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Bioencapsulation: Creating A Safe Haven For Sensitive

Ingredients

ScienceDaily (Mar. 11, 2009) — Consumers are becoming more health

conscious and food manufacturers are pursuing innovative ways to produce
food that can deliver specific health benefits without compromising the
taste or quality of their products. Incorporation of bioactive compounds, or
‘nutraceuticals’, into food systems can provide a simple way to develop
novel ‘functional foods’ with health-promoting and/or disease-preventing
properties.

Examples of functional foods are probiotic (live bacteria) drinks or cholesterol-lowering

spreads.
Bioencapsulation, or entrapment, is the process by which the active ingredient is
densely packed into minute particles of liquid or solid material (encapsulant) or coated
by a shielding material.
“Bioencapsulation is going to play an important role in the development of food that
contains added health-promoting ingredients,” explains Dr André Brodkorb in the latest
issue of TResearch, Teagasc’s research and innovation magazine.
Brodkorb and his colleagues in Moorepark Food Research Centre are working on the
bioencapsulation of probiotics.
“Many bioactive ingredients are reactive and can interact with other food ingredients.
The results are often undesired secondary products, or even degradation of the bioactive
material and, ultimately, a loss in the commercial value of the food product.
Encapsulation can prevent this by shielding the bioactives from detrimental
environmental conditions met during processing, shelf-life and gastro-intestinal
digestion, such as heat, low pH, oxygen, digestive enzymes and bile salts,” Brodkorb
explains.
This article was featured in 'TResearch', Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2009.

ScienceDaily (Dec. 18, 2008) — A new study in the Review of Agricultural Economics
compares fast food and table service meals at restaurants. Results show that both are
larger and have more calories than meals prepared at home, with the typical fast food
meal being smaller and having fewer calories than the average meal from a table service
restaurant.

James K. Binkley of Purdue University used data from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals, which is the most
recently available large sample of information regarding nutritional intake, to analyze
fast food, table service restaurant meals, and meals prepared at home.

Fast food was found to be more energy dense than food from a table service restaurant.
However, Binkley found that fast food meals tend to be smaller. Consequently, the

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typical fast food meal had fewer calories than the average meal from a table service
restaurant, whether the diner is an adult, teenager, or child.
But, the study found that table service diners are more likely to reduce their food
consumption during the rest of the day than are those eating at fast food restaurants,
most likely because of the difference in energy density. As a result, fast food may
ultimately result in more calories.
Perhaps the most surprising result of the study was the finding that fast food had the
largest effects for adults, and that children’s caloric intakes were greatest when they ate
at table service restaurants.
“It is misleading to focus concerns about the nutritional effects of increased food away
from home primarily on fast food. All food away from home should be considered,”
Binkley concludes.

Science News

Eating Right -- Not Supplements -- Is Best At Keeping Your Good Bacteria

Healthy, Dietitian Says

ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2009) — Healthy eating, not supplements, is the best way to
keep the good bacteria in your gut healthy, says a dietitian and researcher.

As with vitamins, it's best to get the bacteria you need from healthy food rather than
taking often expensive and potentially ineffective supplements, says Gail Cresci,
Medical College of Georgia dietitian and researcher.

"Consumers are buying stuff like crazy that is probably not even helping them and
could potentially hurt them," says Ms. Cresci, assistant professor of surgery at the MCG
School of Medicine and winner of the 2009 Excellence in Practice Award for Clinical
Nutrition by the American Dietetic Association.
Increasing awareness of the benefit some of these organisms play in sickness and in
health has resulted in an explosion of prebiotic and probiotic additives and products
marketed directly to consumers. It's also created confusion -- even among nutrition and
other health care experts -- about how best to use them, says Ms. Cresci, who prescribes
them to help surgery patients recover and works in the lab to learn more about their
potential. She discussed the latest findings about their implications for clinical practice
at the association's 2009 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in Denver, Oct. 17-20.
She equates the good bacterium in your gastrointestinal tract to another living being
inside that helps keep you healthy. "If you do good by your bacteria, they will do good
by you," Ms. Cresci says.
There are about 800 bacterial species with more than 7,000 strains inhabiting the
average gut and even though many sound similar they likely aren't: a little Lactobacillus
acidophilus combined with some Lactobacillus bifidus, for example, has been shown
extremely beneficial in preventing antibiotic-induced diarrhea while Lactobacillus
bulgaricus with some Streptococcus thermophilus is useless.
"You need to be careful," Ms. Cresci says. "You don't just give the same probiotic to try
and treat everybody." That's why she lectures to dietitians, physicians and anyone
interested in how to make good use of these front-line protectors that attack invaders

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that enter the body via the mouth and help the immune system keep a more global watch
over the body, as well.
There is even mounting evidence that a healthy gut microbiota helps maintain a healthy
weight. Studies have shown, for example, that when bacteria from a genetically fat
mouse are placed in a lean germ-free mouse, it gains weight without changing its food
intake.
Unfortunately poor diets are hurting the bacteria in many of us and the overuse of
antibiotics is taking its toll as well, she says, particularly the common, broad spectrum
antibiotics that wipe out anything in their path, good and bad bacteria included.
Diarrhea is an extremely common consequence of disturbing the natural balance of your
gut's microbiota. In generally healthy individuals, a good diet, rich in fiber, protein and
low in fat, will quickly help restore good bacteria. But in older individuals or those with
an underlying condition, probiotics may be needed to avoid potentially deadly problems
such as overgrowth of bad bacterium like Clostridium difficile. When that bacteria starts
to thrive, it can result in an extremely enlarged colon that must be removed and, even
then, about 80 percent of patients die.
To avoid such havoc, it's important that you pull the right live bugs off the shelf and
that they survive to reach the lower gut, Ms. Cresci says of fragile bacteria that can be
lambasted by gastric juices or killed off by even a short-term exposure to ambient
heat.
The right combination is essential as well. "A lot of these probiotics have only one
bacterium but we have trillions of colony forming units in our gut," she says. There is
mounting evidence that one of the best ways to quickly restore the complex gut
complement is by using feces from healthy individuals. It's called fecal bacteriotherapy,
when feces mixed with a little saline, is given typically via a rectal enema or a
nasogastric tube.
The good news is, if you eat right, you likely won't need such extremes.
Ms. Cresci says a good daily diet has:
← 30 percent or less of calories coming from fat and saturated fats comprising no
more than 10 percent of that. The majority should come from monounsaturated fats
such as olive and canola oils.
← 25-30 grams of fiber, not from supplements, but from fiber-rich foods like whole
grains and fresh fruits and vegetables, which also provide needed vitamins and
minerals.
← If tolerable, dairy products to help ensure adequate protein, calcium, and other
nutrients.
← Protein, through meat or dairy products, or nuts and beans, which also provide
fiber and healthy fats

Science News

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Sesame Seed Extract And Konjac Gum May Help Ward Off Salmonella And E.
Coli

ScienceDaily (Aug. 6, 2008) — A new study in SCI’s Journal of the Science of Food
and Agriculture shows that konjac gum and sesame seed extract may offer protection
against different strains of E. coli and Salmonella bacteria.

