Cabbage: Experts weigh in on health benefits, nutrition facts, and more

Cabbage is packed in nutrients as vitamins, fibers and minerals and also in micronutrients too as vitamin A, iron and riboflavin.

Leticia Soares, Postgraduate Degree in Public and Family Health/Bachelor Degree in
Nutrition and Dietetics and Carolina Castro, PhD Candidate (Health Services) -

Wednesday 05 Oct 2022

https://www.msn.com/en-my/health/nutrition/cabbage-experts-weigh-in-on-health-benefits-nutrition-facts-and-more/ar-AA12Assi

Cabbage image© Provided by Getty Images

Perspective from Leticia Soares

Benefits

• Cabbage can help control high blood pressure. Cabbage is a source of fiber, folic acid and potassium. Potassium relaxes the walls of the blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and protecting cardiovascular system.
• Cabbage may help in weight loss. The vegetable has few calories and it is rich in dietary fiber, which promotes the feeling of satiety for a longer time, helping in weight loss.
• Cabbage regular consumption contributes to a healthy vision. Cabbage is rich in vitamin A, which is one of the most important nutrients to reduce the risk of macular degeneration and vision loss.
• Cabbage can strengthen the immune system. Cabbage is a source of antioxidants compounds such as vitamin C, carotenoids and folate, which help prevent that free radical damage body cells and protect the body against infection.
• Cabbage help prevent constipation. The high dietary fiber content of cabbage can help make your stools larger and softer and this can help lower the risk of constipation and diarrhea.
• Cabbage has anti-inflammatory properties. The vegetable is a source of antioxidants that fight inflammation and prevent chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer, cancer and depression.

Possible Side Effects

• Excess consumption of cabbage can lead to increased gas, as it is high in sulphur and raffinose, which are substances that cause flatulence and gas.

→ Cabbage: How much should you eat? Experts weigh in.

→ Love Cabbage? Get nutritional facts, tips from health experts, and more

Perspective from Carolina Castro

Benefits

• Cabbage is packed in nutrients as vitamins, fibers and minerals and also in micronutrients too as vitamin A, iron and riboflavin.
• Cruciferous vegetables as cabbage are rich in antioxidants and may help avoid inflammation.
• Cabbage has insoluble fibers, may improve digestive health and also feeds good bacteria known as probiotics.
• Cabbage is rich in pigments as anthocyanins and may have a protection effects in heart diseases.

Possible Side Effects

• Cabbage as a cruciferous vegetable can have medication interactions with blood thinners.
• Excess of cabbage may also cause digestive symptoms as flatulence and diarrhea.

→ Cabbage: How much should you eat? Experts weigh in.

→ Love Cabbage? Get nutritional facts, tips from health experts, and more

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.

https://www.msn.com/en-my/health/nutrition/cabbage-experts-weigh-in-on-health-benefits-nutrition-facts-and-more/ar-AA12Assi

Painkiller Warning: Ibuprofen May Cause Heartburn, Ulcers, Bleeding Or Holes In Stomach

Painkillers are used for a variety of mild ailments on the body. The recommended dose per day is roughly 200–400 mg and maximum 1,200 mg per day. Over exposure is known to cause a number of serious stomach issues.

By Monica Lozano On May 6, 2022

Ibuprofen can cause “stomach-related side effects”, the charity Versus Arthritis warned.

People who experience heartburn or indigestion while using ibuprofen are encouraged to “speak to [their] doctor”.

Long-term use of ibuprofen is not recommended, as it “increases the risk of problems with your heart of circulation”.

Such risk is more pronounced for those who tick off other risk factors for heart conditions.

“Ibuprofen can cause ulcers in your stomach or gut, especially if you take it by mouth for a long time or in big doses,” warns the NHS.

The national health body added: “If you need to take it for a long time your doctor may also prescribe a medicine to help protect your stomach.”

Other stomach issues from ibuprofen toxicity may include bleeding, or holes in the stomach or intestine.

