Facing sky-high crop prices, some in the organic livestock business are beginning to look for organic grain growers willing to sign long-term contracts to supply feed. This kind of vertical integration, which is common in the conventional meat industry, runs counter to the independent spirit of many organic farmers. But tight supplies and the soaring cost of organic corn and soybeans may force changes.
Organic products are one of the fastest-growing segments of the food industry. Sales of organic food totaled almost $17 billion in 2006, and production of the grain and soybeans needed for organic livestock has failed to keep up with the demand for milk and meat.
Soybeans in particular are in extremely short supply. Organic soybeans were selling for more than $25 a bushel on average in the upper Midwest in mid-March, an amount about double the price of a year earlier. Organic corn prices were averaging just less than $10 a bushel, up from about $6.50 a year previous.
Sources:
* Des Moines Register April 5, 2008
15 April 2008
Impaired Insulin Response Linked to Alzheimer's Disease
Increased intake of vitamin K2 may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 35 percent, according to the results of European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).
The potential benefits of K2 were most pronounced for advanced prostate cancer. Vitamin K1 intake did not offer any prostate benefits.
The findings were based on data from more than 11,000 men taking part in the EPIC Heidelberg cohort. It adds to a small but ever-growing body of science supporting the potential health benefits of vitamin K for bone, blood, skin, and now prostate health.
Sources:
* NutraIngredients.com April 9, 2008
The potential benefits of K2 were most pronounced for advanced prostate cancer. Vitamin K1 intake did not offer any prostate benefits.
The findings were based on data from more than 11,000 men taking part in the EPIC Heidelberg cohort. It adds to a small but ever-growing body of science supporting the potential health benefits of vitamin K for bone, blood, skin, and now prostate health.
Sources:
* NutraIngredients.com April 9, 2008
Exercise During Pregnancy Means a Healthier Heart for Both Mom and Baby
Studies have shown that exercise has a positive effect on mothers-to-be. But a new study has found that not only do women benefit from exercise in pregnancy, their fetuses do as well.
Maternal exercise during pregnancy may have a beneficial effect on fetal cardiac programming by reducing fetal heart rate and increasing heart rate variability. Researchers studied fetal heart rates with magnetocardiography (MCG), a safe, non-invasive used method to record the magnetic field surrounding the electrical currents generated by the fetal heart and nervous system.
There were significantly lower heart rates among fetuses that had been exposed to maternal exercise. The heart rates among non-exposed fetuses were higher, regardless of the fetal activity or the gestational age.
Sources:
* Science Daily April 10, 2008
Maternal exercise during pregnancy may have a beneficial effect on fetal cardiac programming by reducing fetal heart rate and increasing heart rate variability. Researchers studied fetal heart rates with magnetocardiography (MCG), a safe, non-invasive used method to record the magnetic field surrounding the electrical currents generated by the fetal heart and nervous system.
There were significantly lower heart rates among fetuses that had been exposed to maternal exercise. The heart rates among non-exposed fetuses were higher, regardless of the fetal activity or the gestational age.
Sources:
* Science Daily April 10, 2008
Twenty Percent of Scientists Admit Using Brain-Enhancing Drugs
According to the results of an online survey issued by the prominent journal Nature, 20 percent of respondents, largely drawn from the scientific community, admitted to using brain-enhancing drugs such as Ritalin and Provigil.
Sixty-two percent of the scientists who had taken drugs used Ritalin, while 44 percent reported using Provigil. Only 14 percent tried beta blockers like propranolol.
The nearly 1,500 person survey was launched in the wake of a pair of recent articles that touched off a storm of questions about widespread neuroenhancer use by the scientific community.
Sources:
* Wired April 9, 2008
Sixty-two percent of the scientists who had taken drugs used Ritalin, while 44 percent reported using Provigil. Only 14 percent tried beta blockers like propranolol.
