Health - Vast Gene Study Yields Insights on Alzheimer’s

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• Vast Gene Study Yields Insights on Alzheimer’s
• Recipes for Health: Desserts for the Conscientious
• Tipping the Odds for a Maker of Heart Implants
• Doctors Go Far Afield to Battle Epidemics
• Arizona Asks to Set Fines for Health Risks
• Well: Diabetes Increases Risk of Cancer Death
• Well: Regular Fasting May Boost Heart Health
• Personal Health: A Warning on Overuse Injuries for Youths
• Really?: The Claim: You Cannot Get Sunburned Through a Car Window
• Colorless Food? We Blanch
• The New Old Age: Scientists Link New Genes to Alzheimer's
• Prescriptions: This Week's Health Industry News
• Recipes for Health: Winter Strawberry Gelato

Vast Gene Study Yields Insights on Alzheimer’s Posted: 04 Apr 2011 07:01 AM PDT The two largest studies of Alzheimer’s disease have led to the discovery of no fewer than five genes that provide intriguing new clues to why the disease strikes and how it progresses. Enlarge This Image Chang W. Lee/The New York Times Dr. Richard Mayeux of Columbia University Medical Center, with containers holding DNA samples used by the researchers. The New Old Age Share your thoughts on this column at The New Old Age blog. Join the discussion » Consults Blog Ask About Alzheimer’s Disease Reporter Gina Kolata is answering your questions about Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers say the studies, which analyzed the genes of more than 50,000 people in the United States and Europe, leave little doubt that the five genes make the disease more likely in the elderly and have something important to reveal about the disease’s process. They may also lead to ways to delay its onset or slow its progress. “The level of evidence is very, very strong,” said Dr. Michael Boehnke, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Michigan and an outside adviser on the research. The two studies are being published Monday in the journal Nature Genetics. For years, there have been unproven but persistent hints that cholesterol and inflammation are part of the disease process. People with high cholesterol are more likely to get the disease. Strokes and head injuries, which make Alzheimer’s more likely, also cause brain inflammation. Now, some of the newly discovered genes appear to bolster this line of thought, because some are involved with cholesterol and others are linked to inflammation or the transport of molecules inside cells. The discoveries double the number of genes known to be involved in Alzheimer’s, to 10 from 5, giving scientists many new avenues to explore. One of the papers’ 155 authors, Dr. Richard Mayeux, chairman of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, said the findings would “open up the field.” And an expert who was not part of the studies, Dr. Nelson B. Freimer, who directs the Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there were now enough unequivocal genes for Alzheimer’s disease that researchers could make real progress in figuring out its biology. “This is a big, solid step,” he said. An estimated 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, most of whom are elderly. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, one in eight people over age 65 have the disease. Its annual cost to the nation is $183 billion. By themselves, the genes are not nearly as important a factor as APOE, a gene discovered in 1995 that greatly increases risk for the disease: by 400 percent if a person inherits a copy from one parent, by 1,000 percent if from both parents. In contrast, each of the new genes increases risk by no more than 10 to 15 percent; for that reason, they will not be used to decide if a person is likely to develop Alzheimer’s. APOE, which is involved in metabolizing cholesterol, “is in a class of its own,” said Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, a neurology professor at Harvard Medical School and an author of one of the papers. But researchers say that even a slight increase in risk helps them in understanding the disease and developing new therapies. And like APOE, some of the newly discovered genes appear to be involved with cholesterol. Of the 10 genes now known to be associated with Alzheimer’s in old age, four were found in the past few years and are confirmed by the new studies. APOE may have other roles in the disease, perhaps involved in clearing the brain of amyloids that pile up in plaques, the barnacle-like particles that dot the brain of Alzheimer’s patients and are the one unique pathological feature of the disease. It is known that one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease is an accumulation of beta amyloid, or a-beta, a protein that forms plaques. And it is known that later in the disease, twisted and tangled proteins — tau — appear in dead and dying nerve cells. But what is not known is why a-beta starts to accrue, why the brains of people with Alzheimer’s cannot get rid of its excess, or what is the link between amyloid and tau. One of the new papers, by American investigators, analyzed the genes of 54,000 people, some with Alzheimer’s and others the same age but without the disease. They found four new genes. The other paper is by researchers in Britain, France and other European countries with contributions from the United States. They confirmed the genes found by the American researchers and added one more gene. The American study got started about three years ago when Gerard D. Schellenberg, a pathology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, went to the National Institutes of Health with a complaint and a proposal. Individual research groups had been doing their own genome studies but not having much success, because no one center had enough subjects. In an interview, Dr. Schellenberg said that he had told Dr. Richard J. Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging, the small genomic studies had to stop, and that Dr. Hodes had agreed. These days, Dr. Hodes said, “the old model in which researchers jealously guarded their data is no longer applicable.” 1 2 Next Page »

