To Your Health by Lyle Dean Copyright 2010, Lyle Dean, Inc
CUTTING CALORIES In the midst of America’s obesity epidemic, physicians frequently advise their patients to reduce the number of calories they consume on a daily basis. In saying that, Professor Judy Cameron of Oregon Health & Science University, says cutting calories may not be enough. Her research shows dieting alone will not likely cause substantial weight loss—that dieting and exercise must be combined. The study, published in the American Journal of Physiology, explains that a natural compensatory mechanism reduces a person’s physical activity in response to a reduction in calories, so the person would have to make an effort, no pun intended, to exercise. Professor Cameron and her colleagues followed laboratory animals to demonstrate the natural mechanism that reduces activity in response to reduced calories.
ALCOHOL & BREAST DISEASE Girls and young women who drink alcohol increase their chances of noncancerous breast lumps or lesions. That, in turn, increases the risk for developing breast cancer later in life. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and Harvard say the risk of benign breast disease increases with the amount of alcohol consumed by young females. Those who drank alcohol six or seven days a week were more than five times likely to have benign breast disease than those who had less than one drink per week. Young women with benign breast disease also were more likely to engage in binge drinking. About eighty percent of breast lumps are benign, but researcher Dr. Graham Colditz says they can be a step in a pathway leading from normal breast tissue to invasive breast cancer and that drinking habits throughout life affect that risk.
TOO CLEAN? As recently as 1980, ten percent of people in the Western world suffered from allergies. Today, it is thirty percent. Even worse, the death rate from asthma has been increasing. A professor at the University of Montreal School of Medicine, Dr. Guy Delespesse, says excessive cleanliness is to blame. He says there is an inverse relationship between the level of hygiene and incidence of allergies and autoimmune diseases. Why? The bacteria in our digestive system are essential to digestion, but they also teach the immune system how to react to strange substances—key in the development of a child’s immune system. He notes that while hygiene reduces our exposure to harmful bacteria, it also limits our exposure to beneficial bacteria. Dr. Delespesse recommends probiotics to enrich beneficial intestinal bacteria.
ADDED SUGARS Sugars are consumed as natural components of many foods and as additions to other foods during processing or preparation. It is those added sugars that concern health professionals—estimated at more than twenty-two teaspoons per day or three hundred fifty five calories per day. Excessive amounts of sugars are linked with metabolic abnormalities and adverse health conditions. The American Heart Association says on the basis of federal dietary guidelines, no more than one-half of a person’s discretionary calorie allowance should come from added sugars. For most women, that is no more than one hundred calories per day and for most men no more than one hundred fifty calories per day from added sugars. The scientific statement from the American Heart Association appears in the journal Circulation.
ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH Occasionally, we bring you news about experimental medicines that show promise for future treatments. At a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, researchers from New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical Center reported that a group of Alzheimer’s patients had a significant decrease in the rate of brain shrinkage, thus preserving their thinking abilities. IGIV or Immune Globulin Intravenous is made up of naturally occurring antibodies in human blood. Dr. Norman Relkin says his experimental findings are based on two independent reviews of MRI scans from a small number of patients. He says that, to the best of his knowledge, this is the first clinical trial in which long-term clinical benefits in Alzheimer’s patients were accompanied by objective signs of reduced brain degeneration.
VITAMIN D & STROKE If you are a regular listener to these health topics, you have heard frequent news about vitamin D research. One of the latest comes from National Jewish Health Center in Denver. Records of one hundred pediatric patients showed forty-seven percent had insufficient levels of vitamin D. Further, low levels of vitamin D were associated with lower lung function and greater medication use in asthmatic children. Conversely, Dr. Daniel Searing and his colleagues reported in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology that vitamin D enhances the activity of corticosteroids, the most effective controller medication for asthma. Asthma was not the only condition that seemed to worsen with low levels of vitamin D. Dr. Searing says allergies to specific indoor allergens—dog and house mite dust—were higher in patients with low vitamin D levels.
