Want to prevent diabetes? Take more omega-3, says new research

(NaturalNews) Consuming omega-3 fatty acids may help lower your risk of diabetes, according to two recent studies. The studies, one based in the US, the other in Singapore, found adults with higher levels of omega-3 fats were less likely to develop diabetes. Researchers suggest people avoid interpreting the study as evidence of omega-3′s as a “magic bullet” health solution. They note that omega-3 fats may only be markers for some other dietary or lifestyle aspect which helps protect against the diabetes. Rather than stocking up on fish oil tablets, they suggest a better way to avoid this disease is a diet based on whole foods. “Approaching your dietary intake with this ‘big picture’ approach should take care of the small things, like essential nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids,” notes Andrew Odegaard of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, one of the researchers on the Singapore study. Although previous lab research has suggested that omega-3s, especially alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) , may enhance body cells’ sensitivity to insulin (the hormone which regulates blood sugar), this link has not been conclusively proven. It may be that people who consume a lot of ALA — found in flaxseeds and soy, as well as other plant sources– also have overall better health habits, including regular exercise. Neither of the 2 recent studies found a link between fish-derived omega-3′s and lowered diabetes risk. Researchers speculate this may because people do not always consume fish as part of a healthy meal. For example, the omega-3 benefits of fish may be cancelled out if it is deep-fried, slathered with tartar sauce, and eaten with a side of French fries. Natural News applauds Dr. Odegaard’s emphasis on a holistic approach to avoiding diabetes rather than stressing the use of fish oil supplements. The Many other soft-gel nutritional supplements, contain hydrogenated oils as fillers. Hydrogenated oils have been linked in many studies cardiovascular disease and heart attacks. These oils also interfere with the absorption of essential fatty acids, so that, like that fried fish dinner, these kind of fish oil supplements may at best negate any omega-3 benefits, and at worst increase your health risks. Unfortunately, less expensive vitamins are especially likely to contain filler, adding to the already high health burden of lower income people. Many vitamin companies are owned entirely or in part by Big Pharma companies. Natural Health strongly urge our readers to obtain as much nutrition as possible from whole food sources and to research carefully any vitamin company whose products you buy. Sources for this article include: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/03/us-omega-3-diabetes-idUSTRE7526MS20110603 http://www.naturalnews.com/012427_hydrogenated_oils_nutritional_supplements.html

Think pink to prevent dementia: natural pigment astaxanthin protects brain

(NaturalNews) It’s time to “think pink”. No, that’s not just the familiar marketing slogan used to promote breast cancer awareness (and, it can be argued, to push the multi-million dollar breast cancer industry). Instead, thinking pink is something that could literally save your brain. Scientists have documented that daily supplements of the natural pigment astaxanthin reduces the accumulation of compounds called phospholipid hydroperoxides (PLOOH) which are known to accumulate abnormally in the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of people with dementia. Bottom line: the researchers from Tohoku University who are behind the study believe the pink pigment may well “contribute to the prevention of dementia.” That’s great news because the mind-robbing malady known as dementia is a growing problem in the U.S. — and mainstream medicine and Big Pharma have come up with little help and hope for the condition. In fact, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, about 5.4 million Americans currently have the best known and most feared kind of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD). That number is expected to rise as the population ages. Astaxanthin is a phytochemical known as a carotenoid. Like many carotenoids, it is a colorful, fat soluble pigment. Astaxanthin is found in types of microalgae and fish that eat them — including salmon and trout as well as krill, shrimp, crayfish and other crustaceans. Its what gives salmon its pink color. The new Japanese study, just published in the British Journal of Nutrition , involved thirty healthy subjects between the ages of 50 and 69 who were randomly assigned to receive or 6 or 12 mg of astaxanthin or a placebo each day for 12 weeks. The results showed that PLOOH levels in erythrocytes plummeted in the people taking the astaxanthin supplements — falling 40% and 50% in the 6 and 12 mg groups, respectively, compared with no change in the placebo group. “The present randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial shows that when human subjects ingest astaxanthin, it is absorbed, distributed and accumulated in erythrocytes, where it exhibits antioxidative effects (inhibition of erythrocyte PLOOH),” the researchers stated in their paper. “This possibility warrants the testing of astaxanthin in other models of dementia with a realistic prospect of its use as a human therapy.” Previous research has shown that astaxanthin reduces the oxidative damage caused by LDL (the “bad” type of cholesterol), so it may reduce the formation of plaque in arteries. The natural pigment also appears to boost the immune response by increasing the number of antibody producing cells. What’s more, research has indicated astaxanthin could protect the skin from sunburn and may offer some protection from skin cancer, too. For more information: http://www.nutritionsociety.org/node/236

