Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Why kids’ asthma attacks may be affected by climate change
Posted on August 30, 2011 by Stone Hearth News
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have found that climate change may lead to more asthma-related health problems in children, and more emergency room (ER) visits in the next decade.
The data, published in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that changing levels of ozone could lead to a 7.3 percent increase in asthma-related emergency room visits by children, ages 0-17.

The research team, led by Perry Sheffield, MD, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, used regional and atmospheric chemistry models to reach its calculations. They linked regional climate and air quality information to New York State Department of Health records of pediatric, asthma-related emergency room visits in 14 counties that are part of the New York City metropolitan area. Then they simulated ozone levels for June through August for five consecutive years in the 2020s, and compared them with 1990s levels. The researchers found a median increase of 7.3 percent in ozone-related asthma emergency department visits, with increases ranging from 5.2 percent to 10.2 percent per county.
“Our study shows that these assessment models are an effective way of evaluating the long-term impact of global climate change on a local level,” said Dr. Sheffield. “This study is a jumping off point to evaluate other outcomes including cost utilization, doctors’ visits, missed school days, and a general understanding of the overall burden of climate change on children with asthma.”
Dr. Sheffield and her team plan to continue using these models to understand the specific impacts of climate change. The authors conclude that better measures to reduce carbon pollution that contributes to global climate change as well as pollution that forms ozone need to be implemented.
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Funding for this study was provided by the National Institutes of Health Research Training Program in Environmental Pediatrics.
Antioxidants: what they are and why we need them: an update
Antioxidants: what they are and why we need them: an update
Newswise — IFT Member Claudia Fajardo-Lira, PhD, Professor of Food Science and Nutrition at California State University-Northridge, explains the facts about antioxidants:
Q: What are antioxidants?
A: Antioxidants play an important role in overall health. They are natural compounds found in some foods that help neutralize free radicals in our bodies. Free radicals are substances that occur naturally in our bodies but attack the fats, protein and the DNA in our cells, which can cause different types of diseases and accelerate the aging process.
Q: What foods are the best sources for antioxidants?
A: The best antioxidant sources are fruits and vegetables, as well as products derived from plants. Some good choices include blueberries, raspberries, apples, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, eggplant, and legumes like red kidney beans or black beans. They’re also found in green tea, black tea, red wine and dark chocolate. Usually, the presence of color indicates there is a specific antioxidant in that food.
The keyword here is variety. Try to get as many fruits and vegetables with different colors when you plan your meals and go to the grocery store. An array of color in your diet will give you the widest range of beneficial antioxidants.
Q: Does it matter whether the produce is cooked or consumed raw?
A: Depending on the particular food, cooking temperatures and methods can sometimes increase or decrease antioxidant levels. The important thing is that you eat antioxidant-rich foods, so go with your personal preference for preparation—as long as it’s not deep frying!
Q: Are added antioxidants as effective as those that occur naturally?
A: Yes, vitamins such as C, A and E can be added to foods – and they often are, such as in orange juice. One of the things those additives do is act as antioxidants in the body. There is no significant physiological difference between the added antioxidants and the ones occurring naturally in the food source. However, there’s also no evidence that taking antioxidant dietary supplements work as well as the antioxidants found in food products. It’s important not to overdo it on supplements because there can be too much of a good thing. With food products, it would be extremely difficult to consume an excessive amount of antioxidants.
Q: Is there a specific amount of antioxidants consumers should aim for each day?
A: There is not a set recommended daily allowance (RDA) for antioxidants, but the new MyPlate tool based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that you make half your plate fruits and vegetables. If you aim to do that at most meals, you can be sure to get the antioxidants you need.
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About IFT
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is a nonprofit scientific society. Our individual members are professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related professions in industry, academia, and government. IFT’s mission is to advance the science of food, and our long-range vision is to ensure a safe and abundant food supply, contributing to healthier people everywhere.
For more than 70 years, the IFT has been unlocking the potential of the food science community by creating a dynamic global forum where members from more than 100 countries can share, learn, and grow. We champion the use of sound science across the food value chain through the exchange of knowledge, by providing education, and by furthering the advancement of the profession. IFT has offices in Chicago, Illinois and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit ift.org.
© 2011 Institute of Food Technologists
Cancer growth suppressed by turmeric component curcumin: more evidence
Newswise — Curcumin, the main component in the spice turmeric, suppresses a cell signaling pathway that drives the growth of head and neck cancer, according to a pilot study using human saliva by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The inhibition of the cell signaling pathway also correlated with reduced expression of a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines, or signaling molecules, in the saliva that promote cancer growth, said Dr. Marilene Wang, a professor of head and neck surgery, senior author of the study and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher.

“This study shows that curcumin can work in the mouths of patients with head and neck malignancies and reduce activities that promote cancer growth,” Wang said. “And it not only affected the cancer by inhibiting a critical cell signaling pathway, it also affected the saliva itself by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines within the saliva.”
The study appears Sept. 15 in Clinical Cancer Research, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Cancer Research.