The nearly 1,500 person survey was launched in the wake of a pair of recent articles that touched off a storm of questions about widespread neuroenhancer use by the scientific community.
Sources:
* Wired April 9, 2008
Diabetics Can Reverse Their Atherosclerosis
Aggressively measures to lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels below current targets can help to prevent -- and potentially even reverse -- hardening of the arteries in adults with type 2 diabetes. Hardening of the arteries, also known as atherosclerosis, is the number one cause of heart disease.
A three-year study of nearly 500 participants was the first to compare two treatment targets for LDL ("bad") cholesterol and systolic blood pressure levels in people with diabetes.
To assess the impact of treatments on the participants' cardiovascular health, researchers used ultrasound to measure the thickness of their carotid (neck) arteries. Ultrasound was also used to measure the size and function of the left ventricle, which is the heart's main pumping chamber. Among participants who were given aggressive treatment, carotid artery thickness measurements were significantly lower.
Sources:
* Science Daily April 9, 2008
A three-year study of nearly 500 participants was the first to compare two treatment targets for LDL ("bad") cholesterol and systolic blood pressure levels in people with diabetes.
To assess the impact of treatments on the participants' cardiovascular health, researchers used ultrasound to measure the thickness of their carotid (neck) arteries. Ultrasound was also used to measure the size and function of the left ventricle, which is the heart's main pumping chamber. Among participants who were given aggressive treatment, carotid artery thickness measurements were significantly lower.
Sources:
* Science Daily April 9, 2008
13 April 2008
Message from Dr Lau: Book Update
An outline is drawn…
Right from my college days, I have been mastering the art of testing the completeness of my premises with in-depth research and a clear outline.
One test that I routinely employ is what I call the essence test. In my view, an outline is complete only when I, as a reader of my own work, can understand my concepts as a unified whole.
If a thought is so abstract that it is not clear even in my own mind, how can I expect my reader to comprehend it? That’s when I reject the thought out rightly, no matter how elegant it may appear in the beginning. I instinctively know that it doesn’t belong in my writing.
Nonetheless, problems, or rather ideas that are counterproductive to my ultimate project plan, do arise. I, just make sure that they don’t arise once too often, to derail my train of thought altogether; or that when they do arise, they are immediately detected and weeded out completely from my draft plan. That’s what I did during the writing of this book too.
The second test of validity that I use for my ideas; one which I probably borrowed from the Aristonian philosophy is that of casualty. This principle dictates that my outline establish a logical chain of cause-and-effect before it can lead to some definite conclusion.
I therefore make sure that the outline that I draw follows this core principle and that there is logic and cohesiveness in the plan outline.
11 April 2008
Does Cholesterol Matter? Only if You're on a Cholesterol-Lowering Drug
The makers of Zetia and Vytorin (which combines Zetia and Zocor) recently announced that their aggressively advertised cholesterol-lowering drugs failed to slow the development of fatty plaque in arteries. In fact, the drugs actually promotes the formation of plaque in arteries, which fuels heart disease and increases the risk of a heart attack. The announcement –- in a news release, not a medical journal –- came after long delays in reporting the findings of their study.
Why the delays? Follow the money. Sales of the two drugs added up to $5 billion in revenues in 2007.
The news release was the first of several fascinating and bizarre reports on Zetia and Vytorin. Even though the drugs don't prevent heart disease, the American Heart Association quickly issued an official news release in defense of the drugs.
If you're confused by that, just follow the money trail again. According to an article in the New York Times, the American Heart Association gets $2 million a year from Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical group that markets Vytorin.
The failure of this and other recent cholesterol-lowering drug trials has renewed a long-simmering debate about the role of cholesterol in heart disease. Cholesterol is a symptom -- get that, a symptom -- not a cause of heart disease, and Vytorin and other drugs merely alter a symptom. In fact, cholesterol has long been known as only a weak indicator of heart disease risk (American Journal of Epidemiology, 1977;105:281-9). Half of the people who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol levels.
