Newsflash:
US Bars Kansas Meatpacker from Mad-Cow Testing
August 30, 2008...8:31 am
Our safety obviously doesn’t matter to Big Agriculture; they only test a small percentage of cows for the deadly disease. The U.S. tested about 20,000 out of a possible 1 million animals that fit the high risk category. The high risk cattle are 3 yrs or older. The highest risk are “downer cows” (those unable to walk or stand on their own).
Big Ag had a big win today in Federal Court. A federal appeals court says the government can prohibit meat packers from testing their animals for mad cow disease.
Makes you think twice about that juicy hamburger or grilling those steaks this weekend.
What started this uproar was a Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to test all of its cows. Sounds to me like a great idea and responsible policy to have. Which is exactly what Japan does; they have the most extensive testing system in the world. All slaughtered cattle there are tested, no matter the age.
Throughout the continental European Union, countries test all cattle over 30 months that are slaughtered; Germany includes all over 24 months. The American approach, not so good, has been to test roughly one in every 1,700 slaughtered.
Well this didn’t sit well with the other larger meat companies. They worried that if Creekstone is allowed to perform the test and advertise its meat as safe, they could be forced to do the expensive test, too. Advertise meat safety, wow, what a concept.
Four companies already offer test kits that can, within four hours, tell if a slaughtered cow carries bovine spongiform encephalopathy, otherwise known as BSE or mad-cow disease. It wouldn’t cost much: Test kits cost about $10 a pop. The large meat companies excuse is it will raise the price in the meat case. That is a fact, but by only six to ten cents per pound!
That seems to me a small price to pay for protection of you, the consumer.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that would have cleared the way for the testing. The appeals court said restricting the test is within the scope of the government’s authority.
One last thought: Why should they not get a seal of approval just by testing every cow in the US? Why not adopt a standard of raising animals that ensures them to be 100% healthier; without feeding the unfortunate animals, living in overcrowded conditions, being fed pesticide-ridden food, and being shot up with growth hormones and antibiotics? It was just a thought!
Niacin's cholesterol-lowering mechanism proposed
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06/06/2008- The cholesterol-lowering effects of niacin may by located in the liver, suggests new research that fills in the gaps in our understanding of the heart healthy benefits of the B vitamin.
The cell study indicates that niacin may reduce the removal of HDL 'good' cholesterol by about 35 per cent, according to findings published in the Journal of Lipid Research.
"Although niacin has been commonly used to increase plasma HDL levels, the mechanism(s) by which niacin exerts its action is not clearly understood," wrote the authors from the University of California, Irvine and the Atherosclerosis Research Center, VA Healthcare System in Long Beach.
The new study moves us closer to an answer, and should provide a clearer picture of how this vitamin helps maintain adequate HDL-cholesterol levels in the blood and thus lower the risk of heart disease.
High levels of cholesterol, particularly LDL cholesterol, has a long association with many diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease (CVD), the cause of almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and reported to cost the EU economy an estimated €169bn ($202bn) per year. Approaches revolve around reducing LDL levels and/or boosting HDL levels.
Study details
The researchers focused on a certain component in ATP synthase, the protein that makes the body's energy source ATP. A subunit of the protein known as the 'beta chain' can take up HDL, and therefore reduce the body's levels of 'good' cholesterol.
Using human cells, Moti Kashyap and colleagues found that this beta chain is the basis of niacin's effect. When human liver HepG2 cells were incubated with niacin a 27 per cent reduction in the presence of beta chains on the cell surface was observed.
Moreover, a 35 per cent reduction in the uptake of HDL was recorded.
"In this report, we show, for the first time, that niacin decreases the surface expression of beta chain of ATP synthase in cultured HepG2 cells," wrote the authors.
In simple terms, the results indicate niacin hinders the liver from removing HDL from the blood, thus maintaining high plasma HDL levels.
Interestingly, the researchers did not document any affect on another major pathway known as "Reverse Cholesterol Transport", which allows for the removal of other cholesterol types.
"The findings add to our expanding knowledge about the mechanism of niacin action on its wide range of clinical effects including… anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic and flushing effects," concluded the researchers.
Source: Journal of Lipid Research
June 2008, Volume 49, Pages 1195-1201
"Niacin inhibits surface expression of ATP synthase B-chain in HepG2 cells: implications for raising HDL."
Authors: L.-H. Zhang, V.S. Kamanna, M.C. Zhang, M.L. Kashyap |
Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup and Gout
Consumption of sugar sweetened soft drinks and fructose is strongly associated with an increased risk of gout in men, finds a study published by the British Medical Journal. Gout is a joint disease which causes extreme pain and swelling. It is most common in men aged 40 and older. It is caused by excess uric acid in the blood (hyperuricaemia) which leads to uric acid crystals collecting around the joints.
In the United States, levels of gout have doubled over the last few decades, which coincided with a substantial increase in the consumption of soft drinks and fructose (a simple sugar and the only carbohydrate known to increase uric acid levels).
Source: Soft drinks, fructose consumption, and the risk of gout in men: prospective cohort study.
Olive Leaf Extracts and Health
Extracts from olive leaves may help reduce cholesterol and blood pressure levels, according to a small human study. The researchers indicated that a compound called oleuropein may be responsible for some of the benefits observed, noting that it, and other polyphenolic compounds in olive plants, can act as antioxidants and scavenge free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS). “These antioxidative properties may not only contribute to the antihypertensive action, but were also suggested to be responsible for the hypercholesterolemic effect, referring to decreases of LDL and VLDL cholesterol,” they stated. Quality olive leaf extract supplements should be standardized to contain 20% oleuropein.
Source: Phytotherapy Research, Volume 22, Pages 1239-1242, doi: 10.1002/ptr.2455. "Food Supplementation with an Olive (Olea europaea L.) Leaf Extract Reduces Blood Pressure in Borderline Hypertensive Monozygotic Twins." Authors: T. Perrinjaquet-Moccetti, A. Busjahn, C. Schmidlin, A. Schmidt, B. Bradl, C. Aydogan
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