To make sure ibuprofen tablets, capsules, granules or liquid is safe for you, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you:

• Have ever had bleeding in your stomach or a hole (perforation) in your stomach caused by an NSAID
• Have had a hole (perforation) in your stomach, bleeding in your Stomach or a stomach ulcer more than once
• Have a health problem that means you have an increased chance of bleeding
• Have severe heart failure, severe kidney failure or severe liver failure
• Are trying to get pregnant
• Have high blood pressure that’s not under control
• Have heart disease or mild to moderate heart failure, or have ever Had a stroke
• Have kidney or liver problems
• Have asthma, hay fever or allergies
• Have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
• Have chickenpox or shingles – taking ibuprofen can increase the chance of certain infections and skin reactions.

Read original article here

Blood pressure medication improves Covid-19 survival rates

Blood pressure medication could improve Covid-19 survival rates and even reduce the severity of the infection, according to new research.

24 August 2020

© Andrew Brookes/Westend61/Cover Images

Researchers from the University of East Anglia in the U.K. studied 28,000 patients taking antihypertensives - a type of drug used to treat hypertension, or high blood pressure, and discovered that the risk of being critically ill or dying from Covid-19 was reduced for patients with high blood pressure who were taking Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) or Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARB).

Experts analysed 19 studies and compared the data from Covid-19 patients who were taking ACEi or ARB medications for blood pressure and those who were not.

They found that Covid-19 patients with high blood pressure who were on those tablets had a significantly lower risk of death and critical outcomes, such as being admitted to intensive care and/or being put on a ventilator, with them discovering that the medication-taking patients were 0.67 times less likely to have a critical or fatal outcome than those who didn't take tablets.

"We found that a third of Covid-19 patients with high blood pressure and a quarter of patients overall were taking an ACEi/ARBs. This is likely due to the increasing risk of infection in patients with co-morbidities such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and diabetes," said lead researcher Dr Vassilios Vassiliou. "But the really important thing that we showed was that there is no evidence that these medications might increase the severity of Covid-19 or risk of death.

"On the contrary, we found that there was a significantly lower risk of death and critical outcomes, so they might in fact have a protective role - particularly in patients with hypertension... Our research provides substantial evidence to recommend continued use of these medications if the patients were taking them already."

He noted that the study could not establish whether starting such tablets in Covid-19 patients would improve their prognosis.

https://www.msn.com/en-my/health/medical/blood-pressure-medication-improves-covid-19-survival-rates/ar-BB18jbUJ?ocid=ientp

UN-TEA-LIEVABLE Drinking three cups of tea a week can help you live longer, study finds

DRINKING at least three cups of tea a week is linked to a longer, healthier life, scientists say.

• • 
    
• • 
    
  Shaun Wooller

• 9 Jan 2020, 0:46
• Updated: 9 Jan 2020, 0:48
• 
  

Their study found green tea was the best but all those enjoying a regular cuppa benefit too.

1

Researchers found drinking three cups of tea a week could be linked to a longer lifeCredit: Getty - Contributor

It is believed polyphenols in the brew protect against heart disease and raised blood pressure.

The researchers estimated 50-year-old regular tea drinkers had a 20 per cent lower risk of heart disease and stroke, and a 22 per cent lower risk of dying from either.

Their danger of death from any cause was also found to drop 15 per cent.

Brit favourite black tea was drunk by only eight per cent in the South East Asian study so the benefits were unclear.

The Chinese team suggests green tea is rich in polyphenols but black tea is fully fermented so may lose some of their effects.

In addition, black tea is often served with milk, which may counteract the favourable health effects.

Lead study author Dr Xinyan Wang, from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing, said:

"Habitual tea consumption is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death.

"The favourable health effects are the most robust for green tea and for long-term habitual tea drinkers."

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10702634/drinking-tea-boosts-life-expectancy/

Heartburn Medicines Cause Cancer… FDA Does Nothing

People who take Zantac or similar drugs to combat heartburn may be unknowingly giving themselves cancer. Last week, the FDA announced that it had detected a cancer-causing contaminant called N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, in ranitidine heartburn medications.

