QualityCounts.com Newsletter of 7/17/02

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The Truth About Hormones - Time Magazine, 7/22/02 - "Some physicians say they are not going to change things in their practice at all and will be as proactive for HRT as they've ever been," he says. "Others say this will change their thinking dramatically." - Also see Newsweek's take.

Vitamin E May Help Keep People Sharp in Old Age - ABC News, 7/17/02 - "The researchers theorized that vitamin E, an antioxidant, may counteract the damage done to brain cells by free radicals, which are byproducts of normal body processes that can damage tissue and have been linked to disease ... The group who reported the highest intakes of vitamin E had a slower decline in mental function than those whose vitamin E intake was lowest ... The team recently reported similar findings for vitamin E and Alzheimer's disease. High intake of the nutrient was linked to a 70% reduction in the risk of developing the disease during a 4-year period"

Patients Can Help Doctors Improve Cancer Detection - ABC News, 7/16/02 - "a diet high in fat and low in fiber can increase the risk of colon cancer. Symptoms of illness include bleeding from the rectum, diarrhea or constipation lasting more than a few weeks, pain or a lump in the abdomen and unexplained tiredness"

Estrogen Hormone Therapy Ups Risk of Ovarian Cancer - ABC News, 7/16/02 - "Those who took estrogen for at least 10 years were twice as likely to develop ovarian cancer and those who used the drugs for 20 or more years were three times as likely to develop ovarian cancer as those who did not take the hormone ... the jury is still out on whether estrogen/progestin combinations can have an impact on ovarian cancer risk"

Nourish your birthday suit - MSNBC, 7/15/02 - "Researchers say premature aging of skin and skin cancer seem to involve sun damage from ultraviolet light, which creates highly reactive substances, called “free radicals,” that damage cell proteins and DNA. Theoretically, antioxidants like beta-carotene and other carotenoids can stabilize free radicals and end the damaging chain reactions they start ... carotenoid supplements raised carotenoid levels in the skin — and reduced skin reddening in response to ultraviolet light" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc"), VitaminShoppe and Vitacost. Also see my page on wrinkles. Beta-carotene is just one of over 600 carotenoids and some researchers feel that taking mega-doses of just one carotenoid can cause a deficiency of the others. I'd stay with mixed carotenoids.

Hormone Replacement: What Now for Women? - Dr. Weil, 7/15/02 - "You can protect against bone loss with weight bearing exercise and strength training, by making sure you get 1,500 mg of calcium plus 400 IU of vitamin D daily, by not smoking and minimizing your intake of caffeine, sodas, and excessive protein. If you’ve already lost bone, Evista (raloxifene) the first of a new generation of drugs -- selective estrogen receptor modifiers, or SERMs – seems to protect against bone loss while actually reducing the risk of breast cancer ... Many women get relief from hot flashes and other menopausal discomforts with black cohosh (Cimifiuga racemosa) plus 800 IUs of Vitamin E daily"

Heart Group Issues Prevention Guide - ABC News, 7/15/02 - "when a patient turns 40, doctors should start calculating his or her estimated risk of developing cardiovascular disease within the next 10 years ... estimates should be repeated at least every 5 years after age 40 and in younger patients with several cardiovascular risk factors ... Everyone should know what their risk is and talk with their physician about what they can do to reduce it ... The panel advises patients not to smoke, avoid secondhand smoke, eat a healthy diet, keep weight under control and get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise on most, if not all, days ... strive to keep blood pressure below 140/90 ... For people with no more than one cardiovascular risk factor, levels of LDL, the "bad" form of cholesterol, should be kept under 160 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL), according to the guidelines. The goal should be lower for people at higher risk ... People with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease are advised to take a low dose--75 mg to 160 mg--of aspirin each day"

FDA Warns of Chemical in Plastic - ABC News, 7/15/02 - "The chemical, called DEHP, can leach from the plastic into certain liquids, especially fat-containing ones like blood. Studies of young animals show the chemical can affect testicle development and production of normal sperm ... There's no proof DEHP actually harms humans"

Back when electric can openers were popular, I never bought one because you couldn't but it in the dishwasher and I was cautious of what was probably growing on the cutting edge. I saw the following segment on the local news and tracked down the article. It agrees and claims that the dirtiest thing in the house is the can opener. You'd get less germs by cutting lettuce on the toilet seat.

Negative Results in Antioxidant-Heart Study Challenged: A Healthnotes Newswire Opinion - New Hope Natural Media, 7/11/02 - "Nutrients work in the body as a team, and all of them must be present in adequate amounts in order to promote good health. If magnesium, for example, were the weakest link in the nutritional chain, one would not expect antioxidants to do much good until the magnesium deficiency was corrected ... Rather than testing only one or a few nutrients at a time, researchers should use a supplement that contains all of the nutrients known to promote heart health" - Some of my concerns: All the vitamin E studies I've read have only used the alpha tocopherol and taking only the alpha has been shown to significantly lower the gamma tocopherol. I also feel that the studies using only beta carotene are pointless. Beta carotene is just one of over 600 carotenoids and many researchers believe that taking mega doses of just one carotenoid can cause of deficiency of the others.

Many unaware of obesity-cancer link - MSNBC, 7/11/02 - "Being overweight accounts for up to a third of all cases of cancer, but most of the U.S. public does not realize this ... obesity is associated with a higher risk of colon, breast and perhaps other cancers ... Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in developed countries, but cancer comes in second, killing more than 500,000 Americans a year. After lung cancer — caused almost exclusively by smoking — breast, prostate and colon cancer are the biggest cancer killers"

Depression Drug [bupropion SR] May Aid Weight - ABC News, 7/10/02 - "Those on the higher dose of bupropion lost 10 percent of their body weight compared with 7 percent for those on the lower dosage. Those who took the dummy pill lost about 5 percent of their body weight ... Anderson said the drug, which has limited side effects like dry mouth and diarrhea, reduces the flow of behavioral hormones norepinephrine and dopamine to the brain, helping to reduce the urge to eat" - Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that last statement is incorrect. The way I understand it, bupropion inhibits the re-absorption of norepinephrine and dopamine, causing a larger amount of norepinephrine and dopamine to remain in the brain. Plus that would make more sense (see the below bullet). However, it would be scary if the president of the American Obesity Association didn't know that. Bupropion is sold by my affiliates under the brand name of Zyban.

Green Tea Cancer Benefits Detailed - USA Today, 7/9/02 - "polyphenols in green tea help eliminate free radicals ... Hsu discovered the polyphenols actually separate healthy cells containing the P-57 protein from cancer cells, which lack the protein. While the healthy cells are sent to safety, the polyphenols attack the cancer cells ... The polyphenols go after the cancer cells' mitochondria, the main energy source in cells. The destruction of the mitochondria weakens the cancer cells, and eventually leads to their death" - see iHerb (discount code "qc"), VitaminShoppe and Vitacost green tea extracts.

Ephedra-Caffeine Combo Cleared - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 7/02 - "The combination of ephedra and caffeine is safe and effective for weight loss, according to research published in the May 2002 issue of the International Journal of Obesity."

Farmed Salmon Found Higher in Pollutants - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 7/02 - "Salmon raised in ocean net pens and fed high-fat diets of concentrated fishmeal pellets contain worrying levels of toxic chemicals and could pose a health risk to humans, especially the young and old or those with compromised immune systems"