Month: October 2008

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Parkinson’s Linked to Vitamin D

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Scientists are testing whether vitamin D supplements can ease symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s gets progressively worse

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A US team found 55% of Parkinson’s patients had insufficient levels of vitamin D, compared to 36% of healthy elderly people. However, the Emory University researchers do not yet know if the vitamin deficiency is a cause or the result of having Parkinson’s.

The study appears in the journal Archives of Neurology.

Parkinson’s disease affects nerve cells in several parts of the brain, particularly those that use the chemical messenger dopamine to control movement.

The most common symptoms are tremor, stiffness and slowness of movement. These can be treated with oral replacement of dopamine.

Previous studies have shown that the part of the brain affected most by Parkinson’s, the substantia nigra, has high levels of the vitamin D receptor, which suggests vitamin D may be important for normal functions of these cells.

Sunlight :

Vitamin D is found in the diet, but is primarily formed in the skin by exposure to sunlight.

However, the body’s ability to produce the vitamin decreases with age, making older people more prone to deficiency.

One theory is that people with Parkinson’s may be particularly vulnerable because their condition limits the amount of time they spend out of doors.

However, scientists say it may also be possible that low vitamin D levels are in some way related to the genesis and origin of the disease.

The researchers examined vitamin D levels in 100 people with Parkinson’s, 100 with Alzheimer’s disease and 100 who were healthy. The groups were matched for age, and economic circumstance.

Among the Parkinson’s group 23% of patients had vitamin D levels so low that they could be described as deficient. In the Alzheimer’s group the figure was 16%, and in the healthy group 10%.

The researchers said the findings were striking because the study group came from the South West of the US, where sunny weather is the norm.

‘Intriguing finding’

Researcher Dr Marian Evatt said: “We found that vitamin D insufficiency may have a unique association with Parkinson’s, which is intriguing and warrants further investigation.”

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research, Parkinson’s Disease Society said: “Further research is required to determine at what stage the deficiency in vitamin levels occur in the brains of people with Parkinson’s and whether the provision of a dietary supplement, or increased exposure to sunlight may help alleviate symptoms or have an effect on the rate of the condition’s progression.

“This would help us answer the question as to whether the decrease in vitamin D levels in Parkinson’s is a cause or effect of the condition.”

Doctors have known for decades that vitamin D plays a role in bone formation.

More recently, scientists have been uncovering its effects elsewhere, including producing peptides that fight microbes in the skin, regulating blood pressure and insulin levels, and maintaining the nervous system.

Low vitamin D levels also appear to increase the risk of several cancers and auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes.

Click to see SEE ALSO ->
Vitamin E cuts Parkinson’s risk
Drug ‘may slow down Parkinson’s’
Parkinson’s Disease

Sources: BBC NEWS:13Th. Oct.’08

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Suppliments our body needs

Vitamin E

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Definition:
Vitamin E is the collective name for a set of 8 related tocopherols and tocotrienols, which are fat-soluble vitamins with antioxidant properties Of these, ?-tocopherol (also written as alpha-tocopherol) has been most studied as it has the highest bioavailability, with the body preferentially absorbing and using this form.
………..RRR alpha-tocopherol  (Vitamin E).……………
It has been claimed that ?-tocopherol is the most important lipid-soluble antioxidant, and that it protects cell membranes from oxidation by reacting with lipid radicals produced in the lipid peroxidation chain reaction.This would remove the free radical intermediates and prevent the oxidation reaction from continuing. The oxidised ?-tocopheroxyl radicals produced in this process may be recycled back to the active reduced form through reduction by other antioxidants, such as ascorbate, retinol or ubiquinol.

The functions of the other forms of vitamin E are less well-studied, although ?-tocopherol (also written as gamma-tocopherol) is a nucleophile that may react with electrophilic mutagens, and tocotrienols may have a specialized role in protecting neurons from damage.[6] However, the roles and importance of the various forms of vitamin E are presently unclear,[7][8] and it has even been suggested that the most important function of vitamin E is as a signaling molecule, and that it has no significant role in antioxidant metabolism.

Most studies about Vitamin E have supplemented only alpha-tocopherol, but doing so leads to reduced serum gamma- and delta-tocopherol concentrations. For more info, read article tocopherol.

