Green leafy vegetables reduces diabetes risk-----study

Agence France-Presse

PARIS – Tucking into more spinach and other green leafy vegetables can reduce the risk of Type 2diabetes, a study published on Friday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) said.

The research wades into a controversial area, and its authors caution more investigation is needed to confirm the findings.

A team led by Patrice Carter at the University of Leicester, central England, reviewed six studies involving 220,000 people that explored the link between fruit and vegetable consumption and Type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes.

Eating one and a half extra servings of green leafy vegetables cut the risk of diabetes by 14 percent, but eating more fruit and vegetables combined had negligible impact, they found.

Type 2, the commonest form of diabetes, has spread fast from rich countries to fast-developing economies as fatty, sugary diets and sedentary lifestyles take hold.

More than 220 million people worldwide are afflicted with the disease, which kills more than one million people every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). As obesity rates increase, the number of deaths could double between 2005 and 2020, the WHO has said.

Nutrition and exercise are known factors in prevention, but which foods work best and why remain disputed because so few good-quality studies have been carried out.

Carter's team suggests that green leafy vegetables are useful because they are high in antioxidants and magnesium, but more work is needed to bear this out.

In a separate study published on Wednesday in the British Journal of Pharmacology, Chinese scientists said a compound extracted from various Chinese herbs helped reduce the impact of Type 2 diabetes in mice.

The product, known as emodin, inhibits an enzyme called 11-Beta-HSD1, which plays a role in resistance to insulin, the hormone that helps clear excess sugar from the blood.

Emodin can be extracted from Chinese rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) and Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) among others, the paper said.

"Researchers would need to develop chemicals that have similar effects as emodin, and see which if any of these could be used as a therapeutic drug," said Ying Leng of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica.

Diabetes is controlled by injections of insulin and blood-sugar levels. If unchecked, the disease can lead to heart disease, vision loss, limb amputation and kidney failure.

Published in Philippine Daily Inquirer August 20, 2010.

A fish-y story

By EDUARDO GONZALES, MD

August 9, 2010, 11:35am

Q. I recently read an alarming article about mercury in fish. What are the toxic effects of mercury? How does mercury get into fish? Which fish contain high levels of mercury? Should people limit their intake of fish because of the risk for mercury poison

Q. I recently read an alarming article about mercury in fish. 

What are the toxic effects of mercury? 

How does mercury get into fish? 

Which fish contain high levels of mercury? 

Should people limit their intake of fish because of the risk for mercury poisoning?

Lina O., Manila

A. Mercury is a heavy metal that is poisonous to humans. Its toxic effects include damage to the brain, kidney, and lungs. 

For fetuses (in wombs of mothers with high blood level of mercury), infants, and children, the primary adverse effect of mercury is impaired brain development.

Analytical Aspects of Mercury and Other Heavy Metals in the Environment (Current Topics in Environmental and Toxicological Chemistry)

Mercury is used extensively in a lot of fields. In medicine, it is an important constituent of some drugs and antiseptic agents; and, it is a vital component of some medical diagnostic equipment such as blood pressure apparatuses and clinical thermometers. 

In agriculture, it is sometimes used as a fungicide. In industry, it is used in the manufacture of electrical equipment, paper, and some plastics and other chemicals. 

It is likewise utilized in the extraction of some ores, such as gold, from mines.

Invariably, some of the mercury that is used for various purposes find its way into large bodies of water including oceans where they enter the food chain. 

In the Philippines, the main sources of mercury pollution are mined mercury deposits; use of mercury in gold extraction (gold mining takes place in at least 20 provinces in the country); and, coal burning power plants (coal contains mercury as a natural contaminant).

Mercury in bodies of water is absorbed, usually in the form of methylmercury, by algae.  

Algae comprise the staple food of many small fish that scavenge near shorelines. 

These small fish are eaten by larger fish which in turn, serve as prey for still larger fish. 

