A simple tablespoon daily of coconut oil could promote weight loss and improve cardiovascular health, reveals a new clinical study.

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Only 1 TBSP of Coconut Oil Produces Powerful Health Changes, Study Confirms

Posted on:

Wednesday, November 11th 2015 at 3:00 pm

Written By:

Sayer Ji, Founder

A simple tablespoon daily of coconut oil could promote weight loss and improve cardiovascular health, reveals a new clinical study. 

A new study titled, “A coconut extra virgin oil-rich diet increases HDL cholesterol and decreases waist circumference and body mass in coronary artery disease patients,” holds great promise in those suffering from overweight, obesity, and heightened cardiovascular disease risk, and against which pharmaceutical approaches often fail.

Coconut oil was once considered a “bad fat,” as it contains saturated fatty acids which conventional nutritionists did not distinguish from synthetically produced ones such as margarine. We know far better now, and increasingly, natural sources of saturated fats are gaining appreciation as not only “not-bad,” but actually beneficial, particularly for the brain. You can check out the first hand literature on coconut’s helath benefits on the GreenMedInfo.com database, or read our article, 13 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Coconut Oil.

The new study evaluated the health effects of a nutritional treatment with extra virgin coconut oil, focusing primarily on how it affects HDL cholesterol and a range of anthropmetric measurements (e.g. body weight, size, circumference).

The average age of the participants was 62.4 ± 7.7 years, with 70% of elderly individuals, and 63.2% of males. All of them were hypertensive and 94.5% had blood lipid profiles indicating “dyslipidemia” and on standard, cholesterol lowering drug treatment.

In the first phase, a three month period, 136 enrollees were put on a standardized diet. From the third month onward, the 116 who completed the first phase were place in two intervention groups: 22 remained on the diet, and 92 were put on the diet + 13 ml (.43 ounces) daily of extra virgin coconut oil, which is equivalent to about 14 grams, or about 1 Tablespoon (15 grams).

The results of the the three-month coconut oil intervention showed that relative to the standard diet, the coconut group saw a decrease in all six of the bodily parameters measured, including:

• Weight: -.6 kilograms (1.322 pounds)

• Body Mass Index: – .2 kg/m2

• Waist Circumference: -2.1 cm

• Neck Perimeter: -4 cm

• Systolic Blood Pressure: -3.3 points

• Diastolic Blood Pressure:  -3.5 points

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9 Herbs and Plants That Will Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally

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JUNE 18, 2014 by JOHN SUMMERLY

 

Nearly one third of adults have high blood pressure, or hypertension. A quarter of all prescribed medications are for high blood pressure and long-term use often leads to heart failure, heart attacks and interference with calcium metabolism. If you are thinking of turning to herbal treatments for lowering your blood pressure, you have many options and there are many effective remedies at your disposal.

1) BASIL

Basil is a delicious herb that goes well in a variety of foods. It is originally native to Iran, India, and other tropical regions of Asia, but now it is widely available throughout the world. Basil’s has antioxidant, antimutagenic, antitumorigenic, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. It also helps lower your blood pressure. Extract of basil has been shown to lower blood pressure. Adding fresh basil to your diet is easy and certainly can’t hurt. Keep a small pot of the herb in your kitchen garden and add the fresh leaves to pastas, soups, salads, and casseroles.

2) CINNAMON

Cinnamon is another tasty seasoning that requires little effort to include in your daily diet, and that may bring your blood pressure numbers down. Cinnamon combined with magnesium, diet and lifestyle changes may lead to overall reductions in blood pressure up to 25mm Hg. Consuming cinnamon every day has been shown to lower blood pressure in people with diabetes. Include more cinnamon in your diet by sprinkling it on your breakfast cereal, and even in your coffee. At dinner, cinnamon enhances the flavor of stir fries, curries, and stews.

3) CARDAMOM

Cardamom is a seasoning that comes from India and is often used in the foods of South Asia. As with many spices, cardamom has been demonstrated to have antioxidant properties. Kikuzaki, Kawai, and Nakatani (2001) examined extracts from black cardamom (Amomum subulatum) for their ability to scavenge radicals. A study investigating the health effects of cardamom found that participants given powdered cardamom daily for several months saw significant reductions in their blood pressure readings. You can include cardamom seeds or the powder in spice rubs, in soups and stews, and even in baked goods for a special flavor and a positive health benefit.

4) HAWTHORN

Hawthorn is an herbal remedy for high blood pressure that has been used in traditional Chinese medicines for thousands of years. Decoctions of hawthorn seem to have a whole host of benefits on cardiovascular health, including reduction of blood pressure, the prevention of clot formation, and an increase in blood circulation. You can take hawthorn as a pill, a liquid extract, or a tea.

5) CELERY SEED

Celery seed is an herb used to flavor soups, stews, casseroles, and other savory dishes. James Duke, Ph.D., author of The Green Pharmacy, found more than 20 anti-inflammatory compounds in celery and celery seeds, including a substance called apigenin, which is powerful in its anti-inflammatory action. Celery has been long used to treat hypertension in China, and studies o have shown that it is an effective agent with cardioprotective properties. You can use the seeds to lower blood pressure, but you can also juice the whole plant. Celery is a diuretic, which may help explain its effect on blood pressure.

