DHA During Pregnancy Reduce Colds in Infants.

A woman who consumes fish oil-type supplements during pregnancy may decrease the number of colds early in her baby's life, according to a randomized, controlled trial.

Symptoms resolved faster throughout the first six months of life for the supplement group compared with the placebo group, they will report in the September issue of Pediatrics.

1,094 pregnant women in Mexico took 400 mg DHA or placebo daily during the later half of gestation.

At 1 month, symptom duration for the DHA group compared with the placebo group was:

•                26% shorter for cough

•                15%, shorter for phlegm

•                30% shorter for wheezing

•                22% longer for rash

At 6 months, symptom duration differences in the DHA versus placebo group were:

•                20% shorter for fever

•                13% shorter for nasal secretion

•                54% shorter for difficulty breathing

•                23% shorter for rash

•                25% shorter for "other illness," such as ear infections and sore throats.

•                74% longer for vomiting

Source:

         Imhoff-Kunsch B, et al "Prenatal Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation and Infant Morbidity: Randomized Controlled Trial" Pediatrics 2011; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2010-1386.

                Various recommended doses of EPA and DHA during pregnancy:

Click on Image to Enlarge

Be Alert! McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the makers of Tylenol have lowered their maximum daily dose!

You might be surprised to learn that a huge number of cases of liver toxicity are caused by accidental overdoses of the OTC drug acetaminophen. Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in Tylenol and hundreds of other pain and fever and cold and flu medications.

Until today the daily maximum dose was 4000 mg. But the makers of Tylenol have just reduced that by 25% to 3000 mg.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare announced it is lowering the maximum daily dose instructions for Extra Strength Tylenol to six pills a day (3,000 mg) to reduce the risk of acetaminophen overdose.

 Acetaminophen overdose is an emergency and can lead to liver failure which at times may be fatal. Never take acetaminophen for a hangover. Combining the drug with alcohol increases the potential for liver damage.

The antidote in emergency rooms is an antioxidant NAC or N Acetyl Cysteine. Alpha Lipoic Acid is another nutrient that helps to support liver health in case you've been excessive with medications or alcohol. Both NAC and Alpha Lipoic Acid help the liver to produce glutathione to support a potent metabolic pathway for breaking down acetaminophen and other medications.

Inherited Alzheimer's May be Detected 20 Years before the Onset of Dementia.

It soon may be possible for doctors to identify persons who have Alzheimer’s decades before dementia is present, allowing earlier intervention to protect the brain. This breakthrough in identification methods was reported on July 20 at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Paris. The new insights come from an ongoing study: the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer’s Network (DIAN), an international study of inherited forms of Alzheimer’s.

Based on what is seen in the study group, brain chemistry changes can be detected up to 20 years before the expected age of detectable symptoms.  The Alzheimer’s-related changes can be specifically targeted for prevention trials in patients with inherited forms of Alzheimer’s.

The doctors are looking specifically at the value of disease indicators from cerebrospinal fluid analyses. DIAN researchers are studying members of families who have mutations in one of three genes: amyloid precursor protein, presenilin 1 or presenilin 2. Participants with these mutations are certain to develop Alzheimer’s disease early, with symptoms beginning in their 50s, 40s, or, in some rare cases, 30s.

Participants who carry the mutations but are still asymptomatic have significantly lower levels of amyloid beta and higher levels of tau protein in their cerebrospinal fluid than participants without the mutations.

Amyloid beta normally is cleared from the brain and into the spinal fluid. Scientists theorize that decreases in spinal fluid levels of amyloid beta reflect a buildup of this sticky protein fragment in the brain, where it forms Alzheimer’s plaques. Tau protein is a structural component of central nervous system cells. Its increase in cerebrospinal fluid is thought to be a byproduct of damage to brain cells.


DIAN is supported by funding from the National Institute on Aging. One hopes that our contentious political climate will not result in a loss of funding for this important work.

National Institutes of Health Article Here

Lifestyle factors that are protective against amyloid and tau accumulation in the brain include fish and fish oil consumption, it is especially important to get adequate DHA which is specifically protective against the increases of amyloid.

More benefits seen with the sunshine vitamin!

