Pick up a bottle of fish oil capsules and squint hard at the label.

Chances are it won’t say where the pills came from. But that’s something you should know.

We calculate that fish oil imports from China, a country notorious for hazardous products, now account for roughly 10 percent of the Australian market. And it’s a big market, because one in five Australian adults now takes fish oil.

We also found that companies sidestep import labeling rules.

No big recalls or health scandals have been linked to Chinese fish oil. And a spokesman for the People’s Republic of China said his country’s “fish oil was of good quality”.

But consumer advocates, a leading trade group for the supplements industry, and legal experts who have examined labeling laws agree: Consumers ought to be able to tell, at a glance, whether their fish oil capsules are coming from China.

Leo Hepner, an international consultant on food and dietary supplement ingredients, said that if he knew some fish oil capsules were manufactured in China, “I would prefer to buy something else.”

And Sidney Wolfe, whose Public Citizen Health Research Group has advocated for consumer safety for decades, said, “People have a right to know.”

A few years ago, nearly all fish oil consumed in the Australian was manufactured domestically.

But the Australian fish oil use has soared, making it the No. 2 dietary supplement. As sales increased, some Australian companies started importing from Chinese facilities.

TGA rules say supplement labels should include “a truthful representation of geographical origin.” And Federal Trade Commission rules say they can supplement the Tariff Act when it fails to require the disclosure of countries that process or manufacture products.

But enforcement of import labeling is left up to yet another agency, which has been letting the importers get around the law. Those companies assert that simply bottling the capsules in Australian “transforms” them into a Australian product, so they don’t have to be labeled as imports.

Other Australian companies are buying the Chinese fish oil in bulk and then getting the capsules produced by an Australian contract manufacturer.

The Chinese factories that make fish oil for export to the Australia are supposed to meet TGA standards. But the TGA, according to several sources, has never inspected any Chinese dietary supplement plants.

Chinese companies also have shown little interest in having independent third parties inspect their plants or in joining industry groups dedicated to ensuring the quality of fish oil.

One such group is GOED — the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega 3s says “There’s not a single Chinese manufacturer in GOED,”. “You tell me why.”

Careful processing of fish oil is important to keep it from becoming rancid. Without proper refining it can contain high levels of some nasty substances, such as PCBs and mercury.

In addition, lightly regulated plants introduce the possibility of products’ containing odd contaminants or additives that no one would think to test for.

For example, in 2008 a contaminated ingredient from China showed up in heparin, a blood-thinning medicine that was linked to 149 deaths. The previous year, dogs and cats died after eating pet food made with wheat gluten from China that apparently contained melamine, a toxic compound.

As a result of China’s past troubles, the supplements industry is becoming concerned about a potential scandal involving fish oil — one that could jeopardize all sales of the product.

Vegetarians are at an early risk of mental disorder such as dementia and alzheimer’s as they develop a Vitamin B-12 deficiency, doctors said here Wednesday.

Fish, shellfish, meat, eggs, milk and their by-products are some of the biggest sources of Vitamin B-12.

“Deficiency of Vitamin B-12 can reduce working capacity of the brain and result in progressive memory loss that has an impact on day to day activities,” Praveen Gupta, consultant neurologist at Artemis Health Institute in Gurgaon, said in an Interview.

“Since majority of the Indian population is vegetarian and milk consumption has reduced considerably, they are more prone to early onset of dementia. Those who suffer from lactose intolerance are also at risk,” Gupta explained.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), India had nearly 3.5 million alzheimer’s and dementia patients in the year 2000.

“We see at least 30 patients under the age of 40 every month — suffering from memory loss and other manifestations due to deficiency of vitamin B-12. Once diagnosed, these patients respond very well to vitamin B-12 supplements,” Gupta added.

Forgetting day to day activities, names of familiar people, frequent irritability, panic episodes and depression are some of the common symptoms of the mental disorder.

The disease can be diagnosed with a simple blood test, say doctors.

WHO estimates that there are currently about 18 million people worldwide suffering from Alzheimer’s. The figure is projected to nearly double by 2025.

In the pink month-the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we publish a report below to share with readers a study that suggests that high intake of folate may increase risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

A new study in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that high intake of folate and other one-carbon metabolism related nutrients may boost risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal breast cancer.

Folate is a vitamin commonly added to flours and bakery products as a fortifying agent to help prevent birth defects.

But the current study led by Victoria L Stevens and colleagues from the Epidemiology Research American Cancer Society Atlanta Georgia shows high intake of folate was associated with significantly increased risk of breast cancer.

For the study, Stevens et al. examined the association of dietary and total folate, vitamin b-6, vitamin b-12, methionine and alcohol intakes with breast cancer risk in 70,656 postmenopausal women whose dietary information was collected at baseline in 1992.

During the follow-up between 1992 and June 2005, 3,898 women developed breast cancer.

