies.

That recommendation, which will be announced at a news conference today, essentially is at odds with the standard government advice since 2001 that these groups should eat no more than 12 ounces of seafood a week because of concerns about mercury contamination.

The new advisory comes from the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, a nonprofit group with nearly 150 members, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the March of Dimes, the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Concerns over the impact of fish on the brain development of fetuses and infants, the most vulnerable groups, have been one of the more vexing nutritional dilemmas of recent years, causing widespread consumer confusion and fueling much scientific debate.

"It's been an important issue over the last decade or so," said Brown University professor Patricia Nolan, former director of the Rhode Island Department of Health and one of the experts who drafted the new guidelines. "There is a big debate about what is safe. ... There are really complex questions. That is why we are doing this."

Concerns about mercury contamination prompted the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to issue warnings in 2001 and 2004. Pregnant and breast-feeding women, those who want to become pregnant and young children were advised to eat no more than 12 ounces weekly of seafood, based on theoretical calculations of the potential for contamination. Exposure of too much methyl mercury has been linked to neurological problems.

The FDA and EPA also recommended that these groups avoid eating shark, tilefish, king mackerel and swordfish because of their high mercury content and limit albacore tuna to no more than six ounces per week.

But recent studies have suggested that the health benefits of fish and seafood outweigh the potential health risks from mercury. Based on that evidence, a number of countries and governmental groups including the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Nordic Council of Ministers, already advise that pregnant women eat at least a couple of servings of fish weekly. Fish and seafood are the major dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids, especially a substance called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), that are key nutrients for brain and nervous systems in the developing fetus and in babies and young children.

Omega 3 fatty acid reduces type 1 diabetes

U.S. researchers say dietary omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of developing diabetes in children who are genetically at risk for the disease.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found higher consumption of omega-3 fatty acids - found in fish - by children at risk for type 1 diabetes decreased by 55 percent the risk of pancreatic islet autoimmunity, which is linked to development of diabetes.

Although it is not yet known what initiates the autoimmune process in diseases such as type 1 diabetes, the study authors believe it is likely that both genetic background and environmental factors such as dietary factors contribute to the disease process.

Jill M. Norris of the University of Colorado at Denver led researchers in examining the diets of 1,770 children at increased risk for type 1 diabetes - defined as having either a high diabetes risk human leukocyte antigen genotype or a sibling or parent with type 1 diabetes.

Fifty-eight children became positive for leukocyte antigen during follow-up. Adjusting for human leukocyte antigen genotype, family history of type 1 diabetes, caloric intake, and total omega-6 fatty acid intake - total omega-3 fatty acid intake was inversely associated with islet autoimmunity erythrocyte membranes, the study said.

Do Omega-3 Fatty Acids Decrease the Risks for Type 1 Diabetes in Kids?

Childhood Obesity - Eating Habits in Children influenced by Easily Accessible Unhealthy Choices

www.bestsyndication.com

By Mark Barone

A group of studies were reported in this week’s supplemental issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. The journal compiled a number of studies that showed the different pressures that cause children and teenagers eat the wrong foods, and may be the reason for obesity epidemic.

Researchers from the University of Michigan found that there were several factors that influence children into eating unhealthy food choices. One discovery is that most middle and high schools across the United States have contracts with the soft drink industry. The study reports 67 percent of the middle schools and 83 percent of the high schools will have soft drinks available for children to purchase. These kids have easy access to sugary drinks when they attend school. Why would the schools allow this? They do this for the extra income. The schools earn on average $6,000 per year or $6.48 per student at the high school level and $500 per year on average or 70 cents per child at the middle school level.

The researchers also point out that the schools make readily available, high-fat, high- sugar and salty foods through vending machines and snack carts. So children have easy access to unhealthy food choices, but often are lacking healthy choices.

There is also a decline in PE class as the children goes into the older grades. In 8th grade they average 172 minutes a week and by 12th grade they get only 89 minutes per week. The researchers point out that in the 12th grade only about a third of the students are even participating in a PE class at some time during the year.

Another problem the researchers report is that low income neighborhoods have a problem with more fast food restaurants and more convenience stores, but they lack on supermarkets to purchase healthier food choices. The neighborhoods that were better off had less fast foods restaurants and more grocery stores. The researchers say that the minority students get more television advertisement exposures to buy junk food according to studies.

Minorities are also hurt when they attend school for eating healthy. The researchers said that less fortunate schools did not offer as many healthy food choices. The researchers also said the minority schools had less extra curricular sports activities available for the children to participate.

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago found a number of new pieces of evidence that is contributing to childhood obesity at an alarming rate. The nation research program is called Bridging the Gap and is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. School policies, neighborhood demographics and advertising all are factors to the childhood obesity epidemic. These factors combined make it extremely difficult for children to avoid the obesity trap.

