Bromide Dominance Theory, blocking Iodine, causing disease?

In the 1960's, a single slice of bread in the USA contained the full RDA of 0.15 mg iodine. The risk for breast cancer was then 1 in 20. Over the last several decades, iodine was largely replaced by bromine in the form of potassium bromate in the bread making process.

Bromine blocks thyroid function and interferes with the anticancer effect of iodine. Today, the risk for breast cancer is 1 in 8 and increasing by one percent each year.

Bromide in Bread Banned in UK and Canada

In 1990 the UK banned bromate in bread. Canada followed suite in 1994. The United States has yet to take a similar action in this important matter.

Bromide Dominance – A National Health Crisis Part 1 of 2

Recent research clearly demonstrates that big pharma “science” has misled doctors and the public at large about iodine. Big pharma spin-doctors have in fact named Iodine as the underlying factor for numerous diseases, and have even assigned an “ism” to this naturally-occurring substance that our bodies very much need.
Iodism is now defined as “poisoning caused by sensitivity to or overuse of iodine or its compounds,” consumers are being encouraged to avoid iodine.
But the truth is that if you avoid consuming iodine you do so at your own peril.

Bromide Dominance Theory

The situation is more complex, and bromide is the culprit, not iodine. In recent years, increased exposure to bromide has caused dangerous levels of iodine depletion. Many people are so depleted that they have no tolerance for taking iodine supplements any longer without taking appropriate precautions.
Bromide is an insidious additive used in many consumer products, and as a pesticide. Because of the sheer number of bromide-supplemented products, exposure to this man-made additive has caused a depletion of iodine in human populations. Studies in lab animals provide alarming evidence that even small amounts of bromide exposure can be toxic.
A bromide dominance condition may develop when bromide, acquired through environmental, occupational or dietary exposure, causes bromide levels in the body to rise high enough to inhibit iodine enzyme metabolism.
Where does bromide come from? Bromide comes from the food we eat—especially bread—from drinking water, and from toothpaste, mouthwash, flame-retardants, hair dye and other sources.
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Bromide Dominance, Part 2 of 2, continues this article in more detail.

Food Fun: Brussels Sprouts

I have been eating more Brussels sprouts lately, and found this handy Wiki-How article on a few different ways to prepare them with more taste enjoyment. One of the keys to cooking this tasty vegetable that is not really a baby cabbage but looks like one, is to cut into the stem end, or cut up the sprout. My mother used to cook them whole/uncut and there is a fine line between done and over-done with a whole uncut sprout!

How to Lessen the Strong Taste of Brussels Sprouts

Healthier Cake contest winners

Let Them Eat (Healthier) Cake

By Tara Parker-Pope, 8-18-09, NY Times Blogs (Well)

The American Cancer Society recently asked baking and pastry students at the Culinary Institute of America to reinvent the birthday cake using better-for-you ingredients.

Alexandra Mudry won for her makeover of a red velvet cake.

The winner was a healthful twist on the red velvet cake, created by Alexandra Mudry, a former actress from Pleasantville, N.Y., who will graduate from the school in October. The recipe cuts back on the sugar, eggs, oil and butter in the traditional version, substituting roasted beets, dried cherries, applesauce and whole grain flour to boost the nutrient content. Ms. Mudry’s New Red Velvet Cake, which is filled with chocolate ganache and topped with cream cheese frosting, is now the official cake of the American Cancer Society’s “More Birthdays” campaign.

Recipes from the other four finalists include:

Chocolate Raspberry Cake: Runner-up Arthur Battistini, from Middleboro, Mass., reduced the calories and boosted the beta carotene and flavonoid content in making his chocolate raspberry cake.

Blueberry Dream Cake: Finalist Tamara King, a former banking industry worker and a native of Harrod, Ohio, made her cake with whole-wheat flour, applesauce and blueberries, which are rich in antioxidants.

Chocolate Cake: Finalist Laura Sansone, a native of Boonton, N.J., who will graduate from C.I.A. in February, created an egg-free applesauce version of the traditional favorite.

Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake: Finalist Lorraine Tran, originally from Garden Grove, Calif., created a gluten-free cake filled with a yogurt-berry mousse.

