Night_Hawk
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Is this Beetroot is ' Chuqandar " ?
Raaz Bhai, Yes sir you are hundred percent correct.
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Raaz Bhai, Yes sir you are hundred percent correct.
Night_Hawk
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Beetroot
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Muhammad Tauseef A. Bajwa
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Watermelons can help reduce high BP
Watermelons can help reduce high BP
Monday, April 11, 2011
NEW YORK: Watermelon can be very useful in reducing the blood pressure and controlling hypertension.
substance extracted from watermelon seeds is alleged to have a definite action in dilating the blood vessels, which leads to lowering the blood pressure. The seeds, dried and roasted, should be taken in liberal quantities.
For many people watermelon is a summer fun food. Current analysis now appears to indicate that this delicious fruit may also be an essential tool in lowering excessive blood pressure. Native to central Africa this fruit arrived within the Americas in the early 1600s and has grown in reputation ever since. In line with The University of Georgia approximately a hundred million are now grown annually in America.
And now, researchers from USDA Agricultural Research Service, Texas A&M University, College of Nevada, and Oklahoma State College, have reported that the levels of arginine within the blood increased by 22 % after 3 weeks of drinking watermelon juice with every meal. Arginine is a substance needed to provide nitric oxide, which has been proven to decrease blood pressure, reduce blood clotting and defend against myocardial infarction and strokes.
The study included 23 individuals who acquired 1560 grams of watermelon juice per day. Julie Collins, the lead writer of the research, reviews that the volunteers confirmed that fasting blood levels of arginine had increased by 22 % in three weeks. As a result of the watermelon juice research was not sustained longer than 3 weeks, its not recognized if arginine levels will have remained steady at three weeks or if there would have been further increase with extended administration, stated the research workers.
Watermelons are outstanding diuretics:
They stimulate kidney action and enhance the production of urine which favors the elimination of toxins. It is low in fiber and its fats content is sort of non existent. Worth mentioning is its content of the carotenoids lutein and lycopene. Lycopene, the responsible pigment for the red colour in certain fruits, has de-oxidizing properties that help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Moreover, watermelon assists decrease blood pressure, has de-oxidizing properties, fights infection, facilitates your body heal faster, can aid in weight management, and is a comfort meal that may sooth tension and stress. Now its only a matter of choosing a ripe melon.
Watermelons can help reduce high BP
Monday, April 11, 2011
NEW YORK: Watermelon can be very useful in reducing the blood pressure and controlling hypertension.
substance extracted from watermelon seeds is alleged to have a definite action in dilating the blood vessels, which leads to lowering the blood pressure. The seeds, dried and roasted, should be taken in liberal quantities.
For many people watermelon is a summer fun food. Current analysis now appears to indicate that this delicious fruit may also be an essential tool in lowering excessive blood pressure. Native to central Africa this fruit arrived within the Americas in the early 1600s and has grown in reputation ever since. In line with The University of Georgia approximately a hundred million are now grown annually in America.
And now, researchers from USDA Agricultural Research Service, Texas A&M University, College of Nevada, and Oklahoma State College, have reported that the levels of arginine within the blood increased by 22 % after 3 weeks of drinking watermelon juice with every meal. Arginine is a substance needed to provide nitric oxide, which has been proven to decrease blood pressure, reduce blood clotting and defend against myocardial infarction and strokes.
The study included 23 individuals who acquired 1560 grams of watermelon juice per day. Julie Collins, the lead writer of the research, reviews that the volunteers confirmed that fasting blood levels of arginine had increased by 22 % in three weeks. As a result of the watermelon juice research was not sustained longer than 3 weeks, its not recognized if arginine levels will have remained steady at three weeks or if there would have been further increase with extended administration, stated the research workers.
Watermelons are outstanding diuretics:
They stimulate kidney action and enhance the production of urine which favors the elimination of toxins. It is low in fiber and its fats content is sort of non existent. Worth mentioning is its content of the carotenoids lutein and lycopene. Lycopene, the responsible pigment for the red colour in certain fruits, has de-oxidizing properties that help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Moreover, watermelon assists decrease blood pressure, has de-oxidizing properties, fights infection, facilitates your body heal faster, can aid in weight management, and is a comfort meal that may sooth tension and stress. Now its only a matter of choosing a ripe melon.
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Brain shrinks 10 years before dementia onset
(AFP)
13 April 2011, 9:46 PM
WASHINGTON — People with Alzheimer’s disease may start experiencing shrinking of parts of the brain as many as 10 years before the degenerative condition is diagnosed, a US study suggested on Wednesday.
While the results are still preliminary, scientists said the findings could one day provide a way to identify by MRI scan which individuals are most likely to develop the disease, which can run in families and has no cure.
US researchers followed two separate groups of people who had no signs of Alzheimer’s — one group of 33 was tracked for 11 years and another group of 33 was followed for eight years.
Magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed regularly and focused on parts of the brain where Alzheimer’s is typically found, such as the language and memory centers.
Over time, eight people in the first group and seven in the other developed the devastating condition.
When researchers looked back at their brain scans, they found early signs of shrinkage, or low MRI measurements, in the ones who would develop the disease.
“Of the 11 people who had the lowest MRI measurements, 55 percent developed Alzheimer’s, while none of the nine people with the highest measurements developed dementia,” said the study in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Twenty percent of those with average brain measurements developed the disease.
“This measure is potentially an important imaging marker of early changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease that could help predict who might develop the dementia associated with this disease and possibly even how long it would be before dementia develops,” said study author Bradford Dickerson of Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease that causes memory loss and behavioral changes. It attacks the brain and gradually eats away at gray matter.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and is estimated to affect about five million Americans.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Display...ile=data/health/2011/April/health_April38.xml
(AFP)
13 April 2011, 9:46 PM
WASHINGTON — People with Alzheimer’s disease may start experiencing shrinking of parts of the brain as many as 10 years before the degenerative condition is diagnosed, a US study suggested on Wednesday.
While the results are still preliminary, scientists said the findings could one day provide a way to identify by MRI scan which individuals are most likely to develop the disease, which can run in families and has no cure.
US researchers followed two separate groups of people who had no signs of Alzheimer’s — one group of 33 was tracked for 11 years and another group of 33 was followed for eight years.
Magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed regularly and focused on parts of the brain where Alzheimer’s is typically found, such as the language and memory centers.
Over time, eight people in the first group and seven in the other developed the devastating condition.
When researchers looked back at their brain scans, they found early signs of shrinkage, or low MRI measurements, in the ones who would develop the disease.
“Of the 11 people who had the lowest MRI measurements, 55 percent developed Alzheimer’s, while none of the nine people with the highest measurements developed dementia,” said the study in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Twenty percent of those with average brain measurements developed the disease.
“This measure is potentially an important imaging marker of early changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease that could help predict who might develop the dementia associated with this disease and possibly even how long it would be before dementia develops,” said study author Bradford Dickerson of Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease that causes memory loss and behavioral changes. It attacks the brain and gradually eats away at gray matter.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and is estimated to affect about five million Americans.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Display...ile=data/health/2011/April/health_April38.xml
Last edited:
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Older brains less nimble at multi-tasking
Steve Gorman (Reuters)
12 April 2011
LOS ANGELES - The elderly have a harder time multi-tasking than young adults because they are far less nimble at switching neurological connections in their brains between activities, according to research released on Monday.
The findings by neuroscientists from the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) provides new insights to earlier studies that showed the ability to move from one task to another in quick succession became more difficult with age.
Previous studies and accounts of “senior moments” — fleeting bouts of forgetfulness — have established a strong link between juggling tasks and glitches in short-term, or “working,” memory, for people of all ages.
Scientists define working memory as the capacity to hold and manipulate information in one’s mind for brief intervals, a function vital to all mental operations, from following a conversation to more complex tasks like learning or reasoning.
There is ample evidence that the negative impact of multi-tasking on working memory is greater for older individuals than for the young, said Dr. Adam Gazzaley, senior author of the UCSF study.
His research measured brain activity during controlled multi-tasking experiments, comparing the performance of men and women whose average age was 24 with a second group who averaged 69 years of age.
