Sizing Up

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" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <hsiresearch

HSI e-Alert - Sizing Up

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 06:50:00 -0500

 

 

 

HSI e-Alert - Sizing Up

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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February 16, 2006

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

Are you prepared for the looming shortage that may create lines as

long as those at the MVA while driving up prices on one of the things

we depend on the most?

 

No, I'm not talking about oil. There's an even scarier worldwide

shortage headed our way in 2006: sugar.

 

Global consumption of sugar this year will exceed production for three

reasons:

 

1) Hurricane Katrina dealt a crippling blow to two major sugar

refineries located in New Orleans

2) Katrina and other hurricanes wiped out many sugar cane and sugar

beet crops

3) Brazil produces more sugar than any country in the world, and

Brazilian sugar producers are transferring substantial portions of

their crops to produce ethanol, used in auto fuel

 

Hey, you've got to go where the money is. And not a moment too soon.

Turns out that the pending sugar shortage is just one of the reasons

candy producers are scrambling. My other favorite: the ominous threat

of anti-obesity laws.

 

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Sweet tooth

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When I first came across the phrase " anti-obesity laws " I imagined

obese people being rounded up on the street by Obesity Police, weighed

and measured, and then hauled off to jail. Yeah, that would be an easy

law to enforce.

 

But it turns out these laws will not result in the arrests of the

overweight. (Not yet anyway.) Anti-obesity laws have been in the works

for a few years now. And as you might expect, they've sprung from the

brains of bureaucrats who believe that virtually any problem can be

solved if you just apply good intentions, plenty of money and a ton of

paperwork. And if a Department of Anti-Obesity Enforcement needs to be

established (along with committees, flowcharts, quarterly reports,

color-coded Post-Its, etc.), well, so much the better!

 

It may sound absurd, but this is precisely what has Cadbury executives

scrambling in the UK. According to NutraIngredients-USA, Cadbury and

other British candy producers are trying to fend off the specter of

threatened anti-obesity laws by adding this message on candy labels:

" Be Treatwise. " Other health information will also be added, including

a message that encourages " an active lifestyle and the need for a

balanced diet. "

 

Yep, that ought to put the breaks on obesity.

 

Some of the proposed anti-obesity laws in the UK and here in the U.S.

would actually levy taxes on fast-food restaurants, candy producers,

etc. Lawmakers would then use the money to establish government

nutrition and exercise programs.

 

Makes perfect sense to me. We all know that the only thing that's been

missing from our health regimens is a government program.

 

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Epidemic proportions

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But before local, state and federal governments start collecting

anti-obesity taxes, they should be aware that there may be more to

obesity than overeating, candy consumption and lack of exercise. Turns

out, the " obesity epidemic " might be an actual epidemic, spread by a

virus.

 

A January 2006 press release from the American Physiological Society

(APS) offers a statement from Leah D. Whigham, Ph.D., a research

scientist at the University of Wisconsin, who says that accumulating

evidence shows that certain viruses may cause obesity.

 

This theory actually goes back several decades and is supported

(somewhat) by research in which a virus identified as Ad-36 has been

found to be more common in obese people. A recent study conducted by

Dr. Whigham found that another human virus known as Ad-37 elevated

visceral fat and total body fat in chickens, whereas other similar

viruses did not.

 

If the idea of an obesity virus sounds far fetched, the scientists

suggest that we consider ulcers. At one time it was a given in the

medical community that ulcers were caused by stress. In recent years

research has revealed the real culprit: H. pylori bacteria.

 

As far as solid evidence of an obesity virus goes, all of this is

fairly thin stuff. But that doesn't stop the medical community from

thinking ahead. The APS release states: " Researchers now must:

identify the viruses that cause human obesity, devise a screening test

to identify people who are infected, (and) develop a vaccine. "

 

Yipes! An obesity vaccine? This might be one for the ages, folks: the

pharmaceutical companies vs. the sugar lobby. Winner takes all.

 

 

 

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....and another thing

 

How much mercury do you pick up from fish consumption each week?

 

The " provisional tolerable weekly intake " of mercury is 1.6 micrograms

per kilogram of body weight, according to the joint FAO/WHO Expert

Committee on Food Additives.

 

We appreciate the guideline, but unless you live with a chemist who

can analyze and measure the chemical content of every fish you eat,

there's no way to estimate how much mercury you're ingesting.

 

That's the bad news. The good news: selenium and Vitamin E intake may

reduce mercury toxicity.

 

In a recent study reported in Neurotoxicity and Teratology,

researchers tested selenium and E supplements on rats that were also

fed mercury. Vitamin E alone and selenium alone didn't reduce

toxicity. But when the nutrients were combined, toxicity was reduced,

growth improved and survival time extended, compared to rats that

didn't receive nutrient supplements.

 

Hopefully researchers will devise a way to mount a similar trial with

human subjects. But until then, you can't go wrong including more E

and selenium in your diet. For good sources of these nutrients, and

for further evidence of the benefits of combining E and selenium, see

the e-Alert " Worth more than Diamonds " (2/14/06), which you can find

on our web site at hsibaltimore.com.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

 

 

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Sources:

 

" Cadbury Pushes Responsible Eating " NutraIngredients-USA, 2/6/06,

nutraingredients-usa.com

" Contagious Obesity? Identifying the Human Adenoviruses that may Make

Us Fat " American Physiological Society, Press Release, 1/30/06,

eurekalert.org

" Adipogenic Potential of Multiple Human Adenoviruses in Vivo and in

Vitro in Animals " American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory,

Integrative and Comparative Physiology, January 2006,

ajpregu.physiology.org

" Vitamin E and Selenium Could Reduce Mercury Toxicity "

NutraIngredients, 2/2/06, nutraingredients.com

 

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