Health & Wellness News with Byron Richards
Soft Drinks May Cause DNA Damage and Increase Cancer Risk
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Byron Richards, CCN
The highly addictive sugar-laden and chemically sweetened beverages known as soft drinks have come under new fire. If it isn’t enough to know that one drink a day increases the risk for diabetes and obesity, then maybe DNA damage and increased cancer risk will grab the attention of those wishing to consume.
The commonly used preservative, sodium benzoate (as found in Coke, Pepsi, Doctor Pepper, and many others) readily converts to benzene, especially in combination with vitamin C. Benzene is a potent carcinogen.
A new study shows that benzene readily damages DNA. Another study shows that benzene levels in soft drinks are eight times the allowable limit in water. It is certain that the soft drink lobby will buy votes as needed to prevent any change. For a society that is finally learning not to smoke, abstaining from all soft drinks is the next logical step to health. Overcoming addiction is not easy, as sales of Coke and Pepsi demonstrate.
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Other Health News:
1000 mg of olive leaf extract per day was helpful in lowering mildly elevated blood pressure and reducing LDL cholesterol.
Postmenopausal women have another good reason to do everything they can to help maintain healthy bone density – the failure to do so is now linked to an increase in plaque in the carotid artery
In a major shot fired across the bow of the statin marketing machine, the levels of LDL cholesterol that are the artificial targets of “health” promoted by the American Heart Association (AHA) are now found to be associated with a significant increased risk of cancer and death.
- 15% of Population at High Risk for Statin Injury,
The New England Journal of Medicine reports on a detailed analysis of the human genome in those with statin-induced muscle damage. Scientists have uncovered an alteration in a gene that causes statin drugs to be more readily absorbed by the liver, thereby making the drug very toxic. 15% of our population has the risk-related gene variant.
A new study shows that fat around your arteries is a direct predictor of plaque within your arteries.
A new study in mice indicates that a diet too high in fat programs several generations of mice to be at higher risk of diabetes even if they do not eat a high fat diet.
A new study published in JAMA is sure to have an unintended result – dramatically boosting the sales of colloidal silver around the country as a powerful immune support mineral. The study was actually about the use of silver-coated tubes in hospital patients, and it showed a 36 percent reduction of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), with a 48% reduction over the first 10 days (the common length of tube use for many).
Candida albicans overgrowth can form biofilms in your oral cavity that coat the subgingival area and drive the process of periodontal infection. A recent study of 53 otherwise healthy patients with periodontitis found that 40% of them had such a problem with Candida.
- Candida Helps Cause Asthma and Eczema,
A new study associates Candida albicans allergenic byproducts with asthma (52% of patients) and eczema (54% of patients).
A new study clearly associates vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk of hip fracture, dispelling any uncertainty about this link.
A study in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that eating oily fish at least once per week cuts the risk for developing age-related macular degeneration in half.
Before the dust settles on the Bernie Mac tragedy it is important for everyone to understand two things:
1) It is abnormal to die from pneumonia at age 50.
2) There are millions of Americans with autoimmune problems of one type or another at risk for the same fate as Bernie Mac.
- Thyroid and Cholesterol,
It is well established in the scientific literature that subclinical hypothyroid as well as frank hypothyroid are associated with increased levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and lipoprotein(a).
The impact of thyroid function on arterial stiffness and consequent elevation in blood pressure is a new finding helping to explain yet another adverse consequence of poor thyroid function on cardiovascular health. Researchers showed that correcting sluggish thyroid function (subclinical hypothyroid) enabled a return of better blood pressure function.
Several studies now point out that sluggish thyroid function (subclinical hypothyroid) is associated with early adverse changes in the electrical function of the heart.
- Running Over Age 50 Cuts Death Rate in Half,
A 20-year study has shown that running has profound health benefits, cutting the rate of early death by more than half. Researchers found that running slowed cardiovascular disease, cancer deaths, cognitive decline, and poor immunity. The runners experienced no more wear and tear to their joints than non-runners.