Recipes for Health: Desserts for the Conscientious Posted: 04 Apr 2011 08:16 AM PDT What is a healthy dessert? For starters, I think that a dessert can be healthy if it has some nutritive value — if sugar, butter and refined flour aren’t at its core. Certainly fresh fruit qualifies on this score, and two of the best for desserts, apples and pears, are readily available even now, when spring has barely begun. Recipes for Health Martha Rose Shulman presents food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and to eat. See All Recipes for Health » Visit Recipes for Health on Facebook. Related Recipes for Health: Winter Strawberry Gelato (April 5, 2011) Recipes for Health: Caramelized Honey-Baked Pears (April 6, 2011) Recipes for Health: Grapefruit Ice (April 7, 2011) Recipes for Health: Pear and Red Wine Sorbet (April 8, 2011) Nutritionist Jonny Bowden notes that apples contain more kinds of phytonutrients than just about any other fruit eaten in the United States, surpassed only by cranberries (which most of us consume just once a year). Apples are suited to a variety of desserts: clafouti, for instance, a French dish that is sort of a cross between a flan and a pancake. I also make sorbets and gelatos with winter fruits. Since they keep for a month or more, frozen desserts like these are perfect for a dinner party that requires considerable advance preparation. Ice cream makers are not terribly expensive and worth the price if you like frozen desserts that are not packed with cream and sugar. Apple Clafouti Similar to a flan, clafouti is a very easy dessert that always impresses. It’s hearty enough even to serve for breakfast. 4 large, slightly tart apples, such as Pink Lady or Braeburn (2 to 2 1/4 pounds) 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, preferably organic 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 3 eggs 1/2 vanilla bean, split, or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup sugar, preferably organic fair trade sugar Pinch of salt 2/3 cup sifted unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup plain yogurt 3/4 cup low-fat milk 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 10- or 10-1/2-inch ceramic tart pan, baking dish or clafouti dish. 2. Peel, core and slice the apples into 16ths. Toss with the lemon juice in a large bowl. 3. Heat the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until they begin to look translucent, about four minutes. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir together until the apples have softened slightly and begun to caramelize, six to eight minutes. Remove from the heat, and transfer to the baking dish. 4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the seeds from the vanilla bean or the vanilla extract. Add the sugar and salt, and whisk together. Slowly beat in the flour, then add the yogurt and milk. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Pour over the apples in the baking dish. 5. Place in the oven, and bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the clafouti is firm and puffed. Check by pressing lightly on the middle. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack, or serve warm. Yield: Eight servings. Advance preparation: Although the clafouti will fall slightly, you can make it several hours before serving. I usually serve clafouti at room temperature, so I prefer to make it early in the day if I’m cooking for a dinner party. Nutritional information per serving: 206 calories; 3 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 79 milligrams cholesterol; 36 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 49 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health."

