Fruit and veg have 'unacceptable' levels of pesticides

Many fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets and greengrocers contain pesticide residues that are above the maximum legal level, an in-depth report has said.

Apples, peas, and grapes are sometimes covered in crop spray that is above the maximum allowed levels allowed under European law.

The findings come from the Pesticides Residues Committee, part of the Health and Safety Executive, after testing more than 4,000 samples of food and drink.

The levels of pesticides varied considerably, with imported fruit and vegetables tending to have higher levels, according to its 2008 annual report. One in 7 beans in a pod one in 25 fresh peas (in pods) and one in five yams all had pesticides above the allowed level. One in 70 apples and pears had illegal levels of pesticides.

The Food Standards Agency insisted the illegal levels did not necessarily mean that the food was unsafe to eat, and pointed out that the overall levels of pesticides in food had fallen over the last year. In 2007 1.8 per cent of food had illegal levels; 2008 it had fallen to 1.2 per cent.

All of the fruit and vegetables supplied to schools contained pesticides within allowed levels, though nearly all the apples (49 out of 52 tested) and every one of the bananas had some form of pesticide in them. Many of the pieces of fruit had more than one pesticide.

The Soil Association, which represents the organic industry, said the report was alarming nonetheless.

Emma Hockridge, policy co-ordinator at the Soil Association, said: "Unbelievably we learn yet again that pesticides are turning up in fruit and vegetables supplied to schoolchildren. Yet again the government tells us this is nothing to be worried about.

"Yet we know that children’s exposure and susceptibility to pesticides is likely to be higher as per body weight they ingest more food and drink than adults and their bodies' ability to process and excrete any such residues is different to that of adults.

"It is unacceptable that 94 per cent of apples, and 100 per cent of bananas tested contained pesticides school fruit and vegetable scheme."

She argued that the "cocktail" effect of different pesticides had never been tested properly. "Powerful new evidence is emerging that suggests the combined effect of pesticide ‘mixtures’ may be more significant than previously realised, especially with regard to endocrine disruptors," she said.

Pesticides, at high doses, can cause allergic reactions such as causing itchy skin and breathing difficulties.

Fructose tied to higher blood pressure: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A diet high in a form of sugar found in sweetened soft drinks and junk food raises blood pressure among men, according to research likely to mean more bad news for beverage companies and restaurant chains.

One of two studies released on Wednesday provided the first evidence that fructose helps raise blood pressure. It also found that the drug allopurinol, used to treat gout, can alleviate the effect by reducing uric acid levels in the body.

The second study, which measured fructose intake in mice, suggested that people who consume junk foods and sweetened soft drinks at night could gain weight faster than those who don't.

"These results suggest that excessive fructose intake may have a role in the worldwide epidemic of obesity and diabetes," said Dr. Richard Johnson of the University of Colorado-Denver, who studied the link between blood pressure and men.

The findings provide the latest evidence of ties between sugar-rich diets and health problems that have prompted some experts to call for a tax on sugary soft drinks.

Fructose accounts for about half the sugar molecules in table sugar and in high-fructose corn syrup, the sweetener used in many packaged foods.

Johnson and colleagues at the Mateo Orfila Hospital in Spain studied 74 men given 200 grams of fructose per day on top of their regular diet. That amount is well above a daily intake of 50 grams to 70 grams of fructose consumed by most American adults.

Half the men were also given allopurinol.

After two weeks, the men who received only the fructose registered increases of six millimeters in systolic blood pressure -- the top reading -- and about three millimeters in diastolic or the bottom reading, the researchers told an American Heart Association meeting in Chicago.

REVERSIBLE EFFECT

Most of their blood pressure readings returned to normal levels after two months.

The men who did not get allopurinol also were twice as likely to develop metabolic syndrome, measured by risk factors such as too much abdominal fat, high blood pressure and poor cholesterol readings.

By contrast, those given allopurinol and fructose had significantly lower uric acid levels, and virtually no increase in systolic blood pressure or higher risk of metabolic syndrome.

For the second study, researchers in Ohio studied mice given fructose water to drink. Some had unrestricted access, while others received it during the day or at night.

‘Smoking kills’, doctors warned in 1606

A doctor's letter written more than 400 years ago has revealed medics then were concerned about the dangers of young people smoking.

The letter, by Dr Eleazar Duncon, was unearthed by library staff at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) as they prepared for an exhibition.

And Professor Sir Neil Douglas, the president of the RCPE, said it gave a "fascinating insight into historical concerns" about smoking and young people.

On Thursday MSPs at Holyrood will consider the general principles of Scottish Government proposals aimed at curbing the sale of cigarettes and tobacco to youngsters.

But Dr Duncon's letter, which was published by his employer in 1606, reveals medics were concerned about the issue four centuries ago.

The letter concluded that tobacco "is so hurtful and dangerous to youth that it might have the pernicious nation expressed in the name, and that it were as well known by the name of Youths-bane as by the name of tobacco.”

