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Test Well Water Once a Year for Children’s Health

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Private well water should be tested yearly, and in some cases more often, according to new guidance offered by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, took a lead role in working with the AAP to develop these recommendations and draft a new AAP policy statement about the things parents should do if their children drink well water. The recommendations call for annual well testing, especially for nitrate and microorganisms such as coliform bacteria, which can indicate that sewage has contaminated the well.

The recommendations point out circumstances when additional testing should occur, including testing when there is a new infant in the house or if the well is subjected to structural damage.

“Children are especially vulnerable to waterborne illnesses that may come from contaminated wells,” said Walter J. Rogan, M.D., an epidemiologist at NIEHS and lead author on the policy statement and technical report that appears in the June issue of Pediatrics. The new policy statement, “Drinking Water from Private Wells and Risks to Children,” offers recommendations for inspection, testing and remediation of wells providing drinking water for children.

“With few exceptions, well owners are responsible for their own wells,” said Rogan. Private wells are not subject to federal regulations and are only minimally regulated by states. With proper care, well water is safe; however, wells can become contaminated by chemicals or pathogenic organisms.

Nitrate, which comes from sewage or fertilizer, is the most common contaminant in wells. The presence of nitrates can be a problem particularly for infants under three months who can not metabolize nitrate. Water with a nitrate concentration of more than 1.0 milligrams per liter should not be used to prepare infant formula or given to a child younger than one year. The policy statement suggests using bottled water for infants when nitrate contamination is detected, or when the source of drinking water is not known.

The policy statement and accompanying technical report point out that water contamination is inherently local, and that families with wells need to keep in contact with state and local health experts to determine what should be tested in their community. For example, some parts of the country may have arsenic, radon, salt intrusion or agricultural runoff that may get into the water supply.

“As people move out of urban and suburban areas into areas that are not reached by municipal water supplies, it is more important than ever that people know who to contact in their local health department to get information about local groundwater conditions,” said N. Beth Ragan of NIEHS, who served as consultant on these reports. A compilation of state by state telephone and Web-based resources of local experts is included in the technical report. Approximately one-sixth of U.S. households now get their drinking water from private wells.

NIEHS Director Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., says she is pleased that NIEHS researchers took the lead in writing this statement, and continue their longstanding liaisons with the American Academy of Pediatrics to develop state-of-the-science technical reports that can have a direct impact on public health.

“This statement will be extremely useful to many audiences — especially pediatricians,” Birnbaum said. “Pediatricians needed a one-stop shopping document that they can share with parents who have concerns about their children�s sources of drinking water.”

Source: NIH, May 26, 2009

Pool Chemical Injuries Threaten Thousands

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Pool chemical injuries account for as many as 5,200 emergency room visits each year. A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that these injuries are preventable, and during 2007 almost half of those injuries occurred at a residence.

According to the study, published in CDC′s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), persons can be injured by inhaling fumes when they open pool chemical containers, attempting to pre-dissolve pool chemicals, or handling them improperly. Persons can also be injured when chemicals splash into the eyes. These preventable injuries typically occur during the summer swimming season, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and can occur in or out of the pool.

In addition to pool chemical injuries, thousands of people each year suffer from recreational water illnesses. The study was released ahead of CDC′s National Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week, May 18-24. The week aims to raise awareness about healthy swimming behaviors, including ways to prevent recreational water illnesses and injuries. Recreational water illnesses are illnesses spread by swallowing, inhaling vapors, or having contact with contaminated water in swimming pools, water parks, spas, interactive fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans.

“Pool chemicals make the water we swim in safer by protecting us from germs, but these same chemicals can also cause injuries if they are not properly handled,” said Michele Hlavsa, the study′s lead author and epidemiologist at CDC.

Public pool operators and residential pool owners can protect themselves and swimmers by always securing pool chemicals, reading product names and manufacturer′s directions before each use, using appropriate protective gear including safety glasses and gloves, and never mixing chlorine products with each other, with acid, or with any other substance.

The study looked at 36 pool chemical-associated health events reported to the New York state Department of Health for recreational water venues, such as pools, water parks, and interactive water fountains, during 1983-2006.

