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June 17th, 2009 | Posted in UncategorizedStudy suggests MS activity could change with the seasons
August 31st, 2010 | Tags: MS research, seasonal change in MSPosted in Uncategorized
31 Aug 2010
A recently published American study has found that the appearance of lesions on brain scans in people with MS was higher from March – August compared to scans taken in winter months.
What did the study show?
The study looked at 44 people from Boston with MS from 1991 to 1993 and compared their brain scans to weather data for the same location and period. None of the participants were on medication.
The study found that activity of MS (lesions seen on MRI brain scans) correlated with season and temperature. People were two to three times more likely to have new lesions in the months between March and August than in the winter months.
What does this mean for people with MS?
It’s important to note the study failed to acknowledge other environmental factors such as vitamin D levels in the participants, lifestyle factors and exposure to viruses that may increase MS activity. These factors can fluctuate according to the seasons and may have complicated the data.
This was a small trial, so it’s difficult to draw firm conclusions on the relevance of seasons and temperature to MS activity.
What does the MS Society say?
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, research communications officer for the MS Society, said: “This small study is intriguing and, if validated in larger studies, has the potential to influence the way clinical trials are designed. We need to see studies looking at more people before we can draw firm conclusions.”
VITAMIN D FOUND TO INFLUENCE OVER 200 GENES, HIGHLIGHTING LINKS TO DISEASE
August 27th, 2010 | Tags: Action Medical Research, asia, Auatrailia, canada, Canadian MS Foundation, cancer, Dr Andreas Heger, Dr Sreeram Ramagopalan, europe, Genome Research, Human Genetics, Medical Research Council, MRC Functional Genomics Unit, ms society, MS Society Scotland, Multiple Sclerosis, Oxford University's Medical Sciences, Oxford University's Medical Sciences Division, press release, Professor George Ebers, Shine on Scotland, usa, vitamin d campaignPosted in Uncategorized
‘Scientists have mapped the points at which vitamin D interacts with our DNA – and identified over two hundred genes that it directly influences’
Media release from the Wellcome Trust
The extent to which vitamin D deficiency may increase susceptibility to a wide range of diseases is dramatically highlighted in research published today. Scientists have mapped the points at which vitamin D interacts with our DNA – and identified over two hundred genes that it directly influences. The results are published today in the journal Genome Research.
It is estimated that one billion people worldwide do not have sufficient vitamin D. This deficiency is thought to be largely due to insufficient exposure to the sun and in some cases to poor diet. As well as being a well-known risk factor for rickets, there is a growing body of evidence that vitamin D deficiency also increases an individual’s susceptibility to autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes, as well as certain cancers and even dementia.
Now, in a study whose funders include the Medical Research Council, the MS Society, the Wellcome Trust and the Canadian MS Foundation, researchers at the University of Oxford have shown the extent to which vitamin D interacts with our DNA. They used new DNA sequencing technology to create a map of vitamin D receptor binding across the genome. The vitamin D receptor is a protein activated by vitamin D, which attaches itself to DNA and thus influences what proteins are made from our genetic code.
The researchers found 2,776 binding sites for the vitamin D receptor along the length of the genome. These were unusually concentrated near a number of genes associated with susceptibility to autoimmune conditions such as MS, Crohn’s disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (or ‘lupus’) and rheumatoid arthritis, and to cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and colorectal cancer.
They also showed that vitamin D had a significant effect on the activity of 229 genes including IRF8, previously associated with MS, and PTPN2, associated with Crohn’s disease and type 1 diabetes.
“Our study shows quite dramatically the wide-ranging influence that vitamin D exerts over our health,” says Dr Andreas Heger from the MRC Functional Genomics Unit at Oxford, one of the lead authors of the study.
The first author of the paper, Dr Sreeram Ramagopalan from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, adds: “There is now evidence supporting a role for vitamin D in susceptibility to a host of diseases. Vitamin D supplements during pregnancy and the early years could have a beneficial effect on a child’s health in later life. Some countries such as France have instituted this as a routine public health measure.”