6) DASHEN

Danshen is actually not technically and herb or plant but a dried root of Salvia miltiorrhiza, and has been widely used in China and, to a lesser extent, in Japan, the United States, and other European countries for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Danshen has been used for millennia in Chinese Medicine for circulation problems, stroke, chest pain, and other diseases of the heart and blood vessels. It is also used for menstrual disorders, chronic liver disease, and trouble sleeping caused by complaints such as rapid heartbeat and tight chest.
7) FRENCH LAVENDER

The beautiful, perfume-like scent of lavender is not the only benefit of the plant. Oil of lavender has long been used as a perfume ingredient and also to induce relaxation. The herb may also lower your blood pressure. Although not many people think to use lavender as a culinary herb, you can use the flowers in baked goods and the leaves can be used in the same way you would use rosemary.

8) HIBISCUS

Hibiscus tea (from the plant Hibiscus sabdariffa) and supplements have been found to lower blood pressure in human studies. A systematic review of four randomized controlled trials found that in two studies testing the effects of hibiscus tea to black tea, hibiscus tea was associated with reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Two studies comparing hibiscus extract to angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (captopril or lisinopril) also showed reductions for hibiscus tea groups, but the effects were generally less than those of the ACE-inhibitor groups.

9) CAT’S CLAW

Cat’s claw is an herbal medicine used in traditional Chinese practice to treat hypertension as well as neurological health problems. Studies of cat’s claw as a treatment for hypertension indicate that it may be helpful in reducing blood pressure by acting on calcium channels in your cells. It also contains an anti-inflammatory agent that blocks the production of the hormone prostaglandin, which contributes to inflammation and pain. You can find cat’s claw in supplement form from many health food stores, but it is also widely available as a tea.

John Summerly is nutritionist, herbologist, and homeopathic practitioner. He is a leader in the natural health community and consults athletes, executives and most of all parents of children on the benefits of complementary therapies for health and prevention.

10 Different Teas That Will Help Boost Your Metabolism and Promote Weight Loss

Carbohydrates could be laying down the ground work for Alzheimers. Substituting the right kinds of fats to help prevent and possibly even reverse it.

 

Alzheimer’s Disease—Yes, It’s Preventable!

May 22, 2014

 

By Dr. Mercola

An estimated 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, a severe form of dementia,¹ and hundreds of thousands more may suffer from an often misdiagnosed subtype called “hippocampal sparing” Alzheimer’s, according to recent findings.²

The most recent data^{3, 4} suggests that well over half a million Americans die from Alzheimer’s disease each year, making it the third leading cause of death in the US, right behind heart disease and cancer.

As discussed by Dr. Danielle Ofri in a recent New York Times blog,⁵ losing your mind, and with it, much of your personality and dignity, is a terrifying proposition. Making matters worse, many doctors shy away from addressing dementia—both with colleagues and their patients.

The reasons are many. Dr. Ofri suggests Alzheimer’s strikes at the emotional heart of many clinicians, whose careers depend on the stability and functioning of their own minds and intelligence. In short, it frightens them too much to talk about it.

However, I strongly disagree with her commentary on the lack of strategies to prevent or modify the course of Alzheimer’s.

“I suspect… that our reticence stems from deeper issues,” Dr. Ofri writes. “All the top 10 killers in America are potentially preventable, or at least modifiable — all except dementia… We have tests to screen for many cancers, and treatments that prolong life… But there’s nothing, really, that we can do about dementia.

There aren’t any screening tests that can pick up the disease before symptoms appear. And even if there were, there aren’t any treatments that make a substantial difference.

For doctors, this is profoundly frustrating. No wonder dementia gets pushed onto the back burner. In the dishearteningly limited time of a medical visit, we’re forced to focus on the diseases we can treat.”

On the contrary, while early diagnostic tests are in short supply and successful treatments are virtually nonexistent, the evidence shows there’s plenty of hope when it comes to prevention!

This is exactly why doctors need to get with the program and start directing their patients toward healthier lifestyles rather than fall into the trap of thinking the situation is hopeless and their patients are helpless victims.

Heart Disease May Increase Your Odds of Developing Alzheimer’s

I firmly believe that since there’s no conventional cure, now or in the foreseeable future, the issue of prevention is absolutely critical if you want to avoid becoming an Alzheimer’s statistic.

Ideally, doctors would begin counseling patients who are in their 20s and 30s on lifestyle strategies that promote heart and brain health throughout life. Then we would probably see a major shift in Alzheimer’s statistics for that generation.

As it stands, the evidence points to lifestyle factors, primarily diet, as the driving forces of dementia. There are also many connections between Alzheimer’s and other dietary-related diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, suggesting that ALL of these diseases are preventable through identical means.

For example, previous research suggests diabetics have a doubled risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease was even tentatively dubbed “type 3 diabetes” in 2005, when researchers discovered that your brain produces insulin that is necessary for the survival of your brain cells.

They found that a toxic protein called ADDL removes insulin receptors from nerve cells, thereby rendering those neurons insulin resistant, and as ADDLs accumulate, your memory begins to deteriorate. Recent research also points out that heart disease increases your odds of developing Alzheimer’s. As reported by MedicineNet.com:⁶

“Researchers found that artery stiffness — a condition called atherosclerosis — is associated with the buildup of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.”

