Group items tagged

Many postmenopausal women are looking for alternatives to hormone therapy, especially in light of research findings in 2003 from the Women's Health Initiative. With major funding from the National Institutes of Health, this initiative studied the risks of combined estrogen and progestin therapy, among other health issues of critical importance to postmenopausal women. Of particular interest are phytoestrogens, which have been gaining popularity because they are marketed as "natural," because of the alleged health benefits they provide, and because they are available in a wide range of foods and supplements. This fact sheet provides an overview of phytoestrogens and discusses their potential role in osteoporosis prevention and treatment.

ScienceDaily (May 12, 2009) - Taking folic acid supplements for at least a year before conception is associated with reduction in the risk of premature birth, according to a study by Radek Bukowski (from the University of Texas Medical Branch, United States of America) and colleagues. Although most pregnancies last about 40 weeks, many babies (for example around 12% in the United States) are born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. Babies born prematurely are less likely to survive than full-term babies and are more likely to have breathing difficulties and learning or developmental disabilities. Currently, there are no effective methods of prevention or treatment of premature (preterm) birth, but previous studies have suggested that lower concentrations of folate (folic acid) are associated with shorter duration of pregnancy. Bukowski and colleagues therefore tested this idea, by analyzing data collected from a cohort of nearly 35,000 pregnant women. The results of this study showed that taking folate supplements for at least one year before conception was associated with a 70% reduction in spontaneous premature birth between 20 and 28 weeks (a reduction from 0.27% to 0.04%), and a 50% reduction between 28 and 32 weeks (reduction from 0.38% to 0.18%), as compared to the rate of preterm birth when mothers did not take additional folate supplementation. Folate supplementation for less than a year before conception was not linked to a reduction in the risk of premature birth in this study, and folate supplementation was not associated with any other complications of pregnancy. In a related commentary also published in this week's PLoS Medicine, Nicholas Fisk from the University of Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues (who were not involved in the original study) say "Methodologically, the study has several strengths... It is based on a huge dataset, with prospective recording of dietary supplements and potential confounders, and gestational age determined accu

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who get plenty of mushrooms and green tea in their diets may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, new study findings suggest. The study, of more than 2,000 Chinese women, found that the more fresh and dried mushrooms the women ate, the lower was their breast cancer risk.

Vitamin D intake is inversely associated with rheumatoid arthritis: results from the Iowa Women's Health Study. Merlino LA, Curtis J, Mikuls TR, Cerhan JR, Criswell LA, Saag KG; Iowa Women's Health Study. Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Jan;50(1):72-7. PMID: 14730601 DOI: 10.1002/art.11434 CONCLUSION: Greater intake of vitamin D may be associated with a lower risk of RA in older women, although this finding is hypothesis generating.

A glass of wine each evening is enough to increase your risk of developing cancer, women are being warned.\nConsuming just one drink a day causes an extra 7,000 cancer cases - mostly breast cancer - in UK women each year, Cancer Research UK scientists say

A study of Caucasian female twins prompts researchers to ask if public health advice to avoid the sun could be causing low vitamin D levels. Research produced by the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, has shown that vitamin D levels are lower in fair-skinned Caucasian women than in Caucasian women with darker skin type. ... "It will be very interesting to see the results of the genetic analysis that the authors propose - especially of polymorphisms [genetic variants] in D binding protein. Variants in this protein associate strongly with skin colour, and also with vitamin D status, so may end up being explanatory.

Egg consumption, serum cholesterol, and cause-specific and all-cause mortality: the National Integrated Project for Prospective Observation of Non-communicable Disease and Its Trends in the Aged, 1980 (NIPPON DATA80). Nakamura Y, Okamura T, Tamaki S, Kadowaki T, Hayakawa T, Kita Y, Okayama A, Ueshima H; NIPPON DATA80 Research Group. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jul;80(1):58-63. PMID: 15213028 In men, egg consumption was not related to age-adjusted total cholesterol. Cox analysis found that, in women, all-cause mortality in the 1-2-eggs/wk group was significantly lower than that in the 1-egg/d group, whereas no such relations were noted in men. CONCLUSION: Limiting egg consumption may have some health benefits, at least in women in geographic areas where egg consumption makes a relatively large contribution to total dietary cholesterol intake.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 8, 2009) - According to a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 75 percent of Americans do not get enough Vitamin D. Researchers have found that the deficiency may negatively impact immune function and cardiovascular health and increase cancer risk. Now, a University of Missouri nutritional sciences researcher has found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation, a negative response of the immune system, in healthy women.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2009) - A study from the Harokopio University of Athens (Greece) suggests that adherence to a dietary pattern close to the Mediterranean diet, with high consumption of fish and olive oil and low red meat intake, has a significant impact in women skeletal health.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) - Osteoporosis affects many women and can cause painful, disabling and even life-threatening fractures. Researchers from the UC Davis Department of Internal Medicine are seeking a simple, inexpensive way to prevent the disease. Strontium citrate is a widely available, over-the-counter dietary supplement promoted to "improve bone health." Strontium is a natural element found in bone in all people. Strontium citrate is another form of strontium ranelate, a proven medication prescribed across Europe and Australia to treat and prevent osteoporosis and related fractures. Unlike pharmaceuticals, strontium citrate is not a prescribed medication and is inexpensive.

Promotion of bone formation by fermented soybean (Natto) intake in premenopausal women.\nKatsuyama H, Ideguchi S, Fukunaga M, Fukunaga T, Saijoh K, Sunami S.\nJ Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2004 Apr;50(2):114-20.\nPMID: 15242015

Increased intakes of vitamin K2, but not vitamin K1, may decrease the risk of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women, says a new study.\nFor every 10 microgram increase in the amount of vitamin K2 consumed, researchers from the Netherlands report a 9 per cent reduction in the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD).

According to a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 75 percent of Americans do not get enough Vitamin D. Researchers have found that the deficiency may negatively impact immune function and cardiovascular health and increase cancer risk. Now, a University of Missouri nutritional sciences researcher has found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation, a negative response of the immune system, in healthy women.

One of the first things a seasoned dieter might notice about the Zone Diet is that it's not a diet that tries to be restrictive.

Increased intakes of folic acid by mandatory fortification of grain products to reduce neural tube defects may also reduce a baby's risk of severe congenital heart defects, says a new study. The incidence of the heart problems was reduced by 6 per cent following mandatory fortification of grain products, introduced in Canada in 1998, researchers from McGill University and the University of Alberta report in the British Medical Journal.

For more similar articles reviewed, visit drjohndc.tumblr.com