The researchers found postmenopausal women with the highest quintile of dietary folate intake was correlated with a 12 percent increased risk of breast cancer. The elevated risk was not modified by other nutrients or alcohol. But no dose-response trend was observed.

Vitamin b-6, total folate, and vitamin b-12 were not found associated with breast cancer risk while methionine was inversely linked with breast cancer risk.

This is not the first study that found the association between high folate intake and increased risk of cancer.

Foods high in methionine include eggs, cheese, seaweed, seeds, nuts, fish, mollusks, soy protein, and butter.

Foods high in folate include brewer’s yeast, lentils, romaine lettuce, pinto beans, okra, black beans, black eyed peas, kidney beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, garbanzo beans, asparagus, and beets.

The researchers did not know why high dietary folate was linked with high breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women. All the folate-rich foods listed seem to be healthy foods or supplements.

They acknowledged that more research is needed. The study is observatiobal and it does not reveal a causal relation between high intake of folate and increased breast cancer risk.

Breast cancer is diagnosed in more than 175,000 individuals and kill about 50,000 each year in the United States, according to American Cancer Society.

More reports will be published here in the National Breast Cancer Month to help readers understand the risk of breast cancer and how to prevent the disease.

Via foodconsumer

Attorneys general in Illinois, Oregon and California said on Tuesday that Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) agreed to a $3.3 million settlement over misleading claims that the drug maker’s vitamins reduced men’s risk of prostate cancer.

Under the terms of the settlement, Bayer cannot make claims that its One A Day Men’s multivitamins can prevent or cure prostate cancer or any other disease without scientific evidence, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a statement.

“When manufacturers like Bayer make marketing claims with insufficient scientific proof behind them, they are misleading consumers,” she said.

The Illinois lawsuit and the settlement were filed in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago.

In response to a lawsuit filed last month in San Francisco by a public advocacy group, Bayer said it was revising its packaging and promotional materials that claimed selenium in its men’s vitamins reduced the risk of certain cancers.

Bayer said it had made the claims based on the FDA’s statements allowing use of such promotional language. But earlier this year, the agency changed those guidelines and the company is now updating its materials, it said.

The FDA said in June that it was highly unlikely that selenium supplements reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

People with low levels of vitamin B12 may be at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The finding supports previous research showing large doses of B vitamins might halve the rate of brain shrinkage.

Babak Hooshmand and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, followed 271 healthy people aged 65 to 79 for seven years. The researchers measured the blood concentration of the amino acid homocysteine, high levels of which have been linked to negative effects on the brain, such as stroke. They also measured levels of active vitamin B12, which can decrease homocysteine levels.

By the end of the study, 17 people had developed Alzheimer’s. A level of homocysteine moderately above average corresponded

to a 16 per cent higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s, while a level of active B12 slightly above average meant a 2 per cent lower risk.

“This is a very convincing study,” says David Smith of the University of Oxford, who has investigated the effect of B-vitamin supplements on brain shrinkage. He says it is the first to show that low levels of active vitamin B12 are a risk factor for developing dementia several years later.

Although B12 deficiency is common among elderly

people, more evidence is needed before recommending B12 supplements to stave off dementia, says Hooshmand.

Journal reference: Neurology, vol 75, p 1408

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who supplemented with krill oil experienced significant improvements in both clinical scores compared to the typical ADHD children according to a new study released by Aker BioMarine, who supplied the ingredient studied.

Boys (n=18) aged 7 to 11 years with ADHD were supplemented daily with Aker BioMarine’s Superba™ krill oil for a 13 weeks. The electroencephalography (EEG) patterns for the study participants were compared to a database of more than 400 children with an established ADHD diagnosis, providing ample comparative data. EEG measures the state of the metabolism of the brain.

According to Hogne Vik MD, Ph.D., of Aker BioMarine, “This is an important observation identifying positive effects on the central nervous system (CNS) after supplementation of krill oil in humans. For the first time, objective EEG-measurements – before and after a 90-day intervention period with krill oil – have confirmed observed improvements in a clinical CNS condition. The findings in this study will be published and followed-up with additional clinical studies in populations at risk for developing CNS disorders.

“It is tempting to focus on the technology and data provided by this breakthrough study,” continued Vik. “But the participant’s parents reported significant improvements in attention and behavior, for example. In these kids, real health benefits were realized, making this trial particularly satisfying for all involved.”

Superba™ Krill is a natural source of the health-promoting EPA and DHA omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) and the naturally occurring antioxidant astaxanthin. Superba Krill provides the omega-3 fatty acids in phospholipid form, and according to Aker, in vitro, in vivo and human clinical research has demonstrated the safety and efficacy of Superba Krill.

Aker BioMarine is an integrated biotechnology company that supplies biomarine ingredients from raw materials to customers. Aker BioMarine’s Superba™ Krill products are provided with 100-percent traceability from the Antarctic sea to the end user. Aker BioMarine has been awarded Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Certification.

