Virginia Health Officials Report First Swine Flu Death

The Virginia Department of Health has confirmed that a resident of the state has died from the H5N1 swine flu.

According to the statement the woman haled from the Chesapeake Health District in South East Virginia, and had underlying health conditions.

Many of the deaths to be reported as a result of swine flu have been in people who have also had underlying health conditions that have made their chances of recovery impossible.

So far across America the CDC has confirmed 18 deaths attributed to the swine flu that has infected more than 18,000 the world over.

“The news today that the Commonwealth has witnessed its first death associated with the H1N1 influenza virus is a sad and sharp reminder that Virginians must remain vigilant against the spread of this potentially fatal illness,” said Governor Kaine in a statement. “My heart goes out to the family and friends of the young woman who passed away this afternoon in Chesapeake.”

Blood glucose control ranks high in US death causes

High blood glucose levels are one of the most common killers of Americans, according to new research from Harvard researchers.

In a study that assessed 12 dietary, lifestyle and metabolic factors risk factors in causes of preventable death, high blood glucose levels came out as the fifth most deadly killer, after tobacco, high blood pressure, overweight/obesity, physical inactivity.

High blood glucose levels were more perilous than high LDL cholesterol, high levels of dietary salt, low omega-3 levels, high levels of trans fatty acids, alcohol use, low levels of fruit and vegetables and low levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

According to the mathematical model used by the researchers, there were between 163,000 and 217,000 high blood glucose-related mortalities in 2005 that could have been avoided.

Tobacco smoking ranked as the highest risk factor with 436,000 to 500,000 attributed preventable deaths, followed by high blood pressure (372,000 to 414,000), obesity (188,000 to 237,000), physical inactivity (164,000 to 222,000), high LDL cholesterol (94,000 to 124,000) and high salt intake (97,000 to 107,000).

The other risk factors were alcohol use; low polyunsaturated fatty acids; low fruits and vegetables intake and alcohol use.

High blood glucose levels have been linked to increased rates of obesity and type-2 diabetes but the researchers noted that randomized intervention studies in the past had been inconclusive.

“Possibly the most important case of current discrepancy between prospective observational cohorts and intervention studies is the mortality effect of high blood glucose,” they wrote.

“Prospective studies have shown relatively large associations between usual FPG (fasting plasma glucose) and mortality, but randomized intervention studies have shown null effects, and declines as well as increases in mortality when glucose was lowered intensively relative to those who had conventional management.”

They speculated that this may be due to the fact glucose is a confounded marker, “other underlying metabolic dysfunction so that interventions targeting only glucose may be unsuccessful at ameliorating all of the observed risk.”

They called for more research into the relation between blood glucose and mortality and the role of lifestyle and pharmacologic interventions.

The researchers called for more research into the relation between blood glucose and mortality and the role of lifestyle and pharmacologic interventions.

Rhonda Witwer, the senior business development manager in nutrition at National Starch Food Innovation, noted that increased blood glucose levels lead to insulin insensitivity, a key pre-factor in the onset of diabetes.

“When insulin sensitivity is lost, the body has to produce more insulin to effectively keep blood glucose under control,” she said.

“Over time, it is believed that the pancreas just can't keep up with the need for increased insulin and the individual develops diabetes. Reversing insulin resistance through dietary means can greatly help maintain healthy blood sugar levels.”

Source: Public Library of Science Medicine Journal

Vol. 6, April, 2009

‘The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors’

Authors: Goodarz Danaei, Eric L Ding, Dariush Mozaffarian, Ben Taylor, Jurgen Rehm, Christopher J L Murray, Majid Ezzati

Omega-3 deficiency causes 96,000 US deaths per year, say researchers

Omega-3 deficiency is the sixth biggest killer of Americans and more deadly than excess trans fat intake, according to a new study.

The Harvard University researchers looked at 12 dietary, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors such as tobacco smoking and high blood pressure and used a mathematical model to determine how many fatalities could have been prevented if better practices had been observed.

The study, jointly funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the Association of Schools of Public Health, drew on 2005 data from the US National Health Center for Health Statistics. They determined that there were 72,000-96,000 preventable deaths each year due to omega-3 deficiency, compared to 63,000-97,000 for high trans fat intake.

Power of diet

“This is a very interesting analysis,” said Andrew Shao, PhD, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN).

“I think this analysis reinforces the long-held notion that the diet has a tremendously powerful impact on health and longevity and that the consumption of omega-3’s (along with fruits and veggies) by Americans is far from adequate.”

But he questioned the precision of the study findings due to complicating factors that had not been addressed.

“It is hard to say how definitive their findings are as far as the numbers are concerned, since chronic diseases and associated deaths are multifactorial,” he told NutraIngredients-USA.com this morning.

“As far as diet goes, is it the lack of fruits and veggies or the excess animal and processed foods that is the culprit? It is hard to say.”

He added that the study did not consider other key nutrients such as vitamin D.

Shao’s counterpart at the Natural Products Association, Dan Fabricant, PhD, emphasized the potential public health care savings that could be derived from better nutrition, especially in tight economic times, but called for further study.

“We need more clinical research that nails down why omega-3 is so effective,” Fabricant said. “This seems to be the last missing piece for omega-3s in terms of clarifying the picture for governmental/regulatory bodies of its efficacy.”

Shao added the study highlighted the importance of establishing a dietary reference intake (DRI) for omega-3 forms, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

“Once these requirements are established, the government can undertake initiatives to improved Americans’ intake of these critical nutrients,” he observed.

“But until that happens, Americans are likely to continue to fall short in their omega-3 intake, and we see a glimpse of what the consequence can be from this study.”

Shocking

The study will do no harm to the omega-3 industry, with the world’s leading supplier, Ocean Nutrition Canada, calling the results “shocking”.

“…this new study validates that Omega-3 EPA/DHA is more than just part of a healthy diet...it's a matter of life and death," said Ocean Nutrition Canada's vice president of marketing and communications, Lori Covert.

"We know that daily doses of Omega-3 EPA/DHA can help with many conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, and we're committed to increasing consumer awareness about the drastic Omega-3 EPA/DHA deficiency in the Western diet,” Covert said.

Tobacco smoking ranked as the highest risk factor with 436,000 to 500,000 attributed preventable deaths, followed by high blood pressure (372,000 to 414,000), obesity (188,000 to 237,000), physical inactivity (164,000 to 222,000), high blood glucose (163,000 to 217,000), high LDL cholesterol (94,000 to 124,000) and high salt intake (97,000 to 107,000).

The other risk factors were alcohol use; low polyunsaturated fatty acids; low fruits and vegetables intake.

Source: Public Library of Science Medicine Journal

Vol. 6, April, 2009

‘The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors’

Authors: Goodarz Danaei, Eric L Ding, Dariush Mozaffarian, Ben Taylor, Jurgen Rehm, Christopher J L Murray, Majid Ezzati

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