Frequent intake of sweets may lead to tolerance similar to addiction

From ABC News (2/24):

Researchers at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene found that adolescents who consumed more ice cream over the preceding two weeks enjoyed milkshakes less, according to brain scans. "We believe that means the more an individual is consuming a high-fat, high-sugar and high-energy food, they develop a tolerance of it in a similar fashion that you see happening with drug addiction or alcohol addition," researcher Kyle Burger said.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ice-cream-addicting-oregon-study-suggests-brain-reactions/story?id=15786564#.T0453vW2aI8

Omega-3 supplements in early childhood may lower future heart risk

From The Sydney Morning Herald / Australian Associated Press (2/20):

An Australian study in the journal Pediatrics found that children who were given sunflower oil supplements and omega-6 fatty acid-rich margarines and cooking oil during their first five years of life had thicker arterial walls at age 8, while those who were given omega-3 fatty acid supplements and canola-based margarine and cooking oil did not. The researchers said that small babies are more at risk for cardiovascular disease in adulthood and omega-3 fatty acid supplements could protect them against heart attack and stroke.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/omega3-reduces-heart-risk-in-babies-20120220-1tiyl.html

Gestational exposure to low dose bisphenol A alters social behavior in juvenile mice

Wolstenholme JT, Taylor JA, Shetty SR, Edwards M, Connelly JJ, Rissman EF.
PLoS One. 2011;6(9):e25448.

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025448

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a man-made compound used to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins; public health concerns have been fueled by findings that BPA exposure can reduce sex differences in brain and some behaviors. We asked if a low BPA dose, within the range measured in humans, ingested during pregnancy, would affect social behaviors in prepubertal mice. We noted sex differences in social interactions whereby females spent more time sitting side-by-side, while males engaged in more exploring and sitting alone. In addition BPA increased display of nose-to-nose contacts, play solicitations and approaches in both sexes. Interactions between sex and diet were found for self grooming, social interactions while sitting side-by-side and following the other mouse. In all these cases interactions were produced by differences between control and BPA females. We examined brains from embryos during late gestation to determine if gene expression differences might be correlated with some of the sexually dimorphic or BPA affected behaviors we observed. Because BPA treatments ended at birth we took the brains during embryogenesis to increase the probability of discovering BPA mediated effects. We also selected this embryonic age (E18.5) because it coincides with the onset of sexual differentiation of the brain [probably sic]. Interestingly, mRNA for the glutamate transporter, Slc1a1, was enhanced by exposure to BPA in female brains. Also we noted that BPA changed the expression of two of the three DNA methyltransferase genes, Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a. We propose that BPA affects DNA methylation of Sc1a1 during neural development. Sex differences in juvenile social interactions are affected by BPA and in particular this compound modifies behavior in females.

Diet and ADHD

According to J Gordon Millichap, MD and Michelle M. Yee, CPNP, authors of the article "The Diet Factor in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder" found in the February 2012 Volume 129, Number 2 issue of Pediatrics magazine...

"A greater attention to the education of parents and children in a healthy dietary pattern, omitting items shown to predispose to ADHD, is perhaps the most promising and practical complimentary or alternative treatment of ADHD."

PFCs and childhood immunizations

Perflourinated compounds (PFCs) have been identified as food contaminants. In addition to known immune suppression in a rodent model, a recent article in JAMA (“Serum Vaccine Antibody Concentrations in Children Exposed to Perflourinated Compounds”, Jan. 25, 2012) found that “elevated exposures to PFCs were associated with reduced humoral immune response to routine childhood immunizations in children aged 5 to 7 years”. As noted in JAMA, “these findings suggest a decreased effect of childhood vaccines and may reflect a more general immune system deficit.”

Minnesota babies born with high mercury levels, report shows

From Chicago Tribune/The Associated Press (2/3/12):

One in 10 babies born along Minnesota's border with Lake Superior had high mercury levels in their blood, a state Health Department report found. Researchers noted that babies in Minnesota were more likely to have unhealthy levels of mercury compared with those born in Wisconsin and Michigan. The findings may be explained by mothers' high fish consumption, health officials said. 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mn-mercuryinbabies,0,5447745.story

Prenatal use of fish oil supplements may lower babies' eczema risk

From The Daily Mirror (U.K.) (1/31):

Babies born to women who took omega-3 supplements during pregnancy were 36% less likely to have eczema, according to a U.K. study of almost 2,400 women. These babies were also 50% less likely to have egg allergies, researchers wrote in the British Medical Journal.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fish-oil-capsules-can-help-659172

Camel's milk

From our friend Julie Mathews who has done research on camel’s milk. 

She says: “As a nutritionist, I'd always been of the mindset, ‘no animal milk of any kind’ for children with autism. But after several parents approached me, adamant that camel's milk is different, that it had helped their children, and asking me to look into it, I did my own research.
Briefly, camel's milk has a different type of casein - it is not recognized by circulating IgE antibodies (studies have shown it to be safe with serious food allergies) and does not cause a problem for those with IgG sensitivities to other types of milk. Most interesting to me are the
immune protective proteins and immune support it provides, including having antibodies one-tenth the size of human, so they can penetrate into tissue such as the gut where infections lie, and is considered by camel milk researchers to be a "natural IVIG" therapy and ‘rehabilitate the immune system’."

For more information visit: http://nourishinghope.com/2011/11/camel-milk-healing-or-hype/

Research ties learning disabilities, cadmium exposure in children

From WebMD (1/27):

Children ages 6 to 15 who had the highest cadmium levels in their urine were more likely to develop learning disabilities or require special education than those with the lowest levels, a study found. In the journal Environmental Health Perspective, researchers reported that cadmium levels were not associated with the risk of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

http://children.webmd.com/news/20120127/study-links-cadmium-exposure-learning-disabilities-kids