Raspberries Ward Off Cancers Of The Gastrointestinal Tract

Score another point for a plant-based diet!

The American Association of Cancer Research (along with its co-sponsors and supporters, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the Cancer Research Prevention Foundation) held its very popular Frontiers In Cancer Prevention Research meeting last December.

It's described as "the only comprehensive conference on cancer prevention in the world."

I was browsing through its abstracts (hundreds) and came across a number that discussed the benefits of raspberries ... raspberries!

Most of the abstracts referenced studies conducted previously that documented raspberries' benefits:

Dietary administration of raspberries in animals "inhibited chemically induced oral, esophageal, and colon carcinogenesis."

Dietary administration of raspberries in humans "reduced measures of oxidative stress, decreased DNA damage, inhibited cellular proliferation rates, and reduced levels of esophageal and colon preneoplasia in pre-clinical models."

I've listed a few below and included a brief (very brief!) summary. You can access the meeting's abstracts by clicking the link above. Use the alphanumeric immediately before the title as a locator.
________
1. B34 Dietary Administration Of Black Raspberries Modulates Markers Of Oxidative Stress In Patients With Barrett’s Esophagus

Barrett’s Esophagus (BE) is a precancerous condition of the esophagus. It's usually related to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

After 26 weeks of daily consumption, 20 BE patients experienced significant reductions in markers of oxidative stress, inhibiting the progression of their BE.

2. CN05-03 A Food-Based Approach To The Prevention Of Gastrointestinal Tract Cancers

This was a review of these authors' recent raspberry-related research.

When rats were exposed to an esophageal carcinogen, berry-eating rats had 40-60% fewer esophageal tumors than control rats. Berries also slowed the growth rate of premalignant esophageal cells and inflammation.

When rats were exposed to a colon carcinogen, a black raspberry diet inhibited colon adenocarcinomas by up to 80%.

3. A110 Bioactive Actions Of Raspberries

Human cervical cancer cells were cultivated in nutrient mediums which either contained sera of healthy human volunteers before consumption of raspberries, or 2 hours after consumption. The growth of cancer cells cultivated on the raspberry-sera-spiked medium was inhibited.

4. B1 Effects Of Freeze-Dried 5% Black Raspberry Diet On Early Molecular Events In N-Nitrosomethylbenzylamine-Induced Cytotoxicity Of Rat Esophagus

This was a genetic study.

When rats were exposed to an esophageal carcinogen, thousands of genes in esophageal cells changed the way they expressed - initiating cancer.

But when rats ate a diet containing black raspberries before being exposed to the carcinogen, hundreds of those genes expressed normally. That is, they did not contribute to cancer formation even in the presence of the carcinogen.

5. B7 Chemoprevention Of Oral Cancer In Hamster Cheek Pouch By Topical Application Of Lyophilized Black Raspberries

In this study, a freeze-dried black raspberry concentrate was applied topically to established premalignant lesions in the hamster cheek pouch. (The hamster cheek pouch has been shown to mimic the major characteristics of human oral cancer. Who knew?) The raspberry balm was applied 3 times/week for 6 weeks and halted. After 12 weeks, tumor formation was inhibited up to 42%.

6. B10 Rats With Late Stage Precancerous Esophageal Lesions Develop Fewer Papillomas If Fed A Diet Of Freeze-Dried Black Raspberries

Rats were exposed to an esophageal carcinogen and assigned one of 4 diets:

1. Control diet (no raspberries) for 30 weeks.
2. Raspberry diet for 30 weeks.
3. Raspberry diet for 10 weeks, control diet for remaining 20 weeks.
4. Control diet for 10 weeks, raspberry diet for remaining 20 weeks.

Diet 1 resulted in ~12 tumors/rat.
Diet 2 resulted in 70% fewer tumors/rat than control.
Diet 3 resulted in ~12 tumors/rat (same as control).
Diet 4 resulted in 60% fewer tumors/rat than control.

