Currently, calcium intake recommendations are not tied to vitamin D status, which may explain why markedly different recommended calcium intakes exist among countries. In the United States, the recommended calcium intake is 1,200 milligrams (mg) daily for adults aged 50 and older.

The body’s skeleton needs adequate dietary calcium to reach its full potential in terms of bone mass. Still, many other factors affect bone mass, such as exercise, smoking and vitamin D–the latter through its effect on calcium absorption and direct effect on the skeleton.

The study involved a close look at about 10,000 men and women aged 20 and older participating in a nationally representative survey. Coauthors included nutrition specialist Bess Dawson Hughes with the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston, Mass. Dawson Hughes is director of the HNRCA Bone Laboratory.

Blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D are used as the primary indicator of vitamin D adequacy. Within the study sample of U.S. adults, a large fraction of younger and older adults were below a suggested desirable serum vitamin D concentration of at least 75 nanomoles-per-liter (nmol/L).

The study supports the idea that correcting inadequate blood levels of vitamin D is more important than increasing dietary calcium intake beyond 566 mg a day among women and 626 mg a day among men for better bone mineral density. For example, a higher calcium intake beyond 566 mg a day may only be important among women whose vitamin D concentrations are low (less than 50 nmol/L), according to authors.

Details of this study can be found in the publication Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) principal intramural scientific research agency. The research supports the USDA priority of improving nutrition and health.

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

Vitamin D and Calcium Interplay Explored

February 20

February 3

Here’s today’s summary of health research published since February 21 and my reactions:

Now, I definitely have to keep playing soccer until I’m 70:

Soccer reduces risk of falls and bone fractures

Regular participation in soccer increases both bone mass and bone density, causes a significant improvement in standing postural balance and improves muscle strength. Together, these effects reduce the risk of falls and bone fractures…. the short- and long-term training effects on bone mineral density were greater for the soccer players than for a similar group of runners… The research shows that 70-year-old men, who have played soccer most of their lives on a recreational basis, have just as good a balance and rapid muscle strength as untrained 30-year-olds and much better balance and muscle strength than their peers.

But;

Watching World Cup Soccer Could Kill You!

I’m glad that I take Vitamin D – the most recent news is stunning:

Vitamin D is Crucial To Activating Immune Defenses

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that Vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defenses and that without sufficient intake of the vitamin, the killer cells of the immune system – T cells – will not be able to react to and fight off serious infections in the body.

The researchers found that the T cells rely on vitamin D in order to activate and they would remain dormant, ‘naïve’ to the possibility of threat if vitamin D is lacking in the blood.

And there’s more:

Vitamin D lowers kidney cancer risk in men

Research suggests that vitamin D, which is obtained from sun exposure, some foods, and from supplements, may help prevent some cancers. Vitamin D is metabolized and most active within the kidneys. According to a new study, men employed in occupations with potential exposure to high levels of sunlight have a reduced risk of kidney cancer compared with men who were less likely to be exposed to sunlight at work.

Vitamin D Improves Mood

A daily dose of vitamin D lifts mood during cold weather months – vitamin D may be an important addition to care for diabetes and depression.

Low Low levels of Vitamin D linked to muscle fat, decreased strength in young

59 per cent of study subjects had too little Vitamin D in their blood. Nearly a quarter of the group had serious deficiencies (less than 20 ng/ml) of this important vitamin. Since Vitamin D insufficiency is linked to increased body fat, decreased muscle strength and a range of disorders, this is a serious health issue…. Abnormal levels of Vitamin D are associated with a whole spectrum of diseases, including cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders.

The study results are especially surprising, because study subjects – all healthy young women living in California – could logically be expected to benefit from good diet, outdoor activities and ample exposure to sunshine – the trigger that causes the body to produce Vitamin D.

I keep most of my vitamins in my office, which is good:

Vitamins stored in bathrooms, kitchens may become less effective

High humidity present in bathrooms and kitchens could be degrading the vitamins and health supplements stored in those rooms, even if the lids are on tight.

Why didn’t they test men:

Women who drink moderately appear to gain less weight than nondrinkers

Normal-weight women who drink a light to moderate amount of alcohol appear to gain less weight and have a lower risk of becoming overweight and obese than non-drinkers…

Women who did not drink alcohol at all gained the most weight, with weight gain decreasing as alcohol intake increased … with the strongest association found for red wine .

I don’t drink coffee but maybe lots of tea has the same effect:

Coffee = Reduced Risk of Heart Rhythm Disturbances

I eat oats, apples and nuts almost every day:

Study shows soluble fiber boosts immune system

A new University of Illinois study touts the benefits of soluble fiber—found in oats, apples, and nuts, for starters—saying that it reduces the inflammation associated with obesity-related diseases and strengthens the immune system. This happens because soluble fiber causes increased production of an anti-inflammatory protein called interleukin-4. Insoluble fiber, found in whole wheat and whole-grain products, wheat bran, and green, leafy vegetables, is also valuable for providing bulk and helping food move through the digestive system, but it doesn’t provide the boost to the immune system that soluble fiber provides.

I’m pretty good abut taking my statin substitute almost every day:

Take your statins

Only 68 percent of corporate executives took their cholesterol lowering medication as prescribed by a doctor, a new study shows. Overall, the executives who took their medication even sporadically were twice as likely to meet their cholesterol goals….Statin drugs lower the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or the so-called bad cholesterol. Statins are proven effective and are a first-line treatment for lowering cholesterol.

Adherence was defined as taking medication as prescribed at least 80 percent of the time. Overall, statin users were twice as likely to meet the near optimal goal of 130 mg/dL or less, than non-statin users. Among executive who took statins, 70 percent achieved the near-optimal goal and 30 percent achieved the optimal goal of 100 mg/dL or less, compared to 55 percent and 21 percent, respectively, for non-statin users who weren’t prescribed the drug.

My wife has completely banned garlic from my diet, which is too bad:

GARLIC’S CANCER-FIGHTING POTENTIAL

I had a colonoscopy performed by a gastroenterologist:

Patients Who Have Colonoscopy Performed by Gastroenterologists Less Likely to Develop Colorectal Cancer

I can’t eat eat ice cream or drink milk without stomach pains, but cheese and yogurt don’t bother me – and I do eat a lot of yogurt:

Avoiding dairy due to lactose intolerance is unnecessary in most cases

People may avoid milk and other dairy products due to concerns about lactose intolerance, but eliminating these nutrient-rich foods may not only be unnecessary to manage the condition – it could impact diet and health.,, Try small, frequent portions or buying lactose-free or lactose-reduced milk – which contain all the same nutrients as regular milk. Yogurt and hard cheeses (the panel suggests cheddar, provolone and mozzarella) may also be more easily digested.

I do take naps a few times a week – perhaps I should do it more often:

A midday nap markedly boosts the brain’s learning capacity

New research from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that an hour’s nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power. Indeed, the findings suggest that a biphasic sleep schedule not only refreshes the mind, but can make you smarter.

I guess I don’t need magnesium supplements after all, which is just as well since I forgot to buy them:

Magnesium Helps You Remember – But Not Supplements

Magnesium, a key nutrient for the functioning of memory, may be even more critical than previously thought for the neurons of children and healthy brain cells in adults… Today’s over-the-counter magnesium supplements don’t really work. They do not get into the brain.

…Dr. Slutsky advises people to get their magnesium the old-fashioned way — by eating lots of green leaves, broccoli, almonds, cashews and fruit. The effects on memory won’t appear overnight, she cautions, but with this persistent change in diet, memory should improve, and the effects of dementia and other cognitive impairment diseases related to aging may be considerably delayed.

Blogging makes me feel young, and I learn a lot doing it, which is good:

You’re only as old as you feel really seems to be true, at least cognitively.

Learning helps keep brain healthy

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

Latest Health Research

Frying meat on a gas burner may be more harmful to health than using an electric burner, because of the type of fumes it produces. Cooking fumes produced during high temperature frying have recently been classified as “probably carcinogenic” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

and here:

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are mutagenic compounds that form when meat and fish are cooked at high temperatures especially meats that are grilled, pan-fried, broiled, or barbecued. The National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services categorizes HCAs as human carcinogens that can increase the risk of certain types of cancers.

I try to keep a positive attitude, and I’m generally pretty happy and content, which is good according to this report:

People who are usually happy, enthusiastic and content are less likely to develop heart disease than those who tend not to be happy.

I do drink lots of good tea, which is good:

Scientists have confirmed that the healthful substances found in green tea, renowned for their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties, do penetrate into tissues of the eye. Their new report, the first documenting how the lens, retina, and other eye tissues absorb these substances, raises the possibility that green tea may protect against glaucoma and other common eye diseases.

And I take aspirin regularly, for which there is more good news:

Women who have completed treatment for early-stage breast cancer and who take aspirin have a nearly 50 percent reduced risk of breast cancer death and a similar reduction in the risk of metastasis.

But unfortunately, don’t take ibuprofen:

The study found regular users of ibuprofen were 40 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than people who didn’t take ibuprofen. Also, people who took higher amounts of ibuprofen were less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than people who took smaller amounts of the drug. The results were the same regardless of age, smoking and caffeine intake.

