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It’s no secret.  This is one of the WORST movies EVER!  Listen to hear the reasons why.

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Earlier this month, officials at Warwick Medical School in the UK issued a press release regarding a new thiamine study conducted at their school. The press release states that researchers "have discovered that deficiency of thiamine – Vitamin B1 – may be key to a range of vascular problems for people with diabetes."

As press releases are prone to do, this claim is a little exaggerated. Diabetes researchers know that previous animal research has already established such a link. And last year, a study from George Washington University Medical Center (GWU) showed that 100 mg of thiamine given intravenously slowed the development and progression of atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and subjects with type 1 diabetes.

Nevertheless, the Warwick study offers an important confirmation of this link.

When the Warwick team measured thiamine levels in 94 volunteers (20 healthy subjects, 26 type 1 diabetics, and 48 type 2 diabetics), thiamine concentration was found to be about 75 percent lower in both type 1 and type 2 diabetics compared to subjects in the non-diabetic group. Furthermore, urine tests revealed that the deficiency is caused by an increased rate of thiamine removal from the body, rather than low thiamine intake.

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Add a little garlic…
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The Warwick study implies that thiamine supplements might not make much of a difference for diabetics, while the GWU research shows that intravenous thiamine might make a big difference. Intravenous supplementation obviously isn’t a convenient way for diabetics to bump up their thiamine levels, but a third option just might do the trick.

More than three years ago, HSI members read about a unique form of thiamine supplement in an article that appeared in the June 2004 HSI Members Alert. The author of the article – Kathryn Mays-Wright – begins by comparing thiamine to a positive role model that can actually "teach" cells how to overcome the bad influence of glucose.

Kathryn notes that thiamine plays a vital role in carbohydrate metabolism, so when the vitamin is deficient, "your cells are literally soaking in a toxic glucose bath. This gives glucose ample opportunity to move in and cause all sorts of problems, from fatigue to neuropathy."

The typical form of thiamine supplement is water soluble, which is easily excreted from the body. But Kathryn cites a breakthrough 2003 study that used a fat-soluble form of thiamine supplement.

Kathryn writes: "The factor that made the significant difference in this study is a supplement called benfotiamine, a lipid/fat soluble derivative of vitamin B1 (thiamine). In the presence of allicin, the active principle of garlic, the water-soluble thiamine hydrochloride is transformed into a lipid-soluble compound. According to studies, as an oral supplement, benfotiamine is absorbed more rapidly and for longer periods than water-soluble thiamine. And its unique structure enabled it to pass directly through cell membranes, readily crossing the intestinal wall and being taken straight to the cell. As a result, your body absorbs benfotiamine better than thiamine itself and levels of thiamine remain higher for longer. Thiamine absorption from benfotiamine is about five times higher than conventional thiamine supplements.

"Benfotiamine was developed in Japan in the late 1950s to treat alcoholic neuropathy, sciatica, and other painful nerve conditions. Japanese researchers patented the process in 1962. It has been used for over a decade in Germany. And although it has been used successfully for over 12 years in Europe for the prevention and relief of symptoms in people already suffering with various neuropathies, it has only recently been introduced into the United States."

You can find more information about benfotiamine at benfotiamine.org, and HSI members can read Kathryn’s full article in the HSI Members Alert archives on their web site at hsibaltimore.com.

And what about exercising?  Do you find that you go through the same tired routines endorsed by trainers for the last two decades, and you get no result, or worse, you gain weight?  It’s hard to exercise, be on a strict diet (that makes no nutritional sense), feel deprived continually and keep it up for months at a time, isn’t it?  That’s why it doesn’t work.  But I have a source that might just help you out…and no, I’m not getting paid to pass this on to you.   