1 IU of vitamin E is the biological equivalent of about 0.667 mg d-alpha-tocopherol (2/3 mg exactly), or of 1 mg of dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate.

The term vitamin E describes a family of 8 antioxidants, 4 tocopherols and 4 tocotrienols. alpha-tocopherol (a-tocopherol) is the only form of vitamin E that is actively maintained in the human body and is therefore, the form of vitamin E found in the largest quantities in the blood and tissue.

It is an anti-oxidant vitamin that protects us from damage to our cells, and prevents and dissolves blood clots. Vitamin E has also been used by doctors in helping prevent sterility, muscular dystrophy, fibrocystic breast disease, calcium deposits in blood walls and heart conditions.
A deficiency of vitamin E may lead to a rupture of red blood cells, loss of reproductive powers, lack of sexual vitality, degenerative changes in the changes in the heart and other muscles.

Since vitamin E is oil soluble, we store it in our bodies. High supplemental amounts may interfere with blood clotting. Vitamin E should not be taken along with iron. Supplemental doses over 400 IU may cause temporarily high blood pressure.

The Recommended Daily Allowance for adult males is 10 mg and 8 mg for adult females.

Food sources of Vitamin E


Particularly high levels of vitamin E can be found in the following foods:

*Almonds

*Asparagus

*Avocado

*Nuts

*Olives

*Red Palm Oil

*Seeds

*Spinach and other green leafy vegetables

*Vegetable oils — Canola, corn, sunflower, soybean, cottonseed

*Wheat germ

*Dandelion

*Broccoli

*Mango

*Turnip
Because most of the food sources of vitamin E are foods that aren’t consumed in large amounts, a therapeutic level of vitamin E may be achieved only with supplements.

Benefits Of Vitamin E


Vitamin E is an important nutrient that helps your body in a variety of ways. You should get enough from a healthy, balanced diet. However, high amounts (400 IU) may be harmful.

Click to see Why do we need vitamin E

The benefits of vitamin e for the overall good health of individuals are substantial. In particular, vitamin e is very important in healthy and proper skin care.Click to learn more about BENEFITS OF VITAMIN E

Vitamin E acts as a powerful antioxidant by neutralizing free radicals in the body that cause tissue and cellular damage. Vitamin E also contributes to a healthy circulatory system and aids in proper blood clotting and improves wound healing. Some studies have shown that vitamin E decreases symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and certain types of breast disease.

Other studies have shown that taking large doses of Vitamin E has decreased the risk of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). Animal studies have suggested that vitamin E does slow the development of atherosclerosis, but the American Heart Association doesn’t recommend using supplements until the effects are proven in large-scale, carefully controlled clinical trials.

Nutritionists categorize vitamins by the materials that a vitamin will dissolve in. There are two categories: water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins. Fat-soluble vitamins—vitamins A, D, E and K—are stored in the fat tissues of the body for a few days to up to six months. If you get too much of a fat-soluble vitamin, it can be stored in your liver and may sometimes cause health problems. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin.

Some people take mega-doses of fat-soluble vitamins, which can lead to toxicity. Eating a normal diet of foods rich in these vitamins won’t cause a problem. Remember, you only need small amounts of any vitamin.

Some health problems can make it hard for a person’s body to absorb these vitamins. If you have a chronic health condition, ask your doctor about whether your vitamin absorption will be affected.

Vitamin E Controversy – Cause or Correlation?
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine stated that high doses of vitamin E are dangerous and should be avoided. This study considered doses of vitamin E in excess of 400 IU per day to be high and doses of vitamin E less than 400 IU per day to be low. Is it true that high doses of vitamin E are dangerous? Does the danger out weigh the benefit of vitamin E supplements?
Click to learn more from Office of Dietary Supplements • National Institutes of Health

Click to learn more from Micronutrient Information Center

Side Effects:
In November, 2004, the American Heart Association stated that high amounts of vitamin E can be harmful. Taking 400 IU per day, or higher, may increase the risk of death.

Taking smaller amounts, such as those found in a typical multivitamin, was not harmful.

