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Tomatoes found to contain nutrient which prevents vascular diseases

January 7, 2011 by ·

They are the most widely produced fruit in the world and now scientists in Japan have discovered that tomatoes contain a nutrient which could tackle the onset of vascular diseases. The research, published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, reveals that an extracted compound, 9-oxo-octadecadienoic, has anti-dyslipidemic affects.

The team led by Dr Teruo Kawada, from Kyoto University and supported by the Research and Development Program for New Bio-industry Initiatives, Japan, focused their research on extracts which tackle dyslipidemia, a condition which is caused by an abnormal amount of lipids, such as cholesterol or fat, in the blood stream.

“Dyslipidemia itself usually causes no symptoms,” said Kawada, “however; it can lead to symptomatic vascular diseases, such as arteriosclerosis and cirrhosis. In order to prevent these diseases it is important to prevent an increased build up of lipids.”

Tomato is already known to contain many compounds beneficial to health. In this study the team analyzed 9-oxo-octadecadienoic acid, to test its potential anti-dyslipidemia properties. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health ·

Consistent Exercise Linked To Lower Risk Of Colon Cancer Death

January 2, 2011 by ·

Consistent exercise is associated with a lower risk of dying from colon cancer, according to a new study led by researchers at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. The study is among the first to show that physical activity can make the disease less deadly.

The Washington University researchers worked with colleagues from the American Cancer Society and examined data from the American Cancer Society Prevention Study II (CPS II) to look at whether changes in physical activity influenced either the incidence of colon cancer diagnosis or the risk of death from the disease.

The CPS II study included more than 150,000 men and women. To determine how exercise affected colon cancer, the researchers compared their levels of physical activity between 1982 and 1997, and linked those activity levels both to the number of colon cancer diagnoses between 1998 and 2005, and to the number of colon cancer deaths that occurred between 1998 and 2006. It turned out that those who exercised consistently for at least 10 years had the lowest risk of colon cancer death. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Exercise, Health & Fitness ·

Kids With Arthritis Have To Battle Disease And Misconceptions

January 1, 2011 by ·

Children with arthritis have a tough enough time coping with the disease, which can be extremely painful and crippling and sometimes forces them to have hip or knee replacements before they reach 20.

But, as if this weren’t enough to deal with, they frequently have to convince others that their disease is real and they are not making it up.

“These kids are on the front line of educating the public,” says Quincey Kirschner, director of education and service with the Arthritis Society of B.C. and Yukon.

“Sometimes they have to argue against misconceptions people have.

“We hear from kids who say, ‘I was called a liar by my friend’s parents. They said kids cannot have arthritis, so I must be lying.’

“Or we have heard kids say, ‘They think I am lazy because I cannot participate in gym class.’” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health Care ·

Alcoholism Risk Linked To Risk For Obesity

December 31, 2010 by ·

Addiction researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a risk for alcoholism also may put individuals at risk for obesity.

The researchers noted that the association between a family history of alcoholism and obesity risk has become more pronounced in recent years. Both men and women with such a family history were more likely to be obese in 2002 than members of that same high-risk group had been in 1992.

“In addiction research, we often look at what we call cross-heritability, which addresses the question of whether the predisposition to one condition also might contribute to other conditions,” says first author Richard A. Grucza, PhD. “For example, alcoholism and drug abuse are cross-heritable. This new study demonstrates a cross-heritability between alcoholism and obesity, but it also says — and this is very important — that some of the risks must be a function of the environment. The environment is what changed between the 1990s and the 2000s. It wasn’t people’s genes.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health & Fitness, Research & Study ·

Kidney Disease Patients: Eat Your Veggies, Reward Your Kidneys

December 26, 2010 by ·

Phosphorous levels plummet in kidney disease patients who stick to a vegetarian diet, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The results suggest that eating vegetables rather than meat can help kidney disease patients avoid accumulating toxic levels of this mineral in their bodies.

Individuals with kidney disease cannot adequately rid the body of phosphorus, which is found in dietary proteins and is a common food additive. Kidney disease patients must limit their phosphorous intake, as high levels of the mineral can lead to heart disease and death. While medical guidelines recommend low phosphorus diets for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), phosphorus content is not listed on food labels.

Sharon Moe, MD (Indiana University School of Medicine and Roudebush Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center) and her colleagues studied the effects of vegetarian and meat-based diets on phosphorous levels in nine patients with CKD. Patients followed a vegetarian or meat-based diet for one week, followed by the opposite diet two-to four- weeks later. Blood and urine tests were performed at the end of each week on both diets. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health Care ·

Drinking 3 Glasses Of Milk Daily Cuts Heart Disease Risk By 18%

December 17, 2010 by ·

Drinking three glasses of milk per day decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 18 percent, say researchers.

Wageningen and Harvard University researchers examined 17 studies from Europe, USA and Japan, and found no link between the consumption of regular or low-fat dairy and any increased risk of heart disease, stroke or total mortality.

“Milk and dairy are the most nutritious and healthy foods available and loaded with naturally occurring nutrients, such as calcium, potassium and protein, to name a few,” said Cindy Schweitzer, Technical Director, Global Dairy Platform.

“It’s about going back to the basics; maintaining a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be a scientific equation,” she said.

An Israeli study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that a higher dairy calcium intake is related to greater diet-induced weight loss. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Health Care ·

Researchers Report Possible HIV Infection Cure; Others Cite Dangers

December 16, 2010 by ·

Researchers in Germany are reporting that they may have cured a man of HIV infection. If true, that would represent a scientific advance, but not necessarily a treatment advance, said researchers familiar with the work.

In the study, published last week online in the journal Blood, researchers at Charite-University Medicine Berlin treated an HIV-infected man who also had acute myeloid leukemia — a cancer of the immune system — by wiping out his own immune system with high-dose chemotherapy and radiation and giving him a stem-cell transplant. Stem cells are immature cells that can mature into blood cells.

At the time of the transplant, which occurred in February 2007, he stopped taking anti-HIV medications. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Disease, Research & Study ·