The study by Dr Petra Becker et al from Wageningen University and Research Centre,
the Netherlands, shows that these foodstuffs act as binders for E. coli and Salmonella
bacteria. The bacteria attach themselves to the fibrous foods instead of the gut cells of
the host.

Dr Becker says that eating a diet full of these foodstuffs may offer protection from
gastro-intestinal infections or reduce the severity of symptoms caused by E. coli or
Salmonella.
Other foods that were shown to have a beneficial effect included yeast, tomato, and
pumpkin.
In the lab study which also included negative controls, the scientists looked at 18 food-
related products including coffee beans, carrot, mango, fermented soya, and food
stabilizers such as locust bean gum and konjac gum. All were subjected to in-vitro
exposure to various bacteria which were allowed to attach themselves to the test
products. The levels of bound bacteria were determined in a microplate-based method
specifically developed for this purpose.
The results showed that sesame seed extract and konjac gum had the greatest number of
adhered bacteria, leading to the conclusion that they may have a part to play in
preventing certain E. coli and Salmonella from latching onto the host.
Dr Becker said: ‘The importance of fibre, particularly from certain foodstuffs, in
maintaining a healthy gut and digestion cannot be underestimated. The study shows that
these foods bind certain bacteria and may be a means of stopping bacteria from entering
host cells thereby preventing disease.’

Science News

Comfort Food: Chocolate, Water Reduce Pain Response To Heat

ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2009) — People often eat food to feel better, but researchers
have found that eating chocolate or drinking water can blunt pain, reducing a rat's
response to a hot stimulus. This natural form of pain relief may help animals in the wild
avoid distraction while eating scarce food, but in modern humans with readily available
food, the effect may contribute to overeating and obesity.

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The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience by authors Peggy Mason, PhD,
professor of neurobiology, and Hayley Foo, PhD, research associate professor of
neurobiology at the University of Chicago, is the first to demonstrate that this powerful
painkilling effect occurs while the animals are ingesting food or liquid even in the
absence of appetite.

"It's a strong, strong effect, but it's not about hunger or appetite," Mason said. "If you
have all this food in front of you that's easily available to reach out and get, you're not
going to stop eating, for basically almost any reason."
In the experiments, rats were given either a chocolate chip to eat or had sugar water or
regular water infused directly into their mouth. As the rat swallowed the chocolate or
fluid, a light-bulb beneath the cage was switched on, providing a heat stimulus that
normally caused the animal to lift its paw off the floor. Mason and Foo found that rats
were much slower to raise their paw while eating or drinking, compared to tests
conducted while they were awake, but not eating.
Surprisingly, the researchers found no difference in the delayed paw-lift response
between when the rat was eating chocolate and when it was drinking water, despite
previous research indicating that only sugary substances were protective against pain.
"This really shows it has nothing to do with calories," Mason said. "Water has no
calories, saccharine has no sugar, but both have the same effect as a chocolate chip. It's
really shocking."
Mason and Foo then repeated the heat test as the rats were given quinine, a bitter drink
that causes rats to make an expression called a gape that's akin to a child's expression
of "yuck." During quinine administration, the rats reacted to heat as quickly as when not
eating, suggesting that a non-pleasurable food or drink fails to trigger pain relief.
The context of ingesting was also important to whether eating or drinking blunted pain,
the researchers found. When rats were made ill by a drug treatment, eating chocolate no
longer delayed their response. However, drinking water still caused a reduced pain
response, indicating that drinking water was considered a positive experience while ill.
By selectively inactivating a region in the brainstem called the raphe mangus – an area
previously shown to blunt pain during sleep and urination – Mason and Foo were able
to remove the effect of drinking water on the rat's pain response. The brainstem controls
subconscious responses such as breathing and perspiration during exercise.
"You're essentially at the mercy of your brainstem, and the raphe magnus is part of
that," Mason said. "It tells you, 'you're going to finish eating this, whether you like it or
not,' just like you sweat while running whether you like it or not."
In the wild, Mason said, rats and other animals would not want to be distracted during
the rare but important times that they were able to eat or drink. Therefore, the activation
of the raphe magnus during eating or drinking would allow the rat to filter out
distractions until their meal was completed. For obvious reasons, this natural pain relief
would be activated when an animal is eating or drinking something pleasurable, but not
when it tastes something that could be toxic or harmful.
Don Katz, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brandeis
University who studies taste, said that Mason and Foo's paper brings together two
systems – taste and pain – that are usually studied separately.
"They're saying the purpose of the taste system is to give the animal a cue that helps it
decide what stimulus they should or shouldn't pay attention to," Katz said. "This shows
there is a whole region there to enable the animal to keep eating."
Mason believes that this effect is also present in humans (studies by other labs have
observed similar pain reduction in infants receiving sugar water during a booster shot),

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but that it has detrimental effects in modern society given our ready access to large
quantities of pleasurable and fattening foods. Opening up a bag of chips could activate
the brainstem such that you don't stop eating until the bag is empty, even while realizing
that such behavior is bad for you.
"We've gotten a lot more overweight in last 100 to 150 years," Mason said. "We're not
more hungry; the fact of the matter is that we eat more because food is readily available
and we are biologically destined to eat what's readily available."
But the painkilling effect can be turned to our advantage, Mason said, perhaps as a
replacement for the practice of using candy to calm children – or even adults – in the
doctor's office.
"Ingestion is a painkiller but we don't need the sugar," Mason said. "So replace the
doctor's lollipop with a drink of water."
The research was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the
Women's Council of the Brain Research Foundation. The paper, "Analgesia
accompanying food consumption requires ingestion of hedonic foods," appears in the
October 14th issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Chicago Medical Center, via

EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Science News

Diet And Intestinal Bacteria Linked To Healthier Immune Systems

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2009) — Insoluble dietary fibre, or roughage, not only keeps
you regular, say Australian scientists, it also plays a vital role in the immune system,
keeping certain diseases at bay.

