The probiotic known as Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 has been shown to normalize anxiety-like behavior in mice with infectious colitis.

A study found that chronic colitis was associated with anxiety-like behavior.  Treatment with B. longum was found to reduce the symptoms, and to also positively affect hippocampal brain derived neurotrophic factor.

According to the study, as reprinted on the website Green Med Info:

“As B. longum decreases excitability of enteric neurons, it may signal to the central nervous system by activating vagal pathways at the level of the enteric nervous system.”

Research has shown that vitamin E and some carotenoids have antioxidant activities that can help protect you against cardiovascular disease.  A new study examined the antioxidant and red-pigment carotenoid astaxanthin.

The study attempted to determine whether astaxanthin could protect stroke-prone, hypertensive rats from vascular oxidative damage, hypertension, and cerebral thrombosis. Astaxanthin kept their systolic blood pressure lower, and showed other signs of decreasing the rats’ stroke risk.

According to the study, as reprinted on the website Green Med Info:

“These results supported our hypothesis and strongly suggested that the antithrombotic and antihypertensive effects of astaxanthin or vitamin E may be related to an increase in bioavailable NO [nitric oxide], possibly mediated by decreased inactivation of NO by reactive oxygen species.”

The most commonly used indicator of vitamin D status is serum 25(OH)D, but there is lack of agreement on the definition of optimal 25(OH)D and the cut-off for low vitamin D status. “Normal ranges” in U.S. laboratories vary between 20 and 100 ng/mL.  However, there is a growing consensus that the optimal range for 25(OH)D is higher than used to be believed.  Optimal levels may reduce risk of skeletal disease, insulin sensitivity, cancer, and many other ailments.  As many as 50% of breast cancer cases could be preventable with blood serum levels of 53 ng/ml.

It is extremely difficult to achieve and maintain optimal levels of serum 25(OH)D by diet alone — few foods are natural sources of vitamin D. and fortified foods contain only limited amounts.  The major source of vitamin D is sunlight exposure.  Sunlight exposure over most of your body, long enough to turn your skin somewhat pinker, may be the best amount.  When this is not possible, supplementation may be a necessary alternative.

According to an article in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine:

“… [S]cientists are generating a strong body of evidence to support a vitamin D paradigm shift … It is clear that sufficient levels of serum 25(OH)D are essential for optimizing human health … [S]ince we are experiencing a global epidemic of vitamin D insufficiency, it is … imperative that all individuals be encouraged to obtain vitamin D from either sunlight or supplementation.”

The very first clinical trial to test the effects of resveratrol on humans has found that a small daily dose lowered blood pressure and improved other health measures in a group of obese men. Men taking 150 milligrams of resveratrol daily for a month, without changing their diet or exercise habits became fitter.

Their metabolic function improved, inflammation levels dropped, fat deposits in their livers decreased and their triglyceride levels fell.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

“There was just one incongruity in the picture researchers gleaned from the clinical tests of the men taking resveratrol: although clearly healthier, they were not losing weight.”

Aging is likely a complex interplay of multiple different interacting processes. But one perspective on aging broadly recognized as important is the “mitochondrial theory” — the notion that age is tied to changes in the function of your mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of your cells.  The mitochondrial theory of aging is closely tied with ideas about the role of free radicals in aging.

One implication of this is the importance of ubiquinone, or coenzyme Q (CoQ), which plays an important role in the production of chemical energy in your mitochondria. In humans ubiquinone-10 (CoQ10, containing 10 isoprenoid units) is the major form.  In its reduced form, it also serves as an antioxidant.  Evidence is accumulating for a role of CoQ10 in the treatment of mitochondrial disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

According to the Linus Pauling Institute:

“Over the past few years CoQ10 has gained considerable attention as an agent capable of influencing cellular bioenergetics and counteracting some of the damage caused by free radicals. Animal studies provide increasing support for a beneficial effect of CoQ10 supplements in disease, particularly neurodegenerative diseases and atherosclerosis. These results are encouraging and warrant further investigation, including clinical studies that directly assess a health benefit of CoQ10 supplements in humans.”

