From WebMD.com

A new study shows an antioxidant found in red wine destroys cancer cells from the inside and enhances the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy cancer treatments.

Researchers say the antioxidant found in grape skins, known as resveratrol, appears to work by targeting the cancer cell’s energy source from within and crippling it. When combined with radiation, treatment with resveratrol prior to radiation also induced cell death, an important goal of cancer treatment.

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From AFP

Taking vitamin D supplements in infancy may help a youngster ward off Type 1 diabetes, according to a review of the evidence released on Thursday in a specialist journal.

Doctors in Britain looked at five studies in which children were monitored from infancy to early childhood to see if vitamin D supplements made a difference to the risk of becoming diabetic.

The risk of developing the disease was reduced 29 percent in children who took extra vitamin D as compared to those who had not.

Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body does not produce enough of the hormone insulin, or cannot make proper use of the insulin it does produce, a condition called insulin resistance.

In Type 1 diabetes, so-called beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin are destroyed in early childhood by the body’s immune system.

The disease is most common among people of European descent, affecting around two million Europeans and North Americans, and for reasons that are unclear is becoming more widespread.

Type 2 diabetes, which is far more common, is linked mainly with an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. It is becoming epidemic in scale in many developed or fast-developing countries.

The new study, led by Christos Zipitis of St. Mary’s Hospital for Women and Children in Manchester, northern England, is published by Archives of Disease in Childhood.

From DearPharmacist.com

Medications can deplete your body’s stores of vital life-sustaining nutrients. The following information is rarely shared with patients, and not knowing can cause you to experience some uncomfortable and dangerous effects from the medications you take. Knowledge is power. Knowing this information allows you to stay safer on your medication. I have termed the nutrient depletion, the “Drug Mugger” effect. Taking medicine often means you are likely being robbed of essential nutrients. Take a look below at some popular drugs to see what nutrients you need to stay healthy, and avoid side effects. This list will be updated routinely. One simple way to replenish nutrients is to eat a balanced diet that includes foods rich in vitamins and minerals, including leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits, grains, nuts, seeds and…if you like meat, grass-fed, hormone free meats. You can also supplement with high quality brands of the following nutrients which may be advisable in many cases if you’ve been taking a medication for a long time, or experiencing unwanted side effects. Sometimes, eating well just isn’t enough. In this case, look for high quality brands sold at your local health food store –preferably capsules, liquids or powders because they are easier to absorb. Watch and see how you start to feel better after a few weeks of replenishing what the Drug Mugger stole. This information and much more is found in The 24-Hour Pharmacist.

Medications can deplete your body’s stores of vital life-sustaining nutrients. The following information is rarely shared with patients, and not knowing can cause you to experience some uncomfortable and dangerous effects from the medications you take. Knowledge is power. Knowing this information allows you to stay safer on your medication. I have termed the nutrient depletion, the “Drug Mugger” effect. Taking medicine often means you are likely being robbed of essential nutrients. Take a look below at some popular drugs to see what nutrients you need to stay healthy, and avoid side effects. This list will be updated routinely. One simple way to replenish nutrients is to eat a balanced diet that includes foods rich in vitamins and minerals, including leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits, grains, nuts, seeds and…if you like meat, grass-fed, hormone free meats. You can also supplement with high quality brands of the following nutrients which may be advisable in many cases if you’ve been taking a medication for a long time, or experiencing unwanted side effects. Sometimes, eating well just isn’t enough. In this case, look for high quality brands sold at your local health food store –preferably capsules, liquids or powders because they are easier to absorb. Watch and see how you start to feel better after a few weeks of replenishing what the Drug Mugger stole. This information and much more is found in The 24-Hour Pharmacist.

From Cold Remedy WebMD

If you bought Airborne, the popular herbal and vitamin formula originally touted as a cold preventive, you’re due for a refund.

The makers of Airborne have agreed to refund money to consumers as part of a $23.3 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit for false advertising. It does not admit wrongdoing or illegal conduct.