Tipping the Odds for a Maker of Heart Implants Posted: 03 Apr 2011 08:42 AM PDT Las Vegas is a city of few sure bets. But there are overwhelming odds on one thing — the brand of heart device that patients at a major hospital get. Multimedia Graphic A Quick Change in Heart Devices Enlarge This Image A Biotronik heart device. Sales soared at one hospital. Within the last few years, a little known company called Biotronik has cornered the market on pacemakers and defibrillators at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Last year, 250 of the 263 patients, or 95 percent, who had a heart device implanted at the hospital center got one made by Biotronik. The company’s hold at the hospital center is all the more striking because its implants were not used there before 2008, and its national share of the heart-device market barely exceeds 5 percent, according to industry estimates. The devices’ sudden popularity was apparently not left to chance. In mid-2008, Biotronik hired several cardiologists who implant heart devices at the Las Vegas hospital as consultants, paying them fees that may have reached as high as $5,000 a month, company documents reviewed by The New York Times indicate. Those doctors then did the rest. Meanwhile, the hospital’s chief executive said she never asked during the hospital’s switch to Biotronik whether those physicians had a financial connection to the company. A federal investigation is examining Biotronik’s marketing and sales practices, according to a company e-mail. While a lawyer for Biotronik confirmed the inquiry, he declined to elaborate. In recent years, payments to doctors from makers of drugs and medical devices have come under intense scrutiny because of concern that such ties can affect physician practices. Under last year’s federal health care law, companies like Biotronik will have to disclose by 2013 any payments to doctors for consulting and other services. But interviews and dozens of Biotronik documents that discuss the company’s sales tactics and doctor payments offer a portrait of how a company seeks to win business, and the eagerness of some doctors to serve in that effort. In addition, the records provide a rare look at a central player in these types of transactions: the sales officials who promote implants by finding ways to flatter doctors or fatten their wallets. In general, doctors and device makers describe themselves as partners in an effort to best serve the needs of patients. But privately, sales personnel at Biotronik and one of its distributors referred at times to physicians whom they courted with a tone akin to disdain. One sales official, for example, was said to hold “great influence” over a doctor. Doctors who failed to enroll patients in Biotronik-sponsored studies were put on a “loser” list, another document shows. Yet another report offered this advice about winning one doctor’s attention: “He loves his white wine and being entertained.” Executives of Biotronik, a German company whose American subsidiary is based in Lake Oswego, Ore., declined to be interviewed for this article, citing the ongoing Justice Department investigation. The company referred written questions to an outside lawyer, Christopher A. Myers, who declined to describe the federal inquiry, other than to say that the company has been told that it is a civil matter, rather than criminal. A Justice Department spokesman said that it did not, as a matter of policy, confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. Mr. Myers stated that Biotronik paid its consultants for legitimate services and at rates comparable to those of competitors. He added that Biotronik adhered to an industrywide code of ethics. “Biotronik is committed to maintaining a culture of compliance and ethics and has a robust and active internal compliance program,” he wrote. A heart device, which can cost up to $35,000, has among the highest profit margins of any medical product, and three big producers — Medtronic, St. Jude Medical and Boston Scientific — dominate the industry. A New Competitor Many of the records and e-mails reviewed involve a Biotronik distributor called Western Medical, a company that was founded in mid-2008 by Caesar Fonte, a former top sales official at Boston Scientific. In 2006, Boston Scientific entered the heart device business when it acquired the Guidant Corporation, the company where Mr. Fonte then worked. Several other Boston Scientific sales officials also left in 2008 to join him at Western Medical. Once there, they sought to persuade doctors they knew from their days marketing Boston Scientific devices to switch to Biotronik. In the process, some doctors got Biotronik consulting deals. 1 2 3 Next Page »

