VITAMIN D FOR TEENS

As the parent of a teenager, you want to ensure that your teen is healthy and has adequate intake of all essential nutrients. Since your teen attains adult height during these years, a sufficient intake of vitamin D at this age is especially critical, because this fat-soluble vitamin plays a vital role in building and maintaining healthy bones. When vitamin D intake is sufficient, the body is able to absorb more calcium and deposit the calcium on bones, making them dense and strong.

Teenage Vitamin D Status

In March 2009, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College reported that 1 out of 7 American teens is deficient in vitamin D. More recently, a April 2011 article in "Science Daily" cites a study on obese adolescents that found 100 percent of the girls and 91 percent of the boys studied had low vitamin D levels. Similarly, a June 2011 study that examined relationships between vitamin D levels and body fat distribution in children of different racial backgrounds found that the majority of the children in the study were deficient in vitamin D. Getting your teens screened for vitamin D during routine medical check-ups will determine their vitamin D status and may also prevent other medical conditions associated with its deficiency.

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Scientists Identify Gene That Is Consistently Altered in Obese Individuals

The gene LY86 was among a group of 100 genes identified as likely contributors to obesity through genome-wide association studies comparing the DNA of thousands of obese and lean individuals, said Dr. Shaoyong Su, genetic epidemiologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

Su looked at progressively larger groups of obese versus lean individuals and found LY86 consistently and highly chemically altered, or methylated, in the obese individuals. "The association is solid; the methylation of this gene is important in obesity," Su said.
It's known that obesity is highly inheritable; that if parents are obese, children are at higher risk. However environment, including high-fat foods and chemical exposure, can put you at risk as well, said Su. Methylation is one way the body adjusts to its environment.
He received the 2013 Scott Grundy Fellowship Award for Excellence in Metabolism Research for his studies and is presenting the work this week during the Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Scientific Session of the American Heart Association in New Orleans.
Previously LY86 had been known as an inflammation gene and Su's studies show, in fact, it may be contributing to more than just obesity. He found high methylation of LY86 also was associated with increased inflammation -- a risk factor for a variety of maladies such as heart disease and cancer -- as well as insulin resistance, a cause of diabetes. This association also held up among a group of about 703 subjects that, like the general public, included obese, lean and average-weight individuals.

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How to Sneak More Fiber Into Your Diet

Here’s another reason to up your intake of fruits, veggies, and whole grains: People who eat more fiber are less likely to suffer a stroke, according to a new study in the journal Stroke.

Researchers looked at eight observational studies published between 1990 and 2012. They found that each seven-gram increase in daily fiber was associated with a seven percent reduction in first-time stroke risk. The mechanism is likely related to some of the known risk factors for a stroke, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity, says study co-author Victoria Burley, PhD, senior lecturer at the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds in England. Not only has fiber been shown to help with high blood pressure and cholesterol, but it also fills you up and keeps you satiated, which may lead you to consume fewer overall calories, says Burley.

But this doesn’t mean that adding a couple of fiber-filled snack bars to your diet for a few weeks will cut your stroke risk or, if you’ve already had one, prevent you from having another. These studies analyzed long-term eating patterns and only assessed first-time stroke risk. Plus, you should opt for natural sources of the nutrient over those fiber-enriched foods you see at the grocery store since researchers aren’t 100 percent sure whether it’s the fiber or something else in the foods that slashes your odds of having a stroke, says Burley.

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Is drinking tea bad for you?

The poor woman in the NEJM study is not alone. There are a few other cases of people who have damaged their bones through too much tea. But she (like those in other studies) was drinking excessive amounts: 100-150 tea bags a day to make 12 cups of tea. A litre of tea can contain up to 9mg of fluoride, which in excess can cause skeletal fluorosis, reducing bone quality and causing pain and stiffening of the ligaments. Other studies show you generally need to drink a gallon a day for three decades to develop this condition.

You also shouldn't worry about the Glasgow study as it wasn't designed to show that drinking tea actually caused prostate cancer. All it proved was an association and people were only asked how much tea they drank at the start of the study, which went on for about 28 years.

