Month: February 2014

Breastfeeding may boost IQ in babies: Study

Children who are breastfed score higher on IQ tests and perform better in school, scientists say.

A new study by sociologists at Brigham Young University pinpoints two parenting skills as the real source of this cognitive boost: Responding to children’s emotional cues and reading to children starting at 9 months of age.

Breastfeeding mothers tend to do both of those things, said lead study author Ben Gibbs.

“It’s really the parenting that makes the difference,” said Gibbs.

“Breastfeeding matters in others ways, but this actually gives us a better mechanism and can shape our confidence about interventions that promote school readiness,” said Gibbs.

According to the analysis, improvements in sensitivity to emotional cues and time reading to children could yield 2-3 months’ worth of brain development by age 4 (as measured by math and reading readiness assessments).

“Because these are four-year-olds, a month or two represents a non-trivial chunk of time,” Gibbs said.

“And if a child is on the edge of needing special education, even a small boost across some eligibility line could shape a child’s educational trajectory,” said Gibbs.

Researchers utilised a national data set that followed 7,500 mothers and their children from birth to five years of age.

The data set is rich with information on the home environment, including how early and how often parents read to their kids.

Additionally, each of the mothers in the study also participated in video-taped activities with their children.

As the child tried to complete a challenging task, the mother’s supportiveness and sensitivity to their child’s emotional cues were measured.

Sandra Jacobson of Wayne State University School of Medicine noted that children in the study who were breastfed for 6 months or longer performed the best on reading assessments because they also “experienced the most optimal parenting practices.

“Gibbs and Forste found that reading to an infant every day as early as age 9 months and sensitivity to the child’s cues during social interactions, rather than breastfeeding per se, were significant predictors of reading readiness at age 4 years,” said Jacobson.

The study was published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Source: Times of India

 

Old, Sprouting Garlic Has Heart-healthy Antioxidants

“Sprouted” garlic — old garlic bulbs with bright green shoots emerging from the cloves — is considered to be past its prime and usually ends up in the garbage can. But scientists are reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that this type of garlic has even more heart-healthy antioxidant activity than its fresher counterparts.

Jong-Sang Kim and colleagues note that people have used garlic for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Today, people still celebrate its healthful benefits. Eating garlic or taking garlic supplements is touted as a natural way to reduce cholesterol levels, blood pressure and heart disease risk. It even may boost the immune system and help fight cancer. But those benefits are for fresh, raw garlic.

Sprouted garlic has received much less attention. When seedlings grow into green plants, they make many new compounds, including those that protect the young plant against pathogens. Kim’s group reasoned that the same thing might be happening when green shoots grow from old heads of garlic. Other studies have shown that sprouted beans and grains have increased antioxidant activity, so the team set out to see if the same is true for garlic.

They found that garlic sprouted for five days had higher antioxidant activity than fresher, younger bulbs, and it had different metabolites, suggesting that it also makes different substances. Extracts from this garlic even protected cells in a laboratory dish from certain types of damage. “Therefore, sprouting may be a useful way to improve the antioxidant potential of garlic,” they conclude.

Source: red orbit

 

Gene Study Offers Clues to Why Autism Strikes More Males

why girls are less likely than boys to have an autism spectrum disorder.

It turns out that girls tend not to develop autism when only mild genetic abnormalities exist, the researchers said. But when they are diagnosed with the disorder, they are more likely to have more extreme genetic mutations than boys who show the same symptoms.

“Girls tolerate neurodevelopmental mutations more than boys do. This is really what the study shows,” said study author Sebastien Jacquemont, an assistant professor of genetic medicine at the University Hospital of Lausanne, in Switzerland.

“To push a girl over the threshold for autism or any of these neurodevelopmental disorders, it takes more of these mutations,” Jacquemont added. “It’s about resilience to genetic insult.”

The dilemma is that the researchers don’t really know why this is so. “It’s more of an observation at a molecular level,” Jacquemont noted.

In the study, the Swiss researchers collaborated with scientists from the University of Washington School of Medicine to analyze about 16,000 DNA samples and sequencing data sets from people with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders.

The investigators also analyzed genetic data from almost 800 families affected by autism for the study, which was released online Feb. 27 in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

The researchers analyzed copy-number variants (CNVs), which are individual variations in the number of copies of a particular gene. They also looked at single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), which are DNA sequence variations affecting a single nucleotide. Nucleotides are the basic building blocks of DNA.

