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Virus Infections May Be Contributing Factor in Onset of Gluten Intolerance


ScienceDaily
Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00 UTC
Recent research findings indicate a possible connection between virus infections, the immune system and the onset of gluten intolerance, also known as celiac disease.

A research project in the Academy of Finland's Research Program on Nutrition, Food and Health (ELVIRA) has brought new knowledge on the hereditary nature of gluten intolerance and identified genes that carry a higher risk of developing the condition. Research has shown that the genes in question are closely linked with the human immune system and the occurrence of inflammations, rather than being connected with the actual breakdown of gluten in the digestive tract.

"Some of the genes we have identified are linked with human immune defense against viruses. This may indicate that virus infections may be connected in some way with the onset of gluten intolerance," says Academy Research Fellow Päivi Saavalainen, who has conducted research into the hereditary risk factors for gluten intolerance.
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Pills

Painkillers linked to hearing loss

Ashley Hall
ABC News
Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:46 UTC
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© stock.xchngHearing risk: The scientists questioned 26,000 male health professionals every two years for 18 years
A new study is raising fresh concerns about the safety of three of the most common over-the-counter painkillers.

US researchers say men who regularly take aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen are twice as likely to suffer hearing problems as those who do not, and younger men are most at risk.

The researchers tracked the health and lifestyles of more than 26,000 male health professionals every two years for 18 years.
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Attention

Avoid Bromine If You Want To Keep Your Thyroid Healthy

Dr. Mercola
Huffington Post
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:46 UTC
If you are like most people, you probably haven't spent much time thinking about how much bromine you're absorbing from your car upholstery or your Mountain Dew. But bromine toxicity is a definite danger from some surprising sources, and it can wreak havoc on your health.

Bromines All Around You

Bromines are common endocrine disruptors, and are part of the halide family, a group of elements that includes fluorine, chlorine and iodine. What makes it so dangerous is that it competes for the same receptors that are used to capture iodine.

If you are exposed to a lot of bromine, your body will not hold on to the iodine that it needs. And iodine affects every tissue in your body -- not just your thyroid.

You are already exposed to far too much chlorine and bromine. Bromine can be found in a number of places in your everyday world, including:
  • Pesticides (specifically methyl bromide, used mainly on strawberries, predominantly in California)
  • Plastics, like those used to make computers
  • Bakery goods and some flours often contain a "dough conditioner" called potassium bromate
  • Soft drinks (including Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Sun Drop, Squirt, Fresca and other citrus-flavored sodas), in the form of brominated vegetable oils (BVOs)
  • Medications such as Atrovent Inhaler, Atrovent Nasal Spray, Pro-Banthine (for ulcers), and anesthesia agents
  • Fire retardants (common one is polybromo diphenyl ethers or PBDEs) used in fabrics, carpets, upholstery, and mattresses
  • Bromine-based hot tub and swimming pool treatments
According to van Leeuwen, who has extensively studied the effects of sodium bromide on thyroid function:
"Although the bromide ion is widely distributed in nature, the main route of exposure in humans stems from bromide residues in food commodities as a result of the abundant use of bromide-containing pesticides, like methylbromide and ethylene dibromide, for soil fumigation in intensive horticulture and for postharvest treatment."
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Arrow Up

Blueberries Counteract Intestinal Diseases


Science Daily
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:39 UTC
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It is already known that blueberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. New research from the Lund University Faculty of Engineering in Sweden shows that blueberry fibre are important and can alleviate and protect against intestinal inflammations, such as ulcerative colitis. The protective effect is even better if the blueberries are eaten together with probiotics.

The project originated as an attempt to see whether various types of dietary fibre and health-promoting bacteria, so-called probiotic bacteria such as lactobacillus and bifidobacteria, can help alleviate and prevent the risk of ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer.
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Red Flag

90 Percent of High School Kids Lack Sufficient Intake of Fruits, Veggies

David Gutierrez
Natural News
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:24 UTC
Less than 10 percent of high school students in the United States meet the federally recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables, according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"A diet high in fruits and vegetables is important for optimal child growth, maintaining a healthy weight, and prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, " said William H. Dietz, director of the Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Division of the CDC. "This report will help states determine what is taking place in their communities and schools and come up with ways to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables."