A recent study sought to investigate the protective effects of astaxanthin against DNA damage induced by radiation. Mice fed the substance were irradiated by gamma rays, and then their liver cells were collected in order to analyze DNA integrity.

Such mice were found to have suffered less damage than mice not fed astaxanthin.

According to the study, as reprinted on the website Green Med Info:

“Astaxanthin might have some protective effect against oxidative impairment and DNA damage induced by … gamma-rays”.

A new study indicates that probiotics (“good” bacteria) may be able to lower levels of inflammation in your body.  This could potentially benefit patients who have inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis.

Inflammation helps your body fight off infection, but persistent, high levels of inflammation can damage tissues. Inflammation is thought to play a role in illnesses such as ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

According to MSNBC:

“In the new study, patients with one of these conditions who took the probiotic bacteria B. infantis for eight weeks had lower levels of inflammation … The results suggest that probiotics may lower levels of inflammation, regardless of the affliction”.

The bacteria in your gut may be controlling your life more
than you ever realized.  Researchers have
recently reported a link between gut bacteria and the development of multiple
sclerosis in mice. Gut bacteria has also previously been linked to obesity,
depression and much more.

In the most recent experiment, researchers studied mice bred
to develop a disease similar to multiple sclerosis.  Those raised in an environment with no
bacteria never developed symptoms. Once typical gut bacteria were introduced, however,
the mice began to show signs of the disease.

Discover News reports:

“If
a healthy gut microbial community proves important for different aspects of our
health, what could we do to encourage the bacteria that would prevent obesity
or disease?  One option might be to take
probiotics, eat a particular diet, or minimize antibiotic use”.

A new study shows that high doses of vitamin E may increase the risk of prostate cancer.  The research had originally been designed to investigate potentially protective benefits of both selenium and vitamin E for prostate cancer, but instead found that Vitamin E caused a significant increase in prostate cancer risk. 

Selenium was found to cause no added risk, but also no benefit.

According to CNN:

“Based on the results of this trial, [the researchers] suggested that men should have a serious conversation with their doctors about whether taking vitamin E supplements is a good idea.”

A recent study is being reported as having found that some dietary supplements are associated with an increased risk of death in older women.  The analysis of about 39,000 women tracked over 19 years found that those who took multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, magnesium, zinc, copper and especially iron died at higher rates during the course of the study.

However, according to the Los Angeles Times:

“The research did not explore whether supplements contributed to the causes of death among the women … [I]t could reflect the possibility that the women who took … supplements were more likely to be sick from other causes and died from their underlying disease.”

And there, in a nutshell, is the problem with the way this study is being reported in many places.  That same Los Angeles Times article, for example, quotes a dietician arguing that the research “bolstered arguments against using supplements”.  Other articles have made similar claims.  But the study does no such thing.

It seems entirely likely that the people being studied who were sick were trying to help themselves by taking supplements, and hence this group was biased towards being sicker.  An almost identical study could be done associating frequency of visits to the doctor with increased risk of death.  But you can bet that few in the media would jump the conclusion that doctor visits are deadly … even though such a statement would not be entirely untrue.

The omega-3 fats found in fatty fish have been increasingly shown to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health, inflammation, mental health, and neurodegenerative diseases. A new study looked at the effects of omega-3’s when combined with the antioxidant astaxanthin.

The research primarily looked at their effects on the metabolism and functional properties of lymphocytes from rat lymph nodes.

According to the study, as reprinted on the website Green Med Info:

“We can propose that association of [astaxanthin] with [fish oil] could be a good strategy to prevent oxidative stress induced by polyunsaturated fatty acids and also to potentiate immuno-modulatory effects of [fish oil].”

A new analysis of data shows that over a twenty-seven year period (the complete length of time that data has been available) vitamin supplements have caused no deaths.  The previous estimate of vitamin-related deaths over that period had been eleven people.

