Genetic Link in Multiple Sclerosis?

Three separate studies have both come up with the same discovery regarding Multiple Sclerosis (MS) that can have great consequences in future treatments for the disease.

MS is a disease of the central nervous system that affects about 350,000 people in the United States and more than 2.5 million people around the world. Symptoms range from mild muscle weakness to partial or complete paralysis.

It is still believed that geographical location and genetics plays a role in developing this disease, but these new discoveries help strengthen the genetic role theory. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at Harvard Medical School led teams of international researchers who scanned the entire human genome of more than 12,000 people for MS risk factors. They uncovered two new gene suspects, both of which are thought to play a role in autoimmune disease, lending insight into other genetic factors that raise a person’s risk for MS.

Meanwhile, two separate studies were published in the journal, Nature Genetics. Both again discovered increased incidence of a particular genome in people with MS.

What is important to take away from these studies is that this gives researchers and practitioners a new understanding of what triggers MS and could change the way the disease is treated, and maybe even prevented, in the future!

I have presented to multiple MS groups in the past on both nutrition and fitness and have researched this disease quite thoroughly, myself. It is still believed that there is an inherited risk for the disease, as well as a theory that people who live in colder, darker areas of the work are at higher risk. There is speculation that the lack of adequate vitamin D, which is increased with more exposure to sun and sunlight, increases the risk of MS. Although there is no special diet that eliminates or ‘cures’ the disease, as some people claim, eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and healthy fats can maintain a healthy body and weight. Although there are certain precautions that are important to follow with exercise, exercise can help keep a person with MS more mobile and independent because it maintains muscles strength and coordination. This latest discovery may mean new treatments for this very scary and unpredictable disease.

To read both studies, click these links:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMoa073493v1

http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ng2103.html

Restless Leg Syndrome Genetic?

If you have not been exposed to Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) or know someone who has suffered from it, you are lucky. People with RLS have a feeling one person described as a feeling of worms in their legs, particularly when sleeping or during other periods when they are sitting for any length of time.

Restless legs syndrome is a neurological condition characterized by an irresistible urge to move the legs. Those who suffer from it say it often hits at night, preventing them from sleeping. Some people describe it as if knives were being dug into their legs, but for other people there is no pain. All have an uncontrollable urge to move their legs to relieve it, however.

Two separate studies have concluded that symptoms from RLS appear to have a genetic link to them. These studies were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and in the journal Nature Genetics. This is new and exciting information that may change how RLS is treated in the future.

RLS is thought to be caused by a lack of certain minerals in the body. One of the above studies did find a correlation between lower iron levels and incidence of RLS; however, no one has yet to be able to explain how these two are linked. It is also suspected that substances such as nicotine, caffeine, alcohol and some medications can trigger the symptoms. Therefore it is recommended to eat foods high in iron, folate and magnesium, limit or eliminate intake of caffeine and alcohol and if you smoke, stop smoking.

Today there are effective medications that can offer relief to many people with RLS. Years ago, quinine was prescribed because although it is a medication for malaria, it was found to be quite effective for leg and foot cramps. However, consumers began to experience serious side effects, such as liver problems, heart attacks and even death. Today, the FDA is very clear that quinine should only be used for malaria.

What is the message to take home? Well, if you suffer from RLS, although there appears to be no cure, increasing regular exercise, eating a healthy diet of foods high in iron, and limiting drinking and smoking may help. But all of us should be following that advice, anyway!

For the entire New England Journal of Medicine article, click here:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMoa072743v1

For an abstract of the study published in Nature Genetics, click here:

http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ng2099.html

How to Find a Nutrition Professional

I am going to do something a bit different this week because I saw a great online video that I just felt I needed to share. Make sure to click the link below to watch it.

As you know, the amount of nutrition information that is available, in print and online, is overwhelming. Even *I* have to stop and think about some of all the stuff I read. But, because I was formally educated in the science behind nutrition, often I stop and wonder how just amazing that some of stuff actually SELLS as accurate! But, as just a ‘regular Joe (or Josephina)’, how can you really know that what you’re reading is accurate, just plain wrong, hype, or someone’s attempt to sell you something?

The easiest way to be sure is to read materials from credible organizations. These are generally organizations that don’t have anything to sell you, except perhaps, such as with the American Heart Association, cookbooks, or other educational materials. There are a lot of private sites that offer nutrition articles that help sell their products. Supplement companies come foremost to my mind. Of course they will include a great article on the benefits of vitamin C! They also just happen to have a sale on it..

The next best way to be sure the nutrition information you are reading is see who wrote it. To be sure that you are reading accurate, science-based information, is if it has been written by someone with “RD” behind their name, which stands for “Registered Dietitian”. Anyone can call themselves a ‘nutritionist’. In fact, today, you will quite often see all types of nutritionists, with fancy words around it, such as ‘certified nutritionist’. Hm; I can’t help but wonder what that really means? Certified by whom? I have read some incredibly inaccurate information from people who received certifications in nutrition, but really are just sharing what worked for them. But a common thread is often they are promoting some type of fad-based technique, and nothing is really learned beyond another quick fix. What bothers me is the mis-information they are spreading, just due to their own ignorance. It’s ok that they don’t know; I don’t know a lot of things, but I’m not writing about them!