Scientists have identified common genetic variations that may explain differences in peoples’ ability to process vitamin E.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant found in a number of oils, nuts and seeds as well as brightly-colored produce such as peppers, tomatoes and pumpkins. Previous research has found that vitamin E consumption has inconsistent effects on the amount of the vitamin in a person’s body. It’s been suspected that this is due to genetic variations.

In this study, researchers led by Robert Parker of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, looked at two versions of cytochrome P450 4F2 (CYP4F2), the enzyme that breaks down vitamin E. One variant, W12G, is more common in black Americans, and the V433M version is more common in Americans of European descent.

Compared to the normal CYP4F2 enzyme, the W12G variant was better able to degrade several commonly occurring forms of vitamin E called tocopherols, while the V433M variant was less able to break down these forms of the vitamin.

These enzyme differences may help explain normal variations in vitamin E levels within and among populations, and may also help in the interpretation of inconsistent results of clinical trials with vitamin E, said the researchers.

The study appears in the November issue of The Journal of Nutrition.

Evidence is mounting that levels of vitamin B12 may be connected to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

A study of 271 Finns found those with the highest levels were the least likely to be diagnosed with dementia.

However, an Alzheimer’s charity said despite the findings, published in the journal Neurology, it was “too early” to think about taking supplements.

It called for more research into the protective power of vitamins such as B12 – found in meat, fish and eggs.

Vitamin B12 can also be found in milk and some fortified cereals.

Continue reading the main story
Related stories

Vitamin B ‘puts off Alzheimer’s’
Alzheimer’s drugs U-turn hailed
Alzheimer’s has been linked to B vitamins for some years, and scientists know that higher levels of a body chemical called homocysteine can raise the risk of both strokes and dementia.

Homocysteine levels can be lowered by increasing the amount of vitamin B12 in the blood.

A recent trial found that “brain shrinkage”, which has been associated with Alzheimer’s, was slowed in older people taking high doses of vitamins, including B12.

The volunteers for the latest study, carried out by scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, were all aged 65 to 79, and did not have dementia at the start of the study.

Over the next seven years, 17 of them were diagnosed with the condition, and researchers were able to work out whether high or low levels of the active component of B12 had made any difference.

Again, those with high levels of homocysteine appeared to be at greater risk, and those with the highest levels of the vitamin appeared to be at lower risk.

Professor Helga Refsum, from the University of Oslo, another B-vitamin researcher, said that the study was “further evidence” that low levels of B12 were linked to Alzheimer’s.

“Though relatively small, with few cases of dementia, it should act as another incentive to start a large scale trial with homocysteine-lowering therapy using B vitamins to see whether such a simple treatment may slow the development of Alzheimer’s or other dementia.”

Rebecca Wood, the chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, was cautious about the findings.

She said: “It might be tempting at this stage to stock up the cupboard with B vitamin in the light of recent findings – it remains too early to do that at this stage.

“The strongest evidence we have for reducing dementia risk is to eat a healthy, balanced diet, take moderate exercise, and keep cholesterol and blood pressure in check, particularly in mid-life.”

A separate study offered some encouragement to those looking for future treatments for the disease.

A treatment to lower levels of a protein called “STEP” in mice bred to develop a condition similar to Alzheimer’s disease appeared to reverse some of their memory and learning problems.

The Alzheimer’s Research Trust said it was too soon to know whether a similar treatment might be viable in humans.

via bbc

A drug based on vitamin A could prevent millions from going blind as they get older, doctors believe.

The treatment was able to stop the most common cause of blindness in old age during trials.

Researchers behind the drug, fenretinide, found it halted the advance of age-related macular degeneration, for which there is currently no cure.

They targeted the most prevalent form of the condition, known as ‘dry’ AMD, which is caused by the deterioration and death of cells in the macula – the part of the retina used to see straight ahead.
The disease robs sufferers of their sight by creating a blackspot in the centre of their vision.

It can make it impossible to carry out everyday tasks such as reading, driving and watching television.
While the less common ‘wet’ form can be treated, nothing can be done to help the bulk of patients.
The U.S. research studied fenretinide, which is derived from vitamin A, the vitamin found in carrots, and which was originally designed to tackle arthritis.

Almost 250 men and women with dry AMD took a fenretinide pill a day or a placebo.

In the highest dose, the drug halted visual deterioration after a year. This suggests that while it was unable to do anything to stop cells that were already damaged from dying, it protected healthy cells. Although the research is still preliminary, it offers promise of a treatment for the disease.

It affects millions across the world and 300,000 Britons. The number of UK sufferers could more than treble to one million within 25 years as the population ages.

Dr Jason Slakter, of New York University School of Medicine, said: ‘There are currently no effective treatments for dry AMD and the need for finding one is grave.

‘Our study wasn’t designed to give a final answer.

‘It was designed to see if there was a biological effect and if the drug was working in the way we’d expect and to find out if it was well tolerated by patents.

