Study: How to Save $15MM – Infant Hospitalizations & Air Pollution
Filed under: A Message from the Doctor, Caring for Your Children
REGIONAL AIR POLLUTION LINKED TO RESPIRATORY DISEASES IN CHILDREN
Researchers have concluded that, based on data from 1999 to 2007, higher levels of fine particulate matter, a type of air pollutant, in the areas surrounding some hospitals is associated with a greater cost for hospitalizations of infants aged one month to one year for bronchiolitis, a type of viral lung infection with symptoms similar to asthma.
Few studies have looked at the link between air pollution and infectious respiratory illness in children.
The team calculated that hypothetically, reducing the average level of fine particulate pollutant in the US to just 7% below the annual standard level would result in an annual saving of $15 million in healthcare costs.
This just-released study will appear in a future issue of the journal Health Affairs and is accessible online now at http://bit.ly/mwnVey without fee.
In a separate study, researchers found that, despite a reduction in healthcare costs related to lead exposure and asthma in children, environmental chemical factors may still have been behind 3.5 percent of the entire US healthcare budget in 2008 – which is estimated to be $76.6 BILLION. This study, which will appear in a future issue of Health Affairs, is available online at http://bit.ly/iVplkT without fee.
Ear Infections, Taste Disorder & Obesity in Children
Filed under: A Message from the Doctor, Caring for Your Children
Ever Met a Child Without a Taste For Candy?
Nearly 10% of children tested were found to be unable to identify “sweet.”
In a recent study, almost one in 10 children were unable to taste their food properly. Taste disorders such as this are known to lead to diet changes and could play a role in obesity.
David Laing at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues tested the taste buds of 432 children aged 8 to 12. Each was asked to drink a series of water-based drinks containing either sugar, salt, citric acid or bitter quinine hydrochloride. After each drink the children were asked to point to one of three photographs that they thought best described the taste. One photograph showed a food object with the correct taste and one showed food with the incorrect taste. The third photograph always showed a glass of water in case the children found the drink tasteless.
The experiment was repeated for five different concentrations of each flavored drink, making a total of 40 drinks. These were given to the children in a random order. Between drinks they rinsed their mouth with water.
A child is considered to have a taste disorder if they cannot point to the photograph that correctly relates to the taste in at least three of the five different concentrations of that particular flavor.
Surprisingly, 41 children – 9.5 per cent – met this criterion, with almost two-thirds of those children unable to identify a sweet taste.
Taste disorders can be caused by a variety of diseases including Bell’s palsy, renal failure and diabetes. But Laing suspects that chronic middle-ear infections may be responsible for the children’s disorders.
From ear to brain
Seung Geun Yeo at the Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea, found a strong association in 42 children between chronic middle-ear infections and difficulty identifying sweet and salty tastes.
A major nerve involved in tasting, called the chorda tympani, passes through the middle ear en route to the brainstem. Inflammatory proteins, viruses and bacteria from the infection can “chew up the nerve” and deteriorate taste sensations, says Laing.
In his study, Indigenous Australian children, who are particularly susceptible to ear infections, were also more likely to have taste disorders than non-Indigenous kids.
“Given the age of the children, it is likely that for many their taste loss is permanent,” says Laing.
No taste for exercise
The disorder may partly explain the rise of childhood obesity. The South Korean study found that children with taste disorders were heavier than those without. According to Laing, losing a taste sensation would “dramatically” change the taste of many foods, possibly leading to dietary switches. For example, children who could not appreciate a sweet taste may move to a high-salt diet.
The loss of taste sensations and childhood obesity is “a reasonable link”, says Beverly Mühlhäusler at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. While high-fat diets and low activity levels are the main cause of obesity, taste disorders could explain why some people are more likely to make those poor lifestyle choices, she says.
But it is also possible that obese children are predisposed to getting ear infections and the ensuing taste disorders. According to Yeo, obese people have a thicker fat pad around their ear and more inflammatory proteins than normal individuals – two factors that increase the likelihood of ear infection.
