News Briefs

by Michael Downey

• Canadian children deficient in omega-3? A study published in the March, 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition found that most Canadian children are deficient in Omega-3 EPA/DHA. The study found that 78 per cent of the children trialed were not receiving adequate amounts of Omega-3 EPA and DHA in their diets. Researchers from the University of Guelph in Ontario found that the median daily consumption of Omega-3 EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) was only 31.5 mg, in a sample group of four to eight year olds. In this study researchers used the suggested daily intake recommended by the Institute of Medicine which is only 90 mg of Omega-3 EPA/DHA per day. Even using this low recommendation level, the study shows that 78% of the sampled Canadian children were well below the recommended level. The study also notes that the recommendation by the American Dietician Association and the Dieticians of Canada is 351 mg of EPA/DHA per day. Based on this recommendation 90% of the children in the study were deficient in Omega-3 EPA/DHA.

• Baby bottle chemical removed: The makers of babies’ bottles in the US are to remove a controversial chemical from their products, amid growing concern over its possible effects. The six manufacturers say they are reacting to consumer demand by removing Bisphenol A (BPA) from their bottles. There has been growing concern about the possible effects of BPA leaching into babies’ feed when bottles are heated. The current advice for parents is not to pour boiling liquid directly into bottles, not to microwave them or use scratched or worn ones. Research carried out at Exeter University found that adults with high levels of BPA in their system were more prone to heart disease and diabetes. In 2008, Canada formally declared BPA a hazardous substance and announced plans to ban the import or sale of bottles containing it.

• Wine cuts esophagus pre-cancer? A glass of wine a day may lower the risk of developing a disorder called Barrett's esophagus, a condition of the lining of the passage running from the mouth to the stomach that can become cancerous. The study was published in the March 2009 issue of the medical journal Gastroenterology.

• Green tea helps gums: Research in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of Periodontology shows that a cup of green tea per day may help keep gum disease at bay.

• Obesity risk rivals smoking: Being severely obese is almost as hazardous to health as a lifetime of smoking, shortening life by a decade, a group of Oxford University experts has warned. Even moderate obesity cuts life expectancy by about three years, says the Clinical Trial Service Unit. The findings, published in March 2009 edition of The Lancet, come from data on almost a million people from around the world. Avoiding middle age spread could add years to life. (However, cigarette smoking is still the number one cause of cancer death.)

• Sleep influences diabetes risk: Burning the candle at both ends during the working week could raise a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes, New York researchers say. People who slept fewer than six hours a night were more likely to develop a condition that precedes diabetes than those sleeping for longer, they found. They said the study supported mounting evidence that cutting back on sleep can have a profound impact on health. The six-year study was presented March 12th at the American Heart Association conference.

• Fat neck syndrome? Measuring the thickness of a person’s neck may provide as many clues to their risk of developing heart problems as measuring their waist, a study says. Researchers from the Framingham Heart Study found even those with relatively trim waistlines appeared to be at greater risk if they had larger necks. Risk was defined as having lower levels of “good” cholesterol for instance, or higher levels of blood glucose. The results were presented to a March 12th meeting of the American Heart Association.

PEA protein HELPs BLOOD PRESSURE, KIDNEY DISEASE

Very new research from Winnipeg, Manitoba, has just found that proteins in the common garden pea may provide a natural remedy against high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The pea protein could be used as a natural food product such as an additive or dietary supplement to help the millions of people worldwide that suffer from these conditions, suggested the researchers.

Rotimi Aluko, PhD, food chemist at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, presented the findings at the American Chemical Society’s 237th National Meeting which took place March 22 – 26 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a major risk factor for people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Estimates suggest that the number of people with CKD is on the rise, now standing at 13% of North American adults. This compares with 10% in the 1990s. CKD is difficult to treat, and many patients progress to “end-stage” kidney disease and have to have dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Peas have long held prime position as “nutrition superstars.” They contain a healthy amount of protein, fibre and vitamins and come in a “low-fat, cholesterol-free package.”

VITAMIN C LINKED TO LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE

A study in young adult women links high blood levels of vitamin C with lower blood pressure. This “strongly suggests that vitamin C is specifically important in maintaining a healthy blood pressure,” said lead author Dr. Gladys Block, of the University of California, Berkeley, in an interview with News Briefs.

