Tuesday April 7, 2009

Omega-3s May Benefit Newborns, Menopausal Women and Obese Individuals
PR Newswire 04-03-09
DENVER, April 2, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (omega-3s), namely EPA and DHA found in seafood and fish oil, are known for their potential heart health benefits, but evidence of other benefits continues to stack up. Enhanced infant brain development, reduced hot flashes in menopausal women and healthier weight loss in obese dieters are newer associations with omega-3 consumption. Research findings on these topics are summarized in the March 2009 Fats of Life and PUFA Newsletters.
A study in Australia examined the effects on neurodevelopment of giving preterm infants more DHA than is usually found in breast milk or preterm formula. When the infants reached 18 months of age, the researchers found that all infants receiving the DHA-rich breast milk were less likely to develop serious mental delay compared with infants receiving standard breast milk.
"Additional DHA offers a simple, economical way to improve infant nutrition and reduce serious mental developmental delays related to preterm delivery," said PUFA Newsletter Editor Joyce Nettleton, D.Sc.
An Italian study showed that providing DHA to healthy infants throughout the first year of life helps them reach some developmental milestones earlier, such as sitting without support. Just 20 milligrams of DHA was enough to make a difference.
EPA proved beneficial to women around the time of menopause. Quebec researchers found that their hot flashes decreased by 55 percent after 8 weeks with EPA consumption.
"Once others confirm these findings, women may have a safe, effective way to ease the distress associated with menopause," Nettleton added.
Obese individuals may also benefit from omega-3s. Spanish researchers found that animals fed omega-3s deposited significantly less fat in their fat tissue and livers, and had much lower production of inflammatory substances. This suggests that increased consumption of omega-3s by obese humans might discourage fat gain and promote healthier fat tissue and liver metabolism. Another study from Spain, Ireland and Iceland found that higher omega-3 intakes by obese individuals on a weight-loss diet might help control their appetite and satiety, promote weight loss and reduce the likelihood of developing insulin resistance.
The quarterly Fats of Life and PUFA Newsletters, sponsored by DSM Nutritional Products, are available for complimentary subscription at www.fatsoflife.com.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8098&Section=Nutrition

The Startling Effects of Going Vegetarian for Just One Day

Huffington Post -  April 2, 2009

I've written extensively on the consequences of eating meat -- on our health, our sense of "right living", and on the environment. It is one of those daily practices that has such a broad and deep effect that I think it merits looking at over and over again, from all the different perspectives. Sometimes, solutions to the world's biggest problems are right in front of us. The following statistics are eye-opening, to say the least.
If everyone went vegetarian just for one day, the U.S. would save:
● 100 billion gallons of water, enough to supply all the homes in New England for almost 4 months;
● 1.5 billion pounds of crops otherwise fed to livestock, enough to feed the state of New Mexico for more than a year;
● 70 million gallons of gas -- enough to fuel all the cars of Canada and Mexico combined with plenty to spare;
● 3 million acres of land, an area more than twice the size of Delaware;
● 33 tons of antibiotics.
If everyone went vegetarian just for one day, the U.S. would prevent:
● Greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 1.2 million tons of CO2, as much as produced by all of France;
● 3 million tons of soil erosion and $70 million in resulting economic damages;
● 4.5 million tons of animal excrement;
● Almost 7 tons of ammonia emissions, a major air pollutant.
My favorite statistic is this: According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads. See how easy it is to make an impact?
Other points:
Globally, we feed 756 million tons of grain to farmed animals. As Princeton bioethicist Peter Singer notes in his new book, if we fed that grain to the 1.4 billion people who are living in abject poverty, each of them would be provided more than half a ton of grain, or about 3 pounds of grain/day -- that's twice the grain they would need to survive. And that doesn't even include the 225 million tons of soy that are produced every year, almost all of which is fed to farmed animals. He writes, "The world is not running out of food. The problem is that we -- the relatively affluent -- have found a way to consume four or five times as much food as would be possible, if we were to eat the crops we grow directly."
A recent United Nations report titled Livestock's Long Shadow concluded that the meat industry causes almost 40% more greenhouse gas emissions than all the world's transportation systems -- that's all the cars, trucks, SUVs, planes and ships in the world combined. The report also concluded that factory farming is one of the biggest contributors to the most serious environmental problems at every level -- local and global.
Researchers at the University of Chicago concluded that switching from standard American diet to a vegan diet is more effective in the fight against global warming than switching from a standard American car to a hybrid.
In its report, the U.N. found that the meat industry causes local and global environmental problems even beyond global warming. It said that the meat industry should be a main focus in every discussion of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortages and pollution, and loss of biodiversity.
Unattributed statistics were calculated from scientific reports by Noam Mohr, a physicist with the New York University Polytechnic Institute.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/134650/
the_startling_effects_of_going_vegetarian_for_just_one_day/