Women who have sluggish thyroid function, meaning that they are not hypothyroid by lab test but have many of the symptoms of poorly functioning thyroid and their thyroid scores are close to lower limits of “normal,” have 57% increased risk for developing heart disease. This relationship does not exist after age 65, which is also an interesting point.
A new study finds that women in the sluggish thyroid category had more than double the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.
New research is proposing overactive thyroid is protective against breast cancer because of the extra free radicals the condition generates that induce cell death in breast cancer cells. Conversely, a sluggish thyroid would have less ability to exert such influence on cancer cells, thus the higher rate of breast cancer.
Several articles in recent months have called attention to the severity of the statin fraud....
- Herbs and Spices Protect Against Blood Sugar Damage,
Researchers found that common herbs and spices from the grocery store had potent antioxidant activity which they showed helped protect against the damage caused by elevated blood sugar.
Not only does your heart and circulatory system love DHA, so does your brain. A variety of new animal studies illustrate the brain power of DHA.
Japanese men have half the heart disease compared to any other industrialized country in the world. This is true even though they smoke more and have similar rates of cholesterol problems, blood pressure issues, and diabetes. Living in Japan, they eat fish every day and their blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids (DHA/EPA) are twice as high as Japanese men living in America and white American men.
A new study identifies early adverse brain changes in the healthy children of Alzheimer patients, long before any symptoms appear.
One year ago JAMA published a major breakthrough article explaining that nonfasting levels of triglycerides (fat blobs) was an independent and highly predictive indicator of true cardiovascular disease risk. In the past year these finding have been widely agreed upon…
We now know the real reason so many of our kids can’t finish high school. They have been fed too much high fructose corn syrup and they have become dumb.
The average processed food travels 1500 miles before it is consumed. On top of that, individuals in the U.S. are consuming 1000 to 1500 more calories per day of this garbage than they should, making themselves fat while raising health care costs for everyone.
- Soy Foods Lower Sperm Counts,
On a paltry ½ serving of soy per day men lower their sperm count 25% -50%. This is the first human study to show the adverse affect of soy intake on men.
A newly published review of the state of the science regarding brain health shows that nutrients match or exceed pharmacological drug benefits in double-blind, randomized, controlled trials, with superior safety.
A new study clearly shows that a lack of key vitamins sets the stage for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD).
A new study shows that 4 or more cups of coffee per day have a significantly adverse affect on B vitamin status. The researchers found that folic acid levels were lowered by 11.7%, B6 by 14.1%, and B2 by 5.5%. At the same time the arterial plaque forming homocysteine was elevated by 6.8%.
A new study shows that sedentary older people age 60-75 who followed an endurance exercise training program of one hour of aerobics 3-5 times per week for eleven months were able to rejuvenate their heart’s ability to utilize glucose – a major improvement in heart health.
By now you have certainly seen the ads – take plant sterols and lower your cholesterol. These wild cholesterol-lowering claims, which the FDA is ignoring because Cargill is pushing them, are associated with various health risks. A new study shows they may be quite dangerous for your heart.
Cranberry is turning some heads. In an animal experiment it was shown that an extract of cranberry could protect healthy tissues from the invasion of cancerous lymphoma cells.
- Cranberry Repels Bacteria,
Cranberries erect an energetic force field around healthy cells of the walls of the urinary tract, directly preventing bacteria from sticking to them.
The molecular wonder tools of modern day science are not leading to powerful new drug discoveries, rather they are uncovering the exact details of how nutrition manages your genes to improve your health. A case in point is all of the evidence showing that nutrients are the most powerful brain boosters known to mankind – and contain no serious adverse side effects like virtually every “blockbuster” brain med on the market today.
