Acai counteracts oxidative stress, lengthens lifespan in fruit flies

Source from: Emory University

Bewildered by the array of antioxidant fruit juices on display in the supermarket and the promises they make? To sort out the antioxidant properties of fruits and berries, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine turned to fruit flies for help.

They found that a commercially available acai berry product can lengthen the lives of fruit flies, when the flies' lives are made short through additional oxidative stress. Under certain conditions (a simple sugar diet) acai supplementation could triple flies' lifespans, from eight to 24 days. Acai could also counteract the neurotoxic effects of the herbicide paraquat on the flies.

The results were recently published by the journal Experimental Gerontology, which awarded the paper its inaugural "Outstanding paper" prize. The lead author is Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer, a postdoctoral fellow in Emory University School of Medicine's department of cell biology.

Vrailas-Mortimer says she didn't start out focusing on acai. But acai worked better than several other antioxidant products such as vitamins, coenzyme Q10 and lutein.

"One thing that makes our work distinctive is that we tried commercially available supplements," she says. "We went to a health food store and filled up a basket."

She says she began the project with the help of undergraduate student Rosy Gomez, and narrowed her focus after initial success with acai. Vrailas-Mortimer took advantage of a discovery she had made working with Subhabrata Sanyal, assistant professor of cell biology. They had previously found that flies with mutations in the "p38 MAP kinase" gene have shorter lives and are more sensitive to heat, food deprivation and oxidative stress.

P38 mutant flies lived an average of only eight days when they were given a simple sugar water diet. However, their lifespans tripled when their diet was supplemented with acai. Ginger was used as a control for the diet supplements.

Acai also protected normal flies against oxidative stress, in the form of hydrogen peroxide or paraquat. Acai can protect against oxidative stress when flies are exposed to hydrogen peroxide before being given acai, but the protective effect does not hold up if the order is reversed.

The effects of paraquat on circadian rhythms are visible here.

Paraquat is an herbicide that has neurotoxic effects that resemble Parkinson's disease. Under the influence of paraquat, flies' sleep-wake cycles gradually become chaotic (see graph). Acai can also help soften the effects of paraquat on flies' circadian rhythms.

"I think this is important," Vrailas-Mortimer says. "We show that whatever is in acai that is lengthening lifespan, it can also keep the flies functioning better for longer when faced with paraquat exposure. It is maintaining quality of life rather than just preventing them from dying."

When flies were fed a more enriched diet of a standard cornmeal/molasses mush, the effects of supplementation with acai were more pronounced in males than in females. Males' lifespans were almost doubled with acai (20 to 40 days) but the effects on females were not as strong (30 to 34 days). On an enriched diet, male flies were more sensitive to paraquat than females as well.

Implications for human clinical trials of antioxidants

Isotonix Acai

Large clinical trials studying the effects of antioxidants such as vitamin C and E have not shown clear benefits on human health. Using fruit flies under oxidative stress as a model can be a way to dissect which components of acai are beneficial. Probing the effects on flies' circadian rhythms can be a way to quickly screen several compounds or regimens, since the effects are apparent even before most of the flies die.

Acai berries contain a variety of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, such as anthocyanins. Sanyal says it may be better to study the components of acai together rather than in isolation.

"There may be a combinatorial effect, and if you separate the components from each other, you may lose the active principle," he says. "In addition, it seems to me that anti-oxidant therapy will not work after the damage has been done. So human clinical trials that don't take this into account are likely to have disappointing results."

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Resveratrol shows potential for blood sugar

Resveratrol shows potential for blood sugar

Three months of consuming a daily supplement of resveratrol may help with blood sugar control and improve blood pressure in type­2 diabetics, suggests data from India.

“The results of the present study support our hypothesis that resveratrol supplementation improves glycemic control and the associated risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus,” wrote researchers in Nutrition Research .
“The study also suggests that resveratrol could be used as an effective adjuvant therapy with a conventional hypoglycemic regimen to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus.”

Resveratrol, a powerful polyphenol and anti­fungal chemical, is often touted as the bioactive compound in grapes and red wine, and has particularly been associated with the so­called 'French Paradox'. The phrase, coined in 1992 by Dr Serge Renaud from Bordeaux University, describes the low incidence of heart disease and obesity among the French, despite their relatively high­fat diet and levels of wine consumption.
Other studies with only resveratrol have reported anti­cancer effects, anti­inflammatory effects, cardiovascular benefits, anti­diabetes potential, energy endurance enhancement, and protection against Alzheimer’s.

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first clinical study to evaluate the effect of resveratrol as supplement in Indian patients with type­2 diabetes,” wrote the researchers. The potential mechanism behind the benefits is not clear, they added, and additional research is needed to elucidate the mechanism.
“Oral supplementation of resveratrol is thus found to be effective in improving glycemic control and may possibly provide a potential adjuvant for the treatment and management of diabetes,” they concluded.  