PHYSICAL LOADING Backaches are among the most common and costly of physical ailments and most lower back pains are related to muscle strain, but among severe back symptoms, disc degeneration is the main suspect. However, research at the University of Alberta disputes the common perception that disc degeneration is caused by routine physical loading, the most common source is the body weight we all carry around. Another example is frequent lifting. Researcher Tapio Videman suggests that routine lifting may slightly delay disc degeneration since it is known to be good for the bones, muscles and tendons. His study involved identical male twins where one sibling was significantly heavier than the other. He says the heavier twin tended to have less disc degeneration than the lighter twin.
DRINKING & SMOKING You may have heard or read about possible beneficial effects of drinking moderate amounts of alcohol, specifically to reduce the risk of a stroke. There is a caveat. Research presented to the American Academy of Neurology’s Annual Meeting suggests any beneficial effect of moderate drinking on stroke may be counteracted by cigarette smoking. British researchers gathered the drinking and smoking habits of more than twenty-two thousand people who did not have a history of heart attack or stroke at the beginning of the study. The researchers acknowledge that heavy drinking increases the risk of stroke. However, nonsmokers who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol—the equivalent of several glasses of red wine a day--were thirty seven percent less likely to have a stroke than nondrinkers. No such benefit was seen in smokers
SENIOR DANCING Dancing has achieved new popularity with several television programs. However, in addition to popularity and enjoyment, there is a health component to dancing. Two recent studies conducted at the University of Missouri School of Nursing found participation by seniors in dance based therapy can improve balance and gait reducing their risk of falling and reducing costly injuries. Author Jean Krampe says the Healthy Steps program, also known as TLM, is a combination of low-impact dance steps choreographed to music. Sessions in the studies were led by certified instructors and adjusted to fit the specific needs of the seniors who participated. Krampe says participants in the latest study enjoyed the two month program so much they asked that the sessions continue.
TANNING ADDICTION Despite ongoing efforts to educate the public about the health risks associated with ultra violet radiation, recreational tanning continues to increase among young adults. In saying that, authors of an article in Archives of Dermatology say they found in addition to the desire for enhanced appearance from indoor tanning, motivations include relaxation, improved mood and socialization. Those additional factors may constitute behavior patterns similar to those with substance-related disorders. In other words, indoor tanning may be an addictive behavior. Dr. Catherine Mosher and Dr. Sharon Danoff-Burg say more than two-thirds of the college students they recruited for the study met criteria for tanning addiction. In addition to more research, they say intervention efforts may be needed for those who tan regularly year round.
OBESITY+ ALCOHOL Obesity and alcohol act together to increase the risk of liver disease. Two long-term studies were published in the British Medical Journal online (bmj.com). Excessive use of alcohol has long been known as a cause of liver disease, but recent evidence suggests excess body weight may also play a role. The new studies also show high body mass index and alcohol consumption combined puts a person at greater risk for liver disease than the two factors separately or even added together. In women of healthy weight, averaging two and a half drinks per day, 2.7 in 1000 would likely be admitted to a hospital with liver cirrhosis over five years. But the rate doubled in obese women. Obese men who consumed fifteen or more drinks per week had almost nineteen times higher risk for liver disease than underweight or normal weight non-drinkers.
SMELL & DIABETES For a small number of diabetics, it isn’t only what foods you eat, but just the anticipation of food or the smell of it may trigger salivation and increases insulin production in response to expectation that glucose will be entering the blood stream. Duke University researchers say they believe this parasympathetic response is potentially important in type 2 diabetes. They reported in the journal Science Signaling that laboratory animals deficient in a molecule in pancreatic beta cells show impaired insulin secretion after consuming glucose, but not if the glucose bypassed the animal’s mouth. That suggests a parasympathetic response that enhance insulin secretion and change blood sugar levels. Researchers say they hope their finding will lead to discovery of other genetic factors in type 2 diabetes.