What then causes heart disease? The answer is a variety of factors, most of which are no-brainers, such as prediabetes and being overweight, which result from excess intake of refined sugars, processed sugar-like carbohydrates, and trans fats. This dietary pattern elevates blood sugar, insulin –- and, yes, cholesterol, see (www.stopprediabetesnow.com) . Even the oft-recommended high-carb diet for preventing heart disease raises cholesterol and triglyceride levels. That's because, in most people, elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels reflect sugar and carb intake, not fats.
If all this isn't strange enough, consider one more recent report. The average cholesterol level of Americans is now lower than it was back in 1960 because of all the cholesterol-lowering drugs that have been prescribed. At the same time, two-thirds of Americans are now overweight –- the number one risk factor for diabetes and heart disease. In effect, Rome is burning while medicine fiddles with cholesterol.
Why the delays? Follow the money. Sales of the two drugs added up to $5 billion in revenues in 2007.
The news release was the first of several fascinating and bizarre reports on Zetia and Vytorin. Even though the drugs don't prevent heart disease, the American Heart Association quickly issued an official news release in defense of the drugs.
If you're confused by that, just follow the money trail again. According to an article in the New York Times, the American Heart Association gets $2 million a year from Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, the pharmaceutical group that markets Vytorin.
The failure of this and other recent cholesterol-lowering drug trials has renewed a long-simmering debate about the role of cholesterol in heart disease. Cholesterol is a symptom -- get that, a symptom -- not a cause of heart disease, and Vytorin and other drugs merely alter a symptom. In fact, cholesterol has long been known as only a weak indicator of heart disease risk (American Journal of Epidemiology, 1977;105:281-9). Half of the people who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol levels.
What then causes heart disease? The answer is a variety of factors, most of which are no-brainers, such as prediabetes and being overweight, which result from excess intake of refined sugars, processed sugar-like carbohydrates, and trans fats. This dietary pattern elevates blood sugar, insulin –- and, yes, cholesterol, see (www.stopprediabetesnow.com) . Even the oft-recommended high-carb diet for preventing heart disease raises cholesterol and triglyceride levels. That's because, in most people, elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels reflect sugar and carb intake, not fats.
If all this isn't strange enough, consider one more recent report. The average cholesterol level of Americans is now lower than it was back in 1960 because of all the cholesterol-lowering drugs that have been prescribed. At the same time, two-thirds of Americans are now overweight –- the number one risk factor for diabetes and heart disease. In effect, Rome is burning while medicine fiddles with cholesterol.
Marketing, Not Research, is Now the Core of the Drug Industry
In 1950, George Merck, president of the company founded by his father and bearing his name, said, "We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits."
If that was ever true, it is certainly not true now. Drug companies are hugely profitable enterprises, and they spent more on political lobbying than any other industry between 1998 and 2004. The transformation is owed in large measure to blockbuster drugs, meaning any medication that generates more than $1 billion in sales annually.
It might have begun with the selling of Zantac, an anti-ulcer drug that came on the market in 1983. GlaxoSmithKline priced it more expensively than the competitor drug Tagamet, to imply that it was superior. In reality, Zantac was chemically almost identical to Tagamet and no more effective.
But more importantly, the revenues from Zantac were spent not on research and development as was then customary, but on a massive marketing campaign for the drug. GlaxoSmithKline linked the drug to the relief of a common but minor condition, heartburn, then made consumers and doctors worry that the condition was a sign of a more worrisome disease, which the company dubbed Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD. Soon, millions of Americans were using the expensive drug Zantac instead of the over-the-counter remedies which easily relieve most heartburn.
GlaxoSmithKline's strategy, novel in the 1980’s, has become standard operating procedure in the pharmaceutical industry. Most money goes into marketing, and research falls by the wayside; most “new” drugs are slight alterations of older ones.
