A team of UK researchers from the Peninsula Medical School and the University of Exeter said analysis of new data from the United States demonstrates that “higher BPA exposure, reflected in higher urinary concentrations of BPA, is consistently associated with reported heart disease in the general adult population of the USA”. Their research was published in the journal PlosOne. (David Melzer, Neil E. Rice, Ceri Lewis, William E. Henley, Tamara S. Galloway. Association of Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration with Heart Disease: Evidence from NHANES 2003/06. PLoS ONE, 2010; 5 (1): e8673 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008673)
This was a follow-up to a study the previous year and it confirmed the earlier findings. Predictably however, the The American Chemistry Council (ACC) adopted the same defensive strategy used by the tobacco industry when similar research raised the link between their products and cancer and other diseases. Steven G. Hentges, of the body’s Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group said: “Studies of this type are very limited in what they tell us about potential impacts on human health. The study itself does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between BPA exposure and heart disease.”
Given the findings however, only fools, the ignorant and the corrupt or greedy would continue to support BPA exposure. Meanwhile sensible people will avoid bisphenol-A.
Using data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2006- 2006 population study, researchers evaluated 1,493 people aged 18 to 74. They discovered that urinary concentrations of BPA had dropped by 30 per cent compared to previous results from 2003-04. However, they also found that higher BPA concentrations in urine were still associated with an increased prevalence of coronary heart disease in 2005-06.
The study authors are well aware of the limitations of associative research. Professor Galloway, professor of Ecotoxicology at the University of Exeter and senior author of the paper, said more investigation was needed into the cause of the health risk associations to clarify whether they were caused by BPA itself or some other factors linked to BPA exposure.
BPA is a chemical used in polycarbonate products such as baby bottles and sippy cups, as well as in the expoxy lining of food cans. Its continued inclusion in food packaging has raised consumer anxiety in the United States. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing its stance that the chemical poses no threat at existing acceptable levels. The agency was due to deliver its verdict by 30 November, 2009, but has failed to release its decision. See our earlier reports and associated comments from 17 November to 20 December 2009.
Tags: bisphenol A, BPA, heart disease
Results from a doctoral thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, indicate that Staphylococus aureus-induced mortality is associated with dietary fat consisting of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, but not polyunsaturated fatty acids. The doctoral student, Louise Strandberg, also investigated different variants of three genes that are important for the immune system and noted that several of the gene variants that strengthen immunity also result in less obesity.
The research was conducted on mice. Strandberg said that S. aureus-induced mortality was investigated in four groups where subjects were fed: a lard-based high fat diet (HFD), a diet rich in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (HFD/S), a low fat diet (LFD) or a HFD rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (HFD/P) from fish. After eight weeks on these diets the mice were exposed to S. aureus intravenously.
The results showed that the obese HFD/S-fed mice had increased S. aureus induced mortality compared with the lean LFD-fed mice. The HFD/S-fed mice showed signs of immune suppression evidenced by increased bacterial load and decreased capacity to phagocytose bacteria. Additionally, the HFD/P-fed mice displayed a degree of obesity and glucose intolerance that was milder than in the HFD/S-fed mice, but higher than in LFD mice.
Interestingly, the S. aureus induced mortality and the bacterial load of HFD/P-fed mice were comparable with that of LFD-fed mice, and markedly lower than that of mice fed HFD/S. This suggests that fatty food rather than obesity in itself affected the ability of the mice to fight off sepsis caused by bacteria. The usual assumption is that obesity itself is associated with inflammation that does not result from an infection, meaning that the immune defences are activated unnecessarily. Ironically, the mice on the high-fat diet (HFD/S) seem to have a less active immune system when it is really needed.
Strandberg concluded that the white blood cells of the mice on the HFD/S diet got worse at dealing with bacteria in the blood which could have contributed to many of them dying of sepsis. There are some quite interesting findings in this doctoral research that are well worth follow-up study.
Tags: dietary fats, immunity
It is good to note that Harvard Medical School is aware of the importance of vitamin D. Consider this from a recent edition of the Harvard Health Letter:
Heart disease. Falls and broken bones. Breast and prostate cancer. Depression and memory loss. These problems seem to have nothing in common, except that they are leading causes of faltering health and death. Exciting research suggests there is a link — too little vitamin D, the so-called sunshine vitamin, can contribute to all of these.
