Stress Reduction Enhances Healthy Cholesterol
Researchers at the University of Hawaii have found that senior citizen men can improve their heart health by adapting to a lifestyle that includes positive coping strategies to deal with life challenges and uncertainties.
Men who were found to have good coping, also had higher levels of “good” cholesterol compared to those who were considered hostile.
Interestingly, the positive coping ability did not impact men with “bad cholesterol” levels, the researchers found.
The men were split between blue and white collar jobs.
After fasting overnight, their blood was analyzed for high-density lipoproteins (good cholesterol), low density lipoproteins (bad cholesterol) and triglycerides.
The researchers theorized that hostility would impact all three lipoproteins, but instead they found a direct effect on HDL and triglycerides, but not on LDL.
They wrote, “It is interesting that the coping variables were most strongly associated with this protective factor.”
“The results of our study suggest that coping processes also might influence lipid fractions differently and may play a protective role through their influence on HDL.”
Dr. Loriena Yancura, Ph.D., the lead researcher said she and her colleagues were surprised that there was no association between coping and LDL levels.
“One possible reason might be that measures of hostility, coping and lipids were taken at one point in time.”
“In other words, we asked people about their coping strategies in response to a problem in that past month and looked at a blood sample taken at the time we asked them. It is possible that changes in the LDL might have been apparent in a lab setting or if we looked at longitudinal relationships among hostility, coping and lipids.”
Also, the researchers noted that the sample was limited and it is likely that there are gender, age gender or ethnic differences that occur in the dynamic relationship between hostility, coping and lipids.
Source:
American Psychological Association
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B Vitamin Deficiency Linked to Depression and Dementia
New research indicates that several B vitamins may be the gateway to discovering more about the brain’s power and functions as well as detecting mental health issues.
Lindsay Allen, a U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritionist, reports that low levels of the B vitamins, folate, are associated with dementia symptoms and “cognitive decline” in brain function.
Allen in conjunction with scientists from the University of California-Davis, the UCD Medical Center and the University of California-San Francisco teamed together on the long-term research project called the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging.
The study began in 1996 with Allen explaining in a news release that earlier research conducted before that time were inconclusive and had confusing results. The team’s ongoing work now includes about 1,800 Hispanics ages 60 to 101.
Allen notes that vitamin B-12 deficiency in particular has been very common in developing countries because the only foods you can get it from are animal sources, such as milk, eggs and meet, and many people in poor countries don’t consume them.
“But B-12 deficiency is also very common in the elderly U.S. population because they stop being able to absorb it from their diet as they grow older,” she says. “We think supplements will work in the elderly because even though they can’t absorb it naturally through food, they can through supplements.”
Mary Haan of UC San Francisco led the group as they collected blood samples from the volunteers to be analyzed.
An analysis of volunteers’ blood samples found that decreased levels of one B vitamin, folate, are associated with symptoms of dementia and poor brain function, also called “cognitive decline,” as determined by standard tests of memory and other factors. The impairments were detectable even though less than 1 percent of the volunteers were actually deficient in folate.
Researchers also found that women with low folate levels fared worse than men. In women, low levels of folate were associated with symptoms of depression. Women in the bottom third subgroup with a folate deficiency more than doubled their risk for depression, when compared to those in the highest third. This finding provided new evidence of an association between lower blood folate and depression. Other studies have previously determined that depression does impact brain function.
During the vitamin B-12, the SALSA team determined that a protein known as holoTC, short for holotranscobalamin, could be a doorway to a different approach for detecting cognitive decline earlier and more accurately.
The researchers have published these and other findings, beginning in 2003 and continuing through this year, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, The Journal of Nutrition, and The Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging.
Source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100817134302.htm
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US Study Finds Major Depression Linked to Heart Disease / Recurrent Major Depression Predicts Progression of Coronary Calcification in Healthy Women
University of Pittsburgh medical researchers recently published a study in the Psychosomatic Medicine Journal. It tested the theory that women with major depression would have a more significant progression of hardening of their coronary (heart) arteries, known as calcification when compared to women with only one episode of major depression.
Depressive symptoms and major depression are well known risk factors for clinical coronary heart disease (CHD) among healthy individuals and CHD patients.
It is not clear as to whether or not depression is related to the progression of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) prior to the beginning of CHD symptoms.
