ژلاتین ماده ای بدون طعم و شفاف است که از ترکیب اجزای مختلف بدن جانوران از جمله استخوان و غضروف ساخته می شود. این ماده مغذی حاوی پروتئین ها و اسیدهای آمینه مورد نیاز بدن بوده و مصرف آن ضامن سلامت و جوانی است.

سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است .

لورم ایپسوم متنی است که ساختگی برای طراحی و چاپ آن مورد است. صنعت چاپ زمانی لازم بود شرایطی شما باید فکر ثبت نام و طراحی، لازمه خروج می باشد.سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است ..

سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است .

لورم ایپسوم متنی است که ساختگی برای طراحی و چاپ آن مورد است. صنعت چاپ زمانی لازم بود شرایطی شما باید فکر ثبت نام و طراحی، لازمه خروج می باشد.سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است ..

سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است .

لورم ایپسوم متنی است که ساختگی برای طراحی و چاپ آن مورد است. صنعت چاپ زمانی لازم بود شرایطی شما باید فکر ثبت نام و طراحی، لازمه خروج می باشد.سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است ..

Are you getting enough vitamin B12? Many people don’t, and that deficiency can cause problems.

Vitamin B12 does a lot of things for your body. It helps make your DNA and your red blood cells, for examples.

You can get vitamin B12 from your diet, or from supplements. Exactly how much you need depends on your age.

assorted vitamins

Causes of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Vitamin B12 deficiency can happen if you have certain conditions, such as:

    Atrophic gastritis, in which your stomach lining has thinned
    Pernicious anemia, which makes it hard for your body to absorb vitamin B12
    Surgery that removed part of your stomach or small intestine, including weight loss surgery
    Conditions affecting the small intestine, such as Crohn's disease, celiac disease, bacterial growth, or a parasite
    Heavy drinking
    Immune system disorders, such as Graves' disease or lupus
    Long-term use of acid-reducing drugs

Higher levels of melatonin, a hormone involved in the sleep-wake cycle, may suggest decreased risk for developing advanced prostate cancer, according to results presented here at the AACR-Prostate Cancer Foundation Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research, held Jan. 18-21.

Melatonin is a hormone that is produced exclusively at night in the dark and is an important output of the circadian rhythm, or the body's inherent 24-hour clock. Many biological processes are regulated by the circadian rhythm, including the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin may play a role in regulating a range of other hormones that influence certain cancers, including breast and prostate cancers.

"Sleep loss and other factors can influence the amount of melatonin secretion or block it altogether, and health problems associated with low melatonin, disrupted sleep, and/or disruption of the circadian rhythm are broad, including a potential risk factor for cancer," said Sarah C. Markt, M.P.H., doctoral candidate in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "We found that men who had higher levels of melatonin had a 75 percent reduced risk for developing advanced prostate cancer compared with men who had lower levels of melatonin.

"Our results require replication, but support the public health implication of the importance of maintaining a stable light-dark and sleep-wake cycle," added Markt. "Because melatonin levels are potentially modifiable, further studies of melatonin and prostate cancer risk and progression are warranted."

To investigate the association between urine levels of the main breakdown product of melatonin, 6-sulfatoxymelatonin, and risk of prostate cancer, Markt and colleagues conducted a case-cohort study of 928 Icelandic men from the AGES-Reykjavik cohort between 2002 and 2009. They collected first morning void urine samples at recruitment, and asked the participants to answer a questionnaire about sleep patterns.


The median value of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin in the study participants was 17.14 nanograms per milliliter of urine. Men who reported taking medications for sleep, problems falling asleep, and problems staying asleep had significantly lower 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels compared with men without sleep problems, according to Markt.

Of the study participants, 111 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, including 24 with advanced disease. The researchers found that men whose 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels were higher than the median value had a 75 percent decreased risk for advanced prostate cancer. A 31 percent decreased risk for prostate cancer overall was observed as well, but this finding was not statistically significant.

"Further prospective studies to investigate the interplay between sleep duration, sleep disturbance, and melatonin levels on risk for prostate cancer are needed," said Markt.