Previous research linked high plasma levels of vitamin C with lower blood pressure among middle-age and older adults, typically those with higher than optimal blood pressure readings, Block and colleagues report in the December 17, 2009 issue of Nutrition Journal.

The current study involved 242 black and white women, between 18 and 21 years old, with normal blood pressures, who were participants in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study. The girls had entered the trial when they were 8 to 11 years old. Over a 10-year period, their plasma levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and blood pressure were monitored.

At year 10, Block and her colleagues found that blood pressure, both the systolic and diastolic (top and bottom reading), was inversely associated with ascorbic acid levels. In other words, more vitamin C, lower numbers.

Specifically, women with the highest levels of ascorbic acid had a decline of about 4.66 mm Hg in systolic and 6.04 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure compared with women with the lowest ascorbic acid levels. This difference still held true after researchers allowed for differences in body mass, race, education levels, and dietary fat and sodium intake.

Women with the lowest levels of plasma ascorbic acid likely consumed average amounts of fruits, vegetables, and fortified foods while those with the highest plasma ascorbic acid levels likely ate diets rich in fruits and vegetables or took multivitamins or vitamin C supplements, the researchers note.

Further analyses of vitamin C and blood pressure changes over the previous year, “also strongly suggested that the people with the highest blood level of vitamin C had the least increase in blood pressure,” Block said.

Since these findings imply a possible association between vitamin C and blood pressure in healthy young adults, Block and colleagues call for further investigations in this population.

HONEY – NATURAL PRESERVATIVE: STUDY

Antioxidant-rich honey is a healthy alternative to chemical additives and refined sweeteners in commercial salad dressings, said a new University of Illinois study.

by Michael Downey

INOSITOL MAY TREAT CANCER, DEPRESSION

A natural compound that comes from grains, nuts and beans may be a successful alternative medical treatment for an array of conditions, from depression to cancer, experts suggest. (The human body needs a small amount of inositol, a member of the B vitamin family, for its cells to function properly.)

On January 11, Elie Klein, a naturopathic doctor in Toronto, told CTV News that a number of medical doctors send their patients to natural health food stores for inositol to treat a variety of conditions. This has never been acknowledged before publicly. “There is certainly growing interest in it,” Klein said.

Toronto psychotherapist Dr. Harold Pupko prescribes it to his patients to treat their anxiety and depression. “There will be less chatter or less noise in your head in terms of repetitive types of negative thoughts, anxious thoughts,” Pupko said.

Although inositol is relatively unknown among the public, studies have shown it to be effective at reducing the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic attacks.

In Vancouver, researchers have just completed a preliminary study that suggests inositol may help prevent lung cancer. For their study, the researchers gave former smokers 18 grams of inositol per day. The ex-smokers had what is called severe dysplasia, or high-grade pre-cancerous changes in their bronchial tubes. After one to three months on inositol, the patients had fewer pre-cancerous growths in their lungs. As well, the compound appears to cause few side effects, even at high doses.

“So this is one agent that seems to have a very potent effect in terms of regressing pre-existing, pre-cancerous cells in the bronchial tube,” Dr. Stephen Lam of the B.C. Cancer Agency told CTV News and confirmed to Vitality in an e-mail interview. “That is why we are quite excited about it.” Lam and his team plan to conduct more studies into the benefits of inositol on lung cancer.

There are also ongoing studies evaluating inositol’s ability to treat infertility, lower cholesterol, and normalize insulin levels. “I don't think it deserves to be a secret,” Pupko said. “I think it should be public knowledge.”

So do we.

VITAMIN C LINKED WITH LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE

A study has linked high blood levels of vitamin C with lower blood pressure in young women. The study involved almost 250 women. They entered the trial when they were 8 to 11 years old, and over a 10-year period, their plasma levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and blood pressure were monitored. Both their systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings were found to be inversely associated with ascorbic acid levels.

Previous research had already linked high plasma levels of vitamin C with lower blood pressure among middle aged and older adults. The study appeared in the December 17, 2009 edition of Nutrition Journal.

CLEANER AIR ADDS MONTHS TO LIFE

Cuts in air pollution in U.S. cities over recent decades have added an average of five months of life to their inhabitants, research suggests.