Healthy middle-aged women, a total of 149 who reported no heart disease, stroke, or diabetes were enrolled simultaneously in two ancillary studies of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation at the Pittsburgh site: the Mental Health Study and the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation Heart Study.
These women were administered psychiatric interviews annually and CAC computed tomography measures on two occasions approximately 2 years apart.
The results found that women who had recurrent major depression had greater progression of CAC (logged difference scores) than did women with a single or no episodes.
The other significant covariates were body mass index, systolic blood pressure, initial CAC, and time between scans. Stratified analyses showed that the effect was obtained in those women who had any CAC on the first examination.
The researchers concluded that recurrent major depression may be a risk factor for progression of atherosclerosis, especially in those who have at least some initial calcification. Women with a history of depression may be candidates for aggressive cardiovascular risk factor prevention therapy.
Source:
http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/content/abstract/PSY.0b013e3181eeeb17v1
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The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. It has not been evaluated by the FDA. The information is not intended to prevent, treat, diagnose or cure any illness or disease. All material provided on www.howtogetwellfaster.com is only for the education of the reader. You should always consult with your physician or other licensed health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition regarding your health and/or medical condition, and before undertaking any changes in your exercise, eating habits, diet, physical therapy or other health program. This website does not recommend self-management of one’s health care. Images, text and logic are copyright protected. All rights are explicitly reserved without prejudice, and no part of this website may be reproduced except by written consent. Copyright. All rights remain in force. Removing this notice forfeits all rights to recourse.
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Vitamin D Reduces Mold Allergies
Results of a cell study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, found a link between vitamin D levels and the activity of certain allergy associated immune cells. Vitamin D may inhibit an allergic response in asthmatics to a common mold, suggests a new study from the US supporting the vitamin’s immune health effects.
According to Louisiana State University’s Dr. Jay Kolls, “We found that adding vitamin D not only substantially reduced the production of the protein driving an allergic response, but it also increased production of the proteins that promote tolerance.”
Asthmatics experience a higher incidence of allergies, particularly to common mold (Aspergillus fumigatus). Their immune system’s overreaction can cause often severe complications for asthma sufferers as well as cystic fibrosis patients.
Most people don’t react to the environmental mold, despite that the fact that it is one of the most widespread fungal organisms inhaled by people. But asthmatics and patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), exposure can lead to significant allergic symptoms.
Approximately 15 percent of CF patients do experience severe allergic responses – called Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (ABPA) – due to common mold inhalation.
Dr. Kolls and colleagues planned to determine why only certain sub-set of patients with asthma and CF suffered from the mold allergy. They assessed the factors that regulate the tolerance or sensitization to common mold during the development of ABPA.
The study found that the protein OX40L was important in fueling the allergic response to A. fumigatus. OX40L increased the Th2 cells’ activity and a more powerful response was observed in immune cells isolated from patients with ABPA.
The cells from the immune system of patients without ABPA were found to have higher levels of certain proteins that are crucial in the developing tolerance to the allergen.
The research demonstrated that high Th2 allergen reactivity in ABPA patients occurs with lower blood levels of vitamin D.
“We found that adding vitamin D not only substantially reduced the production of the protein driving an allergic response, but it also increased production of the proteins that promote tolerance,” said Dr. Kolls.
The study concludes that its findings, “strongly implicates vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor for ABPA”. Additionally it indicates that vitamin D enrichment or supplementation may be a valuable way to treat, and potentially prevent allergic reactions to common mold in people that are already experiencing significant lung conditions.
“Our study provides further evidence that vitamin D appears to be broadly associated with human health,” added Kolls.
“The next step in our research is to conduct a clinical trial to see if vitamin D can be used to treat or prevent this complication of asthma and Cystic Fibrosis.”
Kolls also said that the findings of the study “may be relevant to other allergies”.
He added: “Although there is no precise experimental data so show it, some of the results with knockout mice suggest that vitamin D could play a role with other allergens.”
Source:
Journal of Clinical Investigation
“Immune tolerance to Aspergillus fumigatus versus Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis: roles of OX40L and vitamin D in humans and mice.”Authors: J.L. Kreindler, C. Steele, N. Nguyen, Y.R. Chan , et al.
