Calcium Supplementation May Improve Body Composition in Postmenopausal Women

Calcium Supplementation May Improve Body Composition in Postmenopausal Women

http://www.vitasearch.com/CP/weeklyupdates/

Reference: “The effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on obesity in postmenopausal women: secondary analysis for a large-scale, placebo controlled, double-blind, 4-year longitudinal clinical trial,” Zhou J, Lappe JM, et al, Nutr Metab (Lond), 2010; 7(1): 62. (Address: 601 North 30th Street, Omaha, NE 68131, USA. E-mail: lanjuanzhao@creighton.edu ).

Summary: In a population-based, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study involving 870 postmenopausal women, results indicate that long-term calcium supplementation may exert a beneficial effect on body composition. The women were randomized to one of three groups for a period of 4 years: 1) Ca-group: received calcium supplementation (1400 mg/d or 1500 mg/d) + vitamin D placebo; 2) Ca+D group: received supplementation with calcium (1400 mg/d or 1500 mg/d) plus vitamin D (1100 IU/d); 3) placebo group: received two placebos. At intervention end, the calcium supplemented groups showed less gain in trunk fat and more trunk lean compared with the placebo group. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, “Calcium supplementation over four years has a beneficial effect on body composition in postmenopausal women.”

Plant compound resveratrol shown to suppresses inflammation, free radicals in humans

Plant compound resveratrol shown to suppresses inflammation, free radicals in humans

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Resveratrol, a popular plant extract shown to prolong life in yeast and lower animals due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, appears also to suppress inflammation in humans, based on results from the first prospective human trial of the extract conducted by University at Buffalo endocrinologists.

Results of the study appear as a rapid electronic publication on the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism website and will be published in an upcoming print issue of the journal.

The paper also has been selected for inclusion in Translational Research in Endocrinology & Metabolism, a new online anthology that highlights the latest clinical applications of cutting-edge research from the journals of the Endocrine Society.

Resveratrol is a compound produced naturally by several plants when under attack by pathogens such as bacteria or fungi, and is found in the skin of red grapes and red wine. It also is produced by chemical synthesis derived primarily from Japanese knotweed and is sold as a nutritional supplement.

Husam Ghanim, PhD, UB research assistant professor of medicine and first author on the study, notes that resveratrol has been shown to prolong life and to reduce the rate of aging in yeast, roundworms and fruit flies, actions thought to be affected by increased expression of a particular gene associated with longevity.

The compound also is thought to play a role in insulin resistance as well, a condition related to oxidative stress, which has a significant detrimental effect on overall health.

“Since there are no data demonstrating the effect of resveratrol on oxidative and inflammatory stress in humans,” says Paresh Dandona, MD, PhD, UB distinguished professor of medicine and senior author on the study, “we decided to determine if the compound reduces the level of oxidative and inflammatory stress in humans.

“Several of the key mediators of insulin resistance also are pro-inflammatory, so we investigated the effect of resveratrol on their expression as well.”

The study was conducted at Kaleida Health’s Diabetes-Endocrinology Center of Western New York, which Dandona directs.

A nutritional supplement containing 40 milligrams of resveratrol was used as the active product. Twenty participants were randomized into two groups of 10: one group received the supplement, while the other group received an identical pill containing no active ingredient. Participants took the pill once a day for six weeks. Fasting blood samples were collected as the start of the trial and at weeks one, three and six.

Results showed that resveratrol suppressed the generation of free radicals, or reactive oxygen species, unstable molecules known to cause oxidative stress and release proinflammatory factors into the blood stream, resulting in damage to the blood vessel lining.

Blood samples from persons taking resveratrol also showed suppression of the inflammatory protein tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and other similar compounds that increase inflammation in blood vessels and interfere with insulin action, causing insulin resistance and the risk of developing diabetes.

These inflammatory factors, in the long term, have an impact on the development of type 2 diabetes, aging, heart disease and stroke, noted Dandona.

Blood samples from the participants who received the placebo showed no change in these pro-inflammatory markers.

While these results are promising, Dandona added a caveat: The study didn’t eliminate the possibility that something in the extract other than resveratrol was responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects.

“The product we used has only 20 percent resveratrol, so it is possible that something else in the preparation is responsible for the positive effects. These agents could be even more potent than resveratrol. Purer preparations now are available and we intend to test those.”

Additional contributors to the study, all from Dandona’s laboratory, are Chang Ling Sia, Sanaa Abuaysheh, Kelly Korzeniewski, Priyanka Patniak, MD, Anuritha Marumganti, MD, and Ajay Chaudhuri, MD.

The study was supported in part by grants to Dandona from the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-07/uab-pcr072910.php

Microbes in Our Gut Regulate Genes That Control Obesity and Inflammation

ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2011) — If you are looking to lose weight in the coming year, you may need help from an unexpected place: the bacteria in your gut. That’s because scientists have discovered that the bacteria living in your intestines may play a far more significant role in weight loss and gastrointestinal problems than ever imagined.

In a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal, researchers show that a deficiency of Toll-like receptor 2 (Tlr2) — used by mammals (including humans) to recognize resident microbes in the intestines — leads to changes in gut bacteria that resemble those of lean animals and humans. This discovery builds on previous research demonstrating that a deficiency of TLR2 protects against obesity, while at the same time promoting gastrointestinal problems like excessive inflammation. It also shows that genes controlling TLR2 expression play a very important role in one’s gastrointestinal health and weight management.

“Our work highlights the remarkable capacity for an orchestrated reprogramming of the intestinal inflammatory network to overcome significant genetic challenges in the mammalian bowel,” said Richard Kellermayer, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “The appropriate exploitation of this remarkable capacity may provide means for the prevention and optimized treatment of common metabolic (such as obesity and diabetes) and gastrointestinal disorders.”

To make this discovery, Kellermayer and colleagues studied normal mice and mice deficient in TLR2 using the large intestinal lining of these mice. They compared the TLR2-deficient ones to the normal group, as well as the bacteria, the epigenome (more specifically DNA methylation, a molecular change in the DNA associated with decreased gene expression), and the gene expression of the animals. The researchers found that the absence of TLR2 leads to microbial changes in the gut that resemble lean animals and humans, as well as immunologic changes similar to those observed in ulcerative colitis.

“Every New Year, a significant percentage of us resolve ourselves to lose weight,” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, “but national statistics on obesity show that we’re failing fast. This research linking gut bacteria to TLR2 expression opens entirely new doors for weight control solutions, first by cementing TLR2 as a drug target for obesity, and second by providing further evidence that managing gut bacteria may be an important and effective way to control weight. The challenge, of course, is to find a way to tip the scales just enough to keep weight under control without causing serious gastrointestinal problems.”