Higher calcium intake may reduce body fat, mitigating genetic risk for diabetes

As the number of people with type 2 diabetes continues to rise and its toll increases, scientists are scrambling to unravel the complex genetic and lifestyle factors behind the disease. A new study finds that African American children with a genetic predisposition to diabetes may be able to reduce their risk by getting the USDA-recommended dose of calcium.

"Even though life expectancy for people with diabetes has gone up, the disease has a significant impact on quality of life, so finding ways to prevent people from developing diabetes is critical," said Laura Tosi, M.D., director of the bone health program at Children's National Medical Center and one of the study's lead investigators. "We were excited to find that higher calcium intake appears to mitigate the impact of some of the risk genes for type 2 diabetes, and we're eager to see if these results hold true in other populations."

An estimated 25 million people in the United States have diabetes, or about 1 in 12 people. African Americans are at especially high risk, and the trajectory for the disease is often set in childhood.

The researchers analyzed DNA samples, detailed nutrition information, body mass index and other health indicators in 142 African American children age 5-9. None of the study participants were diabetic, although 40 percent were overweight and 20 percent were obese.

Among children who tested positive for gene variants known to be associated with type 2 diabetes, those who consumed higher amounts of calcium had a significantly lower body mass index and percent body fat than those with lower calcium intake. Body mass index and percent body fat are strong indicators of a child's risk for developing diabetes later in life.

The USDA recommends children age 4-8 get 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day, the equivalent of about 3.5 8-ounce glasses of milk or 4.5 ounces of cheese. Children age 9-13 years should get about 1,300 milligrams. In addition to dairy products, other calcium-rich foods include tofu, sardines, salmon and some green vegetables.

The study underscores the work of previous researchers, who have shown that many African American children do not get the recommended levels of calcium in their diet. "Twenty percent of participating children consumed no milk in their diet whatsoever and 55 percent consumed less than one serving of milk per day. Only one-quarter of the children met the USDA standard," said Tosi.

Co-investigator Joseph Devaney, Ph.D., said the study could help lead to a more personalized approach to diabetes prevention. "The ultimate goal would be to be able to predict, from a child's genotype, his or her specific risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, and then develop a targeted preventative approach to mitigate those risk factors with specific lifestyle interventions such as increasing calcium intake or physical activity, for example," said Devaney, director of DNA technologies at Children's National Medical Center.

Although the researchers do not know the exact reason for the association, they speculate that calcium or related dietary factors may cause epigenetic changes that affect how the diabetes-linked genes are expressed.

"What got us interested in this is the whole question of how the environment—including a person's diet—influences gene expression," said Tosi. Although scientists have intensely studied the impact of environmental factors during prenatal development and early infancy, few researchers have examined the impact of such factors later in childhood.

Understanding the interactions of genes and environmental factors in children is especially helpful for a disease as complex as diabetes, said Devaney. By the time an adult is diagnosed with diabetes, there are usually numerous risk factors that need to be addressed. "The earlier you can identify a person's risk factors, the better the opportunity to prevent, or at least delay, full-blown disease," said Devaney.

Vitamin D may raise survival rates among cancer patients

Analysis finds strongest evidence of benefit in breast, colorectal cancers

Cancer patients who have higher levels of vitamin D when they are diagnosed tend to have better survival rates and remain in remission longer than patients who are vitamin D-deficient, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

The body naturally produces vitamin D after exposure to sunlight and absorbs it from certain foods. In addition to helping the body absorb the calcium and phosphorus needed for healthy bones, vitamin D affects a variety of biological processes by binding to a protein called a vitamin D receptor. This receptor is present in nearly every cell in the body.

"By reviewing studies that collectively examined vitamin D levels in 17,332 cancer patients, our analysis demonstrated that vitamin D levels are linked to better outcomes in several types of cancer," said one of the study's authors, Hui Wang, MD, PhD, Professor of the Institute for Nutritional Sciences at the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, China. "The results suggest vitamin D may influence the prognosis for people with breast cancer, colorectal cancer and lymphoma, in particular."

The meta-analysis looked at the results of 25 separate studies that measured vitamin D levels in cancer patients at the time of diagnosis and tracked survival rates. In most of the research, patients had their vitamin D levels tested before they underwent any treatment for cancer. The study found a 10 nmol/L increase in vitamin D levels was tied to a 4 percent increase in survival among people with cancer.

Researchers found the strongest link between vitamin D levels and survival in breast cancer, lymphoma and colorectal cancer. There was less evidence of a connection in people with lung cancer, gastric cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, melanoma or Merkel cell carcinoma, but the available data were positive.

"Considering that vitamin D deficiency is a widespread issue all over the world, it is important to ensure that everyone has sufficient levels of this important nutrient," Wang said. "Physicians need to pay close attention to vitamin D levels in people who have been diagnosed with cancer."

Molecular Secrets Behind Resveratrol’s Health Benefits

Resveratrol has been much in the news as the component of grapes and red wine associated with reducing “bad cholesterol,” heart disease and some types of cancer. Also found in blueberries, cranberries, mulberries, peanuts and pistachios, resveratrol is associated with beneficial health effects in aging, inflammation and metabolism.

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have now identified one of the molecular pathways that resveratrol uses to achieve its beneficial action. They found that resveratrol controls the body’s inflammatory response as a binding partner with the estrogen receptor without stimulating estrogenic cell proliferation, which is good news for its possible use as a model for drug design.

The study was recently published as an accepted manuscript in the online journal eLife, a publication supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society and the Wellcome Trust.

“Estrogen has beneficial effects on conditions like diabetes and obesity but may increase cancer risk,” said Kendall Nettles, a TSRI associate professor who led the study. “What hasn’t been well understood until now is that you can achieve those same beneficial effects with something like resveratrol.”

The problem with resveratrol, Nettles said, is that it really doesn’t work very efficiently in the body. “Now that we understand that we can do this through the estrogen receptor, there might compounds other than resveratrol out there that can do the same thing—only better,” he said.

“Our findings should lead scientists to reconsider the estrogen receptor as a main target of resveratrol—and any analogues,” said Jerome C. Nwachukwu, the first author of the study and a research associates in the Nettles laboratory. “It has gotten swept under the rug.”

In the new study, Nettles, Nwachukwu and their colleagues found that resveratrol is an effective inhibitor of interleukin 6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory protein that is part of the immune system (although IL-6 can be anti-inflammatory during exercise). High levels of IL-6 are also associated with poor breast cancer patient survival. According to the study, resveratrol regulates IL-6 without stimulating cell proliferation by altering a number of co-regulators of the estrogen receptor.

Chronic stress heightens vulnerability to diet-related metabolic risk

New research out of UC San Francisco is the first to demonstrate that highly stressed people who eat a lot of high-fat, high-sugar food are more prone to health risks than low-stress people who eat the same amount of unhealthy food.

"Chronic stress can play an important role in influencing biology, and it's critical to understand the exact pathways through which it works." said Kirstin Aschbacher, PhD, an assistant professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and lead author. "Many people think a calorie is a calorie, but this study suggests that two women who eat the same thing could have different metabolic responses based on their level of stress. There appears to be a stress pathway that works through diet – for example, it could be similar to what we see in animals, where fat cells grow faster in response to junk food when the body is chronically stressed."