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The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. It has not been evaluated by the FDA. The information is not intended to prevent, treat, diagnose or cure any illness or disease. All material provided on www.howtogetwellfaster.com is only for the education of the reader. You should always consult with your physician or other licensed health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition regarding your health and/or medical condition, and before undertaking any changes in your exercise, eating habits, diet, physical therapy or other health program. This website does not recommend self-management of one’s health care. Images, text and logic are copyright protected. All rights are explicitly reserved without prejudice, and no part of this website may be reproduced except by written consent. Copyright. All rights remain in force. Removing this notice forfeits all rights to recourse.
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Weight Loss Decreases Inflammation
For the first time, Australian scientists have demonstrated that moderate weight loss stops many of the harmful changes that occur in the immune systems of people with obesity, especially those with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
The immune system contains a wide variety of cells that act to protect us from and thwart infections caused by organisms including, bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The immune system’s cells maintain a balance that impacts our health in a positive way. Numerous lifestyle factors, can impact this delicate balance, such as obesity (too much body fat) and diet, and can alter the balance, causing the increased production of certain immune cells that can harm, rather than help our organs.
Scientists have recognized for many years that extra body fat, abdominal in particular, can cause the creations of immune cells that increase inflammation, an underlying process that contributes to numerous disease processes. Also, fat tissue activates macrophages, another inflammatory immune cell.
Australian researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, evaluated obese people with Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes (also known as Metabolic syndrome). The participants were maintained on a restricted diet between 1000 and 1600 calories a day for 6 months. Gastric banding surgery was performed 33 months into the study to further decrease food consumption.
Dr Alex Viardot and Associate Professor Katherine Samara, were the lead researchers. The results found showed an 80% reduction of pro-inflammatory T-helper cells, and smaller levels of other circulating immune cells (T cells, monocytes and neutrophils) and decreased levels of macrophages in fat tissue. Their results were published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism.
Dr. Samaras noted, “Excess weight disorders now affect 50% of adult Australians, with obesity being the major cause of Type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
“The situation has reached crisis point, and people must be made aware that excess fat will affect their immune systems and therefore their survival.
“We have found that a modest weight loss of about 6 kg is enough to bring the pro- inflammatory nature of circulating immune cells back to that found in lean people.
“These inflammatory cells are involved in promoting coronary artery disease and other illnesses associated with obesity.
“This is the first time it has been shown that modest weight reduction reverses some of the very adverse inflammatory changes we see in obese people with diabetes.
“We also showed that the activation status of immune cells found in fat predicted how much weight people would lose following a calorie restricted diet and bariatric surgery. Those with more activated immune cells lost less weight.
“It’s the first time this has been described and is important because it helps us understand why some people lose weight more easily than others, and that inflammation is involved in regulating the response to bariatric surgery.”
Source: Research Australia
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The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. It has not been evaluated by the FDA. The information is not intended to prevent, treat, diagnose or cure any illness or disease. All material provided on www.howtogetwellfaster.com is only for the education of the reader. You should always consult with your physician or other licensed health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition regarding your health and/or medical condition, and before undertaking any changes in your exercise, eating habits, diet, physical therapy or other health program. This website does not recommend self-management of one’s health care. Images, text and logic are copyright protected. All rights are explicitly reserved without prejudice, and no part of this website may be reproduced except by written consent. Copyright. All rights remain in force. Removing this notice forfeits all rights to recourse.
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Omega-3 Fatty Acids Improve Metabolic Syndrome Outcomes
A study reported in the Journal of Nutrition indicates that the effects of the metabolic syndrome, a significant risk fact for developing type 2 (adult onset) diabetes, is reduced by adding omega-3 fatty acids to a high complex carbohydrate, low fat diet. In particular, the supplements improve the blood lipid (fat) levels.
“Fish oil supplements correct many metabolic alterations associated with insulin resistance, including reduced postprandial plasma triglyceride concentration” stated the researchers, led by Jose Lopez-Miranda from the University of Cordoba, Spain.
Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors that frequently include high blood pressure, obesity, high levels of blood sugar levels and high fat levels.
It often happens prior to the development of type II diabetes, and is also strongly linked to an increased risk of major health problems such as heart disease and stroke.
Metabolic syndrome’s origins are not known, but they are believed to be linked to genetic and environmental factors – including poor diet.
