(HealthDay News) -- Scientists believe they have discovered a new class of hormones in mice, one of which may help stop or reverse obesity-related conditions such as insulin resistance and fatty liver, a new study says.
The Harvard School of Public Health researchers, whose work was published in the Sept. 19 issue of Cell, said their discovery -- if applicable to humans -- may allow the development of therapeutic or preventive treatments to counter rising obesity and resulting increases in potentially fatal metabolic disorders such as diabetes and atherosclerosis.
Lipokines, unlike other hormones which are steroid- or protein-based, were found in the fat cells of the genetically engineered mice. One of these hormones, "C16:1n7" or palmitoleate, appears to flag the muscles and liver to increase cell sensitivity to insulin and block fat accumulation in the liver. Palmitoleate also appeared to halt inflammation, a primary factor leading to metabolic disease.
The research team had noticed that genetically altered mice were remarkably resistant to the metabolic problems, like diabetes and heart disease, normally linked to a long-term, high-fat diet. In these mice, whose fat cells lacked proteins to chaperone the fat to their normal storage cells, palmitoleate production was much higher. The excess palmitoleate signaled the muscles and the liver to improve insulin function, so the cells could better absorb nutrients.
"We believe that it might be possible to chemically stimulate cells to manufacture their own 'good' fat, which could have beneficial effects on metabolism through increased palmitoleate signaling," lead researcher Gokhan Hotamisligil, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in a university news release.
If the palmitoleate effect is similar in people, Hotamisligil said it may be a potential treatment for metabolic disorders.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about adult obesity.
Showing posts with label Nutrition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nutrition. Show all posts
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Health Tip: Prevent Constipation
(HealthDay News) -- It's not true that to be considered regular, you have to produce a bowel movement at least once daily, the American Academy of Family Physicians says.The "normal" range varies widely -- between three times a day and three times a week, the academy says.
Here are its recommendations to help prevent constipation:
- When you need to have a bowel movement, try not to ignore it.
- Make time to have a regular bowel movement, such as after a meal.
- Get plenty of fiber in your diet, drink plenty of fluids every day, and get regular exercise.
- Avoid foods that are high in sugar and fat.
- Don't take laxatives too frequently. Overuse can actually damage your bowels and aggravate constipation.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Health Tip: Feeding Your Baby
(HealthDay News) -- It's important for new parents to understand what and how often your baby needs to eat, and how that schedule should change as your baby matures.The U.S. National Library of Medicine offers these guidelines to help plan your baby's feeding:
- Babies who breast-feed typically need to be fed once every one to three hours.
- Babies on a diet of formula need to be fed every two to four hours, as formula takes longer to digest.
- You should never give a baby younger than 1 cow's milk, since it is difficult for an infant to digest.
- Don't attempt to give baby any solid food until at least 4 months of age, preferably 6 months of age.
- Begin introducing solid foods between 6 months and 12 months of age, starting with pureed or mashed foods, and graduating to more solid foods.
- Introduce new foods one at a time, and monitor closely for signs of allergic reaction. New foods should be introduced only when an infant is hungry.
Friday, April 04, 2008
5 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism and Lose Weight
Magnesium, interval training, and other tricks to burn more calories
by Ross Weale
Health magazine contributor Samantha Heller shows how to burn more calories, during an interview on the Today show, March 10.
SAMANTHA HELLER
Samantha Heller, RD, is the nutrition coordinator at the Fairfield Connecticut YMCA. A certified dietitian/nutritionist and exercise physiologist, Heller earned her master's degree in nutrition and applied physiology from Teachers’ College, Columbia University. She served as the senior clinical nutritionist and exercise physiologist at NYU Medical center in New York City for almost a decade and created and ran the outpatient nutrition program for the NYU Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. She has also been a fitness instructor for 15 years. Heller specializes in nutrition, wellness, stress management, and fitness for people who are fighting heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.
A contributing editor to Health magazine, her writing has also appeared in numerous other magazines, including Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, and Glamour, as well as sites such as Fitness.com.
by Ross Weale
Health magazine contributor Samantha Heller shows how to burn more calories, during an interview on the Today show, March 10.
SAMANTHA HELLER
Samantha Heller, RD, is the nutrition coordinator at the Fairfield Connecticut YMCA. A certified dietitian/nutritionist and exercise physiologist, Heller earned her master's degree in nutrition and applied physiology from Teachers’ College, Columbia University. She served as the senior clinical nutritionist and exercise physiologist at NYU Medical center in New York City for almost a decade and created and ran the outpatient nutrition program for the NYU Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. She has also been a fitness instructor for 15 years. Heller specializes in nutrition, wellness, stress management, and fitness for people who are fighting heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.
A contributing editor to Health magazine, her writing has also appeared in numerous other magazines, including Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, and Glamour, as well as sites such as Fitness.com.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Calcium Scans Help Predict Coronary Risk
(HealthDay News) -- Scanning the heart arteries for calcium deposits can help predict future cardiac problems, a new study shows, but experts aren't sure that adding such scans to routine checkups would be worth the cost."It has been shown to be predictive" of potential heart trouble, said Dr. Diane Bild, deputy director of the division of prevention and population sciences at the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which funded the study. "Whether it is actually beneficial to the people who are screened has not been shown."
A calcium scan using computed tomography (CT) costs $300 to $600. These scans look for calcification -- hardening of the arteries caused by high blood fats and calcium deposits that can eventually cause blood vessel blockage. The scan is a potential competitor for much less expensive tests for coronary risk, such as blood cholesterol and blood pressure readings.
The new study involved more than 6,700 American men and women across a number of racial and ethnic groups -- white, black, Chinese, Hispanic -- who were followed for an average of 3.8 years. It found that the risk of a coronary event was nearly 10 times higher for those with the highest calcium deposit scores than for those with the lowest.
"This study was launched in 1999, a time when there was a lot of interest in whether this new test could predict coronary artery disease," Bild said. "A lot of studies have been done in predominantly white populations. This was one of our efforts to include minority groups."
The study does show that calcium scanning "modestly improves predictions over traditional risk factors," she said. "Several pieces of information are needed in order to understand whether this is clinically useful."
The findings are published in the March 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The cost of such scans could be reduced, according to a statement from study lead author Dr. Robert Detrano, professor of radiological sciences at the University of California, Irvine, who is traveling in China. Scans have been done for just $30 in China, Detrano noted.
"It is mostly an issue of cost," said Dr. William S. Weintraub, chief of cardiology at the Christiana Health Care System, the largest health-care system in Delaware, who wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal. "It does add to our discrimination, but it costs a couple of hundred dollars and we're not sure how you use it."
Reducing the cost would make the test more usable, and "more epidemiological studies showing its value in risk prediction would be of great value," Weintraub said.
"But I'd be uncomfortable now with the idea of recommending this for everybody, or even defining a middle ground where we are unsure how we treat people so they get this first," he said.
A calcium scan also carries some risk, since it exposes a person to radiation, Bild noted. "It would be worth it if the benefit outweighed that risk," she said. "We don't clearly have both sides of that equation established."
More information
For more on coronary calcium scans, visit the U.S. Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Zinc Helps Elderly Ward Off Pneumonia
(HealthDay News) -- Maintaining normal zinc concentrations in the blood may help prevent pneumonia in elderly nursing home residents, a new study shows.
A team at Tufts University looked at 617 people 65 and older in 33 nursing homes in the Boston area.
They found that those with normal blood zinc concentrations were about 50 percent less likely to develop pneumonia than those with low concentrations.
The study, published in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, also found that people with normal zinc concentrations had a 39 percent lower rate of death from all causes.
"Not only did (people with lower zinc concentrations) have a higher risk of developing pneumonia, when they did become sick, they did not recover as quickly and required a longer course of antibiotics," corresponding author Simin Nikbin Meydani, director of the nutritional immunology laboratory at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts, said in a prepared statement.
The Tufts researchers took blood samples from the participants at the start and conclusion of the one-year study. All the participants received daily supplements containing 50 percent of the recommended dietary allowance of several vitamins and minerals, including zinc, for one year.
"Zinc is already known to strengthen the immune system; however, there needs to be further investigation of zinc and its effect on pneumonia development and prevention in nursing homes. The next step would be a clinical trial," Meydani said.
Red meat, poultry, whole grains, beans, dairy products, and oysters are examples of foods that provide zinc.
More information
The American Lung Association has more about pneumonia.
Integrated Medicine
Educational Programs
A team at Tufts University looked at 617 people 65 and older in 33 nursing homes in the Boston area.
They found that those with normal blood zinc concentrations were about 50 percent less likely to develop pneumonia than those with low concentrations.
The study, published in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, also found that people with normal zinc concentrations had a 39 percent lower rate of death from all causes.
"Not only did (people with lower zinc concentrations) have a higher risk of developing pneumonia, when they did become sick, they did not recover as quickly and required a longer course of antibiotics," corresponding author Simin Nikbin Meydani, director of the nutritional immunology laboratory at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts, said in a prepared statement.
The Tufts researchers took blood samples from the participants at the start and conclusion of the one-year study. All the participants received daily supplements containing 50 percent of the recommended dietary allowance of several vitamins and minerals, including zinc, for one year.
"Zinc is already known to strengthen the immune system; however, there needs to be further investigation of zinc and its effect on pneumonia development and prevention in nursing homes. The next step would be a clinical trial," Meydani said.
Red meat, poultry, whole grains, beans, dairy products, and oysters are examples of foods that provide zinc.
More information
The American Lung Association has more about pneumonia.
Integrated Medicine
Educational Programs
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Food for the Aging Mind
Agricultural Research
08-27-07
Originally Published:20070801.
Scientists know that certain nutrients and other key chemical compounds are essential to human brain function. Serious deficiencies in some of these, such as vitamin B12 and iron, can lead to impaired cognitive function due to neurological, or nerve fiber, complications.
Cognition can be defined as the ability to use simple-to-complex information to meet the challenges of daily living.
So, could careful attention to diet help protect the aging brain from problems with nerve cell signals involved in memory and cognition? A clear-cut answer could greatly affect the 77 million baby boomers who are now facing retirement. Their independence, quality of life, and even economic status will largely be defined by their ability to traffic information signals as they age.
In researching the nutrition-brain connection, new technologies are being used, such as those that take images of the brain or actually count individual brain cells. Behavioral tests that measure motor and cognitive skills-or lack thereof-are also providing insights. Yet the science of nutrition and brain function is relatively new and evolving.
