Whey Protein, Amino Acids May Boost Fat Loss

ByKathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News Reviewed byLaura J. Martin, MD

Dec. 14, 2012 -- Adding essential amino acids and whey protein to a weight loss plan appears to increase fat loss, according to new research.

The study was done in older, obese adults, but the strategy may also work for younger adults, says researcher Robert Coker, PhD. He is an associate professor of geriatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock.

In his new study, he compared two kinds of meal replacements. One was a protein replacement without essential amino acids. The other was a meal replacement with essential amino acids and whey protein.

The replacement with whey won.

"Essential amino acids, included as part of a meal replacement, along with whey protein, improved the synthesis of muscle and led to a greater loss of fat," he says.

Both groups lost about 7% of their total body weight. But the amino acids and whey group lost a greater percentage of fat to lean tissue. 

Increasing fat loss during a weight loss program translates to a better and healthier body composition, experts say.

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Adding Whey, Amino Acids: Study Details

Coker studied 12 obese men and women, all 65 to 80 years old. 

They were assigned to the meal replacement group or the meal replacement with amino acids and whey group. All were allotted 1,200 calories a day.

Coker evaluated the 11 who completed the eight-week program to see the effect of each plan on fat and muscle.

The meal replacement with whey and amino acids did not preserve lean muscle tissue much better than the other meal replacement.

It did boost fat loss. At the start of the study, the meal-replacement-alone group was about 39% fat; at the study end, they averaged 37.5% fat. The group getting meal replacement with amino acids and whey had 41.8% body fat at the start but 36.3% at the end.

Body weight losses were similar -- both groups started at about 200 pounds and finished at an average of 185.

The whey and amino acid supplement ''increased muscle metabolism, and this may have triggered a greater reduction in body fat," Coker says.

Could the same strategy help younger adults? "I think the answer potentially is yes," Coker says. His study looked only at those 65-plus, and they were obese. But other research has indicated the approach could help younger people, he says.

Losing excess body fat is an important goal, Coker says. Among other effects, it promotes inflammation and insulin resistance, making the body less apt to use insulin effectively.

The product studied by Coker is not available to the public.

The study was supported by an NIH Small Business Innovation Research grant and other grants. The small business grant was administered through HealthSpan, which makes a whey protein product. Coker and other co-authors were compensated by HealthSpan as consultants for the grant.

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Beet Juice Lowers Blood Pressure

ByJennifer Warner
WebMD Health News Reviewed byBrunilda Nazario, MD

Dec. 14, 2012 -- Drinking a glass of beet juice may have an immediate impact on lowering blood pressure, according to a new study.

The study shows that within hours of drinking it, beet juice lowered systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) by an average of 4-5 points among a small group of healthy men.

Researchers say that drop may seem small, but on a public health level a reduction like that would equate to a 10% reduction in deaths due to heart disease.

“It’s promising that we can see an effect from a single dose,” says researcher Leah Coles, PhD, a research fellow at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia. “That effect might be even greater over the long term if they are drinking it day upon day.”

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Beetroot Benefits

Previous studies have shown that beet juice, also known as beetroot juice, can lower blood pressure in a laboratory setting. But researchers say this is the first study to look at the effects of adding beet juice to a heathy person’s diet without making any other diet or lifestyle changes.

The results appear in Nutrition Journal.

In the study, 15 men and 15 women drank either 17.6 ounces of a beet juice beverage consisting of about three-fourths beet juice and one-fourth apple juice, or a placebo juice. They were then monitored for 24 hours. The same procedure was repeated two weeks later, with those who drank the placebo on the first round receiving beetroot juice on the second.

Among both men and women, the results showed a trend to lower systolic blood pressure six hours after drinking the beet juice.

But when researchers limited their analysis to men only, they found a significant reduction of about 4.7 points among those who drank the beetroot juice.

Previous studies have also suggested that beetroot’s blood-pressure-lowering effects may not be as strong in women.

In this case, Coles says it may be partially explained by the fact that the women in the study tended to be older, and many were on prescription medications, such as oral contraceptives.

Nitrates Behind Blood Pressure Effect

Experts say it’s the high concentration of nitrates in beets that are responsible for the benefits.

In a lengthy biological process, nitrates from dietary sources like beets and leafy green vegetables are converted to nitric oxide within the body. The nitric oxide then relaxes blood vessels and dilates them, which helps the blood flow more easily and lowers blood pressure.

“Whether from foods or from juice, you are seeing a consistent effect of nitrates in lowering blood pressure,” says registered dietitian Norman Hord, PhD, MPH, an associate professor at College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore. “It’s probably the most potent blood-pressure-lowering component of the diet.”