GET UP, GET OUT AND GO! There have been many efforts to control childhood obesity, but one of the latest efforts to get children to be physically active may also be enjoyable. North Carolina State University researchers along with other universities and the National Park Service developed pilot programs featuring recreational activities at national parks. Sixth and seventh grade students helped determine what activities would get them interested enough to participate. The students even suggested the name, “Get Up, Get Out and Go!” Researchers also found out that a lot of ideas they had for park activities were not of interest to the students. However, Get Up, Get Out and Go! more than doubled awareness of park activities such as scavenger hunts and fishing lessons—along with evidence of an increase in physical activity associated with the park activities.
YOUTH BASEBALL INJURIES Baseball has been called the Great American Pastime, but the fervor and love of the game has caused a dramatic increase in throwing arm injuries among young players. After these injuries, some young players require surgery and still others sustain permanent damage. Studies presented to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offer new solutions. Pitchers and catchers under fifteen often feel tightness of a shoulder ligament—and if it is not stretched, will become increasingly more prone to pain or injury. Researchers found a simple stretch done after play can help. Simple, but different from stretching exercises players already know, so it must be taught. Details at safethrow.com. Another orthopaedic surgeon urges adhering to youth baseball guidelines, specifically pitch counts, to help prevent injuries.
HERBAL RISKS It is estimated that about one-half of prostate cancer patients use an herbal or dietary supplement to alleviate symptoms associated with poor prostate health and most do so without discussing it with their doctor. Negative effects were previously reported from some dietary supplements after chemotherapy. Now researchers at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan report negative sideeffects from prostate-specific supplements during radiation therapy. Their report, in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, says cancerous cells were not affected by the supplements, but two of the supplements impaired growth of healthy prostate cells. Senior author, Dr. Brian Marples says it is very important for all patients— especially prostate cancer patients-- to discuss any type of supplement they may be taking with their doctor.
BETTER CANCER NEWS Most of us know at least one person with cancer. Beyond the devastating news of such a diagnosis, however, there are encouraging statistics. The American Cancer Society reports an overall drop in cancer death rates since 1990 of twenty-one percent in men and twelve percent in women. The downturn in cancer death rates is attributed mostly to reductions in tobacco use, better early detection of several cancers and improvements in treatments for certain cancers. Researchers wrote in the journal PLos ONE that for people under age seventy-five, the decrease in cancer death rates since 1970 resulted in about two million years of potential life saved. Despite these improvements, they caution against complacency and urge continued and increased investment in cancer prevention and control.
HUMIDITY HURTS MEDS What’s in your medicine cabinet? Or in your kitchen cabinet? Purdue University food researchers found that high humidity in bathrooms and kitchens may degrade vitamins and health supplements stored there, even if the lids are on tight. The process is similar to clumping of salt or sugar seen in summer months. While salt and sugar may continue to be used after clumping, within a very short time, chemical changes in vitamins and dietary supplements may cause them to totally lose their effectiveness. Professor Lisa Mauer wrote in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that such changes do not necessarily mean the products are unsafe, but why use them if they don’t have the vitamin content or potency you expect. Keeping products containing vitamins in dry conditions can avoid the unwanted ingredient loss.
LIVE KIDNEY DONORS Many patients with end-stage kidney disease are turning to live donor kidney transplants to improve survival and quality of life because of a shortage of deceased donors. Many healthy adults—more than six thousand each year--are eager and willing to accept the risk of donating a kidney to help a loved one. How much of a risk? Any surgery has an element of risk, but an analysis of more than eighty-thousand live kidney donors over a fifteen year period shows donors have long-term survival rates similar to healthy people who were not kidney donors. Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Dorry Segev of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and her colleagues concluded that the current practice of live kidney donation should be considered a reasonable and safe way to address the profound shortage of donor organs.
