Current
Research
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 NPA
Says JAMA Study on Ginkgo Biloba Effects on Rate of Cognitive
Decline
‘Still Misses the Boat’ |
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The study
population should have been one situated closer to the onset of
cognitive decline.
A study released on
Tuesday in the December 23/30 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the
American Medical Association stated that adults who used the herbal
supplement Ginkgo biloba for several years did not have a
slower rate of cognitive decline compared to adults who received
placebo. The researchers analyzed results from the 2009 Ginkgo
Evaluation of Memory (GEM) study to determine as a secondary outcome
if G. biloba slowed the rate of cognitive decline in older
adults who had normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
at the beginning of the study.
The Natural Products
Association has previously issued comments on the GEM study, which
was originally released in November of 2008, questioned the
benefits of Ginkgo biloba on preventing dementia and
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Alzheimer’s disease (AD), saying the study “missed
the boat entirely” because
the universe of people studied was too limited to make broad
statements about the benefits of the popular dietary supplement:
[New JAMA Study on Ginkgo Biloba and Alzheimer’s Misses the
Boat Entirely; NPA Member Update, November 18, 2008].
“As we stated in our
comments regarding the GEM study last year, the boat has left the
dock and this study isn’t on it,” said Daniel Fabricant, PhD., vice
president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the natural
Products Association. “When one considers that age-related
cognitive decline may initiate in healthy adults as early as their
30s, it would seem that if the authors were indeed serious about
investing prevention as a secondary outcome, they would have
selected a population that was situated closer to the onset of
cognitive decline instead of one where its effects most likely have
already taken hold.” |
Keep This in Mind When
Buying Gifts |
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For some years,
scientists have known that both bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates,
two chemicals frequently found in a variety of consumer products,
can mimic human hormones and disrupt the endocrine system.
Bisphenol-A (BPA)
is a basic building block of polycarbonate plastics. In the
bloodstream and body tissues, BPA mimics the hormone estrogen.
Low levels of BPA, including those well below the current regulatory
safety threshold, have been shown to affect prostate development,
promote prostate tumors, affect breast tissue development and sperm
counts, and possibly even create and enlarge fat cells.
Scientists have also linked BPA exposure to premature puberty,
attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, miscarriage, and birth
defects like Down Syndrome.
For their part,
phthalates are a group of industrial compounds widely used in common
products. About 7.6 billion pounds are produced throughout the world
each year. The largest use of these chemicals is as a
plasticizer in polyvinyl chloride and other soft plastic to keep
them flexible. Without the addition of phthalate plasticizers,
these materials would be fairly stiff and difficult to use for their
intended purposes. |
used in food and
soda can linings, toys, and dental sealants. The molecular
bonds that bind this chemical to its host material weaken over time,
especially (though not exclusively) when those materials are exposed
to heat, washing, or acidic materials like certain foods. As a
result, BPA is able to easily leach out of products that contain it
and enter the bodies of people that some into contact with those
products. In fact, the Center for Disease Control has detected
BPA in 95% of the people it tested.
Phthalates are also used as solvents that help
keep other ingredients in a chemical formula dissolved and dispersed
throughout the product. Their oily texture helps lubricate other
materials; and this ability to keep a chemical product evenly mixed
makes phthalates an ideal additive in things like cosmetics,
personal care products, perfumes, inks, and insect repellents, among
many others. Phthalates are also used in things like lotions to
help them penetrate and soften skin. In fact, these chemicals are
now used in so many products and in so many places that they’ve even
begun to appear as contaminants in products that don’t purposefully
contain them.
Unfortunately, phthalates are easily
volatized. This means that they are readily able to leave the
product they’re used in and enter the air. |
 Kyolic
Garlic vs. statin, aspirin and placebo study |
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Summary of Budff’s New Clinical
Study
Design: placebo-controlled, double
blind, randomized trial
Formula: 2 capsules of Kyolic 108,
each capsule contains AGE (500 mg),
Vitamin B-12 (200 mcg),
Folic Acid (400 mcg), Vitamin B6 (25 mg)
And L-Arginine (200mg)
Subjects: All 58 patients treated
with statin and aspirin-but only half of the
patients treated with Kyolic 108-the other half were treated with
the statin,
aspirin and placebo.
