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Soy in the Diet May Protect Lung Function 

Consuming lots of soy foods such as tofu and soy milk may improve lung function and lower the chances of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), new research suggests.

Researchers asked 300 COPD patients in Japan and 340 age-matched healthy people about their soy intake. The results, published online in the journal Respiratory Research, indicate that consumption of soy products is associated with better lung function and reduced risk of COPD.

Long-term smoking causes 90 percent of cases of COPD, which is characterized by a progressive decline in lung function and includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, according to background information provided in a news release from the journal's publisher.

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• Superfood Soy Linked To Reduction In Smoker's Lung Damage Risk 

People who eat lots of soy products have better lung function and are less likely to develop the smoking-associated lung disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). A new study has shown that consumption of a wide variety of soy products can be associated with a reduction in the risk of COPD and other respiratory symptoms.

Dr. Fumi Hirayama and Professor Andy Lee from Curtin University of Technology, Australia, worked with a team of respiratory physicians to poll 300 patients with COPD from six Japanese hospitals and 340 age-matched control subjects from the same areas as the patients about their soy intake. Dr. Hirayama said, "Soy consumption was found to be positively correlated with lung function and inversely associated with the risk of COPD. It has been suggested that flavonoids from soy foods act as an anti-inflammatory agent in the lung, and can protect against tobacco carcinogens for smokers. However, further research is needed to understand the underlying biological mechanism".

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Soy consumption and risk of COPD and respiratory symptoms: a case-control study in Japan 

To investigate the relationship between soy consumption, COPD risk and the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, a case-control study was conducted in Japan. . . .

Conclusions

Increasing soy consumption was associated with a decreased risk of COPD and breathlessness.

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• Why Smoking Increases The Risk Of Heart Disease And Strokes 

Researchers at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles and Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona have discovered a reason why smoking increases the risk of heart disease and strokes.

The study, which will be presented June 11 at The Endocrine Society's 91st annual meeting in Washington, D.C., found that nicotine in cigarettes promotes insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition that raises blood sugar levels higher than normal. People with pre-diabetes are at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Theodore Friedman, MD, Ph.D., chief of the endocrinology division at Charles Drew University, said the findings help explain a "paradox" that links smoking to heart disease.

Smokers experience a high degree of cardiovascular deaths, Friedman said. "This is surprising considering both smoking and nicotine may cause weight loss and weight loss should protect against cardiovascular disease."

The researchers studied the effects of twice-daily injections of nicotine on 24 adult mice over two weeks. The nicotine-injected mice ate less food, lost weight and had less fat than control mice that received injections without nicotine.

"Our results in mice show that nicotine administration leads to both weight loss and decreased food intake," Friedman said. "Mice exposed to nicotine have less fat. In spite of this, mice have abnormal glucose tolerance and are insulin resistant (pre-diabetes)."

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How Mac N' Cheese Is Like A Cigarette  

How Mac N' Cheese Is Like A Cigarette Posted by: Cathy Arnst on April 30

You would never give a child a cigarette. Or a drink, or a snort of cocaine. But everyday we American parents are giving our children something almost as addictive—meals laden with sugar, salt and fat. That mac n’cheese we all think is the only thing our child will eat is priming them for a lifetime of “conditioned hypereating.” That is, eating that is excessive, out of control and has nothing to do with satisfying hunger.

This theory of hypereating is laid out in a new book, The End of Overeating, by Dr. David Kessler, a renowned scientist and former FDA director who set out some seven years ago to figure out the reasons behind the obesity crisis besetting the nation.

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Positive body image facilitates weight loss 

Forget dieting and gruelling exercise regime – just have a positive image of your body and you’ll be able to shrink your waist line and kick the Positive body image facilitates weight loss butt, say researchers.

The research team from Temple University has shown that positive body image is more effective than exercise in helping young women lose weight and quit smoking.

The study showed that one in five women between the ages of 18 and 24 are smokers, and most say they keep lighting up for fear of gaining weight.

Its suggests that a little bit of dialogue and support can be more effective than an exercise plan in helping women not only keep off the weight, but also stay smoke-free.

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News briefs from the May issue of Chest 

"WEIGHT LOSS GENE" MAY KEEP SMOKERS THIN

Research has shown that smokers weigh less and have less body fat than nonsmokers, and now scientists may know the reason why. A research team from Weill Medical College of Cornell University New York used several different assays to evaluate the levels of alpha2-zinc-glycoprotein1 (AZGP1), a gene linked to weight loss, in 37 healthy nonsmokers and 55 healthy smokers. All test results showed that AZGP1 levels were higher in smokers than nonsmokers. Although researchers could not directly prove that smoking-induced increases in AZGP1 are sufficient to mediate weight loss, they speculate that the increased AZGP1 levels in smokers could be one mechanism contributing to the weight difference between smokers and nonsmokers. This study is published in the May issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

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Smoking may boost "fat-depleting" gene 

Offering clues to why smokers often gain weight after quitting, a new study suggests that smoking enhances the activity of a gene that helps break down body fat.

