Archive for the 'Physical Health' Category
October 10th, 2008 -- Posted in Osteoporosis / Bone Health, Physical Health |
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Essential for life in higher animals, vitamin D, once linked to only bone diseases such as rickets and osteoporosis, is now recognized as a major player in contributing to overall human health, emphasizes UC Riverside’s Anthony Norman, an international expert on vitamin D.
In a paper published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Norman identifies vitamin D’s potential for contributions to good health in the adaptive and innate immune systems, the secretion and regulation of insulin by the pancreas, the heart and blood pressure regulation, muscle strength and brain activity. In addition, access to adequate amounts of vitamin D is believed to be beneficial towards reducing the risk of cancer.
Norman also lists 36 organ tissues in the body whose cells respond biologically to vitamin D. The list includes bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and the uterus.
According to Norman, deficiency of vitamin D can impact all 36 organs. Already, vitamin D deficiency is associated with muscle strength decrease, high risk for falls, and increased risk for colorectal, prostate and breast and other major cancers.
“It is becoming increasingly clear to researchers in the field that vitamin D is strongly linked to several diseases,” said Norman, a distinguished professor emeritus of biochemistry and of biomedical sciences who has worked on vitamin D for more than 45 years. “Its biological sphere of influence is much broader than we originally thought. The nutritional guidelines for vitamin D intake must be carefully reevaluated to determine the adequate intake, balancing sunlight exposure with dietary intake, to achieve good health by involving all 36 target organs.”
Vitamin D is synthesized in the body in a series of steps. First, sunlight’s ultraviolet rays act on a precursor compound in skin. When skin is exposed to sunlight, a sterol present in dermal tissue is converted to vitamin D, which, in turn, is metabolized in the liver and kidneys to form a hormone. It was Norman’s laboratory that discovered, in 1967, that vitamin D is converted into a steroid hormone by the body.
The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 200 international units (IU) for people up to 50 years old. The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 400 IU for people 51 to 70 years old and 600 IU for people over 70 years old. Norman’s recommendation for all adults is to have an average daily intake of at least 2000 IU.
“To optimize good health you must have enough vitamin D,” he said. “Vitamin D deficiency is also especially of concern in third world countries that have poor nutritional practices and religious customs that require the body to be covered from head to toe. Ideally, to achieve the widest frequency of good health by population, we need to have 90 percent of the people with adequate amounts of vitamin D.”
About half of the elderly in North America and two-thirds of the rest of the world are not getting enough vitamin D to maintain healthy bone density, lower their risks for fracture and improve tooth attachment.
“There needs to be a sea change by various governmental agencies in terms of the advice they present to citizens about how much vitamin D should be taken,” Norman said. “The tendencies of people to live in cities where tall buildings block adequate sunlight from reaching the ground, to spend most of their time indoors, to use synthetic sunscreens that block ultraviolet rays, and to live in geographical regions of the world that do not receive adequate sunlight all contribute to the inability of the skin to biosynthesize sufficient amounts of vitamin D.”
Found in minute amounts in food, vitamins are organic substances that higher forms of animals need to grow and sustain normal health. Vitamins, however, are not synthesized in sufficient amounts to meet bodily needs. Therefore, the body must acquire them through diet or in the form of supplements.
Because it is found in very few foods naturally, milk and other foods (often orange juice) are fortified with vitamin D.
While deficiency of vitamin D impacts health negatively, ingestion of extremely high doses of vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia, a condition in which the blood’s calcium level is above normal. The highest daily ‘safe’ dose of vitamin D is 10,000 IU.
“More than ever we need to increase the amount of research on vitamin D, with more funding from government agencies and pharmaceutical companies, to meet the challenge of preserving or improving the health of everyone on the planet,” Norman said.
Norman is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the Ernst Oppenheimer Award from the Endocrine Society; the Mead Johnson Award and the Osborne and Mendel Award from American Institute of Nutrition; and the William F. Neuman Award from the American Society of Bone & Mineral Research. He is a fellow of the American Association Advancement Science as well as the American Society for Nutritional Sciences.
