What you ate when you were THREE determines your risk of heart disease later in life

Correlational rubbish.  An association between REPORTED diet and cholesterol.  Big deal.  No lifespan data or disease incidence data at all

A child's diet at the age of three could determine its risk of heart disease as an adult, researchers say.  A study found that the effects of unhealthy eating begin at an early age, with the tell-tale signs of cholesterol noticeable in children aged between three and five.

This suggests interventions to protect health could start much earlier, say the researchers, from St Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

They  looked at 1,076 preschool children and studied the link between eating habits and serum levels of non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol - a marker of later cardiovascular risk.

'Our results show that associations between eating behaviours and cardiovascular risk appear early in life and may be a potential target for early intervention,' said Dr Navindra Persaud.

'Eating behaviours as reported by parents were positively associated with serum non-HDL cholesterol levels in children aged three to five.

'The association between the eating behaviours subscore and serum non-HDL cholesterol persisted after controlling for age, sex, birth weight, parental BMI, gestational diabetes and parental ethnicity.'

She said that the findings suggested earlier intervention could be called for.  She said: 'Our results support previous arguments for interventions aimed at improving the eating behaviours of preschool-aged children.

'To do so, evidence suggests promoting responsive feeding, where adults provide appropriate access to healthy foods and children use internal cues (not parent-directed cues or cues from the television) to determine the timing, pace and amount they consume.'

The findings were published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

SOURCE






'Don't take vitamin pills': U.S. doctor warns that some supplements could harm health

Did Steve Jobs die of his "alternative" beliefs?

A U.S. doctor is has warned people against taking health supplements, saying they could pose a risk to health.

Dr Paul Offit, who has written a book called 'Do You Believe In Magic? The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine', said that very few alternative health supplements are of any benefit and could in fact carry health risks.

He added that people often believe that supplements are harmless but that this simply isn't true - particularly in the case of super-strength supplements which are becoming increasingly popular.

'When you take large quantities of vitamins - 5-fold, 10-fold - greater than the [recommended daily allowance], I think the data is clear - it increases your chances of heart disease, cancer and can shorten your life,' said the doctor in an interview with CBS This Morning.

The doctor, who is based at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, went on to explain that he had recently seen a television advertisement that told viewers you would need to drink two gallons of orange juice to get as much Vitamin C as was in the supplement being promoted.

He said that there's probably a good reason why nature doesn't provide that much Vitamin C ni one hit.

The UK market for vitamins and supplements was estimated to be worth £385million last year, up 2.7 per cent on the previous year.
Dr Offit said that certain supplements such as folic acid can be very useful however

Dr Offit said that certain supplements such as folic acid can be very useful however

Dr Offit went on to explain that he didn't think that multivitamins would do any harm however, although it is not really known whether or not they actually do any good.

When asked if he thought it was worth taking any nutritional pills, he said that there were four cases.

He recommended pregnant mothers to take folic acid to prevent babies developing spina bifida, a condition that causes the spine to become deformed.

He said that Vitamin D was important for babies, particularly in those who are exclusively breastfed and do not get much exposure to sunlight.

Elderly women should take  Vitamin D and calcium to help prevent bones thinning and he concluded that omega-3 fatty acid oils might be beneficial to heart health, but that current  studies are inconclusive.

Dr Offit also blasted the term 'alternative medicine and said: 'There's no such thing as alternative medicine - if it works it, is medicine. If it doesn't work it's not an alternative'

When asked what his views on alternative therapies such as acupuncture were, he said that it could be helpful but not because the needles were inserted into the skin. he added that the 'ancient Chinese didn't know anything about the human anatomy'.

Finally he said that Apple found Steve Jobs might be alive today if he has sought expert medical help sooner.

He explained that the type of pancreatic cancer Jobs had - a neuroendocrine tumour - is cured in 95 per cent of patients by undergoing surgery, but that his choice of esoteric therapies including bowel cleanses and acupuncture ultimately cost him his life.

SOURCE