Increased intakes of vitamin D are associated with a big reduction in the risk of diabetes, according to new research.

Researchers from Tufts Medical Center and Carney Hospital in Massachusetts also report that people with the highest blood levels of vitamin D, measured as more than 25 nanograms per milliliter, had a 43 percent lower risk of developing type-2 diabetes than people with the lowest blood levels (less than 14 ng/ml).

Vitamin D deficiency has previously been linked to impaired insulin secretion in animals and humans, and has also been linked to insulin resistance in healthy, glucose-tolerant subjects.

Vitamin D deficiency in adults appears to lead to or worsen osteopenia, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, fractures, common cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases. There is also some evidence that having higher serum levels of the vitamin may reduce the incidence of several types of cancer and type-1 diabetes.

“Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes: a systematic review”
Authors: J. Mitri, M.D. Muraru, A.G. Pittas European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Apples and Cinnamon...Delicious and So Healthy!

Apples..who doesn't love a crisp juicy apple in summer? Eating one before each meal is a popular approach for weight loss. They are loaded with antioxidants and lots of fiber, Just one apple with its skin contains 20 percent of the recommended daily fiber intake. Studies have linked eating apples to lower cholesterol, weight loss and a dramatically reduced risk of several kinds of cancer, heart disease, asthma, type 2 diabetes and stroke. Apples even boost levels of the memory hormone acetylcholine...

Sprinkle on some cinnamon... also loaded with antioxidants, because half a teaspoon a day of the fragrant spice lowers blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, and in healthy people too. Cinnamon brings down levels of total cholesterol, drops triglycerides and reduces LDL cholesterol. 



I get organic apples brought right to my door by MileHigh Organics. If you live along the front range of Colorado they'll bring you yummy food each week too!


Just go to this link.


Not one of my Colorado neighbors? Go to your farmers market, sign up for a CSA at Local Harvest.org or visit the supermarket to pick up your favorite apples..and let the health benefits begin!

SSRI Antidepressant Use Linked to Autism!

New research coming from Kaiser Permanente Northern California has linked the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a type of medication used to treat depression, and the occurrence of autism. The chances of having a child with autism spectrum disorder is double in women who took SSRI’s in the year before she gave birth. If the drugs were taken during the first trimester of pregnancy that risk quadrupled!

The study was published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry and the abstract can be viewed here.

Studies link common painkillers to increased death risk...

Bad news for people who have high blood pressure and use NSAID’s routinely for pain relief. The habit may be downright deadly!

In persons who were average age 65 who had high blood pressure and reported chronic use of NSAID’s the NSAID use was associated with a 47% increase in the occurrence of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke. This was due to a 990% increase in all cause mortality, a 126% increase in cardiovascular mortality and a 66% increase in heart attacks.

Reference: "Harmful Effects of NSAIDs among Patients with Hypertension and Coronary Artery Disease"

See the study abstract here

The use of pain meds has also been associated with irregular heart rhythm. increased risk of irregular heart rhythm, also known as atrial fibrillation can be caused by common painkillers that are also used to treat inflammation.

Both the new generation anti-inflammatory drugs known as selective COX-2 inhibitors as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) were linked to the sometimes dangerous form of arrythmia. Atrial fibrillation is a condition associated with an augmented long term risk of stroke, heart failure and death.

Although these pain drugs have already been associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, this is the first study to link them to increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

See this study here

If you depend on these drugs for frequent pain relief you might want to try more holistic approaches to pain management. Go to the word cloud on the right side of the page and click on "pain" to bring up an earlier article that talks about omega 3's and vitamin D for pain relief.

Sticking with a healthy lifestyle pays off in a huge way!

Women who live a healthy lifestyle had as much as a 90% reduction in the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) when compared with women with a high-risk profile, data from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) showed.

Compared with women with none of the low-risk attributes, the risk of SCD declined linearly as the number of these attributes increased, ranging from a 46% reduction for a woman who had one to 92% for those who had all four.

About 80% of attributable risk for SCD was linked to four lifestyle factors included in the analysis: smoking, overweight, inactivity, and poor diet, according to an article in the July 6 issue of JAMA.