There is a medicinal spice so timelessly interwoven with the origins of human culture and metabolism, so thoroughly supported by modern scientific inquiry, as to be unparalleled in its proven value to human health and well-being.
Turmeric is one the most thoroughly researched plants in existence today.  Its medicinal properties and components (primarily curcumin) have been the subject of over 5600 peer-reviewed and published biomedical studies.  Given the sheer density of research performed on this remarkable spice, it is no wonder that a growing number of studies have concluded that it compares favorably to a variety of conventional medications, including:

•    Lipitor/Atorvastatin(cholesterol medication): A 2008 study published in the journal Drugs in R & D found that a standardized preparation of curcuminoids from Turmeric compared favorably to the drug atorvastatin (trade name Lipitor) on endothelial dysfunction, the underlying pathology of the blood vessels that drives atherosclerosis, in association with reductions in inflammation and oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic patients.
•    Corticosteroids (steroid medications): A 1999 study published in the journal Phytotherapy Research found that the primary polyphenol in turmeric, the saffron colored pigment known as curcumin, compared favorably to steroids in the management of chronic anterior uveitis, an inflammatory eye disease.  A 2008 study published in Critical Care Medicine found that curcumin compared favorably to the corticosteroid drug dexamethasone in the animal model as an alternative therapy for protecting lung transplantation-associated injury by down-regulating inflammatory genes. An earlier 2003 study published in Cancer Letters found the same drug also compared favorably to dexamethasone in a lung ischaemia-repurfusion injury model.
•    Prozac/Fluoxetine & Imipramine  (antidepressants): A 2011 study published in the journal Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica found that curcumin compared favorably to both drugs in reducing depressive behavior in an animal model.
•    Aspirin (blood thinner): A 1986 in vitro and ex vivo study published in the journal Arzneimittelforschung found that curcumin has anti-platelet effects compared to aspirin, indicating it may have value in patients prone to vascular thrombosis and requiring anti-arthritis therapy.  
•    Anti-inflammatory Drugs: A 2004 study published in the journal Oncogene found that curcumin (as well as resveratrol) were effective alternatives to the drugs aspirin, ibuprofen, phenylbutazone, naproxen, indomethacin, diclofenac, dexamethasone, celecoxib, and tamoxifen in exerting anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activity against tumor cells.
•    Oxaliplatin (chemotherapy drug): A 2007 study published in the International Journal of Cancer found that curcumin compares favorably with oxaliplatin as an anti proliferative agent in colorectal cell lines.
•    Metformin (diabetes drug): A 2009 study published in the journal Biochemitry and Biophysical Research Community explored how curcumin might be valuable in treating diabetes, finding that it activates AMPK (which increases glucose uptake) and suppresses gluconeogenic gene expression  (which suppresses glucose production in the liver) in hepatoma cells. Interestingly, they found curcumin to be 500 times to 100,000 times (in the form known as tetrahydrocurcuminoids(THC)) more potent than metformin in activating AMPK.

