Health Related articles updated on daily Basis.

[Night_Hawk]

Keep Alzheimer’s at bay with purple fruit
(IANS)

9 December 2010
Eating blueberries and other purple fruit and vegetables can keep Alzheimer’s at bay because they are a rich source of chelators, scientists say.
Chelators bind the loosely configured iron molecules in the body and prevent them from producing dangerous toxins, called hydroxyl radicals, which trigger degenerative illnesses like Alzheimer’s.

Prof. Douglas Kell, a bioanalytical scientist at the University of Manchester, led the ground-breaking research, reports the journal Archives of Toxicology.

Kell argues that the means by which poorly-liganded (banded) iron accelerates the onset of debilitating diseases shows up areas in which the traditional thinking is flawed.

For instance, Vitamin C is thought to be of great benefit to the body’s ability to defend itself against toxins and diseases.

However, Kell indicates that excess vitamin C can in fact have the opposite effect if unliganded iron is present. Only when iron is suitably and safely bound (“chelated”) will vitamin C work.

Kell said: “Much of modern biology has been concerned with the role of different genes in human disease.

”The importance of iron may have been missed because there is no gene for iron as such. What I have highlighted in this work is therefore a crucial area for further investigation, as many simple predictions follow from my analysis,” he said.




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Health Related articles updated on daily Basis

Garlic, a secret weapon for blood pressure
(Reuters)

18 November 2010
SYDNEY - Have high blood pressure? Australian scientists may have a new solution but it wont win you a lot of friends.
The secret weapon is garlic, according to a study published in the scientific journal Maturitas.
In a 12-week trial involving 50 patients, Karen Reid and a team of colleagues at the University of Adelaide discovered that those who took four capsules a day of a supplement called aged garlic extract had blood pressure around 10mmHg lower than a group given a placebo.
Reid said that garlic taken in any other way, whether raw, fresh or in powdered form, doesnt have the same effect.
When you cook fresh garlic the ingredient which is responsible for reducing blood pressure disappears, she said.
I think the really important point to make is that aged garlic extract as a supplement is the secret weapon for blood pressure.
Garlic has long been thought to be good for the heart, and traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine practioners have been promoting the benefits of garlic as a preventative of high blood pressure for centuries.
Garlic has been used as a treatment to lower blood pressure in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years, said Sundari Ganesh, a practioner of Ayurvedic medicine, told Reuters by phone.
But Reid said their research was the first to assess the impact of aged garlic extract, adding that it was evaluated as an additional treatment to other high blood pressure medication.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease and renal failure.
The risk of disease increases as the level of blood pressure increases. High blood pressure is associated with other risks.
Around 1 billion people globally suffer from high blood pressure.

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[Night_Hawk]

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Managing diabetes during stress or illness
Dr Zain Gulzar

13 November 2010
Managing sugar control in diabetes is hard enough as any one who has diabetes or who has cared for a loved one with diabetes would know. But this may become even more challenging when there is any physical or psychological stress.
[FONT=&quot]Examples of physical stress may be: fever, infection, pain, insomnia (lack of sleep). Examples of psychological stress are work related tension, emotional situations such as bereavement or domestic quarrels. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The reason these situations affect diabetes is they prompt the release of certain hormones by the body which are needed to overcome stress (like cortisol). [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]One of the effects of these hormones is to raise blood glucose.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you can identify the cause of your stress and control it by yourself, the following tips may help you achieve better glucose control more effectively.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]l[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Check blood glucose levels more frequently than you usually do, especially if you see higher blood sugar numbers than usual.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]l[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Do not stop taking insulin or medications unless directed by your physician. The requirements of these medications increase during times of stress.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]l[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Even if you have a cold and lose your appetite, stay on your normal diet; the diet must be healthy and balanced as advised by your doctor (preferably an American Diabetic Association {ADA} recommended diet).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]l[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Keep your body well hydrated by drinking plenty of water/non-sweetened fluid frequently during the day, especially if you have fever. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]l[/FONT][FONT=&quot] If your blood glucose level is high, drink normal water. If it is low, drink liquids with about 15 grams of carbohydrates in them, such as apple juice or milk.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]l[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Be cautious of over-the-counter cold or flu medicines. Some medicines can raise your blood glucose and blood pressure levels. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]l[/FONT][FONT=&quot] For people with type 1 diabetes (diabetes treated with insulin only) check urine for ketones. Presence of ketones in the urine usually signifies lack of insulin. If that is the case, notify your doctor.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you find that you are unable to achieve your blood sugar levels under stressful situations call your doctor or make an earlier appointment.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot] Dr Zain Gulzar MD, FACE is Specialist Endocrinologist at The Dubai Mall Medical Centre.
[/FONT]
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[Night_Hawk]

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Khaleej Times Online > HEALTH

Beetroot juice helps elderly prevent dementia
(IANS)

3 November 2010
Washington - Drinking beetroot juice can increase blood flow to the brain in older adults, potentially halting the progresses of dementia.
”There have been several studies showing that drinking beet juice can lower blood pressure, but we wanted to show that drinking beet juice also increases perfusion, or blood flow, to the brain,” said Daniel Kim-Shapiro, director of Wake Forest University’s Translational Science Center.

