REPORTING POINT 10/09
HEALTH NEWS
“Live healthy...Live well”
Dedicated to providing pertinent information on health, fitness, and nutrition to foster a culture of wellness among Southwest Airlines flight crews and their families.
by Larry Kline
LIMIT SELENIUM INTAKE – according to studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, people who supplemented with 200 micrograms of selenium daily for nearly 8 years had a much greater risk of type-2 diabetes. The scientists believe that excess selenium can affect how the body metabolizes sugar. Men’s Health 3/08.
LOSING BELLY FAT – five cups of green tea every day could help you shed twice as much weight, most of it around the middle, according to a Journal of Nutrition study. Researchers also found that people who had sports drinks with green tea for 12 weeks lowered their levels of triglycerides, a blood fat linked to heart disease.
Catechins (the antioxidants in the tea) are thought to boost energy and enhance fat-burning, and they may influence body composition. Health 6/09.
KEEP THE PEEL – apple peels seem to have an anti-cancer effect, according to research at Cornell University. The researchers identified a dozen compounds (triterpenoids) that inhibit or kill human cancer cells in laboratory tests. When the peel is removed from fruits and vegetables, many healthy compounds and nutrients are lost as the peel is a concentrated source of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 10/07.
FIGHT DIABETES WITH HEALTHY FAT – consuming extra-virgin olive oil can help keep blood sugar in check. A Spanish study showed people who ate bread drizzled with olive oil experienced a significantly smaller spike in blood sugar than they did after eating bread with butter, margarine, or marmalade.
Olive oil contains monounsaturated fat, which causes the small intestine to produce a protein that boosts insulin. Adding olive oil to starchy carbohydrates like bread or baked potatoes allows the body to process the carbs slower, limiting the insulin “spike.”
If you are newly diagnosed with diabetes or want to minimize your risk of the disease, exercise is the single most underutilized behavior that can make a difference – just walking 30 minutes a day most days can prevent pre-diabetes from graduating to diabetes.
Many people with the disease can make vast improvements by just eating breakfast, consuming small meals throughout the day and giving up regular soda. Men’s Health 3/08, USA Today 11-6-08.
IS ASPARTAME SAFE? – Every few months, an article will appear online or in the news questioning the safety of aspartame. Upon further investigation regarding the origin of these concerns, you will often find they are based on two studies completed by Soffritti and published by the European Ramazzini Foundation in Italy in 2005 and 2006. Here is a summary of Soffritti studies:
The 2005 study found an increased incidence of cancer (lymphoma and leukemia) in female rats at doses of 0.4 to 10 times the ADI, acceptable daily intake. European ADI for aspartame is 40 mg/kg/day and the U.S. ADI is 50 mg/kg/day. For example, using the 40 mg/kg/day marker: a 150 pound male would have to consume ten 12-oz diet sodas or 42 4-oz. servings of diet Jell-O or 97 packets of sweetener per day.
Of note, in the 2005 study, males taking 0.4 times the ADI for aspartame had a lower incidence of leukemia and lymphomas than the non-aspartame group. They did have higher incidence at 10 times the ADI.
The 2006 Soffritti study found similar results as those seen with the 2005 study only this study found an increase in kidney cancers as well.
Subsequent scientific responses to the Soffritti studies:
In April 2009, the world renowned European Safety Authority Panel Group found the Soffritti studies were flawed and these studies did not use scientific methods; they found no increase incidence of cancer risk.
In September 2007, the Critical Reviews of Toxicology published a review conducted by multiple international experts in the fields of toxicology, epidemiology, pathology, and metabolic disorders. This group reviewed over 500 aspartame studies and found that even the highest aspartame users were well below the ADI and no increase in cancer risk was found.
Further, in May, 2007 the FDA reviewed the Soffritti studies and found multiple flaws in the design, study procedures, and interpretations of the results. When the FDA asked the Ramazzini Foundation to provide supporting scientific evidence for the results they reported, the Foundation could not provide any.
A government-funded study with the National Cancer Institute in May, 2006, found after reviewing the aspartame intake and medical status of 500,000 adults between the ages of 50 and 71, from the years 1995-2000, no increase in cancer risk was identified with any aspartame users.
CONCLUSION
Aspartame is one of the most extensively studied products used by the general population today. Current scientific evidence shows that there is no increase in the risk of cancer with aspartame use. Christine Kline, R.D.
“AIRBORNE” AND COLDS – the maker of the hugely popular effervescent tablet, sold as a vitamin/herbal supplement to prevent or treat colds, has agreed to pay $30 million to settle FTC charges that it does not have evidence to back up its advertising claims. As a result of the lawsuits and settlement, the company has changed its claim – the words “colds” has disappeared from the ads and packaging, which now simply say that the tablets ”support the immune system” – claims that do not have to be substantiated by scientific evidence. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 11/08.
CUT BREAST CANCER DEATH RISK IN HALF – nearly 40,000 women die every year from breast cancer, and 180,000 will be newly diagnosed this year. There is a simple way to lower the risk of death from this disease: exercise. Five hours a week of walking (or any moderate aerobic workout) reduces the risk by more than half, according to a new study from the University of South Carolina. Just 20 minutes a day cuts the risk by a third.
The researchers call their study, involving more than 14,000 women, the first to objectively connect fitness levels and the risk of dying from breast cancer. Health 6/09.
SELENIUM – many people take selenium for reducing the risk of heart disease (and other hoped-for benefits), but there has been little or no evidence to support its effectiveness. A large national analysis has found that Americans with higher blood levels of selenium have modestly worse cholesterol levels as well as higher triglycerides. This does not prove that selenium boosts cholesterol or coronary risk, but a study last year did link selenium supplements to an increased risk of diabetes. High doses of selenium are not recommended. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 11/08.
CALCIUM AND COLORECTAL CANCER – studies by the National Institute of Health show people who consume more calcium and dairy foods have a lower risk of colon cancer. Scientists studied more than 500,000 people aged 50 to 71 and after seven years found that the risk of colorectal cancer was about 20 percent lower in men who consumed the most calcium from food and supplements (roughly 1,500 milligrams a day) than in men who consumed the least (about 500 mgs a day).
The risk was about 30 percent lower in women who consumed the most calcium (about 1,900 mg a day) than in women who consumed the least (roughly 500 mgs a day). Colorectal cancer risk was also lower in men or women who ate the most dairy foods.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Consume about 1,000 mgs a day of calcium if you are 50 or younger and 1,200 megs a day if you are over 50. Assume that you are getting about 300 mgs from each serving of milk, cheese, yogurt, or calcium-fortified orange juice. Take a supplement to get the rest.
Given earlier studies linking high calcium intake to increased risk of prostate cancer, men should try to get no more than 1,200 mgs of calcium a day. Check labels on foods like breakfast cereals and energy bars, which may have added calcium. Nutrition Action Healthletter 6/09.
DON’T MIX ASPIRIN AND IBUPROFEN – if you take low-dose aspirin for your heart, do not take ibuprofen (such as Motrin or Advil) often, since it can block the anti-clotting effect of the aspirin. According to a large study of people with osteoarthritis, this interaction may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes in those at high cardiovascular risk who are taking aspirin.
Naproxen (such as Aleve) appeared to be safe. The FDA has warned about the ibuprofen/aspirin interaction. Occasional use of ibuprofen is okay, the FDA has suggested, but you should not take it during the 8 to 12 hours before or half hour after taking low-dose aspirin. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 10/07.