The main source of vitamin D in the body comes from exposing the skin to sunlight, although a diet of oily fish can provide some of the vitamin. Research has previously suggested that lighter skin colour and hair colour evolved in populations moving to parts of the globe with less sun to optimise production of vitamin D in the body. A lack of vitamin D can affect bone development, leading to rickets; in pregnant mothers, poor bone health can be fatal to both mother and child at birth, hence there are selective pressures in favour of people who are able to produce adequate vitamin D.
This new study supports this hypothesis, having found a significant number of vitamin D receptor binding sites in regions of the genome with genetic changes more commonly found in people of European and Asian descent. It is probable that skin lightening as we migrated out of Africa resulted from the necessity to be able to make more vitamin D and prevent rickets: vitamin D deficiency led to pelvic contraction resulting in increased risk of fatality of both mother and unborn child, effectively ending maternal lineages unable to find ways of increasing availability of the vitamin.
“Vitamin D status is potentially one of the most powerful selective pressures on the genome in relatively recent times,” says Professor George Ebers, Action Medical Research Professor of Clinical Neurology and one of the senior authors of the paper. “Our study appears to support this interpretation and it may be we have not had enough time to make all the adaptations we have needed to cope with our northern circumstances.”
Ends ….
Notes for editors
Ramagopalan, S et al. A ChIP-seq defined genome-wide map of vitamin D receptor binding: associations with disease and evolution. Genome Research; 23/08/10
About the Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charity dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust’s breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests. www.wellcome.ac.uk
About the Medical Research Council
For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and provides the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs, including the first antibiotic penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century. www.mrc.ac.uk
About the MS Society
The MS Society is the UK’s largest charity dedicated to supporting everyone living with or affected by MS, providing respite care, an award-winning freephone helpline (0808 800 8000), specialist MS nurses and funds around 80 vital MS research projects in the UK. www.mssociety.org.uk
About Oxford University’s Medical Sciences Division
Oxford University’s Medical Sciences Division is one of the largest biomedical research centres in Europe. It represents almost one-third of Oxford University’s income and expenditure, and two-thirds of its external research income. Oxford’s world-renowned global health programme is a leader in the fight against infectious diseases (such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and avian flu) and other prevalent diseases (such as cancer, stroke, heart disease and diabetes). Long-term studies of patients around the world are supported by basic science at Oxford and have led to many exciting developments, including potential vaccines for tuberculosis, malaria and HIV, which are in clinical trials. www.medsci.ox.ac.uk
About the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics
The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics was established to undertake research into the genetic basis of common diseases. The scientific objective of the Centre is to explore all aspects of the genetic susceptibility of disease. The Centre houses multi-disciplinary research teams in human genetics, functional genomics, bioinformatics, statistical genetics and structural biology. www.well.ox.ac.uk
About Action Medical Research
Action Medical Research, for children, for life, is the leading UK-wide medical research charity dedicated to helping babies and children. www.action.org.uk
About Shine on Scotland
A campaign by Ryan Mclaughlin to get vitamin D for every child and pregnant
mother as a preventative measure against Multiple Sclerosis www.shineonscotland.org.uk
The Wellcome Trust - www.wellcome.ac.uk – Senior Media Officer Craig Brierley - c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk – 020 7611 7329
In Memorium: Frank Garland, PhD -
August 25th, 2010 | Tags: cancer research, Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, Epidemiology UCSD, Grank Garland Phd, In momorium: Frank Garland, International Journal of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Naval Health Research Center, the lancet, Vitamin D, vitamin d researchPosted in Uncategorized
In Memorium : Frank Garland, PhD
His studies shed light on link between Vitamin D and Cancer
UC San Diego Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine, Frank Garland, PhD, died Tuesday, August 17 in La Jolla, California, after a year-long battle with illness. Garland was also Technical Director of the Naval Health Research Center.
A San Diego native, Garland was born on June 20, 1950. He received his PhD degree in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins University and began a distinguished career in vitamin D research for cancer and disease prevention.