CDC: Rocket fuel chemical found in baby formula
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer 2 hrs 32 mins ago
ATLANTA – Traces of a chemical used in rocket fuel were found in samples of powdered baby formula, and could exceed what's considered a safe dose for adults if mixed with water also contaminated with the ingredient, a government study has found.
The study by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked for the chemical, perchlorate, in different brands of powdered baby formula. It was published last month, but the Environmental Working Group issued a press release Thursday drawing attention to it.
The chemical has turned up in several cities' drinking water supplies. It can occur naturally, but most perchlorate contamination has been tied to defense and aerospace sites.
No tests have ever shown the chemical caused health problems, but scientists have said significant amounts of perchlorate can affect thyroid function. The thyroid helps set the body's metabolism. Thyroid problems can impact fetal and infant brain development.
However, the extent of the risk is hard to assess. The government requires that formula contain iodine, which counteracts perchlorate's effects. The size of the infant and how much formula they consume are other factors that can influence risk.
The study itself sheds little light on how dangerous the perchlorate in baby formula is. "This wasn't a study of health effects," said Dr. Joshua Schier, one of the authors.
The largest amounts of the chemical were in formulas derived from cow's milk, the study said.
The researchers would not disclose the brands of formula they studied. Only a few samples were studied, so it's hard to know if the perchlorate levels would be found in all containers of those brands, a CDC spokesman said.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it was considering setting new limits on the amount of perchlorate that would be acceptable in drinking water. A few states have already set their own limits.
The EPA has checked nearly 4,000 public water supplies serving 10,000 people or more. About 160 of the water systems had detectable levels of perchlorate, and 31 had levels high enough to exceed a new safety level the EPA is considering.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090403/ap_on_he_me/baby_formula_perchlorate

Building a Healthier America

Mclatchy-Tribune News Service. 04-03-09
America's health is failing. Despite unprecedented biomedical achievements, Americans are sicker than they should be and are dying far too young. Shockingly, our children may be the first generation in America to be less healthy and even lead shorter lives than their parents. More than 23 million children, or nearly one in three, are overweight or obese, greatly increasing the odds that they will develop diabetes, heart disease or other disabilities.
Across our nation, preventable diseases and their complications are shortening lives and keeping millions from enjoying life and reaching their full potential at work and in school. Low-income people are especially prone to chronic disease. For example, life expectancy of a resident in Montgomery County, Md., one of the wealthier Washington suburbs, is nine years longer than those living in the urban core.
To improve our health, we believe that reforming our health-care system is essential and urgent. But even if reforms succeed in making a system of high-quality health care available to all Americans, it will fix only a small part of our nation's health problem.
What we eat and drink, how often we exercise, where we live and work, and how we nurture our children matter much more to health than doctors and hospitals. An estimated 60 percent of early deaths are caused by behavioral, social and environmental influences. In comparison, medical care plays a relatively minor role, preventing only 10 percent to 15 percent of early deaths.
To get large improvements in health, and to address the big gaps in health across neighborhoods and socioeconomic groups, everyone in America must take responsibility for healthy decisions for themselves and their families. This can be difficult for each of us to do, especially when not everyone has the same opportunities to make healthy choices. It is hard to eat a healthy diet when no grocery store sells healthy food near your home, as is common in low-income areas. It's a challenge to exercise if your neighborhood is unsafe, or if you don't seem to have time between working, commuting and taking care of the kids.
But it doesn't have to be that way. The Commission to Build a Healthier America, which we co-chair, found many paths to a healthier future in schools, workplaces and communities all around the country. We documented effective ways to improve health through better nutrition, more exercise, improved community infrastructure and, in particular, enhanced early childhood experiences.
Our children need not grow up unhealthy if we act now. The evidence is compelling - interventions in the early years, when children have the best chance of forming healthy behaviors, can provide the foundation for a lifetime of good health. More than 40 years of research tells us that children who participate in high-quality development programs early in life reap many benefits, including short- and long-term health gains and better academic achievement.
Much can also be done at both the personal and community levels to help people lead healthier lives. In fact, people and programs across the United States have found effective ways to reduce other obstacles to healthy choices.
The Pennsylvania state legislature, responding to the need for more supermarkets in underserved communities, created the Fresh Food Financing Initiative. The state committed $30 million over three years, and each public dollar was leveraged with three private dollars. The outcomes have been impressive. Thus far, $58 million in spending on 69 projects in 27 counties has not only made following a healthy diet much easier; these public-private initiatives have created or retained 3,900 jobs.
A national non-profit based in Colorado is also helping people improve their health and quality of life through simple and inexpensive Web-based tools that can be applied at home or in schools, workplaces or entire communities. Since 2003, America on the Move has helped 30 million people make positive changes toward healthier lifestyles - showing us that even small changes in eating habits and physical activity can put people on a path to better health.
Programs like these that work have similar characteristics: collaboration, leadership, local adaptability, accountability and continuity in funding. Since there is no one-size-fits-all solution, proven successes must be shared among similar communities, workplaces, schools and families. Public and private leadership is required to implement these proven pathways to better health.
From the standpoint of our economy, our future and our families, the need to improve our health is greater than ever, and the evidence on how to do it is clear. It is time to build a healthier America.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8097&Section=Nutrition

Vitamin D & Colds

Nutrition Action Health Letter 04-03-09
People with low blood levels of vitamin D have a higher risk of colds and other upper respiratory infections, especially if they also have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
In a study of nearly 19,000 people in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the risk of an upper respiratory infection was 36 percent higher in those with low vitamin D levels (less than 10 ng/mL) than in those with normal levels (at least 30 ng/mL). The risk was 24 percent higher in those with intermediate levels (10 to 29 ng/mL).
What to do: While the study needs confirmation, it's worth taking 1,000 IU a day of vitamin D to keep bones strong and possibly cut the risk of cancer, diabetes, and falls.
Arch. Intern. Med. 169: 384, 2009.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8096&Section=Nutrition

