A full one in seven U.S. teenagers are deficient in vitamin D, according to a new analysis conducted by researchers from Cornell University, published in the journal Pediatrics and presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Society.

“These are alarming findings,” researcher Sandy Saintonge said. “We need to do a better job of educating the public on the importance of vitamin D, and the best ways to get it.”

Researchers looked at 2,955 U.S. residents between the ages of 12 and 19 who were included in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, which was designed to be nationally representative. They used the new definition of vitamin D deficiency — blood levels lowe r than 20 nanograms per milliliter — adopted at the 13th Workshop Consensus for Vitamin D Nutritional Guidelines in 2007.

Source: NaturalNews – One in Seven U.S. Teens Deficient in Vitamin D, Say Researchers

As many as half of all men taking the antidepressant medication paroxetine (trade names Seroxat, Paxil) may have increased sperm DNA fragmentation — a predictor of compromised fertility. Research led by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center also found that the changes are reversible with normal levels of sperm returning after discontinuation of the drug. The study is currently published in the online edition of the journal Fertility & Sterility, and represents one of the first scientific investigations into the effect of antidepressants on sperm quality.

Source: Weill Cornell Medical College: Depression medications may reduce male fertility

The human race is now polluted with hundreds of industrial chemicals – with little or no understanding of the consequences. Babies are born pre-polluted with as many as 300 industrial chemicals in their bodies when they enter the world.

Our current federal chemical law is clearly failing us. We need the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act to protect human health from the thousands of toxic industrial chemicals on the market today.

Oncologists are well acquainted with the significant toll smoking takes on health. In addition to being the cause of most lung cancers, which is the number one cause of cancer death, smoking increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Ever since the Surgeon General warned of the dangers associated with smoking nearly 50 years ago, special interest groups have pressed Congress to grant the FDA authority to regulate or ban tobacco products.

With passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (HR 1256), they finally got their wish—sort of. HR 1256 contains many restrictions on the marketing of tobacco products, with the goal of reducing smoking rates in young people. According to the American Cancer Society, 90% of smokers started before age 19.

Source: New Tobacco Regulations Aim to Reduce New Smokers

Magnesium is magnificent for high blood pressure.

Supplemental magnesium may reduce blood pressure in people with high blood pressure, but with seemingly normal magnesium levels, says a new study. On the other hand, the supplements had no effect on the blood pressure measurements of individuals with normal blood pressure, according to findings. These findings suggest that magnesium supplementation may help prevent the progression of hypertension in normo-magnesemic non-diabetic overweight people with higher BP, although mechanisms of counter-regulation preventing further BP increase remain to be elucidated, wrote the researchers.

Source: Effects of oral magnesium supplementation on insulin sensitivity and blood pressure in normo-magnesemic nondiabetic overweight Korean adults.

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So what if cancer researchers have close financial ties to Big Pharma? Scientists have to disclose their associations with drug companies when they publish research in respected journals and they’d never let a little thing like financial ties influence how they interpret outcomes or run a study. Right?

Not exactly. In fact, a new analysis by University of Michigan (U-M) Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers just published in the online version of the journal CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, found that a very large number of clinical cancer studies published in well-known medical journals have financial connections to pharmaceutical companies. Most importantly, the study flat out concludes that conflicts of interest may cause some researchers to report results that are biased to be favorable to Big Pharma companies.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the story at Food Matters.

In the March 23rd issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, a report was published showing that increased intake of red meat and processed meat was correlated with a modest increase in total mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality [Pub Med]. With an impressive half million subjects from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health study, risk of death was higher with each 20% increase of red meat or processed meat consumption. It should be noted that red meat consumption may have a cause/effect relationship or may just be a great surrogate marker for poor diet and lifestyle habits. Along with each increasing quintile of red meat consumption was a decrease in consumption of white meat (poultry and fish), fiber, fruits, vegetables and vitamin supplements. The highest 20% of red meat consumers were 2-3 times more likely to be current smokers and half as likely to be involved in vigorous exercise than the lowest 20% of red meat consumers. Interestingly, those reporting the highest intake of red meat consumed the least amount of alcohol (anybody have a clue why this would be?). Knowing how much red and processed meat you consume may be an accurate gauge as to your overall lifestyle health patterns.

Source: A prospective study of meat, cooking methods, meat mutagens, heme iron and lung cancer risks. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jun;89(6):1884-94.

Magnesium may help reduce the risk of stroke

Low blood levels of magnesium may increase the risk of stroke by 25%, while increasing levels of the mineral could decrease the risk of ischemic stroke, with the effects related to magnesium’s benefits on blood pressure and for diabetics, according to a recent study.

Adding magnesium, potassium and calcium to your diet has been linked to reduced blood pressure in some observational studies.
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Please click the following videos below to see in interview with Dr. Allan Sosin explaining how we treat various conditions at Institute for Progressive Medicine.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3