An AIDS Free Generation

The (RED) Manifesto:

Every Generation is known for something.

Let's be the one to deliver an AIDS FREE GENERATION.

We all have tremendous power. What we choose to do or even buy, can affectsomeone’s life on the other side of the world. In 2002, more than 1,500 babieswere born every day with HIV. Today that number is just over 650. We must actnow to get that close to zero.
 

We’re at a tipping point in the fight against AIDS - with urgency and action, it’s possible for the world to end the transmission of HIV from moms to their babies.We can deliver the first AIDS FREE GENERATION in over thirty years.
(RED) can’t accomplish this alone. It will take all of us to get there –governments, health organizations, companies, and you. When you DO THE (RED) THING, a (RED) partner will give up some of its profits to fight AIDS.

It’s as simple as that.
BE (RED). Start the end of AIDS now.

Pistachios Help Reduce Diabetes Risk

Pistachios are an excellent sources of vitamin-E, and for people who may be headed for type 2 diabetes,  eating pistachios might help turn the tide, according to a new trial from Spain.

People with so-called prediabetes have blood sugar levels higher than normal but not yet in the diabetes range. If they do nothing, 15 to 30 percent will develop diabetes within five years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the new Spanish study, people with prediabetes who ate about two ounces of pistachios daily showed significant drops in blood sugar and insulin levels and improvements in insulin and glucose processing. Some signs of inflammation also dropped dramatically.

Although the trial specifically involved pistachios, many previous studies have found encouraging evidence that eating nuts may be linked to a lower risk of heart disease and lower cholesterol, the authors write in Diabetes Care.

The study team divided 54 prediabetic adults into two groups. Both groups were instructed to keep to a calorie-regulated diet with 50 percent of energy from carbohydrates, 35 percent from fat and 15 percent from protein, using provided menus and seasonal recipes.

One group was given 57 grams of pistachios, about two ounces, daily to add to their diets. To match those calories, the comparison group added olive oil and other fats for the four months of the study.

By the end of the study, fasting blood sugar levels, insulin and hormonal markers of insulin resistance had decreased in the pistachio group while they rose in the comparison group. He believes the evidence is strong enough for people with prediabetes to add pistachios, or other nuts like peanuts, to their diet, and recommends about “a handful” per day, or around one serving.

 “This particular study builds on previous research on pistachios,” said Dr. Joan Sabate, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University in California.

Sabate has also researched nuts, principally walnuts, but was not involved in the new study.

 “There are some indications that eating pistachios on a regular basis lowers fasting glucose and lowers insulin and hormone ratio, which is particularly relevant in prediabetic subjects because unless they do a change in lifestyle they will end up being diabetic,” he told media.

“So the fact that eating nuts on a regular basis seems to improve some of the critical parameters is very relevant.”

Results with almonds and walnuts have been similar, he said. Pistachio allergies are rare, but nut allergies generally would be the only deterrent to adding them to the diet, Ros said.Typically people with prediabetes are adults so they already know if they have a nut allergy, Sabate said.

Pistachios are very rich in energy, he noted, so it would be better to incorporate the nuts into the diet without increasing your total calorie intake.

Article originally published by Healthy Black Men.

New HIV Treatment Approved by FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new fixed-dose combination product for the treatment of HIV.

TRIUMEQ, a combination of dolutegravir (integrate strand transfer inhibitor), abacavir sulfate and lamivudine (both nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors) are both federally approved for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.

• TRIUMEQ alone is not recommended for use in patients with current or past history of resistance to any components of TRIUMEQ.
• TRIUMEQ alone is not recommended in patients with resistance-associated integrase substitutions or clinically suspected integrase strand transfer inhibitor resistance because the dose of dolutegravir in TRIUMEQ is insufficient in these subpopulations. See full prescribing information for dolutegravir.

The recommended dosage regimen of TRIUMEQ in adults is one tablet once daily orally with or without food.

TRIUMEQ is contraindicated in patients:

• who have the HLA-B*5701 allele.
• with previous hypersensitivity reaction to abacavir. Before starting TRIUMEQ, review medical history for prior exposure to any abacavir-containing product. NEVER restart TRIUMEQ or any other abacavir containing product following a hypersensitivity reaction to abacavir, regardless of HLA B*5701 status.
• with previous hypersensitivity reaction to dolutegravir or lamivudine.
• receiving dofetilide, due to the potential for increased dofetilide plasma concentrations and the risk for serious and/or life-threatening events with concomitant use of dolutegravir.
• with moderate or severe hepatic impairment.

Content for this article provided by the FDA website.

Beliefs Versus Facts

When Beliefs and Facts Collide

By BRENDAN NYHAN

The New York Times

JULY 5, 2014

Do Americans understand the scientific consensus about issues like climate change and evolution?

At least for a substantial portion of the public, it seems like the answer is no. The Pew Research Center, for instance, found that 33 percent of the public believes“Humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time” and 26 percent think there is not “solid evidence that the average temperature on Earth has been getting warmer over the past few decades.” Unsurprisingly, beliefs on both topics are divided along religious and partisan lines. For instance, 46 percent of Republicans said there is not solid evidence of global warming, compared with 11 percent of Democrats.

As a result of surveys like these, scientists and advocates have concluded that many people are not aware of the evidence on these issues and need to be provided with correct information. That’s the impulse behind efforts like the campaign to publicize the fact that 97 percent of climate scientists believe human activities are causing global warming.

In a new study, a Yale Law School professor, Dan Kahan, finds that the divide over belief in evolution between more and less religious people is wider among people who otherwise show familiarity with math and science, which suggests that the problem isn’t a lack of information. When he instead tested whether respondents knew the theory of evolution, omitting mention of belief, there was virtually no difference between more and less religious people with high scientific familiarity. In other words, religious people knew the science; they just weren’t willing to say that they believed in it.

Read more...