Nutrition

"The gluten/schizophrenia connection has been tossed around since the 1970's. It is still controversial. Yet, some with schizophrenia (statistics say around 10-20%) may be miraculously helped by a simple dietary change. It is important to realize that many people have problems with gluten who do not test positive for Celiac Disease. Gluten can cause different types of problems. Casein sensitivity may be involved as well, for some."

I have been reading a case report by Kraft, Westman, 2009 of a 70 year old obese, Caucasian female who was suffering from Schizophrenia since the age of 17. Her symptoms included paranoia, hallucinations (auditory and visual), and many hospitalizations for psychosis and suicide attempts. Her daily diet included "egg and cheese sandwich, diet soda, water, pimento cheese, barbecued pork, chicken salad, hamburger helper, macaroni and cheese, and potatoes." Instead, she was asked to follow a low carbohydrate diet of: "unlimited meats and eggs, 4 ounces of hard cheese, 2 cups of salad vegetables, and 1 cup of low carbohydrate vegetables per day. This diet restricts carbohydrate intake to fewer than 20 grams per day." The diet was also grain free.

Schizophrenic symptoms and SPECT abnormalities in a coeliac patient: regression after a gluten-free diet. De Santis A, Addolorato G, Romito A, Caputo S, Giordano A, Gambassi G, Taranto C, Manna R, Gasbarrini G. J Intern Med. 1997 Nov;242(5):421-3. PMID: 9408073

Coronary calcium as a predictor of coronary events in four racial or ethnic groups. Detrano R, Guerci AD, Carr JJ, Bild DE, Burke G, Folsom AR, Liu K, Shea S, Szklo M, Bluemke DA, O'Leary DH, Tracy R, Watson K, Wong ND, Kronmal RA. N Engl J Med. 2008 Mar 27;358(13):1336-45. PMID: 18367736

"LOS ANGELES (September 29, 2009) -- A simple, non-invasive test appears to be an effective screening tool for identifying patients with silent heart disease who are at risk for a heart attack or sudden death. Coronary artery calcium scans can be done without triggering excessive additional testing and costs, according to the multi-center EISNER (Early Identification of Subclinical Atherosclerosis by Noninvasive Imaging Research) study, led by investigators at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. The findings appear in today's issue of the findings appear in today's issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology."

"In one room on the last day of the conference, four invited faculty members meticulously made the case for an already-available substance as an example of the kind of agent the others were looking for. Their message: omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), usually derived from fish oil, garner far less attention as a heart-failure therapy than they deserve, given the wealth of laboratory and clinical evidence supporting a treatment effect."

"This is not one of our usual hour-long live discussions. Rather, this is an online question-and-answer session. Your questions and Dr. Vieth's answers will appear at the bottom of this page after 1 p.m. EDT today."

Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women. Richards JB, Valdes AM, Gardner JP, Paximadas D, Kimura M, Nessa A, Lu X, Surdulescu GL, Swaminathan R, Spector TD, Aviv A. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Nov;86(5):1420-5. PMID: 17991655

Meta-analysis of vitamin D, calcium and the prevention of breast cancer. Chen P, Hu P, Xie D, Qin Y, Wang F, Wang H. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2009 Oct 23. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19851861 These results provide strong evidence that vitamin D and calcium have a chemopreventive effect against breast cancer.

Defining Adequate Vitamin D Intake : Cross-sectional and Intervention Studies Viljakainen, Heli Tuulikki University of Helsinki 2008-05-23 Doctoral dissertation (article-based) Vitamin D is required for normal bone growth and maintenance of the skeleton throughout life. In Finland, like in many other Western countries, the population suffers from inadequate or deficient vitamin D status, especially during winter, which is thought to increase the risk of osteoporosis. New strategies to prevent osteoporosis are actively being sought. The main objective of this thesis was to determine whether vitamin D is feasible in the primary prevention of osteoporosis; does it affect bone mineral accrual during the growth period? A second goal was to ascertain whether seasonal variation in calcitropic hormones affects bone remodelling, and to elucidate the vitamin D intake needed to overcome this variation in different age groups. In summary, vitamin D intake remains inadequate among the target groups of this thesis, as reflected by seasonal variation in calcitropic hormones and bone metabolism. Dietary intake of vitamin D should be increased to achieve at least an adequate vitamin D status (S-25-OHD>50 nmol/l) and possibly an optimal vitamin D status (S-25-OHD>80 nmol/l) throughout the year. This could be accomplished by introducing new vitamin D-fortified foods to the market."

Phytase activity in the human and rat small intestine. Iqbal TH, Lewis KO, Cooper BT. Gut. 1994 Sep;35(9):1233-6. PMID: 7959229

"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. "

Gillman MW, Cupples LA, Gagnon D, Millen BE, Ellison RC, Castelli WP. Margarine intake and subsequent coronary heart disease in men. Epidemiology. 1997 Mar;8(2):144-9. PubMed PMID: 9229205

"THURSDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Feeling stressed? A dose of dark chocolate could cheer you right up by lowering your stress hormone levels, a new study suggests. Swiss researchers, who report their findings in the online issue of the Journal of Proteome Research, tracked volunteers who said they were highly stressed."

"VIRILO-neitsytkookosöljy Korkealaatuinen kylmäpuristettu neitsytkookosöljy * VIRILO-neitsytkookosöljyä ei ole raffinoitu, valkaistu, hajustettu tai kovetettu * VIRILO-neitsytkookosöljy on monipuolinen öljy joka sopii niin ruoanvalmistukseen, ihonhoitoon, kuntoilijan energiatankkaukseen kuin vahvistamaan ja ylläpitämään yleisterveyttä sekä tukemaan painonhallintaa."

"NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Low vitamin D levels in the body may be deadly, according to a new study hinting that adults with lower, versus higher, blood levels of vitamin D may be more likely to die from heart disease or stroke. Vitamin D is an essential vitamin mostly obtained from direct sunlight exposure, but also found in foods and multivitamins. Dr. Annamari Kilkkinen, at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues compared blood levels of vitamin D and deaths from heart disease or stroke over time in 2,817 men and 3,402 women in Finland."

"New research from Queen Mary, University of London and Harvard Medical School has revealed precisely why taking fish oils can help with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis."

"Fatty acids can help children in exams and improve their behaviour in class and at home, a study suggests. Overweight children who took fatty acid dietary supplements showed dramatic improvements in concentration, reading, memory and mental agility. The advances that their brains made in three months would normally take three years, researchers found."

25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and the risk of mortality in the general population. Melamed ML, Michos ED, Post W, Astor B. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Aug 11;168(15):1629-37. PMID: 18695076 Conclusion The lowest quartile of 25(OH)D level (<17.8 ng/mL) is independently associated with all-cause mortality in the general population.

Vitamin D and cardiovascular disease risk. Michos ED, Melamed ML. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2008 Jan;11(1):7-12. Review. PMID: 18090651 doi: 10.1097/MCO.0b013e3282f2f4dd Summary: Vitamin D deficiency is easy to screen for and easy to treat with supplementation. Further larger observational studies and randomized clinical trials are, however, needed to determine whether vitamin D supplementation could have any potential benefit in reducing future cardiovascular disease events and mortality risk.