AIDS deaths worldwide drop as access to drugs improves

"background-image:url('http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/_aA1eMTmSC646WcaqCLpJA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9Mjk1O2NyPTE7Y3c9NDUwO2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0xMjU7cT04NTt3PTE5MA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-07-18T144349Z_1_CBRE86H14X300_RTROPTP_2_USA.JPG');" width

View the Original article

Cinnamon Improves Regulation of Blood Sugar

An analysis of six high quality human studies on cinnamon consumption and blood sugar has confirmed that intake of cinnamon has a beneficial effect on fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). 

The best supplemental form of cinnamon is called Cinnulin PF, a special water-soluble extract originally developed at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  It filters out some components of cinnamon that can be toxic when taken at high doses.  It is also concentrated in the most bioactive compounds in cinnamon called doubly linked Type-A Polymers. 

Cinnamon helps enhance the flow of sugar in metabolism.  It works to improve glucose transport by helping insulin signaling.  Of course, if a person continues to eat too much then it isn’t likely to do much.  However, if one consistently exercises, and follows the Leptin Diet—giving their metabolism a chance—cinnamon is a useful tool that can help correct a stressed-out blood sugar metabolism.

Share:
Supplements that contain cinnamon
Related Entries:

Cinnamon as an Anti-Aging Skin Nutrient
Tumeric (Curcumin) and Cinnamon Lower Insulin and Triglycerides
Cinnamon Extract Improves Antioxidant Function & Blood Sugar
Cinnamon in the Prevention of Type II Diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome
Cinnamon Improves Multiple Genes Relating to Blood Sugar and Fatty Acid Metabolism
Cinnamon Lowers Hemoglobin A1C in Type II Diabetics

Other Weight Loss News

Pulling Data...

View the Original article

Saw Palmetto Improves BPH and Sexual Dysfunction in Men

Swelling and enlargement of the prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH) is typical as men age and is known to accompany sexual dysfunction.  Ironically, medications used to treat BPH have sexual dysfunction as a common adverse side effect.  A new study with 82 men found that 320 mgs of saw palmetto per day not only helps BPH but also significantly improved sexual performance.

A second study also tested 320 mgs of saw palmetto per day for 24 months in 120 men with mild to moderate urinary tract symptoms and BPH.  Statistically significant improvement occurred in urinary flow, BPH symptoms, quality of life, and improved erectile function.

A third study involves a comprehensive review of saw palmetto studies, concluding that saw palmetto is effective for treating urinary flow problems of BPH with an excellent safety profile.  Improvements in erectile function were also noted in a number of the studies.

Saw palmetto has never been studied for erectile function apart from BPH.  However, this array of new information confirms the long-standing use of saw palmetto as a natural and safe option for addressing BPH, without the adverse side effect of diminished sexual performance.  To the contrary, saw palmetto improves sexual performance while helping BPH.  I should also mention that a 2009 cell study demonstrated that saw palmetto also has anti-tumor properties for prostate cancer growth, one more reason to consider adding it to a program for natural male support.

Share:
Supplements that contain saw palmetto
Related Entries:

Gamma Tocotrienol Helps Kill Prostate Cancer Stem Cells
Acetyl-l-carnitine for Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar, and Male Sexual Function
Another Study Linking Obesity to Aggressive Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer & the Androgen Receptor – A Clearer Picture of the Problem
Can Resveratrol Prevent Prostate Cancer?
Prostate Cancer and Zinc – Can Zinc Be Overdone?
Fish Oil Lowers Aggressive Prostate Cancer Risk by 63%

Other Health News

Pulling Data...

View the Original article

New nutrition bar improves metabolic biomarkers linked to cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and anti-oxidant defenses in only two weeks

ScienceDaily (May 10, 2012) — Scientists at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute's (CHORI) Nutrition & Metabolism Center, led by National Medal of Science winner Bruce N. Ames, PhD, have developed a low-calorie fruit-based high fiber vitamin and mineral nutrition bar called the "CHORI-bar" that improves biological indicators (increased HDL-c and glutathione, lowered homocysteine) linked to risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and associated decline in anti-oxidant defenses.

