ANTIOXIDANTS BAD FOR YOU

This article is from last year but it deserves a re-run

Many cancer patients take a range of antioxidant vitamins in hope of improving their odds, but some research suggests the supplements may be doing more harm than good.

A report published in CA, an American Cancer Society medical journal, says cancer patients shouldn't use antioxidants during radiation or chemotherapy because the supplements may reduce the effectiveness of treatment. Worse, some research suggests that antioxidants may actually feed cancers, protecting the very cancer cells patients are trying to attack. The news further clouds the role that vitamins play in promoting good health. Earlier this year, a major study showed that certain people who regularly take vitamin E supplements had a higher risk for heart failure. The notion that antioxidants may be harmful is likely to be upsetting and confusing to the large number of cancer patients gobbling down vitamins and supplements to help fight the disease. Studies show that as many as a third to half of cancer patients are taking antioxidants, vitamins and other supplements.

Antioxidants include beta carotene, lycopene and vitamins A, B, C and E, among others. In the body, antioxidants mop up rogue molecules called free radicals, which have the potential to cause extensive cell damage and are believed to play a role in heart disease, cancer and numerous other health problems. A substance that attacks free radicals would seem to battle cancer in theory. But the results of both lab and human studies of cancer and antioxidants have been mixed. One concern is that because chemotherapy treatments sometimes act against the cancer by producing free radicals, taking antioxidants could interfere with that effect.

Some lab studies have shown that antioxidants can improve the effectiveness of cancer treatments, such as a 1997 study that showed antioxidant supplements boosted chemotherapy used for colon cancer patients. Other lab studies raise questions about their use, however. For instance, a 1995 report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry showed that cancer cells in a petri dish actually absorb more vitamin C than normal cells, suggesting that vitamin C is better at protecting tumors than healthy tissues.

Until more is known, patients undergoing treatment should avoid high-dose supplements, concludes Gabriella M. D'Andrea, breast oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and author of the CA article. In her review of the scientific evidence on use of antioxidant supplements to prevent or treat cancer, D'Andrea found a handful of human trials that showed supplements often don't benefit cancer patients and may be causing harm. "We would love to find a nutrient or antioxidant that could be anticancer, but I think we need to be very cautious," D'Andrea says.

For instance, two randomized trials of patients with advanced cancer found no benefit from vitamin C supplements and suggested that survival may have been worse in the vitamin group. Two large trials of smokers and former smokers found that beta carotene supplements appeared to increase lung cancer risk. Last year, the British medical journal Lancet published a study showing that antioxidants didn't prevent gastrointestinal cancers and may have increased mortality risk. In a 2002 study of early-stage breast cancer patients undergoing treatment, some were prescribed large doses of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Results weren't conclusive but suggested survival may be worse in the antioxidant users. A major study this year of patients at risk for heart disease showed high doses of vitamin E had no impact on risk of melanoma, prostate, lung, oral, colorectal or breast cancers, but they were linked with higher risk for heart failure. A separate vitamin E study showed head-and-neck-cancer patients who took the supplement increased their risk for developing a second cancer.

D'Andrea says a large human trial is needed to show the real impact vitamins and antioxidants have on cancer patients. The problem is that such trials are expensive, and it's notoriously difficult to study supplements because dietary patterns vary so widely and issues like fat content and fruit and vegetable consumption may alter the way one supplement acts in different people. Certainly, none of this means cancer patients should never take vitamins or other supplements. Many cancer patients suffer nutrition problems and may be advised to take vitamins. The main concern is that patients discuss diet changes with their doctor.

"A lot of people think nutrients in any dose are harmless, but that may not be the case," says Marji McCullough, nutritional epidemiologist for the American Cancer Society. "It's probably prudent to say people should avoid taking large doses of any single supplement unless specifically recommended to do so from their doctor."

Patients still may be able to help themselves by adopting a lifestyle of healthful eating and exercise. In May, researchers released the results of a study of 2,400 postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer. The study showed that a low-fat diet can lower the chances of the cancer coming back by 24 percent.

Source. The academic journal article underlying the above report is here

Anti-stupidity pill: "A German scientist has been testing an "anti-stupidity" pill with encouraging results on mice and fruit flies, Bild newspaper reported today. It said Hans-Hilger Ropers, director at Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, has tested a pill thwarting hyperactivity in certain brain nerve cells, helping stabilise short-term memory and improve attentiveness. "With mice and fruit flies we were able to eliminate the loss of short-term memory," Ropers, 62, is quoted saying in the German newspaper, which has dubbed it the 'world's first anti-stupidity pill''."