Journal references: Laing: Acta Paediatrica, DOI: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2011.02292.x; Yeo: Archives of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, DOI: 10.1001/archoto.2011.23
Impact of Environmental Chemicals on Kids’ Health
CHILDHOOD TOXIN EXPOSURE – SIGNIFICANT HEALTH COST
Researchers conclude that despite the reduction of childhood healthcare costs related to lead exposure and asthma, chemical factors in the environment were still responsible for major childhood healthcare costs, which represented as much as 3.5% of the entire US healthcare budget in 2008.
The study found that childhood exposure to toxic chemicals raises costs among children, related to lead poisoning, autism, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and cancer.
The analysis also included indirect costs such as loss of productivity among parents of sick children. The report praised the past removal of lead from gasoline and paint, but suggested new chemicals may have taken their place in the environmental picture.
In a separate study, researchers found higher health costs related to childhood respiratory illnesses at hospitals around which higher levels of fine particulates, a form of air pollution, were measured. The study on 2008 healthcare costs was just released by the journal Health Affairs and will appear in a future issue. It is available online now at http://bit.ly/iVplkT without fee.
The particulates-respiratory study will also appear in a future issue of Health Affairs and is accessible at http://bit.ly/mwnVey without fee.
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Study: Why Vitamin D May Help Kids
The majority of obese adolescents are vitamin D deficient, which increases their risk of diabetes, hypertension, cancer, cardiovascular disease, according to new study published online ahead of print in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Researchers at Hasbro Children’s Hospital who conducted the study also said vitamin D status is significantly associated with muscle power/force, and a deficiency may interfere with the obese adolescent’s ability to increase physical activity. They called for increased surveillance of vitamin D levels in adolescents and further studies to determine if normalizing vitamin D levels will help to lower the health risks associated with obesity.
The researchers examined the prevalence of low vitamin D status among 68 obese adolescents and examined the impact of treatment of low vitamin D status in the patients. They found low vitamin D status was present in all of the girls (72% deficient & 28% insufficient) and in 91 percent of the boys (69% & 22% insufficient).
Of those with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, 43 patients had a repeat measurement of vitamin D level after treatment. While there was a significant increase in vitamin D levels following treatment, serum vitamin D levels normalized in only 28% of the patients. Repeat multiple courses of vitamin D treatment in the patients who did not normalize their vitamin D levels after initial course, failed to normalize their low vitamin D status.
The researchers said the association between obesity and low vitamin D status also may be due to obese individuals having fewer outdoor activities than lean individuals and therefore, less sun exposure.
They also theorized obese adolescents don’t eat enough vitamin D-rich foods such oily fish, eggs and fortified dairy products and breakfast cereals.
Posted in these publications: News, Science & Research, Children, Vitamin D, Vitamins/Minerals, Healthy, Diet, Nutrition, Cancer, Heart Health, Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Egg, Fortification, Dairy, Breakfast Cereal, Bakery / Cereal, Cereal, Fish, Seafood, Obesity, Weight Management
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Research: Ethnic Labels & Disease Prediction
GENOTYPES DO NOT VERIFY ETHNIC LABELS FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES
Researchers found individuals belonging to genotypes, or genetic make-ups that do not necessarily match the genotypes of others in the same, self-identified ethnic or racial group, suggesting that health research aimed at assessing the risks and remedy effectiveness within a particular broad ethnicity have no meaning.
State-of-the-art genetic technology was used to identify the genotypes of almost 1000 subjects who identified themselves as European American, African-American, or Hispanic. Individuals within each of the latter two groups exhibited genetic origins from diverse continental groups; in other words, members of one ethnic group did not always have basic common origins or genotypes.
These results could dramatically alter research on different risks and treatment effectiveness among different ethnic groups. If these groups are not consistent in genotype, research may shift to studying individuals with a common genotype, instead of a common ethnic label.
Genetic markers may prove more effective at predicting disease risk in people with mixed genetic backgrounds. Although research is continuing, these results were released May 4, 2011 and will appear in a future issue of the journal, PLoS One.
You can read the full-text study at no charge, now available online here: http://bit.ly/j4xCkx.
