Reduce Sugar, Salt - New Dietary Guidelines by US Department of Agriculture

Red meat and processed foods contribute to cholesterol, plaque, and atherosclerosis, which can result in heart attack and stroke. Less sugar and salt, more fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains; those are the recommendations in the new dietary guidelines put out every five years by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Sahil Parikh, interventional cardiologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, said, "The guidelines are a little bit less clear when it comes to saying red meat and processed foods should be restricted. They say you should reduce saturated fat without saying expressly you should reduce red meat and processed food, which frequently contain high levels of saturated fat."  Dr. Parikh agrees with reducing hypertension-causing sodium and said, "The new measure of also reducing sugar to 10% of daily caloric intake (50 grams or one can of soda in a 2000 calorie-a-day diet) is another good measure. Clearly there is a diabetes epidemic in this country and dietary sugar and caloric intake specifically contribute to obesity and subsequently Type 2 diabetes." The guidelines also say it's okay to consume alcohol moderately (one drink for women daily and two drinks for men), with wine showing some benefit to the heart. Additionally, moderate coffee drinking (three to five cups a day) is alright as well, because it's shown to reduce Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and possibly Parkinson's disease. Source: Newswise

Low-Sugar Diet Helps Reverse Liver Damage Faster

Liver damage caused by a diet high in fat, sugar and cholesterol may be difficult to reverse even if diet is generally improved, says a new study.

This study, done with laboratory animals, showed that diets low in fat and cholesterol could in fact aid with weight loss, improved metabolism and health. But even then, if the diet was still high in sugar there was much less liver recovery, the scientists concluded. 

The findings are significant, scientists say, because liver problems such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are surging in the U.S., affecting 10-35 percent of adults and an increasing number of children. The incidence of this problem can reach more than 60 percent in obese and type-2 diabetic populations. 

"Many people eating a common American diet are developing extensive hepatic fibrosis, or scarring of their liver, which can reduce its capacity to function, and sometimes lead to cancer," said Donald Jump, a professor in the OSU College of Public Health and Human Sciences, principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute, and corresponding author on this research. 

"There's a lot of interest in finding ways to help the liver recover from this damage, but this research suggests that diets lower in fat and cholesterol, even if they help you lose weight, are not enough," Jump said. "For more significant liver recovery, the intake of sugar has to come down, probably along with other improvements in diet and exercise." 

The issues are both serious and complex, the researchers said. 

"Everyone recognizes this is a serious problem," said Kelli Lytle, an OSU doctoral candidate and lead author on this study. "We're trying to find out if some of the types of dietary manipulation that people use, such as weight loss based on a low fat diet, will help address it. However, a common concern is that many 'low-fat' food products have higher levels of sugar to help make them taste better." 

Weight loss does appear to help address some of the problems associated with the Western diet, the research shows. But according to this study, a diet with continued high levels of sugar will significantly slow recovery of liver damage that has already been done. 

Complications related to liver inflammation, scarring and damage are projected to be the leading cause of liver transplants by 2020, the researchers noted in their study. Such scarring was once thought to be irreversible, but more recent research has shown it can be at least partially reversed with optimal diet and when the stimulus for liver injury is removed. 

In this report, scientists studied two groups of laboratory mice that had been fed a "Western diet" and then switched to different, healthier diets, low in fat and cholesterol. 

Both of the improved diets caused health improvements and weight loss. But one group that was fed a diet still fairly high in sugar - an amount of sugar comparable to the Western diet - had significantly higher levels of inflammation, oxidative stress and liver fibrosis. 

More research is still needed to determine whether a comprehensive program of diet, weight maintenance, exercise and targeted drug therapies can fully resolve liver fibrosis, the study concluded. 



Source: Eurekalert

 

Blueberries, citrus fruits and red wine associated with reduced erectile dysfunction

Flavonoid-rich foods are associated with a reduced risk of erectile dysfunction - according to a new collaborative study from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Harvard University.