Agricultural Research Service scientists at several locations nationwide are contributing to a growing body of research that explores the effect of diet and nutrition on the brain and its function across the lifespan.
Boosting Neuronal Function
The brain's billions of neurons "talk" to one another through chemical neurotransmitters that convey signals through neural pathways. These chemical transporters- which include norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine-are key to signal movement.
Although people naturally lose brain cells throughout their lives, the process of neuronal death does not necessarily accelerate with aging. "There is a lot of individual difference," says ARS neuroscientist James Joseph. "Loss of mental agility may be less due to loss of brain cells than to the cells' failure to communicate effectively."
Joseph heads the Neuroscience Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston. There, researchers are looking at the beneficial effects of certain dietary plant compounds to learn how they affect brain function.
"Vitamins and minerals in plant foods provide protective antioxidants," says Joseph. "But fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains contain thousands of other types of compounds that contribute significantly to the overall dietary intake of antioxidants.
"A partial measure of the antioxidant effect is called 'ORAC,' for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. ORAC scores are now showing up in charts and on some food and beverage packages. They may be helpful in choosing foods to include in your diet."
Perhaps there is no better place in which to gauge the power of antioxidants than between the minute connections of the nerve cells.
Bucking Long-Held Dogma
Eight years ago, Joseph and colleagues began publishing a series of studies, done in rodents, that shed light on the relationship between various diets and the mechanisms behind cognitive losses in specific neighborhoods of the aging brain.
Many in the series are groundbreaking in that they challenge the long-accepted belief that the central nervous system, which includes the brain, is not capable of regenerating itself. Other published studies in the series echo similar findings based on primate and human brain research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, California. Scientists there, using new technologies, disputed the notion that the brain does not make new neurons-a process called "neurogenesis"-into old age: It does, but at a much slower rate.
One of the first of Joseph's studies, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, showed a protective effect of consuming antioxidants. Study rats were fed-from adulthood to middle age-vitamin E, strawberry extracts, or spinach extracts, all with similar ORAC values. Animals receiving the high-antioxidant diets did not experience the age-related cognitive performance losses seen in control rats fed standard chow.
A later study, also published in the Journal of Neuroscience, showed a reversal of functional loss among rats on special diets. Each of three groups of rats, equivalent in age to 63-year-old humans, was fed a different high-antioxidant extract. A control group was fed standard chow.
After 8 weeks-equivalent to about 10 years in humans-the rats' performance levels were measured.
The rats fed the spinach, strawberry, or blueberry extracts effectively reversed age-related deficits in neuronal and cognitive function. In addition, the blueberryfed group far outperformed their peers while traversing a rotating rod to test balance and coordination.
"Despite their status as 'senior citizens,' those rats showed remarkable stamina on neuromotor function tests," says psychologist and coauthor Barbara Shukitt-Hale, also with the Neuroscience Laboratory.
Examination of the brain tissue of those blueberry-fed rats showed much higher levels of dopamine than were found in the other groups. Dopamine has many functions within the brain. In particular, it can affect the way the brain controls movements.
"We suspected that the combined antioxidant potency of compounds in blueberry extract may have reduced inflammatory compounds in the brains of these older animals," says Joseph.
"Inflammation ordinarily contributes to neuronal and behavioral shortfalls during aging."
Tests have since shown that blueberry compounds cross the blood-brain barrier and localize in rodent brain tissue.
Hard News: Brain Plaques
Later, the lab's researchers published an Alzheimer's disease model study in Nutritional Neuroscience. They studied mice that carried a genetic mutation for promoting increased amounts of amyloid beta, a protein fragment found within the telltale neuritic plaque, or "hardening of the brain," seen in Alzheimer's disease.
Although the exact cause of Alzheimer's is not completely understood, experts have recently identified one mechanism involving the insufficient breakdown and recycling of amyloid protein in the brain. That mechanism is both genetic and physiological. In those individuals, normally harmless amyloid protein turns into fragments of amyloid beta, which build up as plaque in the brain rather than being escorted into cellular recycling. That action leads to cell death and weakened neuronal communication.
In the mouse study, beginning at age 4 months-early adulthood-half the brainplaqued group was fed a diet that included blueberry extract for 8 months. The other half was fed standard rat chow and so was a control group of mice that didn't carry the amyloid-plaque mutation.
At 12 months-early middle age-all groups were tested for their performance in a maze.
The brain-plaqued mice that were fed the blueberry extract performed as well as the healthy control mice and performed much better than their brain-plaqued peers fed standard chow.
A look at the plaqued brains of both the blueberry-fed and chow-fed mice after death revealed no difference in the number of brain plaques in either group. "Amyloid-beta-induced plaques are only one aspect of Alzheimer's disease," says Joseph. "But the fact that we saw a dietinduced behavioral difference, despite a similarity in plaque density in both these animal groups, is significant."
The team found increased activity of a family of enzymes called "kinases" in the brains of the amyloid-plaqued mice that were fed blueberry extract. Two kinases found in particular, ERK and PKC, are important in mediating cognitive function, such as converting short-term memory to long-term.
"These kinase molecules are involved in signaling pathways for learning and memory," says Joseph. "It could be that the increased kinase activity within the plaque-ridden brains of the blueberry-fed mice enhanced the signaling in certain receptors."
Brain Cells Are Born
Another HNRCA rat study looked at the aged brain's ability to change physiologically- a condition scientists refer to as "neuronal plasticity." In addition to cell division and differentiation, or "mission assignment," brain tissue undergoes many other changes throughout aging.
For example, a newborn sprouts billions of nerve cells while soaking up information from the environment. But lower levels of synapse growth continue in waves throughout the lifespan.
Littleused synapses are eliminated, while others are strengthened in a neuronal pruning process, of sorts.
Repair mechanisms involve neural immune cells, called "microglia," that seek to heal and protect injured brain tissue; enzymes that regulate safe chemical levels; and genes that are expressed in response to inflammation.
The neuronal-plasticity study investigated the physiological link between nutrition and the memory-control hippocampal area of the aged brain. That region, in the center of the brain, is essential for what's called "working" or "short-term" memory. It receives and processes data, and then, if needed, passes it on for storage.
Neurogenesis also plays a role in the formation of new memories. The capacity of the hippocampus to produce new neurons is thought to be greatly diminished during aging. But this study suggested that old rats fed blueberry extracts for a short time had increased neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus area of their brain's hippocampus. The dentate gyrus is one of the few regions of the brain where neurogenesis occurs.
"We found changes in the proliferation of neurons in blueberry-fed rats," said Gemma Casadesus, formerly a graduate student with the Neuroscience Laboratory and now with Case Western Reserve University. In maze tests, blueberry-fed aged lab rats showed improvement in cognition over chow-fed peers. "There was an association between the proliferation of neuronal precursor cells and better performance of spatial memory," she says.
The researchers don't yet know whether the cognitive improvements seen in the aged blueberry-fed rats translate to humans. "But it's an important step in learning about the brain's ability to rescue itself from age-associated declines in physiological function," Casadesus says.
Can You Hear Me Now?
Neurons that can't get their messages through signaling pathways are like cell phones that can't get their signals through to other cell phones. Why does this happen?
As the brain matures, cell division becomes largely restricted to specific regions of the brain, and brain cells tend to become more vulnerable to two partners in crime: oxidative stress and inflammation.
In the body, free radicals-weakened atoms formed during activities of daily living-are missing an electron and want to bond with neighboring biomolecules to stabilize. The problem is that unless neutralized, free radicals cause cellular damage known as "oxidative stress."
Cellular antioxidant defense systems counterbalance these rogue molecules, but they're not 100 percent effective-particularly as the body and brain mature. And the brain is thought to be especially vulnerable to oxidative stress.
"Weighing just 3 pounds, the brain accounts for only 2 percent of the body's total mass, yet it uses up to half of the body's total oxygen consumed during mental activity," says Joseph.
"Phytochemicals, together with essential nutrients in foods, provide a health-benefits cocktail of sorts. It is feasible that continued research in this area will point to dietary regimens that are effective in boosting neuronal function."
Inflammation is thought to be stoked by the overactivation of microglia-the neural immune cells mentioned earlier.
Microglia are usually dormant, but they migrate to the site of any brain injury. These sentries make up about 20 percent of the cell population in certain regions of the brain.
While seeking to protect and repair tissue, microglia cells produce and send out molecular stress signals, some by way of defensive cytokines, as a bugle call to other cells. Those signals begin a cascade of reactions, including the activation of genes that express proteins and other stress chemicals to help clear away cellular debris.
Microglial activation by amyloid beta is thought to be a key event in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. "When microglia are stuck in an always-on loop in response to plaque buildup in the brain, they become problematic in and of themselves," says Joseph.
This year, Francis Lau, a molecular biologist in the Neuroscience Laboratory, published a study that investigated whether blueberry extracts could have a preventive effect on inflammatory signals coming from activated microglia cells.
Microglial activation is considered the hallmark of inflammation in the central nervous system. For this study, Lau used a rodent microglial cell line that has previously served as a model to study plaqueinduced microglial activation.
Lau exposed groups of those test cells to various levels of blueberry extracts. He then challenged the cells with oxidative stress by exposing them to a toxin-lipopolysaccharide- that triggers secretion of inflammatory chemicals.
Neuroinflammation has been linked to the expression of genes that spew two inflammatory enzymes, iNOS and COX-2, and two cytokines, IL-1b and TNF-a.
Lau used real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to find and measure expression of genes that produce iNOS and COX-2 in the stress-induced cell cultures. He found that the blueberry treatment significantly reduced that expression.
The blueberry extract also markedly lessened secretion of the two inflammatory cytokines. In fact, says Lau, "In cells exposed to the highest blueberry extract concentration, the amount of TNF-a cytokine found was next to nothing- essentially identical to that found in the control cells."
Looking to the Future
The food industry is now using a range of new and existing product ingredients to gain entrance into the emerging brainhealth market. Some are producing food labels that list ORAC values-for example, for use on containers of polyphenol-rich fruit juices and teas. So far, however, there has been no review conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on health benefits from eating berries.
Future studies at HNRCA will ideally include use of new diagnostic tools as well as human clinical trials. Neuroimaging equipment, for example, could be used to monitor the influence of various dietary factors on development of plaque within the human brain. Such studies aim to find the best dietary regimens to help adults preserve their mental capabilities while aging.-By Rosalie Marion Bliss, ARS.
