Showing posts with label vitamin A. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vitamin A. Show all posts

Malaria Resistance Reported Again


Study finds signs of malaria drug resistance in Africa


PARIS, Apr 27 – Africa’s deadliest malaria parasite has shown resistance in lab tests to one of the most powerful drugs on the market — a warning of possible resistance to follow in patients, scientists said Friday.
Researchers in London found resistance to artemether in test tube analysis of blood from 11 of 28 patients who had fallen ill after travelling in countries mainly in sub-Saharan Africa – what they said was a “statistically significant” result.
Artemether is one of the most effective drugs in the artemisinin group most commonly used in malaria cocktails known as ACTs.  Read more

SELECTIONS FROM NATURAL HEALTH NEWS

Health Hero Passes

I am old enough to remember being a young mother and staying at home with my daughter, and following Jack LaLanne's exercise program pretty faithfully.

My daughter will be 49 later this year.  I hope some of what she learned from me has helped her.  She is an artist and a massage therapist now. 

I tried to pass on to her much of what I learned from Jack.  He will be missed, not only by me but by many I know whose lives he influenced.



Lung Health

A new study reports that beta-glucan is very helpful for protecting lung health, just as is vitamin A (oil based) and vitamin C.

UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION - Pleuran, Beta-Glucan, Glucan
Reference:"Pleuran (Beta-glucan from Pleurotus ostreatus) supplementation, cellular immune response and respiratory tract infections in athletes," Bergendiova K, Majtan J, et al, Eur J Appl Physiol, 2011, Jan 20; [Epub ahead of print]. (Address:Pneumo-Alergo Centrum, s.r.o., Uzbecka 16, 821 06, Bratislava, Slovakia).
Summary:In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 50 athletes undergoing strenuous physical training, results indicate that supplementation with pleuran, an insoluble glucan from mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus, may exert beneficial effects. The athletes were randomised to pleuran or placebo for a period of 3 months. At intervention end, a significant reduction in incidences of URTI (upper respiratory tract infections) symptoms and increased number of circulating NK cells were observed in the pleuran group. Additionally, a significant reduction of phagocytosis was observed in the placebo group alone. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, "These findings indicate that pleuran may serve as an effective nutritional supplement for athletes under heavy physical training."

A Little A Could Cause Big Change

Retinol
Pushing vaccines and antibiotics might be an option, more for the bottom line at Big PhRMA, but some specific health promoting vitamins go a long way to prevent and reverse pneumonia.  Its in the form of fish-oil-based vitamin A.

You read those so called studies on vitamin A and they want you to believe it causes all kinds of serious effects that don't do you any good.  If this were the truth then why was this such a minuscule incident when every one was downing cod liver oil as a daily event?

The good vitamins A, D, E and C all help you stave off and heal from intrusions.  And their benefits are strongly backed by real science!

And don't forget your probiotics if you end up taking another direction -

Lung infections kill 4.25 million a year: report

These infections account for 6 percent of all deaths globally, the World Lung Foundation said in releasing its Acute Respiratory Infections Atlas.
"We know that at least 4 million people die from acute respiratory infections, yet the global health community does not even recognize them as a distinct disease group," said Peter Baldini, chief executive officer of the World Lung Foundation.
The foundation hopes to convince governments and donors to look at respiratory deaths as a group. "With relatively modest resources, the means are available to save millions of lives. We simply need commitment, sound policy, and strategic investment," Baldini said in a statement.
The report, available at http://ARIAtlas.org, shows people in the world's poorest countries are far more likely to die from such infections. The death rate from pneumonia is 215 times higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries, for example.
A virus called respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is the most common source of severe respiratory illness in children, the survey found, killing at least 66,000 children a year and possibly as many as 199,000.
It found 3 million RSV hospitalizations every year and 33 million cases of RSV in 2005.
There is no vaccine and no good treatment for RSV.
The report also finds that pneumonia accounts for 20 percent of all child deaths globally, or 1.6 million deaths in 2008, compared to 732,000 children who died from malaria and 200,000 who died from the AIDS virus.
There are 156 million new cases of pneumonia each year, 97 percent of them in developing countries.
A course of antibiotics to treat bacterial causes of pneumonia costs just 27 cents. Treating all children who need them with antibiotics could save as many as 600,000 every year, the foundation said.
The report also details a little-discussed cause of respiratory death -- indoor air pollution from cooking stoves, fires and secondhand cigarette smoke. It said 1.96 million die every year from infections caused by these sources, with another 121,000 deaths due to outdoor pollution.
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
from Natural Health News
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2007/12/real-benefit-of-correct-supplements-for.html
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2008/01/dont-let-flu-hit-you-full-force.html