Millions take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) daily for arthritis and related inflammatory conditions, but are completely unaware that far safer, and at least as effective, natural alternatives already exist. The latest human study to clinically confirm turmeric's medicinal value was published in the Indonesian Journal of Internal Medicine in April, 2012 and found the curcuminoid extract of turmeric was able to reduce inflammation in patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis.
Researchers compared the effect of a curcuminoid extract to the NSAID drug diclofenac sodium in reducing cycloxygenase -2 (COX-2) secretions by synovial fluid's monocytes in two, randomly divided, groups suffering with knee osteoarthritis. The synovial fluid is an egg yolk-like liquid within the cavities of the synovial joints, which serves to reduce friction between articular cartilage during movement.  In knee osteoarthritis, a condition that afflicts 1 in 2 people by the age of 85 years, the immune cells known as monocytes express increased inflammatory COX-2 enzyme activity within the synovial fluid. In the study, subjects were given either 30 mg 3 times daily of turmeric extract (curcuminoid) or 25 mg 3 times daily of diclofenac sodium for 4 weeks. After the treatment period, aspiration of the joint as performed and the secretion of cycloxygenase-2 enzyme by synovial fluid's monocytes was evaluated.
In curcuminoid group the average scores were 1.84±0.37 and 1.15±0.28 respectively (p<0.001). In diclofenac group the average scores were 1.79±0.38 and 1.12±0.27 respectively (p<0.001). In curcuminoid group the decreasing score of cycloxygenase-2 secretion was 0.70±0.51 while in diclofenac group was 0.67±0.45. There was no significant difference in decreasing the score of cycloxygenase enzyme secretion between both treatment groups (p=0.89).
In summary, both curcuminoid and diclofenac sodium were capable of significantly decreasing the secretion of the inflammatory COX-2 enzyme, with nearly identical potency.
What is most remarkable about the more recent study is not that turmeric curcuminoids have potent anti-inflammatory properties – there are already hundreds of studies confirming its COX-2 reducing and otherwise anti-inflammary effects -- but rather how much safer they are relative to NSAID drugs like diclofenac, which like most pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory drugs have been linked to adverse health effects such as increased cardiac mortality, miscarriage and seizure.
A 2006 study estimated that 26 million people throughout the world suffer from this condition, and that by 2050, the prevalence will quadruple, by which time 1 in 85 persons worldwide will be afflicted with the disease. Given the global extent of the problem, interest in safe and effective preventive and therapeutic interventions within the conventional medical and natural alternative professions alike are growing.
Turmeric Produces 'Remarkable' Recovery in Alzheimer's Patients.
Turmeric has been used in India for over 5,000 years, which is likely why still today both rural and urban populations have some of the lowest prevalence rates of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the world. A recent study on patients with AD found that less than a gram of turmeric daily, taken for three months, resulted in 'remarkable improvements.
Studies reveal that curcumin is capable of enhancing the clearance of the pathological amyloid–beta plaque in Alzheimer's disease patients, and that in combination with vitamin D3 the neurorestorative process is further enhanced.
Other documented Anti-Alzheimer's mechanisms include:
•    Anti-inflammatory: Curcumin has been found to play a protective role against β-amyloid protein associated inflammation.
•    Anti-oxidative: Curcumin may reduce damage via antioxidant properties.
•    Anti-cytotoxic: Curcumin appears to protect against the cell-damaging effects of β-amyloid proteins.
•    Anti-amyloidogenic: Turmeric contains a variety of compounds (curcumin, tetrahydrocurcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin) which may strike to the root pathological cause of Alzheimer's disease by preventing β-amyloid protein formation.
•    Neurorestorative: Curcuminoids appear to rescue long-term potentiation (an indication of functional memory) impaired by amyloid peptide, and may reverse physiological damage by restoring distorted neurites and disrupting existing plaques.
•    Metal-chelating properties: Curcumin has a higher binding affinity for iron and copper rather than zinc, which may contribute to its protective effect in Alzheimer's disease, as iron-mediated damage may play a pathological role.
The other natural products effective in treating Alzheimer's disease:
•    Coconut Oil: This remarkable substance is capable of improving symptoms of cognitive decline in those suffering from dementia by increasing brain-boosting ketone bodies, and perhaps more remarkably, within only one dose, and within only two hours.
•    Cocoa: A 2009 study found that cocoa procyanidins may protect against lipid peroxidation associated with neuronal cell death in a manner relevant to Alzheimer's disease.
•    Sage: A 2003 study found that sage extract has therapeutic value in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.
•    Folic acid: While most of the positive research on this B vitamin has been performed on the semi-synthetic version, which may have unintended, adverse health effects,  the ideal source for this B vitamin is foliage, i.e. green leafy vegetables, as only foods provide folate. Also, the entire B group of vitamins, especially including B6 and B12, may have the most value in Alzheimer's disease prevention and treatment.
•    Resveratrol: this compound is mainly found in grapes, peanuts and chocolate.
•    Gingko biloba: is one of the few herbs proven to be at least as effective as the pharmaceutical drug Aricept in treating and improving symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
•    Melissa offinalis: this herb, also known as Lemon Balm, has been found to have therapeutic effect in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.
•    Saffron: this herb compares favorably to the drug donepezil in the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.

A remarkable study performed at Chiang Mai University, Thailand and published in the American Journal of Cardiology last July, found that the administration of curcuminoids, natural phenols within the spice turmeric, reduced the frequency of myocardial infarction (heart attack) after coronary artery bypass in a group of 121 patients randomly selected to receive a placebo or 4 grams a day beginning 3 days before the scheduled surgery and continued until 5 days after surgery.The primary end point was the incidence of in-hospital myocardial infarction, which was found to be decreased from 30.0% in the placebo group to 13.1% in the curcuminoid group --  a 56% relative risk reduction.

 

 

 

Diet experts urge move to poultry, fish and beans after results of long-term study.



