Statin Effects in Women Versus Men

ΩComplete reportObjectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of statins in decreasing cardiovascular events in women and men.Background: Published data reviews have suggested that statins might not be as effective in women as in men in decreasing cardiovascular events.Methods: Published data searches and contacts with investigators identified 18 randomized clinical trials of statins with sex-specific outcomes (N = 141,235, 40,275 women, 21,468 cardiovascular events). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for cardiovascular events were calculated for women and men separately with random effects meta-analyses.Results: The cardiovascular event rate was lower among those randomized to statin intervention than in those randomized to control (low-dose statin in 4 studies,...

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Chocolate Consumption Reduces Risk of Stroke in Women

ΩComplete reportAmple evidence indicates that chocolate may have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system. Chocolate consumption has been shown to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure in short-term randomized feeding trials (1), and has been demonstrated to improve endothelial and platelet function and to ameliorate insulin resistance (2). Moreover, flavonoids in chocolate possess strong antioxidant activity and can suppress oxidation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (3).In the autumn of 1997, 39,227 women completed a questionnaire that included approximately 350 items concerning diet and other lifestyle factors (4). We excluded women with a missing national identification number, those with implausible values for total energy intake, and those with a history of cancer,...

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Are diet soft drinks bad for you?

ΩNew study finds potential link between daily consumption of diet soft drinks and risk of vascular eventsIndividuals who drink diet soft drinks on a daily basis may be at increased risk of suffering vascular events such as stroke, heart attack, and vascular death. This is according to a new study by Hannah Gardener and her colleagues from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and at Columbia University Medical Center. However, in contrast, they found that regular soft drink consumption and a more moderate intake of diet soft drinks do not appear to be linked to a higher risk of vascular events. The research¹ appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine², published by Springer.In the current climate of escalating obesity rates, artificially sweetened soft drinks are...

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Consuming fish during pregnancy improves offspring’s cognitive development and prosocial conduct

ΩCan pregnant women improve their progeny’s intelligence by eating fish? A study recently submitted to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and coordinated by the University of Granada professor Cristina Campoy Folgoso revealed that infants born to mothers who consumed more fish during pregnancy score higher in verbal intelligence and fine motor skill tests, and present an increased prosocial behavior.This study was conducted within the framework of the NUTRIMENTHE project (“Effect of diet on offspring’s cognitive development”), which received funding of 5.9 million Euros from the European 7th Framework Programme (7PM). This study was coordinated by the University of Granada professor Cristina Campoy Folgoso.Fish oil is the primary source of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids as docosahexaenoic...

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A glass of milk a day could benefit your brain

ΩNew research finds milk drinkers scored better on memory and brain function testsPouring at least one glass of milk each day could not only boost your intake of much-needed key nutrients, but it could also positively impact your brain and mental performance, according to a recent study in the International Dairy Journal.1 Researchers found that adults with higher intakes of milk and milk products scored significantly higher on memory and other brain function tests than those who drank little to no milk. Milk drinkers were five times less likely to "fail" the test, compared to non milk drinkers.Researchers at the University of Maine put more than 900 men and women ages 23 to 98 through a series of brain tests – including visual-spatial, verbal and working memory tests – and tracked the milk...

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Alcohol consumption and risk of colon cancer

ΩA study based on more than 87,000 women and 47,000 men in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, looks at whether there is a link between colon cancer and alcohol, and if so at what level of consumption, and the importance of a family history of the disease. A total of 1,801 cases of colon cancer were diagnosed during follow-up from 1980 onwards.The authors results found that subjects with a family history, whose average alcohol intake was 30 or more grams per day (about 2 ½ typical drinks by US standards or 4 UK units) had an increase in their risk of colon cancer. Those at greatest risk also ate the most red meat, smoked the most, and had the lowest intake of folate (suggesting they ate fewer green vegetables and cereals. Hence, these people have the most...

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Alcohol and your heart: Friend or foe?