The RCPE president commented on the letter and said: "This letter from our library collection provides a fascinating insight into historical medical concerns about the addictive nature of smoking and young people, and shows that this issue has been of concern for over four centuries."

He went on: "The Scottish Parliament has already taken a political lead, and demonstrated its commitment to tackling0 the harm caused by tobacco, by introducing smoke-free legislation for public places.

"However, it would be easy for politicians to think that the problems associated with tobacco have been dealt with and to lose sight of the fact that the proposed Bill includes critically important measures aimed at reducing smoking in young people.

"These measures principally involve ending point of sale advertising and banning vending machines, both of which encourage and influence young people to smoke.

"We therefore urge MSPs from all parties to support this important Bill and to take this historic opportunity to reduce the harm caused by smoking in the young."

Muscle: 'Hard to build, easy to lose' as you age

Have you ever noticed that people have thinner arms and legs as they get older? As we age it becomes harder to keep our muscles healthy. They get smaller, which decreases strength and increases the likelihood of falls and fractures. New research is showing how this happens — and what to do about it.

A team of Nottingham researchers has already shown that when older people eat, they cannot make muscle as fast as the young. Now they've found that the suppression of muscle breakdown, which also happens during feeding, is blunted with age.

The scientists and doctors at The University of Nottingham Schools of Graduate Entry Medicine and Biomedical Sciences believe that a 'double whammy' affects people aged over 65. However the team think that weight training may "rejuvenate" muscle blood flow and help retain muscle for older people.

These results may explain the ongoing loss of muscle in older people: when they eat they don't build enough muscle with the protein in food; also, the insulin (a hormone released during a meal) fails to shut down the muscle breakdown that rises between meals and overnight. Normally, in young people, insulin acts to slow muscle breakdown. Common to these problems may be a failure to deliver nutrients and hormones to muscle because of a poorer blood supply.

The work has been done by Michael Rennie, Professor of Clinical Physiology, and Dr Emilie Wilkes, and their colleagues at The University of Nottingham. The research was funded by the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) as part of ongoing work on age-related muscle wasting and how to lessen that effect.

Research just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition compared one group of people in their late 60s to a group of 25-year-olds, with equal numbers of men and women. Professor Rennie said "We studied our subjects first — before breakfast — and then after giving them a small amount of insulin to raise the hormone to what they would be if they had eaten breakfast, of a bowl of cornflakes or a croissant."

"We tagged one of the amino acids (from which proteins are made) so that we could discover how much protein in leg muscle was being broken down. We then compared how much amino acid was delivered to the leg and how much was leaving it, by analysing blood in the two situations.

"The results were clear. The younger people's muscles were able to use insulin we gave to stop the muscle breakdown, which had increased during the night. The muscles in the older people could not."

"In the course of our tests, we also noticed that the blood flow in the leg was greater in the younger people than the older ones," added Professor Rennie. "This set us thinking: maybe the rate of supply of nutrients and hormones is lower in the older people? This could explain the wasting we see."

Following this up led Beth Phillips, a PhD student working with Professor Rennie, to win the Blue Riband Award for work she presented at the summer meeting of The Physiological Society in Dublin. In her research Beth confirmed the blunting effect of age on leg blood flow after feeding, with and without exercise. The team predicted that weight training would reduce this blunting. "Indeed, she found that three sessions a week over 20 weeks 'rejuvenated' the leg blood flow responses of the older people. They became identical to those in the young," said Professor Rennie.

"I am extremely pleased with progress," he said. "Our team is making good headway in finding more and more out about what causes the loss of muscle with age. It looks like we have good clues about how to lessen it with weight training and possibly other ways to increase blood flow."

Can Omega-3's Affect Your Heart and Mind?

Omega-3 fats can be good for your mind as well as your body.

Researchers have shown that depressed patients have, on average, lower levels of omega-3 in their blood than nondepressed individuals. A greater severity of depression is also linked to lower levels of omega-3. A number of well-controlled depression treatment studies have found therapeutic benefits following omega-3 supplementation.

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated an inverse relationships between fish consumption and prevalence of major depression: the more fish eaten, the lower the levels of serious clinical depression. Fish oil is a source of two key omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA).

In another study, a combination of omega-3 fatty acids and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) was found to decrease blood pressure and heart rate in kidney disease patients.

People with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which increases the risk of heart disease, experienced improvements in both blood pressure and heart rate following supplementation with four grams of omega-3 fats. Furthermore, when the omega 3’s were taken in combination with coenzyme Q10, the blood pressure reducing benefits were enhanced.

CKD is linked to increased prevalence in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events and hospitalization.