“Frank Garland’s untimely death is a great loss to this division where he has been a superb teacher of epidemiologic research methods in general, and the potential benefits of Vitamin D in particular,” said Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD, professor and chief of the Division of Epidemiology in the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. “His studies and research by many other scientists now suggest that Vitamin D not only prevents some common cancers, but also reduces the risk of other common diseases. Frank will be missed as a scholar, mentor, and friend.”
Garland’s brother and co-investigator, Cedric Garland, PhD, professor of family and preventive medicine at UC San Diego said their interest in vitamin D began in July 1974. “We had just driven cross-country to attend a seminar in Baltimore. On the very first day, some cancer mortality rate maps were shared. We both immediately noticed a pattern; a pattern that launched both our careers.Our entire academic lives are based on that single moment.”
At that seminar, the Garland brothers noticed that the mortality rate maps of breast and colon cancer were twice as high in many counties of the northern tier of states than in the southwest. These geographic differences led to their theory that vitamin D and calcium were preventing adenocarcinoma of the colon and breast in the sunnier parts of the United States.
This theory broke away from the conventional belief that sunlight was a dangerous cause of skin cancer which should be completely avoided.
The Garland’s theory, first published in 1980 in the International Journal of Epidemiology, proposed that vitamin D and calcium are capable of preventing cancer, setting the course for a three-decade-long career devoted to vitamin D research.
“Over the past three decades, the Garlands’ seminal hypothesis has been largely confirmed by numerous additional studies,” said Edward Giovannucci, MD, ScD, professor of nutrition and epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health. “Improving vitamin D status remains one of the most promising natural ways to combat incidence and death from some cancers.”
Frank Garland’s descriptive study of sunlight and cancer mortality initiated two well-known studies published by members of the Garland team and other colleagues in the medical journal The Lancet. The first study was a 19-year historical cohort study in Chicago which found that people whose vitamin D and/or calcium intakes were in the top fifth of the population had half the incidence of colon cancer as those in the bottom fifth. This was the first study to find an effect of oral intake of vitamin D or calcium on cancer risk.
The second key paper by Garland and his colleagues analyzed vitamin D concentrations in volunteers in Washington County, Maryland. This cohort study collected blood from 25,000 volunteers and showed for the first time that people with high concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the serum had very low risk of colon cancer.
These Garland papers are cited in more than 95 percent of other vitamin D-related papers. The papers have led to major advances in the understanding of the role of vitamin D in cancer prevention including its role in prevention of cancer of the ovary, kidney, bladder and endometrium.
In 2006, the International Journal of Epidemiology re-published Garland’s 1980 article concerning vitamin D and cancer mortality based on his geographic observations. The republication was followed by a set of scientific commentaries on the importance of this seminal research.
“Frank’s devotion to the pursuit of scientific truth about vitamin D and realization of its potential benefit to humanity is a major factor in the emergence of vitamin D as an increasingly accepted tool for reducing incidence rates of cancer, and more recently, Type 1diabetes in children,” said Cedric Garland.
In addition to his brother, Cedric, Garland is survived by his mother, Eva Caldwell Garagliano, also of San Diego.
Campaign Statement
August 24th, 2010 | Tags: Mr David McNiven, MS Society Scotland, position statementPosted in Uncategorized
24/08/10
The importance of vitamin D has been extensively reported in recent years, but a new study has shed new light on the genetic mechanisms that may be responsible for this as you may have read in the media. Ground breaking research published yesterday .
Scientists from the Wellcome Trust have mapped the genome and identified 229 genes under influence of vitamin D identifying key genes linked to MS multiple sclerosis (IRF8), Many of the sites were located near genes linked to autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease and type 1 diabetes (PTP2N) , lupus , rheumatoid arthritis as well as cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and colorectal cancer.
In their work, the researchers used novel DNA sequencing technology to create a map of vitamin D receptors that appear along the Genome and found 2,776 such binding sites, which allow the vitamin to attach itself and influence protein expression.
“Our study shows quite dramatically the wide-ranging influence that vitamin D exerts over our health,” said Dr Andreas Heger from the MRC Functional Genomics Unit at Oxford. Dr. Ramagopolam added ‘vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy and early life could yield substantial benefits for children as they grow up’
Published in Genome Research.
