b vitamins

Fresh Concerns Emerge over Energy Drinks’ Damage to the Heart

alayham — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 11:26:20 +0000

Fresh Concerns Emerge over Energy Drinks’ Damage to the Heart alayham Fri, 04/28/2017 - 13:26

Energy drinks have been linked to heart problems in a new study published April 26 in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAMA).
Oh, but it’s not the first time, not by a long shot. A 2013 study showed that energy drinks put an additional strain on the heart, causing it to contract more rapidly than usual. Over time, this can weaken the heart and cause palpitations.
A November 2015 study revealed that consuming just 1 energy drink per day puts you at risk of heart attack and stroke because they cause harmful spikes in the ‘fight or flight’ hormone noradrenaline, as well as blood pressure.
In March 2016, researchers warned that the sugary, uber-caffeinated beverages increase the risk of having an abnormal heart rhythm and can increase blood pressure, making the products especially dangerous for people who have preexisting heart conditions.
It’s not just the caffeine that can cause the heart to go haywire, though. The vitamins, stimulants, and herbs in the drinks, combined with caffeine, super-charge your ticker in ways it can’t handle.
Emily A. Fletcher, Pharm.D., study author and deputy pharmacy flight commander at David Grant U.S.A.F. Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base in California, says:

“For the 1 in 3 Americans who already have hypertension, this increase in blood pressure from consuming energy drinks could pose a potentially serious risk.” [2]

Regular Caffeine vs. Energy Drinks

Little is known about the safety of some of the other ingredients in energy drinks, so researchers decided to find out what kind of effect these components have on the heart.
Source: Daily Mail
For the most recent study reported on in this piece, researchers compared physical changes in a group of 18 healthy men and women after they drank a commercially-available energy drink, and after they consumed another mixture containing the same amount of caffeine, but none of the other ingredients.
The energy drinks used in the study contained 320 mg of caffeine (the amount found in 4 cups of coffee), 4 oz of sugar, several B vitamins, and a “proprietary” blend of taurine and other ingredients commonly found in drinks like Monster Energy, Red Bull, and 5-Hour Energy.
Sachin A. Shah of David Grant Medical Center on Travis Air Force Base and University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, and colleagues measured the volunteers’ blood pressure and used an electrocardiogram (ECG, or sometimes called an EKG) to measure heart electrical activity for 24 hours after participants consumed the drinks.
No odd heart activity was reported after the regular caffeine beverage was consumed, but it was a vastly different story after participants consumed the energy drink. An ECG change called QTc prolongation that is sometimes associated with life-threatening irregularities in the heartbeat was observed. [1]
The authors point out that several drugs have been pulled from the market just for causing ECG changes of a similar magnitude.
After consuming the energy drink, participants saw a nearly 5-point increase in blood pressure, compared with a 1-point increase after consuming the caffeine drink. The energy drink also caused the participants’ blood pressure to remain elevated for 6 hours.
Aisle with a variety of energy drinks – Europe.
If you’re a healthy person, those changes aren’t cause for concern. But if you have heart problems, you should steer clear of energy drinks.
Dr. Jennifer L. Harris from University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity in Storrs, who wasn’t involved in the study, says:

“The energy drink industry claims that their products are safe because they have no more caffeine than a premium coffee house coffee.
However, energy drinks also contain a proprietary ‘energy blend,’ which typically consists of stimulants and other additives. Some of these ingredients (including taurine and guarana) have not been FDA-approved as safe in the food supply, and few studies have tested the effects of caffeine consumption together with these ‘novelty’ ingredients.
On top of that, energy drinks are highly marketed to adolescent boys in ways that encourage risky behavior, including rapid and excessive consumption. As a result, emergency room visits by young people in connection with energy drinks are rising.”