By Ty Bollinger
September 19, 2019

But the FDA fell short of ordering a recall, and it wasn’t until a week later that distributors began to pull the drugs off the shelves. In response to the discovery, Sanofi spokeswoman Ashleigh Koss said,

Sanofi takes patient safety seriously, and we are committed to working with the F.D.A.”

She went on to say that Zantac “has been around for over a decade and meets all the specified safety requirements for use in the O.T.C. market.” –

At the time, Koss stated that Sanofi had no plans to recall the drug. But as evidence and consumer outrage grew over the following week, pharmaceutical company Novartis decided to stop the distribution of its generic Zantac drugs in all markets. At the time of publishing, Sanofi and the FDA had still failed to issue a recall.

NDMA in Drugs a Major Cancer Risk

This is not the first time that NDMA has been found in popular drugs. Last year, blood pressure medication valsartan, sold under the brand name Diovan, was also found to be contaminated. In that case, the FDA issued a voluntary recall of the drug, citing the risk of developing cancer.

Millions of people take ranitidine to relieve symptoms of heartburn and other gastrointestinal issues. But the potentially life-threatening drugs can still be found in pharmacies across the United States. In Canada, health officials have requested a stop to all distribution of the drug, making the only country in which Sanofi has ceased distribution.

NDMA is an industrial byproduct that can often be found in cured meats like bacon. The FDA says that it is “reasonably safe” to ingest up to one microgram a day. But safety testing has found levels significantly higher. In last year’s valsartan recall, the FDA found up to 17 micrograms of NDMA per dose. Valisure, a pharmacy that tests all drugs it distributes, found that Zantac had NDMA levels reaching 3,000 micrograms.

Valisure petitioned the FDA to recall all forms of ranitidine, though the agency has yet to take any such measures. They claim that NDMA may be “inherent” in the ranitidine molecule and have urged regulators to recall the drug until its safety can be guaranteed. But the FDA, as usual, seems apathetic about consumer safety.

FDA spokesman Jeremy Kahn said in a statement,

The FDA will take appropriate measures based on the results of the ongoing investigation.”

But they failed to recommend that people using the drug stop taking it. Instead, they simply suggested that alternative medicines are available.

This is the same “profits over patients” approach that we’ve seen repeatedly with our regulatory bodies. Safety testing – especially for generic drugs – is significantly lacking. Dinesh Thakur is a drug-safety advocate and whistleblower who exposed corruption and faulty quality control as an executive at Ranbaxy Laboratories. He says the FDA is not doing enough to protect consumers.

I think this is another good example of how our regulations need to change. Things like this will never get caught, unless somebody is actually actively looking for stuff.”

Meanwhile, a lack of oversight and testing standards has resulted in pharmacy shelves filled with drugs that can literally kill you. The FDA knows that Zantac has been contaminated with a carcinogen. Sanofi knows that something has gone terribly wrong with one of their flagship drugs. But the money is too good to recall them now.

Is Money Running Regulation?

Zantac was the first drug to total $1 billion in sales. In 2018, the drug generated nearly $130 million dollars for Sanofi. But a new class-action lawsuit filed earlier this week claims that the French drug makers have known the risks all along, hiding them from regulators and consumers in order to maintain profits.

The suit claims that each 150mg tablet of Zantac contains 26,000 times the FDA-approved daily limit of NDMA. Steve Berman, the lead attorney for the case, believes that consumers have been intentionally put in harm’s way.

Millions of people in the U.S. suffer from heartburn, and for years, Zantac has been sold to the masses as a safe and easy-to-find remedy for that common ailment. We’re certain that if those millions of consumers knew that the Zantac they take contains known carcinogens, they would be rightfully outraged.”

“Sanofi knew that Zantac contains a carcinogen, yet it chose to conceal these risks to the public to line its own pockets,” the suit claims.

Had defendants disclosed that Zantac results in unsafe levels of NDMA in the human body, no person, let alone a reasonable person, would have purchased and consumed Zantac.”

