Just how low should blood sugar go?

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Conventional thinking among doctors who treat people with type 2 diabetes has been the lower the blood sugar levels, the better.

Many doctors are now taking a second look.

A massive study of diabetics with a high risk of heart disease known as ACCORD has found that lowering blood sugar levels to what is considered normal for healthy people proved deadly for some, researchers said on Wednesday.

Older patients who underwent intensive therapy to reach that level had higher rates of death than a group of patients in the same study who were treated more conservatively.

Read More...

FDA: 100 deaths tied to heparin since 2007

updated 5:19 p.m. ET, Tues., April. 8, 2008

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said more than 100 patients have died while taking the blood thinner heparin since early 2007.

The agency found that 62 deaths are associated with contaminated batches of the blood thinner, triple the previous estimate. That doesn't mean people are still dying — the latest deaths the FDA knows of occurred in February, the month Baxter International recalled contaminated batches.

But dozens of deaths weren't reported to the agency when they happened, only later after the tainted blood thinner made headlines.

Read More...

The Health Benefits of Raw Milk

There's little mention in the mainstream media these days, of traditional foods having healing properties. Sure, there's a ton of hype touting unfermented soy products, vegetable oils and supplements as modern saviors, but in reality, these items have risk-to-benefit ratios like many drugs do. Few people are aware that clean, raw milk from grass-fed cows was actually used as a medicine in the early part of the last century. That's right. Milk straight from the udder, the "stem cell" of foods, was used as medicine to treat, and frequently cure some serious chronic diseases. From the time of Hippocrates to until just after World War II, this "white blood" nourished and healed uncounted millions. Clean raw milk from pastured cows is a complete and properly balanced food. You could live on it exclusively if you had to. Indeed, published accounts exist of people who have done just that. What's in it that makes it so great? Let's look at the ingredients to see what makes it such a powerful food.

Read More...

Trying to Reduce Carbs? TRY THIS

More of us would become citizens of Low-Carb Nation if it weren't for the daunting loyalty oath. We're asked to renounce allegiance to such potentates as bagels, pasta, and potatoes. And even though we know that low-carbohydrate dieting works, giving up your favorite carbs can be tough.

"The best way to cut carbs from your diet is to make creative substitutions," says Arthur Agatston, M.D., author of The South Beach Diet. "That way you can still eat the foods you love, without busting your diet." Dr. Agatston told us how to make cauliflower taste like mashed potatoes.

Other nutrition experts gave us tricks for cutting white flour, pasta, and potatoes and replacing them with lower-carb alternatives that taste nearly identical. We then had some loyal carbo-cravers taste-test these dishes. Turns out some of them are so good, you'll wonder why you weren't eating them in the first place.

More..........

Consumers want hormone-free dairy even as FDA warns about health risks

 

Morry Gash / AP Jane Ratajczak carries her raw milk to her car in New Holstein, Wis.

Updated 12:05 p.m. ET, Thurs., April. 10, 2008

NEW HOLSTEIN, Wis. - Despite potentially serious health risks, demand for unpasteurized, or raw, milk is growing among consumers concerned about chemicals, hormones and drugs.

With prices topping $5 per gallon, more dairies are selling raw milk — and finding themselves at odds with public health officials. The federal government and a majority of states prohibit sales of raw milk to the public, claiming it is responsible for hundreds of people sickened in the past decade with salmonella, E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes and other bacteria.

“Raw milk continues to cause outbreaks year after year,” said John Sheehan, who oversees plant and dairy food products for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “It is a concern for the

Read More...

The Truth About Grapefruit and Breast Cancer

A recent chain e-mail has made some people concerned about eating grapefruit. According to the messages, a 2007 study in The British Journal of Cancer found an increased risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women who ate large amounts of grapefruit.

The study is real; it looked at more than 46,000 women, and those who ate half a grapefruit every other day had a 30 percent higher risk of breast cancer compared to those who ate none.

However, a more recent report, which followed more than 77,000 women over the course of many years, found no rise in breast cancer related to either grapefruit or grapefruit juice.

Experts at the American Cancer Society said that there was insufficient evidence to raise alarm, but that women with concerns could cut back on grapefruit.

Sources:

• New York Times March 25, 2008

Vitamin E Linked to Lung Cancer

Taking high doses of vitamin E supplements can actually increase the risk of lung cancer.

A study of 77,000 people found consuming 400 milligrams of vitamin E per day increased cancer risk by 28 percent. Smokers were at particular risk.

An expert writing in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine said that people should get their vitamins from fruit and vegetables rather than supplements.

Vitamin E is known to be an antioxidant that protects cells from molecules called free radicals. But in high doses, it may also act as a pro-oxidant, causing oxidation and damage to cells.

Sources:

• BBC News February 29, 2008

• American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine March 1, 2008; 177(5):524-30

13 Random Health Facts You Never Knew

I love sharing lists like these that are both educational and entertaining. Well, some of these “health facts” are more like “un-health facts” (especially #6), but they’re interesting nonetheless.

1) Motorists who talk on cell phones are more impaired than drunk drivers with blood-alcohol levels exceeding .08.

2) Banging your head against a wall burns 150 calories an hour.

3) In some parts of the world, they protect their babies from disease by bathing them in beer.

4) The word ‘gymnasium’ comes from the Greek word gymnazein, which means ‘to exercise naked.’

5) There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee; of these, only 26 have been tested, and half caused cancer in rats.

6) The average American eats at McDonald’s more than 1,800 times in their life.

7) There are more bacteria in your mouth than there are people in the world.

8) According to U.S. FDA standards, 1 cup of orange juice is allowed to contain 10 fruit fly eggs, but only 2 maggots.

9) You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.

10) It is possible to go blind from smoking too heavily.

11) Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people.

12) You are about 1 centimeter taller in the morning than in the evening.

13) During your lifetime, you’ll eat about 60,000 pounds of food -- that’s the weight of about 6 elephants.

Sources:Health Ranker March 17, 2008

Avoid Pills in 7 Common Ills

These seven common conditions can be managed without medication:

1. Arthritis
2. Cholesterol
3. Cognitive decline
4. Depression
5. Diabetes
6. High blood pressure
7. Osteoporosis

Click Here For Story.........

The Skinny on Fats

By Mary Enig, PhD, and Sally Fallon

Introduction

Fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a concentrated source of energy in the diet; they also provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormonelike substances. Fats as part of a meal slow down absorption so that we can go longer without feeling hungry. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption and for a host of other processes.

Politically Correct Nutrition is based on the assumption that we should reduce our intake of fats, particularly saturated fats from animal sources. Fats from animal sources also contain cholesterol, presented as the twin villain of the civilized diet.

Click Here For Story.........