Thus, because the mercury in the prey transfers to the predator, the level of mercury accumulation among fish becomes higher the higher one goes in the food chain. Sharks, for example, which are on top of the food chain, have very high levels of mercury. 

Tests that were conducted on shark fins on sale in Thailand a few years back showed that the fins contained levels of heavy metals (particularly mercury) that are 42 times the level considered safe for human consumption.

 Aside from sharks, fish that are beginning to exhibit dangerously high levels of mercury in their tissues are tilefish, swordfish, and king mackerels.

By and large however, most types of saltwater and freshwater fish contain only minute levels of mercury and inasmuch as the body has the capability to excrete minute amounts of mercury—what the body cannot handle is abnormally high amount of mercury—the risk of a person getting slowly poisoned with mercury by eating fish is minimal.

In the Philippines, we do not have an effective monitoring system for mercury levels in fish, but it is probably safe to say that except in high risk areas (i.e., those communities and water bodies near gold and mercury mines) the fish that we commonly eat such as bangus, tilapia, tuna and tamban are still free from dangerous levels of mercury contamination. Other commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury include shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.

Mercury in fish may damage developing brain.(News): An article from: Internal Medicine News

Filipinos should not limit their intake of fish—except perhaps for shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish—because of fear from possible mercury poisoning. 

The fish that we commonly eat are safe to eat. In fact, we should increase our fish intake because aside from their high-quality protein and other essential nutrients content, fish, especially the deep sea species, are low in saturated fats and contain omega-3 fatty acids, factors which contribute to heart health and children’s proper growth and development.

(E-mail inquiries on health matters to: medical_notes@yahoo.com)

Bigger waistline, bigger risk of dying: study

August 10, 2010, 11:36am

The bigger a person's waistline, the more likely they are to die of any cause, regardless of whether they are overweight or not, a study published Monday says. (AFP)

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The bigger a person's waistline, the more likely they are to die of any cause, regardless of whether they are overweight or not, a study published Monday says.

Researchers at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta looked at the association between the waistlines of 48,500 men and 56,343 women aged 50 years and older, and death from any illness.

After adjusting for body mass index and other risk factors, the researchers found that men and women with very large waists -- 120 centimeters (47 inches) or greater in men, and 110 centimeters (42 inches) or more in women -- were around twice as likely to die of any cause as people with smaller waists.

The risk of dying was greater regardless of whether a man or woman was normal weight, overweight or obese, found the study published in the American Medical Association's Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study also found that men and women with very large waists were "more likely than those with smaller waists to be less educated, to have a high BMI (body mass index), to be physically inactive, to be former smokers, and to have a history of cardiovascular disease, cancer or respiratory disease."

Respiratory disease was the most likely cause of death among the very large-girthed, followed by cardiovascular disease and cancer, the study said.

Previous studies have associated large waistlines with heart disease, inflammatory illness, insulin resistance, high blood cholesterol and type two diabetes.

The link between waist circumference and mortality from a host of illnesses "may be because waist circumference is strongly correlated with fat tissue in the viscera — surrounding the organs in the abdomen — which is thought to be more dangerous than fat tissue under the skin," the study said.

"Our results suggest that, regardless of weight, avoiding gains in waist circumference may reduce the risk of premature mortality," the authors of the study said.

Published in Manila Bulletin August 11, 2010

The Sour Sop

The Sour Sop or the fruit from the graviola tree is a miraculous natural cancer cell killer
10,000 times stronger than Chemo ...

Why are we not aware of this? Its because some big corporation want to make back their money spent on years of research by trying to make a synthetic version of it for sale. So, since you know it now you can help a friend in need by letting him know or just drink some sour sop juice yourself as a prevention from time to time. The taste is not bad afterall. Its completely natural and definitely has no side effects. If you have the space plant one in your garden. The other parts of the tree are also useful.

The next time you have a fruit juice, ask for a sour sop.

