Friday, September 28, 2007

ISSA Explains How To Protect Yourself Against Fraudulent Supplement Claims

We all are involved in a continuous process to make you aware of what is new that you should know to maintain a good health. In today press release, there is an emphasis that you also should admit yourself to a continuous process of self search through authority centers and websites. Read...

ISSA Explains How To Protect Yourself Against Fraudulent Supplement Claims

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Body Made Vitamin Deficiency is Linked to Pre-eclampsia

Vitamin D is the only human body-made vitamin. It is not obtained from foods that are consumed. Instead, the D vitamin is actually obtained by sunlight on the skin. There has been a lot of media coverage about the dangers of getting too much sun but it is essential that the skin is exposed to sunlight to obtain the recommended daily allowance of the D vitamin. In reality, the amount of time that a person has to spend in the sun to receive a sufficient dose of the D vitamin is extremely small and just a few minutes a day will be sufficient and not have any adverse effects from the amount of ultra-violet light received.

Vitamin D deficiency early in pregnancy is associated with a five-fold increased risk of preeclampsia, according to a study from the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences reported this week(Sept. 7) in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

A serious complication of pregnancy marked by soaring blood pressure and swelling of the hands and feet, preeclampsia is the leading cause of premature delivery and maternal and fetal illness and death worldwide, conservatively projected to contribute to 76,000 deaths each year. Preeclampsia, also known as toxemia, affects up to 7 percent of first pregnancies, and health care costs associated with preeclampsia are estimated at $7 billion a year in the United States alone, according to the Preeclampsia Foundation.

“Our results showed that maternal vitamin D deficiency early in pregnancy is a strong, independent risk factor for preeclampsia,” said Lisa M. Bodnar, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) and lead author of the study. “Women who developed preeclampsia had vitamin D concentrations that were significantly lower early in pregnancy compared to women whose pregnancies were normal. And even though vitamin D deficiency was common in both groups, the deficiency was more prevalent among those who went on to develop preeclampsia.”

“Low vitamin D early in pregnancy was associated with a five-fold increase in the odds of preeclampsia,” said Dr. Bodnar, who also is an assistant investigator at the university-affiliated Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI). “Data showed this increase risk persisted even after adjusting for other known risk factors such as race, ethnicity and pre-pregnancy body weight. Also troubling was the fact that many of the women reported taking prenatal vitamins, which typically contain 200 to 400 International Units of vitamin D,” she said.

“Even a small decline in vitamin D concentration more than doubled the risk of preeclampsia,” noted James M. Roberts, M.D., senior author of the study and MWRI founding director. “And since newborn’s vitamin D stores are completely reliant on vitamin D from the mother, low vitamin levels also were observed in the umbilical cord blood of newborns from mothers with preeclampsia.”

A vitamin closely associated with bone health, vitamin D deficiency early in life is associated with rickets – a disorder thought to have been eradicated in the United States more than 50 years ago – as well as increased risk for type 1 diabetes, asthma and schizophrenia.

The most important function of the D vitamin is to help control how much calcium is absorbed from food. The majority of the calcium is used to build strong teeth and bones but it is also needed to send messages along the nerves and to help muscles, such as the heart muscles, to contract. It is the D vitamin that ensures that there is always sufficient calcium in the blood to perform these tasks. Other functions that require the D vitamin relate to the immune system and it is believed that it is also a contributing factor in reducing the risk of contracting cancer and, in particular, colon cancer.

The variant of the D vitamin that is formed under the skin is known as vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol. This D vitamin is created when the ultraviolet in the sunlight reacts with a type of cholesterol that is found under the skin naturally. The D3 is converted into a more active form of the d vitamin in the liver and is then diverted to where it is needed the most. Some of the D vitamin remains in the liver and kidneys to help reabsorb the calcium from the blood. The rest of the D vitamin is dispersed to the bones to help them retain their calcium and the intestines to aid absorption of calcium from food.