The January 22, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that matched air pollution and life expectancy statistics from 51 (U.S.) cities between 1980 and 2000. Scientists found people living 2.72 years longer by 2000 – 15 per cent of which they attributed to falls in pollution. Earlier studies have found poor air quality can worsen lung and heart disease.

Fine particles can travel deeply into the lungs, and have been linked with the worsening of asthma and heart disease. The researchers found that in those cities with the biggest shift from polluted to clean air, this had yielded an average of 10 more months lifespan to its residents.

FLAWS IN ANTIOXIDANT STUDY

A study published in the January 7, 2009 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute claims that antioxidant vitamins C, E and beta carotene have no effect in preventing cancer. The study, conducted by Jennifer Lin and colleagues at Harvard Medical School, tracked 7,600 women over an eight-year period. The women either suffered from heart disease or were at high risk, 80 per cent of the study group was overweight or obese, and the average age at the time the study began was 60 years.

Critics of the study – a secondary analysis of data originally intended to measure the link between antioxidants and heart disease – criticized both the methodology and the outcome, warning that consumers may get faulty information about vitamins and health.

by Michael Downey

VITAMIN K2 CUTS HEART RISK

According to a study that has been accepted by, and will be published soon in, the journal Atherosclerosis, a higher intake of vitamin K2 is associated with less calcification of coronary arteries. For vitamin K1, no such link was found.

Researchers of the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands examined 564 post-menopausal women to determine if a daily intake of vitamin K1 and K2 is associated with a degree of coronary calcification. The results indicate that daily consumption of 45 micrograms (mcg.) of K2, compared with the very low intake of 18 mcg, is important to prevent diseases of the heart and arteries. A higher intake of vitamin K2 was associated with 20 per cent reduction of coronary calcification.

(Note that this study measured actual dietary consumption of K2 – not the body levels. This is important because the bacteria in our gut produce K2, which is why dietary consumption is not necessary to avoid an all-out deficiency unless the intestines have been heavily damaged. And this vitamin can be stored by the body like any other fat-soluble vitamin. But government health authorities hold that for optimum health, we require both internally-produced vitamin K and dietary sources.)

Artery calcification is hardening of the arteries caused by the gradual impregnation of the coronary arteries by calcium salts. It is a serious heart disease risk.

Vitamin K1 (which failed to show an arterial benefit) is also called phylloquinones. It can be derived from leafy green vegetables.

Vitamin K2 (also called menaquinones) can be found in forms known as MK-4 and as MK-7. Because K2 normally is made by bacteria (often in the intestines), MK-4 is found in meat, eggs, dairy and natto, the traditional Japanese breakfast food comprised of fermented soybeans. MK-7, however, is found only in fermented dairy food products such as curd cheese and in natto, the richest source. MK-7 is available in supplements containing 45 mcg.

BROCCOLI PROTECTS AGAINST LUNG DAMAGE

A substance found in broccoli may limit the damage which leads to serious lung disease, research suggests.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often caused by smoking. Toxins build up in the lungs and the cells are insufficiently protected by normal functioning of a gene called NRF2. US scientists found that the sulforaphane in broccoli increases the activity of the NRF2 gene in human lung cells.

In the September, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the team from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine wrote that the gene is responsible for turning on several mechanisms for removing toxins and pollutants which can damage cells.

In August, the same broccoli compound was found to protect blood vessels from damage caused by diabetes. Brassica, or cruciferous, vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, have also been linked to a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.

VITAMIN MAY PREVENT MEMORY LOSS

A University of Oxford study, published in the September 9, 2008 edition of the journal Neurology, found that older people with lower than average B12 levels are over six times more likely to experience brain shrinkage.

Shrinkage of the brain has been linked strongly with a higher risk of developing dementia.

Many foods are now fortified with folic acid, which has caused concern because folic acid can mask a vitamin B12 deficiency in older people.

The vitamin is found in meat, fish, milk and supplements. Liver and shellfish are especially rich sources.

PREGNANCY-ASTHMA LINK?

Folic acid is recommended to pregnant women to prevent birth detects. But it may be time to look at how much is enough and how much is too much, suggests a new study.