Meditation
Caffein: Carbonated Beverages
Caffein: Filtred Coffee
Weight And Pancreatic Cancer
Diabetes
Soy
 
 

Meditation
According to a study published in the July/August issue of General Hospital Psychiatry Meditation, training helps patients with chronic illnesses,  reduce their symptoms and improve their quality of life. The meditation training program is known as mindfulness -based stress reduction or MBSR.  Daily functioning as well as both psychological and physical symptoms improved in patients participating in the meditation training program. Patients also reported dramatically improved ability to cope with stress, improved sense of well being, reduced body tension and increased mental clarity, says lead author Diane K. Reibel, Ph.D., of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.   "Mindfulness meditation helps in facing all aspects of life, however painful, with increasing degrees of equanimity, wisdom and compassion," says Reibel.

Caffein: Carbonated beverages
The per capita consumption of carbonated beverages has risen dramatically, making them the preferred beverage of women 20-40 years old, many of whom already have an inadequate daily intake of calcium. In an article in this month's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Heaney and Rafferty investigated the effect of caffeinated and noncaffeinated beverages on urinary calcium excretion in women.  Significant increases in urinary calcium excretion resulted from consumption of the caffeinated beverages and has been implicated with increased risk of bone fracture both earlier and later in life, whereas the non-caffeinated beverages had no effect. No calcium loss was due to either phosphoric or citric acid acidulation. Phosphoric or citric acid acidulation had no effect on calcium loss.  Though the caffeine in the drinks was primarily responsible for excess calcium excretion, previous studies of the effect of caffeine have shown a compensatory drop in calcium excretion over the 24-hour period following ingestion. The fact that the small calcium loss from carbonated beverages was offset by reduced excretion later in the day, and the habituation of the subjects to frequent consumption, lead the authors to conclude that the main cause of calcium loss from carbonated beverages was their lack of the nutrients needed for bone health. Carbonated beverages displace milk in the diet, eliminating a major source of bone-building calcium.
 

Caffein: Filtred Coffee
In a new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Christensen et al. studied a group of healthy nonsmoking volunteers, 47% of whom drank filtered caffeinated coffee an average of 4.9 cups per day. Cholesterol and tHcy levels went down in those subjects who abstained from filtered coffee, indicating that refraining from commonly consumed amounts of coffee could contribute to a long-term reduction in IHD risk. Elevated serum concentrations of homocysteine (tHcy) and cholesterol are associated with increased risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD). Previous studies found that consumption of large amounts of unfiltered coffee resulted in increases in serum tHcy and cholesterol, suggesting a specific effect related to brewing methods.

Weight And Pancreatic Cancer
A Harvard University study finds that obese people have a significantly greater risk for this type of cancer, particularly if they have sedentary lifestyles.  The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, examined data on over 165,000 people enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Nurses' Health Study.

Diabetes
Cases of the most common form of diabetes are up 70 percent among 30-somethings in the past decade. Half of Type 2 diabetics have suffered serious damage to their eyes, kidneys, nerves and arteries by the time they learn they are sick. People with any one of the following diabetes risks should get tested at age 30, according to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists' new guidelines:
-Having a diabetic relative.
-Being overweight.
-Having heart disease, high blood pressure, high triglycerides or low HDL, the "good" cholesterol.
-Women who had gestational diabetes during pregnancy or delivered a baby weighing more than 9 pounds (four kilograms).
-Women with a hormonal disorder called polycystic ovarian syndrome.
-Having a previous blood sugar test that found impaired glucose tolerance, a condition that leads to diabetes.
 

Soy
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA. 2001;286(7):807-814) has found that infants who are fed soy-based formula are just as likely as infants fed cow milk formula to remain healthy throughout their adult years. Researchers located 811 young adults (20 to 34 years of age) who had participated, as infants, in a feeding study at the University of Iowa between 1965 and 1978. In the study, 248 infants were fed soy formula and 563 were fed cow milk formula. At the follow-up interview, the researchers found no significant differences between the soy group and the cow milk group in measures of height, weight, age at onset of puberty, fertility, or general medical health.

Soy, a natural source of protein, fiber and healthy oils, is used to enhance a myriad of foods, ranging from hamburgers to ice cream. It can be ground into flour and used in a variety of grain products, or formed into chunks and ground like meat. Soy is also being studied for its potential to lower cholesterol, reduce bone loss and prevent breast cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new label on foods containing at least 6.25 grams of soy protein per serving that boasts of a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

However, new research indicates that soybeans and soy-based foods, a staple in the diets of many health-conscious consumers, may promote kidney stones in those prone to the painful condition. The finding will be published in the September issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.  Alice Chang, M.D., Harvard Medical School, says, "The risk proposed in this study is only theoretical at this point. Although oxalate levels are high in soy, we don't know whether oxalate levels are elevated in people who eat soy or whether people who eat soy actually have a higher risk of kidney stones. We may find out that there is no association. And, if you think about it, cultures that commonly include soy products in their diet do not have a higher risk of kidney stones."
August 31, 2001
 

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