I get a lot of fiber from fruits, vegetables and oatmeal, which is good:

Fiber not only increases the bulk of the food and moves it through the gastrointestinal tract more rapidly, but also helps in preventing constipation and possible colon and rectal cancer. Intake of fiber through various foods such as nuts, whole-grain flour, fruits, and vegetables is now associated with decreased low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, lower insulin demand, increased stool bulk, softening of fecal contents, and improved laxative properties. Epidemiological studies have correlated high consumption of fiber with lower incidence of certain diseases such as cardiovascular and cancer of colon and rectum. Several conditions such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, breast cancer, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids have been connected to a low intake of fiber.

and it turns out oatmeal, which I eat almost every day, is even better for you than previously thought:

Oats may contribute to the relaxation of arteries and the prevention of atherosclerosis.Consumption of oats reduces blood pressure and chronic inflammation of the arterial wall, part of the process that eventually causes disease. These studies provide additional indications of the potential health benefit of oat consumption in the prevention of coronary heart disease beyond its known effect through lowering blood cholesterol. Findings from a more recent study soon to be published suggest that consuming oats and oat bran may reduce the risk of colon cancer, not only through high fiber content, but also through avenanthramides that slow or discourage proliferation of colon cancer cells.

I take Vitamin D:

Middle aged and elderly people with high levels of vitamin D could reduce their chances of developing heart disease or diabetes by 43%, according to researchers at the University of Warwick.

And the statin substitute red yeast rice, but I’m thinking of asking for a prescription to the real thing, as evidence mounts for all the good things statins do for you. This is just the latest:

Statins, a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels, have been successfully fighting heart disease for years. A new study has now found that the same drugs cut the risks of cataracts in men by almost 40%. One recent study, featured as part of a Time magazine cover story, showed that statins can reduce a person’s chance of dying from all combined diseases and conditions by 40%, something in the medical community called “all-cause mortality.”

I’m eating more blueberries and blackberries lately because of reports here:

Could eating blueberries help get rid of belly fat? And could a blueberry-enriched diet stem the conditions that lead to diabetes? New research gives tantalizing clues to the potential of blueberries in reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The effect is thought to be due to the high level of phytochemicals _ naturally occurring antioxidants _ that blueberries contain.

and here:

It is already known that blueberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. New research shows that blueberry fibre are important and can alleviate and protect against intestinal inflammations, such as ulcerative colitis.

You are what you eat:

Mediterranean diet (yes):

The Mediterranean diet may be best known as a heart-healthy eating plan, but some studies suggest that it may also reduce the risk of diabetes, certain cancers, obesity and Alzheimer s disease.

Dark chocolate (yes) or, apparently, even small amounts of any chocolate:

Chocolate consumption once a week as opposed to none per week may lower their risk of stroke and the risk of death after suffering a stroke.

And what you drink:

Beer (not nearly enough, alas – red wine instead):

A new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density and connective tissue. Moderate beer consumption may help fight osteoporosis, a disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue.

Milk (no):

Drinking milk during pregnancy may help reduce your baby’s chances of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as an adult.

Soda (no!)

Consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Although relatively rare, pancreatic cancer remains one of the most deadly, and only 5 percent of people who are diagnosed are alive five years later. No association was seen between fruit juice consumption and pancreatic cancer.

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

February 20 Summary Report

Normal-weight women who drink a light to moderate amount of alcohol appear to gain less weight and have a lower risk of becoming overweight and obese than non-drinkers, according to a report in the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

More than half of American adults drink alcoholic beverages, according to background information in the article. Alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram (with approximately 28 grams per ounce) and alcohol drinking may possibly lead to weight gain through an imbalance of energy consumed and energy burned. However, research has not consistently provided evidence that consuming alcohol is a risk factor for obesity.

Lu Wang, M.D., Ph.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues studied 19,220 U.S. women age 39 or older who had a body mass index (BMI) in the range classified as normal (18.5 to 25). On an initial questionnaire, participants reported how many alcoholic beverages they typically drank per day. A total of 7,346 (38.2 percent) reported drinking no alcohol; 6,312 (32.8 percent) drank less than 5 grams; 3,865 (20.1 percent) drank 5 to less than 15 grams; 1,129 (5.9 percent) drank 15 to less than 30 grams; and 568 (3 percent) drank 30 grams per day or more.

Over an average of 13 years of follow-up, women on average gained weight progressively. Women who did not drink alcohol at all gained the most weight, with weight gain decreasing as alcohol intake increased. A total of 7,942 (41.3 percent) women who initially had normal weight become overweight or obese (BMI of 25 or higher), including 732 (3.8 percent) who become obese (BMI of 30 or higher). Compared with women who did not drink at all, those who consumed some but less than 40 grams per day of alcohol were less likely to become overweight or obese. Women who drank 15 to less than 30 grams per day had the lowest risk, which was almost 30 percent lower than that of non-drinkers.

“An inverse association between alcohol intake and risk of becoming overweight or obese was noted for all four types of alcoholic beverages [red wine, white wine, beer and liquor], with the strongest association found for red wine and a weak yet significant association for white wine after multivariate adjustment,” the authors write.

The authors caution that, given potential medical and psychosocial problems related to drinking alcohol, its beneficial and adverse effects for each individual must be considered before making any recommendation about its use. “Further investigations are warranted to elucidate the role of alcohol intake and alcohol metabolism in energy balance and to identify behavioral, physiological and genetic factors that may modify the alcohol effects,” they conclude.

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

Women who drink moderately appear to gain less weight than nondrinkers

According to a new study, men employed in occupations with potential exposure to high levels of sunlight have a reduced risk of kidney cancer compared with men who were less likely to be exposed to sunlight at work. The study did not find an association between occupational sunlight exposure and kidney cancer risk in women. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study is the largest case-control study of kidney cancer to investigate the association with occupational sunlight exposure. The study, however, did not include information on non-occupational sunlight exposure and does not address directly whether sunlight exposure can help prevent kidney cancer.

Research suggests that vitamin D, which is obtained from sun exposure, some foods, and from supplements, may help prevent some cancers. Vitamin D is metabolized and most active within the kidneys. Because both the incidence of kidney cancer and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency have increased over the past few decades, Sara Karami, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, MD, and her colleagues designed a study to explore whether occupational sunlight exposure is associated with kidney cancer risk.

The study included 1,097 patients with kidney cancer and 1,476 individuals without cancer from four Central and Eastern European countries. Demographic and lifetime occupational information was collected through in-person interviews and occupational sunlight exposure indices were estimated based on industry and job titles. The investigators observed a 24 percent to 38 percent reduction in kidney cancer risk with increasing occupational sunlight exposure among male participants in the study. No association between occupational sunlight exposure and kidney cancer risk was observed among females in the study.

The findings suggest that sunlight exposure may affect kidney cancer risk, although the authors have no explanation for the apparent differences in risk between men and women. They offer several hypotheses for the observed differences. Biological or behavioral differences between men and women may play a role. For example, hormonal differences may influence the body’s response to sunlight exposure, females may have a higher tendency to use sunscreen on a regular basis, and men may be prone to working outdoors while shirtless. It is also possible that the observed gender differences in risk were due to confounding by other unmeasured kidney cancer risk factors, such as recreational sunlight exposure and physical activity levels.

While this study’s findings raise the possibility of a link between sunlight exposure and kidney cancer risk, “they clearly need to be replicated in other populations and in studies that use better estimates of long-term ultraviolet exposure and vitamin D intake,” said Dr. Karami.

###
Article: “Occupational sunlight exposure and risk of renal cell carcinoma.” Sara Karami, Paolo Boffetta, Patricia Stewart, Nathaniel Rothman, Katherine L. Hunting, Mustafa Dosemeci, Sonja I. Berndt, Paul Brennan, Wong-Ho Chow, and Lee E. Moore. CANCER; Published Online: March 8, 2010 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24939).
*

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

Vitamin D lowers kidney cancer risk in men

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that Vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defenses and that without sufficient intake of the vitamin, the killer cells of the immune system – T cells – will not be able to react to and fight off serious infections in the body.

For T cells to detect and kill foreign pathogens such as clumps of bacteria or viruses, the cells must first be ‘triggered’ into action and ‘transform’ from inactive and harmless immune cells into killer cells that are primed to seek out and destroy all traces of a foreign pathogen.

The researchers found that the T cells rely on vitamin D in order to activate and they would remain dormant, ‘naïve’ to the possibility of threat if vitamin D is lacking in the blood.

Chemical Reaction that Enables Activation

In order for the specialized immune cells (T cells) to protect the body from dangerous viruses or bacteria, the T cells must first be exposed to traces of the foreign pathogen. This occurs when they are presented by other immune cells in the body (known as macrophages) with suspicious ‘cell fragments’ or ‘traces’ of the pathogen. The T cells then bind to the fragment and divide and multiply into hundreds of identical cells that are all focused on the same pathogen type. The sequence of chemical changes that the T cells undergo enables them to both be ’sensitized to’ and able to deliver a targeted immune response.

