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Health News For You
Health News: July 2008 Belly Fat And Lifespan Belly fat, also called abdominal or visceral adipose tissue, is associated with many aging health problems including metabolic syndrome. A new animal study compared animals on a regular diet where they were allowed as much food as they wanted; animals on a calorie restricted, optimal nutrition diet; and animals who had their belly fat surgically removed and then were allowed as much food as they wanted. As expected, the calorie restricted animals had the greatest mean and maximum lifespan. While removal of the belly fat only increased maximum lifespan slightly, there was significant increase in mean lifespan compared to the regular diet animals (Muzumdar R, Visceral adipose tissue modulates mammalian longevity, Aging Cell, June 2008. Both green tea, and certain diets have shown improvements in belly fat, while at the same time providing low calorie selections for calorie control. Health News: July 2008 Tea Extracts Help Radiation Damaged Skin One of the side effects of radiation used to treat cancer patients is skin toxicity. A slow recovery from this skin damage can delay future treatments, increasing the risk to the cancer patient. A study tested the application of inexpensive green tea extract on head and neck cancer patients being treated by radiation. The tea extract helped shorten the skin toxicity recovery period by 5 to 10 days. The tea extract application tests showed that it was effective by inhibiting inflammatory chemical pathways rather than antioxidant action. Green tea was more effective than black tea extract for many patients (Pajonk F, The effects of tea extracts on proinflammatory signaling, BMC Medicine, December 2006). Health News: June 2008 Safer Produce Commercially available produce can be contaminated with disease-causing bacteria like Salmonella or E. coli, then distributed widely. One way to help clean produce is commercial washing. Food plants frequently use flume water washing, but this method can make controlling bacteria difficult. A new study shows that the addition of chlorine dioxide to flume water kills only 90% of the disease-causing bacteria. In contrast, a commercially available produce wash (FIT) containing natural ingredients like grapefruit extract and citric acid, kills 99.9999% of the bacteria in flume water almost instantaneously. Out of a million bacteria, chlorine dioxide would leave 100,000 alive while FIT leaves only 1 alive. In addition, FIT does not have the same risk for plant workers as chlorine (Park et al, Efficacy of FIT produce wash and chlorine dioxide on pathogen control in fresh potatoes. Journal of Food Science, June 2008). Many liquid soaps with grapefruit extract and citric acid are available for home use from your local health food store. Health News: June 2008 New Test For Early Detection Of Ovarian Cancer Currently 75% of women are not diagnosed with ovarian cancer until they are in the later stages. By that time, it has become difficult to treat and more women die. New research has found that combining a simple four-question screening questionnaire with the CA 125 ovarian cancer blood test can increase early detection to 80% and later stage ovarian cancer to 95%. These early detection rates are approximately 30% higher than each procedure (questionnaire and blood test) used separately (Andersen MR, Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, Cancer online, June 2008). Early detection of cancers is the most powerful way to increase the efficacy of treatments. For more information about cancer screening, please consult with your personal physician. Learn how green tea reduces risk of ovarian cancer. Health News: June 2008 High Fat Meals Unhealthy For Young Adults Another study found that eating just one high-fat meal caused young adults to have markedly increased blood pressure when stressed. Young adults ate a high-fat meal (42 grams fat) or a very low-fat meal (1 gram fat) with the same number of calories. When additional stress was applied (e.g. putting the elbow into cold water), those who had eaten the high fat meal had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as increased peripheral vascular resistance (Jakulj F, A high-fat meal increases cardiovascular reactivity to psychological stress in healthy young adults, Journal of Nutrition, April 2007). A chronic high-fat diet is associated with a wide variety of health problems, including high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, cancers, obesity, and others. Learn how green tea lowers risk of high blood pressure. Health News: June 2008 High Fat Meals Unhealthy For Older Adults A new study found that eating just one high-fat meal caused memory loss. Researchers tested adults over the age of 50 years who also had type 2 diabetes. During the study, they were tested with three different meals: a high-fat meal of danish pastry, cheese, and yogurt with whipped cream; the same high-fat meal with added antioxidants (1000 mg Vitamin C plus 800 IU