Doctors Go Far Afield to Battle Epidemics Posted: 03 Apr 2011 12:00 AM PDT MASHAI, Lesotho — At a clinic in the mountains, reached only by crossing a churning river in a rowboat, Dr. Paul Young, a pediatrician raised in the housing projects of Savannah, Ga., soothed a fussy baby. She stared at him, fascinated, as he made soft popping sounds with his lips and listened to her heart through a stethoscope. Multimedia Battling H.I.V. in Lesotho Battling H.I.V. in Lesotho Close Video See More Videos » Enlarge This Image Greg Marinovich for The New York Times Dr. Phiri said the arrival of doctors from the Pediatric AIDS Corps, like Dr. Paul Young, had lightened her load and improved care. “I used to be afraid to look at the babies’ test results,” he said after examining a bunch of children, who were born healthy despite having H.I.V.-positive mothers. “But now, most of them are negative.” Dr. Young, 33, and the nurses he trained here have persuaded many pregnant women to get tested and take the drugs that prevent them from passing the disease to their newborns. It is all part of a charitable effort he joined in 2008 for $40,000 a year and the chance to work in this AIDS-afflicted country, which has just one pediatrician in its entire government health system. “If this was the last thing I did, if this was the only job I ever had in life, I would have served my purpose,” he said. Dr. Young represents the surging interest of young Americans in combating the deadly epidemics ravaging the world’s poorest countries, fueled in part by the billions of dollars that the American government, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other organizations have poured into international health in recent years. Across sub-Saharan Africa, an extreme shortage of health workers remains a critical barrier to fighting illness. The region bears a quarter of the world’s burden of disease, but has only 3 percent of its health care workers, according to the World Health Organization. Public health experts say efforts like the one involving Dr. Young have proved particularly useful on a continent that sorely needs pediatricians, surgeons and other specialists to train African doctors and nurses in the field. And demand for such opportunities is rising. More than 70 universities in the United States and Canada now offer formal academic programs in global health, most of them developed in just the past five years, according to the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. “Today’s students really want to make a difference in the world,” said Michael H. Merson, director of Duke University’s Global Health Institute. “They have a passion for sacrifice and service. It reminds me of the ’60s.” The children of powerful politicians are part of this new generation of global health enthusiasts. Vanessa Kerry, 34, a Harvard-trained doctor and the daughter of Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, is advocating a Peace Corps-like federal program that would send American doctors and nurses to work and train health workers in developing countries. And Barbara Bush, 29, a daughter of former President George W. Bush, co-founded the nonprofit Global Health Corps, which this year sent 36 college graduates from eight countries to work with nonprofit groups, mostly in Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi and Uganda. More than 1,000 people applied for the yearlong fellowships. The Pediatric AIDS Corps that sent Dr. Young here, largely financed by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and the Baylor College of Medicine, never advertised for applicants after the first class of doctors was recruited in 2005. Word of mouth produced far more highly qualified physicians from universities all over the United States than the project could ever hire. In addition to the salary, the program paid down as much as $40,000 of the doctors’ educational debt for each year of service — making it possible for Dr. Young to join, though he owed $170,000 after his undergraduate and medical studies. His mother was an assembly-line worker, and in hard times the family relied on Medicaid. Dr. Young himself never had a steady pediatrician as a child. With a laugh, he said that his friends back home asked him if he had running water or used an outhouse in Africa. “We’re not roughing it here by any means,” he tells them. He drives a 10-year-old Opel Corsa, but lives in a pleasant town house in the sleepy capital, Maseru, with wireless Internet and a housekeeper who comes twice a week. For the first time in his life, he has gone skiing — in Lesotho’s breathtaking mountains. But it is the work that gives the job its meaning, the doctors say. Lineo Thahane attended Princeton University and got her medical degree at Washington University in St. Louis. It was a 2003 rotation in Lesotho’s main public hospital during her residency — when children were still dying of AIDS for lack of antiretroviral treatment — that made her want to return to Africa. Her parents were both from Lesotho, but she was born and raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Dr. Thahane, 35, joined the first crop of Pediatric AIDS Corps doctors in Lesotho, and now helps her mother, Dr. Edith Mohapi, 64, who for 20 years managed pediatric outpatient services at Arlington Hospital in Virginia, to run Baylor’s pediatric H.I.V. programs in Lesotho. “I felt, ‘This is where the need is,’ ” Dr. Thahane said. Over the past five years, the corps has had 50 to 60 doctors working in Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi and Botswana. The hospitals and clinics they supervise now care for more than 50,000 H.I.V.-positive children, Baylor estimates. The project’s impact should also last beyond its financing, which ends in June. The 128 doctors who served in the corps in the past five years trained about 3,000 African professionals, who will carry on. And in July, Baylor will start another project with 32 pediatricians to work on a broader array of diseases. Dr. Grace Phiri, an overworked Malawian who has been the only pediatrician in Lesotho’s government service for most of the past 17 years, said the arrival of 10 AIDS Corps doctors in 2006 — just as AIDS drugs for children were becoming more widely available — drastically improved the survival chances of H.I.V.-positive children. Until 2005, not a single child with AIDS was on publicly financed antiretroviral therapy in Lesotho. 1 2 Next Page »