The indigestible part of all plant-based foods pushes its way through most of the
digestive tract unchanged, acting as a kind of internal broom. When it arrives in the
colon, bacteria convert it to energy and compounds known as 'short chain fatty acids'.
These are already known to alleviate the symptoms of colitis, an inflammatory gut
condition. 1

Similarly, probiotics and prebiotics, food supplements that affect the balance of gut
bacteria, reduce the symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, also inflammatory
diseases. Until now no-one has understood why.
Published October 28 in Nature, breakthrough research by a Sydney-based team makes
new sense of such known facts by describing a mechanism that links diet, gut bacteria
and the immune system.
PhD student Kendle Maslowski and Professor Charles Mackay from the Garvan
Institute of Medical Research, in collaboration with the Co-operative Research Centre
for Asthma and Airways, have demonstrated that GPR43, a molecule expressed by
immune cells and previously shown to bind short chain fatty acids, functions as an anti-
inflammatory receptor.
"The notion that diet might have profound effects on immune responses or
inflammatory diseases has never been taken that seriously" said Professor Mackay. "We
believe that changes in diet, associated with western lifestyles, contribute to the
increasing incidences of asthma, Type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases. Now
we have a new molecular mechanism that might explain how diet is affecting our
immune systems."
"We're also now beginning to understand that from the moment you're born, it's
incredibly important to be colonised by the right kinds of gut bacteria," added Kendle.
"The kinds of foods you eat directly determine the levels of certain bacteria in your
gut."
"Changing diets are changing the kinds of gut bacteria we have, as well as their by-
products, particularly short chain fatty acids. If we have low amounts of dietary fibre,
then we're going to have low levels of short chain fatty acids, which we have
demonstrated are very important in the immune systems of mice."
Mice that lack the GPR43 gene have increased inflammation, and poor ability to resolve
inflammation, because their immune cells can't bind to short chain fatty acids.
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that bacteria and their by-products play an
important role in people. An American study published in Nature in 2006 2 compared
the bacteria in the guts of obese and lean people. The obese people were put on a diet,
and as they lost weight their bacteria profile gradually came to match that of the lean
people.
Another study 3 looked at what diets might do to short chain fatty acid levels. Obese
people were put on three different diets over time -- high, medium and low fibre -- and

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there was a direct correlation between the level of carbohydrate, or fibre, in the diet and
the level of short chain fatty acids.
The conclusions drawn from the current research provide some of the most
compelling reasons yet for eating considerably more unprocessed whole foods --
fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds. 4
Dietary fibre, of course, has many known health benefits in addition to those discussed
above, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers 5, and
various health organizations around the world recommend daily minimum levels. 6 It is
certain that the majority of people in countries like Australia, the United States and
Britain eat much less fibre than they need to stay healthy.
"The role of nutrition and gut intestinal bacteria in immune responses is an exciting new
topic in immunology, and recent findings including our own open up new possibilities
to explore causes as well as new treatments for inflammatory diseases such as asthma,"
said Professor Mackay.
1. In several trials, people with colitis have been given dietary fibre, resulting in
beneficial anti-inflammatory effects:
Harig, J. M., Soergel, K. H., Komorowski, R. A. & Wood, C. M. Treatment of diversion
colitis with short-chain-fatty acid irrigation. N. Engl. J. Med. 320, 23-28 (1989).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2909876?dopt=Abstract
Kanauchi, O. et al. Treatment of ulcerative colitis by feeding with germinated barley
foodstuff: first report of a multicenter open control trial. J. Gastroenterol. 37 (suppl.
14), 67-72 (2002). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12572869?dopt=Abstract
Breuer, R. I. et al. Rectal irrigation with short-chain fatty acids for distal ulcerative
colitis. Preliminary report. Dig. Dis. Sci. 36, 185-187 (1991).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1988261?dopt=Abstract
Scheppach, W. Treatment of distal ulcerative colitis with short-chain fatty acid enemas.
A placebo-controlled trial. German-Austrian SCFA Study Group. Dig. Dis. Sci. 41,
2254-2259 (1996). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8943981?dopt=Abstract
Vernia, P. et al. Short-chain fatty acid topical treatment in distal ulcerative colitis.
Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 9, 309-313 (1995).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7654893?dopt=Abstract
2. Ley, R. Turnbaugh, P.J. Klein, S Gordon, J.I Human gut microbes associated with
obesity. Nature 444, 1022-1023 (2006).
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7122/abs/4441022a.html
3. Duncan, S.H Belenguer, A. Holtrop, G. Johnstone, A.M. Flint, H.J. Lobley, G.E.
Reduced Dietary Intake of Carbohydrates by Obese Subjects Results in Decreased
Concentrations of Butyrate and Butyrate-Producing Bacteria in Feces. Applied and
Environmental Microbiology, 1073-1078 (2007)
http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/73/4/1073
4. There are many online sources where information can be found about foods and their
levels of soluble and insoluble fibre -- the effects of the latter investigated in this
research. Some foods, such as wheat bran, chick peas, dried fruits (apricots, peaches,
figs and dates) and berries (raspberries and blackberries) have particularly high levels of
insoluble fibre. CSIRO produces a useful fact sheet.
http://www.csiro.au/resources/DietaryFibre.html#1
5. O'Keefe, S Ou, J Aufreiter, S O'Connor, D Sharma, S Sepulveda, J Fukuwatari, T
Shibata, K Mawhinney, T. Products of the Colonic Microbiota Mediate the Effects of
Diet on Colon Cancer Risk. J. Nutr. 2009 139: 2044-2048. First published online
November 1, 2009; doi:10.3945/jn.109.104380
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/139/11/2044

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6. Australian Dietary Guidelines, produced by the National Health and Medical

Research Council recommend a daily intake of 30-35 grams of fibre.
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/healthyactive/publishing.nsf/content/eating

Global Warming Will Not be Halted by Current Human Civilization, Warn Scientists
Friday, October 02, 2009 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Key concepts: Global warming, Civilization and Human civilization
View on NaturalPedia: Global warming, Civilization and Human civilization

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(NaturalNews) Nearly 90 percent of climate experts say that current efforts to reign in
global warming will fail to prevent an average temperature rise of two degrees Celsius,
according to a poll conducted by the British newspaper The Guardian.