‘I think we answered all of these points favourably. The bottom line is that I am excited about doing more studies.’

Further, larger trials are planned for the end of next year.

If the drug lives up to its initial promise, it could be in widespread use for dry AMD by 2015.

The treatment works because in normal circumstances the eye needs vitamin A to help it see. The retina naturally uses the vitamin and is helped to do so by a compound called retinol binding protein, or RBP.
However in some patients, the vitamin can produce poisons that kill the delicate cells, leading to loss of vision.

Fenretinide acts as a decoy, attaching itself to the RBP and stopping vitamin A from causing harm, the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s annual conference heard.

Wet AMD, in which tiny blood vessels bleed into the retina, is less common, but progresses more rapidly, with central vision being lost within months of diagnosis.

Caught early enough, wet AMD can be stopped in its tracks by a technique called photodynamic therapy, which uses a light-activated dye to destroy abnormal blood vessels. Drug treatments are also available.

Fenretinide also halved the odds of the patients, who already had dry AMD, going on to develop wet AMD.

A spokesman for the research team said: ‘Years of use of fenretinide to treat cancers, rheumatoid arthritis have shown it to be safe and well-tolerated.’

via dailymail

Loss of hair, or baldness, is actually the consequence of not having enough vitamin B dietary supplements. Vitamin B is very important, as it contains B3 niacin, which is really essential for growing hair. Vitamin B6 is another important vitamin, containing nutrients such as sulfur, biotin, magnesium, and zinc. Without having these vitamins, your body probably won’t be able to grow hair as much, which commonly results in hair thinning or hair loss as we all get older.

Exactly what many people fail to realize, is the significance of vitamin B. Investigation has demonstrated in the past that vitamin B is extremely crucial to hair development. Guys who take in foods that are abundant in vitamin B are usually much less likely to experience hair loss. Vitamin B is an essential vitamin, as well as additionally one that enriches the total quality and fullness of hair.

Vitamin An is also crucial with hair development. To acquire the appropriate amount of vitamin A, a person should take in fatty acids. Some examples consist of flaxseed oil, primrose, and salmon oil. When you consume these sorts of fatty acids, you are going to get the appropriate amount of vitamin A that is needed to enhance the development of your hair. If you are worried about hair loss, you should make certain that you are receiving plenty of vitamin An and vitamin B.

Vitamin E is likewise critical for hair growth, since it influences your intake of oxygen and aids to strengthen your blood circulation as well. In case your blood is circulating effectively, then the growth of your hair will be enhanced. The suitable circulation of blood can be extremely important with hair growth, seeing that the blood is what helps your hair to develop, and the needed vitamins to move through your body.

Yet another important vitamin for hair growth is biotin. A person can locate this vital source in rice, green peas, soybeans, oats, yeast, walnuts, and sunflower seeds. It can be additionally located with some types of hair shampoos as well. In the event that you are employing shampoo that consists of biotin, you’ll be getting into your root tips more rapidly, which often will help to encourage the increase of your hair. Even though you may be using shampoo that consists of biotin, you will still require to take the required vitamins and supplements as well.

Before you consider any nutritional vitamins or dietary supplements, you need to always consult with your physician and acquire his opinion. There may be some nutritional vitamins and supplements that you should not be getting, that is the reason why you really should always consult with the medical doctor before you make any choice. The doctor will be ready to take tests and go through your background with you, letting you know just what you can and can’t take. This means, you can select your vitamin supplements appropriately – and know without a doubt that there will be absolutely no long term side effects or problems.

Saturday is the United Nations’ World Food Day, an annual event intended to bring attention to hunger problems around the globe.

Increasingly, technology is taking centre stage during such events as continuing population growth and shrinkage of arable farmland ratchet up the pressure on world food supplies.

One key technology to fighting shortages, food scientists say, is bio-engineered crops —also known as genetically modified organisms.

The first commercially available GMO, the Flavr Savr tomato — engineered to ripen more slowly so that it would retain its firmness and colour longer — hit the U.S. market in 1994. Since then, GMO crops have spread to become the norm in many countries, with pesticide- and insect-resistant corn, cotton and canola among those being grown.

The crops have been hugely controversial, though, with organizations such as Greenpeace raising questions about their environmental and health impacts, as well as the motives of the people behind them. Critics have said that companies such as Monsanto and DuPont are only in the GMO business to make money and don’t really care about humanitarian possibilities.

One crop, however, was created strictly with humanitarian purposes in mind. Golden Rice, a strain engineered by German academics Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer to have a higher Vitamin A content, is close to finally being rolled out.

First formulated 10 years ago, Golden Rice produces beta-carotene, which the human body processes into Vitamin A. Deficiency of the vitamin is a major cause of blindness and death in developing countries, causing an estimated one to two million deaths a year.

