Bone loss commonly occurs as we age, especially for women. Until recently, women were routinely prescribed estrogen after menopause to prevent bone loss and fractures.When a Women’s Health Initiative study revealed that estrogen therapy increased the risk of breast cancer, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, many women stopped taking their hormones and started looking for alternative treatments for bone loss.

One alternative therapy is genistein, the plant hormone found primarily in soy foods. Previous studies have suggested that soy hormones, also known as isoflavones, may help prevent bone loss, but data have conflicted.

A study from Italy published in 2007 in the Annals of Internal Medicine has provided further evidence that genistein may in fact protect our bones.

In this study, 389 women with mild bone loss were assigned to receive either a placebo or 54 milligrams of genistein each day for two years. All women received supplemental calcium and Vitamin D.

Bone density, as well as blood and urine markers of bone loss, were evaluated at the beginning and end of the study.

When the study was finished, it was found that the women getting the genistein had an increase in bone density as well as a reduction in markers of bone loss, while the women getting placebo showed the opposite. The study did not look at the incidence of fractures in these women. The main side effect of the genistein was gastrointestinal upset.

Bottom line? Getting soy isoflavones like genistein in your diet may help you reduce bone loss as you age, and less bone loss generally means fewer fractures as well.

Does this mean you should go out and buy a bottle of genistein pills?

We advise caution in this approach, since genistein is a plant hormone, and the safety of long-term exposure to hormone-sensitive tissue like the breasts and ovaries is unknown at this time.

However, including soy foods in your diet, like edamame (soybeans), tofu and soy milk, is a healthy way to capture the benefits of these plant substances.

And, don’t forget the other things that are important to maintaining bone health: Take your Vitamin D every day. Get enough calcium and magnesium in your diet. Eat lots of darkly pigmented fruits and vegetables. Don’t smoke. Keep up that weight-bearing exercise.

___

(Drs. Kay Judge and Maxine Barish-Wreden are medical directors of Sutter Downtown Integrative Medicine program. Have a question related to alternative medicine? E-mail adrenaline@sacbee.com.)

___

(c) 2008, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.).

Visit The Sacramento Bee online at http://www.sacbee.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

David Servan-Schreiber was 31 when he was diagnosed with a walnut-size brain tumor and given 6 months to live. After surgery and chemotherapy, the young neuroscientist asked his oncologist if he should change his diet.”Eat whatever you like,” his doctor told him. “It won’t make much of a difference.”

Servan-Schreiber thought otherwise. For the next 15 years, he threw himself into researching the body’s natural defenses; today he believes dietary and other lifestyle changes are powerful and underutilized cancer-fighting tools.

“Cancer lies dormant in all of us,” he wrote in his new book, “Anticancer: A New Way of Life” (Viking, $25.95). “But our bodies are also equipped with a number of mecha�nisms that detect and keep such (defective) cells in check.”

Cancer rears its ugly head when things get out of balance, Servan-Schreiber said in an interview. And that can happen if the bad guys that promote the growth of cancer cells (tobacco, excessive alcohol, excessive sugar, hydrogenated fats, environmental pollutants) outnumber the good guys that support our natural defenses (cancer-fighting phytochemicals found in fruits, vegetables, herbs and teas; physical activity; and stress management techniques). But conventional treatment, while indispensable, focuses on a single target: destroying cancer cells. Doctors rarely address the other side: teaching patients how to fortify themselves using nutrition, exercise and stress management techniques to create an inhospitable environment for cancer.

“Cancer is all about residual cells left behind in the body,” said Dr. Keith Block, medical director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment in Evanston, Ill., where nutrition and lifestyle modifications are an essential part of all treatment plans.

“When you ignore the environment where cancer lives, the disease in those residual cells comes back to haunt at a more aggressive level. It’s irresponsible to send patients home without strategies and interventions to reduce the risk of recurrence.”