The National Cancer Institute in the US concludes that the evidence isn't good enough to say tea either harms or helps our health. However it does seem sensible in the light of the BMJ study to wait for your tea to cool down for a few minutes.

Black tea, which makes up 75% of the world's consumption, may have healthy properties from its plant chemicals called polyphenols, which are antioxidants. Green tea contains more polyphenols but isn't so nice to dunk digestives into.

A review of the evidence in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, sponsored by the Tea Council – which, the authors say, had no part in the study – found the research showed more than three cups of black tea a day reduced heart disease. It found no evidence of harm "in amounts typically consumed". So as long as you drink less than a gallon of tea a day you should be absolutely fine.

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180,000 Deaths Worldwide Each Year May Be Associated With Sugary Soft Drinks, Research Suggests

Sugar-sweetened beverages are consumed throughout the world, and contribute to excess body weight, which increases the risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some cancers. Using data collected as part of the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases Study, the researchers linked intake of sugar- sweetened beverages to 133,000 diabetes deaths, 44,000 deaths from cardiovascular diseases and 6,000 cancer deaths. Seventy-eight percent of these deaths due to over-consuming sugary drinks were in low and middle-income countries, rather than high-income countries.
"In the U.S., our research shows that about 25,000 deaths in 2010 were linked to drinking sugar-sweetened beverages," said Gitanjali M. Singh, Ph.D., co-author of the study and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Mass.
Researchers calculated the quantities of sugar-sweetened beverage intake around the world by age and sex; the effects of this consumption on obesity and diabetes; and the impact of obesity and diabetes-related deaths. Of nine world regions, Latin America/Caribbean had the most diabetes deaths (38,000) related to the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in 2010. East/Central Eurasia had the largest numbers of cardiovascular deaths (11,000) related to sugary beverage consumption in 2010. Among the world's 15 most populous countries, Mexico -- one of the countries with the highest per-capita consumption of sugary beverages in the world -- had the highest death rate due to these beverages, with 318 deaths per million adults linked to sugar-sweetened beverage intake.

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WOMEN & CALCIUM LOSS DURING PREGNANCY

Women who are pregnant and breastfeeding require additional amounts of certain nutrients. Most health care practitioners recommend taking prenatal vitamins or multivitamins during pregnancy and while breastfeeding to meet your nutritional needs and those of your baby. Calcium is a key nutrient during pregnancy and while you're breastfeeding.

Calcium Loss
During pregnancy, your calcium levels can become depleted, and you may even lose bone mass, according to the "Journal of Perinatal Education." Your developing child's bones continue to grow throughout your pregnancy. Your baby receives nutrients through you and your diet. If your diet is lacking in calcium, your baby will take all the calcium from you that he can get to help him grow. The same is true while you breastfeed.

Effects
Calcium loss can cause an array of conditions. If your body is deprived of calcium for long periods of time, you can lose bone mass, leaving your bones weak and brittle. Calcium helps keep them strong. Weak bones can make you more susceptible to developing fractures and breaks. Your teeth can become weak and break more easily while you're eating. Broken teeth can decay and even cut the inside of your mouth. Tooth decay leads to other complications such as gingivitis, which can lead to heart disease. If you are not getting enough calcium, your infant may not receive enough calcium for her bones to develop and grow properly.

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SNACK FOOD FOR DIABETICS & HIGH PRESSURE

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that approximately one in every six adults has high cholesterol, a condition that increases the risk for developing heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Eating certain foods can help prevent and even reduce high cholesterol. Lemons, for example, are small citrus fruits that contain enormous benefits: lemons are fat free, sodium free, cholesterol free, high in vitamin C and low in calories.

Lemons and Cholesterol

The lemon is not only valued for its color, odor and flavor, but also because of its various health-promoting compounds. One category of compound, limonoids, has been shown to reduce the production of apo B, a substance associated with higher cholesterol levels. Flavonoids, phytochemicals also found in lemons, have potential antioxidant properties. According to the American Heart Association, the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also known as "bad" cholesterol, plays a major role in the development of fatty buildup in the arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Pectin is another cholesterol-lowering property that can be found in lemons as well as other citrus fruits. Pectin is a substance that holds plant cells together and is commonly used as a gelling agent in preserves. According to an August 25, 1987 article in "The New York Times," pectin sequesters bile acid from the body, thereby requiring the body to consume stored cholesterol in order to make new bile acid. This results in the reduction of blood cholesterol.

