Olive Leaf Extract May Help With High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol

Taking 1000mg of a specific olive leaf extract (EFLA®943) can lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure in patients with mild hypertension (high blood pressure). These findings came from a ‘Twins’ trial, in which different treatments were given to identical twins. By doing this, researchers could increase the power of their data by eliminating some of the uncertainties caused by genetic variations between individual people.

The research is published in Phytotherapy Research.

Hypertension is one of the most common and important disease risk factors imposed by the modern lifestyle. Many people would therefore benefit from finding ways of reducing blood pressure. Experiments in rats had previously indicated that olive leaf extract could be one way of achieving this goal.

To test this in humans, researchers from Switzerland and Germany conducted a pilot trial with 20 identical (monozygotic) twin pairs who had an increased blood pressure. Individuals were either given placebo capsules or capsules containing doses of 500mg or 1000mg of olive leaf extract EFLA®943. Pairs of twins were assigned to different treatments. After the subjects had taken the extract for eight weeks researchers measured blood pressures as well as collecting data about aspects of life-style.

Source
Eureka Alert

New Test Identifies Heart Transplant Rejection

(HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved AlloMap, a non-invasive test that helps doctors identify heart transplant recipients who are rejecting the new organ.

The test monitors the genetic activity of a transplant recipient's white blood cells, the immune system's primary defense against viruses, bacteria and other germs, the FDA said in a news release.

Rejection occurs when a transplant recipient's body begins attacking the new organ as a foreign entity. A successful transplant is achieved when the body's immune response is suppressed enough to accept the new organ but is strong enough to continue warding off infection, the agency said.

Half of all rejections occur in the first six weeks after transplant, and about one-quarter of recipients have evidence of rejection within the first year, according to government data cited by the agency.

AlloMap is produced by Brisbane, Calif.-based XDx Inc.

More information

The American Heart Association has more about heart transplants.

The Dangers of a High Soy Diet

In this excerpt from the Inner Circle Interview, Dr. Kaayla Daniel talks about how soy is really a dangerous food.

Golden Rules for a HEALTHY DIET

Avoid stimulants such as sugar, coffee, tea and cigarettes, and limit alcohol.

• Avoid saturated (animal) fats and hydrogenated (processed) fats.


• Avoid simple (refined) carbohydrates, including white bread, biscuits, cakes and other processed foods.


• Avoid unnatural additives, flavorings and preservatives.


• Eat more beans, lentils, seeds, nuts and whole grains.


• Eat more vegetables, raw or lightly cooked (steaming is best).


• Eat several servings of fresh fruit every day.


• Wherever possible eat organically-grown, natural, unprocessed foods.


• Drink plenty of filtered water.


• Avoid these poisonous items in your diet and medications: aspartame, ritalin, Prozac, fluorinated water, vaccinations.

Bare Your Breasts on “Go Topless Day” This Saturday!

By Anne Krueger

Every Sunday, weather permitting, the guy down the street mows his lawn without his shirt on—and nobody gets their panties in a bunch about it. But if I stripped off my Dunder Mifflin T-shirt while clipping the hedge? There’d probably be a cop car and the crew from America’s Most Frightening Videos in my driveway faster than you can say “put on a pair of pasties.”

The feminist in me feels that just isn’t fair. If baring chests in public is legal, then it should be legal for everyone—especially since I’ve seen many a shirtless man who has far bigger boobs than I do. Read More

I Heart the Breast Cancer Research Stamp

By Anne Krueger

I like bumper stickers and yard signs and stuff that tells people who I am and what I support: “End Gun Violence.” “I ♥ Bruce Springsteen.” “Give Peace a Chance.” “Jon Stewart for President ‘08.”
Unfortunately, I share my cars and home with a curmudgeon who thinks bumpers should never be sullied with slogans and the only sign that should ever grace the front yard is “For Sale.”

No fun!