FEELING YOUNGER HELPS “You’re only as old as you feel” may be more than just wishful thinking. In 1995, researchers at Purdue University asked people what age they felt most of the time, the majority said they felt twelve years younger than they actually were. A decade later, the same people who felt young for their age were more likely to have greater confidence about their cognitive abilities. Doctoral student Markus Schafer led the study. He says, yes, chronological age is important, but if you maintain a sense of being younger, it gives you an edge in maintaining a lot of the abilities you prize. He says because there is such a desire in America to stay young, there may be benefits to keeping up with new trends and activities that feel invigorating. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is published in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences.
VITAMIN D FOR THE HEART Vitamin D replacement therapy has long been used to reduce the risk of fractures and diseases of the bone, but new research shows vitamin D could have far greater benefits in the treatment and reduction of cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions than previously thought. That assessment comes from Dr. J. Brent Muhlestein, of the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute. He reported to the American College of Cardiology that in one study, patients were followed for an average of one year. Patients had low initial levels of vitamin D, but nearly one-half of patients who increased vitamin D showed a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease. In a second study, patients who increased their levels of vitamin D above what is considered normal had lower rates of death, diabetes, heart disease and kidney failure.
DIABETES
EPIDEMIC If we don’t change our diet and exercise
habits or find new, more effective and less expensive ways to prevent
and treat diabetes, we will find ourselves in a lot of trouble. That
comment comes from Dr. Elbert Huang of the University of Chicago, lead
author of a study in the journal Diabetes Care. In the next twenty-five
years, it is predicted the number of Americans living with diabetes will
nearly double—to more than forty four million. People with diabetes are
being diagnosed at younger ages, but thanks to better treatments, they
are living longer. Diabetes significantly increases the risk for
cardiovascular disease, and it is the leading cause of blindness,
end-stage kidney disease and amputations. Dr. Huang says the increase in
diabetes is expected to add a significant strain to an overburdened
care system.
NEW APPROACH TO ALZHEIMER’S While there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, current medications can slow progression of the disease.Now, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have shown a drink containing a combination of nutrients, similar to those found in human breast milk, may improve memory in Alzheimer’s patients by stimulating growth of new brain connections. A clinical study involving two hundred twenty-five Alzheimer’s patients, showed a forty percent improvement in verbal memory, compared to patients getting a placebo beverage. Patients with the mildest cases of Alzheimer’s showed the most improvement. Although, not yet widely available, there are now three additional clinical studies of the new treatment-- hoping to confirm the early findings published in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
COUCH POTATO QUANTIFIED Nearly everybody has heard about the health hazards of being a “couch potato” or spending hours in front of a television set or other sedentary behavior. Now, there is a study explaining just how hazardous those inactive hours are. Australian researchers wrote in the American Heart Association journal Circulation that every hour spent watching television per day brings an eleven percent increased risk of premature death from all causes and an eighteen percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Both overweight and healthy weight people are at similar risk because prolonged periods of sitting have unhealthy effects on blood sugar and blood fats, although the study especially targets the two thirds of adults who are either overweight or obese.
CELL PHONE BENEFIT Those of us who spend a lot time on a cell phone have probably heard about the dispute over possible brain cancer from exposure to electromagnetic waves given off by our phones. There is a surprising new study suggesting longterm exposure to those electromagnetic waves may actually be beneficial in protecting against Alzheimer’s disease. University of South Florida researchers reported results of their study using laboratory mice. Lead author Dr. Gary Arendash said in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that even more astonishing was the waves generated by phones actually appeared to reverse memory impairment and erased harmful brain deposits in older mice. About the previous controversy--USF researchers found no signs of abnormal growth in the of mice after many months of exposure to cell phones.