The paper sent the survey to all 1,756 participants in a March climate conference in
Copenhagen, and received 261 responses from 26 different countries. Two hundred of
the respondents were climate researchers, while 61 worked in fields such as industry,
economics or social sciences. They included authors of the groundbreaking 2007 report
from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as laboratory directors
and university department heads.

Many of the papers presented at the conference presented evidence that the world's
climate is likely to warm faster than previously anticipated.

In the survey, The Guardian asked researchers whether it was still possible to prevent
global temperatures from rising to two degrees above pre-industrial levels. This is the
threshold that has been set as a target by most climate activists and policy makers,
and forms the basis of most planned or suggested emissions cuts.

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Average global temperatures have already increased by 0.8 degrees since the Industrial
Revolution, and would continue to increase another 0.5 degrees even if all burning of
fossil fuels ceased tomorrow.

Sixty percent of survey respondents said it was still technically and economically
possible to cut fossil fuel emissions enough to prevent a two degree increase. Only 14
percent, however, thought that such cuts would actually occur.

Even among those who believed that a two degree temperature increase would be
averted, many admitted that they based this belief on hope rather than on evidence.

Forty-six percent of respondents said that a temperature increase of three to four degrees
was most likely by 2100. Twenty-six percent said that temperatures were more likely to
rise only two to three degrees, 13 percent predicted increases of four to five degrees, 10
percent predicted increases of two degrees or less, and 5 percent predicted increases of
six degrees or more.

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February 17, 2009

Well
Vitamin Pills: A False Hope?

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Ever since the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Linus Pauling first promoted
“megadoses” of essential nutrients 40 years ago, Americans have been devoted to their
vitamins. Today about half of all adults use some form of dietary supplement, at a cost
of $23 billion a year.
But are vitamins worth it? In the past few years, several high-quality studies have failed
to show that extra vitamins, at least in pill form, help prevent chronic disease or prolong
life.
The latest news came last week after researchers in the Women’s Health Initiative study
tracked eight years of multivitamin use among more than 161,000 older women. Despite
earlier findings suggesting that multivitamins might lower the risk for heart disease and
certain cancers, the study, published in The Archives of Internal Medicine, found no
such benefit.
Last year, a study that tracked almost 15,000 male physicians for a decade reported no
differences in cancer or heart disease rates among those using vitamins E and C
compared with those taking a placebo. And in October, a study of 35,000 men dashed
hopes that high doses of vitamin E and selenium could lower the risk of prostate cancer.
Of course, consumers are regularly subjected to conflicting reports and claims about the
benefits of vitamins, and they seem undeterred by the news — to the dismay of some
experts.
“I’m puzzled why the public in general ignores the results of well-done trials,” said Dr.
Eric Klein, national study coordinator for the prostate cancer trial and chairman of the
Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute. “The public’s belief in
the benefits of vitamins and nutrients is not supported by the available scientific data.”
Everyone needs vitamins, which are essential nutrients that the body can’t produce on
its own. Inadequate vitamin C leads to scurvy, for instance, and a lack of vitamin D
can cause rickets.
But a balanced diet typically provides an adequate level of these nutrients, and today
many popular foods are fortified with extra vitamins and minerals. As a result, diseases
caused by nutrient deficiency are rare in the United States.
In any event, most major vitamin studies in recent years have focused not on
deficiencies but on whether high doses of vitamins can prevent or treat a host of chronic
illnesses. While people who eat lots of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables have long
been known to have lower rates of heart disease and cancer, it hasn’t been clear whether
ingesting high doses of those same nutrients in pill form results in a similar benefit.
In January, an editorial in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute noted that most
trials had shown no cancer benefits from vitamins — with a few exceptions, like a
finding that calcium appeared to lower the recurrence of precancerous colon polyps by
15 percent.
But some vitamin studies have also shown unexpected harm, like higher lung cancer
rates in two studies of beta carotene use. Another study suggested a higher risk of
precancerous polyps among users of folic acid compared with those in a placebo group.

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In 2007, The Journal of the American Medical Association reviewed mortality rates in
randomized trials of antioxidant supplements. In 47 trials of 181,000 participants, the
rate was 5 percent higher among the antioxidant users. The main culprits were vitamin
A, beta carotene and vitamin E; vitamin C and selenium seemed to have no meaningful
effect.
“We call them essential nutrients because they are,” said Marian L. Neuhouser, an
associate member in cancer prevention at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
in Seattle. “But there has been a leap into thinking that vitamins and minerals can
prevent anything from fatigue to cancer to Alzheimer’s. That’s where the science didn’t
pan out.”Everyone is struggling to make sense of the conflicting data, said Andrew
Shao, vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible
Nutrition, a vitamin industry trade group. Consumers and researchers need to “redefine
our expectations for these nutrients,” he said. “They aren’t magic bullets.”
Part of the problem, he said, may stem from an inherent flaw in the way vitamins are
studied. With drugs, the gold standard for research is a randomized clinical trial in
which some patients take a drug and others a placebo. But vitamins are essential
nutrients that people ingest in their daily diets; there is no way to withhold them
altogether from research subjects.
Vitamins given in high doses may also have effects that science is only beginning to
understand. In a test tube, cancer cells gobble up vitamin C, and studies have shown
far higher levels of vitamin C in tumor cells than are found in normal tissue.
The selling point of antioxidant vitamins is that they mop up free radicals, the damaging
molecular fragments linked to aging and disease. But some free radicals are essential to
proper immune function, and wiping them out may inadvertently cause harm.
In a study at the University of North Carolina, mice with brain cancer were given both
normal and vitamin-depleted diets. The ones who were deprived of antioxidants had
smaller tumors, and 20 percent of the tumor cells were undergoing a type of cell death
called apoptosis, which is fueled by free radicals. In the fully nourished mice, only 3
percent of tumor cells were dying.
“Most antioxidants are also pro-oxidants,” said Dr. Peter H. Gann, professor and
director of research in the department of pathology at the University of Illinois at
Chicago. “In the right context and the right dose, they may be able to cause problems
rather than prevent them.”
Scientists suspect that the benefits of a healthful diet come from eating the whole fruit
or vegetable, not just the individual vitamins found in it. “There may not be a single
component of broccoli or green leafy vegetables that is responsible for the health
benefits,” Dr. Gann said. “Why are we taking a reductionist approach and plucking out
one or two chemicals given in isolation?”
Even so, some individual vitamin research is continuing. Scientists are beginning to
study whether high doses of whole-food extracts can replicate the benefits of a
vegetable-rich diet. And Harvard researchers are planning to study whether higher doses
of vitamin D in 20,000 men and women can lower risk for cancer and other chronic
diseases.
“Vitamin D looks really promising,” said Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, the chief of preventive
medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an investigator on several Harvard
vitamin studies. “But we need to learn the lessons from the past. We should wait for
large-scale clinical trials before jumping on the vitamin bandwagon and taking high
doses.”