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of abnormalities— increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels — that occur together, increasing a person's risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

While this stress-junk food pathway has been well mapped out with rodents and primates, this study is the first to suggest the same pathways may be at work in chronically stressed humans, according to the researchers.

"We can see this relationship exists by simply measuring stress and dietary intake, and looking inside at metabolic health," said senior author Elissa Epel. "Diet appears to be a critical variable that can either amplify or protect against the metabolic effects of stress, but we still don't know the details of how much it takes. It will be helpful to see what happens in our next study, when we have high stress people eat a high sugar diet for a couple weeks."

The study, published online in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, looked at a group of 61 disease-free women; 33 were chronically stressed women caring for a spouse or parent with dementia, and 28 were women with low stress. Over the course of a year, the women reported their consumption of high sugar, high fat foods.

The researchers evaluated key biological markers associated with elevated metabolic risk. They measured participants' waistlines and their fat distribution, using ultrasound scans to assess deep abdominal fat deposits. They tested participants' insulin resistance, one of the core drivers of obesity and diabetes. They also used a blood test to measure stress hormones and oxidative damage to lipids and cell RNA, a marker that has predicted higher rates of death from diabetes. Oxidative damage of the genome is also an important outcome because it is one factor that can contribute to faster cellular aging.

"We found that more frequent high fat, high sugar consumption significantly predicted a larger waistline, more truncal fat, higher oxidative damage, and more insulin resistance, but only among the group of women exposed to chronic stress," said Aschbacher. "The chronically stressed women didn't report eating more high sugar, high fat foods than the low stressed women; however, they did have higher levels of a stress-related biomarker, peripheral Neuropeptide Y (NPY)."

Based on what is known from animal studies, stress triggers greater peripheral NPY which, in combination with junk food, creates larger abdominal fat cells, and these cells may be more prone to metabolic dysregulation.

"The medical community is starting to appreciate how important chronic stress is in promoting and worsening early disease processes," said Aschbacher. "But there are no guidelines for 'treating' chronic stress. We need treatment studies to understand whether increasing stress resilience could reduce the metabolic syndrome, obesity or diabetes."

Tart cherry juice increases sleep time in adults with insomnia

A morning and evening ritual of tart cherry juice may help you sleep better at night, suggests a new study presented today at the Experimental Biology 2014 meeting. Researchers from Louisiana State University found that drinking Montmorency tart cherry juice twice a day for two weeks helped increase sleep time by nearly 90 minutes among older adults with insomnia.

These findings were presented Monday, April 28, at the "Dietary Bioactive Components: Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Dietary Bioactive Components" section of the annual meeting of the American Society of Nutrition, which is being held in conjunction with the Experimental Biology 2014 meeting in San Diego. The findings have been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Insomnia is a common health problem among older adults, impacting an estimated 23 to 34 percent of the population ages 65 and older. Insomnia – defined as trouble sleeping on average more than three nights per week – can be an annoyance for some, but long-lasting sleeplessness can seriously affect health, especially in the elderly.

Insomnia is linked to a higher prevalence of chronic pain, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and a decline of cognitive function, or dementia. Individuals with insomnia may turn to sleeping pills; however, these sedative medications have been found to increase risk of falls in the elderly – which makes it increasingly important to find more natural sleep-aids without these apparent side effects, said co-author Frank L. Greenway, MD, director of the outpatient research clinic at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University.

"Sleeping pills may be an option for younger insomniacs, but for older people these medications quadruple the risk of falling, which can lead to broken hips and, often, earlier death," Greenway said.

For the randomized crossover clinical trial, seven older adults (average age 68) with insomnia consumed 8 ounces of tart cherry juice twice daily for two weeks, followed by a two-week washout period, then a two-week period when another beverage was consumed (placebo). Greenway and his colleagues studied their slumber in a controlled setting, using overnight polysomnography to evaluate sleep efficiency, such as sleep onset and duration. Participants also completed questionnaires related to sleep, fatigue, depression and anxiety. Additionally, blood work was conducted on each participant.

The researchers found that those who drank the Montmorency tart cherry juice in the morning and at night were able to sleep more than an hour longer each night (averaging 84 minutes) compared to the placebo, and their sleep tended to be more efficient.

Montmorency tart cherries are a natural source of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. While previous studies have suggested that tart cherry juice has sleep-enhancing benefits, Greenway and colleagues set out to help explain why. They wanted to understand if the benefits were due to the melatonin content or another component in Montmorency tart cherries.

They believe the ruby red pigments in tart cherry juice, known as proanthocyanidins, also play a role. These natural polyphenolic compounds are especially abundant in Montmorency tart cherries. In the study, tart cherry juice helped to increase the availability of tryptophan, an essential amino acid and a precursor to serotonin that helps with sleep. The juice was shown in cells to inhibit an enzyme (indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase) that degrades tryptophan. Tryptophan degradation is a known predictor of insomnia and is also related to inflammation, said co-authors Jack Losso and John Finley, professors in the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center.

"Even though the amount of tryptophan in tart cherry juice is smaller than a normal dose given to aid sleep, the compounds in tart cherries could prevent the tryptophan from breaking down so it's able to work in the body more effectively," Greenway explained. "These compounds may help to improve tryptophan bioavailability for serotonin synthesis, which could have a positive effect on sleep. Increasing serotonin also helps improve mood and decrease inflammation."

Greenway believes it's the unique combination of melatonin and tryptophan in Montmorency tart cherries that is likely contributing to the sleep benefits. He and his colleagues conclude that drinking a glass of tart cherry juice in the morning and the evening may be a better and a safer way to treat insomnia.

Increasing consumption of coffee is associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes

New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) shows that increasing coffee consumption by on average one and half cups per day (approx 360ml) over a four-year period reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 11%. The research is led by Dr Frank Hu and Dr Shilpa Bhupathiraju, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA, and colleagues.

Coffee and tea consumption has been associated with a lower type 2 diabetes risk but little is known about how changes in coffee and tea consumption influence subsequent type 2 diabetes risk. The authors examined the associations between 4-year changes in coffee and tea consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in the subsequent 4 years.

The authors used observational data from three large prospective, US-based studies in their analysis: the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) (female nurses aged 30-55 years, 1986-2006), the NHS II (younger female nurses aged 25-42 years 1991-2007), and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) (male professionals 40-75 years, 1986-2006). Detailed information on diet, lifestyle, medical conditions, and other chronic diseases was collected every 2 to 4 years for over 20 years.

The availability of these repeated measures and the long-duration of follow-up allowed the authors to evaluate 4 year changes in coffee and tea intake in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes in the following 4 years. They also examined whether the association with diabetes incidence differed between changes in caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. Diet was assessed every 4 years using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Self-reported incident type 2 diabetes cases were validated by supplementary questionnaires. The final analysis included 48,464 women in NHS, 47,510 women in the NHS II, and 27,759 men in HPFS.

