Vitamin Air

Those vitamins and minerals touted for helping kids grow big and strong also may keep kids breathing easy.

Several nutrients in fruits, vegetables and juices seem to help children's lungs develop well, according to environmental health researchers at the Keck School of Medicine.

Frank D. Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D., professor of preventive medicine, and his colleagues monitor more than 2,500 pre-teens and teen-agers in a dozen Southern California communities, tracking what kids eat and measuring lung function (how well their lungs work).

The team has found that children who eat lots of antioxidant-rich fruit and juices-as well as those who get an abundance of magnesium and potassium-perform better on lung function tests than children who eat less of the nutrients.

Vitamin C plays a big role in lung development, Gilliland says, while vitamins E and A also appear helpful, especially in children with asthma.

During a breath, lungs are exposed to oxidants in the air. This leads to oxidative stress, he explains.

Fortunately, an antioxidant-rich fluid barrier covers the inner lining of the lungs. But that barrier may become vulnerable without enough antioxidants.

Minerals such as magnesium and potassium help, too. Both minerals directly affect lung function and indirectly influence respiratory symptoms.

"Magnesium is at the center of so many processes important to the body-energy metabolism, immune function and muscle and nerve function, for example," he says. "Yet only about 15 to 25 percent of children eat the recommended amount of magnesium."

Spinach and minimally processed cereals are good sources of magnesium. Adds Gilliland: "If kids have asthma, they especially may benefit from eating more whole grains and vegetables."

For information on dietary guidelines and nutrition, visit the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Information Center Web site at www.nal.usda.gov/fnic.


The Essential Drug

Most people suffering from a heart attack know to call 911 for help, but too few people also know that a second crucial action could help save their lives: taking an aspirin at the onset of symptoms.

The American Heart Association says that 10,000 American lives could be saved each year through this simple step.

USC cardiologist Uri Elkayam, M.D., professor of medicine, says that anyone who experiences signs of a heart attack-most notably chest pain and shortness of breath-could help prevent or mitigate possible heart damage by taking a single 325-milligram aspirin tablet after calling for immediate medical help.

He explains that heart attacks become more likely when platelets in the blood stick together and begin to form a clot. Aspirin prevents blood platelets from sticking together and can keep a blood clot from growing.

The effect is comparable to that of the most powerful clot-busting drugs available, but inexpensive, safe and already in most homes-which is why doctors routinely prescribe an aspirin a day for those who have had a heart attack to help prevent another one.

"There is a huge emphasis now on the use of aspirin to treat people who have suffered heart attacks," Elkayam says. "It is considered one of the three essential drug components for successful therapy, the other components being beta blockers and lipid-lowering drugs."

Elkayam adds that anyone who is at risk for, or has evidence of, heart disease should be considered for preventive aspirin therapy, as should anyone who has diabetes. Current research shows that diabetics have a similar risk profile for heart attacks as those with heart disease.


Tea Service

People who drink tea may be doing more than soothing a weary stomach-they might be preventing cancer, according to researchers at the Keck School of Medicine and their colleagues.

Certain tea-drinkers in a study conducted in Shanghai, China were about half as likely to develop cancer of the stomach or esophagus as similar study participants who showed little evidence of tea drinking, researchers say. Chemicals called polyphenols, which are present in tea, were associated with a lower risk of gastric and esophageal cancer in the study participants.

"This study provides direct evidence that tea polyphenols may act as chemopreventive agents against gastric and esophageal cancer development," says Mimi C. Yu, Ph.D., professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School and member of the research team. The research project was part of a dissertation underway by Can-Lan Sun, a doctoral student working with Yu.

All varieties of tea come from the leaves of a single plant, Camellia sinensis. This evergreen contains some of the most powerful antioxidants known.

The human body constantly produces oxidants, rogue molecules that damage critical cell proteins and genetic material. To protect itself, the body makes and uses antioxidants, which scavenge and seize oxidants.

It is thought that under a state of imbalance, or oxidative stress, cells may mutate and contribute to disease processes, including cancer.

But tea contains antioxidants-the polyphenols called catechins-that in certain model systems can be as powerful as the well-established antioxidants vitamins C and E at protecting proteins and DNA from oxidative damage.

Green tea contains the most catechins, followed by oolong and black teas. In research studies, catechins have been shown to halt tumor cell growth and to protect healthy cells from damage. n


Do the Glu

European studies of glucosamine, a dietary supplement touted as a useful treatment for osteoarthritis, suggest that it is a safe and effective treatment for the condition.

James D. Adams, Ph.D., associate professor of molecular pharmacology and toxicology at the USC School of Pharmacy, says although studies in the United States have yet to confirm the finding, glucosamine appears to provide the body with the molecular precursors for cartilage and apparently stimulates the body to grow new tissue.

That is good news for the millions of Americans who suffer osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease of the cartilage, especially in the hands, arms, feet, legs and back. The condition is widespread among adults over age 65, although symptoms appear in many people decades earlier. Symptoms include joint pain, especially after exercise, and morning joint stiffness that lessens with movement.

"European studies show that patients who use glucosamine experience increased range of motion-although the effect is most apparent on people who have cartilage remaining in the joints suffering from osteoarthritis," Adams says.

Glucosamine is often sold in conjunction with forms of chondroitin, a carbohydrate that is thought to inhibit the enzymes that break down cartilage.

"Both are safe and have been shown to have mild effects on arthritis," Adams says. "The only warning is that people should not try to use supplements to replace the drugs they take for their arthritis."

Medication, which can include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and aspirin, is often required to slow progress of the disease, he says.

"If you take away those drugs, the disease will progress. Glucosamine and chondroitin may help you make new cartilage-but you can't make new cartilage if the disease is still ravaging your joints," he notes.