Between 2010-2013, the U.S. poison control center received more than 5,000 reports of people who got sick from energy drinks. Nearly half of those cases were in children who didn’t realize what they were drinking.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says energy drinks have “no place” in the diet of children and adolescents.
Sources:
[1] Reuters
[2] Consumer Reports
Daily Mail

Link

http://naturalsociety.com/concerns-energy-drinks-affect-heart-18287/

Source

Natural Society

The Down-Low on Reportedly Bogus Zika Prevention Products

alayham — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 14:31:26 +0000

The Down-Low on Reportedly Bogus Zika Prevention Products alayham Tue, 08/09/2016 - 16:31

On August 3, New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman warned that hucksters were peddling bogus Zika virus prevention products, and told manufacturers that he would “shut them down.” [1]
For the most part, Americans aren’t freaking out over Zika. According to a new CCN/ORC poll, just 23% of respondents said they are at least somewhat worried about themselves or a family member catching the virus, but 77% said it’s not weighing heavily on their minds. [2]
Still, many Americans are taking at least basic precautions against mosquito bites. Even if Zika weren’t in the United States, they’d likely be trying to avoid the itchy red welts.
For a lot of people, protection from mosquitoes means high-test bug repellents loaded with insecticides and chemicals. For others, like me and probably many of you, that type of prevention seems more dangerous than the Zika virus.
Well, the government is usually pretty quick to wrongfully give all-natural products the thumbs-down, taking action against questionable claims and solutions is sometimes the right move. So let’s take a look at some of the ones drawing the most ire from politicians and lawmakers.

The “Bogus” Zika Prevention Products

The products Schneiderman is taking aim at include items like wristbands, patches, and even ultrasonic devices that he sarcastically said “plug into your wall and supposedly it gets rid of mosquitoes, rodents and I don’t know what else — gamma rays coming from Martians.” [3]
Mr. Schneiderman, it’s tinfoil hats that ward off gamma rays coming from Martians. Everybody knows that, duh!
A few examples of the products he was referring to:

iGuard Ultrasonic Insect Pest Repellent
STAR Ultrasonic Pest Repeller
Wild Outdoors Natural Mosquito Repellent Bracelet
Kenza High Quality Zika Mosquito Repellent Smiley Patch

Also under the gun are products based in B vitamins and essential oils.

First, the Essential Oils

According to The Atlantic, products based in vitamins and essential oils “are not supported by evidence or approved by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
I tried looking up the Wild Outdoors Natural Mosquito Repellent Bracelet and the Kenza High Quality Zika Mosquito Repellent Smiley Patch to find out what was in them. However, they’ve apparently already been removed from the Internet, so there’s no way of really knowing.
However, there is evidence that some essential oils work as effective mosquito repellents, such as oil of lemon eucalyptus, and even catnip. (Ironically, Schneiderman himself recommended oil of lemon eucalyptus.)
Citronella oil has been used for centuries as an effective mosquito repellent.
And check out what a study published in March 2011 in Malaria Journal had to say about essential oils as natural mosquito repellents:

“Many commercial repellents contain a number of plant essential oils either for fragrance or as repellents including peppermint, lemongrass, geraniol, pine oil, pennyroyal, cedar oil, thyme oil and patchouli. The most effective of these include thyme oil, geraniol, peppermint oil, cedar oil, patchouli and clove that have been found to repel malaria, filarial and yellow fever vectors for a period of 60-180 mins.”

This study was done before the Zika virus arrived, of course, but it still indicates that some essential oils work against mosquitoes. These oils don’t last very long, but they do work.
Another study, published in Phytotherapy Research in 2005 looked at 38 essential oils against mosquito bites. The researchers found that “Clove oil gave the longest duration of 100% repellency against all 3 species of mosquito [the team studied].”
Again, that was before Zika, but you get the idea.

What About B Vitamins?

If you decided to research B vitamins as a mosquito repellent, you’ll mostly find mostly negative results.
In a study comparing mosquito repellents, Dr. Immo Hansen, professor at the Institute of Applied Biosciences at New Mexico State University, and his colleagues tested a vitamin B1 skin patch. The result?

“We didn’t find any evidence that it has any effect on mosquitoes.”

In another study, published in the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, researchers “tested whether ingestion of vitamin B supplements under various regimens affected the attractiveness of volatile skin compounds transferred to glass vials.”
In that case, they found:

“Although there was substantial and consistent individual variation in attractiveness, we found no effect of vitamin B supplementation.”