Prof. George Ebers is heading up the the research investigating MS and vitamin D. I’ve been working closely with his team over the summer on my own research. This new groundbreaking research answers many questions and it further proves many scientists results to be correct. I am positive that vitamin D is the answer to preventing MS as well as other diseases.
Unless a volcano erupts disrupting flights again we are well on course to present all evidence to Scottish Government Ministers at the Summit in September being kindly hosted and supported by the MS Society Scotland.
Ryan Mclaughlin
Shine on Scotland Campaign
A statement from MS Society Scotland.
“This is another very exciting piece of research which adds to the evidence base on vitamin D and MS. It will help inform discussion at the major international summit that we are organising next month along with the Shine on Scotland campaign and the Scottish Government.
World renowned researchers will be coming to Scotland to assess the latest evidence and examine the implications for public health policy in this country. I’m delighted that the MS Society Scotland is taking a leading role in this and look forward to welcoming the researchers to the summit”.
Mr David McNiven
Giving babies sunshine vitamin may cut illness risk
August 24th, 2010 | Tags: Crohn's disease, DNA, Dr Andreas Heger, Dr Sreeram Ramagopalan, Genome, Genome Research, human DNA, IRF8, lack of sunlight, lupus, Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Unit, MS, MS Society Scotland, Multiple Sclerosis, news, oxford university, Professor George Ebers, PTPN2, Ryan McLaughlin, Scottish Parliament, Shine on Scotland, sunshine vitamin, vitamin d campaign, vitamin D receptor, vitamin d research, wellcome trustPosted in Uncategorized
By Lyndsay Moss
Health Correspondent – The Scotsman
TAKING vitamin D during pregnancy and in the first few years of life could help reduce the risk of a wide ranges of illness, researchers have revealed, after finding new genetic links between diseases and the compound.
The latest study mapped how the so-called “sunshine vitamin” interacted with human DNA, finding more than 200 genes where it had a direct influence.
The results suggest that taking supplements in early life could help reduce the risk of several illnesses multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease and some types of cancer.
It is estimated that one billion people worldwide do not have enough vitamin D, the main source of which comes through exposure to sunlight.
Scotland has some of the highest rates of MS in the world, and this has been linked by some to the lack of sunlight.
Glasgow schoolboy Ryan McLaughlin, whose mother Kirsten has MS, launched a campaign to increase awareness of the importance of vitamin D supplements with a petition at the Scottish Parliament last year.
A poor diet can also lead to vitamin D deficiency, according to the study published in Genome Research.
Previous studies have suggested that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of “autoimmune conditions” such as MS and rheumatoid arthritis.
Now researchers at Oxford University have shown the true extent to which vitamin D interacts with our DNA, potentially making it a factor in a whole host of diseases.
The researchers used new DNA sequencing technology to create a map of vitamin D “receptor binding” across the genome – our complete genetic make-up.
The vitamin D receptor is a protein activated by vitamin D, which attaches itself to DNA and so influences what proteins are made from our genetic code. The researchers found 2,776 “binding sites” for the vitamin D receptor along the genome.
These were concentrated near genes associated with susceptibility to conditions such as MS, Crohn’s disease, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, and to cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and colorectal cancer.
They also showed that vitamin D had a significant effect on the activity of 229 genes, including IRF8, previously associated with MS, and PTPN2, associated with Crohn’s disease and type 1 diabetes.
Dr Andreas Heger, from the Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Unit at Oxford, said: “Our study shows quite dramatically the wide-ranging influence that vitamin D exerts over our health.”
Professor George Ebers, senior researcher on the study, said the evidence for the link between vitamin D and some illnesses, such as MS and Type 1 diabetes, had already been found.
But he said before the latest study, the evidence linking vitamin D to lupus and colon cancer had not been so strong.
There could also be other illnesses linked to vitamin D deficiency which are not yet known about.
Dr Sreeram Ramagopalan, from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, said: “There is now evidence supporting a role for vitamin D in susceptibility to a host of diseases.
“Vitamin D supplements during pregnancy and the early years could have a beneficial effect on a child’s health in later life.
