A recent National Cancer Institute (NCI) study has concluded that consumption of red and processed meat modestly raises the risk of death from all causes, including heart disease and cancer. Rashmi Sinha, et al., “Meat Intake and Mortality: A Prospective Study of Over Half a Million People,” Archives of Internal Medicine, March 23, 2009. In one of the largest studies of its kind, NCI researchers examined dietary and lifestyle questionnaires submitted by more than 500,000 people ages 50 to 71. During 10 follow-up years in which 47,976 men and 23,276 women died, the group that reported eating the most red meat had the higher risk of death overall, death from heart disease and death from cancer, than the people who ate the least amount of red meat. “Red and processed meat intakes were associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality, and cardiovascular disease mortality,” the study concludes. “In…
Category Archives Scientific/Technical Items
A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study has reportedly found evidence that houseflies living near poultry operations could contribute to the spread of drug-resistant bacteria among humans. Researchers collected flies and poultry-litter samples from farming operations in the coastal regions of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, which has “one of the highest densities of broiler chickens per acre in the United States.” Slated for publication in the April 2009 issue of Science and the Total Environment, the results showed similar strains of antibiotic-resistant Enterococci and Staphylococci in both the flies and the litter, leading the study authors to speculate that “flies in intensive production areas could efficiently spread resistance organisms over large distances.” “The findings demonstrate another potential link between industrial food animal production and exposures to antibiotic resistant bacteria,” states a March 16, 2009, press release issued by the school’s Center for a Livable Future.
Mineral-water bottles made with PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, a chemical used in many food and beverage containers, particularly those marked with the number 1 inside a triangle, have been found to leach an unknown estrogen-mimicking chemical. Martin Wagner & Jörg Oehlmann, “Endocrine Disruptors in Bottled Mineral Water: Total Estrogenic Burden and Migration from Plastic Bottles,” Environmental Science & Pollution Research, March 10, 2009. Research from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, is apparently the first to find consistent contamination from PET bottles, once thought to be a better alternative to plastic bottles containing bisphenol A. The researchers have been unable to identify the substance causing the hormonal activity in exposed snails, but PET evidently contains minute amounts of antimony, which does have estrogenic effects. Mollusks cultured in PET bottles apparently exhibited significantly increased reproductive output. A news source indicates that the study authors are concerned about their findings because…
Health Canada has published the results of a survey it conducted to detect and measure levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in canned beverages such as soft drinks, tea and energy drinks. The federal agency detected the chemical in nearly all of the samples tested, with some of the highest levels appearing in energy drinks containing caffeine. Health Canada scientists detected no BPA in two tonic water products and one energy drink product. According to the survey, “It is believed that quinine hydrochloride, which is commonly used as a bittering agent in tonic type drinks, may interfere with BPA extraction.” While the levels found in the beverages were below regulatory limits, some scientists are reportedly concerned that the large number of sources of exposure may pose cumulative risks to human health. University of Missouri biologist Frederick vom Saal contends that harmful effects of the chemical, which mimics the effects of estrogen in…
A recent study has reportedly compared long-term teen obesity risks to those incurred by smokers. Martin Neovius, et al., “Combined effects of overweight and smoking in late adolescence on subsequent mortality: nationwide cohort study,” British Medical Journal, February 24, 2009. After examining the death rates of 45,920 Swedish servicemen over 38 years, researchers found that recruits who were obese in 1969 and 1970 were twice as likely to die by age 60 than those who had a normal body mass index between 25 and 29.9. Obese men thus experienced an increase in risk the same as that of normal-weight men who smoked half a pack of cigarettes or more per day. The study results also suggested that overweight recruits were approximately one-third more likely to die prematurely, a risk profile similar to that of normal-weight men who smoked 10 cigarettes per day. Although one expert from Emory University’s Rollins School of…
Two recent studies have reportedly examined the impact of location on the accessibility and quality of healthy food. Manuel Franco, et al., “Availability of Health Foods and Dietary Patterns: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, March 2009. Manuel Franco, et al., “Neighborhood Characteristics and Availability of Healthy Foods in Baltimore,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, December 2008. Researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Texas, and the University of Michigan apparently found that approximately 46 percent of lower-income neighborhoods in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland, had a low availability of fresh fruits and vegetables, skim milk, and whole wheat bread. The studies relied on information gleaned from 759 participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and a systematic survey of 159 neighborhoods and 226 neighborhood stores in the Baltimore area. “Previous studies have suggested that race and income are…
Relying on the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence and other substance use disorders, researchers have hypothesized that the over-consumption of refined foods can be described as an addiction that “could account for the global epidemic of obesity and other metabolic disorders.” J.R. Ifland, et al., “Refined Food Addiction: A Classic Substance Use Disorder,” Medical Hypotheses (2009). They match the statements obtained from obese people involved in a clinical observation study with substance dependence criteria such as progressive use over time, withdrawal symptoms, use more than intended, and tried to cut back, and show how “reports from self-identified food addicts seem to comprise behaviors that conform to the DSM-IV criteria. The pathology of behavior and the elements of loss control and distress that are prevalent in other addictions also appear in this qualitative data.” While calling for further empirical research, the article also cites animal research and obesity literature as additional…
A new study from the Connecticut Department of Health has challenged a recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) draft assessment weighing the benefits of fish consumption against the risks associated with mercury exposure. Gary L. Ginsberg and Brian F. Toal, “Quantitative Approach for Incorporating Methylmercury Risks and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Benefits in Developing Species-Specific Fish Consumption Advice,” Environmental Health Perspectives, February 2009. FDA had concluded that consumers may derive greater benefits from the lean protein, omega-3 oils and minerals in fish if they exceed the current safety threshold set at 12 ounces of fish per week. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other groups have since criticized this assessment for “serious scientific flaws,” urging consumers to abide by the safety standards currently recommended by both agencies. Meanwhile, the Connecticut Department of Health study has expanded on the FDA study by identifying some fish species, such as swordfish and shark,…
A recent article claims that some Joy of Cooking recipes have significantly increased in serving size and caloric content when compared to their original 1936 versions. Brian Wansink and Collin Payne, “The Joy of Cooking Too Much: 70 Years of Calorie Increases in Classic Recipes,” Annals of Internal Medicine, February 2009. The authors identified a 37.4 percent rise in average caloric density (or calories per serving) for the 18 recipes published in all seven editions of the iconic cookbook. They attributed this trend to a combination of larger serving sizes and an increase in overall calories per recipe, which the study linked to the availability of inexpensive ingredients. “There’s so much attention that’s been given to away-from-home eating and so much attention that’s been focused on restaurants and the packaged food industry, it makes me wonder whether it’s actually deflecting attention from the one place where we can make the…
Three letters published in the Febuary 18, 2009, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) have raised questions about a study linking bisphenol A (BPA) exposure to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver enzyme abnormalities in adults. Led by British researcher Iain D. Lang, the study concluded that participants in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2004 (NHANES) who had the highest BPA exposure were three times as likely to develop cardiovascular disease and twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes. In addition, a concurrent JAMA editorial hailed these results as the “first major epidemiologic study to examine the health effects associated with the ubiquitous estrogenic chemical bisphenol A.” The editorial board consequently urged “U.S. regulatory agencies to follow the recent action taken by Canadian authorities, which have declared BPA a ‘toxic chemical’ requiring aggressive action to limit human and…