I found a website I’d like to recommend.  It’s www.truthaboutabs.com/ and let me tell you, this man KNOWS what he’s talking about.  I don’t care about pictures of beautiful, flat-bellied women or men parading around with rippling six-pack abs.  No, I really don’t.  I do care about people eating healthy and getting away from this dangerous, vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting & exercises that do more harm than good.  Please go try out some of his tips.  If you want to hear about how the right exercises and heating healthy (this means grass-fed beef, organic & raw food, etc) can *truly* help you…go sign up for his newsletter, they can be delivered right to your inbox.  I did not pay a penny, and I am really getting a lot out of his tips and his no-nonsense approach to exercise & eating right (he doesn’t pull any punches, let me tell you).   What’s more, he is so cutting edge when it comes to eating healthily.  For instance, he and Jordan Rubin would agree on many issues, he’s pro grass-fed beed, organic, and raw when possible.  He will tell you when ‘power bars’ are a bunch of junk, how eating ‘diet’ food is a mistake (and why) and I almost cheered when he started in on High Fructose Corn Syrup, which frankly is one of the bane’s of the modern world!  Alright, I’m done preaching.  But please, do check it out.

Here’s to your good health everybody!

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With the longest title in Indiana Jones history, how does the return installment of Indiana Jones stack up?.

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Carl and Di disagree on Prince Caspian, the new film version of the C.S. Lewis Narnia classic.

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As the title suggests, this is all about "Iron Man".

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1.  Conflicting Narnia reports

2.  New Amsterdam getting axed?

3.  Comcast may resurrect Jericho

4.  Wizards First Rule getting made

5.  Hewlett-Packard discovers a fourth type of electrical circuit–computers may never need to boot up again

Let’s dig in to these bits of news-trivia…

1.  Conflicting Narnia reports:

I got this bit of info from SliceofSciFi.com:

“Earlier this week, SliceofSciFi brought you the news that the Narnia movies were going to wrap up after filming of Voyage of the Dawn Trader. But now SliceofSciFi has found out from MTV News that producer Mark Johnson has a short-list of directors for the fourth installment, The Silver Chair. Johnson said he’d like to see each installment of the franchise helmed by a different director, similiar to the Harry Potter films. “I think [the director of Silver Chair] will be somebody new entirely,” Johnson said. “I would like to get somebody totally unexpected.” We have previously reported that Disney was looking to the box-office results of this summer’s Prince Caspian and an indication of whether or not to continue the series beyond a third film. During the interview, Johnson admitted that adpating some of the later novels in the Narnia series could be tricky. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say a couple of them I don’t know how to film,” Johnson confessed, adding a wry smile. “It would be a good problem to have.””

Fantastic news for Narnia fans!

2.  New Amsterdam getting axed?

Well, it’s not axed yet, but according to TVGuide.com the season finale of New Amsterdam dipped 700 to 6.77 mil.  Not good news if you ask me. 

3.  Comcast may resurrect Jericho

Thank goodness for SliceofSciFi.  I get so much of my important news from them!  Here’s what they have to say about Jericho:

“Not to get your hopes up prematurely, but there may be new life for “Jericho” in the works. CBS and cable operator Comcast Cablevision may work out a collaboration funding deal, similar to the one NBC and DirecTV worked out to keep “Friday Night Lights” on the air. Comcast would shoulder a large portion of the production costs to keep the show alive, and the third season would air on CBS after Comcast subscribers get the first look. But actor contracts would have to be renegotiated, sets would have to be rebuilt, and the writing and production staff would have to be reassembled if the deal is made. ”

4.  Wizard’s First Rule getting made

If you like Terry Goodkind’s Wizard’s First Rule (or if you’re just starving for more genre TV), you’ll be happy to know this bit of info, garnered from Terry Goodkind’s site:

“Disney-ABC Domestic Television is bringing a new first-run, live-action weekly series to the syndication marketplace for a Fall 2008 launch, it was announced today by Janice Marinelli, president, Disney-ABC Domestic Television. From Executive Producer Sam Raimi ("Spider-Man," "Spider-Man 2," "Spider-Man 3" and "The Evil Dead"), the one-hour weekly series is based on Terry Goodkind’s bestselling epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth, which follows the extraordinary transformation of woodsman Richard Cypher into a magical leader who joins with a mysterious, beautiful woman to stop a bloodthirsty, sinister tyrant.”