Salt Stiffens Arteries

Nutrition Action Health Letter 04-03-09
As if raising blood pressure weren't enough, salt may also make blood vessels stiffer, which is linked to a higher risk of heart disease.
Researchers put 29 overweight and obese people with normal blood pressure on a diet with a typical U.S. sodium intake (3,450 milligrams a day) or a lower-salt intake (1,150 mg a day).
After two weeks on the lower-salt diet, arteries were less stiff than after two weeks on the higher-sodium diet. (Blood pressure was also lower on the lower-salt diet.)
What to do: Cut salt by eating fewer packaged and restaurant foods, buying foods with less sodium, and cooking with less salt.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 89: 485, 2009.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8095&Section=Nutrition

LIFE EXTENSIONS  April 03, 2009
Beneficial olive oil compound identified
In an article published online on April 2, 2009 in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, Portuguese researchers announced the identification of a known antioxidant compound in olives as the major source of the cardiovascular benefits associated with olive oil consumption.
Fatima Paiva-Martins and associates at the Universidade do Porto compared the effects of varying doses of four polyphenolic olive compounds: oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, and two oleuropein aglycones known as 3,4-DHPEA-EA and 3,4-DHPEA-EDA, on red blood cells exposed to oxidative stress via a free radical-producing compound. Oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen, including free radicals, contributes to atherosclerosis via the oxidation of low density lipoprotein cholesterol. The high oxygen content of red blood cells renders them particularly vulnerable to damage or destruction (hemolysis) from oxidative stress.
The research team found that while all of the olive oil compounds showed an ability to help protect red blood cells from oxidative injury, 3,4-DHPEA-EDA emerged as the most effective compound, even at the lowest concentration tested. Hydroxytyrosol was also significantly protective.
“For the first time, it was demonstrated that 3,4-DHPEA-EDA, one of the most important olive oil polyphenols, may play a noteworthy protective role against reactive oxygen species-induced oxidative injury in human cells since lower doses of this compound were needed to protect red blood cells in vitro from oxidative mediated hemolysis,” the authors conclude.
"These findings provide the scientific basis for the clear health benefits that have been seen in people who have olive oil in their diet," Dr Paiva-Martins stated. “Now we have identified the importance of these compounds, producers can start to care more about the polyphenolic composition of their oils."
http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2009_04.htm#beneficial-olive-oil-compound-identified

Broccoli sprouts may cut stomach ulcer risk

Nutraingredients.com, 06-Apr-2009

Daily consumption of broccoli sprouts may cut Helicobacter pylori infections, and offer protection against stomach ulcers, and maybe cancer, says a new study.
Japanese men and women with H. pylori infections who consumed 70 grams a day of fresh broccoli sprouts had lower levels of the bacteria after eight weeks than men and women consuming alfalfa sprouts, according to results published in Cancer Prevention Research.
H. pylori is the only bacteria that can survive in the acidic environment of the stomach and it is known to cause peptic ulcers and gastritis.
Infection with H. pylori also causes gastritis, and infected persons are said to have a two to six-fold increased risk of developing mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and gastric cancer compared with uninfected counterparts.
“Broccoli has recently entered the public awareness as a preventive dietary agent. This study supports the emerging evidence that broccoli sprouts may be able to prevent cancer in humans, not just in lab animals,” said researcher Jed Fahey, ScD, from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Dr Fahey is co-founder of Brassica Protection Products LLC (BPP), a company that produces broccoli sprouts under license by Johns Hopkins University, although he had no equity in the company.
Benefits of broccoli
The tissue of cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, contain high levels of the active plant chemicals glucosinolates. These are metabolised by the body into isothiocyanates, which are known to be powerful anti-carcinogens. The main isothiocyanate from broccoli is sulphoraphane.
Broccoli sprouts have previously been shown to reduce blood pressure in rats with hypertension due to the presence of a compound called glucoraphanin (Grn+). Sprouts are the richest source of Grn+, containing up to 50 times more than mature broccoli.
Glucoraphanin, also known as sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS), is the precursor of sulforaphane.
Study details
Fahey and his co-workers recruited 48 Japanese men and women (average age 54.5) infected with H pylori and randomly assigned them to eat 70 grams of fresh broccoli sprouts daily for eight weeks or an equivalent amount of alfalfa sprouts.
After eight weeks the researchers observed significantly lower of H pylori using breath, serum and stool for people in the broccoli sprouts group, while no changes were observed in the alfalfa sprouts group. These results suggested that the broccoli sprouts could reduce but not eradicate the bacteria in the stomach, said the researchers.
Commenting on the mechanism behind the effects, the researchers noted that previous studies have reported that sulforaphane may induce cytoprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory enzymes, while other studies have reported that H pylori and sodium chloride may combine to enhance inflammation of the mucus membrane of the stomach.
“Sulforaphane may be inhibiting this inflammation,” they said.
“The findings in this study strongly suggest that sulforaphane has promise both as an antibacterial agent directed against H. pylori and as a dietary preventive agent against the development of human gastric cancer,” concluded the researchers.
The other researchers were affiliated with Tokyo University of Science, University of Tsukuba, and Johns Hopkins University.
Source: Cancer Prevention Research
April 2009, Volume 2, Issue 4, Pages 353-360
"Dietary Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli Sprouts Reduce Colonization and Attenuate Gastritis in Helicobacter pylori–Infected Mice and Humans"
Authors: A. Yanaka, J.W. Fahey, A. Fukumoto, M. Nakayama, S. Inoue, S. Zhang, M. Tauchi, H. Suzuki, I. Hyodo, M. Yamamoto
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Broccoli-sprouts-may-cut-stomach-ulcer-risk