How manuka honey helps fight infection

Manuka honey may kill bacteria by destroying key bacterial proteins. Dr Rowena Jenkins and colleagues from the University of Wales Institute - Cardiff investigated the mechanisms of manuka honey action and found that its anti-bacterial properties were not due solely to the sugars present in the honey. The work was presented this week (7-10 September), at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

Meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was grown in the laboratory and treated with and without manuka honey for four hours. The experiment was repeated with sugar syrup to determine if the effects seen were due to sugar content in honey alone. The bacterial cells were then broken and the proteins isolated and separated on a system that displayed each protein as an individual spot. Many fewer proteins were seen from the manuka honey-treated MRSA cells and one particular protein, FabI, seemed to be completely missing. FabI is a protein that is needed for fatty acid biosynthesis. This essential process supplies the bacteria with precursors for important cellular components such as lipopolysaccarides and its cell wall. The absence of these proteins in honey-treated cells could help explain the mode of action of manuka honey in killing MRSA.

"Manuka and other honeys have been known to have wound healing and anti-bacterial properties for some time," said Dr Jenkins, "But the way in which they act is still not known. If we can discover exactly how manuka honey inhibits MRSA it could be used more frequently as a first-line treatment for infections with bacteria that are resistant to many currently available antibiotics".

Low Vitamin D Increases Flu Death Risk in Kids

So far, Swine flu, H1N1, has killed thirty-six children in U.S. and analysis of CDC data indicates Vitamin D deficient children at higher risk of death. The CDC did not realize they discovered this. However, anyone familiar with the Vitamin D literature will recognize it.


Almost two-thirds of the dead children had epilepsy, cerebral palsy, or other neurodevelopmental conditions like mental retardation. All of these neurological conditions are associated with childhood Vitamin D deficiency. Exacerbating the problem further, many of these kids take anticonvulsant drugs, which lower Vitamin D levels.

58 million American children are Vitamin D deficient; 7.6 million are severely deficient. When researchers looked at more than 6,000 American kids (age one to 21) who were carefully selected to be representative of the average American child. 9 percent of the kids had 25(OH)D levels less than 15 ng/mL and 70 percent had levels less than 30 ng/mL.

More Confirmation That Cell Phones Cause Brain Tumors

A recent review of studies assessed whether there was epidemiologic evidence for an association between long-term cell phone usage and the risk of developing a brain tumor.

In order to be included in the analysis, studies were required to have been published in a peer-reviewed journal, included participants who had used cell phone for 10 or more years, and analyzed the side of the brain tumor relative to the side of the head preferred for cell phone usage. Eleven long-term epidemiologic studies fit the criteria.

The results indicated that using a cell phone for 10 or more years approximately doubles the risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same side of the head as that preferred for cell phone use.

UK professor says supplements are a waste of time

Related topics: Omega-3, Industry, Antioxidants, carotenoids, Dosage forms, Minerals, Nutritional lipids and oils, Phytochemicals, plant extracts, Vitamins & premixes, Bone & joint health, Eye health

The likes of vitamin A and vitamin C are a waste of money for most people and can even be detrimental to health, a UK-based nutrition professor has told the British Science Festival.

Professor Brian Ratcliffe, the program leader of nutrition and dietetics at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland, told the Festival many food supplements were ineffective for the majority of people and overuse of vitamin C for example, could lead to stomach problems.

Vitamin A was singled out as easily exceeding recommended levels if a consumer was to combine multivitamin use with a fish oil supplement. Potential side effects included headaches and nausea, osteoporosis, and eye and liver damage.

His statements have been picked up in the UK mainstream press in the past couple of days. Industry associations were unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

Professor Ratcliffe, who is an adviser to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), was also unavailable for comment.

The National Association of Health Stores issued a statement backing supplement use, as a way of compensating for nutrient-poor diets: “Evidence amassed by the Food Standards Agency tells us that the concept of the healthy, balanced diet still eludes the overwhelming majority of the British public.”

“And, of course, if you are ill, smoke, drink alcohol or exposed to environmental toxins such as traffic fumes your body benefits from a higher intake of vitamins and minerals and of course, if you are eating less than a certain number of calories such as when you are dieting, it is more difficult to get the nutrients you need from food.”

Professor Ratcliffe provides no supporting evidence to back his statements, and notes taking food supplements can be dangerous for those who may be taking pharmaceuticals.

UK supplement sales falling

His comments come at a time when vitamin sales are falling in the UK, at least according to analyst, Mintel, which predicts sales will slide from €155m in 2004 to below €100m by 2014 – a near 50 per cent decline.

Can Chocolate Cure a Headache?

Decades of research have shown that chocolate has several beneficial physiological effects, most notably on heart health. A new study suggests that cocoa powder has a healing effect on inflamed cells related to migraine headaches. However, the results of the study contradicts previous theories that chocolate triggers migraines in some people.

Dark chocolate, which should be at least 60 percent cocoa by weight, is one of the richest sources of the bioflavonoid antioxidants that counteract cell damage. Milk chocolate, which contains a much lower percentage of cocoa, confers less than half of the benefits of dark chocolate, and white chocolate has no such health benefits because it lacks cocoa. In addition, if chocolate is eaten in large amounts, its sugar and calorie content could negate the positive effects of its antioxidants and other chemicals.

No guidelines have yet been determined about how to consume dark chocolate to maximize the health benefits.