Thursday, 28 October 2010
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
Fructose trans scarring
(Best Syndication News) - High amounts of fructose, sucrose, and trans fats increases the risk for fatty liver disease with scar tissue reported researchers from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in a new study. Fructose and Trans Fats in excess can also contribute to obesity.
The researchers point out that 10.2 percent of calories in the average American diet comes from Fructose, which eaten in excess has been associated with obesity, cardiovascular disease and liver disease. The researchers used a mouse model to investigate how obesity-related fatty liver disease develops from over consumption of fructose, sucrose, and trans fats.
The researchers sampled the blood of the mice before and during the 16 week study. They divided the mice into one group being fed a normal diet of rodent chow and another group of mice being fed fructose and sucrose enriched drinking water along with trans-fat solids. The researchers studied the liver tissue for fat content as well as scar tissue fibrosis. They measured the reactive oxygen stress markers in the blood to determine the extent of liver damage.
The normal fed mice stayed thin and didn't develop fatty liver disease while the mice that were fed a high calorie diet with the fructose, sucrose, and trans fats became obese and developed fatty liver disease.
Only the group that received the combination of trans-fat along with the high fructose diet developed the advanced fatty liver disease with scar tissue.
The researchers want to investigate how antioxidants might help to reduce liver damage in future studies. The researchers also want to further their studies with human diets on fatty liver disease and prevention.
The researchers point out that 10.2 percent of calories in the average American diet comes from Fructose, which eaten in excess has been associated with obesity, cardiovascular disease and liver disease. The researchers used a mouse model to investigate how obesity-related fatty liver disease develops from over consumption of fructose, sucrose, and trans fats.
The researchers sampled the blood of the mice before and during the 16 week study. They divided the mice into one group being fed a normal diet of rodent chow and another group of mice being fed fructose and sucrose enriched drinking water along with trans-fat solids. The researchers studied the liver tissue for fat content as well as scar tissue fibrosis. They measured the reactive oxygen stress markers in the blood to determine the extent of liver damage.
The normal fed mice stayed thin and didn't develop fatty liver disease while the mice that were fed a high calorie diet with the fructose, sucrose, and trans fats became obese and developed fatty liver disease.
Only the group that received the combination of trans-fat along with the high fructose diet developed the advanced fatty liver disease with scar tissue.
The researchers want to investigate how antioxidants might help to reduce liver damage in future studies. The researchers also want to further their studies with human diets on fatty liver disease and prevention.
Monday, 19 July 2010
Eating healthy fruit and vegetables won't stop cancer
Eating healthy fruit and vegetables won't stop cancer
* By Clair Weaver
* From: The Sunday Telegraph
* August 26, 2007 12:00AM
FRUIT and vegetables provide no protection against cancer, according to latest Australian research that has shocked nutritionists.
In a discovery that turns conventional advice on its head, experts have admitted there is "zero evidence" that eating fruit and vegetables can help people avoid a disease that kills nearly 40,000 Australians every year.
Research presented for the first time at last week's CSIRO Prospects for Cancer Prevention Symposium shows that what people eat is far less important in cancer prevention than previously believed.
Instead, the three prime risk factors driving up Australian cancer rates have been identified as obesity, drinking too much alcohol and smoking.
Staying within a healthy body weight range was found to be more important than following particular nutritional guidelines.
This means a slim person who doesn't eat enough fruit and vegetables would probably have a lower risk of developing cancer than someone who is overweight but eats the recommended daily amount of fruit and vegetables.
The findings emerged from the Cancer Council's Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, an ongoing research project involving 42,000 Australians who have been monitored since 1990.
Revealed exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph, they challenge widespread belief in the power of juices and vegetable-based "anti-cancer" diets to avoid or fight various types of the disease.
Dr Peter Clifton, director of the CSIRO's Nutrition Clinic, told The Sunday Telegraph there was "zero evidence" that eating fruit and vegetables could protect against cancer.
Heart disease is Australia's biggest killer, so fruit and vegetables are still regarded as important in maintaining health.
Professor Dallas English, of the Cancer Council of Victoria, told the symposium that despite decades of research, there was no convincing evidence on how Australians could modify their diet to reduce the risk of cancer.
"The most important thing about diet is limiting energy (kilojoule) intake so people don't become overweight or obese, because this has emerged as a risk factor for a number of cancers, including breast, prostate, bowel and endometrial (uterus)," he said.
The link between eating red meat and bowel cancer was "weak" and the Cancer Council supported guidelines advising people to eat red meat three or four times a week, Professor English said.
His advice comes after Health Minister Tony Abbott last week backed a report, funded by Meat & Livestock Australia, on the dietary role of red meat.