Controversy around GMOs, especially in Europe, means the yellow-coloured rice has spent years running regulatory hurdles around the world. It is currently in tests in a number of countries and the Golden Rice Project, a group of scientists shepherding its development, are hopeful that it will soon pass muster.

Dr. Adrian Dubock, a former sheep farmer from the U.K. and food scientist at Swiss agri-giant Syngenta, discussed Golden Rice’s past and future with CBC News.

CBC: Early on, Golden Rice was criticized for not containing much Vitamin A. How much of that claim was correct and how much has it actually improved?

Dubock: In calculating how much you need to make a difference, you have to multiply together a number of factors and each of those factors has a range. [Greenpeace] took the least favourable of those numbers and multiplied them together and came up with [the statement] that you’d need a large amount. We actually didn’t know then how much was needed to make a difference because there were a number of things we couldn’t know at that stage. For example, how many units of beta-carotene are converted into Vitamin A in the human body? We didn’t know that, we’ve only known for the past couple of years. We didn’t know how much of the daily recommended allowance we’d have to supply in order to make a difference in mortality and morbidity.

Greenpeace created a stunt and you couldn’t argue with it in a way because we could see how they arrived at it, at least conceptually, but it was misleading and wrong. Just recently, we’ve run the calculations with the things that we know about — the bio-conversion ratio and so on — and even with the original amount, about a hundred grams a day would have supplied something like 40 or 50 per cent of the estimated daily requirement, which is probably enough to lift people out of death and morbidity.

The situation now is that 100 grams, which is about half a teacup, will be enough to prevent death and, previous to that, blindness from Vitamin A deficiency, which is tremendous. We got there by doing some nutritional work with humans, which we were criticized for, but how can you get to know how it works with humans without using humans? We’re on track to roll the technology out, finally, probably in 2012 or 2013.

CBC: It seemed like controversy slowed Golden Rice’s rollout, but it also sounds like there was quite a bit of work to do on it. Was it a combination or would it have happened a lot sooner if there hadn’t been the criticism?

Dubock: It’s hard to quantify the effect of that criticism, but it does create suspicion and suspicion has a political effect. The political effect is that countries and organizations become cautious and that leads to delays. In the old days, when they wanted to try different varieties of wheat from one country to another, they’d just say, ‘Send me some seeds.’

The Cartegena Protocol, a treaty right at the beginning of genetic modification [in 2000] put an international framework for regulation in place that obligated countries that signed on. Then an organization, the UN’s environmental program, went off training countries in risk assessment so that they could in theory set up programs to carry out scientifically based assessment of risk. The guy who set that up came and talked here in Switzerland a few years ago and I had a meeting with him afterwards and I said, ‘It’s great that you’ve trained them all in risk assessment, but where’s the assessment of benefit?’ And he said, ‘That’s somebody else’s job, that’s not our job.’ To me, risk is a relative thing — what’s the benefit to the risk?

So where this is functioning, it’s got a lot of people looking at all sorts of incredible detail often asking about areas that for other crops are not even known about. It creates suspicion and people think, ‘Well if there’s all this regulation, there must be something really, seriously of concern about this technology. Why would all this be there if there were no problems?’ The advocacy groups that are against the technology then leverage that suspicion in one way or another and that just causes political delay.

For example, before the licensing structure was signed in India, there were something like 30 questions in the Indian Parliament about Golden Rice. It wasn’t just off-the-top-of-their-head things, they were very carefully thought-through, devious questions. Once we got the licence signed, the Indian breeders said, ‘OK, now we’d like to have the materials.’ Between them asking for the materials and getting them, it took a whole year because of the paperwork that had to be filled in. So here’s a really good example of questions in Parliament that have been sensitized by advocacy groups, and on top of that there’s a whole bureaucratic process taking time to do everything. I’ve seen this reflected in the attitudes of grant-giving agencies, companies, research institutions. It makes all institutions nervous and that’s one of the big reasons for delay.

CBC: Is it safe to assume that when Golden Rice finally does get approved, it’ll happen in Asia first?

Dubock: Definitely, and it’s because Asia is predominantly where rice provides the staple carbohydrate and it’s where there are a lot of marginalized people. Vitamin A deficiency comes about as a result of people having too narrow a diet and white rice only basically contains carbohydrates. If you don’t have some fish or vegetables or fruit in your diet and you only eat carbohydrates, you can easily end up with Vitamin A deficiency. Half the world, three billion people a day, eat rice and of those many populations are getting about 80 per cent of their calorific value from rice, so that’s where the problem is.

CBC: Are you hopeful that the long path taken by Golden Rice will make it easier for other humanitarian GMOs to make it through the process?

