Dear Health-Conscious Friend,
Deadly blood clots that clog arteries and veins cause hundreds of heart, lung and brain problems each year. But researchers say you can add one common kitchen item to your diet to help clear the pathwaysand keep your blood flowing freely!
Youll find out what it isand discover more news and tips for healthy livingin todays Monday Edition of Health News Weekly!
Is This All-Natural Clot Buster on
Your Pantry Shelf?
If youre a fan of olive oil for making salad dressings and for cookingyoull love the latest news about another possible benefit.
Spanish researchers say the phenols in virgin olive oil may help ward off harmful blood clots in people with high cholesterol!
A team of researchers led by Dr. Francisco Perez-Jimenez at Reina Sofia University Hospital in Cordoba studied 21 people with high cholesterol. For one week, participants ate a breakfast of white bread with virgin olive oil.
The olive oil either had 400 parts per million phenols, or a reduced amount of 80 parts per million. Study participants were then switched to the opposite meal.
Two hours after the high-phenol meal, researchers noticed participants had lower concentrations of factor VII antigena substance which promotes clotting.
This group also experienced a greater decrease in the clot promoter called plasminogen activator inhibitor-1.
The researchers concluded these study results support the heart health benefits of virgin olive oil. They suggest previous studies with inconsistent results regarding olive oils effect on the blood may have been due to variations in phenol content.
The study results are published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
New Test Uses Brains Electrical Charges
for Dementia Diagnosis
Heres some news that might spark your interest! Researchers say soon doctors may be able to diagnose the onset of various brain diseases by analyzing the tiny magnetic charges in your brain.
This new test could end the time-consuming and inconclusive behavioral test doctors now use to diagnose diseases such as multiple sclerosis Alzheimers and schizophrenia.
According to research published in the Institute of Physics Journal of Neural Engineering, this new procedure could be a significant breakthrough for neurologists and psychiatrists.
This fast and simple screening test for brain diseases may also help differentiate between brain diseases that have similar symptoms.
A team of investigators from the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, led by Professor Apostolos P. Georgopoulos, has been analyzing the magnetic charges released when your brain neurons couple.
By comparing the patterns of tiny magnetic charges in healthy brains to those with diseases such as Alzheimersthe team has identified common patterns associated with these debilitating diseases.
The team first studied 52 volunteers to find patterns of neural activity that could identify all the different illnesses. They then tested a further 46 patients to see whether the patterns found from the first group could accurately diagnose disease within a second group.
Here, many of the predictors found from the first set of participants also correctly diagnosed more than 90% of subjects in the second sample.
Professor Georgopoulos said, We want to continue and acquire data from a large number of subjectspatients and matched controls. The throughput of this MEG test is large so we can continue a high rate of testing and we hope that clinical applications can become a reality in a year or two.
Diagnosing illnesses like Alzheimers has always been very difficult, particularly in the early stages. Doctors are forced to rely on conversations with patients, memory tests, physical examinations and, occasionally, brain scans. Sometimes they can only confirm a cause of illness with a post-mortem biopsy.
But this new test could provide a more accurate way to identify brain diseases-and possibly help doctors provide speedier treatment!
Fast Fact
Tea made from red raspberry leaves can be used to treat canker sores and inflamed tonsils because of its anti-inflammatory effect. Whats more, red raspberry leaves can help balance your sex hormones. For women this could help you deal with symptoms of menopause madness! And men can decrease their chances of growing man boobs!
FDA Approves Osteoporosis Drug Treatment
Despite Potential for Heart Damage!
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved new use of the drug Reclast® for treating postmenopausal osteoporosisdespite reports of abnormal heart rhythms by some study participants!
According to results published earlier this year in The New England Journal of Medicine, 3,889 volunteers used the drug and 3,876 received placebo injections.
Study results showed 1 in every 77 Reclast® patient developed irregular heart rhythmswhich could increase the risk of stroke.
The study said Reclast® also produced other side-effects, with over 31% of study participants experiencing fever joint and muscle pain headache or flu-like symptoms after their injections.
For folks willing to submit to a second Reclast® injectionthe number of people experiencing any of those symptoms drops to about 6%. By the third year, the study says adverse reactions dropped to 2.8% of study participants.
Reclast® is part of a class of osteoporosis medicines called bisphosphonates. The drug currently is sold in the United States for treating a bone disorder called Pagets disease.
This disorder causes a disruption in the normal cycle of new bone replacing worn-out bone.
Folks with Pagets disease break down too much boneand the replacement bone is structurally weak. This can cause you to feel pain in your bones form misshapen bones and even experience painful fractures!
Reclast® works by attaching itself to boneand helping to prevent excessive bone breakdown.
A company-funded study showed Reclast® reduced the risk of spine fractures by 70% and hip fractures by 41%, when compared with a placebo.
Oral osteoporosis drugs typically produce a 40-50% reduction in spinal fractures.
Experts say these drug reactions must be given serious consideration. Researchers say more studies are needed to determine if the side effects are a random eventor if these are true effects of the drug. They also need to determine if similar risks apply to other bisphosphonates drugs.
Health E-Hints
Can You Spot Hidden Sugar in Your Foods?
The National Institutes of Health estimates 20.8 million peoplethats 7% of the populationhave diabetes. People who have problems processing blood sugars can experience serious health complications and premature death.
But it IS possible to control the diseaseand lower your risk of complications by managing the amount of sugar you eat.
Health experts say an average adult consuming 2,000 calories daily should limit sugar intake to 50 gramsor 10 teaspoons of sugar each day. Because theres plenty of sugar hiding in foods you eatbe on the lookout for added sugars by carefully reading food labels.
All of the following terms mean a food has added sugar:
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Corn syrup
- High fructose corn syrup
- Maple syrup
- Honey
- Molasses
- Brown rice syrup
- Cane juice
- Evaporated cane juice
- Fruit juice concentrates
- All words ending with osesuch as dextrose, lactose, glucose, maltose and sucrose
So be sure to read those food labelsand get the extra sugar off your table!