Research published today in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals that eating foods rich in certain flavonoids is associated with a reduced risk of erectile dysfunction in men, with the greatest benefit in those under 70.

Of all the different flavonoids, Anthocyanins (found in blueberries, cherries, blackberries, radishes and blackcurrant), flavanones and flavones (found in citrus fruits) were found to offer the greatest benefits in preventing the condition.

It is already known that increased exercise can improve erectile function, but this research shows that eating a flavonoid-rich diet is as good for erectile function as briskly walking for up to five hours a week.

The study also showed that a higher total fruit intake was associated with a 14 per cent reduction in the risk of erectile dysfunction. And that a combination of consuming flavonoid-rich foods with exercise can reduce the risk by 21 per cent.

The study was carried out by nutrition departments at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and UEA's Norwich Medical School.

Lead researcher Prof Aedin Cassidy from UEA said: "We already knew that intake of certain foods high in flavonoids may reduce the risk of conditions including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This is the first study to look at the association between flavonoids and erectile dysfunction, which affects up to half of all middle-aged and older men.

"Flavonoids are present in many plant-based foods and drinks including fruits, vegetables, tea, herbs and wine. We examined six main types of commonly consumed flavonoids and found that three in particular - anthocyanins, flavanones and flavones - are beneficial.

"Men who regularly consumed foods high in these flavonoids were 10 per cent less likely to suffer erectile dysfunction. In terms of quantities, we're talking just a few portions a week."

More than 50,000 middle aged men were included in this large population based study. They were asked about their ability to have and maintain an erection sufficient for intercourse - dating back to 1986. Data on dietary intake was also collected every four years.

The research team took into account a range of factors such as body weight, physical activity, amount of caffeine consumed, and whether the participants smoked. The research was also restricted to men who were otherwise in good health.

More than one third of the men surveyed reported suffering new onset erectile dysfunction. But those who consumed a diet rich in anthocyanins, flavones and flavanones were less likely to suffer the condition.

Prof Cassidy said: "The top sources of anthocyanins, flavones and flavanones consumed in the US are strawberries, blueberries, red wine, apples, pears, and citrus products."

"We also found that the benefits were strongest among younger men," she added.

The team also looked at other lifestyle factors and found that men who consumed a high intake of anthocyanins and flavanones and who were also physically active had the lowest risk of erectile dysfunction.

Dr Eric Rimm, senior author on the study and a Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, said: "As well as improving sexual health for middle-aged men, there is another important benefit linked to heart health. Erectile dysfunction is often an early barometer of poor vascular function and offers a critical opportunity to intervene and prevent cardiovascular disease, heart attack and even death.

"Men with erectile dysfunction are likely to be highly motivated to make healthier lifestyle choices, such as exercising more and eating the right foods - which would greatly benefit their long-term cardiovascular health as well."

Source:UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

Link between obesity and increased risk of colorectal cancer revealed

 Obesity has long been associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer, but the link has never been understood. Now, a research team led by investigators at Thomas Jefferson University has revealed the biological connection, and in the process, has identified an approved drug that might prevent development of the cancer. Their study is published in Cancer Research.

In mice, investigators found that a high caloric diet turned off expression of a key hormone in the intestine, which led to deactivation of a tumor suppressor pathway. Genetic replacement of that hormone turned the tumor suppressor back on and prevented cancer development -- even when mice continued to eat excess calories.

These findings position the use of the pill linaclotide (Linzess), which is structurally related to the lost hormone, as a therapeutic approach to preventing colorectal cancer in obese patients, says the study's senior author, Scott Waldman, M.D. Ph.D., Chair of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved linaclotide in 2012 to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation as well as chronic idiopathic constipation (chronic constipation from unknown causes).

"Our study suggests that colorectal cancer can be prevented in obese individuals with use of hormone replacement therapy -- much as other diseases associated with hormone deficiency, such as loss of insulin in diabetes, can be treated," Dr. Waldman says.

