Articulatory Loop

My mom always insisted that we drink fruit juice instead of soda. Research suggests that, except for 100% orange and grapefruit juice, drinking fruit drinks or juices are at least as big a diabetes risk as soda. The grapefruit exception may have to do with this, but the orange juice, well, who knows. Still, the message is clear: drink water or unsweetened coffee/tea. Mostly tea.

Speaking of things we thought were good for us: soy. A correlational (read: probably unreliable) study linked even low levels of soy consumption to lowered sperm count in men. This is hilarious, but given the population of Asian nations where soy is a staple food, unlikely to be meaningful or real.

And speaking of dubious, we have much-hyped claims that researchers have developed "exercise pills." I'm not entirely clear on how these are even supposed to work, but apparently it's possible that in the (near) future, I may not have to bother with the treadmill at all. Which would make me very happy! It also seems that taking garlic in a pill may help lower your blood pressure, but I really fail to see the point: garlic is delicious. why not just eat the stuff? Anyone who thinks garlic breath is bad clearly shouldn't ever come to my house!

Labels: blood pressure, diabetes, dubious, exercise, fertility, fitness, fruit juice, garlic, health, pharmacology, soda, soy, sperm

Type II diabetes is a fast-growing health problem - as peoples' increasingly sedentary and BigMac-filled lifestyles balloon waistlines, the Beetis is close behind. Some keys to stemming that tide may come from interesting places: researchers have found that the South American shrinking frog produces a protein - pseudin-2 - the synthetic of which, it seems, stimulates insulin secretion and sensitivity. A whole new reason to lick toads?

A Scotish group has found preliminary evidence that two black tea constituents - theaflavins and thearubigins - appear to also mimic insulin's actions on blood glucose. The research is, again, pretty preliminary, so while a nice cup of tea is probably a good thing anyways, I wouldn't count on it to cure your diabetes.

The only real way to prevent type II diabetes (in most cases) is diet and exercise. Especially for kids, who, like their parents, are getting fatter and fatter every day. Johns Hopkins researchers found that outdoor activity and daily PE classes are, unsurprisingly, negatively associated with kids ending up obese. Skateboarding in particluar was associated with less tubbiness. So, NIMBY Tribunal, let them build that damn skate park, unless you'd rather put up with a dialysis center.

Speaking of parents and their children, a review of the literature may suggest that spanking kids leads to sexual health problems. Kids everywhere would love to tell their parents about this study, but it is a retrospective review, and the results seem a bit of a stretch. Plus, being into S+M is one of the "problems" listed, so that's an interesting question.

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Now playing: Dragonette - Jesus Doesn't Love Me
via FoxyTunes

Labels: Beetis, bondage, diabetes, drugs, frogs, health, kids, obesity, sex, sexuality, skateboarding, spanking

Exercise is good for you (we all know that) and it makes sense that what kind you do makes a difference. It turns out that for diabetes control, a combination of aerobic and strength-training routines is more effective than either alone, and, more amusingly, it turns out that playing soccer is better exercise than jogging. I'd much rather play soccer than jog, so I'm cool with this. Now I just need a new ACL...

But exercise isn't always good: too much working out during pregnancy appears to be a miscarriage risk. This isn't really a surprise, if you think about it, but it is good to keep in mind.

Lastly, the American Dental Association has granted its 'seal of approval' to a few chewing gum makers to market their products as "good for your teeth." The thing is, the studies used to evaluate the positive effects were mostly funded by the gum manufacturers, and so I find it hard to really trust them.

Still, one more excuse to chew gum in class!

Labels: ADA, chewing gum, diabetes, exercise, health, miscarriage, pregnancy, science, soccer, teeth

Abbott labs has published a study which suggests that the Ayurvedic herb Salacia oblonga may be helpful in managing diabetes type II and obesity. The drug significantly lowered post-meal glucose peaks, decreasing insulin responses. It's thought to act as an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, essentially blocking carbohydrates from being absorbed. I'm sure the herb has some effect, and could be really effective, but I suspect that we're a long way from seeing it in a useful formulation here in the States.

One thing we have lots of here, on the other hand, is vitamin C. Australian researchers suggest that a diet high in this citrusy nutrient, as well as in green-veggie carotenoids, could lower one's risk of developing knee arthritis. This result strikes me a bit odd, but given my history of knee injuries, I can't say I'll be avoiding my fruits or veggies!!

Something else we have a lot of in the US (especially here in Atlanta, home of the nation's second-most-unhealthy commute) is air pollution. While we've known for some time that pollution is linked to increased cardiovascular disease, it's not been clear precisely why. Now, UCLA researchers (who live in the unhealthiest commuter area) have found a direct link between air pollution and arteriosclerosis: strongly oxidative particles. Oh, goody. Can I get my car fit with a gas mask?

Labels: arteriosclerosis, arthritis, Ayurveda, CVD, diabetes, health, heart disease, herbal remedies, knee, obesity, pollution, science, vitamins

Surprising no one, a SAMHSA study has found that we are a nation of druggies. Well, actually they found that at least 8.3% of us are honest when answering surveys. Data from three annual surveys of 40,000 participants indicated that about one in twelve full-time workers admitted using illegal drugs in the past month.