The study was published in the online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Neural circuitry and networks were monitored through magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, scans as test subjects were asked to contemplate outdoor photos for short periods, then were presented with the picture of a face and asked to determine its gender and age, before being asked to recall details from the original scene.
Researchers found the brains of older subjects were less capable of disengaging from the interruption and reestablishing the neural connections necessary to switch back to focusing on the original memory.
Some experts had speculated older people become more deeply engaged in what interrupts them, making it harder for them to shift their focus back to the original task at hand.
But Gazzaley, head of the UCSF Neuroscience Imaging Center, said his study showed young adults and elderly were paying the same level of attention to the interfering image of the face.
“It’s that reengagement of original memory network and disengagement from what has interrupted you, that switch-over seems to be worse in older adults,” Gazzaley said. What causes that deficit remains to be determined, he added.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April33.xml§ion=health&col=
Steve Gorman (Reuters)
12 April 2011
LOS ANGELES - The elderly have a harder time multi-tasking than young adults because they are far less nimble at switching neurological connections in their brains between activities, according to research released on Monday.
The findings by neuroscientists from the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) provides new insights to earlier studies that showed the ability to move from one task to another in quick succession became more difficult with age.
Previous studies and accounts of “senior moments” — fleeting bouts of forgetfulness — have established a strong link between juggling tasks and glitches in short-term, or “working,” memory, for people of all ages.
Scientists define working memory as the capacity to hold and manipulate information in one’s mind for brief intervals, a function vital to all mental operations, from following a conversation to more complex tasks like learning or reasoning.
There is ample evidence that the negative impact of multi-tasking on working memory is greater for older individuals than for the young, said Dr. Adam Gazzaley, senior author of the UCSF study.
His research measured brain activity during controlled multi-tasking experiments, comparing the performance of men and women whose average age was 24 with a second group who averaged 69 years of age.
The study was published in the online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Neural circuitry and networks were monitored through magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, scans as test subjects were asked to contemplate outdoor photos for short periods, then were presented with the picture of a face and asked to determine its gender and age, before being asked to recall details from the original scene.
Researchers found the brains of older subjects were less capable of disengaging from the interruption and reestablishing the neural connections necessary to switch back to focusing on the original memory.
Some experts had speculated older people become more deeply engaged in what interrupts them, making it harder for them to shift their focus back to the original task at hand.
But Gazzaley, head of the UCSF Neuroscience Imaging Center, said his study showed young adults and elderly were paying the same level of attention to the interfering image of the face.
“It’s that reengagement of original memory network and disengagement from what has interrupted you, that switch-over seems to be worse in older adults,” Gazzaley said. What causes that deficit remains to be determined, he added.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April33.xml§ion=health&col=
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
How salt intake raises blood pressure
(IANS)
16 April 2011
Scientists have figured out how salt intake contributes to raising one’s blood pressure (BP).
They found that salt intake makes it harder for the body to juggle BP regulation and its temperature simultaneously.
For decades, the inability of scientists to explain why salt raises BP in some but not others has hampered the development of a comprehensive theory about high BP, the journal Hypertension Research reports.
A team led by professors Robert P. Blankfield at Case Western Reserve University and Ellen L. Glickman at Kent State University tested whether these dual roles of the cardiovascular system might help explain how salt ingestion leads to salt-sensitive hypertension.
They found that salt and water ingestion lowered body temperature more than the ingestion of water by itself. Besides, body temperature decreased more in individuals who are salt resistant than in individuals who are salt sensitive, according to a Case Western statement.
”It appears that salt sensitive individuals maintain core body temperature equilibrium more effectively than salt resistant individuals, but experience increased blood pressure in the process,” Blankfield says.
”Conversely, salt resistant individuals maintain blood pressure equilibrium more effectively than salt sensitive individuals following salt and water intake, but experience a greater temperature reduction in the process.”
The cardiovascular system is responsible for maintaining normal BP and also helps control body temperature by conducting heat from the muscles and internal organs to the skin’s surface.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April42.xml§ion=health&col=
(IANS)
16 April 2011
Scientists have figured out how salt intake contributes to raising one’s blood pressure (BP).
They found that salt intake makes it harder for the body to juggle BP regulation and its temperature simultaneously.
For decades, the inability of scientists to explain why salt raises BP in some but not others has hampered the development of a comprehensive theory about high BP, the journal Hypertension Research reports.
They found that salt and water ingestion lowered body temperature more than the ingestion of water by itself. Besides, body temperature decreased more in individuals who are salt resistant than in individuals who are salt sensitive, according to a Case Western statement.
”It appears that salt sensitive individuals maintain core body temperature equilibrium more effectively than salt resistant individuals, but experience increased blood pressure in the process,” Blankfield says.
”Conversely, salt resistant individuals maintain blood pressure equilibrium more effectively than salt sensitive individuals following salt and water intake, but experience a greater temperature reduction in the process.”
The cardiovascular system is responsible for maintaining normal BP and also helps control body temperature by conducting heat from the muscles and internal organs to the skin’s surface.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April42.xml§ion=health&col=
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Odd work schedules pose risk to health
(AP)
17 April 2011
WASHINGTON Reports of sleeping air traffic controllers highlight a long-known and often ignored hazard: Workers on night shifts can have trouble concentrating and even staying awake.
Government officials havent recognized that people routinely fall asleep at night when theyre doing shift work, said Dr. Charles Czeisler, chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston.
Czeisler said studies show that 30 percent to 50 percent of night-shift workers report falling asleep at least once a week while on the job.
So the notion that this has happened only a few times among the thousands of controllers is preposterous, he said in a telephone interview.
In a sign of growing awareness of the problem, the Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday it was changing air traffic controllers work schedules most likely to cause fatigue. The announcement comes after the agency disclosed another incident in which a controller fell asleep while on duty early Saturday morning at a busy Miami regional facility. According to a preliminary review, there was no impact to flight operations, the FAA said.
Czeisler said the potential danger isnt limited to air traffic controllers, but can apply to truck and bus drivers, airline pilots and those in the maritime industry. Who else? Factory workers, police, firefighters, emergency workers, nurses and doctors, cooks, hotel employees, people in the media and others on night or changing shifts.
We live in a very sleep-deprived society where many people are burning the candle at both ends, Czeisler said. He said that a half-century ago, just 2 percent of people slept six hours or less per night; today its 28 percent.
Dr. William Fishbein, a neuroscientist at the City University of New York, said that when people work odd shifts it mucks up their biological rhythms.
Hormones are synchronized with the wake-sleep cycle. When people change shifts, the brain never knows when its supposed to be asleep, so this affects how people function.
People who change shifts every few days are going to have all kinds of problems related to memory and learning, Fishbein said. This kind of schedule especially affects what he called relational memories, which involve the ability to understand how one thing is related to another.
In addition to drowsiness and inability to concentrate, people working night shifts are more subject to chronic intestinal and heart diseases and have been shown to have a higher incidence of some forms of cancer. The World Health Organization has classified shift work as a probable carcinogen.
We have 500 cable channels, we take work home with us on our Blackberrys and computers, both work and entertainment options are available 24 hours a day seven days a week and there is much more and brighter light exposure in our homes in evenings, which affects hormones involved in sleep, Czeisler said.
And we are still trying to get up with the chickens because our work hours are starting earlier and earlier, he said.
Today, controllers are at the center of the firestorm, with recent reports that several planes couldnt contact airport towers for assistance in landing. Members of Congress are responding to a worried public, controllers have been suspended and the head of the governments air traffic control system has resigned.
President Barack Obama told ABC News that controllers must stay alert and do their jobs.
One old solution back in the news is allowing night workers to nap.
There should be sanctioned on-shift napping. Thats the way to handle night shift work, said Gregory Belenky, a sleep expert at Washington State University in Spokane.
A NASA study suggested that pilots on long-distance flights would perform much better if given a chance to take a scheduled nap, as long the rest was planned and the both pilots didnt sleep at the same time.
But even though thats been known for decades, its never been allowed because we prefer to pretend that these things are not happening, instead of managing the problem, Czeisler said. We have a bury-our-head-in-the-sand attitude.