The eleven deaths had been attributed to misuse.

However, according to Doctor Yourself:

“… [T]here is no substantiation provided to demonstrate that any vitamin was a cause of death … Although vitamin supplements have often been blamed for causing fatalities, there is no evidence to back up this allegation.”

Meanwhile, over the same period, millions have died from effects which are directly attributable to prescription drugs.

Research is showing that vitamin K can help to regulate your glucose metabolism.  This may be because the vitamin converts to a substance called carboxylated osteocalcin in your body, which affects insulin sensitivity.

A recent study found that that vitamin K2 supplementation increased insulin sensitivity in healthy young men.  The effect seemed to be related to increased carboxylated osteocalcin levels, rather than to another factor such as modulation of inflammation.

According to the study in Diabetes Care:

“Our results are consistent with previous studies that demonstrated improved glucose intolerance or relieved insulin resistance by treatment with vitamin K1 or vitamin K2 … Although our study could not provide the underlying mechanism, we speculate that [carboxylated osteocalcin] or vitamin K could modulate adipokines or inflammatory pathways other than the IL-6 pathways. Alternatively, [carboxylated osteocalcin] can directly regulate glucose disposal at skeletal muscle or adipose tissues.”

Kidney stones can be an extremely painful condition.  The number of Americans getting kidney stones is on the rise, perhaps because of the current epidemic of obesity. The Harvard Health Letter has assembled six tips on how you can avoid them.  Here are a few:

Keep your fluid intake up. Drink plenty of water, and the mineral concentrations in your urine won’t get as high.

Eat calcium-rich foods. If there’s plenty of calcium in your diet, it binds to oxalate in your intestine before the oxalate has a chance to get into your urine

However, don’t take calcium supplements. Postmenopausal women who take calcium supplements have been shown to be 20% more likely to develop kidney stones.

To see the rest of their tips, you can click on the link below.

Free radicals induced by cigarette smoking have been strongly linked to oxidative stress, which contributes to the pathobiology of various diseases. A recent study was performed to investigate the effects of astaxanthin, which is known to be a potent antioxidant, on oxidative stress in smokers.

Close to 40 heavy smokers and an equal number of non-smokers were enrolled in this study. Oxidative stress biomarkers were measures at the start of the study and each week thereafter for three weeks.

According to the study, as linked by Green Med Info:

“The results suggest that [astaxanthin] supplementation might prevent oxidative damage in smokers by suppressing lipid peroxidation and stimulating the activity of the antioxidant system in smokers.”

Conventional medical strategies for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis frequently include calcium supplementation. But this has been undermined by studies which show disappointing effects on fracture prevention.  Nonetheless, its use has continued to be encouraged on the grounds that it is physiologically appealing, and is unlikely to cause harm.

However, the assumption that it has no ill effects is now in question.  There is accumulating evidence that calcium supplement use is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction, and possibly stroke. The latest data shows that the number of cardiovascular events caused is likely to be greater than the number of fractures prevented.

According to a study in the journal Maturitas:

“These findings indicate that calcium supplementation probably does not have a role as a routine preventative agent and that dietary advice is the appropriate way to attain an adequate calcium intake in most situations. Patients at high risk of fracture need to take interventions of proven anti-fracture efficacy. Available evidence suggests that this efficacy is not dependent on the co-administration of calcium supplements.”

In our never-ending quest for happiness, it sometimes doesn’t occur to us that what we’re searching for may be as close as our own bodies. And now, a new study shows that it’s possible the answer to our search may begin with the bacteria in our bellies. According to Science News:

“Mice fed broth fortified with a type of friendly intestinal bacteria called Lactobacillus rhamnosus behaved less anxiously than mice fed broth without bacteria. Those behavior changes were accompanied by differences in levels of a brain-chemical sensor and stress hormones.