The highest rates being among restaurant workers, shocking no one except New York lawyers and stock brokers, who thought they were ahead as usual. The problems with surveys like this pretty much outweigh their usefulness, as far as I'm concerned. Firstly, honest reporting is a serious problem. Secondly, asking if people have used drugs gives no indication whatsoever as to whether or not they did so in a dangerous, or excessive, or other manner which caused them to be less effective members of society.

Besides being on drugs, Americans are also very often obese. Why? Well, for starters we don't get enough exercise. A CDC study found that, even though as many as 35% of kids live within a mile of school, few walk or bike. Why? Well, it might have to do with the fact that we're a lazy, car-obsessed society. More interestingly (and ironically) is that we are also a fear obsessed society. Parents and school are so afraid of anything happening to their kids (and of getting sued for it) that they don't even allow their kids to walk. (I remember a comments discussion with Karen about her kids and school a while back, but can't find it)

Parents should, of course, be more afraid of their kids being obese and getting diabetes (both things which are likely and eminently preventable) than of their kids being kidnapped, run over, or getting lost (all increasingly unlikely, unless the kid is famous and/or incredibly stupid) on the treacherous 400 meter walk home. Why, you ask?

A study from Captain Obvious' lab has found that overweight kids face severe stigma from a very early age, especially from peers but also from parents and teachers. Fat kids lives tend to suck. Fat kids are also at risk of developing diabetes, which sucks even more.

On the upside, there is evidence that vitamin D and calcium may help protect against type II diabetes. It's not clear how this works, but is a promising direction for research.

Labels: diabetes, drugs, exercise, fat, kids, laziness, obesity, obvious, paranoia, parenting, school

We know HIV is bad for you. That's rather obvious - it causes all kinds of nastiness. One of the big problems facing those with HIV is the virus' ability to mutate at astounding rates, and thus rapidly develop resistance to any treatments thrown its way. An experimental drug, etravirine, may provide needed relief in this area: resistant patients treated with approved antiviral drugs and etravirine seem to have lowered their viral loads much more than those on antivirals alone. Granted, this data is from a pharmaceutical company's press release, with no publication cited, but we can hope the effects are real.

While everyone knows HIV is bad, most people are aware that drinking lots of cola is probably not good for them. Unfortunately, an article in the July issue of the journal Epidemiology suggests that folks who drink more than two servings of cola per day (that's less than one of those 20-oz bottles!) had a higher risk of chronic kidney disease. The culprit seems to be cola's characteristic phosphoric acid, as other sodas and caffeinated drinks didn't show similar effects.

Finally, you probably thought that Selenium was good for you. Health food stores and "dietary supplement" companies have been touting it for years as a miracle for everything from cancer to obesity and beyond. Unfortunately, what looks like a pretty robust clinical trial has found that selenium supplementation appears to be linked to higher risk of diabetes. Granted, this result comes from secondary analysis, but still it should serve as a warning: we don't really know what all those "supplements" do to our bodies.

Labels: AIDS, antiviral, cola, diabetes, diet, drugs, health, HIV, kidney, renal disease, selenium, supplements

My first week of my internship has been tons of fun, but very busy. Thus, here are a ton of quick-link type things to the many big important sciencey news stories that are going on:

American and Japanese people read faces very differently, the former focusing on the mouth and the latter on eyes. It makes for a very interesting contrast, and has interesting implications even beyond emoticons - :-) versus (^_^).

Taking tons of vitamin supplements may be linked to more malignant and fatal cancers: bloody eat your vegetables and take less pills people!

British food is notoriously tasteless: it may also be less nutritious! A Warwick study found that boiling brassicas (broccoli and the like) for 30 minutes severely reduces the amount of cancer-fighting glucosinolate in the meal. Why the fuck would you boil a vegetable for 30 minutes, even if you're English?!?!?

California researchers found that N-acetylglucosamine, which is similar to but is NOT the popular supplement glucosamine, may help block the autoimmune responses seen in multiple sclerosis and diabetes type I. Cool!

US still has worst, most expensive healthcare in the "industrialized world."

The US and DC have reached agreement on a plan to 'fix' St. Elizabeth's Hospital...including such lofty goals as halting patient abuse. This old place has been in trouble for so long, that it'll be really kinda weird if they ever do fix it up! But I hope they do, since aside from being necessary to help mental patients in DC, it's a gorgeous old campus.

And the NIH has given Erin Brockovich more to crow about. They've finally released findings that Chromium 6 may indeed cause cancer by ingestion, not just inhalation. Whether or not this means that the EPA will actually act to reduce its release into the environment is an entirely different issue.

Labels: autoimmune, cancer, chromium, culture, DC, diabetes, emotion, health, healthcare, mental health, science, St. Elizabeth's

Finals are finally over (yay!), and so much has been going on that I want to catch up about. So, some highlights:

My epidemiology professor said at one point that "chronic diseases are those things that, should we live long enough, we will all enjoy." So, in honor of the discovery of a gene responsible for the increased longevity seen from calorie-restricted diets, a few bits on chronic disease.