Moral: Continuous daily consumption of raspberries provides the most benefit.
________
Most of these studies used a lyophilized (freeze-dried) black raspberry powder¹, measured to concentrate ingredients about 10-fold. It's not known exactly which ingredients in the raspberries were responsibly for the anticancer effects, although the following were hypothesized to play a role:

Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Folic acid
Calcium
Selenium
Beta-carotene
Alpha-carotene
Lutein
Ellagic acid
Ferulic acid
P-coumaric acid
Quercetic
Other polyphenols
Several anthocyanins
Several physterols, e.g. beta-sitosterol

I don't think black raspberries have a corner on these antioxidants. They do seem to have a corner on research funding. I did see one study that found benefit with strawberry concentrate, for oral cancer.

An aside: None of the hundreds of abstracts found any cancer-fighting effect for meat consumption. (One of our commenters mentioned that Dr. Eades, author of "Protein Power" advocates a high-meat diet for cancer risk reduction.) The ones I did see found that meat consumption increased cancer risk. I have yet to come across any body of peer-reviewed cancer research which supports the hypothesis that a high-meat diet reduces cancer risk.
________¹ Black raspberries are different from blackberries. They're less shiny and hollow inside. I've had my share of blackberries, but I've never had a black raspberry!

Post Script: From what I can tell, these studies were looking to berry concentrates as a naturally-derived form of chemotherapy. However, I don't see why anyone can't benefit from this research by including berries in their diets regularly.

I'm not one for extracts, concentrates, and pharmaceutical-sized doses of one or a few compounds - if you're healthy. Unfortunately, I foresee even more berry and other food concentrates, as supplements, on store shelves - as a result of this type of research.

So, (including Melinda's question here too) ... black raspberries, blackberries, red raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, they're all good. I've seen studies describing chemoprotective qualities of all these foods. It just so happens this particular clump of research focused on black raspberries. They do contain some of the highest levels of anthocyanins among berries. Anthocyanins are pigments that give a blue or violet color to plant foods. They've been shown, by themselves, to be chemoprotective and chemotherapeutic. But again, anthocyanins are only one group of compounds. And since these researchers used a whole food concentrate, they can't really pin down the most active compounds. There has also been hypothesized a synergistic effect of compounds - that the combined effect is greater than the sum of individual effects.

I could probably have said, instead of all these words, "Eat berries."

Spring 2008, Pennsylvania

Speaking of life...

________Photo of daffodil shoots: Homegrown. Shot February 27, 2008; 19 degrees F.

Encyclopedia Of Life

No, really. A comprehensive, online, free!, encyclopedia of every living thing on the planet. One page for each. Millions of pages. And it's a wiki - a collaborative, updatable effort from people all over the world. I can't think of a more ambitious project facing the internet.

And it went live on Tuesday (although it may be slow, it's getting over a million hits per hour):
Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)

Here's what the New York Times had to say:
The Encyclopedia of Life, No Bookshelf Required

Here's its official blog:
Encyclopedia of Life Blog

Here are some sample pages (clicking the image will take you to EOL's demo page):

Yeti Crab



Death Cap Mushroom

________Thanks to Melinda for the link!
Photos from the EOL archive.

"You Like Tomato And I Like Tomahto"

I'm convinced - there's no one diet that's best for everyone. You like cheese and I like peas. You say roast; I say toast. You like "tomato" and I like "tomahto". *

Dr. Roger John Williams agrees. (Thank you, Dave Lull, for bringing him to my attention!)

Williams (1893 - 1988) was a biochemist and author of a number of books on nutrition, as well as several widely used textbooks on organic chemistry and biochemistry. He taught at the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and the University of Texas at Austin. He discovered the B vitamin pantothenic acid, and named the B vitamin folic acid. In fact, "More vitamins and their variants were discovered in [his] laboratory than in any other laboratory in the world."

Here are a few things Dr. Williams said about individuality:

"There can never be in this Institute such a thing as a settled orthodox credo or point of view on which all must agree." The Clayton Foundation Biochemical Institute. A Short History, 1965

"Since, as science demonstrates, people show wide variability in every respect, the environment which is suitable for one will not be suitable for all." The Human Frontier, 1946

"Always nutrition can be improved, and this improvement is the chief objective of nutritional study." The Advancement of Nutrition, 1982

"Every individual organism that has a distinctive genetic background has distinctive nutritional needs which must be met for optimal wellbeing." Biochemical Individuality, 1956

One of my favorites:

"The existence in every human being of a vast array of attributes which are potentially measurable (whether by present methods or not), and often uncorrelated mathematically, makes quite tenable the hypothesis that practically every human being is a deviate in some respects." Biochemical Individuality, 1956

And this, from a man who devoted his life to science:

"People need to raise their sights and get away from the idea that material needs are the ultimate in importance. People need proper food and shelter but they also need—if they are to be healthy—knowledge, hope, love, friendship, and many other things of a non-material nature." Rethinking Education, 1986

________* Fred Astaire is skatin'.
Photo of Dr. Williams in 1982 (He was 89 years old here.), and quotations, are from the University of Texas, Austin, tribute site.