Isotonix Resveratrol

What Makes Isotonix® Resveratrol Unique?   

Poor cellular and cardiovascular health is becoming a worldwide epidemic. An unhealthy diet of processed, high-calorie, high-fat foods, pollution, smoking and sedentary lifestyles all contribute to poor cell and heart health. Scientists revealed The French Paradox, which states that even though the French drink, smoke and eat high-fat foods they have some of the lowest incidences of poor cardiovascular and cellular health. Scientists attribute this to the large amounts of red wine that the French consume or, more importantly, an extract found in red wine: resveratrol. Resveratrol is an ingredient with incredible clinical research, revealing that it supports cardiovascular and normal cell health. Because wine is so highly processed, the actual amount of resveratrol is quite low. One would have to drink at least three bottles of red wine a day to experience the effects of resveratrol extract. Additionally, the content of resveratrol in red wine is inconsistent and varies by type of wine, region and processing techniques. Resveratrol extract or more specifically, Resveravine®, which is a more concentrated form of resveratrol, ensures that the body reaps all of the benefits of resveratrol, without the ill effects from three bottles of wine.*

Isotonix® Resveratrol is an isotonic-capable supplement, made from three patented ingredients: Resveravine with 20% resveratrol extract, BioVin® Advanced with 5% resveratrol extract, and VitaBlue® (wild blueberry extract), designed to promote normal cell health. Isotonix Resveratrol works to maintain cell health, promote normal cell cycle activity, promote apoptosis (programmed cell death) in unhealthy cells, support the normal activity of the SIRT-1 gene, and promote cardiovascular health, by promoting healthy platelet activity, promoting vasorelaxation, and providing antioxidant protection of LDL particles. Resveravine is a combination of trans-resveratrol (20% purity) and viniferin extracted from vine stems, which work synergistically to enhance the effectiveness of resveratrol extract.Trans-resveratrol is the predominate isomer found in red wine grapes and juice, and Resveravine is 100 to 300 times more concentrated in trans-resveratrol than other products from grape skin. According to the Linus Pauli

Primary Benefits of Isotonix® Resveratrol*:

• Maintains cell health
• Promotes normal cell cycle activity
• Promotes apoptosis (programmed cell death) in unhealthy cells
• Promotes normal nuclear factor kappa B (NF-Kappa B – protein) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2 - enzyme) activity
• Promotes normal activity of the SIRT-1 gene (involved in calorie restriction, fat mobilization, mitochondrial function)
• Promotes cardiovascular health (promotes normal platelet activity, helps maintain normal vasorelaxation, provides antioxidant protection of LDL particles).
• Superior antioxidant and high ORAC value
• Promotes a healthy prostate gland
• Helps promote apoptosis in unhealthy prostate cells

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How Genetics Play a Role in Your Health

How Genetics Play a Role in Your Health

When it comes to our bodies, we want to make choices that have a positive impact on our health. But some of those decisions – eating the wrong foods, making certain lifestyle choices, even the way we exercise – could impact our body's ability to maintain optimum health. Even if we think we’re making the right choices, there are other factors that help determine our overall picture of health.

Genetics play a huge role in how our bodies process nutrients, how they respond to activity and how we react to our environment and surroundings. When it comes to your health, the answers are in your genes. Your DNA tells a story: how you process foods, how you react to exercise, how your environment affects your body, how your family history plays a part in your health.

What if you could learn about your health with a simple test, one that could give you realistic and reasonable recommendations to promote your quality of life? It’s time to make informed decisions about your health – no more guesswork, just facts.

The Gene SNP DNA Analysis combines your individual diet, lifestyle and environment information and is scientifically merged with your genetic background to provide an exclusive Health Action Plan designed specifically for you. It will help provide practical suggestions intended to promote your health and wellness. Based on variations in your DNA and lifestyle factors, the Gene SNP DNA Analysis will make recommendations based on how your body metabolizes food, utilizes nutrients, removes toxins and responds to physical activity. By understanding how your genetic profile affects your well-being, the Gene SNP DNA Analysis will help you take charge of optimizing your wellness. The Gene SNP DNA Analysis examines a wide variety of genes and SNPs, providing a customized Health Action plan that focuses on diet, nutrition, exercise and supplementation based on your genetic profile.    

Now you can be sure your personalized Health Action Plan includes the best possible supplementation, thanks to the integration of the most advanced nutraceutical products available, Isotonix. Each product has been carefully chosen to provide you with the best supplementation based on your individualized Health Action Plan. By integrating the Gene SNP DNA Analysis with the Isotonix product line, you’ll be receiving the very best supplementation support to maintain the healthiest of lifestyles.