That’s why I turned to stamps as a form of expression. I’ve always loved the breast cancer research stamp, with its mythical goddess-of-the-hunt (presumably hunting for a cure) artwork. For a decade I haven’t minded paying extra for the stamp (it’s now 55 cents per stamp vs. 42 cents for a regular one), because it’s been an easy way to let everybody know about a cause I support. Read More

Freshman Weight Gain Has Many Culprits

(HealthDay News) -- Irresponsible eating, lack of exercise and alcohol consumption are among the factors that contribute to the Freshman 15, which refers to the extra pounds packed on by many new college students, according to a Duke University expert.

Many freshmen don't know how to select or make healthy meals, and stress from heavy class loads and the struggle to achieve good grades can make them eat food at the wrong time, said Elisabetta Politi, nutrition director at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center. Processed convenience foods are an easy option when students are up late cramming for tests or finishing papers.

Campus gatherings often include alcohol, which has a lot of calories. But it affects weight in other ways, too.

"When you drink alcohol, your resistance to everything goes down, including your resistance to temptation of fatty foods. You tend to eat more when you drink," Politi said in a Duke news release.

She also noted that many students who are physically active in high school become couch potatoes when they start college.

Politi offered a number of tips to help new college students keep their weight under control:

• Make a plan. Know when your classes are and plan how to eat healthy between classes and where to get appropriate foods.


• Eat breakfast. If you're in a hurry, keep it simple by choosing whole grain cereal with milk and a piece of fruit.


• Have a good supply of fruits and vegetables so you have something healthy to eat when you need a snack.


• When it comes to beverages, drink lots of water, choose sugar-free drinks, and have a few glasses of low-fat or fat-free milk each day. The protein in milk can help you feel full longer.


• Use the "plate your portion" strategy to maintain portion control. Fill half your plate with vegetables and fruit, one-quarter with grains (possibly whole grains), and one-quarter with lean protein. Avoid mayonnaise-heavy side dishes such as coleslaw, potato salad and macaroni salad.


• Keep a food diary, which will help you assess and change your eating habits.


• Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day.

More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about the Freshman 15.

Homeopathy and Biochemistry

The word ‘biochemistry’ comes from the Greek ‘bios’ for ‘life’, coupled with ‘chemistry’, the science that studies the composition of elements and the changes they go through. In the therapeutic sphere, Biochemistry is the system of treatment that uses the tissue remedies (inorganic salts of the body tissues) as medicine. Continue Reading >>

PEANUT BUTTER FACE (while discussing the Georgia-Russia War)

In which John applies peanut butter to his face while discussing the war between Russia and Georgia over the semi-autonomous regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

HPV Vaccine Blamed for Teen's Paralysis

Must-read article before you even consider vaccination against HPV. Continue Reading >>

RUSSIA & GEORGIA at WAR! Aug. 8, 2008.

Where Russia is going this days???

GEORGIA ATTACKED SOUTH OSSETIA LATE THURSDAY NIGHT. THE ATTACK HAS NOW ESCALATED TO BLOWNOUT WAR WITH RUSSIA.

Aug. 8, 2008.
"Russia and Georgia were effectively at war last night after a festering conflict in the Caucasus plunged out of control following a Georgian military attempt to recover its breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Tanks and artillery from Russia's 58th army were in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia's capital, to prevent Georgian forces attacking Russian peacekeepers and civilians, the defence ministry in Moscow said."

________________________________________

South Ossetia:
The region won the independence from Georgia after the 1991-1992 War for Independence. In 2006, the de facto independent republic of South Ossetia held a referendum about the independence. 99 percent of the votes were in favor of the independence from Georgia.

_______________________________________

RUSSIAS WARNING

Aug 5, 2008.
"Russia will intervene if conflict erupts in the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia, a senior Russian diplomat has warned.

Special ambassador Yuri Popov said Russia would defend its citizens living in the conflict zone, Interfax reports.

At least six people have been killed in clashes in the region in recent days. "

Read more here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/754...

________________________________________

Aug. 08, 2008.
Fierce clashes were seen between Georgian and Russian forces in South Ossetia, a pro-Russian autonomous region of Georgia.

"I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars," Lyudmila Ostayeva, a resident of the South Ossetia capital, Tskhinvali, told The Associated Press.

