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ScienceDaily (Mar. 11, 2009) - For every gram of salt that Americans reduce in their diets daily, a quarter of a million fewer new heart disease cases and over 200,000 fewer deaths would occur over a decade, researchers said at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

I stumbled on one of the growing number of local media stories on the power of vitamin D. \nIn one story, a purported "expert" was talking about the benefits of "high-dose" vitamin D, meaning up to 1000, even 2000 units per day. \nI regard this as high-dose---for an infant. \nJudging by my experiences, now numbering well over 1000 patients over three years time, I'd regard this dose range not as "high dose," nor moderate dose, perhaps not even low dose. I'd regard it as barely adequate.

Sulbutiamine (brand name: Arcalion) is a precursor to thiamine (i.e., vitamin B1). As a dimer of two structurally modified thiamine residues, sulbutiamine retains many of the features of thiamine. However, the thiazole rings are open, the alcohol groups are esterified, and a disulfide bridge connects the two thiamine analogues. Sulbutiamine is indicated for the treatment of asthenia.[1] Its ability to reduce fatigue is also considered desirable by athletes, and it is available for over-the-counter sale as a nutritional supplement. In one study of chronic fatigue patients, sulbutiamine did not demonstrate sustained benefits over the placebo, which raises doubts about its clinical efficacy.[2] However, the authors of that study suggest that additional research is needed to evalulate the potential usefulness of sulbutiamine in the treatment of chronic fatigue. Sulbutiamine may be beneficial for cognition. Indeed, the demonstrated ability of sulbutiamine to improve memory in rats[3] and patients of schizophrenia[3] suggests that it is a nootropic. Recent research also shows support for the use of sulbutiamine in the treatment of erectile dysfunction

LITTLE FALLS, N.J., May 13 -- Exercise regimens that burn more calories over less-intense periods of exercise can increase weight loss and reduce cardiovascular risk factors better than standard cardiac rehabilitation programs, researchers have found. In a randomized trial, overweight patients who exercised more but with less intensity lost twice as much weight as those on typical cardiac rehab regimens and had greater reductions in markers of metabolic syndrome, according to Philip A. Ades, M.D., of the University of Vermont, and colleagues. "High-calorie-expenditure exercise is superior to standard cardiac rehabilitation exercise in accomplishing weight loss and favorably altering cardiometabolic risk factors, particularly insulin resistance, in overweight patients with coronary heart disease," the researchers reported online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study. onsson T, Granfeldt Y, Ahren B, Branell UC, Palsson G, Hansson A, Soderstrom M, Lindeberg S. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2009 Jul 16;8(1):35. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19604407 doi:10.1186/1475-2840-8-35

SEATTLE, April 30 -- The epilepsy drug levetiracetam (Keppra) does not appear to be effective for prevention of chronic daily headache, researchers said here. Levetiracetam drug achieved a 3.9% increase in headache-free performance over placebo, but the trend did not reach statistical significance, Roy Beran, M.D., of the University of New South Wales, and colleagues reported at the American Academy of Neurology meeting.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have identified a gene that plays a critical regulatory role in the process of converting dietary carbohydrates to fat. In a new study, they disabled this gene in mice, which consequently had lower levels of body fat than their normal counterparts, despite being fed the equivalent of an all-you-can-eat pasta buffet. The authors of the study, to be published in the March 20 issue of the journal Cell, say the gene, called DNA-PK, could potentially play a role in the prevention of obesity related to the over-consumption of high-carbohydrate foods, such as pasta, rice, soda and sugary snacks.

Vitamin K has been known as the coagulation vitamin, because of its role in the blood-clotting process. However, research over the last few decades has shown that the role of K Vitamins - and natural Vitamin K2, the menaquinones, in particular - has been greatly expanded. Of note, K Vitamins activity outside the liver is required for calcium utilization, the key factor in maintaining both bone and cardiovascular health.\n\nVitamin K2 helps to activate vitamin K-dependent proteins responsible for healthy tissues. In bone, it activates osteocalcin, a protein required to bind calcium to the mineral matrix, thus strengthening the skeleton. In circulation, Vitamin K2 participates in carboxylation of Matrix Gla Protein (MGP), the most potent inhibitor of arterial calcification known, lowering the risk of vascular damage.