This research is part of Human Nutrition, an ARS national program (#107) described on the World Wide Web at www. nps.ars.usda.gov.
James A. Joseph is with the USDA-ARS Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, 711 Washington St., Boston, MA 02111; phone (617) 556-3178, fax (617) 556-3222, e-mail jim.joseph@ ars.usda.gov.
08-27-07
Originally Published:20070801.
Scientists know that certain nutrients and other key chemical compounds are essential to human brain function. Serious deficiencies in some of these, such as vitamin B12 and iron, can lead to impaired cognitive function due to neurological, or nerve fiber, complications.
Cognition can be defined as the ability to use simple-to-complex information to meet the challenges of daily living.
So, could careful attention to diet help protect the aging brain from problems with nerve cell signals involved in memory and cognition? A clear-cut answer could greatly affect the 77 million baby boomers who are now facing retirement. Their independence, quality of life, and even economic status will largely be defined by their ability to traffic information signals as they age.
In researching the nutrition-brain connection, new technologies are being used, such as those that take images of the brain or actually count individual brain cells. Behavioral tests that measure motor and cognitive skills-or lack thereof-are also providing insights. Yet the science of nutrition and brain function is relatively new and evolving.
Agricultural Research Service scientists at several locations nationwide are contributing to a growing body of research that explores the effect of diet and nutrition on the brain and its function across the lifespan.
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Boosting Neuronal Function
The brain's billions of neurons "talk" to one another through chemical neurotransmitters that convey signals through neural pathways. These chemical transporters- which include norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine-are key to signal movement.
Although people naturally lose brain cells throughout their lives, the process of neuronal death does not necessarily accelerate with aging. "There is a lot of individual difference," says ARS neuroscientist James Joseph. "Loss of mental agility may be less due to loss of brain cells than to the cells' failure to communicate effectively."
Joseph heads the Neuroscience Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston. There, researchers are looking at the beneficial effects of certain dietary plant compounds to learn how they affect brain function.
"Vitamins and minerals in plant foods provide protective antioxidants," says Joseph. "But fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains contain thousands of other types of compounds that contribute significantly to the overall dietary intake of antioxidants.
"A partial measure of the antioxidant effect is called 'ORAC,' for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. ORAC scores are now showing up in charts and on some food and beverage packages. They may be helpful in choosing foods to include in your diet."
Perhaps there is no better place in which to gauge the power of antioxidants than between the minute connections of the nerve cells.
Bucking Long-Held Dogma
Eight years ago, Joseph and colleagues began publishing a series of studies, done in rodents, that shed light on the relationship between various diets and the mechanisms behind cognitive losses in specific neighborhoods of the aging brain.
Many in the series are groundbreaking in that they challenge the long-accepted belief that the central nervous system, which includes the brain, is not capable of regenerating itself. Other published studies in the series echo similar findings based on primate and human brain research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, California. Scientists there, using new technologies, disputed the notion that the brain does not make new neurons-a process called "neurogenesis"-into old age: It does, but at a much slower rate.
One of the first of Joseph's studies, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, showed a protective effect of consuming antioxidants. Study rats were fed-from adulthood to middle age-vitamin E, strawberry extracts, or spinach extracts, all with similar ORAC values. Animals receiving the high-antioxidant diets did not experience the age-related cognitive performance losses seen in control rats fed standard chow.
A later study, also published in the Journal of Neuroscience, showed a reversal of functional loss among rats on special diets. Each of three groups of rats, equivalent in age to 63-year-old humans, was fed a different high-antioxidant extract. A control group was fed standard chow.
After 8 weeks-equivalent to about 10 years in humans-the rats' performance levels were measured.
The rats fed the spinach, strawberry, or blueberry extracts effectively reversed age-related deficits in neuronal and cognitive function. In addition, the blueberryfed group far outperformed their peers while traversing a rotating rod to test balance and coordination.
"Despite their status as 'senior citizens,' those rats showed remarkable stamina on neuromotor function tests," says psychologist and coauthor Barbara Shukitt-Hale, also with the Neuroscience Laboratory.
Examination of the brain tissue of those blueberry-fed rats showed much higher levels of dopamine than were found in the other groups. Dopamine has many functions within the brain. In particular, it can affect the way the brain controls movements.
"We suspected that the combined antioxidant potency of compounds in blueberry extract may have reduced inflammatory compounds in the brains of these older animals," says Joseph.
"Inflammation ordinarily contributes to neuronal and behavioral shortfalls during aging."
Tests have since shown that blueberry compounds cross the blood-brain barrier and localize in rodent brain tissue.
Hard News: Brain Plaques
Later, the lab's researchers published an Alzheimer's disease model study in Nutritional Neuroscience. They studied mice that carried a genetic mutation for promoting increased amounts of amyloid beta, a protein fragment found within the telltale neuritic plaque, or "hardening of the brain," seen in Alzheimer's disease.
Although the exact cause of Alzheimer's is not completely understood, experts have recently identified one mechanism involving the insufficient breakdown and recycling of amyloid protein in the brain. That mechanism is both genetic and physiological. In those individuals, normally harmless amyloid protein turns into fragments of amyloid beta, which build up as plaque in the brain rather than being escorted into cellular recycling. That action leads to cell death and weakened neuronal communication.
In the mouse study, beginning at age 4 months-early adulthood-half the brainplaqued group was fed a diet that included blueberry extract for 8 months. The other half was fed standard rat chow and so was a control group of mice that didn't carry the amyloid-plaque mutation.
At 12 months-early middle age-all groups were tested for their performance in a maze.
The brain-plaqued mice that were fed the blueberry extract performed as well as the healthy control mice and performed much better than their brain-plaqued peers fed standard chow.
A look at the plaqued brains of both the blueberry-fed and chow-fed mice after death revealed no difference in the number of brain plaques in either group. "Amyloid-beta-induced plaques are only one aspect of Alzheimer's disease," says Joseph. "But the fact that we saw a dietinduced behavioral difference, despite a similarity in plaque density in both these animal groups, is significant."
The team found increased activity of a family of enzymes called "kinases" in the brains of the amyloid-plaqued mice that were fed blueberry extract. Two kinases found in particular, ERK and PKC, are important in mediating cognitive function, such as converting short-term memory to long-term.
"These kinase molecules are involved in signaling pathways for learning and memory," says Joseph. "It could be that the increased kinase activity within the plaque-ridden brains of the blueberry-fed mice enhanced the signaling in certain receptors."
Brain Cells Are Born
Another HNRCA rat study looked at the aged brain's ability to change physiologically- a condition scientists refer to as "neuronal plasticity." In addition to cell division and differentiation, or "mission assignment," brain tissue undergoes many other changes throughout aging.
For example, a newborn sprouts billions of nerve cells while soaking up information from the environment. But lower levels of synapse growth continue in waves throughout the lifespan.
Littleused synapses are eliminated, while others are strengthened in a neuronal pruning process, of sorts.
Repair mechanisms involve neural immune cells, called "microglia," that seek to heal and protect injured brain tissue; enzymes that regulate safe chemical levels; and genes that are expressed in response to inflammation.
The neuronal-plasticity study investigated the physiological link between nutrition and the memory-control hippocampal area of the aged brain. That region, in the center of the brain, is essential for what's called "working" or "short-term" memory. It receives and processes data, and then, if needed, passes it on for storage.
Neurogenesis also plays a role in the formation of new memories. The capacity of the hippocampus to produce new neurons is thought to be greatly diminished during aging. But this study suggested that old rats fed blueberry extracts for a short time had increased neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus area of their brain's hippocampus. The dentate gyrus is one of the few regions of the brain where neurogenesis occurs.
"We found changes in the proliferation of neurons in blueberry-fed rats," said Gemma Casadesus, formerly a graduate student with the Neuroscience Laboratory and now with Case Western Reserve University. In maze tests, blueberry-fed aged lab rats showed improvement in cognition over chow-fed peers. "There was an association between the proliferation of neuronal precursor cells and better performance of spatial memory," she says.
The researchers don't yet know whether the cognitive improvements seen in the aged blueberry-fed rats translate to humans. "But it's an important step in learning about the brain's ability to rescue itself from age-associated declines in physiological function," Casadesus says.
Can You Hear Me Now?
Neurons that can't get their messages through signaling pathways are like cell phones that can't get their signals through to other cell phones. Why does this happen?
As the brain matures, cell division becomes largely restricted to specific regions of the brain, and brain cells tend to become more vulnerable to two partners in crime: oxidative stress and inflammation.
In the body, free radicals-weakened atoms formed during activities of daily living-are missing an electron and want to bond with neighboring biomolecules to stabilize. The problem is that unless neutralized, free radicals cause cellular damage known as "oxidative stress."
Cellular antioxidant defense systems counterbalance these rogue molecules, but they're not 100 percent effective-particularly as the body and brain mature. And the brain is thought to be especially vulnerable to oxidative stress.
"Weighing just 3 pounds, the brain accounts for only 2 percent of the body's total mass, yet it uses up to half of the body's total oxygen consumed during mental activity," says Joseph.
"Phytochemicals, together with essential nutrients in foods, provide a health-benefits cocktail of sorts. It is feasible that continued research in this area will point to dietary regimens that are effective in boosting neuronal function."
Inflammation is thought to be stoked by the overactivation of microglia-the neural immune cells mentioned earlier.
Microglia are usually dormant, but they migrate to the site of any brain injury. These sentries make up about 20 percent of the cell population in certain regions of the brain.
While seeking to protect and repair tissue, microglia cells produce and send out molecular stress signals, some by way of defensive cytokines, as a bugle call to other cells. Those signals begin a cascade of reactions, including the activation of genes that express proteins and other stress chemicals to help clear away cellular debris.
Microglial activation by amyloid beta is thought to be a key event in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. "When microglia are stuck in an always-on loop in response to plaque buildup in the brain, they become problematic in and of themselves," says Joseph.
This year, Francis Lau, a molecular biologist in the Neuroscience Laboratory, published a study that investigated whether blueberry extracts could have a preventive effect on inflammatory signals coming from activated microglia cells.
Microglial activation is considered the hallmark of inflammation in the central nervous system. For this study, Lau used a rodent microglial cell line that has previously served as a model to study plaqueinduced microglial activation.
Lau exposed groups of those test cells to various levels of blueberry extracts. He then challenged the cells with oxidative stress by exposing them to a toxin-lipopolysaccharide- that triggers secretion of inflammatory chemicals.
