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Statins Inhibit Vitamin K2 and Stimulate Hardening of the Arteries: New Review Paper

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A new paper published in the March issue of Expert Review Clinical Pharmacology states that statins may act as “mitochondrial toxins” with negative effects on the heart and blood vessels not only via the depletion of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), but also by inhibiting “the synthesis of vitamin K2, the cofactor for matrix Gla-protein activation, which in turn protects arteries from calcification.”

Vitamin K2 plays a critical role in the activation of matrix Gla protein (MGP), which inhibits soft tissue and cardiovascular calcification. MGP is present in bone, blood vessel, lung, heart, and kidney soft tissues. MGP binds calcium and protects blood vessels from calcification, but only when in its active form, which requires adequate intakes of vitamin K2. Unfortunately, statins inhibit vitamin K2 synthesis in the body, thereby accelerating coronary artery calcification, an important marker of the progress of atherosclerosis, according to researchers.

“This new paper speaks directly to statins interrupting the mechanism of action by which vitamin K2 inhibits calcification,” said Hogne Vik, NattoPharma CEO. “Conversely, research clearly demonstrates that increasing dietary vitamin K2, specifically vitamin K2 as menaquinone-7, can improve vitamin K2 levels in the blood and tissues, thus promoting cardiovascular health.”

Supporting Vik’s statement, a new study, “Menaquinone-7 Supplementation Improves Arterial Stiffness in Healthy Postmenopausal Women,” published in the journal Thrombosis and Haemostasis, demonstrated the positive impact of MenaQ7® brand Vitamin K2 as MK-7 (menaquinone-7) on cardiovascular health through its improvement of arterial flexibility. This study is significant because it is an interventional study with a vitamin K2 dietary supplement, MenaQ7, confirming what previous population-based studies have shown: a positive correlation of vitamin K2 consumption from dietary sources attributes to less arterial calcification and reduced risk of coronary heart disease.

Researchers at the R&D Group VitaK of Maastricht University in the Netherlands monitored 244 healthy post-menopausal women for three years using pulse wave velocity and ultrasound techniques. The participants, aged 55-65 years, were randomly assigned to take 180 mcg of MenaQ7 daily for three years, or placebo capsules. Results confirmed that MenaQ7 Vitamin K2 not only inhibited age-related stiffening of the artery walls, but also made an unprecedented statistically significant improvement of vascular elasticity.

You can review the “Statin” study here.

The cardiovascular study appears in the May 2015 issue of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. To review online, please visit online archive of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

Costco sees increase in Q3 earnings

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Costco trumps Whole Foods in selling organic foods

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a rise in its 12-week net income, which rose 9.1 per cent or $516 million, and sales figures, which rose 1 per cent to $25.5 billion while comparable sales rose 6 per cent.

All estimates have been adjusted for negative impacts from gasoline price deflation and foreign exchange rates.

 

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The Washington-based company also reported that its net income for the 36-week period received positive impact from a $57-million tax benefit from a second-quarter special cash dividend. But the income was negatively impacted by a $14-million tax charge in the same second quarter. The company did not specify details of the ongoing income tax matter.

John Heinbockel, managing director for Guggenheim Securities, states in his report that what was made this year owing to gas profits will be given back next year.

Experts at Guggenheim Securities, New York, say that analyst earnings expectations for the wholesale company appear overly optimistic when normalization of gas margins over the next few quarters is taken into consideration.

 

 

Wal-Mart takes up animal activism motivated by customer reviews

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Wal-Mart takes up animal activism motivated by customer reviews

Wal-Mart is taking cause with the way meat and egg suppliers are treating animals. The retail giant uses in-house research to support its new found motivation to better treat animals.

The research shows that 77 per cent of shoppers are likely to increase trust in Wal-Mart and a significant 66 per cent are likely to shop at a retailer that takes up improving the treatment of livestock.

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Although the company cannot exert mandatory measures on its suppliers, it does tend to use its influence over the retail market to press suppliers to better adhere to principles of humane animal treatment.

The new guidelines set by Wal-Mart requires discontinuation of antibiotics as they are used to fatten up animals. It goes on to protest against pig gestation crates and other housing options that do not give animals enough room to roam.