Does selenium prevent cancer? It may depend on which form people take

Scientists are reporting that the controversy surrounding whether selenium can fight cancer in humans might come down to which form of the essential micronutrient people take. It turns out that not all “seleniums” are the same — the researchers found that one type of selenium supplement may produce a possible cancer-preventing substance more efficiently than another form of selenium in human cancer cells.

Era of leaded gasoline still poisoning vegetable gardens across America

(NaturalNews) Vegetable gardens across the United States are contaminated with lead, even those using presumably safe soil from newly made compost, according to a study conducted by researchers from Wellesley College and presented at a meeting of the Geological Society of America. The most common sources of lead contamination in the United States are still leaded paint and gasoline used before those products were banned. Because lead is a chemical element, it never degrades. It is a powerful neurotoxin that can produce behavioral irregularities or permanent mental retardation. “Adverse effects from lead can occur at very low levels,” warns Robert Ivker in his book Sinus Survival . “Early symptoms of lead poisoning — such as nervousness, irritability, headaches, fatigue, muscular problems, constipation, and indigestion — are hard to pinpoint as lead-related.” Prior research by the Wellesley researchers in cooperation with The Food Project found lead levels above 400 micrograms per gram of soil in 81 percent of 144 backyard gardens tested in the Boston communities of Roxbury and Dorchester. Although there is no safe level of lead exposure, the Environmental Protection Agency has set 400 micrograms per gram as the maximum acceptable threshold. To remedy the problem, The Food Project installed raised beds filled with freshly composted soil in community and backyard gardens across the area. Although these raised beds started with lead levels as low as 110 micrograms per gram, monitoring showed that over the course of four years these levels rose to an average of 336 micrograms per gram. In their most recent study, the researchers conducted detailed monitoring and chemical analysis of the raised beds to determine where the lead contamination was coming from. Based on that analysis, the researchers believe that wind and rain are transporting the lead from other contaminated sites. The good news is that the types of lead being found are poorly absorbed by the human body. More importantly, lead exposure can be dramatically reduced simply by discarding the top inch or two of soil from a raised garden bed every year. Sources for this story include: http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/10110216-how-lead-gets-into-urban-vegetable-gardens.html.

Crops absorb pharmaceuticals from sewage sludge spread on farmlands

(NaturalNews) Agricultural crops can absorb pharmaceuticals found in the water used to irrigate them or the sewage sludge used to fertilize them, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Toledo-Ohio and published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology . When humans consume pharmaceuticals, active traces of those drugs are excreted in their feces and urine. Modern treatment methods for water and sewage do nothing to remove these biologically active chemicals. Previous studies have shown that crops grown directly in animal manure can absorb veterinary drugs, and that cabbages grown hydroponically can absorb human drugs. To simulate more natural agricultural conditions, researchers grew soybeans — the second most widely planted crop in the United States — in regular soil. Half the crops were fertilized with solid waste, while the other half were irrigated with chemical-spiked water. In order to simulate the reclaimed sewage or wastewater commonly used in industrial agriculture, the researchers spiked water and waste with the drugs carbamazepine (an anticonvulsant), diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and fluoxetine (Prozac), along with the common antimicrobial chemicals triclosan and triclocarban. Using mass spectrometry, the researchers then analyzed the plants’ tissues just before flowering and after the production of beans. The plants absorbed carbamazepine, triclocarban and triclosan from both soil and water, although absorption from water was greater. All three chemicals accumulated in root tissues, stems and leaves, while the antimicrobial compounds also accumulated in the beans. Diphenhydramine and fluoxetine accumulated in low concentrations in the roots. The health effects of this absorption remain unknown, but they could be severe. Triclosan, for example, has been shown to build up in the bodies of humans and other animals. “Triclosan disrupts hormones, can affect sexual function and fertility, and may foster birth defects,” write Frank Lipman and Mollie Doyle in their book Spent: Revive: Stop Feeling Spent and Feel Great Again . “If you find those compounds in the plant, what are they going to do to the plants or to animals that eat the plants?” researcher Chenxi Wu asked. Sources for this story include: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/88/i32/8832news.html.