The bacteria telegraph these brain-chemical and behavior-changing messages via the vagus nerve, which connects the brain stem to various internal organs, researchers report online August 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

Scientists looking for a cost-effective way to reduce global mortality rates announced in July that they believe they’ve found it in the form of a supplement that could increase life expectancy by two years. Evidence of the benefits of vitamin D in reducing the risks of an array of diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s has been building up for a long time. But now, these researchers say, they have convincing evidence that Increasing serum 25(OH)D levels from 54 to 110 nmol/l would reduce the vitamin D-sensitive disease mortality rate by an estimated 20 percent:

“Increasing serum 25(OH)D levels is the most cost-effective way to reduce global mortality rates, as the cost of vitamin D is very low and there are few adverse effects from oral intake and/or frequent moderate UVB irradiance with sufficient body surface area exposed.”

Scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) analyzed a sample of suicide deaths among U.S. military personnel on active duty between 2002 and 2008, and found that suicide risk was greatest among individuals with the lowest levels of omega-3 fatty acids concentrated in their brains. In previous studies, they found that just 2 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day reduced suicidal thinking by 45 percent, as well as depression and anxiety scores among individuals with recurrent self-harm. The new study adds more information on the potential usefulness of omega-3 fats in reducing suicide risk and optimizing mental health, the scientists said.

Researchers at Lund University have discovered that treatment with vitamin C can dissolve the toxic protein aggregates that build up in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease, Science Daily reports. The research findings, presented in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, found that the vitamin C does not need to come only from fresh fruit.

“In our experiments, we show that the vitamin C can also be absorbed in larger quantities in the form of dehydroascorbic acid from juice that has been kept overnight in a refrigerator, for example,” the researchers said.

Another study on vitamin D’s effects on cancer prevention has come out, with evidence that vitamin D slows the action of a key carcinogenic protein that causes colon cancer. The new study confirmed previous findings that vitamin D can help control cancer tumors.

“Our study has confirmed the pivotal role of the vitamin D receptor in controlling the anomalous signal that sparks off the growth and uncontrolled proliferation of colon cells which, in the final instance, ends up causing a tumor to emerge,” the study’s authors told UPI.com.

A new study on marine carotenoids – nutritive properties of marine plants – shows that two carotenoids in particular, astaxanthin and fucoxanthin, have strong antioxidant properties, and possible anti-cancer effects. According to Marine Drugs:

They are substances with very special and remarkable properties that no other groups of substances possess and that form the basis of their many, varied functions and actions in all kinds of living organisms. … The potential role of these carotenoids as dietary anti-oxidants has been suggested to be one of the main mechanisms for their preventive effects against cancer and inflammatory diseases.

Scientists have found yet another positive property in resveratrol, a chemical compound found in certain plants like grapes, blueberries and cranberries. In a study published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, scientists reported that cardiac stem cells treated with resveratrol in mice helped cardiac function that lasted several months, and improved heart cell regeneration.

Manufacturers are once again trying to cash in on the need to relax.  More than 350 varieties of “relaxation drinks” are now on store shelves.  But do they work?

In investigation found some unpleasant surprises with these drinks.  They’re not FDA regulated, a proprietary blends mean that buyers have no idea how much of each active ingredient — such as melatonin, valerian, or L-theanine — is actually present in the can.

ABC News reports:

“There’s also limited research on how these relaxants interact with one another. Nor are they all shelf stable: Some of these compounds degrade in liquid.  We sent five popular brands … for analysis … [T]he amounts of active ingredients often differed from batch to batch. Even more shocking: In testing, some of the ingredients were barely present.”

Both sodium selenite and selenate are classified as dangerous and toxic to the environment.  They can be carcinogenic and genotoxic, and may contribute to reproductive and developmental problems in animals and humans.  Nonetheless, they are the primary forms of the mineral sold on the mass market today. 

Most mass-market vitamins actually contain chemicals that the EPA has banned from public drinking water at levels above 50 parts per billion. That’s the equivalent of a tablespoon of water in an Olympic-size swimming pool.

