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July 2003 Vol. 8 No. 7
“Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those you hold well.”
“America the Beautiful” What the people want is very simple.
They want an America as goo as its promise.” Barbara Jordan.
Table of Contents:
Selenium for Breast Cancer Prevention
Vaccines May Fuel Autism Epidemic
Eating Fish Prevents Heart Attacks
Doctors Dodge the Diet Talk
Fruits and Vegetables Build Strong Bones
Doctors Dodge the Diet Talk
New Links between Hormones and Breast Cancer
More Soy, Less Breast Cancer
Teen Dies While Following High-Protein Diet
CHIP-ing Away at Cholesterol
HRT Does Not Improve Cognition in Elderly Women with Heart Disease
Metabolism Changes after Menopause
More Health Risks from Milk
HRT Makes the Short List
Selenium for Breast Cancer Prevention
Women who are genetically predisposed to breast cancer may benefit from selenium, a trace element found in foods such as certain nuts, liver and kidneys, according to a study. Previous animal studies have found that tiny amounts of selenium in the diet can suppress cancer in several organs, and data from human studies is just emerging that selenium may help to prevent breast cancer.
The study looked at a selenium-containing protein called glutathione peroxidase–an enzyme that is dependent on selenium and functions as an antioxidant. Researchers compared the same genes from 517 cancer-free individuals with the genes contained in 79 breast cancer tissue samples.
It was found that the frequency of different versions of the gene was different in people without cancer and in tumors. This suggests that a person with a certain version of a gene may require more selenium in the diet to get cancer-suppressing benefits. It may be possible to identify which version of a gene a person has and prescribe selenium supplements accordingly, researchers noted.
However, more research is needed before a baseline amount of dietary selenium can be recommended. Cancer Research June 15, 2003
Vaccines May Fuel Autism Epidemic
Autism, a severely incapacitating developmental disability, has been increasing at an epidemic proportion over the last decade. Insight magazine’s “Vaccines May Fuel Autism Epidemic,” by Kelly Patricia O’Meara, details the argument that childhood vaccines may be to blame for the increasing cases of autism. In the United States, each state has reported increases in autism rates of at least 500 percent over the last 10 years. The epidemic is spreading so quickly that in California it is estimated that within the next four years the number autism cases will exceed the total number of cases of both cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
According to the article, vaccines given to newborns contain an array of chemicals including formaldehyde (used in embalming), thimerosal (nearly 50 percent mercury), aluminum phosphate (toxic and carcinogenic), antibiotics, phenols (corrosive to skin and toxic), aluminum salts (corrosive to tissue and neurotoxic), methanol (toxic), isopropyl (toxic), 2-pheoxyethanol (toxic), live viruses and various other components.
Among these components, previous studies suggest that there is a link between neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, and mercury exposure from thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines.
Although U.S. health officials called for thimerosal to be removed from vaccines in 1999, the article details how–because of mislabeled package inserts and other issues–it is extremely difficult for parents and physicians to know whether the preservative is actually in the vaccine.
The article also discusses how the potential ties between U.S. health agencies and the pharmaceutical companies could be the reason why much-needed public warnings about the potential dangers of mercury in vaccines have not been made. Please visit Insight magazine to read the entire contents of this important article. Insight Magazine June 9, 2003 http://www.insightmag.com/news/438502.html
Eating Fish Prevents Heart Attacks
People are urged to eat oily fish for the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids found in oily fish like salmon and tuna could prevent a heart attack by stopping dangerous irregular heart rhythms, according to a study.
The findings add to past studies, which have shown that eating oily fish or taking fish oil supplements can protect against heart disease and stroke.
Researchers examined heart cells from unborn rats to determine how fish oils protect the heart. The cells clump together and beatrhythmically and simultaneously just like the whole heart.
They found that the oils could prevent irregular heartbeats by blocking excessive sodium and calcium currents, which can result in excessive electrical discharges that cause erratic heart rhythms.
The findings were backed up by one of the first studies on the effects of omega-3 oils on the heart, conducted in 1989. The study involved 2,033 men with heart disease who had been told to eat extra fat, fiber or fish.
After two years, researchers found that men who had eaten fish at least twice a week had a 29 percent lower death rate than the other men, which suggested that the fish oils helped to prevent irregular heartbeats, and, therefore, heart attacks. No benefit was found among the fiber or fat groups. According to physicians, at least half of all heart attacks are caused by irregular heartbeats.
Eating fresh or frozen oily fish is the best way to protect the heart, according to researchers, and the British Heart Foundation recommends eating at least two portions of oily fish per week.
Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association June 3, 2003
Doctors Dodge the Diet Talk
A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that three-quarters of patients surveyed after doctor’s appointments reported receiving no nutrition advice at all. And those who did get diet counseling had to listen fast: The researchers found that doctors spent an average of less than a minute discussing nutrition with their patients. Dietary advice was most often given to older patients, to those with diabetes or other chronic illnesses, and during wellness visits. The survey included 3,475 patients.
Eaton CB, Goodwin MA, Stange KC. Direct observation of nutrition counseling in community family practice. Am J Prev Med 2002;23:174-9.
Fruits and Vegetables Build Strong Bones
A new study suggests that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables may slow the development of osteoporosis in women. The U.K. Food Standards Agency analyzed the diets of more than 3,000 Scottish women and measured their bone density at the hip and spine, finding a link between fruit and vegetable intake and stronger hip bones before and during menopause. The benefit may come directly from nutrients, from alkaline salts produced during digestion, or from the way in which these salts counteract the acidic effect produced by meats and cheeses, researchers say. Ongoing at the University of Aberdeen.