What often happens, however, is that patients are told to eat whatever they want _ even though research has shown the traditional Western diet can promote cancer growth _ as long as they take in enough calories. When Susie Sondag of Chicago was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 at age 29, her doctors told her to eat meat and starch and to take the high-calorie supplement Ensure to counteract any weight loss.

“My response was ‘thanks for sharing,’” said Sondag, who instead changed to a raw and vegetarian diet.

If garlic, broccoli, green tea or jogging could be patented, things might be different.

Large, high-quality clinical trials would be held and oncologists would write out an anti-cancer grocery list. But although there’s a great deal of scientific evidence showing an effect of foods on cancer growth, no one wants to fund the large, controlled trials because no profits can be made.

“It’s very easy to fund a single drug looking at a single target,” said Block. “But it often doesn’t work. Single drugs address, at most, two targets. They cost way too much and are too toxic to use several at once.

“But if you take the phytochemical curcumin found in the Indian spice turmeric _ which hits over 70 targets _ you might get different results,” Block said. “It might not be enough to knock down cancer on its own.

But when you start putting (treatments) together you can change the environment that is responsible for how cancers grow.”

What doctors fear is offering false hope.

There’s no guarantee that eating a healthy diet, avoiding products containing industrial chemicals, exercising, meditating and surrounding yourself with a solid support system can slow down or stave off cancer.

But doctors such as Servan-Schreiber and Block say that no one ever regretted trying, especially when there are no negative side effects to eating garlic, leeks and scallions.

They also warn that false hopelessness is far worse than false hope. Because even fatalism has been scientifically proven to affect a cancer patient’s outcome.

___

CHILDREN’S cereals still contain alarmingly high levels of sugar, salt and fat, a consumer watchdog warns.And firms use confusing daily intake guideline tables on packaging instead of simple colour charts.

Nine out of 10 kids’ cereals were high in sugar, a Which? study found. Many had double the advised 15grams.

Kellogg’s Frosties had 40g in a box. The firm’s Rice Crispies contains 1.7g of salt - the daily recommended dose for adults is 6g.

No cereals studied used the traffic light labelling system of red for high and green low. Instead, they printed daily intake guidelines - for adults.

Which? branded the findings “disappointing”.

But Kelloggs said: “Cereals account for only five per cent of sugar and salt intake.”

(c) 2008 Daily Mirror. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

Colleen Trapp of Duluth thought it was a bad case of indigestion.She wasn’t short of breath, didn’t have pain in her left arm, and she was only 26 years old. When her nausea didn’t go away, Trapp went to the emergency room — and was shocked to learn she was having a heart attack.

“I had no family history of heart disease whatsoever,” Trapp said.

But she did smoke, and she was taking birth control pills. The combination led to a blood clot in her heart — and her first heart attack led to a heart arrhythmia diagnosed after Trapp went into cardiac arrest at work. Co-workers kept her alive with CPR until paramedics arrived.

By the time Trapp was in her mid-40s, she needed a new heart.

Five months to the day after her transplant, Trapp was healthy enough to walk in the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk in Duluth. And on Saturday, she will walk it again, along with hundreds of others — families, friends and heart disease and stroke survivors — as part of the seventh annual American Heart Association’s Heart Walk in Duluth.

“I did it [the walk last year] to honor the person who donated my heart, and that’s the person I’ll always walk for,” Trapp said.

Taking part in the nearly three-mile walk along the Lakewalk is a way to encourage people to lead more active, physically healthy lives, said Karen Einisman, spokesperson with the American Heart Association.

The Heart Walk also helps raise money to support heart and stroke research, including innovations with CPR, clot-busting drugs, pacemakers, bypass surgery and surgical solutions to heart defects.

According to the association, people gain about two hours of life expectancy for every hour of regular, vigorous exercise they complete during their life, Einisman said.

Being able to be physically active is still a new pleasure for Trapp. For years, she had to limit her activity because of her weakened heart.