Sources:
* Washington Post April 6, 2008
If that was ever true, it is certainly not true now. Drug companies are hugely profitable enterprises, and they spent more on political lobbying than any other industry between 1998 and 2004. The transformation is owed in large measure to blockbuster drugs, meaning any medication that generates more than $1 billion in sales annually.
It might have begun with the selling of Zantac, an anti-ulcer drug that came on the market in 1983. GlaxoSmithKline priced it more expensively than the competitor drug Tagamet, to imply that it was superior. In reality, Zantac was chemically almost identical to Tagamet and no more effective.
But more importantly, the revenues from Zantac were spent not on research and development as was then customary, but on a massive marketing campaign for the drug. GlaxoSmithKline linked the drug to the relief of a common but minor condition, heartburn, then made consumers and doctors worry that the condition was a sign of a more worrisome disease, which the company dubbed Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD. Soon, millions of Americans were using the expensive drug Zantac instead of the over-the-counter remedies which easily relieve most heartburn.
GlaxoSmithKline's strategy, novel in the 1980’s, has become standard operating procedure in the pharmaceutical industry. Most money goes into marketing, and research falls by the wayside; most “new” drugs are slight alterations of older ones.
Sources:
* Washington Post April 6, 2008
Vaccine-Autism Question Divides Parents, Scientists
13-year old Michelle Cedillo is at the center of a court case pitting thousands of families of children with autism against the medical establishment. While a number of prestigious medical institutions say there is no link between vaccines and autism, the families believe vaccines caused their children's autism, and have taken their case to court.
Theresa and Mike Cedillo, Michelle's parents, believe the MMR vaccine, which at the time contained a mercury-based preservative, drastically altered the course of their daughter's development. Within days of receiving the injection, Michelle suffered from a high fever, persistent vomiting and problems with her digestion -- and also stopped speaking and no longer responded to her name.
Many doctors, however, argue that the apparent connection between vaccines and autism is nothing more than a sad coincidence. But families who believe vaccines can trigger autism point to the case of 9-year-old Hannah Poling; the U.S. government conceded that vaccines "significantly aggravated" her underlying illness, predisposing her to symptoms of autism.
The court heard testimony in the Cedillo claim in June of 2007. Testimony in other test cases is scheduled for 2008.
Sources:
* CNN.com April 2, 2008
Theresa and Mike Cedillo, Michelle's parents, believe the MMR vaccine, which at the time contained a mercury-based preservative, drastically altered the course of their daughter's development. Within days of receiving the injection, Michelle suffered from a high fever, persistent vomiting and problems with her digestion -- and also stopped speaking and no longer responded to her name.
Many doctors, however, argue that the apparent connection between vaccines and autism is nothing more than a sad coincidence. But families who believe vaccines can trigger autism point to the case of 9-year-old Hannah Poling; the U.S. government conceded that vaccines "significantly aggravated" her underlying illness, predisposing her to symptoms of autism.
The court heard testimony in the Cedillo claim in June of 2007. Testimony in other test cases is scheduled for 2008.
Sources:
* CNN.com April 2, 2008
4 April 2008
How Fish Farming is Killing Salmon
A virus called infectious salmon anemia, or ISA, is killing millions of salmon in Chile. The plague has resulted in 1,000 workers losing their jobs, and has opened fish farming companies to charges that breeding salmon in crowded underwater pens is contaminating once-pristine waters and producing unhealthy fish.
Salmon producers are coming under new pressure to change their methods. According to Dr. Felipe C. Cabello, a professor of Microbiology and Immunology, “All these problems are related to an underlying lack of sanitary controls. Parasitic infections, viral infections, fungal infections are all disseminated when the fish are stressed and the centers are too close together.”
Industry executives acknowledge some of the problems, but reject the notion that their practices are unsafe for consumers. But a rash of salmon illnesses have led companies to use high levels of antibiotics, some of which are prohibited for use on animals in the United States. Nonetheless, many of those salmon still end up in American grocery stores.
Sources:
* New York Times March 27, 2008
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