Controllers are often scheduled for a week of midnight shifts followed by a week of morning shifts and then a week on swing shifts. This pattern, sleep scientists say, interrupts the bodys natural sleep cycles.
Many of the Federal Aviation Administrations 15,700 controllers work schedules that allow no realistic opportunity for rest. Their record for errors on the job has grown sharply over the past several years.
FAA rules prohibit sleeping on the job, even during breaks. Employees who violate them can be fired. But controllers said that napping at night where one controller works two jobs while the other sleeps, and then they swap, is an open secret within the agency.
Czeisler also is urging screening of truck drivers for sleep apnea, a breathing problem they can be prone to because many are obese. He estimates that as many as 250,000 people in the US doze off while driving every day, mostly in the daytime.
Studies have shown that a sleep-deprived driver is as impaired as someone with enough alcohol in his blood to be considered a drunken driver.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April43.xml§ion=health&col=
(AP)
17 April 2011
WASHINGTON Reports of sleeping air traffic controllers highlight a long-known and often ignored hazard: Workers on night shifts can have trouble concentrating and even staying awake.
Government officials havent recognized that people routinely fall asleep at night when theyre doing shift work, said Dr. Charles Czeisler, chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston.
So the notion that this has happened only a few times among the thousands of controllers is preposterous, he said in a telephone interview.
In a sign of growing awareness of the problem, the Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday it was changing air traffic controllers work schedules most likely to cause fatigue. The announcement comes after the agency disclosed another incident in which a controller fell asleep while on duty early Saturday morning at a busy Miami regional facility. According to a preliminary review, there was no impact to flight operations, the FAA said.
Czeisler said the potential danger isnt limited to air traffic controllers, but can apply to truck and bus drivers, airline pilots and those in the maritime industry. Who else? Factory workers, police, firefighters, emergency workers, nurses and doctors, cooks, hotel employees, people in the media and others on night or changing shifts.
We live in a very sleep-deprived society where many people are burning the candle at both ends, Czeisler said. He said that a half-century ago, just 2 percent of people slept six hours or less per night; today its 28 percent.
Dr. William Fishbein, a neuroscientist at the City University of New York, said that when people work odd shifts it mucks up their biological rhythms.
Hormones are synchronized with the wake-sleep cycle. When people change shifts, the brain never knows when its supposed to be asleep, so this affects how people function.
People who change shifts every few days are going to have all kinds of problems related to memory and learning, Fishbein said. This kind of schedule especially affects what he called relational memories, which involve the ability to understand how one thing is related to another.
In addition to drowsiness and inability to concentrate, people working night shifts are more subject to chronic intestinal and heart diseases and have been shown to have a higher incidence of some forms of cancer. The World Health Organization has classified shift work as a probable carcinogen.
We have 500 cable channels, we take work home with us on our Blackberrys and computers, both work and entertainment options are available 24 hours a day seven days a week and there is much more and brighter light exposure in our homes in evenings, which affects hormones involved in sleep, Czeisler said.
And we are still trying to get up with the chickens because our work hours are starting earlier and earlier, he said.
Today, controllers are at the center of the firestorm, with recent reports that several planes couldnt contact airport towers for assistance in landing. Members of Congress are responding to a worried public, controllers have been suspended and the head of the governments air traffic control system has resigned.
President Barack Obama told ABC News that controllers must stay alert and do their jobs.
One old solution back in the news is allowing night workers to nap.
There should be sanctioned on-shift napping. Thats the way to handle night shift work, said Gregory Belenky, a sleep expert at Washington State University in Spokane.
A NASA study suggested that pilots on long-distance flights would perform much better if given a chance to take a scheduled nap, as long the rest was planned and the both pilots didnt sleep at the same time.
But even though thats been known for decades, its never been allowed because we prefer to pretend that these things are not happening, instead of managing the problem, Czeisler said. We have a bury-our-head-in-the-sand attitude.
Controllers are often scheduled for a week of midnight shifts followed by a week of morning shifts and then a week on swing shifts. This pattern, sleep scientists say, interrupts the bodys natural sleep cycles.
Many of the Federal Aviation Administrations 15,700 controllers work schedules that allow no realistic opportunity for rest. Their record for errors on the job has grown sharply over the past several years.
FAA rules prohibit sleeping on the job, even during breaks. Employees who violate them can be fired. But controllers said that napping at night where one controller works two jobs while the other sleeps, and then they swap, is an open secret within the agency.
Czeisler also is urging screening of truck drivers for sleep apnea, a breathing problem they can be prone to because many are obese. He estimates that as many as 250,000 people in the US doze off while driving every day, mostly in the daytime.
Studies have shown that a sleep-deprived driver is as impaired as someone with enough alcohol in his blood to be considered a drunken driver.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April43.xml§ion=health&col=
Last edited:
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Diet soda doesn’t raise diabetes risk
(Reuters)
18 April 2011
NEW YORK - Diet soda and other artificially-sweetened drinks, previously implicated in the chance of developing diabetes, are not guilty, according to a study by researchers at Harvard University.
In a large group of men followed for 20 years, drinking regular soda and other sugary drinks often meant a person was more likely to get diabetes, but that was not true of artificially-sweetened soft drinks, or coffee or tea.
Replacing sugary drinks with diet versions in fact seems to be a safe and healthy alternative, the report, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, said.
“There are multiple alternatives to regular soda,” said Frank Hu, one of the study’s authors, to Reuters Health.
“Diet soda is perhaps not the best alternative, but moderate consumption is not going to have any appreciable harmful effects.”
Prior studies had suggested that people who drink diet soda regularly might be more likely to get diabetes than those who stay away from artificially-sweetened drinks, but the recent study indicates that the link is a result of other factors common to both diet soda drinkers and people with diabetes, including being overweight.
Hu and his colleagues analyzed data from more than 40,000 men who were followed between 1986 and 2006, during which time they regularly filled out questionnaires on their medical status and dietary habits, including how many servings of regular and diet sodas, and other drinks, consumed every week.
About 7 percent of the men reported that they were diagnosed with diabetes at some point in the study.
Men who drank the most sugar-sweetened beverages, about one serving a day on average, were 16 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than men who never drank those beverages.
The link was mostly due to soda and other carbonated beverages. Drinking non-carbonated sugar-sweetened fruit drinks such as lemonade was not linked with a higher risk of diabetes.
When nothing else was accounted for, men who drank a lot of diet soda and other diet drinks were also more likely to get diabetes. But once the men’s weight, blood pressure and cholesterol was taken into account, those drinks were not related to diabetes risk.
“People who are at risk for diabetes or obesity... Those may be the people who are more likely to choose artificial sweeteners because they may be more likely to be dieting,” said Rebecca Brown, an endocrinologist at the National Institutes of Health, to Reuters Health.
Drinking coffee on a daily basis, both regular and decaffeinated, was linked to a lower risk of diabetes, perhaps due to antioxidants or vitamins or minerals in coffee.
Brown, who has studied artificial sweeteners but was not involved in the current research, added that while there are still some health concerns about artificial sweeteners, none have been proven.
“I certainly think that we have better evidence that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages increases health risks,” she said.
“Certainly reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption by any means (including substitution with diet drinks) is probably a good thing.”
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April44.xml§ion=health&col=
(Reuters)
18 April 2011
NEW YORK - Diet soda and other artificially-sweetened drinks, previously implicated in the chance of developing diabetes, are not guilty, according to a study by researchers at Harvard University.
In a large group of men followed for 20 years, drinking regular soda and other sugary drinks often meant a person was more likely to get diabetes, but that was not true of artificially-sweetened soft drinks, or coffee or tea.
“There are multiple alternatives to regular soda,” said Frank Hu, one of the study’s authors, to Reuters Health.
“Diet soda is perhaps not the best alternative, but moderate consumption is not going to have any appreciable harmful effects.”
Prior studies had suggested that people who drink diet soda regularly might be more likely to get diabetes than those who stay away from artificially-sweetened drinks, but the recent study indicates that the link is a result of other factors common to both diet soda drinkers and people with diabetes, including being overweight.
Hu and his colleagues analyzed data from more than 40,000 men who were followed between 1986 and 2006, during which time they regularly filled out questionnaires on their medical status and dietary habits, including how many servings of regular and diet sodas, and other drinks, consumed every week.