Dubock: That’s our assessment. It’s a slightly uncomfortable burden to have but clearly there is a lot riding on the success of this project. It’s about more than just Vitamin A deficiency alleviation to rice-consuming populations because this project happens to counteract most if not all of the earlier arguments against GMOs. Originally, it was environmental risk — well that’s largely gone away, people don’t really think that any more. Then it was all these untold health risks that may be occurring — nobody is taking that so seriously anymore. Then there’s questions of, ‘How can you know what the genome effect is inserting another gene?’ But as knowledge arises about similarity of gene effects, with similar genes in different organisms having a unity of purpose — when you start to understand that, and the world will ultimately understand it, then you can see from a scientific perspective that all this over-regulation is really over-regulation.

When you really dig down to opponents, often they get down to feeling that GMOs are some way that the private sector will take charge of the food chain and that it’s only for the benefit of industrialized farmers. [Smaller] farmers will lose choice and become dependent and monopolization will force up prices. But with Golden Rice, you have a project now that is demonstrably public sector where the [genetic] trait will be provided free of charge, there’s no licence fee, it’s for poor farmers, it’s for health.

If Golden Rice is successful, it will help the appreciation of the utility of the technology for wider society. That’s the big sin of this controversy against GMOs — that this technology is extremely scaleable and it can help poor people in developing countries much more than a lot of other technologies in agriculture because, basically, it doesn’t cost anything. It doesn’t require rocket-science skills to do it either. It is very, very pertinent to developing countries.

CBC: The inventors of Golden Rice were initially angry when companies claimed they had violated their patents in creating it, but they eventually changed their tune. What happened?

Dubock: Ingo and Peter felt they had made this great scientific breakthrough and they would have it in farmers’ hands in three years. When they published (in the journal Science in 2000), they were told there was an analysis that had been done which suggested they had real intellectual property problems. I can’t remember the exact detail of the analysis but it was something like 72 patents from 32 organizations had been infringed. They were hit by this sledgehammer between the eyes and thought, ‘Oh god, how do we deal with that? We’re a couple of academics.’ That was what drove them to start talking to the private sector.

That’s when I came along and we did the deal and we said, ‘We’ll help you with this problem.’ The analysis was stupid. There were two major problems with it. One was it analyzed the American patent scene, where patents are national in character, they’re time limited and if they’re applied for doesn’t mean they’ll be granted, and even if they’re granted doesn’t mean they’re valid. The other problem with the analysis, which was done by a unit at Cornell University, is they included patented technologies that had been legitimately used as a result of commercial arrangements. Including those is like including Boeing using a patented screwdriver to fix wings together on their planes, and then the screwdriver owner coming along and saying, ‘We need a share of all the passenger receipts.’ It’s nuts.

When I got our patent people at Zeneca to take a look, they concluded that maybe a maximum of half a dozen patents had been infringed. I then went to the owners of those patents and persuaded them to contribute that technology, if it had been infringed — and we’re not saying it was — for the humanitarian purpose, and they all did that. I went and talked to them to fix it, and it didn’t take long.

CBC: In other areas of technology, especially computing, there’s the law of accelerating returns, which sees advances stack on each other, leading to rapid advancement. Is that happening with GM crops?

Dubock: That’s a very interesting question and not one I’ve answered before. I think it has the potential to do that, but it’s constrained by the controversy and politics that I’ve explained. Clearly, the understanding is growing but understanding would grow more if more applications could be achieved. The applications being achieved, especially in the public sector, are extremely constrained by this suspicion and bureaucratic, unscientific regulatory aspect. In the private sector, the know-how grows but there’s nervousness from the controversy and there’s a tendency to keep things a trade secret unless they’re patentable.

But the early traits and tools of biotechnology are already off-patent or coming off-patent, and that actually means they’re available for anybody to use. Sometimes you need this plus that plus that, but increasingly, they’re going to be off-patent. The companies that are principally the drivers of novelty will keep trying to stay ahead of the curve in terms of the benefits they can deliver so they can keep their commercial edge, but the other stuff that’s coming out at the other end of the patent pipeline, that’s available for anyone to use. From that perspective, yes there’s a capability to be picked up but the problem, repeatedly, is regulation. The danger is the regulation and the sensitivity created by it will kill the technology before it gets anywhere close to delivering what it can deliver.

CBC: How much are you paying attention to the debate regarding genetically modified animals — such as salmon — going on in the U.S.? Do you see those companies as allies?

Dubock: Within the Golden Rice Project per se, we’re completely neutral about that. My personal view is coloured by my experience in the public sector as well as working in the public sector. To formulate a view about how good or bad that technology is needs a better understanding than I have about whether the genetic trait is containable or not, and so on. On the other hand, you have to think about the food protein demands of the world. It’s pretty clear that the [fish] resources in the sea are reducing hugely and it’s also pretty clear that farmed salmon and chickens, at the moment, provide cheaper protein than just about anything else. You could say that if you could extend that trend, it should be good. People want protein and they want cheap and plentiful food. Unless we get on top of birth control, and if we keep combating old age and other diseases, there’s going to be nine billion people to feed instead of six billion. They can’t all eat beef.