Professor Carsten Geisler from the Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology explains that “when a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or ‘antenna’ known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D. This means that the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize. “

T cells that are successfully activated transform into one of two types of immune cell. They either become killer cells that will attack and destroy all cells carrying traces of a foreign pathogen or they become helper cells that assist the immune system in acquiring “memory”. The helper cells send messages to the immune system, passing on knowledge about the pathogen so that the immune system can recognize and remember it at their next encounter. T cells form part of the adaptive immune system, which means that they function by teaching the immune system to recognize and adapt to constantly changing threats.

Activating and Deactivating the Immune System

For the research team, identifying the role of vitamin D in the activation of T cells has been a major breakthrough. “Scientists have known for a long time that vitamin D is important for calcium absorption and the vitamin has also been implicated in diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis, but what we didn’t realize is how crucial vitamin D is for actually activating the immune system – which we know now. “

The discovery, the scientists believe, provides much needed information about the immune system and will help them regulate the immune response. This is important not only in fighting disease but also in dealing with anti-immune reactions of the body and the rejection of transplanted organs. Active T cells multiply at an explosive rate and can create an inflammatory environment with serious consequences for the body. After organ transplants, e.g. T cells can attack the donor organ as a “foreign invader”. In autoimmune disease, hypersensitive T cells mistake fragments of the body’s own cells for foreign pathogens, leading to the body launching an attack upon itself.

The research team was also able to track the biochemical sequence of the transformation of an inactive T cell to an active cell, and thus would be able to intervene at several points to modulate the immune response. Inactive or ‘naïve’ T cells crucially contain neither the vitamin D receptor nor a specific molecule (PLC-gamma1) that would enable the cell to deliver an antigen specific response.

The findings, continues Professor Geisler “could help us to combat infectious diseases and global epidemics. They will be of particular use when developing new vaccines, which work precisely on the basis of both training our immune systems to react and suppressing the body’s natural defenses in situations where this is important – as is the case with organ transplants and autoimmune disease.”

Most Vitamin D is produced as a natural byproduct of the skin’s exposure to sunlight. It can also be found in fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel or taken as a dietary supplement. No definitive studies have been carried out for the optimal daily dosage of vitamin D but as a large proportion of the population have very low concentrations of vitamin D in the blood, a number of experts recommend between 25-50mg micrograms a day.

###
The findings will be published in the latest edition of Nature Immunology, (Vitamin D controls T cell antigen receptor signaling and activation of human T cells ) 10.1038/ni.1851, on 07 March
*

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Vitamin D Crucial To Activating Immune Defenses

“Vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for other diseases,” explains principal investigator, Dr. Richard Kremer, co-director of the Musculoskeletal Axis of the Research Institute of the MUHC. “Because it is linked to increased body fat, it may affect many different parts of the body. Abnormal levels of Vitamin D are associated with a whole spectrum of diseases, including cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders.”

The study by Dr. Kremer and co-investigator Dr. Vincente Gilsanz, head of musculoskeletal imaging at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles of the University of Southern California, is the first to show a clear link between Vitamin D levels and the accumulation of fat in muscle tissue – a factor in muscle strength and overall health. Scientists have known for years that Vitamin D is essential for muscle strength. Studies in the elderly have showed bedridden patients quickly gain strength when given Vitamin D.

The study results are especially surprising, because study subjects – all healthy young women living in California – could logically be expected to benefit from good diet, outdoor activities and ample exposure to sunshine – the trigger that causes the body to produce Vitamin D.

“We are not yet sure what is causing Vitamin D insufficiency in this group,” says Dr. Kremer who is also Professor of Medicine at McGill University. High levels of Vitamin D could help reduce body fat. Or, fat tissues might absorb or retain Vitamin D, so that people with more fat are likely to also be Vitamin D deficient.”

The results extend those of an earlier study by Dr. Kremer and Dr. Gilsanz, which linked low levels of Vitamin D to increased visceral fat in a young population. “In the present study, we found an inverse relationship between Vitamin D and muscle fat,” Dr. Kremer says. “The lower the levels of Vitamin D the more fat in subjects’ muscles.”

While study results may inspire some people to start taking Vitamin D supplements, Dr. Kremer recommends caution. “Obviously this subject requires more study,” he says. “We don’t yet know whether Vitamin D supplementation would actually result in less accumulation of fat in the muscles or increase muscle strength. We need more research before we can recommend interventions. We need to take things one step at a time.”

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

Low Low levels of Vitamin D linked to muscle fat, decreased strength in young

Over 160 people representing COSH groups (Committees/Coalitions on Occupational Safety and Health), unions, universities, public health departments, immigrant advocacy organizations, environmental organizations, community-based organizations, government agencies, and others attended the 2009 National Worker Safety and Health Summit. The goal of the Summit was to bring together a wide range of individuals concerned about workers’ health and safety to develop common goals and strategies for improving occupational safety and health conditions in the United States.

The Summit was organized by the Protecting Workers Alliance, a coalition of organizations and individuals including the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health; United in Support and Memorial of Workplace Fatalities (a family rights advocacy organization); individual members of the Occupational Health and Safety Section of the American Public Health Association; and other concerned individuals.

The one day event featured presentations by leaders in the field, including Acting OSHA Director Jordan Barab and leading worker health and safety advocates from around the country. The Summit was a working meeting with the bulk of the day spent on small group sessions divided into issue areas. The workgroups that met included:

• Ergonomics
• Family Rights
• Farmworkers
• Green Jobs Health and Safety
• Immigrant Workers
• OSHA Reform/the Protecting America’s Workers Act
• Toxic Chemicals
• Worker Education and Training

This document presents the policy recommendations from each workgroup’s discussions. If you would like more information about the Protecting Workers Alliance, please send us a message at protectingworkers@gmail.com and take a look at our website: www.protectingworkers.org.

A. Reform of the Occupational Safety and Health Act
The Occupational Safety and Health Act, originally written into law under the Nixon administration, is long overdue for an overhaul. Monetary penalties under the Act are far lower than those governed by other federal laws and fail to act as an effective deterrent to unsafe working conditions. The system for protecting those who exercise their rights under the Act (“whistleblower protections”) has proven time and again to be an utter failure, as documented by multiple investigations by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Millions of public employees in states governed by federal OSHA jurisdiction are left out of the Act and are left unprotected, despite often working in highly hazardous jobs. Victims of job injuries and their families are often shut out of the process of OSHA investigations and left in the dark, exacerbating the trauma they experience. A comprehensive overhaul of the Act is needed to address these failings.
Policy Recommendations

1) Congress should pass legislation such as the Protecting America’s Workers Act (HR 2067 and S. 1580) to strengthen and update the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The legislation should:
• Strengthen penalties for serious violations.
• Allow for felony prosecution in cases in which willful violations of the Act result in serious injuries or deaths of workers.
• Provide OSHA coverage for all public employees in the nation (millions of state, county, and municipal employees are currently not covered under the Act.)
• Strengthen protections for whistleblowers to ensure that workers truly enjoy the right to seek help from OSHA without fear of losing their jobs.
• Increase victims’ and family members’ rights (see the “Family Rights” section of this document for details.)
2) Congress should pass HR 2199, the Protecting Workers from Imminent Danger Act, to ensure that workers are not forced to choose between risking their lives and saving their jobs.

B. Worker Health and Safety Education and Training
Worker education and training is a vital component of any safety and health program. Effective training develops workers who are educated and empowered to improve the working conditions in their places of employment. This document outlines key steps OSHA should take to improve the state of worker safety and health training in the U.S.

Policy Recommendations

1. A Worker Health and Safety Education Task Force needs to be funded to review the various worker training programs and mandates that currently exist (e.g. OSHA training grants, NIEHS Hazardous waste worker grants, OSHA 10/30 training programs, MSHA training programs, OSHA standards with training requirements, Hazard Communication, etc.) in order to identify strengths, weaknesses and gaps. This task force needs to have representatives from organizations that have shown an ability and commitment to health and safety education.

2. Revitalize and expand the OSHA Training Grants:
• OSHA should significantly increase funds available for grants to outside providers of education and training (Approx. $50 million per year would bring the level back to what it was during the New Directions era, in 2009 dollars) . OSHA should seek funding partners (the National Cancer Institute partnered with OSHA in the past).
• Training grants should be multi-year to make programs sustainable and to build capacity. Many OSH professionals and activists came into the field through New Directions grants; it is important to revitalize the field by creating opportunities and jobs for the next generation.
• Supported grant activities should be defined more broadly (e.g. multilingual educational materials development, technical assistance, needs assessment etc.) and not focused so narrowly on training numbers accumulated.
• Emphasis should be on worker/union training programs and joint labor-management activities, not employer training, as there are significant other resources available for employers (VPP, OSHA Consultation).
• A “train-the-trainer” model should be emphasized in order to maximize reach, as well as taking advantage of the effectiveness of worker educators/peer education.
• Grantee organizations should be able to conduct a wide range of education and training activities, including how to identify, control and eliminate hazards, workers’ rights, effective health and safety committees, collective bargaining for OSH, and other core topics necessary to develop worker leadership in safety and health.
• Priorities should include training and educational materials that address a range of literacy and language needs, that make technical information readily accessible to worker populations, and that reach underserved audiences including youth, immigrant and low-wage workers, the contingent workforce, etc.
• OSHA should develop meaningful evaluation methods for the grants program that go beyond “head counting” and look at effectiveness/worker preparedness to actively participate in injury and illness prevention.
• Training programs should be required to address a systems approach to OSH that emphasizes the hierarchy of controls and safety and health by design. Training should NOT include approaches that blame the worker or inhibit reporting of hazards and/or injuries.
• Training grant funds should allow payment for time off the job for workers to attend training for those who could not otherwise participate in training.
• Encourage linkages between training programs and OSHA field staff. (In the past OSHA staff were detailed to unions for various periods of time.)
• OSHA and other Federal Agencies involved in worker education should fund a “best practices in training” meeting or other public meeting on training as soon as possible.
• OSHA should hold an annual meeting of grantees where best practices in training can be shared. These meetings should include participation from trainers (Trainer Exchange model) as well as program administrators.

