Pistachio Nuts May Improve Heart Health

Posted by Neill Abayon

Researchers have conducted an experiment to test the effects of pistachios added to a heart healthy moderate-fat diet. The participants began the study by eating a typical American diet -- consisting of 35 percent total fat and 11 percent saturated fat -- for two weeks. They then tested three diets for four weeks each with about a two-week break between each diet.

All three diets were variations on a cholesterol-lowering diet in general use. One diet included no pistachios, and the other two had 10 and 20 percent of the energy supplied by pistachio nuts, respectively. The participants ate half their pistachios as a snack and the rest incorporated into meals.

Inclusion of pistachios in the diets beneficially affected cardiovascular disease risk factors. Compared to the no pistachio diet, the 20 percent pistachio diet lowered LDL cholesterol -- bad cholesterol -- about 12 percent, and the 10 percent energy pistachio diet lowered LDL cholesterol by 9 percent. The reduction in LDL cholesterol observed was seven times greater than would be expected from only the fatty acid profile of pistachios. The effect may be the result of bioactive substances in pistachios, perhaps phytosterols and fiber.

Read the original article here.

Scientists Warn Congress About Cell Phones and Cancer

Posted by Neill Abayon

Two scientists told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy that use of cell phone may raise the risk of brain cancer. The concern came from Dr. Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany.

The two scientists cited a major study recently presented by Dr. Lennart Hardell of Örebro University in Sweden, which stated that people using cell phones doubled their risk of developing brain cancer and acoustic neuromas, a tumor that damage the hearing nerve.

The study also showed that people who started using cell phone before the age of 20 years were more than five times as likely to develop brain cancer.

Read the full article here.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs and the effect on muscle repair and regeneration

Posted by Neill Abayon

HILTON HEAD, SC—Statins are powerful drugs that reduce "bad" cholesterol and thus cut the risk of a heart attack. While these medications offer tremendous benefits to millions, they can carry side effects for some. The most frequently reported consequence is fatigue, and about nine percent of patients report statin-related pain. Both can be exacerbated when statin doses are increased, or physical activity is added. The results of a new study may offer another note of caution for high-dose statin patients. Working with primary human satellite cell cultures, researchers have found that statins at higher doses may affect the ability of the skeletal muscles–which allow the body to move–to repair and regenerate themselves.

The study is entitled "Simvastatin Reduces Human Primary Satellite Cell Proliferation in Culture." It was conducted by Anna Thalacker-Mercer, Melissa Baker, Chris Calderon and Marcas Bamman, University of Alabama at Birmingham. They will discuss their findings at the American Physiological Society (APS; www.The-APS.org) conference, The Integrative Biology of Exercise V. The meeting is being held September 24-27, 2008 in Hilton Head, SC.

The Study

Statins have been reported to have adverse effects on skeletal muscle in both human and animal models causing cramping and fatigue and potentially myopathy. Relatively little is known regarding the effect of statins on the muscle progenitor cells (i.e., satellite cells (SC)) which play a key role in skeletal muscle repair and regeneration following exercise or injury. SC remain in a quiescent state until stimulated to proliferate. Statins are known to have antiproliferative effects in other cell types and therefore may inhibit or effect this critical step in muscle repair. Thus it is important to understand the influence of statins on SC function which may further affect the overall health and physiology of human skeletal muscle..

Read the full article here.

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Friendly Bacteria Protect Against Type 1 Diabetes

Posted by Neill Abayon

The findings, reported in the journal Nature, support the so-called "hygiene hypothesis" – the theory that a lack of exposure to parasites, bacteria and viruses in the developed world may lead to increased risk of diseases like allergies, asthma, and other disorders of the immune system.

The results also suggest that exposure to some forms of bacteria might actually help prevent onset of Type I diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the patient's immune system launches an attack on cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.

The root causes of autoimmune disease have been the subject of intensive investigation by scientists around the world.

In the past decade, it has become evident that the environment plays a role in the development of some overly robust immune system responses. For instance, people in less-developed parts of the world have a low rate of allergy, but when they move to developed countries the rate increases dramatically. Scientists have also noted the same phenomenon in their labs.

Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice develop the disease at different rates after natural breeding, depending upon the environment where they are kept. Previous research has shown that NOD mice exposed to killed (i.e., non-active) strains of tuberculosis or other disease-causing bacteria are protected against the development of Type I diabetes. This suggests that the rapid "innate" immune response that normally protects us from infections can influence the onset of Type 1 diabetes.

Read the full article here.

Walnut trees emit aspirin-like chemical to deal with stress

Posted by Neill Abayon

Walnut trees respond to stress by producing significant amounts of a chemical form of aspirin, scientists have discovered.

The finding, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., opens up new avenues of research into the behavior of plants and their impacts on air quality, and also has the potential to give farmers an early warning signal about crops that are failing.

"Unlike humans, who are advised to take aspirin as a fever suppressant, plants have the ability to produce their own mix of aspirin-like chemicals, triggering the formation of proteins that boost their biochemical defenses and reduce injury," says NCAR scientist Thomas Karl, who led the study. "Our measurements show that significant amounts of the chemical can be detected in the atmosphere as plants respond to drought, unseasonable temperatures, or other stresses."