Click here for the recipes:

Let Them Eat (Healthier) Cake By Tara Parker-Pope -c. NY Times Blogs, 8-18-09

Hexane solvent used in most Soy food extraction

...and one more from the Organic Consumers Assn.

Food Toxins 101: An Intro to Hexane

At seven cents per pound, hexane is currently the dominant extraction solvent for soy products. Whether you're eating Boca burgers, firm tofu, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, granola crumbs for texture, or Silk soy milk, hexane likely played a role in the extraction process. Hexane was formerly used as a cleaning agent for removing grease in the printing industry as well as a solvent for rubber cement, but now it's showing up in many so-called "natural" and even "made with organic" soy foods.

Monsanto Lobbyist in Charge of Food Safety?

July 22, 2009 from: Organic Bytes, a publication of Organic Consumers Association

Don't Let Obama Put Monsanto Cheerleaders in Charge of Food Safety

The Obama Administration is putting two notorious biotech bullies in charge of food safety. Former Monsanto lobbyist Michael Taylor has been appointed as a senior advisor to the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner on food safety. And, rBGH-using dairy farmer and Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff, is rumored to be President Obama's choice for Under-Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety. Wolfe spearheaded anti-consumer legislation in Pennsylvania that would have taken away the rights of consumers to know whether their milk and dairy products were contaminated with Monsanto's (now Eli Lilly's) genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH).

and that's not all folks....

Organic Dairy Farmers Tell Vilsack to Crack Down on Aurora & Horizon's Factory Farm Dairy Feedlots

Last week, USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke at the La Crosse, Wisconsin County Fair. Nearly 200 organic farmers showed up to protest. The farmers, organized by the Cornucopia Institute, rallied to convince Vilsack to take action against factory farms that are saturating the market with fake organic milk, like Aurora and Horizon (Dean Foods). One farmer shouted a question to the Agriculture Secretary, asking when the USDA will take action against organic lawbreakers. "I commit to you that we will enforce the rules," Vilsack responded. The OCA is working hard to make sure this is true.

Unlocking the Secret of Puerh Tea

Plant-Based Whole Foods Living blog

This looks to be a handy Blog for those of us who keep meaning to make our lives more plant-based diet friendly. As the author Karen Miller states, it is about the nutrition, not labels like vegan or vegetarian...

Plant-Based Whole Foods Living

She pursued this direction after fighting breast cancer over the last year, and subsequently reading many books addressing nutrition, health and fitness, seeking lifestyle changes to support a disease free future.

This well thought out blog includes recipes, hints, information, and resource links. You can even join a Recipe Club for $4/month that includes a binder. I think Karen has created a user friendly, and inviting resource for anyone looking to comfortably and easily expand their plant-based diets.

Quinoa: A Protein-Packed Alternative to Grains

---

November 3, 2008

Recipes for Health

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a relative newcomer to the American pantry. The tiny, ancient Peruvian seed, which has a mild, nutty flavor, is related to leafy green vegetables and is often used like a grain. Quinoa is as versatile as rice but it has a protein content that is superior to that of most grains, because it contains all the essential amino acids. In particular, quinoa is high in lysine, an amino acid important for tissue growth and repair. It’s also a good source of manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, and it has a high iron content.

Quinoa is very easy to cook. It’s important to rinse the seeds well, because they are naturally coated with a bitter substance that protects them against birds and other predators. Most packaged quinoa has already been cleaned, but it doesn’t hurt to soak and rinse it just in case. Quinoa cooks in 15 minutes, and it’s easy to tell when it’s done because the seeds display a little white thread that curls around them.

Basic Steamed Quinoa

Many recipes for quinoa suggest cooking it like rice, in two parts water for one part quinoa. This works, but I find the grains are fluffier if I cook them in three parts water and drain the excess water once the quinoa is tender. The tiny seeds swell to about four times their original size, so 1 cup uncooked quinoa yields about 4 cups, enough for 6 to 8 servings.

1 cup quinoa

3 cups water, chicken stock or vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

1. Place the quinoa in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit 5 minutes. Drain through a strainer and rinse until the water runs clear.

2. Bring the water or stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the salt and the quinoa. Bring back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender and translucent, and each grain displays a little thread. Drain and return to the pan. Cover the pan with a clean dish towel, replace the lid and allow to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Fluff and serve.

Yield: about 4 cups, serving 6 to 8

Advance preparation: Cooked quinoa will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator and can be reheated in a microwave or in the oven.