Best Time to Take Vitamin D
Did You Know…
Taking your vitamin D supplement with your largest meal of the day may boost its uptake by as much as 56%!
This finding was presented in a study published in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
Adequate vitamin D levels are linked to a reduced risk of osteoporosis.
Why School Children Need Support
Results of a national survey of 638 kindergarten through eighth grade public school teachers in urban, suburban and rural communities revealed 60% of teachers have children in their classrooms who are not getting enough to eat at home, which impacts their ability to learn.
According to the “Hunger in Our Schools: Share Our Strength’s Teachers Report,” 98% of teachers surveyed believe there is a strong connection between eating a healthy breakfast and a student’s ability to concentrate, behave and perform academically. The teachers also note the problem increased in the past year.
The study revealed 65% of teachers reported that most or many of their students rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition, and 40% of teachers believe it is a serious problem that children are coming to school hungry because they have not had enough to eat at home. Sixty-one percent of teachers said they have purchased food for their classrooms out of their own pockets, spending an average of $25 a month; 74% have helped kids sign up for free or reduced-priced meals; and 49% have referred students and parents to resources in the school.
“No child should be hungry at school. We have national programs in place, like school breakfast, that are there to serve children in need. We need to let more families know their children are eligible for these meal programs and help them overcome the barriers that prevent full enrollment,” said Bill Shore, founder and executive director of Share Our Strength, a Washington-based nonprofit working to end childhood hunger in the United States.
Share Our Strength has developed its “No Kid Hungry” campaign to combat childhood hunger, and hopes stronger breakfast programs in schools will improve student performance.
Read the full report here: “Hunger in Our Schools: Share Our Strength’s Teachers Report.”
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Study: How Does Your City’s Air Quality Rate
NEW YORK (Reuters) Apr 27 – The nation’s 25 most smoggy cities improved their air quality over the last year, but half the nation’s residents still live with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to an American Lung Association report.
Weighing the pluses and minuses in U.S. air quality over the past year, the “State of the Air 2011″ report concluded that the U.S. Clean Air Act, the federal law aimed at limiting pollution in the nation’s skies, is working.
“The progress the nation has made cleaning up coal-fired power plants, diesel emissions and other pollution sources has drastically cut dangerous pollution from the air we breathe,” Lung Association President Charles Connor said in a statement.
The most dramatic improvement has been controlling ozone smog. The report found all 25 cities most polluted by ozone had cleaner air than they did last year.
Still, the report found that 154.5 million people, just over half the nation’s population, live in areas where the air is filled with dangerous levels of ozone and particle pollution smog.
Cities with the foulest air were broken down into three categories and the worst three in each were:
- Los Angeles, CA
- Bakersfield, CA
- Visalia, CA
- most ozone polluted; Bakersfield and Fresno, both in California, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
- most polluted by short-term particle pollution; and Bakersfield, Los Angeles and
- Phoenix most polluted by year-round particle pollution.
Cities with nation’s best overall air quality were Honolulu and Santa Fe, New Mexico, the report said.
To review the entire list, click here: http://www.stateoftheair.org/
Study Shows Green Tea Extract Boosts Memory
Daily supplements of a green tea extract may boost mental al
ertness and enhance memory, according to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study from Korea.
A combination of a green tea extract with L-theanine was associated with improvements in immediate and delayed recall, and general memory, according to findings published in the Journal of Medicinal Foods.
“As a natural ingredient with a long history of consumption, LGNC-07 [ – a combination of green tea extract and L-theanine - ] should be considered as a potential nutraceutical candidate for enhancing cognitive performance,” wrote researchers.
The study was funded by Korea’s LG Household & Health Care, Ltd., which also produced the ingredient used in the study, and provided one of the co-authors for the paper.
Green tea
The majority of science on tea has looked at green tea, with benefits reported for reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and certain cancers, improving cardiovascular and oral health, as well as aiding in weight management.
Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 per cent. Oolong tea is semi-fermented tea and is somewhere between green and black tea. The four primary polyphenols found in fresh tealeaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epicatechin.
