QualityCounts.com Newsletter of 8/7/02

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The Role of Leptin in Weight Loss - ABC News, 8/7/02 - "The results have been dramatic. So dramatic that the same individuals who required two seats each for their journey to America will soon return home in the regular one seat each ... These patients, because they have no leptin of their own, have allowed us to see the real effects of the hormone when it is given" - I wouldn't get your hopes up on leptin. See my leptin page. The results on humans were so disappointing on previous studies that I thought they gave up studying it. The people in this study had a defect where they manufactured no leptin at all. They haven't taken leptin long enough to develop leptin resistance, which has been a problem with other studies.

Older Vegetarians Should Take Extra Vitamin B12 - Doctor's Guide, 8/7/02 - "Forty-two percent of participants had definite vitamin B12 deficiency, defined as vitamin B12 level less than 150 pmol/L and MMA ³ 0.4 µmol/L. Another 32.8 percent of the women had possible vitamin B12 deficiency" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost B12 products.

Fish Oil May Augment Atorvastatin As Treatment For Dyslipidemia In Obese, Insulin-Resistant Men - Doctor's Guide, 8/7/02 - "fish oils significantly decreased plasma levels of triglycerides and very low density lipoprotein-apoB, decreased the very low density lipoprotein-apoB secretion rate ... combined treatment with atorvastatin and fish oils decreased very low density lipoprotein-apoB secretion and increased the fractional catabolic rate of apoB in each lipoprotein fraction , as well as the percent conversion of very low density lipoprotein to low density lipoprotein" - See TwinLab TwinEPA at iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost.

Aspirin Lowers Pancreatic Cancer Risk - WebMD, 8/6/02 - "A new study shows regular use of aspirin might lower your risk of one of the deadliest forms of cancer ... women who used aspirin cut their risk of developing pancreatic cancer nearly in half ... the more aspirin use a woman reported, the less likely she was to develop pancreatic cancer ... Other NSAIDs did not have the same effect"

Mental Aerobics, Diet to Stave Off 'Senior Moments' - ABC News, 8/6/02 - "Genetics is only about a third of what predicts brain aging. The other two thirds has to do with our environment and lifestyle choices that we make ... Alzheimer's disease, or vascular dementia, are the end result of this process of brain aging ... Mental aerobics could be anything from doing crossword puzzles and writing with your left hand if you are right handed or learning a language ... He also recommends physical exercise, a low-fat diet and eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, avocados, walnuts and brazil nuts, and fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants ... Your body pumps out stress hormones like cortisone that have a negative impact on the brain memory centers"

Sunlight, A Cancer Protector In The Guise Of A Villain? - Intelihealth, 8/6/02 - "Their theory was that vitamin D, which the skin produces when exposed to sunshine, somehow prevents the growth of malignant cells ... researchers are looking into vitamin D as a possible remedy. Clinical trials in people are now under way, testing whether the vitamin or similar compounds can treat tumors or bolster chemotherapy"

Inflammation May Be Worse For the Heart Than Cholesterol - ABC News, 8/5/02 - "the evidence has become overwhelming that inflammation hidden deep in the body is a common trigger of heart attacks, even when clogging in the arteries is minimal ... Inflammation can be measured with a generic $10 test that looks for high levels of a chemical called C-reactive protein ... many people ordinarily considered at low risk will probably be put on statin drugs, which lower inflammation as well as cholesterol ... those with high levels of C-reactive protein have twice the risk of people with elevated cholesterol ... inflammation can be readily lowered in several ways. One of the most powerful is losing weight. Exercise also helps, as does moderate alcohol intake, giving up smoking and lowering blood pressure" - Note: Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin. See VitaminShoppe red yeast rice products. Also, see my inflammation page for other ways to reduce it such as curcumin, aspirin, omega-3, enzymes, vitamin E and soy.

Funding Affects Researchers' 'Spin' on Results - ABC News, 8/2/02 - "conclusions of studies were far more likely to show a positive result from the experimental intervention if the study was funded by a for-profit organization ... The interesting thing was that it was only when they were funded by a profit organization alone. If someone else--a nonprofit organization--was involved, somehow, then, the association was not there ... The analysis should also serve as a reminder for readers to take conclusions with a grain of salt"

Are there any side effects to using the estrogen ring - Dr. Weil, 8/2/02 - "clinical trials showed only mild and transient vaginal discomfort, irritation or abdominal pain. Of more concern to some women is whether estrogen from the ring (and the creams) can be absorbed into your bloodstream and carried elsewhere in the body. This may not be a major problem. Studies have shown that when the vaginal lining has thickened in response to the hormone, it becomes more difficult to penetrate, reducing absorption of topical estrogen into the body"

Hormone Mix May Hold Key to HRT Risks - ABC News, 8/2/02 - "The different formulations have different metabolic effects on the tissues where they act ... their findings are relevant only to the particular products and formulations used, not to the whole HRT class"

For men on testosterone replacement, Femara might be a better choice than Arimidex to prevent aromatization. The following research was with women with breast cancer but I would think that response rates and quality of life issues would translate to men:

Study backs use of mammograms - USA Today, 8/1/02 - "Among screened women between 40 and 69, the breast cancer death rate dropped 44% after mammography became routine ... But breast cancer activist Barbara Brenner, executive director of Breast Cancer Action in San Francisco, calls the benefit of early detection "a myth.""