But all statements from the FDA and Sanofi say basically the same thing:

“We care about consumer safety. We’re looking into it.”

This isn’t the first time that drug manufacturers have hidden risks and lied to the public in order to line their own pockets.

Johnson & Johnson knew that there was asbestos in their talcum powder but did nothing. Juul Labs marketed their e-cigarettes to children, only to destroy the evidence when confronted. Opioid manufacturers bribed doctors and lied about safety, causing an epidemic that has claimed tens of thousands of American lives each year.

We could call the FDA lapdogs for Big Pharma. We could say that the whole system is corrupt, with patents, approvals, and leadership bought and paid for with blood money from the industry. But we don’t need to. All we have to do is show you the numbers.

• In the last 40 years, only one FDA commissioner has failed to secure a high-paying job in the pharmaceutical industry. The most recent departure, Scott Gottlieb, took a lucrative job on the board of Pfizer.
• A study published earlier this year found that 17% of the cancer drugs approved by the FDA used “suboptimal control arms,” leading to the approval of expensive cancer therapies that don’t show any real benefit to patients.
• Sonny Perdue, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, seems to be the only regulatory authority in the world who still claims that glyphosate is safe, despite hundreds of studies to the contrary and evidence presented in court shows that Bayer/Monsanto executives actively tried to hide the cancer/Roundup connection. Perhaps it’s a coincidence that Perdue is a former fertilizer salesman who has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the agricultural industry.
• A new expose has shown that many of the top-selling smartphones exceed federal radiation limits. FCC commissioner Ajit Pai worked in the telecommunications industry before his appointment. Former FCC heads have literally won awards for their efforts lobbying for the industry.

Doctors are literally incentivized to prescribe chemotherapy drugs to cancer patients, making more money with each dose of the toxic chemical. But maybe that doesn’t affect their judgement when it comes to patient care.

Maybe it’s all a coincidence. Maybe there’s no conflict of interest within the FDA. Maybe Sanofi is a great company that’s just trying to help patients. Maybe it’s the result of an innocent mistake that our shelves are filled with deadly drugs that cause cancer. Maybe the people who are calling foul are just crazy conspiracy theorists. Maybe a little bit of cancer isn’t a big deal so long as you get heartburn relief.

But I don’t buy it for a second…

https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/does-zantac-cause-cancer/

HSA recalls 3 brands of high blood pressure drugs over potentially harmful impurity [Channel NewsAsia]

The affected products are from the brands Losartas, Losagen and Hyperten

31 Mar 2019

Three brands of high blood pressure medicine containing the ingredient losartan have been recalled because they contain higher than acceptable levels of a potentially harmful impurity, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said on Thursday (Mar 28).

The drugs contain the active ingredient losartan potassium, which was manufactured by Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero Labs.

The affected products are the 50mg and 100mg tablets from the brands Losartas, Losagen and Hyperten and distributed by local suppliers Apotheca Marketing, Medicell Pharmaceutical and Goldplus Universal, respectively.

About 137,000 patients in Singapore are using the three recalled brands of losartan medicine, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Losartas is prescribed in public healthcare institutions, while Losartas, Losagen and Hyperten are prescribed at private healthcare institutions.

HSA has advised patients not to stop treatment on their own as there is no immediate health risk and sudden stopping of the drugs can pose greater immediate risk to their health.

https://www.gov.sg/news/content/hsa-recalls-3-brands-of-high-blood-pressure-drugs

New cancer-causing toxin found in recalled blood pressure pills

U.S. health regulators said on Friday a third cancer-causing toxin was found in some blood pressure pills recalled by India's Hetero Labs Ltd a day earlier, adding to a global recall of commonly used drugs to treat hypertension.

02 MAR 2019

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is also looking into whether these types of impurities could be found in other classes of drugs, a spokeswoman for the regulator said.

The toxin, N-Nitroso-N-methyl-4-aminobutyric acid (NMBA), identified in 87 lots of Hetero’s losartan potassium pills, was not found in medicines that were previously recalled by a number of drugmakers.

