Something to think about. Hope they are right.

Drinking coffee in moderate amounts during middle age may reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in the elderly, according to a new study.

Researchers in Finland and Sweden examined the records of 1,409 people whose coffee drinking habits had been recorded when they were at midlife.

Those who drank three to five cups of coffee per day in midlife were much less likely to have developed dementia or Alzheimer’s in follow-up checks two decades or more later, the researchers say in the January issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Interesting!

Consuming dairy products significantly boosts the risk of Parkinson’s disease in men, concludes a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. A study surveying the dietary habits of 57,689 men found that those who consumed the most dairy products showed a 60 percent increase in the risk of Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative nervous system disorder that affects motor skills and speech.

Processed milk accounted for most of the dairy consumed by study subjects. “Processed” means the milk is pasteurized and homogenized rather than being consumed in its raw, natural state. These manufacturing processes impact the molecular structure of milk and may help explain why milk products have been found to promote Parkinson’s disease.

The pasteurization of milk kills harmful microorganisms that may be living in the milk, but it also “cooks” the milk and destroys many beneficial microorganisms that enhance digestive health. Homogenization is a process that splits fat molecules into tiny pieces, allowing the fat to stay in suspension in the milk liquid and preventing separation of the fat. While it makes the milk appear more cosmetically acceptable to consumers, homogenization is an unnatural process and it is widely suspected to be the primary reason why processed milk products have been linked to heart disease and other cardiovascular problems.

Raw, unprocessed milk is rapidly gaining popularity among health-conscious consumers. Many states are attempting to outlaw the sales of raw milk, saying it poses a health hazard to consumers with weak immune systems, but demand persists — especially among members of the raw foods community who use raw milk and active cultures to make their own kefir (fermented raw milk) at home. Kefir offers numerous health benefits and is a “living” food teeming with beneficial microorganisms.

Researchers are not yet sure why processed milk products increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease in men. No mechanism for the increase in the disease risk has been identified, and the fact that dairy products seem to increase the risk among men — but not women — remains a mystery. Epidemiologists do have theories on the link, however. Dr. Samuel Epstein, M.D., professor emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health is also author of the book, “What’s In Your Milk?” — a recently-published expose of how industry has covered up the dangers of drinking milk from cows treated with genetically-engineered recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), a chemical that has been banned for use in dairy cows in many other countries.

Milk from rBGH-treated cows, according to Dr. Epstein, poses a significant health risk to humans and appears to be linked to breast, colon and prostate cancers.

If for nothing else I think folks should be eating more fresh chemical free veggies and fruits.

Fruits rich in polyphenols may help protect against the oxidative stress that has been linked to cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study conducted by researchers from three Korean universities and published in the Journal of Food Science.

“Our study demonstrated that antioxidants in the major fresh fruits consumed in the United States  protected neuronal cells from oxidative stress,” the researchers wrote. “Therefore, additional consumption of fresh fruits such as apples, bananas, and oranges may be beneficial to ameliorate chemopreventive effects in neurodegenerative disease.”

Here is an intersting article on how honey being smuggled into different countries is being done and what effects it has on us humans or what could happen to us  humans. Kind of makes one think. just click on the link below.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/394…

Natural chemicals contained in black tea might mimic insulin’s effects in the body and help protect against diabetes, according to a study conducted by researchers from Dundee University and the Scottish Crop Research Institute, and published in the journal Aging Cell.

Should be read by folks that has a family member with Alzheimer’s.

When people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) ” act up” and show signs of neuropsychiatric symptoms such as aggression and agitation, they are often given antipsychotic drugs. Now, it turns out, that’s a practice that could be deadly. The result of a long-term study , just published online and in the February edition of The Lancet Neurology journal shows there’s a large increased risk of severe side effects and death in patients receiving these medications. What’s more, they hasten mental deterioration.

Dr. Clive Ballard of the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases at King’s College in London and her colleagues are the first researchers to document long-term data for AD patients given antipsychotic drugs. They followed 165 patients with AD between the ages of 67 and 100 who resided in four United Kingdom facilities between 2001 and 2004. The research subjects were randomly assigned to take antipsychotic medications (thioridazine, chlorpromazine, haloperidol, trifluorperazine, or risperidone) or an oral placebo.

After a year, there was 70% survival in the antipsychotic group compared with 77% in placebo. But after two years, there was a far bigger difference in the death rate. Survival was 46% in the antipsychotic group and 71% in the placebo group. And at three years, the difference was even more stunning. Only 30% of people being given antipsychotics were still alive while almost 60 percent of those on placebos, inert substances with no drug activity, were still living. When the scientists computed the death rate for the AD patients throughout all the years, they found it was 42% lower in the placebo group than in the antipsychotic group.

So what adverse effects did the drugs have on the people with Alzheimer’s? Specifically, they were found to increase the incidence of Parkinson’s disease, sedation, edema, chest infections, stroke and death . Those taking antipsychotics also experienced an accelerated decline in their brain function. In a statement released to the media, the scientists said their research highlights the need to seek less harmful treatments for AD patients who exhibit neuropsychiatric symptoms.

“Our data add further serious safety concerns about the long-term use of antipsychotics in this population, and clinicians should certainly try to replace antipsychotics with safer management approaches. Several studies have shown that psychological management can replace antipsychotic therapy without any appreciable worsening of neuropsychiatric symptoms… Our opinion is that there is still an important but limited place for atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of severe neuropsychiatric manifestations, particularly aggression, of AD. However, the accumulating safety concerns, including the substantial increase in long-term mortality, emphasize the urgent need to put an end to unnecessary and prolonged prescribing,” the researchers stated.

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of my new Gardening Book early this spring.  You will be glad you did. No Brag Just Fact.

Cloudy apple juices contain much more antioxidant than clear cider. When you got to buy apples look for the older varieties of apples as the newer varieties tend to have lower nutrient content. The newer varieties are grown for eye appeal and for shelf life, not for nutrition.