About 7 percent of the men reported that they were diagnosed with diabetes at some point in the study.
Men who drank the most sugar-sweetened beverages, about one serving a day on average, were 16 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than men who never drank those beverages.
The link was mostly due to soda and other carbonated beverages. Drinking non-carbonated sugar-sweetened fruit drinks such as lemonade was not linked with a higher risk of diabetes.
When nothing else was accounted for, men who drank a lot of diet soda and other diet drinks were also more likely to get diabetes. But once the men’s weight, blood pressure and cholesterol was taken into account, those drinks were not related to diabetes risk.
“People who are at risk for diabetes or obesity... Those may be the people who are more likely to choose artificial sweeteners because they may be more likely to be dieting,” said Rebecca Brown, an endocrinologist at the National Institutes of Health, to Reuters Health.
Drinking coffee on a daily basis, both regular and decaffeinated, was linked to a lower risk of diabetes, perhaps due to antioxidants or vitamins or minerals in coffee.
Brown, who has studied artificial sweeteners but was not involved in the current research, added that while there are still some health concerns about artificial sweeteners, none have been proven.
“I certainly think that we have better evidence that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages increases health risks,” she said.
“Certainly reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption by any means (including substitution with diet drinks) is probably a good thing.”
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April44.xml§ion=health&col=
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Curbing cholesterol may fight infections
(Reuters)
9 March 2011
LONDON - Lowering cholesterol levels could help the bodys immune system fight infections, British scientists said on Tuesday.
A study in mice by researchers at the University of Edinburgh found a direct link between the workings of the immune system and cholesterol levels.
What we have discovered is that a key immune hormone stimulated upon infection can lower cholesterol levels and thereby deprive viral infections of the sustenance they need to grow, said Edinburghs Peter Ghazal, whose study was published in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) Biology journal.
Drugs currently exist to lower cholesterol levels, but the next step would be to see if such drugs would also work to help bolster our immune systems, he said.
Medicines called statins, such as Pfizers Lipitor, AstraZenecas Crestor, and a generic called simvastatin, are widely prescribed to lower bad or LDL cholesterol a risk factor for heart disease and are credited with being among the most successful drugs in helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
In a telephone interview, Ghazal said many years of research work lay ahead before these findings could be translated into human treatments, but he thought statin-like drugs could in future be developed to have potent anti-infective effects as well as being able to reduce levels of bad cholesterol.
Currently, antiviral drugs are used to fight viral infections by targeting the machinery that enables viruses to multiply. Antibiotics are used to fight bacterial infections, but bugs are able to mutate and develop new strains that are drug-resistant, prompting the need for new and more powerful medicines to be developed all the time.
Ghazal said his research team hoped to use their studies to find news ways of combating infections, which could for example involve mimicking immune signals sent out to lower the production of cholesterol.
Such treatments would help overcome the problems of drug resistance, Ghazal said, since they would aim to enhance the way the body responds to an infection, instead of focussing on attacking the bug itself.
(Reuters)
9 March 2011
LONDON - Lowering cholesterol levels could help the bodys immune system fight infections, British scientists said on Tuesday.
A study in mice by researchers at the University of Edinburgh found a direct link between the workings of the immune system and cholesterol levels.
Drugs currently exist to lower cholesterol levels, but the next step would be to see if such drugs would also work to help bolster our immune systems, he said.
Medicines called statins, such as Pfizers Lipitor, AstraZenecas Crestor, and a generic called simvastatin, are widely prescribed to lower bad or LDL cholesterol a risk factor for heart disease and are credited with being among the most successful drugs in helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
In a telephone interview, Ghazal said many years of research work lay ahead before these findings could be translated into human treatments, but he thought statin-like drugs could in future be developed to have potent anti-infective effects as well as being able to reduce levels of bad cholesterol.
Currently, antiviral drugs are used to fight viral infections by targeting the machinery that enables viruses to multiply. Antibiotics are used to fight bacterial infections, but bugs are able to mutate and develop new strains that are drug-resistant, prompting the need for new and more powerful medicines to be developed all the time.
Ghazal said his research team hoped to use their studies to find news ways of combating infections, which could for example involve mimicking immune signals sent out to lower the production of cholesterol.
Such treatments would help overcome the problems of drug resistance, Ghazal said, since they would aim to enhance the way the body responds to an infection, instead of focussing on attacking the bug itself.
Last edited:
Rana Tahir Mahmood
Senator (1k+ posts)
Odd work schedules pose risk to health - Yahoo NEWS
Odd work schedules pose risk to health
Apr 16, 2011 at 19:00 Views (13547) | | | 28 | |
In this Sept. 18, 2008 file photo, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Chief Operating Officer Hank Krakowski poses in the cockpit of an FAA jet in a hangar at Washington's Reagan National Airport. Krakowski, the official who oversees the nation's air traffic system resigned Thursday and the FAA began a "top to bottom" review of the entire system following disclosures of four instances of air traffic controllers sleeping on the job. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP
WASHINGTON (AP) Reports of sleeping air traffic controllers highlight a long-known and often ignored hazard: Workers on night shifts can have trouble concentrating and even staying awake.
"Government officials haven't recognized that people routinely fall asleep at night when they're doing shift work," said Dr. Charles Czeisler, chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Czeisler said studies show that 30 percent to 50 percent of night-shift workers report falling asleep at least once a week while on the job.
So the notion that this has happened only a few times among the thousands of controllers "is preposterous," he said in a telephone interview.
The potential danger isn't limited to air traffic controllers, he said, but can apply to truck and bus drivers, airline pilots and those in the maritime industry. Who else? Factory workers, police, firefighters, emergency workers, nurses and doctors, cooks, hotel employees, people in the media and others on night or changing shifts.
"We live in a very sleep-deprived society where many people are burning the candle at both ends," Czeisler said. He said that a half-century ago, just 2 percent of people slept six hours or less per night; today it's 28 percent.
Dr. William Fishbein, a neuroscientist at the City University of New York, said that when people work odd shifts "it mucks up their biological rhythms."
Hormones are synchronized with the wake-sleep cycle. When people change shifts, the brain never knows when it's supposed to be asleep, so this affects how people function.
People who change shifts every few days are going to have all kinds of problems related to memory and learning, Fishbein said. This kind of schedule especially affects what he called relational memories, which involve the ability to understand how one thing is related to another.
In addition to drowsiness and inability to concentrate, people working night shifts are more subject to chronic intestinal and heart diseases and have been shown to have a higher incidence of some forms of cancer. The World Health Organization has classified shift work as a probable carcinogen.
"We have 500 cable channels, we take work home with us on our Blackberrys and computers, both work and entertainment options are available 24 hours a day seven days a week and there is much more and brighter light exposure in our homes in evenings, which affects hormones involved in sleep, Czeisler said.
"And we are still trying to get up with the chickens because our work hours are starting earlier and earlier," he said.
Today, controllers are at the center of the firestorm, with recent reports that several planes couldn't contact airport towers for assistance in landing. Members of Congress are responding to a worried public, controllers have been suspended and the head of the government's air traffic control system has resigned.
President Barack Obama told ABC News that controllers must stay alert and do their jobs.
One old solution back in the news is allowing night workers to nap.
"There should be sanctioned on-shift napping. That's the way to handle night shift work," said Gregory Belenky, a sleep expert at Washington State University in Spokane.
A NASA study suggested that pilots on long-distance flights would perform much better if given a chance to take a scheduled nap, as long the rest was planned and the both pilots didn't sleep at the same time.
"But even though that's been known for decades, it's never been allowed because we prefer to pretend that these things are not happening," instead of managing the problem, Czeisler said. "We have a bury-our-head-in-the-sand attitude."
Controllers are often scheduled for a week of midnight shifts followed by a week of morning shifts and then a week on swing shifts. This pattern, sleep scientists say, interrupts the body's natural sleep cycles.
Many of the Federal Aviation Administration's 15,700 controllers work schedules that allow no realistic opportunity for rest. Their record for errors on the job has grown sharply over the past several years.
On Monday, the agency's head and the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association will begin visiting air traffic control facilities to hear what controllers have to say and to remind them that sleeping on the job won't be tolerated.