While Harvard is definitely on the right track here, they lack a little steam. Their recommendations and discussion are too conservative. This is understandable considering:
- they are perhaps a little embarrassed that they were not the source of discovering just how dramatic an effect vitamin D actually has on health
- they have themselves been a party to the longstanding assertion of pathetically inadequate recommended levels of vitamin D
- as great a reputation as they have, they cannot afford to make too radical a departure from the medical profession’s status quo or they risk undermining their status
Essentially, Harvard now recommends taking vitamin D supplements of 800 to 1000 IU per day. This is inadequate. A more appropriate level is 4000 IU per day, at least for several weeks to several months to raise chronically low levels. Note however, that people with autoimmune disease would be wise to seek advice from a knowledgeable physician before supplementing with any vitamin D.
I do like their simple explanation of the natural synthesis of vitamin D, the so-called sunshine vitamin, that isn’t even technically a vitamin at all. They put it like this:
Vitamin D isn’t really a vitamin. It is a hormone the body makes in assembly-line fashion. Sunlight striking the skin converts a cousin of cholesterol into pre-vitamin D. As this circulates through the bloodstream, the liver turns it into biologically inactive 25-hydroxyvitamin D. (This is what is measured to determine your vitamin D status.) The kidneys then supply a small chemical tweak, creating the active vitamin D that can affect cells throughout the body.
Then we discover that they feel a little uncomfortable talking about blood levels of “adequacy”:
Experts have defined three categories for vitamin D status: deficient, less than 20 nanograms of 25-hydroxyvitamin D per milliliter of blood (ng/mL); insufficient, from 20 to 30 ng/mL; and sufficient, above 30 ng/mL.
“Experts”? Really? Well, whoever their experts are, they recommend levels that are too low. Their publication does do a pretty good job of citing some of the benefits of vitamin D supplementation though. Consider this list:
Vitamin D is best known for helping the digestive system absorb calcium and phosphorus. That’s one way it helps build and maintain healthy bones. But it does much, much more.
Coronary artery disease. Deposition of calcium in arteries, a process that stiffens arteries, is more likely to happen in people who are low in vitamin D. In the Harvard-based Health Professionals Follow-up Study, men low in vitamin D were twice as likely to develop heart disease as those with plenty of the vitamin in circulation.
High blood pressure. Active vitamin D decreases the kidneys’ production of renin, a hormone that boosts blood pressure. Several studies suggest that low vitamin D contributes to high blood pressure, and that getting more of the vitamin can help control blood pressure.
Heart failure. Most people with heart failure are deficient in vitamin D. Getting more could help strengthen heart contractions.
Statin-related muscle pain. Some people who take a cholesterol-lowering statin stop because of muscle pain. In a study of 128 men and women with statin-related muscle pain, two-thirds of them had 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels under 20 ng/mL. Among those who took a vitamin D supplement while continuing the statin, muscle pain disappeared in 90%.
Infection. Preliminary trials suggest that too little vitamin D can leave the body prone to infection, and having enough in circulation can help the body fight off the flu, tuberculosis, and infections of the upper respiratory tract.
And more. A deficiency in vitamin D has been linked to some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, falls, asthma, memory loss, and other chronic conditions.
The only thing on their list that I don’t accept relates to the use of statins. Yes, statins certainly cause polymyalgia, but no, you should not be taking them. Stop the statins, for which I can find absolutely no untainted empirical support, and add the 4000 IU of vitamin D and you will be better off.
You can read their whole letter here. It is quite brief and well worth your time.
Tags: vitamin D
The pharmaceutical industry, “Big Pharma” as it is known, is like any other enterprise, so saying that it exists to make money is simply stating the obvious. Or is it?
The fact is that Big Pharma deliberately and carefully crafts its marketing to project an image of far higher motivation. The pharmaceutical industry would have you believe that they are the saviours of the modern world, they aim to rid us of disease. The truth is they cause disease, providing the tools for much iatragenesis. So it is quite important to keep things in perspective. Yes, they have provided some useful products that can be life saving (some emergency drugs for instance) and some that provide, on balance, more benefits than harms in most cases. They also lie and cheat, falsify research findings, mislead approval authorities, and no doubt do far worse.