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December 14, 2009

Recipes for Health
Mushrooms: The Flavor of the Dark

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

Recently I walked into my local Trader Joe’s not knowing what I was going to cook,
and I came out with several 8-ounce boxes of white and cremini mushrooms. Though I
didn’t know exactly what I’d make with them, I suspected that the purchase would
provide me with several meals.
Mushrooms are the most versatile of ingredients, with a meaty texture and a rich, deep
flavor ideal for vegetarian dishes. When raw, they’re elegant and delicious; when
cooked, they become substantial. They are as welcome in a classic French omelet as
they are in an Asian stir-fry.
Mushrooms also are a nutritional bargain. Two ounces of sliced white mushrooms —
about a cup — contain only 15 calories, and they are among the best dietary sources of
B vitamins. (I’ve written before about their nutritional attributes.) Best of all, there are
just so many mushroom dishes to try. Stay tuned — there will be more of these recipes
in coming weeks.
Mushroom Omelet With Chives
This savory omelet is great for dinner or for brunch. If I’m making it for two, I make
one large omelet in a 10-inch pan. It’s just as easy as making two individual omelets,
and both servings are ready at the same time.
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1/4 pound white or cremini mushrooms, rinsed briefly and wiped dry
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), minced
2 teaspoons minced flat-leaf parsley
4 eggs
1 tablespoon minced chives
2 teaspoons low-fat milk
3 tablespoons grated Gruyère cheese
1. Trim off the ends of the mushrooms, and cut into thick slices. Heat a large, heavy
frying pan over medium-high heat, and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the
shallot, and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, two or three minutes. Add the
mushrooms, and cook, stirring or tossing in the pan, for a few minutes, until they begin
to soften and sweat. Add salt to taste and the garlic, and cook, stirring often, until the
mushrooms are tender, about five minutes. Stir in the parsley, season to taste with salt
and pepper, and remove from the heat.
2. If making individual omelets: Heat an 8-inch nonstick omelet pan over medium-high
heat. Break 2 eggs into a bowl, and beat with a fork or a whisk until frothy. Add salt and
freshly ground pepper to taste, and 2 teaspoons milk. Whisk in half the chives.
Add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil to the pan. When the pan feels hot as you hold your
hand above it, pour in the eggs, scraping every last bit into the pan. Tilt the pan to
distribute the eggs evenly over the surface. Tilt it slightly again, and gently shake with
one hand while lifting up the edges of the omelet with the spatula in your other hand so
as to let the eggs run underneath during the first few minutes of cooking.

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Spread half the mushrooms down the middle of the eggs. Top with half the cheese. As
soon as the eggs are set on the bottom (the top will still be runny), jerk the pan quickly
away from you then back towards you so that the omelet folds over on itself. Shake in
the pan for another minute if you don’t like the omelet soft on the inside; for a moist
omelet, tilt the pan at once and roll out onto a plate. Keep warm in a low oven while you
repeat with the remaining eggs and herbs, and serve.
3. If making 1 large omelet, heat a 10-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Beat
all 4 eggs in a bowl with the milk, salt and pepper, and the chives. Heat the remaining
tablespoon of olive oil in the pan, and follow the instructions for the 2-egg omelet,
pouring all of the eggs into the pan. The eggs will take longer to set, and you may want
to flip the omelet in the pan again after it’s rolled, if the middle seems too runny. Roll
the finished omelet onto a platter, or cut in half in the pan, and serve.
Yield: Serves two.
Advance preparation: You can make the mushroom filling (step 1) several hours ahead.
It will keep for a day or two in the refrigerator. Reheat before making the omelets.
Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/health/nutrition/14recipehealth.html?
ref=fitnessandnutrition

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December 16, 2009

Reporter's File
The Overlooked Diagnosis of Celiac Disease

By CAROLYN SAYRE

It took three decades to figure out what was making Donna Sawka so sick. Her
symptoms — bloating, chronic diarrhea and weight loss — began early in childhood,
and they only became worse as she aged.
Nine years ago, after developing severe anemia, a specialist told Ms. Sawka that she had
celiac disease. The digestive disorder causes damage to the small intestine when gluten,
a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, is ingested. People with the disease need to
follow a strict gluten-free diet for the rest of their lives to avoid serious complications
like osteoporosis and lymphoma, an immune system cancer.
Ms. Sawka, 48, of Fairless Hills, Pa., said she “was overwhelmed” upon learning she
had the disease.
“I kept thinking about everything I wouldn’t be able to eat,” she went on. “I couldn’t
even receive communion at church.”
Ms. Sawka’s reaction is a familiar one at the support group she attends. It takes the
average patient 10 years to receive a diagnosis. And according to specialists, they are
the lucky ones. Studies show that 3 million Americans, or 1 in every 133 people, have
celiac disease. But 95 percent of them have yet to learn they have it, according to the
National Institutes of Health.
“The entire disease and all of its manifestations are incredibly underdiagnosed,” said Dr.
Charles Bongiorno, the chief of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. “Patients often have it for a
decade or two before they are diagnosed.”
Celiac disease is often difficult to detect because the symptoms vary so widely from
person to person. Ten years ago, the medical community thought it was a rare disorder
that affected only 1 in every 10,000 people, primarily children who had digestive
problems and failure to thrive.
But physicians now know that the disease is much more common. Most patients never
experience the so-called classic symptoms: bloating, chronic diarrhea and stomach
upset. Instead, the signs are often as nebulous as anemia, infertility and osteoporosis.
“It’s a problem,” said Dr. Ritu Verma, section chief of gastroenterology, hepatology and
nutrition and director of the Children’s Celiac Center at the Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia. “The majority of patients do not have the traditional signs and symptoms.
If someone’s only presenting symptom is anemia, physicians will think of a hundred
other things before they think of celiac disease.”
As a result, the condition is also commonly mistaken for other ailments. Ms. Sawka, for
one, was told she had everything from irritable bowel syndrome to lupus to an allergic
reaction from a spider bite before celiac disease was confirmed.
Part of the problem is also a lack of education among physicians, particularly internists.
According to Dr. Bongiorno, most primary care physicians are simply unaware of new
research that shows the disease is common and can manifest itself in unusual ways.

