Treatment of Hypovitaminosis D in Infants and Toddlers

coverThe optimal status for Vitamin D is unlikely to be met without the ingestion of Vit D supplements. This is in part because the minimum levels are being revised upwards and the suitable food sources are inadequate in nutrient density and are erratically consumed. In addition the change in sunbathing practices in the northern hemisphere has led to a widely recognised Vit D deficiency pandemic.

Children are especially vulnerable to the adverse consequences of Vit D deficiency during their growing years. Recognising the need for supplemental intervention a group of clinicians and scientists from Divisions of Adolescent Medicine and Endocrinology, Children’s Hospital Boston, and Biotics Research Corporation explored the effectiveness of differing forms of Vit D3 in the restoration of normal levels of Vit D status in children.

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Food Choice Has Greater Impact on Obesity Than Genes!

top_bigWe are not slaves to our genes. Even if we are born with an inherited predisposition to obesity, life style is important and will determine the outcome of weight related problems says this recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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Enzyme Therapy & Cancer – Recent Paper Questioned!

2009coverPancreatic Proteolytic Enzyme Therapy Compared With Gemcitabine-Based Chemotherapy for the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer.

Dr Gonzalez, a recent expert speaker at one of the NL expert education seminars, has had his therapy heavily criticised in this recent article published in the  respected Journal of Clinical Oncology.

At first sight it can seem that the paper roundly demolishes the pancreatic enzyme and lifestyle treatment recommended by Dr Gonzalez, and adds considerable value to the mixed chemotherapy treatment provided as the competing arm of the therapy.

In fact this paper has already been lauded in the arenas frequented by the more committed anti-alternative or non RCT evidenced medicine as a gross failure of the enzyme therapy to show any benefit in the care of pancreatic cancer patients.

Surely this must be considered an experts review, especially as the lead author Dr John Chabot was the appointed independent trial Principal Investigator at Columbia? He would know and report accurately what went on – wouldn’t he?

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Common Ills are Linked to Memory Loss

coverPatients with Alzheimer’s disease who have common bacterial infections suffer greater memory loss, claims a recent study published in Neurology. The effect is said to be linked to increased levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNFa) caused by systemic inflammation.

Previous research has suggested that acute systemic inflammation might exacerbate neurodegeneration, so the researchers, based at the University of Southampton, UK, measured the level of TNFa in the blood of 222 elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease and assessed their ability to perform cognitive tests over a 6 month period.

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H1N1 (Swine Flu) What Does it Mean This Winter?

ECDC_logoThe European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recently surveyed H1N1 (Swine Flu) epidemiological 2009 data for 28 countries, finding that 51% of all deaths have been among people aged 20-49 years, and only 12% were among people over 60 years of age.

This is striking, as it is a near-perfect reverse of normal flu trends, and mirrors what was seen, demographically, in 1918. While the  President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology have tried to factor in such trends, it is extremely difficult to know how influenza dynamics, illnesses and death rates may vary if transmission and illness is primarily among young adults.

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Oestrogen Metabolism is Beneficially Manged By Plant Extract (DIM)

00bookDiindolylmethane (DIM)
A phytonutrient and plant indole found in cruciferous vegetables including broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and kale, with potential antiandrogenic and antineoplastic activities. As a dimer of indole-3-carbinol, diindolylmethane (DIM) promotes beneficial oestrogen metabolism in both sexes by reducing the levels of 16-hydroxy oestrogen metabolites and increasing the formation of 2-hydroxy oestrogen metabolites, resulting in increased antioxidant activity. Although this agent induces apoptosis in tumor cells in vitro, the exact mechanism by which DIM exhibits its antineoplastic activity in vivo is unknown. Check for active clinical trials using this agent. (NCI Thesaurus)

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Is Mercury Toxicity an Epidemic?

VR0909Date: 27/7/2009

Is Mercury Toxicity an Epidemic? Author: Joseph Pizzorno, ND

Source: Vitamin Retailer Magazine

Conventional medicine has dismissed mercury toxicity as a clinical concern except in cases of obvious poisoning. This is due to the poor correlation between the various measures of mercury body load and clinical symptoms. It is also the reason the dental community has in the past so consistently denied that amalgam fillings are a health risk. (Although called “silver” fillings, they are actually about 55 percent mercury.) However, the integrative medicine community has for decades believed that chronic low-level mercury exposure is the root cause of many chronic diseases ranging from autism to heart disease to “brain fog.”

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One Jab Appears to be Effective for H1N1 – Says Preliminary Report

v2_title_largeLeaving aside the questions concerning the validity of receiving the new H1N1(2009) vaccine in terms of need, and whether there may be as yet to be discovered risk and side effects that are greater in health impact that the actual virus. The questions about does it actually induce immune defenses against the H1N1 virus are now starting to be answered.

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French Study Contradicts FSA’s Opinion on Organic Food Benefits

agro_coverA  report just published by the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA), the equivalent to the UK’s Food Standards Agency has described organic foods as being better for you,contain less pesticides and nitrates, both of which have been linked to a range of health problems including diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

This up-to-date exhaustive and critical evaluation of the nutritional quality of organic food  has found organic foods have higher levels of minerals and antioxidants, counter opposing the recent FSA report that questioned the benefits of growing and consuming organic foods.

Published in the peer reviewed journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development  this review carries substantive scientific opinion. It defines a number of advantages provided by the organic food production methods.

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Vit D Optimisation Requires Supplementation Says Harvard

logo-HHP_mastheadThe conservative Harvard Medical School in the USA normally promotes micronutrient intake being derived from food stuffs alone. The Health Publications Bulletin out in Sept 2009 says that from the perspective of Vitamin D food sources may be inadequate and that supplementary intake is required to meet physiological optimisation. (See Video)

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