CATCHING A COLIFORM BACTERIA INFECTION WHEN SWIMMING IS NOT PLEASANT

Nothing can put a dampener on a summer holiday like a coliform bacteria outbreak. But even worse than being told to keep out of the water in the event of an outbreak is not being told to keep out of the water in the event of an outbreak and ending up paying the price. Researchers at McMaster University have now developed a paper strip test that is cheap to produce, extremely portable, simple to use, and detects E. coli in water in 30 minutes.

While many popular recreational waters are regularly tested for coliform outbreaks, the methods used are generally slow and cumbersome, with samples often having to be sent to a lab for amplification before testing. The new paper strips developed at McMaster overcome all these problems. They work quickly, they are portable, they are simple to use, and they are cheap and easy to produce.

Using inkjet-printing technology, the paper strips are coated with chemicals that change color in the presence of E. coli. Concentrations of the bacteria are indicated by different colors on the strip. While the strips can quickly indicate if water is safe for swimming, they aren’t sensitive enough to identify if it is safe for drinking – a standard that is hundreds of times tighter than for safe swimming water.

However, the McMaster team, led by chemistry professor John Brennan, is planning to conduct field-testing on the prototype strips to help in their refinement that may lead to the development of strips capable of testing the safety of drinking water.

The test strips have been validated by scientists from the Sentinel Bioactive Paper Network, which receives funding from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The NSERC is now funding the next stage of pre-commercial development of the strips, with a possibility the final product will become commercially available in two to three years.

The team’s research is detailed in a paper appearing online in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

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What do you do when told to drink lots of water daily?

YOU DRINK TEA AND OTHER BEVERAGES

After all, tea comes packed with healthy antioxidants — and the researchers say there’s clear evidence that three or four cups a day will lower your heart risk. Other studies have linked tea to better bones, lower cancer risk, and even longer lives.

Drinking cancer

‘Probable carcinogen’ found in water supply

It’s cancer in a cup: U.S. drinking water is contaminated with a toxic chemical that your own government calls a “probable carcinogen.”

So what’s that same government doing about it? Same thing it always does: Nothing!

Drink up, everyone.

The chemical is called hexavalent chromium, and if the name sounds a little familiar then you’ve probably seen the film “Erin Brokovich.” It’s the toxic compound that set off her battle with Pacific Gas & Electric after it was found in the groundwater of Hinkley, California.

Now, we all may as well be living in Hinkley — because tests by the Environmental Working Group on water in 35 cities across the country found the chemical in 31 of them.

Twenty-five of those cities had hexavalent chromium levels in excess of limits being proposed by California. And if you’re in Norman, Oklahoma, congratulations — you’re drinking 200 times that proposed limit.

We have to go by California’s proposed limit because the EPA doesn’t have one — proposed or otherwise.

And that’s where this gets really bizarre… because while the EPA doesn’t set limits for hexavalent chromium, it does care about total chromium levels.

In other words, it lumps this toxic compound into the same category as the essential mineral trivalent chromium.

One is needed by the body to control blood glucose levels, the other might give you cancer, wreck your kidneys and liver, and maybe even kill you — but it’s all the same to Uncle Sam.

Why sweat the details?

But let’s look on the bright side here: Hexavalent chromium probably isn’t the worst thing in your water right now.

Heck, it’s positively healthy next to the rocket fuel, cocaine, aspartame, hormone drugs, and more regularly found in U.S. drinking water — and I’m not talking about isolated incidents here.

From coast to coast, our water is toast — and if you want to know more about WHY these chemicals are turning up, read the September, 2009 issue of The Douglass Report.

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Astaxanthin Introduction

Astaxanthin is a natural occuring compound responsible for the distinctive pink coloration in sea food like salmon, crustaceans, crayfish, shrimp, krill, trout, and some microalgae.  The compound is a phytochemical carotenoid. But unlike other carotenoid found in fruits and plants, astaxanthin is not converted into vitamin A in the human body. Vitamin A will have a toxic effect to the body when taken in excessive amounts but astaxanthin does not produce this adverse effect. Different studies have revealed the potential health benefits of the compound to the body. And astaxanthin demonstrates strong antioxidant property which was found to be 500 times stronger than vitamin E.