The study found that females diagnosed with any neurodevelopmental disorder, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and intellectual disability, had more harmful CNVs than males who were diagnosed with the same disorder. Females with autism also had more harmful SNVs than males with the condition.

“There’s a well-known disparity when it comes to developmental disorders between boys and girls, and it’s been puzzling,” Jacquemont said. “And there have been quite a bit of papers trying to investigate this bias that we’ve seen in the clinic.”

The study authors pointed out that autism affects four boys for every one girl. The ratio increases to seven-to-one when looking at high-functioning autism cases.

It’s an interesting study, said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York.

“It’s not an easy study to read, but certainly the take-away suggests it tries to lend further support to the assumption that the ratio of males to females [who have autism] is affected by genetic vulnerabilities — that it has a genetic underpinning,” Adesman said.

What do the findings mean for parents and patients?

Adesman said there are no immediate benefits, but the knowledge can help direct future research.

“This isn’t going to lead to a breakthrough in treatment, but from a clinical standpoint it may help researchers and academics understand why it is that developmental disorders seem to be more common in boys than girls,” he noted.

The new research also reinforces that genetic differences — or vulnerabilities — aren’t limited to sex chromosomes, Adesman added.

“The presumption has been, ‘Well gee, boys have a Y chromosome and girls don’t, so are there problems with the Y chromosome that explain it?'” Adesman noted.

“The bottom line is that there are a lot of different genetic abnormalities and atypicalities that result in developmental disorders in children and adults,” Adesman explained. “Women seem to be a little more resilient in terms of being able to have minor abnormalities without having a developmental problem.”

Source: health

Too posh to push? Beware! C-section boosts child’s risk of obesity

A new study conducted by researchers suggests that babies born by caesarean section are more likely to struggle with obesity later in life.

Not just this, C-sections also boost the odds of certain problems with later pregnancies, including abnormalities in the placenta that can lead to severe bleeding during labour, type-1 diabetes in childhood and other diseases.

Findings of a research conducted at Imperial College London, which include data from 10 countries, suggest babies born through caesarean section were 26 percent more likely to face weight issues during adulthood than those born by vaginal delivery.

Further, the study also showed that average BMI of adults born by caesarean section is around half a unit more than those born by vaginal delivery.

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Source: Zee news

 

Vinegar helps fight drug-resistant TB

A new study has found that the active ingredient in vinegar, acetic acid, might be used as an inexpensive and non-toxic disinfectant against drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria as well as other stubborn, disinfectant-resistant mycobacteria.

“Mycobacteria are known to cause tuberculosis and leprosy, but non-TB mycobacteria are common in the environment, even in tap water, and are resistant to commonly used disinfectants. When they contaminate the sites of surgery or cosmetic procedures, they cause serious infections. Innately resistant to most antibiotics, they require months of therapy and can leave deforming scars,” senior author on the study, Howard Takiff, from Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Investigation (IVIC) in Caracas, said.

While investigating the ability of non-TB mycobacteria to resist disinfectants and antibiotics, Takiff’s postdoctoral fellow, Claudia Cortesia stumbled upon vinegar’s ability to kill mycobacteria.

Testing a drug that needed to be dissolved in acetic acid, Cortesia found that the control, with acetic acid alone, killed the mycobacteria she wanted to study.

It was found that exposure to 6 percent acetic acid, just slightly more concentrated than supermarket vinegar, for 30 minutes, reduced the numbers of TB mycobacteria from around 100 million to undetectable levels.

The study was published in the journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Source: Businesss standard

 

Black pepper – more health benefits than you know!

We use it to spice up our omelette, or add that extra zing to Indian dishes, but did you know that humble black pepper can add a lot more to your food than just flavour. Here is a list of its top 10 benefits.

Helps prevent cancer: According to a study carried out by the University of Michigan Cancer Center, black pepper was found to prevent the development of breast cancer tumors.

They found that the piperine content of black pepper plays a key role in preventing cancers. It further stated that when combined with turmeric its anticancer properties are heightened. Apart from the piperine, black pepper also contains Vitamin C, Vitamin A,
flavonoids, carotenes and other anti-oxidants that help remove harmful free radicals and protect the body from cancers and diseases. Other studies have suggested its efficacy in stalling the progression of skin cancers and bowel and colon cancer as well. Add a teaspoon of pepper powder to your food once a day. It is better that you eat freshly ground pepper rather than adding it to a dish while cooking.