For years, scientists have known that plants in a laboratory may produce methyl salicylate, which is a chemical form of acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin. But researchers had never before detected methyl salicylate in an ecosystem or verified that plants emit the chemical in significant quantities into the atmosphere.

The team of scientists reported its findings last week in the journal Biogeoscience. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NCAR's sponsor.

"Biosphere-atmosphere interactions are important to the understanding of the Earth system," said Cliff Jacobs, program director in NSF's Division of Atmospheric Sciences. "This fortuitous discovery of methyl salicyclate in quantities not anticipated adds to an already important study."

Read the full article here.

How to Never Forget Anything Again

Posted by Neill Abayon

The human brain is a wonderful thing, but it’s a bit faulty as a tool for remembering things. Luckily for us (and for our frazzled brains), technology has stepped in to help out.

With the proper habits and the right tools, you and your brain won’t have to remember a thing again.

There are a host of tech tools that can help with taking notes, managing projects and to-dos, and manage your email and calendar needs just fine. Though I’ll include the best choices below, these tools are just one piece of the puzzle. There are more elegant methods (ever scheduled something in Google Calendar via voicemail?)…

To really never have to remember a thing again, you have to combine a few tools in smart and comprehensive fashion, and even more important, you have to develop specific habits that will ensure that things don’t slip between the cracks … because the cracks just get bigger and bigger with more time and more data.

In this post I’ll look at some of the requirements of a “Never Forget Again” system, along with 4 key habits for using that system. I’ll include my setup, as well as some other tools you can use to develop your own setup.

A Comprehensive System

What are all the things you need to remember? There are many types of data, from phone numbers and emails to tasks and projects, from follow-ups to status reports, from errands and appointments to websites and photos, and from random ideas to notes for class or about a book, etc..

A comprehensive system will handle all these things and allow you to save them, access them, and be reminded of them with ease. There shouldn’t be a lot of fuss.

Sound about right? Let’s take a look at the system and tools — then the habits — needed to do all this.

Read the full article here.

Money Woes Can Cause Physical Problems

Posted by Neill Abayon

As the market melts down and people worry about money, feelings of helplessness can set in, and stress levels go up. That can bring on a host of unpleasant physical symptoms.

Uncertainty around the economy, especially, is creating "a high level of anxiety," says Michele Dodds, vice president of health and wellness at ComPsych, an employee assistance and wellness provider. ComPsych has seen a 10 percent to 15 percent spike in calls attributable to "financial issues and stress."

Stress-related ailments include headaches, restlessness, agitation, insomnia, irritability, neck pain, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, insomnia, chest tightness and lack of sex drive.

Source: usatoday.com

How to capture your ideas

Posted by Neill Abayon

Does this sound familiar? You’re slowly drifting off to sleep when you come up with a great line for the song or paper you’ve been working on all day. It’s such a great idea, in fact, that you just know you’ll remember it in the morning. Happy to have finally come up with the perfect line, you nod off, smiling and peaceful.

In the morning, of course, it’s gone. All that you remember is that there’s something you should remember.

Or you’re talking to a business associate on the phone, when you remember that tomorrow is your nephew’s/sister-in-law’s/best friend’s birthday and you need to stop and pick them up a card on your way home. Filing that thought away under “to do later” you finish your call, leave work, and drive home, all the time thinking “isn’t there something I was supposed to do today…?”

Ideas are cheap, memory is expensive

We humans are exceptionally good at thinking up stuff. Sit down for two minutes with a pad of paper and try to come up with all the things you can make out of an orange, and you’ll see – after the first couple easy ones, you’ll start thinking up all sorts of crazy stuff (somebody actually thought up the idea of sticking cloves in an orange and hanging it on a Christmas tree, after all).

But we’re not very good at remembering all those ideas. Psychologists say we can hold from 5 to 9 thoughts in our immediate memory at any given time, meaning that, on average, the last 7 things you’ve thought are all you get. Add #8 to the list, and something falls out.

Our long-term memory is much better, but the process of moving items from short-term to long-term memory is quite complex and isn’t really “on-demand” – as anyone who has struggled to master organic chemistry can attest.

So, we have lots and lots of ideas and only a limited memory to hold them in before we lose them.

Read the full article here.

Gardasil Is Dangerous As Well As Unproven

Posted by Neill Abayon

Gardasil, A Vaccine Being Forced On Young Girls, Is Dangerous As Well As Unproven

Merck's Gardasil vaccine is supposed to prevent young women from getting cervical cancer. Now the FDA has approved a claim for two less common cancers as well.

Gardasil really prevents some (but not all) of the genital warts that may lead to cervical and other cancers. This leads to the supposition that it will also prevent cancer. Whether it will actually prevent cancer is unknown.

Partly because three painful and expensive ($375) shots are required, Merck's marketing plan has been to persuade state legislators to make the shot mandatory. Company money has flowed to governors and legislatures to make this happen.