"These findings came as a surprise -- we and many other researchers worldwide have been trying to disentangle obesity from development of colorectal cancer," he says. "Calories sit in the middle of these two conditions, but the question of what they were doing has been one of the most perplexing and provocative questions in cancer research.

"Now we finally have a big clue as to the origin of colorectal cancer in obese individuals and perhaps in other people as well," says Dr. Waldman, who is also the Samuel MV Hamilton Professor.

The risk of developing colorectal cancer in obese persons is about 50 percent greater, compared to risk in lean people. Scientists had thought the issue was one based on the amount of fat tissue and the associated unknown metabolic processes -- excess calories that fuel cell energy and growth -- but that did not turn out to be the case here, Dr. Waldman says.

Dr. Waldman is already involved in a multisite clinical study testing dose and side effects of linaclotide use in healthy volunteers. Investigators from the National Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic, and Fox Chase Cancer Center are participating.

In the present study, the research team -- which includes investigators from Harvard and Duke Medical Schools -- used genetically engineered mice on different diets to conduct their investigation.

They found that obesity (either from excess fat or carbohydrate consumption, or both) is associated with loss of the hormone guanylin, which is produced in the intestine's epithelium -- the cells lining the organ. The hormone turns on its receptor, guanylyl cyclase C (GUCY2C), which regulates processes underlying regeneration of the intestinal epithelium. "The lining of the intestines is very dynamic and continuously being replaced, and GUCY2C contributes to the choreography of the key processes needed for this regeneration," Dr. Waldman says.

Deactivation of the guanylin gene is common in colorectal cancers in both humans and animals, he says. In that regard, morbidly obese patients exhibit an 80 percent decrease in guanylin gene expression compared to lean people, he says.

But in this study, the researchers discovered the consequences of that loss. They found that the guanylin hormone receptor acts as a growth-controlling tumor suppressor, and without the hormone, the receptor is silenced. "This happens extremely early in development of the cancer," Dr. Waldman says. "When the receptor is silenced, the epithelium becomes dysfunctional, setting up the conditions for cancer development."

The scientists checked their findings by creating mice that carried a transgene that won't allow the guanylin gene to be shut off. "Even in the setting of excess calories, from any diet source, tumors don't develop," he says.

Their experiments demonstrated that obese mice, compared to lean mice, were much more likely to silence the hormone and its receptor. "We believe that if colorectal cancer is going to develop, it will be through this silencing mechanism -- and that it will happen much more frequently in the obese," Dr. Waldman says. Even so, investigators don't yet know the precise molecular mechanism that turns off hormone production.

"The beauty of our findings is that while we know the hormone is lost in the obese mice, its receptors are just sitting there waiting to be switched on. And this study demonstrates that if you can prevent hormone loss, you can also prevent tumor development. These findings suggest that a drug like linaclotide, which acts like guanylin, can activate GUCY2C tumor-suppressing receptors to prevent cancer in obese patients," he says.

The researchers also showed that the effect of excess calorie consumption can be reversed via calorie restriction, even in obese mice. "The challenges of lifestyle modification notwithstanding, our observations suggest that calorie restriction can reconstitute guanylin expression," Dr. Waldman says. "This may be an effective strategy to prevent colon cancer in the obese."

Source:THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY

Understanding Your Gut & Ways To Optimize Its Health

Each part of the body plays a significant role in how we function on a physical, mental and spiritual level. We hear aabout brains and hearts for instance. “Think with your brain,” and “Love with your heart” are common phrases we all know and perhaps say regularly. Sayings surrounding the gut are also common, but do you know why?

You’ve surely heard the phrase, “I’ve got a gut feeling” before, and undoubtedly there’s been a time in your life when nervousness has caused the sensation of butterflies in your stomach. This is because your gut, much like your brain, can affect your mood. Because of this, your overall wellbeing depends on treating it properly.

What Is Your Gut?