The authors documented 7,269 incident type 2 diabetes cases, and found that participants who increased their coffee consumption by more than 1 cup/day (median change=1.69 cups/day) over a 4-year period had a 11% lower risk of type 2 diabetes in the subsequent 4-years compared to those who made no changes in consumption. Participants who decreased their coffee intake by 1 cup a day or more (median change=-2 cups/day) had a 17% higher risk for type 2 diabetes. Changes in tea consumption were not associated with type 2 diabetes risk.

Those with highest coffee consumption and who maintained that consumption—referred to as "high-stable consumers" since they consumed 3 cups or more per day—had the lowest risk of type 2 diabetes, 37% lower than the "low-stable consumers" who consumed 1 cup or less per day.

The authors say that the higher risk of type 2 diabetes associated with decreasing coffee intake may represent a true change in risk, or may potentially be due to reverse causation whereby those with medical conditions associated with risk for type 2 diabetes (such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, cancer) may reduce their coffee consumption after diagnosis. However, even when cases of cardiovascular disease or cancer were excluded during follow-up, the results were very similar.

While baseline decaffeinated coffee consumption was associated with a lower type 2 diabetes risk, the changes in decaffeinated coffee consumption did not change this risk. Regarding tea consumption, the authors say: "we found no evidence of an association between 4-year increases in tea consumption and subsequent risk of type 2 diabetes. This finding may have potentially been due to the relatively low number of participants who made significant changes to their tea consumption over a 4-year period thereby limiting statistical power to detect true associations. The overall low levels of tea consumption in this group may also be responsible for these findings."

The authors say: "In these 3 large prospective cohorts with more than 1.6 million person-years of follow-up, we observed that increasing coffee, but not tea, intake over a 4-year period was associated with a lower type 2 diabetes risk in the next 4 years. Decreasing coffee intake was associated with a higher type 2 diabetes risk. These changes in risk were observed for caffeinated, but not decaffeinated coffee, and were independent of initial coffee consumption and 4-year changes in other dietary and lifestyle factors."

They add: "Changes in coffee consumption habits appear to affect diabetes risk in a relatively short amount of time. Our findings confirm those of prospective studies that higher coffee consumption is associated with a lower type 2 diabetes risk and provide novel evidence that changes in coffee consumption habits are related to diabetes risk."

Latest Health Research

I take this for my knees, although the latest research says it does no good for them. But look at what else it does:

Glucosamine promotes longevity, fights cancer

Glucosamine has been freely available in drugstores for many decades. It is widely used to treat arthritis and to prevent joint degeneration. Moreover, glucosamine is known to delay cancer growth. In addition, glucosamine reduces metabolism of nutritive sugars, as was already shown some 50 years ago.

Here's good/bad news

Grandmas stay sharp when they care for grandkids once a week, but 5 times a week worsens cognitive skills

Taking care of grandkids one day a week helps keep grandmothers mentally sharp, finds a study from the Women's Healthy Aging Project study in Australia, published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). That's good news for women after menopause, when women need to lower their risks of developing Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive disorders.

I should look into this:

Effective Nonsurgical Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis

A new nonsurgical approach to treating chronic pain and stiffness associated with knee osteoarthritis has demonstrated significant, lasting improvement in knee pain, function, and stiffness. This safe, two-solution treatment delivered in a series of injections into and around the knee joint is called prolotherapy.

I do pretty well on this, although not quite every day:

Daily serving of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can significantly reduce bad cholesterol


Weird results for milk and cheese:

Fat-free or low-fat milk delays knee osteoarthritis, cheese makes it worse/strong>

New research reports that women who frequently consume fat-free or low-fat milk may delay the progression of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Results published in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) journal, Arthritis Care & Research, show that women who ate cheese saw an increase in knee OA progression. Yogurt did not impact OA progression in men or women.

More benefits from my daily aspirin regimen:

Aspirin can reduce colorectal cancer risks

Weather has reduced my 3 times a week soccer game to twice a week lately - but I'm looking forward to resuming 3 times a week and adding bike-riding and kayaking as the weather improves:

1. Exercise Keeps Hippocampus Healthy in People at Risk for Alzheimer's

2. Physical activity is beneficial for late-life cognition

Physical activity in midlife seems to protect from dementia in old age, according to a study carried out at the University of Eastern Finland. Those who engaged in physical activity at least twice a week had a lower risk of dementia than those who were less active. The protective effects were particularly strong among overweight individuals. In addition, the results showed that becoming more physically active after midlife may also contribute to lowering dementia risk.

Further staying physically active, or becoming more active, after midlife may also contribute to lowering dementia risk, especially in people who are overweight or obese at midlife. The findings were not explained by socioeconomic background, age, sex, genetic risk factors, obesity, weight loss, general health status or work-related physical activity.

I still eat a few hamburgers and an occasional hot dog. Reviewing these studies does help me fight the urge:

1. Increased risk of colorectal cancer from eating processed meat

2.
Study: Red meat consumption can increase risk for heart disease

A new study from the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington has bolstered the link between red meat consumption and heart disease by finding a strong association between heme iron, found only in meat, and potentially deadly coronary heart disease.

The study found that heme iron consumption increased the risk for coronary heart disease by 57 percent, while no association was found between nonheme iron, which is in plant and other non-meat sources, and coronary heart disease.

The body treats the two kinds of iron differently. It can better control absorption of iron from vegetable sources, including iron supplements, but not so with iron from meat sources.

Iron stores in the body increase over time. The only way to reduce iron in the body is by bleeding, donating blood or menstruation. Some dietary choices, such as coffee and tea, also can inhibit iron absorption.

3. Consuming a high-fat diet is associated with increased risk of breast cancer

I have completed a comprehensive review of research on the health benefits of fiber. It  is divided into the following sections: Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Overall Health.It's certainly eye-opening and well worth a look:

Health Benefits of a Fiber Rich Diet

It works for me:

Internet use among the elderly can reduce the chances of depression by more than 30 percent.

There's still too much added salt in the canned soups and vegetables I eat, as well as a lot of take-out food:

Lower salt intake likely to have had key role in plummeting cardiovascular disease deaths in past decade

I’ve avoided white rice in recent years, but I am now reconsidering:

Eating rice boosts diet quality, reduces body weight and improves markers for health

New research shows that consumers can improve their diets simply by enjoying white or brown rice as part of their daily meals. Adults who eat rice had diets more consistent with what is recommended in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, and they showed higher amounts of potassium, magnesium, iron, folate and fiber while eating less saturated fat and added sugars

I take Vitamin D3 every day:

Increasing evidence of an association between low vitamin D levels and cognitive decline

More interesting stuff:
  
Women who take iron supplements experience a marked improvement in their exercise performance

Chips with olestra speed up the removal of toxins in the body

Daily low-dose aspirin may protect against preeclampsia complications





I drink about four cups of white tea a day, except when I forget:

Green tea boosts your working memory

I also drink around 2-3 cups of coffee almost every day:

Caffeine against Alzheimer's disease

Statins protection widens

In addition to their lipid-lowering effect, statins exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects as well. Statins also provide protection against renal, pulmonary and myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. However, little evidence is available on similar changes in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Researchers have now verified that atorvastatin, a commonly used lipid-lowering drug, protects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury through anti-infammatory and antioxidant effects. The relevant study has been published in the Neural Regeneration Research.

