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People who consume high levels of dietary vitamin C and E may lower their risk for Parkinson’s disease by almost a third, a new study suggests. Foods high in vitamin C include oranges, strawberries, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Foods high in vitamin E include spinach, collard greens, pumpkin and nuts such as almonds and peanuts. How might the two nutrients ward off Parkinson’s? According to the European researchers involved in the new study, vitamins C and E are also antioxidants that could ward off the cell damage Parkinson’s causes. Specifically, antioxidants might help counteract “unstable” molecules and the oxidative stress that can lead to a loss of a brain chemical called dopamine, which is a hallmark of the condition. “The protective effect of vitamins on Parkinson’s disease risk might be limited to specific vitamins, such as vitamins E and C. Therefore, eating foods that are rich in vitamins E and C might help to prevent the development of Parkinson’s disease,” said researcher Essi Hantikainen, from the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy. “Also, high concentrations of vitamin C are found in the central nervous system, where it has neuroprotective properties,” she explained. Hantikainen noted that this study can’t prove that vitamins E and C prevent Parkinson’s, only that high levels of these vitamins are associated with a lower risk of developing the disease. “Further research is… read on > read on >

A widely used class of antibiotics has been linked to an increased risk of a potentially fatal blood vessel condition — even in younger, healthy people. In a study of millions of antibiotic prescriptions made in the United States, researchers found that one class was associated with a small increase in the risk of aortic aneurysm. The drugs — called fluoroquinolones — have been a mainstay of antibiotic therapy for decades. They include medications such as Cipro (ciprofloxacin), Levaquin (levofloxacin) and Factive (gemifloxacin). Several previous studies have linked fluoroquinolones to a heightened risk of aortic aneurysm — a weakened area in the wall of the body’s largest artery. If that weakened tissue ruptures, it can cause fatal bleeding. Based on those earlier findings, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning in 2018, saying people at high risk of aortic aneurysm should avoid fluoroquinolones. “High risk” included the elderly and people with high blood pressure or a history of blockages or aneurysms in any arteries. The new study, published Jan. 6 in JAMA Surgery, suggests a much broader swath of the population might want to be cautious. It found a link between fluoroquinolones and aortic aneurysm in all adults age 35 and up — including those without high blood pressure, diabetes or elevated cholesterol. “I’d personally like to see the FDA broaden its warning,”… read on > read on >

If you want to burn fat this winter, take your exercise outdoors, researchers say. A Canadian study suggests that vigorous exercise in cold weather may burn more fat than working out indoors. Regular physical activity speeds metabolism and helps regulate fat in the blood (“lipids”), and high-intensity training is better for burning fat than moderate-intensity exercise, the researchers said. Temperature also plays a role in metabolism during exercise. In the study, a group of moderately fit, overweight adults participated in two high-intensity exercise sessions. In both, they completed 10 one-minute cycling sprints at 90% effort. A 90-second recovery period of cycling at 30% effort followed each sprint. In one session, the temperature was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit (“thermoneutral”). In the other session, it was 32 degrees Fahrenheit. During both sessions, the researchers measured participants’ skin temperature, core body temperature, heart rate and the amount of oxygen delivered to the large thigh muscle. “The present study found that high-intensity exercise in the cold increased lipid oxidation by 358% during the exercise bout in comparison to high-intensity exercise in a thermoneutral environment,” according to the report published online recently in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Longer-term metabolic responses after eating a high-fat meal did not change substantially after the cold condition, the researchers noted in a news release from the American Physiological Society. The lead researcher was… read on > read on >

After a short-lived tax on sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages was repealed, consumption of sugary drinks in an Illinois County escalated again, according to a new study. The tax was pitched to reduce Cook County budget deficits. It lasted four months — from Aug. 2 to Dec. 1, 2017, the researchers said. “We know that the tax worked to bring down demand for sweetened beverages significantly while it was in place,” said lead author Lisa Powell, director of health policy and administration at the University of Illinois Chicago, School of Public Health. “The repeal of the Cook County Sweetened Beverage Tax was a missed public health opportunity,” Powell said. “If it had stayed in place, we could have seen a lasting reduction in consumption of sweetened beverages, which are linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which, in turn, have recently been found to be associated with increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.” For the study, the researchers compared the price and volume of sweetened beverages sold in the county while the tax was in place, for the two years prior to the tax and for the eight months after the tax was repealed, with sales in St. Louis, Mo., which did not have a similar tax. The price of the beverages increased by 1.13 cents per fluid ounce in the county… read on > read on >