According to Green Med Info:

“… [T]his is not the first time in American history that such a hoax has been perpetuated on the public. The FDA-approved use of fluoride in our drinking water and the use of radioactive cobalt-60 culled from nuclear reactors for the IRRADIATION OF conventional food illustrates how industrial waste products with known toxicity are eventually converted into commodities or technologies ‘beneficial to health.’ Whereas initially these substances have very high disposal costs for the industries that excrete them into our environment, the liability is converted  — through the right combination of lobbying, miseducation and “checkbook science” — back into a commodity”.

U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) and the FDA have launched an unprecedented and coordinated assault on the dietary supplement industry.  Unless there is a massive consumer protest, it seems likely that a significant number of people will be denied access to many dietary supplements they currently take. In addition, the cost of dietary supplements will likely greatly increase as a direct result of unnecessary regulatory burden.

On June 30, Durbin introduced the “Dietary Supplement Labeling Act of 2011.” The legislation treats vitamins and other supplements as if they are drugs, and stipulates that the supplement industry must prove their safety. Such regulations would run small and medium size companies out of business, reduce consumer access to safe products, and drive up costs.

According to News With Views:

“The dietary supplement industry has no traditional political party as an ally. Dietary supplements empower people to be in charge of their own health, to improve their mental and physical health, and to be more self-determined in their decision making. This flies in the face of what the globalist, ruling-class elite of both political parties desire.”

Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are connected diabetic complications, including the form of vision loss known as diabetic retinopathy. In new present study, researchers looked for the first time at the protective effects of three microalgal strains against AGEs.

Results showed that an extract of Chlorella zofingiensis, which containes the nutritional ingredient astaxanthin, had a significant inhibitory effect on the formation CML, a key AGE representative.  It worked by suppressing intracellular oxidative stress.

According to the study, as reported by Green Med Info:

“On the other hand, extracts of Chlorella zofingiensis, Chlorella protothecoides and Nitzschia laevis as well as their nutritional ingredients, namely astaxanthin, lutein and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), attenuated the deleterious effects induced by exogenous AGEs … These results suggested the positive roles of astaxanthin, lutein and EPA in controlling the development of diabetes.”

The website Green Med Info has assembled an amazing list of more than 200 studies, which together explore more than 170 diseases which can be helped or treated with probiotics.

The conditions include:

• Irritable bowel syndrome

• Atopic Dermatitis

• Diarrhea

• Allergic Rhinitis

• And even the common cold!

According to just one of the many studies linked on the site:

“The ability of the gut microbiota and oral probiotics to influence systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, glycemic control, tissue lipid content and even mood itself, may have important implications …”

To read more, you can click on the link below.

A study sought to evaluate the efficacy of cyanocobalamin, a form of vitamin B12, in treating patients with recurrent canker sores.

The researchers tested the blood vitamin B12 levels of more than 70 subjects with canker sores. After their vitamin B12 levels were increased, there was a significant decrease in canker sore frequency — whether they had initially showed low B12 levels or not.

According to the study, as reported by Green Med Info:

“96 percent of the patients showed good response to replacement treatment … Cyanocobalamin treatment may be beneficial … even when serum [vitamin B12] levels are normal. We suggest that higher serum [vitamin B12] levels should be attained in patients with [canker sores] for mucosal protection.”

Life Mojo suggests a number of dietary supplements that can help women over 40 lead a healthier life. Here’s some of what they suggest:

Vitamin D: Vitamin D helps prevent bone fractures and helps with calcium reabsorption. It also protects against multiple sclerosis and breast cancer.

Omega 3 Fats: Omega 3’s provide protection against heart attacks and lower your risk of breast cancer.

Calcium: Calcium is essential in building bones, muscles, and teeth, and is also used during nerve conduction, blood clotting, and muscle contraction.

To read the rest of their list, you can click on the link below.