ΩA meta-analysis done by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) into the relationship between alcohol consumption and heart disease provides new insight into the long-held belief that drinking a glass of red wine a day can help protect against heart disease."It's complicated," says Dr. Juergen Rehm, director of social and epidemiological research at CAMH. Dr. Rehm's paper, co-authored by Michael Roerecke, was recently published in the journal Addiction. "While a cardioprotective association between alcohol use and ischaemic heart disease exists, it cannot be assumed for all drinkers, even at low levels of intake," says Dr. Rehm.Ischaemic heart disease is a common cause of illness and death in the Western world. Symptoms are angina, heart pain, and heart failure. Based on 44 studies,...

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Grape seed extract kills head and neck cancer cells, leaves healthy cells unharmed

ΩNearly 12,000 people will die of head and neck cancer in the United States this year and worldwide cases will exceed half a million.A study published this week in the journal Carcinogenesis shows that in both cell lines and mouse models, grape seed extract (GSE) kills head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells, while leaving healthy cells unharmed.“It’s a rather dramatic effect,” says Rajesh Agarwal, PhD, investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.Note: Here's more from Wkipedia:Human case reports and results from laboratory and animal studies provide preliminary evidence that grape seed extract may affect heart diseases such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.[1] By limiting lipid oxidation, phenolics in...

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Jon's Health Tips - Latest Health Research

I will certainly stop eating protein before major surgery in the future - but just not into total diet restriction:Protein-free diet good for you?Limiting certain essential nutrients for several days before surgery—either protein or amino acids—may reduce the risk of serious surgical complications such as heart attack or stroke, according to a new Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) study.The results are significant because they pinpoint protein as an important substance to eliminate from the diet before surgery to avoid complications. Stroke risk related to cardiovascular surgery ranges from 0.8% to 9.7%, depending on the procedure. Heart attack risk is 3% to 4%.In numerous animal studies over the past few decades, scientists have found that long-term dietary restriction can improve health...

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Protein-free diet good for you?

ΩLimiting certain essential nutrients for several days before surgery—either protein or amino acids—may reduce the risk of serious surgical complications such as heart attack or stroke, according to a new Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) study.The study appears in the January 25, 2012 issue of Science Translational Medicine."Food restriction as a way to increase stress resistance may seem counterintuitive, but in fact our data indicate that the well-fed state is the one more susceptible to this kind of injury," said James Mitchell, assistant professor of genetics and complex diseases at HSPH.The researchers, led by Mitchell and Wei Peng, a former HSPH postdoctoral fellow, analyzed two groups of mice. One group was allowed to eat normally for 6 to 14 days; the other group was given a...

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Vitamin D statement- European Menopause and Andropause Society

ΩOsteoporosis is a common condition in postmenopausal women leading to bone fractures. However, there is now evidence that vitamin D deficiency is also associated with other medical conditions important in older women. These include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, infections and neurodegenerative disease. The major natural source of vitamin D is cutaneous synthesis through exposure to sunlight with a small amounts also coming from the diet in animal-based foods such as fatty fish, eggs and milk. Levels of vitamin D are lower in those with poor sun exposure and in the winter. Obesity, malabsorption syndromes and certain medications (e.g. anticonvulsants, antiretrovirals) can also lower vitamin D levels. Regular sunlight exposure (without sunscreens) for 15 minutes, 3-4 times a week,...

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No cardiac risk with food fried in olive, sunflower oil

ΩFood fried in olive or sunflower oil is not linked to heart disease or premature death, but the same is not true of solid or reused oils. While eating lots of fried food can increase some heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity, a link between fried food and heart disease has not been fully investigated.So the study authors, led by Pilar Guallar-Castillón professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, surveyed the cooking methods of 40,757 adults aged 29 to 69 years over an 11-year period. None of them had heart disease when the study began, the journal bmj.com reports.Trained interviewers asked participants about their diet and cooking methods. Fried food was defined as food for which frying was the only cooking method used. Questions...