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

Cattle now fed chips and chocolate...

Cheap Beef fed on Potato chips and Hershey's, yum...

As corn prices are going up, large scale factory farm operations are looking for cheaper foods to feed cattle. Cost-cutting measures like mixing reject M&Ms and potato chips with corn feed are no longer uncommon.

In the meantime, cattle ranchers raising grass-fed beef are struggling to stay in business, as more people are buying the cheap stuff. The Wall Street Journal recently released a news video on the issue.

Why eat sweet potatoes?

The deep orange-yellow color of sweet potatoes tells you that they're high in the antioxidant beta carotene. Food sources of beta carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A, may help slow the aging process and reduce the risk of some cancers. Sweet potatoes are also good sources of fiber, vitamins B-6, C and E, folate and potassium. They're fat-free and low in calorie density, meaning you can have a larger portion size without racking up the calories.

Healthy lifestyle tips from MayoClinic.com.

Broccoli and reversal of diabetes complications

Nutrition-wise blog

With Mayo Clinic nutritionists Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.

August 14, 2008 9:19 a.m.

Fascinating connection between broccoli and reversal of diabetes complications

I often glance at the online listings of journal articles that are available ahead of print. The following one from Diabetes, posted Aug. 4, 2008, went right by me:

"Activation of NF-E2-related factor-2 reverses biochemical dysfunction of endothelial cells induced by hyperglycemia linked to vascular disease."

Huh? It didn't catch my attention until the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) ran the story on Aug. 5 and translated it as: "Broccoli may undo diabetes damage."

This very interesting study looked at the phytochemical (plant compound) called sulforaphane. It seems to help produce enzymes in the body that protect blood vessels by reducing tissue damaging substances triggered by high blood sugar. Sulforaphane also seems to activate genes that regulate protective antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes.

Vascular disease is a major complication of diabetes. It leads to heart disease, stroke, damage to small vessels of the eye (blindness), kidney (failure that leads to dialysis), and circulation to extremities and possible amputation.

This isn't the first news about broccoli. In 2006, another broccoli compound was found to help boost genes that prevent damaged genetic information from being passed on to future generations of cells, thereby offering potential reduction in cancer risk.

In 2007, a nutrition study of men who had prostate cancer showed that a weekly serving of broccoli cut risk for the aggressive form of the disease by 45 percent.

In 2008, researchers found in an animal study that sulforaphane in broccoli protects the heart from damage when it is deprived of oxygen (such as what occurs when a coronary artery is blocked by a clot).

What makes the diabetes study so compelling is that it seems to actually identify mechanisms that the compound sulforaphane in broccoli trigger that may allow reversal of high blood sugar damage.

All of the studies point out the need for further research. They also point out that generous servings of vegetables and fruit (at least 5 a day) gets you going in the right direction.

So, you think you want the benefits of broccoli but don't care for it? Broccoli is a member of the Brassica group of vegetables in the mustard family. Here are "close relatives" of broccoli that you might want to include in your 5-(or more)-a-day:

• Root vegetables — rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi
• Leafy vegetables — cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, rapini, collard greens, bok choy, napa (Chinese cabbage), mustard greens
• Flowers — cauliflower, broccoli, broccoflower
• Seeds — mustard seed and rapeseed (from which canola oil is derived)

Fruit Juices Block Common Drugs

Grapefruit, Orange, Apple Juices Decrease Absorption of Many Often-Used Drugs

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Aug. 19, 2008 -- Grapefruit, orange, and apple juices block drugs commonly used to treat infections, allergy, transplant rejection, cancer, and high blood pressure.

In 1991, David G. Bailey, PhD, and colleagues found that grapefruit juice increased blood concentrations of the blood pressure drug Plendil to possibly dangerous levels. Grapefruit juice, they later learned, slows down a key liver enzyme that clears Plendil -- and about 40 other drugs -- from the body.

Now Bailey reports that grapefruit, orange, and apple juices decrease the absorption of several important medications:

• The allergy drug Allegra, available generically as fexofenadine
• The antibiotics ciprofloxacin (Cipro, Proquin), levofloxacin (Levaquin), and itraconazole (Sporanox)
• The beta-blocker blood pressure drugs atenolol (Tenormin), celiprolol, and talinolol
• The transplant-rejection drug cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral)
• The cancer chemotherapy etoposide (Toposar, Vepesid)

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure we'll find more and more drugs that are affected this way," Bailey says in a news release.