Arizona Asks to Set Fines for Health Risks Posted: 01 Apr 2011 10:20 PM PDT PHOENIX — Arizona’s Medicaid program, criticized last year when it halted some organ transplants to save money, has come up with another cost-saving measure that has people talking. Related Cuts Leave Patients With Medicaid Cards, but No Specialist to See (April 2, 2011) Following the lead of some private health plans, which charge premiums to members who smoke or engage in other unhealthy behavior, Arizona’s Health Care Cost Containment System has proposed charging smokers $50 a year and applying a similar fee to diabetes patients who do not follow their doctor’s orders to lose weight, said Monica Coury, a spokeswoman for the state Medicaid agency. “This is an annual fee that says to consumers, ‘Hey, we’re not going to prevent you from smoking, but you have to put a little bit more into the system because it costs us more,’ ” Ms. Coury said, citing a 2006 survey that showed that 46 percent of the patients in the state’s Medicaid program were smokers. As for being overweight, Ms. Coury said the cash-strapped agency would not be weighing people and slapping a fine on those carrying extra pounds. Rather, the $50 would be charged to those who were specifically urged by doctors to lose weight for health reasons, like diabetes, but failed to do so, she said. “We don’t care how much you weigh,” she said. “We care if you are doing something you should be doing to manage your disease.” The proposal was mentioned in a letter that Gov. Jan Brewer wrote Thursday to Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, seeking federal approval for a variety of cost-saving moves. Financing for the organ transplants was reinstated in a budget approved by the Arizona House this week, and the Senate appeared poised to approve a similar deal. But officials said that other measures would be necessary to keep services running, among them the fees for unhealthy living and charges for missing doctors’ appointments. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Well: Diabetes Increases Risk of Cancer Death Posted: 04 Apr 2011 12:20 PM PDT

Well: Regular Fasting May Boost Heart Health Posted: 04 Apr 2011 11:58 AM PDT

Personal Health: A Warning on Overuse Injuries for Youths Posted: 04 Apr 2011 12:27 PM PDT Just as warming weather brings millions of young athletes back onto sports fields, a major athletics association has renewed this warning: Some school-age competitors who are inadequately prepared, or improperly coached, continue to develop serious overuse injuries. Enlarge This Image Yvetta Fedorova Related More Personal Health Columns The risks often exceed those faced by adults who get carried away with a chosen sport because young athletes are still growing mentally and physically, and so are vulnerable to certain injuries, some of which can compromise growth. Among the most common are Osgood-Schlatter disease, a painful inflammation just below the knee; Sever’s disease, a injury to the heel’s growth plate; and among young baseball pitchers, nagging elbow or shoulder injuries. Young athletes are also more vulnerable to stress fractures. As I noted last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics has said the goal of youth participation in sports “should be to promote lifelong physical activity, recreation and skills of healthy competition” — not the hopes of obtaining a college scholarship, or making an Olympic or professional team. In light of the already high, and probably increasing, rate of pediatric overuse injuries, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association in March issued a position paper replete with recommendations that can help prevent these injuries and enable children and adolescents to stay in the game without compromising their health. First, a Health Check Every child who expects to participate in a sport should first undergo a thorough physical exam in which a physician checks for factors that may make the child especially vulnerable to injury, the trainers’ association recommended. Too often, the exam is glossed over “in a mass-screening setting instead of being done carefully one on one in a medical office by the child’s physician,” Tamara McLeod, an athletic trainer at A.T. Still University in Mesa, Ariz., and lead author of the position statement, said in an interview. Parents, too, may incorrectly regard the exam as an obstacle to participation, rather than a necessity to protect their children. The first and perhaps most important part of the exam is done by the child and parent even before seeing the doctor: They must complete a medical history form that should become part of the child’s permanent medical record. This 54-item form asks about existing medical conditions, personal and family heart problems, bone and joint injuries; and a host of current or prior medical issues, like breathing difficulties, headaches, concussions and eating disorders. Second, Dr. McLeod said, any child about to engage in intense physical activity should be in good physical condition to begin with. Thus, in addition to a general medical exam, the doctor should check a child’s balance, strength, flexibility, joint stability, range of motion, posture and gait. But finding a problem doesn’t necessarily preclude athletic participation. “If a child is found to have deficits, pre-participation training to correct them can help prevent recurrent injuries,” Dr. McLeod said. “And sport-specific modifications can be made, like lowering the mileage run or number of pitches thrown, to reduce the risk of injury.” Children are not just small adults, and it is often necessary to modify the adult versions of activities to protect young participants. For example, Little League has established pitch count limits per game and recommended days of rest for pitchers ages 9 to 18. The United States Cycling Federation has imposed gear-ratio limits for riders ages 10 to 16. U.S.A. Swimming recommends the number and length of weekly sessions for various ages of competitive swimmers, while running organizations in Australia limit race distances for runners ages 12 through 18. But while youth soccer fields are smaller and bases on baseball fields are closer together than those for adults, no similar adjustment has been made for basketball. Training and Conditioning Just as a sedentary adult should not suddenly run a marathon, it is unwise for a “de-conditioned” child to engage in a demanding physical activity. And far too many youngsters today are less active and less fit than their counterparts of previous generations. “Proper training and conditioning, both before and during the season, may prevent overuse injuries,” the athletic trainers’ association said. The group recommended starting a fitness-improvement program at least two months before the sport’s season begins. 1 2 Next Page »

