Are Statins Making You Sick?

A new study published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology has found some evidence that the statin Simvastatin may impair the ability of immune cells to kill pathogens.

Statins are medications used to lower cholesterol. This is a good thing, since cholesterol is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It is believed that cholesterol plays a roll in atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), a disease which can ultimately lead to blocked arteries, preventing adequate blood flow to the heart and causing a heart attack.

That's the good part.

The bad part; however, is that some statins, like Simvastatin appear to have negative side effects, like an impaired immune response.

National Nutrition Month...

March is the American Dietitic Association's National Nutrition Month. The ADA is a fantastic resource for learning about the basics of healthy nutrition and disease prevention through diet and nutrition. One of my take-aways from last years Obesity Society's Conference is that nutrition is the largest determinant in maintaining a health body weight. Not only is eating the right foods critical for getting the most out of your meals but understanding what is the right amount and eating the right amount of foods is just as critical to good health.

The ADA has a page giving the following recommendations for ways to reduce calories seen here. Two great Unicity products will help you fulfill some of those recommendations, Slim and Bios Life E. Drinking Slim will help you control your portions. Rather chugging down your Mountain Dew, drink Bios Life E. It has low calories and full of anitoxidants and vitamins to boost your metabolism and energy levels.

Also, nearly every registered dietician will tell you to eat more fiber in your diet which you can do simply by drinking Slim. Slim will help keep your appetite in check and will be help manage your lipid panel and blood sugar. Check out the ADA website. It's free and the information will help you get even better results with Slim.

Green Tea Helps Fend Off Superbugs?

According to research presented at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting, green tea may amplify the effects of antibiotics, making them more effective against "superbugs".

Superbugs are bacteria that have evolved to become resistant to most antibiotics, and are therefore a major concern for healthcare practitioners.

Dr Mervat Kassem from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Alexandria University in Egypt, a lead researcher on the study, explained the results of their research, "In every single case, green tea enhanced the bacteria-killing activity of the antibiotics. For example the killing effect of chloramphenicol was 99.99% better when taken with green tea than when taken on its own in some circumstances."

The mechanisms for green tea's ability to increase the efficacy of the antibiotics are unknown.

Green tea could be an excellent adjuvant to antibiotic treatment; not only is it inexpensive and safe in very large quantities, it is readily available - yet another reason piled onto the stack of reasons to drink green tea.

Fish oils...the key to longevity?

Dr. Neal Secrist, a presidential diamond, sent me a note with a link to this article. The article was based is a recent report published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) this past week. Researchers have long known the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, including reduced triglycerides levels, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, to name a few. This research group from the Bay Area in California, wanted to know the mechanism of how omega-3 fatty acids exert their protective benefits.

One potential hypothesis to test was is there a relationship between omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and telomeres. Telomeres are repeating squences of DNA (TTAGGG)n that reside at the ends of chromosomes (see the red areas in the image). They are thought to form a protective cap for the chromosomes. As cells divide, the enzymes involved in replicating DNA can't fully replicate the ends of the chromosome resulting in a shortening of the chromosome. As research has progressed, telomere length has become a good marker for longevity.

This group wanted to know if supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids would affect telomere lengths. They recruited 608 patients and divided them into four groups. Each group would supplement with increasing doses of omega-3 fatty acids. After five years of supplementation they reviewed the telomere lengths of the patients in each group. The results showed that the group with the lowest dose had shorter telomeres and that as the dose increased the telomeres lengths increased suggesting that omega-3 fatty acids slowed the rate of telomere shortening.

Now the results are promising but preliminary. However, there is substantial evidence for the increased health benefits that one should strongly consider increasing the amount of fish you consume in your diet. A high quality fish oil supplement such as Omega Life-3 or Salmon Omega oil will benefit any person.

Keep Standing...

Ira Flatow from Science Friday recently spoke with an Australian researcher who, after studying 8,000+ participants, discovered that sitting (specifically watching TV) shortens your life span (Link to abstract).