Dangerous shoes: "Women are paying the price for fashion in the form of broken bones and sprained ankles, a doctor has warned. The warm weather has led to a spate of injuries caused by women falling from their high-heeled sandals. Rupert Evans, an accident and emergency doctor at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff said injuries could lead to long-term problems. Women should stick to shoes with heels less than 4cm (1.5in) if they wanted to avoid a trip to hospital, he advised. Dr Evans said he has seen an increase in the number of women being admitted to hospital with injuries caused by the fashionable footwear. Injuries ranged from sprained ankles to broken bones and dislocations - and in some cases caused permanent damage. He estimated that up to half a dozen women were now being admitted to his department with shoe-related injuries on weekend evenings. Drinking alcohol added to the problem, he said."

10 food myths

Some of the myths of our childhood years were simple and quite silly (no, bread crusts won't make your hair go curly, and a watermelon won't grow in your stomach if you swallow the seeds). Today, however, with our ever-increasing interest in health, many so-called food "facts" are health-related and are therefore taken quite seriously by a great number of people. Here, we reveal the truth behind some common misconceptions:

1. Cutting out salt from the table will cut out most of it from your diet.

Not true. "It's estimated that 75 per cent of the salt we consume comes from commercial foods - processed snacks, bread, butter and margarine," says Tania Ferraretto, spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA). Another 10 per cent is found in fresh foods, such as fish, meat and vegies; while just 15 per cent is added at the table. "So to eat less salt, cut back on processed foods or choose salt-reduced versions."

2. Bread is fattening.

This is a myth, probably made popular by supporters of low-carb diets. The fact is carbs and proteins each contain 17 kilojoules per gram. If you want to lose weight, bread is one of the best foods to eat, as it's rich in carbohydrate - the easiest form of energy for our bodies to burn.

3. Vitamin supplements provide all the nutrients you need.

Not true. According to theDAA, while supplementscan be a short-term solutionin conjunction with ahealthy diet, they cannever replace fresh foods. "Supplements don't replicate important thingssuch as antioxidants and disease-fighting phytochemicals," says Ferraretto. "And some minerals are not well absorbedby the body in pill form. Iron is well absorbed in meat, but poorly absorbed in a pill. Calcium is another example."

4. Fresh vegetables are more nutritious than frozen vegetables.

Another myth! The longer the delay between vegetables being picked and eaten, the more nutrients they lose. Fresh vegies in supermarkets may be months old. Most frozen vegetables, on the other hand, are frozen within hours of being harvested and retain their nutrients until you defrost them.

5. Fruit juice is healthy.

Juice bars are on the rise, and they're making us healthier, right? Not so, say dietitians. "In population studies, the only thing that correlates with obesity is sugar-based drinks. These include fruit juices," says Dr Trent Watson, a DAA-accredited practising dietitian. "You need around four oranges to make one cup of fruit juice, so it's very high in energy. Then, some nutrients and all the fibre are squeezed out with the pulp. Fibre is cholesterol-lowering and manages your glucose levels. So fruit juice is not a replacement for fruit."

6. MSG is dangerous.

A myth. MSG (monosodium glutamate) is a derivative of glutamate, which is found naturally in a number of fresh foods and is produced by the body. MSG, a flavour enhancer, has been criticised for causing adverse reactions in some people. But Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) has established MSG as safe at levels typically added to foods. It found reactions are temporary, very mild and occur in less than one per cent of the population when large quantities are consumed.

7. Eating fish when you are pregnant or breastfeeding can lead to mercury poisoning in your baby.

Only raw and smoked seafood (canned is okay) should be avoided altogether, according to Choice Online. These can carry food-poisoning bacteria called listeria, which can cause miscarriage. But Choice says some of the most popular fish varieties, such as Atlantic salmon, squid, octopus, whiting, bream, snapper, trout and prawns, contain lower mercury levels and can be consumed up to three times a week. Fish with higher levels of mercury, such as swordfish and marlin, should be eaten no more than once a fortnight (and no other fish should be consumed during that time).

8. Eating after dinner encourages weight gain.

"Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper" - is there any truth to this? Dr Watson sets the record straight: "It's the total energy you eat throughout the day that's important. You can eat all your daily kilojoules after 6pm, and you won't gain any more weight than if you ate it earlier in the day. Weight gain occurs when you consume more energy than you expend."

9. Foods labelled "baked, not fried" contain less fat.

"Baked not fried" is often used on packaging to indicate lower levels of fat in the product. But according to Ferraretto, many of these foods contain just as much fat - around 25g - as their fried alternatives. "Always check the nutrition information panel," says Ferraretto.

10. It's unsafe to refreeze meat after it's thawed.

According to the Australian Food and Grocery Council, it is safe to refreeze meat if that meat is thawed in the fridge at 5 or below. Most bacteria can't grow at these temperatures; the small amount of bacteria that can, grows slowly and is killed when the meat is cooked. But keep in mind that juices are lost with repeated thawing.

