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August 2002 Vol. 7 No. 8
“It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on Earth-and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up-that we will begin to love each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Author of an excellent book titled: “Death and Dying”
Table of Contents:
Antidepressants Proven To Work Only Slightly Better Than Placebo
“Got A Beef With The Atkins Diet?”
Doctors Weigh In On “Diet War” Cover Stories In Nyt And Time Magazine
Hrt Provides No Heart Benefit, Increases Risk Of Blood Clots And Gallstones
Calorie Restriction And Longer Life
Obesity - Cancer Link - 75% Of Americans Are Clueless That Excess Weight Raises The Risk Of Cancer.
No Safe Level Of Trans Fat
Does Your Child Have Adhd? Consider Fish Oil Over Ritalin
Non-Surgical Option For Those Who Tear Their Achilles Tendon
Antidepressants Proven to Work Only Slightly Better Than Placebo
A comprehensive review of all the clinical trials submitted to the FDA for six popular antidepressants fail to reveal all but the smallest benefit over placebo. What does this mean if you are depressed? http://www.mercola.com/2002/jul/31/antidepressants.htm
“Got a Beef with the Atkins Diet?”
Doctors launch campaign, warning of possible health and legal risks with high-protein diets.
You may have seen the recent article in the NY Times heading the benefits of weight loss with the Atkins diet-and similar ones that tout high protein/higher fat and lower carbohydrates as the panacea for weight loss. [ “What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?”] Washington, D.C.-The nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is launching a provocative new campaign about the potential medical and legal risks of high-protein diets.
A consumer ad, “Got a Beef with the Atkins Diet?”, will debut on Yahoo.com on Monday, August 5. An ad targeting primary care physicians-with the headline “Could Prescribing a High-Protein Diet Put You at Legal Risk?”-will debut the following week on The Journal of Family Practice’s Web site. Additional placements will follow. Both ads can be viewed now at the campaign’s site, http://www.AtkinsDietAlert.org.
Central to the new Web site is an online registry with which PCRM will track adverse health effects from high-protein diets. Anyone who has been on a high-protein diet and believes he or she developed health problems because of it-or anyone who has just begun one of these diets-is invited to register. Studies show that the foods consumed on meat-heavy, high-protein diets are linked to osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, and renal disease, and have particular complications for people with diabetes.
PCRM is also concerned about legal liability-both from the physician’s perspective and that of patients. The site, which features both a consumer and a physician advisory, counsels doctors that liability could be an issue and explains to consumers that they may have legal recourse. ”Given the health problems associated with high-protein diets, doctors who prescribe them may be assuming serious legal liability,” says PCRM’s president Neal Barnard, M.D.
PCRM hopes its campaign convinces physicians and patients to be wary of high-protein diets. “There’s no need to put yourself at risk when there are safer and healthier alternatives, especially low-fat, plant-based diets,” says Barnard. “Not only are vegetarians, on average, 10 percent lighter than omnivores, but they enjoy dramatically lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and several forms of cancer.” The Web site also resolves common diet myths. For example, people who subscribe to the myth that Americans have gotten fatter while fat intake has dropped will learn that the fat content of the American diet has actually risen over the years. Although the percentage of fat has gone down, Americans are eating so many more pounds of food that the total amount of fat has increased.
DOCTORS WEIGH IN ON “DIET WAR” COVER STORIES IN NYT AND TIME MAGAZINE: Nutrition Experts Warn Against “Carbophobia”; Applaud Coverage of Vegetarianism http://www.pcrm.org/news/health020708.html
HRT Provides No Heart Benefit, Increases Risk of Blood Clots and Gallstones
Hormone replacement therapy did not reduce the risk of heart problems in 2,763 postmenopausal women with coronary heart disease participating in the Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study (HERS) for 6.8 years, according to a new report published in JAMA. In a companion article, HRT doubled the risk of thromboembolism (blood clots) (relative hazard = 2.08, 95% CI, 1.28-3.40). Three HRT-group participants died of thromboembolic events. HRT also increased the likelihood of gallbladder surgery (RH = 1.48, 95% CI, 1.12-1.95). The HERS study is funded by Wyeth-Ayerst Research.
