Fat in the Hat

[Guest guest]

" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

HSI e-Alert - Fat in the Hat

Thu, 14 Jul 2005 06:59:00 -0400

HSI e-Alert - Fat in the Hat

 

 

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

****************************************************

July 14, 2005

 

Dear Reader,

 

James Parkinson, M.D., was a 19th Century Scottish physician who

published a number of papers on topics as diverse as child rearing and

the regulation of asylums for the mentally handicapped. But he

established his name permanently in the annals of medicine in 1817

when he published this title: " An Essay on the Shaking Palsy. " The

neurological condition described in that paper was later named after

him: Parkinson's disease.

 

Today we know quite a bit more about the shaking palsy, which is

caused by a progressive degeneration of neurons in the areas of the

brain that control voluntary movement. This degeneration results in a

shortage of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that helps manage

communication between neurons necessary for normal movement.

 

Dr. Parkinson's disease is most common in those over the age of 50 and

is caused by inherited genetic traits as well as environmental

factors. But a new study shows how dietary fat intake may lower your

risk of developing Parkinson's. And as we'll see, there are other

dietary choices that may reduce risk even further.

 

-----------

Protecting neurons

-----------

 

" Unsaturated fatty acids are important constituents of neuronal cell

membranes and have neuroprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory

properties. "

 

That's how researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, The

Netherlands, describe the background for their study that appears in a

June issue of the journal Neurology. Their objective: determine the

possible protection that an intake of unsaturated fatty acids might

have on Parkinson's disease risk.

 

The Erasmus team used data collected from the Rotterdam Study, an

ongoing research project in which dietary and medical records for more

than 10,000 male and female subjects over the age of 55 are followed

to investigate risk factors for chronic diseases. For the Parkinson's

study, nearly 5,300 subjects were selected. At the outset of the

study, all were free of dementia or Parkinson's, and each subject

underwent a complete dietary assessment. Subjects were monitored for

an average period of six years.

 

At the conclusion of the follow up period, 51 subjects had been

diagnosed with Parkinson's. The data revealed a significant link

between a reduced risk of Parkinson's and the highest intake of total

fat, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty

acids (PUFAs).

 

One of the primary forms of PUFAs is very familiar to HSI members:

omega-3, mostly available through fish, fish oils and grass-fed beef.

MUFAs are found in olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds.

 

-----------

B cocktail

-----------

 

Without question, a diet that includes a high intake of MUFAs and

PUFAs offers a wide range of health benefits. But increasing your

intake of these unsaturated fatty acids is not the only way to reduce

Parkinson's disease risk.

 

In the e-Alert " Elevated Homocysteine... " (3/6/02), I told you about

research from the National Institute on Aging that found " the first

direct evidence " that elevated homocysteine levels increase the risk

of Parkinson's.

 

The same research team found that homocysteine makes human brain cells

more susceptible to the deadly affects of toxins like iron and the

pesticide rotenone, which are known to cause some cases of Parkinson's

disease. In laboratory tests using human tissues, homocysteine

" significantly enhanced [cell death] induced by rotenone and iron. "

 

As we've seen in previous e-Alerts, elevated levels of the amino acid

homocysteine have been linked with atherosclerosis as well as

Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Considerable research

has also demonstrated that foods and supplements rich in vitamins B-6,

B-12, and folic acid may help reduce homocysteine levels.

 

Most people who raise their dietary folate intake - by eating

asparagus, lentils, chickpeas, cantaloupe, watermelon, wheat germ,

most varieties of beans, and especially spinach and other leafy green

vegetables - respond with a lower homocysteine reading. But if the

diet doesn't do the trick, vitamin supplements often will.

 

-----------

Typical toxin

-----------

 

As I mentioned above, environmental toxins may also prompt the

development of Parkinson's, and one of those toxins may be in

beverages you drink daily. According to a growing body of evidence,

the primary toxin among food sources is the popular sugar-substitute

aspartame - better known by its brand names: Equal and Nutra-sweet.

 

When aspartame is combined with the enzyme chymotrypsin in the small

intestine, methanol is released and breaks down into formaldehyde, a

potent neurotoxin. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers

methanol to be a " cumulative poison " and recommends a safe consumption

of no more than 7.8 mg per day. If you drink a one-liter beverage

containing aspartame, you ingest 7 times that amount - about 56 mg of

methanol!

 

Recently, several soda manufacturers are now offering diet options

using Splenda in place of aspartame. And while that certainly isn't as

healthy as giving diet soda up altogether, early indications are that

Splenda doesn't carry the same types of potential health risks as

aspartame. So if you're not willing to ditch it, it might be worth

trying the new Diet Coke or Pepsi One.

 

For safe alternatives to sugar, see the e-Alert " The Sweet Lowdown "

(6/3/04), which you can easily find on our web site at hsibaltimore.com.

 

****************************************************

 

 

....and another thing

 

I have a bone to pick with Reuters Health.

 

Reuters is the news service that distributed an article I told you

about in the e-Alert " Doctored Up " (7/12/05). The article described a

study in which researchers sent health information to subjects who

participated in the study. When Reuters did its report, the e-mails

were described as " SPAM. "

 

SPAM? C'mon, guys - get it right.

 

SPAM is unsolicited e-mail that's sometimes abrasive, often obscene,

and almost always unwanted. In the published study, the researchers

never use the word " SPAM. " They describe the e-mails sent to study

subjects as " e-mail intervention " containing tips on nutrition and

exercise. That's a far cry from the hundreds of pieces of SPAM so many

of us see in our inboxes offering larger " you-know-what's " and smaller

butts.

 

But this got me thinking: What does " SPAM " stand for?

 

A quick Google search turned up more than I'd bargained for: I quickly

found several guesses about the meaning behind the acronym:

 

* Sales Promotional/Advertising Mail

* Sending and Posting Advertising in Mass

* Self-Propelled Advertising Material

* Special Processed Annoying Mail

* Spiced Ham

 

That last one, of course, refers to the original Spam product: Lunch

meat in a can, first produced by George Hormel in 1936. And exactly

where that might figure in with nutritional tips received by

e-mail...I'll let you be the judge.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

****************************************************

 

 

 

 

Sources:

 

" Dietary Fatty Acids and the Risk of Parkinson Disease: The Rotterdam

Study " Neurology, Vol. 64, No. 12, 6/28/05, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

" Fatty Acids Could Protect Against Parkinson's " NutraIntgredients.com,

6/29/05, nutraingredients.com

" Efficacy of an E-mail Intervention for the Promotion of Physical

Activity and Nutrition Behavior in the Workplace Context " The American

Journal of Health Promotion, July/August 2005, healthpromotionjournal.com

" Spam Can Help Prod People to Better Health - Study " Reuters Health,

6/30/05, reutershealth.com

 

***********************