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Health & food Lengua Inglesa A

“They think it is an exotic malady,” he explained. “That persistent fallacy causes a less-
than-appropriate effort to order the right blood tests and refer to gastroenterologists for
care.”
In 2006, the National Institutes of Health started a campaign to raise awareness of the
disease among both the general public and physicians. A goal was to increase rates of
diagnosis because, unlike many ailments, there is a definitive way to stop celiac disease
from progressing once it is recognized.
“The vast majority of cases experience a complete remission from symptoms once they
are diagnosed and go on a gluten-free diet,” said Dr. Stefano Guandalini, director of the
University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center. “So essentially, you have no disease. That
is what makes it all the more important to be diagnosed.”
And there is no better time to be on a gluten-free diet. In 2008, 832 gluten-free products
entered the market, nearly 6 times the number that debuted in 2003. Last year, gluten-
free even emerged as a fad diet in the general population.
“The quantity and quality of these products is amazing,” said Dr. Alessio Fasano, the
medical director of the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland
Medical Center.
Dr. Fasano said gluten-free products used to taste like cardboard but had significantly
improved in recent years. “The only problem,” he said, “is that they cost five or six
times more than their normal counterparts.”
Researchers are also beginning to experiment with drugs that may be able to block the
immune response to gluten, much like a lactate pill. If the clinical trials are successful,
individuals with celiac disease may be someday able to ingest small amounts of gluten.
Until then, the gluten-free diet is working for patients like Ms. Sawka. “I am perfect
now,” she said after 35 years of feeling sick. “Every system in my body was in an
uproar, and then everything just quieted down.”

http://health.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn-celiac-ess.html?ref=health#

Spirulina helps treat anemia

Saturday, October 10, 2009

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) Many people don't know this, but spirulina is an outstanding dietary aid
to help prevent (or reverse) anemia. What follows is a compilation of expert quotations
on precisely this topic, cited from some of the most authoritative books and authors in
the world. Feel free to cite this information in your own book or website. Be sure to cite
the original author and source.

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Health & food Lengua Inglesa A

An excellent summary study of Spirulina was done in 2002. The authors summarized
the many potential benefits of Spirulina: "Spirulina has been experimentally proven, in
vivo and in vitro that it is effective to treat certain allergies, anemia, cancer,
hepatotoxicity [toxicity of the liver], viral and cardiovascular diseases, hyperglycemia
[high blood sugar], hyperlipidemia [high cholesterol and triglycerides],
immunodeficiency, and inflammatory processes, among others.
- Spirulina: Nature's superfood by Kelly J Moorhead

Unlike other algaes, the cell wall of spirulina has high concentrations of
mucopolysaccharides, which are easily digested and form glycoprotein complexes that
are important in the formation of protein and the building of cell membranes. Primitive
foods such as spirulina contain the highest food energy, the highest nutrient value, and
use up the least amount of the planet's resources. Spirulina is also a powerful
alkalinizing and healing food. It is an excellent support for the healing of hypoglycemia,
diabetes, chronic fatigue, anemia, ulcers, and for boosting the immune system.
- Conscious Eating by Gabriel Cousens, M.D.

Spirulina and other micro-algae are excellent remedies for most cases of anemia, and
B12 is essential for building red blood. Most cases of anemia, however, are not merely a
result of B12 deficiency alone; it may be that the massive amounts of chlorophyll, iron,
protein, and other nutrients in micro-algae overcome anemia. In our personal
experience, we have observed many people who have taken various micro-algae
regularly for a decade or more, and when other sources of B12 are included in the diet,
B12 deficiency does not arise.
- Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchford

A third of an ounce (10 g) of spirulina powder is enough to cover the daily need for
vitamin B12 five times over, four times that for vitamin A, 83 percent of the daily
requirement for iron, 30 percent of vitamin B2, and 25 percent of vitamin Bj. Spirulina
is particularly recommended for fatigue, anemia, eyesight problems, menstrual
problems, and skin disorders. In addition, it helps strengthen the immune system and
facilitates the elimination of toxins that have collected inside the body. It comes in the
form of a deep-green powder with a faint aroma, and also in tablets or capsules.
- Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchford

It is a rich source of amino acids, chlorophyll, B vitamins, GLA, carotenoids, and other
nutrients. Spirulina has been shown to have immune-enhancing effects, it detoxifies
heavy metals, and it protects against radiation sickness. A phytonutrient in spirulina
known as phycocyanin has been shown to stimulate the production of blood cells.

Children 'eating themselves ill'

Children are storing up potential health problems by eating a diet dominated by junk
food, according to a government survey.
Experts warn that such an unhealthy diet could lead to increased risk of cancer and
coronary heart disease.
Four out of five children aged four to 18 regularly eat snack foods such as chips,
biscuits and chocolate.
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Health & food Lengua Inglesa A

The National Diet and Nutrition Survey of Young People found one-in-five of those
asked ate no fruit at all during the week-long study.

The research, published by the Department of Health and the Food Standards Agency,
also found that most young people aged seven and over were "inactive" - and that girls
were even less active than boys.

The study of 1,700 young people also found that their intake of salt was too high, often
twice the recommended levels.

However, many children took more vitamin and mineral supplements than was thought.

Poor worst affected

Children from low socio-economic groups had the lowest intakes of energy, fat,
vitamins and minerals.
However, no evidence was found of widespread malnutrition among youngsters.

Sue Dibb, co-director of the Food Commission called for urgent action to address the
problem - including a government clampdown on the promotion of unhealthy food by
the industry.

She said: "This survey shows a truly appalling picture of the nutritional health of our
young people.