The “gut” is your gastrointestinal tract, which is a long tube that begins at the mouth and ends at the anus. In charge of digestion, the gut is also home to the body’s second brain, known as the enteric nervous system. The ENS is complete with a matching number of nerve cells as the spinal cord in its entirety, and also like the brain, it both sends as well as receives nerve impulses, documents happenings that affect the body, and even reciprocates to emotional cues.

How The Gut Rules

While we used to believe that the brain worked to tell the ENS what to do, recent evidence has suggested that the gut is doing the majority of the outreach to keep the communication with the brain strong. In other words, the brain doesn’t just notice the bacteria of the gut, but it can actually have an impact on how we view our surroundings, and even on our mood.

This is why it is so important that your gut flora is as healthy as can be. But how can you know? There are a variety of indicators that can help you to understand if you need to be treating it better.

How To Know If Your Gut Needs A Health Boost

There are a variety of ways to tell if your gut health is not optimum. Here are four of the biggest ones:

1. Digestive issues such as bloating, gas, diarrhea, heartburn/acid reflux

This is probably the most apparent one, but before you reach for pills to alleviate the symptoms, consider getting to the root of the problem first, as these symptoms could be trying to inform you that your gut health is out of whack. The gut bacteria naturally produces gas, but when it becomes too excessive, it could be the result of the gut lacking proper acid needed to break down protein, since, when this happens, it ferments and decays.

2. A vitamin deficiency

In order for your digestive system to function properly, it needs the essential vitamins A, C, D and B. In most cases, you can simply get them through your diet. Find out which foods will give you the best source of each one, and perhaps you’ll quickly be able to pinpoint what you’re deficient in.

3. Mental health issues like anxiety, depression, mood swings, OCD

Because the gut microbiota has an impact on the body’s level of serotonin, your mental health can be at risk when your health is not at its best.

4.  Skin conditions like acne, eczema, and rosacea

It’s easy for us to play off skin conditions as something we just have to live with or get through during a period of our lives, but truly, our bodies work diligently to inform us that something’s up. There have been many studies linking gut health to skin issues, and as far back as 1930, there has been evidence linking how the health of the gut, the brain, and the skin are all related.

What You Can Do To Improve Your Gut Health

In order to maintain the correct balance of bacteria in your digestive tract, you’ll want to follow through with some things:

1. Avoid toxins

Because bad bacteria thrives on sugar, you’ll want to be mindful of your food choices. Steer clear of refined sugars and high fructose corn syrup. You should also limit your consumption of starches, and you should be mindful of how you prepare your grains (think: soaking, sprouting, and fermenting).

2. Eliminate unhealthy oils

Because overconsumption of Omega-6 fatty acids can trigger inflammation and other digestive issues, a good place to start is avoiding yellow seed-based oils such as corn oil, soybean oil, vegetable oil, and canola oil.

3. Stay away from trans fats

Studies have found a link between gut diseases and trans fats, so avoid partially-hydrogenated oils and foods fried in the unhealthy oils discussed above.

4. Consume fermented foods

Aside from warding off bad bacteria, it’s important to promote good gut bacteria as well. This means incorporating fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, lacto-fermented fruits and vegetables, and non-pasteurized yogurt, cheese, and kefir into your diet.

5. Manage your stress

Long ago, Hippocrates said “all diseases begin in the gut,” and stress has been found to wreak havoc here. One study published in the Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found that stress causes negative effects on intestinal microflora, changes in gastrointestinal secretion, an increase in visceral perception, and more. And Harvard researchers noted that, “Psychology combines with physical factors to cause pain and other bowel symptoms. Psycho social factors influence the actual physiology of the gut, as well as symptoms. In other words, stress (or depression or other psychological factors) can affect movement and contractions of the GI tract, cause inflammation, or make you more susceptible to infection.”

Fascinating 1930’s Pharmacist Map of Herbal Cures Released To Public

“It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.”  