Neuroinflammation has been linked to the expression of genes that spew two inflammatory enzymes, iNOS and COX-2, and two cytokines, IL-1b and TNF-a.
Lau used real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to find and measure expression of genes that produce iNOS and COX-2 in the stress-induced cell cultures. He found that the blueberry treatment significantly reduced that expression.
The blueberry extract also markedly lessened secretion of the two inflammatory cytokines. In fact, says Lau, "In cells exposed to the highest blueberry extract concentration, the amount of TNF-a cytokine found was next to nothing- essentially identical to that found in the control cells."
Looking to the Future
The food industry is now using a range of new and existing product ingredients to gain entrance into the emerging brainhealth market. Some are producing food labels that list ORAC values-for example, for use on containers of polyphenol-rich fruit juices and teas. So far, however, there has been no review conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on health benefits from eating berries.
Future studies at HNRCA will ideally include use of new diagnostic tools as well as human clinical trials. Neuroimaging equipment, for example, could be used to monitor the influence of various dietary factors on development of plaque within the human brain. Such studies aim to find the best dietary regimens to help adults preserve their mental capabilities while aging.-By Rosalie Marion Bliss, ARS.
This research is part of Human Nutrition, an ARS national program (#107) described on the World Wide Web at www. nps.ars.usda.gov.
James A. Joseph is with the USDA-ARS Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, 711 Washington St., Boston, MA 02111; phone (617) 556-3178, fax (617) 556-3222, e-mail jim.joseph@ ars.usda.gov.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Distraction Can Defuse Drunken Violence
(HealthDay News) -- For some people, a well-timed distraction can help curb violence linked to drunkenness, new research shows.
Men with a tendency to violence when drinking stayed calm under the influence of alcohol when told to perform a memory task, even when provoked, finds a new study in the July issue of Psychological Science.
"There is a theory that alcohol reduces your field of attention," explained lead researcher Peter Giancola, a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky. "So, you can really only focus on one thing when you are drunk. You can only pay attention to what's right in your face," he said.
Of course, distraction won't work for everyone in curbing drinking-related behavior. But it may work for people who become aggressive after a few drinks.
To test the theory, Giancola and his student Michelle Corman had men drink and then play a computer game against an unseen opponent. When the men lost, they received an electric shock. When the won, they had the opportunity to shock their opponent. The idea was to see how drinking affected each man's tendency toward aggression, which was measured by the intensity of shocks they chose to hand out.
To see if aggression could be reduced, the researchers had some of the men perform a memory test as they played the game. In fact, the men were told that the memory test was the most important part of what they were doing.
Giancola and Corman found that men who drank and only played the game showed clear aggression toward their opponent. However, men who had to focus their attention on the memory task were actually less aggressive than even nondrinkers who played the game.
"The alcohol [using] guys have so little attention, it gets focused one place or the other," Giancola said. "Either to the hostile cues or the non-hostile memory test," he said. "So, the theory held up, that alcohol doesn't always increase aggression. It only increases it depending on where you are focused."
The finding suggests that distraction might help defuse volatile, alcohol-fueled situations, such as a bar brawl, Giancola said. "We have to distract people away from these provocative cues," he said.
Of course, not everyone becomes aggressive when they drink. "Many people become sleepy and happy," he said. "So, this theory only works for people who already have traits that put them at risk. Alcohol doesn't make you do different things. It just allows what is already inside you to come out -- it just takes the brakes off."
There are identifiable risk factors for aggression and violence, Giancola said. One of the biggest risk factors is people's personal attitude toward violence, he said. "You have some people come into the lab and say, 'Beating my wife and kids is a good thing, because it keeps them in line.' Well, you don't want to give those guys alcohol, because it just allows that belief to come right out."
Additional risk factors include impulsiveness and irritability. "These are two risk factors that you don't want to mix with alcohol," Giancola said.
Giancola believes efforts must be focused on changing people's underlying attitudes about violence and alcohol -- on the one hand, teaching that violence is not an acceptable form of expression, and, on the other hand, not blaming alcohol when inappropriate behavior occurs.
More information
For more information on alcohol and aggression, visit the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Men with a tendency to violence when drinking stayed calm under the influence of alcohol when told to perform a memory task, even when provoked, finds a new study in the July issue of Psychological Science.
"There is a theory that alcohol reduces your field of attention," explained lead researcher Peter Giancola, a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky. "So, you can really only focus on one thing when you are drunk. You can only pay attention to what's right in your face," he said.
Of course, distraction won't work for everyone in curbing drinking-related behavior. But it may work for people who become aggressive after a few drinks.
To test the theory, Giancola and his student Michelle Corman had men drink and then play a computer game against an unseen opponent. When the men lost, they received an electric shock. When the won, they had the opportunity to shock their opponent. The idea was to see how drinking affected each man's tendency toward aggression, which was measured by the intensity of shocks they chose to hand out.
To see if aggression could be reduced, the researchers had some of the men perform a memory test as they played the game. In fact, the men were told that the memory test was the most important part of what they were doing.
Giancola and Corman found that men who drank and only played the game showed clear aggression toward their opponent. However, men who had to focus their attention on the memory task were actually less aggressive than even nondrinkers who played the game.
"The alcohol [using] guys have so little attention, it gets focused one place or the other," Giancola said. "Either to the hostile cues or the non-hostile memory test," he said. "So, the theory held up, that alcohol doesn't always increase aggression. It only increases it depending on where you are focused."
The finding suggests that distraction might help defuse volatile, alcohol-fueled situations, such as a bar brawl, Giancola said. "We have to distract people away from these provocative cues," he said.
Of course, not everyone becomes aggressive when they drink. "Many people become sleepy and happy," he said. "So, this theory only works for people who already have traits that put them at risk. Alcohol doesn't make you do different things. It just allows what is already inside you to come out -- it just takes the brakes off."
There are identifiable risk factors for aggression and violence, Giancola said. One of the biggest risk factors is people's personal attitude toward violence, he said. "You have some people come into the lab and say, 'Beating my wife and kids is a good thing, because it keeps them in line.' Well, you don't want to give those guys alcohol, because it just allows that belief to come right out."
Additional risk factors include impulsiveness and irritability. "These are two risk factors that you don't want to mix with alcohol," Giancola said.
Giancola believes efforts must be focused on changing people's underlying attitudes about violence and alcohol -- on the one hand, teaching that violence is not an acceptable form of expression, and, on the other hand, not blaming alcohol when inappropriate behavior occurs.
More information
For more information on alcohol and aggression, visit the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Neighborhood Booze Ads May Boost Kids' Drinking
(HealthDay News) -- Neighborhood ads extolling alcohol may make eighth-graders more likely to want to try drinking, a new study finds.
In their research, a team from the University of Florida and the University of Minnesota counted the number of alcohol ads -- including billboards, bus stop signs and logo displays -- in neighborhoods around 63 Chicago schools.
They also surveyed sixth-graders about their attitudes toward alcohol and followed up with them again two years later, in eighth-grade.
Twenty-two of the schools had no alcohol advertising in their neighborhood. There was an average of 28 alcohol ads in the neighborhoods around the remaining 41 schools, with the highest count topping 100 ads in one neighborhood.
Kids from neighborhoods with lots of ads were not only more likely to say they would drink, but they were also less able to name reasons not to drink, the researchers found.
"The majority of the ads were just brand-information only," noted University of Florida epidemiologist Kelli A. Komro in a prepared statement. "Sometimes we think that those are not so powerful, but the majority of the ads we found were those kinds of ads and still we found the association with increased intentions to use alcohol."
The study data showed that the ads influenced youth who did not drink as well as those who had first tried alcohol before sixth-grade.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, there are about 11 million underage drinkers in the United States, and teens who begin drinking before age 15 are more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life.
"I think results from this study and studies like this clearly indicate that there should be policies to ban alcohol advertising near the schools," Komro said in the prepared statement.
More information
For more on underage drinking, visit the U.S. National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. .
In their research, a team from the University of Florida and the University of Minnesota counted the number of alcohol ads -- including billboards, bus stop signs and logo displays -- in neighborhoods around 63 Chicago schools.
They also surveyed sixth-graders about their attitudes toward alcohol and followed up with them again two years later, in eighth-grade.
Twenty-two of the schools had no alcohol advertising in their neighborhood. There was an average of 28 alcohol ads in the neighborhoods around the remaining 41 schools, with the highest count topping 100 ads in one neighborhood.
Kids from neighborhoods with lots of ads were not only more likely to say they would drink, but they were also less able to name reasons not to drink, the researchers found.
"The majority of the ads were just brand-information only," noted University of Florida epidemiologist Kelli A. Komro in a prepared statement. "Sometimes we think that those are not so powerful, but the majority of the ads we found were those kinds of ads and still we found the association with increased intentions to use alcohol."
The study data showed that the ads influenced youth who did not drink as well as those who had first tried alcohol before sixth-grade.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, there are about 11 million underage drinkers in the United States, and teens who begin drinking before age 15 are more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life.
"I think results from this study and studies like this clearly indicate that there should be policies to ban alcohol advertising near the schools," Komro said in the prepared statement.
More information
For more on underage drinking, visit the U.S. National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. .
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Third of Americans Have Alcohol Problems at Some Point
(HealthDay News) -- More than 30 percent of Americans say they have had problems with alcohol, a new study shows.Among those with drinking problems, 17.8 percent say they have alcohol abuse problems, and 12.5 percent are alcohol-dependent, according to the report in the July issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
"At some time in a person's life, 30 percent of the population in the United States will develop alcohol dependence or alcohol abuse," said lead researcher Bridget F. Grant, chief of the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry at the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and alcoholism.
The hallmarks of alcohol abuse are interpersonal problems, financial problems and problems in daily living due to excessive drinking, Grant said. Alcohol dependence is more serious, she said. "That's where a person has a compulsion to drink as well as impaired control," she explained.
Grant noted that another major finding in the study is that there is an eight- to 10-year delay in treatment for alcohol problems after the problem starts. "That 10 years can be devastating," she said.
In addition, there is a big treatment gap, Grant said. "Only 24 percent of people who had alcohol dependence are ever treated," she said.
There are many new medications and behavioral treatments, Grant said. "But most people, including physicians, don't realize the new state-of-the-art treatment," she said. "Basically, we need a national campaign to educate physicians and lay people that there are treatments out there, and they are effective."
