Immune System Support and Aging

Old age isn't so bad...when you consider the alternative. Right. In youth-oriented societies, the alternative is plastic surgery and, for men, finding trophy girlfriends. Relax. You can still date (Sherry Halperin humorously explores this in RESCUE ME, HE'S WEARING A MOOSE HAT AND FORTY OTHER DATES AFTER FIFTY) and exercise and eat right to look good. Some of our not-so-bad alternatives to putting on your mom's granny dress:

• Cinnamon will spice up your immune system and keep your heart healthy.
• Vitamin C and E--'nuff said.
• Acidophilus, so varicose veins and the portrayal of older women on TV don't turn your stomach.
• Luo Han Kuo from China, where they respect aging -- you're adventurous enough to try new things, right?
• Beta-carotene so you can eliminate free radicals like the ex-hippie you dated last night.

Old age isn't so bad...when nutrition smarts come with it. Immune system vitamins will keep you glowing and growing!
Heidi Splete

Bird flu may be spread indirectly, WHO says

By Maggie Fox

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The H5N1 bird flu virus may sometimes stick to surfaces or get kicked up in fertilizer dust to infect people, according to a World Health Organization report published on Wednesday.

The WHO team reviewed all known human cases of avian influenza, which has infected 350 people in 14 countries and killed 217 of them since 2003, and found that 25 percent of cases have no explanation.
Most are passed directly from bird to people, they noted in their report, published in The New England Journal of Medicine. And very rarely one person can infect another -- always close relatives via intimate physical contact.
"In one quarter or more of patients with influenza A (H5N1) virus infection, the source of exposure is unclear, and environment-to-human transmission remains possible," the researchers, led by WHO's Dr. Frederick Hayden, wrote.
"For some patients, the only identified risk factor was visiting a live-poultry market."
It could be that small particles of virus-contaminated fluid stuck to surfaces, they said. Or perhaps fertilizer made from infected bird feces somehow carried the virus into people's noses or mouths.
"It is unknown whether influenza A (H5N1) virus infection can begin in the human gastrointestinal tract," they wrote.
"In several patients, diarrheal disease preceded respiratory symptoms, and virus has been detected in feces."
Government and health officials have stressed that well-cooked chicken cannot infect people. "Drinking potable water and eating properly cooked foods are not considered to be risk factors, but ingestion of virus-contaminated products or swimming or bathing in virus-contaminated water might pose a risk," the WHO team of bird flu experts noted.
ENDEMIC IN BIRDS
H5N1 is considered entrenched in parts of Asia, including Indonesia, Africa and the Middle East. It pops up frequently in Europe and has prompted the slaughter of hundreds of millions of chickens.
The researchers noted that people only rarely become infected. The fear is that the virus will mutate into a strain that passes easily from one person to another, setting off a pandemic that could kill millions of people in the space of a few months.
"After exposure to infected poultry, the incubation period generally appears to be 7 days or less, and in many cases this period is 2 to 5 days," the WHO team wrote.
"In clusters in which limited, human-to-human transmission has probably occurred, the incubation period appears to be approximately 3 to 5 days, although in one cluster it was estimated to be 8 to 9 days."
It usually causes severe pneumonia and tests suggest that it rarely or never infects people without causing symptoms.
Avian flu kills on average within nine to 10 days and has killed 61 percent of victims.
Quick use of antiviral drugs can save lives, they noted, although some strains of the virus are more treatable than others with Tamiflu, the drug of choice to treat influenza. It is made by Roche Holdings AG and Gilead Sciences under the generic name oseltamivir.

Reuters Health

Proper Nutrition To Protect Against Aging

During the past thirty years, there has been a steadily growing body of scientific evidence showing that vitamins and minerals play a much more important role in our overall health than previously acknowledged.

The proper balance of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients has been linked to health benefits that include stronger immune system response, prevention of many degenerative diseases, and the slowing of the daily wear and tear that is the aging process. A well balanced diet, rich in the necessary nutrients, while difficult to achieve in our fast paced culture, has a wide range of benefits.