Reperfusion injury is the tissue damage caused when blood supply returns to the tissue after a period of ischemia or lack of oxygen. The absence of oxygen and nutrients from blood during the ischemic period creates a condition in which the restoration of circulation results in inflammation and oxidative damage through the induction of oxidative stress rather than restoration of normal function.

Marijuana use may increase heart complications in young, middle-aged adults

Marijuana use may result in cardiovascular-related complications — even death — among young and middle-aged adults, according to a French study reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

"In prior research, we identified several remarkable cases of cardiovascular complications as the reasons for hospital admission of young marijuana users," said Émilie Jouanjus, Pharm.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and a medical faculty member at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse in Toulouse, France. "This unexpected finding deserved to be further analyzed, especially given that the medicinal use of marijuana has become more prevalent and some governments are legalizing its use."

Researchers analyzed serious cardiovascular-related complications following marijuana use that was reported to the French Addictovigilance Network in 2006-10. They identified 35 cases of cardiovascular and vascular conditions related to the heart, brain and limbs.

Among their findings:

- Most of the patients were male, average age 34.3 years.
- Nearly 2 percent (35 of the 1,979) marijuana-related complications were cardiovascular complications.
- Of the 35 cases, 22 were heart-related, including 20 heart attacks; 10 were peripheral with diseases related to arteries in the limbs; and three were related to the brain's arteries.
- The percentage of reported cardiovascular complications more than tripled from 2006 to 2010.
- Nine patients, or 25.6 percent, died.

Researchers note that marijuana use and any resulting health complications are likely underreported. There are 1.2 million regular users in France, and thus potentially a large amount of complications that are not detected by the French Addictovigilance System.

"The general public thinks marijuana is harmless, but information revealing the potential health dangers of marijuana use needs to be disseminated to the public, policymakers and healthcare providers," Jouanjus said.

People with pre-existing cardiovascular weaknesses appear to be more prone to the harmful effects of marijuana.

"There is now compelling evidence on the growing risk of marijuana-associated adverse cardiovascular effects, especially in young people," Jouanjus said. "It is therefore important that doctors, including cardiologists, be aware of this, and consider marijuana use as one of the potential causes in patients with cardiovascular disorders."

Surveillance of marijuana-related reports of cardiovascular disorders should continue and more research needs to look at how marijuana use might trigger cardiovascular events, she said.

Aspirin can reduce colorectal cancer risks for those with specific gene

 

The humble aspirin may have just added another beneficial effect beyond its ability to ameliorate headaches and reduce the risk of heart attacks: lowering colon cancer risk among people with high levels of a specific type of gene.

The extraordinary finding comes from a multi-institutional team that analyzed data and other material from two long-term studies involving nearly 128,000 participants. The researchers found that individuals whose colons have high levels of a specific gene product — 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) RNA — dramatically reduce their chances of developing colorectal cancer by taking aspirin. In contrast, the analgesic provides no benefit to individuals whose colons show low levels of 15-PGDH.

The findings appear in the April 23 edition of Science Translational Medicine. While previous trials and prospective studies had indicated that aspirin could reduce colorectal cancer risk, this retrospective study provides the first evidence to help explain why aspirin benefits some people, but not others.

The research team included researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

"If you looked at the folks from the study who had high 15-PGDH levels and took aspirin, they cut their risk of colon cancer by half," said senior author Sanford Markowitz, MD, PhD, Ingalls Professor of Cancer Genetics at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. "If you looked at the folks from the study that were low for 15-PGDH, they did not benefit at all from taking aspirin. These findings represent a clean Yes-No about who would benefit from aspirin."

Funded in part by the Entertainment Industry Foundation's National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA), the discovery represents precisely the kind of advancement that Katie Couric and her colleagues sought when they founded the initiative in 2000. She lost her 42-year-old husband, Jay Monahan, to colon cancer in 1998 and has been a steadfast advocate for colon cancer prevention efforts in the years since.

"Prevention, early detection and effective treatments are key to conquering cancer," Couric said. "This finding that aspirin can prevent colon cancer in certain individuals is an easy and cost-effective addition to our arsenal in the fight against the second-leading cancer killer. I am proud to see this valuable research advancing patient care for those at risk of colon cancer resulting from NCCRA support."

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, with predictions that 137,000 Americans will develop the disease and 50,000 will die from it in 2014. Thanks to regular screenings, the death rate from colorectal cancer has dropped in the past 20 years, and members of this research team have been dedicated to finding additional measures to help reduce risk and ultimately eradicate the disease.

In this latest effort, the scientists sought to build on earlier research that indicated that regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin, reduces the chances of developing colon cancer for some individuals, but not in all. Their question: Why? What is different between those helped by aspirin, and those who saw no effects?

Markowitz, also the head of the Cancer Genetics Program at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and a medical oncologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center joined lead co-senior author Andrew T. Chan, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General to explore whether the presence of 15-PGDH led to different outcomes in terms of which individuals developed colon cancer.

Their goal: to see whether it is possible to develop a test that would help guide physicians and patients in determining whether an aspirin regimen would be of benefit.

The team examined tissues of 270 colon cancer patients culled from 127,865 participants followed for over three decades in the Harvard-based Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS). Previous reports from the Massachusetts General/Dana-Farber team indicated that participants in these studies who regularly took aspirin had a lower risk of colorectal cancer. In earlier research, the Case Western Reserve investigators, along with Monica Bertagnolli, MD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, had found that the presence of 15-PGDH appeared to enhance the ability of celecoxib, an anti-inflammatory medication commonly known as Celebrex, to prevent colon tumors in mice and in 16 humans tested. But when 15-PGDH was low or not present, celecoxib did not prevent colon tumors in mice or humans.

In this latest study, the investigators combined forces in a much larger study to examine whether 15-PGDH levels might also be associated with the colon cancer-preventing benefits of aspirin, which is already taken by many individuals and does not have the cardiovascular side effects of celecoxib . The Massachusetts General and Dana-Farber team dissected normal colon tissue from the pathology specimens of NHS/HPFS participants who developed colon cancer over the studies' follow-up period. The team at Case Western Reserve then analyzed these colon tissues to identify which among them had high or low levels of colon 15-PGDH. The investigators at Massachusetts General and Dana-Farber examined how the data on participants' aspirin use and levels of 15-PGDH related to the risk of colorectal cancer to address the question the larger group had set out to answer: Were individuals who developed colorectal cancer while taking aspirin more likely to have low or high levels of colonic 15-PGDH?

The study is among the first examples of the type of test that could allow more personalized decisions about treatment to prevent colorectal cancer. It also allows those whose 15-PGDH levels indicate aspirin would have little impact to avoid the potential gastrointestinal challenges — such as stomach ulcers — that can accompany aspirin use.