Because SCD accounts for more than 50% of CHD mortality, widespread adoption of a healthy lifestyle in the population could make a substantial impact on reaching the American Heart Association's 2020 Impact Goal of further lowering cardiovascular disease mortality.

Investigators defined a low-risk lifestyle as no smoking, BMI <25, at least 30 minutes of exercise daily, and top 40% of the alternate Mediterranean diet score. The diet emphasizes consumption of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, whole grains, and fish, and moderate alcohol consumption. See how to score yourself below.

Each of the four low-risk lifestyle factors had an independent, statistically significant association with a lower risk of SCD (P<0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that the magnitude of the risk reduction increased with the number of low-risk factors, as compared with women who had none of the traits:

•                46% for one low-risk factor

•                59% for two

•                67% for three

92% for all four

Chiuve SE, et al "Adherence to a low-risk, healthy lifestyle and risk of sudden cardiac death among women" JAMA 2011; 306: 62-69.

How the alternate Mediterranean Diet score works:

One point each is given for intake at or above the sex-specific median intake for components considered to be healthy — vegetables (excluding potatoes), fruits, nuts, legumes, grains, fish, and monounsaturated-fat/saturated-fat ratio — and one point is given for intake less than the median for those components considered unhealthy (red and processed meat). In addition, one point is given for alcohol intake within a specified range (5-25 g/day).

Get out of that chair!

Another caution against spending too much time sitting...Women who sat for more than 40 hours per week had double the risk of developing a pulmonary embolism than those who were sedentary for less time, according to the Nurses' Health Study.

Kabrhel C, et al "Physical inactivity and idiopathic pulmonary embolism in women: prospective study" BMJ 2011; DOI: 10.1136/bmj.d3867.

Bad news for restaurant lovers...

We need to cook at home...the more you eat out, the more likely you are to be fat, say obesity experts who have studied the link between eating at restaurants and obesity — which are both on the rise.

A third of the calories Americans eat come from restaurants, including fast-food franchises, which is almost double what it was 30 years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"For the average consumer, eating one meal away from home each week translates to roughly two extra pounds a year," said Lisa Mancino, a food economist for the USDA.

More than half of adults eat out three or more times a week, and 12 percent eat out more than seven times a week. As a result, the pounds are adding up.

Wouldn't you LOVE to be able to use your Flex Spending Account to buy your Supplements?

Tell Congress! Support the Family and Retirement Health Investment Act of 2011

NPA Endorses Hatch-Paulsen Bill Expanding HSA and FSA Coverage to Dietary Supplements
NPA Members and the Industry Asked to Contact Capitol Hill to Express Their Support 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Statement from Natural Products Association (NPA) Executive Director and CEO John Gay about the “Family and Retirement Health Investment Act of 2011” recently introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Orrin Hatch and in the U.S. House by Representative Erik Paulsen:

“The Natural Products Association supports legislation introduced in Congress by Senator Orrin Hatch and Representative Erik Paulsen that would allow Americans to use their Health Spending Account and Flex Spending Arrangement dollars on dietary supplements and meal replacement products. We believe this would be an important step in promoting preventative health and wellness, and reducing overall health care costs.

Current law allows these dollars to be spent on prescription drugs but not supplements. NPA supports increased access to supplements as part of our health care system so that it is truly a health care system and not simply a disease treatment system. Letting HSA and FSA funds apply to supplements would bring us closer to that goal.

In the long run, wider use of supplements can lead to substantial health care savings. For example, studies have shown that an increase in omega-3 fatty acids can reduce coronary heart disease among people age 65 or older, saving an estimated $3.1 billion. By establishing tax deductibility for specific products through HSAs and FSAs, the legislation encourages preventative care and promotes public health. That’s not just the smart thing to do. It’s the right thing to do.

NPA thanks Senator Hatch and Representative Paulsen for their leadership on this timely and important issue. We encourage NPA members and the industry to ask their senators and representative to join them in supporting this legislation as it works its way through Congress.”

To learn more about this issue or to contact a member of Congress, visit www.npainfo.org.

Tell Me Where it Hurts...