Mercury In Fish - Wallet Card

The National Resources Defense Council has published this wallet card to aid in selecting fish. I know it's difficult to read. Clicking on it will take you to the original .pdf source where you can make some good quality printouts.

________

Something's Fishy At Saveur

I like fish. I don't eat it as much as I used to, but when Sockeye salmon season rolls around it's hard to resist!

So I was excited to see Saveur magazine's March issue include a short essay on the flavor characteristics of fish - and what makes one fish taste differently from another.

"More often than not, what we perceive in varying measure as a "strong" or "mild" taste in a fish is partly a function of decomposition: an amalgam of odor and flavor compounds that comes from the buildup of amino acids (most notably, a malodorous compound called trimethylamine), ammonia, fats, and other organic substances in the flesh of a fish after it dies."
- Francis Percival, chef, fishmonger, and writer based in London.

Mr. Percival says that saltwater fish accumulate more fishy-tasting amino acids than freshwater fish - which they use to counterbalance a salty ocean environment.

And that the fat in fattier fish (herring, salmon), lends a lot of flavor if the fish is fresh, but because it's mostly the unstable polyunsaturated kind, begins to break down (goes rancid) very soon after a fish dies.

And that the flesh of bottom feeders (catfish, carp) often taste of the mud and algae present in the water where they lurk.

And that the flesh of some large fish (tuna, swordfish) actually tastes better after the fish achieves rigor mortis - about a week after it dies. (Sushi chefs prefer the taste of these "aged" fish.)

And other variables affecting taste: "How was it caught? What temperature was the water? Was it stressed before it died, or was it swiftly dispatched? What had it been eating? How was it iced?"
________
So far, so good. Kind of. Where was mention of mercury in fish? And other pollutants such as fire retardants and PCBs? Nowhere did I see mention of the FDA's restrictions on fish consumption, especially for pregnant women and children. And what about factory fish farms, and their attendant environmental destruction and animal cruelty?

Before I get too ghastly (something I may do in a future post anyway), I want to stay positive for a minute. Because I like fish. And I would eat more fish ... If I could find some that were mercury- and pesticide-free, raised with little negative impact to the environment, and humanly harvested.

Below are some fish photos that accompanied this article. See if you can identify them. (Click for larger. Fish are not to scale ;) Answers in footnotes.)




Here's Where Something Really Got Fishy At Saveur

The article was accompanied by an information box that pictured the 10 fish above, with a few descriptive sentences for each. It was written by Saveur's senior editor Beth Kracklauer. This is where my propaganda radar really began to perk. I'd love to know who provided Beth Kracklauer her information.

Here's what she said about catfish:

"Because catfish, like other freshwater fish, hydrate themselves by absorbing water through their skin, wild specimens sometimes taste of the algae or mud present in the water where they're caught. Most catfish in this country are farm-raised in environmentally sustainable, closed-system ponds, so their flesh is consistently sweet and pure tasting."

Why even mention wild catfish when they are virtually impossible to buy? And "sweet and pure tasting"? From what I found, almost all catfish in this country live in filth:


About flounder:

"Each variety [of flatfish] has its distinctive character - grey sole, for instance, has a deep, mineral richness, and winter flounder is reminiscent of shellfish - but all have the subtlety and succulence typical of bottom-hugging flatfish."

"Mineral richness." No doubt about that. Bottom dwellers are chronically exposed to heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other pollutants.¹ In fact pollution has entirely killed off winter flounder in the NJ/NY harbor near where I live.²

Finally, one of those fish above is so dangerously high in mercury, perilously overfished, and so environmentally destructive when harvested that the National Resources Defense Council, as well as the FDA and EPA recommends it not be eaten by women and children at all.

