Mom
December 24th 2008
Archive for December, 2008
Study finds Kids no longer Play outside
December 24th 2008
The BBC Wildlife Magazine conducted a survey in which they discovered that British children were so out of touch with the natural world they couldn’t identify several common species of plants and animals.
The magazine said, the results reinforced stereotypes of today’s children spending too much time playing video games that they no longer spend enough time playing in the green outdoors.
The survey also found that playing in the countryside ranked last among children’s preferred way of spending leisure time. Taking a walk or playing outside both ranked far lower than playing on a computer.
Some experts believe overprotective parents are partially to blame for the results, but so are conservationists who fear that children will damage nature.
High Fiber Foods Linked to Weight Loss
December 23rd 2008
Research at Tufts University in Boston shows people who eat more fiber consume less total calories and lose more weight than those who eat a diet deficient in fiber.
There are 2 types of fiber found in food; soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber slows the absorption of nutrients into your system and insoluble fiber keeps your digestive system running efficiently.
High fiber diets support weight loss by adding bulk in the stomach, causing us to feel full without any extra calories. High fiber foods slow digestion helping us to feel fuller longer .
Because fiber slows digestion, sugar levels are regulated. Carbohydrates cause a spike in sugar which causes a sudden rise in insulin thus increasing our appetite. This sudden rise and fall in blood sugar levels spurs us to consume more food.
When we eat foods high in fiber, less of the calories from the food is absorbed in our system, because fiber is not absorbed by the body. So whole grain pasta is better than refined white pasta because the fiber content is higher.
Go ahead Exexcise after Eating
December 22nd 2008
During this holiday season, don’t worry about eating them exercising. Urban legend has it that if you exercise after eating you will cause stomach cramps. Here is how it works, after eating your stomach is full with food, the stomach contract which requires large amounts of blood to fill that area. Conversely, when you exercise “vigorously” your heart pumps large amounts of blood to the working muscles. If you heart is not strong enough to pump blood to both your stomach and your working muscles, blood is simply diverted to the exercising muscles. This diversion of blood to the exercising muscles leaves the stomach muscles oxygen starved, creating lactic build up which results in the ache you might feel.
Conversely, most people can exercise after eating without experiencing this ache, because their heart is strong enough to pump blood to both the stomach and the exercising muscles.
Fosamax drug may Hinder Bones Ability to Heal
December 18th 2008
Long term use of osteoporosis drugs known as bisphosphonates can actually weaken bones by impairing their ability to heal, leading to fractures. This is according to a study conducted by researchers from New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Apparently women taking the bisphosphonate drug Fosamax, known generically as bisphosphonate alendronate, cause the most problem. Of the people who suffered stress fractures due to very little or no trauma, they were taking Fosamax.
Researchers found that Fosamax patients with these types of fractures had been taking the drug an average of 7 years, while those of other types of fractures averaged only 2 1/2 years. This correlation didn’t seem to show differences regardless of ethnicity, age, osteoporosis history or weight.
Dean G. Lorich, one of the researchers says, “while bisphosphonates like Fosamax have proven to be successful in the treatment of osteoporosis and other metabolic bone disease, long term use of the drug may suppress the ability of bones to heal in some patients.” “Therefore, patients with routine stress fractures are unable to properly heal and minor damage can worsen until a serious fracture occurs.”
Bailout for Employees who Ride to Work
December 18th 2008
The Bicycle Commuter Act has been signed into law. The measure was recently passed as part of the 451 page Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008; better known as the $700 billion bailout bill. Businesses will receive a monthly $20 tax credit for every employee who rides to work, which they can use to reimburse those workers. Ironically, the bike bill’s biggest supporter, representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, voted against the act because he believed the overall package included insufficient bankruptcy protection for homeowners.
Caffeine, Smoking and being Overweight could reduce Chances of becoming Pregnant
December 17th 2008
According to a study conducted by researchers from Radboud University in Nijmegan, the Netherlands drinking 4 or more cups of coffee per day could harm chances of becoming pregnant.
Additionally, women who consumed alcohol 3 or more times per week suffered similar challenges to conception. If the woman is overweight and smokes more than 1 cigarette a day had an even reduction in her chances of conceiving.
Fertility expert Bill Leger of the University of Sheffield speculated that caffeine might lower fertility by having a mildly toxic effect on sperm and egg cells. Fiona Ford of the Center for Pregnancy Nutrition agreed that the findings might not apply to women without fertility problems.
Chemical Used on Crops could make You Fat
December 15th 2008
Many people who eat organic food and use natural products are trying to avoid pesticides that are linked to cancer and other diseases. Now Japanese researchers say there is another advantage to “going green” and avoiding toxins and chemical additives in the environment. A common pollutant has been found to have a potent effect on gene activity and could be contributing to the obesity epidemic.