Bailey revealed the new findings in a report to the 236th annual meeting of the American Chemical Society.

A substance in grapefruit juice called naringin seems to be the culprit. The compound apparently blocks OATP1A2, a transporter molecule in the gut, which carries some drugs from the small intestine into the blood. Orange juice contains hesperidin, a naringin-like substance. The culprit in apple juice remains unidentified.

"The concern is loss of benefit of medications essential for the treatment of serious medical conditions," Bailey says.

In their studies, Bailey and colleagues had healthy volunteers take fexofenadine with either a glass of grapefruit juice, a glass of water mixed with naringin, or pure water. Taking the drug with grapefruit juice or the naringin mixture halved the amount of drug that reached the bloodstream.

People should take their pills only with water, advises Bailey, a professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. He suggests that people taking medications should check with their doctor or pharmacist before taking medications with fruit juices or whole fruits.

View Article Sources

SOURCES:

236th annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, Philadelphia, Aug. 17-21, 2008.

News release, American Chemical Society.

Bailey, D.G. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 1998; vol 46: pp 101-110.

© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

Anti-inflammatory diets and IF Ratings

I was poking around nutritiondata.com today and discovered they include a box called an IF, or, Inflammation Factor Rating for foods. I found the concept and following explanation fascinating. The addition of this data along with a remarkable selection of nutrition facts makes this a very useful and user friendly website, worth reviewing as health and diet questions arise.

Among the many things they quantify for each food is its Nutrition Facts (just like the label on packaged foods); Glycemic Load, caloric ratio of carbs/fats/proteins, fullness factor, ratings for optimal weight loss or weight gain, nutrient balance and amino acid graphs, complete detailed nutrient breakdown of vitamins, minerals, fats, aminos, calories, carbs, fiber, and sterols.

There are lots of other useful tools on the site as well, so check it out! Today, I was curious about the nutritional value of rhubarb, a great early summer "vegetable" that cooks up so tasty in pies and compote. To maintain the low glycemic rating I sweetened it with agave syrup, and thickened it with arrowroot powder (no corn!). Be Well, Janis

The website includes the following "About" comments:
Nutrition Data's continuing goal is to provide the most accurate and comprehensive nutrition analysis available, and to make it accessible and understandable to all.

The information in Nutrition Data's database comes from the USDA's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference and is supplemented by listings provided by restaurants and food manufacturers. The source for each individual food item is listed in the footnotes of that food's analysis page. In addition to food composition data, Nutrition Data also provides a variety of proprietary tools to analyze and interpret that data. These interpretations represent Nutrition Data's opinion and are based on calculations derived from Daily Reference Values (DRVs), Reference Daily Intakes (RDIs), published research, and recommendations of the FDA.

May 19, 2008 Lots of questions about anti-inflammatory diets and IF Ratings

If you've been following the health news for the past couple of years, you've probably tuned into the fact that many experts (including Andrew Weil, Barry Sears, Nicholas Perricone, Leo Galland, and yours truly) recommend an anti-inflammatory diet as a way to forestall aging and disease. For the benefit of those interested in this aspect of nutrition, Nutrition Data displays the IF (Inflammation Factor) Rating of foods and recipes as part of the detailed nutrition analysis.

Over the past few weeks, I've gotten a lot of questions about the IF Ratings of various foods. For example:

Q. Whole grains are supposed to be good for you and have an overall anti-inflammatory effect on the body, but your data on, e.g., barley and oats, indicates a high inflammatory effect. Could you please explain this?

Q. Why is the IF Rating for farmed salmon (-421) so much lower then the rating for wild salmon (+901). Both are salmon. Why there is such a big difference in the IF?

Q. I don't understand why walnuts have a negative IF Rating. I've heard that they are anti-inflammatory because they are high in omega-3 fats.

Q. Can you explain why an apple would be considered an inflammatory food?

First, a bit of background on how the IF Ratings (and I) came to be part of ND:

I developed the IF Rating system in 2005, as a way to estimate the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory potential of foods and combinations of foods. In 2006, I published The Inflammation Free Diet Plan, a book in which I detailed how the IF Rating system is calculated and how to use it. After the book and the IF Ratings were published, NutritionData.com (with my permission) added the IF Ratings to the site as part of its food and recipe analysis. Subsequently, I was invited to be a nutrition advisor for ND.

