XTEND-15sec-NEWSt
24th June 2005
Please click on the summary link of interest:
Evidence suggests that DHA may help prevent Alzheimer's...n1
A study reported in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that people who eat significant amounts of the Omega-3 fatty acid docosahexanoic acid (DHA) may be less likely to get Alzheimer's disease.
The study found that mice fed a diet rich in DHA had less beta-amyloid, a protein that causes plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, than mice on a normal diet.
Total amyloid was cut by 70 per cent in mice on the DHA-rich diet compared with those on another diet, said the researchers, while brain plaques were reduced by 40.3 per cent.
"These results suggest that dietary DHA could be protective against beta-amyloid production, accumulation, and potential downstream toxicity," write the researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles.
People with a high intake of the fatty acid have been found to be at lower risk but there is as yet little evidence to support a direct benefit of consuming DHA on Alzheimer's prevention.
The findings support previous research into DHA's effect on this disease.
Alzheimer's disease, the leading cause of dementia in the elderly, afflicts an estimated 4.5 million people in the US alone.
Warren Matthews comments: These results are not unexpected and tie in with a wealth of other evidence which is coming to light linking the benefits of DHA with brain health. This is one of the main benefits of taking fish oil, although most fish oils are low in DHA and higher in EPA which does not give the same brain benefits.
So, either eat lots of oily fish with a high DHA content... or, if that is not readily available take our Omega 3 DHA Esters which are high in DHA and the purest that you can buy. If you want to know more about the difference of this form of fish oil versus others you may like to read an Xtend-Your-Life article that I wrote on the subject on the 25th Feb. You can find it under the archives in our website.
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Resveratrol could prevent 'flu epidemics...n2
Dr Anna Palamara, a researcher of the Institute of Microbiology in Rome Italy, believes that Resveratrol which is a plant polyphenol found in red grapes could be a useful tool to help prevent the spread of 'flu'.
She studied the ingredient's effect on the replication of the influenza virus. She found in her in vitro study that the resveratrol "strongly inhibited" the ability of the virus to replicate in cell cultures.
She found in the mouse model, rodents injected with resveratrol after inoculation with the influenza virus were seen to have 40 percent increased survival, compared with those that received a placebo. In addition six days after infection, the resveratrol-treated mice had 98 percent lower pulmonary viral titers in their lung than the placebo mice.
Resveratrol's effects in this study are attributed to its antioxidant properties, and in particular the fact that it inhibits a cellular, rather than a viral function. Palamara said that further research into resveratrol's potential role in fighting 'flu epidemics is required, but that her study points to considerable potential.
Warren Matthews comments: Resveratrol is more widely known for its benefits to the heart. You get a little bit of it every time you have a glass of red wine. The body does not need much to gets its protective effects. We use 32mgs per daily dose of the 50% active resveratrol in our Total Balance. It may well be a contributing factor why so many customers report a cessation of flu's which they seemed to get every year before starting on Total Balance.
I am sure it helps but is only one of many ingredients that help flu's.
If you decide to buy this ingredient in a single supplement make sure that the tablet is enteric coated as this is a very sensitive ingredient and it has very little potency in a 'normal' capsule or tablet. It is one of the factors why we enteric coat Total Balance.
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Tropicana settles FTC charges!n3
Tropicana Products, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, a subsidiary of PepsiCo has settled a Federal Trade Commission complaint for false advertising.
The Commission's complaint charges Tropicana with making unsubstantiated claims that:
Drinking three cups of Tropicana orange juice a day for four weeks will raise HDL cholesterol by 21 percent and improve the ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol by 16 percent;
Drinking 20 ounces of Tropicana orange juice a day will increase blood levels of folate by almost 45 percent and decrease homocysteine levels by 11 percent
Drinking two cups of Tropicana orange juice a day for six or eight weeks will lower systolic blood pressure an average of 10 points.
The FTC also charged that Tropicana's claims that clinical studies demonstrated these benefits were false.
Comment by Warren Matthews: It's good to see that some pressure is put on some large companies who unscrupulously make these dishonest claims. Drinking three cups a day would not be good for you given the amount of sugar present.
Talking about misleading advertising I do get annoyed at what many of the big food manufacturers get away with. As another example, here in New Zealand there are regular adverts run on TV in prime time which shows this guy standing on the edge of a bridge spanning a canyon. You get the impression that he is about to jump off as he is talking about how he and his parents had high cholesterol and is concerned that he is at risk of a heart attack.
He then grabs a sandwich and starts eating it and says that he is OK though because he eats this particular brand of margarine which contains phytosterols which are known to help lower cholesterol. Then he happily jumps off the bridge with a bungy cord attached to his ankles.
Of course he doesn't mention anything about the transfats present in the margarine which would actually elevate his risk of a heart 'event' more than the reduction due to the phytosterols it contains. Be warned, if you have high cholesterol don't eat margarine. You are much safer with good ole natural butter!
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