A Natural Environmental Health Facts Ezine

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"A NATURAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH FACTS Ezine" Here to Inform and Help You Become Healthier and Happier while Achieving Quality Longevity!

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Wednesday November 23, 2005
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=> IN THIS ISSUE!
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==> Editors' Ranting & or Warnings
==> Something To Think About
==> Health Thought for the day!
==> Showcase Health Spotlight
==> Monthly Spotlight Ads
==> Today's Health Tip
==> Food of The Week
==> Health Today
==> Environmental Report
==> Life Changing Information

On the eve of the U.S.A.'s Thanksgiving holiday, which is the ushering in of a very large holiday season... I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Watch the waistline as tomorrow starts the season of stuffing the face and starting the big push for flu and colds season. Don't become a victim of it!

If you have a question or comment (good or bad) send it to me... Click Here
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Take charge of you and your family's health before it takes charge of you!
Lena

==> Find An Alternative Health Professional
==>Latest Product Recalls - I'm appalled at the number of things, particularly medications, recalled weekly/daily neither your doctor nor your news stations are telling you about, so how are you going to know? Look here for DAILY Product Recall Site
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http://www.thehungersite.com Share your LOVE here!

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Something To Think About
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Past Yields Few Clues for Predicting Flu
Nov 19, 2005
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE and MALCOLM RITTER

History is supposed to teach lessons. But past flu pandemics, it turns out, don't teach much about whether today's bird flu will become a human mega-killer or just make some scientists and officials look like Chicken Little.

In a viral sense, the sky has fallen three times in the last century - 1918, 1957 and 1968 - when "super-flu" strains killed millions more people than annual flu epidemics routinely do.

Back then, there weren't surveillance systems or modern genetic tools to detect and document viruses as they evolved into killer strains. Because scientists don't know how that evolution happened or how long it took, they can't tell us whether what we're seeing with bird flu now is the run-up to a pandemic or a near miss.

"My crystal ball doesn't allow me to answer that," said Dr. Frederick Hayden, a University of Virginia flu expert.

Leading scientists now discount the notion that flu pandemics happen in regular intervals and that the world is overdue for a new one.

They don't even agree on how bad it is that bird flu has spread to more types of birds. Instead of an appetite for people, the germ is showing a growing fondness for birds, some say.

They do agree on the need to make vaccine, stockpile drugs and be prepared.

"We have to run scared" and be glad if precautions prove unneeded, said Dr. Edwin Kilbourne, a longtime microbiologist and flu virus expert at Cornell University who is now an emeritus professor at New York Medical College.

Nobody can say when the next pandemic will emerge - just ask Kilbourne. When "swine flu" appeared in 1976, following global flu epidemics in 1957 and 1968, he championed the idea that pandemics appear every 10 years or so. But swine flu didn't become a pandemic, and neither has anything else in the three decades since then. Clearly, Kilbourne says now, the notion of regularly timed pandemics is wrong.

The first documented cases of bird flu in people occurred in 1997 in Hong Kong, where six people died and the entire poultry population of about 1.5 million birds was slaughtered in three days to control the outbreak. The current flu virus strain, classified as H5N1 like the Hong Kong germ, appeared in people in 2003. More than 60 people in Asia have died, and more than 150 million chickens and ducks have died from the germ or been slaughtered.

Nearly all the human victims caught the virus from close contact with sick chickens, with only one confirmed case of a person infecting another person. The fear now is that H5N1 will acquire the ability to spread easily from person to person, sparking the worldwide outbreak known as a pandemic.

For a pandemic to occur, the virus "must make people sick and spread easily. Very few new influenza strains do those two things," said Dr. Dennis Maki, infectious diseases chief at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In fact, Maki takes some comfort in the fact that H5N1 has not yet acquired the genetic changes it needs to start spreading easily from person to person.

"It's been around for almost three years with lots and lots of opportunity to do so and it hasn't happened yet," Maki noted. "That suggests it's not an easy adaptation genetically."

Michael Osterholm, a government flu adviser from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, still sees big dangers.

"There have been many, many mutations with this virus ... and it only continues to march around the world" instead of abating, he said.

Scientists don't know the genetic changes needed to transform a bird flu virus into a pandemic killer of people, said Jeffery Taubenberger of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Rockville, Md.

If they could build up a catalog of crucial genetic changes, scientists could screen flu viruses in birds to see which variants pose the most threat, and focus on wiping those germs out, he said.