3. OSHA needs new leadership for training and education. There should be a Director of Education with staff support in the Assistant Secretary’s office in Washington, D.C., who will provide vision and leadership in terms of:
• Improving the quality of staff training for OSHA personnel using participatory methods of adult education that rely less on lecture methods;
• Leading the effort to revitalize OSHA training grants program;
• Creating minimum criteria for effective training and education (similar to the NIEHS guidelines), to include an emphasis on training that is participatory, hands-on, action-oriented, linguistically and culturally appropriate, etc.;
• Developing a clearinghouse to share resources, best practices, curricula, problem-solving, innovations, translation skills, etc., among the various training efforts;
• Creating and supporting a community of OSH worker educators and professionals to carry out programs that can translate into safer and healthier workplaces.

4. Reach youth before they enter the workforce:
• Develop a national campaign to build OSH curriculum into K-12 schools (building on NIOSH efforts to date);
• Incorporate OSH into youth employment and job development programs (for both youth and adults);
• Sustain and expand the Young Worker Safety Resource Center (currently funded through an OSHA ICB grant that will be ending).

5. Promulgate a strong Safety and Health Program Standard that incorporates a comprehensive training requirement and mandates worker participation in workplace OSH activities.
• Examine existing state models to determine the best approaches (e.g. California IIPP standard, Washington state standards, etc.)
• Look at international models/mandates for worker training and worker engagement (e.g. committees, safety reps, etc.)
• Look at ANSI standard for possible language (Criteria for accepted practices in safety, health and environmental training, ANSI Z490.1)
• OSHA should create an enforceable mandate for employers to conduct universal worker education on hazard recognition and control as one component of a new OSHA Program Standard. OSHA should use the previously proposed Program Standard as the starting document, which included requirements for management leadership and employee participation, hazard assessment, hazard prevention and control, employee training, and assessment of program effectiveness. Much of the proposed standard is summarized in the document at www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/peoshweb/shguide.pdf .
6. OSHA should create a special emphasis program to enforce existing training requirements in OSHA Standards. Employer failure to comply with training requirements should be classified as serious violations since they can lead to employee death or serious physical harm. Descriptions of training that employers are required to provide are found in more than 100 occupational safety and health standards. These descriptions range from very detailed to very general and can be found in Training Requirements in OSHA Standards and Training Guidelines, OSHA Publication 2254, 1998,www.osha.gov/Publications/osha2254.pdf. This document needs to be updated for changes in the past ten years.

7. Other Federal Agencies with worker health and safety programs [including NIOSH and MSHA] need to participate and fund new initiatives in worker education and training to complement this new direction for OSHA.
8. OSHA should place emphasis, in its policies and standards development regarding training, on refresher OSH training to keep workers periodically and consistently better informed of workplace hazards. On-the-job OSH training should be provided when a worker is assigned to new tasks or when new technologies are introduced in the workplace.

C. Immigrant Workers
Due to their precarious economic, and sometimes legal, situation, immigrant workers are particularly vulnerable to hazardous workplace conditions. Special efforts are needed by federal and state safety agencies in order to ensure that immigrant workers, especially those with limited English, are protected adequately from workplace hazards.

Policy Recommendations:

1. That OSHA develop and implement coordinated enforcement pilot projects targeting specific industries where high percentages of immigrants work. These efforts would include the involvement of the enforcement arms of the Wage and Hour Division and state Workers’ Compensation programs, building on models in states like California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
2. That OSHA increase the number of staff who can serve as qualified interpreters and who are fluent in the most common languages spoken by Limited English Proficiency (LEP) workers.
3. That, upon entering the workplace to conduct an inspection, the Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO) distribute written material (such as a business card or brochure) in the languages spoken in the workplace that informs workers that OSHA is conducting an investigation and provides information to workers about their rights and role during this process, including whistleblower protections found under section 11c of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). The written material should also inform workers of their right to speak with the CSHO in a confidential setting, including at a location other than the workplace, in accordance with Section 6, Chapter II, Inspection Procedures, Article (4)e.
4. That OSHA, upon initiating an inspection, post notices of inspection and workers’ rights throughout the facility in languages spoken by the workforce.
5. That OSHA require employers to post citation notices in the languages spoken by their employees.
6. That OSHA implement a policy prohibiting supervisors from interpreting for employees with limited English proficiency during an inspection.
7. That OSHA recognize that foreign-born workers with limited English proficiency are especially vulnerable to company retaliation when reporting conditions, and that OSHA make efforts to communicate whistleblower protections to employees and employers.
8. That OSHA establish a policy ensuring that workers’ immigration status shall remain confidential.
9. That OSHA ensure appropriate communication between workers with limited English proficiency and employers, by citing 1910.1200, the Hazard Communication Standard, as well as other training standards, when workers do not receive health and safety training in a language they can understand or when signage has not been posted in a language they can read.
10. That OSHA rescind its directive found in Chapter 3 Section VII of the Field Operations Manual that instructs CSHOs to request that employees provide an identification card during the course of a workplace inspection, as this may impede the employee’s willingness to participate in the interview and to speak freely.
11. That OSHA conduct targeted outreach to immigrant communities in order to communicate that all workers are protected by Administration regulations regardless of immigration status. This outreach should utilize video sharing and social networking websites as well as recognizable public figures from distinct immigrant communities.
12. That OSHA develop effective and long term relationships with community groups, who can serve as a liaison to workers and family members so that they may communicate with OSHA in a confidential and safe setting, as well as in their own language.
13. That OSHA implement a policy granting community organizations the authority to file complaints in order to ensure that immigrant workers and family members can fully participate in the investigation process.
14. That OSHA establish a committee, composed of OSHA staff as well as labor and community representatives, to supervise the implementation of the Immigrant Worker plan and establish progress benchmarks.

D. Ergonomics
Musculoskeletal disorders account for a substantial portion of the burden of occupational injuries and illnesses in the United States. Current law and regulations have failed to provide workers with adequate protection from these hazards. One group that is particularly exposed to ergonomic injuries is health care workers who experience the constant physical stresses of handling patients.

Policy Recommendations:

1) Congress should pass the Safe Patient Handling Act, HR 2381 and S 1788, in order to prevent musculoskeletal injuries among health care workers.
2) These bills should be amended to require joint labor-management Safe Patient Handling-ergonomics committees, with the requirement that direct care workers constitute half the members.
3) In the absence of congressional legislation, OSHA should begin work on the adoption of a standard for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders in the health care industry.
4) Federal OSHA should return the MSD column to the OSHA 300 log in order to obtain accurate data on the extent of the problem.
5) State legislatures should pursue state laws regarding safe patient handling, in the absence of federal action.
6) OSHA should promulgate a Health and Safety Program Standard that includes a component requiring employers to conduct job hazard analyses including ergonomic hazards.
7) OSHA should use its authority under the General Duty clause to cite employers for failure to protect workers’ health and safety in cases in which employees are exposed to ergonomic hazards and in which proven methods for reducing these hazards are not employed.
OSHA should institute a requirement in their VPP (Voluntary Protection) program that participating companies implement comprehensive ergonomics programs.

E. Family Rights
Family members of victims of workplace tragedies lack basic rights to information and involvement in OSHA investigations. In many cases, victims and their families have information about the context of workplace accidents which could be useful to investigators. Ensuring the active involvement of family members not only is a matter of fairness, but would increase the likelihood of a successful investigation.
Policy Recommendations
1. A federal liaison office should be established to provide family members with information about the accident investigation(s) process, role of other state or federal agencies, workers’ compensation and other matters related to their loved one’s death.
2. Family members should have full “party status” in legal proceedings involving OSHA, MSHA, or whatever state or federal agency is conducting the workplace-fatality investigation.
3. Family members should be given the right to designate a representative to act on their behalf in all matters related to the investigation and any follow-up legal actions related to the investigation.
4. Family members should be notified of all meetings, phone calls, hearings or other communications involving the accident investigation team and the employer, and be given the opportunity to participate in these events.
5. Family members should be given the opportunity to recommend names of individuals to be interviewed by the accident investigation team and to submit questions to the investigators for response by the interviewees. Family members should be given access to all transcripts of interviews, affidavits, or written statements made by witnesses and others interviewed for the investigation.
6. Family members should have the right to be kept informed routinely (no less than once every 14 days) by federal and state officials (e.g., OSHA, OSHA State-Plans, MSHA) on the progress of the incident investigation, including an estimate of when the investigation will be completed.
7. Family members should have the right to conduct an independent investigation of the work-related fatality or serious injury, including the right to visit the scene of the accident before it is released by the investigation team back to the employer’s control.
8. OSHA and MSHA should assure that all physical evidence related to the accident investigation is preserved and secured in a tamper-resistant environment. Family members should have the right to view all physical evidence.
9. Family members should have access to all documents gathered and produced as part of the accident investigation, including records prepared by first responders, and state and federal officials.
10. Information mentioning the deceased family-member’s name and condition should not be redacted from documents provided to family members. All fees related to the production of documents should be waived for family members.
11. Family members should be compensated for the time and expenses incurred because of a work-related fatality or serious injury. In cases where the deceased or seriously injured worker has no spouse or dependent children, a parent of the worker should be compensated for funeral cost, travel and medical expenses, and lost wages.