Source

Study: Honey heals faster than antibiotics: "A new study into an ancient remedy now proves that honey helps the treatment of some wounds better than most modern antibiotics. The study, by researchers from the University of Bonn, Germany, has found that medihoney is a very effective healer, even healing chronic wounds infected with multi-resistant bacteria within a few weeks. The study was conducted in collaboration with colleagues from Dusseldorf, Homburg and Berlin. Dr Arne Simon from the cancer ward of the Bonn University Children's Clinic said that with doctors being faced with germs resistant to all current antibiotics, honey was once again being seen as a viable treatment."

Study: Marijuana may sabotage pregnancy: "Marijuana's active ingredient may thwart pregnancy, a new study shows. The key ingredient -- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- may make it hard for a fertilized egg to implant in the womb, says the study in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Vanderbilt University's Haibin Wang, PhD, and colleagues studied mice, not people. But they write that their findings have 'high clinical importance' for women. The bottom line from Wang's study: If you're trying to get pregnant, abstaining from marijuana may be important for pregnancy success. Of course, marijuana isn't legally available in the U.S. But it's 'still one of the most widely used illicit drugs in the world, and often by pregnant women,' write Wang and colleagues."

How Do We Talk about FAT?

We read:

"Is it OK for doctors and parents to tell children and teens they're fat?

That seems to be at the heart of a debate over whether to replace the fuzzy language favored by the U.S. government with the painful truth - telling kids if they're obese or overweight.

Labeling a child obese might "run the risk of making them angry"."

Source

When I was a kid at school, fat kids got called "fatty" and if you were being derogatory "fatso". They all seemed to survive it pretty well.

Vaccine against fat!: "Scientists have vaccinated rats against a weight-gain hormone, allowing them to eat freely without getting fat, in a development that raises hopes for treatments for overweight and obese humans. The vaccine operates against ghrelin - a recently discovered hormone among several which appear to regulate metabolism. Ghrelin is thought to be implicated in a problem that frustrates many dieters: the tendency for weight to be regained even after successful dieting. Researchers believe the phenomenon would have conferred an evolutionary advantage among early humans, whose food supply was irregular - ensuring maximum use of available calories during times of famine and programming the body to return quickly to its highest weight."

Psychotic pot users 'in vicious circle': "Pot smokers suffering from the early stages of schizophrenia are stuck in a vicious cycle of drug abuse and psychotic attacks, an Australian study has found. Research by the University of Melbourne found that the more marijuana a psychotic person used, the worse their condition got. And once they suffered a relapse in delusions and hallucinations they were more likely to turn to marijuana to cope. The work, published in the latest British Journal of Psychiatry, tracked 81 Queenslanders who had developed a psychotic mental illness in the past six months. The subjects were typically male, aged in their early 20s, single, unemployed and addicted to marijuana. Researcher Dr Leanne Hides monitored their drug use and mental condition weekly over six months, discovering that almost all were caught up in a vicious cycle that was impossible to escape."

Australian kids and parents resisting food fascism



Students are getting pizzas and Big Macs delivered to their schools after turning up their noses at healthy new canteen food. Some schools are offering students raffle prizes to get them to eat nutritious lunches, and other canteens are in danger of closing. Some parents are also defying the move to rid canteens of junk food by dropping off "treats" to their children.

Schools across the state have been introducing healthier menus after concerns over childhood obesity. Salads, sushi, sandwiches and fruit are replacing pies, chips, hot dogs and doughnuts. The State Government has announced it will ban soft drink from schools and is also looking at restricting the sale of lollies and chips. But parents, teachers and unions say there have been some challenges in the transition from junk food to more wholesome alternatives. Parents Victoria executive officer Gail McHardy said she knew of some "entrepreneurial" students who were ordering pizzas and having them delivered outside the school gate. "Students themselves have buying power," she said. Ms McHardy said many had part-time jobs and disposable income.

Ms McHardy said that while most parents did the right thing, some working parents dropped off food to get around canteen menus. "Some parents believe a delivered hot lunch to school from the local McDonald's or KFC is OK, too," she said. Ms McHardy said it was up to parents, students and schools to work together to get kids eating healthy canteen food.

Australian Education Union state branch president Mary Bluett said many canteens were struggling financially with the change. She said the "double whammy" of healthier food's higher production costs and some children's reluctance to buy it was having an impact. "Some are doubtful their canteens will survive," she said, "because kids will bring food from home rather than buy it from the canteen." Ms Bluett said many schools relied on canteen revenue to pay for activities and amenities. She called on the State Government to subsidise healthy eating. "It would be good if the Government would be prepared to cover the gap for a short period of time," she said.

Victorian Principals Association president Fred Ackerman said some transitional support would help schools introduce healthy food. But a spokesman for Education Minister Lynne Kosky said the Bracks Government already supported initiatives to encourage healthy eating habits in schools.

Box Forest Secondary College in Glenroy is one school that offers students prizes in a raffle as a way of tempting them to eat healthy food. Canteen manager Sheryle Hind said students got a raffle ticket every time they bought a nutritious item from the menu and their names went into the draw to win a donated DVD player. She said the initiative was going well.

Source