Vitamin E); and a meal of water only. After eating, they were tested for word and paragraph memory recall. There was consistently significant memory loss after eating the high-fat meal. Memory performance was similar with the water-only meal and the high-fat meal with added antioxidants of Vitamin C and Vitamin E (Chui MH, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, June 2008). More research is needed to learn if only oxidative stress pathways were involved and if other stronger antioxidants like EGCG would provide stronger protection. Health News: June 2008 Not 42? According the The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, the answer is 42. However, new research has discovered that half the answer is 143. Chemists from Ohio have analyzed the scaffolding from 24 million organic compound molecules known to exist. They found that 12 million of them had molecular shapes that could be described by just 143 structural frameworks. They also found that a top heavy "power law" was associated with the minimized shapes. In other words, a small number of successful shapes appeared in a large number of compounds. By identifying successful shapes researchers hope to reduce the labor involved in developing new chemical products (Lipkus AH, Structural Diversity of Organic Chemistry. A Scaffold Analysis of the CAS Registry, Journal Of Organic Chemistry, June 2008). This message was brought to you by oceans that still have fish. O.K., Douglas Adams, you're right..."A cup of tea would restore my normality." Health News: June 2008 Green Tea Powder Storage A new study tested the impact of humidity and added chemicals during storage of dry green tea powder. During a three month storage test, they found that catechin (including EGCG, or epigallocatechin gallate, as well as epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epigallocatechin) stability could be maintained at 43% relative humidity at 22 degrees C for three months, despite caking. Higher humidity caused chemical degradation. The addition of sucrose, citric acid, and ascorbic acid to green tea powder during storage also significantly increased catechin degradation (Ortiz J, Interaction of environmental moisture with powdered green tea formulations: effect on catechin chemical stability, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, June 2008). Green tea catechins are the primary antioxidants associated with risk reduction for many health conditions. They are very reactive chemicals, leading to their health benefits, but also making them fragile. People using green tea powder such as matcha should buy amounts that they can use within a few months after opening. People buying powdered green iced tea mixes may want to avoid those with sucrose, citric acid, or ascorbic acid if they want to be more certain of antioxidant stability. Or make their own green iced tea from freshly brewed green tea. Health News: June 2008 Long Life, Exercise, And Calories Regular exercise is necessary to maintain quality of life and can increase the average life span. But only an anti-aging diet of calorie restriction with optimal nutrition increases the maximum life span. Now a new study compares sedentary, treadmill exercised, and calorie restricted animals. After 24 weeks, the sedentary mice who ate as much as they wanted were the fattest. Exercised mice had higher heat shock protein levels, but did not accumulate DNA damage from the oxidative stress. The lowest levels of insulin and IGF-1 were only found in the 18% calorie restricted mice, leading the researchers to conclude that exercise may not be able to create the same hormonal and metabolic response that calorie restriction creates in the body (Huffman DM, Effect of exercise and calorie restriction on biomarkers of aging in mice, American Journal of Physiology, Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, May 2008). Stay up-to-date on antiaging health news here. Health News: June 2008 Green Tea, Vitamin E, And Vitamin C A new study has explored mixing green tea polyphenol antioxidants with Vitamin E and Vitamin C. Researchers tested the antioxidant strength of EGCG, or epigallocatechin gallate, as well as EC or epicatechin, EGC or epigallocatechin, ECG or epicatechin gallate, and GA or gallic acid, all from green tea, with alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E) and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) against lipid peroxidation or free radical damage to fats (linoleic acid). Results showed that the green tea polyphenols, Vitamin E, and Vitamin C could work synergistically to prevent peroxidation damage to fats. Further study showed that the synergy was due to enhanced molecular regeneration. Vitamin C helped regenerate green tea polyphenols and green tea polyphenols helped regenerate Vitamin E (Dai F, Antioxidant synergism of green tea polyphenols with alpha-tocopherol and l-ascorbic acid in SDS micelles, Biochemie, May 2008). Here's more information about nutrition and your health. Health News: June 2008 More news about Salmonella The recent Salmonella outbreak