Blind Girl Can See Thanks to Umbilical Cord-Based Adult Stem Cell Treatment London, England (LifeNews.com) -- Born two years ago with severe eye problems, Dakota Clarke could not even see well enough to recognize her own mother and father. But now the parents of the little girl, who is registered blind, say she can make out their faces for the first time after pioneering stem cell treatment. The couple gave up work to raise well over $40,000 to fly their daughter to China for the treatment, which remains at the experimental level in Britain -- because the nation has been too preoccupied with embryonic stem cells and human cloning. They returned home this week convinced that Dakota can now see colors, lights and objects around her as a result. They hope further therapy will give her a lifetime of sight. "It's nothing short of a miracle for us," said Mr Clarke, a former engineer. "She can see the world for the first time." In Dakota's case, cells were administered intravenously through her hairline and reportedly traveled towards her optic nerve, repairing the damaged area. The stem cells came from umbilical cords donated by Chinese mothers. Despite the obvious success, some doctors are talking down the results simply because the treatments aren't approved in England. Pro-life advocates say the results are yet another showing of how adult stem cells outpace their embryonic cousins both ethically and when used in treatments.

Vitamin D's days of obscurity seem pretty much over. Once just an afterthought to most people-relegated to the sides of milk cartons and the pages of medical texts-it's now on the cusp of becoming a full-fledged disease prevention star. Although vitamin D has long been known as an important factor in bone health, a quickly growing body of evidence now shows that it may also help lower the risk of cancer, heart disease, and even premature death.[1], [2] Not surprisingly, scientists and the public have started to take note, particularly of vitamin D's potential to protect against cancer

Many U.S. teenagers -- including half of African Americans -- would be considered vitamin D-deficient if the definition of deficiency were changed to what many experts recommend, a new study finds. Right now, people are considered to have an overt deficiency in vitamin D when blood levels drop below 11 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), but there is debate over how the optimal vitamin D level should be define

Over the past few decades, portion sizes of everything from muffins to sandwiches have grown considerably. Unfortunately, America's waistbands have reacted accordingly. In the 1970s, around 47 percent of Americans were overweight or obese; now 66 percent of us are. In addition, the number of just obese people has doubled, from 15 percent of our population to 30 percent.

These slimming foods are not miracle foods, but you will find that they help you to consume fewer calories over the course of your day.

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2009) - Seven out of ten U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease, according to a study of over 6,000 children by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The striking findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

Over many centuries, Frankincense oil has been found to have medicinal benefits. Now, an enriched extract of the Somalian Frankincense herb (Boswellia carteri) has been shown to kill off bladder cancer cells growing in culure. Research presented in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine demonstrates that this herb has the potential to become an alternative therapy for bladder cancer.

Floyd Chilton and colleagues wanted to examine whether theses fatty acids might have other effects, and developed a dietary intervention strategy in which 27 healthy humans were fed a controlled diet mimicking the w6/w3 ratios of early humans over 5 weeks. They then looked at the gene levels of immune signals and cytokines (protein immune messengers), that impact autoimmunity and allergy in blood cells and found that many key signaling genes that promote inflammation were markedly reduced compared to a normal diet, including a signaling gene for a protein called PI3K, a critical early step in autoimmune and allergic inflammation responses. This study demonstrates, for the first time in humans, that large changes in gene expression are likely an important mechanism by which these omega fatty acids exert their potent clinical effects

Conclusion A low-carbohydrate plant-based diet has lipid-lowering advantages over a high-carbohydrate, low-fat weight-loss diet in improving heart disease risk factors not seen with conventional low-fat diets with animal products. The Effect of a Plant-Based Low-Carbohydrate ("Eco-Atkins") Diet on Body Weight and Blood Lipid Concentrations in Hyperlipidemic Subjects David J. A. Jenkins; Julia M. W. Wong; Cyril W. C. Kendall; Amin Esfahani; Vivian W. Y. Ng; Tracy C. K. Leong; Dorothea A. Faulkner; Ed Vidgen; Kathryn A. Greaves; Gregory Paul; William Singer Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(11):1046-1054.

Conclusion: The associations suggest that replacing SFAs with PUFAs rather than MUFAs or carbohydrates prevents CHD over a wide range of intakes. Major types of dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of 11 cohort studies. Jakobsen MU, O'Reilly EJ, Heitmann BL, Pereira MA, Bälter K, Fraser GE, Goldbourt U, Hallmans G, Knekt P, Liu S, Pietinen P, Spiegelman D, Stevens J, Virtamo J, Willett WC, Ascherio A. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 May;89(5):1425-32. Epub 2009 Feb 11. PMID: 19211817 doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.27124

(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.