And when researchers at the University of Wisconsin asked volunteers to take placebos or capsules containing vitamin B, “they did not find any evidence that the substance could help reduce mosquito attraction.”

What the Fuss is Really all About

The products themselves cannot be verified by the CDC, the EPA, or the FDA as effective, because they haven’t been tested by any of the agencies.
And in some cases it’s painfully obvious that they’re bogus. Take Zika Shield Mosquito Repellent Bands. The product claims on the packaging that the bands are “Specially formulated to prevent mosquito bites that may cause the following insect-carried diseases:

Zika Virus
West Nile
Lyme disease”

Well, sorry, but you can’t “specially formulate” a repellent to ward off certain kinds of mosquitoes.
Another product, the STAR Ultrasonic Pest Repeller claims in its online marketing (I won’t provide a link, but feel free to look it up) that it:

“features the newest technology of highly-effective ultrasonic frequencies, being extremely irritating to rodents and insects thus causing them to run away and find a peaceful place. The variable technology frequency waves ensure that pests do not get immune to the sounds. With these sounds not letting up, all rodents and insects will be forced to leave your home fast and without any poisons and costly treatments.”

And this works by emitting:

“super-powerful deep penetrating electromagnetic waves which prevents insects, rodents, and pests from entering your home. The patented electromagnetic causes in-wall wiring to send electronic pulse signals, thus acting as a shield and effectively preventing pests from passing through your home’s walls. It also disturbs existing rodent and insect nests; causing all pests to leave your walls and home. Outdoor rodents, pests and insects will no longer want to enter your home.“

The main takeaway point here is that our current research doesn’t exactly lend strong support for these claims, and that you may be disappointed investing in this produce. But maybe it works in some cases. To be fair, this product did get a lot of positive reviews online, but there’s no way of proving that it was the ultrasonic pest repeller that did the trick.

Common-Sense Prevention

If you live in a Zika-affected area, such as the Wynwood neighborhood north of Miami, you should wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts and use insect repellent. (I realize covering up in late summer in Florida sounds miserable.)
Make sure your doors and windows have screens that are free of holes and tears, and stay indoors where there is air-conditioning, whenever possible.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water, so if you have any on your property of business, take care of it. Even small puddles make a great home for virus-ridden skeeters.
Just be sure to do your research.
Sources:
[1] The Atlantic
[2] ClickOnDetroit.com
[3] CBS News

Link

http://naturalsociety.com/prog-beware-fraudsters-hocking-zika-cures-9532/

Source

Natural Society

U.K. Government Advisers Push for Folic Acid to be Added to Flour

alayham — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 17:05:55 +0000

U.K. Government Advisers Push for Folic Acid to be Added to Flour alayham Wed, 01/06/2016 - 18:05

In the U.K., a lack of folic acid in foods is a problem. Nearly 2,000 babies have been born with serious side effects such as spina bifida since 1998 due to the government’s failure to add the B vitamin to flour, according to researchers.
About 150 yearly birth defects could have been avoided had the government added it to flour like 78 other countries, including the United States. [1]
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends daily oral iron and folic acid supplementation as it is a facet of vital prenatal care to lower the risk of low birth weight, maternal anemia, and iron deficiency. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urges women to take 400 mcg of folic acid per day even a month before getting pregnant.
Yet, nearly 70% of women don’t take folic acid regularly before and during the early stages of pregnancy.
Even without supplementation, researchers say in the study that adding folic acid to flour would have cut the rate of birth defects in the U.K. by 21%.

“Given the evidence from the Medical Research Council Vitamin Study regarding the efficacy of folic acid in preventing neural tube defects, the failure of Britain to fortify flour with folic acid has had significant consequences,” researchers from Oxford University, Public Health England (PHE) and Queen Mary University London say.
“The recent evidence that only 28% of pregnant women in England in 2012 took folic acid supplements at the correct time indicates that, in practice, recommending folic acid supplementation is largely ineffective,” they said.