The success has translated into a booming extract market, valued at a around $44m (€29.7m), according to recent report from Frost & Sullivan. The market is expected to grow by more than 13 per cent over the next seven years. Key players include DSM, Taiyo, and Tate & Lyle. Innovation in delivery has also seen companies like Maxx Performance release an encapsulated green tea extract for bakery applications.
L-theanine, an amino acid found in tea leaves, is thought to help reduce stress, promote relaxation and improve the quality of sleep. L-theanine is found in tea leaves in low concentrations (less than 2 percent), which means that effective dosage levels (of 100 – 200mg/day) cannot be delivered from drinking tea.
Study details
Ninety-one participants with mild cognitive impairment – a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease – were recruited and randomly assigned to receive either 1,680 mg of the green tea extract-L-theanine combination (LGNC-07) or placebo (maltodextrin plus lactose) for 16 weeks.
A number of tests were used to assess memory and attention. Results showed that volunteers receiving the green tea supplement exhibited improvements in memory: ‘Marginal’ improvements were observed with regards to the delay in recognition, and ‘significant’ increases in memory regarding recall of word reading.
Electroencephalograms (EEG) were recorded in 24 volunteers, and these scans showed improvements in indicators of mental alertness in specific parts of the brain.
FTC Proposes National Standards for Foods Marketed to Kids
April 29, 2011
Foods and beverages marketed to children should promote healthy choices, according to new proposals for voluntary national advertising standards from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The proposals are set out by an interagency Working Group charged by Congress to develop principles to guide industry, and are intended to limit advertising to children of foods high in sugar, sodium or saturated fat, and also contribute to a healthy diet.
They are based on two general principles:
1.) foods & beverages marketed to children should make a “meaningful contribution to a healthful diet” and contain either fruit, vegetable, whole grain, fat-free or low-fat milk products, fish, extra-lean meat or poultry, eggs, nuts and seeds, or beans.
2.) foods should minimize content of nutrients that could negatively affect health or weight.
The guidelines are based on ‘reference amounts customarily consumed’ per eating occasion (RACC), which may not be the same as labeled serving sizes. Specifically, they should contain 1g or less of saturated fat and less than 15 percent of calories per RACC, no trans fat per RACC, less than 13g of added sugars, and no more than 210mg of sodium.
The Working Group proposes that all food products in categories most heavily marketed directly to children aged 2-17 should meet these principles by 2016, and that sodium guidelines should be revised in 2021.
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said that the principles encourage industry to expand their existing voluntary efforts.
“To their credit, some of the leading companies are already reformulating products and rethinking marketing strategies to promote healthier foods to kids. But we all have more work to do before we can tip the scales to a healthier generation of children,” he said.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) praised the proposed standards, calling them “strong and sensible” and urged industry to accept them – but expressed concern about their voluntary nature.
A voluntary program called the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative was set up by the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) in 2006, aimed at “shifting the mix of advertising messaging directed to children under 12 to encourage healthier dietary choices and healthy lifestyles”.
It claims that it has made a great deal of progress over the past five years and its 17 members are some of the biggest food manufacturers in the country, including the likes of Kraft, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s and McDonald’s.
However, CSPI’s director of nutrition policy Margo Wootan said: “Companies’ policies aren’t making enough of a difference. If companies are serious about addressing marketing to children, they‘ll agree to follow the proposed national marketing standards.”
How Structured Exercise Helps Diabetics
STRUCTURED EXERCISE IMPROVES GLUCOSE CONTROL IN DIABETICS
A meta analysis published in the May 4, 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that placing diabetic type 2 patients on specifically structured exercise training, whether aerobic or resistance or both, is associated with reduced hemoglobin A1c levels, which indicate improved blood glucose (sugar) control, when combined with a dietary intervention.
Also, greater total exercise duration per week was linked to a greater improvement in glucose control. Persistently higher glucose levels in the blood are a defining characteristic of diabetes type 2. In line with standard recommendations for diabetics, practitioners often advise diabetic patients to get more physical exercise and change their diet, but this new systematic review of all major, previous studies found that this produced a more modest glucose control benefit.
