Summit Total Health

Eating Sugar Affects Your Cholesterol

In the first study of its kind to examine a link between the consumption of added sugars and lipid measures, scientists from Emory University in Atlanta report that dietary sugars may also be boosting triglyceride levels, which have been linked to increased heart disease risk.

Their findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA), were based on analysis of data from 6,113 adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2006.

The data also shows that the daily consumption of added sugars has increased by about 6 per cent since the late 1970s, with 15.8% of calories now coming from added sugars – in 1977-1978 it was only 10.6%.

“Added sugars are food additives that can be recognized by consumers and have been proposed for specific labeling on food and beverage packaging,”wrote the researchers, led by Jean Welsh.

“The results of our study demonstrate that increased added sugars are associated with important cardiovascular disease risk factors, including lower HDL-C levels, higher triglyceride levels, and higher ratios of triglycerides to HDL-C,” they added.

Vitamin D Could Save Germany €40 Billion a Year

Professor Armin Zitterman from Ruhr University Bochum states that up to 45% of the German population could be vitamin D deficient, putting them at risk for a variety of problems. Zitterman continues that current recommendations are not enough and need to be doubled with daily intakes of 25 micrograms required.

“Adherence to present sun safety policy and dietary recommendations would definitively lead to vitamin D deficiency,” states Prof Zittermann. “Therefore, there is an urgent need to change current sun safety policy and dietary vitamin D recommendations.”

Here are the health conditions said to be triggered by vitamin D deficiency;

• Osteoporosis
• Muscle Weakness
• Fractures
• Common Cancers
• Auto Immune Diseases
• Infectious Diseases
• Cardiovascular Diseases

What is High Fructose Corn Syrup?


High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a calorie-providing sweetener used to sweeten foods and beverages, particularly processed and store-bought foods. It is made by an enzymatic process from glucose syrup that is derived from corn. A relatively new food ingredient, it was first produced in Japan in the late 1960s, then entered the American food supply system in the early 1970s. HFCS is a desirable food ingredient for food manufacturers because it is equally as sweet as table sugar, blends well with other foods, helps foods to maintain a longer shelf life, and is less expensive (due to government subsidies on corn) than other sweeteners. It can be found in a variety of food products including soft drinks, salad dressings, ketchup, jams, sauces, ice cream and even bread.



There are two types of high fructose corn syrup found in foods today:

• HFCS-55 (which is the main form used in soft drinks) contains 55% fructose and 45% glucose.
• HFCS-42 (which is the main form used in canned fruit in syrup, ice cream, desserts, and baked goods) contains 42% fructose and 58% glucose.

Omega-3 intake may improve diabetic kidney health

Diabetes is most common among people of European descent, with around 26 million affected in the U.S. alone. What’s worse is that the disease is reportedly growing at about 3% per year, that’s 30% from 2000-2010.

Type-1 diabetes occurs when people can’t produce insulin after cells in the pancreas have been damaged. Diabetics are known to be at a greater risk of kidney disease.

Type-2 diabetes is the most common, it is caused when either a person’s body doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body doesn’t use that insulin adequately. This is called insulin resistance. This lack of insulin or the body’s inability to use it causes a build up of glucose in the blood and dysfunction of the body’s cells. But all of this

According to findings at the Institute of Metabolic Science in Cambridge (UK), people with a higher average intake of omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. EPA, DHA), have much lower excretion levels of albumin. Albumin is the most abundant protein in human serum and in people with kidney problems the protein leaks from the kidney into the urine, this causes damage over time.

A different study published in Hong Kong earlier this year also suggested that omega-3 fatty acids may improve kidney health in diabetics. In the study, omega-3’s proved to control creatine levels which are usually at damaging levels in those with type-2 diabetes. 

Ruling on Water Quality May Affect Thousands

A government decision to give disability benefits to a former Marine
sickened by toxins at Camp Lejeune, N.C., could have far-reaching
effects for thousands of other families who lived and worked at the
military base over the years.

Paul Buckley, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma four years ago,
received a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs earlier this
month stating that “all reasonable doubt has been resolved in your
favor.” Buckley’s incurable bone marrow cancer “was directly related
to military service,” the letter continued.

“This is not the type of cancer you get from smoking or eating French
fries,” said Buckley, 46, who now lives in Hanover, Mass. “I was too
young to get this illness and I didn’t have any of the risk factors.”