Cucumber: Nutrition Professional Opinions And Healthy Portions
Cucumber: Nutrition Professional Opinions And Healthy Portions
Quantity Recommendation by Faith Seke
PhD, Agronomy and Crop Science (ongoing), Master's degree, Food Science and Technology · 1 years of experience · South Africa
- Cucumbers are a healthy snack that contain a significant amount of water and it is recommended that if they are available they be consumed everyday.
Quantity Recommendation by Carolina Castro
PhD Candidate (Health Services), Post Graduate Functional Clinical Nutrition, Bachelor's Degree Nutrition and Dietetics · 7 years of experience · Australia
- I would recommend around 2 to 3 cucumbers a day to prevent dehydration and increase daily intake of vitamin C and vitamin A for example, decreasing also cells free radicals.
Quantity Recommendation by Maria Arienti
Postgraduate in Nutritional Support/Bachelor in Nutrition · 13 years of experience · Argentina
- The recommendation of cucumber in a day is ne teaspoon a day as tea of with foods. To increase it absorption it must be taken together with black pepper.
This is for information purpose only, and should not be considered as a substitute for medical expertise. These are opinions from an external panel of individual doctors, and not to be considered as opinion of Microsoft. Please seek professional help regarding any health conditions or concerns.
Hardening of the arteries speeds up ageing process, new study says - how to prevent
Hardening of the arteries speeds up ageing process, new study says - how to prevent
There are a number of factors at play when it comes to how long we will live and how quickly we appear to age including genetics, illness and our lifestyles.
While some factors are beyond our control, others can be impacted by choices we make.
A new study has found that the ageing process is affected by the health of our arteries - tubes that transport blood and other fluids around our organs.
Specifically, a condition known as atherosclerosis was linked to a faster ageing process.
Atherosclerosis occurs when your arteries become narrowed due to fatty deposits building up, making it difficult for blood to flow through them.
As part of the study, a team from the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) in Madrid, analysed the progression of atherosclerosis in more than 4,000 people aged between 40 and 54 with no history of heart disease.
It found that systemic inflammation triggered in individuals with a high amount of atherosclerotic plaques may be a key factor in accelerating their epigenetic ageing.
A person's epigenetic age represents an individual's degree of ageing based on patterns of their DNA.
It could be older or younger than their chronological age.
In a release, Doctor Valentín Fuster, general director of CNIC, said the findings prove the importance of preventing atherosclerosis.
He said: "These results underline the benefits of reducing inflammation by adopting a healthy lifestyle or taking specific medication, such as cholesterol-lowering statins.
"The follow-up of this cohort constitutes one of the most important cardiovascular prevention studies in the world."
According to the NHS, your likelihood of developing atherosclerosis is linked to a number of factors including:
- Being over 65 years of age
- Smoking
- Having high cholesterol
- Having high blood pressure
- Having close relatives who have cardiovascular disease.
Therefore, to lower your risk the health body recommends you:
- Eat healthily and eat less saturated fat and sugar
- Exercise regularly
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Keep your blood sugar levels under control if you have diabetes.
More specifically when it comes to diet you should avoid eating too many foods high in saturated fats such as butter, cakes, fatty and processed meat and cheese.
If not treated, atherosclerosis can also raise your risk for heart attacks, strokes and heart disease.
However, the study did suggest that the relevant changes to DNA can be reversed, offering the possibility of slowing down the process of epigenetic ageing.
Study author Dr Enrique Lara Pezzi commented: "Changes in DNA methylation are reversible, opening up the possibility of 'slowing down' our epigenetic ageing."
Story by Fiona Callingham:Daily Express:
FDA Approves First Gene Therapies to Treat Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
FDA Approves First Gene Therapies to Treat Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two milestone treatments, Casgevy and Lyfgenia, representing the first cell-based gene therapies for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) in patients 12 years and older. Additionally, one of these therapies, Casgevy, is the first FDA-approved treatment to utilize a type of novel genome editing technology, signaling an innovative advancement in the field of gene therapy.
Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited blood disorders affecting approximately 100,000 people in the U.S. It is most common in African Americans and, while less prevalent, also affects Hispanic Americans. The primary problem in sickle cell disease is a mutation in hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to the body’s tissues. This mutation causes red blood cells to develop a crescent or “sickle” shape. These sickled red blood cells restrict the flow in blood vessels and limit oxygen delivery to the body’s tissues, leading to severe pain and organ damage called vaso-occlusive events (VOEs) or vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs). The recurrence of these events or crises can lead to life-threatening disabilities and/or early death.
“Sickle cell disease is a rare, debilitating and life-threatening blood disorder with significant unmet need, and we are excited to advance the field especially for individuals whose lives have been severely disrupted by the disease by approving two cell-based gene therapies today,” said Nicole Verdun, M.D., director of the Office of Therapeutic Products within the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Gene therapy holds the promise of delivering more targeted and effective treatments, especially for individuals with rare diseases where the current treatment options are limited.”
Casgevy, a cell-based gene therapy, is approved for the treatment of sickle cell disease in patients 12 years of age and older with recurrent vaso-occlusive crises. Casgevy is the first FDA-approved therapy utilizing CRISPR/Cas9, a type of genome editing technology. Patients’ hematopoietic (blood) stem cells are modified by genome editing using CRISPR/Cas9 technology.
CRISPR/Cas9 can be directed to cut DNA in targeted areas, enabling the ability to accurately edit (remove, add, or replace) DNA where it was cut. The modified blood stem cells are transplanted back into the patient where they engraft (attach and multiply) within the bone marrow and increase the production of fetal hemoglobin (HbF), a type of hemoglobin that facilitates oxygen delivery. In patients with sickle cell disease, increased levels of HbF prevent the sickling of red blood cells.
Lyfgenia is a cell-based gene therapy. Lyfgenia uses a lentiviral vector (gene delivery vehicle) for genetic modification and is approved for the treatment of patients 12 years of age and older with sickle cell disease and a history of vaso-occlusive events. With Lyfgenia, the patient’s blood stem cells are genetically modified to produce HbAT87Q, a gene-therapy derived hemoglobin that functions similarly to hemoglobin A, which is the normal adult hemoglobin produced in persons not affected by sickle cell disease. Red blood cells containing HbAT87Q have a lower risk of sickling and occluding blood flow. These modified stem cells are then delivered to the patient.
Both products are made from the patients’ own blood stem cells, which are modified, and are given back as a one-time, single-dose infusion as part of a hematopoietic (blood) stem cell transplant. Prior to treatment, a patients’ own stem cells are collected, and then the patient must undergo myeloablative conditioning (high-dose chemotherapy), a process that removes cells from the bone marrow so they can be replaced with the modified cells in Casgevy and Lyfgenia. Patients who received Casgevy or Lyfgenia will be followed in a long-term study to evaluate each product’s safety and effectiveness.
“These approvals represent an important medical advance with the use of innovative cell-based gene therapies to target potentially devastating diseases and improve public health,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Today’s actions follow rigorous evaluations of the scientific and clinical data needed to support approval, reflecting the FDA’s commitment to facilitating development of safe and effective treatments for conditions with severe impacts on human health.”
Data Supporting Casgevy
The safety and effectiveness of Casgevy were evaluated in an ongoing single-arm, multi-center trial in adult and adolescent patients with SCD. Patients had a history of at least two protocol-defined severe VOCs during each of the two years prior to screening. The primary efficacy outcome was freedom from severe VOC episodes for at least 12 consecutive months during the 24-month follow-up period. A total of 44 patients were treated with Casgevy. Of the 31 patients with sufficient follow-up time to be evaluable, 29 (93.5%) achieved this outcome. All treated patients achieved successful engraftment with no patients experiencing graft failure or graft rejection.
The most common side effects were low levels of platelets and white blood cells, mouth sores, nausea, musculoskeletal pain, abdominal pain, vomiting, febrile neutropenia (fever and low white blood cell count), headache and itching.
Data Supporting Lyfgenia
The safety and effectiveness of Lyfgenia is based on the analysis of data from a single-arm, 24-month multicenter study in patients with sickle cell disease and history of VOEs between the ages of 12- and 50- years old. Effectiveness was evaluated based on complete resolution of VOEs (VOE-CR) between 6 and 18 months after infusion with Lyfgenia. Twenty-eight (88%) of 32 patients achieved VOE-CR during this time period.