“Some countries such as France have instituted this as a routine public health measure.”
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Giving-babies-sunshine-vitamin-may.6490474.jp?articlepage=1
vitamin d may help diabetes
August 22nd, 2010 | Tags: diabetes, diabetes scotland, new research, Ryan McLaughlin, Shine on Scotland, University College London, university of glasgow, University of London, Vitamin D, vitamin d campaignPosted in External News Articles, Uncategorized
Vitamin D may help diabetics
A new study is examining the role of vitamin D, often called the ’sunshine vitamin’, in lowering the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Two factors are already known: levels of vitamin D increase when the skin is exposed to sunlight, and higher vitamin D levels are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. However, there is as yet no evidence that explains the direct causal link between the two.
To further our understanding of this relationship, researchers from the University of Glasgow, University of Bristol, University College London and St George’s, University of London hope to determine whether individuals genetically disposed to higher vitamin D levels also have a reduced risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes.
Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said “Currently we know that, while some of the risk factors associated with Type 2 diabetes are out of someone’s control, other risk factors, such as being overweight, can be acted on to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The results of research into vitamin D, if shown to be effective in reducing Type 2 diabetes risk, will add to an armoury of existing preventative measures such as weight-loss, keeping active and eating a healthy balanced diet.”
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2010/Aug/vitamin-d-may-help-diabetics-97763231.html
Diabetes UK also hope that the study will establish if further research is needed to test whether vitamin D supplements can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in conjunction with exercise and diet . However, it is recommended that people shouldn’t increase their exposure to sunlight, as this can be harmful, or increase their intake of vitamin D supplements until the research is verified.
PTP-PEST discovery could impact treatment of Multiple Sclerosis
August 22nd, 2010 | Tags: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, canadian ms society, Cell Press group, CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity, Clinical Autoimmunity research, Dr. Andre Veillette, Dr. Judith Bray, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal, IRCM, journal Immunity, Molecular Oncology research, ms news, MS research, PTP-PEST, Pyk2, T cellsPosted in Uncategorized
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The internationally-renowned scientific journal Immunity, from the Cell Press group, published online recently, and will publish in its August 27 print issue, the results of a study conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Andre Veillette, Director of the Molecular Oncology research unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal (IRCM).
Their scientific breakthrough could have an impact on the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases, which affect tens of thousands of Canadians.
Dr. Veillette’s team discovered the function of a protein located in T cells, which are immune cells known as lymphocytes that play a central role in the protection against viruses and other microbial agents. They also take part in the development of certain diseases, including diabetes and multiple sclerosis. The protein in question is the “phosphatase” PTP-PEST, an enzyme that removes phosphates from other proteins in the cell.
“By removing PTP-PEST from mouse T cells, we determined that this protein was required for repeated immune responses such as those occurring during vaccination,” explains Dr. Dominique Davidson, a researcher in Dr. Veillette’s laboratory and first author of the study. “More particularly, we showed that PTP-PEST controls the activity of Pyk2, a molecule that stimulates the ability of cells to interact with one another and move within the body.”
The researchers showed that, through this mechanism, PTP-PEST stimulates the participation of T cells in an immune reaction. Once activated, T cells encourage other immune cells to join in an immune response, thereby explaining their pivotal role in this process. The team’s results also show that the elimination of PTP-PEST in T cells can prevent certain autoimmune diseases, at least in mice. This suggests that suppressing the function of PTP-PEST through medication could be of value for the treatment of some human diseases.
“The removal of PTP-PEST can unfortunately prevent immunization and weaken the response to a vaccine,” concludes Dr. Veillette. “Fortunately, it can also prevent overactive immune responses and could eventually help treat autoimmune diseases. It’s like a double-edged sword.”
According to the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society of Canada, MS is the most common neurological disease affecting young Canadians. Canada is known as having one of the highest prevalence rates of multiple sclerosis in the world, with an estimated 55,000 to 75,000 Canadians living with multiple sclerosis. The MS Society estimates that approximately 1,000 new cases of MS are diagnosed in the country each year, which means three Canadians are diagnosed with the disease every day.