What do you think? Do articles that promote the eating of fish have a responsibility to discuss the risks associated with that eating?
________Answers to fish quiz: 1. Salmon, 2. Cod, 3. Tuna, 4. Herring, 5. Catfish, 6. Sea Bass, 7. Trout (relative of salmon), 8. Red Snapper, 9. Flatfish (e.g. flounder), 10. Swordfish.
¹ NOAA: Analyses of Elements in Sediment and Tissue Cycles I to V (1984-88)
² NOAA: Winter Flounder (Pleuronectes americanus)
Photo of fish ponds from FishingHurts.com.

The Anesthesiologist

As many of you know, I just underwent a double endoscopy. That included a lower endoscopy (colonoscopy), where a lighted flexible tube is snaked through the colon, and in my case, into a short part of the small intestine called the ileum. It also included an upper endoscopy, where a lighted flexible tube, hopefully not the same one, is snaked through, in my case, the esophagus, stomach, and a short part of the small intestine called the duodenum.

A few people have been asking how it went. I thought I'd post some of the more delightful moments.

Much could be said about colonoscopy prep. Maybe I'll say a little later. For now, you'll need to know that it's not something you'll want to have done in vain.

The Anesthesiologist

I had to be sedated for the "minimally invasive" procedure. As I was lying in the holding area (still on my back, not the position one must assume for the procedure) ready to get wheeled into the surgery room, I overheard a conversation between the anesthesiologist MD (she had an accent, maybe Polish, possibly German) and the patient scheduled to go in before me.

MD to pt: "What is this wheezing!? You have wheezing!?"
Pt: "Yes. (Inaudible) ..."
MD: "No procedure for you!!"
MD to nurse: "Give her fluids and send her home!"

She visits my bed next ...

MD to me: "What is this bronchitis!? You have bronchitis!?" (I had checked that box in the "Have you ever had ..." checklist on the medical history form.)
Me: "Nah ... you know, I just get that after a cold."
MD: "You have it now?"
Me: "Nope. Fine now. Feel great."
MD to nurse: "Ok, give her the IV."

Ruby, if you read this, is it convention not to put someone with a cold under?

By the way, take a look at the picture. See that man in the lower left? The one with the binoculars? I had this really vulnerable sensation that the moment I fell asleep the binoculars came out.
________Photo: I can't recall where I lifted this from. The caption of it read, "Image of the early use of anesthesia in a 19th century operating theater."

Largest Recall Of Beef In US History

Hard to miss this top news story from last night:
USDA Orders Recall Of 143 Million Pounds Of Beef

I was watching this story since early February, when the undercover video appeared on YouTube. I opted not to post it because it's difficult to watch. I changed my mind.

Here's the original footage of animal treatment at a California slaughterhouse (Hallmark Meatpacking Company), taken over a six week period by the Humane Society (5:46 minutes):


Here's an Associated Press clip (1:48 minutes), based on the above footage, that summarized the situation a week after the video above went viral. It includes a statement by Hallmark/Westland President Steve Mendell:

"We are shocked, saddened, and sickened by what we have seen. Operations have been immediately suspended until we can meet with all of our employees and be assured these sorts of activities never happen again at our facility."
- Steve Mendell: Hallmark/Westland President

So far, the only people who have been punished for this have been the "pen manager" at Hallmark and his assistant. Food safety attorney Bill Marler in his blog post, It Is Easier To Catch The Small Fry, quotes local San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos (who filed criminal charges against Hallmark/Westland):

"Maybe if the feds would put their considerable resources to work they could find a way to charge someone higher up than a "pen manager." "

The pen manager faces up to 8 years and 8 months in prison; his assistant faces up to 3 years. The LA Times in its article, Cruelty Charges Filed Against Slaughterhouse Boss, includes this quote from the assistant:

"Reached at his home Friday, Sanchez, a father of two, said he regretted his actions and that he was only following orders. "I did it because they ordered me to. I obeyed them; if not, I lost my job," Sanchez said in Spanish. "I knew it was illegal but they obliged me to do it." Sanchez said he is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico and that he worked at Hallmark for six years before he was fired last month. He is not represented by an attorney."