Swimming is the second most popular sports activity in the United States, with approximately 339 million swimming visits to recreational water venues.

The best way to prevent recreational water illnesses is to keep germs out of the pool in the first place. Everyone can help create healthy swimming experiences by not swimming when ill with diarrhea, not swallowing pool water, taking kids on bathroom breaks and practicing good hygiene.

Source: CDC, May 23, 2009

Vitamin D3 Deficiency

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Health columnist Pamela Egan addresses the importance of Vitamin D3, and goes into thorough detail about the potential adverse effects on one’s health that can result from a Vitamin D3 deficiency.

Promising Procedure Injects Stem Cells Directly Into Patient’s Heart

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In a ground-breaking procedure, surgeons at The Methodist Hospital in Houston injected highly concentrated stem cells directly into a patient’s heart, providing an intense, direct hit on damaged heart tissue.

This technique may be more successful in regenerating healthy heart tissue than current methods that use a catheter to put standard stem cells through the bloodstream into the heart. The 58-year old patient is expected to be discharged this weekend.

“Some patients have such severe heart failure that their only current option is a heart transplant,” said Dr. Brian Bruckner, cardiac surgeon at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston. “We hope that stem cells will stimulate angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, restore mechanical function in diseased heart tissue, and return patients to a much better quality of life without a transplant.”

In a novel process, the patient’s strongest and most robust stem and progenitor cells, derived from the patient’s own bone marrow, are amplified up to 1,000 times before they’re injected back into the patient’s heart. In the procedure, Dr. Bruckner made a small incision in the left side of the patient’s chest and administered approximately 25 injections of concentrated stem cells into the patient’s heart. All patients in the trial will be followed for 12 months after the injections.

There are currently 5.5 million people in the U.S. suffering from chronic heart failure. A subset of these patients has dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a chronic heart disease in which the patient’s heart can not pump effectively enough to deliver blood and oxygen to the vital organs in the body. Patients with DCM typically experience severe limitations to physical activity and shortness of breath.

“Without a new approach to treatment of these patients, they will continue to decline and less than 40 percent will survive five years,” said Bruckner, principal investigator for the trial. “We hope this trial will provide a completely new and viable treatment for them.”

Dr. Michael Reardon, chief of cardiac surgery at Methodist, and Dr. Matthias Loebe, transplant surgeon at Methodist, are co-investigators on the trial. Dr. Kevin Lisman is the patient’s referring cardiologist.

Source: Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas

Trauma Victims’ Post-Operational Survival Chances Improved by Antioxidant Therapy

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Many trauma patients do not survive the post-operational stage due to multiple-organ failure, but a recent study has shown that post-operational survival can be improved by antioxidant therapy.

In a study presented at the 2008 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Bryan A. Cotton, MD, FACS, stated that “implementation of high-dose antioxidant protocol (vitamins C, E, and selenium) resulted in a reduction of pulmonary complications, in general, as well as infectious complications, including central line and catheter-related infections.”

Dr. Cotton, assistant professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, observed that when an abdominal wound opens up, the result is not just an infection to be treated with antibiotics. Sometimes the wounds open up, requiring reconstruction with expensive agents. Dr. Cotton observed a remarkable decrease in abdominal wall complications—including abdominal compartment syndrome and surgical site infections.

“This is a high mortality, high morbidity, may-never-return-to-work-again problem in a young healthy patient,” he said. “Abdominal wall complications are enormous, yet we noted a reduction in some of these complications with implementation of antioxidants. Importantly, the biggest difference was in those patients who had a predicted mortality exceeding 50 percent.”

Dr. Cotton and his colleagues at Vanderbilt showed that this high-dose antioxidant protocol accounted for an amazing 28% reduction in mortality in acutely injured patients. Length-of-stay, hospital and ICU, was also reduced. Dr. Cotton explained how an acute injury imposes a huge strain on the body, which releases oxygen molecules called free radicals, that cause damage at the cellular level called oxidative stress. Antioxidants work as a team in mopping up some of the oxidative stress waste byproducts, reducing the stressors that cause harm. Depletion of antioxidants is one of the mechanisms that explains why we are vulnerable. Antioxidant therapy replenishes those troops to help keep us safe.