Possible culprits in meat include iron, toxins formed during cooking and preservatives.
A diet packed with burgers, sausage and steak boosts the risk of developing colon or rectal cancer, a study confirms, lending weight to nutritionists' call for a switch to healthier alternatives.

A plethora of previous reports have connected red meat and colorectal cancer, which is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. But some of the results are inconsistent, and few studies have examined participants' diet over long periods, during which eating habits can change.

The new study is one of the most comprehensive so far. Michael Thun of the American Cancer Society (ACS) in Atlanta, Georgia, and his team collected information on the meat-eating behaviour of nearly 150,000 people in the United States in 1982 and in 1992. They divided them into three groups according to the amount of meat they ate, and noted which patients had developed colorectal cancers by 2001.

The group that ate the most processed meat had twice the risk of developing colon cancer compared with those who ate the least, the team found; and those who ate most red meat had a 40% higher risk of getting rectal cancer.

By contrast, those who ate the highest quantity of poultry or fish had a 20-30% lower risk of developing the diseases, the team reports in the Journal of the American Medical Association1. This applied even when the researchers took into account other risk factors, such as being overweight, not taking exercise and not eating fruit and vegetables.

“Substituting pistachio-encrusted salmon for roast beef is not a culinary sacrifice.”
Meaty study

The case against red meat still needs back-up from other studies. But for now, people would be well advised to cut back their consumption of red and processed meat, says Marjorie McCullough, an author of the paper, also at the ACS. This might involve removing red meat from a few meals per week, she suggests, or choosing smaller portions.

Members of the high risk group ate around 55-85 grams of red or processed meat each day, roughly equivalent to a medium sized burger. Red meat includes burgers, meatloaf, beef, liver and pork. Processed meat includes bacon, sausage, hot dogs, ham, salami and lunch meat.

Researchers are not yet clear which ingredient of meat might trigger cancer. Possible culprits include iron, toxins formed during cooking or the nitrates and nitrites used to preserve processed meats.

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Replacing red meat with some combination of fish, poultry, nuts and beans will probably help cut your risk of colorectal cancer, says nutritional expert Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "It will have some beneficial effects for reducing heart disease as well," he adds.

"Fortunately, substituting pistachio-encrusted salmon and gingered brown basmati pilaf for roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy is not a culinary sacrifice," Willett writes in an editorial that accompanies the study.

 اسیدهای امگا 3 جزو اسیدهای چرب ضروری برای بدن هستند. آنها برای سلامتی انسان لازم هستند ولی بدن قادر به ساخت آنها نبوده و ما باید آنها را از غذاها تامین کنیم.
 

اسیدهای چرب امگا 3 در ماهیها مثل سالمون، ماهی تون و دیگر غذاهای دریایی مثل جلبک دریایی و در بعضی از گیاهان مثل دانه های روغنی وجود دارد.

امگا 3 مثل بعضی از اسیدهای چرب اشباع نشده نقش اساسی در کارکرد مغز، رشد و نمو طبیعی دارد. همچنین امگا 3 ریسک بیماریهای قلبی را کاهش میدهد. انجمن قلب و عروق امریکا توصیه به مصرف ماهی، بخصوص ماهیهای چرب (مثل تون، ساردین، سالمون) حداقل 2 بار در هفته دارد.

مطالعات نشان داده است که امگا 3 باعث کاهش التهاب شده و در نتیجه ریسک بیماریهای مزمن مثل بیماریهای قلبی عروقی، سرطان والتهاب مفاصل (ارتریت) را کاهش می دهد. اسیدهای چرب امگا 3 در مغز تجمع یافته ودر فعالیتهای شناختی (مثل کارکرد مغز و حافظه) و فعالیتهای رفتاری موثر هستند.

نوزادانی که در دوران جنینی به اندازه کافی امگا 3 از مادر دریافت نکنند، در معرض خطر پوست خشک، بیماریهای قلبی، افسردگی، اختلالات رفتاری و گردش خونی ضعیف هستند. البته بسیار مهم است که در رژیم غذایی نسبت متناسبی از امگا 3و امگا 6 (نوع دیگری اسید چرب ضروری) باشد.

امگا 3 به کاهش التهاب کمک میکند و افزایش امگا 6 منجر به تحریک مغز و ایجاد التهاب میشود. رژیم مدیترانه ای نسبت مناسبی از امگا 3 و امگا 6 را حفظ میکند. این رژیم بیشتر شامل غلات، میوه های تازه، سبزیجات، ماهی، روغن زیتون و سیر میباشد.