Even before I become a member of the ND team, I was delighted to make the IF Ratings available as part of NutritionData's analysis. However, one downside of making the ratings more widely available is that they now appear without the explanatory information included in the book. All of the above questions, for example, are addressed in The Inflammation Free Diet Plan.

Let me try to clear up a few of the most common misunderstandings:

Perhaps the most common misunderstanding is that all “healthy” foods are anti-inflammatory and all “unhealthy” foods are inflammatory. It’s a little more complex than that. The IF Rating system evaluates foods according to over 20 nutritional factors, including antioxidants, fatty acid composition, glycemic load, and many other nutrients. Often a food or meal will have a combination of pro- and anti-inflammatory factors of varying strengths, and the IF Rating is able to estimate the net effect of all these factors.

As you can see from the questions above, the IF Ratings often reveal some things that don’t line up with the conventional wisdom. Nonetheless, the ratings are based entirely on the actual nutritional composition of the foods and a little investigation always reveals an objective basis for “surprising” information.

The devil is in the (nutritional) details

In the case of whole grains, they do contain some anti-inflammatory nutrients, in particular zinc and folate. But they also contain a lot of carbohydrates, which tend to increase blood sugar, which tends to exacerbate inflammation. Likewise, the biggest contributor to the IF Rating of apples is the glycemic load, which, while not large, is still measurable. The net effect is a negative rating.

With salmon, it depends on what kind of salmon you’re talking about. Wild salmon is strongly anti-inflammatory, due in large part to its high levels of EPA and DHA, two strongly anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats. Farmed salmon, which is the majority of what is commercially sold, is also high in EPA and DHA. What most people don’t realize is that farmed salmon is also extremely high in arachidonic acid, which is the most inflammatory of the omega-6 fatty acids. This is because farmed salmon eat an artificial diet that is enriched with vegetable oils.

Not surprisingly, the difference in the diet makes a big difference in the nutritional composition of the fish. Like us, salmon are what they eat. So in farmed salmon, the anti-inflammatory benefits of the EPA and DHA are completely overwhelmed by the inflammatory capacity of the arachidonic acid. This is a critical distinction that is completely overlooked in most lists of “anti-inflammatory foods."

And finally, walnuts have a reputation for being anti-inflammatory because they are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. While this is true, what people often overlook is that walnuts are even higher in omega-6 fatty acids. Research shows that a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in the diet promotes inflammation. While eating walnuts increases your intake of omega-3 fats, it increases your intake of omega-6 fats even faster. Although walnuts can be a great part of a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet, eating walnuts alone will not improve the omega-6/omega-3 ratio of your diet.

Foods with negative IF Ratings are not necessarily bad for you!

As I explain in my book, the goal is not necessary to avoid all negatively-rated foods but to bring the diet into balance. Many foods with slightly negative IF Ratings, such as apples, walnuts, and whole grains, are quite healthful. In fact, it would be impossible to build a balanced diet without including foods that have negative IF Ratings.

Keep in mind that inflammation is a healthy and necessary part of the human immune response; so it makes sense that a healthy diet would include factors that support the inflammatory response. The problem is an excessive inflammatory response, driven by an excess of foods that promote inflammatory pathways.

While I believe it's wise to limit or avoid foods that are strongly inflammatory, such as french fries or farmed salmon, there's no reason to avoid wholesome foods like fruits and grains. Just aim to have the sum of all foods eaten in a day to have a positive IF Rating, so that the overall effect of the diet is anti-inflammatory.

I hope that clears up some of the confusion! You'll find answers to more frequently asked questions about the IF Rating system on my author's blog on Amazon.com as well as the book's website Inflammation Factor.com.

Posted by Monica Reinagel 1:35:20 PM

Nutrition and Health with Elson Haas, MD

Bay area integrative MD Elson Haas will be speaking on talk radio tomorrow. Tune in if you get the chance, he is an inspiring nutritionist.

