A Little Sun Might Shield Against Skin Cancer

(HealthDay News) -- It's a puzzle to scientists, but a new study suggests that the main cause of deadly skin cancer -- sunlight -- might also help protect against the disease.

The key could lie in the amount of ultraviolet B (UVB) light the skin absorbs -- enough to stimulate a healthy, vitamin D-linked immune response in the skin but not so much that it boosts skin cancer risk.

"I do think that a little bit of sunlight is good for people, but I think that one of the problems that the American Cancer Society and dermatologists have is, how do you define what a little bit is?" said skin cancer researcher Marianne Berwick, chief of epidemiology at the University of New Mexico's Cancer Research and Treatment Center. "How do you tell people that it's OK to have a little bit of sunlight but not too much?"

In 2005, Berwick's team published a controversial study that found that melanoma patients with higher levels of daily sun exposure actually had better survival than patients who spent less time in the sun.

"I've been searching for an explanation for that ever since," she said.

Now, findings from a group led by immunologists at Stanford University may provide an answer. The study, led by professor of pathology Eugene Butcher, is expected to be published in the March issue of Nature Immunology.

In its study, the Stanford team worked with cells in the lab and discovered a biochemical chain of events that appears to link sunlight exposure to the skin's own immune defenses.

The researchers started from the notion that an inactive precursor of vitamin D, called vitamin D3, "is generated in the skin in response to sun exposure." That's been known for years.

Specifically, a short-wavelength form of UV light, called UVB, is responsible for D3 generation.

D3 is inert and powerless, however. Through contact with various enzymes in the liver and kidneys, the body turns D3 into an active compound called 1,25(OH)2D3.

And that's where the immune-system connection kicks in, the Stanford authors said.

In their experiments, they found that the new compound "signaled (immune) T-cells," pushing them to migrate back to specific sites in the skin's epidermis. Once there, these powerful immune system agents stand on guard against infection and even cancer, the researchers said.

"So, the same wavelengths of sunlight that are most potent in inducing skin cancer -- UVB -- are also the wavelengths that produce this vitamin D precursor, D3," said Dr. Martin Weinstock, chairman of the skin cancer advisory group at the American Cancer Society. And it's D3 that starts the whole chain of events rolling.

Weinstock stressed that the Stanford study is far from conclusive, however, and should not be seen as an excuse to bake in the sun.

"We know that the sun is the major avoidable cause of skin cancer," he said. "This study is interesting and points to a productive area of research, both to confirm this in other settings and to flush out the implications of the finding. But does it really relate to skin cancers in real live people? We don't know."

"So, avoiding intense sun, protecting yourself when you're out in intense sun -- that's still our [cancer society] recommendation, and this is not going to change that," said Weinstock, who is also professor of dermatology and community health at Brown University.

Kathleen Egan, a professor of epidemiology at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Fla., agreed that the study findings are "tantalizing" but need further study.
Especially since the release of Berwick's melanoma study, "there's been an awful lot of questions about how -- or if -- vitamin D has a part to play in potentially offering some [cancer] protection under some circumstances," she said. "But it's very difficult to tease out, because the main human source of vitamin D is, in fact, sunlight exposure, which is also the most important risk factor for melanoma."

Nutritionists have known for decades that sunlight stimulates vitamin D production in the skin. In fact, this natural process is the body's major source of the nutrient. A proper amount of vitamin D is crucial to bone health, "and there's also a bunch of evidence that vitamin D may have a role in preventing colon cancer, although there's still some controversy about that," Weinstock said.

So, how much sunlight is enough to get the ideal amount of vitamin D?

Katharine Tallmadge, a Washington, D.C., dietitian and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, suggests that most people can probably get the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recommended 400 daily IUs of vitamin D by spending a half-hour to an hour outside per day.

Egan agreed. She said it's not difficult for people to soak up the sun's goodness without boosting their cancer risk. In response to even a moderate amount of sunlight, "the skin actually creates an amazing amount of vitamin D," Egan said. "It doesn't take much exposure to make enough of the vitamin D that's certainly needed to preserve bone health, for example."

More information
Learn how to protect your skin from too much sun at the American Cancer Society.

Study Blasts TV Drug Ads

(HealthDay News) -- In strong criticism of the pharmaceutical industry's marketing practices, new research claims that televised ads for prescription drugs are riddled with emotional appeals and lack helpful information on the disease itself.

