News Roundup Tutorials

1. Vitamin D linked to autoimmune and cancer disease genes, underscoring risks of deficiency

By Peggy Calicchia Posted: 08/23/2010 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - August 24, 2010 – Vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for a number of diseases and thus, is a growing concern worldwide, as approximately one billion people may be vitamin D deficient. However, the biological basis for vitamin D deficiency predisposing to disease is poorly understood. In a report published online today in Genome Research (www.genome.o... read more

2. Reshaping the gut microbiome could herald new treatments for bowel diseases

By Peggy Calicchia Posted: 08/23/2010 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - August 24, 2010 - Home to a diverse range of microorganisms, a healthy human body contains at least tenfold more bacteria cells than human cells. The most abundant and diverse microbial community resides in the intestine, and changes to the gut microbiota are linked with diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. In a report published onlin... read more

3. Diabetes can cause a sugar coating that smothers body's immune defences

By Kelly Parkes-Harrison Posted: 08/23/2010 University of Warwick - Research led by the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that unhealthy glucose levels in patients with diabetes can cause significantly more problems for the body than just the well-known symptoms of the disease such as kidney damage and circulation problems. The raised glucose can also form what can be described as a sugar coating that... read more

4. Adequate zinc eases pneumonia in elderly

By Rosalie Marion Bliss Posted: 08/10/2010 United States Department of Agriculture-Research, Education, and Economics - 10-Aug-2010 A high proportion of nursing facility residents were found to have low serum (blood) zinc concentrations during an observational study funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Aging. The scientists found that those with normal blood zinc concentrations w... read more

5. High fructose corn syrup the cause of obesity epidemic, new study suggests

By David Liu Posted: 08/09/2010 Bad news for the high fructose corn syrup industry. A new study led by a Princeton University research team suggests that high fructose corn syrup may be at least partially responsible for the increase in the obesity rate in the United States. The study published online March 18 by the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior showed consumption of high fructose corn syr... read more

6. Food Dyes - A Rainbow of Risks

By Frank Wilhelmi (Report by Center for Science in the Public Interest) Posted: 07/05/2010 "It is said that we “eat with our eyes as much as with our mouths,” and that’s certainly the case when we walk down the aisles of a supermarket. Fresh produce beckons us with its vivid colors and organic shapes, brightly colored packages and images seek to draw our eyes to those brands instead of competitors, and countless products—from Jell-O to Froot Loops—are colored with bright synth... read more

7. Drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages may lower blood pressure

By American Heart Assn. Press Release Posted: 05/24/2010 Study highlights: * Drinking one less sugar-sweetened beverage a day was associated with a drop in blood pressure in a study of 800 adults with elevated blood pressure. * Increased intake of sugar-sweetened beverages has already been linked with risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. * Researchers say this does not prove that sugar-sweetened beverages cause... read more

8. Uncovering lithium's mode of action

By Nick Zagorski Posted: 05/24/2010 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology May 2010 Journal of Lipid Research - Though it has been prescribed for over 50 years to treat bipolar disorder, there are still many questions regarding exactly how lithium works. However, in a study appearing in this month's Journal of Lipid Research, researchers have provided solid evidence that lithium reduces brain infla... read more

9. Study explores link between sunlight, multiple sclerosis

By Hector DeLuca Posted: 04/23/2010 MADISON — For more than 30 years, scientists have known that multiple sclerosis (MS) is much more common in higher latitudes than in the tropics. Because sunlight is more abundant near the equator, many researchers have wondered if the high levels of vitamin D engendered by sunlight could explain this unusual pattern of prevalence. Vitamin D may reduce the symptoms of MS, says H... read more

10. People with diabetes are at higher risk of atrial fibrillation

By Joan DeClaire Posted: 04/23/2010 As the U.S. population keeps aging and gaining weight, diabetes is becoming increasingly common. Some research has associated diabetes with the most common kind of chronically irregular heartbeat, called atrial fibrillation, which can raise the risk for stroke and death. But results of past studies of diabetes and atrial fibrillation have conflicted. Now in the Journal of General Interna... read more

11. Mature Adult Fitness Chair Awarded Great Gear of the Year

By Andrew Siminoff Posted: 02/25/2010 VQ ActionCare, creator of mature adult fitness and lifestyle equipment, has announced that its benchmark product, the Resistance Chair®, is the winner of ShapeYou.com’s Great Gear of the Year award. The Resistance Chair® is a complete at-home fitness system specifically created for the senior adult to improve strength, endurance, flexibility and balance. Designed to offer a wide range of... read more

12. Life Extension Update Exclusive

By Dayna Dye, Editor, Life Extension Update Posted: 10/15/2006 Life Extension Update Exclusive Meta-analysis finds fruit, vegetable intake linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease The results of meta-analysis of nine studies involving 221,080 individuals, published in the October, 2006 issue of the Journal of Nutrition found that the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) declined with increased consumption of vegetables and frui... read more

13. Weight Lift yourself young again!

By Allan Spreen, MD Posted: 05/31/2007 This just came in from Northstar Nutritionals in their e-alert; I had to put it up for my reader's benefit, and tack on a hearty - "I TOLD YOU SO!" ........................................................................ No matter how old you are, the power and importance of fitting a regular exercise routine into your schedule is not a debatable one. It helps keep your mind sharp,... read more