See Also:Health & MedicineDiet and Weight LossNutritionMind & BrainDieting and Weight ControlNutrition ResearchPlants & AnimalsFoodVeterinary MedicineLiving WellReferenceFood groupsHealth benefits of teaLow-carb dietsDietary mineral

The CHORI-bar is intended to help restore optimal nutritional balance in people eating poor diets, and to help transition them to healthier eating habits. The bar is satiating and at only approximately 110 calories per bar, may be helpful in weight reduction programs.

The first research report on the CHORI-bar will appear in the August 2012 FASEB Journal (the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) published online on May 1, 2012.

Low intake of many vitamins and minerals is widespread in the U.S. After years of studying the interactions of vitamins and minerals with metabolic processes, Dr.Ames became convinced that modest deficiencies could be contributing to metabolic imbalances that increase risk of diseases associated with obesity and aging, such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. In 2006, he proposed the Triage Theory that provided a mechanistic rationale connecting modest vitamin/mineral deficiencies with disease (2), which was strongly supported by subsequent analyses (3,4).

In 2003, Dr. Ames and his colleague Mark Shigenaga, PhD, whose research focuses on the impact of food on gut function, embarked on the development of the CHORI-bar, an economical, low calorie, food supplement that could restore metabolic balance. Intestinal health is now widely recognized to be an important determinant of overall health. Food components that benefit gut health, such as certain soluble fibers and polyphenols, also deficient in typical Western diets, were included in the bar along with a number of other ingredients, all aimed at helping to restore optimal nutrition. Dr. Ames assembled a team of scientists and a collaboration was initiated with the Processed Foods Unit at the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service in Albany, Calif. to assist in the production of a tasty and nutritious bar.

Since the project began, a series of bar formulations were developed, and to date 11 small pilot trials were conducted to refine components and improve palatability from an almost inedible start to a tasty bar. Improvements are continuing to expand the number of disease risk biomarkers favorably impacted by the bar.

The FASEB Journal report describes the prototype bar developed in this program and presents results of a 2-week trial in 25 generally healthy adults led by CHORI-bar team member and pediatric cardiologist Michele Mietus-Snyder, MD. The participants varied in ages and BMI and ate two bars each day for 2-weeks. Included in the panel of assays at the beginning and end of the trial, in addition to standard measures of lipids, glucose metabolism, and inflammation, was ion mobility analysis (developed by CHORI Senior Scientist Ronald Krauss, MD, (5)) used to quantify lipoprotein sub-fractions, and a liquid chromatography linked tandem mass-spectrometry (LD/MS/MS) assay (developed by CHORI Associate Staff Scientist Jung Suh, MPH, PhD (6)) to measure thiol compounds and amino acid metabolites. This expanded panel of assays permitted a more in depth look at biomarkers and at clues to mechanisms underlying effects of the CHORI-bar.

Impressively, favorable metabolic changes occurred after only 2-weeks of bar intake, without guidelines as to whether to use the bar as a meal replacement or a supplement. For example, increased HDL cholesterol has been reported after intake of several individual bar ingredients, but at much higher doses than what is present in the bar. The possibility that bar ingredients are acting additively or synergistically is supported by some preliminary evidence.

Two examples from the results of this trial emphasize the fact that, with the right mixture of food components, pharmacological or supraphysiological doses are not needed to positively move metabolism in a healthy direction.

1) It is difficult to both raise HDL and lower homocysteine either pharmacologically or with dietary interventions. "Heart-healthy" diets most consistently linked to an increase in HDL-c are those that emphasize fat quality more than quantity, such as the Mediterranean diet. The CHORI-bar combines aspects of the Mediterranean diet with the most biologically active form of folate (5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate). The latter is expected to bypass the need for high levels of folate required to keep homocysteine at a healthy level in individuals with the TT MTHFR polymorphism, which is present in half the U.S. population.