According to an article published in the December issue of the journal Bioscience the chemical tributyltin affects sensitive receptors in the cells of a host of animals, ranging from water fleas to people. What’s more tributyltin has an impact an extremely lowe levels a thousand times lower than pollutants that are known to interfere with the sexual development of wildlife species for example. The chemical is known to be damaging to the liver as well as the nervous and immune systems in mammals. But what has just been recognized is that tributyltin also has powerful effects on the cellular components known as retinoid X receptors (RXRs) in a range o species. That important because RXRs can move into the nuclei of cells and turn on genes that cause the growth of fat storage cells and regulate whole body metabolism. This raises a disturbing possibility. The pollutant could be harming humans by causing slowed metabolism and weight gain.
Scientists Taisen lguchi and Yoshinao Katsu of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan, who wrote the BioScience article point out that effects of tributyltin on RXR like nuclear receptors could be widespread through the animal kingdom including the human species. And they note that the enormous rise in obesity over the past 4 decades coincides with the increased use of industrial chemicals over the same period.
Several other ubiquitous pollutants with strong biological effects, including environmental estrogens such as bisphenol A and nonylphenol also have been found to stimulate the growth of fat storage cells in mice. In a statement to the mediam lguchi and Katsu said it is “plausible and provocative” to associate the obesity epidemic to chemical triggers found in our modern, polluted environment.
Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to avoid tributylin it is frequently used as a preservative in paints for boats, wood and textiles and it is also used as a pesticide on high value food crops. and if you are expecting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make sure you are protected from this potentially dangerous chemical think again.
A new report just released by the National Research Council warns the EPA’s process of generating risk assessments of the adverse effects posed by harmful chemicals found in the environment is bogged down. The EPA is rarely able to connect available scientific data with the information officials need for an accurate risk assessment. The report state’s the EPA is struggling to keep up with demands for hazard and dose response information and doesn’t have enough resources to adequately cope.
The risk assessment for trichloroethylene is an example cited by the report. Chemical used to remove grease from metal parts and ingredient in adhesives, paint removers, typewriter correction fluids and spot removers trichloroethylene has been associated with cancer, heart problems and liver and lung damage for decades. However, although a risk assessment for trichloroethylene has been under development since the 1980s, official EPA risk management decisions about the chemical is not expected until 2010.
by S Baker
Heart Failure Patients receive Benefits from Exercise
December 12th 2008
Not only can heart failure cause tiredness and physical limitations, it is often fatal, too. Some 5 million Americans are said to get some form of heart failure every year. Yet another startling statistic in the long list of chronic conditions plaguing the US.
In fact, heart disease is the leading killer disease in the West. And the fact is heart failure and many forms of cardiovascular conditions have their roots in dietary and lifestyle habits.
But, when it comes to heart conditions it seems many both physicians and patients alike may be tempted to take the so called safer option. “Take it easy, have a good rest” sure seems a lot more sensible than telling someone recovering from heart failure to “put on your jogging gear and go for a run”.
Yet, the findings of the said study have shown those who do not exercise were more likely to be hospitalized for another heart failure, and also more likely to die from cardiac causes. These imply that the danger in fact lies in inactivity and that is something which all heart patients will want to take note of.
by R Chow, Exercise Shown to Benefit even Heart Failure Patients
Do Bad Genes Cause Obesity
December 12th 2008
The current mainstream model of human health tells us that we are predestined to encounter certain illnesses and that our weight is largely down to genes. Yet scientists in New Zealand are dispelling the common myth that obesity is caused by “bad genes.” Scientists from Auckland University’s Liggins Institute have discovered that genetic pre disposition to obesity can be reversed through good nutrition in early childhood.
The research shows that when a mother is undernourished, her child’s body is pre set to cope with a life a scarcity. And remember, undernourished does not necessarily mean not eating enough food. Many overeaters in the western would are severely undernourished due to an appalling diet of junk food. Not oly are their children likely to become fat because they eat the same foods as there parents but also because they are biologically storing for not enough nutrients a double whammy.
In laboratory test, new born offspring from both well fed and undernourished rats were given leptin, a hormone that signals to the body when it has eaten enough. When they became adults the long term effects were measured by looking at genes that regulate metabolism in the liver. Rats from well fed mothers reacted to leptin in the opposite way to those from undernourished mothers.
The researchers urge mothers to eat a more balance diet during pregnancy. However, it the fetus is under nourished in the womb the long term effects can still be corrected through good nutrition in early childhood.
Some Healthy Eating Tips for Pregnancy Women and Children: Studies Prove that Obesity has nothing to do with Bad Genes
by S Walters