”There are areas in the brain that become poorly perfused as you age, and that’s believed to be associated with dementia and poor cognition,” Shapiro said.

High concentrations of nitrates are found in beets, as well as in celery, cabbage and other leafy green vegetables like spinach and lettuce, reports the journal Nitric Oxide: Biology and Chemistry.

When you eat high-nitrate foods, ‘good bacteria’ in the mouth turn nitrate into nitrite, according to a Wake Forest statement.

Research has found that nitrites can help open up the blood vessels in the body, increasing blood and oxygen flow.

In the study, researchers looked at how dietary nitrates affected a group of adults aged 70 and above.

The MRIs showed that after eating a high-nitrate diet for four days, blood flow to the white matter of the frontal lobes increased. This area is commonly associated with degeneration that leads to dementia and other cognitive conditions.


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[Night_Hawk]

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Spoonful of honey boosts energy
(IANS)

13 December 2010
LONDON - Ancient Greek athletes consumed honey to boost their energy and performance levels during Olympics events as it contains glucose and fructose, known to produce tremendous reserves of glycogen in the liver.
Having a spoonful of unprocessed honey before bed can support your brain function. The fructose is stored as energy reserves in the liver, ready to fuel the brain overnight.

Indeed, honey boosts the immune system and has an antibacterial effect internally and externally, helping the body to heal, reports the Daily Mail.

Colds are caused by viruses and honey is a natural antiviral. In a Pennsylvania State College of Medicine study, a spoonful of honey outperformed over-the-counter cold remedies, according to a Penn State statement.

Research in 2007 by Shone Blair at Sydney University concluded that honey dressings for superbug wound infections should be used as a ‘first choice’.

Honey supports friendly gut bacteria, aiding digestion, and is good for those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and thrush. According to previous studies, one should consume take two teaspoons three times a day for gastric ulcers.



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[Night_Hawk]

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Extra coffee can double stroke risk
(IANS)

14 December 2010
Drinking an extra cup or two of coffee can double stroke risk for light coffee drinkers, says a new study.
[FONT=&quot]

Light coffee drinkers - who drink coffee just once or twice a day - are twice as likely to suffer a brain blood clot if they have an extra cup or two, the study found.

The risk of a potentially fatal stroke was greatest in the hour following consumption. After two hours, coffee’s effects had worn off and the risk of a stroke passed, reports the journal Neurology.

But the danger lies in occasional exposure to relatively higher caffeine levels, which made light coffee drinkers more susceptible, according to the Daily Mail.

This could be because coffee-lovers who get through several cups a day become ‘desensitised’ to the effects of caffeine, like raised blood pressure, stiffening of arteries and higher norepinephrine levels, a stress hormone that increases heart rate.

Experts at Harvard Medical School in US studied 400 stroke victims, comparing each one’s coffee intake in the hour before their stroke with their usual consumption over the previous year. Around one in 10 had consumed coffee less than an hour before falling ill.

The consumption was linked with a risk of stroke in the subsequent hour which was twice as high as during the periods where there was no coffee consumption.

Researchers found no such association with caffeinated tea or cola. The risk was mainly confined to those who exceed their normal intake of a cup or so a day.[/FONT]


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[Night_Hawk]

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Does lunch in front of PC make us eat more?
Amy Norton (Reuters)

18 December 2010
NEW YORK - Many of us eat lunch parked in front of a computer, but that habit might be boosting our appetite for dessert, a small study suggests.
In a lab study of 44 men and women, researchers found that those who ate lunch while playing a computer game ended up eating more cookies 30 minutes later than those who’d had their lunch with no distractions.
The reason? Researchers say the computer users had a fuzzier memory of their lunch and felt less full afterward compared with the computer-free lunch group.
This suggests, they say, that distractions like computers and TV muddy our memories of mealtime, which in turn may have real effects on appetite.
“We think that memory for recent meals influences the amount of food that we select and then consume at a subsequent meal,” researcher Jeffrey M. Brunstrom, of the University of Bristol in the UK, told Reuters Health in an e-mail.
“When our memory is poor,” he said, “then at a subsequent meal we tend to select and consume a greater amount of food.”
Past research has suggested that people are prone to eat more when they dine in front of a TV instead of at the kitchen table — possibly because they are paying more attention to the screen than to what their stomachs are telling them.
“We know from several studies that distraction can increase the amount that people consume in a meal,” Brunstrom said. “Here, we extend this finding to show that the effects of distraction last beyond a meal.”
The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, involved 44 volunteers who were assigned to one of two groups. In one, participants ate a set lunch while playing solitaire on a computer; those in the other group had the same meal with no distractions.
Thirty minutes after the meal, both groups took a cookie “taste test,” in which they could sample as many of the sweet treats as they wanted. They were also asked to recall all nine items they’d eaten at lunch, and the order in which the foods were served.
On average, the researchers found, the computer group downed roughly 250 calories’ worth of cookies, while their counterparts ate only half as much.
In addition, the computer group had more difficulty remembering the order in which their lunchtime fare was served, and typically reported feeling less full after lunch.
The findings suggest — though do not prove — that effects on memory might account for the greater cookie craving in the computer group, according to Brunstrom’s team.
The study was, of course, conducted under controlled lab conditions. Whether the findings hold true in the real world — where many factors could affect what and how much we eat — is unknown.
Brunstrom said he and his colleagues plan to study that question in the future.
For now, Brunstrom said, “one implication is that we should avoid eating while distracted, which means eating away from our computer screens and TV sets.”
And what about non-technological distractions, like having a conversation during dinner or reading the newspaper at breakfast?
There’s some evidence they could thwart your diet, too. One lab study found that both eating while watching TV and eating with friends boosted calorie intake to a similar degree, versus eating distraction-free. (Eating with strangers did not, however.) Another found that people ate more when they listened to a recorded story during their meal.
[FONT=&quot]Still, Brunstrom and his colleagues say their findings are particularly relevant in today’s technology-driven, “multi-tasking” world, where people are increasingly dining in front of a screen. And that includes children, they note; one US study found that up to a quarter of kids’ calorie intake occurs in front of a TV.