Not surprisingly, the scientists found that those who sat a lot, had higher rates of cardiovascular disease. The surprising part was that, even if these people were not overweight, they still had an increase in CVD if they sat a lot. So, all you thin people out there who think it's still OK to watch TV for 3+ hours a night - beware!

This coincides with the video below showing that sitting increases the amount of fat in your bloodstream. Perhaps, the increase in fat in the bloodstream creates an increased risk of arteriosclerosis, since this is thought to occur by lipid oxidation.

There's hope though! The researchers suggest taking a break every twenty minutes and doing a little walking. Take this time to grab a glass of water, play with the kids, or get some fresh air. Apparently, this helps to reset the some internal mechanism in the body (I don't know what that is - perhaps the lipase thing alluded to in the post below).

Get up, stand up...

Check out the video (sent to me by JT) at this link. The article/video has a remarkably simple way to improve your health. There is one part in the video that really caught my attention. It deals with the lipase activity of sitting vs. standing. Plus check out what the phlebotomist collects!

Helping out the kids...

One of the key ideas that I took home from the Obesity Society's 2009 conference was the impact that adults, specifically parents/guardians have on children. It's powerful when you see the data demonstrating the effect of parental/adult behavior on children. In a timely article recently published, the authors examine the impact of removing junk food from a group of middle schools in Conneticut. The results are remarkable, you remove junk food as a snack option and kids eat less junk food. Hmm, we may be onto something here.

One of my huge pet peeves is when my children come home from school laden with candy as a reward for good behavior. My oldest daughter used to receive extra treats for purchasing a school lunch. We had to put a stop to this practice and specifically asked the school, teachers, etc... to please not give our children candy. I am not opposed to a sweet treat once in a while, but I am opposed to excessive amounts of candy either for me or my kids.

Fun Fact

I'm a closet Science Friday listener. Science Friday is a program on NPR every Friday (no surprise) that discusses a wide range of scientific topics.

The topic today fascinated me because they were discussing the amazing human body. According to the scientist they were interviewing, the human body can run longer and farther than any other animal (birds not included). The scientist said that if you were to have a marathoner run a marathon against a horse, dog, whatever, that the marathoner would win.

At the speed a marathoner runs, a horse and other mammals are required to gallop, or whatever their equivalent of a run is. Because of the way their physiology works, they are unable to cool their bodies as efficiently as a human can, and quickly overheat. This overheating causes them to stop and cool down.

Additionally, the human body is built for running: the Achilles Heal, and other tendons, act as springs that help store energy, the quadriceps are powerful, long distance pistons, and our cooling system is top notch.

So at the 26.2 mile track, my money's on the biped.

US Recommendations Fail to Correct Vitamin D Deficiency

An article published in the Oct. 2009 edition of Nature Reviews: Endocrinology highlights that supplementation with the currently recommended vitamin D levels of 400 IU falls well short of being effective.

The article was written by Dr. Bruce Hollis, a respected researcher that has published numerous articles on vitamin D and its role in cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis and more. Do any sort of search on vitamin D and chances are good that his name will come up.

Hollis discusses how the current recommendations of 400 IU don't do anything to increase serum (blood) levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D sufficiency (adequate levels) is defined as having vitamin D levels above 75 nmol/l. In one study, they found that 74% of postmenopausal women had levels lower than 50 nmol/l. Vitamin D levels this low are implicated in a number of diseases in epidemiological studies.

The graph below, taken from the article, shows how vitamin D supplementation below 1,000 IUs/day did not significantly increase serum levels of vitamin D.


To put this in plain English:

When you take vitamin D supplements that provide a daily dose of less than 1,000 IU you are paying for nothing, literally.

BoneMate Plus provides you with 4,000 IU of quality vitamin D3, as well as calcium and other minerals that help the body to utilize and better absorb calcium.

Dosage studies show that it is best to space out your calcium supplementation - as more will be absorbed this way. We recommend that you take BoneMate Plus in the morning and then at night.

Scooped...

My wife gave me an article on ways simple ways to combat fatigue at home. See it here. Simple things to do that can help with energy levels. The ladies over at the Women's blog beat me to the post.

