Health benefits of Omega 3

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Nov 19,2009

Omega-3 fatty acids have been tested and proven to have many different health benefits for men and women. They have been proven to help improve over all heart health by improving several aspects that make up a healthy heart.

Scientists discovered the positive effects of the omega-3 fatty acids in the 1980s. Studies showed that most patients who took the omega-3 fatty acids had better heart health. These studies led to an omega-3 craze that has lasted until now. The health benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids were undeniable.

The omega-3 fatty acids have been proven to lower triglycerides which is the bad cholesterol. It has also been thought to be a blood thinner that will help decrease blood clots in some patients. These fatty acids have also been thought to help lower blood pressure.

Anyone interested in a healthier heart should take the omega-3 benefits into consideration. Everyone knows that healthy heart is essential for good over all health. The heart keeps the blood flowing all the time throughout the entire body. This is essential for good circulation and thus keeps the extremities functioning and in good health as well.

The omega-3 fatty acids are found in a variety of fish, green leafy vegetables, soy, tofu, different nuts and a variety of cooking oils. Some studies have found that liver cod oil could be linked to prostate cancer in men. This is the only adverse side effect that has been linked to any type of omega-3 fatty acid during the course of the studies.

There are 8 different members of the omega-3 family. There are very few supplements that include all 8 of these members; however it has not been proven that there is any member that is significantly better than the other. Each member is helpful in the area of heart health.

Some studies have even indicated an increase in memory function due to omega-3 fatty acids. This family of fatty acids has been linked to more than just heart health. Patients have shown improved joint health as well as improvement in patients with a history of migraines.

Omega-3 fatty acids have many health benefits. In spite of the major scare due to the amount of mercury in fish, they are not the only source for these fatty acids. They are in a variety of sources and are beneficial in almost every way. Some have even called the omega-3 fatty acids the “miracle food of the 21st century”.


New study proves kids like eating healthy food

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Nov 19,2009

Preliminary report from the Harvard School of Public Health reveals students prefer healthy school meals

Think your kids won’t eat healthy foods? Think again. A preliminary report of the Chefs in Schools Initiative by the Harvard School of Public Health, funded by Project Bread, proves that kids not only like healthy school meals, but actually eat more of the healthy foods than they would if they were eating a traditional school meal.

The study sought to analyze the value of the Chefs in Schools Initiative, which was launched by Project Bread in 2007 with the help of the Office of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Boston Public Schools, and the Boston Public Health Commission. The concept behind the Initiative was simple: over 74% of the nearly 56,000 Boston public school children qualify for free or reduced-price school meals, which include breakfast and lunch. Clearly, many of these children come from families that struggle to put food on the table, making these children especially vulnerable to hunger and under-nutrition. The Initiative sought to make cutting-edge nutrition available to these children as an ordinary part of their school day.

To accomplish this, the partnership hired Chef Kirk Conrad, a master chef and graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, to work with the Lilla G. Frederick Middle School in Dorchester and the Mario Umana Middle School in East Boston. Chef Kirk, as Conrad is known by all, was charged with serving healthy, cost-effective meals that kids love to eat and creating an environment that signaled to kids, their teachers, and parents that school meals were crucial to their overall health and learning. Chef Kirk’s menus feature fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats — and remove excess fat, sodium, and sugar. These healthy meals are cooked from scratch, using fresh ingredients and herbs to enhance taste, by Conrad, who has also trained a willing kitchen staff in his techniques, who regularly test the palatability of new dishes with their students as they would guests in a restaurant.

As the final step in the rollout of the Initiative, the Healthy Lunch Study analyzed the results of this innovative program. The study compared Boston middle schools receiving the district’s traditional school lunch with the middle schools participating in the Chefs in Schools Initiative who received the healthy lunch.

Results were collected from 3,188 trays and researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health stated their preliminary findings as significant:

– Over three times as many students ate the vegetables at the Chefs schools as compared with the control schools.
– Among students who ate vegetables, students at the Chefs schools ate on average about 30% more of their vegetables.
– When only 1% white milk was served instead of chocolate milk, students still drank the same amount of milk.
– Meals had over 50% more whole grains at the Chefs schools compared with the control schools.
– Food waste was significantly reduced in Chefs schools. The study revealed that while 1/3 of the food from traditional lunches was thrown out uneaten in the control schools, only 1/5 of the food was uneaten in the Chefs schools.
– Participation in the school lunch program was 17% higher in the Chefs schools, meaning that more students ate lunch that was federally reimbursed.

Preliminary findings of the Healthy Lunch Study concludes that serving flavorful, appealing school meals can improve student nutrition while increasing school lunch participation — a factor that’s also important both for cash-strapped school districts. The program has been so successful that the Chefs in Schools Initiative is expanding into eight Boston Public Schools — including a high school where graduates from the Lilla Frederick and the Umana Academy organized to demand better food.