I come away from this with an understanding that product quality assurance and the protocol for animal treatment for a business that is "the second-largest supplier of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program" lies with a "pen manager".
________

Eating Is On Hold

Until after the esophagogastroduodenocolonoscopy.¹ Well, not all eating. This is tonight's dinner:


And tomorrow's breakfast too. Actually, just 4 Dulcolax. But the whole bottle, 14 complete servings of that MiraLax must be enlisted to perform the unsubtle function.

I had reservations posting this. But, well, what's a blog for? So, if you have any experience with this procedure, your comments are welcome!
________¹ A combined esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy.
Photo: Homegrown. I wish it wasn't.

How To Populate The Colon

Sauerkraut!

But it has to be unpasteurized (Don't heat it above ~130 degrees F. either.) - Or else all those species of beneficial Lactobacillus will sacrifice their lives for a sterile kraut.

As a source for probiotics, fermented cabbage is a great alternative to fermented dairy foods. And the levels of good bacteria are typically higher in raw sauerkraut than in cultured milk products.

Sauerkraut is also high in vitamin C:

"In 1776, Captain James Cook was awarded the Copley Medal for demonstrating that sauerkraut could be used to allay scurvy in British crews on long sea voyages."
- Wikipedia: Sauerkraut

And it's proving a good source of compounds (e.g. isothiocyanates) that have been shown to protect against the DNA damage that can lead to cancer, as well as to cause cancer cells to self-destruct and/or limit their growth if they are present. These compounds¹ are especially protective for breast, colon, lung, and liver tissue. Two supporting studies:

Plant-Derived Biomolecules in Fermented Cabbage, Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, 2002

Dietary Indoles and Isothiocyanates That Are Generated from Cruciferous Vegetables Can Both Stimulate Apoptosis and Confer Protection against DNA Damage in Human Colon Cell Lines, Cancer Research, 2001

I found this vibrantly-colored fermented red cabbage* in the refrigerated section of a little health store near me. Neither Whole Foods nor any of the conventional grocery stores in my area carried a raw, unpasteurized sauerkraut. Hm. I wonder what our food safety guru, Bill Marler, would say about this.

Until then ... it's terribly good cold in a salad, or mixed with marinated cucumbers as a side dish. I've also had it tossed with warm sautéed onions. Mmmm! Any more ideas you have on how to serve it are welcome!

* Ingredients: Organic Northeast-grown Red Cabbage, Filtered Water, Unrefined Sea Salt, Org. Thyme, Org. Winter Savory, Org. Marjoram.
________¹ All cruciferous vegetables contain these beneficial compounds: broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collards, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli rabe, watercress, turnip, rutabaga, mustard greens, bok choy, radish, daikon.

Photo: Homegrown.
Source for idea: Melinda.

E-Waste

Do you have an old computer or monitor lying around that you don't know how to dispose of? An ancient laptop, keyboard, cell phone, or television? (I'll bet there'll be a glut of old TV's when the country makes the switch to full digital broadcasting next February!)

We had an old CRT monitor. I went to Earth 911, selected "Monitor", entered my zip code, and it returned a number of locations where I could drop it off.

Staples charges a fee for monitors (the one near me wanted $10), but takes smaller peripherals like mice, keyboards, and speakers free of charge. The Salvation Army near us took our monitor for free.
________

FritoLay Goes Back To Nature

"Fool me once, shame on...
Shame on you.
Fool me ... you can't get fooled again!" ¹

________¹ US President No. 43, Nashville, TN, Sept. 17, 2002.
Photo: Advertisement for FritoLay corn chips scanned from March 2008 AARP magazine.

Lowering Blood Glucose The Drug-Free Way

I've been meaning to post this for months and now is a good time, given my previous post about deaths linked to an intensive diabetes drug regimen. This study shows that diet, and diet alone, can affect a change in glycemic measures, e.g. HbA1c, that rivals what can be had with drug therapy.

It's one of the studies Melinda mentioned in comments. I like it because it's a diet study, not a nutrient study. Diet studies are harder to conduct than nutrient interventions. But to me they're more real. They're about foods and what people eat, and how that day-to-day behavior can affect health.