There appears to be even more sensitivity in the public’s eye about genetic modification used for animals than there is for plants. It’s a strange world because most new pharmaceutical drugs that are coming out of the pipeline actually arise from biotechnology. A lot of genetic modification is used and has been used for many years in items that many people consider to be normal, like cheese and beer and things like that. Public reaction is not very scientific at all and it can easily be manipulated. In broad terms, we have to embrace all the technology we can to provide wholesome food and of course, it should be questioned whether the technology is safe or not, but you also have to look at the benefits that arise or the costs of not doing anything. You need a holistic view of these things. It’s what governments are for, to take all these views and not be bamboozled by them.

CBC: It’s been said that opposition to GMOs is a luxury that only people in relatively wealthy developed countries can afford. Do you agree?

Dubock: Yes, and it’s borne out by two facts that I’m aware of. There’s a guy named Kim Anderson, who’s an economist out of Adelaide University and a consultant to the World Bank, and he did some estimates on the value of having GMO crop foods in Europe. The benefit to the population, about five years ago, worked out to about the price of a cup of coffee for each individual. So you could say, ‘Do they want to take the risk?’ The answer is [obviously not]. The same economist did a study on the economic benefit of adopting Golden Rice to Asia and he estimated, conservatively, it would add $18 billion annually to the GDP of Asia.

via CBS

A new study out of Chieti-Pescara University in Italy has found that extract from the bark of French maritime pine trees is effective at treating tinnitus, a hearing condition that can cause severe ringing, hissing, and rushing noises. Research indicates that pine bark extract, which is rich in antioxidants, helps to improve blood flow to the ear and thus eliminate tinnitus symptoms.

“Impaired blood flow to the ear is a common cause for tinnitus, a disturbing and very debilitating condition that can considerably impact overall health and quality of life,” explained Dr. Gianni Belcaro, lead researcher of the study. “With few options available for treatment, this study gave us the opportunity to explore a natural solution to tinnitus symptoms and its causes.”

When compared to a group not receiving the treatment, patients given Pycnogenol, a branded form of the pine bark, experienced a significant improvement in blood flow to their inner ears after just four weeks of treatment. And among those taking Pycnogenol, those in the high dose group (150 mg/day) experienced even greater improvements that those taking lower doses (100 mg/day).

Researchers also observed an overall improvement in felt symptoms among those taking Pycnogenol. Pain symptoms were reduced by 41 percent in the low dose Pycnogenol group while the high dose group experienced a 63 percent reduction in pain symptoms.

“The study clearly indicates Pycnogenol’s ability to improve vascular function and restore cochlear blood perfusion, which in turn relieves the severity of tinnitus symptoms,” stressed Dr. Belcaro. “The results provide further evidence of the supplement’s natural efficacy for a variety of vascular health problems.”

Via naturalnews

Predominantly involving Vitamins A, B, C and E, most of us think of vitamins as morning pills that help keep people healthy. While that preconception is mostly true, the generalization that all vitamins are good for you is far from accurate. Because the liver must process the vitamins we consume, the healthfulness of dietary supplements is especially important and complex when evaluating which vitamins are beneficial to those with liver concerns. When it comes to the lesser-known Vitamin K, seemingly conflicting information may have people with chronic liver disease needing guidance.

About Vitamin K
Vitamin K is necessary for the synthesis of the proteins that help control bleeding (clotting factors), and thus for the normal clotting of blood. The “K” is derived from the German word “koagulation.”

Found in several different forms, Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that refers to a group of compounds called naphthoquinones. There are three different types of Vitamin K:

· Vitamin K1 – Found naturally in leafy green vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, vegetable oils, cereals and some meats and cheeses, this natural form of Vitamin K is gathered through dietary consumption. Also known as phytonadione, Vitamin K1 is commercially manufactured for medicinal use under several brand names, including Phylloquinone®, Phytonadione®, AquaMEPHYTON®, Mephyton® and Konakion®.

· Vitamin K2 – Referred to as menaquinones, Vitamin K2 compounds are made by bacteria in the intestines. While some countries use this form for supplementation, only small amounts of Vitamin K2 can be absorbed.

· Vitamin K3 – Vitamin K3 is not a naturally occurring form of Vitamin K. Instead, it is a water-soluble, synthetic preparation that is manufactured in laboratories. Also called menadione, synthetic Vitamin K3 was originally used to treat Vitamin K deficiency in newborns. However, menadione has been proven to cause severe damage to the liver. Because of its liver toxicity, menadione has been banned by the FDA as an over-the-counter supplement.

Vitamin K Deficiency
While relatively rare in adults, those with liver disease are at increased risk of Vitamin K deficiency. This is because the liver synthesizes bile acids and secretes them into the small intestine where they play a critical role in absorption of lipids. As a fat-soluble vitamin, Vitamin K requires proper lipid absorption to be absorbed. Thus, liver disease that results in decreased bile salt synthesis can lead to impaired Vitamin K absorption and deficiency. In addition, a majority of the blood’s clotting factors are made almost exclusively in the liver, so liver disease can cause defects in blood clotting by several other mechanisms.