“It’s rewarding to see the benefits of the Chefs in Schools program in action,” said Ellen Parker, executive director of Project Bread. “This Initiative is a unique opportunity to provide low-income children with cutting-edge nutrition that helps them succeed in the classroom while learning healthful lifelong eating habits.”

Project Bread

As the state’s leading antihunger organization, Project Bread is dedicated to alleviating, preventing, and ultimately ending hunger in Massachusetts. Through The Walk for Hunger, the oldest continual pledge walk in the country, Project Bread provides millions of dollars each year in privately donated funds to over 400 emergency food programs in 135 communities statewide. Project Bread also advocates systemic solutions that prevent hunger in children and that provide food to families in natural, everyday settings. The organization has invested millions of dollars in grants to community organizations that feed children where they live, learn, and play.

Source: Project Bread – The Walk for Hunger; www.projectbread.org


IBM scientists reinvent medical diagnostic testing

Silicon Chip Tests for Disease in Rapid Time, Using Microscopic Sample

IBM scientists have created a one-step point-of-care-diagnostic test, based on an innovative silicon chip, that requires less sample volume, is significantly faster, portable, easy to use, and can test for many diseases, including one of world’s leading causes of death, cardiovascular disease*. The results are so quick and accurate that a small sample of a patient’s serum or blood, could be tested immediately following a heart attack, to enable the doctor to quickly take a course of action to help the patient survive.

View Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csXhUp0XJlI

As reported in Lab on a Chip, December 2009, Volume 9, Issue 23, IBM Research – Zurich scientists Luc Gervais and Emmanuel Delamarche, in collaboration with the University Hospital of Basel in Switzerland, have developed a new diagnostic test that uses capillary forces to analyze tiny samples of serum, or blood, for the presence of disease markers, which are typically proteins that can be detected in people’s blood for diagnostic purposes. Capillary action force is the tendency of a liquid to rise in narrow tubes or to be drawn into small openings. An everyday example of a capillary action force can be viewed by dipping a paper towel in a cup of water – the microstructures in the paper fiber enable the towel to absorb the water.

“This point of care test has achieved the trifecta for medical staff in that it is portable, fast and requires a very small volume of sample,” comments Emmanuel Delamarche, scientist, IBM Research – Zurich. “We are giving back precious minutes to doctors so they can make informed and accurate decisions right at the time they need them most to save lives.”

While the diagnostic test has only been studied on heart disease, the scientists believe it could be able to diagnose any disease that markers have been developed for, such as: breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, HIV, Hepatitis C, Influenza virus (including H1N1 and others), Epstein-Barr virus, and bacterial infections, such as E. Coli. The test works by recognizing antibodies, so as long as the patient’s body has begun to fight the disease by developing antibodies, the test should be able to identify the disease.

All in the chip

IBM scientists have encoded the forces of capillary action on a microfluidic chip made of a silicon compound, similar to those used in computer chips, thus leveraging IBM’s vast experience in developing and manufacturing silicon semiconductor wafers. The chip, which measures 1 × 5 centimeters, contains sets of micrometer wide channels where the test sample flows through in approximately 15 seconds, several times faster then traditional tests. Uniquely, the filling speed can be adjusted to several minutes when the chip requires additional time to read a more complex disease marker.

The microfluidic chip, which is based on nearly three years of research and development, consists of a microscopic path for liquids with five innovative stages:

Stage 1: A one microliter sample, 50 times smaller than a tear drop, is pipetted onto the chip, where the capillary forces begin to take effect
Stage 2: These forces push the sample through an intricate series of mesh structures, which prevent clogging and air bubbles from forming — Stage 3: The sample then passes in a region where microscopically small amounts of the detection antibody have been deposited. These antibodies have a fluorescent tag and similar to the antibodies within our body, they recognize the disease marker and attach to it within the sample. Only seventy picoliters (a volume one million times smaller than a tear) of these antibodies are used, making their dissolution in the passing sample extremely fast and efficient.
Stage 4: The most critical stage is called the “reaction chamber” and it measures 30 micrometers in width and 20 micrometers in depth, roughly the diameter of a strand of human hair. Similar to a common pregnancy test, in this stage the disease marker that was previously tagged is captured on the surface of the chamber. By shining a focused beam of red light, the tagged disease markers can be viewed using a portable sensor device that contains a chip similar to those used by digital cameras, albeit this one being much more sensitive. Based on the amount of light detected, medical professionals can visually confirm the strength of the disease marker in the sample to determine the next course of treatment.
Stage 5: Less a stage and more a part of the entire process is the capillary pump. The capillary pump, which has a depth of 180 micrometers, contains an intricate set of microstructures, the job of which is to pump the sample through the device for as long as needed and at a regular flow rate, just like the human heart. This pump makes the test accurate, portable and simple to use. IBM scientists have developed a library of capillary pumps so that tests needing a variety of sample volumes or test times can still be done without having to re-engineer the entire chip.

Collaboration

True to IBM’s strategy of open collaboration, scientists in Zurich tested their ideas with academic and healthcare partners. This research also would not have been possible without the generous support of KTI/CTI, an organization which fosters innovation in Switzerland.