Saturday 2/9/08 at 9:00 AM on KGO AM out of San Francisco with long time radio health queen Joanie Greggains. We (Haas & Greggains) will talk about nutritional health and balance, and many other health topics. The show is aired at http://www.kgoam810.com every Saturday, 8-10 AM Pacific, where it can be heard "live" or can be accessed under "Archives" for 7 days after the show. It can also be downloaded as an MP3 file after the broadcast (for 7 days thereafter).

Elson M. Haas, MD is a medical practitioner with more than 35 years experience in patient care, always with in an interest in natural medicine. A popular author of seven books in the areas of Health, Nutrition, and Detoxification, and these publications include Staying Healthy with the Seasons, The New Detox Diet, and Staying Healthy with Nutrition. His website includes an Article of the Month and Health Tips of the Month.
http://www.elsonhaas.com/

Gluten-Free Blog

Have a gluten issue? Celiac Disease? This blog by Shauna James Ahern makes it all seem wonderful and do-able. Wonderful stories, recipes, and photos. Long list of recommended websites, books etc. Give it a look-see, even if you aren't gluten sensitive, I bet you will enjoy this site.

http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/

"Her blog is a lively mix of recipes and life experiences...[She] is clearly a woman who loves the path she's on, and she writes with intelligence, passion, and humor."
- The Seattle Times

Burgers, Fries, Diet Soda: Metabolic Syndrome Blue-plate Special

Do we really need another article telling us how bad fast food diets are for our health? Apparently...

Burgers, Fries, Diet Soda: Metabolic Syndrome Blue-plate Special

ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2008) — Otherwise-healthy adults who eat two or more servings of meat a day -- the equivalent of two burger patties -- increase their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 25 percent compared with those who eat meat twice a week, according to research published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including elevated waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good") cholesterol and high fasting glucose levels. The presence of three or more of the factors increases a person's risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

But it's not just meat that adds inches to the waist, increases blood pressure and lowers HDL -- "it's fried foods as well," said Lyn M. Steffen, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., co-author of the study and an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota.

Dairy products, by contrast, appeared to offer some protection against metabolic syndrome.

Steffen said that, "Fried foods are typically synonymous with commonly eaten fast foods, so I think it is safe to say that these findings support a link between fast-food consumption and an increase in metabolic risk factors."

The findings emerged from an analysis of dietary intake by 9,514 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study. ARIC is a collaborative study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Unlike other researchers who have investigated relationships between nutrients and cardiovascular risk, "we specifically studied food intake. When making recommendations about dietary intake it is easier to do so using the framework of real foods eaten by real people," Steffen said.

Researchers assessed food intake using a 66-item food frequency questionnaire. From those responses, they categorized people by their dietary preferences into a Western-pattern diet or a prudent-pattern diet.

In general, the Western-pattern diet was heavy on refined grains, processed meat, fried foods, red meat, eggs and soda, and light on fish, fruit, vegetables and whole grain products.

Prudent diet eating patterns, by contrast, favored cruciferous vegetables (e.g., cabbage, radish and broccoli), carotenoid vegetables (e.g., carrots, pumpkins, red pepper, cabbage, broccoli and spinach), fruit, fish and seafood, poultry and whole grains, along with low-fat dairy.

Researchers also assessed associations with individual food items: fried foods, sweetened beverages (regular soda and fruit drinks), diet soda, nuts and coffee.

After nine years of follow-up, 3,782 (nearly 40 percent) of the participants had three or more of the risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

At baseline, participants were 45 to 64 years old -- ages at which many people gain weight.

Steffen said that weight gain over the years of follow-up might explain some of the cases of metabolic syndrome. But "after adjusting for demographic factors, smoking, physical activity and energy intake, consumption of a 'Western' dietary pattern was adversely associated with metabolic syndrome," she said.

"One surprising finding was while it didn't increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, there was no evidence of a beneficial effect of consuming a prudent diet either. I had expected to find a beneficial effect because we have seen that in other studies."

When Steffen and colleagues analyzed the results by specific foods, they found that meat, fried foods and diet soda were all significantly associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome, but consumption of dairy products was beneficial.

The study did not address the mechanisms involved in the increased risk of metabolic syndrome seen with certain foods, but Steffen speculated that "it may be a fatty acid mechanism since saturated fats are a common link and certainly overweight and obesity are contributing to the development of metabolic syndrome." She also said more research on the relationship between diet soda and its association to metabolic syndrome is needed.

