Tuesday, February 23, 2010

UPDATE 1-Nobel Biocare strikes deal with Japan's Noritake

* Shares rise 2.3 percent, ouperform index

(Adds details on partnership deal, analyst comment, shares)

ZURICH, Feb 23, 2010 (Reuters) - Swiss dental implant maker Nobel Biocare (NOBN.VX) is teaming up with Japanese supplier of prosthetic materials Noritake Dental (5331.T) to help broaden its product range.

Nobel Biocare has also recently struck deals with Ivoclar Vivadent and VITA Zahnrfabrik in its bid to boost its position as market leader in computer-aided design and manufacturing in dentistry, an area that is driving tooth restoration business.

"The collaboration with Noritake will complement Nobel Biocare's recent launch of a new scanner, software, broad range of new prosthetic products and materials," Nobel Biocare, the world's largest maker of dental implants, said in a statement on Tuesday.

At 1016 GMT, shares in the group were trading 2.3 percent higher at 28.66 Swiss francs, outperforming a flat DJ Stoxx European healthcare index .SXDP.

Nobel Biocare's NobelProcera range accounts for around 15 percent of group sales, and the recently launched scanners, software and materials are expected to bolster growth at the group in 2010.

"We believe the immediate impact of these non-exclusive collaborations is the additional breadth of materials on offer, thereby following the local preference for the dentist and technician community," said Kepler Capital Markets analyst Florian Gaiser.

But Gaiser cautioned the advantages of these deals may take some time to emerge. (Reporting by Katie Reid, editing by Will Waterman)

Move to broaden Nobel Biocare's product range

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Ignore Expiration Dates

There's a filet mignon in my fridge that expired four days ago, but it seems OK to me. I take a hesitant whiff and detect no putrid odor of rotting flesh, no oozing, fetid cow juice—just the full-bodied aroma of well-aged meat. A feast for one; I retrieve my frying pan. This is not an isolated experiment or a sad symptom of my radical frugality. With a spirit of teenage rebellion, I disavow any regard for expiration dates.

The fact is that expiration dates mean very little. Food starts to deteriorate from the moment it's harvested, butchered, or processed, but the rate at which it spoils depends less on time than on the conditions under which it's stored. Moisture and warmth are especially detrimental. A package of ground meat, say, will stay fresher longer if placed near the coldest part of a refrigerator (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit), than next to the heat-emitting light bulb. Besides, as University of Minnesota food scientist Ted Labuza explained to me, expiration dates address quality—optimum freshness—rather than safety and are extremely conservative. To account for all manner of consumer, manufacturers imagine how the laziest people with the most undesirable kitchens might store and handle their food, then test their products based on these criteria.

With perishables like milk and meat, most responsible consumers (those who refrigerate their groceries as soon as they get home, for instance) have a three–to-seven-day grace period after the "Sell by" date has elapsed. As for pre-packaged greens, studies show that nutrient loss in vegetables is linked to a decline in appearance. When your broccoli florets yellow or your green beans shrivel, this signals a depletion of vitamins. But if they haven't lost their looks, ignore the printed date. Pasta and rice will taste fine for a year. Unopened packs of cookies are edible for months before the fat oxidizes and they turn rancid. Pancake and cake mixes have at least six months. Canned items are potentially the safest foods around and will keep five years or more if stored in a cold pantry. Labuza recalls a seven-year-old can of chicken chunks he ate recently. "It tasted just like chicken," he said.

By Nadia Arumugam

"Best by," "Sell by," and all those other labels mean very little.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

UPDATE 3-Straumann FY lags forecast, cautious on outlook

* Misses forecast for 152 mln francs in Reuters poll

* Sees flat or low-single-digit growth in dental implant mkt

* Shares down 6 pct, underperforming flat sector index

(Adds CEO comments, analyst, share price)

By Katie Reid

ZURICH, Feb 16.010 (Reuters) - Swiss dental implant maker Straumann Holding AG (STMN.S) said full-year profits lagged forecasts and it was wary on 2010 after more clients opted to shelve non-urgent mouthcare, further weighing on the sector.