A grant he received in the late 1960s from the National Institutes of Health to study vitamin D has been renewed consecutively for 41 years, totaling more than $9 million.
Source: http://www.info.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=1938
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October 5th, 2008 -- Posted in Physical Health, lose weight fast |
What is fucoxanthin?
People lose weight fast with fucoxanthin, an ingredient found in seaweed that naturally reduces fat by increasing your metabolic rate. Fucoxanthin is a compound that is found naturally in red, green and brown seaweed, all of which is commonly used in Asian foods like sushi and miso soup. As you age your metabolism gets slower and normal dieting doesn’t give you the results you expect anymore. Fucoxanthin is an easy way to lose weight fast.
Does fucoxanthin help you lose weight fast?
Although it is known that fucoxanthin studies have shown to be effective for fast weight loss in animal studies, there have been recent studies done on human subjects that also showed this. There have been recent studies in both humans and animals that showed taking fucoxanthin supplements helps to reduce body weight as well as significant losses in visceral fat, decrease in liver and abdominal fat, and an increase in energy expenditure. Subjects taking the fucoxanthin supplements lost an average of 14 pounds, 11 pounds more than the placebo group. There are numerous studies being conducted on both humans and animals to determine the efficacy of fucoxanthin for fast weight loss, but also for its other benefits which includes being a super antioxidant.
What are the other effects of fucoxanthin?
Fucoxanthin, as a carotenoid it helps to protect cells from the damage done by free radicals. Studies have also shown that fucoxanthin promotes the creation of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA. Fucoxanthin has been shown to decrease insulin and blood glucose levels, an anti-diabetes effect, in animal studies. Scientists believe that this is because it promotes DHA production. The omega-3 fatty acid DHA is the healthy substance that is found in fish oil and fish like salmon.
Weight-loss tips:
Healthy weight loss should be taken at a conservative pace, with drastic starvation diets and other unhealthy tactics to be avoided. Fucoxanthin can be used to aid healthy fast weight loss in combination with eating a healthy balanced diet and normal exercise.
A good way to keep yourself motivated for fast weight loss is by keeping track of your progress with a weight loss chart.
Everyone wants to lose weight fast, but keeping that weight off should be the ultimate goal. Keeping a regular exercise routine with at least thirty minutes of cardio everyday will help you keep in shape. Using supplements like fucoxanthin can give you that extra bump and motivation to continue eating healthy and working out regularly.
You should also identify unhealthy foods in your diet that you can eliminate in order to maximize long-term results. Choosing less-fatty foods and increasing the amount of fruits, vegetables and fiber in your diet can go a long way. Calorie-counting on a daily basis isn’t entirely necessary, but identifying high-calorie items that are consumed on a regular basis like sodas or juices with your lunch can help you find the reason for that 5 or 10 pound gain in weight. Small changes in your diet and daily habits can result in large losses in fat and weight loss.
September 30th, 2008 -- Posted in Arthritis / Joint Pain, Physical Health |
In a new study, researchers found that today’s 70-year-olds are having more sex and enjoying more satisfying sex — than ever before .The study, from Gothenburg University in Sweden, showed that self-reported levels of sexual satisfaction among 70-year-olds in Gothenburg has been on the rise, from 58 percent of 70-year-old men reporting satisfaction in 1976-77 to 71 percent reporting sexual satisfaction in 2000-01. Among women, the increase was from 41 percent to 62 percent during the same period.
“There is no question that people in their 70s today are like people in their 60s from the last decade,” said Judith Kuriansky, a clinical psychologist, sex therapist and faculty member at Columbia University Teachers College.
Because the study was based on interviews, it is subject to the honesty of the septuagenarians who were interviewed, but even if this is merely a rise in talking about sex rather than actual sex that is on the rise, Kuriansky sees that alone as a positive. “If they’re more comfortable talking about it, they’re more comfortable doing it,” she said.
