Jul 04
| Scientists have found that the compound resveratrol — found in red wine and grape skin — slows age-related deterioration and functional decline of mice on a standard diet, but does not increase longevity when started at middle age. |
| Total cholesterol was significantly reduced in 22-month-old non-obese mice after 10 months of resveratrol treatment, although triglyceride levels had only a slight, non-significant trend toward a decrease. Further, the aortas of 18-month-old obese and non-obese mice treated with resveratrol functioned significantly better than untreated mice. Resveratrol also moderated inflammation in the heart. |
|
Treated mice tended to have better bone health, as measured by thickness, volume, mineral content and density, and bending stiffness compared to the non-treated control group.
|
|
At 30 months of age, resveratrol-treated mice were found to have reduced cataract formation, a condition found to increase with age in control-group mice.
|
|
|
written by admin
\\ tags: red wine, resveratrol
Jul 03
Many still continue to invest in diet books promising rapid weight loss by restricting the intake of carbohydrates and eating unlimited amounts of meat and other proteins.
|
| When you severely restrict carbohydrate intake, your body responds by converting available proteins into sugar. If you take too much, your body will store them as fat. |
Carbohydrates on a molecular level are a mix of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen that function as either simple or complex. Eventually, all carbohydrates turn into glucose, your body and brain’s main energy source.
|
Any excess is stored as glycogen in the muscles or the liver for later use when you need energy again. When you decrease or eliminate the consumption of carbohydrates in your diet, you begin to feel sluggish, unable to exercise, lose focus and lack concentration.
|
| Consume fibrous carbs by including more asparagus, broccoli, carrots, green and red peppers, spinach and lettuce in your meals. |
|
|
written by admin
\\ tags: carbohydrates, diet, Nutrition
Jun 30
| Smoking bans are an effective way of preventing heart disease, getting cigarette users to quit and protecting children from second-hand smoke, a World Health Organization (WHO) report issued on Monday said. |
| The report by scientists at the WHO’s International Agency for Cancer Research urged more countries to adopt smoking bans in public and at the workplace, saying there was enough evidence to prove they work, without hurting businesses such as restaurants and bars. |
| A separate report issued by Cancer Research UK on Monday found England’s ban adopted a year ago has spurred more smokers than ever to kick the habit, and predicted the restrictions would prevent 40,000 deaths over the next 10 years. |
| They cited studies that suggest smoke-free workplaces have lead to a 10 to 20 percent decrease in hospital admissions for heart disease a year after a smoking ban. |
| The WHO says smoking kills about four million people each year, causing a quarter of deaths related to heart disease. |
|
|
written by admin
\\ tags: smoking bans
Jun 29
| The growing body of evidence that marijuana (cannabis) may be effective as a pain reliever has been expanded with publication of a new study in The Journal of Pain reporting that patients with nerve pain showed reduced pain intensity from smoking marijuana. |
| The authors reported that identical levels of analgesia were produced at each cumulative dose level by both concentrations of the agent. As with opioids, cannabis does not rely on a relaxing or tranquilizing effect, but reduces the core component of nociception and the emotional aspect of the pain experience to an equal degree. There were undesirable consequences observed from cannabis smoking, such as feeing high or impaired, but they did not inhibit tolerability or cause anyone to withdraw from the study. In general, side effects and mood changes were inconsequential. |
|
|
written by admin
\\ tags: marijuana, pain
Jun 20
| When a person develops a sore or a boil, it erupts, drawing to it immune system cells that fight the infection. Then it resolves and flattens into the skin, often leaving behind a mark or a scar. |
| A similar scenario plays out in the blood vessels. However, when there is a defect in the resolution response — the ability of blood vessels to recover from inflammation — atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries can result, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Harvard Medical School in Boston in a report that appears online June 18 in The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. The major factor in this disease is a deficiency in the chemical signals that encourage resolution (pro-resolution signals). These signals are produced in the blood vessel where the inflammation occurs, the researchers said. |
| Chronic inflammation of the artery wall can cause atherosclerosis, a major risk factor for heart disease and heart attack. |
|
|
written by admin
\\ tags: Add new tag
Jun 17
|
Osteoporosis
Studies have indicated that intake of cola is associated with low bone marrow density in women. Another study concluded that high consumption of carbonated beverages and the declining consumption of milk are of great public health significance for girls and women because of their proneness to osteoporosis in later life. The phosphate content of some sodas is high, and this leads to high phosphate and low calcium levels in the blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels low, calcium is pulled out of the bones.
|
|
Diabetes
Consumption of soft drinks is associated with weight gain and an increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes by providing excessive calories and large amounts of rapidly absorbable sugars.
|
|
Gout
Findings from a study of adults suggest that sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption is associated with high levels of uric acid, which may significantly increase the risk of gout.
|
|
|
written by admin
\\ tags: artificial sweeteners, diabetes, empty calories, gout, kidney stones, Nutrition, obesity, osteoporosis, phosphate, sodas, soft drinks, weight gain
Jun 14
Diabetes.
Consumption of green tea has been associated with a reduced risk for type 2 diabetes, and people who drink green tea regularly are less likely to develop diabetes. The results of a study published in the August 2004 issue of BMC Pharmacology, stated that green tea promoted glucose metabolism in the healthy human participants, providing evidence that green tea has an anti-diabetic effect.
|
Skin.
It has been suggested that a polyphenolic fraction from green tea may prevent UV radiation-induced skin cancer. There is however insufficient scientific research to back this theory up, and further studies are needed. In a double blind trial of green tea extracts in its role to treat aging skin, participants treated with a combination regimen of topical and oral green tea showed improvement in elastic tissue content.
|
Tooth Decay.
Several studies have demonstrated the anti-bacterial properties of green tea polyphenols are an effective agent against tooth decay.
|
|
|
written by admin
\\ tags: antioxidant, arthritis, cancer, cholesterol, diabetes, EGCG, green tea, thermogenic, Weight Loss
Apr 20
When most Canadians open their kitchen cupboards, they’re sure to find at least one product packaged in a container made with bisphenol A.
The controversial chemical, expected to soon be designated a toxic agent by the federal government, is a mainstay of products consumers use every day — from water and baby bottles to liners in food and beverage cans to sealants used in dental fillings.
Bisphenol A, or BPA, allows manufacturers to make a rigid and translucent product known as polycarbonate plastic, often — but not always — identified by a triangle surrounding the number 7. In canned food and beverages, especially acidic vegetables and fruits, BPA-resin liners stop the contents from eroding the metal container.
Read more…
written by admin
\\ tags: BPA, chemical, Health, toxin
Apr 17
Headlines around the world this week would have us believe that vitamin supplements are not only useless, but can
actually increase your risk of death. One such example of this story can be found at The Independent
These claims were presented to the media for spinning by The Cochrane Collaboration, who presents itself as a “reliable source of evidence in health care.”
The study was authored by Dr. Goran Bjelakovic, a visiting researcher at the Copenhagen Trial Unit in Denmark and a professor at the University of Nis in Serbia and Montenegro.
Read more…
written by admin
\\ tags: antioxidants, hype, propaganda, vitamins