Researchers found that compared with non-smokers, a group of healthy smokers showed greater activity in a gene called AZGP1 in cell samples taken from their airways.

Because the gene is thought to be important in breaking down fat and controlling weight, the findings point to one possible reason that smokers tend to weigh less than non-smokers -- and why people often put on pounds after quitting.

Dr. Holly Vanni and colleagues at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York report the findings in the journal Chest.

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Stimulant-induced changes in smoking and caloric intake: Influence of rate of onset 

Rate-of-onset modulates the subject-rated effects of stimulants. Results of two studies from our laboratory demonstrate that immediate-release methylphenidate increases smoking and decreases caloric intake. Whether rate-of-onset influences the effects of methylphenidate on smoking and eating is unknown. . . .

Immediate- and sustained-release methylphenidate increased smoking and decreased caloric intake. The effects of methylphenidate generally did not vary as a function of formulation. The results of this study may have important implications for the treatment of disorders that require stimulant medications. Smoking should be monitored in patients that are prescribed stimulant medications, regardless of the formulation type.

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Cigarette Smoking Induces Overexpression of a Fat Depleting Gene AZGP1 in the Human Airway Epithelium 

Background

Smokers weigh less and have less body fat than nonsmokers. Increased body fat and weight gain are observed following smoking cessation. To assess a possible molecular mech-anism underlying the inverse association between smoking and body weight, we hypothesized that smoking may induce the expression of a fat depleting gene in the airway epithelium, the cell population that takes the brunt of the stress of cigarette smoke. . . .

Conclusions

In the context that AZGP1 is involved in lipolysis and fat loss, its overexpression in the airway epithelium of chronic smokers may represent one mechanism for the weight difference in smokers vs nonsmokers.

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Weight-Loss Gene May Keep Smokers Thinner 

A gene that may help explain why smokers weigh less and have less body fat than nonsmokers has been identified by U.S. researchers.

They used several different tests on 55 healthy smokers and 37 healthy nonsmokers to determine their levels of alpha2-zinc-glycoprotein1 (AZGP1), a gene linked to weight loss. All the test showed that levels of AZGP1 were higher in smokers than nonsmokers, said the researchers at Weill Medical College of Cornell University New York.

The study didn't provide direct proof that smoking-induced increases in AZGP1 are sufficient to cause weight loss, said the study authors. However, they suggested that increased AZGP1 levels in smokers may be one mechanism that contributes

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Dietary acrylamide not associated with increased lung cancer risk in men 

Dietary acrylamide was not associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, according to data from a large prospective case-cohort study in the April 28 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Acrylamide is formed in some starchy foods, such as potato chips and French fries, during high-temperature cooking. Epidemiological studies have found a positive association between dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of endometrial, ovarian, renal cell, and estrogen-receptor positive breast cancers.

To investigate whether dietary acrylamide intake is associated with lung cancer risk, Janneke G. F. Hogervorst, M.Sc., of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a case-cohort study among 58,279 men and 62,573 women in the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer. Intake of acrylamide was estimated based on food-frequency questionnaires completed upon enrollment in the study.

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• Gene study explains why smokers are burning the fat as well as cigarettes 

But the real reason why people pile on the pounds after quitting smoking could lie in our DNA.

Scientists have identified a fat-burning gene that becomes more active when exposed to cigarette smoke.

The finding could help explain why slim smokers find their weight starts to balloon after the final cigarette is stubbed out.

But anti-smoking groups warned against smokers using the research to justify a habit that kills more than 120,000 Britons a year.

The scientists, from Cornell University in New York, focused on a gene called AZGP1 (alphazincglycoprotein1) which makes a protein that speeds up the breakdown of fat.

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Smoking may rob kids of anti-oxidants 

Children exposed to cigarette smoke have lower levels of anti-oxidants, which help the body defend against biological stresses, U.S. researchers said.

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York looked at the levels of anti-oxidants vs. the amount of smoke exposure in more than 2,000 children and teens ages 6 and 18 in the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The study, presented at the Pediatric Academic Society Meeting in Baltimore, showed that secondhand smoke exposure is associated with lower levels of anti-oxidants in children.

"We don't know enough yet to say that this group of children need supplements to make up for the anti-oxidants they're losing, but it's always wise to feed children an abundance of fruits and vegetables high in anti-oxidants and other healthy nutrients," Dr. Karen Wilson said in a statement.

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• Cigarette smoke may rob children of needed antioxidants 

Children exposed to cigarette smoke have lower levels of antioxidants, which help the body defend itself against many biological stresses.

A University of Rochester Medical Center study looked at the levels of antioxidants versus the amount of smoke exposure in more than 2,000 6 and 18 years old in the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The study, which was presented at the Pediatric Academic Society Meeting in Baltimore, shows that secondhand smoke exposure is associated with lower levels of antioxidants in children.

"We don't know enough yet to say that this group of children need supplements to make up for the antioxidants they're losing, but it's always wise to feed children an abundance of fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants and other healthy nutrients," said Karen Wilson, M.D., M.P.H., a senior instructor of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center and the study's author.

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