Animal activist groups are pleased with the steps taken by Wal-Mart, but would still like to see more done in this direction. They hope that the retailer that controls 25 per cent of American food market turns these recommendations into requirements instead.

Wal-Mart, however, does not explain how it plans on ensuring these recommendations are followed.

Employees to be rewarded for following healthy behaviours

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New survey indicates promotions heavily drive sales

Green Shield Canada will use insights from its data to take current health care a step toward preventive health care with an initiative called Change4Life.

“We have been spending much of our time on rethinking employee health benefit plans in light of the emerging health challenges of Canadians,” says Peter Gove, GSC’s innovation leader for health management.

The premise of the campaign is based on behavioural economics using reward contingencies to promote healthy behaviours.

A portal accessible through GSC’s website will use a simple points-and-rewards system to slowly help employees take achievable steps toward better health practices. Points earned can then be used toward winning gift cards and such from major retailers including Sport Chek and Sobeys.

Gove further adds that their research indicates that focus should be on engaging plan members in effective self health management. Because GSC believes the keys to changing behaviours include ease of access to resources and reinforcement of positive change.

Employee regulations poster updated by Ontario Ministry of Labour

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The Letter that The New York Times Didn’t Publish

Effective from last week, the Ontario Ministry of Labour provided upgraded employment standards posters, to be displayed in the workplace beginning May 20, 2015.

This is the sixth version of the employment standards poster and the ministry requires that a copy in English be clearly displayed where each employee is able to view it. The ministry also provides translations of the poster in various languages spoken in Canada. However, a specific language poster can only be displayed alongside the English poster if a majority of employees speak and understand the other language.

The employment standards act also requires that a copy of the poster be given to all employees. Moreover, any hires made after May 20, 2015 must be provided with a copy within 30 days of joining.

The poster is available in English and other languages on the Ministry of Labour’s website.

Canadian retail sector is predicted to slow down even further

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H&M predicts lower profitability during the latter half of the year

Savings incurred by Canadians due to lower gas prices will be rendered useless because of the simultaneous weakening of the Canadian dollar, a report from TD Economics said.

Shoppers would have gained more spending money if the Canadian dollar had remained at par with the U.S. dollar. Right now, the cost of importing items has also gone up. Higher import costs mean higher price tags on items.

All this, according to the TD report, means the Canadian spender’s savings balance out to the increased cost of retail items. Based on this analysis, the report predicts a sharp decline in retail sales growth in 2015.

The report also says that the impact of slowing gas prices will be seen most significantly in provinces relying on the energy sector. TD is projecting a 2.9 per cent decline in retail sales as compared to 4.6 per cent in 2014.

Sister duo helps bring healthy yoga bar to trendy millennials

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Sister duo helps bring healthy yoga bar to trendy millennials

Suhasini and Anindita Kumar took a simple personal innovation and turned it into a yoga bar business back in India.

Both sisters were in the U.S. when their personal experience turned into a lucrative business idea. Anindita was working at Ernst & Young while Suhasini was completing her exchange program in business at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

During her studies, Suhasini had to commute between Philadelphia and New York, and for her journey, Anindita would give her energy bars that kept her full till she reached her destination.

Visiting various stores in New York, the sisters realized there were plenty of options in the U.S. but what about back home? And that gave birth to Yoga Bars. They took the idea and started a home-grown business, with financial help from their eldest sister Aarti.

The sisters say they found a lot of support and encouragement to pursue the business in India. But to compete with big names such as RiteBite and Nature Valley, they had to do something different. So they chose to go natural.

The bars do not contain added corn starch, additives or added vitamins, reducing the shelf life of the bars to only three months. This may indicate a large number of retail returns, but the sisters are unwilling to compromise convenience over health.

Yoga Bars is currently available at select retail outlets in Bengaluru such as HealthKart, BigBasket, Godrej and Namdhari’s Fresh. But the sisters say the bars are also being made available to employees at large corporate offices such as Google, LinkedIn and InMobi.