FAA officials are working with the association on issues related to fatigue, including changes to scheduling practices, an agency spokeswoman said.
FAA rules prohibit sleeping on the job, even during breaks. Employees who violate them can be fired. But controllers told The Associated Press that napping at night where one controller works two jobs while the other sleeps, and then they swap, is an open secret within the agency.
Czeisler also is urging screening of truck drivers for sleep apnea, a breathing problem they can be prone to because many are obese. He estimates that as many as 250,000 people in the U.S. doze off while driving every day, mostly in the daytime.
Studies have shown that a sleep-deprived driver is as impaired as someone with enough alcohol in his blood to be considered a drunken driver.
Even a drunk has some reflexes. "If you fall asleep, your performance is much worse," he said.
___
Associated Press writer Joan Lowy contributed to this report.
Odd work schedules pose risk to health
Apr 16, 2011 at 19:00 Views (13547) | | | 28 | |
In this Sept. 18, 2008 file photo, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Chief Operating Officer Hank Krakowski poses in the cockpit of an FAA jet in a hangar at Washington's Reagan National Airport. Krakowski, the official who oversees the nation's air traffic system resigned Thursday and the FAA began a "top to bottom" review of the entire system following disclosures of four instances of air traffic controllers sleeping on the job. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP
WASHINGTON (AP) Reports of sleeping air traffic controllers highlight a long-known and often ignored hazard: Workers on night shifts can have trouble concentrating and even staying awake.
"Government officials haven't recognized that people routinely fall asleep at night when they're doing shift work," said Dr. Charles Czeisler, chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Czeisler said studies show that 30 percent to 50 percent of night-shift workers report falling asleep at least once a week while on the job.
So the notion that this has happened only a few times among the thousands of controllers "is preposterous," he said in a telephone interview.
The potential danger isn't limited to air traffic controllers, he said, but can apply to truck and bus drivers, airline pilots and those in the maritime industry. Who else? Factory workers, police, firefighters, emergency workers, nurses and doctors, cooks, hotel employees, people in the media and others on night or changing shifts.
"We live in a very sleep-deprived society where many people are burning the candle at both ends," Czeisler said. He said that a half-century ago, just 2 percent of people slept six hours or less per night; today it's 28 percent.
Dr. William Fishbein, a neuroscientist at the City University of New York, said that when people work odd shifts "it mucks up their biological rhythms."
Hormones are synchronized with the wake-sleep cycle. When people change shifts, the brain never knows when it's supposed to be asleep, so this affects how people function.
People who change shifts every few days are going to have all kinds of problems related to memory and learning, Fishbein said. This kind of schedule especially affects what he called relational memories, which involve the ability to understand how one thing is related to another.
In addition to drowsiness and inability to concentrate, people working night shifts are more subject to chronic intestinal and heart diseases and have been shown to have a higher incidence of some forms of cancer. The World Health Organization has classified shift work as a probable carcinogen.
"We have 500 cable channels, we take work home with us on our Blackberrys and computers, both work and entertainment options are available 24 hours a day seven days a week and there is much more and brighter light exposure in our homes in evenings, which affects hormones involved in sleep, Czeisler said.
"And we are still trying to get up with the chickens because our work hours are starting earlier and earlier," he said.
Today, controllers are at the center of the firestorm, with recent reports that several planes couldn't contact airport towers for assistance in landing. Members of Congress are responding to a worried public, controllers have been suspended and the head of the government's air traffic control system has resigned.
President Barack Obama told ABC News that controllers must stay alert and do their jobs.
One old solution back in the news is allowing night workers to nap.
"There should be sanctioned on-shift napping. That's the way to handle night shift work," said Gregory Belenky, a sleep expert at Washington State University in Spokane.
A NASA study suggested that pilots on long-distance flights would perform much better if given a chance to take a scheduled nap, as long the rest was planned and the both pilots didn't sleep at the same time.
"But even though that's been known for decades, it's never been allowed because we prefer to pretend that these things are not happening," instead of managing the problem, Czeisler said. "We have a bury-our-head-in-the-sand attitude."
Controllers are often scheduled for a week of midnight shifts followed by a week of morning shifts and then a week on swing shifts. This pattern, sleep scientists say, interrupts the body's natural sleep cycles.
Many of the Federal Aviation Administration's 15,700 controllers work schedules that allow no realistic opportunity for rest. Their record for errors on the job has grown sharply over the past several years.
On Monday, the agency's head and the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association will begin visiting air traffic control facilities to hear what controllers have to say and to remind them that sleeping on the job won't be tolerated.
FAA officials are working with the association on issues related to fatigue, including changes to scheduling practices, an agency spokeswoman said.
FAA rules prohibit sleeping on the job, even during breaks. Employees who violate them can be fired. But controllers told The Associated Press that napping at night where one controller works two jobs while the other sleeps, and then they swap, is an open secret within the agency.
Czeisler also is urging screening of truck drivers for sleep apnea, a breathing problem they can be prone to because many are obese. He estimates that as many as 250,000 people in the U.S. doze off while driving every day, mostly in the daytime.
Studies have shown that a sleep-deprived driver is as impaired as someone with enough alcohol in his blood to be considered a drunken driver.
Even a drunk has some reflexes. "If you fall asleep, your performance is much worse," he said.
___
Associated Press writer Joan Lowy contributed to this report.
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Study doubts anti-aging claims
(Reuters)
15 April 2011
The hormone supplement DHEA may be promoted as a fountain of youth, but there is no good evidence that it boosts older women's memory, sexual function or general well-being, a new research review concludes.
DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone, is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands that is converted into other steroid hormones, including testosterone and estrogen. People's levels of DHEA naturally peak during their 20s, then taper off as they age. Because of this, over-the-counter synthetic DHEA supplements are marketed as an anti-aging weapon.
The supplement is claimed to sharpen memory and other cognitive skills, boost libido and sexual function, and enhance overall feelings of "well-being." It's also said to help protect against heart disease by improving cholesterol levels, and against diabetes by improving the body's use of the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin.
But none of those claims hold up in longer-term studies, according to the new review, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
"In the 1990s, DHEA was considered to be the elixir of youth, with preliminary studies suggesting benefits," said Dr. Susan R. Davis, the lead researcher on the review and director of the women's health research program at Monash University in Victoria, Australia.
But more recently, she told Reuters Health in an email, some larger, longer-term trials have found no benefits.
A few earlier studies found, for example, that DHEA might boost older women's memory. But they included only a small number of women, and lasted only 2 to 4 weeks.
The largest study to look at the question -- a 2008 trial that followed 115 women for 1 year -- found no evidence that DHEA benefitted women's memory or other cognitive abilities.
Similarly, Davis and her colleagues found, the bulk of the evidence was negative when it came to DHEA for managing sexual dysfunction, mood, cholesterol and insulin levels.
"Our data would suggest that there is basically no benefit for postmenopausal women to use DHEA supplements to improve sexual function, well-being, cognitive performance, or for prevention of diabetes/insulin resistance or to lower cholesterol levels," Davis said.
On the other hand, she noted, some trials have suggested that DHEA might help slow the loss of bone density after menopause. The researchers looked at 10 studies that have looked at the effects of DHEA on bone density over 6 months to 2 years, and the majority showed some positive effects on women's bone mass.
However, Davis said, it's not known whether DHEA can lower older women's risk of bone fractures.
DHEA capsules are widely sold with vitamins and supplements, costing about $6 for a month's supply.
The most common side effects of DHEA appear to be acne and excess hair growth on the face and body, Davis said. Researchers do not yet know what negative health effects, if any, might come from long-term use.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April40.xml§ion=health&col=
(Reuters)
15 April 2011
The hormone supplement DHEA may be promoted as a fountain of youth, but there is no good evidence that it boosts older women's memory, sexual function or general well-being, a new research review concludes.
DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone, is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands that is converted into other steroid hormones, including testosterone and estrogen. People's levels of DHEA naturally peak during their 20s, then taper off as they age. Because of this, over-the-counter synthetic DHEA supplements are marketed as an anti-aging weapon.