“It got tiring, not being able to be active, not being able to do a lot of things,” Trapp said. “I had to learn to live with the disease.”

But despite all her body has gone through, Trapp said she wouldn’t change her experience.

“It was a path that God chose for me; it was a journey I was meant to go on,” Trapp said. “I would never go back, ever.”

Trapp did her first Heart Walk not only to honor her heart donor, but “to prove to myself that I was getting better,” she said. “These types of things can happen to anybody, and given the obesity level in the United States, to be active and be fit and heart-healthy is so important.”

JANNA GOERDT covers the communities surrounding Duluth. She can be reached weekdays at (218) 279-5527 or by e-mail at jgoerdt@duluthnews.com.

If you go

What: American Heart Association’s annual Heart Walk

When: Saturday. Registration begins at 8 a.m.; walk begins at 9:15 a.m.

Where: Meet at South Pioneer Hall at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center; walk takes place along the Lakewalk

Cost: No entry fee, but donations are accepted

—–

To see more of the Duluth News-Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.DuluthSuperior.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.

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People in the Cape Fear region are getting fat at an alarming rate, and it’s costing taxpayers millions of dollars a year, recent reports show.From costly medical bills to missed workdays to shorter life spans, the effects of being overweight or obese are passed on to everyone, regardless of size.

But before you go pointing a finger at the chubby neighbor next door, take a look in the mirror. Chances are, you’re part of the problem.

A study released last month shows that more than 60 percent of adults in North Carolina are considered overweight or obese — ranking us 15th highest in the country.

In some parts of the Cape Fear region, those numbers are even higher, according to the North Carolina Center for Health Statistics.

In Robeson, Harnett and Sampson counties, 70 percent to 75 percent of adults are overweight or obese.

In Cumberland, Hoke and Scotland counties, 65 percent to 69 percent of adults are overweight or obese — still higher than the national average.

Grainger Barrett listened to the Rolling Stones belt out “Beast of Burden” while walking on a treadmill at Cape Fear Valley’s Healthplex.

Barrett, the Cumberland County attorney, said he usually exercises six times a week for an hour or more.

Barrett loves to work out. He’s also in good physical shape. His doctor had told him as much just a few hours before, during a regular physical.

Still, Barrett said he has struggled with his weight for years. He calls it his obsession.

Barrett, who is 59, has theories on weight loss. He thinks part of its difficulty has to do with how humans have been wired to binge since our hunting and gathering days, when food was more difficult to come by.

When we don’t eat enough, our metabolism drops to ward off starvation, he said.

Then again, he said, we probably just eat too much — more than we can possibly exercise away.

Barrett’s answer is not surprising. Researchers say our fondness for fast, cheap and easy food is the biggest problem.

Since the 1970s, we’ve been increasing our intake of fattening foods and exercising less, according to statistics from Eat Smart, Move More: North Carolina’s Plan to Prevent Overweight, Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases.

We also spend more time in our cars and more time in front of TVs, computers and video games than ever before, according to the plan.

To make matters worse, fast food and high-calorie, packaged foods are more accessible than healthful foods.

In 1970, there were 70,000 fast-food restaurants in the country, compared with 200,000 in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

With the economy struggling, fast food has become an affordable alternative.

McDonald’s posted gains this year on Wall Street while other companies floundered. Wall Street analysts said the gains were largely attributed to the restaurant’s affordable “dollar menu.”

Poverty connection

Because cheap food and obesity go hand in hand, people in the South — where poverty rates are higher than in many parts of the country — are particularly prone to being fat, said Rich Hamburg, director of government relations for Trust for America’s Health.

The foundation’s most recent report shows that 11 of the 15 states with the highest obesity rates are in the South.

What’s more, seven of the top 10 states with the highest obesity rates are also in the top 10 for highest poverty rates, the report said.

Poverty often means little access to grocery stores, where healthful foods can be found, and more access to convenience stores, which typically have high-fat, high-calorie food choices, Hamburg said.