"It clearly shows that they are eating far too much saturated fat, sugar and salt.

"Really radical measures have to be taken in order to ensure that there are huge
improvements in children's diets."

Suzi Leather, of the Food Standards Agency said many people found it difficult to find
healthy food.

She said: "When I was doing research in this field people said to me: 'It is very difficult
to get fresh fruit and vegetables in this area - in fact the choice of drugs is better'."

Public Health Minister Yvette Cooper said: "The study shows we are right to be
concerned about health inequalities in preventing heart disease and cancer, and that
those inequalities start in childhood.

"It reveals low levels of fruit and vegetable consumption among British children which
contribute to high levels of deaths from cancer, particularly colorectal cancer, and heart
disease later in life."

Ms Cooper said work by the Social Exclusion Unit had shown that on many low income
estates, there was no access to shops selling affordable fruit and vegetables. are
accessible and affordable for everyone." The findings of the report will be considered
by experts working on the new National Plan for the NHS.

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Health & food Lengua Inglesa A

Ms Cooper said government schemes encouraging children to walk or cycle to school

would help to keep children active and cut the risks of heart disease and obesity in later
life.

The survey also found:

around 58% of 15 to 18-year-olds and 16% of 11 to 14-year-olds said they had drunk
alcohol during the past week
average intakes of all vitamins, except vitamin A, and most minerals, except zinc, were
above the recommended levels
children growing up in households with low socio-economic status had lower intakes of
energy, fat, vitamins and minerals due to a poor diet
a third of seven to 14-year-old boys and over half of 15 to 18-year-old boys failed to do
moderate exercise for one hour a day
for girls, the figures were over half of seven to 14-year-olds and two-thirds of 15 to 18-
year-olds
young people are taller and heavier than they were in 1982-83
better off children were heavier and taller than children growing up in lower-income
households. The food industry said it supported government action to encourage
children to eat more fruit and vegetables.

Food and Drink Federation director Martin Paterson said: "Ask anyone in the street,
they all know they should eat five portions of fruit and veg every day, but most would
confess to not doing so."

Science News

Added Sugar in Raisin Cereals Increases Acidity of Dental

Plaque

ScienceDaily (Dec. 22, 2009) — Elevated dental plaque acid is a risk factor that
contributes to cavities in children. But eating bran flakes with raisins containing no
added sugar does not promote more acid in dental plaque than bran flakes alone,
according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Some dentists believe sweet, sticky foods such as raisins cause cavities because they are
difficult to clear off the tooth surfaces, said Christine Wu, professor and director of
cariology research at UIC and lead investigator of the study. But studies have shown
that raisins are rapidly cleared from the surface of the teeth just like apples, bananas and
chocolate, she said.

In the study, published in the journal Pediatric Dentistry, children ages 7 to 11

compared four food groups -- raisins, bran flakes, commercially marketed raisin bran

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Health & food Lengua Inglesa A

cereal, and a mix of bran flakes with raisins lacking any added sugar. Sucrose, or table
sugar, and sorbitol, a sugar substitute often used in diet foods, were also tested as
controls.

Children chewed and swallowed the test foods within two minutes. The acid produced
by the plaque bacteria on the surface of their teeth was measured at intervals.

All test foods except the sorbitol solution promoted acid production in dental plaque
over 30 minutes, with the largest production between 10 to 15 minutes.

Wu says there is a "well-documented" danger zone of dental plaque acidity that puts a
tooth's enamel at risk for mineral loss that may lead to cavities. Achint Utreja, a
research scientist and dentist formerly on Wu's team, said plaque acidity did not reach
that point after children consumed 10 grams of raisins. Adding unsweetened raisins to
bran flakes did not increase plaque acid compared to bran flakes alone.

However, eating commercially marketed raisin bran led to significantly more acid in the
plaque, he said, reaching into what Wu identified as the danger zone.

Plaque bacteria on tooth surfaces can ferment various sugars such as glucose, fructose
or sucrose and produce acids that may promote decay. But sucrose is also used by
bacteria to produce sticky sugar polymers that help the bacteria remain on tooth
surfaces, Wu said. Raisins themselves do not contain sucrose.

In a previous study at UIC, researchers identified several natural compounds from

raisins that can inhibit the growth of some oral bacteria linked to cavities or gum
disease.

Science News
Gene Knockout May Cheer Up Mice
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Health & food Lengua Inglesa A

ScienceDaily (Nov. 14, 2009) — A gene in the brain that was not previously linked to
mood disorders could have a role in biopolar, depression, and schizophrenic conditions.

Pharmacy scientists at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) have identified

antidepressant and anti-anxiety behaviors in tests of mice lacking the gene.

Writing in the journal BMC Neuroscience, Elisabeth Barbier, PhD, postdoctoral fellow
at the School of Pharmacy, and Jia Bei Wang, PhD, professor at the School, concluded
after running a battery of standard behavioral tests on the mice without the
PKCI/HINT1 gene that it may have an important role in mood regulation.

Mice in the study that had what is being called the "despair" gene eventually gave up
trying to avoid apparent danger in tests involving swimming or exposure to light --
conditions disliked by mice. Mice without the gene kept trying to escape from danger,
perhaps abnormally. "The knockout mice [without the gene] displayed behaviors
indicative of changes in mood function, such as increased perseverance and reduced
anxiety in open spaces," Wang said.

The causes of mood dysfunction, as seen in depressive and bipolar disorders, are still
not fully understood. They are believed to be multifactorial and involve heredity,
changes in neurotransmitter levels, altered neuroendocrine function, and psychosocial
factors. "We don't yet know why the deletion of the gene altered the mood status of the
mice," says Wang, a neuroscientist. She says the protein encoded by the gene could be a
potential target for development of diagnostic or therapeutic agents that one day might
be used for depression, bipolar disorders or schizophrenia. In addition, the knockout
mice might be useful as models to study mania. Currently no mania animal model is
available.

The researchers discovered the gene while studying the biological receptors in brain
cells that respond to opioid drugs. "I thought [such a] receptor can't be making the entire
change in the body. There must be other proteins," Wang says. The scientists learned
that the gene had already been cloned at Columbia University in the City of New York,
where medical researchers were studying its possible role in cancer.