‘This is more than just another example of how heart health relates to brain health. It is a signal that the process of vascular aging may predispose the brain to increased amyloid plaque buildup,’ said lead researcher Timothy Hughes…

Plaque builds with age and appears to worsen in those with stiffer arteries, he said. ‘Finding and preventing the causes of plaque buildup is going to be an essential factor in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and extending brain health throughout life,’ Hughes added.”

Subtype of Alzheimer’s Disease Is Often Misdiagnosed

In related news, research^{7, 8} presented at the 2014 American Academy of Neurology’s meeting in Pennsylvania sheds new light on Alzheimer’s cases that are often misdiagnosed. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic believe they have identified a variant of the disease, referred to as “hippocampal sparing” Alzheimer’s, which is thought to affect an estimated 600,000 Americans. As explained by Medical News Today:⁹

“All subtypes of Alzheimer’s have two specific hallmarks in the brain. Amyloid beta is responsible for the formation of brain plaques, while tau produces tangles in the brain. In order to classify each subtype, the team used tangle counts to create a mathematical algorithm.

They found that while all Alzheimer’s subtypes had the same amount of amyloid beta, the hippocampal sparing variant showed tau tangles in unequal areas of the hippocampus. They discovered that in patients with this subtype, tau specifically damages neurons in areas of the brain associated with behavior, motor recognition and awareness, and use of speech and vision.”

Of the more than 1,800 Alzheimer’s patients included in the study, 11 percent were found to have hippocampal sparing Alzheimer’s, which does not destroy memory to the degree typically associated with Alzheimer’s. Instead, this subtype of the disease tends to alter behavior, causing uncontrollable anger, visual impairments, speech problems, and the feeling that your limbs do not belong to you. Hippocampal sparing appears to affect more men than women, and the disease tends to set in much earlier than traditional Alzheimer’s. Patients with hippocampal sparing also tend to deteriorate at a fast pace.

Misdiagnosis is common, as this subtype spares your memory. Quite often these patients end up being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia or corticobasal syndrome¹⁰ instead. The former is associated with personality changes, while the latter is a progressive neurological disorder that can involve your motor system, cognition, or both, but patients typically present language problems first, followed by motor symptoms.

While the researchers believe that currently available Alzheimer’s medications may be more effective for those with hippocampal sparing Alzheimer’s than those with more traditional dementia, I firmly believe that drugs are not the answer to any of these conditions. Clearly, at the heart of it all is insulin and leptin resistance, fueled by a diet too high in refined sugars, processed fructose, and grains, combined with far too little healthful fats.

 

Read More Here

 

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Dr. Mercola and Dr. Perlmutter on Alzheimer’s Prevention (Full Interview)

Mercola·

 

Published on Sep 26, 2013

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/art… Natural health physician and Mercola.com founder Dr. Joseph Mercola interviews Dr. David Perlmutter on how to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

 

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Related articles

• Alzheimer’s Disease – Yes, It’s Preventable!
• Fear of dementia is exacerbating the condition, experts warn
• Alzheimer’s Disease: The Forgotten Epidemic
• Alzheimer’s Diagnostic Blood Test on the Horizon
• 600,000 Americans may have ‘commonly misdiagnosed’ Alzheimer’s subtype
• Bizarre form of Alzheimer’s may be widespread
• Subtype of Alzheimer’s Disease may be Present in a More Widespread Number of Patients
• Alzheimer’s Subtype Discovered, Patients Misdiagnosed
• Feeling Controlled By Aliens? Can’t Help The Profanity? You May Have New Alzheimer’s Variant

LifeFit Diet Supplement Recalled for Undeclared Drug : Sibutramine

Food Poisoning Bulletin

LifeFit dietary supplement is being recalled because it contains an undeclared controlled substance that was banned in 2010 for safety reasons. Consumers who have purchased this product should not use it as it poses a serious health threat.

Bacai, LifeFit’s distrbuter, is voluntarily recalling the product sold in plastic bottles of 30 softgels with the lot number 13165. The lot number is located next to the expiration date May 2017. It was distributed worldwide to wholesalers, retailers, and through the internet.

An analysis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that the product contains sibutramine, which causes substantial increase in blood pressure and/or pulse rate. This can pose a  in significant risk for patients with a history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, or stroke. The drug can also cause a life-threatening situation if taken with other medications.

 

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• FDA

Meridia (sibutramine): Market Withdrawal Due to Risk of Serious Cardiovascular Events

[Posted 10/08/2010]

AUDIENCE: Primary Care, Consumers

ISSUE: Abbott Laboratories and FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients about the voluntary withdrawal of Meridia (sibutramine), an obesity drug, from the U.S. market because of clinical trial data indicating an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

BACKGROUND: Meridia was approved November 1997 for weight loss and maintenance of weight loss in obese people, as well as in certain overweight people with other risks for heart disease. The approval was based on clinical data showing that more people receiving sibutramine lost at least 5 percent of their body weight than people on placebo who relied on diet and exercise alone. FDA has now requested market withdrawal after reviewing data from the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Outcomes Trial (SCOUT). SCOUT is part of a postmarket requirement to look at cardiovascular safety of sibutramine after the European approval of the drug. The trial demonstrated a 16 percent increase in the risk of serious heart events, including non-fatal heart attack, non-fatal stroke, the need to be resuscitated once the heart stopped, and death, in a group of patients given sibutramine compared with another given placebo. There was a small difference in weight loss between the placebo group and the group that received sibutramine.

