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June 2003 Vol. 8 No. 6

 There will always be conflict between “good” and “good enough”.
Henry Martyn Leland

Aspiration is greater than realization, because it keeps us eternally
climbing upward toward some unattained goal.
Napoleon Hill

 

Table of Contents:

A Healthier Heart Achieved In Just Three Weeks
Doctors Dodge Discussion With Patients On Healthy Eating And Proper Diet
New Links Between Hormones And Breast Cancer
Do We Really Need a Diabetes Literacy Board?
Overweight Costing America Nearly $100 Billion
The Miracle Fat for Eczema–GLA
Continued Insanity–Diet Drugs Still Popular
Editor’s Book Reviews

A Healthier Heart Achieved In Just Three Weeks 

A recent study appearing in the journal “Circulation” found that in little as 3 weeks of eating healthier and adding exercise “significantly” lowered a man’s risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure.  UCLA researchers had 11 obese men eat a diet with less than 10 percent of the calories from fat, eating whole meal bread, past, fruit and vegetables.  This group walked on the treadmill between 45-60 minutes daily.  Overall cholesterol dropped an average of 19 percent, blood pressure dropped 14 percent, free radical production 28 percent, insulin tolerance improved 46 percent, and there was an overall improvement in bowel function and a general feeling of well-being. Circulation 2002;106:2530-2.

Doctors Dodge Discussion With Patients On Healthy Eating And Proper Diet 

A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that 75 percent of 3,475 patients surveyed after doctor’s appointments received no nutrition advice at all. Those that did receive any information had to listen fast, as the average time spent in discussion regarding healthy eating and proper diet was under one minute.  Those receiving whatever little information given were patient groups including: diabetics, obese and those with chronic illnesses. Am J. Prev Med 2002;23: 174-9.

New Links Between Hormones And Breast Cancer 

Postmenopausal women taking combined estrogen and progesterone hormone repalcement therapy for six months had a significantly increased risk of lobular breast cancer, researchers from Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle report.  The sample size of 4.575 women between the ages of 35 to 64 with breast cancer and 4,682 healthy postmenopausal women, analyzed information on menstrual, contraceptive, and reproductive histories, tobacco and alcohol use, family history, and hormone usage. Women taking combined hormone therapy for more for  more than six months were twice as likely to have lobular breast cancer.
Lobular breast cancer has increased dramatically since the mid-1980’s along with the increased use of combined therapy. Cancer 2002; 95:2455-64.

Do We Really Need a Diabetes Literacy Board? 

http://www.mercola.com/2003/may/31/diabetes_literacy_board.htm Interesting & thought provoking

Overweight Costing America Nearly $100 Billion 

The medical costs resulting from overweight and obesity in America could be as high as $93 billion annually, with the government paying about half the amount, according to a study.

The estimate, which includes direct medical costs only, not indirect costs such as missed work, is even higher than the annual medical bill for smoking, which a few years ago was estimated at about $76 billion.

Close to 65 percent of Americans are either overweight or obese, putting them at an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other illnesses.

In the study, researchers compared medical costs for overweight and obese people with the costs for people of normal weight. Overweight is defined as being 10 to 30 pounds over a healthy weight, while obesity is 30 or more pounds over.

Findings indicated that annual medical costs for an obese person are about 37.7 percent more, or $732 higher, than the costs for a person of normal weight.

Further, an obese person on Medicare costs $1,486 more a year, and an obese person on Medicaid costs $864 more than a person of healthy weight on the same program.

Each year, medical spending for overweight and obesity make up about 9.1 percent of the nation’s medical costs. Comparatively, spending attributable to smoking makes up from 6.5 percent to 14.4 percent of costs.

There is ongoing controversy over whether obesity is an individual’s responsibility or a problem for society. According to researchers, since government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, as well as taxpayers, are financing many of the medical costs, obesity is increasingly becoming an issue for society.

Moreover, others point out that obesity is still on the rise and if the problem isn’t addressed now, the government will be faced with even higher medical costs for obesity in the future.  Health Affairs May 14, 2003 http://www.healthaffairs.org/WebExclusives/Finkelstein_Web_Excl_051403.htm

The Miracle Fat for Eczema–GLA 

It is thought that essential fatty acids (EFAs) play a role in the development of atopic disease. Linoleic acid (LA), part of the n-6 EFA series, is derived from food and subsequently converted into gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and longer-chain polyenes (LCPs) such as dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) and arachidonic acid (AA). Although LCPs of the n-3 EFA series can be derived from alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the major source of n-3 LCPs is food.