F. Toxic Chemicals
Our national system for regulating toxic chemical hazards in the workplace and the environment is broken. The Toxic Substances and Control Act is out of date and long overdue for an overhaul. OSHA’s system for establishing workplace permissible exposure limits (PELs) on a one-by-one basis for chemicals has proven a failure. Fundamental reforms to this system are needed to protect workers and the community from the harmful effects of toxic chemicals.
Policy Recommendations
1) Given that workers are currently exposed to numerous toxic substances that cause chronic disease, cancer and reproductive harm, Federal OSHA should immediately adopt PELs for all chemicals for which another government agency has adopted an exposure limit after a public hearing, which exposure limit was based on quantitative risk assessment (QRA). Adoption should occur after appropriate mathematical adjustments accounting for how long workers are exposed (based on 40-year work life). The burden should be on industry to establish that the health-based PEL, based on the QRA, is not technically feasible or possible through the development of new technology or will eliminate the entire industry. Federal regulators should also adopt regulations that establish best available control technology and practices in order to reduce exposures to the lowest level possible to protect workers from individual or groups of toxic chemicals whether or not a PEL is adopted.
2) Congress should pass a comprehensive reform of the Toxic Substances and Control Act, including a “Just Transition” clause for workers. Where priority chemicals are identified for phase-out, the concepts of chemical substitution and toxic use reduction should be incorporated, avoiding “regrettable substitutions” and using various financial incentives.
3) NIOSH should be authorized and funded to carry out its mandate of assessing chemicals and making recommendations to OSHA. In particular it should review available quantitative risk assessments conducted by nationally or internationally recognized scientific organizations for individual chemicals and mixed use exposures, and forward recommendations for PELs to Federal OSHA.
4) NIOSH should develop an initiative to track the manufacture and use of toxic chemicals in commerce so that public health agencies can warn those potentially exposed to chemicals when new health hazard information becomes known.
5) Congress should consider legislation similar to Massachusetts’s Toxic Use Reduction Act, which requires certain companies to prepare toxic use reduction plans.

G. Green Jobs/Safe Jobs
We applaud the new federal focus on “Green Jobs” and the great infusion of resources allocated to new public works and “Green Jobs” programs. But we fear that these programs could have the unintended consequence of exposing hundreds of thousands of inexperienced workers to a broad range of hazards. In the rush to get projects underway, safety and health considerations may be brushed aside. State and federal agencies should work to ensure that the agencies overseeing such projects take adequate account of the safety and health hazards involved and implement appropriate training and prevention programs.
Policy Recommendations

1) Any new stimulus funding for public works projects should include requirements for adequate health and safety training.
2) Employers should ensure that safety and health training for Green Jobs meets not only minimal OSHA standards but fully prepares workers to prevent job injuries and illnesses.
3) OSH requirements and certification issues need to be clarified for certain jobs in the new “Green Economy,” such as weatherization, solar panel installation, energy auditing, etc.

H. Farmworkers
Despite being one of the most vulnerable groups of workers in the country, farmworkers are too often forgotten in our nation’s efforts to protect workers’ safety. Few OSHA standards apply to agriculture and overlapping jurisdiction with the US Environmental Protection Agency often means that farmworkers’ safety and health falls through the cracks.

Policy Recommendations

1. The federal government should ensure that adequate health care and medical services are provided for all farmworkers, migrants, and their family members.
2. The legal provisions that require farmworkers and migrant workers to be present in a U.S. jurisdiction in order to raise valid workers compensation claims and/or other claims based on worker protections under U.S. law should be eliminated. This “presence rule” prevents some migrant workers, already returned to their sending countries, from bringing otherwise valid claims against U.S. employers.
3. An alternative visa, separate from the employment visa programs, should be created for workers who need to re-enter the U.S. for jurisdictional requirements and/or court proceedings arising from a valid claim against a U.S. Employer.
4. Congress should pass comprehensive immigration reform and health care reform that includes the rights of farmworkers and migrants.

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

Policy Recommendations from the National Worker Safety and Health Summit

Coffee drinkers may be less likely to be hospitalized for heart rhythm disturbances, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. The researchers note that the findings may be surprising because patients frequently report palpitations after drinking coffee.

While it has been established that very large doses of caffeine, the most active ingredient in coffee, can produce rhythm disturbances, there has been limited epidemiologic research about the caffeine doses people take. Previous data from a population study in Denmark compared heavy to light coffee drinkers with respect to risk of atrial fibrillation, the most common major rhythm disturbance, and found no statistically significant difference. This research presentation is believed to be the first large, multiethnic population study to look at all major types of heart rhythm disturbance, the researchers said.

The researchers followed 130,054 men and women and found that those who reported drinking four or more cups of coffee each day had an 18 percent lower risk of hospitalization for heart rhythm disturbances. Those who reported drinking one to three cups each day had a 7 percent reduction in risk, according to Arthur Klatsky, MD, the study’s lead investigator and a senior consultant in cardiology at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.

“Coffee drinking is related to lower risk of hospitalization for rhythm problems, but the association does not prove cause and effect, or that coffee has a protective effect,” Klasky said. Other explanations for the association might include other traits of coffee drinkers such as exercise or dietary habits. Additionally, some people with heart rhythm problems often are not hospitalized.

“However, these data might be reassuring to people who drink moderate amounts of coffee that their habit is not likely to cause a major rhythm disturbance,” Klatsky said. While this report is not sufficient evidence to say that people should drink coffee to prevent rhythm problems, it supports the idea that people who are at risk for rhythm problems, or who have rhythm problems, do not necessarily need to abstain from coffee, emphasized Klatsky.

The long-term observational study involved 130,054 men and women, 18 to 90 years old, with the majority less than 50 years old. About 2 percent (3,317) were hospitalized for rhythm disturbances; 50 percent of those were for atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm problem. The 18 percent reduction in risk was consistent among men and women, different ethnic groups, smokers and nonsmokers. It also was similar for various rhythm problems such as paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, atrial flutter, and atrial fibrillation.

Fourteen percent of the people in the study drank less than one cup of coffee a day; 42 percent drank one to three cups of coffee a day; and 17 percent reported drinking four cups or more each day. Only 27 percent of the people in the study were not coffee drinkers.

While emphasizing that these observational data do not establish causality and a protective mechanism is unclear, researchers speculate that moderate doses of caffeine may affect rhythm disturbances by antagonism of adenosine, a nucleoside compound widely distributed in the body. In the heart adenosine has several effects on conduction of electrical impulses, muscle cell energetics, and heart muscle cell recovery that might predispose to rhythm problems. Caffeine antagonizes adenosine effects by blocking its chemical sites of action.

The researchers examined hospitalization data by elapsed time after the initial examination. For hospitalization within 10 years, the reduction in hospitalizations for people who consumed four cups of coffee or more each day reached 28 percent.

The researchers also studied persons in the group with or without symptoms or history of heart and respiratory disease. For both groups, consuming four cups of coffee daily appeared to be associated with fewer hospitalizations for rhythm disturbances.

More information on studies related to coffee consumption

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

Coffee = Reduced Risk of Heart Rhythm Disturbances

Until not very long ago, quinine — a bitter-tasting substance sometimes associated with tonic water that was once the world’s mainstay treatment for malaria — was also the drug of choice for treatment of muscle cramps. But in 2006, the Food and Drug Administration warned against the use of quinine for this purpose, not because it was utterly ineffective but because of accumulating anecdotal evidence of adverse effects.

A thorough literature review conducted by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, to be published Feb. 23 in Neurology, confirms the FDA’s concerns. The resulting guidelines urge caution in the use of quinine, suggest the exploration of other possible treatments and encourage patients and physicians to pay closer attention to the manifestation of muscle cramps, which are usually benign but can sometimes signal more significant medical problems.

“Our recommendation is that quinine should be avoided for general use in treating muscle cramps,” said the study’s first author, Hans Katzberg, MD, who has a fellowship in neuromuscular medicine at the medical school. Although available data suggests that quinine can reduce the symptoms by one-third to one-half, serious adverse effects, including blood irregularities, arise as often as one in 25 cases, Katzberg said. Still, if muscle cramps are disabling, other attempted therapies fail and the patient’s condition can be actively monitored by a physician, then the use of quinine may be in order. Once sold over the counter, quinine is no longer easily available. It is still a key ingredient in tonic water, but a self-medicating Dr. Schweppes would have to ingest at least a few liters of the stuff a day to get a therapeutic dose. That’s a bit of a stretch.