Studies of past pandemics don't reveal how the switchover from bird virus to human scourge will happen in the next one. Instead, they illustrate there are two routes. The virus can make the genetic changes on its own. Or it can pick up genes from a human flu virus, perhaps in a person who became infected simultaneously with the bird and human viruses. This gene-swapping process is called reassortment.

Taubenberger, who is studying the genetic makeup of the 1918 pandemic virus, said that germ appears to have mutated on its own. In contrast, the viruses behind the other two pandemics of the 20th Century were apparently products of reassortment, he said.

Kilbourne agreed that recent work suggests the 1918 virus mutated on its own, "but some of us have reservations about how strong that evidence is."

If it is true, it suggests the way a bird flu virus goes about making the changes could affect how deadly it becomes. The 1918 virus was by far the most lethal flu germ of the 20th Century, killing 20 million to 50 million worldwide and more than 500,000 in the United States alone.

In contrast, the 1957 Asian flu killed 2 million around the world and the 1968 Hong Kong flu, 1 million. Maybe the human genes in these hybrid viruses made them more recognizable to the disease-fighting immune systems of people, thus producing milder pandemics, said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious diseases expert and government flu adviser.

Of course, H5N1 has already killed some people, but even that gives no real indication of how deadly it is for humans. These few deaths have no context. There may be many less severely ill people going unnoticed.

The way to tell the real death rate is by taking blood samples from a large population to see how many have antibodies to the virus, indicating they had been infected. These serosurveys, as they are called, are standard operating procedure when a new germ appears. They were among the first things done when West Nile virus and SARS emerged. Yet they have not been done in a big way among poultry workers in Asia - the most likely people exposed to bird flu.

"I'm frankly a bit bamboozled by all that. I can't understand why that hasn't been done extensively," Schaffner said.

Without serosurvey information, the apparent human death rate for H5N1 infection of about 50 percent may be erroneous, said Craig Pringle, a viral diseases moderator for ProMed-mail, a blog operated by the International Society for Infectious Diseases. He's also a retired professor at the University of Warwick in England.

In any case, Kilbourne said the makeup of H5N1 itself might dampen its impact. The "N1" part of the virus refers to the classification of a certain protein on its surface. Another kind of N1 human flu virus has been widely circulating since 1977, so it's recognizable to the immune systems of many people.

When the "N" part of the flu virus didn't change between the pandemics of 1957 and 1968, the latter was a milder killer, Kilbourne noted.

So as for the current bird flu, "I am less concerned about all this business than others because I think the N1 immunity that everyone in this population has now ... may well mitigate the effects," he said.

Of course, nobody is rooting for H5N1 to trigger a human pandemic. But if it doesn't do so in the next year or two, Taubenberger said, there could be another public health problem: anti-flu backlash.

"People will say ... this was hyped and there really wasn't risk," ignoring the fact that future viruses could pose a threat as well, he said.

"I would hate to lose the momentum we have in terms of influenza surveillance and pandemic preparedness ... and have a pandemic occur when your back is turned."

U.S. government pandemic information

World Health Organization

We all know that the years when teens are least likely to eat right are the ones in which their need for calcium soars, leaving many teenagers at risk for developing osteoporosis later in life. Now new research indicates that adding probiotics to the diet could aid adolescents, particularly during the time when they are struggling to build their peak bone mass.

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FDA Wants Stronger Asthma Drug Warnings
Nov 18, 2005
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration warned Friday that three asthma drugs may increase the risk of severe asthma attacks and even death.

The agency asked the manufacturers of Advair, Serevent and Foradil to strengthen the warning labels to reflect this risk.

The FDA said that even though the drugs decrease the frequency of asthma attacks, they can make the attacks more severe when they occur. The agency said the drugs should be prescribed only if other medicines do not control patients' asthma.

Advair had sales of $4.7 billion in 2004, making it one of GlaxoSmithKline's top-selling drugs.

The FDA cautioned patients not to stop taking the drugs without consulting their doctors. The agency asked the drug makers to update product labels and medication guides for patients and doctors outlining the dangers.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK), which also makes Serevent, issued a statement disagreeing with the FDA's public health advisory. The company said the drugs already come with sufficient safety information, though the company said it would work with the FDA to "address the differences of opinion."

Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP), which markets Foradil in the United States, said it is working with the FDA to update the warning label.

"Once that is final we will be communicating with physicians," said Schering-Plough spokeswoman Mary-Fran Faraji.

The drug is manufactured by Novartis AG. (NVS)

Friday's advisory was a request for new warnings. But ultimately, drugs must contain FDA-approved labels.