How many people died in vain while this billion-dollar drug maker concealed the secret of the miraculous Graviola tree?

If there ever was a single example that makes it dramatically clear why the existence of Health Sciences Institute is so vital to Americans like you, it's the incredible story behind the Graviola tree.

Research shows that with extracts from this miraculous tree it now may be possible to....
· Attack cancer safely and effectively with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight loss and hair loss

· Protect your immune system and avoid deadly infections
· Feel stronger and healthier throughout the course of the treatment
· Boost your energy and improve your outlook on life

The source of this information is just as stunning: It comes from one of America 's largest drug manufacturers, the fruit of over 20 laboratory tests conducted since the 1970's! What those tests revealed was nothing short of mind numbing... 

Extracts from the tree were shown to:

· Effectively target and kill malignant cells in 12 types of cancer, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreatic cancer.

· The tree compounds proved to be up to 10,000 times stronger in slowing the growth of cancer cells than Adriamycin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug!

· What's more, unlike chemotherapy, the compound extracted from the Graviola tree selectively hunts down and kills only cancer cells. It does not harm healthy cells!

The amazing anti-cancer properties of the Graviola tree have been extensively researched--so why haven't you heard anything about it? If Graviola extract is as half as promising as it appears to be--why doesn't every single oncologist at every major hospital insist on using it on all his or her patients?

The spine-chilling answer illustrates just how easily our health--and for many, our very lives(!)--are controlled by money and power.

Graviola--the plant that worked too well

Various parts of the Graviola tree--including the bark, leaves, roots, fruit and fruit-seeds--have been used for centuries by medicine men and native Indians in South America to treat heart disease, asthma, liver problems and arthritis. Going on very little documented scientific evidence, the company poured money and resources into testing the tree's anti-cancerous properties--and were shocked by the results. Graviola proved itself to be a cancer-killing dynamo.

Miracle unleashed - When researchers at the Health Sciences Institute were alerted to the news of Graviola, they began tracking the research done on the cancer-killing tree. Evidence of the astounding effectiveness of Graviola--and its shocking cover-up--came in fast and furious.....

The National Cancer Institute performed the first scientific research in 1976. The results showed that Graviola's "leaves and stems were found effective in attacking and destroying malignant cells." Inexplicably, the results were published in an internal report and never released to the public...

Since 1976, Graviola has proven to be an immensely potent cancer killer in 20 independent laboratory tests, yet no double-blind clinical trials--the typical benchmark mainstream doctors and journals use to judge a treatment's value--were ever initiated...
A study published in the Journal of Natural Products, following a recent study conducted at Catholic University of South Korea stated that one chemical in Graviola was found to selectively kill colon cancer cells at "10,000 times the potency of (the commonly used chemotherapy drug) Adriamycin..."

The most significant part of the Catholic University of South Korea report is that Graviola was shown to selectively target the cancer cells, leaving healthy cells untouched. Unlike chemotherapy, which indiscriminately targets all actively reproducing cells (such as stomach and hair cells), causing the often devastating side effects of nausea and hair loss in cancer patients.

A study at Purdue University recently found that leaves from the Graviola tree killed cancer cells among six human cell lines and were especially effective against prostate, pancreatic and lung cancers...

Seven years of silence broken--it's finally here.

Published in Catholic Answers Forum July 16, 2010

Frying Meat on Gas Stoves Poses Greater Risk

Gas Stoves Give Off More Harmful Fumes Than Electric Stoves When Frying Meat

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Feb. 17, 2019 -- Gas stoves may give off more harmful fumes than electric stoves when cooking meat.

The finding comes from a study in which steaks were pan-fried under conditions typical for a kitchen in a Western European restaurant.