This research project was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). “This new discovery regarding the immune regulatory properties of PTP-PEST may have profound implications for the treatment of MS and other autoimmune disorders,” says Dr. Judith Bray, Assistant Director of the CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity. “Current therapies for MS that target the immune system are general and can have significant adverse side effects, so clearly more specific, targeted therapies are needed. This is one of the reasons that CIHR has heavily invested in Clinical Autoimmunity research, in an effort to understand the mechanisms that cause autoimmune disorders and develop more effective treatments for them.”
Source: Medical News Today © 2010 MediLexicon International Ltd (22/08/10)
Coca-Cola sued over vitaminwater health claims
August 21st, 2010 | Tags: coca cola, food news, health news, John Robbins, Living News, news, Vitamin Water, Vitamin Water Lawsuit, Vitamin Water Sued, VitaminwaterPosted in External News Articles, Uncategorized
Now here’s something you wouldn’t expect. Coca-Cola is being sued by a non-profit public interest group, on the grounds that the company’s vitaminwater products make unwarranted health claims. No surprise there. But how do you think the company is defending itself?
In a staggering feat of twisted logic, lawyers for Coca-Cola are defending the lawsuit by asserting that “no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage.”
Does this mean that you’d have to be an unreasonable person to think that a product named “vitaminwater,” a product that has been heavily and aggressively marketed as a healthy beverage, actually had health benefits?
Or does it mean that it’s okay for a corporation to lie about its products, as long as they can then turn around and claim that no one actually believes their lies?
In fact, the product is basically sugar-water, to which about a penny’s worth of synthetic vitamins have been added. And the amount of sugar is not trivial. A bottle of vitaminwater contains 33 grams of sugar, making it more akin to a soft drink than to a healthy beverage.
Is any harm being done by this marketing ploy? After all, some might say consumers are at least getting some vitamins, and there isn’t as much sugar in vitaminwater as there is in regular Coke.
True. But about 35 percent of Americans are now considered medically obese. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight. Health experts tend to disagree about almost everything, but they all concur that added sugars play a key role in the obesity epidemic, a problem that now leads to more medical costs than smoking.
How many people with weight problems have consumed products like vitaminwater in the mistaken belief that the product was nutritionally positive and carried no caloric consequences? How many have thought that consuming vitaminwater was a smart choice from a weight-loss perspective? The very name “vitaminwater” suggests that the product is simply water with added nutrients, disguising the fact that it’s actually full of added sugar.
The truth is that when it comes to weight loss, what you drink may be even more important than what you eat. Americans now get nearly 25 percent of their calories from liquids. In 2009, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, finding that the quickest and most reliable way to lose weight is to cut down on liquid calorie consumption. And the best way to do that is to reduce or eliminate beverages that contain added sugar.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola has invested billions of dollars in its vitaminwater line, paying basketball stars, including Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, to appear in ads that emphatically state that these products are a healthy way for consumers to hydrate. When Lebron James held his much ballyhooed TV special to announce his decision to join the Miami Heat, many corporations paid millions in an attempt to capitalize on the event. But it was vitaminwater that had the most prominent role throughout the show.
The lawsuit, brought by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, alleges that vitaminwater labels and advertising are filled with “deceptive and unsubstantiated claims.” In his recent 55-page ruling, Federal Judge John Gleeson (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York), wrote, “At oral arguments, defendants (Coca-Cola) suggested that no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitamin water was a healthy beverage.” Noting that the soft drink giant wasn’t claiming the lawsuit was wrong on factual grounds, the judge wrote that, “Accordingly, I must accept the factual allegations in the complaint as true.”
I still can’t get over the bizarre audacity of Coke’s legal case. Forced to defend themselves in court, they are acknowledging that vitaminwater isn’t a healthy product. But they are arguing that advertising it as such isn’t false advertising, because no could possibly believe such a ridiculous claim.
I guess that’s why they spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising the product, saying it will keep you “healthy as a horse,” and will bring about a “healthy state of physical and mental well-being.”
Why do we allow companies like Coca-Cola to tell us that drinking a bottle of sugar water with a few added water-soluble vitamins is a legitimate way to meet our nutritional needs?
