A newly isolated strain of a species of Lactobacillus of human origin, designated GG (Lactobacillus GG), has been studied to determine its ability to survive in the human gastrointestinal tract. When fed to 76 volunteers as a frozen concentrate or as a fermented preparation in milk or whey, Lactobacillus GG was recovered in the feces of all subjects receiving the fermented milk or whey and in 86% receiving the frozen concentrate when a single fecal specimen was cultured. The organism was also present in the feces of subjects concurrently receiving ampicillin. After terminating feeding of the organism, Lactobacillus GG persisted in the feces of 87% of volunteers four days later and in 33% of subjects seven days later. Lactobacillus GG lowered fecal bacterial beta-glucuronidase activity by approximately 80% in volunteers given the organism for four weeks. These studies demonstrate that Lactobacillus GG can survive and temporarily colonize the human gastrointestinal tract and can affect the metabolic activity of the resident microflora.

A wealth of health information is available online, but we do not fully understand the implications for health communication. This study examined whether health information seekers who turn to the Internet first differ from those who turn elsewhere. Data from the 2,338 respondents to the mail portion of the National Cancer Institute's Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 2007 who reported looking for health information for themselves were analyzed. Logistic regression was used to examine whether health information seekers turning to the Internet first differed in terms of demographics, information preferences and seeking confidence, and communication with providers from those using other sources. In the final model, Internet users were younger, more educated, higher income, preferred numbers rather than words to describe chance, and think it is very important to get personal medical information electronically. There were no differences in terms of gender, health status, confidence seeking health information, or communication with providers. Health information seekers who turn to the Internet first are different, both in terms of demographics and information preferences. As the use of communication technologies increases, health communicators need to be attentive to the potential for communication inequalities.

The most stringent dietary recommendations of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) are to limit fat intake to <30% of calories, saturated fat intake to <7% of calories, and cholesterol intake to <200 mg/d (Step 2 diet). There is debate as to whether the remaining fat in the diet should be relatively high in monounsaturated or poly unsaturated fatty acids. We examined this issue by testing the effects of diets meeting the aforementioned guidelines that were enriched in three different vegetable oils on plasma lipids in the fasting and postprandial states in a clinically relevant population. Female and male subjects (n=15, mean age, 61 years) with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations >130 mg/dL were studied under strictly controlled conditions. Subjects were first placed on a diet similar to that currently consumed in the United States to stabilize plasma lipids with respect to identical fat and cholesterol intakes. The subjects then received diets meeting NCEP Step 2 criteria in which two thirds of the fat calories were given either as canola, corn, or olive oil in a randomized, double-blinded fashion for 32 days each. Plasma cholesterol concentrations declined after consumption of diets enriched in all the test oils; however, the declines were significantly greater for the canola (12%) and corn (13%) than for the olive (7%) oil-enriched diet Mean plasma LDL-C concentrations declined after consumption of diets enriched in all the test oils (16%, 17%, and 13% for canola, corn, and olive oil, respectively), and the magnitude of the declines was statistically indistinguishable among the test oils. Mean plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations declined after consumption of the baseline diet, and these declines were significant for the canola (7%) and corn (9%) oil-enriched diets. Changes in LDL apolipoprotein (apo)B concentrations paralleled those of LDL-C. Switching from the baseline to the vegetable oil-enriched diets had no significant effect on plasma triglyceride, apoA-I, and lipoprotein(a) concentrations or the total cholesterol to HDL-C ratio. LDL apoB to apoA-I ratios were significantly reduced when the subjects consumed the vegetable oil-enriched diets. Differences similar to those observed in the fasting state were observed in the postprandial state. The major finding of this study is that significant reductions in LDL-C and apoB levels can be achieved in middle-aged and elderly women and men with initial LDL-C levels > 130 mg/dL by reducing dietary saturated fat and cholesterol intake and by incorporating vegetable oils rich in either monounsaturated fatty acids (canola and olive oil) or polyunsaturated fatty acids (corn oil) as part of an NCEP Step 2 diet Although differential effects were seen after the consumption of the three different oil-enriched diets in some plasma lipid measures, none of these oils had a significant advantage in terms of altering the overall lipoprotein profile. Presented in part at the 64th Scientific Session of the Ame...