Surroundings contribute to teen obesity

Funny Diet and Weight Loss Stories

Reduce Calories And Live Longer

www.dbtechno.com

For decades we we have known that reducing calorie intake — not nutrients — can be beneficial and increase life expectancy, but we didn’t know why, until now.

According to U.S. researchers, the benefits of calorie reduction can be seen at a molecular level.

In a study released Thursday, scientists suggest that the link between calorie restriction and longevity may be a molecular response to stresses from reducing calorie intake.

Researchers believe that the reaction preserves critical cellular functions between enzymes created by two genes called SIRT3 and SIRT4,. The reaction increases the bodies ability to fight age related disease, reported CNN.

“We’re not sure yet what particular mechanism is activated by these increased levels of NAD, and as a result SIRT3 and SIRT4,” said David Sinclair, a molecular biologist at Harvard Medical School who worked on the study.

“These two genes, SIRT3 and SIRT4, they make proteins that go into mitochondria. … These are little energy packs inside our cells that are very important for staying healthy and youthful and, as we age, we lose them and they get less efficient,” Sinclair said.

“They are also very important for keeping the cells healthy and alive when they undergo stress and DNA damage, as we undergo every day during the aging process.”

“But we do see that normal cell-suicide programs are noticeably attenuated,” he said.

Their study, published in the journal Cell, helps explain why animals fed low-calorie diets live longer, but it also might lead to a pill which could lead to a pill to fight many diseases, the researchers said.

“What we are talking about is potentially having one pill that prevents and even cures many diseases at once,” said Sinclair.

The study is published in the latest issue of the journal Cell.

New Clue To Why Eating Fewer Calories Can Help You Live Longer

Funny Diet and Weight Loss Stories

Vitamin D looks like a life-extender

www.chicagotribune.com

Vitamin D supplements could prolong your life, a new European study suggests.

"The intake of usual doses of vitamin D seems to decrease mortality from any cause of death," said lead researcher Dr. Philippe Autier of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France.

The new finding, published in the Sept. 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, is a bit of an anomaly, because the benefits of vitamin supplements remain uncertain at best.

Although they often are touted as a means of reducing risks for cancer and heart disease, some studies have found supplements have no effect on these conditions.

For example, other studies have shown that vitamin E has no effect on cancer, Autier said. And prior research suggests that multivitamin supplements do nothing to reduce cancer risk, he added.

But vitamin D may be the exception, according to the results of this new study, which showed a 7 percent difference in the death rate.

"This is the first study that shows that taking one vitamin has an impact on mortality," Autier said. "If you want to increase your vitamin D intake by taking supplements, it looks like a great idea."

Autier believes people should take vitamin D supplements in the range of 400 to 600 IUs daily but no more.

Vitamin D good for more than bones

Children eat too much salt, risk high blood pressure

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By Anna Boyd

British researchers warn that a diet with high levels of salt can raise children’s blood pressure, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.

A study published in the Journal of Human Hypertension shows that children’s favorite supermarket foods and snacks contain higher levels of salt than those recommended by health experts.

Researchers with the Department of Health looked at 2,127 British children aged 4 to 18, monitoring their daily salt intake. This did not include salt added in cooked meals or at the table.

The specialists found that the average four-year-old consumed 4.7g of salt a day, when only 2-3g of salt is recommended for this age group, the Journal of Human Hypertension reports.

The researchers showed in their study that each extra gram of salt eaten raised blood pressure significantly, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke during adulthood. The children who ingested the highest amounts of salt also had the highest levels of blood pressure.

The Food Standards Agency in the UK is once again urging consumers to read products’ labels and check the levels of salt, even in products such as corn flakes, where one would not expect to find salt.

Earlier this year, the agency released the results of tests conducted on more than 1,000 adults, which showed that British adults consume an average 9g of salt each day. The FSA recommends a maximum of 6g per day.

At the time, FSA chairperson Dame Deirdre Hutton said the general population needed to reduce its salt intake in order to prevent serious health problems. High blood pressure is at least partly to blame for 170,000 deaths in England each year, the FSA report said.

The agency recommends that younger children receive less salt than older ones. Babies under 6 months should receive less than 1 g of salt daily, while babies 7 to 12 months should receive a maximum of 1g.

Children 1 to 3-years-old should have a maximum of 2g per day, while 4 to 6-year-olds 3g, 7 to 10 year-olds 5g and 11 to 14-year-olds a maximum 6g.

Excessive salt consumption has been linked to conditions such as asthma, osteoporosis, stomach cancer and hypertension (high blood pressure).