One way to increase the overall health – and reduce the risks – of people with metabolic syndrome, has been to eat a diet low in saturated fat and high in complex carbohydrates. However, previous research has suggested that this diet does not help to reduce high levels of blood lipids – with some studies observing such a diet could even be raising blood lipid levels.
The new study involved 117 patients with metabolic syndrome. It examined the effects of four different diet combinations on blood lipid metabolism.
In keeping with previous findings and recommendations, the researchers found that a low-fat, high-complex carbohydrate diet had “several detrimental effects”, including significantly increasing total triglyceride levels, and triglyceride rich lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
Consumption of the same diet supplemented with omega-3 was found to have no effects on blood lipid levels. The researchers observed that a diet rich in monounsaturated fats, or a low-fat diet rich in complex carbohydrates and omega-3 fatty acids, resulted in lower circulating blood lipid levels than a diet rich in high saturated fats or a diet low in fats and high in complex carbohydrates.
The data from the study indicate there is a place for higher omega-3 intake in people with metabolic syndrome, and substantiates the credibility of earlier research that suggests monounsaturated fatty acids can have a positive effect on blood lipid levels.
“The long-term effect of the low-fat, high-complex carbohydrate diet, pre vs. post intervention phases, showed several beneficial effects of long chain omega-3 PUFA supplementation,” stated the researchers.
“Our data suggest that long-term intake of an isocaloric, low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet supplemented with long chain omega-3 … have beneficial effects on postprandial lipoprotein response in patients with metabolic syndrome.”
Source:
The Journal of Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi:10.3945/jn.109.120816
“A Low-Fat, High-Complex Carbohydrate Diet Supplemented with Long-Chain (n-3) Fatty Acids Alters the Postprandial Lipoprotein Profile in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome”
Authors: Y. Jimenez-Gomez, C. Marin, P. Perez-Martinez, et al
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The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. It has not been evaluated by the FDA. The information is not intended to prevent, treat, diagnose or cure any illness or disease. All material provided on www.howtogetwellfaster.com is only for the education of the reader. You should always consult with your physician or other licensed health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition regarding your health and/or medical condition, and before undertaking any changes in your exercise, eating habits, diet, physical therapy or other health program. This website does not recommend self-management of one’s health care. Images, text and logic are copyright protected. All rights are explicitly reserved without prejudice, and no part of this website may be reproduced except by written consent. Copyright. All rights remain in force. Removing this notice forfeits all rights to recourse.
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Zinc Deficiency Linked to Pneumonia in Senior Citizens
An observational study funded by the National Institute of Aging and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) found a large percentage of nursing home residents have a low zinc levels (in their blood). The researchers determined that residents with normal blood zinc levels had a 50 percent reduction in the incidence of pneumonia, compared to those who were deficient.
Simin Nikbin Meydani, the director of the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, led the study. ARS is the chief intramural scientific research agency of USDA.
HNRCA researchers have conducted other studies on these same nursing home residents, comprised of approximately 600 senior residing in 33 Boston area nursing homes. Their preceding research evaluated their immune response and respiratory infection rates, comparing those who consumed 200 international units (IU) of vitamin E daily for one year. They found the residents receiving vitamin E were 20 percent less likely to get upper respiratory infections, such as colds, compared to those who didn’t receive it and took a placebo instead.
The secondary analysis of data from that study found a very high percentage of the nursing home residents had very residents had low blood zinc concentrations at baseline and after one year of follow-up. During the trial, everyone was given supplements providing them with half of the recommended dietary allowance of essential vitamins and minerals, including zinc.
Those with normal zinc status were not only less likely to develop pneumonia, they also had fewer new prescriptions for antibiotics, a shorter duration of pneumonia, and fewer days of antibiotic use compared with residents who had low zinc levels. In addition, death occurred less often in the participants with normal blood zinc levels.
The study suggests that supplementation of zinc-deficient elderly may result in reduced risk of pneumonia. The authors recommend that additional controlled clinical trials are needed to test efficacy of zinc supplementation as a low-cost intervention to reduce and prevent death caused by pneumonia among at risk groups, such as nursing home residents with low zinc levels.