But fast food can’t be the only problem, said Cameron Graham, obesity program director with the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund.

Part of the blame goes to the way our cities are planned, Graham said.

“There was sort of a fundamental shift in our lifestyle that happened midcentury,” she said. “People moved to the suburbs and got desk jobs. These were huge shifts in our society. Communities developed poorly. There was nowhere to walk — you couldn’t just walk to a movie or the grocery store.”

Graham said most cities and towns were designed for people who drive cars. Sidewalks were often left out of the equation, especially in the South, where sidewalks are either nonexistent or in ill repair in poor neighborhoods, Hamburg said.

Poverty also tends to breed crime, which keeps parks and ball fields locked to prevent vandalism and other crime, he said.

While local governments may save money by not building or repairing sidewalks or monitoring parks and recreation areas, they could be paying for it in other ways, such as health care costs, said Eric Finkelstein, an economist with RTI International and author of the book “The Fattening of America: How the Economy Makes Us Fat, If it Matters, and What to Do About It.”

Finkelstein said there have been increases in medical, drug and surgical treatments for diabetes, clogged arteries, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

In 2003, North Carolina spent more than $2 billion — or $254 per person — on medical costs related to obesity, according to a recent report from the Trust for America’s Health.

Nationally, health problems resulting from being overweight or obese raise the country’s medical bill by $90billion a year — more than half of which is paid for by the government, Finkelstein wrote.

In his book, Finkelstein said Medicare expenditures would be 11 percent lower without the health problems and resulting doctor’s visits and medications that surround the overweight and obese.

That means obesity is an expensive problem for some parts of the Cape Fear region. Not only does the region have an above-average number of people who are overweight or obese, but more than 60percent of patients at Cape Fear Valley and Southeastern Regional medical centers are insured by taxpayer-funded entities such as Medicaid and Medicare.

Education efforts

Obesity has been an expensive proposition for private foundations, as well, Graham said.

Since 2004, the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund, which receives money from tobacco settlements, has spent more than $9 million funding the obesity and overweight campaigns of organizations across the state.

Graham said the trust fund puts most of its efforts into programs for children in the hopes that healthy habits can be used for a lifetime.

Other state organizations are working on the obesity epidemic, including N.C. Prevention Partners, the Division of Public Health, Eat Smart, Move More, and the lobbying group N.C. Alliance for Health.

But if so much money has been spent on the obesity epidemic already, why do people in the state keep gaining weight?

“That’s a good question,” Graham said. “Our work so far has been uncovering problems. A lot of that work is still being done.”

After that, it will take even more work to change habits and lifestyles, she said.

“It’s going to take a buy-in from the entire community — school systems, businesses, developers, planners and faith organizations,” she said. “We’ll have to come together and try to address this at all levels.”

Government could eventually play a larger role, too, if costs continue to rise.

So far, the General Assembly has not passed any significant laws trying to regulate obesity, but other states have.

Alabama, which ranks third in the nation for the number of obese adults, recently announced that in 2010 it will begin charging state employees $25 a month for individual health insurance unless they pass a fitness check-up that includes tests for body mass index, blood pressure, hypertension and diabetes.

BMI uses height and weight measurements to determine a person’s percentage of fat.

If the BMI is greater than 30 — which is considered obese — that person pays for health insurance that would otherwise be free. If they don’t take the test at all, they still pay.

Cumberland County recently began an incentive program that gives employees a monthly discount of $30 on health insurance if they attend twice-yearly health screenings.

The screenings check weight, blood pressure and blood sugar, said Amy Cannon, assistant county manager.

The program has helped the county stabilize health insurance costs after large increases in recent years, Cannon said.

Barrett, the county attorney, believes the program will work for overall wellness, if not necessarily for his own physique.

“It’s hard to escape all the influences that contribute to bad nutrition,” he said. “It’s not hard to escape exercise.”

Staff writer Jennifer Calhoun can be reached at calhounj@fayobserver.com or 486-3595.