I have to say that it has been very intellecutally stimluating attending this conference. I have been eating very well/carefully and exercising but I can't seem to get past the after lunch malaise. Good thing I brought some E with me. It has been a life saver! What experiences have you had with E? Post them in the comments section.

Day 2 recap...

Another day filled with interesting reports and LOTS of data.

1. I attended a session on Pediatrics (mainly due to personal reasons, I am the father of three very delightful kids). Parental example and the inherent responsilibity associated with setting a good example for your children was underscored by great talks and posters. Of the two parents, mothers played a huge role in healthy eating choices, activity levels, etc... more so than fathers. Another interesting study focused on introducing vegetables (low energy, high nutrient foods) at the beginning of a meal to see if vegetable consumption was increased and also how it affected the consumption of other energy sources. The study concluded that giving children vegetables as a "premeal" increased their veggie consumption and decreased the amount of mac&cheese they ate later in the meal. If your kids are clamoring for food, give them some carrots.
2. Turn off the TV. A couple of different research groups showed results correlating turning off the TV or removing a TV with increased phyical exercise. Again, the importance of phyiscal activity cannot be overstated. One researcher joked that they hadn't see a study where exercise has been the cause of cancer. Physical activity improves way too many health parameters to be ignored.
3. In a session for clinicians on obesity treatments, the underlying theme was to assess each person individually (there is no one set way to address weight loss and each person is different). There may be underlying reasons for a person's lack of compliance (i.e. ADHD resulting in a lack of focus and inability to stay on task; joint problems from broken bones resulting in decreased activity) and addressing those issues may lead to improved results. Patients need to set goals that are measurable, attainable and within a specified time frame. Best success comes as patients reward themselves for "good" behavior or achieving small steps to a larger goal. Tracking progress pays large dividends in terms of increasing compliance but also it gives the patient a perspective on how much they have achieved. This is crucial during episodes of weight management fatigue and reflection can be a positive reinforcement for continuing to establish long-term lifestyle changes.

Lots of fun. Will post more tomorrow.

Obesity Society recap day one...

I am attending the 2009 Obesity Society Conference in Washington D.C. There are a number of top-notch researchers presenting their work. The topics are wide ranging from cellular mechanisms that lead to obesity to population studies investigating correlative associations.

Some quick thoughts from day one:

1. Obesity is very complex. There are so many factors both environmental and genetic that contribute to weight gain. There is no one quick fix to obesity
2. A key factor is how we cope with stress. The research data regarding our ability to deal with stress and obesity is very compelling
3. Exercise matters. There data surrounding the health benefits regarding small incremental increases in physical activity are astounding. Some recommendations 150 minutes per week of moderate activity as a minimum for improved health. 250-300 minutes per week for weight loss. Start small and work up to these times.

The conference is very stimulating and hopefully will yield fruitful information for all.

Super Chlorophyll Powder™ and Aflatoxin

Dr. Cutler sent an interesting article to me this morning that I thought I would post on this blog since it is so pertinent to Super Chlorophyll Powder™.

The full article can be found here.

The article discusses how a toxin, aptly named aflatoxin, produced by mold growing on legumes (peanuts, soy beans, etc.) can lead to liver cancer. Here is a quote from the article that astounded me,

"In places such as China, Vietnam and South Africa, the combination of aflatoxin and hepatitis B virus exposure increases the likelihood of liver cancer occurrence by 60 times, and toxin-related cancer causes up to 10 percent of all deaths in those nations."

These; however, aren't the only countries that are exposed to aflatoxin. Have you ever chomped down on a peanut that was slightly black and been assaulted by a pungent, sort of burnt taste, that only went away after you'd eaten twenty more good peanuts? Chances are pretty good that you just ate a peanut contaminated by the mold Aspergillus parasiticus. Aflatoxin is a toxin that can be found everywhere.