The FDA said a recent study found that more people using the asthma drugs died from their asthma, compared with those taking placebos, though the number of asthma deaths in the study was small.

The drugs are used for long-term control and prevention of asthma symptoms. They do not relieve sudden wheezing. Patients should use short-acting inhalers to relieve sudden wheezing, according to the FDA's public health advisory.

U.S. FDA

This great golden yellow to orange fruit is coming into season in Southern California and a time I always looked forward to when I lived there. There is nothing so tasty as fresh fruits or vegetables right off the tree, bush or vine!!!

A large citrus fruit related to the orange, lemon and pomelo. Grapefruits are categorized as white, pink or ruby. However, this terminology doesn't reflect their skin color, which is either yellow or pinkish-yellow, but simply describes the color inside. Grapefruits usually range in diameter from four to six inches, with some varieties featuring seeds while others are seedless. The wonderful flavor of a grapefruit is like paradise, just as its Latin name Citrus paradisi connotes. It is juicy, tart and tangy with an underlying sweetness that weaves throughout.

Grapefruits have a rather recent history, having been discovered in Barbados in the 18th century. Many botanists think the grapefruit was actually the result of a natural cross breeding which occurred between the orange and the pomelo, a citrus fruit that was brought from Indonesia to Barbados in the 17th century.

The resulting fruit was given the name “grapefruit” in 1814 in Jamaica, a name which reflects the way it's arranged when it grows – hanging in clusters just like grapes.

Grapefruit trees were planted in Florida in the early 19th century, although they did not become a viable commercial crop until later that century. Florida is still a major producer of grapefruits, as is California, Arizona and Texas. Other countries that produce grapefruits commercially include Israel, South Africa and Brazil.

The National Cancer Institute placed grapefruit on their list of cancer preventative foods. Low in calories and actually known to trigger weight loss.

An excellent source of vitamin C, that helps to support the immune system. Vitamin C-rich foods like grapefruit are known to help reduce cold symptoms or severity of cold symptoms; Numerous scientific studies have found vitamin C to be a cold-fighter. Also shown to prevent free radical damage that triggers the inflammatory processes, and reduces severity of inflammatory conditions, such as asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Vitamin C is beneficial to promoting cardiovascular health. Owing to the multitude of vitamin C's health benefits, it is not surprising that research has shown that consumption of vegetables and fruits high in this nutrient is associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes including heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Grapefruit may be the less favored citrus choice when compared to the sweeter orange, but grapefruit sparkles with health promoting compounds that are known to help:

New research presented August 2004 at the 228th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society provides two more reasons to drink grapefruit juice: protection against lung and colon cancer.

In humans, drinking three 6-ounce glasses of grapefruit juice a day was shown to reduce the activity of an enzyme that activates cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke. In rats whose colons were injected with carcinogens, grapefruit and its isolated active compounds (apigenin, hesperidin, limonin, naringin, naringenin, nobiletin) not only increased the death of cancer cells, but also increases the production of normal colon cells. Researchers also confirmed that grapefruit may help prevent weight gain by lowering insulin levels.

Lycopene; the rich pink and red colors of grapefruit are due to lycopene, a carotenoid phytochemical. Lycopene appears to have anti-tumor activity. Among the common dietary carotenoids, lycopene has the highest capacity to help fight oxygen free radicals, which are compounds that can damage cells.

Limonoids; phytochemicals in grapefruit called limonoids inhibit tumor formation by promoting the formation of glutathione-S-transferase, a detoxifying enzyme. This enzyme sparks a reaction in the liver that helps to make toxic compounds more water soluble for excretion from the body. Pulp of citrus fruits like grapefruit contain glucarates, compounds which may help prevent breast cancer.

Pectin; a form of soluble fiber that forms a gel-like substance in the intestinal tract that can trap fats like cholesterol. In animal studies, grapefruit pectin inhibited the formation of atherosclerosis. Animals fed a high-cholesterol diet plus grapefruit pectin had 24% narrowing of their arteries, while animals fed only the high-cholesterol diet had 45% narrowing.

Prevent Kidney Stones; reduce your risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones. Drink grapefruit juice. A study published in the August 2003 issue of the British Journal of Nutrition found that when women drank ½ to 1 litre of grapefruit, apple or orange juice daily, their urinary pH value and citric acid excretion increased, significantly dropping their risk of forming calcium oxalate stones.(October 4, 2003)

Protection against Macular Degeneration; Data reported in a study published in the June 2004 issue of the Archives of Opthamology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.