Indeed some pharmaceutical industry harms to society are in the form of bad drugs that fail to do what they claim and instead cause illness and death. Others are in the form of exhorbitant prices that drain the public coffers and consumer’s wallets and purses. Predatory dumping of drugs on third world countries when they are banned or not approved in first world countries is also seen. Make no mistake, Big Pharma is not your friend.
It has been interesting to note how little regard the pharmaceutical industry has given HIV/AIDS. There was a flourish of interest when the big AIDS scare occurred in western countries some decades ago, and then very little interest was expressed. Why? Well, perhaps it was because the nations where HIV/AIDS has huge numbers of sufferers are nations with little money. When there is no money to be made Big Pharma loses interest, and marketable “altruism” very fast. But now this:
U.S. Pharmaceutical Companies Developing 97 New Drugs And Vaccines To Fight HIV/AIDS
05 Dec 2009
Chemistry World recently highlighted a new report published by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) that identifies 97 new drugs and vaccines in development for HIV/AIDS and related conditions.
The report found that the 97 products in development include 23 vaccines and 54 antivirals. These drugs are either in human clinical trials or awaiting approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“We are greatly encouraged by these critically important medicines and vaccines in development to treat and prevent HIV infection,” said PhRMA President and CEO Billy Tauzin. “Pharmaceutical researchers are continuing their efforts to develop new therapies and vaccines to improve and lengthen the lives of HIV-infected patients.”
“As a result of HIV/AIDS medicines, a disease that was once a virtual death sentence can now be controlled and treated as if it were a chronic disease,” stated Tauzin. “And the new medicines our scientists are working on right now bring hope for even more promising results in the future.”
December 1 marks the 21st anniversary of “World AIDS Day” – a global awareness campaign that originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention.
Source: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
I don’t think any serious observer of the pharmaceutical industry can be excused for wondering if this new-found enthusiasm could be related to the massive amounts of funding being pumped into HIV/AIDS-affected third world countries by multi-billionair philanthropists.
Tags: disease exploitation, disease means money, iatragenesis, therapy pedlars
Adults are more likely to lose their vision than be diagnosed with cancer. For adults 65 and over, the odds of losing vision are one in three, whereas the odds of a man developing prostate cancer are one in six and odds of a woman developing breast cancer are one in nine. Vision loss threatens the overall health of aging adults by increasing the risk of injuries, depression and inability to complete daily tasks.
Vision loss in adults is often attributed to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a breakdown of the macula that destroys sharp, central vision. Damage to the macula causes blurriness and distortion of vision, which can affect the ability to see fine details clearly. AMD is the leading cause of blindness in American adults and affects millions of aging adults worldwide.
Though there is currently no cure for AMD, sufferers and aging adults can prevent the development or progression of the disease with proper nutrition. A study conducted at the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital of Birmingham, Alabama revealed that AMD sufferers taking a specific eye vitamin supplement, Macular Health, showed both short-term and long-term improvement in visual acuity by 16 and 17 percent. Researchers attribute the improvement to Macular Health’s specific dosage of lutein, zeaxanthin and bilberry, and the administration of specific carotenoids, vitamins and minerals.
As quoted in Ophthalmology Times, the creator of Macular Health, Dr. John O. Mason, III said, “This is the first time in my career that I have actually seen patients with dry AMD who have had improvements in vision and in the MERGs as a result of taking carotenoids, vitamin and mineral supplements.”
Mason, a researcher and retina specialist, created Macular Health in 2003 to help his patients who were losing their vision to AMD. He based the Macular Health formula on the National Eye Institute’s (NEI) Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), which proved that a supplemental dosage of certain vitamins, minerals and carotenoids were highly effective in slowing vision loss due to AMD. Dr. Mason modified the AREDS dosages and added ingredients, which greatly improved the supplement’s effectiveness. Macular Health is an affordable, easy-to-swallow capsule that only needs to be taken once daily.
Source: Macular Health