- High Fructose Corn Syrup Causes Oxidative Stress,
Just to keep the medical profession aware that I am keeping track of their utter incompetence in terms of recently stating that there was not enough evidence to warn against consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) – I would like to point out to them another recent study which was actually conducted to show the powerful antioxidant capabilities of cranberries.
Blueberries continue to rack up their impressive credentials as the top superfood fruit in the world. Now is the season – eat all the fresh organic blueberries you can lay your hands on. News studies show that blueberries can rejuvenate your memory cells and protect your bones from bone loss.
Nutritional status during pregnancy has a profound affect on your child’s health – ramifications that directly relate to your child’s health as an adult.
It would cause great pain to the medical establishment to suggest that liver toxic drugs in common use, such as Tylenol and antibiotics, should be consumed with antioxidants so as to protect against liver failure. For the 1600 Americans last year with acute liver failure, such a warning could have saved a lot of misery.
A new animal study shows that R-Alpha Lipoic Acid has a favorable affect on metabolism that maintains much of the anti-aging profile of animals on a calorie restriction diet.
R-Alpha Lipoic Acid at the dose of 600 mg a day was able to reduce nerve pain from a herniated disk over a 60 day period, resulting in 71% of participants being able to lower pain medication.
Silymarin (milk thistle) is the subject of intense scientific study relating to its ability to assist with cancer treatment. One of the obvious problems of cancer treatment is that the drugs used are toxic, exposing vital organs like your heart and kidneys to damage that limits the treatment. Silymarin has now been shown to drastically reduce the toxicity and damage of a potent chemo drug.
Silymarin (milk thistle) is widely acknowledged as a nutrient powerhouse for protecting your liver and for helping your liver clear toxins. It also possesses antioxidant activity that was explored in detail in relationship to mechanisms that protect your arteries against plaque formation.
Glutamine is the vital amino acid that is needed more than any other amino acid to sustain the structural integrity of your digestive tract. It is also highly concentrated in breast milk, supporting the digestive evolution of the newborn child. A new study shows that glutamine potently enhances the function of immune cells lining your digestive tract.
Previous studies have shown that citrus flavonoids lower cholesterol in humans. A new study seeks to understand exactly how this is done, and it shows that the citrus flavonoids work at the gene level to enhance the natural metabolism of cholesterol by the liver with consequent improvement in cellular metabolism of fat.
Researchers from the University of Florida are the first to show that toads living near farms are at much higher risk for adverse sexual mutations than the same toads living in suburbia, adversely affecting males more than females. The male toads exposed to farm chemicals (pesticides) had both testicles and ovaries, as well as other more feminine structural changes including looking more like the females (having brown stripes instead of just being brown).
t is now well known that inflammation is the driving force behind heart disease. A recent study analyzed the affects of inflammation in response to common pollution and found there was a significant increase in inflammatory markers in their blood, blood cells were more likely to stick together (clot risk), and key antioxidant enzymes were lowered.
A recent animal study showed that the nutrient pantethine protected the brain of mice from the ravages of malaria infection. Pantethine did not work by killing the infection; rather it performed its magic by dramatically boosting the integrity of the brain’s natural defense system so that it could withstand the infection. While most Americans are not too worried about contracting malaria, the method of pantethine’s operation has profound implications for the cognitive well being of all Americans.
Is it all in your head? Well, maybe not. Much of mind/body medicine has been based on observation with no clear form of proof adequate to satisfy skeptics. Researchers at Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital have shown clear genetic switch differences between the relaxation response and the stress response. This is concrete scientific evidence of the mind/body link.
Western Medicine is desperately searching for compounds that can help trigger the death signal in cancer cells – and it appears they are now actively researching the natural toolbox as the tocotrienol form of vitamin E may be a superstar.
Antioxidant status was evaluated in 1462 patients undergoing coronary angiography. Researchers found that patients with coronary artery disease had lower levels of vitamin C, gamma-tocopherol, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, alpha-carotene, and beta-carotene, compared to controls.
