(from Hy-Vee Health Notes)

We all grew up knowing that we needed calcium for strong bones and teeth. “Drink your milk,” moms would say. But not everyone drank milk, and many of us moved away from milk when we became adults.

Today, the most common reason to add a calcium supplement to a diet is to prevent osteoporosis (bone loss). Osteoporosis is primarily a concern of women, especially white and Asian women. To help avoid osteoporosis, physicians often suggest a calcium supplement, and many women decide to take them on their own, as well. But which kind is best?

Calcium supplements are available in many forms: calcium carbonate, calcium citrate, and calcium citrate/malate, as well as bone meal, coral calcium, and oyster shell. Many medical studies investigating calcium have been conducted, and as with all studies, some have indicated conflicting results. Most seem to agree on the following few aspects.

Calcium carbonate offers 40% elemental calcium. It is a good choice for those concerned about cost and those who want to take fewer pills each day. It may be absorbed slightly less well than some other forms, but appears to be absorbed as well as the calcium in milk. (Dairy foods are still the best source of calcium.)

Calcium citrate offers 24% elemental calcium. Calcium citrate may be absorbed at a better rate than calcium carbonate, but it is necessary to swallow more pills each day to reach the recommended 1000mg, making is a more expensive and more cumbersome option.

The best absorption seems to be from calcium citrate/malate (CCM). Although similar, it should not be confused with calcium citrate.

MCHC, a form of bone meal, should be mentioned, as studies have shown it to increase bone mass better than other forms. However, MCHC rated poorly in solubility and absorption. There is little evidence to indicate that either coral calcium or oyster shell is superior to the other forms of calcium here.

A question that comes up from time to time concerns whether antacids such as Tums® and similar products can be used as calcium supplements. In reality, nearly all forms of calcium, including CCM and calcium citrate, act as antacids, and concerns about interference from this property are not valid.

Finally, all calcium supplements are absorbed better when they are taken with meals, and adding supplemental vitamin D (400 IU) is also recommended.

Read the entire article at

http://www.hy-vee.com/health/healthnotes_content.asp?org=hyvee&ContentID=2819007

(From Hy-Vee Health and Wellness)

The brain needs plentiful nutrients to function at its best. Good brain health includes the ability to concentrate, learn, and remember. Happily, heart-healthy foods are brain-healthy foods, as well.

Proteins found in fish, meat, soybeans, nuts, and dairy foods nourish concentration. The Omega-3 fats touted for a healthy heart serve similar purposes in the brain. Good blood circulation through healthy blood vessels supports optimal brain activity. Omega-3s are found in fatty fish (salmon, lake trout, tuna, sardines) as well as in walnuts and flax seed. It’s easy to add a tablespoon or so of flax seed to hot cereal, to batter for pancakes, waffles, and muffins, and even to hearty soups and pasta dishes.

Whole-grain varieties of food, including cereals, breads, pastas, and brown rice, provide a stable supply of brain fuel in the form of glucose. Refined grain sources such as white flour, white bread, white rice, and highly processed and sweetened cereals cause spikes in blood glucose rather than the steady stream the brain requires to operate best. Other good sources of glucose-rich complex carbohydrates are beans and other legumes.

To enable the brain to use glucose, it needs iron, which is also vital for bringing oxygen to the brain. Iron is most readily available from lean beef and lamb, but it is also found in spinach, chard, and other leafy, dark green vegetables. Vitamin C helps improve the absorption of iron, so a salad of spinach, oranges, and walnuts is a brain-healthy lunch.

Source: http://www.hy-vee.com/health/healthybites_article.asp?artID=1707

A study by Iris Shai of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (7-17-08), shows that low-carb and Mediterranean-style diet both beat a low-fat diet for weight control. While all 3 regimens improved cholesterol, the low-carb diet was most effective. The low-carb approach seemed to trigger the most improvement in several cholesterol measures, including the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL, the “good” cholesterol.

This remarkable study lasted 2 years, and 85% of the 322 participants stuck with the diets in a controlled environment — an isolated nuclear research facility in Israel. “This is a very good group of researchers,” said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

[Ed. note] This study clearly shows the benefit of limiting high-glycemic carbohydrates like sugar and white bread. It should not be seen as a blanket endorsement of the Adkins’ Diet. The best all around diet of the three is the Mediterranean-style diet; it has a long history of long histories – longevity that is. Follow this diet and avoid the bad carbs for best long-term results.

Dr. Heinz Valtin of Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire answered that question in a review published online by the American Journal of Physiology on August 8, 2002. Valtin, a kidney specialist and author of two widely used textbooks on the kidney and water balance, could not find a single paper that supports this recommendation. Furthermore, there is little indication where it began.