References:
Grady D, Herrington D, Bittner V, et al. Cardiovascular disease outcomes during 6.8 years of hormone therapy. JAMA 2002;288:49-57.
Hulley S, Furberg C, Barrett-Connor E, et al. Non-cardiovascular disease outcomes during 6.8 years of hormone therapy. JAMA 2002;288:58-66.
For more information on hormone replacement, heart disease, or general health issues, visit www.pcrm.org.
Calorie Restriction and Longer Life
Do you know that decreasing your calories will increase your lifespan? Adding fish oils to that regimen will have a profoundly synergistic influence on improving not only the quantity of life but the quality as well. Moderate food and/or energy (calorie) restriction delays age-related immune dysfunction and prolongs life span in multiple animal models. The amount and type of dietary fat though can also profoundly affect your life span.
Fish oils that contain omega-3 fats have potent anti-inflammatory properties. The researchers examined the effect of a 40% overall reduction in intake of all dietary foods, combined with substitution of fish oil for corn oil. Mice, which develop fatal autoimmune renal disease, were used. The food-restricted and fish oil diet maximally extended median life span in the mice to 645 days (versus. 494 days for the food-restricted corn oil diet). Similarly, fish oil prolonged life span in the eat as much as you would like mice to 345 days (versus 242 for the eat as much as you like corn oil diet).
The increased life span was partially associated with decreased body weight, blunting renal pro-inflammatory cytokine (interferon-gamma, interleukins-10 and -12 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) levels and lower nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). These findings demonstrate the profound additive effects of food restriction and omega-3 fats in prolonging life span in mice. These observations may have additional implications in the management of obesity, diabetes, cancer and/or the aging process. Journal Nutrition October 2001 ;131(10):2753-60
Obesity - Cancer Link -
75% of Americans are clueless that excess weight raises the risk of cancer. Only one quarter of US adults are aware that obesity and excess weight can raise the risk of developing different types of cancer.
The study by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) listed several chronic diseases and asked 1,025 people to name the disorders that are influenced by overweight and obesity. While nearly 90% of Americans identified heart disease and diabetes, only 25% recognized the link between overweight and cancer. And when asked to name major risk factors for cancer, only 6% of those surveyed listed overweight and obesity, while nearly 20% mentioned high-fat diets as a risk factor.
The findings, presented last week at a meeting of the International Research Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer, suggest that many Americans are not taking steps to lower their cancer risk. Medical studies are finding that limiting weight gain can lower the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer and colon cancer, kidney cancer, endometrial cancer and esophageal cancer.
But rates of overweight have soared throughout the world over the past 20 years, as individuals have become increasingly sedentary while consuming greater amounts of high-calorie foods.
In the US, an estimated 60% of adults are considered overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 25. BMI is a measure of a person’s weight in relation to their height. Adults with a BMI of at least 30 are considered obese. About half of adults in Europe and in urban areas of some developing countries are now obese, according to the World Health Organization.
American Institute for Cancer Research July 11, 2002
No Safe Level of Trans Fat
Experts from the National Academy of Science proclaim we should have no tolerance for trans fats in our diet. Pastry and fried food lovers beware: there is no level of trans fatty acids that is safe to consume, a report from the Institute of Medicine concluded.
The report is likely to lead the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to go ahead with stalled plans to order manufacturers to disclose the trans fatty acid content of foods on packaging. An expert panel at the Institute of Medicine issued a detailed review of research into trans fatty acids, the class of fat found in abundance in stick margarine, hydrogenated vegetable shortening and foods that contain them. Though the panel had the option to declare a safe upper limit of daily trans fatty acid consumption, it declined to do so. “It is recommended that trans fatty acid consumption be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet.
Trans fatty acids are known to increase blood levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), so-called “bad” cholesterol, while lowering levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), known as “good” cholesterol. A blood profile containing high LDL and low HDL is a strong risk factor for heart disease. Trans fatty acids are common in foods containing shortening, including pastries and fried foods, and are found in lower levels in dairy products and meats.