Really?: The Claim: You Cannot Get Sunburned Through a Car Window Posted: 04 Apr 2011 09:42 AM PDT THE FACTS Enlarge This Image Christoph Niemann Related Health Guide: Sunburn More Really? Columns   Applying sunscreen at the beach is a no-brainer. Applying it before getting behind the wheel? That’s less common. But if you spend long hours on the road, especially during daylight hours, sunscreen may be a good idea. Most car manufacturers install laminated windshields that filter out ultraviolet light. Rear and side windows are typically made of nonlaminated glass, which filters out UVB light, the chief cause of skin reddening and sunburn — but not UVA rays, which penetrate the skin more deeply and also cause harm. In a study published last year in The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, researchers at St. Louis University School of Medicine examined the records and histories of more than 1,000 patients referred to a local skin cancer clinic. They found that people who had spent the most time driving a car each week were more likely to develop skin cancers on the left sides of their bodies and faces — the side exposed to more sunlight while driving. In patients with malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, 74 percent of the tumors were found on the left sides, compared with 26 percent on the right. In January, another group of researchers published a similar but much larger study in the same journal, using data on thousands of skin cancer patients collected by the National Cancer Institute. They found the same “predilection for left-sided skin cancers,” but noted that the link was stronger in men, suggesting that women took more precautions, like wearing sunscreen, and had “more equally distributed sun exposure, including possibly spending more time in the passenger seat.” THE BOTTOM LINE   In an enclosed vehicle, sunburn is unlikely, but deeply penetrating UVA rays can cause potentially harmful skin damage.