Net profit dropped 19 percent on a like-for-like basis to 146.4 million Swiss francs ($136.1 million), trailing a forecast for 152 million in a Reuters poll after consumers struggled to get credit for dental treatments. [ID:nLDE6181VZ]

The world's second largest maker of dental implants said the market was likely to be flat or grow at a low-single-digit pace in 2010, hitting a more cautious tone than analysts who had predicted the sector would grow in the mid-digit range.

Straumann's comments were also likely to prompt brokers to lower their estimates for the group this year, analysts said.

At 1044 GMT, shares in the group were trading almost 6 percent lower at 250.25 Swiss francs, underperforming a near flat DJ Stoxx European healthcare index .SXDP and a near 2 percent drop in rival Nobel Biocare (NOBN.VX).

Straumann, which controls about 19 percent of the dental implant market, expects to see the market returning to high-single-digit growth next year and is eyeing double-digit growth in 2012, Group Chief Executive Gilbert Achermann said.

The group is aiming this year for sales and an operating profit margin at 2009's levels, as it seeks to gain market share.


DENTAL IMPLANT MARKET LOSES BITE

Straumann's update comes days after Nobel Biocare cautioned visibility in the market remained low and markets such as the United States and Spain were still grappling with soft demand. [ID:nLDE61821T]

Demand for dental implants eroded during the crisis as consumers scaled back on expensive treatments in the same way that many patients have also decided against going for elective procedures that require out-of-pocket payments.

Some analysts said the dental implant market was rather unappealing at the moment given that Straumann and Nobel Biocare are already trading at a premium to other medtech companies like Synthes (SYST.VX) and Zimmer (ZMH.N).

"Given the sluggish business momentum, very limited visibility and high relative valuation, we still believe there are more attractive companies in the European healthcare universe," Credit Suisse analyst Christoph Gretler said.

Straumann has held up better during the downturn than Nobel Biocare which is more exposed to the United States, but some analysts say Nobel's presence there means it is better placed to benefit from a recovery as the U.S. market is likely to pick up faster than other markets this year.

Sales at Straumann slipped 5 percent to 736.4 million Swiss francs in 2009, while it posted an operating margin of 22.5 percent. (Additional reporting by Oliver Hirt; Editing by Hans Peters and Simon Jessop) ($1=1.076 Swiss Franc)


Full-year net profit 146.4 mln Swiss francs

Saturday, February 13, 2010

5 Foods to Prevent Heart Disease

In case you hadn't heard, February is American Heart Month, an initiative to raise awareness about heart disease and stroke, the number one killer in the U.S.

Eating a healthy diet can be a key method of preventing heart disease. We're highlighting five heart-healthy foods that can literally save your health. We recognize that these are not the only five foods that protect your heart, but they stand out as star performers and great additions to any diet.

1. Garlic: This herb is ideal for heart health. Numerous studies have shown the potential benefits of regular garlic consumption on blood pressure, platelet aggregation, serum triglyceride level, and cholesterol levels – all of which keep your heart performing. Garlic also makes a great seasoning for food so you can greatly reduce salt.

2. Salmon: Make the swap from a saturated fat burger to a salmon fillet. While some saturated fat is fine, a little goes a long way. The average cheeseburger has more than half a day worth of the artery clogging fat, which will increase your risk for a heart attack. Conversely, salmon lowers that risk thanks to heart healthy fats. Omega-3s can prevent erratic heart rhythms, reduce likelihood of blood clots inside arteries, improve the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol, and prevent cholesterol from becoming damaged, at which point it clogs arteries.

3. Berries and Cherries: Props must be given to nature’s candy. These sweet treats are high in polyphenols, which prevent cell damage that creates unhealthy blood vessels and heart. During the winter, opt for frozen berries. Try thawing a bag of frozen strawberries in the refrigerator. Then, add unsweetened, steel-cut oatmeal with the berries their juice and your heart will say thanks with each beat.