Foods that are rich in vitamin D includes:
* Milk fortified with vitamin D
* Fish
* Egg yolks
* Liver
* Fortified cereal

Dairy foods are very high in calcium, especially milk, yogurt and cheese. Other good sources include calcium-enriched orange juice, rice beverages, and soy beverages.

I have no recommendations and you should discuss your doctor.

If you decide to take supplement of Vitamin D here

Monday, September 03, 2007

Modified Citrus Pectin Powder is a Crucial Supplement

Why supplement? am I trying to sell something? and why not take citrus pectins from their natural sources?. Researchers found that the modified pectins are crucial for inducing cancer cell death.

Debra Mohnen of UGA's Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, and Vijay Kumar, chief of research and development at the Veterans' Administration Medical Center in Augusta found that exposing prostate cancer cells to pectin reduced the number of cancerous cells by about 40%. Pectin destroys cells in a process known as apoptosis. Apoptosis is programmed cell death. In apoptosis cells bind with an outside substance that causes the cell to kill itself. Cancer cells self destruct once the complex structure of pectin binds to the receptors of the cell surface. Pectin does not bind with non-cancerous cells, and has no known affect on them.


Why Modified Pectins?
Chemical treatment of the FPP using base (alkali) in order to remove
the ester linkages of the pectin structure destroyed the ability of the
pectin to induce apoptosis, said the researchers, while treatment of
the pectin with pectinmethylesterase enzymes did not affect activity,
indicating that the base-sensitive linkages played an important role in
the apparent anti-cancer benefits.

# Both citrus pectin and the pH-modified citrus pectin had no effect on
the cancer cells, reported Jackson, but heat treatment of citrus pectin
resulted in significant levels of apoptosis comparable to FPP.

Commenting on the findings, Jackson said: "These results indicate that
specific structural elements within pectin are responsible for the
apoptotic activity, and that this structure can be generated, or
enriched for, by heat treatment of CP”.


# Modified citrus pectin (MCP), also known as fractionated pectin, is a complex polysaccharide obtained from the peel and pulp of citrus fruits. Modified citrus pectin is rich in galactoside residues, giving it an affinity for certain types of cancer cells. Metastasis is one of the most life-threatening aspects of cancer and the lack of effective anti-metastatic therapies has prompted research on MCP's effectiveness in blocking metastasis of certain types of cancers, including melanomas, prostate, and breast cancers.


# Modified citrus pectin powder is produced from citrus pectin via pH and temperature modification that breaks it into shorter, non-branched, galactose-rich, carbohydrate chains. These shorter chains dissolve more readily in water and are better absorbed and utilized by the body than ordinary, long-chain pectins. It is believed the shorter polysaccharide units afford MCP its ability to access and bind tightly to galactose-binding lectins (galectins) on the surface of certain types of cancer cells.


How Modified Pectins act:
Research indicates that in order for metastasis to occur, cancerous cells must first clump together; galectins on their surface are thought to be responsible for much of this metastatic potential. Galactose-rich, modified citrus pectin has a binding affinity for galectins on the surface of cancer cells, resulting in an inhibition, or blocking, of cancer cell aggregation, adhesion, and metastasis. Due to the life-threatening nature of metastatic cancer, most research on anti-metastatic therapies has either been in in vitro cell cultures or in animal studies. Although it is still unclear exactly how these study results translate to humans, MCP studies are promising.



Prostate Cancer

Pienta et al examined modified citrus pectin's effectiveness against prostate cancer metastasis in the Dunning rat model. Rats were injected with prostate adenocarcinoma cell lines and given drinking water containing various MCP concentrations. Oral MCP did not affect primary tumor growth, but significantly reduced metastases when compared to control animals.[4] In one human study, Strum et al examined the effect of MCP on prostate specific antigen (PSA) doubling time in seven prostate cancer patients. PSA is an enzymatic tumor marker, and its doubling time reflects the speed at which the cancer is growing. Modified citrus pectin was administered orally at a dosage of 15 grams per day in three divided doses. Four of seven patients exhibited more than 30-percent lengthening of PSA doubling time. Lengthening of the doubling time represents a decrease in the cancer growth rate.



