5-Hour Energy Shots Linked to 13 Deaths

5-Hour Energy shots are linked to 13 deaths and 33 hospitalizations, the FDA confirms.So far, 5-Hour Energy maker Living Essentials LLC has received 92 reports from people who fell ill after using the product. Since the product is sold as a nutritional supplement, the company is required to relay such reports to the FDA.The reports themselves do not prove that 5-Hour Energy had anything to do with any of the deaths or illnesses.

via 5-Hour Energy Shots Linked to 13 Deaths.

Clif Bar Recalling Blueberry Crisp Bars – Food Poisoning Bulletin

Some Blueberry Crisp Bars were placed in Chocolate Chip CLIF® Bar wrappers, then placed inside correctly labeled Blueberry Crisp CLIF® Bar 12-pack boxes. The 12-pack boxes of Blueberry Crisp CLIF® Bars have a “Best By” date of 17MAR13G3 and UPC number 7-22252-30260-1. The individual Blueberry Crisp CLIF® Bars mislabeled in Chocolate Chip CLIF® Bar individual wrappers have the same “Best By” date of 17MAR13G3, but UPC number 7-22252-10090-0.

If you have purchased this product and are allergic to almonds, do not eat them.

via Clif Bar Recalling Blueberry Crisp Bars for Undeclared Almonds | Food Poisoning Bulletin.

Butter Flavoring Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease

A new study published in Chemical Research in Toxicology showed that the butter flavoring diacetyl (DA) increases the type of protein clumping linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The chemical is found in many processed foods, iA new study published in Chemical Research in Toxicology showed that the butter flavoring diacetyl (DA) increases the type of protein clumping linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The chemical is found in many processed foods, including microwave popcorn, snack foods, baked goods, and margarine. In fact, the researchers say that diacetyl is “ubiquitous” in the modern diet.ncluding microwave popcorn, snack foods, baked goods, and margarine. In fact, the researchers say that diacetyl is “ubiquitous” in the modern diet.

via Butter Flavoring Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease | Food Poisoning Bulletin.

Popcorn anyone?

Health Toll of Fast Food Spreads Eastward

Eating Western-style fast food on a regular basis significantly increased the risk of diabetes and coronary heart disease in a large Asian cohort, investigators reported.

The diabetes odds increased by 27% and CHD risk by 56% among Singapore residents who ate fast food at least twice a week.

The results changed little with overall dietary pattern, energy intake, or body mass index (BMI), as reported online in Circulation.

via Medical News: Health Toll of Fast Food Spreads Eastward – in Cardiovascular, Atherosclerosis from MedPage Today.

Vitamin D Plus Calcium May Cut Mortality Risk

Patients receiving both calcium and vitamin D had a 9% lower mortality rate through 3 years of treatment than those not receiving vitamin D (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.98), according to Lars Rejnmark, MD, PhD, of Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark, and colleagues.

via Medical News: Vitamin D Plus Calcium May Cut Mortality Risk – in Primary Care, Diet & Nutrition from MedPage Today.

How about a non-prescription supplement and vitamin questionnaire?

East ‘Meats’ West: Diabetes on Rise in China

The Chinese people are eating more food per serving, have more money to buy and eat food — particularly junk food — when they’re not hungry, and engage in less physical activity, Xiaohui said.

He said that many people still eat a traditional Chinese meal, but along with rice and veggies will be more meat, and portions will be bigger as well. In addition, fast-food restaurants such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald’s are enjoying success at the price of a growing obesity epidemic among children and teens, he said.

via Medical News: East ‘Meats’ West: Diabetes on Rise in China – in Meeting Coverage, AACE from MedPage Today.

Traditional ethnic diets are preferable for your particular ethnicity.  You want fries with that?

Omega-3s Linked to Lower Amyloid Levels

People who had a lot of omega-3 fatty acids in their diets tended to have lower plasma levels of beta-amyloid proteins, possibly reducing their risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers said.

In a cross-sectional study of more than 1,200 cognitively normal individuals older than 65, omega-3 fatty acid intake was significantly predictive of plasma levels of the 40- and 42-residue forms of beta-amyloid protein (AB40 and AB42, respectively), according to Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, of Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues.

via Medical News: Omega-3s Linked to Lower Amyloid Levels – in Neurology, Alzheimer’s Disease from MedPage Today.

Berry Good News

In the current analysis, Elizabeth Devore, an instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and her colleagues addressed the gap in the research by reviewing the eating habits of a single cohort of 16,000 women participating in the Nurses Health Study. During their 50s and 60s, every four years the women answered questions by phone about what they ate. And in their 70s, they came into the lab for six different cognitive function tests. Devore and her team also had information on the women’s education, income and other socioeconomic factors that can affect cognitive function.

 

She and her colleagues focused their attention on berries because rodent studies showed that the key compound in berries, a flavonoid called anthocyanidin, could seep through the blood and into brain tissues — specifically concentrating in the hippocampus, which is responsible for learning and memory. As an antioxidant, flavonoids also fight inflammation and oxidation, both processes that affect aging brain cells.