4. Quinoa: Often mistaken as a grain, this tiny sprouted seed is an excellent source of magnesium, the mineral that relaxes blood vessels. Low dietary levels of magnesium lead to some scary health issues like increased rates of hypertension, ischemic heart disease and heart arrhythmias. Quinoa cooks quickly and makes great leftovers. Toss with grilled veggies and roasted chicken for a delicious one-pot dinner, or try this Red Curry Quinoa recipe.

5. Hot Cocoa: You read right! Hot cocoa is brimming with antioxidants – two-times more than red wine and three times more than green tea. The cool February temperatures are no match for a mug of hot cocoa. My tip: since hot chocolate mixes are full of sugar, use 100% cocoa and combine with a teaspoon of sugar. Plus you'll sweeten with the natural sugars in the milk.


Also read the Top 5 Foods to Lower Cholesterol to manage your heart-healthy diet at DietsInReview.com.

© DietsInReview.com
Related: stroke, heart health, heart disease, health, diet, cholesterol, american heart month


By Rebecca Scritchfield MA, RD, LD - DietsInReview.com

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Dentist wants help to broaden care

Dr. Marshall Long checks the teeth of Kahlill Hill, 4, at the Durham County Health Department. The county and the UNC dentistry school offered free children's care on Friday. Dentists say the poor often go without dental work.

BY SARAH AVERY - Staff Writer Some North Carolina dentists hope to create a new kind of mid-level dental worker as a way of expanding care to people in poor and rural areas of the state. But the effort faces a long and arduous road.

Dr. Steven Slott, a Burlington dentist who founded a traveling free clinic, wants the state legislature to study the idea of an entirely new work force of mid-level dental positions. Such an approach has been tried in Alaska and is gaining ground in several other states.

"We have got to get something done in this state," Slott said. "There a huge problem." He noted that four counties have no dentists, six others have severe shortages, and even rich counties struggle to provide care to poor people.

Slott said a mid-level worker could provide simple services more cheaply than regular dentists. Like nurse practitioners or physician assistants, a mid-level dental worker would have extra training and duties.

Notably, the mid-level worker could perform uncomplicated extractions and fillings currently performed only by dentists; hygienists are restricted to such jobs as cleaning teeth.

But the idea is not widely embraced by dentist groups. The American Dental Association has opposed an advanced dental hygienist practitioner model and has fought to limit Alaska's efforts.

The N.C. Dental Society, which in the past has opposed efforts to give hygienists greater autonomy, has not taken a formal position on the growing trend. Dr. Alec Parker, executive director of the state society, said the group is open to considering the prospect of mid-level practitioners.

Is timing right?

But Parker said now is not the best time to press ahead, given the sour economy and plans to expand the dental school at UNC-Chapel Hill and to build a dental school at East Carolina University.

"It just seems to me, and this is my personal opinion, that we would want to see how that goes before we started throwing another unknown into the equation," Parker said, noting that the dental school expansions will result in an additional 68 graduates a year moving into practice. Many of those are likely to be in North Carolina.

Misgivings

A dental society newsletter raised concerns about the idea of mid-level practitioners as momentum across the nation has grown. Aside from Alaska, Minnesota has made the most headway, establishing a new university major for people to learn advanced skills. Connecticut, Maine and Washington are also pressing ahead to establish the new position.

"In other words, they suggest allowing lesser-trained people provide oral health services on the underserved," the N.C. Dental Society newsletter stated.

Slott, the Burlington dentist, said there is no evidence that mid-level practitioners would provide subpar care, and he called for a study group to examine the available research and make a fact-based analysis.

"If we saw a danger, we wouldn't have to proceed," Slott said.

He said his efforts are in the formative stages, as he considers taking his request to legislators or forming a coalition of public health groups to push the idea.

Slott said there is good precedence for overcoming concerns about a mid-level dental technician. In the 1960s, the radical notion of nurse practitioners and physician assistants rankled many doctors. Now, both types of health providers are considered integral.

Dr. Rob Doherty, dental director of Greene County Health Care in Snow Hill, said the time has come for dentistry to expand its profession.

