Health News and Nutrition: November 2013

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Observed in this manner, the brain's overall complexity is almost
beyond belief, said Smith. "One synapse, by itself, is more like a
microprocessor -- with both memory-storage and information-processing
elements -- than a mere on/off switch. In fact, one synapse may
contain on the order of 1,000 molecular-scale switches. A single human
brain has more switches than all the computers and routers and
Internet connections on Earth," he said.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101117121803.htm

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Fwd: Heat attack

'The long-standing strategy of reducing heart-attack risk by lowering cholesterol to specific targets is being jettisoned under new clinical guidelines unveiled Tuesday that mark the biggest shift in cardiovascular-disease prevention in nearly three decades.

Gone is the familiar and easy-to-understand guidance to keep LDL, or bad cholesterol, below 100 or below 70 for people at high risk—a mainstay of current prevention policy. Instead, doctors are being told to assess a patient's risk more broadly and prescribe cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to those falling within one of four risk categories.

The aim is to more effectively direct statin treatment to patients with the most to gain, and move away from relatively arbitrary treatment targets that are less reliable in predicting risk than is widely believed.'

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Fwd: FDA

From: <larry.r.trout

'The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday ruled for the first time that trans-fats aren't generally considered safe in food, a sharp policy shift that could lead to banning trans-fats in baked goods and other foods.

Trans-fats, or partially hydrogenized fats or oils, are considered a potential prime factor in leading to heart attacks and strokes, and the FDA specifically said it was taking this step to protect the public health.

"While consumption of potentially harmful artificial trans-fat has declined over the last two decades in the United States, current intake remains a significant public-health concern," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg. "The FDA's action today is an important step toward protecting more Americans from the potential dangers of trans-fat. Further reduction in the amount of trans-fat in the American diet could prevent an additional 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year—a critical step in the protection of Americans' health."'

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303309504579183652200663132

Bacon will be banned next by the FDA. Think of the 20,000 less heart attacks and 7,000 less deaths if the FDA banned Bacon.