Evidence for Health Benefits

Hypercholesterolemia, especially elevated plasma low-density lipopro- 

Long-term feeding effects of M. purpureus-fermented rice (Cholestin) 

We have used hamsters as an animal model to elucidate the effects of a monacolin K-containing M. purpureus rice product ( Unchole, 1.0 g/ day containing 8.0 mg total monacolins, Taiwan Tobacco Liquor Corp.) on serum lipid and lipoproteins (Lin et al., 2005b Table 2). Results showed that MRP treatment lowered total serum cholesterol and LDL-C. The MRP treatment also increased the secretion of fecal cholesterol, which was not found in the lovastatin-treated group (Lin et al., 2005b Table 3). Treatment with Unchole also lowered serum TG, although its TG-lowering mechanism is unclear. 

TABLE 2 Lipid and glucose concentrations of hyperlipidemic hamster after 31 days feeding study 

Baseline, chow diet (Purina 5001) Control, chow diet plus 0.25% cholesterol (w/w) and 5% soybean oil Lovastatin, Control diet plus Lovastatin (50 mg/kg) Unchole, Control diet plus Unchole (25 g/kg HDL-C was determined by the following formula (HDL-C) = TC — (LDL-C) — (VLDL-C). 

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Hollman PCH (2001) Evidence for health benefits of plant phenols local or systemic effects J Sd Food Agric 81 842-852... 

Along with increasing evidence of health benefits from consumption of vitamins at levels much higher than RE) A recommendations comes concern over potential toxicity. This topic has been reviewed (19). Like all chemical substances, a toxic level does exist for each vitarnin. Traditionally it has been assumed that all water-soluble vitamins are safe at any level of intake and all fat-soluble vitamins are toxic, especially at intakes more than 10 times the recommended allowances. These assumptions are now known to be incorrect. Very high doses of some water-soluble vitamins, especially niacin and vitamin B, are associated with adverse effects. In contrast, evidence indicates that some fat-soluble micronutrients, especially vitamin E, are safe at doses many times higher than recommended levels of intake. Chronic intakes above the RDA for vitamins A and D especially are to be avoided, however. 

Abstract Quality of care is complicated, especially in the elderly. For a start we need drugs with evidence for the benefits and risks in the elderly, this is currently not always the case. Thereafter we need to use the drugs in an evidence based way, which may be difficult in the complex health care system. To achieve maximum benefit for the patient (outcome) and society (health-economy) a well planned process is needed. This includes identification, prevention and resolving of the patients drug-related problems decisions and selection of treatment, communication and decisions together with the patient, risk minimisation, and communication within health care. Several of these aspects are presented in this chapter. 

Studies on the health benefits of pu-erh tea are quite scarce. Recently, a few reports describing the hypolipidemic and antiobesity effects of pu-erh tea have appeared. - Meanwhile, Chinese folk medicine has described several health benefits for this beverage, but the experimental and clinical evidence for these benefit effects is incomplete. Additional investigations should be carried out in order to confirm these claims. 

A number of reviews and studies have been published dealing with the potential health and nutritional benefits of EPSs from LAB in fermented dairy products for example, EPSs from LAB have been associated with various health benefits, such as the lowering of cholesterol (Liu et al., 2006 Maeda, Zhu, Omura, Suzuki, Kitamura, 2004 Nakajima, Suzuki, Hirota, 1992), anti-hypertensive effects (Maeda, Zhu, Suzuki, Suzuki, Kitamura, 2004), anticarcinogenic effects (Furukawa, Takahashi, Yamanaka, 1996 Kitazawa et al., 1991) and immunomodulatory activity (Chabot et al., 2001 Nishimura-Uemura et al., 2003 Vinderola, Matar, Palacios, Perdigon, 2007). Apart from these effects, there also appears be a complex web of interactions between LAB EPSs and human gut microbiota, some enteric pathogens and toxins, and gut epithelial cells and the immune system the discussion that follows presents evidence for health and nutritional benefits that are potentially derived from these relationships. 

In contrast, many relatively short intervention trials with either supplements or foods have provided supporting evidence for the benefits of flavonoids for vascular health. The majority of these studies are of an acute nature in which relatively high doses are provided and various biomarkers, including, for example, platelet aggregation [20], flow mediated arterial dilation and nitric oxide metabolism [21], and plasma LDL cholesterol [22] are quantified over the following hours or days. Some studies... 

Phytochemicals have little nutritional value and do not get absorbed in the body, but they seem to turn on certain switches in the biochemical mechanisms, which signal the beneficial pathways to maintain health, and to turn off the switches which proceed to adverse biochemical pathways. Rice bran products have demonstrated significant benefits as nutritional therapies in diabetes, hyperlipidemia, cancer, fatty liver, hypercalcuria and heart disease. There is experimental and clinical evidence for the beneficial health effects of the following bioactives of rice bran ... 

Human milk is a s)mergistic package of essential nutrients and bioactive components. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that consumption is associated with health benefits for many immune-related conditions (Table 2.1). Breast milk contains the nutrients necessary to support the development of the infant s immune system as well as other components that defend against infection. This includes various antimicrobial substances, factors that promote immime development, constituents that promote tolerance and the priming of the infant immime system, as well as anti-inflammatory components. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the evidence for the immune benefits of human milk. 

Despite the overwhelming evidence for short-term effectiveness, only recently have studies begun to address long-term benefits of stimulant treatments. Prospective randomized controlled trials with durations of 12 to 24 months and doses up to 60 mg/day of MPH have been conducted to address this issue. The largest of these studies, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-sponsored Multimodal Treatment Study of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA Study), showed that stimulants (either by themselves or in combination with behavioral treatments) lead to stable, long-term improvements in ADHD symptoms as long as the medication is taken (MTA Cooperative Group, 1999). 

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