Source:
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/usdo-aze081010.php
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The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. It has not been evaluated by the FDA. The information is not intended to prevent, treat, diagnose or cure any illness or disease. All material provided on www.howtogetwellfaster.com is only for the education of the reader. You should always consult with your physician or other licensed health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition regarding your health and/or medical condition, and before undertaking any changes in your exercise, eating habits, diet, physical therapy or other health program. This website does not recommend self-management of one’s health care. Images, text and logic are copyright protected. All rights are explicitly reserved without prejudice, and no part of this website may be reproduced except by written consent. Copyright. All rights remain in force. Removing this notice forfeits all rights to recourse.
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Harvard Researchers Find Supplement Decreases Depression Symptoms
A new study indicates that an over-the-counter supplement may help people with depression who haven’t responded to anti-depression drug therapy.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts general hospital have found that S-Adenosyl-Methionine or SAMe, when added to a patient’s antidepressant treatment aided more people with major depression to reduce and improve their symptoms than those that took a placebo in additional to their regular drug therapy.
SAMe also caused fewer complications, in comparison to the FDA approved medications that are recommended for patients with depression that are unresponsive to antidepressants.
Dr. George Papakostas, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and the study’s lead author said, “This is an exciting, yet preliminary finding.”
Also, he noted, during our lifetime, up to 10 per cent of people will experience a major depressive disorder, defined as at least 124 consecutive days of multiple symptoms of depression. Approximately 50 per cent of those affected don’t improve, using multiple antidepressant drugs.
The FDA has approved only a few other drugs for these patients to take, in addition to antidepressants. The atypical antipsychotic drugs can have significant serious side effects that are occasionally life-threatening.
The current study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. Papakostas and his colleagues administered SAMe to 39 people with major depression that hadn’t responded to antidepressant therapy. They took 1.6 grams of SAMe everyday with their regular treatment. Thirty-four matched patients took a placebo (an inert substance) in additional to their antidepressants. The participants did not know if they were receiving SAMe or the placebo.
The researchers used two standard tests for depression to monitor their symptoms for the next 6 weeks.
About 25 percent of the patients in the study did not complete it because they didn’t improve, or experienced side effects of either the placebo or SAMe. There were no serious side effects reported, and a similar number of patients stopped because they didn’t like the placebo or SAMe.
Thirty-one of the patients taking SAMe and 24 receiving the placebo completed the study. Review of the depression tests revealed that more patients on SAMe than those receiving the placebo responded and their symptoms improved.
Earlier studies have determined that SAMe influences brain chemicals and may act as an antidepressant or interact with antidepressant drugs, but it’s action isn’t entirely understand. SAMe occurs naturally in our bodies and is sold as a supplement.
According to Dr. Papakostas, “(this finding) is exciting because SAMe works differently than what we have now-it doesn’t seem to be associated with the kind of side effects that FDA approved treatments for this niche have. Like other findings in medicine, it needs to be replicated.
Source: American Journal of Psychiatry
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The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. It has not been evaluated by the FDA. The information is not intended to prevent, treat, diagnose or cure any illness or disease. All material provided on www.howtogetwellfaster.com is only for the education of the reader. You should always consult with your physician or other licensed health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition regarding your health and/or medical condition, and before undertaking any changes in your exercise, eating habits, diet, physical therapy or other health program. This website does not recommend self-management of one’s health care. Images, text and logic are copyright protected. All rights are explicitly reserved without prejudice, and no part of this website may be reproduced except by written consent. Copyright. All rights remain in force. Removing this notice forfeits all rights to recourse.
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Spiritual Faith Helps Heart Disease Patients
A recent study present at the 114th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA) found that post-operative recovery from cardiac surgery improves in patients that have a positive religious belief, by aiding their psychological well-being. Also, recovery in other patients, is impeded by having negative religious thoughts.
Recent research studies have indicated an intricate relationship between health and well-being and religiosity. This study determined the pathways through which postoperative recovery of 309 cardiac surgery patients was influenced by religious coping styles.
The University of Washington’s Amy L. Ai, Ph.D., and Crystal Park, Ph.D. of the University of Connecticut evaluated the coping attitudes of the patients as they recovered from surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The scientists found that hope and perceived social support reduced anxiety and depression for the postoperative patients who used on a daily basis their positive religious coping skills.
“The contribution of social support to hope suggest that those who perceive more support at this critical moment may feel more hopeful about their recovery,” Dr. Ai said. Positive religious coping skills includes forgiveness, thoughts of benevolence, spiritual connection, seeking spiritual support, fellowship with others who share the same beliefs, and religious purification.