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How to Talk to Children About School Shooting

ByKathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News Reviewed byBrunilda Nazario, MD

Dec. 14, 2012 -- As the nation grieves over the horror of the school shooting in Connecticut, parents across the U.S. -- both in Newtown, Conn., and elsewhere -- are struggling with how to help their children through this tragedy.

WebMD talked to Leslie Garrard, PsyD, a child psychologist at Miami Children's Hospital, and Melissa Brymer, PhD, director of terrorism and disaster programs at the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. We asked for their best suggestions on what parents and others can do now to help children cope.

Q: What reactions should parents and other caregivers in Newtown expect from the children who have gone through this tragedy?

A: Kids can have a wide range of reactions, Garrard says. "Any exposure to trauma can have immediate reactions and lasting effects. Parents need to be very [mindful] and watch their children."

"Some kids withdraw, some are dismissive, although internally they are scared. Some cry and some are outwardly terrified. Some become depressed. Some just kind of shut down. Some might have nightmares and re-experience the traumatic events. ... They may be fearful of leaving their parents."

Q: What reactions are typical from children who didn't go through it, but watched news coverage or heard details about the tragedy?

They can also have [the same range of] reactions -- maybe not as strong, but they can also be impacted, Garrard says. "When watching it and seeing it on TV, it's very scary."

The American Academy of Pediatrics President Thomas McInerny, MD, says in a statement that if possible, "young children should not be exposed to the extensive media coverage of the event -- in other words, turn off the TV, computer, and other media devices."

Q: Is this age -- elementary school -- a particularly difficult one to experience trauma?

A: Yes, according to Garrard, because it affects emotional development and the way we view the world -- whether it's safe or not.  But "I think kids are very resilient. They can learn to maneuver the world and get through and past things. However, they do need a lot of care to get through things.''

Q: What is the best thing parents can do now?

A:  The most important thing parents can do is talk to their children, Garrard says. "Sit down with your child. Tell them a really bad thing has happened. Maybe they have already heard it on the news. Tell them, 'We need to talk about this.'"

See how they feel about it, Garrard says. You want them to share their feelings.

"Technology makes things a lot more complex," Brymer says. "They are getting information through Twitter feeds and Facebook. It's harder to keep up with what your kids are hearing. When we tweet, we hear something from someone and then you re-tweet. You can't fact-check when you tweet or post something on Facebook."

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FDA: Chantix May Raise Heart Risks

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WebMD Health News Reviewed byBrunilda Nazario, MD

Dec. 14, 2012 -- Smokers who take Chantix to stop smoking may be at higher risk for heart attacks and strokes compared to those who don’t take the drug, the FDA says. But the increased risk is small and should be weighed against the risks of continuing to smoke.

Chantix is the top-selling smoking cessation drug in the U.S., according to IMS Health. It works by blocking the effect of nicotine in the brain. Studies have shown that about 20% of people who take Chantix quit smoking long-term compared to 10% of those who take placebos.

But the medication has also been dogged by safety questions. The drug’s label carries a black box warning about mood changes that may lead to depression and suicide.

Last year, the FDA issued a warning about heart risks tied to the drug and ordered Pfizer, the company that makes Chantix, to conduct additional safety studies.

13 Best Quit Smoking Tips Ever

New Safety Data on Heart Risks

The updated safety review included more than 7,000 smokers. Those who took Chantix for three months suffered more major cardiac events -- those included deaths due to heart problems as well as heart attacks and strokes that weren’t fatal -- than those who took a placebo.

But heart problems were rare in both groups. Just 13 out of 4,190 people (or 0.31%) who took Chantix suffered a major heart event compared to six out of 2,812 people (or 0.21%) who were taking a placebo.

The difference between the two groups may have simply been due to chance and not to any real effect of the drug.

“However, the data were analyzed many different ways and consistently showed a higher occurrence of events in patients using Chantix, which makes it seem more likely that it is related to the drug and not purely a chance finding,” says the FDA report.

A similar study, published last year in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association, of 14 clinical trials involving 8,216 people, also found increased heart problems in smokers who took Chantix compared to those on a placebo. In that study, which used a broader definition for heart problems that included episodes of chest pain, the findings were strong enough not to be chance.

But the absolute risk of having a heart problem in either group was still low: About 1% of people had heart problems in the Chantix group compared to 0.8% in the placebo group.

Weighing Benefits and Harms

Experts say the bottom line is that smokers should carefully weigh the risks and benefits of taking the drug against the risks of smoking. Smokers have two to four times the risk of developing heart disease compared to nonsmokers, according to the CDC.

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