Additional researchers involved in the study included first authors Stephen Fink, PhD, an instructor at Case Western Reserve; Mai Yamauchi, PhD, and Reiko Nishihara, PhD, research fellows at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and senior authors Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPH, and Shuji Ogino, MD, PhD, MS, also from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Chan is a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

The researchers' next steps are two-fold: first, the development of a cost-effective and accessible test for measuring 15-PGDH in the colon, and second, a prospective clinical trial to further confirm these findings. Chan and Markowitz both consider the first step well within reach of current medical practice.

"During a colonoscopy, a gastroenterologist could easily and safely take an additional biopsy from the colon in individuals for whom preventive aspirin treatment might be appropriate," Chan said. Added Markowitz, "There would be no reason why a good hospital pathology laboratory could not establish the test for 15-PGDH."

The study authors are also hopeful that publication of these findings will draw the interest from funders and other researchers in developing a confirmatory randomized, prospective clinical trial in which high-risk patients would be identified, treated with aspirin or a placebo, depending on their 15-PGDH levels, and monitored for development of colorectal tumors.

The mechanisms of action in the 15-PGDH gene and in aspirin make them key players in the colon cancer discussion. Prostaglandins promote development of colon cancer, and aspirin helps prevent colon cancer development by preventing prostaglandins from being generated. 15-PGDH also helps prevent colon cancer development by catalyzing the reaction that "chews up" prostaglandins. Markowitz refers to 15-PGDH as the body's genetic form of aspirin. The study shows that both aspirin and 15-PGDH must work together to effectively prevent colon cancer, with aspirin benefitting most individuals who also have high levels of 15-PGDH.

"This study highlights the benefits of the relatively new practice of molecular pathological epidemiology, or MPE," said co-senior author Ogino of Dana-Farber, an Associate Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. "The molecular pathology part relates to analysis of 15-PGDH gene expression level in normal colon to classify cancer based on molecular pathogenesis, while the epidemiology part relates to collection and analysis of aspirin use data in population. MPE is an integration of these analyses."

Exercise Keeps Hippocampus Healthy in People at Risk for Alzheimer's

A study of older adults at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease shows that moderate physical activity may protect brain health and stave off shrinkage of the hippocampus – the brain region responsible for memory and spatial orientation that is attacked first in Alzheimer's disease. Dr. J. Carson Smith, a kinesiology researcher in the University of Maryland School of Public Health who conducted the study, says that while all of us will lose some brain volume as we age, those with an increased genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease typically show greater hippocampal atrophy over time. The findings are published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

"The good news is that being physically active may offer protection from the neurodegeneration associated with genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease," Dr. Smith suggests. "We found that physical activity has the potential to preserve the volume of the hippocampus in those with increased risk for Alzheimer's disease, which means we can possibly delay cognitive decline and the onset of dementia symptoms in these individuals. Physical activity interventions may be especially potent and important for this group."

Dr. Smith and colleagues, including Dr. Stephen Rao from the Cleveland Clinic, tracked four groups of healthy older adults ages 65-89, who had normal cognitive abilities, over an 18-month period and measured the volume of their hippocampus (using structural magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI) at the beginning and end of that time period. The groups were classified both for low or high Alzheimer's risk (based on the absence or presence of the apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 allele) and for low or high physical activity levels.

Of all four groups studied, only those at high genetic risk for Alzheimer's who did not exercise experienced a decrease in hippocampal volume (3 percent) over the 18-month period. All other groups, including those at high risk for Alzheimer's but who were physically active, maintained the volume of their hippocampus.

"This is the first study to look at how physical activity may impact the loss of hippocampal volume in people at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease," says Dr. Kirk Erickson, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. "There are no other treatments shown to preserve hippocampal volume in those that may develop Alzheimer's disease. This study has tremendous implications for how we may intervene, prior to the development of any dementia symptoms, in older adults who are at increased genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease."

Individuals were classified as high risk for Alzheimer's if a DNA test identified the presence of a genetic marker – having one or both of the apolipoprotein E-epsilon 4 allele (APOE-e4 allele) on chromosome 19 – which increases the risk of developing the disease. Physical activity levels were measured using a standardized survey, with low activity being two or fewer days/week of low intensity activity, and high activity being three or more days/week of moderate to vigorous activity. 

"We know that the majority of people who carry the E4 allele will show substantial cognitive decline with age and may develop Alzheimer's disease, but many will not. So, there is reason to believe that there are other genetic and lifestyle factors at work," Dr. Smith says. "Our study provides additional evidence that exercise plays a protective role against cognitive decline and suggests the need for future research to investigate how physical activity may interact with genetics and decrease Alzheimer's risk."

Dr. Smith has previously shown that a walking exercise intervention for patients with mild cognitive decline improved cognitive function by improving the efficiency of brain activity associated with memory. He is planning to conduct a prescribed exercise intervention in a population of healthy older adults with genetic and other risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and to measure the impact on hippocampal volume and brain function.

Study: Iron consumption can increase risk for heart disease

A new study from the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington has bolstered the link between red meat consumption and heart disease by finding a strong association between heme iron, found only in meat, and potentially deadly coronary heart disease.

The study found that heme iron consumption increased the risk for coronary heart disease by 57 percent, while no association was found between nonheme iron, which is in plant and other non-meat sources, and coronary heart disease.

The study was published online ahead of print in the Journal of Nutrition. Along with first author Jacob Hunnicutt, a graduate student in the school's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, the study's co-authors are Ka He and Pengcheng Xun, faculty members in the department.

Hunnicutt said the link between iron intake, body iron stores and coronary heart disease has been debated for decades by researchers, with epidemiological studies providing inconsistent findings. The new IU research, a meta-analysis, examined 21 previously published studies and data involving 292,454 participants during an average 10.2 years of follow-up.

The new study is unique because it looks at the associations of total iron consumption as well as heme and nonheme iron intake in comparison to the risk of coronary heart disease. The only positive association involved the intake of heme iron.

The body treats the two kinds of iron differently. It can better control absorption of iron from vegetable sources, including iron supplements, but not so with iron from meat sources.

"The observed positive association between heme iron and risk of CHD may be explained by the high bioavailability of heme iron and its role as the primary source of iron in iron-replete participants," the researchers wrote in the journal article. "Heme iron is absorbed at a much greater rate in comparison to nonheme iron (37 percent vs. 5 percent). Once absorbed, it may contribute as a catalyst in the oxidation of LDLs, causing tissue-damaging inflammation, which is a potential risk factor for CHD."

Iron stores in the body increase over time. The only way to reduce iron in the body is by bleeding, donating blood or menstruation. Some dietary choices, such as coffee and tea, also can inhibit iron absorption.

Health Benefits of a Fiber Rich Diet

This review of research on the health benefits of fiber is divided into the following sections:

Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Overall Health

Cancer

Consumption Of Resistant Starch May Protect Against Bowel Cancer

Western diets are typically low in fibre and have been linked with a higher incidence of bowel cancer. Even though Australians eat more dietary fibre than many other western countries, bowel cancer is still the second most commonly reported cancer in Australia with 30 new cases diagnosed every day.

Dr David Topping, from CSIRO's Food Futures Flagship, said this is referred to as 'the Australian paradox'.