No longer will you have to accept a “one-size-fits-all” vitamin and nutrition regimen. Using our exclusive patent rights to screen genetic variations, Gene SNP DNA Analysis uncovers the ability of your genes to respond to nutritional and environmental factors that affect various areas of your health.

The best part is that the results remain accurate throughout your life, since your gene makeup does not change. Since your genes don’t change, you have the ability to optimize the function of your genes through diet, exercise and nutritional supplementation. And while you can’t change your genes, you can change your lifestyle. As you progress through your Health Action Plan, following the recommendations specifically suited for you and your body, you can make changes to your online customer profile and receive an updated Health Action Plan with recommendations based on your new, healthier lifestyle.

What Makes Gene SNP™ Isotonix® Custom Cocktail Unique?

Your Gene SNP Isotonix Custom Cocktail is carefully formulated based on a thorough analysis of your diet, lifestyle and genetics. Combining up to 17 Isotonix products, your Gene SNP Isotonix Custom Cocktail helps you achieve optimal nutrient intake, taking the guesswork out of nutritional supplementation.

With your personalized health recommendations from the Gene SNP DNA Analysis and your personalized supplement recommendations, there is no more guesswork, just the facts – and the proper supplements with Gene SNP Isotonix Custom Cocktail.

Primary Benefits of the Gene SNP™ DNA Analysis:

• Learn about your genetic risk based on variations in your unique genetic code
• Understand how your current nutrition, exercise and lifestyle choices interact with your unique genetic code
• Make informed decisions regarding eating habits, lifestyle choices and exercise based on your genes
• Learn how market-leading Isotonix® nutraceutical supplementation recommended in your personalized Health Action Plan can help you maintain your optimum health
• Track changes and progress in your Health Action Plan and, after following recommendations, update your Online Customer Profile to determine whether you have new nutrition, exercise, lifestyle or supplementation recommendations

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Vitamin D Deficiency In Sick Kids Could Make Them Sicker

NPR's Health Blog by ELIZA BARCLAY

If you're an adult, and a relatively healthy one at that, then you've probably been confused in recent years about whether or not you're getting enough vitamin D. Indeed, a series of reports from some of the top medical institutions – including the Institute of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – have said most adults aren't deficient, even as other top researchers have said most are.

Where there seems to be a little less controversy is vitamin D for kids, who need it to build strong bones and a strong immune system. The IOM in 2010 said children and most adults need 600 international units of vitamin D a day. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a slightly different take: It suggests kids get a lower dose — 400 IU per day — and that they take a daily vitamin to make sure they're getting it.

Now new evidence from two studies finds that not only is vitamin D deficiency common among critically ill kids, but it's also associated with the severity of their illness.

In one study published today in Pediatrics, researchers at Harvard University tested the vitamin D levels of 511 children, up to 17-years-old, who were admitted to six different pediatric intensive care units between November 2009 and November 2010.

They found that 40 percent of the sick kids they tested had less than 20 nanograms of vitamin D per milliliter of blood — meaning they were deficient. This led the researchers to conclude that kids deficient in vitamin D were more likely to be sick than kids with sufficient levels of the vitamin. The kids deficient in vitamin D were also more likely to be in the hospital longer than the other kids.

Isotonix Vitamin D with K2

Another study from researchers in Ottawa, Canada, of sick kids at six Canadian PICUs from 2005 to 2008 came to a similar conclusion.

While both groups of researchers were hesitant to blame vitamin D deficiency for making the kids sick, they called for more studies on whether giving sick kids big doses of the vitamin in the early stages of their illness might be beneficial.

In addition to supplements, vitamin D is readily available in foods like eggs and oily fish and fortified foods such as milk, cereal, orange juice, yogurt and margarine.

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What makes Isotonix® Vitamin D with K2 product unique?

Isotonix Vitamin D with K2 contains vitamin D3, the metabolically active form of vitamin D, along with vitamin K2, a form of vitamin K which supports vascular health and calcium utilization. Vitamin D plays an important role in bone health, heart health and immune support while working with vitamin K to support normal absorption of calcium and promote healthy arteries. Isotonix Vitamin D is the first of its kind to deliver both of these powerful vitamins with isotonic delivery.

Vitamin K is included in Isotonix Vitamin D with K2 because of its unique partnership with vitamin D. Vitamins K and D work together to support calcium absorption and utilization. Vitamin K supports the normal delivery of calcium to the bones and promotes healthy arteries.