2) Glutathione is the principal regulator of the cellular redox environment, and is important for preventing oxidative stress. Glutathione declines with age and is low in many diseases. Few drugs and only high doses of certain food constituents have been reported to raise glutathione, but only 2-weeks consumption of the bar was required.

Current research is continuing on several fronts. In addition to its potential to have an impact on public health, the CHORI-bar is a research tool that can elucidate mechanisms by which food components in the bar interact with metabolic pathways to favorably impact disease-relevant biomarkers. Two additional bars have been developed that expand the number of biomarkers improved by the bar to include measures of insulin resistance, inflammation, and additional elements of lipid metabolism, notably LDL cholesterol. Efforts are underway to combine attributes of all 3 bars in a single bar. A series of clinical trials have also been initiated that test the efficacy of the CHORI-bar in improving metabolism in individuals with diseases accompanied by metabolic dysregulation favorably impacted by the bar, including obesity, asthma, and hypertension. And finally, development of additional biomarker assays is underway to expand the classes of metabolic changes that can be detected, such as several different types of DNA damage.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

View the Original article

Student fitness improves with anti-obesity program

Reuters – 32 mins ago New York (Reuters Health) - Obesity rates continue to climb in California schools, but exercise and nutrition programs may be having a positive effect on student health, a new study suggests.

Kids entered fifth grade more obese every year, but they did not gain more weight and their overall fitness improved as they moved to higher grades.

"We accomplished a significant first step and that is to slow obesity," said Dr. William Bommer, a cardiologist at the University of California, Davis, who worked on the study. "But we importantly were not able to reverse it."

The researchers, whose report is published in the American Heart Journal, recorded the fitness gains after California mandated exercise time and healthful eating in public schools across the state in 2005.

While the findings suggest the prevention programs may be helping, they can't prove the programs caused the health improvements.

Obesity is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes and other ailments in children and adults. About 17 percent of children and teens in the United States are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In response to rising obesity trends, California required public schools to provide an average of 20 minutes of physical exercise per day for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade, and 40 minutes for grades six to 12. Schools also had to increase the quality and quantity of health education and could no longer serve high-fat, high-sugar foods and drinks.

Bommer's team tracked data from more than six million students in fifth, seventh and ninth grade from 2003 to 2008, after these measures took effect.

At each grade level, the students took fitness tests which included body mass index (BMI) measurements, endurance runs, push-ups and shoulder stretches. The researchers analyzed those test records for changes in obesity and fitness.

They found some encouraging signs. Though the number of obese kids continued to increase (two percent more children were overweight or obese in 2008 than in 2003), the rate of increase seemed to be slowing.

Obesity rates rose an average of 0.3 percent per year during the study, compared with about 0.8 to 1.7 percent per year in previous national studies.

Students showed small improvements in body fat and weight as they progressed from fifth to seventh to ninth grade. They also got better -- or at least did not get worse -- in physical fitness areas such as abdominal strength, upper body strength and flexibility.

One particular finding defied researchers' expectations: more students entered fifth grade obese every year, however they didn't gain further excess weight between fifth and ninth grades.

"We thought that probably what we'd find was the entrance class was about the same (every year) and kids were gaining weight during the school years," Bommer explained.

Nor did the fifth-graders lose the weight as they progressed through the grade levels. Indeed, Bommer's team attributes the overall rise in rates of obesity and overweight seen among all students during the study period mainly to the rise among the incoming generations of fifth graders.

Further research is needed to determine whether this early obesity develops before kids get to kindergarten or during elementary years, Bommer told Reuters Health, as well as where future interventions could make a difference.

"If you become obese as a student or adolescent, it's very difficult to reverse that obesity when you're an adult," he added.

Dr. Maura Frank, a professor of clinical pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, described the California programs as a model for other states.

"When we work with individual families or schools, if we don't have the support of public policy, nothing can be done," said Frank, who wasn't involved in the study. "It's a prerequisite for change on a population level."

The findings on growing obesity rates among fifth graders are equally important, she told Reuters Health. "It highlights the need to start with interventions earlier," she said.

SOURCE: American Heart Journal, February 2012.

View the Original article