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Cocoa could prevent intestinal pathologies such as colon cancer

ΩA new study on living animals has shown for the first time that eating cocoa (the raw material in chocolate) can help to prevent intestinal complaints linked to oxidative stress, including colon carcinogenesis onset caused by chemical substances.The growing interest amongst the scientific community to identify those foods capable of preventing diseases has now categorized cocoa as a 'superfood'. It has been recognised as an excellent source of phytochemical compounds, which offer potential health benefits.Headed by scientists from the Institute of Food Science and Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN) and recently published in the Molecular Nutrition & Food Research journal, the new study supports this idea and upholds that cacao consumption helps to prevent intestinal complaints linked to...

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Plant Flavonoid Luteolin Blocks Cell Signaling Pathways in Colon Cancer Cells

ΩLuteolin is a flavonoid commonly found in fruit and vegetables. Dietary sources include celery, green pepper, thyme, perilla, chamomile tea, carrots, olive oil, peppermint, rosemary, navel oranges, and oregano. This compound has been shown in laboratory conditions to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties but results from epidemiological studies have been less certain. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Gastroenterology shows that luteolin is able to inhibit the activity of cell signaling pathways (IGF and PI3K) important for the growth of cancer in colon cancer cells.Colon cancer is the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death in the Western World. Colon cancer cells have elevated levels of IGF-II compared to normal colon...

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Diets high in fiber MAY CAUSE, not protect against, diverticulosis

ΩFor more than 40 years, scientists and physicians have thought eating a high-fiber diet lowered a person's risk of diverticulosis, a disease of the large intestine in which pouches develop in the colon wall. A new study of more than 2,000 people reveals the opposite may be true.The study, conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine , found that consuming a diet high in fiber raised, rather than lowered, the risk of developing diverticulosis. The findings also counter the commonly-held belief that constipation increases a person's risk of the disease."Despite the significant morbidity and mortality of symptomatic diverticulosis, it looks like we may have been wrong, for decades, about why diverticula actually form," said Anne Peery, MD, a...

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Increase Dietary Fiber, Decrease Disease

ΩWe should all be eating more dietary fiber to improve our health -- that's the message from a health review by scientists in India. The team has looked at research conducted into dietary fiber during the last few decades across the globe and now suggests that to avoid initial problems, such as intestinal gas and loose stool, it is best to increase intake gradually and to spread high-fiber foods out throughout the day, at meals and snacks. Writing in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health, the team offers fruit, vegetables, whole-grain foods, such as muesli and porridge, beans and pulses, as readily available foods rich in dietary fiber.Dietary fiber, also known as roughage, is the general term of the non-digestible parts of the fruit and vegetable products we...

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Grapes may help prevent age-related blindness

ΩStudy shows grapes provided more antioxidant protection for eyes than luteinCan eating grapes slow or help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a debilitating condition affecting millions of elderly people worldwide? Results from a new study published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine suggest this might be the case. The antioxidant actions of grapes are believed to be responsible for these protective effects.The study compared the impact of an antioxidant-rich diet on vision using mice prone to developing retinal damage in old age in much the same way as humans do. Mice either received a grape-enriched diet, a diet with added lutein, or a normal diet.The result? Grapes proved to offer dramatic protection: the grape-enriched diet protected against oxidative damage...

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Exercise reduces anxiety symptoms in women

ΩApproximately 3 percent of the U.S. population suffers from excessive, uncontrollable worry that reduces their health and quality of life. The condition, known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, is difficult to overcome and is accompanied by a host of physical symptoms, including fatigue, muscle tension, irritability and poor sleep. However, a new University of Georgia study shows that regular exercise can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms in patients with GAD.In a study published online in the Nov. 22 edition of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, researchers randomly assigned 30 sedentary women, ages 18-37 who were diagnosed with GAD, to either a control group or six weeks of strength or aerobic exercise training. Women in the exercise conditions completed two weekly sessions of either...

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Enhancing cognition in older adults also changes personality

ΩA program designed to boost cognition in older adults also increased their openness to new experiences, researchers report, demonstrating for the first time that a non-drug intervention in older adults can change a personality trait once thought to be fixed throughout the lifespan.Personality psychologists describe openness as one of five major personality traits. Studies suggest that the other four traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and extraversion) operate independently of a person's cognitive abilities. But openness – being flexible and creative, embracing new ideas and taking on challenging intellectual or cultural pursuits – does appear to be correlated with cognitive abilities.The new study, published in the journal Psychology and Aging, gave older adults a series...