Turmeric is a naturally occurring spice widely used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking and has long been known to have medicinal properties, attributed to its anti-inflammatory effects. Previous studies have shown it can suppress the growth of certain cancers. In India, women for years have been using turmeric as an anti-aging agent rubbed into their skin, to treat cramps during menstruation and as a poultice on the skin to promote wound healing.
A 2005 study by Wang and her team first showed that curcumin suppressed the growth of head and neck cancer, first in cells and then in mouse models. In the animal studies, the curcumin was applied directly onto the tumors in paste form. In a 2010 study, also done in cells and in mouse models, the research team found that the curcumin suppressed head and neck cancer growth by regulating cell cycling, said scientist Eri Srivatsan, an adjunct professor of surgery, article author and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher who, along with Wang, has been studying curcumin and its anti-cancer properties for seven years.
The curcumin binds to and prevents an enzyme known as IKK, an inhibitor of kappa β kinase, from activating a transcription factor called nuclear factor kappa β (NFκβ), which promotes cancer growth.
In this study, 21 patients with head and neck cancers gave samples of their saliva before and after chewing two curcumin tablets totaling 1,000 milligrams. One hour later, another sample of saliva was taken and proteins were extracted and IKKβ kinase activity measured. Thirteen subjects with tooth decay and five healthy subjects were used as controls, Wang said.
Eating the curcumin, Wang said, put it in contact not just with the cancer but also with the saliva, and the study found it reduced the level of cancer enhancing cytokines.
An independent lab in Maryland was sent blind samples and confirmed the results – the pro-inflammatory cytokines in the saliva that help feed the cancer were reduced in the patients that had chewed the curcumin and the cell signaling pathway driving cancer growth was inhibited, Wang said.
“The curcumin had a significant inhibitory effect, blocking two different drivers of head and neck cancer growth,” Wang said. “We believe curcumin could be combined with other treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation to treat head and neck cancer. It also could perhaps be given to patients at high risk for developing head and neck cancers – smokers, those who chew tobacco and people with the HPV virus – as well as to patients with previous oral cancers to fight recurrence.”
The curcumin was well tolerated by the patients and resulted in no toxic effects. The biggest problem was their mouths and teeth turned bright yellow.
“Curcumin inhibited IKKβ kinase activity in the saliva of head and neck cancer patients and this inhibition correlated with reduced expression of a number of cytokines,” the study states. “IKKβ kinase could be a useful biomarker for detecting the effects of curcumin in head and neck cancer.”
To be effective in fighting cancer, the curcumin must be used in supplement form. Although turmeric is used in cooking, the amount of curcumin needed to produce a clinical response is much larger. Expecting a positive effect through eating foods spiced with turmeric is not realistic, Wang said.
The next step for Wang and her team is to treat patients with curcumin for longer periods of time to see if the inhibitory effects can be increased. They plan to treat cancer patients scheduled for surgery for a few weeks prior to their procedure. They’ll take a biopsy before the curcumin is started and then at the time of surgery and analyze the tissue to look for differences.
“There’s potential here for the development of curcumin as an adjuvant treatment for cancer,” Wang said. “It’s not toxic, well tolerated, cheap and easily obtained in any health food store. While this is a promising pilot study, it’s important to expand our work to more patients to confirm our findings.”
Finding ways to better treat head and neck cancers is vital as patients often require disfiguring surgery, often losing parts of their tongue or mouth. They also experience many side effects, including difficulty swallowing, dry mouth and have the potential for developing another oral cancer later.
The study was funded by Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Health System, West Los Angeles Surgical Education Research Center, UCLA Academic Senate, the National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Administration
SEROTONIN: Why some of us are angrier than others Health, Medical, and Science Updates
News that matters. For the rest of us.
Why some of us are angrier than others
Fluctuations of serotonin levels in the brain, which often occur when someone hasn’t eaten or is stressed, affects brain regions that enable people to regulate anger, new research from the University of Cambridge has shown.
Although reduced serotonin levels have previously been implicated in aggression, this is the first study which has shown how this chemical helps regulate behaviour in the brain as well as why some individuals may be more prone to aggression. The research findings were published today, 15 September, in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
For the study, healthy volunteers’ serotonin levels were altered by manipulating their diet. On the serotonin depletion day, they were given a mixture of amino acids that lacked tryptophan, the building block for serotonin. On the placebo day, they were given the same mixture but with a normal amount of tryptophan.
The researchers then scanned the volunteers’ brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as they viewed faces with angry, sad, and neutral expressions. Using the fMRI, they were able to measure how different brain regions reacted and communicated with one another when the volunteers viewed angry faces, as opposed to sad or neutral faces.
The research revealed that low brain serotonin made communications between specific brain regions of the emotional limbic system of the brain (a structure called the amygdala) and the frontal lobes weaker compared to those present under normal levels of serotonin. The findings suggest that when serotonin levels are low, it may be more difficult for the prefrontal cortex to control emotional responses to anger that are generated within the amygdala.