Eating less may extend human life - MSNBC, 8/1/02 - "The biological markers - lower temperature, lower insulin levels and a steady level of a steroid hormone called DHEAS - all occur in restricted-diet rodents that live about 40 percent longer than fellow rodents on a normal diet ... The same biological markers have now been found in men who are living longest in a continuing study in Baltimore on aging"

Low-Carbohydrate, High-Protein Diets Increase Risk Of Kidney Stones And May Raise Bone Loss Risk - Doctor's Guide, 8/1/02 - "acid excretion - a marker for the acid load in the blood - increased as much as 90 percent while subjects were on diets that severely restricted carbohydrates. Levels of urinary citrate, which inhibits kidney stones, fell by almost 25 percent in the group during the six-week study ... People may lose weight on this diet, but this study shows that this is not a healthy way to lose weight ... there was an increased risk of developing kidney stones and a possible increase in the risk of bone loss"

Thymus Protein Effective in Treating Chronic Fatigue - New Hope Natural Media, 8/1/02 - "23 people with CFIDS received 12 mcg of thymic protein A per day by mouth for three months ... Positive changes included a reduction in fatigue, better quality of sleep, less anxiety and depression, and fewer panic attacks" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc"), Vitacost and VitaminShoppe thymus products.

HRT May Help Prevent Endometrial Cancer - ABC News, 8/1/02 - "In the British study of 534 postmenopausal women, reported in the British Medical Journal, none had developed endometrial cancer after five years of treatment. And tissue abnormalities in the wombs of 21 women were reversed"

Excess Weight in Teens Linked to Ovarian Cancer - ABC News, 8/1/02 - "While current weight and weight gain over time were not associated with ovarian cancer, women who reported that they were overweight or obese when they were 18 years old were roughly twice as likely to develop premenopausal ovarian cancer"

Artists, Show Biz Workers at Higher Asthma Risk - ABC News, 8/1/02 - "workers in the entertainment industry had a fivefold increased risk of work-related asthma, and workers in the lodging industry had a fourfold increased risk of work-related wheezing, most likely from exposure to chemicals in cleaning products ... may potentially be caused by their exposure "to chemicals used in art media, stage set production, theatrical make-up and photographic chemicals,""

Fatty Acid Lowers Stroke Risk - WebMD, 8/1/02 - "a fatty acid found in corn, sunflower, and safflower oils and soybeans may help prevent strokes ... the fatty acid known as linoleic acid may reduce the risk of strokes, especially those caused by blood clots ... for every 5% increase in the level of linoleic acid, there was a 28% reduction in the risk of either type of stroke, a 34% drop in the risk of clot-related strokes, and 19% decline in hemorrhagic strokes"

Novel Method of Enhancing Anti-Fat Effects of CLA - Life Extension Magazine, 8/02 - "The results of this study demonstrate that dietary CLA decreases excess fat accumulation by reducing the capacity of adipocytes to store fat. When guarana is added to CLA, there is an additional effect of reduction in adipocyte number, as well as a decrease in adipocyte size. The impact of this finding in preventing obesity is profound ... CLA improves insulin sensitivity ... CLA is not just for fat-loss. Studies show it may help protect against many diseases including atherosclerosis and cancer ... CLA is also able to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer. CLA, as the article went on to say, can be considered a powerful prostate cancer preventative, as well as a partial treatment ... Guarana is an herb that contains a form of caffeine called guaranine, which is 2.5 times stronger than the caffeine found in coffee, tea and soft drinks ... Caffeine accelerates the effectiveness of CLA, thus making CLA a more potent fat burner" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost CLA products and iHerb and Vitacost guarana products.

Ginseng May Help Regulate Blood Glucose - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 8/02 - "Three new studies, performed jointly by researchers at the University of Toronto, St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and the University of Ottawa, show that American ginseng can lower blood-sugar levels in diabetic and nondiabetic patients" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost American ginseng products.

Pycnogenol Helps Hypertension - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 8/02 - "researchers gave 200 mg Pycnogenol to 11 mildly hypertensive patients (average age 50 years) for eight weeks. Patients were in Stage 1 hypertension—a systolic blood pressure range of 140159 mmHg, and/or diastolic blood pressure range of 90 to 99 mmHg ... Pycnogenol reduced the systolic blood pressure to 134 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure to 94 mmHg in study participants ... Our research demonstrates Pycnogenol's ability to elevate the production of nitric oxide in the vessel walls to reduce blood pressure and help decrease hypertensive morbidity and mortality" - See iHerb (5% discount code "qc") and Vitacost grape seed extract/Pycnogenol products. Note: Pycnogenol is a patented product from pine bark. Grape seed extract is the same compound without the patent markup. See The Promise of Pycnogenol.

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