RECOMMENDATION: Physicians are advised to stop prescribing Meridia to their patients, and patients should stop taking this medication. Patients should talk to their health care provider about alternative weight loss and weight loss maintenance programs.

 

[10/08/2010 – Drug Safety Communication – FDA]
[10/08/2010 – Questions and Answers – FDA]
[10/08/2010 – News Release – FDA]

Previous MedWatch Alert:

[01/21/2010 – Meridia (sibutramine hydrochloride): Follow-Up to an Early Communication about an Ongoing Safety Review]

 

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Related articles

• Pure Edge Nutrition, LLC Issues Nationwide Recall of Bella Vi Brand Products Due to Undeclared Sibutramine and Phenolphthalein
• Abbott Takes Diet Drug Meridia (Sibutramine) Off The Market
• Meridia Weight Loss Pills pulled off the Market
• Diet products contain dangerous drugs, FDA warns
• Should Meridia Remain On Market? FDA Says “Yes” (For Now At Least), European Drug Regulators Say “No”
• Diet Drug Meridia Has Possible Cardiovascular Risks, Including Stroke, Heart Attack, And Cardiac Death
• FDA Recommends Against the Continued Use of Meridia (sibutramine)
• Abbott to Voluntarily Withdraw Meridia (Sibutramine) in the U.S.
• Sibutramine Suspended in Europe
• FDA Yanks Meridia — And Finds It In A Supplement

Fat: It’s Not What Makes You Fat

 

Guest Article by Mark Hyman, MD

If you’re feeling completely confused about whether you should cut fat from your diet, you are not alone. But here’s the bottom line: fat does not make you fat or sick. So, why do so many people believe that fat is bad for you and causes heart attacks?

This all started in the Dr. Key’s Seven Countries Study decades ago that examined heart risk based on lifestyle and dietary habits. He found that in the countries where people ate more fat—especially saturated fat—there were more cases of heart disease, and he concluded that the fat caused the disease. But here’s the problem with this study: correlation is not causation. Just because both fat intake and heart disease were higher among the same population doesn’t mean the heart disease was caused by the fat consumption. Here’s another way to look at it: Every day, you wake up and the sun comes up, but although these events happen at the same time, you waking up doesn’t cause the sun to come up.

A study that observed this would show a 100% correlation between these two events, but it would be wrong to conclude that you caused the sun to rise. Because of studies like this, we became sidetracked into believing that saturated fat causes heart disease. But in fact, we are now learning that sugar is the true culprit, not fat. A review of all the research on saturated fat published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found there was no correlation between saturated fat and heart disease. And a recent editorial in the British Journal of Medicine hammers home the same point and shatters the myth that fat causes obesity and heart disease. Researchers have found that, while it’s true that lowering saturated fat in the diet may lower total cholesterol, it’s actually lowering the good kind of cholesterol, the light, fluffy, buoyant LDL that’s not a problem.

When people eat less fat, they tend to eat more starch or sugar instead, and this actually increases their levels of dangerous cholesterol, the small, dense cholesterol that causes heart attacks. In fact, studies show that 75% of people who end up in the emergency room with a heart attack have normal overall cholesterol levels. What they do have is pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes.

Read More Here

Related articles

• Mark Hyman, MD: Fat Does Not Make You Fat
• Heart Expert: Saturated Fat Causing Heart Disease is a Myth
• Fat Does Not Make You Fat
• Saturated fat heart disease ‘myth’
• Time to end the war against saturated fat?

The Origins of Disease : Heart Disease

NHK Documentary: The Origins of Disease Episode 4: Heart Disease

MissingSky101

 

Published on Nov 24, 2013

Pitfalls of State-of-the-Art Pump –
Every year, over 7 million people die from heart disease worldwide. It’s the number-one cause of death for human beings. Human ancestors gained a high-performance heart. But as they evolved, they put a bigger burden on the organ, forcing themselves to live with a higher risk of disease. Heart disease is an evolutionary fate for humans. We’ll look at its origins and recent research that aims to find a cure.

Related articles

• Eating nuts reduces ‘risk of heart disease and cancer’
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• Cut Heart Disease and Stroke Risk by Maintaining Blood Pressure

Mediterranean Diet Helps Cut Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke: Results of PREDIMED Study Presented

Science Daily

 

Feb. 25, 2013 — Results of the PREDIMED study, aimed at assessing the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine. They show that the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or tree nuts reduces by 30 percent the risk of suffering a cardiovascular death, a myocardial infarction or a stroke.

