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October 2003 Vol. 8 No. 10

He that plants trees loves others besides himself.
Thomas Fuller [1654-1734]

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get-only with
what you are expecting to give-which is everything.
Katharine Hepburn [1907-2003]

Table of Contents:New Dietary Guidelines to Prevent Heart Disease
Olive Oil Good for Health but don’t overcook with it
Bacteria in the Dairy Supply
How to Improve Multiple Sclerosis
Vitamin D For MS Patients
Children at Risk of Dying from Heart Disease & Type 2 Diabetes
Call all authors
Parting Shot

For anyone in the military or dependents-this area is in honor of you from me: http://www.afpafitness.com/USMilitaryLinks.htm
New Dietary Guidelines to Prevent Heart Disease 

The low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet that has been promoted for over a decade to prevent coronary heart disease may not be the best diet after all. Harvard researchers present new dietary guidelines that question the original diet-heart hypothesis.

The new guidelines are based on a large number of diet studies involving hundreds of thousands of people. The researchers claim that the original diet-heart hypothesis was “overly optimistic.”

American Academy Physicians & Surgeons Summer, 2003 (PDF file)

http://www.aapsonline.org/jpands/vol8no3/ravnskov.pdf

Olive Oil Good for Health but don’t overcook with it 

Researchers found that participants in a study who consumed the most olive oil tended to have healthier diets than those who consumed the least amount of olive oil.

Participants who had the highest consumption of olive oil consumed less cereal and baked goods but more eggs and vegetables, and had a higher vitamin intake than those who consumed the least amount of olive oil.  Researchers concluded that olive oil is a major contributing factor to the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition September 2003;57 Suppl 1:S2-7

“Salmonella are widespread in the environment and hence can enter the dairy factory from various sources. Butter readily supports growth of salmonella at room temperature, but refrigeration or freezing for brief periods does not eliminate it. Salmonella can remain viable in butter for up to 9 months.”  Journal of Dairy Science 1992; 75(9): 2339

“The administration of sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics to livestock introduces selective pressures that may lead to the emergence and dissemination of resistant bacteria. The present findings clearly demonstrate that antibiotic-resistant bacteria in beef and milk pose a serious problem.” J Food Prot, 1999 Jun, 62:6

How to Improve Multiple Sclerosis 

Stress appears to aggravate multiple sclerosis (MS) in patients with the disease. According to a study, patients with MS who experienced at least one stressful event over a one-month period had double the risk of an exacerbation within the next week.

Researchers suggest that stress, which can suppress the immune system, may put patients at an increased risk of infection and therefore may cause more flare ups of the disease.

Avoiding nearly all drugs for MS makes the most sense since they are only Band-Aids (and for most quite expensive). Vitamin D is also an essential part of the treatment. In my book it is medical malpractice not to normalize vitamin D levels with testing to values in the high 40s or low 50s. Always remember that omega-3 fats are also extremely important, with cod liver oil being one of the best sources for most people now as fall is approaching in the United States.

British Medical Journal September 20, 2003 Free full-text journal article

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7416/646

Information on Cod Liver Oil:

http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/fishy.htm

http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/eatjoints.htm

http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/omgea3.htm

http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/foodsarth.htm

Vitamin D For MS Patients 

Taking vitamin D supplements may positively influence the immune systems of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to researchers.

Although most MS patients have a normal life span, the disease, which causes the immune system to attack the body’s own cells as “foreign,” causes vision changes and muscle weakness in its victims. MS may progress steadily, or acute attacks may be followed by a temporary remission of symptoms.

Vitamin D status affects chemicals that modulate the immune system called cytokines, and these changes may benefit patients with MS.

The researchers drew their conclusions after analyzing samples from 10 MS patients who took a supplement of 25 micrograms (units) of vitamin D daily for 6 months. The patients showed increased levels of vitamin D in their blood, as well as a change in cytokine levels. But the investigators note that the study has not been in progress long enough to observe changes in the clinical symptoms of the participating MS patients.

The results were not completely unexpected, as the investigators had seen similar results in an animal model of MS. Doctors should be aware of the detrimental effects of vitamin D insufficiency for their MS patients and make sure they are vitamin D adequate.

The study findings are supported by the fact that the number of cases of MS is nearly zero near the equator and increases with latitude in both hemispheres. The increased sunlight near the equator allows the body to produce more vitamin D, and may theoretically reduce the incidence of MS.

However, Cantorna also pointed out that vitamin D at high doses is toxic. “MS patients should not take large amounts of vitamin D supplements. They should increase their vitamin D intake under the supervision of their doctors,” she warned.

The current recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D is 400 micrograms (units) per day.
Sources of vitamin D include adequate exposure to sunlight and cod liver oil.
Experimental Biology 2001 Conference in Orlando, Florida April 6, 2001

Children at Risk of Dying from Heart Disease & Type 2 Diabetes 

The Center of Disease Control has recently released some startling news that one in three children born in the year 2000 will contract type 2 diabetes-and potentially heart disease, blindness, asthma, sleep apnea, gall bladder disease and depression that are associated with this disease-because they become obese first in child-hood and then as an adult.  A statement made in an editorial by Rick Reilly titled “The Fat of the Land” Sept. 22, 2003 should be a wake-up call for all parents. “This could be the first generation in American history to live fewer years than the one that came before it.”

Some of the reasons cited: 5.5 hours of TV per day. An average of several cans of soda daily for every man, women and child in the US [actually several is over 7 cans daily] think in terms of super-sized drinks. Fast foods as a staple of the American diet [SAD-Standard American Diet], lack of physical activity-part of TV’s influence, and also cut backs in physical education programs in schools nationwide.

Call all authors- 

AFPA is seeking new articles on any fitness related area to add to our library of over 750 articles. The articles must be in either a text or word file-no other form accepted.  Referenced articles preferred.  All articles must include your byline, e-mail address and phone number.  All articles posted will have your name and e-mail address [only].  No solicitation for selling anything.  

This is an opportunity to have your articles posted on one of the most respected and accessed fitness websites in the world with an average viewer audience of over 400,000 per month.  Articles will be highlighted in the AFPA monthly online newsletter [circulation of over 100,000].  

AFPA reserves the right to accept or reject any article.  AFPA has a policy that shares all articles with the fitness/general public at no charge-therefore we do not pay for any article submitted.  Great way to help your fellow man and spotlight your services.

Parting Shot 

“Eating alone will not keep a man well. He must also take exercise daily”.  Hippocrates 400 B.C.