An RD is someone who received at least a bachelor of science degree in a nutrition field and then completed an internship that included a certain amount of hours in the various settings that will help them learn about working with people and working in food service situations. After completing an internship, they are then qualified to sit for the national exam to become an RD. An RD must maintain a certain number of continuing education hours each year to keep his/her credential. Although the traditional setting for RD’s is in the hospital, this is only one of the many areas RD’s work in. The video will talk more about that, however.

What if you read an article on nutrition from a university and the person writing it is not an RD? In cases such as this, chances are good that the author is an educator in this topic and although they may not have their RD, they may still have their formal education(s) in a nutrition topic. Although most professors who teach nutrition are also RDs, some have chosen to not go that route, usually because they knew early they only wanted to teach at the university level.

The bottom line is to consider where the information is coming from; what site it is posted on, who the author is, and, above all else, does it make sense to you! Even I could write an article that may be science-based but my opinion included may not be something that works for you! The ultimate goal for you is to read materials that make sense to you and help you achieve your goals in the healthiest and most accurate way possible.

To see the video on what RD’s are and how to find one, click here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3259616576941210986

Increase your vegetable intake to decrease your risk of BPH?

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland that occurs in about half of all men over 50. This enlargement is usually harmless, but it can result in problems urinating.

An enlarged prostate can be an inconvenience, but it is usually not a serious problem. However, in some cases, the bladder can be blocked enough to make it impossible to urinate.

In the past, research has shown that nutrients with antioxidant properties might reduce the risk of BPH. The objective of this latest study was again to look at the association of fruit, vegetable and micronutrient intakes with BPH.

Participants were members of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, between the ages of 46 and 81 in 1992, who reported having surgery for an enlarged prostate. What they found was there was an inverse relationship between vegetable intake and BPH, where such a relationship with fruit was not found. These results are consistent with previous studies that found that vegetable intake, especially cruciferous vegetables, might lower the risk of BPH.

What does all of this mean? It means eat your veggies! Cruciferous vegetables in particular, which include such vegetables as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, mustard and turnup greens, just to name a few. Most health organizations recommend at least three servings of these types of vegetables a week.

To read the abstract, click here:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/2/523

To learn more about the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, click here: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hpfs/

Probiotics for the critically ill

I am a huge proponent of probiotics and, when appropriate, will recommend them to my clients. My mother has been taking a quality probiotic supplement for years to resolve her ulcerative colitis symptoms. Many of my clients have been able to resolve their gastric reflux problems by just adding probiotics to their dietary regimen, which helps the health of their gut.

There are many studies looking at the effects of probiotic use in the hospital setting, many investigating how they help infants, in fact. This is one of the latest, which looks at how the uses of probiotics helped immune markers of patients who were going into multi-system organ failure, which is generally a fatal condition where all the organs of the body are shutting down.

Probiotics are the healthy bacteria that live in our gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We all have good bacteria and bad bacteria, so the key is to keep the numbers of good bacteria up, which can control the numbers of bad bacteria. Prebiotics is the food that probiotics live on. When we are able to eat, examples of prebiotics are fruits and vegetables, which is only one reason I encourage people to eat no less than 5 servings per day. However, when a person is in critical condition, even if they are receiving tube feedings into their GI tract, their gut and intestinal tract are compromised.

Probiotics have been shown to modulate the intestinal barrier and improve the immune function. This latest study assessed the effectiveness of a probiotic compound on 27 critically ill patients. These patients were randomized to receive one of three treatments; a live, viable probiotic product (using live probiotics), a placebo, or a treatment of non-live probiotics.
Researchers then measured several concentrations of immune markers and found that patients who received the live probiotics had improved immune activity than those who received the non-live probiotics or the placebos. However, their intestinal permeability did not improve, nor did their multi-system organ failure.

There are two messages from this study to take home. First of all, as I have continued to point out to my clients, in order for probiotics to be effective, they must be LIVE cultures, not the ‘trendy’ pills you can now buy off a shelf that are not refrigerated. As you will learn in the information below on probiotics, these are living organisms, and in order to remain alive, they must be refrigerated. The other message is we must keep our GI tracts healthy and in balance. Not everyone needs to take a supplemental probiotic product. I only take one when I can tell my immune system is at risk or compromised. But you can keep your gut healthy by eating plenty of fruits and veggies, minimize the intake of animal proteins and fats and get adequate whole grains. These are simple steps to take to keep your gut healthy and happy. If you have an accident or some other trauma, if you end up in the hospital, the GI tract acts as your first line of defense against going into multi-system organ failure.

To read the abstract of the study, click here:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/3/816

To read more on probiotics and prebiotics, click here:
http://www.meg-enterprises.com/uploads/ProbioticsQ.pdf