امگا 3 در موارد زیر استفاده می شود:

کلسترول بالا

رژیم مدیترانه ای منجر به افزایش کلسترول خوب (HDL) میشود که در سلامت قلب موثر است. مشاهده شده که روغن ماهی سبب کاهش تری گلیسرید خون (یک نوع چربی در خون) میشود. گردو سرشار از اسید لینولییک یا ANA است که در بدن به امگا 3 تبدیل میشود و در نتیجه باعث کاهش کلسترول و تری گلیسرید در بیماران مبتلا به کلسترول بالا میشود.

دیابت

بیماران دچار دیابت اغلب تری گلیسرید بالا و HDL پایین دارند. اسیدهای چرب امگا 3 می توانند تری گلیسرید و اپوپروتیین را کاهش داده و سبب افزایش HDL شوند. برخی از بیماران دچار دیابت نوع 2 ممکن است با مصرف امگا 3 دچار افزایش مختصری در قند خون ناشتا شوند که در این مورد بیمار باید با پزشک خود مشورت کند.

ارتریت روماتویید

ارتریت روماتویید یک بیماری التهابی مفصل است که علت آن ساخته شدن انتی بادی علیه سلولهای بدن (اتوایمون) است. بعضی از بیماران ارتریت روماتویید ممکن است با خوردن امگا 3 دچار کاهش علایم خشکی صبحگاهی و درد مفاصل شوند. در یک مطالعه نشان داده شده که با مصرف امگا 3 نیاز بیماران به داروهای ضدالتهابی و مسکن کمتر شده است. ولی امگا 3 جلوی پیشرفت ارتریت روماتویید را نمی گیرد و فقط علایم را کاهش می دهد. مطالعات آزمایشگاهی نشان داده اند که رژیم غذایی سرشار از امگا 3 ممکن است در استیوارتریت (ارتروز مفاصل) هم کمک کننده باشد ولی نیاز به مطالعات بیشتری دارد.

پوکی استخوان (استوپروز)

برخی مطالعات نشان داده اند که امگا 3 ممکن است به افزایش کلسیم در بدن کمک کنند و باعث افزایش قدرت استخوانها شود، اگرچه همه نتایج مثبت نبوده است. بعضی مطالعات نشان داده است که کسانی که به اندازه کافی اسیدهای چرب دریافت نمی کنند (بخصوص اسید گاما لینولئیک و EPA - یک اسید چرب امگا 6) نسبت به کسانی که به اندازه کافی از این مواد استفاده می کنند، بیشتر مستعد پوکی استخوان هستند. در بررسی 3 ساله زنان بالای 65 سال با پوکی استخوان که اسیدهای چرب ضروری را دریافت می کردند، کمتر دچار پوکی استخوان شدند و حتی بسیاری از آنان افزایش در تراکم استخوان پدیدار شد.

افسردگی

مطالعات نشان داده است که مصرف اسیدهای چر ب امگا 3 باعث بهبود علایم افسردگی می شود. مطالعات متعدد همچنین مشخص کرد که مصرف امگا3 همراه با داروهای ضد افسردگی بیشتر باعث بهبود علایم می شود تا داروی افسردگی به تنهایی. همچنین مشخص شده که امگا 3 ممکن است سبب پیشگیری از افسردگی پس از زایمان شود. البته افسردگی یک بیماری جدی بوده و بدون نظر پزشک نباید درمان شود.

هیپراکتیویتی و عدم تمرکز

بچه های دچار عدم تمرکز و هیپراکتیو ممکن است دچار کمبود اسیدهای چرب خاصی باشند. در یک بررسی بالینی نزدیک به 100 پسر بچه که مشکلات رفتاری و یادگیری بیشتری داشتند، دارای سطح امگا 3 پایین تری نسبت به کسانی که این مشکل را نداشتند، بودند. البته این مسئله نیاز به مطالعه بیشتری دارد. ولی در هر حال دادن غذاهای سرشار از امگا 3 در بچه های هیپراکتیو عاقلانه به نظر میرسد.

بیماریهای پوستی

در یک بررسی بالینی در 13 بیمار دچار حساسیت به نور که دچار درماتیت ناشی از نور می شدند، تحت درمان با روغن ماهی قرار گرفتند و مشاهده شد که حساسیت آنها به نور واشعه ماورائ بنفش کاهش یافت. اما ضد آفتابهای موضعی از امگا 3 مفیدتر هستند.