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[rajakhanmd]

Re: Health Related articles updated on daily Basis, Alzheimers at bay with purple fruit

@Night Hawk:

Sir, yeh to aap apnay hum-paesha logoo.n ke kamai pay laat maar rhey hai.n.

 

[Night_Hawk]

Re: Health Related articles updated on daily Basis, Alzheimers at bay with purple fruit

@Night Hawk:

Sir, yeh to aap apnay hum-paesha logoo.n ke kamai pay laat maar rhey hai.n.

Sir woh kaisay, kia koi apnay paoon pe kulhari mar sakta hay.:):)

 

[Night_Hawk]

Re: Health Related articles updated on daily Basis, Alzheimers at bay with purple fruit

Anger and how it affects our health
Samineh I Shaheem

18 December 2010
Anger is a normal human response and emotion, especially when faced with a challenging situation in which we do not feel as if we have any other emotion to help us handle the confrontation.
[FONT=&quot]To a certain extent, the occasional release of powerful emotions which might otherwise be pent up in our psychological system, is a necessary aspect of our interpersonal expression. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Anger is “an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage,” according to Charles Spielberger, PhD, a psychologist who specialises in the study of anger. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Similar to other emotions, anger is accompanied by physiological and biological changes. Therefore when you get angry, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones and adrenaline. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There are times when anger is triggered by external events, such as a co-worker behaving in an inappropriate manner. Now it is very important to keep in mind that the angry reaction you have towards that co-worker is influenced by a number of other factors that we should evaluate when analysing the situation, such as:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Has the co worker behaved in that manner before?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Have you tried to ask the coworker to change their behavior[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Did you feel humiliated or degraded in front of others?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]What kind of day were you having before the incident?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Are you facing personal problems at home which has made you more sensitive? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Did you receive any support from anyone else?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]What was it about your behavior which could have triggered the incident? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Other times, your anger could be internally driven. Such as in cases when worrying excessively over personal [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]problems or continuously entertaining thoughts or memories of traumatic or enraging events can trigger angry [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]feelings. Often times, engaging in this thought process doesn’t bring about any positive feelings or solutions,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] in fact quite the opposite. Thinking and not acting can simply result in feeling trapped in the struggles faced,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] without a hope for a resolution. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This type of anger is one of the most common and destructive misapprehensions, afflicting our choices, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]decisions and relationships everyday. To solve the problem of confused anger we need to start by [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]releasing the emotion of anger and looking at the issue at hand, objectively. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Furthermore, if anger isn’t handled in a healthy, not only does it cause discomfort, but it even damages [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]one’s health and personal life. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As reported by Scott (2008) a study from the University of Washington School of Nursing studied anger [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]problems in husbands and wives. Researchers cited previous evidence that anger problems and depressive[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] symptoms have been linked to all major causes of death, but found that wives specifically found a greater [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]association between anger and symptoms of depression, while men tended to instead experience [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]an association between anger and health problems. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Health problems associated with unmanaged anger: The increased amount of stress chemicals [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]and associated metabolic changes that comes with recurrent unmanaged anger can ultimately cause [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]harm to many different systems of the body. Some of the short and long term health problems that [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]have been linked to unmanaged anger include: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Nausea
υ Headaches
υ Digestion problems, such as abdominal pain
υ Insomnia
υ Agitation and [/FONT][FONT=&quot]frustration
υ Increased anxiety
υ Panic attacks
υ Vomiting
υ Depression
υ High blood pressure
υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Skin problems
υ Heart attack
υ Stroke[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Managing anger [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]To begin with, when managing anger, you need to objectively try and uncover the real source of your annoyance. After which you will be able to come up with helpful solutions to eradicate the frustration. Secondly, try to recognise and accept this emotion as normal and part of life; learn to deal with and manage it effectively. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Occasionally you are in a situation in which you don’t have enough time to reflect upon or consider the dimensions of an issue carefully. During these instances, when you need to react spontaneously, it is better advised that you school your emotions and instead of getting angry you should try to walk away from the situation temporarily, until you cool down.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Some other suggestions for long-term anger management include:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Speak to a psychologist on a regular basis to sort out the tangled emotions in your life or if you feel angry about past events[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Keep a diary of your anger outbursts, to try and understand how and why you get mad[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Learn the difference between assertiveness and aggression [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Learn techniques of conflict resolution[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Learn relaxation techniques, such as meditation or yoga[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Exercise[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]υ [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Confront the people causing you anger rather than repressing those thoughts and emotions. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In conclusion, always remember, ‘For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.’ Emerson[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]—Samineh I Shaheem is an author, an assistant professor of psychology, currently lecturing in Dubai, as well as a cross cultural consultant at the Human Relations Institute. She has appeared on numerous radio programs and conferences and has studied and worked in different parts of the world, including the United Sates of America, UK, Netherlands, and the UAE. Please forward your thoughts to [email protected]

