When I opened the newspaper this morning and sat down to have my cup of green tea, a headline grabbed my attention. Thought you might be interested in the latest pharmaceutical fiasco. According to a new study conducted by scientists at the University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine, the use of the anticoagulant warfarin, which rose in the 1990’s, produced an upsurge in the number of drug-induced intracerebral hemorrhages—particularly in senior citizens over 80. They maintained that elderly people who take the popular blood-thinning medicine to prevent heart attacks or strokes might be at greater risk for serious brain hemorrhage.
“We’ve had no idea how often this was happening,” said Dr. Matthew Flaherty, lead author of the study that appears in the journal Neurology. Utilization of the blood thinner escalated after many studies showed warfarin was effective at inhibiting ischemic strokes in people with atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm.
The latest study indicates warfarin, which is sold under numerous brands including Coumadin, may bring about problems of it own. “The benefit comes with a potential price, the risk of a brain bleed,” Flaherty said. Ischemic strokes are triggered by a blood clot that forms in the brain or travels to the brain. The less common type of stroke (less than 10% of all strokes) is an intracerebral hemorrhage—a blood vessel bursting in the brain.
Preliminary studies indicated that warfarin was a good preventative measure, better than aspirin or placebo. The Cincinnati scientists, however, were the first to quantify how often a drug-related hemorrhage occurs in a large population. The scientists checked all the hospital admissions during the late 1980’s and 1990’s and discovered the incidence of warfarin-related cerebral hemorrhages spiked over that time. In particular, people over the age 80 were especially vulnerable.
From 1988 to 1999, the occurrence jumped from 2.5 per 100,000 patients to 45.9. When you do the math, it equates to a fourfold increase in the incidence among all ages, from 0.8 to 4.4 per 100,000. The physicians say the advantages of using warfarin in seniors might not be worth the risk.
“We need to know who is likely to benefit and who is likely to be harmed,” Flaherty said. The risk of ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation is still much higher than the risk of a drug-related brain hemorrhage, he added. He cautioned patients to talk to their doctors before making any decision not to take warfarin.
Mmmmm…. I have few vices that I could call my own, but Bija Omega Dark Chocolate truffles can easily be considered one of them. They are made by Flora Health, the same folks who manufacture Udo’s Choice Oil, a very popular EFA supplement. My first taste of them was at the Natural Health Expo in Anaheim, California last year… and let me tell you… they are spectacular. Ever since I mauled the sample tray at the health expo I have been waiting to see them pop up in my local Whole Foods market. Guess it took them a while to work that out, but it was worth the wait.
Whats different about them? Well for starters, they managed to work in 8 grams of omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids into each serving. Also, they are organic, and the dark chocolate version is rich in antioxidants. Very smooth texture on the inside of the truffle, with a hint of hazlenut. They do make a white chocolate and milk chocolate version, but the dark chocolate is the real winner…
Not to be overdone of course, but makes for a nice tasty treat every once in a while. Look for them in the refrigerated section next to the oil supplements.
Who would have thought that the yummy element in pesto can also double as a wrap to keep food fresh? Basil has long been recognized to have bacteria-fighting assets, so scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Israel have been trying to incorporate it into plastic wraps to preserve foods. The whole idea came about when the researchers read about studies utilizing basil in foods as a preservative. The research was presented at the annual symposium of the International Packaging Research Institutes in Valencia, Spain by lead researcher Prof. Joseph Miltz of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Faculty of Food Engineering and Biotechnology, and by Profs. K. Sonneveld, S. Bigger and doctoral student Panuwat Suppakul from the Victoria University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.
The extracts methyl chavicol and linalool seep out of the wrapping and decelerate the growth of eight types of lethal bacteria including E. Coli and listeria. In addition, an added benefit is that the wrapping broadens the shelf life of foods like cheese, meats, fish, baked foods, fruits and vegetables. The researchers recognized that the bacterium which causes the spoilage is located on the food’s surface, so instead of infusing the food with large amounts of basil as a preservative, they could integrate the basil extracts into the packaging in smaller concentrations. Soon after, the extracts diffuse onto the surface of the food, killing any microorganisms. According to the scientists, they use so little basil that there is no worry about imparting basil’s flavor to the foods being wrapped.
What I learned from all this was that adding a little basil to my cooking just might keep the bacteria out of my food. What’s more, I love New Zealand grass-fed cheeses, and they are not inexpensive, by any means. I try and keep them wrapped and free of air, but once in a while they grow mold and I end up throwing it away. After reading this, I bought some fresh basil, and I surrounded the cheese with it before tightly wrapping it. I have to admit that I have not lost an ounce of cheese since. You have to love that!