—–

To see more of The Fayetteville Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fayettevillenc.com/.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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NYSE:MCD,

A few years ago, I wrote an article about the published research that suggests a supplement called policosanol could lower blood cholesterol to a significant degree in patients with hypercholesterolemia. However, recent studies have questioned the validity of this original research, all of which was done by the same Cuban-based research team, showing policosanol failed to produce any cholesterol-lowering effects whatsoever. As such, I have changed my strategy in regards to lowering blood cholesterol by combining gugulipid, which I have always recommended, in conjunction with artichoke leaf extract. This is a more evidence-based combination formula than gugulipid with policosanol, as I had previously suggested. The Cholesterol-Lowering Game PlanHigh cholesterol and/or triglyceride problems are very common in modern society and are known to increase the risk for heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. Individuals should strive to achieve a fasting blood cholesterol level below 3.9 mmol/L (150 mg/d) and a fasting triglyceride level below 1.13 mmol/L (100 mg/d) to maximize their protection against heart attack and stroke. Eating less high-fat animal products and consuming foods high in cholesterol-lowering fiber (beans, peas, oats, fruits, vegetables, ground flaxseed, psyllium, etc.) is most beneficial in this regard.

In addition, two natural agents have proven cholesterol- and triglyceridelowering effects that can complement a diet and lifestyle plan aimed at lowering these two cardiovascular risk factors. These two natural agents are gugulipid and artichoke leaf. When taken at the right dosage and standardized grade, these supplements work synergistically to lower cholesterol and/or triglyceride in people with elevated blood levels.

Gugulipid

Gugulipid has been used for many years to lower cholesterol and triglycerides in India, where it has received prescription drug status due to its high level of efficacy, as determined in human clinical trials. Remarkably, gugulipid is a very safe agent relative to most cholesterol-lowering drugs used in modern medicine (especially when compared to the commonly used statin drugs, which inhibit the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme in the liver and can lead to liver damage). Gugulipid shows a similar therapeutic effect to many cholesterol-lowering drugs without any apparent risk of liver damage.

Gum guggul or gugulipid is derived from the mukul myrrh tree, which is native to India. Upon injury, the tree exudes a yellowish gum resin known as gum guggul, gugulipid or guggulu. The extract isolates ketonic steroid compounds known as guggulsterones have been shown to be the active constituents accounting for its cholesterol- and triglyceride-lowering effects.

Gugulipid was granted approval in India for marketing as a lipid- lowering drug in June 1986. Studies show it lowers total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol while elevating HDL cholesterol (the J good cholesterol). It appears guggulsterones increase the uptake of LDL cholesterol from the blood by the liver. Studies in humans demonstrate that guggulsterone can produce a cholesterol reduction of 14-27 percent within four to 12 weeks, and a 22-30 percent drop in blood triglyceride levels in patients with high cholesterol and/ or high triglycerides. A striking feature is its lack of toxicity. Unlike other cholesterollowering drugs, the administration of gugulipid has not revealed any significant side effects, liver damage or toxicity in human or animal studies to date.

Artichoke Leaf Extract

Artichoke leaf extract is known to increase bile acid secretion by the liver, which, in turn, increases LDL cholesterol-receptor production in liver cells, clearing more LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream. This results in a lowering of blood cholesterol. Cholesterol is the building block of bile acids. Hence, artichoke enhances the excretion of excess cholesterol (in the form of bile) from the body via the fecal route. It is thought that cynarin, a compound in artichoke called luteolin may play a role in reducing cholesterol. There is also evidence that artichoke leaf extract inhibits cholesterol synthesis in the liver to some degree, which also helps to lower blood cholesterol levels.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 143 people with high cholesterol, artichoke leaf extract reduced total cholesterol by 18.5 percent as compared to 8.6 percent in the placebo group. LDL cholesterol dropped by 23 percent vs. 6 percent, and LDLHDL ratios declined by 20 percent vs. 7 percent. Like gugulipid, artichoke leaf extract is not associated with any significant side effects or toxicity.

