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March 14, 2002 Research Update |
James Bogash, D.C. Mesa, AZ
info@lifecarechiro.com
www.lifecarechiro.com
Green Tea Inhibit Bovine, Human Cartilage & Collagen Degradation
Add green tea to the list of chondroprotective substances. I always strongly recommend green tea as a substitute for those patients desperately looking to cut back on soda. nutrition.org -- Abstracts: Adcocks et al. 132 (3): 341
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Carotenoids , Normal Human Skin Color and UV Photosensitivity
This article brings to mind to "hot item" about a decade or so back. Tanning pills that were available contained high levels of beta carotene and, in high enough doses, turned the skin to a not so bronze orangish tan. This article suggests that the pigmentation of the skin could be assessed to determine the overall carotenoid status of a patient. Remember that, although beta carotene gets all the press, the carotenoids are a large family of pigments found in fruits and veggies. Some additional examples include lycopene (in tomatoes and watermelon), lutein and zeaxanthin. nutrition.org -- Abstracts: Alaluf et al. 132 (3): 399
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Formulation Provides Lycopene w/ Same Bioavailability as Tomato Paste
Speaking of the carotenoids... This article is trying to find better ways to increase the absorption of the fat soluble lycopene. Without going to great lengths found in this article, one of the ways that researchers believe the Mediterranean diet provides extensive health benefits is the combination of olive oil with tomatoes, thus increasing the bioavailability of the lycopene. nutrition.org -- Abstracts: Richelle et al. 132 (3): 404
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Student Pharmacists' Knowledge of Folic Acid & Birth Defects Demonstrates a Need for Further Education
Articles like this both scare me and drive me to more and more community health presentations to get the word out. I strongly feel that nutrition and lifestyle changes are the most powerful approachs we have to our health, especially in relation to chronic disease treatment and prevention. And yet few practitioners truly understand nutrition and its impact on biochemistry and physiology. This makes is incredibly, incredibly important to fight any regulation of the nutriceutical industry that would most likely take the ability to recommend nutritional interventions away from the few qualified to give it. Not that this would be inconsistent with government... nutrition.org -- Abstracts: Lynch 132 (3): 439
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Oligofructose, Inulin Protect from Pathogens and Tumor Inducers
While this is a study done in mice, the implications in humans is astounding. Basically, prebiotics (substances that promote the growth of healthy, normal flora) have the ability to protect against carcinogenic exposure, direct infections in the GI tract as well as systemic infections. The ability of health flora in the GI tract to help us fight off infections elsewhere in the body is not only incredibly exciting, but also raises a very, very important question. Forget antibiotic resistance--what effects are the wanton destruction of normal, protective flora with antibiotic use doing to our bodies?? nutrition.org -- Abstracts: Buddington et al. 132 (3): 472
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Individual Variations in T4, T3: Clue to Subclinical Thyroid Disease
This article introduces an entirely novel concept: patients may actually have lab values within normal range that are abnormal for that particular patient. All sarcasm aside, I will always ask for patients' prior bloodwork so that I can begin to evaulate all values, not just those that fall outside of the reference range for the lab. I fell that subclinical thyroid disease is underdiagnosed and undertreated in Western medicine and articles like this can begin to pave the way towards an individualized approach to lab values. JCEM -- Abstracts: Andersen et al. 87 (3): 1068
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Glucose Tolerance during Moderate Alcohol Intake
This article suggests that moderate alcohol intake can increase insulin sensitivity. The key word here is moderation. I would recommend the use of red wine to the tune of 1-2 glasses several times per week. Red wine has the additional benefits from the reservatrol; a bioflavonoid that has been shown to lower risk of CVD as well as certain types of cancer. JCEM -- Abstracts: Avogaro et al. 87 (3): 1233
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Single Cigarette Rapidly Reduces Concentrations of Antioxidants
While the concept of smoking depleting antioxidants is no big surprise, the finding that even one cigarette has measurable detrimental effects would hopefully wake some people up. And, while we're on the subject, that single Big Mac, large fries and large soda aren't too far behind... Circulation -- Abstracts: Tsuchiya et al. 105 (10): 1155
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Stimulation of Cdx2 homeobox gene by butyrate in colon cancer
While the title may be a little technical, this is additional support on the benefits of a combination of soluble fiber and probiotics on intestinal health and cancer prevention. Remember that friendly bacteria in the gut digest the soluble fiber to produce short chain fatty acids, one of which is butyrate. Personally, I think the media did a tremendous disservice by sensationalizing the results of one trial that did not show a benefit of fiber in colon cancer. Of course, the media did not mention that the study did not examine intestinal flora nor did they differentiate insoluble fiber from soluble. Gut -- Abstracts: Domon-Dell et al. 50 (4): 525
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