Researchers fried 17 beef steaks, each 14 ounces, either with margarine or soybean oil, on gas or electric stoves.
They measured the amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ultrafine particles, and other potentially harmful substances in the breathing zones of the cooks.
Higher levels of  PAHs, considered possible cancer-causing substances, were detected when the frying was done on a gas stove. And the peak concentration of ultrafine particles was greater when frying on a gas stove.
The researchers note that exposure to ultrafine particles from the air can cause worsening allergies and lung inflammation. They also note that the levels found in the study were under established safe ranges for both particles and PAHs.
They conclude that "exposure to cooking fumes should be reduced as much as possible."
Though other factors are involved in production of fumes from cooking, they say that "frying on a gas stove instead of an electric stove causes increased occupational exposure to some of the components in cooking fumes which may cause adverse health effects."

Profit from the Demise of Big Tobacco

By: Anthony Haddad

Cigarette makers must be worried. A tiny U.S. company has a drug that could all but destroy nicotine addiction in America and beyond, and its shares give investors a chance to profit from this potentially world-changing drug.

About 46 million Americans smoke. But most of them don't want to. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 70% say they want to quit. In fact, 40% of U.S. smokers try to quit every year by abstaining for at least one day. Of course, most do not succeed. And according to public health officials, half of those who fail to quit will eventually die of smoking-related disease.

Without treatment, the chances of someone quitting on any given attempt are about 1.5%. Current remedies improve these results, but the failure rate is still daunting. Use of a nicotine replacement therapy -- such as nicotine patches or gum -- increases the success rate to about 3%.

Prescription drugs have been more successful -- but even their results leave a lot be desired. Quit rates for GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE: GSK) Wellbutrin and Zyban, which reduce the severity of nicotine cravings, stand at about 15%. And the quit rate for Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) Chantrix -- a drug that partially blocks nicotine from stimulating the brain -- approaches 26%; however, this drug has received the most severe warning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives to medications for the serious psychological side effects it may cause.

Here's the good news: A new drug currently in Phase III clinical trials could dramatically improve the rates at which people successfully quit smoking.

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: NABI) is a $250 million company that has a treatment that appears to beat the success rates of what's currently on the market and which so far has caused no serious side effects. Called NicVAX, the drug not only helps people quit, it also helps prevents relapses.

NicVAX works by stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies that bind to nicotine in the bloodstream, preventing it from entering the brain. What's more, once NicVAX is administered, the effects are irreversible for up to a year. This means that once the patient has decided to receive the treatment, there's no going back, as the nicotine can no longer get to the brain.



The 46 million American smokers present a huge market for NicVAX. But consider this: There are more than 1 billion smokers worldwide.

Nabi recently inked a deal with GlaxoSmithKline that gives GSK the option to obtain the exclusive worldwide license to develop, commercialize and manufacture NicVAX and related drugs. For that option, GSK is paying $40 million, and could pay up to $500 million if certain regulatory and sales milestones are reached. Nabi will also collect royalties on both NicVax and second generation drugs that GSK may develop.

The drug is currently being tested in several studies, including a Phase III study on its effectiveness in helping people quit smoking long term. The company has received a $10 million grant from the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse -- part of the National Institute of Health -- to help fund the first NicVAX Phase III trial. Nabi has said that the drug will not be ready for FDA approval before 2012.

Nabi's latest filing dated September 2009 reported $28 million in cash in the company's coffers and just $5 million in debt. As a small pharmaceutical company with no drugs on the market, Nabi has no significant revenue stream, but the deal inked with GSK should allow it to continue to operate through the Phase III trials.

For risk tolerant investors with the patience to wait until 2012 for Nabi's big potential payday, the shares still offer a lot of upside as the company progresses through its Phase III clinical trials toward FDA approval and world-wide commercialization.

A fresh concept for wellness

By Isabel Berenguer Asuncion

LAST WEEK, hundreds of guests trooped over to Bonifacio Global City to attend the inauguration of the new St Luke’s Hospital. And well attended it was. Despite the large lobby and wide hallways, the main floor was filled to the fringes. The inauguration was highlighted by the “tours” around the hospital premises by its friendly and proficient staff of nurses, technicians and doctors, showcasing in-patient suites, laboratories, clinics and state-of-the-art equipment that by far, only this hospital can boast of having. World-class indeed.