EARLY OSTEOARTHRITIS TREATMENT People with early osteoarthritis—the most common form of arthritis and second leading cause of disability in this country—may benefit from two interventions. The journal Arthritis Care and Research reports on work at the University of Arizona. It shows physically inactive, middle-age people with osteoarthritis of the knee benefited from strength training. But another group of patients took part in self-management education and individual treatment advice, while a third group participated in both strength training and self management. All three groups showed similar improved pain and physical functioning over two years, surprising the researchers who expected the combined treatment group to do better. Self management, such as the Arthritis Foundation Self Help Program, is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
NO SNOOZE NEWS Ever hear somebody say he or she wants to catch up on their sleep? That may be possible if sleep debt is only short-term. But researchers in Boston, Chicago and the United Kingdom say people who get too little sleep for days or weeks, and intermittently try to catch up by sleeping longer, still have a chronic sleep debt. The exact functions of sleep are still not fully understood, but previous studies found sleep debt makes us more prone to illness, stress, learning and memory problems, traffic accidents and even weight gain. This study, in the journal Science Translational Medicine, kept participants on a schedule comparable to five and one-half hours of sleep per twenty-four hour period. It found that days or weeks of getting too little sleep showed deteriorating performance for each hour spent awake.
STROKE PREVENTION Surviving a stroke can be just the first step toward long-term survival. To prevent new cardiovascular events after stroke, preventive drugs should be used continuously. In saying that, Swedish researcher Dr. Eva-Lotta Glader also reports only one-half to three-quarters of stroke survivors were still using a preventive drug two years later. Her study of more than twenty thousand stroke patients showed only fifty-six percent were taking their cholesterol lowering statin drugs and only forty-five percent were still taking blood thinning medicine. It is not that the patients felt so good they didn’t feel the need to continue preventive medications, since the study showed stroke survivors who perceived their health to be poor were less likely to be on their medications. The study appears in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.
GINKGO QUESTIONED The herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba is marketed widely and used with the hope of improving, preventing or delaying cognitive impairment associated with aging and disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, a study at six academic medical centers in the United States, involving people between seventy-two and ninety-six years old, confirms smaller studies showing that older adults who used Ginkgo biloba for several years did not have a slower rate of cognitive decline than adults taking a placebo. Specifically, the report in the Journal of the American Medical Association says there was no evidence of an effect on cognitive areas of memory, language, attention, visuospatial abilities. Neither were there differences by age, sex, race or education.
NANO RESEARCH In the developing world of nanotechnology, teams from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School have created nanoburrs—complex structures just sixty nanometers in diameter. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. These are the first such nanoparticles that can precisely find and cling to the damaged lining of arteries and slowly release medicine. Already tested in laboratory animals, the nanoburrs can be injected intravenously avoiding surgically invasive procedures. Lead author of a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Omid Farokhzad says nanoburrs may one day be used in addition to or instead of drug releasing stents in some patients. The MIT and Harvard team previously developed nanoparticles that seek out and destroy tumors.
VITAMIN D & CALCIUM We hear frequently about how most of us are deficient in vitamin D. Now a review of seven studies suggests many of us are also deficient in calcium. The review, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, supports a growing consensus that combined daily supplements of calcium and vitamin D are more effective than vitamin D alone in reducing a variety of bone fractures. The finding applies to both young and old, regardless of fractures in the past. Fractures are a major cause of disability, loss of independence and death for older people and are often the result of osteoporosis. The study authors say the combination of calcium and vitamin D supplements benefits both women and men of all ages—not something they fully expected to find, since women are far more susceptible to osteoporosis.
OBESITY UPDATE Too many of us are not just overweight, but obese. However, there is a slight bit of encouraging news. The rate of obesity may be slowing. The report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed no statistically significant changes in obesity in women over a recent decade. For men, the last five years of the same decade also showed no significant differences in obesity rates. Overweight is defined as a body mass index of twenty-five to twenty-nine point nine, while obesity is thirty and above. An editorial says even if the current trends can be maintained, more than two-thirds of us are overweight or obese. Given the risk of major health problems because of obesity, a massive public health campaign is necessary along with major research efforts.