Mediterranean-style salad with feta, olives and walnuts. (Credit: © Barbara Dudzińska / Fotolia

 

The study has been coordinated by the researcher Ramon Estruch, from the Faculty of Medicine of the UB and the Hospital Clínic — affiliated centres with the health campus of the UB, HUBc — and has had the collaboration of the professor Rosa M. Lamuela and her team from the Natural Antioxidant Research Group of the Faculty of Pharmacy — located at the campus of international excellence BKC — which determined the biomarkers of Mediterranean diet consumption.

The research is part of the project PREDIMED, a multicentre trial carried out between 2003 and 2011 to study the effects of the Mediterranean diet on the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The study was funded by the Carlos III Health Institute by means of the cooperative research thematic network (RETIC RD06/0045) and the CIBER of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn).

A total of 7,447 people following major cardiovascular risk factors participated in the study. They were divided into three dietary intervention groups: a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts), and a low-fat diet (animal and vegetable). A dietician visited the patients every three months and they attended dietary training group sessions, in which they received detailed information about the Mediterranean and the low-fat diet, and the food included in each one. Moreover, they were provided with shopping lists, menus and recipes adapted to each type of diet and each season of the year.

Related articles

• Mediterranean Diet Reduces Heart Attack, Stroke In High Risk Groups (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Large Trial Shows Cardiovascular Benefits Of Mediterranean Diet (forbes.com)
• Large Trial Shows Cardiovascular Benefits Of Mediterranean Diet (cardiobrief.org)
• Mediterranean diet ‘cuts strokes and heart attacks in at-risk groups’ (guardian.co.uk)
• Mediterranean diet can cut heart attack risk (vitals.nbcnews.com)
• Mediterranean-style diet may cut stroke risk (cbc.ca)
• Study finds Mediterranean-style diet cuts heart attack, stroke risk (jacksonville.com)
• Mediterranean diet ‘as good as statins’ (telegraph.co.uk)
• It’s the Olive Oil: Mediterranean Diet Lowers Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke (healthland.time.com)
• Mediterranean diet may be better for your heart than cutting down on fat (cbsnews.com)

Women in long-term marriages showed fewer cardiovascular risk factors, finds a new study

Health And Wellness Report

 

 

Medical Research

 

 

Marriage May Protect a Gal’s Heart

Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer

 

Women in long-term marriages showed fewer cardiovascular risk factors, finds a new study CREDIT: Maridav, Shutterstock View full size image

DENVER — Marriage may reduce health risks in women, new research finds, but men who get married too early may find their likelihood of chronic inflammation going up.

The study, presented here Saturday (Aug. 18) at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, is preliminary, but gives researchers an in-depth view of the relationship between marriage and health, study researcher Michael McFarland, a Princeton University sociologist, told LiveScience. The study finds that for women, continuous marriage without divorce or widowhood is linked to fewer cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure.

The same did not hold true for men, with guys who married younger being more likely to have warning signs for chronic inflammation later in life, McFarland and his colleagues found. Inflammation is a crucial part of the healing process, but chronic inflammation can be harmful in itself.

“It’s a turning point that influences the rest of their lives or at least a good portion of their lives,” McFarland said of these men’s early marriages.

Health and marriage

Much of the research on marriage and health has found that wedding bells improve health for guys but do little for women. Some of this may have to do with the fact that women tend to be more health-conscious than men, visiting the doctor more frequently and taking on the role of reminding their husbands to get medical care. For example, a study published in July 2011 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that married men got treatment for heart attacks faster than their single counterparts, a difference not seen between married and single ladies.

But most marriage and health studies have either relied on self-reports of health — which can be unreliable, McFarland said — or general records of mortality, which tell researchers little about why marriage, health and death might be linked. [10 Easy Paths to Self Destruction]

So McFarland and his colleagues turned to biological risk factors, or signs that someone might be facing health problems down the road. Using data from the National Social Health and Aging Project, the researchers traced the marital histories and health risk factors of 528 women and 534 men ages 57 to 75.

To measure health risk, the researchers looked at cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, resting heart rate and waist circumference. They also examined metabolic risk factors that put people at risk for Type II diabetes. Finally, they included a measurement of C-reactive protein, which is found in the blood and indicates inflammation.

Wedding bells and doctor bills

For women, the researchers found, the longer the marriage, the fewer cardiovascular risk factors. The effect was significant but modest, McFarland said, with every 10 years of continuous marriage associated with a 13 percent decrease in cardiovascular risk.

But when marriage is disrupted, it can be hard on the health. Women who were continuously married had a 40 percent lower count of metabolic risk factors than women who experienced two episodes or divorce or widowhood, the researchers found.

Earlier work on divorce has found that breaking up is linked to bad health. One 2009 study found 20 percent more chronic health problems in divorced people than the currently married.

Unexpectedly, McFarland and his colleagues saw no protective effect of marriage in men, in contradiction to previous research. However, McFarland said, the study was on older adults, and men have shorter life expectancies than women. It’s possible that the least healthy men in the cohort had already died and thus weren’t included in the study, skewing the results.

The findings did reveal that very early marriage may not be a good deal for guys. A five-year increase in age at first marriage decreased the odds of chronic inflammation by 30 percent, McFarland said. The findings aren’t good cause for cold feet, though — the trend was driven by very young marriages, McFarland said, the difference between getting wed at 17 versus, say, 23.