"The ads really use emotion instead of information to promote drugs," said the study's lead author, Dominick Frosch, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. "The question we have to ask ourselves is: (Should buying) prescription drugs be the same as buying soap?"

Pharmaceutical companies spent an estimated $1.9 billion on TV advertising in 2005. In order to figure out the most common strategies used in some of the commercials, Frosch and his colleagues reviewed a sample of 38 ads for prescription drugs that appeared on network television in June and July 2004.

Using a statistical analysis that gave ads more "weight" if they were aired more frequently, the researchers report that 82 percent of the ads made "factual claims," but many fewer provided further information about illnesses such as causes (26 percent), risk factors (26 percent) or prevalence (25 percent).

Ninety-five percent of ads made "emotional appeals," and 78 percent implied that use of the medication would result in social approval. Fifty-eight percent of the time, products were depicted as medical breakthroughs.

The drugs advertised included Allegra (allergy), Ambien (insomnia), and Cialis (impotence), among others.

According to the new study, only two developed countries -- the United States and New Zealand -- allow drug companies as much unfettered access to the TV airwaves. In fact, the average American television viewer now spends 16 hours a year watching prescription drug ads, "far exceeding the average time spent with a primary care physician," Frosch's team said.,
It wasn't always that way, according to Frosch. Before 1997, any drug ad -- on the air or in print -- had to include lengthy details about the drug. Those details are still found today in magazine ads for prescription drugs.

But, in 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made it easier for the companies to advertise on TV. "They could just make a major statement that captures the primary risks and make adequate provisions to refer the consumers to other sources for more detail," Frosch said. "They refer to a concurrent print ad or a Web site or toll-free number."

Of course, even if patients are wooed by an ad, they can't get prescription drugs on their own. But, Frosch said, it's not enough to rely on doctors to make the right decisions about drugs that patients should take.

"The ads are effective in moving consumers to ask doctors for these prescriptions," he said. "And patients sometimes get the prescriptions, even though it's not the appropriate drug."
Frosch called on lawmakers to change the rules to force drug companies to provide more information about the medications they advertise. He also suggested that customers be skeptical of drug claims.

Last year, the American Medical Association called for a temporary ban on advertising for newly approved drugs and appealed for more federal oversight.

In response, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group, said its voluntary guidelines are "sufficient to deal with the content of direct-to-consumer ads."
In a statement, the group said: "Informed patients are better patients, and DTC advertising provides doctors and patients with accurate, educational information about disease and treatment options."

But in a commentary accompanying the new study, a doctor and a legal specialist agreed that the drug industry's efforts are not enough.

Ads directed at consumers don't "effectively or consistently convey important information about product risks and benefits," wrote former FDA Commissioner Dr. David A. Kessler and Douglas A. Levy, of the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Health Research Group at the watchdog group Public Citizen, said the FDA needs to do more to crack down on prescription drug ads, including levying big fines.

As it stands now, Wolfe said, drug companies "are able to run false and misleading ads with impunity and not be caught by the FDA because there's been (a decrease) in enforcement."
He called the new study's findings helpful. "If you go back 10 years ago, people were not doing studies at all -- or very little -- on advertising," he said.

But now, "people are actually starting to measure things and collect data," Wolfe added.

More information
To learn more about direct-to-consumer ads, visit the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Poultry slaughterhouses in Chinatown may switch to selling

(TNA) – All five chicken slaughterhouses in Bangkok's Chinatown area may be forced to switch to selling chicken meat in future in the wake of renewed concern regarding the deadly avian influenza in the country, a senior official of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said Sunday.

Samphanthawong district director Prasert Intusoma, who supervises Chinatown, said he had held a meeting with owners of the five poultry slaughterhouses last week on the possibility that they jointly send birds for slaughtering at more hygienic slaughterhouses on the outskirts of Bangkok -- and further removed from population centres -- and bring the meat for sale at their existing sales venues.

The idea is to ensure consumer confidence because the five slaughterhouses are now selling several hundred chickens daily, Mr. Prasert said.

Bangkok deputy governor Wanlop Suwandee said that the BMA has been monitoring areas where bird flu had spread earlier as well as areas on the outskirts of Bangkok where fighting cocks are raised.

Mr. Wanlop added that so far there has been suggestion of any outbreak of avian influenza in the Thai capital. The precautionary measure would raise the level of protection in the capital.

