This is a bitter pill to swallow. Many cocoa products in the US contain concerning levels of toxic heavy metals, a new study from George Washington University warns. Many cocoa products in the US contain worrisome levels of lead and cadmium, a new study from George Washington University warns. Picture Partners – stock.adobe.com Researchers analyzed 72 cocoa-based foods — including dark chocolate, often praised as a heart-healthy treat — over eight years. They found that 43% of the products contained an amount of lead that tops recommendations, while 35% exceeded cadmium limits. Surprisingly, organic-labeled products had higher levels of lead and cadmium than non-organic products, the researchers said. Contamination can come from soil or occur during manufacturing. A single serving of these cocoa items may not pose significant health risks, but several servings might. Leigh Frame, director of integrative medicine at GW, led the testing of 72 cocoa-based products. The George Washingto...
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AFib from binge drinking may be prevented with experimental treatment
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Take heart — scientists say they may have found a way to prevent irregular heart rhythms caused by binge drinking, a phenomenon so common at Christmastime that it’s called “holiday heart syndrome.”
They will present their research this week at an American Heart Association conference in Chicago.
Binge drinking — defined as five drinks within two hours for men and four drinks within two hours for women — can sometimes cause an irregular heartbeat. H_Ko – stock.adobe.com
“Around the holidays, opportunities for celebration — often accompanied by heavy drinking — occur during a brief period of time,” explained lead study author Saugat Khanal, a post-doctoral scholar at The Ohio State University.
“Unfortunately, this sometimes sends revelers, even those with no previous heart condition, to the hospital with a racing or abnormally beating heart,” he added.
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common type of arrhythmia, which is the scientific name for a heartbeat that’s too slow, too fast or irregular in some other way. The condition can raise the risk of stroke and heart failure.
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common type of arrhythmia, which is the scientific name for a heartbeat that’s too slow, too fast or irregular in some other way. Getty Images
AFib affects more than 5 million US adults — about one-third of new diagnoses are related to alcohol use.
Repeated binge drinking — which is defined as five drinks within two hours for men and four drinks within two hours for women — can lead to high blood pressure, liver disease, an increased risk of cancer and serious arrhythmias.
Now, Khanal’s team says it has identified a heart-protective molecule that may prevent activation of a stress-induced protein in the heart that’s been shown to lead to AFib.
In their experiments, the researchers tried to simulate human holiday heart syndrome in mice. They found that the treatment they devised with the molecule Alda-1 reduced the stress protein spike tied to binge drinking and the resulting irregular heartbeats.
“Studies using larger animals will be a future direction to translate our exciting findings into clinical applications,” Khanal said.
Khanal’s findings still need to be reviewed by his peers before they are published in a scientific journal.
A separate study also being presented this week cautions premenopausal and menopausal women taking hormone replacement therapy against alcohol consumption because it can worsen heart function.
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This is a bitter pill to swallow. Many cocoa products in the US contain concerning levels of toxic heavy metals, a new study from George Washington University warns. Many cocoa products in the US contain worrisome levels of lead and cadmium, a new study from George Washington University warns. Picture Partners – stock.adobe.com Researchers analyzed 72 cocoa-based foods — including dark chocolate, often praised as a heart-healthy treat — over eight years. They found that 43% of the products contained an amount of lead that tops recommendations, while 35% exceeded cadmium limits. Surprisingly, organic-labeled products had higher levels of lead and cadmium than non-organic products, the researchers said. Contamination can come from soil or occur during manufacturing. A single serving of these cocoa items may not pose significant health risks, but several servings might. Leigh Frame, director of integrative medicine at GW, led the testing of 72 cocoa-based products. The George Washingto...
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