“If you get married at 17, maybe you get lower educational attainment, which we know is associate with higher biological risk,” McFarland said.

McFarland stressed that this biological look at the sociology of marriage is in its early stages, and there are many complicating factors to tease out. For example, he said, because men die earlier than women, they are in short supply on the senior citizen marriage market. That means that even an unhealthy guy is likely able to snag a wife, while unhealthy older women have worse odds. [6 Scientific Tips for a Successful Marriage]

Not only does this skewed gender ratio influence who gets married, it could put women into more caretaking roles, McFarland said. That, in turn, could influence their health.

“So if healthy women are marrying somewhat unhealthy men, do they get into a caretaking role?” he said. “We know in past literature that chronic caretaking, especially among older adults, has some negative health outcomes.”

The study “does a really interesting job of just showing us the nuances of risk among men and women across age,” said Bridget Goosby, a University of Nebraska, Lincoln sociologist who was not involved in the research. Speaking to a group of sociologists at the annual meeting, Goosby encouraged more research into the biology of social relationships.

“We’re only just scratching the surface of how biology and social context interact with one another to create these trajectories of health,” she said.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We’re also on Facebook & Google+.

• Extending Life: 7 Ways to Live Past 100
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Related articles

• Marriage May Protect a Woman’s Heart (snspost.com)
• Marriage may protect a woman’s heart (vitals.nbcnews.com)
• Marriage drives women to drink, study says (cbsnews.com)
• Marriage Drives Women to Drink, Study Suggests (livescience.com)
• Marriage Means Less Drinking for Men (abcnews.go.com)
• Married Men Drink Less, Women More (medicalnewstoday.com)
• The Health Benefits of Marriage (everydayhealth.com)

High Protein , Low Carb Diets : 15 year study reveals that source of protein and carbs are as important as quantity to stave off heart disease

High protein, low carbohydrate diet increases heart disease risk in women

Natural News.ccom

by: John Phillip

 

(NaturalNews) Very few topics elicit more controversy and differing points of view than those pertaining to dietary ratios of carbohydrates, proteins and fats and how they pertain to optimal health. Nutrition science indicates that the answer to this dilemma is far from clear, and is most likely determined by individual body metabolism as predicated by evolved genetics and hereditary patterns. Yet, virtually all scientists would agree that highly processed and refined carbohydrates and excessive calories from animal protein contribute to chronic illnesses, especially cardiovascular disease in some at-risk individuals.

Researchers publishing in the British Medical Journal have determined that women who regularly eat a low carbohydrate, high protein diet are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease (such as heart disease and stroke) than those who do not. The study found that women consuming the highest amount of protein (from animal sources) coupled with low carbohydrates had a 28 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease, an alarming statistic given the popularity of Atkins-based and other similar dietary programs in younger women.

Low carbohydrate, high protein diets are quite prevalent as they produce rapid body weight control results in many adopters of the dietary lifestyle. Nutrition experts recommend substituting proteins from nuts and seeds for animal-based sources and drastically limiting carbohydrates from unhealthy sweeteners, drinks and snacks to achieve a nutritionally sound intake of macronutrients. In practice, many people do not heed this advice and can endanger their health as a consequence.

Low carbohydrate, high protein dietary pattern more than doubles heart disease risk

To conduct the study, researchers examined a cohort of nearly 44,000 Swedish women, aged 30 to 49 years with an average follow up of 15 years. Women completed a detailed dietary and lifestyle questionnaire to determine the ratio of high protein to low carbohydrate foods consumed. The dietary patterns were then plotted on a scale from 2 (high carbohydrate, low protein) to 20 (low carbohydrate, high protein). Influential factors such as smoking, alcohol use, hypertension, activity level and fat intake were taken into account when determining the patterns.

During the 15-year study period, 1,270 cardiovascular events took place in the 43,396 women (55 percent ischemic heart disease, 23 percent ischemic stroke, 6 percent hemorrhagic stroke, 10 percent subarachnoid hemorrhage and 6 percent peripheral arterial disease). Researchers found that cardiovascular disease incidence increased by 13 percent for women with a score from seven to nine (higher carbohydrate, lower protein intake), to 23 percent for those with a score from 10 to 12, to 54 percent for those with a score from 13 to 15 (lower carbohydrate, higher protein intake), and to 60 percent for those with a score of 16 or higher.

The study team authors concluded that a low carbohydrate, high protein diet “used on a regular basis and without consideration of the nature of carbohydrates or the source of proteins are associated with increased cardiovascular risk.” It is important to note that this research did not find an increase in disease risk when the protein source was derived from nuts, seeds or vegetables. The study confirms the importance of a diet comprised of natural foods from organic sources with a balance toward carbohydrates from slow-releasing vegetables and fruits and moderate intake of proteins in the form of nuts and seeds to lower cardiovascular disease risk.

Sources for this article include:
http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e4026
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120627092206.htm
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/247160.php

About the author:
John Phillip is a Health Researcher and Author who writes regularly on the cutting edge use of diet, lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation to enhance and improve the quality and length of life. John is the author of ‘Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan’, a comprehensive EBook explaining how to use Diet, Exercise, Mind and Targeted Supplementation to achieve your weight loss goal. Visit My Optimal Health Resourceto continue reading the latest health news updates, and to download your Free 48 page copy of ‘Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan’.

