Thursday, May 14, 2009
Dark Chocolate Is More Filling Than Milk Chocolate And Lessens Cravings
Can Cherries Relieve The Pain Of Osteoarthritis?
Frankincense Provides Relief To Arthritis Sufferers
Frankincense Oil -- A Wise Man's Remedy For Bladder Cancer
Chocolate, Wine And Tea Improve Brain Performance
Women Who Breastfeed For More Than A Year Halve Their Risk Of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
New Anti-cancer Components Of Extra-virgin Olive Oil Revealed
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Thursday, December 4, 2008
Twin Study Defines Shared Features Of Human Gut Microbial Communities: Variations Linked To Obesity
ScienceDaily 2008.12.02
"'This suggests that early environmental exposures play a key role in determining which microbes colonize our intestinal tracts,' Gordon says. 'It appears that we acquire an enormous number of genes - in the form of our microbial genes - from our early environment.' These microbial genes, together with our human genes, form our 'metagenome.'...The current research is part of the ongoing human microbiome project, which seeks to not only catalog the microbial species and genes associated with healthy bodies and certain disease states, but to understand how our microbial communities function. Microbial cells are estimated to outnumber human cells by a factor of ten to one. Collectively, the microbes are estimated to carry far more than the 20,000 genes that make up the DNA that we inherit from our parents..."
related:
Gut Check: Microbes Colonize Newborns' Digestive Tracts: "ScienceDaily (June 26, 2007) — For more than 100 years, scientists have known that humans carry a rich ecosystem within their intestines. An astonishing number and variety of microbes, including as many as 400 species of bacteria, help humans digest food, mitigate disease, regulate fat storage, and even promote the formation of blood vessels. By applying sophisticated genetic analysis to samples of a year's worth baby poop, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have now developed a detailed picture of how these bacteria come and go in the intestinal tract during a child's first year of life...Before birth, the human intestinal tract is sterile, but babies immediately begin to acquire the microbial denizens of the gut from their environment -- the birth canal, mothers' breast, and even the touch of a sibling or parent. Within days, a thriving microbial community is established and by adulthood, the human body typically has as many as ten times more microbial cells than human cells. This is primarily due to the large number of microorganisms that have taken up residence in the intestine...intestinal microbial communities varied widely from baby to baby -- both in terms of which microbes were present and in how that composition changed over time. That finding, she said, is important because it helps broaden the definition of healthy microbial colonization in a baby...Another intriguing observation, Palmer noted, was a tendency for sudden shifts in the composition of the infants' intestinal microbial communities over time as different species of bacteria ebbed and flowed... Over time, however, the composition of the intestinal microbial communities converged toward a more generic profile characteristic of the adult intestine..."
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Broccoli Compound Targets Key Enzyme In Late-stage Cancer
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Lack Of Vitamin D Could Spell Heart Trouble
In the absence of clinical guidelines, the authors outline specific recommendations for restoring and maintaining optimal vitamin D levels in CV patients. These patients should initially be treated with 50,000 IU of vitamin D2 or D3 once weekly for 8 to 12 weeks. Maintenance therapy should be continued using one of the following strategies:
- 50,000 IU vitamin D2 or D3every 2 weeks;
- 1,000 to 2,000 IU vitamin D3 daily;
- Sunlight exposure for 10 minutes for Caucasian patients (longer for people with increased skin pigmentation) between the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m."
Exercise Helps Prevent Age-related Brain Changes In Older Adults
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Eating Eggs When Pregnant (choline) lowers chance of getting aggressive breast cancer in offspring
ScienceDaily 2008.12.02
"The researchers made the discovery in rats by studying females whose mothers were fed varying amounts of choline during pregnancy. Different groups of pregnant rats received diets containing standard amounts of choline, no choline at all, or extra choline. Then the researchers treated the female offspring with a chemical that causes cancer of the mammary gland (breast cancer). Although animals in all groups developed mammary cancer, the daughters of mothers that had received extra choline during pregnancy had slow growing tumors while daughters of mothers that had no choline during pregnancy had fast growing tumors...The researchers also found multiple genetic and molecular changes in the rats' tumors that correlated with survival outcomes. For example, the slow growing tumors in rats had a genetic pattern similar to those seen in breast cancers of women who are considered to have a good prognosis. The fast growing tumors in mice had a pattern of genetic changes similar to those seen in women with a more aggressive disease. The researchers also found evidence that these genetic changes may result from the way that choline affects modifications of the DNA within the mammary gland of fetuses as they develop in the womb..."
And of course the evidence that choline improves the memory of your children.
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Saturday, November 29, 2008
Telomerase takes us a step closer to eternal youth - 19 November 2008 - New Scientist
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Thursday, November 27, 2008
IP6 articles
New Research On Cancer-fighting Foods, Supplements: ScienceDaily (Mar. 26, 2007)"The compound, inositol hexaphosphate (IP6), was fed to animal models of prostate cancer and resulted in up to a 66 percent reduction in tumor size in comparison to control animals"
Natural Substances Shows Promise In Cancer Prevention, Treatment: ScienceDaily (June 8, 1998)"cancer-fighting properties of inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) in colon, liver, breast and soft-tissue cancers in human cell-lines transplanted into mice..."The number of tumors and their size was reduced three-fold," Shamsuddin said. "The rate of cell division was cut in half. IP6 also normalizes cell division and up-regulates the product of the P53 gene, one of the body’s most powerful tumor-suppressor genes." ..."
Nutrition - IP6 - M. D. Anderson Cancer Center: "Precautions
IP-6 reduces platelet activity; therefore, people with low blood cell counts, or who are taking aspirin or other blood thinning medications, may want to avoid using IP-6. Because of its antioxidant properties, IP-6 may not be appropriate for patients receiving radiation or chemotherapy. Supplemental forms of IP-6 may also bind with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc and should therefore not be taken with food...Dose
Although Dr. Shamsuddin indicates that further research must be completed before making more specific dosage recommendations, he gives the following guidelines: 1-2 g of IP-6 daily for cancer prevention, 4 g daily for people with an increased cancer risk, and up to 8 g daily for those with cancer. Patients who are considering an IP-6 supplement should consult with their physician or dietician."
IP-6 : by Ray Sahelian, M.D., inositol hexaphosphate IP-6 and cancer IP6: "Inositol hexaphosphate ( IP-6, phytic acid, or phytate ), is a naturally polyphosphorylated carbohydrate found in cereal grains, beans, brown rice, corn, sesame seeds, wheat bran, and other high fiber foods. It aids in the metabolism of insulin and calcium, hair growth, bone marrow cell metabolism, eye membrane development, and helps the liver transfer fat to other parts of the body. IP-6 in the diet may even help reduce the risk for kidney stones. Many researchers believe that some of the health benefits may be due to the antioxidant, immune enhancing, and cardiovascular supporting activities of IP-6. In-vitro and animal research has shown IP-6 to have significant protective and growth regulating effects on various cells and tissues including those of the colon, breast, and prostate...IP-6 has been reported to have in vivo and in vitro anti- cancer activity against numerous tumors, such as colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia, pancreatic cancer, and rhabdomyosarcomas. Significant human trials are lacking and hence we do not currently know for certain whether taking IP-6 supplements are helpful in cancer prevention or therapy, but the early data look promising. "
Protection against cancer by dietary IP6 and inosi...[Nutr Cancer. 2006] - PubMed Result: "Protection against cancer by dietary IP6 and inositol."
IP6 and Inositol Product Info: FAQ "Why combine IP6 with Inositol?
Dr. Shamsuddin theorized that when Inositol was properly combined with IP-6 it formed two molecules of IP-3 in the body. Although IP-6 gets all the attention, it is really the IP-3 that is doing all the work. IP-3 plays an important role in cells by helping them grow, mature, replicate and communicate with other cells. Cells that are low in IP-3 can become out of control, dividing uncontrollably. Studies confirm that the combination of IP-6 with Inositol yields much greater effects than IP-6 alone..IP6 plus Inositol as an Antioxidant and NK-Cell Stimulant. Recognized as a potent antioxidant, IP6 acts to neutralize the damaging effects of free radicals on body cells and has been shown to enhance immunity by boosting the activity of natural killer (NK) cells.* These immune system cells (also called lymphocytes) are the body’s first line defense mechanism. Additional research indicates IP-6 & Inositol may support healthy renal function,* promotes heart health,* and helps maintain healthy glucose metabolism.* IP6 Gold is a rich source calcium, phosphorus and magnesium that supports and maintains strong, healthy bones...Developments from laboratory data suggest IP6 and Inositol play an important role in DNA functions such as cell division, repair and maturation.* Enhancing DNA function helps maintain a healthy genetic profile. Millions of dollars are currently being spent in research related to DNA profiling and alteration. Here we see a very natural compound plays an important role in this complex mechanism.
Potentially Universal Mechanism Of Aging Identified
"We then began wondering what would happen if we put more of the sirtuin back into the mice," says Oberdoerffer. "Our hypothesis was that with more sirtuins, DNA repair would be more efficient, and the mouse would maintain a youthful pattern gene expression into old age."That's precisely what happened. Using a mouse genetically altered to model lymphoma, Oberdoerffer administered extra copies of the sirtuin gene, or fed them the sirtuin activator resveratrol, which in turn extended their mean lifespan by 24 to 46 percent...
But is the picture of sirtuins more complicated?
Deleting 'Anti-Aging' Gene From Yeast Greatly Lengthens Life Span: "ScienceDaily (Nov. 18, 2005) — A counterintuitive experiment has resulted in one of the longest recorded life-span extensions in any organism and opened a new door for anti-aging research in humans...The result was a dramatically extended life span - up to six times longer than normal - when the SIR2 deletion was combined with caloric restriction and/or a mutation in one or two genes, RAS2 and SCH9, that control the storage of nutrients and resistance to cell damage..."
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Monday, November 24, 2008
Children of centenarians live longer, healthier
No surprise here. Most of the stories on this are remarkably light on details.
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Thursday, November 13, 2008
'Love handles' raise death risk
2008.11.13
"Carrying extra fat around your middle dramatically increases your risk of early death, even if your overall weight is normal...Each extra 2ins (5cm) raised the chance of early death by between 13% and 17%. ...men with waists exceeding 47ins (119cm) had a doubled rate of death compared with those with waists under 31.5ins (80cm), and a similar statistic was found when women with waists over 39ins (99cm) were compared to those under 25.5ins (64.7cm)...An increase in risk of death could be plotted every time the belt was let out by another two inches - for two people with the same BMI, every additional 2ins (5cm) on their waistband added up to a 17% increase in risk for men, and 13% for women...abdominal fat was not like other fat reserves, but could directly influence the development of chronic disease by releasing "messenger substances"..."
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Monday, November 3, 2008
Child's sleep linked to adulthood obesity risk
2008.11.03
"Consistently getting a good night's sleep may help protect children from becoming obese as adults... those who got too little sleep as children were more likely than their well-rested counterparts to become obese adults... early sleep habits have a direct effect on weight in the long term...A number of studies have found that sleep-deprived adults and children are at greater risk of being overweight. However, this is the first study to show a long-term relationship between sleep and obesity risk...The study involved 1,037 men and women who had been followed since their birth, between 1972 and 1973, up to the age of 32. When the participants were 5, 7, 9 and 11 years old, their parents reported on their usual bed time and wake-up time...In general, Hancox and his colleagues found, as childhood sleep time declined, adulthood body mass index, or BMI, climbed...Experts generally recommend that children between the ages of 5 and 12 sleep for about 11 hours each night, while teenagers should get 8.5 to 9.5 hours...One theory, based on research in the sleep lab, is that sleep deprivation alters the normal balance of appetite-stimulating and appetite-suppressing hormones. Sleepy children may also be too tired for physical activity during the day..."
This is important, on the level of prenatal diets changing genes. Alas it comes at a time when it will get negligible attention.
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Kids mimic parents' diets from an early age s
2008.11.03
"Parents who want their preschoolers to eat their vegetables may need to take a hard look at their own eating habits...Children who stocked up on sweets, sugary drinks and salty snacks generally had parents whose typical grocery list featured such items. Similarly, children with the healthiest shopping habits seemed to be following their parents' lead as well..."The data suggest that children begin to assimilate and mimic their parents' food choices at a very young age, even before they are able to fully appreciate the implications of these choices,"..."
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Even a little caffeine may harm fetus
2008.11.03
"Pregnant women who consume caffeine -- even about a cup of coffee daily -- are at higher risk of giving birth to an underweight baby...linked any source of caffeine, including that from tea, cola, chocolate and some prescription drugs, to relatively slower fetal growth...Babies born underweight are more likely to develop a range of health conditions when they grow older, including high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems...Women who drank one to two cups of coffee daily, or between 100-199 milligrams, had a 20 percent increased risk of having a baby of low birth weight, the study found. This was compared to women who consumed less than 100 milligrams daily...The impact was about the same as from alcohol and the association with low birth weight was maintained throughout a woman's pregnancy...reduce caffeine intake to a minimum..."
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Monday, October 27, 2008
Scientists develop cancer fighting tomato
2008.10.27
"...anthocyanins, a type of antioxidant found in berries such as blackberries and blackcurrants that have been shown to lower risk of cancer, heart disease and some neurological diseases...Using genes that help color the snapdragon flower, the researchers discovered they could get the tomatoes to make anthocyanins -- turning the tomato purple in the process...Mice genetically engineered to develop cancer lived an average of 182 days when they were fed the purple tomatoes, compared to 142 days for animals on the standard diet...findings do bolster research suggesting that people can significantly improve their health by making simple changes to the daily diet..."
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Prostate cancer not warded off vit E and selenium
2008.10.27
"Selenium and vitamin E supplements do not prevent prostate cancer and may in fact be a little bit dangerous..."The data also showed two concerning, but not statistically significant, trends: there were slightly more cases of prostate cancer in men taking only vitamin E and slightly more cases of diabetes in men taking only selenium,"..."
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Early infections may increase arthritis risk
2008.10.27
"Previous studies have suggested infections somehow trigger the autoimmune condition later in life but the Swedish findings raise the possibility infections may somehow change the way an immature immune system develops...whether the children had any infections during the first 12 months of life. Compared to people without the conditions, children who had serious infections early on were more than twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis as a young adult..."
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Saturday, October 25, 2008
Green Tea May Delay Onset Of Type 1 Diabetes
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Friday, October 17, 2008
Aerobic activity may reverse mental decline
2008.10.17
"Regular aerobic exercise can not only stave off the decline in brain function that often comes with age, it can also help turn back the clock on brain aging...regular moderate physical activity, enough to make a person breathless, has been shown to boost not only the speed and sharpness of thought but also the actual volume of brain tissue and the way in which the brain functions...adults ages 60 to 75 who walked briskly for 45 minutes a day three days a week not only improved their aerobic fitness but also their mental fitness -- particularly their ability to perform executive function tasks...regular moderate aerobic exercise can "reliably reverse age-related cognitive decline...physically fitter adults have less evidence of deterioration in gray matter (critical to thinking) than their less physically fit counterparts..."
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Parkinson's linked to vitamin D
2008.10.13
"A US team found 55% of Parkinson's patients had insufficient levels of vitamin D, compared to 36% of healthy elderly people...the Emory University researchers do not yet know if the vitamin deficiency is a cause or the result of having Parkinson's...scientists say it may also be possible that low vitamin D levels are in some way related to the genesis and origin of the disease...More recently, scientists have been uncovering its effects elsewhere, including producing peptides that fight microbes in the skin, regulating blood pressure and insulin levels, and maintaining the nervous system. Low vitamin D levels also appear to increase the risk of several cancers and auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes. "
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Thursday, October 9, 2008
Circadian Clock May Be Critical For Remembering What You Learn, Researchers Say
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Wednesday, October 8, 2008
'St John's Wort plant as effective as Prozac for treating depression
2008.10.08
"In what is billed as the most thorough study of the plant, scientists have found it is just as effective as Prozac at treating depression...It also had fewer side effects than many standard drugs used to help those battling despair...Experts do not know exactly how the plant lifts depression, although most believe it probably works by keeping the chemical serotonin, which is linked to positive moods, in the brain for longer...St John's Wort products available in health food shops and chemists differed greatly and some may be more effective than others..."