It is essential to overall health and longevity to keep the immune system functioning well. There are a number of nutrients that have been shown be necessary to our immune function. Antioxidants, such as the vitamins A, C, E, beta carotene, and selenium have been shown to boost immunity.

The minerals zinc and magnesium are also important for immune function. To ensure a beneficial intake of these antioxidants, you must include a variety of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. Zinc and magnesium can be found in dairy products, and seafood.

Certain vitamins and minerals have been shown to aid in the prevention of some degenerative diseases, and aging disorders. Antioxidants can help to lower the risk of cataracts, and macular degeneration, which are conditions associated with aging. It is also suggested by experts that they can help slow the aging process by reducing the daily cell damage done by environmental pollution, and time.

Vitamin E has been linked with a lower risk of heart disease. Niacin, a B vitamin can help in reducing the level of cholesterol. Some other nutrients that are helpful in protecting against age related disorders are selenium, cartenoids, flavinoids, and some Amino acids.

Proper nutrition via the diet, while definitely achievable, is often a difficult process in today’s fast paced culture, particularly in combination with the social changes we’ve experienced. People often work longer and harder, and the two income family reigns supreme, followed closely by the single parent family unit.

Another difficulty involved in achieving the standard recommended daily intake levels of essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients each and every day has to do with food quality. As minerals are depleted from the soil, due to growing practices that include single crop plantings and failure to rotate crops or let field remain fallow to rest and regenerate, as well as through the erosion of topsoil, the mineral content of food is not always what we think it is.

Nutritional supplements offer a reliable and safe means of ensuring that we reach our nutritional goals. Nutritional supplements are not meant to substitute for a good diet, but rather to complement it.
In fact, they tend to perform much better when they have real food to interact with. If you are inexperienced with nutritional supplements, you may benefit from a consultation with a licensed nutritionist who will be able to help you to devise a nutritional supplement plan best suited for your dietary needs and health goals.

Proper Nutrition before Menopause Might Prevent Breast Cancer

By Maureen Williams, ND

Healthnotes Newswire (June 7, 2007)—Many women start thinking about calcium and vitamin D after menopause, but new evidence suggests that paying attention to these nutrients before menopause could protect against breast cancer.
The new study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was drawn from the large, long-term Women’s Health Study. The analysis included information about diet and cancer diagnoses over a ten-year period from 10,578 premenopausal women and 20,909 postmenopausal women.
Some of the richest sources of dietary calcium are green leafy vegetables, such as kale, spinach, and broccoli, as well as sea vegetables such as kelp and dulse. Figs and some nuts and seeds also provide high amounts of calcium. Vitamin D has few natural sources (primarily egg yolk and fish oil) but the body is able to make plenty when it has adequate sun exposure.
Most of the calcium and vitamin D for the women in this study, however, came from fortified dairy foods and supplements. Calcium-fortified orange juice and vitamin D–fortified cereals also contributed to the total intake. This pattern reflects the eating habits of most Americans and people from other Western-influenced cultures.
Calcium and vitamin D intakes were both linked to lower breast cancer risk in premenopausal women, but not postmenopausal women. Compared with premenopausal women with the lowest intake of calcium, those with the highest intake had a 39% lower risk of developing breast cancer; for vitamin D, having the highest intake reduced the risk by 35%. Aggressive breast tumors in particular were less likely to develop in women with high calcium and vitamin D intakes.
“Higher intakes of total calcium and vitamin D were moderately associated with a lower risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women, and the lower risk was more pronounced in more aggressive breast tumors,” the study authors reported, pointing out that this was not the case for postmenopausal women.
“We already knew that women should be trying to get lots of calcium and vitamin D well before menopause to ensure the health of their bones. With these findings, there is even more incentive,” commented Dr. Julianne Forbes, a naturopathic doctor practicing in Maine. “It’s encouraging to see that science is giving us more tools for protecting women against breast cancer. I hope that future research will tell us more about how specific sources of calcium compare in their protective effect.”
(Arch Intern Med 2007;167:1050–9)

Maureen Williams, ND, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, WA. She has a private practice in Quechee, VT, and does extensive work with traditional herbal medicine in Guatemala and Honduras. Dr. Williams is a regular contributor to Healthnotes Newswire.