Duration: 1 year
Results shown significantly
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Inhibition of coronary
artery calcification: |
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|
Kyolic |
Percent |
Better Than |
|
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Decreased Calcium |
Kyolic |
83.5% |
8 x |
qVs
placebo + statin and aspirin 10% |
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Total
Cholesterol: |
Kyolic (Down) |
9.7% |
3 ½ x |
q
Vs baseline (placebo: 2.5%q)
statin & aspirin |
|
LDL-cholesterol: |
Kyolic (Down) |
14.5% |
17 x |
q
Vs baseline (placebo: 3.0%p)
statin & aspirin |
|
HDL-cholesterol: |
Kyolic (Up) |
16.7% |
3 x |
q
Vs baseline (placebo: 5.9%p)
statin & aspirin |
|
Homocysteine: |
Kyolic (Down) |
15.0% |
4 ½ |
q
Vs baseline (placebo: 3.5%q)
statin & aspirin |
The Study on
Kyolic was so impressive that Dr. Budooff was invited to the largest
cardiovascular convention in Munich, Germany. As the good Dr. says,
“Taking Kyolic may save your life”—
P.S. -- No
Side effects with those taking Kyolic – just side benefits . . .
uuPresentation
Schedule of Dr. Budoff’s 2nd Clinical Study using Kyolic
108:
Experimental Biology (EB 2008) San Diego, CA, April 9, 2008
uuAmerican
Heart Association Meeting’s on : Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis &
Vascular Biology 2008, Atlanta,
Ga April 16-18 2008
Quality of
Care and Outcome Research in Cardiovascular Diseases & Stroke
Conference 2008, Baltimore,
MD, April 30-May 2, 2008 |
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Study: Folic Acid Reduces Heart
Attack, Stroke…
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| A new study
published in the British Medical Journal provides further
evidence that lowering levels of the amino acid homocysteine can
reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. And, since the B
vitamin folic acid has been shown to reduce homocysteine levels,
“Increasing intake of folic acid would be a relatively cheap and
simple way of reducing heart disease,” according to researchers. The
researchers analyzed a variety of previously published studies and
concluded that homocysteine as
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a
cause of cardiovascular disease “explains the observations
from all the different types of study” and that “no single
alternative explanation can account for all the observations. Since
folic acid reduces homocysteine concentrations…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.” |
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 Acrylamide
Reduced in Wheat Crops… |
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According to a
recent report in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry,
researchers at the University of Reading in the U.K. found that
wheat grown in fields low on sulfer had much higher concentrations
of asparagines – an amino acid that, along with sugars, forms
acrylamide during cooking. Acrylamide, a chemical linked to cancer
and other possible ill effects, naturally occurs during
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the
baking or frying process of starchy foods. Since being identified in
2002, scientists have tried to find ways to reduce or eliminate the
amount of Acrylamide in foods without losing the appealing flavor
that comes from browning. Researchers speculate that ensuring that
crops have plenty of sulfur could reduce acrylamide in foods without
changing the flavor. |
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 Citrus
Peel
Extract May Fight Diabetes... |
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Supplementing daily with an extract from citrus peel may help ward
off diabetes in humans, suggests an animal study. Polymethoxylated flavones(PMFs), extracted from citrus peel, have
been reported to help reduce cholesterol levels, but researchers
conducting this study claim it's the first to look in detail at the
benefits and report the positive effects on inflammation. For
the study, published in the journal Life Sciences (2006, vol. 79, no
4: 365-373), 28 hamsters on a
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fructose-rich diet (which induced
hyperglyceridimia and insulin resistance) were divided into four
groups and fed one of four diets: chow; a control fructose diet;
fructose plus low-dose PMFs (62.5 milligrams per kilograms body
weight per day); or fructose plus high-dose PMFs (125 milligrams per
kilograms body weight per day). After four weeks on these
diets, both PMF groups showed a significant decrease in serum
triglycerides and cholesterol levels compared to the fructose-fed
hamsters. |
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