Vision breakthrough: eye exercises improve elders’ vision in two days to see as well as college kids

(NaturalNews) For decades, some natural health advocates have claimed you could actually enhance and improve vision (and sometimes get rid of your glasses) by “training” your eyes to see better. Sound like impossible pie-in-the-sky promises or even quackery? Now there’s mainstream scientific evidence to back up the idea that you can have better sight through eye “exercise”. Research funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging has just demonstrated that elderly adults can quickly improve their vision with perceptual training. The study, “Perceptual learning, aging, and improved visual performance in early stages of visual processing,” was published in the online November issue of the Journal of Vision . According to the research team from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and Boston University, the ability of elders to improve their sight so quickly has a host of important implications for the health and mobility of older people. Changes in vision — including contrast sensitivity, spatial vision, orientation, depth perception, dark adaptation, visual acuity, and motion perception — have long been associated with aging. However, the new study shows for the first that specific eye “exercises” can improve vision among the elderly in the earliest levels of visual processing. G. John Andersen, professor of psychology at UCR, and his colleagues conducted a series of experiments to investigate if repeated performance of certain visual tasks that are at the limits of what a person can see would result in improving the vision of elder adults. Specifically, participants (all over the age of 65) were given a texture discrimination exercise. The research subjects were presented with stimuli consisting of a letter embedded in the center of a field of horizontally oriented lines.Besides the letter, peripherally located lines were placed diagonally to form either a vertical or horizontal object which always appeared in the same quadrant. After the research participants were shown this image, it was quickly followed with the display of a masking pattern. The task for the people in the study was to concentrate on seeing the central letter as well the peripheral object. “We found that just two days of training in one hour sessions with difficult stimuli resulted in older subjects seeing as well as younger college-age subjects,” chief researcher Andersen said in a media statement.”The improvement was maintained for up to three months and the results were dependent on the location in the visual field where the stimuli were located — suggesting that the brain changed in early levels of the visual cortex.” The visual cortex is the part of the brain responsible for processing visual information. Improvements in vision couldn’t be explained by simply becoming familiar with the task, the researchers determined. What’s more, the improved vision following the perceptual training was maintained for at least three months. This is especially important because it shows there is a high degree of brain plasticity among older people and it strongly suggests that this vision “training” technique is useful for reversing declines in vision due to normal aging. “Given the clear impact of age-related declines in vision on driving, mobility, and falls, the present study suggests that perceptual learning may be a useful tool for improving the health and well-being of an older population,” the researchers concluded. For more information: http://www.journalofvision.org/content/10/13/4.abstract http://www.naturalnews.com/vision_improvement.html http://www.naturalnews.com/macular_degeneration.html

Omega-3s are incredibly potent anti-inflammatory supplements

(NaturalNews) Omega-3 fatty acids are “incredibly potent” anti-inflammatories, which may explain why they have been linked with lowered rates of diabetes and heart disease, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of California-San Diego and published in the journal Cell . In an experiment conducted on mice, the researchers examined how omega-3s interact with specialized white blood cells known as macrophages, which digest harmful molecules and cellular debris. As part of their operation, macrophages naturally secrete chemicals that produce an inflammatory response. The researchers found that macrophages contain an omega-3 receptor, GPR120, that causes them to stop producing these inflammatory chemicals. In a second experiment, the researchers genetically modified a group mice to lack a GPR120 receptor, then fed a high-fat diet to both modified and normal mice. All the mice became obese and developed diabetes. When their diets were then supplemented with omega-3s, only the non-modified mice exhibited improvement in their symptoms. In these mice, omega-3 supplementation was as effective at restoring insulin sensitivity as the drug Avandia. “It’s just an incredibly potent effect,” researcher Jerrold Olefsky said. “The omega-3 fatty acids switch on the receptor, killing the inflammatory response. “This is nature at work. The receptor evolved to respond to a natural product — omega-3 fatty acids — so that the inflammatory process can be controlled. Our work shows how fish oils safely do this, and suggests a possible way to treating the serious problems of inflammation in obesity and in conditions like diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease through simple dietary supplementation.” Omega-3 fatty acids naturally occur in fish oil and in some vegetable foods such as canola oil, flax seeds, chia, kiwifruit, and purslane. Many researchers now believe that the average Western diet contains a lower content of these oils than is necessary for optimal health. To learn more about how to fight disease with a healthy diet, read the free NaturalNews.com report “Nutrition Can Save America!” at http://www.naturalnews.com/report_Nutrition_Health_America_0.html. Sources for this story include: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hP8x_kt5gKD1R8-a_j5smN3nj_ZA; http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/09/how-fish-oil-fights-inflammation.html.