Dosage and Standardized Grades

To be effective, gugulipid must be standardized to yield 50-75 mg of gugglesterones per day (example 1,000 mg dose, standardized to 2.5 percent guggulsterone content, taken two to three times per day). Artichoke leaf extract requires a minimum of 400 mg (standardized to 13-18 percent caffeoylquinic acids), taken two to three times per day. Look for products that contain standardized grades of both gugulipid and artichoke leaf and that provide the ideal dosage for cholesterol and triglyceride lowering. The synergistic effect of gugulipid and artichoke leaf extract provides a natural and safe means to help lower cholesterol. This combination can even be taken safely in conjunction with other cholesterol- and triglyceride-lowering medications, if necessary.

RESOURCES

1. Murray MT. The Healing Power of Herbs 2nd Edition. Prima Publishing, 1995.

2. Satyavati GV. A promising hypolipidaemic agent from gum guggul (Commiphora wightii). Econ Med Plant Res, 1991;5:47-82.

3. Nityand S, Kapoor NK. Hypocholesterolemic effect of Commiphora mukul resin. Indian J Exp Biol, 1971;9:376-7.

4. Kuppurajan K, et al. Effect of gugglu on serum lipids in obese hypercholesterolemic and hyperlipidemic cases. J Assoc Physicians India, 1978;26:367-71.

5. Malhotra SC, et al. Long term clinical studies on the hypolipidaemic effect of Commiphora mukul (guggulu) and clofibrate. Indian J Med Res, 1977:65:390-5.

6. Verna SK, Bordia A. Effect of Commiphora mukul (gum guggulu) in patients of hyperlipidemia with special reference to HDL- cholesterol. Indian J Med Res, 1988;87:356-60.

7. Agarwal RC, et al. Clinical trial of gugulipid a new hypolipidemicagent of plant origin in primary hyperlipidemia. Indian J Med Res, 1986;84:626-34.

8. Nityanand S, et al. Clinical trials with gugulipid, a new hypolipidaemic agent. J Assoc Physicians India, 1989:37:321-8.

9. Singh V, et al. Stimulation of low density lipoprotein receptor activity in liver membrane of guggulsterone treated rats. Pharmocol Res, 1990;22:37-44.

10. Sharma JN, Sharma JN. Comparison of the anti-inflammatory activity of Commiphora mukul (an indigenous drug) with those pfhenylbutazone and ibuprofen in experimental arthritis induced by mycobacterial adjuvant. Arzneimittel-Forsch, 1977;27:1455-7.

11. Dietary Supplement Information Bureau. www.content.intramedicine.com: Guggul.

12. Natural Health Products Encyclopedia, www. consumerslab.com: Guggul.

13. Healthnotes, Inc. www.healthnotes.com. Guggul.

14. Satyavati GV. Gum guggul (Commiphora mukul) - The success of an ancient insight leading to a modern discovery. Indian J Med, 1988;87:327-35.

15. Singh RB, et al. Hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of Commiphora mukul as an adjunct to dietary therapy in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Cardiovasc Drugs Ther, 1994:8:659-64.

16. Singh K, et al. Guggulsterone, a potent hypolipidaemic, prevents oxidation of low density lipoprotein. Phytother Res, 1997;11:291-4.

17. Mester L, et al. Inhibition of platelet aggregration by guggulu steroids. Planta Med, 1979;37:367-9.

18. Satyavati GV et al. Experimental studies on the hypocholesterolemic effect of Commiphora mukul. Indian J Med Res, 1969;57(10):1950-62.

19. Nityanand S et al. Clinical trials with gugulipid. A new hypolipidaemic agent. J Assoc Physicians India, 1989;37(5):323-8.

20. Satyavati GV et al. Guggulipid: A promising Hypolipidemic agent from gum guggul (Commiphora Wightii). Econ Med Plant Res, 1991;5:48-82.