In the study, Grant's team analyzed data on 43,093 U.S. adults. The data were collected from interviews done between 2001 and 2002. In the interviews, people were asked about symptoms of alcohol abuse and dependence and diagnosed for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorder and other psychiatric problems.
In the year before the interview, 8.5 percent of adults reported having an alcohol use disorder, including 4.7 percent with alcohol abuse and 3.8 percent who were alcohol-dependent, Grant's group found.
In addition, of those who had alcohol dependence during their lifetime, only 24.1 percent were ever treated. Of those who were alcohol-dependent in the year before the study, only 12.1 percent received treatment during that time, the researchers found.
For those with alcohol problems, the prevalence is higher among men and Native Americans, Grant said. "Asians, Hispanics and blacks have a lower prevalence than whites," she added. "Alcohol abuse is greatest among those in the 30- to 60-year-old age range."
While these data remain mostly unchanged over the years, Grant is disappointed that the number of people being treated for alcohol problems remains the same. "More people need to be gotten into treatment and into treatment sooner," she said.
One expert thinks lack of awareness of alcohol problems and treatment options remains a serious problem.
"There is not so much new data here but rather an update on findings that we've known about for some time...," said Dr. James Garbutt, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina.
Most troubling is that only about 24 percent of those with alcohol dependence receive treatment, Garbutt noted. "The findings speak to the continued lack of adequate awareness and treatment of these disorders and the devastating consequences this has for public health," he said.
Another expert agreed that the gap in treatment is the most serious issue highlighted by the study.
"The most important finding of this study is the lack of progress in improving delivery of treatment to individuals with alcohol-use disorders," said Dr. Adam Bisaga, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and addiction psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, both in New York City.
"This occurs despite significant advances in research describing brain abnormalities contributing to the development and maintenance of alcoholism and availability of several medications and psychotherapies that are effective in reducing burden of these frequently occurring disorders," Bisaga said.
More information
For more information on alcohol abuse, visit the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Zinc Supplements Save Poor Children's Lives
(HealthDay News) -- In the developing world, daily zinc supplements can reduce the risk of death in children aged 1 to 4, but they do not provide any significant benefit for babies under 1, U.S. researchers report.
Zinc, which is one of the most plentiful trace elements in the body, is believed to play an important role in healthy immune system function.
The study, by a team from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, included more than 42,500 children in the East African nation of Zanzibar. Half the children received daily zinc supplements (5 milligrams for infants, 10 milligrams for children 12 months and older), while the other half received a placebo pill.
Overall, children who took the zinc supplements were 7 percent less likely to die than those who took the placebo. In children aged 12 to 48 months, those taking zinc supplements were 18 percent less likely to die.
"This large trial demonstrates that the benefits of zinc supplementation include mortality reduction in addition to the reduction in cases of pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria that we found in previous trials," study senior author Dr. Robert Black, professor and chairman of the Bloomberg School's department of international health, said in a prepared statement.
The study appears in the March 17 issue of The Lancet.
"While further work is needed to evaluate higher dose effects, recommendations for use of zinc as a preventive strategy needs to consider the collective evidence of the effect on growth, morbidity and mortality, which would suggest benefit in children age 6 months and up," lead author Sunil Sazawal, an associate professor in the department of international health, said in a prepared statement.
More information
The Medlineplus Medical Encyclopedia has more about zinc.
Zinc, which is one of the most plentiful trace elements in the body, is believed to play an important role in healthy immune system function.
The study, by a team from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, included more than 42,500 children in the East African nation of Zanzibar. Half the children received daily zinc supplements (5 milligrams for infants, 10 milligrams for children 12 months and older), while the other half received a placebo pill.
Overall, children who took the zinc supplements were 7 percent less likely to die than those who took the placebo. In children aged 12 to 48 months, those taking zinc supplements were 18 percent less likely to die.
"This large trial demonstrates that the benefits of zinc supplementation include mortality reduction in addition to the reduction in cases of pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria that we found in previous trials," study senior author Dr. Robert Black, professor and chairman of the Bloomberg School's department of international health, said in a prepared statement.
The study appears in the March 17 issue of The Lancet.
"While further work is needed to evaluate higher dose effects, recommendations for use of zinc as a preventive strategy needs to consider the collective evidence of the effect on growth, morbidity and mortality, which would suggest benefit in children age 6 months and up," lead author Sunil Sazawal, an associate professor in the department of international health, said in a prepared statement.
More information
The Medlineplus Medical Encyclopedia has more about zinc.
Monday, January 29, 2007
New Food Pyramid Offers Building Blocks to Good Nutrition
(HealthDay News) -- The new and improved U.S. Department of Agriculture's food guide pyramid -- called MyPyramid -- is helping Americans, young and old, to better understand how to eat healthfully, dietitians say.The new pyramid features vertical bands (rather than the old horizontal pyramid sections) in six different colors to represent different food groups and types. Orange equals grains, green is for vegetables, red is for fruits, blue represents dairy, purple is meat and beans, and yellow stands for oils.
Along the side of the pyramid, a drawing depicts a person climbing a set of steps to match the new slogan "Steps to a Healthier You," which is meant to encourage physical activity as essential.
Perhaps the most important feature of the new pyramid, unveiled in 2005: By plugging in certain personal information, such as age, gender, and levels of physical activity, you can get a nutrition plan that's tailored for you.
"It's more personalized," Marisa Moore, an Atlanta registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, said of the new pyramid and its Web site (www.MyPyramid.gov), which replaced the old, once-size-fits-all pyramid, in use since 1992.
And, the USDA is appealing not only to adults but to kids to clean up their diets, posting kid-friendly materials on the new pyramid Web site to help parents or teachers help their children eat more healthfully.
In general, the guidelines recommend consuming two cups of fruits and two-and-a-half cups of vegetables daily, three ounces of whole grain foods, three cups of low-fat or nonfat milk or other dairy foods, and about five ounces of meat and beans for protein.
Oils should be used sparingly, and the personalized guidelines offer specific maximum amounts -- say, five teaspoons for some people. The pyramid also suggests a maximum number of calories from "extras" such as sugars and solid fats -- for instance, 195 calories a day.
Noralyn Mills, a Baltimore dietitian and another American Dietetic Association spokeswoman, called the new guidelines more realistic than the old ones. And, they're more user-friendly, she added, which was the goal of making the changes from the old pyramid.
One important change, although it sounds small, is to list measurements in cups, instead of servings. "People have an idea what a cup is, they can visualize a cup," Mills said, adding, "I think there is a lot more usage of the pyramid than before."
The new pyramid guidelines are meant to incorporate the latest in nutritional science, according to the USDA.
"It's a little more motivational for people," said Moore. Besides alerting people that their diet should include specific amounts of grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, meats and beans, each personalized pyramid tells them how many "discretionary calories" they can eat per day for fats and sugars and oils.
"You are able to meet all your nutritional needs without the guesswork," said Moore, although she advises those with Diabetes and other health conditions to seek the help of a registered dietitian to help them personalize their menus even more.
More information
Visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture for more on MyPyramid.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
New Spirit Naturals Products utilize only the purest Organic Ingredients
New Spirit Naturals Products utilize only the purest Organic Ingredients (whenever available) in their product formulations. All of the product links will take you to the website of http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/ . From there, you can make your shopping selections from a wide variety of nutritional supplements and products. Follow the special ordering instructions below.
Special Ordering Instructions In order to use the Shopping Cart checkout feature from New Spirit Naturals, you must also enter the following referral information at the bottom of the address / shipping form: http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/ 
Green Magic - superfood containing 17 of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet to provide a convienent, good tasting way to obtain full spectrum nutrition on a daily basis.
For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering: http://www.dredd-clinic.com/
Guardian Greens is a powerful blood and brain food with phyto-nutrients targeted toward support of the immune system and its associated internal organs including, the brain, liver, kidneys, spleen, gall bladder, stomach and intestinal tract, pancreas, blood, and nerves. Ingredients: Phosphatidylserine ,Ginkgo Biloba, Spirulina, Chlorella, Dunaleilla, Alfalfa Juice Powder, Red Beet Juice Powder, Rhubarb Juice Powder, Black Currant Powder, Red Clover Tops, Parsley Greens, Dandelion Greens , Watercress Greens, Milk Thistle Powder and Burdock Root Powder.
For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering: http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/
ORAC - Anti-oxidant Formula - composed of all natural food concentrates - a powerful anti-oxidant formular for energy, anti-aging, and cellular protection. Oxygen Radical Absorbence Capacity (ORAC), measures the antioxidant power of foods and nutritional supplements. Use ORAC+ daily to reverse cellular damage caused by free-radicals . You can dramatically slow-down the aging process (anti-aging) by combatting free radical activity with antioxidants. ORAC+ provides powerful anti-oxidants with a biosynergistic blend of natural fruit powders, fruit extracts, polyphenol concentrates, grape, and red wine extracts. ORAC+ combats free radical activity with its anti-oxidants to slow down the body's aging process.
For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering: http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/
Alpha Greens - is nature's alkalizer, contains organically grown alfalfa grass juice, alfalfa leaf powder, wheat grass juice, barley grass juice, and kamut grass juice to help cleanse and detoxify the body. Alpha Greens will contribute greatly to the alkaline reserves and in helping to keep the acid/alkaline balance in the body.
All our food extracts are grown organically, high in the mountains on an ancient volcanic lakebed surrounded by snow packed peaks. These farms are hundreds of miles from the nearest polluting industries. A special drying process guarantees a low temperature and gentle preservation of all phyto-nutrients.
For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering: http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/
Three Treasures Teas - these traditional Chinese herbal therapeutic formulas are in the form of delicious teas that provide concentrated healing power to restore vitality and promote longevity. Common health issues are addressed by these 16 different formulas: Liver Chi, Phyto-Soy, Kidney Enhancer, Vitality, Perfect Balance, ChoLess, Longevity, Energizing, Aller-ease, Echinacea Complex, Jubilee, Memory Enhancer, Therapeutica, Meta Slim I, Meta-Slim II, and Magic Fruit. To enjoy these healthy teas, simply squeeze a dropper of tea concentrate into a glass of hot water and stir. For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering: http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/
Omega-Omega - is a rich source of essential fatty acids, and particularily Omega-3, a key Essential Fatty Acid. Omega-Omega contains: organic unrefined flax oil, organic unrefined pumpkin seed oil, organic unrefined borage oil, organic flax seed powder, Evening Primrose oil, and natural mixed tocopherols.