“Antioxidant therapy is so simple and that’s what throws people off,” Dr. Cotton said. A trial conducted by Avery B. Nathens, MD, MPH, showed that some inflammatory states and responses were remarkably improved in patients who had received antioxidants versus those who did not. “Based on these results, we were inspired to initiate a study with vitamins C and E. When we looked at the literature, however, there were some concurrent studies showing that selenium had an impact too, especially on sepsis and other infectious complications. So we combined all the existing research and did a cost analysis. When we learned it would cost only $11 a patient for a seven-day course of antioxidants, we decided to give it a try.”

This retrospective study followed a total of 4,279 patients admitted to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center trauma unit during the study period. High-dose antioxidant protocol was administered to all acutely injured patients (2,258 individuals) admitted to the center between October 1, 2005, and September 30, 2006. This treatment included 1,000 mg. vitamin C (ascorbic acid) -tocopherol acetate), each routinely given everyaand 1,000 IU vitamin E (DL- eight hours by mouth, if the patient could take it that way. In addition, 200 mcg. selenium was given once daily intravenously. Patients received these supplements upon arrival, and they were continued for seven days or until discharge, whichever happened first. Patients who were pregnant or had serum creatinine levels >2.5mg/dL did not receive antioxidants.

A comparison cohort was made up of all patients (2,021 individuals) admitted to the trauma center between October 1, 2004, and September 30, 2005—prior to implementation of the antioxidant protocol. While pneumonia and renal failure were similar between the groups, the incidence of abdominal compartment syndrome was significantly less (90 versus 31), as were catheter-related infections (75 versus 50) and surgical site infections (101 versus 44). Pulmonary failure—meaning the patient could not get off the ventilator—was less as well (721 versus 528).

Dr. Cotton is now prescribing high-dose antioxidants only to the most seriously ill patients in the ICU, as they seem to derive the greatest benefit. He and his colleagues will now focus on dose adjustments and length of administration to see if the doses and duration they are currently using are optimal. They have been approached by several groups that are interested in collaborating and investigating these agents as part of multiinstitutional trials and expanding their use to critically ill nontrauma patients.

“While we are all looking for that magic bullet to cure some of the horrible things that can happen after someone is injured or has an operation, we have something at our disposal,” Dr. Cotton said. “It might not be that magic bullet, but it is a very inexpensive and safe way to reduce complications and mortality in the sickest patients.”

Assisting Dr. Cotton with this study were Aviram Giladi, BS; Bryan R. Collier, DO, FACS; Lesly A. Dossett, MD; and Sloan B. Fleming, PharmD, all from Vanderbilt. He received no funding for this research.

Source: American College of Surgeons

Spotting The Difference Between Heartburn & Heart Attack Can Be A Lifesaver

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How many people regret over-indulging on Thanksgiving Day? Some can sleep off the tumult in their stomachs, others experience alarming symptoms. Is that pain in their chest heartburn or a heat attack? The symptoms are similar, but the health consequences differ dramatically.

“We see people in the Emergency Room who think they are only having severe heartburn or experiencing the flu when they are actually having a heart attack,” said Nick Zenarosa, M.D., emergency medicine physician on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.

If you think you are experiencing heartburn, Dr. Zenarosa recommends watching for the following symptoms which are not typical of heartburn and could indicate a heart attack:

  • Breaking into a cold sweat
  • Pain moving from the chest into the jaw, shoulder or arms
  • Increased pain when you exert yourself, rapid onset of fatigue
  • shortness of breath
  • turning pale
  • slow or no response of symptoms to antacids
  • nausea and possible vomiting

Keep in mind that the signs of a heart attack can be subtle, particularly in women. If you are experiencing any of these signs, coupled with chest pain and/or pain that radiates through your jaw or down your arm, be sure to go to an Emergency Room.

Time is of the essence when a person is having a heart attack. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the sooner clot-busting drugs and other artery-opening treatments are started, the more good they will do, and the greater the chances are for survival and a full recovery.