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Help Your Child Excel! Preventing ADHD

With sharpened pencils and colorful new backpacks, millions of school children have returned to the freshly scrubbed hallways of the nation's schools to begin a new year of learning and development. How can you make sure your child is getting the most out of hours spent in school?

One way is to enhance learning ability with the natural techniques of Maharishi Ayurveda. Ayurvedic texts describe three aspects of mental ability: dhi (the power of acquisition or learning), dhriti, (the power of retention), and smriti (the ability to recall).

When the three mental functions are not in balance, either individually or in their coordination with one another, then learning problems can crop up. Children who have learning problems often feel like failures in school, which leads to frustration and low self-esteem.

When these three mental functions are coordinated, then the child's memory is quick and bright. If impurities (ama) are obstructing the channels of communication between these three functions, then not only learning problems but behavioral problems can begin. The high incidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in this country is a prime example of a learning/behavioral problem for millions of children.

According to a study in Advanced Pediatrics, the frequency of ADHD among school children has been estimated to be as high as 20 percent.

What Maharishi Ayurveda Says What causes some children to thrive on learning while others struggle? According to Maharishi Ayurveda, most learning problems are caused by eating food that is lacking in intelligence. By this we mean food laced with chemicals, junk food, and food that is not fresh. Food lacking in intelligence disturbs the intellect and mind, and it disrupts the intellectual rhythm between dhi, dhriti, and smriti. This is especially true for children, who are naturally more sensitive than adults.

Modern researchers are just discovering the link between learning disorders and harmful food additives such as the chemical food preservatives BHT and BHA, the cake rising agent calcium silicate, and other colorings, flavorings and emulsifiers. Unfortunately, these harmful food additives and preservatives are found in most packaged foods. A rather shocking study showed that the average person consumes 8–10 pounds of additives a year.

Because children have lower body weights and are in the critical developmental years, the harmful effects of these additives are magnified many times. And artificial flavors, colors and preservatives can cause more allergic reactions in children because they are more sensitive than adults.

When children are eating unintelligent food, they are not nourishing the mind with minerals, vitamins, and other aspects of nature's intelligence. And modern researchers confirm ancient ayurvedic wisdom -- that any nutritional deficiency can result in diminished mental function. Another cause of mental deficiency in children includes not getting enough sleep. If children do not go to bed on time, or if they watch violent TV shows or read frightening comics before bed, that can disrupt sleep and aggravate the doshas, which then can be expressed as poor memory and recall in school. But diet is still most important, because diet also affects the quality of sleep. Diet is the primary focus for enhancing mental ability, because even herbal compounds won't work if the child is eating unintelligent food.

Addressing Three Types of Learning Imbalances To understand how Maharishi Ayurveda can help nourish the memory and attention span in children, it's important to understand the three subdoshas involved in memory.

These are Prana Vata, which governs the brain, sensory perception, and the mind; Sadhaka Pitta, which governs the emotions and their effect on the functions of the heart; and Tarpaka Kapha, which governs the spinal fluids, sinus cavities, and sensory organs. In ayurveda, three types of imbalances of the mind are described, and each is associated with a different subdosha.

We can correlate diminished learning ability combined with a hyperactive mind, with a breakdown in Prana Vata. A disturbance in Sadhaka Pitta is associated with a learning imbalance that carries over from childhood into adolescence and young adulthood -- the Pitta time of life. And imbalances in Tarpaka Kapha correlate with problems with learning that occur without hyperactivity involved.

For all three types of learning imbalances, Maharishi Ayurveda recommends fresh, organic foods that are prepared using intelligent cooking methods. This means that they are prepared in a way that does not destroy nature's intelligence, and in a way that creates bliss after eating. Also follow an ayurvedic diet that pacifies the specific subdosha causing the imbalance.

The daily ayurvedic oil massage is also a powerful way to balance the doshas and help enhance learning ability. If time does not permit a daily massage, doing it regularly every weekend will help. At night, Slumber Time aroma oil can be added to an aroma pot by the child's bed to help provide a deeper, more balanced night's sleep.Mind Power with Ayurvedic Herbal Compounds Besides diet and daily routine, Maharishi Ayurveda offers another sophisticated method for addressing imbalances in memory and attention.