14. New Website Evaluates Medical News Stories - Get The Facts!

By Frank Wilhelmi Posted: 11/13/2006 This month's Health Alert (a monthly newsletter I find most informative, by Dr. Bruce West) recommends a website specializing in critical analysis of current medical news stories. It evaluates each article against a set of rating criteria that should be a part of every accurate, balanced and informative story. The editor uses a rating system of zero to five stars, and explains in the c... read more

15. From Medscape: Ban Transfats Now!

By Michael Dansinger, MD, MS Posted: 12/28/2006 Partially hydrogenated vegetable fat is a disease-promoting artificial fat used primarily in fast food and other commercially manufactured fried and baked foods.[1] The trans fats in this synthetic ingredient inflame the arteries and accelerate heart disease.[1] The average per-capita intake of 5 g per day in the United States increases the risk for heart disease by approximately 25%... read more

16. Something Fishy - from House Calls Newsletter

By Alan Inglis, M.D. Posted: 12/29/2006 It's hard to imagine a less appealing name than "fish oil." But if you're still shying away from this supplement based on the "ick" factor, you need to take another look. There's never been more evidence that fish oil is an essential part of your healthy living regimen. And taking it doesn't have to be a penance - I'll tell you how you can get all the benefits of fish oil without the icky s... read more

17. A hugely Informative Book You Should Read ASAP!

By Frank Wilhelmi Posted: 02/26/2007 I ordered a book that sounded interesting because I am being led down the standard medical path by my current doctors, now on three of the popular cure-nothing drugs, with one of them insisting I start on a fourth. The book is titled "A Drug-Free Approach to Healthcare", by Dr. David W. Tanton, Ph.D. After reading 80% of the book, picking the topics of most interest, I am more conviced than ev... read more

18. The Aerobics Craze - a Monumental Mistake

By Al Sears, MD Posted: 10/27/2006 "What exercise is to the body, employment [in the sense of 'activity' or 'engagement'] is to the mind and morals." - Henry David Thoreau The Aerobics Craze - a Monumental Mistake By Al Sears, MD Back in the 1970s - while studying at the University of South Florida - I made a curious discovery when running a series of tests on the gymnastics team. I had picked out the gy... read more

19. Rebuttal to Pro-Trans-fat Article in the Wall St. Journal

By Mary G. Enig, PhD & Sally Fallon Posted: 08/20/2006 Letter published in the Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2006 Dear Editors: Mr. Sokolov's defense of trans fats (July 27, 2006) misses several important points. Trans fats in Crisco and other vegetable shortenings are cheap and do indeed increase the shelf life of processed foods, but the scientific evidence continues to show that they contribute to a myriad of health problems, shorteni... read more

20. Endothelial dysfunction induced by postprandial lipemia is neutralized by addition of proteins to the fatty meal.

By Atherosclerosis. 2006 Apr;185(2):313-9, Abstract Posted: 04/27/2007 BACKGROUND: Postprandial lipemia is known to reduce endothelium-dependent flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD). Because postprandial lipemia can be acutely mitigated when proteins are added to the fatty meal, we investigated whether this mitigation could neutralize the lipemia-induced endothelial dysfunction. DESIGN: Sixteen healthy students (aged 19-23, eight males and eight females) re... read more

21. Life Extension Update - Study confirms CRP as strong predictor of death from coronary artery disease

By Dayna Dye, Editor, Life Extension Update Posted: 07/25/2006 Exclusive A study published in the August, 2006 issue of the journal Atherosclerosis reaffirmed the value of testing for C-reactive protein (CRP) to assess the risk of fatal and nonfatal coronary artery disease (CAD). Elevated serum C-reactive protein is a marker of inflammation that has emerged as a strong independent risk factor for heart attack in both healt... read more

22. Some Comments on the Red Meat Controversy

By Amanda Ross - "Nutrition and Healing Newsletter" Posted: 01/18/2007 Dear Reader, I'm not sure I trust anyone who calls himself a "health advocate" and then comes out with the advice that "People who wish to avoid cancer are strongly advised to stop eating red meat for life and switch to a primarily plant-based diet." That's sort of like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, no? But let me back up a step... This drastic response came on the... read more

23. Cancer Fighters More Abundant in Organic Produce

By Life Extension Daily Posted: 07/06/2006 You're Eating the Wrong Fruit And Veg! ; GoodHealth Research Shows Even 'Healthy' Foods Lack Key Ingredients to Fight Disease Daily Mail 07-05-06 We've known for some time that eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day can help protect you against cancer, but now research suggests that if we're not eating the right sort, it could be a waste of time and m... read more

24. Study: Before a CT scan or angiogram, many people should take inexpensive drug to protect kidneys

By Kara Gavin Posted: 02/18/2008 University of Michigan Health System - 2/18/2008 Iodine contrast agents that enhance the scans can harm vulnerable kidneys, but N-acetylcysteine taken beforehand can protect at-risk patients. ANN ARBOR, Mich. - As more and more Americans undergo CT scans and other medical imaging scans involving intense X-rays, a new study suggests that many of them should take a pre-scan dru... read more