 

The Cleanse week Windsor wraps up with all-natural beauty expo

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The Cleanse week Windsor wraps up with all-natural beauty expo

This year’s Cleanse Week organized in Windsor, ON, by local naturopathic Dr. Natasha Zajmalowski will end this Saturday with an all-day exhibit featuring natural beauty products by local and outside beauty vendors.

“It was born out of frustration on my part,” says Debra Purdy owner of ShopEco, who pushed the idea of a day to focus on natural beauty products. “Everybody puts close to 25 healthcare products on their bodies and in their mouths and some of them are absorbed as well. So I felt it was important.”

The expo that begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 23, will bring together various vendors from around Windsor and the surrounding areas and even Brazilian natural organic beauty product producer, Ikove.

Visitors will also hear about the benefits of natural skin care from keynote speaker Jessica Burman, of Kitchener-based skin care company Cocoon Apothecary. As well, throughout the day, other speakers will take turns to spread the word and knowledge about natural and organic beauty and health products.

Study Looks at Video Gaming and the Brain

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A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B takes a look at the effects of playing video games on the brain.

 

The study was done by the teams of Dr. Gregory West (Assistant Professor at the Université de Montréal) and Dr. Véronique Bohbot (Douglas Institute researcher and associate Professor at McGill University and the Douglas Research Institute of the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île de Montréal).

 

The study shows some interesting brain discoveries. While video game players (VGPs) exhibit more efficient visual attention abilities, they are also much more likely to use navigation strategies that rely on the brain’s reward system (the caudate nucleus) and not the brain’s spatial memory system (the hippocampus). Past research has shown that people who use caudate nucleus-dependent navigation strategies have decreased grey matter and lower functional brain activity in the hippocampus.

 

Video gamers now spend a collective three billion hours per week in front of their screens. In fact, it is estimated that the average young person will have spent some 10,000 hours gaming by the time they are 21. The effects of intense video gaming on the brain are only beginning to be understood.

 

The study was conducted among a group of adult gamers who were spending at least six hours per week on this activity.

 

“For more than a decade now, research has demonstrated that action video game players display more efficient visual attention abilities, and our current study has once again confirmed this notion,” says first author Dr. Gregory West in a press release.

“However, we also found that gamers rely on the caudate-nucleus to a greater degree than non-gamers. Past research has shown that people who rely on caudate nucleus-dependent strategies have lower grey matter and functional brain activity in the hippocampus. This means that people who spend a lot of time playing video games may have reduced hippocampal integrity, which is associated with an increased risk of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.”

 

Because past research has shown video games as having positive effects on attention, it is important for future research to confirm that gaming does not have a negative effect on the hippocampus. Future research using neuroimaging will be necessary to further qualify our current findings, and these studies should investigate the direct effects of specific video games on the integrity of the reward system and hippocampus.

2015 Dietary Guidelines Gets Thumbs Up

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The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is pleased with the work of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee for drafting a strong, evidence-based Scientific Report outlining recommendations and rational for the forthcoming 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. These recommendations should improve how and what Americans eat.

 

“The Academy applauds the evidence-based systematic review of the literature, which is vital to the DGAC’s assessment of the science,” said registered dietitian nutritionist and Academy President Sonja L. Connor in a press release.

 

“We commend the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture for their commitment to the Nutrition Evidence Library and their ongoing efforts to strengthen the evidence-based approach for assessing the scientific literature for future dietary recommendations.”

 

Dietary cholesterol has been dropped from the nutrients of concern list, bringing praise and the Academy also recommends it deemphasize saturated fat from nutrients of concern, given the lack of evidence connecting it with cardiovascular disease.

 

“Despite some criticism suggesting that changed recommendations illustrate concerns about the validity of the nutrition science upon which the Dietary Guidelines are based, the DGAC should change its recommendations to be consistent with the best available science and to abide by its statutory mandate,” Connor said in the press release.

 

 

The group has concerns over blanket sodium restrictions that are recommended and supports an increased focus on the reduction of added sugars as a health concern. And finally the group emphasizes that any changes cannot be implemented without enhanced nutrition education.

 

The final 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are expected to be released at the end of this year.

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