21. Englisch W, et al. Efficacy of artichoke dry extract in patients with hyperlipoproteinemia. Arzneimittel-Forsch, 2000;50:260- 5.

22. Kraft K. Artichoke leaf extract: recent findings reflecting effects on lipid metabolism, liver and gastrointestinal tracts. Phytomedicine, 1997;4:369-78.

23. Englisch W, et al. Efficacy of artichoke dry extract in patients with hyperlipoproteinemia. Arzneimittel-Forsch, 2000;50:260- 5.

24. Petrowicz O, et al. Effects of artichoke leaf extract (ALE) on lipoprotein metabolism in vitro and in vivo [abstract]. Atherosclerosis, 1997;129:147.

James P. Meschino, DC, MS

DR. JAMES MESCHINO practices in Toronto, Ontario. He can be contacted via his Web site, www.renaisante.com. For more information, including a brief biography, a printable version of this article and a link to previous articles, please visit his columnist page online: www.chiroweb. com/columnist/meschino.

Copyright Dynamic Chiropractic Sep 9, 2008

(c) 2008 Dynamic Chiropractic. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

New uses for old-line diabetes monitoring test A blood test currently used as the gold standard for monitoring people already under care for diabetes may have far wider use in identifying millions with undetected diabetes, a team led by a Johns Hopkins physician suggests. The hemoglobin Ak test (HbAk), based on a blood sample, is widely used to keep tabs on how well confirmed diabetics keep their blood sugar, or glucose, in check by showing how much glucose red blood cells have been exposed to for the past 120 days, the average lifespan of these cells.”The test is a measure of long-term glucose control, but doctors don’t typically use it to screen for or diagnose the disease,” says Christopher Saudek, M.D., professor of endocrinology and metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Diabetes Center. “There’s reason to believe it could help identify many of the estimated six million people in the U.S. who have diabetes but don’t know it,” he adds. The current screening and diagnostic tests measure only the amount of sugar present at the moment that blood sample is taken. Consequently, Saudek says, these tests are accurate only if patients fast for at least 10 hours before the test because glucose concentrations can vary greatly depending on a person’s recent meals. Even then, explains Saudek, the tests miss a significant portion of people who have diabetes or are at high risk to develop the disease since glucose also varies depending on a person’s diet and exercise regimen for several days leading up to the blood draw. “If a patient is scheduled for a physical, he or she may ‘tune up’ by changing their regimen for a few days and throw off their test results, causing doctors to miss the patient’s usual pattern of high blood sugar,” he says.

In a consensus statement published in the July Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Saudek and his colleagues conclude that the HbAI c test should be used as a front-line method for identifying patients with diabetes, especially for those at high risk for the disease. Since the test does not require fasting and isn’t affected by short-term changes in diet and exercise, the HbAk test has significant advantages to current testing methods.

After reviewing relevant published studies and available tests, the national panel recommended that individuals who score at least 6 percent on an HbAk test may have or be at risk for diabetes and should be tracked with additional glucose or HbAk tests. Those who score between 6.5 percent or above, if confirmed, should be considered to have diabetes. “This is a first step towards changing medical practice,” notes Saudek, and “could greatly enhance how well we’re able to identify people with diabetes.” For more information, go to: htto://www-hoDkinshospital.ora/diabetes

Copyright KSR Publishing Sep 2008

(c) 2008 Healthcare Purchasing News. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

Drinking bottled water containing vitamins, nutrients and fruit flavors seems like a great idea for people on the go? until you look beyond the bright packaging. “Vitamin waters are an expensive way to get nutrients and they tend to be filled with sugar,” says Heather Bainbridge, a dietitian at Weill Cornell Medical College’s Comprehensive Weight Control Program. She advises her patients to look first at the ingredients. “If sugar is one of them, then it’s not as healthy as it sounds, no matter how many vitamins the drink is fortified with.”When you read the label, check the serving size. Some brands contain 50 calories a serving, which sounds good, but the bottle may contain two and a half servings-and for 125 calories you could eat two whole apples and one and a half bananas.