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Food Safety News – Wednesday April 4th , 2012

Food Safety

Follow the Money: BPA Makers to Gross $8 Billion Thanks to FDA Rejecting Ban

By Anthony Gucciardi

Producers of toxic BPA are now boasting $8 billion in sales for 2012 thanks to the FDA rejecting a potential ban on the cancer-linked chemical on March 30th. According to GlobalData, manufacturers will produce 4.7 million metric tons of BPA this year to be dispersed into the daily lives of millions worldwide. BPA now goes into everything: plastic bottles, canned foods, DVDs, plastic wrap, and much more. Despite being linked to about as many serious health conditionsas the amount of products it contaminates, the FDA has decided once again to side with mega corporations over protecting the health of the people.

Even Campbell’s Soup and the Heinz corporation are removing BPA from their products in an effort to reclaim consumers who are fully aware of the issues surrounding BPA. California is also banning the substance from baby bottles and sippy cups in attempts to protect newborn babies whose developing bodies are majorly affected by the estrogen-mimicking chemical. But the FDA?

Read Full Article Here

Slimegate: Should USDA Require Labeling for LFTB?

by Helena Bottemiller

Over the past several weeks, thousands of articles, blog posts, tweets and even Facebook statuses have weighed in on the debate over Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB), now commonly known as “pink slime.” One place you won’t find any mention of the product, however, is on a ground beef label — or any meat label, for that matter.

That may be about to change.

As the nation’s largest manufacturer of LFTB, Beef Products Inc., reels from the consumer revolt against its product and state and local politicians work to help the company recover, the national discussion has turned to labeling.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it would approve requests from ground beef product makers who want to voluntarily label products containing LFTB.

Last Friday, U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and 10 co-sponsors introduced a bill that would require beef products that included LFTB to be labeled, and Reps. Sam Farr (D-CA) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) urged USDA to update beef labels “to note whether or not the product contains processed meat filler, and, if so, which filler(s) are in the product.”

So, why isn’t “LFTB” or “ammoniated beef” or “centrifuge-separated ammonia-treated beef” already labeled when added to ground beef?

(Were it up to satirical news anchor Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, LFTB might be labeled “ammonia-soaked centrifuge separated byproduct paste.”)

In a USA Today Op-Ed, former USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service administrator Dr. H. Russel Cross declared that “There is no need for labeling LFTB — because nothing is being added that is not beef.”

Likewise, in a recent video to help combat “a frenzy of misinformation” about LFTB, American Meat Institute spokeswoman Janet Riley added a similar justification for not labeling LFTB: “Both citric acid and ammonium hydroxide are natural processing aids, not additives or ingredients because they don’t remain in the product.”

Read Full Article Here

CDC Offers Favorable Snapshot of Nation’s Nutrition Status

by Mary Rothschild

With its focus on disease outbreaks and other generally gloomy reports, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rarely seems to dispatch good news.

So it was heartening to see Monday’s CDC press release announcing that the U.S. population, for the most part, is getting enough essential vitamins and nutrients – specifically vitamins A and D and folate — even though some groups need to address dietary deficiencies.

“Research shows that good nutrition can help lower people’s risk for many chronic diseases. For most nutrients, the low deficiency rates, less than 1 to 10 percent, are encouraging, but higher deficiency rates in certain age and race/ethnic groups are a concern and need additional attention,” said Christine Pfeiffer, Ph.D., lead researcher, in the Division of Laboratory Sciences in CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health.

Less than optimal vitamin and nutrient levels have been associated with myriad health risks, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, impaired cognitive function, cancer, eye diseases and weakened bones.

The CDC’s favorable, although limited, review is the most comprehensive biochemical assessment ever of the nation’s nutritional status, drawn from analysis by the Division of Laboratory Sciences of blood and urine samples collected during the 1999 to 2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The last such report was published in 2008. This Second Nutrition Report establishes blood and urine reference levels for 58 biochemical indicators; more than twice as many as before. And the new report includes first-time data for a new indicator of iron deficiency and for 24 healthy and unhealthy fatty acids.

Measurements of nutrient levels in blood and urine are critical, according to the CDC, because they show whether the total nutrients from foods and vitamin supplements are too low, too high or sufficient.

In very brief summary, the positive findings in the Second Nutrition Report include that:….

Read Full Article Here

Poultry Inspectors Protest Inspection Proposal at USDA

by Helena Bottemiller

Around 100 poultry inspectors gathered outside the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday, right under Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s window, to protest a proposal to expand an inspection system that shifts federal inspectors away from inspecting for quality defects and allows slaughter lines to speed up.

chicken-protest-350.jpgThe USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is responsible for examining all poultry carcasses for blemishes or visible defects before they are further processed. Under the proposed rule, the agency would transfer much of this quality-assurance task over to the poultry plants so that it can devote more of its employees to evaluating the companies’ pathogen-prevention plans and bacteria-testing programs.

It basically moves the federal inspector further down the line, to right before the chiller, to make sure there’s no fecal material on the birds before they take the plunge into the cooling tank.