The fact that 60.5 percent of the ARIC population had metabolic syndrome at the start of the study or developed it during nine years of follow-up is troubling, researchers said.

Steffen said the study's results are clear: Too much meat, fried foods and diet soda, do not add up to a healthy life.

American Heart Association dietary guidelines for healthy Americans age 2 and older include:

* Limit saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and sodium in the diet.
* Minimize the intake of food and beverages with added sugars.
* Eat a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and whole-grain foods.
* Select fat-free and low-fat dairy.
* Eat fish at least twice per week.
* Emphasize physical activity and weight control.
* Avoid use of and exposure to tobacco products.
* Achieve and maintain healthy cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose levels.

(Article emphases added by J. Davies)
Co-authors are Pamela L. Lutsey, M.P.H., and June Stevens, Ph.D., M.S., R.D.

Adapted from materials provided by American Heart Association, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
American Heart Association (2008, January 24). Burgers, Fries, Diet Soda: Metabolic Syndrome Blue-plate Special. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 24, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080122165624.htm

Nutrients in Broccoli May Help Protect the Heart

Do we really need more evidence to confirm the health benefits of broccoli? Apparently so, not sure the rats appreciate their role in the study, though. Be Well! Janis

Broccoli Good for the Heart , Say Scientists Studying Rats By Miranda Hitti

WebMD Medical News

Jan. 18, 2008 -- Here's another reason to eat broccoli: It may help your heart.

University of Connecticut researchers report that news after studying broccoli and heart health in rats.

The scientists brewed a broccoli extract and fed it to rats for a month in addition to regular rat chow. For comparison, they fed other rats water instead of the broccoli extract in addition to their regular diet.

After feeding the rats broccoli extract or extra water for 30 days, the scientists tested the rats' hearts. Some of those tests deprived the heart of oxygen, similar to a heart attack.

The rats that had eaten the broccoli extract had three heart advantages over the other rats:

• Better blood-pumping ability
• Less heart damage during oxygen deprivation
• Higher levels of heart-health chemicals during oxygen deprivation

Broccoli's key nutrients include selenium and sulforaphane, which may also curb cancer, note graduate student Subhendu Mukherjee and Dipak Das, PhD.

Their findings appear in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

View Article Sources

SOURCE: Mukherjee, S. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Jan. 23, 2008; vol 56: pp 609-617.

© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

Choose Your Food, Choose Your Mood

Food can change your mood. Avocado’s Vitamin B-6 and folic acid stimulate production of the mood-enhancing neurotransmitter serotonin. Barley’s Vitamin B-1 calms and relieves tension. Chocolate’s magic ingredients boost production of serotonin and endorphins, improving mood and dulling pain. Cold-water fish, such as salmon and mackerel, contain omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins B-6, B-12 and folic acid. These substances help fight depression.

And then there’s chicken soup, which brightens mood, calms nerves and induces restful sleep, although just how this legendary cure-all works remains a mystery. But make no mistake, today scientists are discovering what our grandmothers’ grandmothers knew all along: foods can alter your brain chemistry.

Imagine choosing one type of food to alleviate anxiety, another to bolster brainpower, and yet another to curb your urge to splurge on that donut. A new field of pioneering nutrition research, often referred to as the study of food and mood, is confirming what many of us have always suspected: what and when we eat can affect our mind and mood, the tendency to pile on pounds, and even the quality of our lives. For example, to curb the urge to splurge on that donut, you could choose instead a lower fat, sweet-fat food combination, such as graham crackers, fig newtons, or hot chocolate made with skim milk.

Here then, are some nutritional prescriptions, recommended by leading food researchers, that will help you to be the director of your emotional drama rather than merely an actor in it. And happily, they won’t pack on the pounds.

Eating carbohydrate-rich foods (breads, cereals, pasta, fruits and starchy vegetables such as potatoes, winter squash or corn) elevates serotonin levels, helping you to feel more relaxed and calm. High protein foods (nonfat dairy products such as cottage cheese, yogurt or milk; or beans, peas and nuts) have the opposite effect: They release other substances that let you think and react more quickly, or feel more alert and energetic.

