XTEND-15sec-NEWSt
28th January 2004
Please click on the summary link of interest:
A wine pill for Teatotalers!n1
A Californian company Resveratrol Partners has developed a new pill which preserves the natural anti-oxidant molecules found in red wine. Numerous studies suggest the health benefits of red wine.
The health benefits that come from red wine are thought to be from a very potent substance called Resveratrol which is a powerful antioxidant naturally present in the grapes.
This new pill is called 'Longevinex' and according to the news release contains 15 mgs of trans-resveratrol from French red wine and other botanical sources. They say that one pill is equivalent to 3 - 15 glasses of red wine.
Warren Matthews comments: Resveratrol is indeed a powerful antioxidant. Like a number of other 'new' substances it makes ordinary vitamins quite insignificant.
We have been aware of the benefits of this powerful substance for a long time which is why we include 32mgs of the natural high potency resveratrol in each daily serving of our three versions of Total Balance. So, I guess that based on their assertion that one of their pills is equivalent to 3 - 15 glasses of red wine then a daily serving of our Total Balance would be the same as drinking 6 - 30 glasses of red wine. Glad I don't have to drink all that to get my daily resveratrol... I'd never get any work done!
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Eat Ice Cream? Read this...n2
The non profit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) last year carried out a review of the 'nutritional values' of a number of ice cream parlors. They published their findings in their 'Nutrition Action Newsletter'.
The results were very eye opening with many typical ice creams containing more calories than 2 or 3 Quarter Pounders! Nutraingredients wrote a short article entitled "Ice Cream Shops Serving Coronaries in Cones" giving the highlights of the report. Check to see if your favorite ice cream is included by clicking here.
Warren Matthews comments: We should have included a warning above not to 'click' if you are addicted to ice cream as it will only depress you! By the way, what the report neglects to address is the amount of sugar in ice cream. From a weight gain point of view this is as bad as the extra calories! If you want to lose weight and eat ice cream regularly you are going to have your work cut out... sorry!
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Five Japanese die after taking new arthritis drug...n3
Pharmaceutical company Aventis SA said on Tuesday that five Japanese have died after taking its arthritis drug and said it has warned doctors against prescribing it to patients with respiratory problems. "We were aware of the side effects ... but we did not imagine such a frequency. We will promptly investigate whether the drug was responsible," Aventis Pharma Japan's Vice President Masaki Noguchi said. For more info click here.
I am sure that if you have been reading this newsletter for the last couple of years that you are well aware of what I think of pharmaceutical drugs and the risks associated with them. If you really knew the extent of the misery that drugs cause in the lives of millions of people you would be more amazed than the article about ice cream.
Warren Matthews comments: There is certainly a place for specialty pharmaceutical drugs and there always will be, but they should only be a last resort. Most people are blissfully unaware of the side effects and long term damage they are sustaining from the pharmaceutical drugs that they are taking. To help with this we are currently working on preparing a database within our website which will enable you to reference almost any drug and read about possible side effects and interactions.
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Important notice: All material provided within XTEND-15sec-NEWS is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken solely on the contents of this publication. Consult your physician or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing or on any opinions expressed within this newsletter. The information provided in this newsletter is believed to be accurate based on the best judgment of the editor but the reader is responsible for consulting with their own health professional on any matters raised within.
Ice Cream Shops Serving Coronaries in Cones (Full Article)f1
Many Frozen Creations Equal to 2 or 3 Quarter Pounders
Everyone knows that ice cream isn't a health food. And the food sleuths at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) certainly didn't expect to find the nutritional equivalent of broccoli in America's top ice cream parlors. But the staggering calorie and saturated fat content of most of the treats served up at chains like Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry's, Cold Stone Creamery, Friendly's, Häagen-Dazs, and TCBY is bound to surprise most consumers.
Some of CSPI's findings-published in the July/August issue of its Nutrition Action Healthletter-include:
Ben & Jerry's empty Waffle Cone Dipped in Chocolate has 320 calories and a half a day's worth of saturated fat-the equivalent of a half-pound rack of BBQ baby back ribs. Fill it with a regular scoop of Chunky Monkey Ice Cream and the cone becomes worse (820 calories and 30 grams of saturated fat) than a full one-pound rack of ribs.
Cold Stone Creamery's regular Mud Pie Mojo-a mixture of coffee ice cream, roasted almonds, fudge, Oreos, peanut butter, and whipped topping-is the equivalent of two Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pepperoni Pizzas (1,180 calories and 26 grams of saturated fat).