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[Night_Hawk]

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Douse that anger with spoonful of sugar
(IANS)

3 December 2010
High sugar levels seem to help control aggression and prevent loss of temper, so indicates a study.
[FONT=&quot]Ohio State University researchers in the US compared the behaviour of sugar-starved volunteers with those who had been given a sweet drink, and concluded the latter were less inclined to snap.

Researchers believe the effect is caused by glucose, a simple sugar found in the bloodstream that provides energy for the brain, reports the journal Aggressive Behaviour.

Study co-author Brad Bushman from Ohio State University said: "Avoiding aggressive impulses takes self control, and self control takes a lot of energy. Glucose provides that energy in the brain, according to the Daily Mail.

"Drinking sweetened lemonade helped provide the short-term energy needed to avoid lashing out at others," Bushman added.

In two published papers, Bushman and colleagues conducted several studies showing that people who have trouble metabolising, or using glucose in their bodies show more evidence of aggression and less willingness to forgive others.

The problem is that the number of people who have trouble metabolising glucose - mainly those with diabetes - is rising rapidly.

"Diabetes may not only harm your - it is bad for society. The healthy metabolism of glucose may contribute to a more peaceful society by providing people with a higher level of energy for self-control," said Bushman.
[/FONT]
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[Night_Hawk]

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Eating almonds can stave off infections
(IANS)
2 November 2010
LONDON - Eating almonds regularly can help you stave off viral infections like the common cold and flu.
[FONT=&quot]A new study has revealed that naturally occurring chemicals found in the skin of the nut boost the immune systems response to such infections.

Researchers found almond skins improved the ability of the white blood cells to detect viruses while also increasing the bodys ability to prevent viruses from replicating and spreading inside the body, according to the journal Immunology Letters.

They discovered that even after the almonds had been digested, the immune system was more poised to act against viruses, reports the Telegraph.

Researchers found that almond skin extracts were effective against even Herpes Simplex Virus 2, which can cause cold sores. The virus is notoriously difficult to treat due to its ability to evade the immune system.

The scientists, based at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, Britain and the Policlinico Universitario in Messina, Italy, said their findings suggest that the nuts can increase the immune systems ability to fight off a wide range of viruses, including those that cause flu and the common cold.

They said they, however, still have to carry out research on how many almonds must be eaten to obtain a beneficial effect.

Giuseppina Mandalari from the Institute of Food Research said: Almond skins are able to stimulate the immune response and thus contribute to an antiviral immune defence.

It was likely that eating almonds regularly could help protect people from becoming infected with viruses in the first place, while it could also help those already infected to fight off their illness.
[/FONT]


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[Night_Hawk]

Our brains have built-in lie detector
(IANS)

23 December 2010
Scientists have discovered a circuit in our brain that lets us predict when someone is about to lie to us.
[FONT=&quot]

Humans have the ability to imagine what others are thinking and learn from their social habits, giving them clues as to when something is amiss.

The findings could also help explain why some people become paranoid. Scientists from the Oxford University scanned volunteers’ brains while they chose one to two boxes to win points.

The participants were sent advice on which box to choose from a second player who was sometimes dishonest, reports the Daily Mail.

When the volunteers suspected they were being lied to, activity levels in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DPFC), an area near the front of the brain, rose dramatically.

If a volunteer thought the player was telling the truth, the brain activity remained low.

If their suspicions were proved wrong, the brain activity changed, suggesting the volunteers needed to rethink their opinion of the second player.

The activity was predicting how trustworthy the advice would be, then reacting to the results of that prediction.

Failures of this system could explain why those with schizophrenia are often paranoid.

Research team leader Matthew Rushworth of the Oxford University said: “We are trying to find a specific circuit of the brain that performs social learning.”

His work was presented at a Cell Press Lablinks conference in London earlier this month.[/FONT]


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[Night_Hawk]

Dairy foods 'could help prevent diabetes'

Dairy foods 'could help prevent diabetes'

The fat in dairy is a good source trans-palmitoleic acid
A natural substance found in dairy products appears to protect against diabetes, say researchers.
Trans-palmitoleic acid is present in milk, cheese, yoghurt and butter but cannot be made by the body.
A study of over 3,700 people found higher levels of trans-palmitoleic acid was linked with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.
People with the highest levels cut their risk by 60%, Annals of Internal Medicine reports.
Lead author of the research, Dr Dariush Mozaffarian, said: "The magnitude of this association is striking.
"This represents an almost three-fold difference in risk of developing diabetes among individuals with the highest blood levels of this fatty acid."