Studies have found higher concentrations of LA and lower concentrations of LCPs in the blood of patients with atopic dermatitis (eczema). Additionally, newborns with a family history of atopic disease have been found to have lower concentrations of n-6 LCP in umbilical cord blood prior to developing atopic disease (AD).

Researchers suggest that this may be due to a reduced conversion of LA into GLA and subsequent LCPs, possibly as a result of impaired activity of the enzyme linoleoyl-CoA desaturase (delta6-desaturase).

Further, other studies showed that breast milk from mothers whose infants subsequently developed AD contained less n-6 LCP than milk from mothers of unaffected infants. Recently, some brands of infant formula are being enriched with LCPs, such as GLA. Prior to this, infant formulas, unlike breast milk, contained only LA and ALA as EFAs.  Several studies have looked at whether GLA supplementation in patients with AD could reduce the severity of existing eczema, however results have been inconsistent.

An additional study has found a possible role of GLA in the prevention of atopy in early life. Researchers based their suggestion on several observations: mothers of atopic infants have lower concentrations of n-6 LCP in their breast milk than mothers of non-atopic infants; the amount of EFAs in newborns is dependent on their supply while in utero and later on diet of either breast milk or infant formula; and infants who have atopic symptoms at 1 year of age have significantly lower mean concentrations of n-6 LCPs in umbilical cord blood and in serum at 1 months and 3 months of age than infants with no atopic symptoms. Moreover, prostaglandins derived from n-6 LCPs are thought to play a role in the maturation of the immune system.

Since the conversion of LA to GLA is thought to affect the rate of the total chain of conversions, supplementation with GLA in infancy might compensate for the lower n-6 LCP concentrations and therefore prevent atopy or decrease its severity in infants, especially if the mother is predisposed to AD.

Among four trials, which investigated whether GLA supplementation protects against the development of atopy in formula-fed infants with atopic mothers, one showed that GLA supplementation reduced the severity of eczema compared with a placebo.

According to researchers, the results show an effect of GLA on the severity of AD, which indicates that GLA supplementation has a beneficial effect on the inflammatory component of AD. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition April, 2003;77(4):943-51

Related Articles

Why You Don’t Want to Drink Pasteurized Milk http://www.mercola.com/2003/mar/26/pasteurized_milk.htm

More Reasons Why You Don’t Want to Drink Pasteurized Milk http://www.mercola.com/2003/mar/29/pasteurized_milk.htm

Dangerous Grains http://www.mercola.com/2002/oct/5/dangerous_grains.htm

Sunlight For Eczema (Atopic Dermatitis) http://www.mercola.com/2001/jul/7/eczema.htm

Continued Insanity–Diet Drugs Still Popular 

The use of the weight loss drug combo known as fen-phen continued until two of the drugs were removed from the market by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997. The use continued despite increasing safety concerns at the time, according to an analysis of prescription records.

Fen-phen hit the market in the early 1990s, just as obesity was gaining acceptance as a medical problem, rather than a personal challenge. Today, anti-obesity drugs are still popular in America.

The popularity of fen-phen took off after research showed that fen-phen, which is a combination of appetite suppressants fenfluramine and phentermine, provided weight loss benefits. Prescriptions for the drug increased dramatically in 1996 after a newer fenfluramine agent, called dexfenfluramine, was introduced.

However, soon reports began to link the “fen” part of the drug combo to potentially harmful heart valve defects, leading to the FDA’s removal of both fenfluramine agents from the market.

In Europe, phentermine has been banned in addition to the fenfluramines because of concerns that phentermine might also cause heart valve defects and other side effects. However, phentermine is still available in the United States under brand names such as Fastin.

Fen-phen’s quick popularity and subsequent removal from the market corresponded with a rise and fall in obesity statistics. From 1995 to 1996 the number of obese patients who visited a doctor for a weight problem nearly doubled. Also, the number of overweight people seeking weight loss treatments increased from 59 percent in 1991 to 71 percent in 1996.  Two other anti-obesity drugs, Meridia and Xenical, have recently been approved by the FDA.  People should understand the potential downsides to diet drugs before taking them, researchers noted. They also pointed out that there is no quick and easy approach to losing weight.
Archives of Internal Medicine May 12, 2003;163:1046-1050

Editor’s Book Reviews: 

Foods That Fight Pain, By Dr. Neal Barnard. www.pcrm.org
Excellent Reading.  Research on the ability of foods to soothe everyday ailments and “cure” chronic pain with common foods, not drugs.
Eat Right, Live Longer www.pcrm.org Very good reading, excellent recipes
Revitalize Your Life, Jack LaLanne. Excellent book.  Very good information for the fitness professional and lay public. A true American legend and inspiration.