In 2007, the CDC surveyed both adults and high school students on their daily consumption of fruits or vegetables. Even though they are considered less healthy than whole fruits, fruit juices were counted toward daily fruit intake goals.
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Heart

Therapy Animals Prove Their Healing Power


Times Herald Record
Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:12 UTC
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When Sunny, a 3-year-old golden retriever, began working with school kids last spring, one of her first students was a fourth-grader with cerebral palsy - mobile only with the aid of a walker.

As soon as the youngster met Sunny, she was eager to take the dog for a walk, said Andrea Bazer, an adaptive physical education teacher. First with the help of her walker, then with Bazer's help and finally, without any assistance, the youngster successfully took Sunny for a walk.

This transformation took several months, but once the student knew she could accompany Sunny without using her walker, she realized she didn't need a walker at all. "She walks all over school now," says Bazer, who has worked for the San Diego Unified School District for six years. "It's amazing to see. Sunny gets the kids to do many things that they won't do for me. When they're working with Sunny, they forget they can't do things."

Therapy animals like Sunny are highly trained and very active in educational or therapy programs.
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Info

Lawsuit Claims PCBs Found in 10 Fish Oil Supplements; Product Labeling Sought

Jondi Gumz
Mercury News
Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:56 UTC
Santa Cruz - People buying certain fish oil supplements to get the benefit of omega-3 fatty acids are ingesting chemicals banned in 1979, according to environmental advocates who filed a lawsuit Monday aimed at forcing manufacturers to warn consumers.

The lawsuit names five makers of supplements found to contain polychlorinated biphenyl compounds, drugstores CVS and Rite Aid, which sell those products, and Omega Protein Inc., of Houston, which touts itself as the world's largest producer of omega-3 fish oil.

Attorney David Roe filed the suit in San Francisco Superior Court contending Proposition 65, a law he helped write, requires consumers to be warned when products contain toxic ingredients above the limit deemed safe by regulators.

Some of the tested supplements exceed California's daily limit for PCBs by a factor of 10 in terms of the cancer risk, Roe said.
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Black Cat

Darkness increases dishonest behavior


Association for Psychological Science
Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:08 UTC
Darkness can conceal identity and encourage moral transgressions; thus Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in "Worship" in The Conduct of Life (1860), "as gaslight is the best nocturnal police, so the universe protects itself by pitiless publicity."

New research in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that darkness may also induce a psychological feeling of illusory anonymity, just as children playing "hide and seek" will close their eyes and believe that other cannot see them, the experience of darkness, even one as subtle as wearing a pair of sunglasses, triggers the belief that we are warded from others' attention and inspections.

Psychological scientists Chen-Bo Zhong, Vanessa K. Bohns (both of University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management), and Francesca Gino (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) conducted three experiments to test whether darkness can license dishonest and self-interested behaviors.
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Ambulance

Brain Amyloid Has Antibiotic Role in Alzheimer's, Study Finds

Michelle Fay Cortez
Bloomberg
Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:22 UTC
Beta amyloid that builds up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease may go along with beneficial antimicrobial activity, researchers said.

The findings from investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital raise the possibility that some cases of Alzheimer's may stem from chronic, undetected brain infections. The results also cast doubt on the pharmaceutical industry's efforts to find drugs to wipe out beta amyloid from the brain, one of the main methods now in development to fight the most common form of dementia in the elderly, the researchers said. Beta amyloid, or abeta, remains harmful in high concentrations, they said.

"Most people think abeta is junk," a toxic byproduct of other activity in the brain, said Rudolph Tanzi, director of genetics and aging at Massachusetts General's Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease. "This says tread carefully. It may play a normal, essential role in the brain and be part of the way the brain protects itself."
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Health

FDA Calls for Limits on Asthma Drugs

Andrew Zajac
Los Angeles Times
Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:17 UTC
The agency's guidance affects Serevent, Advair, Symbicort and Foradil. Manufacturers will be required to include warnings on their labels.

Reporting from Washington - The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday called for putting new limits on powerful and long-lasting bronchial drugs that millions of Americans use to treat asthma - a move designed to lower the risk of complications leading to hospitalization or even death.

Physicians were urged to switch asthma patients away from medicines containing both long-acting beta agonists, commonly called LABAs, and inhaled corticosteroids.

Instead, the FDA said, patients should use products containing only the corticosteroids or other asthma-relieving medication whenever possible.

In addition, patients who cannot control asthma symptoms any other way should use LABAs for the shortest possible time, but the drugs should never be used alone in treating asthma in adults or children, the agency said.

About 95% of LABA users receive the drug through a combination product, according to the agency.
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