Recommendations :
Specific recommendations for each vitamin depend on age, gender, and other factors (such as pregnancy). The Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine report the following dietary reference intakes for vitamin E:

0 to 6 months: 4 mg/day
7 to 12 months: 5 mg/day
1 to 3 years: 6 mg/day
4 to 8 years: 7 mg/day
9 to 13 years: 11 mg/day
14 and older: 15 mg/day
Women who are producing breast milk (lactating) may need slighly higher amounts. Check with your doctor.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_E
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002406.htm#top

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Homeopathy News on Health & Science

Homeopathy- Key to Ovarian Cysts

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When 40-year-old Nisha felt muscles to the right of her abdomen go into a spasm, she gasped in pain. It recurred over the next two months. An ultras ound scan revealed she had a 30 mm cyst in her right ovary

click to see the pictures

An ovarian cyst is a sac filled with fluid, or a semisolid material, that develops on or within the ovary.

-Each time Reena, 50, ate oily food, she suffered shooting pain in her gall bladder. Doctors said she had gallstones. The only solution advised was to remove it.

Such chronic cases are typically treated by allopaths because most people wouldn’t want to hand themselves over to homeopaths. After all, hardly anyone has heard of homeopathy dissolving gall stones and causing cysts to disappear. But it can happen.

Nisha says, “I was told to take birth control pills as these prevent the ovaries from producing eggs during ovulation.” Cysts, incidentally, are formed when a follicle fails to rupture and release an egg, leaving behind fluid which forms a cyst.

Nisha didn’t want to take contraceptive pills. Instead, she took a three-month course of homeopathic pills and pain-relieving tablets. After three months, another scan showed the cyst had disappeared.

Homeopathy’s efficacy in ovarian cysts was corroborated, says Dr C Nayak, director, Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, by an article in the British Homeopathic Journal. The article, ‘Homeopathic treatment of ovarian cysts’, cited a study of 40 women with ovarian cysts. “After nine months of homeopathic treatment, the cysts disappeared in 90% cases,” the article said.

Gallstones are another affliction that homeopaths claim they can treat. Incidentally, the Dalai Lama too suffered from it and opted for surgery recently.

The gall bladder stores bile which helps in digestion. When bile contains too much cholesterol, it can harden into stones. In allopathy, the only option is removing the gall bladder. While homeopathic doctors say removal of bladder may lead to irritation in the small intestine, detractors of homeopathy aren’t convinced.

Dr Pradeep Chowbey, laparoscopic and endoscopic surgeon, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, says, “The gall bladder needs to be removed as the actual disease is in the wall of the organ. When its concentration goes down, stones are formed. Cholesterol is another factor. Some 6.9% of these stones can become cancerous. I doubt homeopathy’s efficacy here.”

There is excruciating pain when gallstones move and get lodged in ducts causing inflammation, fever and jaundice. A diet high in fats and low in fibre causes it.

Dr Kalyan Banerjee, a leading homeopath, counters this. “Homeopathy boosts the immune system and dissolves the stones, provided they aren’t too hard,” he says. “Patients should try homeopathic medicines for six months, before opting for surgery. Even after surgery, stones can recur in the bile duct.”

On ovarian cysts, Dr Neerja Batla, additional professor, AIIMS, says cysts less than 50 mm usually regress on their own. “I’m not sure how far homeopathy helps.”

Banerjee says, “Acute benign cysts take about six months to disappear. If it doesn’t work out even then, surgery is advised.” But get the cyst tested for malignancy. “If malignant, the ovaries and uterus are removed,” he says.

Adds Nayak, “Our council conducted a clinical study to ascertain usefulness of a homeopathic medicine, Fel taur, for gallstones. Results showed that out of 267 patients, 262 showed improvement in varying degrees.”

But ovarian cyst-sufferer Nisha has the last word on detractors of homeopathic treatment for her condition. “After the shooting pains I went through even with a 30 mm cyst and the consequent acidity through painkillers, homeopathy has given me a new lease of life.”

Sources: The Times Of India

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Too Much Worse Than too Little?

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We live in a stressful world, with family, work, financial needs, health, pollution, lack of sleep, and the new urban life style taking their toll. Fighting stress has become a money spinner. Doctors advocate preventive methods like diet, exercise, yoga, meditation, holidays and hobbies. These remedial measures require time and effort, scarce commodities in the 21st century. Media publicity highlights the potential hazards of stress. This has resulted in health being slickly packaged as a profitable commodity. Nutritional supplements (consumed dissolved in milk or water) and vitamins, once used for the sick, bedridden or elderly are now considered essential “stress busters”.