Vitamin C has been around so long some people forget just what a great nutrient it is. A comprehensive analysis of the biochemistry of vitamin C as it relates to important cells lining your arteries concludes by saying that vitamin C plays a favorable role in ameliorating the earliest stages of inflammation that leads to atherosclerosis.
The abnormal accumulation of amyloid plaque between brain cells is the hallmark problem indicating Alzheimer’s disease. A new animal study using mice that are bred to rapidly develop Alzheimer’s showed that the consumption of grape seed extracts significantly reduced the formation of by 30% – 35%.
Researchers just demonstrated that low melatonin levels are a new risk factor for invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women. They had already demonstrated the same finding in premenopausal women.
A double blind study with Alzheimer’s patients and DHA showed that after six months of supplementation DHA had significantly increased in their blood cells and their white blood cells released much less inflammation when stimulated by toxic challenge.
A new eye study that tracked 2464 adults age 49 or older for 5-10 years has found that those with the highest vitamin C intake (diet plus supplements) had a 55% less chance of developing a cataract.
The importance of keeping your thyroid system in tip-top working condition cannot be underestimated. A variety of recent studies have concluded that a struggling thyroid system is associated with an increased risk of death, especially when there is a concurrent health problem or when there is cardiovascular issues.
- Low Sodium Predicts Poor Health,
Researchers working with patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) - chronically high blood pressure in the blood vessels of their lungs – were quite surprised to find that those whose blood level of sodium lower than the normal range had an 85% chance of dying in the next eight months.
New animal research shows for the first time that vitamin D can prevent changes in your heart that lead to heart failure.
The National Institutes of Health is devoting $100 million in grants over the next five years to study how the trillions of bacteria and yeasts in your gut actually affect your health and risk for disease. After decades of denial, mainstream researchers now have the molecular tools to actually evaluate gut contents…
Probiotics are the friendly flora that line your intestinal tract – by the trillions. They play a vital role in digestive health. A great deal of new research has begun to unravel many of the helpful things probiotics do for you.
- Fibromyalgia Pain is Better Understood,
Those struggling with fibromyalgia know that they can get a large flare up of pain doing activities that many people consider normal or routine, including exercise. A new study explains that the nature of this problem has been identified as an increased subconscious brain processing of pain stimuli – like making a mountain out of a molehill.
Researchers trying to figure out why those of lower socioeconomic status have greater rates of heart disease came upon the interesting discovery that they had a significant lack of essential fatty acids in their red blood cells (meaning they don’t consume much dietary or supplemental DHA or EPA).
A new study shows that Milk Thistle reduces the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and helps prevent immune cells from sticking to damaged cholesterol – thus blocking key processes that lead directly to hardening of your arteries.
New research is showing that most people carry numerous functional gene problems that may be readily corrected with vitamins and minerals.
One enemy for blood pressure is stagnation. A variety of new information is confirming that brisk walking is a major benefit to blood pressure. This information applies to those who are obese as well as those who are simply at risk for blood pressure problems.
A detailed mitochondrial analysis of rats fed Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC) and R-Alpha Lipoic Acid has shown that these nutrients prevented the age-associated decline in the number of mitochondria in brain cells as well as typical damage that occurs to brain cells with aging.
- Q10 Boosts Muscle Function and Exercise Performance,
Researchers at Baylor University tested 200 mg per day of Q10 in a group of trained and unconditioned male and female participants. A single dose of Q10 boosted the level of this important energizing nutrient in the blood, which correlated directly to muscle levels of Q10 and the ability of muscles to use oxygen.
Chemical particles in the air from cars, trucks, and industrial pollution are now linked directly to an increased risk of stroke or mini-strokes. Lynda Lisabeth, lead author and assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of Public Health stated. “The vast majority of the public is exposed to ambient air pollution at the levels observed in this community or greater every day, suggesting a potentially large public health impact.”
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