Using a personality questionnaire, they also determined which individuals have a natural tendency to behave aggressively. In these individuals, the communications between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex was even weaker following serotonin depletion. ‘Weak’ communications means that it is more difficult for the prefrontal cortex to control the feelings of anger that are generated within the amygdala when the levels of serotonin are low. As a result, those individuals who might be predisposed to aggression were the most sensitive to changes in serotonin depletion.
Dr Molly Crockett, co-first author who worked on the research while a PhD student at Cambridge’s Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (and currently based at the University of Zurich) said: “We’ve known for decades that serotonin plays a key role in aggression, but it’s only very recently that we’ve had the technology to look into the brain and examine just how serotonin helps us regulate our emotional impulses. By combining a long tradition in behavioral research with new technology, we were finally able to uncover a mechanism for how serotonin might influence aggression.”
Dr Luca Passamonti, co-first author who worked on the research while a visiting scientist at the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit of the Medical Research Council in Cambridge (and currently based at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Unità di Ricerca Neuroimmagini, Catanzaro), said: “Although these results came from healthy volunteers, they are also relevant for a broad range of psychiatric disorders in which violence is a common problem. For example, these results may help to explain the brain mechanisms of a psychiatric disorder known as intermittent explosive disorder (IED). Individuals with IED typically show intense, extreme and uncontrollable outbursts of violence which may be triggered by cues of provocation such as a facial expression of anger.
“We are hopeful that our research will lead to improved diagnostics as well as better treatments for this and other conditions.”
Monday, September 19, 2011
Will people eat less if they’re offered less?
Posted on September 17, 2011 by Stone Hearth News
Small portion sizes in worksite cafeterias: do they help consumers to reduce their food intake?
International Journal of Obesity (2011) 35, 1200–1207; doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.271; published online 11 January 2011
W M Vermeer, I H M Steenhuis, F H Leeuwis1, M W Heymans1, and C Seidell1
Received 16 August 2010; Revised 25 October 2010; Accepted 31 October 2010; Published online 11 January 2011.
Abstract
Background:
Environmental interventions directed at portion size might help consumers to reduce their food intake.
Objective:
To assess whether offering a smaller hot meal, in addition to the existing size, stimulates people to replace their large meal with a smaller meal.
Design:
Longitudinal randomized controlled trial assessing the impact of introducing small portion sizes and pricing strategies on consumer choices.
Setting/participants:
In all, 25 worksite cafeterias and a panel consisting of 308 consumers (mean age=39.18 years, 50% women).
Intervention:
A small portion size of hot meals was offered in addition to the existing size. The meals were either proportionally priced (that is, the price per gram was comparable regardless of the size) or value size pricing was employed.
Main outcome measures:
Daily sales of small and the total number of meals, consumers’ self-reported compensation behavior and frequency of purchasing small meals.
Results:
The ratio of small meals sales in relation to large meals sales was 10.2%. No effect of proportional pricing was found B=−0.11 (0.33), P=0.74, confidence interval (CI): −0.76 to 0.54). The consumer data indicated that 19.5% of the participants who had selected a small meal often-to-always purchased more products than usual in the worksite cafeteria. Small meal purchases were negatively related to being male (B=−0.85 (0.20), P=0.00, CI: −1.24 to −0.46, n=178).
Conclusion:
When offering a small meal in addition to the existing size, a percentage of consumers that is considered reasonable were inclined to replace the large meal with the small meal. Proportional prices did not have an additional effect. The possible occurrence of compensation behavior is an issue that merits further attention.
Panic attacks: advice to take a deep breath is 180 degrees incorrect
Panic attacks: advice to take a deep breath is 180 degrees incorrect
Posted on September 18, 2011 by Stone Hearth News
There are plenty of misperceptions about panic attacks. People often tell the anxiety ridden to “take a deep breath,” for instance, when they may actually already be taking too much oxygen in by hyperventilating.
Indeed, what experts suggest instead is to breathe in a slow, shallow, and regular manner, so that a constant, very small stream of air comes in through the nose. Paper bags are optional too, as cupped hands do the trick just as well.
New research aims to debunk another myth: Panic attacks occur completely out of the blue. Though those who panic don’t realize it, their attacks are in fact foreshadowed by minute physiological signals, according to a study led by Southern Methodist University’s Alicia Meuret in the journal Biological Psychiatry. “The hour before panic onset was marked by subtle but significant waves of changes in patient’s breathing and cardiac activity, not just the moment of onset of the attack or even during the attack,” she says. “Our analysis provided us with a whole different pattern.”
That pattern goes like this: Physiological instabilities occur in repeated bouts or waves and are often initiated by heart rate accelerations, followed by changes in breathing and carbon dioxide levels. Ultimately, breathing becomes much shallower, causing a spike in carbon dioxide levels that lead to symptoms that could no longer escape the attention of those who panic. More precisely, they experience terrifying sensations, such as dizziness, air hunger, and shortness of breath.
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