The longer life spans of women can prevent many from having partners late in life, but Kuriansky said she has a suggestion for women facing that problem. “Sex therapists like myself encourage people to be self-pleasuring,” she said. “If you have no partner, you can continue to be pleasured by yourself.” Kuriansky said that the sexual climaxes have the added benefit of easing the pains associated with arthritis. The article, “Study Shows Sexual Satisfaction at 70 Improving” appeared at July 10th on the website “ABC News”
Source: Teacher’s College, Columbia University (http://www.tc.columbia.edu/news/article.htm?id=6686)
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September 18th, 2008 -- Posted in Physical Health |
Chemical concoctions can smooth over wrinkles and hide those pesky grays, but what about the signs of aging that aren’t so easy to fix, such as losing muscle mass? Cutting calories early could help, say University of Florida researchers who studied the phenomenon in rats.A restricted-calorie diet, when started in early adulthood, seems to stymie a mitochondrial mishap that may contribute to muscle loss in aging adults, the researchers reported recently in the journal PLoS One.
In rats, the scientists found pockets of excess iron in muscle cell mitochondria, the tiny power plants found in every cell. The excess iron affects the chemistry inside the mitochondria, sparking the formation of harmful free radicals that can lead a mitochondrion straight to the emergency exit, said Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, a UF professor of aging in the UF College of Medicine and the Institute on Aging. Leeuwenburgh was the senior author of the study and of a related report published online this month in Aging Cell that details the damage done by excess iron in mitochondria.
“We become less efficient at an old age and we need to understand why this is,” Leeuwenburgh said. “One thing, maybe, is the accumulation of redox-active metals in cells. If the mitochondria become unhappy or are ready to kick the bucket, they have proteins in the inner and outer membranes that they can open up and commit suicide. They’re tricky beasts.”
The suicidal mitochondria can damage the rest of the muscle cell, leading to cell death and perhaps to muscle wasting, a big problem for adults as they reach their mid-70s, Leeuwenburgh added.
“Muscle is critical for your overall well-being,” Leeuwenburgh said. “As you walk, muscle functions partly as a pump to keep your blood going. Muscle is an incredible source of reserves.”
The researchers found increasing amounts of iron in the muscle cells of aging rats fed a typical unrestricted diet. The older the rats got, the more iron accumulated in the mitochondria and the more damage was done to its RNA and DNA. Rats of the same ages that were kept on a calorie-restricted diet — about 60 percent of the food typically ingested — seemed to maintain more normal iron levels in mitochondria, the researchers reported.
“The novel thing here is that iron is accumulating in places it does not normally accumulate,” said Mitch Knutson, a UF assistant professor of food science and human nutrition and a study co-author. “Such iron accumulation in muscle was quite unexpected. This may be of concern because more people are genetically predisposed to developing iron overload than we originally thought.”
The problem occurs when metals such as iron accumulate in the mitochondria and react with oxygen. Iron can change the chemical structure of oxygen, triggering its metamorphosis into a free radical, an unstable atom that can upset the delicate balance inside the mitochondria. The result? Leeuwenburgh describes it sort of like internal rust.
“Not all free radicals are harmful,” Leeuwenburgh said. “To just use antioxidants to neutralize all free radicals is a huge misconception because some radicals are helpful. You just need to try and target very specific free radicals that form in specific parts of the body.”
Researchers don’t know exactly what causes iron to accumulate in mitochondria in aging animals, but a breakdown in how iron is transported through cells could be one reason why, Leeuwenburgh said. Understanding how caloric restriction limits the problem in rats could help researchers better understand how to combat it, he added.
Russell T. Hepple, an associate professor of kinesiology and medicine at the University of Calgary in Canada, said the findings are another step forward in linking iron to muscle cell death, but there are more questions researchers must answer.
“They’ve shown that apoptosis (cell death) goes up in aging muscle but where does that happen?” Hepple asked. “There are more than muscle cells in muscle. (For example) in older adults there are inflammatory cells.”
