A small Japanese study gave eight smokers, median age 32.5, an oat leaf extract sold as Neuravena; their average daily cigarettes fell from 19.5 to 8.9. The extract contains no nicotine and acts on brain enzymes. The writer says follow-up studies are needed.
Food Consumer
Healthcare
Thyroid cancer linked to radiation exposure, more studies confirm
Toronto researchers examined 125 thyroid surgery patients, all exposed to radiation at least three years before diagnosis, and found more aggressive disease than in unexposed patients. More than half had been exposed through other medical procedures.
Law & Regulations
Kellogg settles FTC charges that ads for Frosted Mini-Wheats were false
Kellogg settled FTC charges that ads calling a Frosted Mini-Wheats breakfast “clinically shown to improve kids' attentiveness by nearly 20%” were false. The agency said only half the children improved at all, one in nine by 20 percent or more, and the controls ate no breakfast.
Cooking
This pasta salad marries East and West
The writer explains why Italian semolina pasta, higher in gluten and coarser than softer Asian noodles, turns doughy when served cold, then builds a bow-tie pasta salad on Sichuan seasoning: ginger, garlic and Sichuan peppercorns, with generous black pepper as a workable stand-in.
Disease
Swine influenza: What you need to know
A CDC question-and-answer sheet from April 2009: swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses, 11 human cases had been reported in California, Texas and Kansas, and CDC had determined the virus was spreading from person to person.
Other Diseases
Sports drinks found to be corrosive of teeth
NYU dentistry researchers soaked calf teeth in Powerade, Gatorade, Life Water, Vitamin Water and Propel Fit for 75 to 90 minutes and found dozens of visible holes, while teeth soaked in water were undamaged. The beverage industry disputes that soaking reflects drinking.
Farmers Markets
Farmers Market Search
A pointer to USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service farmers market directory, a regularly updated searchable database built from reports by state market representatives, market managers and consumers.
Supplements
ARS dietary supplement data supports nutrient intake assessments
ARS and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements launched the Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database, which uses chemical analysis to estimate levels of 18 vitamin and mineral ingredients in 115 representative adult multivitamins against what their labels report.
Obesity
Once the weight is lost, low fat diet more appropriate
A University of Maryland study put 26 adults on Atkins, Ornish or South Beach and tracked cholesterol and blood vessel changes; LDL rose on Atkins and fell on the others. Dr. Michael Miller says that once weight is lost, a low-saturated-fat diet serves the heart best.
Chemical
Fluoride fuss alive and well
CDC ranks water fluoridation among the 20th century's top 10 public health achievements, while the Fluoride Action Network and more than 2,000 signatories call EPA's 4 parts per million standard unsafe, citing a 2006 National Research Council review of possible adverse effects.
Phytochemicals
Flavonoids reduce ovarian cancer risk
Harvard's Margaret Gates compared 1,141 women with ovarian cancer to 1,183 without and found those eating more apigenin — in celery, parsley, red wine and tomato sauce — were less likely to develop it. She stresses more research is needed before anything is definitive.
Disease
Inflammation may raise diabetes risk
Research in Cell Metabolism reports that a chemokine called CXL5, sharply elevated in the bloodstreams of obese people, is key to insulin resistance in mice. Treating affected mice with neutralizing antibodies or receptor-blocking drugs reversed the resistance.
Healthcare
Medical procedures may expose infants to BPA
Researchers reanalysed urine from 54 premature infants in neonatal intensive care to measure BPA, triclosan, methyl and propyl paraben and benzophenone-3. In earlier work on the same samples, DEHP metabolite levels tracked the variety, invasiveness and duration of each infant's procedures.
Miscellaneous
What's behind the epidemic of family-acide?
A Chicago columnist counts recent family killings — D'Andre Howard in Hoffman Estates, Christopher Alan Wood in Middletown, Kerby Revelus in Milton, James Harrison in Orting, all in one month — and questions the press's quick attribution of them to economic stress.
Chemical
MSG: Its history, effects and what you can do to avoid it.
MSG, identified by Kikunae Ikeda in 1908 and declared generally recognized as safe in 1959, stimulates the umami receptor; the FDA calls “MSG Symptom Complex” a short-term reaction causing headaches and nausea. The editor notes toxicity depends on dose and that glutamic acid occurs in all protein.
Chemical
Food Dye linked to ADHD
Nineteen toxicologists, pediatricians and other professionals asked Congress to ban certain synthetic dyes, citing a 2007 UK Food Standards Agency study that found they exacerbate some hyperactive behaviors and European labeling rules that warn parents.
Diet
Mediterranean diet best for heart health
Searching studies and randomized trials, researchers found the Mediterranean diet the only dietary pattern linked to lower coronary heart disease risk. Moderate evidence supported omega-3, folate, whole grains, wine, fruit, fibre and vitamins E and C; trans fats looked harmful.
Food
Eating walnuts reduces breast cancer risk
In a study funded by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the California Walnut Commission, mice fed walnuts developed breast tumors less often, and the tumors that did appear came at least three weeks later and grew more slowly than in mice given none.
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