Recently, U.K. government advisers wrote to ministers asking them to add folic acid to flour, as the Food Standards Agency recommended in 1998…then again in 2000, 2006, and 2009. [2]
Members of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) referred to an ever-increasing number of abortions in England and Wales for neural tube defects, with 420 in 2013, up from 390 in 2012 and 299 in 2009.

“It is a public health failure that Britain has not implemented the fortification of flour with folic acid for the prevention of spina bifida and other neural tube defects. This failure has caused, and continues to cause, avoidable terminations of pregnancy, stillbirths, neonatal deaths and permanent serious disability in surviving children,” researchers concluded. [3]

Dr. Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said:

“Implementing the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s advice to add folic acid to flour would reduce the risk of birth defects, such as spina bifida, in pregnancy.
PHE’s analysis shows that 85% of 16 to 49-year-old women have folic acid levels below the new World Health Organization recommendation for women entering pregnancy.
This highlights the importance for pregnant women, and those trying or likely to get pregnant, of taking a daily folic acid supplement of 400 micrograms – before and up to the 12th week of pregnancy.”

Professor Alan Cameron, vice president of clinical quality for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), added that if the government fortifies food with folic acid, it will help women of low socioeconomic status and women with unplanned pregnancies get some of the B vitamin they need to have healthy babies.
In addition to preventing birth defects, a study published in 2013 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that mothers who take folic acid were 40% less likely to have a child with autism.
Caveat: While increasing folic acid intake (appropriately) may have beneficial effects, it’s worth noting that folic acid is actually not naturally-occurring. Folic acid refers to the oxidized synthetic compound used in supplements and food fortification, as in the case with the U.K. Folate, on the other hand, is a general term for a group of water soluble b-vitamins, and refers to the various tetrahydrofolate derivatives naturally found in food.
So if you want the natural version, go for folate!
Sources:
[1] The Independent
[2] International Business Times
[3] Pulse Headlines

Link

http://naturalsociety.com/u-k-advisers-folic-acid-added-flour/

This Key Vitamin Reduces Serious Pesticide Damage During Pregnancy

alayham — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 08:30:02 +0000

This Key Vitamin Reduces Serious Pesticide Damage During Pregnancy alayham Sun, 06/14/2015 - 10:30

DDT, the pesticide once used in WWII was banned in the US in 1972, but it remains in the soil for decades. The good news is that a simple vitamin can reduce its negative effects.
DDT was considered a ‘miracle’ when it was first created. It was the first important synthetic pesticide from chlorinated hydrocarbon (organochlorine) discovered by a Swiss chemist named Paul Muller in 1939.
It was toxic to a large range of insects, didn’t break down rapidly so it didn’t require frequent applications, and it wasn’t water soluble, so rain wouldn’t wash it away. For obvious reasons, this made DDT undesirable once it was found to be ‘slightly to moderately acutely toxic to mammals, including humans.’
Nevertheless, DDT was used by the US military in WW II for control of malaria, bubonic plague, and other diseases. DDT is still used, unfortunately, in South America, Africa, and Asia. This is why the findings of a recent study coming from China and published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition is so important.

“‘Our previous work has shown that high levels of DDT in the body can increase the risk of early miscarriage,’ says study leader Xiaobin Wang, MD, ScD, MPH, the Zanvyl Krieger Professor and Director of the Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. ‘This study tells us that improved nutrition may modify the toxic effects of DDT, by better preparing the body to cope with environmental toxins and stressors. We have shown that women with high levels of DDT who also had high levels of B vitamins had a better chance of getting and staying pregnant than those were deficient in those vitamins.'”

Related: This Vitamin is Key for Child Brain Development
Researchers found that getting adequate Vitamin B reduced DDT damage, enhanced fertility, and ended up in more viable pregnancies (fewer miscarriages due to DDT’s known ability to cause birth defects). A deficiency in any B vitamin was detrimental to women who were expecting, but the B vitamin folate was the most important for reducing DDT and other pesticide damage, and counteracting the levels of DDT in a woman’s body.
Although no published studies have been conducted on Vitamin B complex for its effects against other pesticides and herbicides, the Vitamin’s effects with DDT alone look promising.