Source: Baylor Health Care System

Chronic Kidney Disease Up 30% Over Past Decade

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A 30 percent increase in chronic kidney disease over the past decade has prompted the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS) to issue for the first time a separate report documenting the magnitude of the disease, which affects an estimated 27 million Americans and accounts for more than 24 percent of Medicare costs.

“NIDDK’s annual analysis and publication of data on kidney disease in the United States is essential in quantifying public health trends, guiding funding priorities, and designing targeted kidney research programs,” said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. “The major focus on chronic kidney disease in this year’s report acknowledges that this disorder is a growing public health issue deserving of wider public awareness and intensified scientific investigation.”

Using data from multiple sources, the USRDS has created a new handbook of information that can be used by researchers, government officials, health program planners, and others to develop research goals, assess public health needs, set program priorities, and inform policymakers and the public. USRDS research depends on collaborations with other agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, especially the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Patient registries for other countries also contribute data for analyses.

Volume One of the report defines the disease burden of chronic kidney disease and examines cardiovascular and other related health problems, rates of adverse health events, preventive care, prescription medication therapies, delivery of care in the transition to end-stage renal disease, and the cost to Medicare and employer group health plans.

One of the major findings central to public health is that those with chronic kidney disease are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than to reach end-stage kidney disease. However, cardiovascular risk factors can be detected and treated. This suggests that those transitioning from chronic to end-stage kidney disease merit more attention. Expenditures during the transition from chronic to end-stage kidney disease are considerable, ranging from $14,500 for Medicare patients to $29,000 for those covered by employer group health plans in the month of dialysis initiation.

“These latest data on kidney disease underscore the importance of the research we fund,” said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D. “With rising rates of chronic and end-stage kidney disease, we need to stimulate research that will help us discover new, effective therapies for these devastating disorders.”

Volume Two reports that the number of people with end-stage kidney disease is increasing in size and cost. The incidence of chronic kidney disease in 2006 was more than 100,000, or 360 per one million people, an increase of 3.4 percent over the 2005 incidence rate. There were more than half a million patients with end-stage kidney disease in 2006. Of these, 70 percent were on dialysis. An important step before a patient begins dialysis is the preparation of a vascular access, which is the site on the patient’s body where blood is removed and returned during dialysis.

The three types of vascular access for dialysis are arteriovenous (AV) fistula, an AV graft, and a venous catheter. Both the fistula and the graft involve connecting an artery to a vein, usually beneath the skin in a patient’s arm.

The fistula is considered the best long-term vascular access for dialysis. The catheter is a tube inserted into a vein in the patient’s neck, chest, or leg near the groin. It is usually only used as a temporary access until a permanent fistula or graft can be developed. This volume reports that more than 80 percent of new dialysis patients started with a catheter, more than 50 percent of current dialysis patients had a fistula, and 30 percent had a graft.

Volume Two also reports that Medicare paid about $70,000 per dialysis patient. Patients with end-stage kidney disease accounted for a little more than 1 percent of the Medicare population and more than 7 percent of Medicare costs. Total cost for end-stage kidney disease was $33.6 billion. This number includes Medicare spending and all expenditures by other payers, such as employer group health plans.

In addition, more than 18,000 kidney transplants were performed in 2006, an increase of 3.5 percent over 2005. Use of deceased donor kidneys increased between 2003 and 2006 at a rate of about 6 percent to 7 percent. Use of living donors fell 3 percent during that period, but the use of living unrelated donors continues to increase relative to the total number of living donations, and now accounts for 45 percent of all living donor transplantations.

NIDDK conducts and supports research in diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition, and obesity; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass some of the most common, severe, and disabling conditions affecting Americans.

The USRDS is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The USRDS 2008 Annual Data Report: Atlas of Chronic Kidney Disease and End-Stage Renal Disease, is online at www.usrds.org.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation’s Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

New CHARISMA Outcome Study Results Validate Aspirin Effect

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DENVER, Colo. — October 21, 2008 — Corgenix Medical Corporation (OTC BB: CONX) announces that new CHARISMA trial findings published in Circulation confirm that elevated urinary levels of the biomarker 11-dehydro thromboxane B2 (11dhTxB2) indicate an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiac death.