FAT RISKS Those of us who wear our fat around our waists may be more likely to develop dementia when we get older. It is well documented that anybody carrying a lot of fat around their middle is at greater risk of dying prematurely from a heart attack or stroke. But those living beyond age seventy pick up another risk. A study from Sweden, published in the journal Neurology, suggests that women who were broader around the waist than their hips in middle age had more than twice the risk of developing dementia when they got old. Early symptoms of dementia include forgetfulness, but it can affect all our mental faculties as we get older. Although other studies have linked overall obesity, researchers in this study found no link between dementia and total body fat.
YOUTHFUL ANGER The International Handbook of Anger is being released this month. You may be surprised to learn that young people are more likely to experience anger more frequently than older people. The Toronto researchers say their study surveyed more than one thousand Americans over eighteen. One chapter documents the feeling of being rushed for time as the strongest predictor of various types of anger, especially feeling annoyed. Having children in the household is associated with angry feelings or behavior, such as yelling— women more so than men. Another factor that contributes to higher levels of anger is economic pressure or financial strain. Well-educated people tend to experience anger less than people with fewer years of education.
RIGHT KIND OF EXERCISE We are told frequently about the importance of regular physical activity and, indeed, new research shows intensive exercise has a protective effect against aging of the cardiovascular system. The study appears in the American Heart Association journal, Circulation and shows benefits at the DNA level. But, is there such a thing as too much exercise? Or maybe a type of exercise? A study presented to the Radiological Society of North America suggests that some middle-aged men and women who take part in high levels of physical activity may unknowingly be causing damage to their knees, thus increasing their risk for the most common form of arthritis. In this and other studies, it is the type of activity that may be related to knee damage— especially high-impact, weight-bearing activity like running and jumping.
RISK FOR WIDOWS Research dating back for more than one hundred years shows married people generally live longer than those who are not married. The good news is that married people in this country continue to live longer and so do people who have never been married. However, researchers at Michigan State University say they were somewhat surprised that widowed people are experiencing a higher death rate, since with improved medical technology it would seem all population groups should be healthier and living longer. The article in the Journal of Marriage and Family notes that the stress and emotional trauma of losing a spouse might be greater than in the past because, generally, men and women are losing their spouses later in life, possibly contributing to a more frail widowed population.
HIGH-FAT DIETS High-fat diets have become popular because they seemingly promote more rapid weight loss and because they are more palatable than some other diets. However, researchers in the United Kingdom say they now have proof that high-fat, low-carb diets do not help people lose weight any faster than more conventional diets, and greater cardiovascular risks far outweigh benefits. A government agency says saturated fat should account for less than eleven percent of the total diet for a normal person, rather than the sixty percent fat in the high-fat, low-carb diet tested. Lead author, Dr. Steven Hunter, says if your New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, make sure you don’t burden your body with unnecessary health risks from easy, fast diets. He says the best approach for your overall health is a lowfat high-carb diet, coupled with exercise.
WEB HEALTH INFO If you have searched the Internet for health information, you know it may be hard to tell what is good information and what is not. The search for accurate information about children’s health just got easier, thanks to the American Academy of Pediatrics and its sixty thousand members. The organization recently launched www.healthyChildren.org. a website divided into multiple, user-friendly sections. Its intent is to provide trustworthy guidance for parents and caregivers. If parents choose, they can customize information based on the age of their child and health topic. All content of HealthyChildren.org is developed and reviewed by leading child health experts. President of the Academy, Dr. Judith Palfrey says this is a valuable tool parents can use to improve the health of their family.