The quote above comes from Dr. Marcia Angell, a physician and longtime Editor in Chief of the New England Medical Journal. She is one of many physicians who have held prominent positions in the field of mainstream medicine to express this disturbing fact — that pharmaceutical companies continually distort medical science in order to push their products en masse. Another recent example comes from Dr, Richard Horton, the Editor in Chief of The Lancet, who stated that “much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue.”  Arnold Seymour Relman, Harvard Professor of Medicine and Former Editor-in-Chief of the New England Medical Journal, has also made the reality of this corruption abundantly clear:

The medical profession is being bought by the pharmaceutical industry, not only in terms of the practice of medicine, but also in terms of teaching and research. The academic institutions of this country are allowing themselves to be the paid agents of the pharmaceutical industry. I think it’s disgraceful.   

Something Important To Remember About Herbal and Natural Cures

Herbal cures are nothing to scoff at. There is a reason why 25 percent of the active ingredients in cancer drugs are found only in the Amazon (despite the fact that only 10 percent of its plants have even been studied for their medicinal properties.)

And herbs are not the only natural medicines we should be taking note of, as hundreds (if not thousands) of studies have been conducted examining the healing potential of various foods/plants on multiple diseases. For example, according to studies published  in Life Sciences, Cancer Letters, andAnticancer Drugs, artemesinin, a derivative of the wormwood plant commonly used in Chinese medicine, can kill off  cancer cells and do it at a rate of 12,000 cancer cells for every healthy cell.  

Another example could be bitter melon juice, which was shown to kill pancreatic cancer cells in vitroand in mice in a study done by the University of Colorado. Considering the results were seen in both in vitro and in vivo tests, the effectiveness of bitter melon juice in treating pancreatic cancer, and potentially other cancers, at a clinical level is worth considering, and suggestive of the potential for other natural derivatives to serve a similar function. (source)

I can think of many more such examples. There exist plenty of studies which show very promising results both in vitro and in vivo — studies in which both the authors and their remarkable results recommend commencement of clinical trials. So why no clinical trials?

The reality is, such trials are very expensive, making studying the beneficial effects of these plants, herbs, and foods difficult for researchers to do because they lack proper funding. Clinical trials are so costly that nearly all end up funded by pharmaceutical companies. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies are not interesting in funding clinical trials for substances that do not come in manufactured drug form. Basically, pharmaceutical companies fund research and clinical trials for the drugs they manufacture, and nothing else. It’s important to remember that, unlike pharmaceutical grade products, things found in nature cannot be patented. Therefore it is not in the best interests of pharmaceutical companies to fund this type of research, despite all of the promising results that have emerged from various independent studies.

Here is a clip of Dr. Peter Rost, a former vice president of Pfizer, explaining the problem.

The Map

The map below depicts different plant species that grew in each state of the United States in the 1930’s. It was printed by the National Wholesale Druggists’ Association, and serves as a fascinating reminder that, in our not-so-distant past, medicine was one hundred percent natural. Different herbs and plants were prescribed for different diseases, and people knew that healing takes time. When the 1938 Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act was passed, however, the landscape of medicine changed, and a federal regulation was put into place to govern the production of new medicines. The pharmaceutical industry completely took over, and our knowledge of herbal medicines was lost and shunned. As a result of these regulatory changes, medicine relying on synthetic chemistry took over, and pharmacists lost the ability to prepare medicine straight from the earth.

Today we have a system that relies on patented chemicals, and studies warranting the need to look into this type of thing, and the amount of evidence that justifies clinical trials is still not enough because again, funding is not available

Research Exposes Alarming Truths About What Regular Computer Screen Exposure Does To Your Eyes

As someone growing up in the Information Age, I will readily admit that I have loved every moment of the advancements — mostly because they have made my schooling, my job and my overall life easier. Gone are the days of waiting for what seems hours for a computer to start up, where, once it did eventually make its way to the home screen, you could barely get anything to open because of all the viruses from your seemingly harmless downloads. Remember dial-up Internet? Many of us have been given the opportunity to access broadband these days, making all the information we could ever desire a mere click away (as opposed to minutes).