"The only fight is to open our minds and open our hearts a little bit and get that information out there," Doherty said. "I'm not going to put on armor and go slashing through a wall of human flesh here. I just want to get some information."

Serving the poor

Doherty said he doesn't think the new dental school at ECU will solve the state's problem for many people, especially the poor. He said his clinic is overwhelmed with patients, many of whom can't afford the sliding scale fees charged by his not-for-profit practice. Instead, he said, they put off painful tooth conditions until a visiting free clinic comes to town.

"Volunteer service is not a system of health care," Doherty said, referring to the dentists, hygienists and others who donate their time for the free clinics.

Doherty and other proponents said mid-level practitioners could provide care less expensively than dentists. They could charge less for simple procedures, because they would not have the massive student loan bills from dental school, or many of the costs associated with establishing a practice.

Many questions remain, however. Among the thornier issues is how much education the new workers would require and who would license them. Currently in North Carolina, most hygienists graduate with two-year associate degrees from community colleges and are licensed by the state's dental board.

Jonathan Owens, immediate past president of the N.C. Dental Hygiene Association, said the national organization of hygienists prefers a plan to create a master's degree level "superhygienist" who could work independently from a dentist and perform some simple extractions and restorations.

Owens said it's only a matter of time before some form of that job becomes common.

"It's going to happen," Owens said. "It's going to happen in the United States first, and then I think in North Carolina we'll start seeing it."

sarah.avery@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4882

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Don't be misled by these food label tricks

It's a fact of the grocery store that the most healthy food often has the least marketing muscle behind it. The best sources of fiber and vitamins are fresh vegetables and fruit, and yet it's the processed, packaged junk food fortified with vitamin and fiber powder that screams for attention. The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently published a comprehensive report on the subject, a persuasive indictment delicately called "Food Labeling Chaos."

"Consumers need honest labeling so they can spend their food dollars wisely and avoid diet-related disease," said CSPI senior staff attorney Ilene Ringel Heller, co-author of the report. "Companies should market their foods without resorting to the deceit and dishonesty that's so common today. And, if they don't, the FDA should make them."

You can often decipher the truth amid the lies and misdirection by carefully reading food labels.

We take a look at nine things the CSPI identified as the most common ways food labels mislead so you can prepare before your next trip to the grocery store.

Made with whole grains
You're standing in the grocery aisle, faced with a choice. On the one hand, there are the Thomas' English Muffins of your youth: White and filled with nooks and crannies practically screaming to be filled with pools of melted butter. On the other: Thomas' Hearty Grains English Muffins, which are "made with the goodness of whole grains." You reach, somewhat grudgingly, for the healthy option, since experts tell you that 50% of your grains should be whole grains.

What you don't realize is that unbleached wheat flour is the main ingredient; whole wheat flour is the third on the list, "indicating that the product contains relatively little," according to the CSPI.

Once again, one truth -- the presence of whole grains -- masks another, that whole grains make up an insignificant portion of the food.

Some products that trumpet their whole-grain credentials (like Keebler's Zesta saltine crackers) use caramel to mimic the brown color that results from the use of whole grains. In fact, the CSPI notes that these crackers have almost as much salt as whole grains. Other purportedly healthy crackers have more sugar than whole wheat.

So much for healthy whole grains (or truth in advertising).

Ingredients
What could be more straight-forward than ingredient lists? So you might think, but there's a lot of room for deception and misdirection in the average ingredient list, which lists ingredients in order from most to least.

Exhibit A from the CSPI: the Tasty Living Mocha Cherry Double Chocolate Layer Cake. The first ingredient is enriched wheat flour.

This cake must be sort-of nutritious, since it's mostly made out of nutritious wheat flour, right? Sorry, but the biggest ingredient in this cake is sugar, as the CSPI points out. How is it possible?

Just add up all the sugars that go by different names: sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, and white grape juice concentrate. Boom! This cake is nearly one-third sugar.

The CSPI argues that U.S. nutrition labels and ingredient lists should be more consumer friendly. By grouping major ingredients and separating minor ingredients, we'd all be better able to make smarter purchases.