Milk and dairy foods can be high in fat, which if eaten in excess can contribute to weight gain. So it's advisable to choose lower-fat dairy foods instead

Deepa Khatri of Diabetes UK
Recommended amounts Deepa Khatri, clinical advisor at Diabetes UK, said: "People should not take the findings of this research as a reason to exceed the recommended portion amounts of dairy food in order to prevent their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
"Milk and dairy foods can be high in fat, which if eaten in excess can contribute to weight gain. So it's advisable to choose lower-fat dairy foods instead.
Experts say more research is needed to see whether these trans-palmitoleic acids can play a useful role in preventing Type 2 diabetes.
In the meantime, they recommend that all people, with or without diabetes, should have a healthy balanced diet, low in fat, salt and sugar with plenty of fruit and vegetables.
It is not recommended for people to increase their intake of any one food type in order to prevent their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
The latest work tracked the health of the study participants over a 20-year period.
The results showed that higher levels of trans-palmitoleic acid were associated with healthier levels of blood cholesterol, insulin levels and insulin sensitivity, even when other factors were taken into account.
Experts estimate type 2 diabetes affects more than 2.3m people in the UK. Up to half a million more Britons also have the condition but do not yet know it.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12049624

 

[wanderer]

Re: Dairy foods 'could help prevent diabetes'

Dairy foods 'could help prevent diabetes'

The fat in dairy is a good source trans-palmitoleic acid
A natural substance found in dairy products appears to protect against diabetes, say researchers.
Trans-palmitoleic acid is present in milk, cheese, yoghurt and butter but cannot be made by the body.
A study of over 3,700 people found higher levels of trans-palmitoleic acid was linked with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.
People with the highest levels cut their risk by 60%, Annals of Internal Medicine reports.
Lead author of the research, Dr Dariush Mozaffarian, said: "The magnitude of this association is striking.
"This represents an almost three-fold difference in risk of developing diabetes among individuals with the highest blood levels of this fatty acid."

“Milk and dairy foods can be high in fat, which if eaten in excess can contribute to weight gain. So it's advisable to choose lower-fat dairy foods instead”

Deepa Khatri of Diabetes UK
Recommended amounts Deepa Khatri, clinical advisor at Diabetes UK, said: "People should not take the findings of this research as a reason to exceed the recommended portion amounts of dairy food in order to prevent their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
"Milk and dairy foods can be high in fat, which if eaten in excess can contribute to weight gain. So it's advisable to choose lower-fat dairy foods instead.
Experts say more research is needed to see whether these trans-palmitoleic acids can play a useful role in preventing Type 2 diabetes.
In the meantime, they recommend that all people, with or without diabetes, should have a healthy balanced diet, low in fat, salt and sugar with plenty of fruit and vegetables.
It is not recommended for people to increase their intake of any one food type in order to prevent their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
The latest work tracked the health of the study participants over a 20-year period.
The results showed that higher levels of trans-palmitoleic acid were associated with healthier levels of blood cholesterol, insulin levels and insulin sensitivity, even when other factors were taken into account.
Experts estimate type 2 diabetes affects more than 2.3m people in the UK. Up to half a million more Britons also have the condition but do not yet know it.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12049624

Good read,

But depends which 60% of the population were used for this survey ? what location the candidates were from, and what background did they rise from ??

But in any case cheese was proved to help in loosing weight a couple of years ago.

 

[Night_Hawk]

Olive oil and veggies help the heart
(Reuters)

31 December 2010
It’s no secret that eating well is good for both body and mind, so it may not come as a surprise that a new study finds women who eat more olive oil and leafy vegetables such as salads and cooked spinach are significantly less likely to develop heart disease.
A group of Italian researchers found that women who ate at least 1 serving of leafy vegetables per day were more than 40 percent less likely to develop heart disease over an average of eight years, relative to women who ate two or fewer portions of those vegetables each week.