Jo Butten of Consensus Action on Salt and Health said of the recent study: “The message for parents is to check labels, especially on foods such as breakfast cereals and snack products, which they may not expect to contain high levels of salt, and choose the lower salt options.

“It may be difficult for parents to tell their children they can't have crisps every day, or that they need to eat a different breakfast cereal, or that some instant noodles should be avoided completely, but surely it's a small price to pay to reduce their risk of having a heart attack or stroke when they are older?”

Blood pressure rising among U.S. children: study

Med diet found to have further Alzheimer's benefits

www.foodnavigator.com

By Lorraine Heller

Adhering to a Mediterranean diet could allow sufferers of Alzheimer's disease to live longer than patients who eat a more traditional Western diet, according to new research published today.

The findings are the latest in a string of health benefits linked to the eating plan of the people of southern Europe, which has in the past also been associated with the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

Published in today's issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the new findings were based on researchers' observations of 192 Alzheimer sufferers for four and a half years.

During that time, 85 of the people died. Researchers found that those patients who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet were 76 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who followed the diet the least.

"The more closely people followed the Mediterranean diet, the more they reduced their mortality," said study author Nikos Scarmeas of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

"For example, Alzheimer's patients who adhered to the diet to a moderate degree lived an average 1.3 years longer than those people who least adhered to the diet. And those Alzheimer's patients who followed the diet very religiously lived an average four years longer."

Previous research by Scarmeas published last year found that greater adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet could cut the risk of healthy people developing Alzheimer's disease by 68 percent.

The Med diet is rich in cereals, wine, fruits, nuts, legumes and whole grains, fish and olive oil. Its main nutritional components include beta-carotene, vitamin C, tocopherols, polyphenols, and essential minerals. It is these antioxidants and polyphenols that appear to offer protection, suggested the researchers.

Another study by the same researchers, published earlier last year in the Annals of Neurology (Vol. 59, pp. 912 - 921), reported that elderly individuals whose diet closely resembled the Med diet had a 40 per cent lower risk of Alzheimer's than those who adhered the least to the diet.

"New benefits of this diet keep coming out," wrote Scarmeas today.

"We need to do more research to determine whether eating a Mediterranean diet also helps Alzheimer's patients have slower rates of cognitive decline, maintain their daily living skills, and have a better quality of life."

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and currently affects over 13 million people worldwide. The direct and indirect cost of Alzheimer care is over $100 bn (ˆ 81 bn) in the US alone. The direct cost of Alzheimer care in the UK was estimated at ?15 bn (ˆ 22 bn, $30bn).

The Mediterranean diet has also been linked to longer life, less heart disease, and protection against some cancers - and the flow of scientific back-up for its healthfulness has started to trickle into consumer consciousness, with more and more people seeking out products that meet the diet's criteria.

Common foods of the eating plan include bread, pasta, rice, couscous and potatoes; olives, avocados and grapes; eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, nuts and beans; and cheese and yogurt. Moderate consumption of fish and poultry is also encouraged, whereas consumption of red meat is advised only a few times a month.

In the US, a nutrition group recently launched a Med Mark symbol to allow manufacturers to flag up Mediterranean diet foods. Introduced three months ago by Oldways, the packaging symbol already appears on 50 products.

Mediterranean Diet May Help Alzheimer's Patients Live Longer

The dark side of popcorn

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Microwave popcorn producer Pop Weaver is removing the controversial chemical flavoring diacteyl, which is used to add buttery taste, reports Andrew Schneider of the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Studies have linked "exposure to the synthetic butter to the sometimes fatal destruction of the lungs of hundreds of workers in food production and flavoring factories," Schneider wrote.

In addition to Pop Weaver and six other private brands, the Indiana-based company also sells "Trail's End" popcorn for the Boy Scouts of America. But while Pop Weaver has removed it, it's still in the microwave popcorn brands Orville Redenbacher and Act II.

"Despite the worker safety findings - and despite scores of jury decisions and settlements awarding millions of dollars to workers who sued after having their lungs destroyed by exposure to diacetyl - neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the Consumer Product Safety Commission have investigated," wrote Schneider. "The FDA years ago declared the chemical safe for consumption. Labels on almost all products containing it call it a flavoring and only rarely do the labels mention diacetyl.

"The only government investigators to examine whether consumers are at risk - whether diacetyl is released when consumers pop corn in their home microwaves, and if so, how much - is the Environmental Protection Agency," Schneider wrote. "But to the frustration of many public health workers, the findings of the EPA's study - which began in 2003 and was completed last year - have been released only to the popcorn industry."

Some studies have shown that diacetyl is released when freshly popped bags of corn were opened. Diacetyl is also in potato chips, baked goods and candies, frozen food, artificial butter, cooking oils and sprays, beer, dog food and others.