"We have been trying to find out why Australians aren't showing a reduction in bowel cancer rates and we think the answer is that we don't eat enough resistant starch, which is one of the major components of dietary fibre," Dr Topping said.

Resistant starch is a component of dietary fibre that resists digestion in the small intestine and instead passes through to the bowel where it has positive effects on bowel health. Resistant starch is sometimes called the third type of dietary fibre (in addition to soluble and insoluble fibre) and is found in legumes, some wholegrain breads and cereals, firm bananas and cooked and cooled potatoes, pasta and rice.

These findings, published in the April, 2012 issue of The Journal of Nutrition, reinforce the fact that dietary fibre is beneficial for human health, but go further to show that fibre rich in resistant starch is even better.

"It's not just the amount of fibre that we eat that's important, but the diversity of fibre in our diet," Dr Topping said.

"We studied various sources of resistant starch, including corn and wheat, and the results suggest they could all protect against DNA damage in the colon, which is what can cause cancer."

Dr Trevor Lockett, colorectal cancer researcher with CSIRO's Preventative Health Flagship, said Australia has one of the highest incidence rates of bowel cancer in the world.

"Research suggests that improving our diets could go a long way to reducing our personal risk of developing this disease, which would also have the follow-on benefit of reducing healthcare costs associated with bowel cancer.

"These new studies suggest that increasing the amount of resistant starch in our diets may be one important step along the path to reducing the burden of bowel cancer. It takes about 15 years from the time of the first bowel cancer-initiating DNA damage to the development of full-blown bowel cancer, so the earlier we improve our diets the better," Dr Lockett said.

The recommended intake of resistant starch is around 20 grams a day, which is almost four times greater than a typical western diet provides. Twenty grams is equivalent to eating three cups of cooked lentils.

"Currently, it is difficult for Australians to get this much from a typical diet," Dr Topping said.

"We have already had success in developing barley with high levels of resistant starch, and now our focus is on increasing the levels of resistant starch in commonly consumed grains like wheat. These grains could then be used in breads and cereals to make it easier for Australians to get enough resistant starch from their diet."

High Fiber Diet Prevents Prostate Cancer Progression, Study Shows

A high-fiber diet may have the clinical potential to control the progression of prostate cancer in patients diagnosed in early stages of the disease.

The rate of prostate cancer occurrence in Asian cultures is similar to the rate in Western cultures, but in the West, prostate cancer tends to progress, whereas in Asian cultures it does not. Why? A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the January 2013 issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research shows that the answer may be a high-fiber diet.

The study compared mice fed with of inositol hexaphosphate (IP6), a major component of high-fiber diets, to control mice that were not. Then the study used MRI to monitor the progression of prostate cancer in these models.

"The study's results were really rather profound. We saw dramatically reduced tumor volumes, primarily due to the anti-angiogenic effects of IP6," says Komal Raina, PhD, research instructor at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, working in the lab of CU Cancer Center investigator and School of Pharmacy faculty member, Rajesh Agarwal, PhD.

Basically, feeding with the active ingredient of a high-fiber diet kept prostate tumors from making the new blood vessels they needed to supply themselves with energy. Without this energy, prostate cancer couldn't grow. Likewise, treatment with IP6 slowed the rate at which prostate cancers metabolized glucose.

Possible mechanisms for the effect of IP6 against metabolism include a reduction in a protein called GLUT-4, which is instrumental in transporting glucose.

"Researchers have long been looking for genetic variations between Asian and Western peoples that could explain the difference in prostate cancer progression rates, but now it seems as if the difference may not be genetic but dietary. Asian cultures get IP6 whereas Western cultures generally do not," Raina says.

Diabetes

How fiber prevents diabetes and obesity

Most sweet fruit and many vegetables such as salsify, cabbage or beans, as well as

berries and other fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, seeds and nuts are rich in so-called fermentable fibers. Such fibers cannot be digested directly by the intestine but are instead fermented by intestinal bacteria into short-chain fatty acids such as propionate and butyrate, which can in fact be assimilated by our bodies. The protective effect of these fibers is well known to researchers: animals fed a fiber-rich diet become less fat and are less likely to develop diabetes than animals fed a fiber-free diet.

Whilw scientists have known for the past twenty years that a fiber-rich diet protects the organism against obesity and diabetes but the mechanisms involved have so far eluded them. A French-Swedish team including researchers from CNRS, Inserm and the Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (Unité Inserm 855 “Nutrition et Cerveau”) has succeeded in elucidating this mechanism, which involves the intestinal flora and the ability of the intestine to produce glucose between meals. These results, published in the journal Cell on 9 January 2014, also clarify the role of the intestine and its associated microorganisms in maintaining glycaemia. They will give rise to new dietary recommendations to prevent diabetes and obesity.

Heart Disease

Fiber protects against cardiovascular disease -- especially in women

Foods high in fibre provide good protection against cardiovascular disease, and the effect is particularly marked in women. This is shown in a new study from Lund University in Sweden.

The study, which was recently published in the scientific journal PLOS One, involved the study of the eating habits of over 20 000 residents of the Swedish city of Malmö, with a focus on the risk of cardiovascular disease. The importance of 13 different nutrient variables (aspects of fibre, fats, proteins and carbohydrates) was analysed.

"Women who ate a diet high in fibre had an almost 25 per cent lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease compared with women who ate a low-fibre diet. In men the effect was less pronounced. However, the results confirmed that a high-fibre diet does at least protect men from stroke", says Peter Wallström, a researcher at Lund University and the primary author of the article.

The exact reason for the difference between the sexes is unclear. However, a probable explanation is that women consume fibre from healthier food sources than men do. Women ate a lot of fibre in the form of fruit and vegetables, whereas the most important source of fibre for men was bread.

"The difference in the results for men and women shows that we need to pay more attention to gender when we conduct research on diet", says Peter Wallström.

However, the researchers did not identify any definite links between the other nutrients in the study and cardiovascular disease, for example the proportion of saturated fat or sugar in the diet.

"These results should be interpreted with a certain amount of caution. Almost everyone eats more saturated fat than recommended, including the participants in many other population studies. It is therefore difficult to compare recommended and high fat intake. Other types of study that have been carried out have shown that those who limit their fat and sugar intake are at lower risk of cardiovascular disease", says Peter Wallström.

Peter Wallström is sceptical of 'extreme' diets and says that the dietary recommendations from the National Food Administration are good, despite having received criticism:

"The National Food Administration's dietary advice, which is based on extensive research, is well balanced. In the short term, most weight-loss diets achieve their aim as long as you follow them. However, we know too little about the long-term effects to be able to recommend more drastic changes to one's diet", says Peter Wallström.

Data for the study has been taken from the Malmö Diet and Cancer population study, which has involved 30 000 Malmö residents since the start of the 1990s. The participants have given blood samples and detailed information about their diet.

Fiber-Rich Foods May Cut Your Risk of Heart Disease

Boosting the amount of fiber in your diet may lower your risk for heart disease, a new study finds.

"With so much controversy causing many to avoid carbohydrates and grains, this trial reassures us of the importance of fiber in the prevention of cardiovascular disease," said one expert not connected to the study, Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York City.