Curcumin supplements prevent type 2 diabetes

By David Liu, PHD

Saturday Aug 4, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- Eating curry or taking curcumin supplements helps reduce risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to a new study published in the journal Diabetes Care. Curcumin is an ingredient found in turmeric which is used in curry, a food commonly used in India.

The study showed one of pre-diabetics who took curcumin supplements every day for nine months developed type 2 diabetes mellitus while 16 percent of pre-diabetics who took a dummy pill for the same period developed the disease.

For the study, researchers of Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok recruited 240 people with pre-diabetes who were randomized into two groups with 120 each. One group were given six capsules of curcumin per day and the other  a placebo for nine months.

At the end of the study, 16 percent of placebo users developed type 2 diabetes  mellitus whereas none of the curcumin users developed the disease.  Subjects in the study group but not those in the control group were also found to have lost weight.

The Thai researchers believe turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties that help protect insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas from damage and improve their efficiency.  

Curcumin Extreme™with BCM-95

About 24 million people live with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the United States alone.  Another 20 million Americans suffer pre-diabetes, a condition in which a person has a problem with controling blood sugar, but not as severely as in the case of type 2 diabetes.

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There are many curcumin products on the market, but Curcumin Extreme™ with BCM-95® has superior bioavailability and absorption. BCM-95 contains the natural spectrum of the turmeric rhizome and is 100 percent natural. Curcumin Extreme promotes liver detoxification, promotes healthy glutathione levels and normal cellular regeneration. Taking Curcumin Extreme every day can help detoxify impurities in your body that build up over time.* 

Curcumin Extreme also includes 167mg of broccoli seed extract, a powerful source of sulphoraphane glucosinolates. Sulforaphanes support the normal production of Phase II liver detoxification enzymes, including glutathione synthase, heme-oxygenase and catalase. Sulforaphanes also support gene transcription, the process by which genetic information is copied from DNA to RNA. They also support the body’s natural defense systems. Glutathione is the master antioxidant in the human body, which serves to preserve and protect the brain and other body tissues by protecting them from the damage of free radicals. Furthermore, glutathione recycles vitamins C and E, which are also powerful antioxidants.*

Primary Benefits of Curcumin Extreme™*:  

• Promotes normal activity of NF-KappaB
• Supports normal liver detoxification activity
• Supports overall liver health
• Promotes apoptosis in unhealthy cells
• Promotes normal cell cycle activity
• Helps maintain overall cell integrity
• Promotes normal cellular regeneration
• Helps maintain healthy glutathione levels
• Supports normal glutathione synthesis
• Promotes the normal production of detoxification enzymes
• Supports the body’s natural ability to produce detoxification enzymes
• Promotes normal levels of detoxification enzymes that scavenge harmful toxins in the body
• Helps to maintain neurological health as we age
• Helps to maintain good cognitive health as we age
• Promotes normal immune cell-brain (neuron) interactions in order to maintain cognitive health
• Promotes neurological health
• Protects neurons from the negative effects of free radicals
• Powerful antioxidant
• Protects the body from the negative effects of free radicals
• Promotes free-radical protection
• Promotes a strong immune system

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Chronic Inflammation at the Heart of America’s Deadliest Diseases

Chronic Inflammation at the Heart of America’s Deadliest Diseases

Author: willllamas 

New science has linked diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s,
stroke, and cancer to one condition: chronic inflammation. Chronic
inflammation is a condition brought about by obesity and from a diet high
in fatty foods.  This condition can
attack the immune system and clear the way for harmful bacteria to enter the
body.

“You need to have inflammation when you have a wound
and the immune system goes in to heal it. Yet we don’t want too much
inflammation in our system causing damage to
our arteries” and other harm, says Wendy Weber, a program director at
the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the
National Institutes of Health.

Chronic inflammation can be caused a few different ways. One
recent discovery showed that fat cells were not solely acting as storage for
excess weight. “Instead, fat cells act like small factories to churn out
molecules known as cytokines, which set inflammation in motion,” says Peter
Libby, chief of the division of cardiovascular medicine at Brigham and Women’s
Hospital in Boston.

Besides body weight issues, a diet rich in high-fat foods is
another common cause of chronic inflammation.

What can be done to combat inflammation? First and foremost,
maintaining a healthy body weight is a must. Losing excess weight and fat cells
will counter cytokine production and keep down inflammation. On top of that, a
specialized diet limiting fat consumption can help. However, no diet alone can
completely stop inflammation. “If you weigh 300 pounds and eat healthy,
the weight will still counter any beneficial foods you are eating,” says Dr.
Cannon, a professor of medicine at Harvard University.

The American Heart Association also recommends consuming
omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, and omega-6 fatty acids found in nuts and
vegetable oils to reduce the risk of inflammation. Supplementation is also
recommended if you are not getting the proper amounts.