Click to see the picture

Pharmaceutical companies vie with one another with tall claims, marketing gimmicks and eye-catching advertisements for formulations and supplements. They emphasise rejuvenation, prevention of disease, and accelerated mental development. After all everyone wants their child to be a “topper” or the next Sachin Tendulkar.

Vitamin supplements can be purchased over the counter (OTC) or prescribed. It pays to be knowledgeable about what is actually required, especially if you consult more than one physician each of whom may add a supplement. Some “high potency” vitamin supplements provide one ingredient in high concentrations and the rest in sub optimal doses. If you are taking one or more tablets or capsules of B complex, a vitamin and mineral supplement, additional calcium and a fortified beverage, the total concentration of one or more ingredients may be more than you require.

…………Click to see the picture

There may also be mutual antagonism among the ingredients, preventing absorption and utilisation. Also, if the instructions says “once a day,” don’t take it twice; you will be doing yourself more harm than good.

Click to see the picture

The fat soluble vitamins A,D, K and E are stored in body fat and the liver. Stores of A and D can last as long as six months. They can accumulate to toxic levels if consistently consumed in excess. Vitamin A occurs naturally as carotenoids in yellow foods. Excessive consumption of carotenoids can cause a yellow discolouration of the skin. Unnecessary consumption of supplements can result in hypervitaminosis A. In children it causes symptoms similar to that of a brain tumour.

Retinoids, the precursor of vitamin A, are administered as a treatment for acne. In a pregnant woman this can cause severe congenital malformations.
……….

Vitamin D prevents rickets. Inadvertent administration of too much causes floppy muscles, irritability, vomiting, calcification in various body parts, aortic valve damage and clouding of the eyes.

Vitamin K is needed for clotting. Excessive administration of synthetic vitamin K can produce liver damage.

The B complex vitamins usually exhibit their deficiency as a group and produce fatigue, irritability, skin changes, anaemia, burning feet, fissures at the angles of the mouth and a smooth red tongue. Excess vitamins are usually harmlessly excreted in the urine. Pregnant women may be given high doses of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) to prevent vomiting. They can give birth to children with B6 dependency, and convulsions.

More than 65 mg a day of iron should not be taken. Excess iron gets deposited in organs like the liver, heart and thyroid, seriously damaging them.

More than 60 mg a day of zinc may be harmful. It can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, anaemia and nerve damage.

Amino acids are the basic building blocks of all protein. Protein deficiency owing to illness or malnutrition manifests itself with generalised swelling of the body and changes in the hair and nails. A few milligrams of amino acid in expensive capsules or a tonic will not help. A high protein diet needs to be eaten instead.

Iodine is provided in the “iodised salt” used for cooking. Supplements and tonics are sometimes fortified with additional iodine. This inadvertent intake can cause signs and symptoms of thyroid disease.

Pregnant women require folic acid supplements. Some expensive “women’s supplements” are marketed with additional vitamins, herbs and amino acids. This is not needed and may actually be dangerous.

Some special rejuvenating preparations for men contain sub optimal doses of herbs or precursors of androgenic steroids. The benefit is questionable.

Aware of this dangerous trend, government legislation has fixed the content of vitamin and mineral formulations. This has forced manufacturers to repackage vitamins as “dietary supplements” which are not under “price control” by adding trace elements, amino acids and minerals to the original formulation. The price is higher, but the proportions of the constituents are not scientific, nor are the advantages of the additives proved.

A sensible low fat diet supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables (despite pollution and the use of fertilisers) supplies all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals needed. Supplements are required if the diet becomes inadequate as a result of premature birth, ageing, pregnancy, disease or food faddism.

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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How Much Chocolate Should You Eat?

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According to researchers, 6.7 grams of dark chocolate per day — a bit less than half a bar a week — represents the ideal amount for a protective effect against inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

The findings come from one of the largest epidemiological studies ever conducted in Europe. The study focused on the complex mechanism of inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases ranging from myocardial infarction to stroke.

The study found that people having moderate amounts of dark chocolate regularly had significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein in their blood, which indicates that their inflammatory state was considerably reduced.

Those who ate dark chocolate regularly had a 17% average reduction in C-reactive protein — enough to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease by one-third in women and one-fourth in men.

The findings apply to dark chocolate only. Milk chocolate does not have the same effect, since milk interferes with the absorption of polyphenols.

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