NEWS
May 18, 2009
Study: Ginger capsules ease chemotherapy nausea Ginger, long used as a folk remedy for soothing stomach aches, helped tame one of the most dreaded side effects of cancer treatment - nausea from chemotherapy, the first large study to test the herb for this has found. People who started taking ginger capsules several days before a chemo infusion had fewer and less-severe bouts of nausea afterward than others who were given dummy capsules, the federally funded study found. "We were slightly beside ourselves" to see how much it helped, said study leader Julie Ryan of the University of Rochester in New York.
NEWS
By Stephanie Desmon | January 27, 2008
It was all about the babies. A decade ago, when the U.S. required flour, bread and pasta to be fortified with folic acid, health experts believed it would help prevent devastating birth defects such as spina bifida. There's no question that it worked. As many as 1,000 newborns a year in the United States - and many more elsewhere - have been spared so-called neural tube defects because their mothers got a crucial infusion of folic acid before they even knew they were pregnant. But now some scientists are asking whether there have been unforeseen trade-offs for the population as a whole - including thousands of additional colon cancer cases each year, a somewhat smaller bump-up in prostate cancer, and an increase in cognitive impairment among the elderly.
NEWS
By Denise Gellene | August 9, 2007
Adding folic acid to flours, pastas and rice has reduced the rate of spina bifida and anencephaly in the United States, sparing 1,000 babies each year from these devastating birth defects. But a recent study suggests those health gains may have come at a cost: an extra 15,000 cases of colon cancer annually. The report, from Tufts University, is the latest to raise a cautionary note about a public-health policy that has been largely viewed as a success. "Have we done more harm than benefit?"
NEWS
By Dennis O'Brien | January 13, 2007
It's known to prevent birth defects, and the latest studies show it helps retain memory and hearing. But despite a decade-long public health campaign, women still don't get enough of the vitamin folate. A type of B vitamin, folate is found naturally in beans, leafy vegetables, some meats and orange juice. During the past few weeks, two scientific studies and a federal report have focused interest on what steps may be needed to boost consumption. "It's a hot topic in the medical literature right now," said Dr. Joseph Mulinare, a pediatrician and epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
NEWS
April 2, 2006
Every year, about 450 children are born with serious birth defects in Maryland, and that number is rising. A proposal approved by the House of Delegates last week could help reduce these instances by requiring the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide low-income women with free multivitamins and mineral dietary supplements that contain folic acid, a B vitamin that significantly reduces birth defects. The legislation is good public policy that could also save the state millions in subsidized health care costs.
NEWS
By JOE AND TERESA GRAEDON | November 4, 2005
How dangerous is it to drink wine if you are at risk of breast cancer? My mother died of breast cancer, so I know I am at higher-than-average risk. My husband and I drink a glass of wine with dinner most nights, but I rarely have more than one. Women who drink three glasses of wine daily increase their risk of breast cancer by more than 40 percent (British Journal of Cancer, Nov. 18, 2002). Women who drink alcohol and get little folic acid in their diet (200 micrograms or less) may double their chance of developing this disease.
NEWS
By Ronald Kotulak | September 9, 2005
Neural tube defects in babies have decreased significantly since the federal government mandated that folic acid be added to enriched grains, a new study shows, but critics say preventable cases still occur because the fortification level is too low. Folic acid deficiency is considered the major cause of neural tube defects, including spina bifida, an open spine that often leads to paralysis and other complications; and anencephaly, a condition in...
NEWS
By Jamie Talan | August 15, 2005
A gene that regulates blood vessel health in the brain may not be doing its job in people with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study. Meanwhile, an unrelated study has found that folic acid supplements may significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer's. It may do that by lowering homocysteine, an amino acid that at high levels is associated with cardiovascular problems. "There are many signs pointing to the vascular system in Alzheimer's," said Dr. Berislav Zlokovic, a professor of neurosurgery and neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center and author of the gene finding in Nature Medicine, a scientific journal.
NEWS
By Betsy Hornick | March 3, 2004
What if mental decline did not have to be a natural consequence of aging? What if part of the secret to staying sharp lay in the foods we eat? Emerging evidence suggests that getting enough of certain nutrients - namely iron, zinc and B vitamins - may help stave off the cognitive decline seen with aging, possibly even Alzheimer's and dementia. "We're learning that if you feed your brain the right nutrients, it will work harder for you throughout life," said Dayle Hayes, dietitian, author and nutrition therapist in Billings, Mont.
NEWS
By Shari Roan | September 21, 2003
For the past five years, folic acid has been added to cereal and grain products in the United States in an effort to reduce neural tube birth defects, deformities in which the spinal cord is exposed in a developing fetus. Since then, the fortification has been credited with reducing these defects by 20 percent. But the addition may be causing an unintended problem for people at the other end of the age spectrum. The extra folic acid may be masking vitamin B-12 deficiency in people 60 and older, warns one of the nation's leading researchers on the B vitamins.