سرطان روده بزرگ (کولون)

مصرف غذاهای سرشار از امگا 3 ریسک سرطان روده بزرگ را کاهش می دهد. به طور مثال اسکیموها که چربی زیاد و ماهیهای غنی از امگا 3 می خورند، کمتر دچار سرطان کولون می شوند. مطالعات اولیه نشان داده است که در مراحل اولیه سرطان کولون سبب کند شدن پیشرفت این سرطان می شود.

With previous evidence suggesting that melatonin may have a role in glucose metabolism, researchers have found an independent association between decreased secretion of melatonin and an increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the April 3 issue of JAMA.

"Melatonin receptors have been found throughout the body in many tissues including pancreatic islet cells, reflecting the widespread effects of melatonin on physiological functions such as energy metabolism and the regulation of body weight," according to background information in the article. "Loss-of-function mutations in the melatonin receptor are associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, in a cross-sectional analysis of persons without diabetes, lower nocturnal melatonin secretion was associated with increased insulin resistance." A prospective association between melatonin secretion and type 2 diabetes has not been previously reported.

Ciaran J. McMullan, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and colleagues conducted a study to investigate the association of melatonin secretion and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. The analysis consisted of a case-control study nested within the Nurses' Health Study cohort. Among participants without diabetes who provided urine and blood samples at baseline in 2000, the researchers identified 370 women who developed type 2 diabetes from 2000-2012 and matched 370 controls. Statistical analyses for determining associations between melatonin secretion at baseline and incidence of type 2 diabetes included controlling for demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, measures of sleep quality, and biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction.
retion of melatonin varied widely among participants in the study; the median (midpoint) urinary ratio of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin to creatinine was 67.0 ng/mg in the highest category compared with 14.4 ng/mg in the lowest category. The median ratio was significantly higher among controls (36.3 ng/mg) than among cases (28.2 ng/mg). Insulin sensitivity was higher among women with higher urinary ratios of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin to creatinine.

The researchers found that after controlling for body mass index and other lifestyle factors, menopausal status, family history of diabetes, history of hypertension, use of beta-blockers or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, region of the United States, and plasma biomarkers of diabetes risk, participants in the lowest category of urinary ratio of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin to creatinine had a 2.2 times higher odds of developing type 2 diabetes compared to participants in the highest category.

Women in the lowest category of melatonin secretion had an estimated diabetes incidence rate that was more than double that of women in the highest category (as measured by cases per 1,000 person-years).

"It is interesting to postulate from these data, in combination with prior literature, whether there is a causal role for reduced melatonin secretion in diabetes risk. Further studies are needed to determine whether increasing melatonin levels (endogenously via prolonged nighttime dark exposure or exogenously via supplementation) can increase insulin sensitivity and decrease the incidence of type 2 diabetes," the authors conclude.

A preliminary review of individual reports strongly suggest that high-dose vitamin D may be one of the most effective treatment yet discovered for irritable bowel syndrome
IBS, also known as spastic colon, is a common disease with no known cause or cure. The disease is characterized by alternating periods of remission and flareups. Symptom flareups tend to be dominated either by diarrhea or constipation, but they can include either, as well as abdominal discomfort, pain and bloating. Many patients manage IBS through a combination of pharmaceutical and alternative therapies, but no therapy is consistently effective for all people
Some of the strongest scientific evidence for the effectiveness of vitamin D treatments comes from a study conducted by researchers from the University of Sheffield, England, and published in the journal in December 2012
The paper begins by reporting the case of a 41-year-old woman who had suffered from "severe, diarrhea-predominant IBS" for 25 years, and who had received an official diagnosis approximately 20 years prior to the study. She had undergone treatments with anti-spasmodic drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, and anti-microbial drugs, but none had any significant effect on her symptoms
Dietary therapies, including avoiding lactose and gluten, had provided more reliable symptom relief, but had not stopped her from having regular flareups. Likewise, she gained only minimal relief from other alternative treatments including colonic irrigation, counseling, hypnotherapy and the use of other supplements including aloe vera, caprylic acid, garlic oil, peppermint tea and probiotics. Through social media, the woman learned that other sufferers head effectively used vitamin D3 as an IBS treatment
"The patient now takes 2000-4000 IU vitamin D3 daily," the researchers wrote. "Dosage varies according to season, 2000 IU in summer and 3-4000 IU in winter. Since commencing this supplementation regime, the subject experienced significant improvement in symptoms and now experiences near normal bowel habits. In 3 years of supplementation, relapses only occur if supplementation is ceased"
Vitamin D supplementation also produced an end to her ongoing depression and anxiety problems, the researchers reported
Based on these remarkable results, the researchers decided to investigate similar reports. They searched the Internet for websites and forums where IBS patients reported their use of vitamin D. The researchers identified 37 separate IBS patients who reported the use of vitamin D. In 70 percent of these cases, the patients reported that vitamin D supplementation had led to improvements in their condition
Because vitamin D is fat-soluble and might be hazardous at the extremely high doses used for IBS therapy, researchers recommend that patients refrain from self-treating, and instead consult their doctors to be issued a vitamin D megadose prescription
One patient said, "I... have had IBS for about 20 years... in August 2009...I began taking 3000 IU of Vitamin D... surely but slowly, I stopped having the crazy urgency to go, and began to have normal bowel movements... I then began taking 5000 IU of vitamin D a day... and since then ... I feel I have turned the tide"