On the other hand, negative coping styles are detrimental and contribute to the patient’s inability to protect their emotional well-being against depression and anxiety that tend to predict suboptimal postoperative recovery. This relationship is related to both unhealthy mental health states during the preoperative and postoperative experience, and indicates an ongoing struggle with faith-based issues.
The negative coping patterns include, religious doubt, discontented spiritual relations, thoughts of punishing God, insecurity and interpersonal religious discontent.
Dr. Ai added, “This pathways appear to be key in understanding how religious coping styles may be helpful or harmful to a person’s ability to handle stressful situations. These findings imply that health and mental health professionals should be more attentive to faith factors as inspirational or motivational springboards in some contexts.”
Source:
American Psychological Association
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The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. It has not been evaluated by the FDA. The information is not intended to prevent, treat, diagnose or cure any illness or disease. All material provided on www.howtogetwellfaster.com is only for the education of the reader. You should always consult with your physician or other licensed health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition regarding your health and/or medical condition, and before undertaking any changes in your exercise, eating habits, diet, physical therapy or other health program. This website does not recommend self-management of one’s health care. Images, text and logic are copyright protected. All rights are explicitly reserved without prejudice, and no part of this website may be reproduced except by written consent. Copyright. All rights remain in force. Removing this notice forfeits all rights to recourse.
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Calcium Supplements Linked To Heart Attacks-The Industry Disputes These Findings
Following the publication of research suggesting calcium supplements could increase the risk of heart attack, the industry responded with the assertion that the research was “cherry picked.”
According to the authors of the study published in the British Medical Journal, the findings indicate that while calcium supplementation is helpful in treating osteoporosis (thinning of the bones), calcium should be reconsidered in the treatment of osteoporosis, due to their finding a link with an increased incidence of heart attacks.
Calcium supplements are often recommended to enhance bone health, but a recent clinical trial suggested they might increase the number of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems in healthy older women.
To investigate further, New Zealand’s University of Auckland’s Ian Reid, led a group of international researchers. They reviewed 11 independent clinical studies with a total of 12,000 patients.
They determined that calcium supplements is associated with almost a 30 percent rise in the risk for having a heart attack.
The possibility of having a stroke and dying also increased, but to a lesser extent.
They also found the relationship was present in all of the trials and it was independent of age, sex, and type of calcium supplement.
While the added risk is modest for any individual, the widespread use of calcium supplements could translate into a significantly larger disease burden across an entire population, the authors warn.
Previous studies have found that upping calcium intake through changes in diet does not increase cardiovascular problems, suggesting that the risks are restricted to supplements.
While spokespersons for the Natural Products Association (NPA) and the Scientific & Regulatory Affairs for the Council for Responsible (CRN) nutrition noted the study’s results are contradictory to years of research that’s demonstrated the benefits of calcium supplementation. Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., VP of scientific regulatory affairs for NPA suggested that the investigators, ‘cherry picked’ the studies from hundreds of available ones in the area.
The CRN notes, that these conclusions are overstated. According to Dr. Andrew Shao, the organization’s Senior VP of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, “Seven of the 15 trials evaluated had no or incomplete data on cardiovascular outcomes, and on 5 of the 15 studies accounted for almost all of the cardiovascular outcomes. Further, the researchers chose to exclude any trials administering calcium plus vitamin D- including the Women’s Health Initiative, which found calcium plus vitamin D had no effect on the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke.”
He went on to ad, that “ Meta-analysis can be a useful tool for scientific evaluation, but we have to recognize its limitations, and keep in mind that its findings are based on a collection of past studies that may have different designs, doses and study populations.”
Source:
Nutraingredients-usa.com/content
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The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. It has not been evaluated by the FDA. The information is not intended to prevent, treat, diagnose or cure any illness or disease. All material provided on www.howtogetwellfaster.com is only for the education of the reader. You should always consult with your physician or other licensed health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition regarding your health and/or medical condition, and before undertaking any changes in your exercise, eating habits, diet, physical therapy or other health program. This website does not recommend self-management of one’s health care. Images, text and logic are copyright protected. All rights are explicitly reserved without prejudice, and no part of this website may be reproduced except by written consent. Copyright. All rights remain in force. Removing this notice forfeits all rights to recourse.
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