Women with breast cancer have low vitamin D levels

Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fracture

In a new study, it was found that breast cancer patients have low levels of vitamin D, aggravating low bone mass and fracture risk.

These patients have accelerated loss of bone mass due to hormone and chemo therapies.

The recommended weekly supplement for high doses of vitamin D is 50,000 international units or more improved the levels, according to Peppone’s study and the blood levels close to 32 nanograms per milliliter are adequate according to the U.S. Institute of Medicine.

According to Dr. Cedric Garland, a vitamin D expert and pioneer a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer can be ‘virtually eradicated’ by elevating her vitamin D levels to what  scientists demonstrate are  natural blood levels.

People Who Live in Healthier Neighborhoods May Be Less Likely to Develop Type 2 Diabetes

Healthy NeighborhoodA new study indicates that people living in neighborhoods that promote physical activity and offer access to healthy foods may be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Researchers studied 2,285 participants aged 45 to 84 living in neighborhoods in Baltimore, Forsyth County, N.C., and New York City/Bronx. These neighborhoods were evaluated for factors such as whether it’s easy or pleasant to walk in their community and whether local stores carry a large, high-quality selection of fruits, vegetables and other low-fat foods.

After two and a half years, 233 (10.2%) of the study participants had developed type 2 diabetes. Study authors found that people who lived in ‘healthier’ neighborhoods, as determined by a combined score for physical activity and healthy foods, had a 38% lower incidence of type 2 diabetes. This association remained even when adjusted for individual dietary factors, physical activity level and body mass index.

The study, which appears in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, indicates that identifying and modifying neighborhood traits that may affect diabetes risk could prove helpful in fighting the increase of diabetes cases in the U.S.

Researchers recommend encouraging healthy environments by:

  • zoning residential neighborhoods to require safe sidewalks, parks, and public green spaces
  • improving public transportation so that residents rely less on their cars
  • supporting fresh-food farmers’ markets in low-income, urban neighborhoods, and
  • assisting stores in those neighborhoods in improving their selection of healthy foods.

SOURCE: Neighborhood Resources for Physical Activity and Healthy Foods and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Auchincloss, et al, Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(18):1698-1704.

Scientists Learn How Humans See in Bright and Low Light

Researchers  have discovered the delicate and detailed process that controls how the eye quickly adapts to darkness and how it functions in the bright light of day, leading to an increased understanding of how the retina works.

The retina’s main light-sensing cells, or photoreceptors, consist of rods and cones.   Cones permit us to see colors and can adapt to rapid changes in light intensity – a factor in night blindness.   The molecules that make up photoreceptors sense light and develop pigments and then are destroyed when they absorb light.  The process is cyclical – the pigments are  built up or destroyed depending on how much light is present.  When they are exposed to light  key pigment components known as chromophores leave the molecule cells and migrate to the nearby layer of pigment.  There the chromophore is restored and returned to the photoreceptor cells.

Researchers discovered this by removing the pigment layer in  retinas of salamanders so that the chromophores could not be restored.  Following this change, when the photoreceptors were exposed to alternating bright light and dark the rod cells didn’t work, but the cones, that controlled adaption continued to function, even without the pigment epithelium layer.

Muller cells support the interaction with rods and cones.  Scientists treated mouse retinas with a chemical that destroyed Müller cells and then exposed the  retinas to bright light, followed by darkness. 

Without Müller cells  the photoreceptor process could not function because cones ran out of pigment and could not adapt to dark. Proper functioning of   Müller cells are required for retinas to both function in bright light and be able to adapt to darkness.

Study authors believe that in the future it may be possible to manipulate this pathway in the retina to improve vision when the other pathway, involving pigment epithelium, has been interrupted by injury or disease, such as age-related macular degeneration.

Researchers: Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

Published:  Wang, et al, “An alternative pathway mediates the mouse and human cone visual cycle”, Current Biology vol. 19 (19), Oct. 13, 2009.
“Researchers discover mechanism that helps humans see in bright and low light”, https://mednews.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/14856.html

Reducing Tinnitus with B-Vitamins

Vitamin B supplementation may help reduce Tinnitus, characterized as chronic ringing, roaring, buzzing, humming, chirping, or hissing in the ears in the absence of environmental noise. These vitamins include a B-Complex, which help stabilize nerves.

Vitamin B supplementation may help reduce Tinnitus is characterized as chronic ringing, roaring, buzzing, humming, chirping, or hissing in the ears in the absence of environmental noise. These vitamins include a B-Complex, which help stabilize nerves.

There may also be some correlation between the decline in vitamin B12 levels and the increasing prevalence of tinnitus in the elderly. A study by Shemesh et al. (1993) showed that there was a high prevalence (47%) of vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with chronic tinnitus. This deficiency was more widespread and severe in the tinnitus group that was associated with noise exposure, suggesting a relationship between vitamin B12 deficiency and dysfunction of the auditory pathway. Supplemental cobalamin was found to provide some relief in several patients with severe tinnitus.

Acupuncture can also be very helpful in alleviating Tinnitus.

From www.naturaleyecare.com

Green Tea May Lower Risk of Some Cancers

A new study suggests that drinking green tea may lower the risk of developing certain blood cancers.

Researchers in Japan studied 41,761 adults aged 40 to 79 without a history of cancer. After answering a food frequency questionnaire, participants were followed for 9 years. During this time 157 blood, bone marrow, and lymph system cancers developed in the study group.

Researchers found that the overall risk for blood cancers was 42% lower among study participants who drank 5 or more (versus 1 or fewer) cups of green tea daily. Drinking 5 or more cups of green tea daily was also associated with a 48% lower risk for lymph system cancers.