In the study, researchers led by Diane Threapleton, of the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds, in England, analyzed data from the United States, Australia, Europe and Japan to assess different kinds of fiber intake.

Her team looked at total fiber; insoluble fiber (such as that found in whole grains, potato skins) soluble fiber (found in legumes, nuts, oats, barley); cereal; fruits and vegetables and other sources.

The study also looked at two categories of heart disease. One, "coronary heart disease" refers to plaque buildup in the heart's arteries that could lead to a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association. The second type of heart trouble is called "cardiovascular disease" -- an umbrella term for heart and blood vessel conditions that include heart attack, stroke, heart failure and other problems, the AHA explains.

The more total, insoluble, and fruit and vegetable fiber that people consumed, the lower their risk of both types of heart disease, the study found. Increased consumption of soluble fiber led to a greater reduction in cardiovascular disease risk than coronary heart disease risk. Meanwhile, cereal fiber reduced the risk of coronary heart disease more than the risk of cardiovascular disease, researchers found.

For every additional 7 grams per day of fiber consumed, there was a significantly lower risk of both types of disease, according to the study published online Dec. 19 in BMJ.

Sports dietitian Dana Angelo White said the findings are in line with what nutritionists have long known about the importance of a high-fiber diet.

"The tricky part is finding ways to get Americans to eat more [fiber]," said White, who is also an assistant clinical professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. "The daily recommendation ranges from 20 to 38 grams per day. This may seem like a tall order for most folks, but can be achieved by making some small dietary changes."

The British study found that adding just 7 grams per day of fiber to the diet boosts heart health. According to White, people can get that amount of fiber from the following:

* 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal (7 grams)

* 1 1/4 cups of shredded wheat cereal (8 grams)

* Two slices of whole-wheat bread (6 to 7 grams)

* One large pear (8 grams)

* 1 cup raspberries (8 grams)

* 1/2 cup black beans (7.5 grams)

The study authors said their findings support current recommendations for increased fiber intake and that the reduced heart disease risk associated with consuming more fiber could potentially benefit "many thousands" of people, according to a journal news release.

Steinbaum added that "it's critical that people understand that whole grains -- such as barley, bulgur, millet, quinoa, brown rice, rye, oats and whole wheat, along with fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds -- are part of a heart-healthy diet."

Study strengthens link between low dietary fiber intake and increased cardiovascular risk

A new study published in the December, 2013 issue of The American Journal of Medicine shows a significant association between low dietary fiber intake and cardiometabolic risks including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular inflammation, and obesity. Surveillance data from 23,168 subjects in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2010 was used to examine the role dietary fiber plays in heart health.

In the current study investigators have taken a closer look at possible sex, age, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in dietary fiber consumption, as well as examined the association between dietary fiber intake and various cardiometabolic risk factors.

Dietary fiber, which previous studies have shown may assist in lowering blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and inflammation, is thought to play an important role in reducing cardiovascular risk. Despite this knowledge, investigators found that dietary fiber intake was consistently below recommended intake levels for NHANES participants.

The Institute of Medicine defines recommended intake levels according to age and sex: 38g per day for men aged 19-50 years, 30g per day for men 50 and over, 25g for women aged 19-50 years, and 21g per day for women over 50. Using data from NHANES 1999-2010, the study reveals that the mean dietary fiber intake was only 16.2g per day across all demographics during that time period.

"Our findings indicate that, among a nationally representative sample of nonpregnant US adults in NHANES 1999-2010, the consumption of dietary fiber was consistently below the recommended total adequate intake levels across survey years," says senior investigator Cheryl R. Clark, MD, ScD, Center for Community Health and Health Equity, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston. "Our study also confirms persistent differences in dietary fiber intake among socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic subpopulations over time."

The research team found variations according to race and ethnicity, with Mexican-Americans consuming higher amounts of dietary fiber and non-Hispanic blacks consuming lower amounts of dietary fiber compared with non-Hispanic whites.

The study highlights the importance of increasing dietary fiber intake for US adults by showing a correlation between low dietary fiber and an increased risk for cardiovascular risk. Participants with the highest prevalence of metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and obesity were in the lowest quintile of dietary fiber intake.

"Overall, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and obesity each decreased with increasing quintiles of dietary fiber intake," comments Clark. "Compared with participants in the lowest quintile of dietary fiber intake, participants in the highest quintile of dietary fiber intake had a statistically significant lower risk of having the metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and obesity."

This new data analysis emphasizes the importance of getting adults across diverse ethnicities to increase their dietary fiber intake in order to try and mitigate the risk for cardiovascular damage.

"Low dietary fiber intake from 1999-2010 in the US and associations between higher dietary fiber and a lower prevalence of cardiometabolic risks suggest the need to develop new strategies and policies to increase dietary fiber intake," adds Clark. "Additional research is needed to determine effective clinical and population-based strategies for improving fiber intake trends in diverse groups."

Eating more fiber may lower risk of first-time stroke

Study Highlights:

- Eating foods with more fiber was linked to a lower risk of first-time stroke.

- Every seven-gram increase in total dietary fiber was associated with a 7 percent lower risk of first-time stroke.

- The results reinforce the importance of a diet that includes at least 25 grams of fiber daily.

Eating more fiber may decrease your risk of first-time stroke, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

Dietary fiber is the part of the plant that the body doesn’t absorb during digestion. Fiber can be soluble, which means it dissolves in water, or insoluble.

Previous research has shown that dietary fiber may help reduce risk factors for stroke, including high blood pressure and high blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) “bad” cholesterol.

In the new study, researchers found that each seven-gram increase in total daily fiber intake was associated with a 7 percent decrease in first-time stroke risk. One serving of whole wheat pasta, plus two servings of fruits or vegetables, provides about 7 grams of fiber, researchers said.

“Greater intake of fiber-rich foods – such as whole-grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts – are important for everyone, and especially for those with stroke risk factors like being overweight, smoking and having high blood pressure,” Diane Threapleton, M.Sc., and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Leeds’ School of Food Science & Nutrition in Leeds, United Kingdom.

Researchers analyzed eight studies published between 1990-2012. Studies reported on all types of stroke with four specifically examining the risk of ischemic stroke, which occurs when a clot blocks a blood vessel to the brain. Three assessed hemorrhagic stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel bleeds into the brain or on its surface.

Findings from the observational studies were combined and accounted for other stroke risk factors like age and smoking.

The results were based on total dietary fiber. Researchers did not find an association with soluble fiber and stroke risk, and lacked enough data on insoluble fiber to make any conclusions.

The average daily fiber intake among U.S. adults is lower than the American Heart Association’s recommendation of at least 25 grams per day. Six to eight servings of grains and eight to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables can provide the recommended amount.

Most people do not get the recommended level of fiber, and increasing fiber may contribute to lower risk for strokes,” Threapleton said. “We must educate consumers on the continued importance of increasing fiber intake and help them learn how to increase fiber in their diet.”

In the United States, stroke is the fourth leading cause of death, killing more than 137,000 people annually. Among survivors, the disease is a leading cause of disability.