Women who downed at least 3 tablespoons of olive oil daily - such as in salad dressing - were also 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with heart disease, compared to women who ate the least olive oil.
It’s not exactly clear why specifically leafy vegetables and olive oil may protect the heart, study author Dr. Domenico Palli of the Cancer Research and Prevention Institute in Florence told Reuters Health. “Probably the mechanisms responsible for the protective effect of plant-origin foods on cardiovascular diseases involve micronutrients such as folate, antioxidant vitamins and potassium, all present in green leafy vegetables.”
Folate reduces blood levels of homocysteine, Palli explained, which is thought to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by damaging the inner lining of arteries. Other studies have shown people who eat more potassium have lower blood pressure, which can protect the cardiovascular system. Virgin olive oil may be particularly effective at lowering heart disease risk because of its high level of antioxidant plant compounds, he added.
This is not the first study to link olive oil or vegetables to good heart health. Most famously, the traditional Mediterranean diet—rich in vegetables and monounsaturated fats from olive oil and nuts, but low in saturated fat from meat and dairy—has been tied to a decreased risk of heart disease.
Mediterranean-style eating has also been credited with lowering risk for some cancers, diabetes, and, more recently, with slowing brain aging (See Reuters Health story of December 29, 2010).
Cardiovascular disease is a major killer, responsible for 30 percent of all deaths worldwide and the leading cause of death for both men and women in the US.
To look more closely at the role of foods in protecting against heart disease, Palli and colleagues reviewed dietary information collected from nearly 30,000 Italian women participating in a large national health study. Researchers followed the women, whose mean age was 50 at the beginning of the study, for an average of 8 years, noting who developed heart disease.
In that time, the women experienced 144 major heart disease-related events, such as heart attack or bypass surgery, the authors report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Women who ate at least one daily serving (about two ounces) of leafy vegetables - such as raw lettuce or endives, or cooked vegetables like spinach or chard—had a 46 percent lower risk of developing heart disease than women who ate at most two portions per week.
Consuming at least an ounce of olive oil per day lowered their risk by 44 percent relative to women who consumed a half-ounce or less daily, the authors found.
The women’s intake of other types of vegetables, such as roots and cabbages, and their consumption of tomatoes or fruit did not seem to be linked to their risk for major heart events.
Both fruits and vegetables have been associated with heart benefits in past studies conducted elsewhere in Europe and in North America. The authors caution that the apparent lack of positive effect from high fruit consumption in their results may have something to do with a different attitude toward fruit in Italy. It is cheap, varied and easily available, so eating a lot of fruit is a widespread habit but it does not necessarily signal that the rest of someone’s diet is as healthy, the authors wrote.
Another issue with the study, Palli noted in an e-mail, is that women had to report how much they ate of various items, and some may not have remembered their diets accurately, or may have changed their eating habits during the study period. In addition, people sometimes over-estimate their healthy behaviours, believing they eat healthier than they really do.


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[Night_Hawk]

Healthwise: Feed your mind
Samineh I Shaheem

1 January 2011
Just when thought you couldn’t entertain another conversation about food after all the recent holiday food fests, you come across this article.
You won’t have to loosen your belt buckle here but you will have to open another window in your mind. Do you eat only when hungry? Do you live to eat or eat to live? Do you skip meals because you forget to eat or plan the next meal as soon as you have finished one?

These questions sound quite simple, right? Wrong. The answers to these queries will differ from person to person and are actually much more complicated than we could ever imagine. Perhaps we can gain a better understanding of these ideas through the information highlighted by experts in the filed of food psychology; an innovative discipline related to human behavior that looks at the association between our thoughts, feelings, moods and the food we consume, which could either benefit or compromise our health and well being.
The relationship we have with food begins in the early years of life. What we are taught by our parents as well as the different eating related behaviors we observe, influence all of us right into adulthood.
The three most common ways we are shaped or types of conditioning that occur in childhood are:
1. You are told to eat everything on your plate, and if you don’t eat it all you will be punished because you won’t grow up to be big and strong. So what happens here is that different eating habits and quantity capabilities of children aren’t taken into account. We learnt that we had to eat what everyone else is eating around us and had to finish all the food, even if we weren’t hungry. Hence as adults we replicate this learning that has gone on by often feeling pressure to finish what’s on our plate, even if we feel full.
2. We associate social activities and gatherings with food. Now this has many positive aspects to it and the sharing of food during meals is a beautiful ritual throughout all cultures. However, what tends to happen is that we over emphasis the food factor so the focus on social interaction and communication is often overshadowed by the food we consume during these gatherings. Why not try getting together with friends without including food as a central variable? Even as a suggestion, especially in this part of the world, it sounds quite challenging, agreed.
3. Another eating habit shaped by early conditioning is that food can be used as a reward or punishment. I’m sure all of us remember being given chocolate, sweets, ice-cream or other such treats as a reward for good behavior. Now this is somewhat contradictory in what we have been taught. If sweets are bad for us, than why are they used as rewards for good behavior? Isn’t that sending a mixed message since ultimately sugar filled artificial junk items shouldn’t really be used as rewards if they are bad for us, should they?
Therefore if you have been eating healthy and on the right track in regards to diet and exercise, giving yourself a day off by allowing tons of calorie filled carb and sugary type food might not be a wise reward at all, but rather a regressive punishment. Instead, buy yourself a new outfit rather than a box of doughnuts.
Food psychology experts believe that aside from what we learnt from our parents, there are a few more aspects that can influence our feelings about food and eating behaviors. Such as:

• Life experience
• Travel
• Cultural factors
• Social factors
• Familial factors
• Personality factors
• Influence of a partner

There are also positive and negative consequences associated with certain eating habits. Most of us eat for reasons that may not be directly related to hunger. We eat out of loneliness, depression, frustration, anger or even as a way of celebration. In other words we tend to use food to help ease underlying emotions, such as fear, worry anxiety or even euphoria.
If feeling down or slightly irritable, food might help you to deal with negative feelings, temporarily. In the long term, however, dealing with stress by eating, especially the wrong foods, can actually amplify negative feelings because the root problem causing the stress is not being dealt with directly. Moreover, you may struggle with feelings of guilt, due to over eating and your self-image might become negative if you gain weight.
The connectivity between your mind, perceptions and urges for certain food is so strong that a recent study conducted by psychologist Carey Morewedge, reported that if you imagine yourself eating something, you can actually control your appetite for it. This new concept is known as the ‘Imagine Diet’ and if it truly does what it says then by looking at or imagining pictures of hamburgers & chocolate cake, we can begin resisting the actual temptation of wanting to consume them. If only!
Now if imagining doesn’t work, there are some foods that you can actually indulge in, which can enhance your mood and be beneficial, if consumed in moderation.
These include:

• Oatmeal
• Milk
• Chocolate
• Avocado
• Rice, bread, noodles or pasta
• Oily fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines
• Bananas
• Almonds
• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Blueberries
• Beans and soybeans
• Nuts
• Coffee

Just remember, as long as you’re not eating excessively or mindlessly munching to relieve yourself, feeding your mood with the above-mentioned delicious options can be a healthy and effective way to help you function at your physical and emotional best. Happy New Year to all!
Samineh I Shaheem is an author, an assistant professor of psychology, currently lecturing in Dubai, as well as a cross cultural consultant at the Human Relations Institute. She has appeared on numerous radio programs and conferences and has studied and worked in different parts of the world, including the United Sates of America, UK, Netherlands, and the UAE. Please forward your thoughts to [email protected]


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[Night_Hawk]

High good cholesterol linked to long life
High good cholesterol linked to long life
(Reuters)

25 February 2011
Men who reach their 85th birthdays tended to have high levels of good cholesterol while in their 60s, a new study says.
Researchers found that men with the highest good (HDL) cholesterol were 28 percent less likely to die before they reached 85, compared to men in the lowest HDL group.
This paper, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, adds to the evidence that HDL is important for a long life, said Dr. Nir Barzilai, who heads the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and was not part of the study.
However, “we always have to remember that it’s an association,” and it does not mean that having high HDL increases life span, he told Reuters Health.
About 12 million men suffered from heart disease and stroke in 2006, but high levels of HDL cholesterol may reduce the risks, according to the American Heart Association.
Low levels of HDL, less than 40 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood for men, are known to increase the risk of heart disease, according to the heart association.
The researchers, from the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology and Research Information Center in Boston, looked at the medical records of about 650 veterans when they were around 65 years old, then grouped them based on HDL levels.
Starting with low levels of 40 mg/dL, they found that for each ten mg/dL increase of HDL, the men were 14 percent less likely to have died by 85. Overall, 375 survived to that age.
Also, fewer of the men with higher HDL were overweight, and they tended not to have more than 2 drinks a day. And fewer of them had heart disease or smoked, compared to the lowest HDL group.
These other factors might have had an effect on survival, Barzilai said. However, the researchers did account for this, and still showed a link between reaching 85 and high HDL levels, he told Reuters Health.
“It’s difficult to change HDL levels,” Barzilai said. Exercise might raise it a few points, but it isn’t a very efficient way to improve, he said. “We need to get a drug eventually.”
Merck and Roche are both working on an HDL raising drug, he told Reuters Health. Pfizer stopped its research into another such drug, torcetrapib, in 2006 because people taking it along with Lipitor in a study had a higher rate of death.
The B-vitamin niacin may raise HDL levels 15 to 35 percent. However, side effects can include liver damage and increased blood sugar, according to the Mayo Clinic.
A three-month supply costs about nine dollars. Niacin is also found in dairy products, lean meats, nuts, eggs and fish.
However, it’s unclear how much raising HDL will prevent heart disease, Barzilai said, so whether drugs might improve people’s health remains to be seen.
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[Night_Hawk]

High-fibre diet could cut risk of premature death
(Reuters)

19 February 2011
NEW YORK - People who eat a lot of fibre every day may be less likely to die prematurely from a range of illnesses — including heart disease, cancer and infection, according to a US study.
[FONT=&quot]The benefits of fibre in weight loss, lowering cholesterol and protecting against heart disease have been well established by previous studies, but researchers said the finding that it might also help prevent other common killers was new.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“The results from this study suggest that fibre may have broader health benefits than what has been found before,” said Frank Hu, who studies nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health and wrote an editorial accompanying the study, which appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“The bottom line is that fibre should be a staple in our diet, and we should strive to eat as much fibre as possible,” Hu told Reuters Health, though he added that some of the benefits found in the current study need to be examined further.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that adult women should eat about 25 grams (0.9 oz) of fibre each day and men about 38 grams. A half cup of boiled lentils contains about 8 grams of fibre, while a half cup of raw almonds has nearly 9 grams.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For the study, 400,000 members of the American Association of Retired People (AARP) were tracked by Yikyung Park of the National Cancer Institute and her colleagues.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In 1995 and 1996, when they were between 51 and 71 years old, the participants filled out a survey about eating habits, with additional information gathered about their physical activity levels, weight and smoking status. Using national databases of death and causes of death, the team was able to determine which of the original study participants died, and from what causes, over an average follow-up period of nine years.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Comparing people in the lowest quartile — men who ate 13 grams and women who ate 11 grams a day — with those in the highest, where men consumed an average of 29 grams and women 26 grams, the researchers found that people who ate the most fibre were 22 per cent less likely to have died of any cause during the study than people who ate the least.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]That pattern remained when the results were broken down by cause of death.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“Fibre intake also lowered the risk of death from cardiovascular, infectious and respiratory diseases by 24 to 56 per cent in men and by 34 to 59 per cent in women,” the authors wrote. For men only, eating more fibre was also linked to a lower risk of cancer mortality.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Overall, fibre had a greater protective effect when it came from grains rather than fruits, vegetables or beans, perhaps because whole grains contain vitamins and minerals that have been shown to prevent disease, Hu said.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]But the study did not prove that fibre directly prevents premature death, the researchers said, noting that they had to trust that participants had accurately described their diets and that further study is needed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Also, while the researchers factored in things such as exercise and body weight, “people who eat high-fibre (diets) in general tend to have a healthier lifestyle,” Park said.
[/FONT]
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[Night_Hawk]

