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CURRENT HEALTH NEWS CONTINUED

New Study Demonstrates Quercetin Can Lower Blood Pressure

This study is the first to report that the use Quercetin, a flavanol commonly associated with onions, lowered blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Twenty two people with high blood pressure were supplemented daily with 730 mg of quercetin which led to a significant reduction in blood pressure. The authors of this double-blind crossover study reported that individuals with high blood pressure receiving the quercetin supplement experienced reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) of 7 and 5 mm hg respectively, compared to placebo.

The findings of this study are very important as hypertension (defined as systolic blood pressure (BP) greater than 140 and diastolic BP greater than 90 mm hg affects about 600 million people worldwide and is associated with over seven million deaths. Consequently, the fact that a simple flavanol (without any side effects) can lower blood pressure is of great significance as a preventive measure.

Edwards RL, et al. Journal of Nutrition November 2007, Vol 137:2405-2411.

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Flavanols and pancreatic cancer risk: the multiethnic cohort study.

The US National Cancer Institute states that almost 38,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer are diagnosed every year in the US, with almost 34,000 deaths from the disease. There is a poor prognosis for this disease because it is usually diagnosed quite late.

With this background, the authors of this study wanted to investigate flavanols as risk factors for pancreatic cancer. They estimated intakes of three flavanols (quercetin, found in onions and apples; kaempferol, found in spinach and some cabbages; and myricetin, found mostly in red onions and berries) for 183,518 participants in the Multiethnic Cohort Study and examined associations with the incidence of pancreatic cancer. Researchers followed participants for eight years comparing the protection provided from the three flavanols. They found that all three flavanols could decrease your overall cancer risk and slash the risk for pancreatic cancer by 25%. If you were a smoker, the reduction of risk was 59%. Of the three, kaempferol provided the greatest reduction – 22% - across all participants. Quercetin are readily available in supplement form by many different manufacturers. However, kaempferol is extremely difficult to find. The simplest solution is to eat more of the foods containing the flavanols.

Nothlings U, Murphy SP, Wilkens LR, Henderson BE, Kolonel LN. Am J Epidemiol. 2007 Oct 15;166(8):924-31. Epub 2007 Aug 9.

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Worried About Getting A Blood Clot?

A recent Australian (double-blind) study demonstrated how a simple vitamin could protect you from getting a blood clot.
There were 39 healthy subjects in the study that were divided into three groups. They gave the first group 100 mg of Vitamin E (gamma tocopherol). The second group was given 200 mg of gamma tocopherol. And the third group took a placebo.
Gamma tocopherol is one form of natural Vitamin E. Synthetic vitamin E provides only the "dl" form of vitamin E. So you need to check the label to make sure you are not getting the synthetic dl form of vitamin E.
Platelets are tiny clotting cells and should remain within a normal range. When the platelet count goes up they can start clumping together and form a clot. The first and second group who were taking the vitamin E supplement had their platelet volume drop, even on the 100 mg a day dose.
The supplemented groups also saw their LDL cholesterol levels drop significantly. Two outstanding benefits from a simple natural vitamin.

Singh I et al, Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2007;16(3): 422-8.

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DOES VITAMIN D PLAY A ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS?

A March 2008 study by Palomer X and colleagues evaluated whether Vitamin D was involved in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Previous research studies had shown that Vitamin D deficiency could alter insulin synthesis and secretion in both humans and animal models. It had also been reported that a deficiency of Vitamin D may predispose to glucose intolerance, altered insulin secretion and type 2 daibetes mellitus.

Correcting Vitamin D deficiency in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with supplemental Vitamin D improves glycemia and insulin secretion, thereby suggesting a role for Vitamin D in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes Obes Metab. 2008 Mar;10(3):185-97

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$86 Billion Spent on Back, Neck Pain!

Despite this tremendous increase in spending, this new study concludes there was little improvement in patient health

March 20, 2008 - A new study published in the Feb. 13 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) conducted by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, found that there was a dramatic 65% rise in expenditures from 1997 to 2005 for the diagnosis and treatment of back and neck problems.(catagorized in the study as "spine problems")

Moreover, the researchers made the following comment: "Despite rapidly increasing medical expenditures from 1997 to 2005, there was no improvement over this period in self-assessed health status, functional disability, work limitations, or social functioning among respondents with spine problems".

The authors also concluded that the annual total spent on back and neck pain was about the same as the expenditures for major conditions such as cancer, arthritis, and diabetes.

Two of the major contributors to the increased costs were greater use of prescription narcotics (increased from $7.3 billion to $21.2 billion) and expenditures for outpatient visits which accounted for the largest proportion of the total cost ($30.8 billion).

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