The biggest natural source of astaxanthin is haematococcus pluvialis, a microalgae that produces the most amount of astaxanthin in nature. But the compound can also be synthesized but is not recommended for human consumption due to its content of stereoisomers. A kilo of naturally produced astaxanthin is worth around $7000 in the market.

Astaxanthin is usually used as a feed supplement for animals and seafood. The compound is also used to enhance the color of salmon and make it look pinker. But astaxanthin used for this purpose is usually made synthetically from petrochemicals. On the other hand, the production of astaxanthin for human consumption is derived from natural sources, usually from microalgae. It is used as a food supplement due to its powerful antioxidant property. It has also been found to be beneficial against neurodegenerative, inflammatory, immune, and cardiovascular diseases. The compound has also exerted its effects in lowering the risk of developing cancer. The production and use of astaxanthin as a food supplement and aquaculture feed is regulated in the US by the Food and Drug Authority.

A Summary of the Potential Health Benefits of Astaxanthin

A new review on the potential health benefits of astaxanthin shows that the compound can reduce the risk of metabolic syndromes and improve skin health. Researchers from the Molecular Nutrition and Food Research in China conducted a series of controlled clinical studies evaluating the health benefits of astaxanthin.

The industry of astaxanthin both as a fish and animal feed and as food supplement is expected to have an annual turnover of $200 million by 2015. The compound is also used on fish products to enhance its pink color and make them more salable. The cost of astaxanthin for human consumption is estimated to be worth around $35 to 60 million according to a private firm Frost and Sullivan.

Astaxanthin food supplements are primarily used to improve skin and eye health. But the compound has also been found to improve joint health and prevent diseases caused by oxidative stress; the antioxidant property of astaxanthin has been found to be 500 times stronger than vitamin E according to clinical studies.

The review on the health benefits of astaxanthin concluded that the protective benefits of the compound against diseases are most likely to be caused by its antioxidant mechanism that prevents cellular damage caused by oxidative stress. Astaxanthin also inhibits the production of inflammatory substances like cytokines and improve the cells sensitivity and response to insulin.

The other health benefits of astaxanthin includes the reduction of damaged and abnormal cells in the liver, protection against eye damage caused by UV rays, alleviation from stress, prevention of neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease and protection against the development of cancer cells in the breast, uterus, bladder, bowels, oral cavity and the tongue. Astaxanthin has also been found to boost the immune system by stimulating the production of more antibodies and help the body better protect itself against diseases.

Other Clinical Studies on the Health Benefits of Astaxanthin

Different studies on the potential health benefits of astaxanthin against cancer have been performed on laboratory animals like rats. One study showed that astaxanthin protected mice from the carcinogenesis of the urinary bladder. The study used two groups of mice fed with carcinogens for a period of 20 weeks. The second group was fed with astaxanthin for another period of 20 weeks; the first group did not receive astaxanthin supplementation. The researchers observed that the control group has 42 percent incidence of bladder carcinoma while the second group only had 18 percent incidence rate. The study also evaluated the effects of astaxanthin on oral and colon cancer prevention. And similar to their first observation, there was also a significant reduction in cancer risk.

Another study showed that astaxanthin is effective in preventing ameliorating retinal injury and the degeneration of photoreceptors due to ageing. This proves the eye health benefits of astaxanthin. A different study concluded that astaxanthin is useful in preventing and treating neuronal damage linked to muscular degeneration brought by senility. The researchers also suggested that the compound has potential benefits against Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and in treating ischemic reperfusion injury, other injuries in the central nervous system and the spinal cord.