in the United States has been traced to contaminated tomatoes. It has infected over 550 people in more than 30 states. One of the ways Salmonella causes food poisoning is by using proteins to invade the cellular walls of the stomach and intestines. However, once this happens, our immune systems begin fighting the bacteria. Now researchers have found a new protein in Salmonella called AvrA that stabilizes our intestinal cell wall and avoids alerting the immune system (Liao AP, Salmonella type III effector AvrA stabilizes cell tight junctions to inhibit inflammation in intestinal epithelial cells. PLoS ONE, June 2008). This allows the bacteria to increase in numbers safely for a longer time, leaving us with a larger, more dangerous infection to fight. There are many ways to protect ourselves from Salmonella infection, with good sanitation practices at every level from farm to dinner table. Here's some additional ways that green tea could help fight Salmonella infections. Health News: June 2008 Happy 100th, Teabags In June 1908, a New York merchant, John Sullivan, sent out tea samples in silk sachets to his retailers. He was trying to save money and avoid sending larger amounts of loose leaf tea. But he didn't include instructions to open the sachet and put the tea directly into hot water. So people dunked the whole "teabag" and they loved it. An inexpensive gauze was quickly introduced and by 1930, a sealed paper fiber bag was being used. The paper basically served as an inexpensive infuser. The Americans loved the idea. While people complained of lost flavor and low quality tea dust, others promoted the convenience. As the 20th century began to speed up, convenience won, and teabags are now available everywhere. The British waited a few generations to accept the tea bag, but Tetley Tea now sells over 200 million teabags a week using perforated paper. Tea bags come in square, round, pyramid, and flow-through shapes to enhance extraction, and with whole leaf tea as well as tea dust for better flavor. You can even buy reuseable tea bags to make your own. While tea bags will never replace the experience of sitting down with a pot of fresh whole leaf green tea, they can't be beat for traveling or a quick cup of tea to get you through a busy day. Look for these green teas to try in a teabag or loose leaf. Health News: June 2008 Women And AIDS As of 2007, 62% of all people living with HIV are women or adolescent girls, according to the United Nations. Many social habits have promoted this high rate of infection, including:
These factors have led to a dramatic increase in female HIV infections, not only in Africa, but also Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe. In the United States, AIDS is the leading cause of death for African-American women age 25-34. Global efforts include women's education, economic choices, and equal access to treatment. Without this action, the infection rates will only get worse. Here's research on HIV prevention Health News: June 2008 Tea Chemicals Reduce Lung Cancer In Smokers Smoking and second-hand smoke significantly increase the risk of lung cancer. The Center for Disease Control states that 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and 80% of lung cancer deaths in women of the United States are due to smoking. While the best prevention is to stop smoking, now a new study has shown that a high intake of flavonoid chemicals found in tea, fruits, and vegetables also substantially reduces the risk of lung cancer in smokers. In a case-control study of 558 lung cancer patients and 837 controls in Los Angeles, California, researchers analyzed dietary intake. After adjusting for other influences, they found that higher consumption of flavonoid catechins, epicatechins, quercetins, and kaempferols reduced the risk of lung cancer in smokers from 32% to 56%. Other flavonoids including thearubigins, hesperetin, naringenin, and myricetin showed no association. Catechins and epicatechins are high in green tea, while quercetin and kaempferol are found in apples, onions, Brussels sprouts, and beans. The scientists plan more studies to determine optimal intake of these flavonoids (Cui Y, Dietary flavonoid intake and lung cancer--a population-based case-control study, Cancer, May 2008). Health News: June 2008 Barak Obama Drinks Green Tea According to a story in the Washington Post June 2 (also referring to the New York Times), Barak Obama, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in 2008, drinks green tea. In fact, Obama loves green tea so much that his staff has been known to clean out stores of his favorite flavors during his primary campaign. What's his favorite? According to reports, he loves bottled green tea made by Honest Tea, a Maryland company specializing in organic tea. His favorite used to be Community Green Tea. Then it was Green Dragon Tea. Now he's drinking Black Forest Berry. Since the tea was hard to find everywhere in the U.S., the company owner has sold 40% of the company to Coca-Cola to assure distribution. Green tea...a winner for 5000 years.