“Women may be more sensitive to changes in serotonin than men,” explains Catherine Christie, Ph.D., R.D., a food-and-mood specialist in Jacksonville, Florida. “When estrogen levels fall and progesterone levels are high, serotonin levels may drop.”

Elizabeth Somer, in The Food and Mood Cookbook, provides three rules for an energizing, non-fattening breakfast.

Rule 1: Combine high-quality carbohydrates with a little protein.
Rule 2: Avoid high-sugar and high-fat breakfasts.
Rule 3: Be time savvy. Time is no excuse to skip breakfast.

Lunch, says Somer, should “supply a balance of quality carbohydrates (whole grains, starchy vegetables, or legumes) and protein-rich foods (lean meat, chicken breasts, fish, legumes or non-fat milk products).”

Choose your food, choose your mood. Now you can select foods that will power your brain, modify your moods, and in the process make you a more effective, more motivated and more contented person.

1/07/08: taken from the Dr Clark Store and Self Health Resource Center email newsletter.

Nutrition Model Stresses Positive Experience Of Eating

The Satter Eating Competence Model, also known as ecSatter, was created by Ellyn Satter, a registered dietitian, family therapist and author of "Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family," Kelcy Press.

Competent eaters are positive, flexible and comfortable with their eating habits and make it a priority to regularly provide themselves with enjoyable and nourishing food. They guide food intake based on the internal processes of hunger, appetite and satisfaction, and rely on the body's innate ability to maintain a preferred and stable weight. Satter observes that the eating competence model cultivates effective eating attitudes and behavior by emphasizing permission and discipline:

• The permission to choose food you enjoy and eat it in amounts you find satisfying.
• The discipline to provide yourself with regular and reliable meals and snacks and to pay attention when you eat them.

Being eating competent appears to mirror overall-well being, notes Satter of Madison, Wis. People with high eating competence feel more effective, are more self-aware and are more trusting and comfortable both with themselves and with other people.
.......

"Many of us have eating problems, because as children, we are forced into eating more or less food than we need. That is traumatic. Eating becomes a mindless activity invested with conflict and anxiety, and not something to be enjoyed. To overcome those feelings, you have to ignore how you feel about eating, just eat," said Lohse.

Research by Lohse and her Penn State colleagues suggests that people with high eating competence do better nutritionally, have healthier body weights, higher levels of good cholesterol and fewer of the components of "sticky plaque," today's high-tech approach to predicting the tendency to cardiovascular disease.
.......

According to Satter and Lohse, there are four steps to competent eating:

• Take time to eat, and provide yourself with rewarding meals and snacks at regular and reliable times.
• Cultivate positive attitudes about eating and about food. Emphasize providing rather than depriving; seeking food rather than avoiding it.
• Enjoy your eating, eat things you like, and let yourself be comfortable with and relaxed about what you eat. Enjoying eating supports the natural inclination to seek variety, the keystone of healthful food selection.
• Pay attention to sensations of hunger and fullness to determine how much to eat. Go to the table hungry, eat until you feel satisfied, and then stop, knowing another meal or snack is coming soon when you can do it again.

Excerpts from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070918174011.htm , adapted from a news release issued by Penn State. 09-18-07

Rise-and-Shine Cookies, from the American Heart Association

Serves 15; 2 cookies per serving

Cookies for breakfast? Sure—when they are rich in fiber and low in fat and taste like big chunks of granola. Make these ahead of time for a quick breakfast treat.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Egg substitute equivalent to 1 egg

3 tablespoons canola or corn oil

1 1/4 cups quick-cooking or regular rolled oats

1/2 cup wheat germ

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, egg substitute, and oil. Stir until well combined. Stir in flour mixture, oats, and wheat germ.

Drop dough by tablespoons about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Flatten slightly to a 2-inch diameter with your hand or the bottom of a glass. Bake 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool on wire racks. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for one week or in the freezer for several weeks.

Nutrition Analysis (per serving)
Calories	116
Total Fat	4.0 g
Saturated	1.0 g
Polyunsaturated	2.0 g
Monounsaturated	1.0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Sodium	74 mg
Carbohydrates	18 g
Protein	3 g

This recipe is reprinted with permission from the American Heart Association Quick & Easy Cookbook, Copyright © 1995 by the American Heart Association. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. Available from booksellers everywhere.

http://www.goredforwomen.com/love_your_heart/recipe_of_the_month.html