New Links between Hormones and Breast Cancer
Postmenopausal women taking combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy for six months had a significantly increased risk of lobular breast cancer, researchers from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle report. Scientists collected data on 4,575 postmenopausal women aged 35 to 64 with breast cancer and 4,682 healthy postmenopausal women, analyzing information on menstrual, contraceptive, and reproductive histories, tobacco and alcohol use, family history, and hormone usage. Women taking combined hormone therapy for
more than five years were twice as likely to have lobular breast cancer. Lobular breast cancer rates have increased since the mid-1980s along with the increased use of the combined therapy.
Daling JR, Malone KE, Doody DR, et al. Relation of regimens of combined hormone replacement therapy to lobular, ductal, and other histological types of breast carcinoma. Cancer 2002;95:2455-64.
More Soy, Less Breast Cancer
University of Southern California researchers analyzed the diets of 144 postmenopausal Chinese women living in Singapore and found that those eating the most soy had 15 percent lower blood levels of estrogens (estrone and estadiol), a sign of reduced breast cancer risk. However, the women had to eat a good deal of soy (five to six ounces per day) to see the effect. Typical boxes of tofu sold in U.S. supermarkets contain three to four ounces. Higher levels of estrogens were found in overweight women and in smokers. Historically low rates of breast cancer in Asia, a trend that disappears when women adopt Western eating habits, have prompted many studies aiming to pinpoint which foods might be most beneficial.
Wu AH, Stanczyk FZ, Seow A, Lee HP, Yu MC. Soy intake and other lifestyle determinants of serum estrogen levels among postmenopausal Chinese women in Singapore. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2002;11:844-51.
Teen Dies While Following High-Protein Diet
An apparently healthy Missouri 16-year-old died at school after using a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet she began on her own. Physicians who treated the girl reported finding low potassium and calcium levels, saying that electrolyte imbalances, which caused her heart to stop, were likely due to the diet. Toxicology findings were negative and no other illnesses were found.
Stevens A, Robinson DP, Turpin J, Groshong T, Tobias JD. Sudden cardiac death of an adolescent during dieting. South Med J 2002;95:1047-9.
CHIP-ing Away at Cholesterol
More than 400 employees from six worksites in Rockford, Illinois, joined the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP), an eight-week program that entailed watching 15 videos, using text- and workbooks, going on shopping tours, and attending cooking demonstrations. The dietary goal involved a vegan diet, built from largely unrefined grains, legumes, vegetables, and fresh fruits. Walking at least 30 minutes per day was also encouraged. At the conclu- sion of the study, significant reductions in weight, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose were found. The greatest improvements were seen in men. Participants with dangerously high blood pressure and cholesterol levels saw improvements that translated into a 36 to 54 percent reduction in coronary risks.
Aldana SG, Greenlaw R, Diehl HA, Englert H, Jackson R. Impact of the coronary health improvement project (CHIP) on several employee populations. JOEM 2002;44:831-9. Women’s Health
HRT Does Not Improve Cognition in Elderly Women with Heart Disease
A new study published in The American Journal of Medicine has found that in 517 women with heart disease treated with oral estrogen-progestin for four years, cognitive skills were no better than in the placebo group. In fact, at the end of the trial, 6.0 percent of women in the hormone group and 4.8 percent women in the placebo group were cognitively impaired. Researchers used six standard tests that measured verbal fluency, memory, word list recall, and other functions.
Grady D, Yaffe K, Kristof M, Lin F, Richards C, Barrett-Connor E. Effect of postmenopausal hormone therapy on cognitive function: the heart and estrogen/progestin replacement study. Am J Med 2002;113:543-8.
Metabolism Changes after Menopause
A new study from the University of Maryland has found that menopausal women experience significant differences in metabolism, which may cause them to gain weight. Researchers recruited 12 perimenopausal women and 12 postmenopausal women, recording waist-to-hip measurements, analyzing fasting blood profiles, and taking fat biopsies.
They found that the enzyme that allows fat to be stored in cells, adipose lipoprotein lipase (AT-LPL), is more active in postmenopausal women compared to perimenopausal women. The women also experienced reduced lipolysis, the mechanism that releases fat from cells. Increased AT- LPL activity in menopausal women may be due to hormonal changes. The good news is that this fat-storing enzyme can be slowed down. It stores less fat when there is less fat in the diet.
Ferrara CM, Lynch NA, Nicklas BJ, Ryan AS, Berman DM. Differences in adipose tissue metabolism between postmenopausal and perimenopausal women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2002;87:4166-70.
More Health Risks from Milk
Australia’s dairy giant, Fonterra, is accused of covering up research linking milk with autism, schizophrenia, diabetes, and heart disease, according to an internal memo from one of its own researchers. The memo, as presented to the country’s High Court, said there is growing evidence that the proteins found in all milk products and milk formulas may be linked to these and other conditions. Earlier studies from the University of Florida found that people with autism and schizophrenia had extremely high levels of BCM-7, a compound produced in milk digestion.
HRT Makes the Short List
Hormone replacement therapy has arrived. On the carcinogen list, that is, as published by the U.S. government’s National Toxicology Program. Once marked as the answer to heart disease and osteoporosis, HRT now joins the likes of heterocyclic amines, chemical dyes, and other cancer-causing compounds.