Gum Disease/Cancer Link & Other News of Note

Gum Disease May Increase Head and Neck Cancer Risk ( Atlanta Journal-Constitution )

Taking good care of your teeth may help cut your risk of developing head or neck cancer, suggests a new study that links a gum disease to such tumors.

Having chronic periodontitis, a gum disease involving the progressive loss of the bone and soft tissue attached to the teeth, appeared to increase one’s odds of developing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, especially in the mouth and throat.

The findings was published online Sept. 8 in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention … More …

Health Experts Renew Call to Ban Aspartame (Flesh & Stone)

With a new administration, some health experts long opposed to aspartame use are hoping that the FDA will review evidence against the sweetener and revoke an approval they say was marred by falsified testing data and political interference by the Reagan administration.

Aspartame, the artificial sweetener used around the world, causes cancer in lab rats, and should be banned for human consumption, says Samuel S. Epstein, MD, professor emeritus of environmental and occupational medicine at the Chicago School of Public Health, University of Illinois, and chair of the Cancer Prevention Coalition… More …

Study Reveals New Role of Vitamin C in Skin Protection (PhysOrg)

Researchers at the University of Leicester and Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Portugal studied new protective properties of vitamin C in cells from the human skin, which could lead to better skin regeneration.

The work, by Tiago Duarte, Marcus S. Cooke and G. Don Jones, found that a form of Vitamin C helped to promote wound healing and also helped protect the DNA damage of skin cells. Their findings have been published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. This report is the latest in a long line of publications from these researchers, at the University of Leicester, concerning vitamin C. Previously, the group has published evidence that DNA repair is upregulated in people consuming vitamin C supplements. The researchers have now provided some mechanistic evidence for this, in cell culture, using techniques such as Affymetrix microarray, for looking at gene expression, and the ‘Comet’ assay to study DNA damage and repair… More …

High Fruit and Vegetable Intake Linked to Antioxidant Status and Cognitive Performance in Healthy Subjects (ScienceDaily)

Researchers at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I of the Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, investigated the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake, plasma antioxidant micronutrient status and cognitive performance in healthy subjects aged 45 to 102 years. Their results, published in the August issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, indicated higher cognitive performance in individuals with high daily intake of fruits and vegetables.

Subjects with a high daily intake (about 400 g) of fruits and vegetables had higher antioxidant levels, lower indicators of free radical-induced damage against lipids as well as better cognitive performance compared to healthy subjects of any age consuming low amounts (< 100 g/day) of fruits and vegetables. Modification of nutritional habits aimed at increasing intake of fruits and vegetables, therefore, should be encouraged to lower the prevalence of cognitive impairment… More …

Yoga Study Proves Efficacy for Chronic Pain Sufferers (Foodconsumer.org)

A new study out of West Virginia University is spotlighting the effects of yoga as an alternative to traditional medicine. The surprise is that yoga seems to have proven itself not only as a preventive mechanism, but as a remedy for pain after injury has occurred.

Study lead Kimberly Williams randomly selected 43 chronic back pain sufferers to take part in a 90 minute yoga class for 24 weeks. Another set of 47 back pain sufferers received traditional medical attention.

The results are impressive; many yoga participants were able to reduce the amount of pain medication they were taking. They reported significantly less functional disability, overt pain, and symptoms of depression than did the control group… More …