FITNESS & IQ Being fit not only means having good heart and lung capacity, but as a result your brain gets plenty of oxygen, and new research shows a higher IQ. Results of a Swedish study of more than one million men were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers say the study shows that young people between fifteen and eighteen who improve their physical fitness increase their cognitive performance—a confirmation of other studies in young children and the elderly. When twins were compared, the study suggested primarily environmental factors and not genes explain the link between fitness and a higher IQ. They say the study demonstrates physical education has an important place in schools, and is an absolute must if we want to do well in math and other theoretical subjects.
TOO CLEAN? Cleanliness is next to Godliness, according to an adage you probably heard from your mother. Northwestern University researchers suggest it is time to rethink that advice. The study looked at the effects of ultra-clean environments early in childhood and found they may contribute to higher levels of inflammation as an adult, making way for a wide range of diseases. Lead author Thomas McDade says the study used data from the Philippines and noticed higher levels of infectious diseases in early childhood compared to Western countries, but CRP—a marker of inflammation—was at least eighty percent lower when the Filipinos became young adults, compared to their American counterparts. McDade says our penchant to keep children away from germs may be depriving developing immune systems of important environmental exposure.
MOIST SNUFF Use of smokeless tobacco products called moist snuff increased almost eighty fold between 1996 and 2003, in part because of the belief they are safer than cigarettes. Researchers at the University of Minnesota acknowledge smokeless tobacco use is indeed associated with a lower risk of some cancers, compared to smoking, but there are other risks. The team reported to the American Chemical Society that moist snuff, including the most popular brands sold in this country, contain surprisingly high levels of toxic and cancer –causing substances called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In tests on moist snuff, they identified twenty-three different ingredients from that group, including nine that are classified as carcinogens. The study, in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, calls on the tobacco industry to reduce the levels of these toxic chemicals in moist snuff.
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REDUCING MS RISK There is growing evidence that vitamin D may reduce the risk of Multiple Sclerosis and new research suggests the protective effect may begin in the womb. A study at Harvard School of Public Health involving more than thirty-five thousand nurses showed the risk of developing MS as an adult was lower among women born to mothers with high intake of milk or dietary vitamin D in pregnancy. Fortified milk, fatty fish and exposure to sunlight are the most important sources of vitamin D. Researchers reported to the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology that, over the sixteen years of the study, the risk of MS among daughters whose mothers consumed four glasses of milk per day was fifty-six percent lower than daughters whose mothers seldom drank milk.
ELEVATOR SAFETY Elevators in this country are one of the safest forms of transportation, so results the first large-scale study of elevator-related injuries may surprise you. Researchers from Indiana University and Ohio State University say more than two thousand people over sixty-five require emergency medical treatment each year for elevator injuries. More than one-half of the injuries involved slipping or falling and about one-third were the result of the elevator door closing on the person. Dr. Greg Steele says elevator injuries are easily preventable. He says people of any age should not stick an arm or leg into the path of a closing elevator door—especially older adults who may have vision or balance issues. His advice, in The Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection and Critical Care, is slow down and wait for the next elevator rather than risk injury.
THIRD-HAND SMOKE After years of hearing about the dangers of second-hand smoke, get ready for “third-hand smoke.” This is the term applied to the result of tobacco smoke residues found on everyday surfaces reacting with common elements in indoor air to form potent cancer-causing chemicals known as nitrosamines. Researchers at Berkeley National Laboratory say one of their experiments involved the interior of a smoker’s truck. Nicotine residues combine with the common indoor air pollutant, nitrous acid, to form tobacco-specific nitrosamines. They say the most likely human exposure to nitrosamines occurs from contact, such as clothes, skin, furniture and dust, making infants and young children more likely to receive higher exposure than adults. Their report appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
TEMPTATION The inability to resist temptation may be a key factor in type 2 diabetes. Japanese researchers, led by Hiroaki Kumano, compared a group of diabetics with a similar group of nondiabetics. Participants had to quickly press a button in response to a symbol on a computer screen. Pressing the button in response to the wrong symbol counted against their score. People with diabetes performed significantly worse on the test. Kumano wrote in the journal BioPsychoSocial Medicine that patients with type 2 diabetes are required to make strict daily decisions, especially resisting the temptation of high-fat, high-calorie food. He says the inability to resist that temptation or poor impulse control suggests neurological changes in diabetes patients which may in turn exacerbate the disease.