Häagen-Dazs' Mint Chip Dazzler is a portable sundae with three scoops of mint chip ice cream, hot fudge, Oreos, chocolate sprinkles, and whipped cream. Nutritionally, it's like eating a T-bone steak, Caesar salad, and a baked potato with sour cream (1,270 calories and 38 grams of saturated fat).
"It's as if these ice cream shops were competing with each other to see who could inflict the greatest toll on our arteries and waistlines," said CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley. "It's not just regular ice cream, but premium. It's not just one scoop, but two or three. It's not just a cone, but a chocolate-dipped waffle cone. It's not just hot fudge, nuts, and whipped cream but every conceivable combination of cookie, candy, and chocolate."
Even a seemingly austere single scoop of premium ice cream provides 250 to 350 calories and a half a day's worth of saturated fat. But that's dwarfed by many ice cream parlor offerings that exceed 1,000 calories. One large Baskin-Robbins Vanilla Milkshake has 1,070 calories and 32 grams of saturated fat-that's like drinking three McDonald's Quarter Pounders, according to CSPI. One sundae at Friendly's, the 5-scoop Candy Shop Reese's Pieces, has 1,310 calories, a whole day's worth of fat, and two whole days' worth of saturated fat.
Not even TCBY-the ubiquitous frozen yogurt chain-can resist the temptation to pile on the calories and sat fat with add-ons like syrups and candy pieces.
"Frozen yogurt is lower in fat than ice cream, but I doubt that people go into TCBY expecting the calories and saturated fat of two pork chops, a Caesar salad, and a buttered baked potato-in a drink," Hurley said. TCBY's Toffee Coffee Cappuccino Chiller has 1,200 calories and a day and a half's saturated fat.
CSPI's good news is that you don't have to avoid ice cream shops altogether. Most chains sell low-fat ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbert, or sorbet with only 100 to 200 calories and little or no saturated fat per scoop.
"Häagen-Dazs' delicious sorbet is one of the lowest-calories items we looked at, with only 120 calories in a single scoop," Hurley said.
If you choose to splurge, says CSPI, your choice should at least be an informed one-but that's tough when chain restaurants aren't required to list calorie counts on menu boards. Legislation that would require chain restaurants to do just that has been introduced in several state legislatures and in the District of Columbia. Those measures would let consumers see at a glance that Häagen-Dazs' Mint Chip Dazzler has more than 10 times the calories of a scoop of sorbet. Menu labeling would also encourage restaurants to compete on the basis of nutrition-and not just decadence and price, according to CSPI.
"No one disputes that the obesity epidemic has many causes," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "But certainly the sheer size and caloric density of these 'indulgences' has something to do with the size of Americans' pants."
Most of the numbers in CSPI's analysis come from the companies themselves. CSPI commissioned independent laboratory analyses of a dozen items for which the chains don't provide nutrition data.
The ice cream study is the latest in a series of CSPI studies that have examined the nutritional content of pizza, movie theater popcorn, Chinese, Mexican, and Italian restaurants, as well as steak houses, sandwich shops, and the fare at food courts in shopping malls.
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Aventis: 5 Japanese Die After Taking Drug (Full Article)f2
January 27, 2004, 12:30 PM EST
By Associated Press
TOKYO -- Franco-German pharmaceutical company Aventis SA said Tuesday that five Japanese have died after taking its arthritis drug and said it has warned doctors against prescribing it to patients with respiratory problems.
It has not been confirmed whether the drug, Arava, caused the deaths, but doctors in two cases believe the medication may have been responsible, said Yota Kikuchi, a spokesman at the company's Tokyo-based subsidiary, Aventis Pharma Japan.
Sixteen people developed interstitial pneumonia, a debilitating lung condition, after taking Arava. Five of them, aged between 57 and 71, subsequently died, Kikuchi said.
The company has warned doctors not to prescribe the drug to patients with respiratory problems, a history of interstitial pneumonia or lung problems. It also advised that x-rays be conducted on any patient who is to receive the drug for the first time, Kikuchi said.
"We were aware of the side effects ... but we did not imagine such a frequency. We will promptly investigate whether the drug was responsible," Aventis Pharma Japan's Vice President Masaki Noguchi said.
Since its launch in Japan last September, some 3,400 people have taken the drug, which is generically known as leflunomide and is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis -- a chronic illness that can result in inflammation of the joints, stiffness, loss of movement and sometimes deformity.
The drug has been administered to some 400,000 people worldwide, of which 80 people have developed interstitial pneumonia, Kikuchi said.
Arava first went on sale in 1998 in the United States and has since been made available in 72 countries. In 2002, worldwide sales of Arava were worth 31.9 billion yen ($300 million), according to a company statement.
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