FDA proposed ordering the labeling of trans fatty acid levels on food packages in 1999 but held off finalizing the regulation until the Institute of Medicine issued its report. The agency is likely to go ahead with a rule ordering the labeling, according to press reports. In 1994, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) petitioned the FDA to require that Nutrition Facts labels disclose trans fat. In 1999, the Food and Drug Administration proposed to require trans fat labeling, but delayed finalizing a regulation, in part, to consider a report from the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine, which was just released.
Center for Science in the Public Interest July 10, 2002 http://www.cspinet.org/new/200207101.html
Does Your Child Have ADHD? Consider Fish Oil Over Ritalin
By Dr. Burgess
Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have problems paying attention, listening to instructions, and completing tasks; they also fidget and squirm, are hyperactive, blurt out answers, and interrupt others.
It is conservatively estimated that 3-5% of the school-age population has ADHD. Although drugs, such as Ritalin, are frequently used to treat ADHD, they are fraught with complications. Disadvantages include possible side effects, including decreased appetite and growth, insomnia, increased irritability, and rebound hyperactivity when the drug wears off. One would not expect to find that a single cause or even a handful of factors could explain why ADHD appears to be so rampant in our society. Because it is accepted that both genetic and environmental factors play a role in ADHD, many other factors-both intrinsic and extrinsic-could influence an individual’s fatty acid status.
Inefficient Conversion of ALA (Flax Oil) To EPA And DHA
A possible cause for the low fish oil status of the ADHD children may be impaired conversion of the fatty acid precursors LA and ALA to their longer and more highly unsaturated products, such as EPA and DHA (fish oil fats). It appears that children with ADHD just are not able to chemically convert the plant omega-3, ALA to fish oil very well. The problem is further worsened when omega-6 fats are consumed and the ideal omega-6:3 ratio of 1:1, progresses to the typical standard American ratio of 15:1. Many of these children have ratios which are even worse and can be as high as 50:1.
This study provides the research evidence supporting the use of the omega-3 fats found in fish oils to effectively address the underlying deficiency that is present in most of these children and appears to be contributing to the ADHD.
American Journal Clinical Nutrition January 2000:71(1), 327-330 (Full Text Article)
Non-Surgical Option for Those Who Tear Their Achilles Tendon Rupture of the Achilles tendon is a surprisingly common problem. The good news is that you don’t always need surgery. Achilles tendon tears, the bane of many middle-aged “weekend warriors,” may heal as effectively with a supportive splint and exercises as with surgery, according to Dr. Alexandra Kirkley, associate professor of surgery at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Although surgery is the method typically used for these common sports injuries, the non-surgical method may be as effective, with fewer risks.
Rupture of the Achilles tendon is a surprisingly common injury, occurring most often in middle-aged people who are trying to stay fit and participate in recreational activities. Some of the sports where people are at risk include basketball, tennis and squash, as well as any other sports that involve jumping and starts and stops.
In this small trial the researchers compared treatment outcomes in 24 people who had torn their Achilles tendon. Among these people, 12 were treated with a splint, and with rehabilitation exercises that emphasized motion and resistance. The other 12 were treated with conventional Achilles repair surgery.
The basic scientific rationale for the splint with exercises is that, if you have a healing tendon and apply motion and resistance, the tendon heals much more completely. The splint protects the tendon, but it allows for motion and load-bearing exercises.
The investigators assessed the outcomes with a questionnaire and with evaluations that included range of motion, walking, and hopping on one foot. According to these measurements, the two groups were very similar at the end of the study.
It’s exciting to see that you can get the same result without having to subject someone to the risk of surgery. It looks like motion and stress are important to recovery. Although surgical repair is the conventional method for treating Achilles tendon tears, some patients may have health risks that make surgery unwise, such as diabetics and smokers. Other patients may be reluctant to undergo surgery.
This study shows that it’s safe to treat people for an Achilles tendon rupture without surgery. “For the patient who wants to avoid surgery, or for the patient who has risk factors, there is a nonsurgical option that will give them an excellent result.”
28th Annual Meeting Of The American Orthopaedic Society For Sports Medicine July 3, 2002 New York, New York