These include traditional herbal compounds, called Medhya Rasayanas, that provide powerful nourishment for the mind. Medhya Rasayanas enhance dhi, dhriti, and smriti individually, and they enhance the coordination between these three mental factors. Medhya Rasayanas have also come to the attention of modern researchers. Take Mandook Purni (Centella Asiatica) for instance.

The ancient texts say, 'This Mandook Purni is medhya, giving consciousness and rasayana value. And modern research published in the Journal of Psychiatry shows that this herb produced a significant increase in the mental abilities of 30 mentally disabled children. Brahmi, (Bacopa Monniera and Herpestis Monniera) is another important Medhya Rasayana.
The texts mention that Brahmi is both medhya and hridya, meaning that it supports both the heart and the mind. A study in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology shows that Brahmi improved acquisition, retention and delayed extinction of newly acquired behavior in rats.

The third Medhya Rasayana, Shankhapushpi or Aloeweed, appears in the following verse: "Shankapushpi has a specific action as medhya action. It is also being researched as a memory-enhancing herb. Using these Medhya Rasayanas as a base, Maharishi Ayurveda Products International, Inc. has developed several powerful products to help enhance learning and memory. For instance, the Study Power herbal formula is ideal not just for children but students of all ages, because it helps enhance attention span, focus, and the ability to acquire new information and to apply it later.

An impressive 1995 research study published in Free Radical Biology of Medicine found that Study Power helps increase intelligence. The Medhya Rasayanas are also found in Mind Plus Syrup, which is ideal for helping to calm the mind in stressful situations. It is effective in enhancing problem-solving ability, retention and recall. Youthful Mind is especially designed for people over forty, nourishing and revitalizing all three mental functions as the mind ages. These products are ideal for people of all ages who use their minds at school or on the job, and want to feel fresh, creative, and fatigue-free.

Mental performance can be expanded to its full potential. All it requires is going back to the basics -- proper nutrition, quality sleep and the balanced wisdom of herbs that can help nourish the mind in a natural, safe way.Six Keys to Mind Power -- at Any Age
Eat fresh, pure foods -- The Council of Maharishi Ayurveda Physicians' advice for kids holds true for everyone -- stay away from foods with chemicals, pesticides or additives. The purer the foods you eat, the more of their intelligence you absorb.

Balanced Nutrition is Essential—A diet rich in healthy proteins, such as from soy, with plenty of fruits and vegetables, is good for enhancing mental potential. Don't count fat out entirely, fat plays some essential roles in the physiology.

The Power of Antioxidants -- Recent research shows that blueberries are powerful food for the brain because of their antioxidant value. The brain is especially vulnerable to free-radical damage. Take Amrit everyday for superior antioxidant protection—it has been shown to have 1,000 times the free-radical scavenging power of vitamin C or E!

Get Your Zzzzs -- Research has confirmed that sleep deprivation leads to diminished mental performance. Ayurveda considers sleep to be a basic building block for good mind/body health, just like diet.

Manage Stress -- High levels of stress negatively impact both mind and body. Practice the Transcendental Meditation technique, or find other ways to relax.
Keep that Brain Working! -- Like the battery in your automobile, you have to keep your mind active to keep it running. So keep those creative juices flowing and exercise your brain regularly!

*To receive your own copy of the Vata, Pitta, and Kapha-pacifying dietary guidelines, please call MAPI at 1-800-ALL-VEDA and we will mail them to you. Ayurvedic recipes are also available at http://www.mapi.com/.

References
B.A. Shaywitz et al "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder," Advanced Pediatrics, Vol 44 pp. 331-67 (1997).
T. E. Duormaa, "The adverse effects of food additives on health: a review of the literature with a special emphasis on childhood hyperactivity," Journal of Automolecular Medicine, Vol. 4, pp. 225-38 (1994).
Ann Seingold, Why your child is hyperactive, New York, Random House (1975).
M. Krause, L. Mahan, "Nutritional care and disease of nervous system and behavioral disorders," Food Nutrition and Diet Therapy, pp. 654-670, Philadelphia W.B. Saunders (1984).
R. Dsend et al, "The relationship between nutrition and student achievement, behavior and health," Review of the literature by Sacramento, California, State Department of Education (1980).
Sharma, H. et al, Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Vol. 18. No.4, p. 687-697 (1995).
Appa Rao, et al, Indian Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 19 p. 54-59 (1977).
Singh H. K. and Dhawan B.N., Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol. 5, p. 205 (1982).