For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering:
Special Ordering Instructions In order to use the Shopping Cart checkout feature from New Spirit Naturals, you must also enter the following referral information at the bottom of the address / shipping form: http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/
There is also an entry field requesting your 4-digit E-Center ID Number. That field is left blank.
Green Magic - superfood containing 17 of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet to provide a convienent, good tasting way to obtain full spectrum nutrition on a daily basis. The micro-algaes, cereal grass juice powders, sea vegetables, enzymes, anti-oxidants, phyto-nutrients, and probiotics in Green Magic provide the nutrients your body needs to support its' natural capability for rejuvenation. Ingredients: Spirulina, Chlorella, De-oiled Lecithin, Barley and Wheat Grass Juice Powder, Kamut Grass Juice Powder, Rice Kernel Membrane, High Pectin Apple Fiber, Icelandic Kelp and Nova Scotia Dulse, Co-enzyme Q-10, Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD), Royal Jelly, Jerusalem Artichoke Flour (JAF), Lactobacillus Acidophilus Bifidus Bacterium
For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering: http://www.dredd-clinic.com/
Guardian Greens is a powerful blood and brain food with phyto-nutrients targeted toward support of the immune system and its associated internal organs including, the brain, liver, kidneys, spleen, gall bladder, stomach and intestinal tract, pancreas, blood, and nerves. Ingredients: Phosphatidylserine ,Ginkgo Biloba, Spirulina, Chlorella, Dunaleilla, Alfalfa Juice Powder, Red Beet Juice Powder, Rhubarb Juice Powder, Black Currant Powder, Red Clover Tops, Parsley Greens, Dandelion Greens , Watercress Greens, Milk Thistle Powder and Burdock Root Powder. For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering: http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/
ORAC - Anti-oxidant Formula - composed of all natural food concentrates - a powerful anti-oxidant formular for energy, anti-aging, and cellular protection. Oxygen Radical Absorbence Capacity (ORAC), measures the antioxidant power of foods and nutritional supplements. Use ORAC+ daily to reverse cellular damage caused by free-radicals . You can dramatically slow-down the aging process (anti-aging) by combatting free radical activity with antioxidants. ORAC+ provides powerful anti-oxidants with a biosynergistic blend of natural fruit powders, fruit extracts, polyphenol concentrates, grape, and red wine extracts. ORAC+ combats free radical activity with its anti-oxidants to slow down the body's aging process.For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering: http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/
Alpha Greens - is nature's alkalizer, contains organically grown alfalfa grass juice, alfalfa leaf powder, wheat grass juice, barley grass juice, and kamut grass juice to help cleanse and detoxify the body. Alpha Greens will contribute greatly to the alkaline reserves and in helping to keep the acid/alkaline balance in the body.All our food extracts are grown organically, high in the mountains on an ancient volcanic lakebed surrounded by snow packed peaks. These farms are hundreds of miles from the nearest polluting industries. A special drying process guarantees a low temperature and gentle preservation of all phyto-nutrients.
For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering: http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/
Three Treasures Teas - these traditional Chinese herbal therapeutic formulas are in the form of delicious teas that provide concentrated healing power to restore vitality and promote longevity. Common health issues are addressed by these 16 different formulas: Liver Chi, Phyto-Soy, Kidney Enhancer, Vitality, Perfect Balance, ChoLess, Longevity, Energizing, Aller-ease, Echinacea Complex, Jubilee, Memory Enhancer, Therapeutica, Meta Slim I, Meta-Slim II, and Magic Fruit. To enjoy these healthy teas, simply squeeze a dropper of tea concentrate into a glass of hot water and stir. For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering: http://www.dreddy-clinic.com/ Omega-Omega - is a rich source of essential fatty acids, and particularily Omega-3, a key Essential Fatty Acid. Omega-Omega contains: organic unrefined flax oil, organic unrefined pumpkin seed oil, organic unrefined borage oil, organic flax seed powder, Evening Primrose oil, and natural mixed tocopherols.For a Complete description of product ingredients, information and ordering:
Friday, December 01, 2006
Using Probiotics for Crohn's Disease and Colitis
Program Description Yogurt, probiotics and nutritional therapy can be a comfort to people living with inflammatory bowel disease. Listen to experts discuss this approach to treating people with Crohn's and colitis.
More Gastrointestinal Health Videos:
More Gastrointestinal Health Videos:
- The Right Recipes for GERD
- Can Heartburn Be Prevented?
- Using Over-the-Counter Medicines for Heartburn
- Why Do I Still Have Heartburn?
- Medication Strategies for Heartburn
- When is Heartburn Just Heartburn?
- Is Your Heartburn Medicine Working?
- Bowel Symptoms and Bloating: Could it Be IBS?
- When Are Bowel Symptoms A Sign Of IBS?
- How to Manage Vague Bowel Irregularities of IBS
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Coping with GI Symptoms
- Nutritional Problems in Crohn's and Colitis
- The Genetics Of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- A Patient's Perspective Surgery for Ulcerative Colitis
- Laparoscopic Surgery for Intestinal Disease
- Modern Perspectives on Stomach Ulcers
- Understanding Diverticular Disease
- Pain Medications and the Risk of GI Complications
- Overuse of Common Painkillers
- What You Need to Know About Intestinal Gas
- Diarrhea: When Should You Be Concerned?
- Treating Diarrhea
- Constipation: Why Does It Happen?
Friday, November 17, 2006
Certain Fatty Acid May Cut Dementia Risk
(HealthDay News) -- Adding further weight to the theory that fish may be brain food, new research found that people with diets rich in fish have a significantly lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
The key appears to be docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid that appears to affect dementia risk and to be important for the proper functioning of the central nervous system.
"If you have a high level of DHA, a fatty acid found in fish, it reduced your risk of dementia by about half," said study lead researcher Dr. Ernst J. Schaefer, senior scientist and director of the Lipid Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.
It's known that omega-3 fatty acids protect the heart and the circulatory system. "Just as fish is good for your heart, it's probably good for your brain as well," Schaefer said.
Fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon are high in DHA.
The study findings are published in the November issue of the Archives of Neurology.
In the study, Schaefer and his colleagues collected data on DHA levels and dementia in 899 men and women who were part of the Framingham Heart Study. Over nine years of follow-up, 99 people developed dementia, including 71 with Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers found that people with the highest blood levels of DHA had a 47 percent lower risk of developing dementia and a 39 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's, compared with those with lower DHA levels.
Levels of DHA in the blood vary by how much the liver converts alpha-linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid, to DHA and also by the amount of DHA in the diet, the researchers noted.
People with the highest blood levels of DHA said they ate an average of two to three servings of fish a week. People with lower DHA levels ate substantially less fish, the researchers reported.
Schaefer thinks the same benefit can be realized by taking fish-oil supplements. "Everything that we know suggests that supplements would be as effective as eating fish," he said. "Since low fish intake appears to be a risk factor for developing dementia, either eat more fish or use one or two fish oil capsules a day."
However, Schaefer added that a randomized clinical trial is still needed to see if DHA really protects the brain from dementia.
Martha Clare Morris is an epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and author of an accompanying editorial in the journal. "This is the first study to link blood levels of DHA to protection against Alzheimer's disease," she said, adding that recent animal studies have shown that DHA reduces amyloid plaques -- a hallmark of Alzheimer's -- in the brain and also improves memory.
"There is a lot of animal and biochemical evidence to support what this new study shows," Morris said.
But, she said, she's not sure there is enough data to suggest the value of fish oil supplements. "It looks like the protective benefits from omega-3 fatty acids are at a very low level. There is very little evidence that you get better protection from higher intake," she said. "Whether fish oil supplements are protective is yet to be seen."
Another expert thinks clinical trials are needed to see if DHA really protects against Alzheimer's.
"This shows in a prospective study that DHA is the only plasma lipid to cut the risk for developing dementia a decade or more later," said Greg M. Cole, a neuroscientist at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System and associate director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine.
This apparent protection is associated with eating fish, Cole said. "Other studies have pointed to fish intake as protective but have been far less clear that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish were the factor associated with risk reduction," he said. "This matters because if it is the fat, you could take fish oil supplements and avoid mercury contamination issues."
More information
The Alzheimer's Association can tell you more about Alzheimer's disease.
The key appears to be docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid that appears to affect dementia risk and to be important for the proper functioning of the central nervous system.
"If you have a high level of DHA, a fatty acid found in fish, it reduced your risk of dementia by about half," said study lead researcher Dr. Ernst J. Schaefer, senior scientist and director of the Lipid Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.
It's known that omega-3 fatty acids protect the heart and the circulatory system. "Just as fish is good for your heart, it's probably good for your brain as well," Schaefer said.
Fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon are high in DHA.
The study findings are published in the November issue of the Archives of Neurology.
In the study, Schaefer and his colleagues collected data on DHA levels and dementia in 899 men and women who were part of the Framingham Heart Study. Over nine years of follow-up, 99 people developed dementia, including 71 with Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers found that people with the highest blood levels of DHA had a 47 percent lower risk of developing dementia and a 39 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's, compared with those with lower DHA levels.
Levels of DHA in the blood vary by how much the liver converts alpha-linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid, to DHA and also by the amount of DHA in the diet, the researchers noted.
People with the highest blood levels of DHA said they ate an average of two to three servings of fish a week. People with lower DHA levels ate substantially less fish, the researchers reported.
Schaefer thinks the same benefit can be realized by taking fish-oil supplements. "Everything that we know suggests that supplements would be as effective as eating fish," he said. "Since low fish intake appears to be a risk factor for developing dementia, either eat more fish or use one or two fish oil capsules a day."
However, Schaefer added that a randomized clinical trial is still needed to see if DHA really protects the brain from dementia.
Martha Clare Morris is an epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and author of an accompanying editorial in the journal. "This is the first study to link blood levels of DHA to protection against Alzheimer's disease," she said, adding that recent animal studies have shown that DHA reduces amyloid plaques -- a hallmark of Alzheimer's -- in the brain and also improves memory.
"There is a lot of animal and biochemical evidence to support what this new study shows," Morris said.
But, she said, she's not sure there is enough data to suggest the value of fish oil supplements. "It looks like the protective benefits from omega-3 fatty acids are at a very low level. There is very little evidence that you get better protection from higher intake," she said. "Whether fish oil supplements are protective is yet to be seen."
Another expert thinks clinical trials are needed to see if DHA really protects against Alzheimer's.
"This shows in a prospective study that DHA is the only plasma lipid to cut the risk for developing dementia a decade or more later," said Greg M. Cole, a neuroscientist at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System and associate director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine.
This apparent protection is associated with eating fish, Cole said. "Other studies have pointed to fish intake as protective but have been far less clear that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish were the factor associated with risk reduction," he said. "This matters because if it is the fat, you could take fish oil supplements and avoid mercury contamination issues."
More information
The Alzheimer's Association can tell you more about Alzheimer's disease.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
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Monday, November 13, 2006
Folic Acid to Boost Memory?
Q: Folic Acid to Boost Memory?Is it true that folic acid can prevent Alzheimer's disease? I heard that it improves memory.
A: New findings do suggest that folic acid may slow the declines in memory that can occur with age. Dutch researchers recently presented compelling evidence from a three-year study that included 818 adults between the ages of 50 and 70, none of whom were having any memory problems.
During the study, the participants took either a placebo or 800 mg folic acid (twice the amount recommended for women of childbearing age to protect against birth defects).
Results showed that those who took the folic acid had memory scores equal to people five and a half years younger. The folic acid group in the study also did better in information processing and muscle skills. The study was conducted by researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and reported at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Dementia Prevention.
A: New findings do suggest that folic acid may slow the declines in memory that can occur with age. Dutch researchers recently presented compelling evidence from a three-year study that included 818 adults between the ages of 50 and 70, none of whom were having any memory problems.
During the study, the participants took either a placebo or 800 mg folic acid (twice the amount recommended for women of childbearing age to protect against birth defects).
Results showed that those who took the folic acid had memory scores equal to people five and a half years younger. The folic acid group in the study also did better in information processing and muscle skills. The study was conducted by researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and reported at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Dementia Prevention.
Monday, October 09, 2006
An Antioxidant Update?
Q: An Antioxidant Update? You used to recommend taking 1,000-2,000 mg of vitamin C, three times a day. Now it's 250 mg twice a day. Why?
A: It is true that I used to recommend taking 2,000 to 6,000 mg of vitamin C a day divided into three doses. I changed this in 1999, after examining two important studies showing that significantly lower levels of vitamin C more than saturate the body's tissues, and thus are sufficient protection against cancer, heart disease and other chronic illnesses. I now recommend only 200 to 500 mg divided into two doses.
A review of clinical trials published in the April 21, 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that 200 mg of vitamin C a day is the maximum human cells can absorb, making anything above that level a waste. The second study came from the Linus Pauling Institute and was published in the June 1999 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It identified a similar dose, 120 to 200 mg, as the optimal amount for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, cataracts and other chronic conditions.
If you've been taking larger amounts, don't worry. There's no danger. Vitamin C is water soluble and any not used by the body is quickly eliminated.
The rest of my antioxidant cocktail is as follows:
Vitamin E: 400 IUs a day of mixed natural tocopherols, or at least 80mg of mixed tocopherol and tocotrienols. Since vitamin E is fat soluble, it must be taken with food to be absorbed. Always choose natural vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol with mixed tocopherols) and avoid the synthetic form (dl-alpha-tocopherol). The best brands will also include mixed tocotrienols, the other components of natural vitamin E (I take vitamin E at lunch or dinner).
Selenium: 200 micrograms a day. Selenium is a trace mineral with antioxidant and anticancer properties. Selenium and vitamin E facilitate each other's absorption, so take them together. Doses above 400 micrograms a day may not be healthy.
Mixed carotenes: 15,000 IUs a day. I recommend using natural forms of mixed carotenoids, such as alpha and gamma carotene along with beta-carotene, which is easily found in health food stores. Read the label to make sure it gives you lycopene, the red pigment in tomatoes that helps prevent prostate cancer, and lutein, which protects against cataracts and macular degeneration. Better brands will include other important carotenoids like astaxanthin, zeaxanthin, phytoene and phytofluene.
Be sure to take supplements with meals to enhance absorption and reduce the risk of stomach upset.
Andrew Weil, M.D.–Author of:
A: It is true that I used to recommend taking 2,000 to 6,000 mg of vitamin C a day divided into three doses. I changed this in 1999, after examining two important studies showing that significantly lower levels of vitamin C more than saturate the body's tissues, and thus are sufficient protection against cancer, heart disease and other chronic illnesses. I now recommend only 200 to 500 mg divided into two doses.
A review of clinical trials published in the April 21, 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that 200 mg of vitamin C a day is the maximum human cells can absorb, making anything above that level a waste. The second study came from the Linus Pauling Institute and was published in the June 1999 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It identified a similar dose, 120 to 200 mg, as the optimal amount for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, cataracts and other chronic conditions.
If you've been taking larger amounts, don't worry. There's no danger. Vitamin C is water soluble and any not used by the body is quickly eliminated.
The rest of my antioxidant cocktail is as follows:
Vitamin E: 400 IUs a day of mixed natural tocopherols, or at least 80mg of mixed tocopherol and tocotrienols. Since vitamin E is fat soluble, it must be taken with food to be absorbed. Always choose natural vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol with mixed tocopherols) and avoid the synthetic form (dl-alpha-tocopherol). The best brands will also include mixed tocotrienols, the other components of natural vitamin E (I take vitamin E at lunch or dinner).
Selenium: 200 micrograms a day. Selenium is a trace mineral with antioxidant and anticancer properties. Selenium and vitamin E facilitate each other's absorption, so take them together. Doses above 400 micrograms a day may not be healthy.
Mixed carotenes: 15,000 IUs a day. I recommend using natural forms of mixed carotenoids, such as alpha and gamma carotene along with beta-carotene, which is easily found in health food stores. Read the label to make sure it gives you lycopene, the red pigment in tomatoes that helps prevent prostate cancer, and lutein, which protects against cataracts and macular degeneration. Better brands will include other important carotenoids like astaxanthin, zeaxanthin, phytoene and phytofluene.
Be sure to take supplements with meals to enhance absorption and reduce the risk of stomach upset.
Andrew Weil, M.D.–Author of:
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Commentary on Nutritional Treatment
from Willam Walsh, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Pfeiffer Treatment Center http://www.hriptc.org/(The following information is taken from Dr. William Walsh's discussion on Safe Harbor's "Integrative Psychiatry" email list for professionals.
To preserve Dr. Walsh's wealth of information, we have posted his comments here, with the notation of added commentary [with the date] as discussion goes on.)
SAMe
SAMe is very promising for undermethylated persons and a bad idea for those who suffer from a genetic tendency for overmethylation. I don't particularly like the "allopathic" method you referred to which is simply trial & error. SAMe can do great harm if given to the wrong person.
I hate going to funerals. (17 Dec, 2002)The mechanisms of action of SAMe and TMG are quite different. Most of our methyl groups come from dietary methionine. The methionine is converted to SAMe in a reaction with magnesium, ATP, methionine-adenosyl-transferase, and water. SAMe is a relatively unstable carrier of methyl groups and is the primary source of methyl for most reactions in the body.
Once the methyl group has been donated, the residual molecule is s-adenosyl-homocysteine which converts to homocysteine. TMG (betaine) is a biochemical which can donate a methyl group to homocysteine, thus converting it back to methionine.
The TMG route is secondary to the 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate/B-12 reaction which the primary route for restoring methionine. Methionine and SAMe supplements directly introduce new methyl groups into the body.
TMG can provide a methyl group only to the extent that there is insufficient folate/B-12 to do the job. In some persons, the methylation effect of TMG is very minimal. In addition, persons who are undermethylated have a SAM cycle which is "spinning very slowly", much like a superhighway with little traffic.
The answer for them is NOT to more efficiently convert the small amount of homocysteine to methionine (using TMG), but rather to directly introduce more methionine or SAMe into the body. A small percentage of persons with sufficient dietary methionine cannot efficiently produce SAMe --- These persons need supplemental SAMe, and not methionine or TMG and are the exception to the rule. In most other cases, methionine supplements alone are sufficient.
TMG is a great way to treat individuals with dangerously high homocysteine levels. TMG can be very useful in augmenting methionine therapy along with B-6/P-5-P , serine, etc. The challenge is to supply enough methyl groups to help the patient, without creating dangerously high levels of homocysteine. Use of TMG is an "insurance policy" against this happening. (Jan 22, 2003)
A quick way to test for need for methylation therapy is to carry out a cautious trial of SAMe.
Within a week or two you should have your answer. If she clearly is improving on the SAMs (which is frightfully expensive)..... you can get usually the same benefits (albeit more slowly) using methionine plus calcium, magnesium, and B-6. This should be side-effect free unless (a) the methylation is begun too abruptly or (b) the patient has a rare genetic enzyme disorder which disrupts the SAM cycle. We've found that direct methylation is usually more successful than tinkering with the SAM cycle. The primary way humans receive most of their methyl groups is from dietary methionine. It's often hard to improve on Mother Nature. (Jan 20, 2003)
SAMe is likely to cause great worsening of symptoms, including mania, if given to an OVER-methylated person. The incidence of overmethylation in our patient database of 1,500 bipolar cases is about 18%. Bipolar disorder is not a single condition, but a collection of very different biochemical disorders under the same umbrella diagnosis. SAMe works great for truly undermethylated patients, but all hell breaks out if given to someone who is overloaded (genetically) with methyl groups. The right way to do this is to (a) first determine the person's innate methylation tendency & then (b) act accordingly. (Jan 31, 2003)
Schizophrenia
Severe wheat gluten intolerance can cause classic symptoms of schizophrenia, and amounts to about 4% of all schizophrenia diagnoses in the U.S. These persons usually become quite normal when placed on a gluten-free diet.I've done medical histories for more than 2,000 persons diagnosed with schizophrenia and have always been struck by the high frequency of schizophrenia in other relatives. Interestingly, the schizophrenia would often skip a generation.
NIMH data suggests that the overall incidence of schizophrenia in the USA is between 1% and 4%, depending on the definitions. However, the incidence of schizophrenia for children who have a schizophrenic parent is about 16%. This number doesn't change much for children of schizophrenics adopted at birth. I don't think there is "a schizophrenia gene", partly because this is a garbage term which encompasses several completely different conditions.
There are a number of biochemical ingredients which predispose to each phenotype of SZ..... these may be either genetic or acquired. However, I'm absolutely certain there is a genetic component in most cases.
Carl Pfeiffer was the first to develop meaningful chemical classifications of schizophrenia (and separate treatments for each phenotype). Carl Pfeiffer of Princeton, N.J. saw more than 20,000 schizophrenics in his lifetime. He found that 90% of all SZ patients could be classified into 3 large groups, with completely different etiologies & treatment approaches. These he termed "histapenia", "histadelia", and "pyroluria". The remaining 10% fit into several splinter groups.
One of the splinter groups was gluten intolerance, which represents 4% (1 case in 25). This is a rare form of schizophrenia, but if you've got it, it's everything!Multiple food & chemical sensitivities are also associated with histapenia (low histamine, overmethylation), the largest of all SZ groups, amounting to about 48% of all cases.
For this group, SZ symptoms often worsen if exposed to the offending substances, & nice improvements often occur if they are identified & avoided. However, the food sensitivities usually disappear after about 1 year of aggressive Folate/B-12/B-3 treatment, which is the primary route to a normal life for these patients.
We've known for more than 20 years that the metallothionein protein system does not perform well in most ADHD patients. About 68% of them exhibit very poor control of Cu & Zn, based on lab data from more than 6,000 patients diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. Autism is different in that about 90% of patients exhibit Cu/Zn imbalances that are generally much more severe than in ADHD.For several months, we have extended our metallothionein-promotion protocol to ADHD, behavior, depression, and schizophrenic patients who exhibit Cu/Zn imbalance.
The informal results so far are very encouraging. However, we've not yet done a formal outcome study for these populations, and thus have no statistics yet.We are considering applying MT-Promotion to Alzheimers & Parkinsons patients in the near future. Both disorders involve serious oxidative stress and abnormal trace metal levels. In addition, recent research has revealed a striking metallothionein deficiency in the brains of Alzheimers patients. (Feb 25, 2003)I've evaluated more than 3,500 patients with a diagnosis of bipolar or schizophrenia. The predominance of auditory hallucinations, serious self abuse, aggressiveness, inability to continue school, and social isolation...... all point in the direction of classic "paranoid schizophrenia", although many of these patients are labeled "bipolar disorder with psychotic features". Most severely mentally ill persons with a history of exceptional artistic or musical talent test as overmethylated. The biochemical recipe for these patients usually consists of (1) overmethylation, (2) low folate levels, and (3) elevated blood copper levels. All three of these chemical imbalances impact dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, and together can cause rather extraordinary abnormalities in these important neurotransmitters. In my opinion, the key to successful treatment is biochemical treatment to overcome these chemical imbalances...... fortunately this can be accomplished using aggressive therapy with nutrients to normalize the chemical factors.Most mental breakdowns are triggered by severe stress, but the underlying cause is genetic and involves brain chemistry. Many persons self-medicate with alcohol, marijuana, or other illegal drugs in a desperate attempt to feel better. Many patients and their families erroneously believe that the EtOH or drug experiences were the underlying cause of the condition. They are wrong! This adult-onset condition will strike eventually in most cases, even if substance abuse never occurs.Traditional medicine can provide medication support which can usually eliminate (temporarily) most/all psychosis symptoms. However, these patients are usually plagued by drug side effects and are a mere shadow of their original selves. Common side effects are (a) fatigue, (b) inability to focus/concentrate for more than a few minutes, (c) change in personality, (d) massive weight gain, etc. The most popular drugs for these patients are Zyprexa, Seroquil, Risperdal, Geodon, and Clozaril..... the so-called atypical antipsychotics. Since most patients hate these medications, poor compliance is a major problem.I've seen many young schizophrenics and bipolar patients achieve complete recoveries through biochemical (nutrient) therapy. This rarely occurs with traditional medication therapy. (May 12, 2003)Some of schizophrenics who spontaneously get better are those who experience a toxic psychosis. I have a friend who had a toxic psychosis after an accidental overdose of a medication during childbirth. For 6 hours she was a full blown paranoid schizophrenic..... No symptoms in the following 20 years. Also, schizophrenia comes in mild, moderate, and severe versions. Many persons with a very mild genetic tendency for SZ can experience an environmental insult which pushes them into a temporary mental illness. Most will become quite ok with or without therapy.The real problem is the millions of SZ persons who have moderate to severe SZ which does not go away easily. (May 27, 2003)
Taurine
Yes, I've read a few articles and a book that talked about Taurine's slow metabolism and tendency to build up over time. Because of this, I've believed that high doses of Taurine (1,000 to 2,000 mg/day) are ok in the beginning..... but that the dosages need to be reduced within 2 weeks to about 400 to 500 mg/day..... to achieve the same effect.I believe that Taurine is especially effective for (1) combating seizure tendency and (2) reducing liver stress in processing fats. There have been several reports of intolerances and side effects from use of Taurine, and I feel that indiscriminant high doses are unwise.About 12 months ago, there was a fad among several alternative practitioners in which high doses of Taurine were given to every autistic patient. One of the reasons given was "to assist the liver cope with stresses associated with toxic metal overload". This seems to be a poor reason, since Taurine's action in the liver appears to be limited to fat metabolism, and most autistics are slender malabsorbers with low lipid levels. (June 24, 2003)
Womb Trauma
There is an exquisite and fragile biological/biochemical process during gestation in which short, dense immature brain cells are pruned, grow into fully-developed brain cells, and then (remarkably) experience growth inhibition to complete the process. The molecular biology of this process is becoming very well defined, and it is clear that many environmental events can hinder or disrupt early brain development. The primary culprits are oxidative stress, teratological chemicals, and infections. The least appreciated of these harmful factors is oxidative stress which can deplete key proteins and enzymes required for normal brain development.Environmental harm to a developing fetus can result from (a) biochemical inadequacies of the mother, and (b) external environmental insults. We're all familiar with birth defects that can result from Thalidomide, Thorazine, Prolixin, Haldol, and other psychiatric medications. Also the dangers of mercury, lead, and other toxics are well established, and we know that a mother's improper diet (e.g. inadequate folic acid) can be harmful. Although lower on the radar screen, fetal oxidative stresses can be equally devastating.What I'm leading up to.... is the scientific fact that serious emotional or physical stresses experienced by the mother can impair early brain development, especially if the mother is not biochemically intact. For example high emotional stresses or physical trauma to the mother will weaken the activity of metallothionein (MT) and glutathione (GSH) proteins, andincrease oxidative stress in the brain. MT-1 and MT-2 are directly involved in growth of immature brain cells. MT-3 is a key protein required for pruning and growth inhibition. These proteins also have the job of defending against oxidative stress in the brain and are consumed in the process. Maternal emotional stresses and psychic traumae deplete the embryonic brain of MT proteins and can compromise brain development.Womb trauma is real and the concept of "a cry so deep" is not psycho-babble guesswork. Rather, it is solidly supported by scientific fields such as embryology and molecular biology. (Aug 1, 2003)If fetal or early infant traumae have resulted in a brain that hasn't completely matured..... therapies to promote MT and GSH appear very promising..... especially in tandem withbehavioral therapies which stimulate the development of new brain cells.If the net result of the traumae is biochemical or neurotransmitter differences, then biochemical therapy aimed at normalizing brain chemistry would be indicated.If the traumae resulted in diminished ability to tolerate environmental toxins (for example an incompetent blood-brain barrier), then avoidance of such toxins would be an important aspect of treatment.If the traumae resulted in an innate inability to cope with emotional stresses, then counseling or other psychological services could be very beneficial.If the traumae resulted in a brain that is structurally different, this may represent "brain damage" that may be refractory to all treatments. (Aug 1, 2003)
Zinc
There have been several recent published articles which indicate that zinc and zinc metallothionein proteins (1) tend to prevent brain strokes, (2) tend to assist brain recovery after strokes, and (3) that deficiency of Zn or Zn-MT is associated with increased stroke likelihood. An occasional test for plasma Zn could help identify the proper dosage. Most adults can safely start with 25 to 50 mg/day of Zn. Without indication of B-6 deficiency, it might be a good idea to limit pyridoxine hydrochloride (usual form of B-6) to about 200 mg/day. B-6 is very helpful in enhancing the utilization of Zn.After use of these nutrients with thousands of persons, I'm not aware of a single case of harm. However, it is a good idea to introduce zinc gradually & to take Zn during the PM only. (June 3, 2003
Every 5 years or so, the zinc experts of the world convene for a symposium in which they share new advances in Zn technogy & research..... It's usually headed up by the eminent Prof. Prasad.One of the topics is laboratory testing to indicate an individual's Zn status. They consider about 10 different methods including packed cells, taste tests, etc...... The last two symposia resulted in the consensus that none of the testing options is wonderful, but that the best of the commercially available tests is plasma zinc. Taste tests didn't make the top three methods.However the Zn experts also stated that the most definitive determination of zinc depletion is the presence of symptoms of Zn depletion which disappear after Zn supplementation.My organization has evaluated the Zn status of 18,000 patients and we've tried all of these methods. Our standard protocol involves plasma Zn, being careful to use acid-etched, trace-metal-free tubes.We find that virtually all treatment-naive ASD persons are very Zn depleted and overloaded in "free" (unbound by ceruloplasmin) copper. Our patient population for ASD is 2,800. Our database of 5,600 ADHD patients indicates that about 75% are depleted in Zn. The remaining 25% have problems associated with pyrrole disorders, methylation disorders, EFA disorders, toxic overloads, etc. (July 22, 2003)
The high level of zinc depletion in ASD appears to stem from a genetic weakness in the metallothionein protein system.Cu/Zn ratios in hair are very helpful in ADHD and behavior disorders..... but far less useful in ASD, depression, and schizophrenia. Tracking plasma Zn, serum Cu and serum ceruloplasmin levels can be very helpful in guiding dosages aimed at normalizing Zn.
Management of Zn & Cu levels is a challenging problem in ASD. Sometimes rather extraordinary Zn dosages are required to normalize blood Zn levels.Virtually all ASD persons are Zn depleted., but not all exhibit an elevated Cu/Zn ratio. A minority of ASD patients exhibit normal or low Cu levels in serum, but have vastly inadequate levles of ceruloplasmin. Thus, the level of "unbound" Cu can be very high, even though all standard measures of Cu appear to be low. Some of these patients seem to have a mild version of Wilson's Disesase. (July 24, 2003)
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