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February 10, 2003 Research Update |
James Bogash, D.C. Mesa, AZ
info@lifecarechiro.com
www.lifecarechiro.com
Microbial Metabolites from Gut Account for a Major Fraction of Polyphenols Excreted in Urine of Rats Fed Red Wine Polyphenols
Sorry for the long title. This article points reminds us of how important our bacterial flora in our guts are. In this rat study, the researchers found that the bacterial breakdown of polyphenols (beneficial compounds for in such items as grape juice) produces some of the active compounds. There are two things to consider here. First, studies that look at whether red wine benefits health may show stronger benefits if we also controlled for other factors-in this case colonic flora. Second, this just draws further concern on the widespread antibiotic use and the potential long term negative effects (or at least loss of a positive effect).
nutrition.org -- Abstracts: Gonthier et al. 133 (2): 461
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New insights into the pathogenesis of asthma
Interestingly, I sat next to a gentleman a few weeks ago at dinner that was a respiratory therapist. I asked him about the increasing prevalence of asthma, and he just said something like "it's all about the genes that these kids have." Really? This study cites a doubling of the asthma rates since 1980. Twenty years ago. Genetic change? Sorry, but it takes literally hundreds of thousands of years for genetic drift to occur. Just a tad shy of the 20 years we see here. The only other answer is environment. This article is a wonderful review of the Th1/Th2 story and how it relates to asthma and atopy. Th1/Th2 imbalances are known to be cause by lack of normal flora in infancy, living in a near-sterile environment and vaccinations. Chalk up another long term harmful effect of antibiotic use.
JCI -- Elias et al. 111 (3): 291
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Influences on GPs' decision to prescribe new drugs—the importance of who says what
I've frequently said that common sense ain't so common in medicine anymore and many patients seem to view prescribing behavior with more skepticism than the doctors doing the prescribing. This article finds that clinical decision making was not the only factor affecting prescribing behavior. Forget what the other factors were (even though they truly are important)--the only factor that should be present is clinical decision making.
Family Practice -- Abstracts: Prosser et al. 20 (1): 61
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Snacking patterns influence energy and nutrient intakes but not BMI
I was just having a discussion with a patient the other day. She was still having occasional morning headaches, which may be a sign of hypoglycemia triggering cortisol release to break down lean muscle mass for glucose for the brain (which, incidentally, would be counterproductive to an exercise/lifestyle routine designed for weight loss...). So I suggested that she eat a healthy snack before bedtime to address the hypoglycemic issue. She got somewhat upset and said that her personal trainer did not want her eating anything after 7 or 8 o'clock. Hmm...insulin/cortisol dysregulation leading to weight gain, diabetes, CVD... or temporary weight loss. Tough call. Well, this article finds that snacking does not affect body mass index. I've never had a problem with patients snacking--it's much more important what they are snacking on then when.
Synergy Abstract
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