Safety and Side Effects

Because it is a soluble fiber, administration of modified citrus pectin is unlikely to result in gastric intolerance, even at high doses. No pattern of adverse reaction has been recorded in the scientific literature. As with any dietary fiber, MCP at high doses may result in mild cases of loose stool, but this is usually self-limiting and does not warrant discontinuing treatment.

Dosage and Administration

Modified citrus pectin dosages are usually expressed in grams, with a typical adult dosage ranging between 6-30 grams daily in divided doses. This may be modified by the practitioner depending on the patients clinical status, type of cancer involved, and degree of metastasis. The MCP powder is usually dissolved by blending in a small amount of water, then diluting with a juice of choice.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Richest Vitamin Sources

The richest vitamin sources vary for each vitamin. It is important to have a balanced diet to ensure that the required amounts of each vitamin are obtained. However, it may be useful to list the richest vitamin sources for each vitamin to be used as a guide.

* Richest vitamin A (Retinol) sources are milk, eggs, butter, yellow fruits & vegetables, dark green fruits & vegetables, liver.

* Richest vitamin B1 (thiamine, thiamin or aneurin) sources are brewer’s yeast, whole grains, blackstrap molasses, brown rice, organ meats, egg yolk.

* Richest vitamin B2 (riboflavin) sources are brewer’s yeast, whole grains, legumes, nuts, organ meats, blackstrap molasses.

* Richest vitamin B3 (niacin, niacinamide, nicotinic acid) sources are lean meats, poultry & fish, brewer’s yeast, peanuts, milk, rice bran, potatoes

* Richest vitamin B4[adenine, is one of the five nitrogenous bases (cytosine, guanine, adenine, thymine and uracil) that helps make up the code in DNA and RNA].Vitamin B4 sources are egg yolks, organ meats, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, soybeans, fish, legumes.

* Richest vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) sources are organ meats, egg yolks, legumes, whole grains, wheat germ, salmon, brewer’s yeast.

* Richest vitamin B6 (pyridoxine or Pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)) sources are meats, whole grains, organ meats brewer’s yeast, blackstrap molasses, wheat germ.

* Richest vitamin B7 (biotin or vitamin H) sources are egg yolks, liver, unpolished rice, brewer’s yeast, sardines, legumes, whole grains

* Richest vitamin B8 (inositol) sources are who1e grains, citrus fruits, molasses, meat, milk, nuts, vegetables, brewer’s yeast.

* Richest vitamin B9 (folic acid) sources are dark-green leafy vegetables, organ meats, root vegetables, oysters, salmon, milk.

* Richest vitamin B12 (cobalamin) sources are organ meats, fish, pork, eggs, cheese, milk, lamb, bananas, kelp, peanuts.

* Richest vitamin B13 (orotic acid) sources are root vegetables, liquid whey.

* Richest vitamin B15 (pangamic acid) sources are brewer’s yeast, rare steaks, brown rice, sunflower, pumpkin & sesame seeds.

* Richest vitamin B17 (amygdalin or laetrile) sources are whole kernels of apricots, apples, cherries, peaches, plums

* Richest vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) sources are citrus, cabbage family, chili peppers, berries, melons, asparagus, rose hips

* Richest vitamin D (vitamin D2 (or ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (or cholecalciferol) sources are salmon, sardines, herring, milk, egg yolk, organ meats, sprouted seeds, sunflower seeds

* Richest vitamin E (Tocopherols) sources are cold-pressed oils, eggs, wheat germ, organ meats, molasses, sweet potatoes, nuts

* Richest vitamin F (Essential Fatty Acids) sources are vegetable oils, butter, sunflower seeds.

* Richest vitamin K (Phylloquinone) sources are green leafy vegetables, egg yolks, safflower oil, blackstrap molasses, cauliflower

* Richest vitamin Q (Coenzyme Q10,Co Q10)sources are pinto beans, legumes, soybeans.

* Richest vitamin T (Sesame Seed Factor) sources are sesame seeds, raw seeds, butter, egg yolk.

* Richest vitamin V sources are raw cabbage, sauerkraut, leafy vegetables.

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