Simple advice to exercise without dietary advice, showed no benefit.
Structured training duration of more than 150 minutes a week showed a 2.5 times higher glucose control benefit than training less than 150 minutes a week.
Higher intensity exercise was not found to provide a further glucose control benefit.
This study was published in the May 4, 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association and is available online now at http://bit.ly/ifMFaj.
A Novel Compound Fights Diabetes, Heart Disease & Obesity
CITRUS PEEL FLAVONOID FIGHTS DIABETES, HEART DISEASE AND OBESITY
Researchers have discovered that the flavonoid nobiletin, found in peels of citrus fruits such as tangerine, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity and atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of most heart attacks and strokes.
Two years ago, the same scientists discovered that the grapefruit flavonoid naringenin fights obesity and metabolic syndrome but the new study found that nobiletin is about ten times more potent than naringenin in its particular protective effects.
Rats were fed a diet similar to the typical Western diet but some were also given nobiletin. In contrast to the control group, the nobiletin group experienced a higher expression of genes that prevent the manufacture of fat and its accumulation in the liver; experienced no increase in cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, glucose, or weight gain; became much more sensitive to the effects of insulin; and in the long term, were protected against a buildup of arterial plaque, known as atherosclerosis.
Nobiletin was previously linked to anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects.
This study was released April 6, 2011 and will be published in a future issue of the journal Diabetes. It is available online now at http://bit.ly/h1VSLH with subscription or fee.
The Impact of Early Life Nutrition on Metabolism
EARLY-LIFE NUTRITION MAY HAVE LONG-TERM METABOLIC EFFECTS
Researchers have determined that babies feeding on breast milk, high-protein formula, or low-protein formula exhibit various different metabolic effects and growth patterns with some showing up even at 15 days of age and others at three years, suggesting the possibility of life-long metabolic effects stemming from the very earliest dietary sources.
Babies were divided into three groups and fed breast milk, a formula containing only 1.8 gm of protein per 100 kilocalories, or a formula containing 2.7 gm of protein per 100 kilocalories, respectively.
At 15 days, breastfed babies showed lower blood insulin levels than formula-fed babies; but insulin differences disappeared by age nine months.
At three years, high-protein formula-fed babies showed higher blood pressure and diastolic pressure (the lower number in a blood pressure reading) although within the normal range.
The three-year study suggested formula feeding could have longer-range effects and that babies should be fed breast milk or formula that mirrors its metabolic effects.
This study was presented late on May 2, 2011 in Denver at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. Not yet available online, it will publish in a future issue of a pediatric journal.
Kids Potential Receives 1st Patent
The first patent ever granted for a “nutritional supplement to enhance learning, academic and behavioral performance” was granted for the Kids Potential formulation. (Patent #7,771,756).
Advantig Health & Sport provides Kids Potential at special academic pricing to educational institutions that dispense Kids Potential to disadvantaged children. We currently serve the Leavenworth School District, and several other districts in Kansas and Oklahoma.
To learn more about how Kids Potential can help your child or your students succeed with chemical-free, whole-food based nutrition, click here: Kids Potential.
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Kids Potential Chewable
BPA in 1st Trimester of Pregnancy
PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO BPA RAISES WHEEZING RISK IN CHILDHOOD
A study has found that when pregnant women, especially those in their first trimester, are exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), their children have twice the risk of suffering from wheezing at six months of age suggesting, if confirmed by further research, a possible need for pregnant women to avoid BPA during pregnancy.
BPA has been used for over 40 years in the manufacture of many hard plastic food containers and in the lining of metal food and beverage cans, and is found on thermal paper cash register receipts. Trace amounts have been found in foods from these containers, and some research has suggested negative health risks.
In 367 pairs of mothers and infants, a link between higher detectable levels of BPA in the urine of pregnant mothers, and the reported incidence of infant wheezing, was found to exist only among the youngest children. For example, there was no link found among children by three years of age. This study was presented late in the May 1, 2011 session of the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, in Denver. It will be published in a future issue of a pediatric journal.