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[sPAM] Viagra Ingredient in Chinese Supplements

Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):1. Viagra Ingredient in Chinese Supplements 2. Cosmecueticals Treat Aging Skin 3. Testosterone Patch Benefits Aging Men4. Yoga Has Multiple Benefits 5. High-fat, High-Carb Meals More Harmful to Obese

1. Viagra Ingredient in Chinese Supplements Dietary supplements marketed to provide male sexual enhancement contain undeclared erectile dysfunction drugs putting users at risk, the Food and Drug Administration warned Friday. The agency advised consumers to stay away from Shangai Chaojimengnan supplements sold under the names Super Shangai, Strong Testis, Shangai Ultra, Shangai Ultra X, Lady Shangai and Shangai Regular. The Chinese-made supplements are packaged and distributed by Shangai Distributor Inc. of Puerto Rico. Product testing indicates that some of these so-called supplements contain Viagra's active ingredient, sildenafil, or a compound with a chemical structure that mimics sildenafil. These chemicals could interact with nitrates in drugs taken for disorders commonly associated with erectile dysfunction, including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease. The result could dangerously lower a user's blood pressure, according to the FDA. The agency also warned that the safety and purity of these illegal ingredients is unknown. Copyright AP

Editor's Note:

Doctor Reveals the Truth About Vitamins and Supplements and Which Ones Are Worth Your Money.

2. Cosmecueticals Treat Aging Skin Cosmecueticals, beauty aids that reportedly work like prescription drugs, are providing new ways to treat aging skin. A study recently published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology explores a variety of new ingredients in cosmeceuticals that provide a visibly noticeable improvement in maturing skin. The most dramatic and apparent signs of aging include the lack of skin surface regularity, formation of wrinkles, and increased presence of abnormal pigmentation. Zoe Draelos, MD, of Dermatology Consulting Services, High Point, North Carolina, assessed the ingredient efficacy in a variety of cosmeceuticals on each of these areas of aging skin. Draelos found that skin surface irregularity can be improved through the topical application of niacin, while the appearance of fine lines can be diminished through the application of moisturizers containing engineered peptides and over-the-counter retinoids. Skin pigmentation can become more regular with the use of photoprotective ingredients. Furthermore, combining cosmeceutical ingredients in a moisturizing agent can magnify benefits and improve skin appearance. “Evidence-based cosmeceutical ingredients can provide anti-aging benefits,” Draelos concludes. “This new generation of cosmeceuticals can provide valuable skin benefits.”

Editor's Note:

Make Your Heart 20 Years Younger — Reduce Inflammation.

3. Yoga Has Multiple Benefits Yoga induces a feeling of well-being in healthy people, and can reverse the clinical and biochemical changes associated with metabolic syndrome, according to results of studies from Sweden and India. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and high blood sugar. Dr. R.P. Agrawal, of the SP Medical College, Bikaner, India, and colleagues evaluated the beneficial effects of yoga and meditation in 101 adults with features of metabolic syndrome. In the study, 55 adults received three months of regular yoga including standard postures and Raja Yoga, a form of transcendental meditation daily, while the remaining received standard care. Waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglycerides were significantly lower, and "good" HDL cholesterol levels were higher in the yoga group as compared to controls, Agrawal's team reports in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. In the second study, published online December 19 in BioMed Central Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Dr. Anette Kjellgren from the University of Karlstad, Sweden and colleagues evaluated the beneficial effects of yoga-like breathing exercises on healthy volunteers. Fifty-five adults were advised to practice "Sudarshan Kriya," which involves cycles of slow normal and rapid breathing exercises. The exercises were practiced for an hour daily, six days a week for six weeks, while 48 controls were advised to relax in an armchair for 15 minutes daily. At the end of the study period, feelings of anxiety, stress and depression were significantly lower and levels of optimism significantly higher in the yoga group compared to the control group, Kjellgren and colleagues report. Yoga induces a "relaxation response" associated with reduced nervous system activity and a feeling of well-being probably due to an increase in antioxidants and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, they suggest. Yoga not only helps in prevention of lifestyle diseases, but can also be "a powerful adjunct therapy when these diseases arise," co-investigator Dr. Faahri Saatiglou, from the University of Oslo, told Reuters Health. "We do not emphasize this point enough in our Western health care." SOURCES: Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, December 2007, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, online December 19, 2007. Copyright Reuters Editor's Note:

Reduce Stress and Calm Yourself Naturally.