St. John's Wort Relieves Symptoms Of Major Depression, Study Shows: "ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2008) — New research provides support for the use of St. John's wort extracts in treating major depression."
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Tuesday, October 7, 2008
IGF-1 Differences Between People And Animals On Calorie Restriction
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IGF-1 - more on insulin-like growth factor 1 - longevity connection
Shorter Women May Have Very Long Lives: Gene Mutation Found: ScienceDaily (Mar. 4, 2008)"the female children of the centenarians had IGF-I plasma levels that were 35 percent higher than female controls--perhaps a sign that the body was compensating for a glitch in IGF-I signaling by secreting increased amounts of the hormone. That suspicion was strengthened by two other findings: the daughters of centenarians were 2.5 cm shorter than female controls; and when the researchers analyzed the gene coding for the IGF-I cell-surface receptor molecule to which the IGF-I hormone binds, the receptor genes of centenarians and their daughters were much more likely to have a variety of mutations than were the receptor genes of the controls..."Our findings suggest that, by interfering with IGF-I signaling, these gene mutations somehow play a role in extending the human life span, as they do in many other organisms,"..."
Hormone May Hold Key To Helping Elderly Men Live Longer: "ScienceDaily (May 28, 2008) — Elderly men with higher activity of the hormone IGF-1--or insulin-growth factor 1--appear to have greater life expectancy and reduced cardiovascular risk"
Study Shows New Method Of Growth Hormone Dosing Improves Height: ScienceDaily June 7, 2005,"'We feel confident that IGF-based growth hormone dosing could become a novel paradigm in treating growth hormone deficiency, resulting in improved height increases for these children. The growth hormone dose targeted to achieve the higher IGF-I level produced especially meaningful increases in height compared to conventional weight-based methods of determining doses,'"
Deficiency Of Growth Hormone And IGF-1 Reduces Cancer And Kidney Disease, But Creates Other Problems: "ScienceDaily (Apr. 7, 2005) — WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Deficiencies of growth hormone and similar compounds may reduce cancer and kidney disease late in life, but also may lead to cartilage degeneration and impaired memory and learning ability"
Growth Factor Signals Influence Balance Between Normal Growth And Cancerous Growth: ScienceDaily (Nov. 10, 2006) "So it is with the body's delicate concentration of growth factors. Too much of a signaling protein called insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) may fan the flames of cancer, while too little of the protein may cause short stature, dementia and osteoporosis, among other problems."
Study Raises Questions About Prostate Cancer Therapies Targeting IGF-1: "ScienceDaily (May 1, 2008) — Therapies under development to treat prostate cancer by inhibiting the ability of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) to activate its target receptor could have unexpected results especially if a major tumor suppressor gene -- p53 -- is already compromised"
Growth Factor Predicts Poor Outcome In Breast Cancer: "ScienceDaily (Aug. 29, 2008) — The response to insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) in breast cancer cells predicts an aggressive tumor that is less likely to respond to treatment"
Why Elite Rowers Have Bigger, Stronger Hearts: "Elite rowers were found to have higher levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) compared to healthy sedentary volunteers. In these athletes, IGF-1 values correlate with enlargement and strengthening of heart muscle cells."
Growth Hormone Found To Have New Role In Development Of Brain's Smell Center: "ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2008) — A human hormone known to stimulate the growth of cells throughout the body has a new role - helping to set up the proper nerve connections in the odor center of the brain"
Green Tea Polyphenols Thwart Prostate Cancer Development At Multiple Levels: "'Consumption of GTP led to reduced levels of IGF-1,'"
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