Vitamin D and risk of Parkinson disease

A lot of research has been published recently on the importance of vitamin D.

The research reviewed here investigated vitamin D levels and its association to Parkinson disease (Knekt P, et al. 2010).

The follow-up period was 29 years and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level (the most common way of testing vitamin D) was determined from frozen samples stored at baseline.

The results showed that individuals with higher serum vitamin D concentration had a reduced risk of Parkinson disease.

This is one more reason to be sure you get enough vitamin D.

It is very common to have low levels of vitamin D because of inadequate sun exposure or regular use of sunscreen.

Taking between 1000 IU to 2000 IU of vitamin D3 daily will help. It is not recommended to take huge amounts of vitamin D, since vitamin D is not only a vitamin but also a hormone the body regulates. More is not always better.

You can safely take 1000 IU-2000 IU daily of vitamin D, but it is recommended to have a vitamin D test before taking higher amounts.

To read more about the benefits of vitamin D, click here.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.


Reference:

Knekt P, Kilkkinen A, Rissanen H, Marniemi J, Sääksjärvi K, Heliövaara M. Serum vitamin D and the risk of Parkinson disease. Arch Neurol. 2010 Jul;67(7):808-11.

Fish oil and breast cancer

Omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil have been documented to provide numerous health benefits.

The study reviewed here investigated the association between the use of fish oil and the risk of breast cancer (Brasky TM, et al. 2010).

The participants who were postmenopausal women age 56-76 years completed a questionnaire about their use of supplements. Data about their current and past use were obtained as well as frequencies and duration of use.

The results showed that ten years average use of fish oil was associated with reduced risk of breast cancer.

Considering all the research on fish oil showing anti-inflammatory benefits and cardiovascular benefits, this is certainly one supplement to take.

To read more about benefits from fish oil, click on “Better Fish Oil” which is a pharmaceutical grade fish oil.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.


Reference:

Brasky TM, Lampe JW, Potter JD, Patterson RE, White E. Specialty supplements and breast cancer risk in the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) Cohort. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010 Jul;19(7):1696-708.

Want to avoid getting a stroke?

Avoiding ten risk factors can substantially improve your odds of not getting a stroke.

A recent published study in The Lancet, one the most respected medical journals in the world documented 10 risk factors associated with 90% of the risk of stroke (O’Donnell MJ, et al. 2010).

The study included patients from 22 countries and data was collected for three years. The stroke cases were categorized as ischemic stroke (stroke due to lack of blood supply to an area of the brain) and intracerebral hemorrhage stroke (stroke due to rupture of a blood vessel).

The risk factors significant for ischemic stroke were a history of hypertension (blood pressure more than 160/90 mmHg), smoking, high waist-to-hip ratio (fat around the waist), high diet risk score, low regular physical activity, diabetes, alcohol intake (more than 30 drinks per month or binge drinking), psychological stress and depression, cardiac causes (heart problems), and a high ratio of apolipoproteins B to A1 (blood markers of cardiovascular risk).

Hypertension, smoking, high waist-to-hip ratio and alcohol intake were significant risk factors for intracerebral hemorrhage stroke.

If you for the most part follow the food plan, recipes in the book, “The Food Connection,” you will reduce many of these risks. Your blood pressure would most likely be better and so would your waist-to-hip ratio. It would be unlikely that you would get diabetes, your cardiovascular risk would be reduced, your ratio of apolipoproteins B to A1 would be better and your diet risk score would be excellent.

The only other things would be to avoid smoking, not drink too much and get some physical activity.

Physical activity would also most likely make you feel less stressed and depressed.

It does not have to be that difficult to reduce your risks and it certainly would be worth it. Added benefits would be that you will feel better and also have more energy.

To read about “The Food Connection,” click here.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.


Reference:

O'Donnell MJ, Xavier D, Liu L, Zhang H, Chin SL, Rao-Melacini P, Rangarajan S, Islam S, Pais P, McQueen MJ, Mondo C, Damasceno A, Lopez-Jaramillo P, Hankey GJ, Dans AL, Yusoff K, Truelsen T, Diener HC, Sacco RL, Ryglewicz D, Czlonkowska A, Weimar C, Wang X, Yusuf S; INTERSTROKE investigators. Risk factors for ischaemic and intracerebral haemorrhagic stroke in 22 countries (the INTERSTROKE study): a case-control study. Lancet. 2010 Jul 10;376(9735):112-23. Epub 2010 Jun 17.

Interesting relationship between HDL-cholesterol and cancer risk

HDL-cholesterol (high density lipoprotein) the so called good cholesterol has for a long time been used as one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. High HDL is considered to be good and reduce cardiovascular risk.

A recent study investigated the relationship between HDL and cancer in large randomized controlled trials (Jafri H, et al. 2010). 24 trials were included in this study with 625, 477 person-years of follow up.

The results showed that it was an inverse relationship between HDL and the incidence of cancer. For every 10 mg/dl increment in HDL, there was a 36% relative lower rate of the development of cancer. This was independent of other risk factors like age, body mass index, diabetes and smoking.

Dietary habits and a lifestyle that will increase HDL-cholesterol are not only beneficial for the cardiovascular system, but it can also reduce the risk of cancer.

To learn how to implement the right foods to raise your HDL, read the book, “The Food Connection.” This book includes both explanations and a lot of recipes.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.


Reference:

Baseline and on-treatment high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and the risk of cancer in randomized controlled trials of lipid-altering therapy. Jafri H, Alsheikh-Ali AA, Karas RH. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2010 Jun 22;55(25):2846-54.

Simple way to avoid the immediate negative effect from a high fat meal on blood vessel function

Most people believe that high fat meals are not healthy. What is not that well known are the immediate effects of a high fat meal on the function of blood vessels.

The study reviewed is very interesting because it investigated the acute impairments of a high fat meal on endothelial function (Fahs CA, et al. 2010). The endothelium is the inner lining of the blood vessels.

The researchers measured several factors related to the endothelial function and arterial stiffness at rest and also 4 hours after a high fat meal supplemented either with a placebo or 1 gram of EPA and DHA, which are the active ingredients of omega 3 fish oil.


After the high fat meal supplemented with the placebo, the brachial artery flow-mediated dilation normalized for shear rate, was significantly impaired, but it remained unchanged when the high fat meal was supplemented with the fish oil.

Impaired flow-mediated dilation has been demonstrated many years before the appearance of plague and is a way to detect dysfunctional changes in blood vessels.

Omega 3 fish oil does not only provide a variety of long term benefits, but it also provides an immediate benefit.

To read more about the benefits of omega 3 fish oil, click here.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.



Reference:

The effect of acute fish-oil supplementation on endothelial function and arterial stiffness following a high-fat meal. Fahs CA, Yan H, Ranadive S, Rossow LM, Agiovlasitis S, Wilund KR, Fernhall B. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2010 Jun;35(3):294-302.

Developmental biology: Birth of the blood cell. Momoko Yoshimoto & Mervin C. Yoder. Nature 457, 801-803(12 February 2009) doi:10.1038/457801a. (Use of picture)