There is no solid formal evidence that either drinking water (tonic or otherwise) or stretching, two frequently cited non-drug approaches to reducing muscle cramps, effectively counters them. Still, neither method is likely to cause much harm if practiced in moderation.

Other muscle-cramp treatments reviewed in this study include vitamin B complex, calcium-channel blocking agents often prescribed for hypertension, and anti-epileptic drugs. But the investigators concluded that more research is needed to assess the efficacy of these alternatives. “The relative lack of data on many of these compounds came as a surprise,” said Katzberg.

The review covered only studies of muscle cramps that were unrelated to any underlying disease. Muscle cramps — typically in the calves, usually more noticeable in the still of the night and frequently experienced by pregnant women — often occur independently of any underlying serious condition. But they can be indicators of kidney or liver disease as well as neurological conditions, such as Lou Gehrig’s disease and peripheral neuropathy associated with late-stage type-2 diabetes. For this reason, people experiencing significant cramping are encouraged to consult a physician.

While breakthrough treatments for muscle cramps remain elusive, the prescription for getting them is no secret: Try sitting and reading 500 journal articles. Katzberg initially sifted through 563 studies on the subject, deeming 24 suitable for analysis. Then he and two colleagues — senior author Yuen So, MD, PhD, professor of neurology and neurological sciences, and Ahmir Khan, MD, a clinical fellow at the medical school now practicing neurology in Chicago — carefully read the studies in order to draw their conclusions about different therapies’ effectiveness and safety.

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

Treatments for Muscle Cramps

“Soluble fiber changes the personality of immune cells—they go from being pro-inflammatory, angry cells to anti-inflammatory, healing cells that help us recover faster from infection,” said Gregory Freund, a professor in the U of I’s College of Medicine and a faculty member in the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences’ Division of Nutritional Sciences.

This happens because soluble fiber causes increased production of an anti-inflammatory protein called interleukin-4, he said.

The study will appear in the May 2010 issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity and is available online.

In the experiment, laboratory mice consumed low-fat diets that were identical except that they contained either soluble or insoluble fiber. After six weeks on the diet, the animals had distinctly different responses when the scientists induced illness by introducing a substance (lipopolysaccharide) that causes the body to mimic a bacterial infection.

“Two hours after lipopolysaccharide injection, the mice fed soluble fiber were only half as sick as the other group, and they recovered 50 percent sooner. And the differences between the groups continued to be pronounced all the way out to 24 hours,” said Christina Sherry, who also worked on the study.

“In only six weeks, these animals had profound, positive changes in their immune systems,” she said.

Now Freund has a new question: Could soluble fiber offset some of the negative effects of a high-fat diet, essentially immunizing obese persons against the harmful effects of fat?

Scientists have long known that obesity is linked to inflammatory conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.

Yet, in a recent study, the U of I scientists demonstrated that fat tissue produces hormones that appear to compensate for this inflammation. “There are significant anti-inflammatory components in fat tissue and, if they were strategically unleashed, they could potentially protect obese people from further inflammatory insults, such as a heart attack or stroke. In obese animals, you can see the body compensating in an effort to protect itself,” he said.

Not all fat is bad, the researcher noted. The Mediterranean diet, which receives high marks for its health benefits, includes such foods as olive oil; salmon, tuna, sardines, and trout, which contain important omega-3 and -6 fatty acids; and plant sources of fat, such as flaxseed.

“Now we’d like to find a way to keep some of the anti-inflammatory, positive effects that develop over time with a high-fat diet while reducing that diet’s negative effects, such as high blood glucose and high triglycerides. It’s possible that supplementing a high-fat diet with soluble fiber could do that, even delaying the onset of diabetes,” he said.

This study is one of the first to provide two valuable lessons, said Sherry. The first, already noted, is that soluble fiber has direct anti-inflammatory effects and builds up the immune system. The second is that the amount of soluble fiber necessary to achieve these health benefits is a reasonable, not a pharmacological, amount.

The recommended daily dietary recommendation is 28 to 35 grams of total fiber, but most of the FDA’s health claims are for insoluble fiber, and that’s where things get a bit complicated, she said.

“Not all fiber is created equal, although you wouldn’t know that by reading nutrition labels,” said Sherry. “Most manufacturers don’t tell you how much of each type of fiber a food contains, and we think it’s important that this information be included on a product’s packaging.”

Good sources of soluble fiber are oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, lentils, citrus fruits, apples, strawberries, and carrots. “We used a citrus-based pectin in our study,” Sherry said.

Insoluble fiber, found in whole wheat and whole-grain products, wheat bran, and green, leafy vegetables, is also valuable for providing bulk and helping food move through the digestive system, but it doesn’t provide the boost to the immune system that soluble fiber provides.

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Study shows soluble fiber boosts immune system

The observed improvements in bone mineral density, strength and postural balance due to recreational soccer are of particularly interest for a large group of women but also for elderly men, says project leader Associate Professor Peter Krustrup, Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, and continue “It is well known that the risk of falls and fractures increases with age as a result of weaker bones, poorer balance and attenuated ability to trigger rapid muscle force, but the present results suggest that soccer – and possibly other ball games – is an effective training method to reduce bone weakening that comes with increasing age”.

Photo from the study of women and soccer.
Credit: Mikal Schlosser

Better bones from soccer than from running
A 14-week study in which women aged 20-47 years trained soccer twice a week showed marked increases in bone density in the left and right tibia. Furthermore, soccer training showed an elevated mass of the calf muscle, greater muscle strength, and an improved balance. A 16-months training intervention for the same subject group showed that prolonged soccer training for untrained premenopausal women elevates whole-body bone mineral density. The women who participated in the study had never played soccer before, implying that all can benefit from soccer. Interestingly the short- and long-term training effects on bone mineral density were greater for the soccer players than for a similar group of runners and an inactive control group.

- “During soccer training and games, the players perform many sprints, turns, kicks and tackles. This combination of actions help achieve a variable bone impact that appears to provide a better stimulus to bone mineralisation than running”, explains project leader Peter Krustrup.

Little training required
Small-sided soccer games for 1 hour two to three times a week during 12 weeks for untrained men aged 20-40 years resulted in significant increases in muscle mass and leg bone mass, whereas no effects occurred for the inactive control group. The postural balance was improved as well. In a follow-up study on long-term effects of soccer for men, it was demonstrated that 64 weeks of training have an additional effect on both muscle mass and leg bone mineral density. These effects were observed despite the fact that the training volume was reduced significantly. After the first 12 weeks the training frequency was only 1.3 times per week, indicating that a relatively small amount of training can nevertheless affect bone strength in the longer term.

70-year-old men as fit as 30-year-olds
The research group has also examined muscle function and postural balance in a group of 65-75 year old men who have played recreational soccer most of their lives and compared the values with a group of men at the same age without specific training and a group of 30-year-old untrained men.

- “The research shows that 70-year-old men, who have played soccer most of their lives on a recreational basis, have just as good a balance and rapid muscle strength as untrained 30-year-olds and much better balance and muscle strength than their peers” says Peter Krustrup.
As an example, the untrained older men had more than twice as many falls in a one-leg balance test, compared to the soccer-trained older men and untrained young men.
About the project
Led by Professors Peter Krustrup and Jens Bangsbo from Department of Exercise and Sports Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 50 researchers from seven countries have studied the physical, psychological and social aspects of soccer and the results are remarkable. A number of scientific articles from the project are published on 2 March 2010 later this month the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports will publish a special edition issue entitled “Football for Health” containing 14 scientific articles from the soccer project. The research project has received funding from FIFA – Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC), The Danish Ministry of Culture, TrygFonden, United Federation of Danish Workers (3F), The Danish Football Association, Team Denmark and The Danish Sports Confederation.

Further research plans:
The researchers have specific plans to examine the effect of soccer on other patient groups such as people with diabetes II and cancer. The research group is also planning follow-up studies of the long-term effects of soccer on preliminary stages of osteoporosis, on high blood pressure for middle-aged men and women as well as the cardiac and musculoskeletal health effects of youth soccer. A planned collaboration with an international network of researchers from, among others, England, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, USA, Kenya and Iran will examine the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal effects of soccer and other ball games such as basketball, handball, volleyball and floorball on inactive and overweight children and inactive elderly people.

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

Soccer reduces risk of falls and bone fractures

“Vitamin D deficiency continues to be a problem despite the nutrient’s widely reported health benefits,” said Sue Penckofer, PhD, RN, professor, MNSON. “Chicago winters compound this issue when more people spend time away from sunlight, which is a natural source of vitamin D.”

Diet alone may not be sufficient to manage vitamin D levels. A combination of adequate dietary intake of vitamin D, exposure to sunlight, and treatment with vitamin D2 or D3 supplements can decrease the risk of certain health concerns. The preferred range in the body is 30 – 60 ng/mL of 25(OH) vitamin D.