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Vitamin D could help combat the effects of aging in eyes

ΩResearchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have found that vitamin D reduces the effects of ageing in mouse eyes and improves the vision of older mice significantly. The researchers hope that this might mean that vitamin D supplements could provide a simple and effective way to combat age-related eye diseases, such as macular degeneration (AMD), in people.The research was carried out by a team from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and is published in the current issue of the journal Neurobiology of Ageing.Professor Glen Jeffery, who led the work, explains "In the back of the eyes of mammals, like mice and humans, is a layer of tissue called the retina. Cells in the retina detect light as it comes into the eyes and then...

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Virtual reality-enhanced exercise = +cognitive benefit for older adults

ΩVirtual reality-enhanced exercise, or "exergames," combining physical exercise with computer-simulated environments and interactive videogame features, can yield a greater cognitive benefit for older adults than traditional exercise alone, according to a new study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine."We found that for older adults, virtual-reality enhanced interactive exercise, or 'cybercycling' two to three times per week for 3 months, yielded greater cognitive benefit, and perhaps added protection against mild cognitive impairment (MCI), than a similar dose of traditional exercise," explains lead investigator Cay Anderson-Hanley, PhD, from the Healthy Aging and Neuropsychology Lab and Department of Psychology at Union College, Schenectady, NY.Research...

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Alcohol & polyphenols in red wine both fight cardiovascular disease

ΩObservational epidemiologic studies relating wine and alcohol to health all suffer from the fact that they, of necessity, compare people who prefer certain beverages, but not the beverages themselves. While there have been many intervention trials in animals, randomized trials in humans are less common. Randomized crossover trials, in which each subject receives all interventions in sequence, can be especially important as they tend to avoid baseline differences among subjects and can detect effects of different interventions with smaller numbers of subjects.This study by Chiva-Blanch G et al, just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, included 67 male volunteers in Spain who were considered to be at "high-risk" of cardiovascular disease on the basis of increased BMI, smoking,...

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Office Workers Spend Too Much Time at Their Desks

ΩProlonged sitting at your desk is not only bad for your physical health, but potentially your mental well-beingThese are some of the key findings of research being presented the 13th of January, by Dr Myanna Duncan, Mr. Aadil Kazi and Professor Cheryl Haslam from the Work & Health Research Centre, Loughborough University, to delegates at the British Psychological Society's Annual Occupational Conference, at the Crowne Plaza, Chester.Nearly 70% of employees surveyed did not meet recommended guidelines for physical activity; interestingly 50% of people surveyed aged 50 years and under, failed to meet these guidelines.The findings also showed: * That those who sit for longer at work are more likely to sit outside of work. * A correlation between BMI scores and sitting time at work,...

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Vitamin D Deficiency and Brain Health: Vitamin D To Improve Brain Activity

As per a recent study report, intake of Vitamin D can improve brain activity and brain functioning in later part of life. Cognitive performance of over 3000 Europeans between the age group of 40-79 years was compared with the level of Vitamin D using tests to evaluate mental agility. It was observed that lower levels of Vitamin D was associated with poor brain health and reduced brain functions. All the other variables including education level, depression, physical activity and physical performance were considered during the assessment. Though the study was not able to identify the actual reason for the association between Vitamin D and mental...

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Red & processed meat consumption = increased pancreatic cancer risk.

ΩPancreatic cancer is one of the most fatal types of cancer, with a 5-year relative survival of about 5.5% (Howlader et al, 2010). Thus, identification of risk factors for this cancer is of great public health importance. Dietary factors could conceivably influence the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, although no dietary factor has been convincingly associated with pancreatic cancer risk (2007). High consumption of red meat and/or processed meat has been associated with increased risk of some gastrointestinal cancers, such as colorectal (Larsson and Wolk, 2006; Chan et al, 2011) and stomach cancer (Larsson et al, 2006b). Whether red and processed meat consumption is a risk factor also for pancreatic cancer remains unclear. The authors of this report therefore conducted a dose–response...

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