Products included are the Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Airborne On-the-Go, Airborne Power Pixies, Airborne Nighttime, Airborne Jr., Airborne Gummi, and Airborne Seasonal (formerly sold as Airborne Seasonal Relief).

Airborne: The Road to the Lawsuit

Initially, Airborne ads touted its line of products as a way to prevent and treat colds; Airborne later toned down those claims and now calls the formulas immune boosters.

In February 2006, a report on national television questioned the validity of a clinical trial touted by Airborne as a study that offered proof that its products work. Soon after, the false advertising lawsuit was filed in 2006 by California law firms representing a consumer who protested that the formula did not work as advertised.

“One of their more outrageous claims is that you take it before entering a germy environment and you’re instantly protected,” David Schardt, senior nutritionist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), tells WebMD.

The CSPI, a nonprofit consumer watchdog group, joined the lawsuit in late 2006 when asked to do so by the California law firms representing the plaintiff. “It’s just a mixture of vitamins, herbs, and minerals,” Schardt says. “There is nothing particularly special about this mixture.” The company is also under scrutiny by about 24 state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), according to The CSPI, although the FTC won’t confirm an investigation.

A spokesperson for Airborne, who declined to be quoted by name, says, “Airborne is an immune booster. We are pleased to have reached this settlement.” The company refers the media and consumers to the settlement web site, airbornehealthsettlement.com, for more information.

Airborne products were created by Victoria Knight McDowell, a former second-grade teacher whose motivation to find the formula was triggered by her exposure to germy students, according to the company web site.

The product line includes several formulas, but the basic formula includes vitamins A, C, and E and magnesium, zinc, selenium, herbs, and other ingredients. It is called Airborne because it is meant to combat airborne viruses and germs, according to the company web site.

Watchdog Group Investigates

In 2007, the CSPI, which regularly looks at dietary supplements to determine their effects, evaluated Airborne as part of an investigation on cold remedies “and found little or no evidence that the product works,” Schardt tells WebMD.

According to Schardt, there is “no credible evidence” that the Airborne formula can prevent colds or protect people from germy environments.

FromUSATODAY.com

Folic acid, already recommended for women of childbearing age because it lowers the risk of spina bifida and related birth defects, also might cut the chances of delivering a premature baby by half or more, scientists report today.

The new analysis is based on folic acid supplements, as opposed to folic acid in food, reported by 34,480 pregnant women in a U.S. government-sponsored trial.

Taking supplemental folic acid

either by itself or in a multivitamin

for at least a year before conceiving was tied to a 70% lower risk of delivering between 20 and 28 weeks’ gestation and a 50% lower risk of delivering between 28 and 32 weeks. A full-term delivery occurs after at least 37 weeks.

Accounting for preterm birth risk factors such as previous preterm birth, obesity and older age did not substantially change the findings, according to an abstract for the study. It is being presented in Dallas at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

“Obviously, these findings are very exciting and very promising, not the least because of the simplicity of the findings and the ease of potential implementation,” says lead author Radek Bukowski, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

Because about half of all pregnancies are unplanned, the March of Dimes and other groups recommend that all women who could conceive take 400 micrograms of synthetic folic acid daily. The supplement reduces the risk of neural tube birth defects by up to 70%, says Janis Biermann, March of Dimes senior vice president for education and health promotion.

The neural tube, precursor to the brain and spinal cord, normally closes by day 28 of gestation, often before women even know they’re pregnant.

A survey in late 2007 of U.S. women ages 18 to 45 found that only 40% reported taking folic acid daily, Biermann says.

The new study “is promising,” University of Pittsburgh epidemiologist Janet Catov says.

In the August issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, Catov and her co-authors published a study of 1,823 women early in pregnancy that found those who reported taking a multivitamin regularly in the previous six months were 70% less likely to deliver a baby before 34 weeks. Catov says more research is needed to determine what deserves the credit: the folic acid, something else in multivitamins or some characteristic of women who opt to take them.