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Sedentary life 'speeds up ageing'.
Jan 29th 2008 - BBC World News.
Leading a sedentary lifestyle may make us genetically old before our
time, a study suggests.
A study of twins found those who were physically active during their
leisure time appeared biologically younger than their sedentary peers.
The researchers found key pieces of DNA called telomeres shortened more
quickly in inactive people. It is thought that could signify faster cellular
ageing.
"This conclusion provides a powerful message that could be used by clinicians
to promote the potential anti-ageing effect of regular exercise." - King's
College London researchers.
An active lifestyle has been linked to lower rates of cardiovascular
disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. However, the latest research suggests
that inactivity not only makes people more vulnerable to disease, but may
actually speed up the ageing process itself.
The King's team studied 2,401 white twins, asking them to fill out questionnaires
on their level of physical activity, and taking a blood sample from which
DNA was extracted.
They particularly focused on telomeres, the repeat sequences of DNA
that sit on the ends of chromosomes, protecting them from damage. As people
age, their telomeres become shorter, leaving cells more susceptible to
damage and death.
Examining white blood cells from the immune system in particular, the
researchers found that, on average, telomeres lost 21 component parts -
called nucleotides - every year.
Typical couch potato.
But men and women who were less physically active in their leisure time
had shorter leukocyte telomeres compared to those who were more active.
The average telomere length in those who took the least amount of exercise
- 16 minutes of physical activity a week - was 200 nucleotides shorter
than those who took the most exercise - 199 minutes of physical activity
a week, such as running, tennis or aerobics.
The most active people had telomeres of a length comparable to those
found in inactive people who were up to 10 years' younger, on average.
Direct comparison of twins who had different levels of physical activity
produced similar results.
The researchers suggest that physically inactive people may be more
vulnerable to the damage caused to cells by exposure to oxygen, and to
inflammation.
Stress is also thought to have an impact on telomere length, and the
researchers suggest people who exercise regularly may help to reduce their
stress levels.
Writing in the journal, the researchers said: "Our results show that
adults who partake in regular physical activity are biologically younger
than sedentary individuals."
"This conclusion provides a powerful message that could be used by clinicians
to promote the potential anti-ageing effect of regular exercise."
In an accompanying editorial, Dr Jack Guralnik, of the US National Institute
on Aging, said more work was needed to show a direct relationship between
ageing and physical activity.
He said: "Persons who exercise are different from sedentary persons
in many ways, and although certain variables were adjusted for in this
analysis, many additional factors could be responsible for the biological
differences between active and sedentary persons."
"Nevertheless, this article serves as one of many pieces of evidence
that telomere length might be targeted in studying ageing outcomes."
Story from BBC WORLD NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7212698.stm
Scorched Mouth, Healthy Prostate.
March 16th 2007 - The Washington Times.
Gentlemen, eat your chili peppers. Habanero, jalapeno Scotch bonnet
-- those hot but tasty varieties of the capsicum frutescens have multiple
health benefits -- including the ability to drive prostate cancer cells
to kill themselves, researchers announced yesterday.
According to a team from the University of California at Los Angeles
and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the hot stuff in peppers -- capsaicin
-- caused 80 percent of active prostate cancer cells growing in mice to
"follow the molecular pathways leading to apoptosis," or cell death.
The cancer cells literally committed suicide. What's more, the
cancer tumors of the mice treated with a hot pepper extract were one-fifth
the size of untreated mice.
"Capsaicin had a profound anti-proliferative effect on human prostate
cancer cells in culture," said Dr. Soren Lehmann. "It also dramatically
slowed the development of prostate tumors formed by those human cell lines
grown in mouse models."
What does this mean in the kitchen? Tex-Mex or curry fans are in luck:
the hotter the pepper, the more the benefit. According to Dr. Lehmann,
the mice were fed a dose of pepper extract equivalent to what a normal
man might consume -- 400 milligrams of extract three times a week. That
amount translates to three to eight fresh habanero peppers.
Habanero chili peppers causing
cancer cells to commit suicide.
Medically speaking, capsaicin inhibited the action of NF-kappa Beta,
a substance found in cells that causes them to grow out of control. Capsaicin
also regulates certain proteins that effect the growth of the cells.