The FDA said Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd is expanding its voluntary recall to include 114 additional lots of losartan-containing medication due to unacceptable amounts of NMBA in the losartan manufactured by Hetero Labs.

Global authorities have been clamping down on sales of some blood pressure medicines as they are suspected to be tainted with two probable carcinogens - N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).

The drugs, including losartan, belong to a class of widely used medicines for treating high blood pressure called angiotensin II receptor blockers, or ARBs. Some generic versions of other ARBs, such as valsartan and irbesartan, have also been recalled.

The FDA said increased risk of cancer in patients exposed to the new impurity, NMBA, appeared to be the same as those exposed to NDMA, but less than the risk from NDEA.

The recalls began last year after regulators said ingredients used by Chinese manufacturer Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals Co to produce valsartan contained cancer-causing impurities.

Since then, generic drugmakers such as Mylan NV, Teva Pharmaceutical and Novartis’ Sandoz have recalled products containing the tainted ingredients.

In January, the FDA warned of the possibility of additional shortages of hypertension drugs in the United States due to the recalls.

The FDA also said it is working to develop testing methods to detect other cancer-causing impurities.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-bloodpressure-fda/new-cancer-causing-toxin-found-in-recalled-blood-pressure-pills

A High Blood Pressure Medication Is Being Recalled After a Potentially 'Life-Threatening' Labeling Mistake

A potentially “life-threatening” labeling mix-up spurred a nationwide recall of a high blood pressure medication, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced.

By JAMIE DUCHARME 

August 29, 2018

TIME Health

Accord Healthcare is voluntarily recalling a single lot of 12.5-milligram hydrochlorothiazide tablets, after a pharmacy reported finding a 100-count bottle that actually contained spironolactone tablets, according to the FDA. The rest of the lot (PW05264) has been recalled due to the “potential mix-up of labeling,” but Accord says the remainder of its drugs are unaffected.



Both hydrochlorothiazide and spironolactone can be used to treat high blood pressure, but because spironolactone causes the body to flush out excess water and sodium and store potassium, the FDA warns that patients who mistakenly take it instead of hydrochlorothiazide could experience hyperkalemia, or elevated potassium levels. The effects of hyperkalemia, according to the FDA, range from “limited health consequences to life-threatening situations in certain individuals.”

No patients have reported adverse effects in connection with the recall, the FDA says. Those who are prescribed Accord’s hydrochlorothiazide tablets should make sure that the pills are a light orange color with a letter H on one side, and a number 1 on the other. Consumers are urged to report any drugs that do not match that description, or check with their pharmacist.


http://time.com/5381366/hydrochlorothiazide-recall/

Common blood pressure pills recalled worldwide: Production of Valsartan is shut down after cancer-causing chemical contaminates medicine

• Valsartan has been widely prescribed across the world for 15 years
• Evidence suggests batches since 2012 have been contaminated by a carcinogen
• The UK and US already banned the drug over safety fears earlier this month 
• Now the Chinese authorities have told all doctors to stop handing it out 

By SAM BLANCHARD and MIA DE GRAAF FOR MAILONLINE 

PUBLISHED: 11:36 BST, 31 July 2018 | UPDATED: 11:44 BST, 31 July 2018

A common blood pressure drug has been recalled worldwide and production has stopped after it was found to contain a cancer-causing chemical.

The drug Valsartan, made in a factory in China, was recalled in 22 countries including the UK and the US earlier in July, but the warning is now worldwide. 

Investigators found a chemical used in rocket fuel, called N-Nitrosodimethylamine, had contaminated the drug's production at Zhejiang Huahai, a Chinese supplier which ships the medicine worldwide. 

N-Nitrosodimethylamine is thought to be carcinogenic, meaning it could cause cancer in humans, so production of the pills has stopped.

China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said yesterday that the drug must not be used for diagnosis or treatment, and the pills have already been banned in the UK and US. 

Experts say the contamination could date back as far as 2012, when the company changed its manufacturing process.   