The aflatoxin produced by this mold is one of the most potent carcinogens found in nature, and, unfortunately, is quite ubiquitous. These are some of foods that can harbor A. parasiticus:

• Cereals
• Peanuts
• Soybeans
• Chili peppers
• Black pepper
• Coriander
• Ginger
• Almonds
• Pistachios
• Walnuts
• Coconuts
• And more

Super Chlorophyll Powder™, a green powder known for its use as an antioxidant and beauty enhancer, can also help reduce the danger that occurs as a result of aflatoxin ingestion.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science by Egner PA, and colleagues, they found that chlorophyllin (the scientific name of Super Chlorophyll Powder™) was able to protect DNA from the damage caused by aflatoxin. Their conclusion from this study was that chlorophyllin could be an economical way to protect against this common toxin.

Some information about Super Chlorophyll Powder™:

Chlorophyll is a natural, fat-soluble molecule found in plants, and is responsible for their green color. Chlorophyllin, the form of chlorophyll commonly used in supplements, is a water-soluble version of chlorophyll that contains copper instead of magnesium as its central atom. Plants use chlorophyll to trap light needed for photosynthesis and create the energy needed to separate water to make sugar and oxygen.

Because of its unique chemical properties, chlorophyllin is able to form tight molecular complexes with chemicals that are suspected or known to cause cell damage including aromatic hydrocarbons in tobacco smoke; some heterocyclic amines found in cooked meat; and aflatoxin-B1, a toxin produced by fungi found in food products such as corn, peanuts and soy products.
Super Chlorophyll Powder™ is a green powder that is mixed with water and has a light mint flavor.

Are We Closer to a Cure?

Alzheimer's is a disease that affects millions in the US and has no real cure. It is devastating to watch your loved ones slowly forgot the good times you shared. Scientists continue to attack Alzheimer's from every angle hoping to cure a disease that is too small to surgically remove and because of its location in the brain, protected from easy access by drugs that are unable to cross the blood-brain barrier.

However, scientists at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, may be a step closer to finding a feasible cure. Chakrabarty, et al. published their findings in the FASEB Journal this month.

What they discovered, was that when the brain's immune cells (microglia) are activated by the interleukin-6 protein (IL-6), they actually remove plaques instead of causing them or making them worse. This was a surprise, because they had started the study anticipating that activation of these cells would actually increase inflammation, not lead to the removal of plaques. Like many of the great findings in science, this one was another serendipitous discovery.

This approach to curing Alzheimer's may be better than others because the body uses its own defense mechanisms to clear out beta amyloid plaques (via IL-6) instead of non-specific drugs with harmful and usually unknown side effects.

While the research was performed in a model of Alzheimer's disease established in mice, the researchers feel like this is a close to simulating the human response as possible.

Maybe this will progress to clinical trials down the road...

And the winner is...

The nobel prize in medicine was awarded yesterday. A trio of researchers, whose focus was on the ends of chromosomes called telomeres, won the award. Telomeres are streches of DNA that in simple terms are thought to act as caps to chromosomes.

A little something I thought was interesting was,"This year's prize is the first Nobel to be shared by two women. Blackburn and Greider are just the ninth and 10th women, respectively, to be awarded the prize in physiology or medicine in the award's 108-year history."

Science is beautiful and is a never-ending quest for more knowledge.

Lose it...

I downloaded a new app for my iPhone called Lose It. I wanted to try it out and see what results it could do for me. On a bit of a personal note, I reached a bit of a plateau with some simple modifications and was looking for something else to help me keep progressing with my weight loss and body transformation. Tracking my caloric intake and energy expenditure seemed like a good place to go. The app is simple to use and very intuitive. You need to input some data about yourself and away you go. The beauty of having the app on my iPhone is that it constantly reminds me to input data. It's right there - so in my down time I can add my values for the meals that I have eaten. With a simple monitoring of my food intake (which by the way I found very interesting) I have been able to drop five pounds in the past two weeks. Imagine how much more that will be when I start to incorporate exercise. Here is the link to a fun article in the NY Times that prompted this post. I have been able to make some headway, by simply tracking my activities. There are a number of free websites available to you that will do the same thing (e.g. sparkpeople.com, calorieking.com [paid site]) that will help you track what you eat and motivate you to improve. You need to make the most of what you eat to get and stay healthy!

More on Vitamin D.

Here is some more information collected on vitamin D from another blogger Tom Maguire (h/t Instapundit). Check out his link to the a Scientific American article on vitamin D and the immune system.