"Increased concentrations of capsaicin caused more prostate cancer
cells to freeze in a non-proliferative state," according to the study.
American men develop prostate cancer more than any other type of malignancy
-- 232,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States annually; 30,000
men die of prostate cancer in the United States each year.
Hot peppers have received accolades from researchers in recent years
for their antioxidant, or cancer-fighting, effects. Anti-inflammatory properties
in peppers have been tapped for treatment of migraines, arthritis and muscle
pain. Hot peppers also have been found to suppress appetites and clear
a stuffy head; they can aggravate existing heartburn but not cause it.
They are a good source of vitamins A, C and E, folic acid and potassium.
Peppers are low in calories and sodium and contain no carbohydrates. Their
taste has spawned numerous appreciation societies around the world, not
to mention global competitions to determine the hottest variety on the
planet.
Still, the chili pepper came under fire in a 2002 Yale University report
that established a link between the hot pods and stomach cancer in Mexican
workers who ate from 9 to 25 jalapenos a day. The claim has been disputed
by other researchers who found that rates of stomach cancer declined in
the United States -- though consumption of salsa, chili and other hot foods
actually had increased.
- By Jennifer Harper, Washington News.
NOTE: The Far
Infrared Hothouse is excellent for treating prostate cancer.
Hot water 'increases baby
bottle chemicals'.
Jan 30th - UK Guardian.
Hot liquids dramatically increase the amount of harmful chemicals released
by plastic bottles, according to a study.
Scientists found that polycarbonate plastic bottles released a known
environmental pollutant 55 times more quickly when filled with boiling
water.
Polycarbonate is used to make everything from compact discs to milk
bottles for babies. The plastic is made from bisphenol A, a chemical produced
in large volumes across the world. But over time, the plastic leaches its
raw ingredient back into the environment.
"There are a lot of concerns surrounding bisphenol A," said David Santillo,
senior scientist at the Greenpeace research laboratory in Exeter. "It is
a hormone disrupter able to mimic and interfere with hormone systems in
animals."
In the experiment, Scott Belcher, of the University of Cincinnati College
of Medicine, wanted to work out how bisphenol A leaked out of polycarbonates
and whether the temperature of the liquid stored in the bottle affected
the rate.
"Previous studies have shown that if you repeatedly scrub, dish-wash
and boil polycarbonate baby bottles, they release bisphenol A. But we wanted
to know if 'normal' use caused increased release from something that we
all use, and to identify what was the most important factor that impacts
release," he said.
Belcher took reusable water bottles and tested them for seven days with
room temperature water and then boiling water, simulating normal usage
during backpacking, mountaineering and other outdoor adventure activities.
Cows
milk is bad for humans
let alone plastic chemicals.
He found that boiling water released bisphenol A from the bottles up
to 55 times more quickly than the lower-temperature water.
The results, published in the latest edition of the journal Toxicology
Letters, found that with room temperature water the rate of release from
individual bottles ranged from 0.2 to 0.8 nanograms of bisphenol A an hour.
After exposure to boiling water, rates increased to 8 to 32 nanograms an
hour.
"A nanogram is a fairly small amount but, given that a lot of hormones
work at levels far below that, even if it's not as potent as a natural
hormone, you are in the range there which could be contributing to adverse
effects," said Santillo.
"Newborn babies are at a very sensitive stage of their development and
the last thing you want to be doing is dosing them with a very potent hormone
disruptor," he said. "If there are ways of avoiding that, the time has
come for the public to know about those."
- Alok Jha, science correspondent.
Which plastics are safe:
Check the number inside the triangle on the bottom of plastic containers.
3, 6 and 7 are BAD - throw them away!
1 - PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate).
Low risk.
2 - HDPE (high density polyethylene).
Low risk.
3 - V (Vinyl) or PVC.
PVC contains chlorine, so its manufacture
can release highly dangerous dioxins.
4 - LDPE (low density polyethylene)
5 - PP (polypropylene)
6 - PS (polystyrene) also known as styrofoam.
Can leach toxic chemicals into food.
7 - Miscellaneous plastic resins (Polycarbonate).
Can leach potential hormone disruptors.
- The Daily Green - A guide to recycling
codes.
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