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IBS & Diet News

A study conducted by Wahnschaffe and others investigating clinical response to gluten-free diet in patients diagnosed with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) was published in Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2007;5:844-850. It indicates that in a high proportion of patients with diarrhea-predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), gluten intolerance is the main etiological factor.

There were of 145 patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and normal small-bowel architecture which indicates that absence of celiac disease. 37% had elevated IgG antigliadin and/or tissue-transglutaminase antibodies, 39% were positive for HLA-DQ2 (which is strongly associated with celiac disease). Forty-one of the 145 patients followed a gluten-free diet for six months.

Diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms resolved in 60% of the patients for HLA-DQ2 and celiac disease-associated serum antibodies.

The study also showed that certain laboratory tests that are used to diagnose celiac disease can also predict which patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are most likely to respond to a gluten-free diet.

Medicinal Mushrooms and Cancer

The therapeutic properties of mushrooms are recognized in many countries, but particularly in China and Japan, where they are an important part of traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Ganoderma (in particular Ganoderma lucidum) is the most highly prized and longest-used medicinal mushroom. Its use is said to date back more than 4000 years, and worldwide sales are reported to exceed $1.5 billion per year.

In China, Ganoderma is known as ling zhi or "mushroom of immortality," and this attests to a general property attributed to the medicinal mushrooms: they are life-prolonging.¹ Read More...

Being Active Makes You Happy

New research shows that getting fit improves your psychological health. Endorphins, the natural morphine-like compound release when we exercise long enough. There is also serotonin, which keeps us from getting depressed, and dopamine, which keeps us motivated.

• Less Stress and Anxiety. Exercise gives your roving mind a rest by providing a time-out from your worries. The American Council on Exercise reports that exercise breaks down the hormones and other chemicals that build up during periods of intense stress.
• A Better Mood. Recent studies indicate that exercise can be as effective as antidepressants in treating mild depression.
• A Full Night's Sleep. More physical activity means less insomnia. The simple act of moving tires your body out, leaving you less likely to toss and turn. Working out also reduces stress hormones and anxiety, which can contribute to sleeplessness.
• An Improved Self-Image. By taking positive steps to improve your health and looks, you gain a feeling of control over your life and body. That sense of accomplishment and confidence will carry over to other areas of your life, raising your overall self-esteem.

Did You Know ???

• Some health problems may be more prevalent in some ethnic populations than others says the Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health, which is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.*
  
  African-Americans
  • 1.5 times as likely as Caucasians to have high blood pressure.
  • Higher incidence of cardiovascular disease; 30% more likely to die from heart disease than Caucasians.
  • Almost twice as likely to have a stroke as Caucasians.
  • 1.8 times more likely to have diabetes as Caucasians. One in four African-American women over 55 has diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.
  • Men are 50% more likely to develop prostate cancer as Caucasian men and twice as likely to die from the disease. Black men also tend to develop it at a younger age.
  • Although breast cancer is diagnosed 10% less frequently in African-American women than white women, black women are 35% more likely to die from the disease. Their breast cancer is more likely to be a fast-growing, aggressive cancer that doesn't respond well to many treatments.
  • Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness among African-Americans and is 3-4 times more common than in Caucasians.
  • Have a higher incidence of sickle cell anemia.
  
  American Indians
  • 2.3 times as likely to have diabetes as Caucasians.
  • Women are nearly twice as likely to die from cervical cancer as compared to Caucasian women.
  • High incidence of cardiovascular disease.
  • 60% more likely to have a stroke than Caucasians.
  • 1.3 times as likely as Caucasians to have hypertension.
  • Lactose-intolerance is common.
  
  *Many of the comparisons are to Caucasians, because they are considered the majority population.
  
  

• The Importance of Fruit and Fish

  Researchers in the Netherlands and Scotland found that the children of women who ate more than 4 apples a week during pregnancy were 37% less likely to have ever wheezed, 46% less likely to have had asthma symptoms and 53% less likely to have had a doctor-confirmed case of asthma than children of mothers who ate one or no apples a week.
  Children of women who ate fisch once or more a week were 43% less likely to have had eczema at age 5 than children of mothers who never ate fish.

In Good Health.
Pamela Nathan

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Can Fucoxanthin help your Weight Loss efforts?
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