The results, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, show that these associations held up in even when allowances were made for age, gender, education, smoking status and history, alcohol use, and fish and soybean consumption.

SOURCE: Green tea consumption and hematologic malignancies in Japan: the Ohsaki study, Naganuma, et al, Am J Epidemiol 2009,Sep,15;170(6):730-8; (PMID: 19640889)

High folate intake associated with lower incidence of hearing loss in men

The men with intake of folate from food and supplements was among the highest 20 percent of participants
had a 21 percent reduction in the risk of developing hearing loss compared with those in the lowest
fifth.

Research study conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found a protective effect for the folate (which converts to vitamin B9 in the liver) against the development of hearing loss in older men. This study analyzed 3,559 men over 60 who developed hearing loss.

The men with a higher intake of folate from food and supplements was among the highest 20 percent of participants had a 21 percent reduction in the risk of developing hearing loss compared with those in the lowest
fifth.

See more information on nutrients and diet for vision preservation.

Whole Grains, Garlic & Acupuncture Lower High Blood Pressure

Eating lots of whole grains could ward off high blood pressure, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In the study, men with the highest whole-grain consumption were 19 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than men who ate the least amount of whole grains.

Whole Grains Lower Blood Pressure

Eating lots of whole grains could ward off high blood pressure, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In the study, men with the highest whole-grain consumption were 19 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than men who ate the least amount of whole grains.

While refining grains removes their outer coating, whole grains retain their bran and germ, so they are richer in many nutrients, Dr. Alan J. Flint of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and his colleagues note in their report.

The most recent US guidelines recommend that people get at least 3 ounces, or 85 grams, of whole grains daily, and that they consume at least half of their grains as whole grains.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September 2009

Acupuncture Lowers Blood Pressure

Researchers have determined that acupuncture can be employed to significantly lower both diastolic and systolic blood pressure as effectively as aggressive lifestyle changes and anti-hypertensive medications.

Published: Circulation, June 2007

Garlic Lowers Blood Pressure

Another study shows that the regular intake of aged garlic can help lower blood pressure.

Australian researchers publishing in Maturitas say that people with a systolic pressure (the “top” number) of over 140 can be helped by taking 960 mg of encapsulated garlic extract.

Editor’s Note: Nutrients that help lower high blood pressure include coleus forskohlii, omega-3 fatty acids, CoQ10, Vitamin C, Taurine and Arginine for example. See more information on lowering blood pressure naturally.

Discovery of Lymph Channels in Eye May Help Glaucoma

A Canadian research team has uncovered lymph channels in the eye, a find that could lead the way to improved treatments for glaucoma and possibly other eye diseases. Previously lymph channels were not believed to be associated with the part of the eye related to glaucoma.

A Canadian research team has uncovered lymph channels in the eye, a find that could lead the way to improved treatments for glaucoma and possibly other eye diseases. Previously lymph channels were not believed to be associated with the part of the eye related to glaucoma.

The lymphatic system consists of organs, ducts, and nodes that transport a watery clear fluid called lymph, which performs two major functions. The fluid distributes immune cells called lymphocytes and other elements throughout the body, which protect the body against infections. It also interacts with the blood to drain waste and fluids from cells and tissues. Lymphatics are found in every part of the body except the central nervous system and, until now, the eyes were excluded as well.

This discovery provides a new avenue in the potential treatment and possibly cure of glaucoma by specifically targeting the lymphatic circulation to lower eye pressure.

SOURCES:
Glaucoma Research Foundation
University of Toronto

Editor’s Note: See more information on glaucoma and related nutrients,

Ten Foods Most Prone to Food-Borne Illness

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI) has published a list of the 10 riskiest foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Topping the list:  leafy greens, eggs, and tuna.  These and seven other foods account for nearly 40% of all food-borne outbreaks linked to FDA-regulated food.

Over 1,500 separate, definable outbreaks were associated with the top 10 riskiest FDA-regulated foods, causing nearly 50,000 reported illnesses. Since most food-borne illnesses are never reported, these numbers may be significantly higher.

The ten foods named in this study are:

  • Leafy greens, including iceberg lettuce, romaine and spinach
  • Eggs
  • Tuna
  • Oysters
  • Potatoes
  • Cheese
  • Ice Cream
  • Tomatoes
  • Sprouts
  • Berries

CPSI study authors say there is no reason to avoid these foods, but notes that the following passage of the Food Safety Enhancement Act by the House of Representatives in July, similar legislation is pending in the Senate to provide the FDA with enhanced authority to better protect consumers.

Meanwhile, consumers can protect themselves by washing produce thoroughly and following safe food handling procedures, such as those listed on the USDA web site:  www.BeFoodSafe.gov

 

SOURCE:  Leafy Greens, Eggs, & Tuna Top List of Riskiest FDA-Regulated Foods, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Oct. 6, 2009, http://www.cspinet.org/new/200910061.html

Lutein, black currant extract may reduce visual fatigue

Visual fatigue such as computer eye strain caused by staring at the computer for long hours, may be eased a daily supplement containing blackcurrant fruit extract (200 mg), lutein (5 mg), and zeaxanthin (1 mg), according to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial.

Visual fatigue such as computer eye strain caused by staring at the computer for long hours, may be eased a daily supplement containing black currant fruit extract (200 mg), lutein (5 mg), and zeaxanthin (1 mg), according to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial.

The findings, published in the journal Applied Ergonomics, adds to the ever growing body of science supporting the eye health benefits of lutein and zeaxanthin.

Editor’s Notes: See more information on how to help prevent or minimize computer eye strain.