"It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged," she said after fleeing to a village near the Russian border, AP reported.

One U.S. State Department official called the conflict a "very dangerous situation" and said diplomatic moves are afoot around the globe to stop it.

Autistic Children Make Limited Eye Contact

(HealthDay News) -- While poor eye contact has long been a suspected sign of possible autism, researchers at Yale University have used "eye-mapping technology" to prove that children with autism don't make eye contact like normally developing children do.

Published in the August issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, the new research found that children with autism spent more time looking at an adult's mouth instead of gazing into the eyes.

"Just as the eyes are the window to the soul, the eyes are also a window into social development," said study senior author Ami Klin, director of the autism program at Yale University School of Medicine.

Klin said that by using eye-mapping technology, it's possible that a vulnerability for autism could be identified much earlier than is currently possible. And, he said, "The earlier we are able to identify children, the better it is, because early interventions make a difference in optimizing children's outcomes."

It's estimated that autism, a developmental disorder that disrupts communication and social interaction, affects about 3.4 out of every 1,000 children between the ages of 3 and 10, according to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Parents are generally the first to notice early signs of autism. The NIMH says that some known early signs that may indicate an autism spectrum disorder in a child include:

• By age 1, doesn't babble, point or gesture.
• Doesn't speak a single word by 16 months.
• By age 2, hasn't combined two words.
• Seems to lose language skills.
• Interacts poorly socially.
• Doesn't respond to his or her name.
• Doesn't smile.
• Makes poor eye contact.
• Doesn't appear to know how to play with toys and may repeatedly line up toys or other objects.

For the new study, Klin and his colleagues, including Warren Jones, compared 15 children with autism to 36 typically developing children, and to another 15 children who were developmentally delayed but not autistic. All of the children were 2 years old.

The children were shown 10 videos of adults looking directly into the camera and mimicking caregiving and playing with the child. While the videos were running, the researchers used eye tracking to assess the child's visual fixation patterns.

They found that children with autism spent significantly less time looking at the eyes than did typically developing children or the developmentally delayed group. Autistic children looked at the eyes about 30 percent of the time, compared to nearly 55 percent for both of the other groups.

Children with autism spent almost 40 percent of the time looking at the mouth area, while children in the other groups only spent about 24 percent of the time looking at this area.

Eye fixation in children with autism also appeared to predict the level of social disability. Those who had greater social disabilities spent less time looking at the eye area, according to the study.

"We've always had a sense that children with autism don't make eye contact, but this study confirms it in a higher-tech way," said Cynthia Johnson, director of the autism center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Johnson said she'd like to see this study confirmed in a larger group of children. Klin added that he and his colleagues are currently conducting a prospective study in children at a higher risk of autism to see "if there's a derailment in the process of social engagement," and if so, when that happens.

More information
To learn more about the early signs of autism, visit the American Academy of Family Physicians' FamilyDoctor Web site.

Ob/Gyn Group Urges Routine HIV Tests for All Women

(HealthDay News) -- Minority women are at higher risk for HIV/AIDS, and doctors need to make a special effort to encourage them to be tested for HIV.

That's the new recommendation released Thursday by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

"Rates of infection among African Americans -- and also among Hispanics -- are much higher than among white women. Sixty-four percent of women with HIV are black, even though blacks only make up about 13 percent of the U.S. population," Dr. Heather Watts, a liaison member to ACOG's Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women, said in an organization news release.

In 2004, HIV infection was the leading cause of death for black women ages 25 to 34. A combination of testing, education, and brief behavioral interventions can help reduce HIV infection rates among minority women, according to the ACOG committee.

"Education plays an important role. Because HIV is more prevalent in their communities, women of color need to know they are more likely to be exposed to HIV," Watts said. "All women should understand how to protect themselves, such as limiting their number of partners and using condoms consistently."

Research has shown that behavioral interventions can increase rates of condom use, reduce risk-taking behaviors, and decrease the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

"Physicians can explain to their patients that HIV screening is recommended for all adults now and that there are numerous benefits to being tested. We need to continue to destigmatize HIV screening and make it a part of routine care," Watts said.

More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about women and HIV.