In addition to following a nutritious diet, the American Heart Association recommends being physically active and avoiding tobacco to help prevent stroke and other heart and blood vessel diseases.\\

Overall Health

Increase dietary fiber, decrease disease

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

Dietary fiber, also known as roughage, is the general term of the non-digestible parts of the fruit and vegetable products we eat. There are two forms soluble and insoluble. Soluble (prebiotic, viscous) fiber that is readily broken down or fermented in the colon into physiologically active byproducts and gases. The second form is insoluble fiber, which is metabolically inert, but absorbs water as it passes through the digestive system, providing bulk for the intestinal muscles to work against and easing defecation.

Vikas Rana of the Rain Forest Research Institute, in Assam, India, and colleagues point out that research has shown that modern food habits have, it seems, led to an increase in the incidence of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes. These are growing more common even in developing nations where a "western" diet of highly processed foods, high in sugars and saturated fats, beef and dairy products and low in dietary fiber is displacing more traditional options. The team suggests that evidence points to a loss of dietary fiber in the diet as being a major risk factor for health problems but one of the simplest to remedy without recourse to major changes in diet or the addition of supplements or so-called functional foods and nutraceuticals to the diet.

Given that dietary fiber has physiological actions such as reducing cholesterol and attenuating blood glucose, maintaining gastrointestinal health, and positively affecting calcium bioavailability and immune function, it is important for the current generation and future generations that this component of our diets be reasserted through education and information.

"Consuming adequate quantities of DF can lead to improvements in gastrointestinal health, and reduction in susceptibility to diseases such as diverticular disease, heart disease, colon cancer, and diabetes. Increased consumption has also been associated with increased satiety and weight loss," the team concludes. Given the ready availability particularly in the West and in the relatively richer parts of the developing world of vegetables, fruit and other foods high in dietary fiber it is a matter of recommending that people eat more dietary fiber rather than consistently taking the unhealthy low-fiber option throughout their lives.

Fiber intake associated with reduced risk of death

Dietary fiber may be associated with a reduced risk of death from cardiovascular, infectious and respiratory diseases, as well as a reduced risk of death from any cause over a nine-year period, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the June 14, 2011 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Fiber, the edible part of plants that resist digestion, has been hypothesized to lower risks of heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and obesity, according to background information in the article. It is known to assist with bowel movements, reduce blood cholesterol levels, improve blood glucose levels, lower blood pressure, promote weight loss and reduce inflammation and bind to potential cancer-causing agents to increase the likelihood they will be excreted by the body.

Yikyung Park, Sc.D., of the National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Md., and colleagues analyzed data from 219,123 men and 168,999 women in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire at the beginning of the study in 1995 and 1996. Causes of death were determined by linking study records to national registries.

Participants' fiber intake ranged from 13 to 29 grams per day in men and from 11 to 26 grams per day in women. Over an average of nine years of follow-up, 20,126 men and 11,330 women died. Fiber intake was associated with a significantly decreased risk of total death in both men and women—the one-fifth of men and women consuming the most fiber (29.4 grams per day for men and 25.8 grams for women) were 22 percent less likely to die than those consuming the least (12.6 grams per day for men and 10.8 grams for women).

The risk of cardiovascular, infectious and respiratory diseases was reduced by 24 percent to 56 percent in men and 34 percent to 59 percent in women with high fiber intakes. Dietary fiber from grains, but not from other sources such as fruits, was associated with reduced risks of total, cardiovascular, cancer and respiratory disease deaths in men and women.

"The findings remained robust when we corrected for dietary intake measurement error using calibration study data; in fact, the association was even stronger with measurement error correction," the authors write.

"The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend choosing fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grains frequently and consuming 14 grams per 1,000 calories of dietary fiber," the authors conclude. "A diet rich in dietary fiber from whole plant foods may provide significant health benefits."

Soluble fiber, exercise reduce belly fat

All fat is not created equal. Unsightly as it is, subcutaneous fat, the fat right under the skin, is not as dangerous to overall health as visceral fat, the fat deep in the belly surrounding vital organs.

According to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the way to zero in and reduce visceral fat is simple: eat more soluble fiber from vegetables, fruit and beans, and engage in moderate activity.

The study found that for every 10-gram increase in soluble fiber eaten per day, visceral fat was reduced by 3.7 percent over five years. In addition, increased moderate activity resulted in a 7.4 percent decrease in the rate of visceral fat accumulation over the same time period.

"We know that a higher rate of visceral fat is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes and fatty liver disease," said Kristen Hairston, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist and lead researcher on the study. "Our study found that making a few simple changes can have a big health impact."

Ten grams of soluble fiber can be achieved by eating two small apples, one cup of green peas and one-half cup of pinto beans; moderate activity means exercising vigorously for 30 minutes, two to four times a week, Hairston added.

In the longitudinal study, published in the June 16, 20111 online issue of the journal Obesity, researchers examined whether lifestyle factors, such as diet and frequency of exercise, were associated with a five-year change in abdominal fat of African Americans and Hispanic Americans, populations at a disproportionally higher risk for developing high blood pressure and diabetes and accumulating visceral fat.

At the beginning of the study, which involved 1,114 people, the participants were given a physical exam, an extensive questionnaire on lifestyle issues, and a CT scan, the only accurate way to measure how much subcutaneous and visceral fat the participants had. Five years later, the exact same process was repeated.

Researchers found that increased soluble fiber intake was associated with a decreased rate of accumulated visceral fat, but not subcutaneous fat.

"There is mounting evidence that eating more soluble fiber and increasing exercise reduces visceral or belly fat, although we still don't know how it works," Hairston said. "Although the fiber-obesity relationship has been extensively studied, the relationship between fiber and specific fat deposits has not. Our study is valuable because it provides specific information on how dietary fiber, especially soluble fiber, may affect weight accumulation through abdominal fat deposits."

Hairston's next study, expected to be in clinical trials later this summer, will examine whether increasing soluble fiber with a widely available fiber supplement will produce similar results to those obtained in this study using soluble fiber from food.

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.

"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.

Apple fiber offers many benefits

A report, in the journal Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety March 2010 finds that apple fiber, a soluble type of fiber, is rich in pectin. Soluble or gel-forming fibers absorb water from the digestive tract. This helps to increase the size of the stool and normalize its transit time through the bowel. Soluble fiber can be beneficial in cases of constipation and diarrhea. Having adequate fiber in the diet may also have a protective effect against diverticulosis, colon cancer, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins. Studies have shown that apple fiber, when used as part of a calorie-controlled diet, can enhance weight loss.

Similarly, a study conducted to visualize the effect of apple fiber on lowering of increased plasma and liver cholesterol, it was found that apple fiber or pectin substantially reduces the same when fed at 2.5% or 5% in the diet (Wells and Ershoff 1961).

Apple fiber has a mild appetite suppressing effect by producing a sense of fullness; it also improves the process of digestion and elimination by stimulating healthy bowel functioning.

The pectin in apple fiber helps to normalize the levels of fats in the blood stream. Research has shown that apple fiber taken each day can have the effect of reducing total cholesterol up to 10% in people with elevated cholesterol levels (http://au.health.yahoo.com/041101.)