Surprisingly, fibre was deemed to have no significant benefit in avoiding bowel cancer _ although calcium was associated with a 20 per cent reduced risk.
Likewise, a high intake of fat, considered a prime culprit since the 1970s, was found to have only a "modest" link to breast cancer.
Smoking caused one in five cancer deaths, while regularly drinking too much alcohol boosted the risk of several cancers including breast and bowel, Professor English said.
He and Dr Clifton acknowledged that eating fruit and vegetables might help people avoid obesity, as they were lower in kilojoules than other foods.
"The risk of every type of cancer is increased by obesity," Dr Clifton added.
Both experts predict a surge in cancer as a result of Australia's obesity epidemic, but say exercise can play a vital role in cutting cancer rates, potentially halving the risk of some cancers.
Sydney mother Tauri Smart, 29, said the findings "take the pressure off" meal preparation.
She and her husband try to eat healthily and want to set a good example for their daughters Poppy, 3, and Sadie, six weeks.
"I've always tried to push fruit and vegetables, and have a vegetarian meal at least once a week," Ms Smart said. "Being able to have meat makes it easier."
Nutritionist Dr Rosemary Stanton cast doubt on the findings and suggested the study could be flawed.
* By Clair Weaver
* From: The Sunday Telegraph
* August 26, 2007 12:00AM
FRUIT and vegetables provide no protection against cancer, according to latest Australian research that has shocked nutritionists.
In a discovery that turns conventional advice on its head, experts have admitted there is "zero evidence" that eating fruit and vegetables can help people avoid a disease that kills nearly 40,000 Australians every year.
Research presented for the first time at last week's CSIRO Prospects for Cancer Prevention Symposium shows that what people eat is far less important in cancer prevention than previously believed.
Instead, the three prime risk factors driving up Australian cancer rates have been identified as obesity, drinking too much alcohol and smoking.
Staying within a healthy body weight range was found to be more important than following particular nutritional guidelines.
This means a slim person who doesn't eat enough fruit and vegetables would probably have a lower risk of developing cancer than someone who is overweight but eats the recommended daily amount of fruit and vegetables.
The findings emerged from the Cancer Council's Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, an ongoing research project involving 42,000 Australians who have been monitored since 1990.
Revealed exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph, they challenge widespread belief in the power of juices and vegetable-based "anti-cancer" diets to avoid or fight various types of the disease.
Dr Peter Clifton, director of the CSIRO's Nutrition Clinic, told The Sunday Telegraph there was "zero evidence" that eating fruit and vegetables could protect against cancer.
Heart disease is Australia's biggest killer, so fruit and vegetables are still regarded as important in maintaining health.
Professor Dallas English, of the Cancer Council of Victoria, told the symposium that despite decades of research, there was no convincing evidence on how Australians could modify their diet to reduce the risk of cancer.
"The most important thing about diet is limiting energy (kilojoule) intake so people don't become overweight or obese, because this has emerged as a risk factor for a number of cancers, including breast, prostate, bowel and endometrial (uterus)," he said.
The link between eating red meat and bowel cancer was "weak" and the Cancer Council supported guidelines advising people to eat red meat three or four times a week, Professor English said.
His advice comes after Health Minister Tony Abbott last week backed a report, funded by Meat & Livestock Australia, on the dietary role of red meat.
Surprisingly, fibre was deemed to have no significant benefit in avoiding bowel cancer _ although calcium was associated with a 20 per cent reduced risk.
Likewise, a high intake of fat, considered a prime culprit since the 1970s, was found to have only a "modest" link to breast cancer.
Smoking caused one in five cancer deaths, while regularly drinking too much alcohol boosted the risk of several cancers including breast and bowel, Professor English said.
He and Dr Clifton acknowledged that eating fruit and vegetables might help people avoid obesity, as they were lower in kilojoules than other foods.
"The risk of every type of cancer is increased by obesity," Dr Clifton added.
Both experts predict a surge in cancer as a result of Australia's obesity epidemic, but say exercise can play a vital role in cutting cancer rates, potentially halving the risk of some cancers.
Sydney mother Tauri Smart, 29, said the findings "take the pressure off" meal preparation.
She and her husband try to eat healthily and want to set a good example for their daughters Poppy, 3, and Sadie, six weeks.
"I've always tried to push fruit and vegetables, and have a vegetarian meal at least once a week," Ms Smart said. "Being able to have meat makes it easier."
Nutritionist Dr Rosemary Stanton cast doubt on the findings and suggested the study could be flawed.
Friday, 14 May 2010
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Obesity and pacemakers
Obesity Reduces Risk Of Cardiac Death?