Computers used to be these insanely bulky contraptions that almost made you wonder if there were some tiny human lurking inside of them that was really doing all the dirty work. Today, I have this slip of a laptop that is so light and airy I can practically go for a run with it.

I’m also the type of person who feels overwhelmed, if not saddened by some of these advancements, too. Mostly because I feel like we are getting further and further away from nature, holed up in rooms where all we see is a screen for hours on end. This is why it is no surprise to me that, in recent news, it’s been found that computer screens are affecting our health in strange and detrimental ways.

I remember when the amount of computer screen time I clocked was measured by a 60-minute middle school class once a week, where I spent the majority of my time trying to understand the foreign thing in front of me. Then it moved to Saturday mornings at home trying to play Solitaire. Eventually, it became a bidding war between family members to get in some screen time after work and school each night, which some days gave me an hour to talk to my friends on AOL, and other times zero because I was mean to my sister and was banned from using any technology.

Today, it’s pretty intense. And not just for me. In fact, almost 90 percent of Americans are on their devices for at least two hours a day. Even more absurd is that 70 percent of us are attached to multiple screens at the same time. We live in a world ruled by digital devices like smart phones, laptops, and tablets — and it’s paying a price, with 65 percent of people reporting physical symptoms of using them. These findings come from a new survey by the Vision Council.

The survey, which polled more than 10,000 adults, discovered an alarming amount of side effects, including digital eye strain, which is most prominent in people in their twenties. Justin Bazan, who is an optometrist and medical adviser to The Vision Council, explained, “What we’re finding is that Millennials especially are very comfortable working on multiple screens and multiple devices.”

There’s even a name for it: Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), which the American Optometric Association (AOA) defines as: “the complex of eye and vision problems related to near work which are experienced during, or related to, computer use.”

Here’s a look at some of the symptoms:

Dry, Irritated Eyes

What happens when you have a staring contest? Your eyes experience a burning sensation that you fight off for as long as you can before one of you eventually gives in and blinks. Clocking extensive amounts of screen time is much like this. You blink much less frequently when you’re staring at your digital device due to the distance (eight to 12 inches) between your eyes and your screen. When you blink less, the eye surface dries out and experiences irritation.

“The screen should be at or just beyond an arm’s length away (about 20 to 26 inches) to give the eyes a comfortable focusing distance,” notes the Scheie Eye Institute at Penn Medical Center.

Blurred Vision

Blue light has been at the forefront of the controversy surrounding our affection for staring at screens.  Similar to UV light, studies have found that it can wreak havoc on your retinal cells, which are responsible for producing our vision.

Headaches

Headaches can be uncomfortable and sometimes entirely intolerable. But often times, they can also be avoidable by taking care of our wellbeing. They’re thought to be a symptom of CVS due to the brightness and contrast of the monitor, which can produce an indirect glare that strains the eyes.

Neck Or Back Pain

From the time we’re kids to the time we’re taking up yoga classes, we’re being told to elongate our spines, since many of us have a nasty habit of hunching over. The reason it’s so important to be upright is because our spines aren’t meant for such a curvature, and the result of habitual hunching can causeneck and back pain. When we’re sitting at our computer desk, we’re often slumping as a result of the direction of our eyes, which is downward.

Some Solutions?

Limit your screen time is an obvious one. This includes TV’s, cell phones, tablets and computers.

Especially later in the day, use programs like f.lux to block the blue light coming from your screen. This not only helps your eyes but also helps you sleep by telling your brain later in the day that “it’s not day time.” Blue light from our screens tell our brains it’s day time even when it’s not, making it harder for us to produce chemicals that help us sleep.

Take regular breaks and avoid looking at things on screens that are constantly straining your view. You will notice you squint when looking at these thing

Source:CE