Experts agree that we’re better off getting our vitamins and nutrition from food, namely a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and lean meats.

Instead of “vitamin water,” Bainbridge recommends drinking plain water with a piece of fruit. This makes you feel fuller than drinking a beverage alone. And, she adds, “those sugary drinks tend to add calories, so it’s best not to drink them if you’re trying to control your weight.”

If you don’t like drinking plain water, Bainbridge suggests squeezing in some lemon, lime or adding a few berries, unsweetened iced teas are another good option and they contain antioxidants. If you’re still concerned about not getting enough vitamins and minerals, you’re better off taking a daily multivitamin.

-Adapted from Food & Fitness Advisor

Copyright Work and Family Life Sep 2008

(c) 2008 Work & Family Life. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

SO THE drugs often dubbed the “chemical cosh” because of their calming effects on hyperactive children are not the panacea many had hoped for.New guidance out this week advises doctors that treatments such as Ritalin should be avoided wherever possible.

Instead, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has recommended, among other things, training for parents to help them tackle their child’s difficult behaviour.

But campaign groups believe the watchdog has missed a major opportunity to highlight the impact of diet on youngsters’ behaviour.

One campaigner yesterday described the situation as “bizarre”. She said: “There has been considerable work done over the years that suggests a link between diet and behavioural problems.”

Food colourings and preservatives are suspected by many of increasing hyperactivity and bad behaviour in children.

In particular, a study by Southampton University - which was funded by the Food Standards Agency - found increased levels of hyperactivity in children consuming mixtures of some artificial food colours and the preservative sodium benzoate. The campaigner said: “Advising parents to try making changes in their child’s diet is not going to cost the NHS anything.

“Even if the child is on medication, there is no harm in changing their diet.

“There are many benefits to putting a child on a healthy diet that is free from additives, which have been suspected of contributing to hyperactivity and ADHD.”

The campaigner said the guidance also ignored the potential of fish oils and other supplements in improving child behaviour.

“We welcome the advice on drugs, and also the extra help for parents,” the source said. But she added: “Where is this extra help going to come from, because it is not there at the moment?”

(c) 2008 Scotsman, The. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

Obesity may increase with each generation because overweight mothers give birth to offspring who have a tendency to become heavier, researchers have claimed.A team of scientists believe that the genetic mechanisms that control the weight of a baby may be changed if the mother is obese before and during pregnancy.

This change could lead in turn to the baby becoming heavier than normal.

Scientists in Houston, America, made the claim after studying the eating habits of several generations of mice.

Dr Robert Waterland from Baylor College of Medicine, led the study.

He explained: “There is an obesity epidemic in the United States and it’s increasingly recognised as a worldwide phenomenon.

“Why is everyone getting heavier and heavier?

“One hypothesis is that maternal obesity before and during pregnancy affects the establishment of body weight regulatory mechanisms in her baby.

“Maternal obesity could promote obesity in the next generation.”

The team split the mice, all of which had a genetic tendency to overeat, into two groups.

One group was provided with a normal diet while the other was provided with nutrient-supplemented diet.

The nutrients in the supplemented diet encouraged the process of DNA methylation - a chemical reaction that silences genes with the hope that it would render the over-eating gene inactive.

The mice on the normal diet gained weight with each generation while the mice on the altered diet stayed roughly the same size.

Dr Waterland explained: “We wanted to know if, even among genetically identical mice, maternal obesity would promote obesity in her offspring, and if the methyl-supplemented diet would affect this process.

“Indeed those on the regular diet got fatter and fatter with each generation. Those in the supplemented group however, did not.”

Dr Waterland said the research had led the team to believe that the process of DNA methylation plays an important role in the development of the region of the brain that regulates appetite - the hypothalamus.

(c) 2008 Belfast Telegraph. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.