It's been a while...

I have been on the road a bit which has kept me pretty busy. However, I continue to find interesting items particularly regarding the health benefits of green tea (think Matcha). This latest entry is focused a recent research article describing the positive benefits of on bone metabolism from the catechins found in green tea (h/t futurepundit).

From the press release, "The scientists exposed a group of cultured bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) to three major green tea components — epigallocatechin (EGC), gallocatechin (GC), and gallocatechin gallate (GCG) — for several days. They found that one in particular, EGC, boosted the activity of a key enzyme that promotes bone growth by up to 79 percent. EGC also significantly boosted levels of bone mineralization in the cells, which strengthens bones. The scientists also showed that high concentrations of ECG blocked the activity of a type of cell (osteoclast) that breaks down or weakens bones. The green tea components did not cause any toxic effects to the bone cells, they note." Interesting results that we will continue to track in future studies.

While green tea has received a great deal of attention due to it's demonstrated effect with weight loss (see another link here sent to me by Todd Smith) there is increasing evidence of other benefits from green tea. Now consider this, that Matcha is the highest quality and most nutrient rich green tea available.

Chi-Oka Matcha and L-Theanine

L-theanine has been getting a lot of attention from drink companies lately. L-theanine can now be found in some types of SoBe Lifewater, Vitamin Water and the king of them all, Gatorade, has decided to add this new wonder supplement into a new drink called Gatorade Tiger Focus. This new drink, a collaboration between one of the world's best golfers, Tiger Woods, and Gatorade, one of the world's largest sports drinks manufacturers, contains L-theanine and more electrolytes than previous Gatorade drinks.

In a Gatorade press release, Tiger said, "I've experienced a lot of amazing moments in my golf career, but Gatorade Tiger is taking me someplace I never imagined with this campaign. I’m really excited about how this launch has come together because it brings to life that I’m always thinking about taking my game to the next level.”

Supposedly, Tiger Woods has been taking L-theanine for some time now and credits his renowned ability to concentrate on the golf course to this wonder amino acid.

A this point, you're asking yourself, "What is L-theanine and why should I take it?"

I'll try not to get too techincal, but here's the shpeel:

What is it?

L-theanine is a non-protein amino acid found predominantly in the green tea plant (Camellia sinensis). In fact, L-theanine makes up ~50% of the total free amino acids in the tea plant! That's a lot.

Why Take It?

Because you want to golf like Tiger Woods.

Seriously though, L-theanine is taken by Tiger and others to: increase focus, stay calm, and reduce stress levels. Studies have shown that L-theanine increases alpha waves as measured using an electroencephalogram (EEG). While the brain and how it works is incredibly complex, it is believed that this increase in activity correlates with an increase in focus. There is also some evidence that it can slow heart rate and has a calming effect.

What about Bios Life E?

Both Bios Life E Super Mental Focus and Bios Life E Super Energy Boost contain naturally-occuring L-theanine. The L-theanine in Bios Life E comes from the green tea in our Chi-Oka Matcha blend. This blend has a mix of lots of healthy antioxidants like green tea, blueberry, pomegranate, apple, and resveratrol.

Add another notch to the belt of Bios Life E

Not to blow our own horn, but Bios Life E is a great energy drink. There are no energy drinks out there that have as much going for them as our does. I know, I've looked at probably close to a hundred. Other energy drinks are either loaded with sugar, have very few antioxidants, have lower levels of B vitamins, etc. I think; however, that the motherload for us is our proprietary Chi-Oka Matcha blend. Green tea has so much science supporting its health boosting effects, from lowering LDL levels to boosting memory, that this ingredient helps us stand head and shoulders above everyone else.

Don't worry - be happy...

I am on my way to Japan for some business meetings and was reintroduced to the Unicity Women's website. Katharine Peterson, a member of our marketing group, posted a cool article about the relationship between the emotional state of a women and their risk for cardiovascular disease. After reading the post and the article - I decided to change my attitude and make my time productive (four hour layover due to delays) here in LA. It's a great site regardless of your gender and you should all check it out!