“This microfluidic chip is the next step in the evolution of point of care devices. We look forward to working with the scientists at IBM Research – Zurich to develop this innovation even further,” said Thierry Leclipteux, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Science Officer, Coris BioConcept.

IBM scientists designed the chip with flexibility in mind in both its form and uses. Due to its small size the chip can be embedded in several types of form factors, depending on the application, including a credit card, a pen or something similar to a pregnancy test. Besides diagnosing diseases, the test is also flexible enough to test for chemical and bio hazards.

Why IBM?

From a technological perspective, IBM has been a pioneer in nanoscience ever since the development of the Nobel Prizing winning Scanning Tunneling Microscope in 1981. Ever since, IBM researchers have been pushing the frontiers of scientific knowledge and manipulating at the nano scale and our work in one-step point-of-care diagnostics is a direct result of this effort. IBM is currently embarking on a grand vision called smarter planet helping industries, such as healthcare become more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent.

IBM’s track record of improving healthcare through scientific achievements and collaboration with healthcare companies dates back to the 1950s. In the last decade, IBM has developed a national digital mammography archive with the University of Pennsylvania; developed a clinical trial participant system with the Mayo Clinic; collaborated with Scripps to understand how influenza viruses mutate and proactively develop treatments; collaborated with European universities to develop better methods to decide on antiretroviral therapies for HIV; launched the World Community Grid, which has done projects on cancer, aids, dengue fever; and much more.

*According to the World Health Organization Statistics 2009

The scientific paper entitled “Toward one-step point-of-care immunodiagnostics using capillary-driven microfluidics and PDMS substrates” by Luc Gervais and Emmanuel Delamarche, appears in Lab on a Chip, Volume 9, Issue 23, pp. 3330 to 3337 (December 2009)

Source: IBM


Largest gene study of childhood IBD finds 5 new genes

Findings Linked to a Key Molecule Active in GI Inflammation

In the largest, most comprehensive genetic analysis of childhood-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an international research team has identified five new gene regions, including one involved in a biological pathway that helps drive the painful inflammation of the digestive tract that characterizes the disease.

A research team led by Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, says that the findings advance the scientific understanding of how IBD develops. “This is an evolving story of discovering what genes tell us about the disease,” said Robert N. Baldassano, M.D., a co-first author of the study and director of the Center for Pediatric Inflammatory Body Disease at Children’s Hospital. “Pinpointing how specific genes act on biological pathways provides a basis for ultimately personalizing medicine to an individual’s genetic profile.”

IBD is a painful, chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, affecting about two million children and adults in the United States. Of that number, about half suffer from Crohn’s disease, which can affect any part of the GI tract, and half have ulcerative colitis, which is limited to the large intestine.

Most gene analyses of IBD have focused on adult-onset disease, but the Center for Applied Genomics–one of the world’s largest pediatric genotyping programs–at Children’s Hospital has concentrated on childhood-onset IBD, which tends to be more severe than adult-onset disease. The researchers performed a genome-wide association study on DNA from over 3,400 children and adolescents with IBD, plus nearly 12,000 genetically matched control subjects, all recruited through international collaborations in North America and Europe.

In a genome-wide association study, automated genotyping tools scan the entire human genome seeking gene variants that contribute to disease risk.

The study team identified five new gene regions that raise the risk of early-onset IBD, on chromosomes 16, 22, 10, 2 and 19. The most significant finding was at chromosome locus 16p11, which contains the IL27 gene that carries the code for a cytokine, or signaling protein, also called IL27. “This cytokine acts on a biological pathway, the T-helper 17 pathway, which plays a key role in causing intestinal inflammation,” said Hakonarson. T helper 17 cells are recently discovered cells that lead to severe inflammation and tissue injury in autoimmune diseases. IBD is an autoimmune disease, in which a person’s immune system runs out of control and attacks the body.

“There are many cytokines in our immune system, but our research strongly suggests that IL27 has a primary causative role in IBD,” added Hakonarson. “This gene discovery makes sense in terms of our functional understanding of the disease.”

Some current IBD drugs are monoclonal antibodies that act on another cytokine, called tumor necrosis factor, which contributes to inflammation. Although much research remains to be done, the current study may provide a basis for developing drugs that target the cytokine IL27′s action, for patients with the disease-causing IL27 gene variant.

One strength of the current study, in addition to its large sample size, is the collaboration of many leading pediatric IBD research programs. In addition to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, other centers with principal investigators who played key roles were the Hospital for Sick Children of the University of Toronto; the University of Edinburgh, UK; Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles; Emory University, Atlanta; and the IRCCS-CSS Hospital, S. Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia supported this research, along with the Primary Children’s Medical Center Foundation and grants from the National Center for Research Resources, a member of the National Institutes of Health. The researchers used data provided by the International HapMap Consortium and the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium.

“Common variants at five new loci associated with early-onset inflammatory bowel disease,” Nature Genetics, published online Nov. 15, 2009 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng.489

Source: The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia


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