Nearly one in three among us contends with long-lasting pain — the kind that lingers for weeks to months — and more often than not are not helped by the US healthcare system poorly prepared to treat them, the Institute of Medicine said Wednesday.

As great as the suffering is, the cost from a financial standpoint is enormous: the tab for chronic pain is costing the nation at least $558 billion a year in medical bills, sick days, and lost productivity. That's more than the cost of heart disease, the No. 1 killer. And all that money isn't bringing relief to the majority of those who are suffering.

All kinds of ailments can trigger lingering pain, from arthritis to cancer, spine problems to digestive disorders, injuries to surgery. Sometimes, chronic pain can be a disease all its own, the report stressed.

Whatever the cause, effective pain management is "a moral imperative," says IOM, urging the government, medical groups, and insurers to take a series of steps to transform the field.

Jolie adds: Some chronic pain conditions are relieved in part or sometimes fully by taking marine omega 3's, but the dose is far greater than a single capsule...for real relief a person usually needs to take between 2400 mg EPA and DHA combined and may need to boost the dose in some very difficult cases by a factor of three.

Other pain sufferers find that getting their vitamin D levels assessed and then raising them to a level between 40-60ng/ml will help relieve pain of rheumatoid and musculoskeletal conditions and also neuropathies.

What Would Happen?

Inspiration: 

What would happen if you recognized that life, rather than being something that has to be controlled, is something to be opened to - and that the safest thing you will ever do is show up for the life that you have been given rather than always trying to make it be the way you think it should be?

Intention:

Today I will be willing to open to life - all of it - the fear, the pain, and the joy.

This beautiful thought is from a newsletter I subscribe to called "Awakenings" and was written by Mary O'Malley

Subscribe at this link

Stop GMO Salmon...contact your congressional representative

Congress Close to Stopping GMO Salmon, Write Your Representatives Today!

The US House of Representatives last week passed an amendment that blocks the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from approving genetically engineered salmon - the first genetically modified animal intended for human consumption.

During full floor debate of the Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture and FDA appropriations bill, members of the House passed an amendment offered by Reps. Don Young (R-AK) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) to prohibit use of FDA funds to approve any application for approval of genetically engineered salmon.

The full appropriations bill, The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2112), passed on Thursday by a 217-203 vote.

As the Agriculture Appropriations Act heads to the Senate and then to a conference committee, there's no guarantee that the provision blocking GMO salmon will remain in the bill and become law.

Your support is needed! Please write your Senators and Congressperson today! Here is a link to a handy form you can send right now

This article came from an excellent newsletter:

Subscribe and read past issues here

Take with a grain of salt....

A new study in Europe is turning our presumptions about salt and heart disease upside down. The study followed 3 ,681 middle-aged Europeans who did not have high blood pressure or heart disease. The group was divided into three categories. Low salt, moderate salt and high salt. The heart disease risk in the low salt group was highest..56 % higher than the other groups…and the conclusion was the less salt participants ate, the higher the risk of dying from heart disease.

The bottom line is this…not everyone reacts the same way to salt..some people are salt sensitive and adding salt will definitely bring their blood pressure higher, which is inarguably harmful to heart health. But many people can handle salt..some are not harmed at all.

So..you need to watch your blood pressure…if it is high..or even moderately high..see if cutting salt back brings it down. We all want to have consistant blood pressure levels of 120/70 or less. And watch out for hidden salt. 75% of the salt in any persons diet comes from prepared foods, and restaurant foods, especially fast foods.

One final thought…sea salt provides trace minerals that are actually healthy for your heart...

Cinnamon may be the spice of life for MS patients.

A neurological scientist at Rush University Medical Center has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine if cinnamon, a common food spice and flavoring material, might halt the destructive disease process of multiple sclerosis (MS)

In earlier published studies, the principal investigator Kalipada Pahan, PhD showed that sodium benzoate, a metabolite of cinnamon, inhibits the expression of various pro-inflammatory molecules in brain cells and blocks the disease process of MS in mice.

Cinnamon’s anti-inflammatory properties counteract and inhibit the glial activation that causes brain cell death.

Current medications to treat the symptoms of MS are prohibitively expensive, have many side effects, and are only 30-40 percent effective.

