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"Tuesday, December 15, 2009 Overweight, hungry, diabetic, and fat-free Let me tell you about my low-fat experience from 20 years ago. At the time, I was living in Cleveland, Ohio, and served on the faculty at a large metropolitan university-affiliated hospital, supervising fellows-in-training and developing high-tech cath lab procedures like directional athererectomy and excimer laser coronary angioplasty. (Yes, another life.) I was concerned about personal heart disease risk, though I knew next to nothing about lipids and coronary risk prediction outside of the little I learned in training and what the drug industry promoted. I heard Dr. Dean Ornish talk while attending the American College of Cardiology meetings in Atlanta. Dr. Ornish spoke persuasively about the dangers of fat in the diet and how he "reversed" coronary disease using a low-fat, no added oils, no meat, vegetarian diet that included plenty of whole grains. So I thought I'd give it a try. I eliminated all oils; I removed all meat, eggs, and fish from my diet. I shunned all nuts. I ate only low-fat products like low-fat yogurt and cottage cheese; and focused on vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. Beans and brown or wild rice were a frequent staple. I loved oatmeal cookies--low-fat, of course! After one year of this low-fat program, I had gained a total of 31 lbs, going from 155 lbs to 186 lbs. I reassessed some basic labs: HDL 28 mg/dl Triglycerides 336 mg/dl Blood sugar 151 mg/dl (fasting) I became a diabetic. All through this time, I was also jogging. I ran on the beautiful paths along the Chagrin River in suburban Cleveland for miles north and south. I ran 5 miles per day most days of the week. "

"November 24, 2009 | Lisa Nainggolan Orlando, FL - Inadequate levels of vitamin D are associated with an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, a new observational study has found. Dr Tami L Bair (Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, UT) reported the findings here at the American Heart Association 2009 Scientific Sessions. Bair and colleagues followed more than 27 000 people 50 years or older with no history of cardiovascular disease for just over a year and found that those with very low levels of vitamin D (30 ng/mL). Those deficient in vitamin D were also twice as likely to develop heart failure as those with normal levels. "We concluded that even a moderate deficiency of vitamin D was associated with developing coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, and death," said coauthor Dr Heidi May (Intermountain Medical Center). However, "it is not known whether this is a cause and effect relationship," she told heartwire. Because this study was observational, more research is needed "to better establish the association between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease," she noted."

"Consuming tempeh can reduce the risk of developing dementia in the elderly, but eating tofu can increase it, said a joint study between universities here and in Britain on Wednesday. The study between University of Indonesia (UI), Indonesia Respati University, University of Loughborough and University of Oxford said people over 68 years of age who consumed tofu more than twice a day had a worse memory than those who rarely ate it. But if they also ate tempeh, the risk of dementia was reduced. "Tempeh consumption very likely offsets tofu's negative associations with memory," Professor Eef Hogervorst of the University of Loughborough said in a seminar on aging and health at UI campus in Depok, where she presented the result of the study. The study involved 712 respondents from Jakarta, Citengah in West Java and Yogyakarta, with ages ranging from 52 to 99 years. "

Vitamin D for cancer prevention: global perspective. Garland CF, Gorham ED, Mohr SB, Garland FC. Ann Epidemiol. 2009 Jul;19(7):468-83. Review. PMID: 19523595 RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: It is projected that raising the minimum year-around serum 25(OH)D level to 40 to 60 ng/mL (100-150 nmol/L) would prevent approximately 58,000 new cases of breast cancer and 49,000 new cases of colorectal cancer each year, and three fourths of deaths from these diseases in the United States and Canada, based on observational studies combined with a randomized trial. Such intakes also are expected to reduce case-fatality rates of patients who have breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer by half. There are no unreasonable risks from intake of 2000 IU per day of vitamin D(3), or from a population serum 25(OH)D level of 40 to 60 ng/mL. The time has arrived for nationally coordinated action to substantially increase intake of vitamin D and calcium.

"came across a gem of a study the other day, courtesy of Dr. John Briffa's blog. It's titled "Margarine Intake and Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease in Men", by Dr. William P. Castelli's group. It followed participants of the Framingham Heart study for 20 years, and recorded heart attack incidence*. Keep in mind that 20 years is an unusually long follow-up period. "

"Study finds inadequate levels of Vitamin D may significantly increase risk of stroke, heart disease and death MURRAY, UT - While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well - and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease. For more than a year, the Intermountain Medical Center research team followed 27,686 patients who were 50 years of age or older with no prior history of cardiovascular disease. The participants had their blood Vitamin D levels tested during routine clinical care. The patients were divided into three groups based on their Vitamin D levels - normal (over 30 nanograms per milliliter), low (15-30 ng/ml), or very low (less than 15 ng/ml). The patients were then followed to see if they developed some form of heart disease."