The AspirinWorks® Test by Corgenix is the only FDA-cleared test that measures urinary 11dhTxB2 to accurately determine aspirin effect in apparently healthy individuals. 11dhTxB2 is a metabolite of thromboxane, the target of aspirin therapy.

The new findings, published in the October 21 issue of the American Heart Association’s peer-reviewed medical journal Circulation, directly link increased levels of this powerful biomarker to a patient’s risk of heart attack and stroke, potentially changing how millions of people worldwide are tested for aspirin effect and treated to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

The sub-study of the Clopidogrel for High Atherothrombotic Risk and Ischemic Stabilization, Management and Avoidance (CHARISMA) trial was carried out with the pre-FDA-cleared version of the AspirinWorks Test. The test subsequently received FDA clearance in May 2007 and is available worldwide.

Cardiologist Paul A. Gurbel, M.D., Director, Sinai Center for Thrombosis Research at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, said the study supports that measurement of urinary 11-dehydro thromboxane B2 can identify patients at risk for ischemic events and can be used as an independent risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

“Interestingly, the investigators observed a dose-dependent effect of aspirin on levels of this marker,” explained Gurbel. “These data are consistent with our (Sinai Center for Thrombosis Research) previous randomized data from the double crossover ASPECT study that evaluated the effect of three commonly used aspirin doses published last year in Circulation. We also found a reduction in 11-dehydro thromboxane B2 between 81 mg and 325 mg.

“These findings strongly support the role of urinary 11-dehydro thromboxane B2 concentrations as an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk in aspirin-treated patients,” said Gurbel. “The findings of both the ASPECT study and current investigation also raise the potential for adjusting aspirin doses to modify risk by reducing in vivo thromboxane synthesis.”

CHARISMA is a multinational, multicenter, randomized, parallel group, double-blind trial involving 15,603 patients with either clinically established cardiovascular disease or multiple risk factors. The pre-specified CHARISMA sub-study involved a total of 3,261 aspirin-treated patients from 224 sites in 12 countries.

Among the principal findings was that the upper quartile of urinary 11dhTxB2 concentration in a broad population of high-risk patients treated with usual doses of aspirin (75 to 325 mg) was independently associated with an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events. Other findings from the trial include:

1) Aspirin and statin treatment were associated with lower concentrations of 11dhTxB2.
2) Randomization to clopidogrel (vs. placebo) did not reduce urinary 11-dehydro thromboxane B2 levels nor did it reduce the hazard of cardiovascular events in patients in the highest quartile of urinary 11dhTxB2 levels.

“This is the outcome study we have all been waiting for because it demonstrates the potential value of the AspirinWorks test (11dhTxB2) for optimizing an individual’s aspirin therapy. The publication of these findings in one of the most prestigious medical journals further demonstrates the value and viability of the AspirinWorks product,” said Douglass Simpson, Corgenix’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “The ability to quickly, easily and accurately determine the effect of aspirin in patients gives the AspirinWorks test a strong and unique position in the U.S. and global cardiovascular diagnostic testing marketplace.”

For more information on AspirinWorks, visit www.aspirinworks.com. To access the full Circulation article, go to: http://circ.ahajournals.org. Physicians and laboratories interested in ordering the test can call 1-800-729-5661 x180, or e-mail: info@aspirinworks.com. The AspirinWorks Test is also available directly to consumers through HealthCheckUSA at www.healthcheckusa.com.

About Corgenix Medical Corporation
Corgenix is a leader in the development and manufacturing of specialized diagnostic kits for immunology disorders, vascular diseases and bone and joint disorders, including the world’s only non-blood-based test for aspirin effect. Corgenix diagnostic products are commercialized for use in clinical laboratories throughout the world. The company currently sells over 50 diagnostic products through a global distribution network and has significant experience advancing products through the FDA process. More information is available at www.corgenix.com.

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical facts are “forward looking” statements (identified by the words “believe”, “estimate”, “project”, “expect” or similar expressions) within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the Company’s products and services in the marketplace, competitive factors, changes in the regulatory environment, and other risks detailed in the Company’s periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements in this press release are made as of today, based upon information currently known to management, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Source: Corgenix Medical Corp.