June Health News, 2008 Tomato Powder For Prostate Cancer May Health News, 2008 Green Tea Reduces Damage To Older Brains Green Tea Protects Skin Grafts Some Drugs May Increase Risk Of Secondary Infections Will Nanotubes Increase Cancer Risk? Can Men Avoid A Double Whammy? Green Tea Protects Brain During Sleep Apnea HIV-1 Therapy: Most Effective Drugs Estrogen And Benign Breast Disease Prostate Cancer Treatment Failure With High Fat Diet Green Tea, White Tea, Black Tea, And A Parasite Genes And Breast Cancer Chemotherapy April Health News, 2008 How Calorie Restriction Helps Adult Brains Green Tea Catechins And Belly Fat Eating Fat And Your Cholesterol Metabolic Syndrome And Your Diet What Can Mathematics Do For You? Strokes Double Alzheimer's Risk Green Tea And Alcohol-damaged Liver Bisphenol A and Aggressive Breast Cancer Older Women Have To Work Harder March Health News, 2008 Cruciferous Vegetables For The Prostate Will Fat Bellies Make You Crazy? HRT And Breast Cancer Recurrence Deadly Clogged Arteries In Hispanics Better Grades With Better Diet Ibuprofen, Stroke, And Synergy Revisited 90% Reduction In Prostate Cancer Growth New Immune System Tea Chemical Discovered Childhood Obesity And Video Games, Part 2 Childhood Obesity And Video Games EGCG And Nerve Degeneration Diseases February Health News, 2008 Preventing Strokes With Exercise Increased Survival For Malignant Mesothelioma Cancer Younger Women Having More Strokes Obesity Increases Cancer--Overview Some Asbestos Exposure Decreasing Muscular Dystrophy And EGCG Research Prostate Cancer And A Crystal Ball Post World Trade Center Pulmonary Disease Meat, Fast Food, And Metabolic Syndrome Green Tea Extract Protects Fat Liver Damage January Health News, 2008 Couch Potatoes And Rapid Aging Modified Alternate Day Fasting The Importance Of Washing Your Hands Primates Benefit From Calorie Restriction Counting Calories Improves Muscles Strong FDA Recommendation Against Infant Cough Medication Who wants to live a long healthy life? Protection Against Heart Attack Damage December Health News, 2007 What Would You Do For The Poor? Altered Hormones From Antibacterial Soap Breast Cancer Treatment Programs Or Can Black Tea Help Protect Against Parkinson's? Could Green Tea Help Protect Against Parkinson's? A New Piece Of The Parkinson's Puzzle One Centimeter Breast Cancer Can Still Be Dangerous Are Anti-Drinking Ads Too Much Fun? Production Practices And Contaminated Food How Is Fat Stored In Your Cells? November Health News, 2007 Exercise And High Blood Pressure Alcohol And High Blood Pressure Advances In Breast Cancer Detection Improving protection against E. coli and Listeria Are You Over Age 35 In The U.S.? Cardiovascular benefits and EGCG New Hope For Prostate Cancer Research New Sources Of Organically Grown Tea From China More Breast Cancer In Shanghai and Beijing New Research On Veteran's PTSD Universities Study Food Poisoning HIV: Another Piece Of The Puzzle Who's Drinking Those Energy Drinks? Hello, Chicago! Green Tea Tuberculosis Research Update More Comfort Food, Less Side Effects Tuberculosis Added To HIV Pandemic Green Tea EGCG, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's Disease October Health News, 2007 Eat A Rainbow 2: One Color At A Time Even A Little Exercise Could Help You Through The Holidays How Women Have Less Heart Attacks Are Americans Learning To Eat Better? Big Bellies And Artery Blockages Obesity Could Increase Esophageal Cancer Risk African-Americans And Hispanics Treated Differently Tai Chi For The Immune System? Please, Please Don't Microwave The Garlic HAART For HIV Also Protects Brain New Hope For Bangladesh Environmental Catastrophe Tea Supplements Vs Tea Gargle? Stroke/Cholesterol Association September Health News, 2007 Stress Speeds Up Breast Cancer Recurrence A Little Smog Is Worse Than You Think September Is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month Keep Your Cool With Hot Green Tea Couch Potatoes Have Higher Heart Disease Risk "Thy drugs are quick." Romeo and Juliet Big Bellies Bad For Men's Brains Cholesterol Nukes Estrogen Protection Will Vitamin D Prevent Breast Cancer? When Does High Blood Pressure Start? 33% Of Teenagers Can Change Diet Choices Teenagers: Eating everything in sight? English Belly Fat Is Expanding Pump Up Your Brain With Exercise Ocean Oscillation + Rainfall = Disease Prediction
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