Which can of diced tomatoes is 60% tomato and 40% water, and which is 70% tomato? How much fruit is actually in that fruity-looking "health" bar? Right now, there's no way to know ... without a chemistry kit.

Serving size
A 20-oz. soda fits easily in your hand, fits easily in your car's cup holder, and might even come free with a sandwich at the local deli. But even if a reasonable person might perceive that bottle as a single-serving delivery system, there are 2.5 official servings in there, meaning 100 calories per "serving" ... but 240 calories per bottle.

While major soda bottlers have begun spelling out this single-serving conundrum to the junk food-consuming public, most serving-size calculations are based on standards developed decades ago!

Just try to remember the size of the sodas and popcorn customarily dolled out in 1977 at the drive-in, compared to today at the megaplex, and you get a sense for how much our sense of portion proportion has gone out of whack (er, changed) in the last generation.

And yet, the serving-size data on our foods reflect a slimmer more restrained era, when an 8-oz. soda was a weekly treat, not a single glug between fistfuls of Cool Ranch Doritos (serving size: 11 chips).

How many people do you know restrain themselves to 11 chips? Or to a 1/2 cup of ice cream? Or a single cup of cooked pasta?

Omega 3
Omega-3 fatty acids are an essential component of a healthy diet, but that doesn't mean every product emblazoned with the word is a healthy source of it.

The FDA allows certain foods that are rich in two of the omega-3 fatty acids to advertise that they can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, but only if they're also low in saturated fats or other risk factors.

Which is why many eggs and some walnuts use this bit of marketing misdirection: The packaging has the phrase "omega 3," but nothing specifically about heart health, according to the CSPI.

The FDA specifically prohibited eggs from carrying the "qualified health claim" linking omega-3 fatty acids to heart health because eggs are high in cholesterol; it ruled out walnuts because the omega-3 fatty acid found in the nuts isn't one of the two that has been linked to heart health.

These products, and others, dance around the truth and the law by simply stating that they contain omega 3s, which bathes the food in a healthy light they don't necessarily deserve.

Made with real fruit
Hey wow! That candy has real fruit in it. It must be good for my kid.

The marketing around "real fruit" is so egregious that, for many shoppers, it doesn't pass the sniff test. But we all get weak-kneed when faced with something potentially yummy, so let's take a look at some of those misleading marketing techniques.

Case-in-point: Gerber Fruit Juice Treats for Preschoolers. Its package blooming with pictures of ripe oranges, raspberries, cherries, peaches, grapes, and pineapple, its only fruit-like ingredient is fruit juice concentrate, which the Dietary Guidelines for Americans considers just another form of sugar.

Not surprisingly, the primary ingredients are also sugar and ... well, sugar (corn syrup). It's candy.

Similarly, Betty Crocker Strawberry Splash Fruit Gushers says it's made with real fruit, but the only thing approximating fruit is pear concentrate (sugar) with Red No. 40 for "strawberry" color. Overall, the gushers are half sugar (a.k.a., candy).

Bottom line: If you want real fruit, buy real fruit. If you want candy, buy candy.

(And watch out for the same tricky marketing used on supposedly vegetable-rich products like Knorr Pasta Sides Chicken Broccoli Fettuccine. As the CSPI points out, there's more salt than broccoli in this pasta dish. Of course, it isn't called Chicken Salt Fettuccine ... because presumably no one would buy it.)

Zero trans fat
Like some kind of Frankenstein's monster, we stagger down the grocery aisles, arms outstretched, growling, "Trans fats bad!" And yes, they are bad.

After numerous studies showed that these fats boost "bad" LDL-cholesterol levels and lower "good" HDL-cholesterol counts (they've been called "the most potent type of fatty acid in terms of increasing the risk of coronary heart disease"), the U.S. required companies to disclose trans fat content in their foods.

But it's marketers who made our modern Frankenstein mutter: While some companies reformulated their products to reduce the use of risky fats, many just replaced trans fats with saturated fats.