New Technique May Restore Functions to Stroke Patients Long After Attack

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A revolutionary new technique, which involves jump-starting the growth of nerve fibers to compensate for brain cells destroyed by the stroke, may be capable of restoring functions to a stroke patient weeks, and even months after the attack, according to a recent report.

“In the best-case scenario, this would open up the window of time that people could recover and go back to normal functional status,” said Gwendolyn Kartje, MD, Ph.D., a professor in the department of cell biology, neurobiology and anatomy and department of neurology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

The experimental approach is described by Kartje and colleagues in the journal Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation. Called anti-nogo-A immunotherapy, anti-nogo has dramatically improved functions in lab animals that have experienced strokes. Anti-nogo is also the subject of an ongoing clinical trial in Europe and Canada to test the technique in patients with spinal chord injuries.

Most strokes are caused by clots that block blood flow to one part of the brain, killing brain cells within hours. The drug TPA can minimize damage by dissolving the clot. But TPA is safe and effective only when given within about three hours of the onset of symptoms. Most patients don’t receive treatment within that brief window. Patients typically arrive at the hospital too late, or hospitals do not begin administering TPA soon enough.

Nogo-A is a protein that inhibits the growth of nerve fibers called axons, and checks uncontrolled nerve growth causing excessive sensitivity to pain, or involuntary movements.In anti nogo immunotherapy, an antibody disables the nogo protein.

The left side of the brain controls movements on the right side of the body, and vice versa. Thus, a stroke on the left side of the brain can cause paralysis on the right side of the body. In such a patient, anti-nogo would, it’s hoped, spur the growth of axons from the healthy right side of the brain. These axons would then grow into the right side of the body and restore functions lost by the stroke.

Rats that have undergone strokes in old age have been tested with anti nogo. After anti nogo function in the front paw of the affected side was almost completely restored in some rats. The Novartis company is sponsoring a phase 1 clinical trial of anti-nogo for patients paralyzed by spinal cord injuries, and a clinical trial for stroke [patients could begin by 2012, according to Kartje, who believes anti-nogo has great potential for stroke patients.

Anti nogo “offers the potential for stroke patients to recover, return to nearly normal functional status, and stay out of nursing homes,” Kartje said. “Theoretically, there’s no reason why this should not happen.”

Source: Loyola University Health System

The Importance of Nutrition for Your Health

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We as patients often assume that a prescription for health involves taking medicines. The drugs that FDA approves are essential for treating disease, but perhaps the most important prescription to prevent many diseases is the food we eat.

Our food not only needs to be safe to protect our health – but also nutritious, in order to promote our health. The FDA’s core mission is to do both, and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and other components of FDA, like our Division of Personalized Nutrition and Medicine at NCTR, are hard at work in researching and developing new frontiers in the field of nutrition.

Proper nutrition is an old concept so why do we still have problems with our diet? The answer is complex. But – just like prescriptions for medicine – nutrition must become more personalized because people are different. When I was growing up I could not understand why my brother could eat so much more than I did, and yet he was so much thinner. He obviously metabolized food differently. Because of advancements in science, technology and medicine, we now know that our genes and how they function make us all unique, and we need to factor that understanding into recognizing that our nutritional needs are unique.

In the past, public health recommendations looked like a “one size fits all” approach to nutrition, breaking food down into groups that every school child could easily identify—and we made very good, but very broad recommendations about what we should eat—like fruits and vegetables.

But today we are breaking new frontiers in nutrition and eating behavior. One example is we are beginning to understand the benefits of nutrition at the genetic level. For example, we have identified 50 genes associated with how the human body processes meat and the changes in genes metabolizing starch.

In the future, we will understand your individual needs for such things as vitamins. And if you know your genetic make up and how your body metabolizes different food groups, you will be able to learn how specific nutritional choices you make will affect your health.

As researchers unravel the science, FDA will speed the pathway and apply cutting-edge discoveries in nutrition as quickly as possible, whether it’s in the field of dietary supplements, micronutrients, or our approach to the food label we put on the items you purchase. I hope you will visit the website for FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition on a regular basis, as well as the USDA web site: MyPyramid.gov, to get the latest on how food can be your prescription for health.

Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D.
Commissioner of Food and Drugs