4. Testosterone Patch Benefits Aging Men Treatment with testosterone can help curb the gain in abdominal fat as well as the loss of skeletal muscle seen in non-obese aging men, according to a new study. "Though use of testosterone therapy as a means of defying the aging process is gaining popularity, data from scientific trials have been very limited in this area," study chief Dr. Carolyn Allan, from Prince Henry's Institute in , Australia, said in a statement. "Our findings indicate that maintaining testosterone at 'young adult' levels may indeed prevent the adverse changes in body composition associated with the aging process." In the study, 60 healthy men who were at least 55 years of age with low-normal testosterone levels wore a testosterone patch or placebo patch for 12 months. The men underwent body composition assessment and metabolic testing at the beginning and at the end of the study. Men taking testosterone experienced a 30 percent increase in serum testosterone levels. The control group, by contrast, saw their testosterone levels fall by 10 percent. Men in the testosterone arm also experienced increases in fat free mass and skeletal muscle and loss of thigh skeletal muscle was decreased. A drop in abdominal fat accumulation with no change in total body or abdominal subcutaneous fat mass was also noted in the testosterone group. Further analysis showed that the change in abdominal fat correlated with the change in testosterone levels, the report indicates. These findings, the researchers conclude, suggest a role for testosterone in modifying the age-related increase in abdominal fat and possibly associated harmful metabolic changes. SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, January 2007. Copyright Reuters Editor's Note:

Your Sexual Health Is Important — Click Here Now.

5. High-fat, High-Carb Meals More Harmful to Obese Eating a high-fat, high-carb fast food meal produces damaging cellular changes that are greater and longer-lasting in obese people than in normal-weight people, a new study shows. Dr. Paresh Dandona and colleagues from Kaleida Health in Buffalo, New York looked at inflammation and oxidative stress, which occurs when levels of normal byproducts of metabolism known as free radicals exceed the body's ability to neutralize them. In previous research they found that obese individuals have higher levels of oxidative stress and inflammation than normal-weight individuals. They also demonstrated that eating a high-fat, high-carb meal increased oxidative stress and inflammation in normal-weight people. To test whether these increases might be greater in obese people, Dandona and his team had 10 normal-weight and 8 obese people eat a 1,800-calorie meal consisting of a large hamburger, a large serving of fries, a large cola, and a slice of apple pie. Both groups showed increases in oxidative stress two hours after eating the meal. By three hours, oxidative stress had returned to baseline levels in the normal-weight individuals, but it continued to climb in the obese individuals. The same pattern was seen for inflammation. "If obese people who already have oxidative and inflammatory stress take the same meal, they get far greater and more prolonged levels of oxidative and inflammatory stress," Dandona told Reuters Health. "Since oxidative and inflammatory stress predispose you to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), heart attack and stroke, this risk is far greater in obese people." In another study, Dandona and his colleagues demonstrated that a high-fruit, high-fiber meal with the same calorie content as the fast food meal tested in the current study produced no increase in oxidative or inflammatory stress. The findings provide yet more evidence that people should avoid high-fat, high carb fast food meals and consume as much fruit and vegetables as possible, Dandona said. SOURCE: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, November Copyright Reuters Editor's Note:

Food Additives in Your Diet May Be Making You Fat.

Editor's Notes:

Doctor Reveals the Truth About Vitamins and Supplements and Which Ones Are Worth Your Money. Make Your Heart 20 Years Younger — Reduce Inflammation. Reduce Stress and Calm Yourself Naturally. Your Sexual Health Is Important — Click Here Now. Food Additives in Your Diet May Be Making You Fat. Doctors Reveal Secrets That Will Make Your Body Younger and Healthier. Tea — It's Not Just a Drink, It's a Miracle Beverage. Discover the Bacteria Your Body Needs to be Healthy. Your Belly Fat May Mean Heart Disease.

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