Unhealthy waves
Unhealthy waves
Samineh I. Shaheem

26 February 2011
We all have one, use it many times a day, can’t leave home without it, feel lost when we don’t have it, comes in many styles, shapes and colours and connects us to others in a quick and efficient way.
In case you still haven’t figured out what I am referring to, take a look at the object sitting loyally next to you, waiting to be used. That’s right, your mobile telephone.
Use of the mobile phones has increased dramatically since they were introduced about two decades ago. Today approximately five billion mobile phones are in use worldwide. All you need to do is look around a busy street and 3 out of 5 people will probably be somehow allied with their devoted device, often bumping into each other or totally unaware of their surroundings.
Now there is no doubt that our lives have forever changed, (for good and bad) since the increased usage and dependency of mobile phones. The speed at which we communicate, the constant access we have to people and the way it has affected our social interaction are only small glimpses into the manner mobile phones have transformed our lives. According to Dr Farrell, we have become so dependant on our mobile phones that if we aren’t constantly connected to others we might suffer from anxiety and feelings of disorientation. Although her research is in its preliminary stages, she calls this state of mind
Cell Phone Deprivation Syndrome.

Other experts have talked about ‘phantom vibration/ring syndrome’ or ‘vibranxiety’ describing the feeling when several times a day you run to answer your ringing/vibrating mobile phone only to realise it was never ringing to begin with. Sound familiar?
Besides the psychological and social impact the mobile phone culture has had on our lives, more recent analysis has looked at the way in which excessive usage can actually make us ill or even alter brain activity, affecting a person’s overall health.
To begin with, people use their phone everywhere. In public crowded spaces, placing it down on different surfaces, even using it in the bathroom where germs live quite happily. Therefore it is feared that most mobile phones are swarming with bacteria, also because of the close distance to the mouth where germs can be passed from breathing, coughing and sneezing.
One can take more hygiene precautions to sanitize the device however what about the point regarding altering brain activity? Apparently if we spend 50 minutes or more with a mobile phone glued to our head, it is enough to change brain cell activity in parts of the brain closest to that region. Although Dr Volkow and other experts have uncovered some interesting correlations between mobile phone usage and serious health consequences, she warns that it is still early days and therefore we do not need to jump to conclusions about brain tumors or cancer. ‘The study (brain activity alteration) is important because it documents that the human brain is sensitive to the electromagnetic radiation that is emitted by cellphones,’ Dr Volkow alleges. ‘It also highlights the importance of doing studies to address the question of whether there are or are not long-lasting consequences of repeated stimulation, of getting exposed to these phones, over five, 10 or 15 years.’
Regardless of what we know now or discover in future research, Volkow strongly recommends the use of a headset or earpiece when using a mobile phone.
Other than that, we should all try and exercise some responsible mobile phone etiquette such as:
υ Not sleeping near your phone or allow ringing/vibrating to disturb your time of rest
υ Avoid contact with mobile phones while driving (32% of all auto accidents are caused by drivers talking or texting)
υ Clean your phone a few times a day
υ Avoid having loud private conversations when others are around
υ Keep your conversations short and concise…another benefit is money saved
υ Use landlines when you can
υ Turn your phone off when at the cinema
υ Avoid having multiple conversations such ordering food while still on the phone
υ Do not interrupt your ‘real’ time with friends/family by wasting it on ‘phone’ time
υ Do not purchase mobile phones for children since they do not yet understand the negative consequences irresponsible usage
υ Do not text and talk…its very irritating to others, no matter how good you think you are at multitasking
Still, it wouldn’t be reasonable to end this discussion without acknowledging the way mobile phone technology has enhanced our daily life and constantly provides us with easier more efficient methods of communication and connectivity. This benefit however doesn’t come without a cost. As long as we use technology sensibly, and ride the waves of innovation with caution, we can reap the many benefits it has to offer without becoming techi slaves.

[FONT=&quot]—Samineh I Shaheem is an author, an assistant professor of psychology, currently lecturing in Dubai, as well as a cross cultural consultant at the Human Relations Institute. She has appeared on numerous radio programs and conferences and has studied and worked in different parts of the world, including the United States of America, UK, Netherlands, and the UAE. Please forward your thoughts to [email protected][/FONT]


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