Loyola faculty members plan to take vitamin D research a step further by evaluating whether weekly vitamin D supplements improve blood sugar control and mood in women with diabetes. Depression is associated with increased insulin resistance, so people with diabetes have a greater risk for the disease than those without depression. Women also tend to have greater rates of depression and poorer blood sugar control than men with diabetes.

“There is evidence to suggest that vitamin D supplementation may decrease insulin resistance,” said Dr. Penckofer. “If we can stabilize insulin levels, we may be able to simply and cost effectively improve blood sugar control and reduce symptoms of depression for these women.”

Loyola is currently enrolling women in this clinical trial. In order to enter the study, they must be 18 to 70 years of age, have stable type 2 diabetes, signs of depression and no other major medical illness. Eighty women with type 2 diabetes and signs of depression will be given a weekly dose of vitamin D (50,000 IU) for a period of six months. Study participants will be evaluated at three points during this time.

“Vitamin D has widespread benefits for our health and certain chronic diseases in particular,” Dr. Penckofer said. “Our research may shed greater light on the role this nutrient plays in managing two conditions that impact millions of Americans. If proven to be successful, vitamin D may an important addition to care for diabetes and depression.”

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

VITAMIN D LIFTS MOOD DURING COLD WEATHER MONTHS

Overall, the executives who took their medication even sporadically were twice as likely to meet their cholesterol goals. The study finding also questions the prevailing wisdom that income is a primary factor in medication adherence.

University of Michigan researchers studied 1,607 executive level managers at a major financial institution from 1995 to 2004, said Alyssa Schultz, health science research associate at the U-M School of Kinesiology Health Management Research Center, and one of the study authors.

Researchers wanted to discover the rate of medication adherence, and also what happened to cholesterol levels in executives who did or didn’t take statins. Statin drugs lower the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or the so-called bad cholesterol. Statins are proven effective and are a first-line treatment for lowering cholesterol.

Adherence was defined as taking medication as prescribed at least 80 percent of the time. Overall, statin users were twice as likely to meet the near optimal goal of 130 mg/dL or less, than non-statin users. Among executive who took statins, 70 percent achieved the near-optimal goal and 30 percent achieved the optimal goal of 100 mg/dL or less, compared to 55 percent and 21 percent, respectively, for non-statin users who weren’t prescribed the drug

Even executives who took their medication sporadically did much better than the non-statin users, Schultz said. “It seems to show that some medication use is better than none, however adherence is associated with the best outcome of all,” she said. The executives who actually did adhere to the statin regimen were significantly more likely to achieve their cholesterol goals than those who took the medication sporadically.

Researchers in this study did not look at reasons why the executives did or didn’t follow their doctor’s orders, but past research on the topic suggests cost is a factor. However, this study population was predominately white male and more highly educated and compensated than more than the average person.

“Many people think cost is the main reason for medication non-adherence but this doesn’t appear true since these people have relatively high salaries,” said Schultz.

Using statins could actually save money. Previous research on the effectiveness of statin use in a population at high risk for cardiovascular disease found that a health plan with 210,000 covered lives and 9,336 at-risk employees could yield a $1,735 reduction in costs per treated patient.

So what can employers do? Make sure statins are a covered benefit, said Schultz. Do screening to identify at-risk employees. Partner with health care and pharmacy providers to address reasons for poor medication adherence.
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Take your statins

The saying “You’re only as old as you feel” really seems to resonate with older adults, according to research from Purdue University.

“How old you are matters, but beyond that it’s your interpretation that has far-reaching implications for the process of aging,” said Markus H. Schafer, a doctoral student in sociology and gerontology who led the study. “So, if you feel old beyond your own chronological years you are probably going to experience a lot of the downsides that we associate with aging.

“But if you are older and maintain a sense of being younger, then that gives you an edge in maintaining a lot of the abilities you prize.”

Schafer and co-author Tetyana P. Shippee, a Purdue graduate who is a research associate at Purdue’s Center on Aging and the Life Course, compared people’s chronological age and their subjective age to determine which one has a greater influence on cognitive abilities during older adulthood. Nearly 500 people ages 55-74 were surveyed about aging in 1995 and 2005 as part of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States.

In 1995, when people were asked what age do you feel most of the time, the majority identified with being 12 years younger than they actually were.

“We found that these people who felt young for their age were more likely to have greater confidence about their cognitive abilities a decade later,” Schafer said. “Yes, chronological age was important, but the subjective age had a stronger effect.

“What we are not sure about is what comes first. Does a person’s wellness and happiness affect their cognitive abilities or does a person’s cognitive ability contribute to their sense of wellness. We are planning to address this in a future study.”

Schafer also said that the current study’s findings have both positive and negative implications.

“There is a tremendous emphasis on being youthful in our society and that can have a negative effect for people,” Schafer said. “People want to feel younger, and so when they do inevitably age they can lose a lot of confidence in their cognitive abilities.

“But on the other hand, because there is such a desire in America to stay young, there may be benefits of trying to maintain a sense of youthfulness by keeping up with new trends and activities that feel invigorating. Learning new technologies is one way people can continue to improve their cognitive abilities. It will be interesting to see how, or if, these cultural norms shift as the Baby Boomer generation ages.”

Other studies have shown that women are prone to aging stereotypes, so Schafer expected to see that women who felt older about themselves would have less confidence in their cognitive abilities.

“There is a slight difference between men and women, but it’s not as pronounced as we expected,” Schafer said. “This was surprising because of the emphasis on physical attractiveness and youth that is often disproportionately placed on women.”

Schafer also is studying how stressful events, such as family members’ health issues, affect aging, as well as how happiness and aging relate.

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

How you think about your age may affect how you age

Individuals who regain weight should exercise to maintain health benefits of weight loss

With the obesity rate rising for American adults and children, health concerns such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease are a frequent reality. Although obesity itself is a major risk factor for disease, most of the threat may be associated with a cluster of risk factors called the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Losing weight can improve health and reduce these risk factors, but many people have difficulty keeping the weight off. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that exercising during weight regain can maintain improvements in metabolic health and disease risk.

In the study, individuals who didn’t exercise during weight regain experienced significant deterioration in metabolic health, while those who exercised maintained improvements in almost all areas. The MU study, led by Tom R. Thomas, professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology in the College of Human Environmental Sciences, is the first to examine the role of exercise in countering the negative effects of weight regain on MetS and overall health status.

“Although many people are successful at losing weight through diet and exercise, the majority of them will relapse and regain the weight,” Thomas said. “The findings of this study indicate that regaining weight is very detrimental; however, exercise can counter those negative effects. The findings support the recommendation to continue exercising after weight loss, even if weight is regained.”

In the study, overweight men and women with measured characteristics of MetS were given a diet and aerobic exercise plan that included supervised exercise five days a week, for 4-6 months. After losing weight, participants underwent programmed weight regain and were separated into two groups, one that exercised and one that didn’t. The non-exercise group experienced rapid deterioration in weight-loss induced benefits to metabolic health. The exercise group maintained improvements in almost all measures, including LDL and HDL cholesterol, oxygen consumption (VO2max), blood pressure and glucose. Exercise didn’t maintain blood cholesterol and abdominal fat loss.

“It’s clear that the message to lose weight isn’t working because so many people regain weight; a new message is to keep exercising and maintain your weight to reduce disease risk and improve overall health,” Thomas said. “Don’t worry so much about losing weight, but focus on exercising and maintaining your current weight.”

The study, “Exercise and the Metabolic Syndrome with Weight Regain,” will be published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in April. Thomas, adjunct professor in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, completed the study in collaboration with MU researchers in the Department of Internal Medicine; the Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology; the Harry S. Truman VA Medical Center; and the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology.

To view the abstract

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Exercise Counters Negative Effects of Weight Regain

Neurobiologists are providing the first visual evidence that learning promotes brain health — and, therefore, that mental stimulation could limit the debilitating effects of aging on memory and the mind.

Using a novel visualization technique they devised to study memory, a research team led by Lulu Chen and Christine Gall found that everyday forms of learning animate neuron receptors that help keep brain cells functioning at optimum levels.

These receptors are activated by a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which facilitates the growth and differentiation of the connections, or synapses, responsible for communication among neurons. BDNF is key in the formation of memories.

“The findings confirm a critical relationship between learning and brain growth and point to ways we can amplify that relationship through possible future treatments,” says Chen, a graduate researcher in anatomy & neurobiology.

Study results appear in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences for the week of March 1.

In addition to discovering that brain activity sets off BDNF signaling at the sites where neurons develop synapses, researchers determined that this process is linked to learning-related brain rhythms, called theta rhythms, vital to the encoding of new memories.

Theta rhythms occurring in the hippocampus involve numerous neurons firing synchronously at a rate of three to eight times per second. These rhythms have been associated with long-term potentiation, a cellular mechanism underlying learning and memory.

In rodent studies, the team found that both unsupervised learning and artificial application of theta rhythms triggered BDNF signaling at synapse creation sites.

“This relationship has implications for maintaining good brain health,” says Gall, a professor of anatomy & neurobiology. “There is evidence that theta rhythms weaken as we age, and our discoveries suggest that this can result in memory impairment. On the other hand, they suggest that staying mentally active as we age can keep neuronal BDNF signaling at a constant rate, which may limit memory and cognitive decline.”