This now all the more makes me a proud patient of the hospital, having given birth to all my three children in their original Quezon City facility, the same one where my father goes for all his medical needs as well.

The Global City premises though, surpass that of Quezon City several fold. In many ways, its sheer size alone has allowed it to provide for many other services and amenities. Its large lobby has a café on the ground floor and a piano lounge on its second floor. Its hallways, though simple and streamlined, are colored in uplifting palettes and are brightly lit.

It is the only hospital in the country with a separate emergency room for pediatric cases. And hanging on its walls are original artworks by Filipino artists which include a beautiful depiction of the medical field by Jon Santos at the main reception lobby, and a Bencab and Ramon Orlina at the Medical Arts Building lobby, and photos by Wig Tysmans at the suite floor.

Wellness Center

One of the many other things this hospital can boast of is their Wellness Center on the seventh floor. Responding to the call for better health services for the baby boom generation, the new wellness facility is a one-stop shop for executive checkups (or any individual checkup or test, for that matter). Traditionally, patients going in for checkups stay the day or are taken in for overnight preparations and procedures, and are wheeled around to various laboratories.

This Wellness Center integrates all these activities into a 3,000-square-meter space, reducing not only the need to travel through hospital floors, but reducing waiting time as well. Moreover, this facility breaks away from the conventions of healthcare institutions and introduces a modern welcoming and comforting “hotel-ish” environment. We are quite proud of having designed it, with the hospital proponents supportive of the innovations introduced.

Save for the diagnostic areas and laboratories, the Wellness Center is quite unlike what most hospital facilities have to offer. For one, it welcomes guests with a large lounge that is fitted out with the offerings of an airline lounge and the esthetics of a spa-like environment. And because it is situated along the building perimeter, it is bathed in the warmth and brightness of natural light.

To add to this feel of airiness are the high ceilings and large openings quite uncommon to healthcare facilities. Inside, it does away with harsh cool white lighting in all its hallways and public spaces, and instead uses warm lighting for a less clinical and more comforting environment.

While wallwashers are used to highlight artwork (which aren’t there yet, and thus my curiosity is piqued, considering what’s already hanging on the other walls of the hospital) cove lights slice along the hallway ceilings and set a sight line for direction and movement. Even the guest toilet and bathroom facilities, though fitted with cove lights, make the most of natural light by having full-smoked windows. Pocket gardens within the facility bring the outdoors into the interior corridors, and soften the very linear architecture of the spaces.

Infection control

Despite the not very hospital-like environment that will cater largely to people who are going for routine preventive healthcare, St. Luke’s didn’t throw caution to the wind. Infection control was a paramount concern in this wellness center. Vinyl floor sheets were carefully selected as to not harbor germs and bacteria, fabrics were shunned due to their habit of holding on to dirt. Because it had to adhere to local government and international standards for healthcare, hallways were designed to meet specific clearances and handrails and bumpers were integrated into the walls.

Fortunately, because corner guards and bumper rails were carefully selected to match wall colors, the walls are clean and do not appear to be full of patchy wall band-aid. The stainless steel finishes in the form of handrails and wall skirtings give the place quite an edgy look. When combined with the very earthy taupes and greys that dominate the walls and the wood finishes for the doors and cabinetry, one tends to forget stainless steel’s association with surgical hospital tools all together. For auditory comfort, the ceilings in all areas are partially done in acoustic tiles, cleverly installed without runners or frames, looking sleek and smart and so unlike acoustic tiles.

My last blood chemistry test showed very good results, but if ever I will need to go for my checkups, this wellness haven will have me, for sentimental and practical reasons, and mostly because I won’t feel like I’m going for my checkup.