Being skinny confers no advantage when it comes to the risk of dying suddenly from cardiac causes, a study presented today at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session has found.
According to the authors, non-obese heart failure patients – including overweight, normal and underweight patients – had a 76 percent increase in risk of sudden cardiac death compared to obese heart failure patients. Normal and underweight patients showed a startling 99 percent increase in risk for sudden cardiac death compared to obese patients.
Risk of sudden cardiac death was studied in 1,231 patients who had suffered at least one prior heart attack and had been diagnosed with a low ejection fraction, a measurement of how much blood is pumped from the heart with each beat. The analysis found that decreased BMI or body mass index was associated with a large increase in the risk of sudden cardiac death.
Compared to the overweight, normal and underweight patients, obese patients were younger, had a higher ejection fraction, higher blood pressure, diabetes and were more likely to be smokers. BMI was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters for all study participants. The clinical definition of obesity – BMI ≥30 kg/m2 – was used. Overweight patients fell into the 25 to 29 kg/m2 range of BMI values and normal/underweight patients fell into the < 25 kg/m2 range of values.
The findings highlight the "obesity paradox," a phenomenon long recognized by cardiologists that, once afflicted, obese heart failure patients fare better than their slimmer counterparts. This study adds to a growing body of conflicting data regarding the relation of BMI to outcome in patients with heart failure.
"When we started this study we were hoping the data would disprove the 'obesity paradox,'" said Bonnie Choy, co-lead author and a second year medical student at the University's School of Medicine and Dentistry. "Our study is the first to create and analyze subcategories within non-obese patients, looking at overweight, normal and underweight patients, but even with this advanced analysis we still the saw an inverse relationship between BMI and sudden cardiac death."
The science behind the obesity paradox in the heart failure population is unresolved, but some researchers believe timing may have something to do with it. One possible explanation is that the long-term negative effects of conventional risk factors, such as increased BMI, may be overwhelmed by the short-term effects of other factors on heart failure mortality. In addition, survival advantages that exist in obese patients with heart failure may, in the short term, outweigh the harmful effects of increased BMI.
"Obese patients are hard on their bodies; many don't eat right, don't exercise, and many smoke," explained Eric Hansen, co-lead author and also a second year medical student at the University of Rochester. "If their bodies are surviving this bad treatment then perhaps they are better equipped, from a genetic standpoint, to live with heart failure."
Researchers also assessed the effect of BMI on the benefit of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator is a medical device about the size of a pager that is surgically implanted in the chest under local anesthesia. The device detects irregular and potentially fatal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), which often lead to sudden cardiac death, and shocks the heart back into a normal rhythm.
Results indicated that implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy was more effective in the non-obese patients with lower BMI values who were at higher risk for sudden cardiac death. These findings may help identify patients who would get the most benefit from an ICD – patients with a lower BMI.
Citation: Hansen et al., 'Relation of Body Mass Index to Sudden Cardiac Mortality and Defibrillator Efficacy in Patients With Left Ventricular Dysfunction,' March 2010, American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session
Being skinny confers no advantage when it comes to the risk of dying suddenly from cardiac causes, a study presented today at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session has found.
According to the authors, non-obese heart failure patients – including overweight, normal and underweight patients – had a 76 percent increase in risk of sudden cardiac death compared to obese heart failure patients. Normal and underweight patients showed a startling 99 percent increase in risk for sudden cardiac death compared to obese patients.
Risk of sudden cardiac death was studied in 1,231 patients who had suffered at least one prior heart attack and had been diagnosed with a low ejection fraction, a measurement of how much blood is pumped from the heart with each beat. The analysis found that decreased BMI or body mass index was associated with a large increase in the risk of sudden cardiac death.
Compared to the overweight, normal and underweight patients, obese patients were younger, had a higher ejection fraction, higher blood pressure, diabetes and were more likely to be smokers. BMI was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters for all study participants. The clinical definition of obesity – BMI ≥30 kg/m2 – was used. Overweight patients fell into the 25 to 29 kg/m2 range of BMI values and normal/underweight patients fell into the < 25 kg/m2 range of values.
The findings highlight the "obesity paradox," a phenomenon long recognized by cardiologists that, once afflicted, obese heart failure patients fare better than their slimmer counterparts. This study adds to a growing body of conflicting data regarding the relation of BMI to outcome in patients with heart failure.
"When we started this study we were hoping the data would disprove the 'obesity paradox,'" said Bonnie Choy, co-lead author and a second year medical student at the University's School of Medicine and Dentistry. "Our study is the first to create and analyze subcategories within non-obese patients, looking at overweight, normal and underweight patients, but even with this advanced analysis we still the saw an inverse relationship between BMI and sudden cardiac death."