Back in the 1940s, the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council wrote that one should attempt to drink one milliliter of water per calorie consumed. So, based on a 2,000 calorie diet, that would be two liters, or about 8 8-oz glasses. But in the very next sentence they added “and much of this can be gained from the solid food we eat.” Nearly everything we eat contains water; even bread is 30% water. And since ALL beverages contribute to water intake (in spite of what you’ve heard), it is unlikely the average individual, under normal circumstances, needs to be concerned about a water shortage. It is likely though, that the bottled water industry has adopted this concept and enhanced sales by creating a culture around “drink 8 glasses of water a day” (or else?)

There are conditions, activity levels and lifestyles where plenty of water is called for, and conversely, drinking lots of water carries certain risks. Rather than take the space to spell these out, please read more about this at CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/10/health/main518276.shtml, and Dartmouth’s website: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2002/aug/080802.html.

Studies have shown a clear correlation between obesity and risk for getting prostate cancer. A National Cancer Institute study reported that obesity increases the risk of dying from this disease.

What isn’t clear is what is different about how the disease affects very overweight men. Theories range from low testosterone and higher levels of estrogen to symptoms common among obese men like hypertension, diabetes and chronic inflammation, which happen to be risk factors for cancer.

June 19, 2007 Daily Health News, Bottom Line Secrets, Boardroom, Inc.

According to an article by Jay S. Cohen, M.D. in the April 2007 MedicationSense
E-Newsletter , more and more reputable, world-class university medical schools are going "pharm-free" — prohibiting big pharmaceutical companies from influencing doctors with gifts of drugs, meals, advertising novelties and posters. Dr. Arthur Caplan, directory of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics, commented, "It was indisputable that small gifts had tremendous power in influencing favorable attitudes toward products." Medical students have provided much needed impetus for the pharm-free movement.

The pharm-free movement hasn’t grown without opposition. Some medical schools have resisted imposing restrictions on drug company gifting because of concerns about retaliation by the drug industry. Pharmaceutical companies have a profound influence over continuing education for the medical industry. The drug industry’s presence at some medical conferences is so pervasive, sometimes it is hard to tell whether the conferences are medical meetings or pharmaceutical industry advertising conventions. Most worrisome, drug companies will continue to use the medical journals as conduits for pushing products and obtaining free coverage in the media. The medical journals were once the repository of scientific thought and research. Now, the medical journals are having difficulty ensuring the accuracy and objectivity of many drug company studies that are published.

An article in the April 2007 edition of the Harvard Health Letter claims that niacin (vitamin B3) may be a safe and effective alternative to statin anti-cholesterol drugs. Statins are designed to lower LDL (”bad” cholesterol).

The only prescription drug that raised HDL, Pfizer’s torcetrapib, taken in combination with Lipitor, was eventually found to be unsafe (it caused a greater number of deaths than statins alone), and was taken off the market.

Niacin in large doses (approximately 1000mg per day) becomes an effective anti-cholesterol agent. It not only reduces the LDL, but also reduces triglycerides and raises HDL (”good” cholesterol). The main drawback to niacin is uncomfortable flushing, a warming sensation in the skin it causes. There are flush-free products available, but the niacin in those products has little or no effect on cholesterol. The article cautions taking high-dose niacin only with your physician’s oversight.

Japan has one of the world’s lowest obesity rates, roughly 1/4 of the French, and 1/10 of the American rates. They are also among the longest living on earth. Their secret? Lower caloric intake and healthy high-fiber, low-fat foods. They eat a lot of vegetables, primarily cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy and kale. They eat much more fish than red meat, and are more likely to have fruit for dessert than cookies, cakes and pies. This ensures a diet low in saturated and trans-fats and high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

It should be noted that all is not perfect in the Japanese diet, including the consumption of lots of white rice, a high-carb high-glycemic food. Long ago, when Japanese were much more active, this was not a problem. As their lifestyle has become more sedate, and diet, especially in urban areas, becomes more Westernized, health problems are on the increase.

There are habits we could learn from the Japanese, such as eating more slowly and quitting when 80% full, enjoying the beauty of food, eating smaller portions served on smaller plates, and building meals around vegetables instead of meat.

Source: “Japanese Light” by Janet Helm, dietitian and nutrition consultant, published April 5, 2007 in the Chicago Tribune.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff released documents which indicate a risk of hallucination and similar problems in children and older patients. The drug Ditropan, known generically as oxybutynin, already lists a variety of other nervous system risks on its labeling, but more explicit cautions are needed.

Of 202 side effect reports in Ditropan patients, roughly 1/4 of younger than 18 and older than 59 patients reported these unlisted hallucination problems. The manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, had no immediate comment.

Once again, great caution is urged before using any prescription drug that has not been in the marketplace for many years, since tests for side-effect safety of these new drugs are conducted unknowingly by consumers.

Source: FDA: http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/07/briefing/2007-4295b1-index.htm