Sources, Safety and Dosage

A study on the recommendable dietary dosage of astaxanthin in order to obtain its health benefits without subjecting the body to potential toxicity ranges from 4 to 16 milligrams a day depending on the person’s body type. It is not an essential nutrient but the increased intake of the compound has been found to have numerous health benefits to the body. A natural source of astaxanthin is salmon which contains approximately 1 milligram per serving but pacific salmon may contain around 4 to 5 milligrams. Astaxanthin has a very low level of toxicity but this may become dangerous in young children, nursing and pregnant women and individuals with kidney and liver disease.

Astaxanthin as Antioxidant

Well-funded studies have been conducted in different countries to determine the potential health benefits of natural substances against oxidative stress. The damage of cells caused by free radicals had been linked to several diseases including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Carotenoids, the natural pigmentation in fruits and plants and plants, have shown significant effects against oxidative stress. Astaxanthin being a carotenoid also demonstrates this value. But further study is still needed to establish the health benefits of astaxanthin.

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Why Mercury Is

More Dangerous in Oceans

Science (June 28, 2010) — Even though freshwater concentrations of mercury are far greater than those found in seawater, it’s the saltwater fish like tuna, mackerel and shark that end up posing a more serious health threat to humans who eat them.

The answer, according to Duke University researchers, is in the seawater itself.

The potentially harmful version of mercury — known as methylmercury — latches onto dissolved organic matter in freshwater, while it tends to latch onto chloride — the salt — in seawater, according to new a study by Heileen Hsu-Kim, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering.

“The most common ways nature turns methylmercury into a less toxic form is through sunlight,” Hsu-Kim said. “When it is attached to dissolved organic matter, like decayed plants or animal matter, sunlight more readily breaks down the methylmercury. However, in seawater, the methlymercury remains tightly bonded to the chloride, where sunlight does not degrade it as easily. In this form, methylmercury can then be ingested by marine animals.”

Methylmercury is a potent neurotoxin that can lead to kidney dysfunctions, neurological disorders and even death. In particular, fetuses exposed to methylmercury can suffer from these same disorders as well as impaired learning abilities. Because fish and shellfish have a natural tendency to store methylmercury in their organs, they are the leading source of mercury ingestion for humans.

“The exposure rate of mercury in the U.S. is quite high,” Hsu-Kim said. “A recent epidemiological survey found that up 8 percent of women had mercury levels higher than national guidelines. Since humans are on the top of the food chain, any mercury in our food accumulates in our body.”

The results of Hsu-Kim’s experiments, which have been published early online in the journal Nature Geoscience, suggest that scientists and policymakers should focus their efforts on the effects of mercury in the oceans, rather than freshwater.

Her research is supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Science.

In the past, most of the scientific studies of effects of mercury in the environment have focused on freshwater, because the technology had not advanced to the point where scientists could accurately measure the smaller concentrations of mercury found in seawater. Though the concentrations may be smaller in seawater, mercury accumulates more readily in the tissues of organisms that consume it.

“Because sunlight does not break it down in seawater, the lifetime of methlymercury is much longer in the marine environment,” Hsu-Kim said. “However, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency do not distinguish between freshwater and seawater.”

Mercury enters the environment through many routes, but the primary sources are coal combustion, the refinement of gold and other non-ferrous metals, and volcanic eruptions. The air-borne mercury from these sources eventually lands on lakes or oceans and can remain in the water or sediments.

The key to the sun’s ability to break down methylmercury is a class of chemicals known as reactive oxygen species. These forms of oxygen are the biochemical equivalent of the bull in the china shop because of the way they break chemical bonds. One way these reactive oxygens are formed is by sunlight acting on oxygen molecules in the water.

“These reactive forms of oxygen are much more efficient in breaking the bonds within the methylmercury molecule,” Hsu-Kim said. “And if the methylmercury is bonded to organic matter instead of chloride, then the break down reaction is much faster.”

Tong Zhang, a Ph.D. candidate in Hsu-Kim’s laboratory, was first author on the paper.

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