The supplement is claimed to sharpen memory and other cognitive skills, boost libido and sexual function, and enhance overall feelings of "well-being." It's also said to help protect against heart disease by improving cholesterol levels, and against diabetes by improving the body's use of the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin.
But none of those claims hold up in longer-term studies, according to the new review, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
"In the 1990s, DHEA was considered to be the elixir of youth, with preliminary studies suggesting benefits," said Dr. Susan R. Davis, the lead researcher on the review and director of the women's health research program at Monash University in Victoria, Australia.
But more recently, she told Reuters Health in an email, some larger, longer-term trials have found no benefits.
A few earlier studies found, for example, that DHEA might boost older women's memory. But they included only a small number of women, and lasted only 2 to 4 weeks.
The largest study to look at the question -- a 2008 trial that followed 115 women for 1 year -- found no evidence that DHEA benefitted women's memory or other cognitive abilities.
Similarly, Davis and her colleagues found, the bulk of the evidence was negative when it came to DHEA for managing sexual dysfunction, mood, cholesterol and insulin levels.
"Our data would suggest that there is basically no benefit for postmenopausal women to use DHEA supplements to improve sexual function, well-being, cognitive performance, or for prevention of diabetes/insulin resistance or to lower cholesterol levels," Davis said.
On the other hand, she noted, some trials have suggested that DHEA might help slow the loss of bone density after menopause. The researchers looked at 10 studies that have looked at the effects of DHEA on bone density over 6 months to 2 years, and the majority showed some positive effects on women's bone mass.
However, Davis said, it's not known whether DHEA can lower older women's risk of bone fractures.
DHEA capsules are widely sold with vitamins and supplements, costing about $6 for a month's supply.
The most common side effects of DHEA appear to be acne and excess hair growth on the face and body, Davis said. Researchers do not yet know what negative health effects, if any, might come from long-term use.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April40.xml§ion=health&col=
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Carrots can help prevent cancer
(IANS)
8 April 2011
Carrots can halt the progression of breast cancer in the early stages of the disease, a study says.
The retinoic acid, which is contained in carrot, also rejuvenates the skin and a weak version of it is used in anti-wrinkle face creams, express.co.uk reported.
The study has shown that retinoic acid reverses early changes in cells that lead to breast cancer. The chemical affects cell growth, proliferation and survival.
The results were presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida. The study suggests that it can halt cancer progression early on, but not at later stages.
US scientists focused on the key role played by a gene that activates retinoic acids anti-cancer properties.
There appears to be no way to revert the tumors with retinoic acid when they become too advanced, said study leader Sandra Fernandez.
But certain experimental drugs may increase the effectiveness of retinoic acid in later stages of breast cancer, she added. These drugs were already being used to manage a certain type of leukemia.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April22.xml§ion=health&col=
(IANS)
8 April 2011
Carrots can halt the progression of breast cancer in the early stages of the disease, a study says.
The study has shown that retinoic acid reverses early changes in cells that lead to breast cancer. The chemical affects cell growth, proliferation and survival.
The results were presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida. The study suggests that it can halt cancer progression early on, but not at later stages.
US scientists focused on the key role played by a gene that activates retinoic acids anti-cancer properties.
There appears to be no way to revert the tumors with retinoic acid when they become too advanced, said study leader Sandra Fernandez.
But certain experimental drugs may increase the effectiveness of retinoic acid in later stages of breast cancer, she added. These drugs were already being used to manage a certain type of leukemia.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../April/health_April22.xml§ion=health&col=
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Governments Dietary Advice: Eat Less
By ANDREW MARTIN
As the nations obesity crisis continues unabated, federal regulators on Monday issued their bluntest nutrition advice to date: drink water instead of sugary drinks like soda, fill your plate with fruits and vegetables and cut down on processed foods filled with sodium, fat or sugar.
More important, perhaps, the government told Americans, Enjoy your food, but eat less. Many Americans eat too many calories every day, expanding their waistlines and imperiling their health.
While the recommendations may seem obvious, it is nonetheless considered major progress for federal regulators, who have long skirted the issue, wary of the powerful food lobby. (The 112-page report even subtly suggests that people eat less pizza and dessert.)
Previous guidelines urged Americans to curb sugar, solid fats and salt, but avoided naming specific foods, let alone urging consumers to eat less food over all.
For them to have said eat less is really new. Who would have thought? said Margo G. Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. We should have been saying eat less for a decade.
Ms. Wootan said she was nonetheless pleased that the guidelines provided understandable and actionable advice rather than the big vague messages of the past.
For instance, she applauded the advice to make half of your plate fruits and vegetables.
Before, the dietary guidelines said, Eat more fruits and vegetables, but that could mean add a slice of tomato to your hamburger, she said.
Robert C. Post, deputy director of the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion at the Agriculture Department, said regulators hoped simple messages would resonate better than the more technical prose of the past.
Maybe that is what will help this time to get the consumers attention, he said.
While the guidelines are ostensibly for consumers and federal nutrition programs, they will undoubtedly put additional pressure on the food industry to reformulate processed foods, particularly to reduce the amount of sodium, which was emphasized in the report.
Similarly, the guidelines advice to reduce portion size could put pressure on restaurants, many of which continue to serve portions so large that they could easily serve two people under the governments guidelines.
If companies dont change their practices and reformulate their products, people dont have a chance of following the dietary guidelines, Ms. Wootan said.
Just two weeks ago, Wal-Mart Stores announced a five-year plan to reformulate its store-brand packaged foods and drop the price on fruits and vegetables. Wal-Mart said it would pressure its major suppliers to do the same.
In addition, the first lady, Michelle Obama, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York have pushed for manufacturers and restaurants to reduce the amount of trans fat and sodium in their products.
Several food manufacturers noted that they had already taken major steps to reduce the amount of sodium in their products, though some critics say they have not gone far enough.
We feel great about the progress we are making, said Susan Davison, a spokeswoman for Kraft Foods, one of the largest food makers in the world. The company has vowed to reduce sodium in its North American portfolio by an average of 10 percent by 2012, and Ms. Davison said it had already met that goal in 350 products and would eventually reformulate more than 1,000 products.
We know that our consumers are interested in monitoring their sodium intake, she said. We are looking for ways to help them without giving up the foods they love.
David S. Smith, a vice president at Campbell Soup who oversees research and development, said his company was offering reduced-sodium versions of hundreds of its products, in some cases replacing regular salt with smaller amounts of sea salt. He said the company was continuing to look for ways to cut sodium even further.
Salt is not an easy thing to replace, he said. It is very challenging.
The specific recommendations on various nutrients were largely unchanged in this years guidelines, compared to the last version in 2005, though reductions in sodium were given much greater emphasis.
Under the guidelines released Monday, about half of the populace should consume 1,500 milligrams of sodium or less each day. That includes children, African-Americans and anyone who is older than 50 or has hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Everyone else may consume up to 2,300 milligrams, about a teaspoon.
Now, Americans on average consume about 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day.
In addition, the guidelines recommend consuming less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fatty acids, replacing them with so-called good fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The guidelines suggest making fruits and vegetables cover half of the plate at a meal, choosing fat-free and low-fat dairy products and eating more whole grains and seafood.
August Schumacher Jr., a former agriculture under secretary, said government farm policies needed to be revised to provide incentives for farmers across the country to plant more fruits and vegetables.
In addition, Mr. Schumacher, now executive vice president of Wholesome Wave, a nonprofit group that promotes access to healthy foods, said the government needed to help consumers, particularly those on food stamps, get access to fruits, vegetables and other foods recommended in the guidelines.
The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services revise the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a thick booklet that lays out an ideal diet to maintain health, every five years. The panel produces a draft that is reviewed and tweaked by regulators and eventually made public.
In 2005, the last time the guidelines were revised, the government urged Americans to eat more whole grains and less sugar. It was the first time the guidelines recommended replacing refined grains with whole grains, and it prompted major changes in the ingredients used by food manufacturers.
General Mills , for instance, replaced refined grains with whole grains in its breakfast cereals, and many bread makers did the same.
While the guidelines urge Americans to eat less, they do not change the suggested daily caloric levels for most Americans, which vary depending on age and activity level.
But many Americans already eat more calories each day than they are supposed to eat by ignoring the dietary guidance.
Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer at Weight Watchers, said she was particularly pleased that the advice was so simple. The two overarching themes of the report are: maintain calorie balance over time to achieve and sustain a healthy weight, and focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods and beverages.
The last many guidelines have focused on process, this many milligrams of sodium, that much fat. I think what these do is lay out the basics, Ms. Miller-Kovach said. If you cut calories and you make those calories count in terms of those nutrients, what happens? All those numbers fall into place.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/business/01food.html?_r=1&ref=nutrition&pagewanted=all
By ANDREW MARTIN
As the nations obesity crisis continues unabated, federal regulators on Monday issued their bluntest nutrition advice to date: drink water instead of sugary drinks like soda, fill your plate with fruits and vegetables and cut down on processed foods filled with sodium, fat or sugar.
More important, perhaps, the government told Americans, Enjoy your food, but eat less. Many Americans eat too many calories every day, expanding their waistlines and imperiling their health.
While the recommendations may seem obvious, it is nonetheless considered major progress for federal regulators, who have long skirted the issue, wary of the powerful food lobby. (The 112-page report even subtly suggests that people eat less pizza and dessert.)
Previous guidelines urged Americans to curb sugar, solid fats and salt, but avoided naming specific foods, let alone urging consumers to eat less food over all.
For them to have said eat less is really new. Who would have thought? said Margo G. Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. We should have been saying eat less for a decade.
Ms. Wootan said she was nonetheless pleased that the guidelines provided understandable and actionable advice rather than the big vague messages of the past.
For instance, she applauded the advice to make half of your plate fruits and vegetables.
Before, the dietary guidelines said, Eat more fruits and vegetables, but that could mean add a slice of tomato to your hamburger, she said.
Robert C. Post, deputy director of the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion at the Agriculture Department, said regulators hoped simple messages would resonate better than the more technical prose of the past.
Maybe that is what will help this time to get the consumers attention, he said.
While the guidelines are ostensibly for consumers and federal nutrition programs, they will undoubtedly put additional pressure on the food industry to reformulate processed foods, particularly to reduce the amount of sodium, which was emphasized in the report.
Similarly, the guidelines advice to reduce portion size could put pressure on restaurants, many of which continue to serve portions so large that they could easily serve two people under the governments guidelines.
If companies dont change their practices and reformulate their products, people dont have a chance of following the dietary guidelines, Ms. Wootan said.
Just two weeks ago, Wal-Mart Stores announced a five-year plan to reformulate its store-brand packaged foods and drop the price on fruits and vegetables. Wal-Mart said it would pressure its major suppliers to do the same.
In addition, the first lady, Michelle Obama, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York have pushed for manufacturers and restaurants to reduce the amount of trans fat and sodium in their products.
Several food manufacturers noted that they had already taken major steps to reduce the amount of sodium in their products, though some critics say they have not gone far enough.
We feel great about the progress we are making, said Susan Davison, a spokeswoman for Kraft Foods, one of the largest food makers in the world. The company has vowed to reduce sodium in its North American portfolio by an average of 10 percent by 2012, and Ms. Davison said it had already met that goal in 350 products and would eventually reformulate more than 1,000 products.
We know that our consumers are interested in monitoring their sodium intake, she said. We are looking for ways to help them without giving up the foods they love.
David S. Smith, a vice president at Campbell Soup who oversees research and development, said his company was offering reduced-sodium versions of hundreds of its products, in some cases replacing regular salt with smaller amounts of sea salt. He said the company was continuing to look for ways to cut sodium even further.
Salt is not an easy thing to replace, he said. It is very challenging.
The specific recommendations on various nutrients were largely unchanged in this years guidelines, compared to the last version in 2005, though reductions in sodium were given much greater emphasis.
Under the guidelines released Monday, about half of the populace should consume 1,500 milligrams of sodium or less each day. That includes children, African-Americans and anyone who is older than 50 or has hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Everyone else may consume up to 2,300 milligrams, about a teaspoon.
Now, Americans on average consume about 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day.
In addition, the guidelines recommend consuming less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fatty acids, replacing them with so-called good fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The guidelines suggest making fruits and vegetables cover half of the plate at a meal, choosing fat-free and low-fat dairy products and eating more whole grains and seafood.
August Schumacher Jr., a former agriculture under secretary, said government farm policies needed to be revised to provide incentives for farmers across the country to plant more fruits and vegetables.
In addition, Mr. Schumacher, now executive vice president of Wholesome Wave, a nonprofit group that promotes access to healthy foods, said the government needed to help consumers, particularly those on food stamps, get access to fruits, vegetables and other foods recommended in the guidelines.
The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services revise the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a thick booklet that lays out an ideal diet to maintain health, every five years. The panel produces a draft that is reviewed and tweaked by regulators and eventually made public.
In 2005, the last time the guidelines were revised, the government urged Americans to eat more whole grains and less sugar. It was the first time the guidelines recommended replacing refined grains with whole grains, and it prompted major changes in the ingredients used by food manufacturers.
General Mills , for instance, replaced refined grains with whole grains in its breakfast cereals, and many bread makers did the same.
While the guidelines urge Americans to eat less, they do not change the suggested daily caloric levels for most Americans, which vary depending on age and activity level.
But many Americans already eat more calories each day than they are supposed to eat by ignoring the dietary guidance.
Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer at Weight Watchers, said she was particularly pleased that the advice was so simple. The two overarching themes of the report are: maintain calorie balance over time to achieve and sustain a healthy weight, and focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods and beverages.
The last many guidelines have focused on process, this many milligrams of sodium, that much fat. I think what these do is lay out the basics, Ms. Miller-Kovach said. If you cut calories and you make those calories count in terms of those nutrients, what happens? All those numbers fall into place.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/business/01food.html?_r=1&ref=nutrition&pagewanted=all
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Eating fish reduces blindness risk
(IANS)
15 March 2011
LONDON - Eating fish just once or twice a week could reduce the risk of suffering from the most common form of blindness by nearly half.
Research shows that eating omega-3 fatty acids, most commonly found in tinned salmon and tuna, can help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that leads to the gradual loss of vision.
This finding backs up previous research which showed similar results in men. William Christen, of the Harvard Medical School, the US, who led the study said that dark meat fish appeared to help the most, the Telegraph reports.
This lower risk appeared to be due, primarily, to consumption of canned tuna fish and dark-meat fish, said Christen.
The disease, which mainly effects people over 40, robs sufferers of their sight by creating a black spot in the centre of their vision which slowly gets bigger.
With the number of AMD sufferers expected to treble in the next 25 years as the population ages, there is an urgent need for a breakthrough.
The team at Harvard Medical School piggybacked on another study of more than 38,000 women to obtain the findings. All the participants began the study AMD-free.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../March/health_March44.xml§ion=health&col=
(IANS)
15 March 2011
LONDON - Eating fish just once or twice a week could reduce the risk of suffering from the most common form of blindness by nearly half.
Research shows that eating omega-3 fatty acids, most commonly found in tinned salmon and tuna, can help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that leads to the gradual loss of vision.
This finding backs up previous research which showed similar results in men. William Christen, of the Harvard Medical School, the US, who led the study said that dark meat fish appeared to help the most, the Telegraph reports.
This lower risk appeared to be due, primarily, to consumption of canned tuna fish and dark-meat fish, said Christen.
The disease, which mainly effects people over 40, robs sufferers of their sight by creating a black spot in the centre of their vision which slowly gets bigger.
With the number of AMD sufferers expected to treble in the next 25 years as the population ages, there is an urgent need for a breakthrough.
The team at Harvard Medical School piggybacked on another study of more than 38,000 women to obtain the findings. All the participants began the study AMD-free.
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Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Acupuncture reduces nausea
(IANS)
25 March 2011
LONDON - Simulated acupuncture is just as effective as real acupuncture for treating nausea in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.
Patients who received only standard care, including medications for nausea, felt significantly more nausea than patients in both the acupuncture groups, reports the journal PLoS ONE.
The beneficial effects seem not to come from the traditional acupuncture method, but probably from the patients positive expectations and the extra care that the treatment entails, said study author Anna Enblom.