"18 645 patients with a total cholesterol of 6·5 mmol/L or greater were recruited from local physicians throughout Japan between 1996 and 1999. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 1800 mg of EPA daily with statin (EPA group; n=9326) or statin only (controls; n=9319) with a 5-year follow-up. The primary endpoint was any major coronary event, including sudden cardiac death, fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction, and other non-fatal events including unstable angina pectoris, angioplasty, stenting, or coronary artery bypass grafting. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. Findings At mean follow-up of 4·6 years, we detected the primary endpoint in 262 (2·8%) patients in the EPA group and 324 (3·5%) in controls-a 19% relative reduction in major coronary events (p=0·011). Post-treatment LDL cholesterol concentrations decreased 25%, from 4·7 mmol/L in both groups. Serum LDL cholesterol was not a significant factor in a reduction of risk for major coronary events. Unstable angina and non-fatal coronary events were also significantly reduced in the EPA group. Sudden cardiac death and coronary death did not differ between groups. In patients with a history of coronary artery disease who were given EPA treatment, major coronary events were reduced by 19% (secondary prevention subgroup: 158 [8·7%] in the EPA group vs 197 [10·7%] in the control group; p=0·048). In patients with no history of coronary artery disease, EPA treatment reduced major coronary events by 18%, but this finding was not significant (104 [1·4%] in the EPA group vs 127 [1·7%] in the control group; p=0·132)."

"April 28, 2009 (Seattle) -- High doses of vitamin D dramatically cut the relapse rate in people with multiple sclerosis, a study shows. Sixteen percent of 25 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) given an average of 14,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day for a year suffered relapses, says Jodie Burton, MD, a neurologist at the University of Toronto. In contrast, close to 40% of 24 MS patients who took an average of 1,000 IU a day -- the amount recommended by many MS specialists -- relapsed, she says. Also, people taking high-dose vitamin D suffered 41% fewer relapses than the year before the study began, compared with 17% of those taking typical doses. People taking high doses of vitamin D did not suffer any significant side effects, Burton tells WebMD."

"For more than 80 years, scientists have known that vitamin D is important for building bones. And for most of those 80 years, people thought this was the only thing it was good for. In the past decade, however, we've learned two important things about vitamin D: it appears to have many other important health effects, and many Americans don't get enough of it. In 2008, new research pointed to a vitamin D deficiency as a possible contributing factor in heart disease. And the suspected link between vitamin D deficiency and cancer grew even stronger. This surely will spur much new research in 2009. Why is vitamin D deficiency so common? The vitamin is made in our skin when sunlight strikes it. Many Americans-especially those who live in the northern part of the country, are elderly or have dark skin-don't soak up enough sun. And the vitamin isn't found in many foods. The main sources are fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines) and milk, cereal and juices that have been fortified with it. Vitamin D deficiency often is unsuspected because it causes no direct symptoms; like high blood pressure, it does its damage silently."

Egg consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in men and women. Djoussé L, Gaziano JM, Buring JE, Lee IM. Diabetes Care. 2009 Feb;32(2):295-300. Epub 2008 Nov 18. PMID: 1901777 doi: 10.2337/dc08-1271 RESULTS-During mean follow-up of 20.0 years in men and 11.7 years in women, 1,921 men and 2,112 women developed type 2 diabetes. Compared with no egg consumption, multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for type 2 diabetes were 1.09 (95% CI 0.87-1.37), 1.09 (0.88-1.34), 1.18 (0.95-1.45), 1.46 (1.14-1.86), and 1.58 (1.25-2.01) for consumption of <0.0001). CONCLUSIONS-These data suggest that high levels of egg consumption (daily) are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in men and women. Confirmation of these findings in other populations is warranted.

A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women. Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Rimm EB, Manson JE, Ascherio A, Colditz GA, Rosner BA, Spiegelman D, Speizer FE, Sacks FM, Hennekens CH, Willett WC. JAMA. 1999 Apr 21;281(15):1387-94. PMID: 10217054 Results We documented 866 incident cases of CHD and 258 incident cases of stroke in men during 8 years of follow-up and 939 incident cases of CHD and 563 incident cases of stroke in women during 14 years of follow-up. After adjustment for age, smoking, and other potential CHD risk factors, we found no evidence of an overall significant association between egg consumption and risk of CHD or stroke in either men or women. The relative risks (RRs) of CHD across categories of intake were less than 1 per week (1.0), 1 per week (1.06), 2 to 4 per week (1.12), 5 to 6 per week (0.90), and >=1 per day (1.08) (P for trend=.75) for men; and less than 1 per week (1.0), 1 per week (0.82), 2 to 4 per week (0.99), 5 to 6 per week (0.95), and >=1 per day (0.82) (P for trend=.95) for women. In subgroup analyses, higher egg consumption appeared to be associated with increased risk of CHD only among diabetic subjects (RR of CHD comparing more than 1 egg per day with less than 1 egg per week among diabetic men, 2.02 [95% confidence interval, 1.05-3.87; P for trend=.04], and among diabetic women, 1.49 [0.88-2.52; P for trend=.008]). Conclusions These findings suggest that consumption of up to 1 egg per day is unlikely to have substantial overall impact on the risk of CHD or stroke among healthy men and women. The apparent increased risk of CHD associated with higher egg consumption among diabetic participants warrants further research.