Researchers are now exploring whether learning-induced growth signals decrease with age and, if so, whether this can be reversed with a new family of experimental drugs.

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Learning helps keep brain healthy

Lisa Mauer, an associate professor of food science, said that crystalline substances – including vitamin C, some vitamin B forms and other dietary supplements – are prone to a process called deliquescence, in which humidity causes a water-soluble solid to dissolve. Keeping those supplements away from warm, humid environments can help ensure their effectiveness.

Lisa Mauer, a Purdue associate professor of food science, has shown that subjecting certain products, such as vitamin C, to humidity can chemically change their compositions, eliminating the health benefits associated with those products. (Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)

“You might see salt or sugar start to cake in the summer, start to form clumps, and that’s a sign of deliquescence,” said Mauer, whose findings were published in the early online version of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. “You can also get chemical instabilities, which are a little more problematic if you’re consuming a dietary supplement with vitamin C for that vitamin C content.”

Kitchen salt, sugar and powdered drink mixes commonly cake, Mauer said, making their measurement more difficult but not rendering them useless. Chemical changes become more than a nuisance in vitamins and dietary supplements, however.

“If you get some moisture present or ingredients dissolve, they’ll decrease the quality and shelf life of the product and decrease the nutrient delivery,” Mauer said. “You can get complete loss of the ingredients. It depends on the conditions. It depends on the formulations. Within a very short time – in a week – you can get complete loss of vitamin C in some products that have deliquesced.”

Bathrooms and kitchens can increase the detrimental effects because of spikes in humidity in those rooms. And Mauer said storing vitamins or supplements in containers with lids doesn’t always help.

“Opening and closing a package will change the atmosphere in it. If you open and close a package in a bathroom, you add a little bit of humidity and moisture each time,” Mauer said. “The humidity in your kitchen or bathroom can cycle up quite high, depending on how long of a shower you take, for example, and can get higher than 98 percent.”

Mauer used a gravimetric moisture sorption balance to determine the humidities at which substances would deliquesce. The samples spiked in weight at the deliquescence point because moisture was being adsorbed, meaning humidity was condensing on the solid and then the solid dissolved.

Different crystalline substances deliquesce at different humidities, Mauer said. For example, at room temperature, sodium ascorbate would deliquesce at 86 percent humidity, ascorbic acid at 98 percent humidity and fructose at 62 percent. Some ingredient blends deliquesce in as low as 30 percent humidity. Different forms of ingredients, such as the two forms of vitamin C studied (ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate), have different deliquescence points, different sensitivity to moisture and different degradation rates. At high enough humidities, samples dissolved completely.

Once humidity or temperature is brought back down, the product will solidify, Mauer said, but the damage has been done.

“Any chemical changes or degradation that have occurred before resolidification don’t reverse. You don’t regain a vitamin C content after the product resolidifies or is moved to a lower humidity,” she said. “The chemical changes we’ve observed are not reversible.”

This information could be important to anyone using vitamin-containing products, ranging from the consumer to the food and dietary supplement industry and ingredient suppliers. Storing products in dry conditions, below their deliquescence relative humidities, can avoid unwanted ingredient loss.

Consumers could notice liquid in vitamin containers, but Mauer said another sign of nutrient degradation is brown spots, especially on children’s vitamins. Mauer suggested discarding any dietary supplement that is showing signs of moisture uptake or browning.

“They’re not necessarily unsafe, but why give a vitamin to a kid if it doesn’t have the vitamin content you’re hoping to give them?” Mauer said. “You’re just giving them candy at that point with a high sugar content.”

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Vitamins stored in bathrooms, kitchens may become less effective

ScienceDaily (Mar. 2, 2010) — The next treatment for cancer might come from fish says a new research report published in the March 2010 print edition of the FASEB Journal. In the report, scientists show that the omega-3 fatty acid, “docosahexaenoic acid” or “DHA,” and its derivatives in the body kill neuroblastoma cancer cells. This discovery could lead to new treatments for a wide range of cancers, including neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, colon, breast, and prostate cancers, among others.

“We hope that this study can provide a deeper understanding of the actions of omega-3 fatty acids and their products in cancer cells, and why they can be of such high importance in treatment of the disease,” said Helena Gleissman, Ph.D., co-author of the study from the Childhood Cancer Research Unit of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. “Ultimately, we hope that we can be able to cure more children with neuroblastoma, and possibly other cancers.”

Scientists administered DHA to neuroblastoma cells from the nervous system and analyzed the cells for byproducts as the DHA was metabolized into the cells. Researchers then examined the affect of both DHA and its derivatives on the growth of cancer cells. Results showed that DHA killed the cancer cells, but that the toxic derivatives produced by DHA were even more effective at killing the cancer cells. This suggests that DHA could become a new agent for treating neuroblastoma and possibly many other cancers.

“This is good news for those looking to stop cancer. We now know that DHA plays both offense and defense when it comes to protecting our health,” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal. “It’s ability to help prevent numerous diseases is well documented, but now we see that DHA or one of its byproducts might serve as the starting point for a new class of anti-cancer drugs.”

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Omega-3 fatty acid kills neuroblastoma cancer cells

Researchers have designed a urine test that can simultaneously measure the extent of a potential carcinogenic process and a marker of garlic consumption in humans.

In a small pilot study, the test suggested that the more garlic people consumed, the lower the levels of the potential carcinogenic process were.

The research is all about body processes associated with nitrogen-containing compounds, scientists say. These processes include nitrosation, or the conversion of some substances found in foods or contaminated water into carcinogens.

“What we were after was developing a method where we could measure in urine two different compounds, one related to the risk for cancer, and the other, which indicates the extent of consumption of garlic,” said Earl Harrison, Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Human Nutrition at Ohio State, an investigator in Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, and senior author of the study.

“Our results showed that those were inversely related to one another – meaning that the more we had the marker for garlic consumption, the less there was of the marker for the risk of cancer.”

Ultimately, the scientists hope to find that a nutritional intervention could be a way to stop the process that develops these carcinogens. This process is most commonly initiated by exposure to substances called nitrates from certain processed meats or high-heat food preparation practices, or to water contaminated by industry or agricultural runoff.

About 20 percent of nitrates that are consumed convert to nitrites. A cascade of events can convert these compounds into what are called nitrosamines, and many, but not all, nitrosamines are linked to cancer.

Vegetables also contain nitrates, but previous research has suggested that the vitamin C in vegetables lowers the risk that those nitrates will convert to something toxic. Researchers suspected that nutrients in garlic could have similar antioxidant effects as vitamin C.

The study is published in a recent issue of the journal Analytical Biochemistry.

The research began with the small human study based at Penn State University. Researchers there fed participants a weeklong diet lacking any nitrates or garlic. They then gave the participants a dose of sodium nitrate – in a formulation that would not become toxic, but which would show a marker in the urine of the potentially toxic process.

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“What this research does suggest is that garlic may play some role in inhibiting formation of these nitrogen-based toxic substances. This was very small pilot study, so it’s also possible that the more garlic you have, the better it would be.”

Groups were then treated with capsules containing varying levels of garlic: 1, 3 or 5 grams of fresh garlic, or 3 grams of an aged garlic extract. A separate group received 500 milligrams of ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. Both the nitrate formula and treatments were given for seven days. Urine samples were collected from all of the participants every other day for seven days.

That research team then turned to Harrison and colleagues, who explored the methods required to precisely quantify biomarkers in urine for both the garlic consumption and the presence of nitrosoproline, the indicator that nitrosation has occurred.

Harrison’s group developed the urine test using a method called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Gas chromatography separates components of a mixture to detect specific substances, and has been used previously to quantify nitrosoproline. The addition of mass spectrometry to the analysis allowed for determination of the chemical structures of molecules in the sample – in this case, the presence of a specific compound that is released in urine after garlic is eaten.

When the test was used on the urine samples from the pilot garlic study, it showed that the participants who had taken garlic had lower concentrations of the marker for nitrosation than did those who took no garlic. Though the differences were slight, the consumption of 5 grams of garlic per day was associated with the lowest level of the marker for potential carcinogens. A single garlic clove typically can weigh between 1 and 5 grams.

Vitamin C had a similar effect in lowering the marker for nitrosation.

Harrison, also an investigator in the Center for Advanced Functional Foods Research and Entrepreneurship at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, noted that previous research has suggested that garlic and other plants with sulfur-containing compounds offer a variety of potential health benefits. Many questions remain about exactly what those benefits are and precisely how garlic works as a nutritional intervention.

“The precise mechanism by which garlic and other compounds affect nitrosation is under extensive investigation, but is not clear at this time,” he said.

“What this research does suggest, however, is that garlic may play some role in inhibiting formation of these nitrogen-based toxic substances. This was very small pilot study, so it’s also possible that the more garlic you have, the better it would be.

“So if you like garlic and you like garlic-containing foods, go out and have as much as you want. There’s no indication it’s going to hurt you, and it may well help you.”

Published on: Stay Healthy And Fit

GARLIC’S CANCER-FIGHTING POTENTIAL