According to an analysis of research in the Archives of Internal Medicine, published by the American Medical Association, for study participants who consumed cocoa products for at least two weeks, the drop in blood pressure was similar to the drop resulting from prescription blood pressure medication. On the other hand, drinking green and black tea did not seem to lower blood pressure. The benefit from cocoa may cut strokes and heart attacks by 10-20 percent.

Researchers urged caution, however, since cocoa is a high-fat, high-caffeine product that may adversely affect health. It may be added to a diet in small quanities and in place of other high-calorie desserts.
Source: Reuters News Tue Apr 10, 2007

In August 2006, we reported that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) seem to increase the risk of having a heart attack, according to a population-based study conducted in Finland. Findings published in the Archives of Internal Medicine seem to indicate that a wider range of painkillers including aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen can raise blood pressure and thus the risk of heart disease among men.

A team led by Dr. John Forman of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston studied 16,000 male health professionals. The increased likelihood of high blood pressure ranged from 25% for aspirin to 34% for acetaminophen and for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, which include ibuprofen and naproxen, 38% for men who took these painkillers for six or seven days a week. Risk was directly correlated with frequency of use.

American Heart Association’s Dr. Elliott Antman, also of Brigham and Women’s Hospital advised "We advise physicians to start with non-pharmacologic treatments such as physical therapy and exercise, weight loss to reduce stress on joints, and heat or cold therapy,".
Source: Maggie Fox, Reuters Health and Science Editor Mon Feb 26, 2007

Best Health Secrets continues to advise caution with the use of painkillers. For an occasional headache or muscle pain, the risk is small. For chronic pain of arthritis, we advise safer alternatives like Xtend-Life Arthrit-Eze .

A study that was done at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that it all about calories.

This was a very small study, only 24 people. 12 ate 25% fewer calories and the other 12 ate 12.5% fewer calories and increased physical activity to burn another 12.5% calories. Despite the small size of the study, conditions were controlled very closely with standardized meals provided by the Center and closely monitored exercise.

The volunteers in both groups lost about 10 percent of their body weight, 24 percent of their fat mass, and 27 percent of their abdominal visceral fat. The study further revealed that weight reduction could not be targeted, that there is no such thing as "spot" reduction. It was also clear that the diet only group did not lose more muscle mass than those who exercised more – another popular myth.

The last result of interest was that 2 markers for aging were reduced in both groups of volunteers, lending credibility to the theory that lower calorie consumption slows the aging process – at least slightly. Nutrition (diet) and exercise are 2 of the 6 strategies of good health outlined at Best Health Secrets .

A study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, studied a sample of 257 patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) out of a sample of over 7 million U.S. military personnel. Serum samples were analyzed for vitamin D levels, and the findings showed that the risks of MS fell 62 percent for those in the top fifth of vitamin D concentration among white people who comprised most of the study population. Besides promoting the absorption of calcium in the body, vitamin D also seems to act as a regulator of the immune system. (source: Reuters News Dec. 19, 2006)
[Ed. note: The body produces vitamin D after exposure to sunlight, but since not many foods are naturally rich in vitamin D, supplementation is often recommended.]

More good news for those who have replaced saturated fat with monounsaturated fats like olive oil in their diets to combat heart disease. A report from the FASEB Journal, a publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology found that olive oil consumption lowered the presence of 8oxodG, a marker of oxidative damage to cells’ DNA, by an average of 13%.

Even more significant was the discovery that phenols found in olive oil, widely touted as powerful antioxidants, did not seem to be responsible for the cancer fighting effect of olive oil. Rather it was the monounsaturated fats in olive oil that are behind the effect.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the FDA moved too slowly in reviewing ads on products ranging from impotence remedies to incontinence pills, and too slowly in trying to stop misleading ads. According to the GAO, drug companies spent $4.2 billion on such ads in 2005. The GAO found that the FDA issues only 19 regulatory letters in 2003 and 2004, and the covered materials had been in the market for an average of 8 months already. Furthermore, drug companies sometimes ignored the regulatory letters anyway.

[Ed. note: We urge all readers to contact their representatives in the US Congress and demand that the FDA begin effectively protecting consumers or be dismantled. Why should taxpayers fund an agency that functions almost exclusively to support the enormously profitable pharmaceutical industry?]

FDA panels had urged new warnings for acetaminophen in 1977 and 2002, but the FDA claimed "laborious" work delayed their action. The recommended warnings apply to acetaminophen, a common ingredient in products like Tylenol (potential liver damage), and for NSAIDs, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and ketoprofen (may cause stomach bleeding).

While most people tolerate the recommended dosage well, many people do not realize the dangers of taking too much or combining the medicines with alcohol. Or they may unknowingly use more than one product that contains the same ingredient and accidentally overdose.
(source: Reuters News Dec. 19, 2006)
[Ed. note: Many people do not realize that acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure.]

A study reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, showed that enhanced nutritional supplements containing antioxidants, minerals and other nutrients can boost immune function in the most vulnerable elderly population. In comparing the effects of this supplement with a standard supplement, Ensure Plus, it was evident that seeking out the best supplements pays off in disease fighting efficiency. Specifically in this study, the group administered the enhanced supplement had nearly twice the probability of avoiding the flu, compared to the group given a standard supplement.

Superior ingredients is one reason why Best Health Secrets recommends the supplements of Xtend-Life Natural Products over the cheaper department store multi-vitamins varieties. Other reasons include quality control, advanced delivery and absorption technology and great service.

Charter members of a key advisory panel to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and a broad range of environmental and health groups had sought to lower the amount of soot permissible, citing research that showed health risks from even small amounts over the course of a year.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson agreed with the advisory panel to strengthen daily air quality standards by nearly 50 percent, but did not follow their recommendation to reduce the annual standard to 13 or 14 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

The only 2 members of the 22 member advisory panel, who advised against tightening the standards, were a former longtime employee of General Motors and the former president of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, funded by chemical companies. Obviously, under this administration, business interests trump science and the public welfare at EPA.

A study of 1,984 adults from Columbia University Medical Center in New York, published in the Archives of Neurology, said there is growing evidence that the Mediterranean diet cuts the risk of stroke, heart disease and diabetes, suggesting that vascular factors may contribute to the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

After taking into account other possible risk factors, researchers found that those in the top third in terms of how their diets matched the Mediterranean model had 68 percent lower odds of having Alzheimer’s disease than those in the bottom one-third.

A second study in the same publication, reported that Omega-3 fatty acid food supplements may slow mental decline in some patients with very mild Alzheimer’s disease, but do not appear to affect those with more advanced cases.