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Link

http://naturalsociety.com/this-key-vitamin-reduces-serious-pesticide-damage-dur…

5 Nutritional Reasons People Keep Eating Meat

alayham — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 06:28:12 +0000

5 Nutritional Reasons People Keep Eating Meat alayham Sun, 03/01/2015 - 07:28

There is no question about it: meat gets a bad rap when it comes to health and diet. While there is some truth to popular anti-meat sentiment, it’s more aimed at processed meat. Unprocessed, red meat can actually have some positive benefits for your health. I would simply suggest abiding by 3 simple rules: choose unprocessed, eat organic, and eat in moderation.
According to the Department of Health, you should eat less than 90g of it a day, preferably keeping below 70g. If you eat unprocessed meat within this window the positive aspects of red meat should outweigh the negative effects.
Here are 5 nutritional reasons people choose to eat meat.

1. Creatine and Protein

Creatine and protein are both necessary for good health – especially if you’re one who exercises often or plays in sports. They’re both great for building muscle and so are essential for optimal workout regimens.
Creatine itself improves your body’s ability to produce energy quickly. This means you’ll be able to go further when training. Then after your workout, the protein is used to build muscle and repair damaged tissue. In other words, they work well together to provide your muscles and body with energy and ultimately growth.

2. Zinc

An essential nutrient for skin health, eye health, and more, zinc has a few key important health benefits. As we get older, our eyes become more susceptible to damage. With so many of us working with screens on a daily basis, we’re told to take care of our eyes properly, but what we often forget is that our diet is important, too. Zinc is great for your eyes as it helps combat macular degeneration, cataracts, and night blindness.
Zinc also plays a part in boosting your immune system, fighting off colds, and dealing with ear infections. So, if you’re someone who gets ill fairly regularly, it might be worth upping your zinc intake. Red meat is a good place to start.

3. Phosphorus

About 85% of phospherus found in the human body is within teeth and bones, helping to keep them strong. It also plays a role in the kidney’s function of filtering waste while helping the body to store energy.
Phosphorus goes quite well with creatine and protein in reducing muscle pain after strenuous exercise. It’s also needed for healthy cells, as it’s used to grow, maintain, and repair them.
Reverse: 5 Reasons People DROP Meat from Their Diets

4. Iron

Iron is essential for a healthy body. It is used to create haemoglobin, which is what transports oxygen around the body. Without this process, your body would be useless.
Without obtaining enough iron in your diet, you risk developing iron deficiency anaemia. This can lead to tiredness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and pale skin. In other words, a general unhealthiness as the blood has less haemoglobin to get oxygen to where it’s needed.

5. B Vitamins

Red meat contains a number of B vitamins, including niacin, B12, thiamine, and riboflavin. These are all included in the process of turning the food we eat into the fuel our body needs to function. They all have their own specific benefits, too.
For example, B12 is good for the nervous system, helping to reduce stress, and brain shrinkage. Riboflavin helps fight acne and muscle cramps, niacin is used in cholesterol treatment, and thiamine can boost the immune system while people also take it for digestive problems.
Those are just 5 nutritional-based reasons people decide to eat some meat.
Additional Sources:
BBC

Link

http://naturalsociety.com/5-nutritional-reasons-people-keep-eating-meat/

b vitamins

Fresh Concerns Emerge over Energy Drinks’ Damage to the Heart

Regular Caffeine vs. Energy Drinks

Tags

The Down-Low on Reportedly Bogus Zika Prevention Products

The “Bogus” Zika Prevention Products

First, the Essential Oils

What About B Vitamins?

What the Fuss is Really all About

Common-Sense Prevention

Tags

U.K. Government Advisers Push for Folic Acid to be Added to Flour

Tags

This Key Vitamin Reduces Serious Pesticide Damage During Pregnancy

Tags

5 Nutritional Reasons People Keep Eating Meat

1. Creatine and Protein

2. Zinc

3. Phosphorus

4. Iron

5. B Vitamins

Tags