Natural chemical in liquorice hints at new cancer prevention strategy

Nutraingredients.com, 06-Apr-2009

Opportunities could potentially dovetail for liquorice in the nutraceutical domain with new research from the US suggesting a natural chemical component in this sweet ingredient could offer a new approach to preventing bowel cancer.
Scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, sought to use glycyrrhizic acid, the main sweet-tasting component of liquorice, to inhibit the enzyme 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11-beta-HSD2) that is thought to play a crucial role in bowel cancer growth.
Bowel cancer is the number two and number three killer in the US and the UK respectively.
The potential benefits of liquorice may be related to another enzyme, called cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), which is reported to promote colorectal cancer progression “via the action of the enzyme's inflammatory products, the prostaglandins," wrote Raymond Harris and Ming-Zhi Zhang in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Harris and Zhang – nephrologists who are also members of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center – have been investigating COX-2 regulation in the kidney. They previously found that inhibiting 11-beta-HSD2 in the kidney suppresses COX-2 expression in that organ.
Long use of liquorice
Long before the term 'nutraceutical' entered today's vocabulary, Man has consumed liquorice for thousands of years for ailments ranging from coughs to constipation. But identifying the role liquorice could potentially play in preventing in bowel cancer may pave the way for nutraceutical applications rooted in liquorice’s natural chemical glycyrrhizic acid.
And while inhibiting COX-2 with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen, or with selective COX-2 inhibitors like Vioxx or Celebrex, reduces the number and size of colon polyps in mice and in patients with an inherited predisposition to colon cancer, both types of drugs "cause serious adverse side" effects that limit their utility for chemoprevention. Side effects not witnessed with the liquorice compound.
So in a departure from these treatments, Harris and Zhang investigated the role glycyrrhizic acid could play in inhibiting 11-beta-HSD2.
"The colon is one of the only other organs (besides the kidney) with high expression of 11-beta-HSD2, suggesting that this enzyme might play a role in colorectal cancer progression," wrote the scientists.
"Since studies here and elsewhere have shown the importance of COX-2 and colonic carcinogenesis, we postulated that maybe one of the mechanisms by which the normal colon might prevent excessive expression of COX-2 is by 11-beta-HSD2," said Harris, director of the division.
Natural chemical in liquorice fights cancer progression
The researchers examined expression of 11-beta-HSD2 in human colon polyps and in the colons of mice predisposed to colon cancer. They found that 11-beta-HSD2 was increased in polyps found in both mice and humans and correlated with COX-2 expression and activity.
They then inhibited 11-beta-HSD2 with the natural liquorice component glycyrrhizic acid, and by silencing the gene for 11-beta-HSD2.
"Both treatments inhibited the production of prostaglandin E2 (an inflammatory molecule produced by the COX-2 enzyme) and prevented the development of polyps (adenomas) and tumour growth and metastasis," reported the scientists.
Further, because 11-beta-HSD2 is highly expressed only in kidney and colon, blocking the enzyme produces effects specific to those tissues – unlike NSAIDs, selective COX-2 inhibitors, and steroid treatments that can prevent cancer progression but also cause serious side effects like gastrointestinal irritation, cardiovascular events, and immunosuppression, respectively.
But the researchers noted that even liquorice is not without side effects; long-term consumption can lead to low blood potassium and increases in blood pressure – side effects linked to the inhibition of 11-beta-HSD2.
"These are relatively minor compared to the cardiovascular side effects of COX-2 inhibitors," Harris said. "We didn't see these side effects in the mice we treated…but it would be something to be aware of, and something that could easily be treated with a diuretic."
Harris and colleagues are continuing to investigate the mechanism of 11-beta-HSD2 inhibition. Zhang, an assistant professor of Medicine and of Cancer Biology, also plans to look at the enzyme's role in lung cancer and other tumours.
And although this natural chemical is "an appealing drug lead in itself", the researchers are also working with the Vanderbilt Institute for Chemical Biology to develop more specific and potent inhibitors of 11βHSD2.
"We think we can make an inhibitor that is more specific and has better delivery to the target tissues," said Zhang.
Source: Journal of Clinical Investigation
April 2009, Volume 119, Issue 4
"Inhibition of 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type II selectively blocks the tumor COX-2 pathway and suppresses colon carcinogenesis in mice and humans"
Authors: Ming-Zhi Zhang , R C. Harris
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/
Natural-chemical-in-liquorice-hints-at-new-cancer-prevention-strategy

Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Pregnant Women Linked to Birth Defect

by Reuben Chow, NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) A study recently published in the journal Pediatrics has revealed that women who do not have an adequate intake of vitamin B12 during pregnancy are at greater risk of having a child with a birth abnormality called neural tube defect.

About Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 and Birth Defects

The researchers had noted that folic acid fortification in food had helped to lower the prevalence of neural tube defects by about 50% to 70%. As it was not likely that levels of folic acid added would be increased anymore to further help prevent neural tube defect occurrence, they set out to investigate another modifiable risk factor - vitamin B12. This nutrient was chosen due to the fact that it was metabolically related to folic acid, and also because previous research had suggested that mothers who gave birth to babies affected by the condition tended to have low levels of it.

Details and Findings of Study

For the study, the team looked at data on pregnancy vitamin B12 levels of close to 1,200 Irish women, at a time when food fortification or consumption of vitamin supplements was still uncommon. Three separate groups of women, each having a sub-group of pregnancies hit by neural tube defect and a sub-group which acted as controls, were used. The first group compared with controls women when they had a pregnancy affected by neural tube defect; the second group compared with controls women who had previously been affected by the condition but whose present pregnancy was not; and the third group was similar to the first group.

The researchers found that women whose children had been affected by the said defect had markedly lower levels of vitamin B12 in their blood. This was consistent throughout the three groups. After adjustment, the risk of a woman in the lowest vitamin B12 quartile having a child hit by neural tube defect was two to three times that of a woman in the highest quartile.

Highest risks were found for women who had pregnancy blood vitamin B12 levels of less than 250 ng/L. The study team suggested that, to reduce their risk of having pregnancies affected by neural tube defect, women boost their vitamin B12 levels to above 300 ng/L (or 221 pmol/L) before conceiving. Having sufficient amounts of folic acid and vitamin B12 before getting pregnant is important, because these nutrients seem to be most vital in an embryo's first few days and weeks. And, as about half of all pregnancies are not planned, women of childbearing age are currently advised to consume at least 400 micrograms of folic acid each day.

Findings of another Study in Canada

The findings of this study were mirrored in those of another recent study which was conducted in Canada and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The researchers in the Canadian study had found that the risk of neural tube defects was three times as high in pregnant women whose vitamin B12 levels were in the lower quartile; this applied whether the data was collected before or after folic acid fortification took place in the country. They concluded that their findings suggest vitamin B12 fortification may help cut the rate of neural tube defects more than folic acid fortification alone.

Vegans Are More At Risk of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Vitamin B12 is commonly found in meats, milk, cheese and eggs. As the vitamin does not occur naturally in plant foods, vegans tend to be at higher risk of being deficient in it.

The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) is a non-profit organization which is dedicated to educating the public on vegetarianism and connected issues such as health, nutrition, ecology, ethics and world hunger. According to them, possible sources of vitamin B12 for vegans include certain sources of nutritional yeast, fortified cereals, fortified soy milk, fortified meat analogues (foods made using wheat gluten or soybeans to resemble animal flesh), as well as vitamin B12 supplements. Foods such as tempeh, miso and sea vegetables are sometimes said to have vitamin B12, although they are not considered reliable sources of it.

References

Molloy AM et al. Maternal Vitamin B12 Status and Risk of Neural Tube Defects in a Population With High Neural Tube Defect Prevalence and No Folic Acid Fortification.
Pediatrics 2009;123(3):917-923.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026000.html

Chemicals Used to Disinfect Water Create Dangerous Toxins

by Sherry Baker, NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) If you swim in a pool or drink water from your public water supply, you know the water has been disinfected by chemicals. But this process, which is often called "purifying" water, appears to not make water "pure" for the body. In fact, a recent study by University of Illinois scientists published in the scientific journal Mutation Research shows the chemicals used to treat water we drink and use in swimming pools causes a reaction with organic materials in the water that creates dangerous, cancer-causing toxins known as disinfection by-products (DBPs).

"The reason that you and I can go to a drinking fountain and not be fearful of getting cholera is because we disinfect water in the United States. But the process of disinfecting water with chlorine and chloramines and other types of disinfectants generates a class of compounds in the water that are called disinfection by-products. The disinfectant reacts with the organic material in the water and generates hundreds of different compounds. Some of these are toxic, some can cause birth defects, some are genotoxic, which damage DNA, and some we know are also carcinogenic," University of Illinois geneticist Michael Plewa said in a statement to the media.

A 10-year, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded study headed by Dr. Plewa used specially developed mammalian cell lines to analyze the impact of these compounds. Specifically, the researchers analyzed the cytotoxicity (ability to cause cell death) and DNA genome damage caused by disinfection by-products.

"Our lab has assembled the largest toxicological data base on these emerging new DBPs. And from them we've made two fundamental discoveries that hopefully will aid the U.S. EPA in their regulatory decisions. The two discoveries are somewhat surprising," Dr. Plewa stated.

The first discovery of the University of Illinois research team involved water with naturally high bromine and iodine in it, produced primarily from sea water or underground aquifers most likely linked to ancient sea beds in the past. When this type of water was disinfected with chemicals, DBPs were produced that had iodine atoms attached -- creating a gene harming toxin.

The second discovery revealed a danger from nitrogen-containing DBPs. "Disinfectant by-products that have a nitrogen atom incorporated into the structure are far more toxic and genotoxic, and some even carcinogenic, than those DBPs that don't have nitrogen. And there are no nitrogen-containing DBPs that are currently regulated," Dr. Plewa said in the media statement.

And it isn't only drinking water that can be loaded with danger. Swimming pools and hot tubs are hazardous, too. "You've got all of this organic material called 'people' -- and people sweat and use sunscreen and wear cosmetics that come off in the water. People may urinate in a public pool. Hair falls into the water and then this water is chlorinated. But the water is recycled again and again so the levels of DBPs can be ten-fold higher than what you have in drinking water," Dr. Plewa stated in the press release.

Swimming often results in longer exposure to toxic chemicals that are both absorbed through the skin and inhaled. This could explain previous studies that have revealed higher levels of bladder cancer and asthma in people who are frequent swimmers.

"The big concern that we have is babies in public pools because young children and especially babies are much more susceptible to DNA damage in agents because their bodies are growing and they're replicating DNA like crazy," Dr. Plewa warned.

As a researcher with a National Science Foundation Center called WaterCAMPWS at the University of Illinois, Dr. Plewa is currently working with engineers and chemists to develop new technologies that will disinfect and desalinate water and also remove pharmaceuticals from water without generating by-products that are even more toxic than the compounds trying to be removed. Until new technologies are created to safely disinfect the water in public pools especially, Dr. Plewa urges people to bathe or shower before jumping in for a swim. "It's the organic material that gets in the pool that is disinfected and then recirculated over and over again. That's why we call swimming pools disinfectant by-product reactors. But by public education, by personal behavior, there should be ways that we can reduce the levels of the dissolved organic material that should reduce the level of DBPs," he stated.
http://www.naturalnews.com/025996.html

Myth Busted: Eating Eggs Has Virtually No Effect on Cholesterol Levels

by David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) Eating eggs does not significantly raise the body's cholesterol levels, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Surrey and published in the Nutrition Bulletin of the British Heart Foundation.

The researchers reviewed the results of several different studies on eggs and nutrition, concluding that eggs did not contribute significantly to the body's cholesterol levels. Although eggs are in fact a high-cholesterol food, the researchers note that only one-third of the body's cholesterol comes from dietary sources; the rest is produced by the body from saturated fats. As a consequence, saturated fat intake plays a far more significant role.

"The ingrained misconception linking egg consumption to high blood cholesterol and heart disease must be corrected," researcher Bruce Griffin said. "The amount of saturated fat in our diet exerts an effect on blood cholesterol that is several times greater than the relatively small amounts of dietary cholesterol."

The researchers note that other factors, such as obesity, a sedentary lifestyle or smoking also have greater effects on cholesterol levels or the risk of cardiovascular disease than egg consumption does.

"The UK public does not need to be limiting the number of eggs they eat," Griffin said. "Indeed, they can be encouraged to include them in a healthy diet, as they are one of nature's most nutritionally dense foods."

Up until 2007, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) recommended that people limit their intake of eggs to three per week, as a way of reducing the risk of heart disease. That advice is now considered outdated, however.

"We recommend that eggs can be eaten as part of a balanced diet," said Victoria Taylor of the BHF. "There is cholesterol present in eggs, but this does not usually make a great contribution to your level of blood cholesterol. If you need to reduce your cholesterol level, it is more important that you cut down on the amount of saturated fat in your diet from foods like fatty meat, full fat dairy products, and cakes, biscuits and pastries."
http://www.naturalnews.com/025995.html

Bottled Water Found Contaminated with Medications, Fertilizer, Disinfection Chemicals

by David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) Bottled water across the country contains a wide variety of toxic substances, according to laboratory tests conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

"Our tests strongly indicate that the purity of bottled water cannot be trusted," the study authors write. "Given the industry's refusal to make available data to support their claims of superiority, consumer confidence in the purity of bottled water is simply not justified."

Researchers conducted comprehensive tests at the renowned University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory on 10 leading bottled water brands, purchased from retailers in nine states and the District of Columbia (D.C.). A total of 38 toxic pollutants were detected altogether, with each brand containing an average of eight. Chemicals detected included fluoride, byproducts of chlorine-based disinfection, caffeine, pharmaceutical drugs, fertilizer residue, plasticizers, solvents, fuel propellants, arsenic, other minerals and heavy metals, and radioactive isotopes. Four brands also contained bacteria.

More than a third of the chemicals detected are not regulated by the bottled water industry. Voluntary industry standards regulate the following two-thirds, but water purchased in five states and in D.C. contained levels of some carcinogens in excess of even the industry's standards.

"In other words, this bottled water was chemically indistinguishable from tap water," the authors write. "But with promotional campaigns saturated with images of mountain springs, and prices 1,900 times the price of tap water, consumers are clearly led to believe that they are buying a product that has been purified to a level beyond the water that comes out of the garden hose."

Further analysis at the University of Missouri found that when applied to breast cancer cells, one brand of water led to a 78 percent increase in proliferation rate compared with untreated cells. The addition of estrogen-blocking chemicals noticeably reduced this effect.

"Though this result is considered a modest effect relative to the potency of some other industrial chemicals ... the sheer volume of bottled water people consume elevates the health significance of the finding," the researchers write.

The researchers were unable to determine if estrogen-mimics in the water came from the water itself or had leached out of the plastic bottle.

In accordance with standard scientific practice, the report does not name the brands tested. Exceptions were made for the brands Sam's Choice (Wal-Mart) and Acadia (Giant), however, which contained toxin levels high enough to violate California law.

Samples of both brands tested positive for trihalomethanes, which have been linked to reproductive disorders and cancer. The chemicals form when water disinfectants react with pollution. The water also contained bromodichloromethane, a carcinogen regulated under California law. In response, EWG is preparing a lawsuit against Wal-Mart to require that Sam's Choice water contain the legally required notice: "WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer."

Acadia-brand water is not sold in California.

Bottled water purchased from these brands also exceeded the bottled water industry's voluntary standards.

"The bottled water industry boasts that its internal regulations are stricter than the FDA bottled water regulations," the researchers write, "but voluntary standards that companies are failing to meet are of little use."

EWG notes that while municipal water companies are required to test tap water yearly and disclose the results, there is no comparable requirement for the bottled water industry. Bottled water companies do not have to test their water or reveal the results when they do; they are not even required to tell consumers where the water came from or how it has been treated. A separate EWG survey of 228 bottled water brands found that less than half revealed their water's source or treatment history in their promotional materials.

Other problems with bottled water, EWG says, include its high price (an average of $3.79 per gallon, compared with $0.002 for tap water) and its environmental impacts. In the United States, the manufacture of plastic bottles requires 15 billion barrels of oil per year, the report notes, and only one-fifth of bottles used are even recycled. Many bottled waters are extracted from natural sources such as streams and aquifers, placing an increased strain on those communal resources.

The report recommends that information about the source of all bottled water and any treatment techniques used on it be made available to the public, along with the results of any tests for contamination.

"Currently there is a double standard: Where tap water suppliers provide information to consumers on contaminants, filtration techniques, and source water; bottled water companies do not," the report says. "This double standard must be eliminated immediately; bottled water should conform to the same right-to-know standards as tap water."

Noting that bottled water consumption has doubled in the last decade, the authors recommend that consumers worried about toxins instead use home filtration systems, which cost only about $0.31 per gallon, or even $0.25 per day for a whole-house filter. Whole-house filters also remove contaminants from non-drinking water sources such as showers, preventing toxins from volatizing into the air.

Finally, the authors call for immediate action to protect surface and groundwater sources nationwide.

"Some Americans turn to bottled water in part because they distrust the quality of their tap water," the report says. "And sometimes this is for good reason. Some drinking water (tap and bottled) is grossly polluted at its source -- in rivers, streams, and underground aquifers fouled by decades of wastes that generations of political and business leaders have dismissed, ignored, and left for others to solve."
http://www.naturalnews.com/025993.html

South African GMO Crop Failure Highlights Dangers of Food Supply Domination

by Barbara Minton, NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) Worry is building over the effects of the Food Safety and Modernization Act of 2009, otherwise known as HR 875. This is the bill currently working its way through Congress that would effectively hand over control of America's food supply to such a nefarious giant as Monsanto and its lesser counterparts such as Tyson and Cargill. We have a right to worry, because broad interpretation of this bill reveals its potential to put an end to healthy food in America. Family farms, local growers, organic producers, and even backyard gardeners can all be put out of business by its heavy hand. Yet an even greater threat may be looming at the front end of the controversy over the food supply as harvests of genetically modified foods begin to fail.

GMO corn plants fail to produce kernels

Farmers in South Africa have suffered millions of dollars in lost income due to the failure of their genetically modified (GMO) corn to produce kernels. The three varieties of plants look lush and healthy from the outside, but when the husks were pulled back there are no kernels. Monsanto's GMO corn was planted on 82,000 hectares of farmland, an amount that equals over 202,000 acres. The loss is spread over three South African provinces, and 280 of the 1,000 farmers who planted the corn have reported the lack of kernel development.

Monsanto has blamed the failure on under fertilization processes in the laboratory and attempted to make light of the situation by claiming that only 25% of the Monsanto seeded farms are involved in the loss. But Marian Mayet, environmental activist and director of the Africa Centre for Biosecurity in Johannesburg is not buying it. According to her information, some farms have suffered up to an 80% crop failure. She has demanded an urgent government investigation and an immediate ban on all GMO food. She points out that it is biotechnology that is the failure, and a careless mistake would not affect three different varieties of corn at the same time. The varieties failing to produce kernels were designed with a built-in resistance to Monsanto's weed killers, and were manipulated to increase yields.

Mayet is justifiably upset. Corn is the primary staple food for South Africa's 48 million people.

Apparently Monsanto is upset too. It has offered immediate compensation to all the farmers experiencing crop loss. Damage estimates are being collected buy local farmer cooperatives, and Monsanto is standing by with its checkbook. Locals are saying they are satisfied that Monsanto is doing a good job to protect them. This kind of largesse is uncharacteristic of Monsanto, a company more widely known for its use of strong arm and bullying tactics, and total disregard for people's rights. It implies that Mayet's concerns over the failure of bioengineering may be justified.

Monsanto uses insidious plan to gain control of world food supply

Monsanto has pushed around farmers to the point where they cannot simply refuse to buy Monsanto's GMO seeds. In its insidious efforts to feed its bottom line at the expense of feeding people, Monsanto has established itself in countries often with the help of their governments who approve the planting of their GMO Roundup Ready seeds. Initially farmers save, multiply and sell seeds to other farmers as they always have, and the area planted with GM seed multiplies exponentially. Monsanto sits by and watches this happen without a complaint. Then when the spreading of seeds is nearly complete, Monsanto begins to threaten these farmers and call their use of the GMO seed illegal. It gets the government behind them to enforce patent laws.

Soon farmers who are paying patent royalties complain about those who are not. Monsanto answers by enforcing their patents on everyone. By this time the spread of GMO seed is so pervasive that any farmer who has refused is bound to have a few stray GMO plants in his fields. Monsanto seeks them out and then sues the farmers for patent infringement. Farmers who buy Monsanto's GMO seeds are then required to sign an agreement promising not to save seeds or sell them to other farmers. The result is that farmers must buy new seeds every year, and they must buy them from Monsanto.

Meanwhile in the U.S., Monsanto is taking steps to block access to non GMO seeds. They have bought up seed companies across the Midwest, and have gotten legislators to put through laws that make cleaning, collecting and storing seeds so onerous in terms of fees and paperwork that using normal seeds becomes almost impossible. Laws are proposed that ensure farmers cannot block the planting of GMO seeds even if they contaminate other crops. Ownership of seed cleaning equipment is made illegal by considering it a source of seed contamination. More than 1,500 farmers whose fields have been contaminated by GM seeds have been sued for royalty payments.

Monsanto controls over 90% of the patented seed market

Today there is intense concentration and lack of competition in the patented seed crop industry. Monsanto clearly dominates the playing field, controlling over 90% of the market. There is strong evidence that Monsanto uses various devices to squelch emerging technology that might compete with its patented products. As a result of Monsanto's power grab, small and medium sized farmers have been denied the ability to be competitive and profitable, having to over pay for their patented seeds. Monsanto's near monopoly of the GMO market has given it the power to overcharge farmers and keep new and better technologies from entering the field.

Monsanto is positioned to control legislation in the U.S.

To ensure the perpetuation of its near monopoly, Monsanto is helping to install the right people in the right places. To that end, Michael Taylor, the ex FDA head who approved the use of bovine growth hormone (rBGH), has just become ensconced in the Obama transition team where he may soon be overseeing food safety. He will join already well placed Tom Vilsack, the pro GMO Secretary of Agriculture. As a pair, Taylor and Vilsack, will be in a position to continue the phasing out of small and medium sized farms to make fertile farmland available for the intensive capital accumulation of factory farms, and the phasing in of Monsanto's take over of the entire U.S. food supply.

Passage of the food safety bill will allow Monsanto to continue taking control of farms without any obstacles. Similar laws in the EU have already wiped out 60% of Polish farmers so far. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), a production control system for the food industry, is helping to smooth the way for Monsanto by creating international harmonization of laws. According to an article by Linn Cohen-Cole, "in Kansas alone HACCP wiped out 72 small local meat processors who hadn't had any problems, and vastly lowered the number of inspections to the point where we have over 70 million food borne illnesses a year now."

Cohen-Cole is shocked at the lack of awareness of what is going on by people who support local and sustainable farming. She sees them as excited about an organic White House garden while a food safety bill is being put into law that would literally destroy everything they have been working for. She is hoping groups that support the going green agenda will wake up and join farmers in an effort to block the legislation. She suggests contacting Rosa DeLauro, the woman who sponsored HR 875. DeLauro can be reached at:

Washington Office: Phone 202-225-3661 Fax 202-225-4890
Connecticut Office: Phone 203-562-3718 Fax 203-772-2260

HR 875 is long and tedious reading, and in the style being set by the Obama administration, has probably not been read by the people slated to vote on it. In the face of public outrage, these legislators may not follow through with support for a bill making them targets for their constituents. But legislators are not the only ones who have been conned by the food safety bill.

Just like the Clean Water Act that ensured more contamination of waterways, and the Clean Air Act that ensured rising levels of air pollution, the Food Safety Act bears a name that makes it difficult to resist if you don't know the finer points. After all, who could be against food safety? Anyone standing up for family and healthy living is an easy mark for such deception. This well planned attack on the food supply counts on the ability of liberal and progressive communities to cut their own throats.

It may be that the South African crop failure is the first clue that nature will triumph over the scientists and GMO products will end up self destructing. It is certainly a wake up call to the dangers involved in the domination of the food supply by one company and its varieties of patented GMO seeds. It is something to hope for until one thinks about the widespread starvation that would follow in the wake of such an event. The threat of facing that makes contacting DeLauro a much more appealing way to at least temporarily derail Monsanto's plans.
http://www.naturalnews.com/025992.html

Diabetes Epidemic Skyrockets 90 Percent Over Last Decade

by David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) Diabetes is now being diagnosed at a rate 90 percent higher than it was a decade ago, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 33 states and Puerto Rico.

Between 1995 in 1997, diabetes was being diagnosed at an annual rate of 4.8 new cases per 1,000 people. Between 2005 and 2007, the rate increased to 9.1 new cases per 1,000 people. An overwhelming 90 to 95 percent of these new cases are Type 2 diabetes, which is caused when the body loses its sensitivity to the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin. Type 2 diabetes is strongly linked to obesity, and health experts attribute the rising rates of the disease to the ongoing U.S. obesity epidemic.

"The hope and the message is that if people are kind of changing their lifestyles, doing the things that are good for them, then hopefully we can reverse the trend," lead researcher Karen Kirtland said.

New cases of diabetes are most likely to be diagnosed in Puerto Rico, with 12.8 new cases per 1,000 people per year. Closely following was West Virginia, with an annual rate of 12.7 cases per 1,000 people. The other states in the top 10 were all in the south -- Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas -- with the exception of Arizona.

The lowest rate of new cases -- only five per 1,000 people -- was found in Minnesota.

People with diabetes also suffer a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, nerve and kidney damage, blindness and loss of limb than the rest of the population. According to the American Diabetes Association, roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population, or 23.6 million people, currently suffer from the disease.

The best way to prevent diabetes is to become more physically active and lose even a small amount of weight, doctors say.
http://www.naturalnews.com/025991.html