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HOW DOES LEMON LOWER CHOLESTEROL?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that approximately one in every six adults has high cholesterol, a condition that increases the risk for developing heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Eating certain foods can help prevent and even reduce high cholesterol. Lemons, for example, are small citrus fruits that contain enormous benefits: lemons are fat free, sodium free, cholesterol free, high in vitamin C and low in calories.

Lemons and Cholesterol

The lemon is not only valued for its color, odor and flavor, but also because of its various health-promoting compounds. One category of compound, limonoids, has been shown to reduce the production of apo B, a substance associated with higher cholesterol levels. Flavonoids, phytochemicals also found in lemons, have potential antioxidant properties. According to the American Heart Association, the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also known as "bad" cholesterol, plays a major role in the development of fatty buildup in the arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Pectin is another cholesterol-lowering property that can be found in lemons as well as other citrus fruits. Pectin is a substance that holds plant cells together and is commonly used as a gelling agent in preserves. According to an August 25, 1987 article in "The New York Times," pectin sequesters bile acid from the body, thereby requiring the body to consume stored cholesterol in order to make new bile acid. This results in the reduction of blood cholesterol.

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Vitamin D Insufficiency Linked to Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with a number of adverse health outcomes and has been recognised as a public health concern. Plus, observational data has suggested a link between low vitamin D and increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, risk of infections, caesarean section and fetal growth restriction). Knowledge of these associations is however limited. Literature on this topic is growing rapidly. As such, researchers from the University of Calgary in Canada carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of all existing evidence on the effect of vitamin D concentration on pregnancy and birth outcomes.
Data from 31 studies were included in the analysis -- all published between 1980 and 2012 with between 95 and 1,100 participants. Differences in study design and quality were taken into account to minimise bias.
Results showed that pregnant women with low levels of 5-OH vitamin D were more likely to develop gestational diabetes (odds ratio of 0.79), had an increased chance of developing preeclampsia (odds ratio of 0.65) and an increased chance of giving birth to a baby small for gestational age (odds ratio of 0.57). No significant differences were found in birth length and head circumference.
The researchers say these results are "concerning" given recent evidence that vitamin D insufficiency is common during pregnancy, especially among high risk women, particularly vegetarians, women with limited sun exposure and ethnic minorities with darker skin. The researchers conclude that the findings identify a significant association, but there remains a need for large, well-designed randomized controlled trials to determine whether "strategies to optimize vitamin D concentration are effective in improving pregnancy and neonatal outcomes." They also suggest that future studies should look at the dose-response relationship between vitamin D supplements and adverse health outcomes.

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EXERCISES TO HELP REWIRE THE BRAIN AFTER A STROKE

According to the American Heart Association, stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. Often, rehabilitation is limited to acute-phase and short-term care, which drops off sharply once the patient has stabilized, with progressive functional decline following. Recent evidence finds that exercise offers beneficial effects for regaining lost function well after damage from stroke, according to Science Daily. Specific exercises may help rewire the brain following stroke.
Physical Exercise
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University had patients whose stroke occurred an average of four years earlier exercise on a treadmill, with assistance as needed, and found improved brain function in vital brain stem areas that control walking. The same study had a group do stretching exercises with the help of a physical therapist, and they found far less brain benefit in this group. Additionally, aerobic exercise improves cardiovascular health, decreasing the chance for future strokes.

Psychologist Edward Taub of the University of Alabama at Birmingham conducts an intensive two-week physical training program called Constraint Induced Movement Therapy. This therapy requires stroke patients to selectively use their affected limbs while excluding the unaffected ones. Results show that significant rewiring, known as cortical reorganization, of damaged areas of the brain occurs with impressive results. Professional musicians with stroke-impaired arms have returned to work after this therapy.

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