BLUEBERRY HEALTH Blueberries are among the richest sources of healthful antioxidants and other phytochemicals, but a recent study provides additional evidence that blueberries improve memory. Scientists from the University of Cincinnati, United States Department of Agriculture and Canadian Department of Agriculture enlisted volunteers in their seventies with early memory decline. One group drank the equivalent of two cups of blueberry juice every day for two months. Another group drank a beverage without blueberry juice. Those on blueberry juice showed significant improvement on learning and memory tests. The researchers commented in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that consistent supplementation with blueberries may be a way to forestall or reduce memory decline.
SKI HELMETS We’re still in snowboard and skiing season, so an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal is timely as well as important in reducing injuries. Estimates from a number of countries suggest that head injuries account for up to nineteen percent of all injuries—and traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death to skiers and snowboarders. Helmets could change that. The article analyzed a dozen studies in Europe, Asia and North America to show that use of helmets can reduce risks of head injury by thirty-five percent. However, this review was unable to determine the design, quality or fit of the helmets. To put it another way, between two and five of every ten head injuries to skiers and snowboarders could be prevented by use of helmets.
HERBAL INTERACTION Many of us use herbal supplements to promote wellness or to help manage chronic conditions. But some of these popular herbal supplements can interact with medications. A review article published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology says elderly people taking medications for heart disease may be especially at risk. As examples, the authors say St. John’s wort reduces the effectiveness of medications and might contribute to recurrences of irregular heart beat, high blood pressure, increase cholesterol levels and risk for future heart problems. Ginkgo biloba increases risk of bleeding in people taking aspirin or warfarin. Even garlic can also increase the risk of bleeding in patients taking the blood thinner warfarin. It is important to communicate with your doctor or pharmacist about supplements you intend to take.
AN IDLE MIND IS GOOD We’ve been told sleep helps strengthen memories, but researchers at New York University say memories are also strengthened during periods of rest while we are awake. For instance, they say taking a coffee break after class can actually help you retain the information you just learned. The study, appearing in the journal Neuron, used functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor memory consolidation in several parts of the brain, as well as subsequent memory tests. Memory consolidation is the period when a memory is stabilized after it is initially created. Researcher Lila Davachi says your brain is working for you when you’re resting, so rest is important for memory and cognitive function—something, she says, is not often appreciated when today’s information technologies keep us working around the clock.
TABLE SAW INJURIES An estimated six to ten million people in this country own table saws—a testimony to the popularity of woodworking. Injuries from table saw use remain consistently high with an average of more than thirty one thousand injuries each year requiring emergency medical care. A study published in the Journal of Trauma shows most of the injuries involved fingers or thumbs and nearly all were to adult males. Not surprisingly, contact with the saw blade was the most common injury, but The Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital says kickback from the saw blade was another common injury followed by debris thrown by the blade and getting clothing caught in the blade. Researchers point out the need for affordable safety devices for table saws.
FLEETING EXERCISE BENEFITS Many of the improvements in metabolic health associated with aerobic exercise stem largely from the most recent exercise session rather than a general increase in fitness. That comment comes from Jeffery Horowitz, senior author of a study at the University of Michigan— one exercise session provides benefits that taper off after just a few hours or few days at the most. He also says it is important to consider what you eat after exercising. When low carbohydrate foods were consumed after exercising, there was increased insulin sensitivity making it easier for the body to use blood sugar for fuel by muscles. However, exercise participants who ate low-calorie foods after exercise did not improve their insulin sensitivity any more than if they consumed as many calories as they had just expended. Impaired insulin sensitivity is indicative of type 2 diabetes.
To Your Health