Sufficient scientific evidence exists to encourage people at risk of heart disease to increase their folic acid intakes, a London cardiologist believes.
David Wald, a senior lecturer at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, conducted an analysis of separate studies of folic acid's unproven link to homocysteine, an amino acid linked to the development of arterial disease.
He found that together the studies showed that where lower levels of homocysteine were present, the risk of heart disease was substantially reduced. As folic acid has been proven to lower homocysteine levels, it follows that folic acid can be good for an individual's health.
"The conclusion that homocysteine is a cause of cardiovascular disease explains the observations from all the different types of study, even if the results from one type of study are, on their own, insufficient to reach that conclusion," Dr Wald writes in the British Medical Journal.
"Since folic acid reduces homocysteine concentrations, to an extent dependent on background folate levels, it follows that increasing folic acid consumption will reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by an amount related to the homocysteine reduction achieved."
He concluded: "We therefore take the view that the evidence is now sufficient to justify action on lowering homocysteine concentrations, although the position should be reviewed as evidence from ongoing clinical trials emerges."
Folic acid helps new cells develop and so is especially important during periods of growth, including infancy and pregnancy.
Source;NetDoctor
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Tne New Alphabet
A is for apple, and B is for Boat,
That used to be right, but now it won't float.
Age before Beauty is what we once said,
But let's be a bit more realistic instead.
Now, A's for arthritis; B's the bad back,
C is for chest pains, perhaps cardiac.
D is for dental decay and decline;
E is for eyesight, can't read that top line.
F is for fissures and fluid retention,
G is for gas, which I'd rather not mention.
H is high blood pressure--I'd rather it low;
I for incisions with scars you can show.
J is for joints, out of socket, won't mend.
K is for knees that crack when they bend.
L for libido, what happened to sex?
M is for memory, I forget! What comes next?
N is neuralgia, in nerves way down low;
O is for osteo, the bones that don't grow!
P for prescriptions, I have quite a few,
Just give me a pill and I'll be good as new.
Q is for queasy, is it fatal or flu?
R for reflux, one meal turns to two.
S for sleepless nights, counting my fears.
T for tinnitus; there's bells in my ears.
U is for urinary; big troubles with flow;
V is for vertigo, that's "dizzy" you know.
W is for worry, NOW what's going round?
X is for X-ray, and what might be found.
Y is another year I'm left here behind,
Z is for zest that I still have--in my mind.
I've survived all the symptoms, my body's deployed,
And I've kept twenty-six doctors fully employed!!
May your troubles be less, your blessings more and nothing but
Happiness come through your door.
That used to be right, but now it won't float.
Age before Beauty is what we once said,
But let's be a bit more realistic instead.
Now, A's for arthritis; B's the bad back,
C is for chest pains, perhaps cardiac.
D is for dental decay and decline;
E is for eyesight, can't read that top line.
F is for fissures and fluid retention,
G is for gas, which I'd rather not mention.
H is high blood pressure--I'd rather it low;
I for incisions with scars you can show.
J is for joints, out of socket, won't mend.
K is for knees that crack when they bend.
L for libido, what happened to sex?
M is for memory, I forget! What comes next?
N is neuralgia, in nerves way down low;
O is for osteo, the bones that don't grow!
P for prescriptions, I have quite a few,
Just give me a pill and I'll be good as new.
Q is for queasy, is it fatal or flu?
R for reflux, one meal turns to two.
S for sleepless nights, counting my fears.
T for tinnitus; there's bells in my ears.
U is for urinary; big troubles with flow;
V is for vertigo, that's "dizzy" you know.
W is for worry, NOW what's going round?
X is for X-ray, and what might be found.
Y is another year I'm left here behind,
Z is for zest that I still have--in my mind.
I've survived all the symptoms, my body's deployed,
And I've kept twenty-six doctors fully employed!!
May your troubles be less, your blessings more and nothing but
Happiness come through your door.
Bite of chocolate 'combats heart disease'
Small amounts of dark chocolate have been proven to reduce the risk of cardiac arrest for the first time, scientists claim.
While it has been medical knowledge for more than two decades that flavonoid-rich dark chocolate lowers blood pressure, researchers from the John Hopkins University now believe that two spoonfuls a day is enough for people to benefit from its properties.
The research team arrived at their findings after studying the data of 139 people disqualified from a study involving the effect of aspirin upon platelets for eating outlawed foods such as chocolate.
Professor Diane Becker and her fellow study authors write that they were then able to directly compare the concentration of platelets between people who had given up chocolate and those that had succumbed to the temptation.
They discovered that people eating small amounts of the chocolate had slowed the rate at which platelets clot in narrow blood vessels by about seven per cent, thus lowering the risk of heart attacks.
"What these chocolate 'offenders' taught us is that the chemical in cocoa beans has a biochemical effect similar to aspirin in reducing platelet clumping, which can be fatal if a clot forms and blocks a blood vessel, causing a heart attack," she writes.
"Eating a little bit of chocolate or having a drink of hot cocoa as part of a regular diet is probably good for personal health, so long as people don't eat too much of it, and too much of the kind with lots of butter and sugar," added Professor Becker, who will present the study's findings to the American Heart Association's annual scientific sessions in Chicago.
Source:Netdoctor
While it has been medical knowledge for more than two decades that flavonoid-rich dark chocolate lowers blood pressure, researchers from the John Hopkins University now believe that two spoonfuls a day is enough for people to benefit from its properties.
The research team arrived at their findings after studying the data of 139 people disqualified from a study involving the effect of aspirin upon platelets for eating outlawed foods such as chocolate.
Professor Diane Becker and her fellow study authors write that they were then able to directly compare the concentration of platelets between people who had given up chocolate and those that had succumbed to the temptation.
They discovered that people eating small amounts of the chocolate had slowed the rate at which platelets clot in narrow blood vessels by about seven per cent, thus lowering the risk of heart attacks.
"What these chocolate 'offenders' taught us is that the chemical in cocoa beans has a biochemical effect similar to aspirin in reducing platelet clumping, which can be fatal if a clot forms and blocks a blood vessel, causing a heart attack," she writes.
"Eating a little bit of chocolate or having a drink of hot cocoa as part of a regular diet is probably good for personal health, so long as people don't eat too much of it, and too much of the kind with lots of butter and sugar," added Professor Becker, who will present the study's findings to the American Heart Association's annual scientific sessions in Chicago.
Source:Netdoctor
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