The science behind the obesity paradox in the heart failure population is unresolved, but some researchers believe timing may have something to do with it. One possible explanation is that the long-term negative effects of conventional risk factors, such as increased BMI, may be overwhelmed by the short-term effects of other factors on heart failure mortality. In addition, survival advantages that exist in obese patients with heart failure may, in the short term, outweigh the harmful effects of increased BMI.
"Obese patients are hard on their bodies; many don't eat right, don't exercise, and many smoke," explained Eric Hansen, co-lead author and also a second year medical student at the University of Rochester. "If their bodies are surviving this bad treatment then perhaps they are better equipped, from a genetic standpoint, to live with heart failure."
Researchers also assessed the effect of BMI on the benefit of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator is a medical device about the size of a pager that is surgically implanted in the chest under local anesthesia. The device detects irregular and potentially fatal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), which often lead to sudden cardiac death, and shocks the heart back into a normal rhythm.
Results indicated that implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy was more effective in the non-obese patients with lower BMI values who were at higher risk for sudden cardiac death. These findings may help identify patients who would get the most benefit from an ICD – patients with a lower BMI.
Citation: Hansen et al., 'Relation of Body Mass Index to Sudden Cardiac Mortality and Defibrillator Efficacy in Patients With Left Ventricular Dysfunction,' March 2010, American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session
Sunday, 17 January 2010
liver and bacon after keep fit at 100
Diet the key for keep fit fan, 100
Friday, January 15 12:02 pm
Press Assoc.
*
Buzz Up!
* Print Story
A refusal to eat junk food, that is the secret of Georgina Easter, who at the age of 100 has emerged as possibly Britain's oldest keep-fit fanatic. Skip related content
Related photos / videos
Diet the key for keep fit fan, 100
Whether she's limbering up to the latest chart hits or stretching her legs on a wooden chair, Ms Easter rarely fails to miss one of her Keep-Fit For Mature Movers lessons in Derby.
Her secret to her youthful exuberance is a healthy diet, but even her fellow classmates, some 30 years her junior, are astounded how she keeps going despite reaching her century last month.
Derby Adult Learning Service, part of the city's council, organises the sessions at a church hall in the suburb of Chaddesden.
Officials at the service now want to know whether she is the oldest member of a keep-fit class in the country.
But for Miss Easter, who was born when Edward VII was still king and the Titanic was only being built, the keep-fit classes are just a bit of fun. She said: "What's my secret? Keep away from junk food. I also do a bit of gardening, I cook every day and I am going to have liver and onions ... when I get home.
"I enjoy the friendship of the classes. All the people who take part, we are all good friends. At the end of term we have a big get together and a meal. It's very enjoyable."
The council says the classes, which run in ten-week blocks, three times a year, are part of an effort to ensure the elderly in the area stay as independent as possible.
Ruth Skelton, in charge of adult services at the Council, said: "She's a brilliant example to all people her age and younger.
"It may well be that Georgina is the oldest keep-fit member in the county and we would be very interested to know whether she's the oldest person to go to keep-fit classes in the country."
Friday, January 15 12:02 pm
Press Assoc.
*
Buzz Up!
* Print Story
A refusal to eat junk food, that is the secret of Georgina Easter, who at the age of 100 has emerged as possibly Britain's oldest keep-fit fanatic. Skip related content
Related photos / videos
Diet the key for keep fit fan, 100
Whether she's limbering up to the latest chart hits or stretching her legs on a wooden chair, Ms Easter rarely fails to miss one of her Keep-Fit For Mature Movers lessons in Derby.
Her secret to her youthful exuberance is a healthy diet, but even her fellow classmates, some 30 years her junior, are astounded how she keeps going despite reaching her century last month.
Derby Adult Learning Service, part of the city's council, organises the sessions at a church hall in the suburb of Chaddesden.
Officials at the service now want to know whether she is the oldest member of a keep-fit class in the country.
But for Miss Easter, who was born when Edward VII was still king and the Titanic was only being built, the keep-fit classes are just a bit of fun. She said: "What's my secret? Keep away from junk food. I also do a bit of gardening, I cook every day and I am going to have liver and onions ... when I get home.
"I enjoy the friendship of the classes. All the people who take part, we are all good friends. At the end of term we have a big get together and a meal. It's very enjoyable."
The council says the classes, which run in ten-week blocks, three times a year, are part of an effort to ensure the elderly in the area stay as independent as possible.
Ruth Skelton, in charge of adult services at the Council, said: "She's a brilliant example to all people her age and younger.
"It may well be that Georgina is the oldest keep-fit member in the county and we would be very interested to know whether she's the oldest person to go to keep-fit classes in the country."
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