Colorless Food? We Blanch Posted: 02 Apr 2011 10:48 PM PDT WASHINGTON — Without the artificial coloring FD&C Yellow No. 6, Cheetos Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks would look like the shriveled larvae of a large insect. Not surprisingly, in taste tests, people derived little pleasure from eating them. William Duke Related Artificial Dye Safe to Eat, Panel Says (April 1, 2011) F.D.A. Panel to Consider Warnings for Artificial Food Colorings (March 30, 2011) William Duke Their fingers did not turn orange. And their brains did not register much cheese flavor, even though the Cheetos tasted just as they did with food coloring. “People ranked the taste as bland and said that they weren’t much fun to eat,” said Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell University and director of the university’s Food and Brand Lab. Naked Cheetos would not seem to have much commercial future. Nor might some brands of pickles. The pickling process turns them an unappetizing gray. Dye is responsible for their robust green. Gummi worms without artificial coloring would look, like, well, muddily translucent worms. Jell-O would emerge out of the refrigerator a watery tan. No doubt the world would be a considerably duller place without artificial food coloring. But might it also be a safer place? The Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, asked the government last week to ban artificial coloring because the dyes that are used in some foods might worsen hyperactivity in some children. “These dyes have no purpose whatsoever other than to sell junk food,” Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. A government advisory panel concluded that there was no proof that dyes caused problems in most children, and that whatever problems they might cause in some children did not warrant a ban or a warning label beyond what is already required — a disclosure on the product label that artificial colors are present. “Color is such a crucial part of the eating experience that banning dyes would take much of the pleasure out of life,” said Kantha Shelke, a food chemist and spokeswoman for the Institute of Food Technologists. “Would we really want to ban everything when only a small percentage of us are sensitive?” Indeed, color often defines flavor in taste tests. When tasteless yellow coloring is added to vanilla pudding, consumers say it tastes like banana or lemon pudding. And when mango or lemon flavoring is added to white pudding, most consumers say that it tastes like vanilla pudding. Color creates a psychological expectation for a certain flavor that is often impossible to dislodge, Dr. Shelke said. “Color can actually override the other parts of the eating experience,” she said in an interview. Even so, some food companies have expanded their processed-product offerings to include foods without artificial colorings. You can now buy Kool-Aid Invisible, for instance, and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Organic White Cheddar. Some grocery chains, including Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s, refuse to sell foods with artificial coloring. As yet, natural colorings have not proven to be a good alternative. They are generally not as bright, cheap or stable as artificial colorings, which can remain vibrant for years. Natural colorings often fade within days. Todd Miller, the executive pastry chef for Hello Cupcake in Washington, said he was dedicated to simple, natural ingredients. His cakes are made with flour and butter, and his red icing gets its color from strawberry purée. But the sprinkles that top many of his creations have colorings derived from good old petroleum, the source of artificial colorings. And he has no intention of changing that because the natural stuff just isn’t as colorful. “I could live without sprinkles, but why would I want to?” he asked. “They’re cupcakes. They’re supposed to be fun.”

The New Old Age: Scientists Link New Genes to Alzheimer's Posted: 04 Apr 2011 06:18 AM PDT

Prescriptions: This Week's Health Industry News Posted: 04 Apr 2011 08:23 AM PDT

Recipes for Health: Winter Strawberry Gelato Posted: 04 Apr 2011 08:03 AM PDT I’m calling this “winter” strawberry gelato only because I’m making it with frozen organic strawberries. You can use sweet, fresh strawberries when they’re in season. The recipe is inspired by pastry chef Sherry Yard, who taught me that you can make perfectly wonderful ice cream with no cream and no eggs. I make this one with 2 percent milk, but you could use whole milk. If you’re thinking of using skim milk, substitute water and make sorbet. Recipes for Health Martha Rose Shulman presents food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and to eat. See All Recipes for Health » Visit Recipes for Health on Facebook. Related Recipes for Health: Desserts for the Conscientious (April 4, 2011) 1 1-pound bag frozen strawberries; or 1 pound ripe, sweet, strawberries, hulled 1/2 cup sugar, preferably organic fair trade sugar 1/4 cup water 2 cups milk (2 percent or whole) 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice Pinch of salt 1. Place a 1-quart container and one smaller container -- for any extra gelato -- in the freezer. Combine the strawberries, sugar and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the strawberries thaw and become very soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and transfer half the mixture to a blender. Since the mixture is hot, just cover the top of the blender jar with a dish towel pulled down tight. Blend until smooth, and then add half the milk. Blend again until smooth. Repeat with the remaining strawberries and milk. Transfer to a bowl, and chill in the refrigerator. 2. Stir in the lemon juice and salt, and transfer to the container of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. Scrape into the chilled container, and return to the freezer for at least two hours before serving. If frozen solid, allow to soften in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Yield: Just under five cups, serving six to eight. Advance preparation: This will keep for a couple of weeks in the freezer. The strawberry base can be made up to a day before you make the gelato. Nutritional information per serving (six servings): 135 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 milligrams cholesterol; 28 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 44 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein Nutritional information per serving (eight servings): 101 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 milligrams cholesterol; 21 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 33 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health."

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