Five years ago, Wang searched scientific literature and found no psychological function
for the gene, although it is concentrated in the brain. But she was convinced of its
importance because the protein for the gene appears in the genome of living things all
along the evolutionary spectrum -- from bacteria and fungi to worms to humans. "It
must be important. It must be essential otherwise why would all these creatures have
it?" Wang says.

Also significant, she says, is that other studies have shown that cadavers of people with
biopolar and schizophrenia disorders had less protein encoded by the gene in their
brains.

By screening large libraries of chemicals, Wang will next search for compounds that
may induce changes in the protein of the gene.

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Health & food Lengua Inglesa A

Meanwhile, she says, "We are showing the scientific community that this is an
important protein that may have something to do with schizophrenia, bipolar
[disorders], and depression. But we don't know how it works. Certainly this opens the
door for work on discovering the mechanism, how it changes behavior. This is the first
paper to show that this protein is important to these conditions."

The causes of mood dysfunction, as seen in depressive and bipolar disorders, are still
not fully understood. They are believed to be multifactorial, involving heredity, changes
in neurotransmitter levels, altered neuro-endocrine function, and psychosocial factors.

Speaking about these results, Wang said: "Although we don't yet know why the deletion
of the gene altered the mood status of the mice, what we have learned about the
importance of this gene in mood function and its involvement in human mental
disorders is interesting. The protein encoded by this gene could be a potential drug
target for development of diagnostic or therapeutic agents that one day might be used
for depression, bipolar or schizophrenia disorders. In addition, the knockout mice might
be useful as a model to study mania, as there is no other animal model available yet."

According to the February 2008 issue of the journal PLoS Medicine, more prescriptions
in 2007 were dispensed for antidepressants -- 232.7 million nationwide -- than for drugs
of any other type. U.S. sales of antidepressants totaled $11.9 billion, according to data
from IMS Health, Inc.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112191752.htm

Science News

Livestock Lead to Better Health in Developing Nations, Rising

Consumption Poses Challenge, Study Finds

ScienceDaily (Dec. 17, 2009) — In the face of reports about the ills livestock generate
for the climate, environment and health, a new study published in the December issue of
the journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability emphasizes that livestock
production in developing and developed countries are very different animals.

While rising consumption of meat, milk and eggs is one of the factors in epidemics of
obesity and heart disease in developed countries, consumption of meat and milk in
developing countries is associated with good rather than bad health. In poor countries,
where most people subsist on poor starchy diets, the study highlights the fact that
modest amounts of these foods improve people's nutrition and health, lower mortality
rates, and enhance child development.

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Health & food Lengua Inglesa A

Furthermore, the new analysis by researchers at the Nairobi-based International

Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
and the Center for Collaborative Conservation at Colorado State University, finds that
the current environmental risks posed by livestock are driven mainly by the impacts of
over-consumption of livestock foods in wealthy countries and rapidly growing demand
in emerging economies, particularly in China, Southeast Asia, and Brazil. "Livestock
are a lifeline for hundreds of millions of people, for whom livestock represent one of
few options available to improve their incomes and nutrition," said Carlos Seré, director
general of ILRI.

Nowhere is the "meat divide" between rich and poor greater than in levels of
consumption of livestock foods. The authors note, for example, that although annual
consumption of milk in the developing world is expected by 2050 to rise from an
average of 44 to 78 kilograms per person, this is still far less than the 202 kilos per
person consumed today in wealthy countries.

"It would be unethical, even for the sake of the environment, to advocate policies that
prevent the poor from increasing their consumption of milk and meat, when they
consume significantly less than people in rich countries," said Mario Herrero, the
paper's lead author and a senior scientist at ILRI, which is one of 15 research centers
supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
"However, without further investments in livestock that improve production and
marketing efficiencies, rapid increases in milk and meat consumption in developing
countries pose serious threats to the environment and will still fail to feed many of the
world's poorest and hungriest people."

Milk, beef, eggs, chicken, and pork are key global commodities. Livestock production
systems occupy 45 percent of the earth's land surface, excluding Antarctica, and are
worth at least US$1.4 trillion. Livestock production employs 1.3 billion people globally
and is directly responsible for the livelihoods of 600 million poor livestock keepers. The
market for dairy products produced by smallholders, for example, is significant in many
developing economies, with India now the largest dairy producer in the world. And
growing dairy enterprises mean more jobs for the poor: every 100 litres of milk handled
daily in Kenya, for example, provides two full-time jobs, and at higher than the
minimum wage.

According to the ILRI study, most livestock operations in sub-Saharan Africa and South
Asia are far from industrial. Livestock are either raised on small farms where they feed
largely on leaves, stalks and other non-edible remains of food crops, or are herded over
marginal lands unsuited for crop cultivation by pastoralists in search of grass.

Emissions from animal products account for about 18 percent of the global greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions. Expanding industrial livestock operations in China and other
emerging Asian economies, and deforestation driven by large-scale cattle farming, are
significant sources of livestock-related GHG emissions in developing countries.

"Livestock are not bad for the environment everywhere," said Herrero. "We need a
thorough consideration of the trade-offs involved in livestock systems, so that we
know where and how it makes sense to limit livestock production and consumption and
where and how to increase production in sustainable ways."

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Health & food Lengua Inglesa A

The authors cite major opportunities for easing the tradeoffs, such as improved
management of vast rangelands to remove significant quantities of carbon from the
atmosphere in exchange for environmental service payments. There are also
opportunities for exploiting synergies among different components of livestock-based
agro-ecosystems, such as by breeding food crops to make better and wider use of their
stover for livestock feed and providing incentives to pastoral livestock herders to
continue to conserve the wildlife on their rangelands.

Changes in animal diets can dramatically reduce the amount of methane produced per
animal. Shifting to more productive breeds would allow farmers to reduce the number
of animals they keep while increasing their production levels.

"Governments and policymakers need to design policies that cap animal numbers, while
at the same time providing incentives that encourage farmers to feed their animals
better, so they can produce more food with fewer emissions," said Seré.

There are also proven technologies that significantly reduce emissions from manure
on industrial farms. According to the ILRI study, paying communities for their
"environmental services" would encourage herders on vast rangelands of Africa and
Latin America to adopt practices that would help protect biodiversity, as well as store
carbon.

"Right now, farmers get paid only for the beef or milk that they produce. If these other
options come on board, then people will adopt more sustainable practices to cash in on
environmental services," said Seré.

24