These reformulated foods are basically just as bad, but they scream one truth: "0 trans fats!" to obscure another: "Still bad for your heart!"

Free range eggs
Ah, the idyllic red barn. The rays of sunshine streaming over the hillside. You feel good buying those "free range" eggs knowing that the chickens tasked with producing those little protein-filled shells lived happy cage-free lives. The sunny label says so.

But the few extra cents you plunk down for the "free range" eggs might be paying a savvy marketer, rather than an ethical farmer, because the government doesn't regulate the use of the phrase "free range" or "cage free" on eggs.

Legally speaking, it's meaningless, according to Consumer Reports' Eco Label Decoder.

The Department of Agriculture does have rules for use of the term on poultry. It means chickens must be granted the luxury of exactly five minutes of "access" to the outdoors everyday, a token prize for a short dirty life that can also include an unceremonious severing of the beak, wing-to-wing crowding in a shed that's more hangar than coop, and more chicken poop than you ever want to contemplate while planning a meal.

Those eggs you buy may have been raised ethically, with room enough for hens to roam the yard and peck contentedly at the dirt. But there's no guarantee in the "free range" label.

Fiber
Fiber is fiber is fiber. Right? Who would have any reason to think otherwise?

You might if you knew the fibers advertised in many foods are mainly "purified powders" called inulin, polydextrose, and maltodextrin, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

These "isolated" unnatural fibers are unlikely to lower blood cholesterol or blood sugar, as other fibers can, and two of the three won't even "help with regularity," says the CSPI.

"Currently, fiber is being added to foods such as ice creams, yogurts, juices, and drinks so that manufacturers can brag about their fiber content," the group contends. "But these products do not contain the traditional sources of fiber associated with a variety of health benefits."

There may be nothing harmful about maltodextrin, (made from corn, wheat, rice, or potato starch), polydextrose (made from glucose and sorbitol), or inulin (a carbohydrate derived mostly from chicory roots and other plant roots). But these ingredients act more as low-calorie filling agents (and high-value marketing agents) than proven health agents.

For the real thing in fiber, look for foods like whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans.

Tastes like medicine!
Food isn't medicine ... or is it? Certain micronutrients, after all, can prevent diabetes, cure cancer, make you smarter, improve your sex life, polish your furniture, and more...

In truth, the FDA allows food manufacturers to make certain pre-approved "qualified health claims" about the health benefits of nutrients in food, but only if those foods meet a range of healthy criteria, like low fat, cholesterol, and sodium content. But, according to the CSPI, marketers have stretched this inch into a long mile.

For instance, food makers can't say that their product "helps reduce the risk of heart disease" without FDA approval, so they say that it "helps maintain a healthy heart." That's why several public health groups, including the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society, have voiced concern about this trend.

In the most famous recent example, the FDA stopped General Mills from labeling Cheerios with cholesterol reducing claims it wouldn't allow on some prescription drugs. Another, which the California attorney general helped stamp out, was the Kellogg's claim that its children cereals "support your child's immunity" because, even though some are 40% sugar, they are fortified with vitamins.

"While a severe deficiency in those vitamins could interfere with the proper functioning of the body’s immune system (and any other system), there is no evidence that Cocoa Krispies actually improves a children’s immune status or wards off disease," CSPI argues. But Kellogg's is far from alone.

Even as Kellogg's stopped that line of marketing, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice, Juicy Juice Berry Beverage, Nestlé's Carnation Instant Breakfast, and Kraft's Crystal Light all make similar claims.

Other foods make claims about boosting your kid's intelligence (Juicy Juice), protecting healthy joints (orange juice), and improving heart health (Quaker Cinnamon and Spice Instant Oatmeal, which is almost one-third sugar).

Bottom line: Food is food, not medicine.

More from The Daily Green

•Absurdly Wasteful Packaging for Food
•The Dirty Secrets of Six Scandalous Foods
•Six Surprising Facts About Organic Food
•The Dirty Dozen: 12 Foods to Buy Organic
•Simple Superfoods (and How to Cook Them)
Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc

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By Dan Shapley