The most common side effects included stomatitis (mouth sores of the lips, mouth, and throat), low levels of platelets, white blood cells, and red blood cells, and febrile neutropenia (fever and low white blood cell count), consistent with chemotherapy and underlying disease.
Hematologic malignancy (blood cancer) has occurred in patients treated with Lyfgenia. A black box warning is included in the label for Lyfgenia with information regarding this risk. Patients receiving this product should have lifelong monitoring for these malignancies.
Both the Casgevy and Lyfgenia applications received Priority Review, Orphan Drug, Fast Track and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designations.
The FDA granted approval of Casgevy to Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and approval of Lyfgenia to Bluebird Bio Inc.###
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, radiation-emitting electronic products, and for regulating tobacco products.
Reference: FDA Food & Drug
Three questions for men facing infertility from risk factors to treatments
Three questions for men facing infertility from risk factors to treatments
Infertility is a common issue in the US - but what are the factors which can add to your risk of a low sperm count?
Approximately one in every six American couples struggles with conception, according a specialist — and men are just as likely to be a part of the issue as women.
Dr Jane Frederick, the medical director at HRC Fertility and an affiliate of Keck Medicine at the University of Southern California, said that around 10% of American men trying to conceive may be suffering from infertility.
Conception is a team effort, Dr Frederick said, and both partners can be equally at risk for infertility.
"The best way to find out if you have a problem is to go seek out a specialist," she told The Mirror.
And women should make sure they bring their male partners, too.
For men, a specialist will likely diagnose issues by performing a sperm analysis, which shows their sperm count, their sperm motility and their sperm morphology — the number of sperm, how they move and what shape and size they are, respectively.
What are the risk factors for male infertility?
Men may be at higher risk for infertility because of a multitude of factors.
Obesity is at the forefront of conditions that can result in diffulties conceiving.
"When you're obese, your testosterone levels go down, and that can affect the production of your sperm," Dr Frederick said. "Looking at the BMI or the weight of the male patient is very important."
Other factors include:
- The medications the men might be taking
- A history of surgery on the testicles
- Varicose (or dilated) veins in the testicles
- A history of undescended testicles
- Prior trauma to the testicles
- Hormonal disorders affecting the pituitary glands
- Cancer treatments requiring chemotherapy
There are also several lifestyle choices men can make that would lower their fertility. Those include:
- Bathing in hot tubs
- Smoking
- Drinking a lot of alcohol
- Smoking marijuana
- Vaping
- Exposure to toxic chemicals or radiation at work
- Undergoing hormonal treatments like steroids
“A lot of my patients were bodybuilders in the past, and they were exposed to steroids," Dr Frederick said. "Long-term steroid use has been noted to be a cause in male infertility down the road.”
“It’s good to be aware of whatever substance you’re trying to ingest," she added. "What are your risks of infertility based on that substance?”
She said all the other lifestyle choices can lead to low sperm counts.
Taking a closer look at daily habits and lifestyle routines is necessary, she said, as is changing any that are unhealthy.
When should men see a specialist?
In general, both men and women should seek out a specialist if they've been trying to conceive for at least one year and the woman is under the age of 35, Dr Frederick said.
"If, after one year, there is no pregnancy, then the couple should come to an office, seek out a specialist and get tested," she said.
"The age of the female partner is critical in the success for conception," she continued.
For couples including women between 35 and 40, she recommends trying for six months. And for women over 40, she recommends seeing someone immediately.
What treatments are available for infertile men?
“The good thing is that, because of the technology we have, 90% of all infertile males have the potential to conceive their own genetic child," Dr Frederick said.
Ways they can do so include using artificial insemination, where the sperm is placed into the cervix artificially to induce pregnancy.
There is also in vitro fertilization, which involves insemination in a lab setting. That method is used when there are low sperm counts but the sperm also can't swim.
Dr Frederick noted a trend in young male cancer patients, who have opted to freeze their sperm before undergoing chemotherapy. That allows them to have their own children down the road, she said, once they're cancer free.
"There is hope out there," she emphasised. "Don't give up if you're having problems trying to conceive."
Reference: Story by Jeremiah Hassel
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