FSIS argues that the system, formally known as the HACCP Based Inspection Models Project, or HIMP, will improve food safety and save taxpayer dollars. The consumer group Food & Water Watch, and the inspectors at the rally, take issue with the entire proposal, arguing that it privatizes inspection and puts consumers at risk. A handful of plants have been a part of the HIMP pilot program for 12 years.

Read Full Article Here

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Recalls

Quebec Sausage Recalled Due to Listeria Risk

by News Desk

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume certain La Vecchia Fattoria brand Cacciatore Dry Cured Sausages because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

There have been no reported illnesses.

The recalled La Vecchia Fattoria brand Cacciatore Dry Cured Sausages were sold in packages of 2 units each (approximately 300 g), with the UPC 8 81248 33336 1 and a best-before date of 12 23 JL.

The sausages were distributed in Quebec.

Read Full Article Here

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Articles of Interest

Rocky Relief Pitcher Down With Food Poisoning, Club Says

by News Desk

Josh Outman, 28-year-old relief pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, is reported by the club to be suffering from food poisoning.

Rockies Manager Jim Tracy did not specify what type of food poisoning is involved, but said if the left-handed pitcher is still not well enough on opening day Friday in Houston, another relief pitcher will be called up.

Read Full Article Here

Sugar Is Not Poison, But We’re Getting Too Much of It

by Dan Flynn

Sugar is the toxin responsible for most of today’s health problems, a California endocrinologist who conducts research for the American Heart Association, told the television magazine program 60 Minutes Sunday.

poptart-boy-350.jpg
The University of California’s Dr. Robert Lustig said obesity, type II diabetes, hypertension and heart disease can all be blamed on Americans consuming too much sugar.

The 60 Minutes segment, with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta playing the part of the on-air reporter, said new research is “starting to find that sugar, the way many people are eating it today, is toxic and could be a driving force behind some of this country’s leading killers, including heart disease.”

An ongoing, five-year research project at the University of California – Davis, by nutritional biologist Kimber Stanhope, also got mention because it appears to be showing that high fructose corn syrup intake is linked to heart disease and stroke. Midway through, the research also suggests calories from added sugars differ from other calories.

Gupta said the belief that a calorie is a calorie is a “mantra” of nutritionists. He also said the scientists involved in the research are personally eliminating all added sugar from their diets. Added sugars are sweeteners added to processed and prepared foods and beverages.

Examples of added sugars include white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrup, malt syrup, maple syrup, pancake syrup, fructose sweetener, liquid fructose, honey, molasses, anhydrous dextrose, crystal dextrose and dextrin…..

Read Full Article Here

Is sugar toxic?

Sugar and kids: The toxic truth

Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on new research showing that beyond weight gain, sugar can take a serious toll on your health, worsening conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer.

(CBS News) If you are what you eat, then what does it mean that the average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar a year? Sanjay Gupta reports on new research showing that beyond weight gain, sugar can take a serious toll on your health, worsening conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer. Some physicians go so far as to call sugar a toxin.

The following script is from “Sugar” which aired on April 1, 2012. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the correspondent. Denise Schrier Cetta and Sumi Aggarwal, producers.

The chances are good that sugar is a bigger part of your daily diet than you may realize which is why our story tonight is so important. New research coming out of some of America’s most respected institutions is starting to find that sugar, the way many people are eating it today, is a toxin and could be a driving force behind some of this country’s leading killers, including heart disease.

As a result of these findings, an anti-sugar campaign has sprung up, led by Dr. Robert Lustig, a California endocrinologist, who believes the consumption of added sugars has plunged America into a public health crisis.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Is sugar toxic?

Dr. Robert Lustig: I believe it is.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Do you ever worry that that’s– it just sounds a little bit over the top?

Dr. Robert Lustig: Sure. All the time. But it’s the truth.

Dr. Robert Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco and a pioneer in what is becoming a war against sugar.

Motivated by his own patients — too many sick and obese children – Dr. Lustig has concluded that sugar, more than any other substance, is to blame.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: What are all these various diseases that you say are linked to sugar?

Dr. Robert Lustig: Obesity, type II diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease itself.

Lustig says the American lifestyle is killing us.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: And most of it you say is preventable?

Dr. Robert Lustig: Seventy-five percent of it is preventable.

While Dr. Lustig has published a dozen scientific articles on the evils of sugar, it was his lecture on YouTube, called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” that brought his message to the masses.

[YouTube Video: I’m standing here today to recruit you in the war against bad food.]

By “bad food” Dr. Lustig means the obvious things such as table sugar, honey, syrup, sugary drinks and desserts, but also just about every processed food you can imagine, where sugar is often hidden: yogurts and sauces, bread, and even peanut butter. And what about the man-made, often vilified sweetener, high fructose corn syrup?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Is it worse than just table sugar?

Dr. Robert Lustig: No. ‘Cause it’s the exact same. They are basically equivalent. The problem is they’re both bad. They’re both equally toxic.

Since the 1970s, sugar consumption has gone down nearly 40 percent, but high fructose corn syrup has more than made up the difference. Dr. Lustig says they are both toxic because they both contain fructose — that’s what makes them sweet and irresistible.

Read Full Transcript Here

http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf