Archive for the 'Healthy Diet' Category
February 11th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Women who drink two or more cans of regular soda a day may be increasing their risk of kidney damage, according to researchers at Loyola University Medical Center . Diet soda intake was not associated with any signs of early kidney disease, and men who drank moderate amounts of regular soft drinks did not have any adverse effects.
Source: Shoham D, et al “Sugary soda consumption and albuminuria: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004″ PLoS ONE 2008; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003431.
January 27th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
A growing body of research is revealing that elderly with the lowest levels of Vitamin D in their blood are significantly more likely to have a higher incidence of cognitive impairment. Researchers are discovering mounting evidence for previously unsuspected roles for vitamin D in brain development and neuroprotection.
In a recent study from the University of Cambridge, British researchers recently examined the association between serum vitamin D levels and cognitive impairment in persons 65 and older. Those with the lowest levels of Vitamin D were more than twice as likely to have cognitive impairment.
A simple blood test can measure the circulating Vitamin D levels in your blood. Many doctors are now drawing blood levels of Vitamin D to to make sure patients are getting enough of this important vitamin to optimize good health. Ask your doctor about this.
Most often calcium supplements with Vitamin D are recommended by health care professionals. If calcium supplements are not needed, Vitamin D 1,000 IU is available over-the-counter, and may be recommended. Vitamin D is included in most multivitamins, but in very low strengths from 50 IU to 1,000 IU.
Read more:
via Llewellyn DJ, et al “Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and cognitive impairment” J Geriatr Psych Neurol 2009
January 16th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Drinking coffee in middle age was associated with a decreased risk of dementia later in life according to a new study from Finland and Sweden. Researchers found the lowest risk of dementia in the moderate coffee drinkers, or those who drank three to five cups a day. In this group, their dementia or Alzheimer’s risk was lowered by 65 per cent. Tea drinking did not appear to have any affect on the risk of dementia.
While these findings are interesting, they need to be confirmed by other studies. If you’re currently drinking three to five cups per day of coffee with no adverse effects, this is good news. But it certainly would not be advisable to increase the amount of coffee you’re drinking, based solely on this study. Not only is coffee addicting, but excessive caffeine intake can lead to a number of health problems including fast heart rate, tremors, irritable bladder, excessive urination, stomach irritation, nausea, vomiting, restlessness, anxiety, depression, and difficulty sleeping. Many drugs interact with caffeine as well. Pregnant women and people with coronary heart disease or peptic ulcers are often advised to restrict or avoid using caffeine altogether.
Contrary to the popular belief that coffee will sober you up after drinking too much alcohol, it can actually worsen the problem. A recent study found that a high caffeine energy drink mixed with vodka reduced the participants’ perception of motor coordination compared with vodka alone.
via Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, January 2009
via “Coffee may reduce risk of dementia, study suggests” CTV.ca, January 14, 2009
via “One Energy Drink, or 12 cans of Coke“, Bay Area Medical Information, September 29, 2008
January 5th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
1. Eat more fruits, vegetables, and grains. Read about the top power foods.
2. Minimize high-fat foods and meats in your diet. Read and understand food labels
3. Be active and stay fit. Get started on a regular exercise program that you will enjoy. The 18 benefits of exercise and how to get started.
4. Drink minimal alcohol, if you drink at all. How much is unhealthy?
5. Don’t start smoking, and if you do smoke, make every effort to stop as soon as possible. Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in our society. Stop smoking, get results, change your life!
6. Shield your skin from the sun. Sun damage to deeper layers of skin eventually can cause cancer.
7. Get regular pap smear screening and colonoscopy as recommended for your age, family history, and medical history. Pap smear screening is an important method of detecting early cervical cancer. Colonoscopy both prevents and detects colon cancer. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Read about colonoscopy.
8. Girls age 11-18 should get the vaccine for HPV (human papilloma virus). A decision about whether a woman aged 19 to 26 years should get the vaccine should be based on an informed discussion between the woman and her health care provider.
9. Be aware of and try to avoid environmental carcinogens.
10. Ask your doctor about checking a blood test for Vitamin D levels. Many recent studies have found that adequate levels of Vitamin D appear to be critical in preventing cancer and many other serious, chronic diseases, yet the deficiency is widespread in the U.S. and worldwide. This has prompted a recent surge in the number of general practitioners and pediatricians who are now routinely screening for adequate blood levels of Vitamin D and recommending Vitamin D supplementation.
Photo courtesy of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
November 3rd, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
A board of independent advisers to the FDA has concluded that the FDA recently erred when it stated that the use of the common chemical bisphenol A (BPA) is safe, particularly for infants.
BPA is used in packaging of infant formula, in molded plastic bottles, dinnerware and sippy cups. The current margin of safety is 5 mg/kg, but the subcommittee recommended lowering that level.
A man-made chemical, BPA is classified as an endocrine disruptor, which alters the function of the endocrine system by mimicking the role of the body’s natural hormones. It is used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic, and as an additive in other widely used consumer products. The fear has been that exposure to BPA can cause birth defects and developmental problems. In addition, exposure to BPA has been blamed for a variety of other problems, including cancer, diabetes, obesity and attention-deficit disorder.
There has been a difference of opinion between researchers whether there is cause for concern over Bisphenol A (BPA), one of the highest-volume chemicals produced worldwide. In September, the FDA issued a statement about BPA that said there was insufficient evidence to connect commonly used levels of BPA to some health issues, including those in infants. But now, a board of independent advisers to the FDA has concluded that the FDA was wrong.
Canada has banned the use of BPA in baby bottles and some scientists and consumer groups have warned for years that the chemical might contribute to some cancers, early puberty, alterations of the prostate and urinary tracts, and behavioral problems.
The board called for future, large-scale studies investigating BPA exposure and there will likely be new regulations. The FDA is currently working with manufacturing companies that use BPA in their products to develop alternatives or to figure out how to effectively lower levels of the chemical. It is not recommended that mothers stop buying infant formula and attempt to make their own BPA-free formula, as it will likely be less nutritious.
Read important facts about Bisphenol A (BPA) from Bay Area Medical Information
October 15th, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
The FDA has once again found melamine in two milk products made in China. Sold in Asian grocery stores in New York, the products YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink and YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink have been recalled by distributor HUA XIA Food Trade USA of Flushing, N.Y. The drinks are packaged in 250-ml flexible paperboard boxes. The Sour Milk Drink container has blue, red, and green Chinese writing and a picture of an Asian man in a green shirt and white tie clapping his hands. The Pure Milk Drink has black, red, and white English and Chinese writing, with a picture of two cows playing basketball.
Certain Mr. Brown instant coffee and tea products sold in the United States have also been recently recalled because of possible contamination with melamine. Melamine contamination of infant formula has resulted in a major public health problem in China, where thousands of children have been diagnosed with kidney stones related to the contamination. The FDA has said that it has not yet found infant formula in the U.S. contaminated with melamine.
The FDA lists all products which have been recalled due to detection of melamine.
via FDA, October 2008
via MedPage Today, October 2008
October 14th, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Children should get 400 IU vitamin D daily from infancy through adolescence, according to new guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This new recommendation is twice the amount previously endorsed by the academy.
The risk is highest among exclusively breastfed infants, whose mothers often do not get enough vitamin D. Although breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for infants, vitamin D deficiencies in the maternal diet affect the vitamin D in a mother’s milk, so it’s important that breastfed infants receive supplements of vitamin D, say the researchers from the University of South Carolina in Charleston.
A growing body of literature and clinical studies point to the fact that adequate vitamin D consumption throughout childhood not only prevents rickets but appears to provide life-long benefits such as protection against infections, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and diabetes.
Specific recommendations in the report include:
- 400 IU of supplemental vitamin D daily for all infants who are exclusively or partly breastfed
- 400 IU of supplemental vitamin D for nonbreastfed infants and older children who consume less than a quart of vitamin D-fortified formula or milk daily
- The same dose of supplemental vitamin D for adolescents who do not get 400 IU daily from dietary sources
- Possibly higher doses of supplemental vitamin D for children who have an increased risk of deficiency because of certain medications (such as antiseizure drugs) or medical conditions (such as chronic fat malabsorption)
Parents, ask your pediatrician about these new recommendations.
via Pediatrics, November 2008
via MedPage Today, October 2008
September 29th, 2008 by Chris Thompson
Energy drinks can contain as much caffeine as two six-packs of Coke, according to a recent study out of Johns Hopkins. Unlike soda, such as Coke or Pepsi, energy drinks are sold as dietary supplements and aren’t required to limit the amount of caffeine the way traditional sodas are. Although soda manufacturers aren’t required to disclose on the label the amount of caffeine in their products, they are restricted by the FDA to 71mg of caffeine per 12 ounces. Some energy drinks have been found to have as much as 500 mg of caffeine, and are not required to reveal this on the label.
This is legal in the United States because energy drinks fall into the category of dietary supplements. Interestingly, an over-the-counter stimulant medication, which falls into a different category, containing 100 mg of caffeine per tablet must include warnings on the label.
The public is not only unaware of the amount of caffeine in these products but also the consequences of caffeine intoxication, according to the researchers. The symptoms of caffeine toxicity include nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, GI upset, tremors, tachycardia, and psychomotor agitation. At least 42 cases have been reported to US poison control centers as a result of energy drinks between 2002 and 2004, but more recently energy drinks are growing in popularity and the incidence of caffeine toxicity is on the rise. Further, these drinks are heavily marketed towards young males, many of whom do not have the tolerance to caffeine that many adults have.
Another danger of high-caffeine energy drinks is that combining caffeine and alcohol can be a problem. One study, for example, found that Red Bull mixed with vodka reduced the participants’ perception of motor coordination compared with vodka alone.
via MedPageToday, Sept 25, 2008
September 29th, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Seven instant coffee and tea products are being recalled because of possible contamination with melamine, according to the FDA. The products were manufactured in China, and sold in the United States.
All sold under the “Mr. Brown” label, the coffee and tea products have been marketed in the U.S. by King Car Food Industrial and were made by Shandong Duqing, a Chinese manufacturer. The recalled products include:
- Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
- Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
- Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
- Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
- Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
- Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee (2-in-1Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)
White Rabbit Creamy Candies, were also found to be contaminated by Melamine by the New Zealand Food Safety Agency recently. The FDA has said it was recommending that “consumers not eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy and that retailers and foodservice operations remove the product from sale or service.”
Thousands of Chinese children have developed kidney stones related to recent Melamine contamination in infant formula. As of September 25, 2008, the FDA has not yet found any milk-based products imported into the United States from China contaminated with Melamine. The investigation is ongoing, however, and has focused on areas with large Chinese communities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York.
via MedPage Today, Sept. 26, 2008
via FDA, September 26, 2008
September 22nd, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
A report based on several studies has hinted at a possible correlation between a Mediterranean diet and a reduction in mortality related to cardiovascular disease, cancer and even some neurological disorders. There are always limitations with these types of findings as they are based on a compilation of studies. However, time and again, the Mediterranean diet seems to be associated with good health. Specifically, they found a 9% reduction in overall mortality and a 13% reduction in incidences Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
One important caveat to this study and the Mediterranean diet in general is the risk associated with alcohol consumption. There are significant hazards associated with alcohol and certain people should abstain from drinking altogether.
via MedPageToday