Two groups of researchers have found (separately) that an allele appears to be responsible for as much as a 60% increase in heart disease risk. The gene, which is especially common in white people, is not determinant: you still need lifestyle and other risk factors, but having one or two copies of this gene is no good either!

Diabetic ulcers are just one of the many complications of that potentially debilitating chronic disease, whose incidence is likely to begin really skyrocketing soon, as the world's population gets older and fatter. And now, of course, we have super-bugs, which are resistant to antibiotic treatment, which can infect these ulcers and make amputation more likely. Two new treatments may be on the horizon: honey and maggots. Both have shown promise in preliminary and anecdotal studies, the former helping healing by sterilizing the area with peroxide and dehydration, the latter doing a number of (not entirely clear) things to kill even MRSA infections.

Another chronic, but more annoying than debilitating, disease is herpes. US researchers claim to have found the gene responsible for HSV's ability to 'hide' in the body, a promising discovery for future improvements in treatment.

Once you've gotten old and have managed your diabetes and heart disease risks, living in a walkable neighborhood may be another good thing to do for yourself: US researchers found that elderly men who lived in walkable neighborhoods (those with things like sidewalks, crosswalks, and nearby shops and cafes) were less likely to be depressed than those living in nonwalkable areas. I live in a dreadfully unwalkable area, and I know I think it's depressing!

Finally: too much of a good thing. Green tea's supposed to be all kinds of good for you, right? Well yes, unless you're overdoing it. Rutgers researchers found that people who take 'green tea supplements' may be at risk of liver and kidney damage. I always say, don't take as a pill that which you can get in real life...it's just never quite right.

Labels: amputation, chronic, depression, diabetes, diet, exercise, geneitcs, green tea, healing, heart disease, herpes, honey, HSV, infection, longevity, maggots, MRSA, pills, ulcers

We all know that being too fat is bad for you, and a UCSD study may help understand pert of why. The researchers found that human colon cancer cells have leptin receptors which, when activated, cause the cancers to grow. The more body fat you have, the more leptin you have, which could explain why obesity is such a strong risk factor for colon (and maybe other types of) cancer.

Another problem with being too fat is the likelihood of developing the beetis. Well, if you do, there may be good news: New Zealand doctors say that a man who had piglet islet cells injected into him ten years ago to help control his diabetes still has some of them alive and producing insulin in him. This result is quite promising for future xenotransplantation procedures, which could perhaps actually cure, rather than merely reduce the symptoms of, disease.

But, if taking insulin remains necessary, that drug may soon be cheaper and easier to get: a Canadian firm claims that it's gotten safflower plants to produce human insulin in their oil. If true, this would be a massive breakthrough. And yes, I understand the environmental concerns (and am very wary of corporatizing food production), but I think this is worthwhile.

Speaking of plants, it appears that an herbal remedy may be helpful in clearing urinary tract infections: Duke researchers found that high doses of forskolin (which agonizes c-AMP receptors in the bladder) seem to force E. coli out of hiding to be cleared. Now remains the question of whether this works in humans too. And of course the question of what side effects such potent c-AMP agonism might have.

Labels: Beetis, bladder, bladder cancer, c-AMP, colon cancer, diabetes, GM crops, infection, insulin, leptin, obesity, UTI

Smoking and obesity are the two biggest preventable risk factors for poor health, this we all know. The question is how do we get people to quit smoking and lose weight (or, more importantly, get some exercise)? Well, today's news offers some really bad suggestions: banning more stuff.

UNC researchers found that watching R-rated movies and lots of TV made white teens more likely to smoke, but not black teens. They aren't sure why they found this difference, but suspect it might be that more characters are white, and kids identify with people like themselves. The methods of this study are, it seems, a bit dubious - the reliability of their scales is not established, and also I wonder about external validity.

But, no doubt, certain factions will use this study to demand a ban on smoking in movies. Which will (a) never happen, and (b) have at best a marginal effect on real smoking rates. Oh well.

A review of research on diet and health has found that drinking non-diet soda on a regular basis seems to be associated with unhealthier eating habits in general, increased risk of obesity, and strikingly increased risk of The Beetis. It also seems that the strongest effects were seen in the 'best' studies reviewed, though no criteria for that judgment is given here.

The problem? Passing laws to "rein in soft drink consumption" is ridiculous prospect. Almost as bad as encouraging people to encourage kids to drink diet soda. Which, among other things, interferes with bone growth and probably causes neurological damage. The only legislative approach likely to be effective here is going after advertising...and even that's a longshot.

Finally, some good-ish news: Prevention magazine, comissioned by the American Podiatric Medical Association, has published a list of the top 100 "walkable" big cities in the US. Madison, WI comes in at the top of the list, which while I think is a nice idea, clearly has some SEVERE methodological flaws. Like, for instance, the fact that Atlanta is at number 53. Uhm, no. Oh well, I guess someone had to pay for the study!

Labels: Atlanta, Beetis, diabetes, fitness, geography, health, kids, Madison, movies, obesity, smoking, soda, TV, walking