Teens carry 30 percent more BPA than adults

(NaturalNews) Teenagers carry 30 percent more of the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in their bodies than older adults, according to a study conducted by researchers from Statistics Canada. BPA is an industrial chemical used to make hard, clear plastics for water bottles and baby bottles, and resins to line food and beverage cans. It is also found in the special paper used to print receipts. An endocrine disruptor, it mimics the effect of estrogen in the human body and interferes with the function of other hormones. “Phthalates and [BPA] … aren’t quite identical to the natural hormone molecules in men’s or women’s bodies, but they come close enough that they occupy the same receptors on estrogen-sensitive tissues and exert their own unique effects on human health,” writes David Steinman in his book Safe Trip to Eden . BPA has been linked with an increased risk of cancer, reproductive and nervous problems, including changes in the brain. Researchers collected urine samples from more than 5,400 Canadians between the ages of six and 79, testing for traces of BPA. They found traces of the toxin in 91 percent of those tested. Teenagers might have higher levels because they consume more food relative to their body weight, the researchers suggested, or because they metabolize it differently. Researchers expressed concern that these higher levels might pose an even more severe risk of developmental problems at an age when the body is undergoing major changes. The average level of BPA found was just over one part per billion, 1,000 times the level at which estrogen is naturally found in the body. Health Canada has officially designated BPA as a toxic chemical and ordered its removal from baby bottles, but most other countries have yet to follow suit. “The No. 1 priority at the moment has got to be getting it out of the lining of tin cans,” said Rick Smith of Environmental Defense. “When nine out of 10 Canadians have a hormonally active chemical in their body, for which easy alternatives are available … why not make some further changes with respect to BPA?” Sources for this story include: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/teens-carry-30-per-cent-more-bpa-than-rest-of-population/article1674153/.

Dying cancer patients subjected to expensive, meaningless cancer screening tests

(NaturalNews) Earlier this year, NaturalNews reported the kind of story that almost seems too far-fetched to be true. According to a study by University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) researchers that was published in the American Journal of Public Health , unneeded, expensive mammograms are regularly pushed on elderly women who are incapacitated and dying from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, especially if the patients still have assets of $100,000 or more (http://www.naturalnews.com/028095_mammograms_Alzheimers.html). Think the cancer screening industry couldn’t get any greedier than that example? Think again. Another study, just out in the October 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) concludes a sizeable proportion of terminally ill cancer patients are being subjected to common, expensive (and often painful) cancer screening tests. And these tests provide virtually no benefit whatsoever to those dying of cancer — although they do hike up medical bills and profits for health care providers. Yes, people with a very limited time to live are being given mammograms, Pap tests, colonoscopies and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests on a regular basis. It turns out, according to background information in the study, that current cancer industry screening guidelines fail to even address the appropriateness of these screenings for individuals with terminal illnesses. “In the extreme situation of patients with advanced cancer, screening will lead to over diagnosis (detection of a cancer which, if not found by active search, would not affect survival) in virtually all cases when a new malignancy is found. In addition, patients may be subject to unnecessary risk due to subsequent testing, biopsies, and psychological distress,” the authors stated. Camelia S. Sima, M.D., M.S., of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and her research team investigated the extent to which patients with advanced cancer continue to undergo screening for new cancers by studying data on 87,736 fee-for-service Medicare enrollees ages 65 years or older. All had been diagnosed with advanced lung, colorectal, pancreatic, gastroesophageal, or breast cancer between 1998 and 2005. The research subjects were followed up until December 2007 or until they died, whichever came first. The researchers found that after advanced cancer diagnosis, almost 9 percent of women were still being given at least one screening mammogram and almost 6 percent had Pap tests. Among men with advanced cancer, 15 percent were still being sent for PSA tests. For male and female patients following terminal cancer diagnosis, almost 2 percent were still being subjected to colonoscopies. The strongest predictor of screening tests in people with advanced cancer was the fact they had already had screening tests before they were diagnosed with a terminal malignancy. So, the researchers stated in their study, their best explanation for the ordering of basically unnecessary, expensive tests is that patients and doctors are accustomed to obtaining cancer screenings at regular periods and just keep on continuing the tests “.. even when the benefits have been rendered futile in the face of competing risk from advanced cancer.” The study’s conclusions mention little about how these tests add to the already sky high medical expenses associated with terminal cancer. However, they do mention that a policy change in Medicare payments for the screenings — which would no doubt cut down on many of these unneeded tests — would make sense. “… the Medicare program might not provide coverage for cancer screening procedures for patients with life expectancy of less than 2 years,” the researchers wrote. For more information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20940384

