nemo wrote:
And one in the eye for the trolls!

Adding milk to a cup of tea can destroy its ability to protect against heart
disease, according to research.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6241139.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5405686.stm

http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/hea...out600813.html

On Nutritious Drink Studies, Consider the Funding Source
01.08.07, 12:00 AM ET

TUESDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Before you take to heart any
research about the health effects of beverages such as milk, fruit
juice or soft drinks, find out who paid for the study.
If a beverage manufacturer or industry group funded the research, the
finding may be biased, researchers report.

"When a food company sponsors a study, it is much more likely to be
positive" about the health effects of the product, said Dr. David
Ludwig. He's the study's senior author and director of the Optimal
Weight for Life program at Children's Hospital Boston, the pediatric
teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School.

Ludwig and his colleagues analyzed 206 articles from medical journals
that evaluated the health benefits or effects of soft drinks, juice and
milk. The studies were published from 1999 to 2003.

Of the 206 studies, 111 supplied information on funding. To prevent
bias in Ludwig's review, one researcher selected the articles for
inclusion in the study. Another two researchers who were not told the
funding sources classified each study as favorable, not favorable or
neutral toward the beverage studied. A fourth researcher who didn't
know the conclusions of the study determined the funding source and
classified the studies, based on whether they would be beneficial,
negative or neutral to the funder's bottom line.

In all, 22 percent of the studies were funded totally by industry,
while 32 percent had both industry and independent funding.

"We found when a food company pays for a study, the results are about
eight times more likely to be favorable to the company's financial
interest than when the studies are funded independently," Ludwig said.
"It is a strong association. It raises concern for bias."

The same association has been found in studies of medications funded by
drug companies, Ludwig said. But, he added, bias in studies of
beverages could have a greater impact because nearly everyone drinks
milk, juices or soft drinks.

"This is the first time this issue has been investigated systematically
in the area of nutrition," Ludwig said. "More research needs to be
done. No one study can prove an issue. This [conclusion] argues for the
need for more independent funding" of research.

The results of Ludwig's study are published in the Jan. 9 online issue
of the journal PloS Medicine.

Susan K. Neely, president and chief executive officer of the American
Beverage Association, took exception to the study. "This is yet another
attack on industry by activists who demonstrate their own biases in
their review by looking only at the funding source and not judging the
research on its merits. The science is what matters -- nothing else,"
she said in a prepared statement.

In an accompanying perspective article in the journal, Martijn Katan,
professor of nutrition at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the
Netherlands, noted that a "blanket condemnation of industry-supported
research" isn't the answer. He said collaboration with industry allowed
him "to discover things that I could not have found otherwise." For
instance: "We discovered the effects of trans fatty acids on
heart-disease risk thanks to the expertise of Unilever, and the
cholesterol-raising factor in unfiltered coffee thanks to Nestle."

In the Netherlands, Katan wrote, "The Royal Netherlands Academy of
Sciences has put forth an innovative proposal on how to supervise
relations between researchers and their sponsors."

Until more guidance is available, another expert, Connie Diekman,
director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis,
has a suggestion. "The [Ludwig] study reminds consumers and the media
that all research studies should be viewed as one part of the puzzle
about food and health and not conclusive answers to questions." Any
conclusions must come from several studies, not one, she added.

*********

TC