In this study, which involved 77,562 women and 40,866 men, researchers evaluated the effect of study participants' consumption of fruits; vegetables; the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; and carotenoids on the development of early AMD or neovascular AMD, a more severe form of the illness associated with vision loss. Food intake information was collected periodically for up to 18 years for women and 12 years for men. Fruit intake was definitely protective against the severe form of this AMD vision-destroying disease. Three servings of fruit may sound like a lot to eat each day, but grapefruit can help you reach this goal. Try starting your day with a half grapefruit, add grapefruit sections to your green salads, or for an elegant dessert, spread a little honey over a half grapefruit and broil for 1-2 minutes.(July 10, 2004)

A good grapefruit doesn’t have to be perfect in color. Skin discoloration, scratches or scales may affect the appearance of a grapefruit, but they do not impact the taste quality. Signs of decay include an overly soft spot at the stem end of the fruit and areas that appear watersoaked. These form of decay usually does translate into poor taste; a flavor that is less vibrant and more bitter than a good quality grapefruit.

The grapefruit should be heavy for its size as this usually indicates thin skins and therefore a higher concentration of juicier flesh. Those that have overly rough or wrinkled skin usually tend to be thick skinned with less meat inside, a dryer taste and not as flavorful.

Grapefruits should be firm, yet slightly springy when gentle pressure is applied. While chilled grapefruits do not have an apparent fragrance, those kept at room temperature should have a subtly sweet aroma. Grapefruits can be purchased throughout the year although the height of the season ranges from winter through early spring.

Since grapefruits are more juicy when they're slightly warm rather than cool, store them at room temperature if you are planning on consuming them within a week of purchase. If you will not be using them within this time period, store them in the refrigerator crisper where they will keep fresh for two to three weeks.

The next time you eat a sweet, juicy grapefruit know that you will also

be consuming a variety of nutrients you may not have realized. These nutrients are called phytochemicals. They are found naturally in grapefruit and many have been linked to the prevention of certain cancers. One of these phytochemicals is called lycopene. Some animal studies have shown lycopene to reduce the risk of prostate, breast, cervical and colon cancer. Studies by Dr. Steve Clinton at the Harvard School of Public Health have shown that when lycopene is found in high concentrations in the human prostate it significantly reduces the risk of prostate cancer.

I have no recipe here as we eat fresh grapefruit peeled in citrus fruit salad or as a breakfast fruit or snack. You can find canned grapefruit sections that are quite tasty. Use your imagination and enjoy grapefruit for your health!

Breakthrough for Skin Cancer
November 23, 2005

HANOVER, N.H. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Melanoma is a deadly type of skin cancer and will affect nearly 60,000 Americans this year. One type of melanoma, which is usually cured by surgically removing it, now has a new enemy.

Relaxing in the kitchen is a treasured moment for Susan Eslick and her husband Tom. Susan was diagnosed with melanoma three years ago. "You sort of hope for the best, you know, and maybe prepare for the worst," she says.

Surgery could have removed her cancer altogether. It also would have left a big scar in the middle of her face. But Susan found a doctor who offered an alternative. "I just thought it was a great opportunity to sort of be a guinea pig, if you will, for some terrific research that was being done."

Dartmouth Medical School's Shane Chapman, M.D., is studying the cream imiquimod (Aldara) to treat lentigo maligna melanoma, a cancer that affects the skin's surface. The cream is a welcome alternative to the scars surgery can leave behind.

"We can cut out the skin, but repairing it is a different story," Dr. Chapman tells Ivanhoe. "It actually turns on, or triggers, an immune response. So what it's doing is basically causing cell destruction."

Dr. Chapman says what doctors are actually doing is using patients' own immune systems to treat the cancer in a very smart, specific, directed way. Studies show imiquimod is 93-percent effective at destroying lentigo maligna.

"The patients that have been treated with this are very grateful," Dr. Chapman says. Susan was his first patient, and she couldn't be happier. "It was the best of all possible outcomes," she says. With no trace of the cancer in sight, she and Tom can now focus on making memories together.

Lentigo maligna occurs in about 30 percent of people with melanoma. It's found entirely on the skin's surface, but if left untreated, it could spread to other organs and be deadly. Dr. Chapman hopes this research leads to the development of similar types of drugs to destroy melanoma that has spread to other parts of the body.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/ .

LENA'S COMMENT: I do not know anything about this treatment and am just reporting. I still say prevention is the best...