As of July, the federal government's Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System has received over 9,700 reports of problems since the vaccine's introduction in 2006. These include paralysis, seizures, and miscarriage. Twenty deaths have been reported although the government has not acknowledged a link yet.

Read the full article here.

Breastfeeding may boost post-baby weight loss

Posted by Neill Abayon

By Joene Hendry

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New moms may be better able to return to their pre-pregnancy weight by exclusively breastfeeding their infants, according to new research.

"The practice of exclusive breastfeeding helps mothers lose the weight accumulated during pregnancy and do that faster compared to those who don't practice exclusive breastfeeding," Dr. Alex Kojo Anderson, of the University of Georgia in Athens, told Reuters Health.

Anderson and colleagues compared pre-pregnancy and at-delivery weight, with weight at 12 weeks after delivery, among 24 mothers, aged 19 to 42 years. Seventeen of these new moms exclusively breastfed their infants, while 9 mothers mixed-fed their infants using formula or a combination of formula and breastmilk.

According to the findings, published online in the International Breastfeeding Journal, during the first 4 weeks after delivery, mothers in the mixed feeding group lost more of their at-delivery weight than did mothers who exclusively breastfed. However, from 8 to 12 weeks this trend reversed.

When Anderson's team compared the women's post-pregnancy weight loss according to their pre-pregnancy weight, mothers who exclusively breastfed lost more weight at 2-, 4-, 8-, and 12-weeks after delivery than did mothers in the mixed feeding group.

This weight loss trend was evident in spite of the greater caloric intake and lower activity level among breastfeeding mothers, compared with mixed feeding mothers, the investigators found.

Read the full article here.

Are You Following the Wrong Exercise Program?

Posted by Neill Abayon

Your body recognizes exercise as a form of stress -- mostly good stress. When you stress your body the right way for long enough, it adapts.

When a body changes, there’s a reason. When a body doesn’t change, there’s also a reason. It’s important to learn how to ‘drive’ your body and to discover what works for you. Individual bodies respond differently to the same stimulus. Here’s a few things to consider:

1. What works (in terms of creating significant physical change) and what you enjoy doing are often two different things

Yes, you should make exercise fun when possible, but sometimes you need to stop looking for easy and starting doing effective.

2. Your body will only adapt when it needs to

If you constantly stimulate your body the same way day in, day out (same workout, same exercises, same format, same intensity, same weights, same distance, same machines, same duration) it won’t change because it doesn’t need to. Give your body a reason to change and it will.

3. Over-training

Many people simply train so much that their body is in a constant state of disrepair. When you stress an already stressed (over-trained, injured, exhausted) body, you’re setting yourself up for long term problems and frustration.

4. Going through the motions

Don’t go to the gym and fluff around for an hour or so without actually doing much. Sometimes you simply need to force your body to adapt. If what you’re doing in your workouts is easy for you, then don’t expect to see much in the way of physiological change.

5. All the other stuff

If you’ve nailed your exercise but your diet is a nightmare, your results will not be good. Other factors which might sabotage or inhibit what you’re doing with your exercise program are: alcohol, drugs, lack of sleep, stress and medications. No use training like an Olympian if you’re living a lifestyle which is at odds with your exercise goals.

6. The Wrong Program

For a wide range of reasons thousands and thousands of people are currently following a program which is less than ideal, if not completely inappropriate for them. If your program wasn’t designed specifically for you (by someone who knows their stuff), then it’s not the best strategy for you.

See the article here.

Sleep Apnea Causes Other Problems in Bed

Posted by Neill Abayon

Men with sleep apnea may suffer from a treatable form of erectile dysfunction caused by regular deprivation of oxygen experienced during their episodes of obstructed breathing.

A study on mice found that one week of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) -- lack of oxygen suffered during obstructive sleep apnea syndrome -- resulted in a 55 percent decline in daily spontaneous erections. After five weeks, the length of time between mice attempts at mating increased, on average, by 60-fold.

However, when the mice went back on standard oxygen levels for six weeks, they recovered 74 percent of their original erectile function.

The Dangers of a Plastic Baby Bottle

Posted by Neill Abayon

Who do you believe when one arm of the government says everything is fine -- but another tells you to watch out? That is what is happening with bisphenol-A, a chemical used in many plastics and epoxy resins now found in baby bottles and liners for canned goods. The answer is a simple: when in doubt, especially when it comes to children, err on the side of caution. That means it is a good idea to keep your children away from bisphenol-A, or BPA.

The FDA said in August that the small amounts of BPA that leach out of containers and into food or milk are not dangerous. But in September, the National Toxicology Program, the federal agency for toxicological research, reported that there were potential concerns about the effects of BPA on the brain development and behavior of fetuses and young children.

A newer study by the Yale School of Medicine found that BPA “causes the loss of connections between brain cells” that could cause memory or learning problems and depression.

Concerned scientists offer the following advice:

• Watch for the numeral 7 on the bottom of plastic containers. That often means they contain BPA
• Don’t microwave plastic food containers made with BPA. Better to use glass or porcelain
• Watch out for canned foods for children
• Search for baby bottles and other baby products that are BPA-free