The patients communicated with the physiotherapists administering the acupuncture, received tactile stimulation and were given extra time for rest and relaxation, said Enblom, researcher at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
The study included 277 patients at Linkoping and Lund university hospitals and Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, all of whom were undergoing radiotherapy of the abdomen or pelvic region for cancer, according to a Karolinska Institutet statement.
A selection of 215 patients from this group was blindly assigned traditional or simulated acupuncture.
The former group (109 patients) had needles inserted into their skin to stimulate certain points, and the latter (106 patients) had blunt telescopic placebo needles merely pressed against the skin.
The results show that the patients who had received genuine or simulated acupuncture felt much less nauseous than those who had received standard care only.
The patients expectations seemed to be important for the effect: 81 percent of those who expected to feel ill did so, in contrast to only 50 percent of those who did not.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../March/health_March76.xml§ion=health&col=
(IANS)
25 March 2011
LONDON - Simulated acupuncture is just as effective as real acupuncture for treating nausea in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.
Patients who received only standard care, including medications for nausea, felt significantly more nausea than patients in both the acupuncture groups, reports the journal PLoS ONE.
The beneficial effects seem not to come from the traditional acupuncture method, but probably from the patients positive expectations and the extra care that the treatment entails, said study author Anna Enblom.
The patients communicated with the physiotherapists administering the acupuncture, received tactile stimulation and were given extra time for rest and relaxation, said Enblom, researcher at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
The study included 277 patients at Linkoping and Lund university hospitals and Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, all of whom were undergoing radiotherapy of the abdomen or pelvic region for cancer, according to a Karolinska Institutet statement.
A selection of 215 patients from this group was blindly assigned traditional or simulated acupuncture.
The former group (109 patients) had needles inserted into their skin to stimulate certain points, and the latter (106 patients) had blunt telescopic placebo needles merely pressed against the skin.
The results show that the patients who had received genuine or simulated acupuncture felt much less nauseous than those who had received standard care only.
The patients expectations seemed to be important for the effect: 81 percent of those who expected to feel ill did so, in contrast to only 50 percent of those who did not.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display.../March/health_March76.xml§ion=health&col=
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Health Tips
- Walnuts are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy fat that can reduce your risk of heart disease.
- Rinse your mouth after having citrus fruits and lemon as citric acid in these fruits can erode tooth enamel.
- Blackheads and whiteheads are caused by clogged pores. Applying a retinol containing cream can help clear them off.
- Henna and Curd are good hair conditioners. Apply a mix of henna & curd to your scalp and wash it off after 20 minutes.
- Beans are a good choice if you are trying to lose weight because they keep blood sugar levels even and suppress hunger.
- For lustrous hair, massage your scalp with warm coconut oil, wrap your hair with a hot towel for about fifteen minutes and then shampoo.
- Dry flaky lips appear thin and give you an aged look. Apply lip balm generously for full and young looking lips.
- Selenium rich foods such as oatmeal, seafood, nuts and legumes protect against depression and mood disorders.
- Age shows not only on face but also on the skin of your hands and feet. Moisturize them regularly to keep them wrinkle free.
- Having skimmed milk instead of whole milk can help you lose 3 kilos in a year and even reduce your cholesterol levels.
- Too much conditioner can make your hair look limp and thin. Use hair styling products containing silicone to add volume to your hair.
- People prone to asthma should use pain killers with care as some of them can trigger asthma attack.
- Smoking is a top cause of fine lines and premature wrinkles. Quitting smoking could be your key to youthful skin.
- The best way to sleep is on your side with your knees bent. You may put a pillow under your head and even one between your knees.
- Homemade scrub: Mix rice powder with curd or rose water and rub gently on face in circular motion.
- A healthy breakfast should include complex carbohydrates such as whole grain breads, oatmeal, or broken wheat porridge.
- Bad breath test: Scrape your tongue and check if the whitish residue has a foul smell. Breathing into your hand can miss subtle bad breath.
- Avoid saturated fats as they induce a state of low-grade inflammation in your body and decrease its ability to fight infections.
- Avoid reapplying perfume because you feel it has lost its scent. People around u can smell your perfume long after you have stopped smelling it.
- Consuming yogurt or curd can enhance your immunity because it contains good bacteria that stimulate the immune cells.
- Avoid using antibacterial soap on your face on a daily basis as most of them are too harsh for your skin.
- Feeling irritable and confused? Try drinking a glass of fresh fruit juice to give a quick boost to thinking and concentration.
- If you have dark circles, apply an under eye gel containing a lightening ingredient like vitamin C and a collagen-builder like retinol.
- You can have a protein rich but low fat diet by consuming fish, seafood, egg whites, pulses, beans, and soy products.
- It is not a must to use a toner on your skin. Cleansing and moisturizing are enough if you are short of time.
- To get a good amount of vitamin C add guavas, papayas, oranges, and melon to your diet.
- Make sure that your diet has adequate amount of protein if you are fighting hair fall.
- Crash diets can cause hair loss by depleting your body of essential vitamins and protein.
- Vitamin C rich fruits like oranges and guava have an anti-aging effect and make your skin look smoother and younger.
- Eating fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin c or carotenoids is linked with a reduced risk of many cancers.
- Head massage once a month with a mix of coconut, castor, olive and almond oil is great to nourish dry hair.
- Get maximum health benefits from your tea by adding some lemon juice to it. The citrus juice increases antioxidant absorption.
- Apply a paste of coconut milk and sandalwood powder on your face. It removes dead skin and makes your skin soft and glowing.
- Having some dark chocolate can help make your skin look smoother and keep it better hydrated.
- Got chapped lips? Use a lip balm containing Shea butter to help your lips heal faster.
- Warm water gargle with a teaspoon of salt four times daily is the best home remedy for soothing a sore throat.
- Steam inhalation is the best home remedy for a stuffy nose. Even steam inhaled while sipping hot fluids or taking hot shower helps.
- Cleanse your face before going to bed even if you have been indoors and applied no makeup to get rid of bacteria,dead cells and oil.
- If you have normal to dry skin, you can use extra virgin olive oil as a moisturizer at night to make your skin super soft.
- Food labels that say cholesterol free are not necessarily healthy. Rather make sure that total saturated fat content is low.
- Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are needed to keep skin hydrated and younger looking. A diet too low in fats can cause skin problems.
- If you are more than 30 years old, strength training should be a part of your fitness regime to keep your muscles in shape and boost your metabolism.
Night_Hawk
Siasat.pk - Blogger
Good mood can fog your memory
(IANS)
1 April 2011
Though good mood brings along cheerfulness and positive feelings, it is also linked with forgetfulness, as such a state of mind decreases your working memory capacity.
Working memory, for example, is the ability to recall items in a conversation as you are having it, said Elizabeth Martin, doctoral student of psychology at the University of Missouri College of Arts and Science, who led the study.
This explains why you might not be able to remember a phone number you get at a party, when you are having a good time. This research is the first to show that positive mood can negatively impact working memory storage capacity, said Martin, the journal Cognition and Emotion reports.
Researchers gauged participants mood before and after showing them a video clip. Some were shown a segment of a stand-up comedy routine, while others watched an instructional video on how to install flooring, according to a Missouri statement.
Following the videos, those who viewed the comedy routine were in significantly better moods after viewing the video, while the mood of those who viewed the flooring video had not changed.
After watching the videos, both groups completed a memory test. Those who watched
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display...1/April/health_April2.xml§ion=health&col=
(IANS)
1 April 2011
Though good mood brings along cheerfulness and positive feelings, it is also linked with forgetfulness, as such a state of mind decreases your working memory capacity.
Working memory, for example, is the ability to recall items in a conversation as you are having it, said Elizabeth Martin, doctoral student of psychology at the University of Missouri College of Arts and Science, who led the study.
Researchers gauged participants mood before and after showing them a video clip. Some were shown a segment of a stand-up comedy routine, while others watched an instructional video on how to install flooring, according to a Missouri statement.
Following the videos, those who viewed the comedy routine were in significantly better moods after viewing the video, while the mood of those who viewed the flooring video had not changed.
After watching the videos, both groups completed a memory test. Those who watched
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/display...1/April/health_April2.xml§ion=health&col=