 I am jazzed. 

5.  Hewlett-Packard announces discovery of fourth type of electrical circuit–computers may never have to boot up again!

Hate waiting on your ‘puter to fire up?  Well, who doesn’t?  Me for one… that’s when I put on my headphones & listen to podcasts… I get a LOT listened to while waiting.    But I’m sure the rest of the world hates it.  Good news for you!!  If you haven’t checked out SliceofSciFi.com yet… why not?  Anything of interest is reported there, and I highly recommend it.  Subscribe to the RSS feed already, for Pete’s sake.  Here’s their snippet on Hewlett-Packard’s new discovery:

“Hewlett-Packard announced yesterday that they discovered a fourth basic type of electrical circuit that could lead to a computer you never have to boot up. If their findings pan out this could save millions from the tedium of waiting for a computer to fire up.”

And that’s it folks!

In Asia, where consumption of coffee is low, health officials report the highest incidence of liver cancer in the world. But in the U.S., only about 18,500 cases of liver cancer are diagnosed each year. 

These numbers don’t necessarily mean that your daily cup-o-joe protects you from this disease, but evidence to support such a claim is mounting.

Research from Tohoku University in Japan that combined data from two large studies that assessed coffee consumption in more than 60,000 subjects. Results showed that occasional coffee drinkers had 30 percent lower risk of liver cancer compared to subjects who didn’t drink coffee.

Risk was even lower for those who drank coffee daily, which confirms the results of another Japanese study that found regular coffee consumption to be linked with a significantly reduced risk of developing a type of liver cancer known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

As reported in the International Journal of Cancer, when the Tohoku team singled out subjects who had a history of liver disease, they found a clear link between coffee intake and a lowered risk of liver cancer. The researchers called for further studies to examine the role that coffee might play in the prevention of liver cancer among high-risk patients.

Now – fast-forward two years…

In a 2007 issue of the journal Hepatology, researchers from the Institute of Pharmacology Research in Milan note that previous research reveals that caffeine and other coffee components have been shown to have beneficial effects on liver enzymes and may play a role in carcinogenic detoxification.

The Milan team conducted a meta-analysis of ten coffee studies that included six case- control studies from Japan and southern Europe, and four cohort studies from Japan. More than 2,200 patients with HCC were included in their analysis.

The combined data produced these results:

• In case-controlled studies, risk of HCC was reduced by more than 45 percent on average
• Subjects who drank the most coffee reduced HCC risk by 55 percent
• Moderate coffee drinkers lowered HCC risk by 30 percent
• Just one cup of coffee per day added to normal consumption reduced HCC risk by more than 20 percent

The Milan team also notes the importance of the similar results from a region where little coffee is consumed (Japan), and a region where the population consumes large amounts of coffee daily (southern Europe).

I have to admit that in these and other coffee studies I find it frustrating that the way coffee is prepared is rarely taken into account. For instance, could a dark roast coffee provide different benefits than a lightly roasted coffee? Even more useful would be a comparison of black coffee to coffee taken with cream and sugar, which must certainly have some effect on the components in black coffee or on the way your body metabolizes those components.

Interesting though!

If you’re interested in learning more about this topic or want to find out more about these studies, I suggest going to HSI.com (which is where I found most of this information in the first place) or go find info at the following sources:

"Coffee Consumption and the Risk of Primary Liver Cancer: Pooled Analysis of Two Prospective Studies in Japan" International Journal of Cancer, Vol. 116, No. 1, 8/10/05, interscience.wiley.com

"Coffee Drinking and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk: A Meta-Analysis" Hepatology, Vol. 46, No. 2, August 2007, interscience.wiley.com

Now, I’m off to get a cuppa joe. 

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Carl is all by himself for this review of the Jackie Chan / Jet Li fantasy epic "The Forbidden Kingdom".

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