Source: University of Florida (http://news.ufl.edu/2008/09/16/iron-link/)
September 4th, 2008 -- Posted in Mental Health, Physical Health |
The most comprehensive-to-date genomic analysis of a cancer – the deadly brain tumor glioblastoma multiforme – shows previously unrecognized changes in genes and provides an overall view of the missteps in the pathways that govern the growth and behavior of cells, said members of The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature.
“This was a big thrust for the public project,” said Dr. Richard Gibbs, director of the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center, a member of the network and a co-author of the paper. “This answers the big question about whether the cancer genome project is worthwhile. The results show that it is—definitely.” The BCM center, the Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., led the effort that included many members from across the nation.
Analysis reveals important clues
This interim analysis of 91 tumors and 623 genes provides important clues about how the disease originates and progresses in cells and how it eludes the effects of potent anti-cancer drugs and radiation, said Dr. David Wheeler, associate professor in the Genome Sequencing Center and a co-author of the report. It could provide researchers with clues about how to treat the disease. The Baylor Human Genome Sequencing Center was a major component in the effort to sequence the genes and identify mutations and changes that affected the ways cells react.
“Studies like this show the breadth of mutation across many genes,” said Wheeler. “We can see the mutations in all the genes of each pathway that control growth, replication and death in the cancer cell. Researchers have never seen the whole landscape like this before, and it’s providing many new insights into strategies to diagnose and treat cancer.”
The ultimate goal of the project is to sequence the entire exome – that portion of the genetic blueprint that provides the code for proteins – of the tumor, said Wheeler. In fact, he said, the goal is to sequence genes in 500 brain cancer samples, but the network decided to publish preliminary results.
“When we pulled everything together with just 91 samples, the results were so interesting and important for treatment that we felt we should publish before the end of the project,” he said.
Glioblastoma is the most common primary brain tumor. Most people live approximately one year after diagnosis. Understanding this cancer could result in better forms of treatment.
Wider view of cell pathways
The analysis identified some genes known to cause cancer but whose role in glioblastoma had been previously underestimated, he said. For example, the genes ERBB2 (known to be implicated in breast and other cancers) and NF1 (neurofibromatosis gene 1 involved in a variety of tumors) were both found to be frequently mutated in this brain tumor. Other genes that previously had no known role in glioblastoma such as PIK3R1, a gene involved in regulating the metabolic actions of insulin were also found mutated in a variety of tumors.
In addition, the analysis gave scientists a wide view of how cell pathways are altered during the initiation and growth of glioblastoma.
“If we know what pathways are key to the formation of a tumor, we can design drugs to block those pathways,” said Wheeler. “In cancer, key pathways are co-opted to make the cell grow and divide in an uncontrolled fashion.”
For example, the TP53 pathway tells mutated cells to die in a process called apoptosis.
“It’s a fail-safe mechanism,” said Wheeler. “If a cell starts to become cancerous, p53 causes the cell to kill itself. If that pathway is knocked out, the cell avoids the fail-safe mechanism and can continue to divide.”
Other pathways involved in the sequencing effort are also disrupted to allow the cancer to grow, he said.
Funding for this work came from the National Institutes of Health.
Others who took part in the sequencing effort at BCM include Donna Muzny, Margaret Morgan, Steve Scherer, Aniko Sabo, Lynn Nazareth, Lora Lewis, Otis Hall, Yiming Zhu, Yanru Ren, Omar Alvi, Jiqiang Yao, Alicia Hawes, Shalini Jhangiani, Gerald Fowler, Anthony San Lucas, Christie Kovar, Andrew Cree, Huyen Dinh, Jireh Santibanez, Vandita Joshi, Manuel L. Gonzalez-Garay, Christopher A. Miller, Aleksandar Milosavljevic and Larry Donehower.
Other institutions involved in this work include the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston; Harvard Medical School and The Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore; the National Cancer Institute Center for Bioinformatics in Bethesda, Md; the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill; SRA International Inc., in Fairfax, Va.; HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Ala.; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., and the International Genomics Consortium in Phoenix, Ariz.
Source: Baylor College of Medicine (http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1200)
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