For example, some studies show that a certain trans fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) can stem cancer progression. I don't know. But until a body of evidence can be assembled that shows that consuming dairy products (a food source for CLA) can stem cancer progression - a claim the National Dairy Council is chomping at the bit to substantiate by referring to test tube studies and nutrient interventions but not diet studies - then the CLA issue to me is just about a supplement, if it's an issue at all. It's not about food. (Especially when you consider the drawbacks of milk.)

Ok, here's the study:

A Low-Fat Vegan Diet Improves Glycemic Control and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes, Diabetes Care, 2006

Dr. Barnard et al. assigned half of a group of 99 people with type 2 diabetes to a vegan diet. The other half ate a diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Here's a breakdown of what participants ate over the course of 22 weeks:

Vegan Diet
Energy: 1425 kcal/day
Protein: 51 g/day
Carbohydrate: 251 g/day
Fat: 30 g/day
Saturated fat: 6 g/day
Cholesterol: 24 mg/day
Fiber: 36 g/day

ADA Diet
Energy: 1392 kcal/day
Protein: 73 g/day
Carbohydrate: 165 g/day
Fat: 52 g/day
Saturated fat: 14 g/day
Cholesterol: 189 mg/day
Fiber: 19 g/day

Findings after 22 weeks (no significant difference in exercise between groups):

• "Among participants whose diabetes medications remained unchanged throughout, A1C fell 1.23 points in the vegan group and 0.38 points in the ADA group (P = 0.01)." ¹
  
  
• "Forty-three percent (21 of 49) of the vegan group and 26% (13 of 50) of the ADA group participants reduced diabetes medications."
  
  
• "Body weight decreased 6.5 kg [14.3 lbs] in the vegan group and 3.1 kg [6.8 lbs] in the ADA group (P < 0.001)."
  
  
• "Among those who did not change lipid-lowering medications, LDL cholesterol fell 21.2% in the vegan group and 10.7% in the ADA group (P = 0.02)."
  
  
• "After adjustment for baseline values, urinary albumin reductions were greater in the vegan group (15.9 mg/24h) than in the ADA group (10.9 mg/24 h) (P = 0.013)." ²

There were also significantly greater reductions in BMI, waist circumference, and total cholesterol in the vegan group compared to the ADA group.

One last point ... The people in the vegan group were allowed unrestricted consumption. They could eat as many calories and as much carbohydrate as they wanted, as long as they didn't eat from certain food groups. The people in the ADA group had to limit their caloric intake, count calories, and control portion sizes. Even with unrestricted food intake and a higher calorie consumption, the vegan group lost more than twice as much weight!________¹ "The average glucose-lowering effect of the major classes of oral antidiabetic agents is broadly similar, averaging a 1-2% reduction in HbA1c."
- Oral Antidiabetic Agents: Current Role In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
² People with diabetes suffer microvascular complications involving the kidneys which allow passage of protein into the urine. The lower the amount of the protein albumin that leaks into the urine, the healthier the kidneys.

Photo: 16th century painting of Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus (Roman god of the seasons and plant growth) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. From Melinda's stash.

Excessive Deaths Halt Large Government Diabetes Study

This is a depressing story, no matter how you look at it. The government calls it a mystery.

Study: Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) Trial
Population: 10,251 patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk for heart disease

About half of those folks were assigned to an intensive BG treatment arm, the other half to a standard treatment arm.

Intensive Treatment Goal: HbA1C < 6.0%, fasting BG 100 mg/dl or less, 2-hour postprandial BG 140 mg/dl or less
Standard Treatment Goal: HbA1C of 7.0 to 7.9%, fasting BG of 90 mg/dl or more, postprandials not used

After about 4 years (range: 2 to 7 years), there were 254 deaths in the intensive treatment arm and 203 deaths in the standard treatment arm ... a difference of 54 deaths ... a difference which went in the wrong direction.

The ACCORD researchers say they don't know what caused the excessive deaths. They've ruled out drugs: "Based on analyses conducted to date, there is no evidence that any medication or combination of medications is responsible." Even the notoriously heart-unfriendly Avandia was given the clear.

The government (Elizabeth Nabel, director of the NHLBI) said "intensive treatment" was harmful: "The harm of the very intensive treatment outweighed the potential benefit."