+1

British pharmacists were today warned a change in how valsartan is manufactured has caused a dangerous impurity in several medications

The US Food and Drug Administration banned Valsartan on July 17, two weeks after the UK recalled the drug, which has been widely prescribed across the world for 15 years.

America's decision to follow suit came on the heels of a warning from European regulators earlier that day that the drug's dangers may have been present in batches as far back as 2012.

Valsartan was originally developed by Novartis and the Swiss company marketed it as Diovan, but it is now off patent and is used in a number of generic medicines supplied by various companies. 

In addition to tackling high blood pressure, it is also prescribed to treat heart failure.

The main manufacturer in China is Zhejiang Huahai, which was founded in 1989 and listed on the Shanghai stock exchange in 2003, was one of the first Chinese companies to get drugs approved in the US market.

Company also makes ingredients for HIV and depression drugs 

That same firm makes active ingredients for a number of different medicines to treat heart problems, depression, allergies and HIV, according to its website.

Overall, more than two-thirds of all active drug ingredients originate in China and India, industry experts estimate, with China accounting for the lion's share. 

The revelation that the problem with Valsartan likely dates back to changes in manufacturing processes at Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical six years ago suggests many patients could potentially have been exposed to cancer risk. 

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which first raised the alarm over the Chinese supplied Valsartan on July 5, said it was working to establish how long and at what levels patients might have been exposed to the impurity known as NDMA.

Chemical thought to cause cancer in humans 

NDMA, or N-nitrosodimethylamine, is classified as a probable human carcinogen. Based on results from laboratory tests, it may cause cancer with long-term use.

'It is still too early to provide information on the longer term risk NDMA may have posed for patients. 

'EMA has made this aspect of the review a priority and will update the public as soon as new information becomes available,' the agency said.

EU authorities recalled medicines containing Valsartan from Zhejiang Huahai, and the EMA said such medicines should no longer be available in pharmacies.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also took action to recall affected valsartan-containing medicines.

Zhejiang Huahai has already acknowledged that there was an impurity in some of its Valsartan, which it said had sales of $50 million in 2017.  

The EMA said NDMA was an unexpected impurity that was not detected by routine tests carried out by Zhejiang Huahai, adding that the manufacturing changes introduced in 2012 were believed to have produced NDMA as a by-product.

EU and US depend on Asia for drugs - but don't pay enough attention to safety 

The case shows the reliance of consumers around the world on medicines containing active pharmaceutical ingredients made in China.

Regulators have been stepping up oversight of foreign factories in recent years to try and ensure the quality of drugs made in China and India, which is another major supplier to global drug markets.

But it remains a work in progress, as highlighted by the EMA's Executive Director Guido Rasi, who wrote recently in the agency's annual report:

'We need to think globally and work strategically with partners from around the world to make best use of our inspection capacity, so that patients can rely on the quality, safety and efficacy of all medicines, no matter where they have been manufactured.'

WHAT ARE THE VALSARTAN CONTAINING DRUGS THAT ARE AFFECTED? 

Product name	Marketing Authorisation Holder	PL Number
VALSARTAN 40MG CAPSULES, HARD	DEXCEL PHARMA LIMITED	PL 14017/0192
VALSARTAN 80MG CAPSULES, HARD	DEXCEL PHARMA LIMITED	PL 14017/0193
VALSARTAN 160MG CAPSULES, HARD	DEXCEL PHARMA LIMITED	PL 14017/0194
VALSARTAN 40MG FILM-COATED TABLETS	ACTAVIS GROUP PTC EHF	PL 30306/0109
VALSARTAN 80MG FILM-COATED TABLETS	ACTAVIS GROUP PTC EHF	PL 30306/0110
VALSARTAN 160MG FILM-COATED TABLETS	ACTAVIS GROUP PTC EHF	PL 30306/0111
VALSARTAN 320MG FILM-COATED TABLETS	ACTAVIS GROUP PTC EHF	PL 30306/0405

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6010077/Blood-pressure-pills-recalled-worldwide-contaminated-cancer-causing-chemical.html