Here’s what I suggest: If you’re looking for a healthy and far less expensive way to hydrate, try drinking water. If you want to flavor the water you drink, try adding the juice of a lemon and a small amount of honey or maple syrup to a quart of water. Another alternative is to mix one part lemonade or fruit juice to three or four parts water. Or drink green tea, hot or chilled, adding lemon and a small amount of sweetener if you like. If you want to jazz it up, try one-half fruit juice, one-half carbonated water.
If your tap water tastes bad or you suspect it might contain lead or other contaminants, get a water filter that fits under the sink or attaches to the tap.
And it’s probably not the best idea to rely on a soft drink company for your vitamins and other essential nutrients. A plant-strong diet with lots of vegetables and fruits will provide you with what you need far more reliably, far more consistently — and far more honestly
source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-robbins/the-dark-side-of-vitaminw_b_669716.html
Scottish Government Sets Out Action Plan To Tackle Diabetes
August 21st, 2010 | Tags: diabetes, diabetes action plan, diabetes scotland, health news, Scottish governmentPosted in External News Articles, Uncategorized
The growing problem of diabetes in Scotland is to be tackled by a new Scottish Government Action Plan launched this week.
The Scottish Diabetes Action Plan sets out a course of action over the next three years which will support prevention and detection of diabetes and help improve NHS care throughout Scotland. Diabetes UK Scotland has welcomed the plan and, in particular, the commitment to tackling the growth of this life-threatening condition.
58,000 more people with diabetes in Scotland since 2006
On the launch of the new Scottish Diabetes Action Plan, Jane-Claire Judson, Director of Diabetes UK Scotland, said: “In 2006, when the last Diabetes Action Plan was published, 170,000 people had diabetes in Scotland. In four years that figure has increased to 228,000 and unless improvements in detection and prevention take place, we could see tens of thousands more people diagnosed over the lifetime of the new action plan.
Crucial for patients and NHS staff
“At a time of uncertainty for many as a result of the recession and looming budget cuts, a clear roadmap setting out the priorities for providing high-quality care and support, reducing the rate of increase, and diagnosing people earlier to help avoid complications, is crucial both for patients and for NHS staff delivering and developing services. Diabetes UK Scotland is delighted to see the Action Plan set out the strategies for care, prevention and detection that the NHS in partnership with patients will work to deliver over the coming years.”
Diabetes UK Scotland has also welcomed a new commitment to reducing the rate of emergency admissions for Type 1 diabetes. Scotland has one of the highest rates of childhood diabetes in the world and there is a pressing need to deal with avoidable admissions to hospital.
Read the Scottish Government Diabetes Action Plan 2010.
source Diabetes UK
Vitamin D Insufficiency May Hurt Lymphoma Prognosis
August 17th, 2010 | Posted in UncategorizedInsufficiency linked to inferior event-free and overall survival in non-Hodgkins subtypes
TUESDAY, Aug. 17
In patients with two non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma subtypes, vitamin D insufficiency is associated with inferior overall survival (OS) as well as inferior event-free survival (EFS), according to a study published online Aug. 16 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
In a prospective cohort of 983 newly diagnosed patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Matthew T. Drake, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues assessed whether or not circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels were predictive of EFS and OS.
Within 120 days of diagnosis, the investigators found that 44 percent of patients had insufficient 25(OH)D levels (<25 ng/mL). In addition, 404 events and 193 deaths (168 from lymphoma) occurred during a median follow-up of 34.8 months. After adjustment for known prognostic factors and treatment, 25(OH)D insufficient patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and those with T-cell lymphoma had inferior EFS (hazard ratios [HRs], 1.41 and 1.94, respectively). These two groups also had inferior OS (HRs, 1.99 and 2.38, respectively).
There were no associations between EFS and other non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma subtypes.
“At this time, there is no definitive evidence for a causative relationship between lower vitamin D levels and poorer outcomes in lymphoma, and our study did not answer the question of whether normalizing vitamin D levels in these patients improves outcome,” the authors write.
http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/reprint/JCO.2010.28.6674v1