If the Rush study is successful, there may be a day when just a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon per day on oatmeal or with with milk, tea or honey, allows MS patients to manage the disease process and reduce the drug cost drastically to approximately $10 per month.

More Olive Oil in Diet Reduces Stroke Risk

Adding olive oil to your diet may reduce your risk of stroke, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that older people who used olive oil intensively -- meaning they regularly cooked with it and used it in salad dressing -- were 41 percent less likely to have a stroke than those who rarely consumed it.

Samieri C, et al "Olive oil consumption, plasma oleic acid, and stroke incidence: The Three-City Study" Neurology 2011 See the abstract here

The "Dirty Dozen" and The "Clean Fifteen"

This list just out from the Environmental Working Group. Foods with the highest and lowest pesticide residues...the worst offender..Apples.


Conventional farmers use an arsenal of pesticides to protect their crops from insects, bacteria, rodents, molds, and fungi. These substances can end up in the food supply. Washing and peeling fruit and vegetables can lower pesticide residues, but not necessarily. When the USDA tests for pesticides, they wash and peel fruit the same way a typical consumer would.


Can't afford Organics? Try looking for locally grown but do not despair. The EWG made this statement: if families simply select the daily recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables from the "Clean Fifteen" list over five from the Dirty Dozen, they would reduce the amount of pesticides ingested by 92% - without having to shell out extra money for organics.


Buy the produce on the Dirty Dozen organically grown if possible...


The Dirty Dozen 2011

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines (imported)
7. Grapes (imported)
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries (domestic)
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/collard greens

And the Clean Fifteen 2011

1. Onions
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplants
9. Cantaloupe (domestic)
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

An unexpected benefit of losing weight...higher vitamin D levels.

This is an interesting finding...losing weight...ie losing fat..frees up vitamin D that is sequestered in the fat..and results in modest increases in serum levels of the vitamin. You know that vitamin D is protective against heart disease and several cancers...here's another reason to hop up and onto that treadmill...and watch your calories.


The study reports that Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations in postmenopausal women are directly associated with weight loss, whether achieved through lower caloric intake or increased physical activity, according to the results of a randomized controlled trial reported online May 25 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.


Low concentrations of circulating vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, are common with obesity and may represent a potential mechanism explaining the elevated risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular outcomes observed in individuals who are overweight or obese. A greater degree of weight loss, achieved through either a reduced-calorie diet or increased exercise, is associated with increased circulating 25(OH)D concentrations.

The National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute supported this study.

"Effects of weight loss on serum vitamin D in postmenopausal women." 

Am J Clin Nutr. Published online May 25, 2011

Tuition Hikes are Outpacing Income

CNN Money notes that, between 1988 and 2008, college tuition and fees doubled while median income stagnated. And this is just tuition...add housing and food and you're looking at 20K+ for in-state tuition in most schools. Sheesh.

Tangerines, Grapefruits, Diabetes and Healthy Blood Vessels.

What's the connection? Well in an animal study in Ontario a substance found in tangerines guards against obesity and offers some protection against diabetes and blood vessel disease. The substance is called nobiletin and it protected against insulin resistance and  blocked arteries in animals fed a high fat high sugar diet.


Two groups of mice were fed the Western diet but one group also got supplemental nobiletin. The mice without the tangerine compound became obese and developed signs of metabolic syndrome—high insulin and glucose levels, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, and a fatty liver—all of which increase the risk of developing diabetes and heart problems such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). The second group of mice whose diet included nobiletin didn’t experience an increase in insulin, glucose, triglycerides nor cholesterol, and gained weight normally. Researchers said nobiletin protected the mice from obesity and prevented fat buildup in the liver. 

Another citrus favorite, the grapefruit, has shown promise in weight management and diabetes; although, the research on nobiletin in tangerines is showing it’s more potent than naringenin from grapefruit. 

Read the abstract from the journal "Diabetes" here.

Mile High Organics

I've been so excited to find a wonderful business near me...Mile High Organics..they deliver beautiful organic non GMO foods right to my front porch. Here is a shot of some of the produce I received in my first order...

If you live here along the front range you can find them at www.milehighorganics.com