Your World and You: Tips to Improve Your Family’s Health – Issue 66 (Premium)
Environmental and Nutritional Tips to Improve Your Family’s Health
This feature highlights reports, studies, and feedback on efforts that can positively impact our quest for health. The topics we cover in this issue are listed below. We invite you to share material with us that you think would interest our readers.
Articles in this issue
- Do you want to participate in a research trial for ADHD or Tourette syndrome?
- Pilot study: Amino acid supplements improved symptoms of autism
- Could wearing colored lenses help you like they do Simon Cowell?
- Harms were detected but not reported in six clinical trials of gabapentin (Neurontin)
- Which diets can reduce the chance of cancer and heart disease?
- There’s a good chance your dark chocolate may contain lead and cadmium
- Testing for food sensitivities with an ADHD elimination diet
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Do you want to participate in a research trial for ADHD or Tourette syndrome?
If you go to this site, you can input details that help define whether you might be a candidate for a current study related to ADHD or Tourette syndrome (you can try other conditions as well). Distance you are willing to travel is also an option.
See this site here
Pilot study: Amino acid supplements improved symptoms of autism
Numerous studies have shown a link between abnormal amino acid metabolism and autism. The abstract of a recent pilot study is below. The research involved administering supplements with leucine, isoleucine and valine to subjects with autism, resulting in improvement in social behavior and interactions, speech, cooperation, and hyperactivity.
ABSTRACT: Branched-chain amino acids as adjunctive-alternative treatment in patients with autism: a pilot study Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 July 2023
The branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) is a group of essential amino acids that are involved in maintaining the energy balance of a human being as well as the homoeostasis of GABAergic, glutamatergic, serotonergic and dopaminergic systems.
Disruption of these systems has been associated with the pathophysiology of autism while low levels of these amino acids have been discovered in patients with autism. A pilot open-label, prospective, follow-up study of the use of BCAA in children with autistic behaviour was carried out.
Fifty-five children between the ages of 6 and 18 participated in the study from May 2015 to May 2018. We used a carbohydrate-free BCAA-powdered mixture containing 45·5 g of leucine, 30 g of isoleucine and 24·5 g of valine in a daily dose of 0·4 g/kg of body weight which was administered every morning.
Following the initiation of BCAA administration, children were submitted to a monthly psychological examination. Beyond the 4-week mark, BCAA were given to thirty-two people (58·18 %). Six of them (10·9 %) discontinued after 4–10 weeks owing to lack of improvement.
The remaining twenty-six children (47·27 %) who took BCAA for longer than 10 weeks displayed improved social behaviour and interactions, as well as improvements in their speech, cooperation, stereotypy and, principally, their hyperactivity. There were no adverse reactions reported during the course of the treatment.
Although these data are preliminary, there is some evidence that BCAA could be used as adjunctive treatment to conventional therapeutic methods for the management of autism.
See study link here
Breastfeeding offers a lower risk of childhood obesity regardless of mom’s weight
Adapted from a Newswise report: While previous studies have shown that breastfeeding may protect children against obesity and other chronic conditions, this relationship has not been well studied in women who have obesity themselves.
In this research, results indicated that any amount of consistent breastfeeding during an infant’s first three months was associated with lower body mass index (BMI scores), which were calculated later at ages between 2 and 6 years, regardless of the mother’s pre-pregnancy BMI.
Could wearing colored lenses help you like they do Simon Cowell?
You may have heard of wearing colored lenses for light sensitivity, to read better, to improve ADHD symptoms, or to improve performance. (See Irlen.com) In this article, Simom Cowell explains his reason for his use of red lenses—to avoid migraines.
Harms were detected but not reported in six clinical trials of gabapentin
Gabapentin (Neurontin) is a medication used to prevent and control seizures and also to nerve pain. Recent research showed that adverse concerns were not included in clinical trials of gabapentin.
Researchers analyzed data from select trials of gabapentin for neuropathic pain. They found that gabapentin might harm the nervous system and possibly the digestive, metabolic and nutritional, respiratory, sensory, and urogenital body systems. Nervous system harms were more common than previous reports suggest.
Read more here
There’s a good chance your dark chocolate may contain lead and cadmium
Consumer Reports (CR) found dangerous heavy metals in chocolate from Hershey’s, Theo, Trader Joe’s, and other popular brands. Here are the ones that had the most, and some that are safer. CR tested a mix of brands, from small to large companies.
“For 23 of the bars, eating just an ounce a day would put an adult over a level that public health authorities say may be harmful for at least one of the tested heavy metals. Five of the bars were above save levels for both cadmium and lead.”
Consistent, long-term exposure to even small amounts of heavy metals can lead to a variety of health problems. The danger is greatest for pregnant people and young children because the metals can cause developmental problems, affect brain development, and lead to lower IQ, says Tunde Akinleye, the CR food safety researcher who led this testing project.
Which diets can reduce the chance of cancer and heart disease?
Researchers found that eating plant-based diets reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and inflammation by affecting risk factors such as body mass index, fasting glucose and other measures of blood sugar control, and the systolic (top) and diastolic (bottom) measurements of blood pressure.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/15/health/vegetarian-vegan-cancer-heart-disease-wellness/index.html
Test for Food Sensitivities with an ADHD Elimination Diet
Negative reactions to certain foods might aggravate your child’s ADHD symptoms. Find out how you can identify the dietary culprit — while still making sure your child’s eating healthy and balanced foods.
This article from ADDitude offers suggestions on finding what foods your child might be sensitive to.
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