Statin drugs cause liver damage, kidney failure and cataracts, says BMJ

(NaturalNews) Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs significantly increase a person’s risk of cataracts, muscle weakness, liver dysfunction and kidney failure, according to a study in the British Medical Journal . The study also confirmed that the drugs lower the risk of heart disease and esophageal cancer, but claims of other health benefits were unsupported. Researchers from Nottingham University in the United Kingdom examined data on more than 2 million patients between the ages of 30 and 84, seen at 38 different general practices, who had been prescribed the cholesterol-lowering drugs. More than 70 percent were taking simvastatin (Zocor), 22.3 percent were taking atorvastatin (Lipitor), 3.6 percent were taking pravastatin (Pravachol, Selektine), 1.9 percent were taking rosuvastatin (Crestor) and 1.4 percent were taking fluvastatin (Canef, Lescol, Lochol, Vastin). The researchers confirmed prior data suggesting that statins increase patients’ risk of cataracts, liver dysfunction, kidney failure and a form of muscle weakness known as myopathy. They found that for every 10,000 women treated with the drugs, 23 would develop acute kidney (renal) failure, 39 would develop myopathy, 74 would develop liver dysfunction and 309 would develop cataracts. Men suffered an even higher risk of myopathy, but their risks of the other three conditions were similar to those suffered by women. Putting it in different terms, the researchers found that only 434 people would need to be treated with the drugs for five years for one case of acute renal failure to develop. It would take only 136 treated for each case of liver dysfunction and 33 for each case of cataracts. Among women, 259 would need to be treated for each case of myopathy; among men, the number was only 91. The risk of developing all conditions was highest during the first year of treatment, but continued throughout the course of the study. Risk of liver and kidney problems increased proportionally with the dose of statins being taken. All drugs appeared to pose a similar risk of all conditions, with the exception of fluvastatin, which increased the risk of liver dysfunction more than its competitors. Men taking fluvastatin were twice as likely to develop liver dysfunction as those not taking statins, while women’s risk increased by 2.5 times. The researchers did find, however, that the risk of cataracts returned to normal within one year of stopping statin treatment, while the risk of liver and kidney problems returned to normal within one to three years. Additionally, they found no connection between statin use and the risk of dementia, osteoporotic fracture, Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis or venous thromboembolism. Examining the purported benefits of the drugs, researchers found that they did in fact lower the risk of heart disease, averting 271 cases for every 10,000 high-risk patients treated. Put another way, 33 high-risk men or 37 high-risk women would need to be treated with the drugs to avert one case of the disease. Although advocates of the drugs have claimed that they may also reduce the risk cancer, the researchers found almost no data supporting these claims. The study “largely confirmed other studies that reported no clear association between statins and risk of cancers,” the researchers wrote. The only cancer-fighting effect uncovered in the study was a slightly lower risk of esophageal cancer, with eight cases averted for every 10,000 high-risk women treated. In other words, 1,266 high-risk women or 1,082 high-risk men would need to be treated with the drugs to prevent one case of esophageal cancer. Although sales of the blockbuster drugs are unlikely to be reduced as a result of the study, the researchers encouraged closer monitoring of patients for side effects and said their findings “would tend to support a policy of using lower doses of statins in people at high risk of the adverse event.” Sources for this story include: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64J7B820100520; http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Atherosclerosis/20232.

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