Newborns are prone to Vitamin K deficiency for two reasons:

1. Only small amounts of Vitamin K cross the placenta.

2. During the first few days after birth, infants’ intestines do not contain bacteria to produce Vitamin K.

This deficiency can cause hemorrhaging where a baby has an increased tendency to bleed. A Vitamin K injection is usually given to newborns to protect them from this problem.

Vitamin K for Liver Disease
A Vitamin K deficiency might be suspected if abnormal bleeding occurs in people with conditions that put them at risk – such as liver disease. Doctors typically diagnose a Vitamin K deficiency by performing blood tests to measure how well blood clots, and by finding out how much Vitamin K a person consumes. While taking Vitamin K orally or via injections usually corrects this problem, those with a Vitamin K deficiency and severe liver damage may also need blood transfusions to replenish clotting factors. This is because a damaged liver may be unable to synthesize clotting factors even after Vitamin K injections are given.

A study published in the July 21, 2004 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association strongly links Vitamin K to a lowered risk of liver cancer in those most at risk for the disease. The discovery was made accidentally during research on bone loss. Although the mechanism explaining why Vitamin K prevents or inhibits liver cancer cell growth remains unclear, the researchers involved in this study concluded that there is a possible role for Vitamin K in the prevention of liver cancer in those with advanced liver disease.

In the study described above, Vitamin K2 was isolated as a potential cancer fighter, but not all Vitamin K’s are the same. Since the synthetic Vitamin K can cause damage to the liver, menadione is never advised for anyone with liver concerns.

Vitamin K is essential for healthy blood coagulation, a process that prevents a simple abrasion from becoming deadly. For newborns or those diagnosed with a Vitamin K deficiency, injections or supplementation might be appropriate. In addition, people with liver disease could possibly benefit from this vitamin, but more research is needed to confirm why – and ascertain its safety. While eating an abundance of foods rich in Vitamin K appears to be perfectly healthy, Vitamin K3 poses a real danger to anyone who takes it – especially someone with liver disease.

Via liversupport

Folic acid supplements have long been thought to have potential heart benefits, but a large new study suggests that they don’t lower the risk of heart attacks or strokes.

Folic acid is a synthetic version of folate, a B vitamin essential to cell growth. (That’s the reason pregnant women take folic acid to stave off birth defects.) Doctors have speculated that folic acid may improve heart health, because people with B-vitamin deficiencies often have high blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine, a marker of inflammation that has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

Folate is found in green vegetables and in grain products that have been fortified with folic acid. Those foods are often good for the heart — but most likely due to other nutrients, such as cholesterol-lowering fiber.

In the new study, which appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers in Europe and North America analyzed data from eight randomized controlled trials that included about 37,500 people who had heart disease, or were considered to be at risk. About half of the participants took 0.8 to 40 milligrams of folic acid daily for at least a year, and the other half took placebo.

Folic acid supplements reduced homocysteine levels by about 25 percent, on average, but they had no measurable impact on heart risk. The same percentage of people in both groups (11 percent) experienced a heart attack or died from heart disease, and the rate of stroke (4 percent) was also identical.

“Folic acid has a role in decreasing homocysteine, but decreasing homocysteine doesn’t seem to have a role in the outcome of heart disease,” says Suzanne Steinbaum, D.O., a preventive cardiologist with Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York City. Steinbaum was not involved in the new research.

Homocysteine levels can vary according to dietary habits (eating a lot of red meat, for example) and genetic factors. Researchers first began to suspect that homocysteine plays a role in heart risk when they noticed that children with extremely high levels stemming from a rare genetic disorder also have high rates of heart problems.

However, Dr. J. Chad Teeters, M.D., a cardiologist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in New York, says that the study findings are the latest evidence that homocysteine is of little use as an early warning sign of heart attacks or heart disease.

“Homocysteine doesn’t seem to have any predictive strength, and most [doctors] don’t check it,” says Teeters, who was not involved in the new study.

Homocysteine tests have largely been replaced by those that check blood levels of another inflammatory marker, C-reactive protein (CRP), Teeters says. The American Heart Association does not consider homocysteine a major risk factor for heart disease, he points out, nor does the organization recommend widespread folic acid supplementation.

Folic acid supplements do appear to be safe, according to the study. The authors found no evidence that taking folic acid increases the risk of cancer, as some past research has suggested.

More than one-third of people in the U.S. take supplements or multivitamins that contain folic acid, according to a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Supplement use in general has soared since the 1970s. But unless you’re pregnant or have specific deficiencies, eating a healthy and balanced diet is still the best way to ensure that you’re getting all of the essential vitamins, Teeters says.

“All this super-supplementation doesn’t really have a role,” he says.

Via cnn