Another said, "When my prescription [for vitamin D] ran out my doctor told me to take over the counter vitamins once a day again... The longer I was off the high dose vitamin D the sicker I got... the day after I started the high dose vitamin D, I felt better quickly"
According to IBS researcher Margherita T. Cantorna of Penn State University, IBS can actually cause vitamin D deficiency. As such, she recommends that all IBS patients have their vitamin D levels tested even if they are not considering vitamin D therapy

Sources
http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/40529
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org

 

 

 

A common nutritional supplement may be part of the magic in improving the survival rates of babies born with heart defects, researchers report.

Carnitine, a compound that helps transport fat inside the cell powerhouse where it can be used for energy production, is currently used for purposes ranging from weight loss to chest pain.

New research shows it appears to normalize the blood vessel dysfunction that can accompany congenital heart defects and linger even after corrective surgery, said Dr. Stephen M. Black, cell and molecular physiologist at the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

"My hope is this is going to have a major, major impact on survival of babies," Black said. About half the babies born with heart defects have excessive, continuous high pressure on their lungs from misdirected blood flow. Early surgery can prevent full-blown pulmonary vascular disease, but scientists are finding more subtle disruptions in the signaling inside blood vessels walls that can be problematic - even deadly - up to 72 hours after surgery.

The good news is the changes are reversible and that carnitine speeds recovery and can even prevent the damage in a lamb model of these human heart defects, according to studies published in the journal Pediatric Research.

Normally, most blood flow bypasses the lungs in utero when the placenta provides blood and oxygen for the baby. Baby's first breaths naturally expand the lungs and blood vessels, activating a process inside the lining of vessels that enables them to accommodate the initial blood surge, then reduce pressure quickly, dramatically and permanently.

This natural transition doesn't occur when heart defects misdirect blood flow. "It's kind of like a chronic fetal-to-newborn transition," said Black, the study's corresponding author. Lungs get pounded with about three times the normal flow and, even when surgeries are done as early as possible to repair the defect, correct blood flow and protect the lungs, the 20 percent death rates from acute pulmonary hypertension have remained unchanged for a decade. "That's 1 in 5 kid (with this condition)," Black said.

Left unchecked, the barrage thickens blood vessels, making them unresponsive, much like those of an elderly individual who has lived for years with uncontrolled high blood pressure. The comparatively brief periods of pounding these babies experience impairs the ability of the endothelial cells, which line blood vessels, to produce nitric oxide, a major dilator of blood vessels.

The shear force disrupts carnitine homeostasis, weakens the mitochondria (the cell powerhouse) and impairs nitric oxide production. To make bad matters worse, the precursor to nitric oxide instead makes more peroxynitrite, prompting endothelial cells to grow and thickening blood vessels. Black was also corresponding author of a recent study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that showed peroxynitrite does this by turning on the cell survival protein kinase Akt1.

The new study indicates that even without fixing the heart defect, high daily doses of carnitine in the first four weeks of life can prevent endothelial dysfunction. In fact, the laboratory lambs' ability to make nitric oxide is preserved even without the benefit of heart surgery and the responses to the chemical activity that enables blood vessel dilation is normalized, Black said.