So, two possible causes have surfaced for these unexpected deaths:

1. Lower blood glucose (Although an A1C of 6.4% which is what half the intensive care group achieved is hardly low.)
   
2. Harm from taking 2 or 3 diabetes medications daily, in addition to injecting "four or five shots of insulin a day" (according to the ADA's Dr. John Buse, the vice-chairman of the study’s steering committee.), in addition to taking pills to lower BP and cholesterol if needed, in addition to other non-specific meds.¹

The study's sponsor is the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

The study is funded by:

• Abbott Laboratories (and Fournier Laboratories)
  
• AstraZeneca LP
  
• Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  
• GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals
  
• King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  
• MediSense Products (Division of Abbott Laboratories)
  
• Merck & Company, Inc.
  
• NetGroup Diabetic Services
  
• Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  
• Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  
• Omron Healthcare, Inc.

What do you think? Was it lower blood sugar that caused these deaths? Was it a possibly toxic drug cocktail? Or is it still a mystery?________¹ Those receiving standard treatment were also likely to have been taking a number of medications, although doses were lower.

The photo is from a nicely written counterpoint to the argument for intensive treatment. It's from The University of Chicago: "For Some Diabetics, Burden Of Care Rivals Complications Of Disease."

"Got The Facts On Milk?"

I probably wouldn't have posted this a year ago. I didn't think milk could possibly be so unhealthful. All these years I've been eating dairy products and recommending them. I feel duped.

I've been researching like a fiend this past year the relationship between certain compounds in dairy foods, especially the milk protein casein and the milk sugar lactose, and certain chronic diseases, cancer and diabetes to name two that have caused I and my family no trivial amount of stress.

With no further ado, here's a one-minute trailer put together by a group of earnest folks at Unleashed Productions. Thanks to Shira Lane for bringing her work, and this important message, to our attention.

________

Bitten: Mark Bittman on Food

Well, how about that. Mark Bittman has a blog. (Thank you, Melinda.)

Bitten: Mark Bittman on Food

It doesn't look like he posts often. Although he did make a few comments yesterday about his recent article that appeared in the New York Times, the one we discussed on my post, Got Vegetables?:

Eating Meat Is Only Human, Bitten, 5 Feb 2008

He lamented (I think he was lamenting), that he "got only two comments [on his original article]: one from a cattle rancher with some smart reasoning, and one from someone who was a little more emotional."

I liked his original article, Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler, but this little item he blogged last night made the argument ...

"... why kill animals for food when it isn’t necessary? — the defense is this: it may be inhumane, but it isn’t un-human. It’s traditional. It’s mainstream, and almost everyone alive who can eat meat does so."

...that I think barely treads water. There are some very good arguments to defend the killing of animals for food. But, "It's traditional"? "It's mainstream"? Oh boy, Mark is getting the comments now!
________

Mississippi Toys With Idea Of Discriminating Based On Size

The Mississippi House of Representatives has floated a bill (HB 282, below) that would make it illegal to serve obese patrons.

The gentlemen below are the Bill's authors. From left to right: W. T. Mayhall, Jr. (R), John Read (R) , Bobby Shows (D). It appears to be a bipartisan effort.



House Bill 282: AN ACT TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FROM SERVING FOOD TO ANY PERSON WHO IS OBESE

Sec. 1 (2)
"Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese."

Sec. 1 (3)
"The State Department of Health shall monitor the food establishments to which this section applies for compliance with the provisions of this section, and may revoke the permit of any food establishment that repeatedly violates the provisions of this section."

That's going to put a nice dent in restaurant profits:

"Mississippi has the highest rate of adult obesity at 30.6 percent and the 8th highest rate of overweight youths (ages 10-17) at 17.8 percent in the nation."
- F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2007, Trust For America's Health

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Red Quinoa

Boy, do I get excited over new foods. Red quinoa! New for me, old for people who live in the Andes Mountains of South America, who, according to the box, have been growing it for more than 5,000 years. I wonder what they served it with. Maybe it's old for lots of you too, but I'm having fun with it!

It's a little more crunchy than the white quinoa I'm used to, if you could call quinoa crunchy at all. Otherwise, it's pretty similar in taste and cooking time.

The rusty red color of the grain blooms to a foggy purple color when cooked. (Click for larger.)


________Photos: Homegrown