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 Results: The subjects were categorized into 5 egg consumption groups on the basis of their responses to a questionnaire (≥2/d, 1/d, 1/2 d, 1-2/wk, and seldom). There were 69, 1396, 1667, 1742, and 315 women in each of the 5 groups, respectively. Age-adjusted total cholesterol (5.21, 5.04, 4.95, 4.91, and 4.92 mmol/L in the 5 egg consumption categories, respectively) was related to egg consumption (P < 0.0001, analysis of covariance). In women, unadjusted IHD mortality and all-cause mortality differed significantly between the groups [IHD mortality: 1.1, 0.5, 0.4, 0.5, and 2.0 per 1000 person-years, respectively (P = 0.008, chi-square test); all-cause mortality: 14.8, 8.0, 7.5, 7.5, and 14.5 per 1000 person-years, respectively (P < 0.0001, chi-square test)]. 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.

"With daily news reports warning of a swine flu pandemic, members have besieged our health advisors with questions about what they should do to protect themselves against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus. The good news is that Life Extension® members obtain a considerable amount of immune support via the supplements they already use, especially those taking high-dose vitamin D. An important question, however, is what one should do if they develop symptoms of a viral infection? As the days grow colder, the risks of contracting common flu and cold viruses increase. Each year, flu virus infections kill around 36,000 Americans and cause miseries for millions.1 An outbreak of the swine flu virus is expected this winter. While certain supplements (and drugs) purport to shorten the duration of a viral infection, most of them fail to provide significant relief. Over the past 28 years, Life Extension® personnel have experimented with various nutrients, hormones, and drugs in order to minimize the impact of the common cold and typical flu viruses. In this article, I will reveal what has worked for me personally to ward off common cold/flu viruses and what has been validated in the scientific literature to be effective. I will also elaborate on some aggressive prescription drug strategies to consider in the event that you contract a severe form of swine flu or other type of influenza."

The summer season each year brings wafting memories of a juicy and luscious fruit called litchi. The origins of Litchi lie in southern China where as a crop it has been cultivated uninterruptedly for close to 2500 years. Its geographical propagation has been rather slow, which is due to the short life-span of its seed and the peculiar soil and climatic requirements associated with the plant.A classical instance of this is India which is the second largest producer just behind China, but litchi farming is chronologically speaking, very recent having been introduced only sometime in the middle of the 1700's. Together China and India between themselves produce more than 90% of the world's Litchi, leaving the rest of the world far behind. In the backdrop of all this it is interesting to know the various cultivars and varieties which dot the world of Litchi farming. Most or all of them have their genesis probably in China but have been suitably bred and modified to thrive in countries of their adoption.

The terms 'cultivar' and 'variety' have often been used interchangeably but this convention often seems to ignore the obvious differences which exist between the two. A 'cultivar' is bred with the help of vegetative propagation, which could include cutting, grafting,budding and tissue culture and is a product of human effort and ingenuity. A 'variety' on the other hand is a natural phenomenon and is bred through seedlings. A 'variety' will always produce clones of the parent plant, but in a cultivar,there may be slight variation in a progeny compared to the parent particularly in the case of hybrids. The Litchi cultivars in India number about 40 out of which around 12 or 13 are commercially cultivated.The same cultivar or variety may be known by different names in various parts of the country. In China there are about 200 known cultivars although only 20 or so are in commercial farming, which means the genetic repository is much more widespread compar

New Year is right around the corner and the biggest confusion for most of us is where to party this New Year's eve. With umpteen choices available, it is important for us to understand which place hosts which type of parties and where our preferences lie. The new trend is to go to a different …

We have been using toothbrushes for years and years now. Dentists still think that we are doing it wrong. In this article, we discuss the correct way to clean our teeth. We pave the road to brighter teeth and broader smiles.

The Author The author of this site is the British writer, John Davidson. Please note that the author is neither a doctor, nor a qualified health practitioner. Every cancer patient should always consult his or her medical practitioner with regard to the use of complementary remedies or treatments, and nothing on this site should be construed in any way as medical or therapeutic advice. It is simply the result of one person's search for solutions. Please read our disclaimer. About This Site Internet searches trawl up vast amounts of information about cancer, from a broad spectrum of viewpoints. The information and internet links on this site are for those seeking to augment the treatment offered by their hospital oncology (cancer) unit. Of course, a great many other internet sites concerning cancer can be found by keying the requisite search words into any of the major search engines. The content of this site was initially prepared, at the request of medical and nursing staff and others, some weeks after I had had an emergency operation for the removal of a colon cancer, and while undergoing chemotherapy in case any cancer cells had gone AWOL. There had been some escape of cancer cells into associated lymph nodes (3 out of 17, including the most distal), but no other tumours had been picked up by a CT scan. When I returned home from hospital in September 2005, with the help of friends, I started doing some research on cancer. I was amazed to discover that despite the billions of pounds/euros/dollars etc. spent on cancer research, and the many advances in understanding the numerous variants of the disease, the standard treatment for my stage of colon cancer is still a drug (fluorouracil, also called 5FU) that has been in use for more than forty years, has uncomfortable side effects, and which only increases the chances of survival after five years by 5 to 10%.

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