Helps in digestion: The piperine content of black pepper makes it a great digestive. It stimulates the taste buds to signal the stomach to produce more hydrochloric acid. This acid is essential to digest proteins and other foods in the stomach, which when left undigested cause flatulence, indigestion, diarrhoea, constipation and acidity. The excess hydrochloric acid secreted helps in preventing these conditions. To aid in digestion, add a tablespoon (depending on the number of servings being prepared) of freshly ground pepper powder to your meal, while cooking. It will add to the flavour of the dish and keep your stomach healthy.

Helps you lose weight: Black pepper is great in aiding the proper assimilation (extraction of all the nutrients) of food. Moreover, its outer layer which contains potent phytonutrients stimulates the breakdown of fat cells. It also promotes sweating and urination and is a great way to get rid of excess water and toxins from the body.  All these activities collectively help in weight loss. For effective weightloss, just sprinkle pepper over your food. Do not eat too much of the spice, it can cause severe side effects.

Relieves gas: Known for its carminative properties (a substance that prevents the formation of gas) black pepper is great to relieve discomfort caused due to flatulence and colicky pain. Adding pepper to your meals instead of chili powder will help relieve
flatulence.

Can give you clear skin: Apart from a great way to help you sweat and release all the toxins from your skin, it acts a great exfoliant. Pepper when crushed and added to a face scrub, helps slough off dead skin, stimulates circulation and helps deliver more oxygen and nutrients to the skin. The antibacterial and anti inflammatory properties help keep the skin safe from infections like acne.

Beats dandruff: Ditch those anti dandruff shampoos, try using pepper instead. Because of its antibacterial and anti inflammatory properties, pepper is great to get rid of dandruff. Mix a teaspoonful of crushed black pepper in a cup of curd. Mix well and apply
on the scalp. Leave in for about half an hour. Rinse out your hair well. Do not use shampoo at this stage. Wash your hair with shampoo the next day. Make sure you do not use too much pepper, it may cause your scalp to burn.

Clears up a stuffy nose and relieves cough: Due to its antibacterial properties, black pepper is a very effective natural remedy to cure colds and coughs. Its warm, spicy flavour also helps loosen phlegm and relieve a stuffy nose. Try sprinkling freshly ground pepper on hot soup or rasam. It will immediately loosen up the phlegm and help you breathe easier. (Also read: Healthy recipe for black pepper and garlic rasam)

Helps people with anorexia: Black pepper is known to improve digestion and stimulate the taste buds. Because of this property, it is a great natural remedy for people with anorexia (a condition where the person does not eat) by helping them regain their appetite. Adding a little pepper to their food, will go a long way in resolving anorexia.

Helps the body use nutrients more efficiently: Black pepper is known to have properties that help enhance bioavailability. This means that it helps in the proper transport and absorption of nutrients from food. This property also helps drugs work more efficiently.

Is a natural anti-depressant: The Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology reported that the compound piperine in black pepper increases the cognitive function of the brain and helps beat depression. It was also found that pepper eaten on a regular basis helps the brain function properly. Add it to your daily meal, or eat it as seasoning on a salad.  Pepper in any form can help make you smarter and less depressed.

So, the next time you want to spice up your meal, use pepper. It will not only add to the flavour, it has the potential to make you happier.

Source: Health India

Wash your hands after handling receipts to avoid BPA

Handling receipts may increase the body’s level of a chemical that has been linked to reproductive and neurological problems, suggests a new small study.

The researchers write in the Journal of the American Medical Association that bisphenol A – commonly known as BPA – typically enters the body when people eat food from a can. But it can also be absorbed through the skin from receipts, according to the study’s lead author.

“It’s not the main source of exposure, but it’s an additional source that wasn’t previously recognized,” said Dr. Shelley Ehrlich of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio.

BPA is used in the process of making hard plastics, and has been banned from use in manufacturing baby bottles. The chemical is also used in the interior lining of many food cans. The chemical can leach into foods that are stored in such containers and eventually end up in the body when people eat the food. More recent research has found that people can also end up with increased BPA levels after touching materials containing the chemical.

BPA is in thermal paper, which used to be a mainstay in fax machines and is still commonly used for receipts. Thermal paper is coated with a material that turns black when heat is applied. At the cash register, the printer applies small amounts of heat to create numbers and letters.

BPA is chemically similar to the hormone estrogen, and is thought to mimic that hormone’s effects in the body, making it a member of a class of chemicals known as “endocrine disruptors.”

In the past, BPA has been linked to a number of health problems, including reproductive disorders and brain development anomalies among children exposed in the womb. Higher levels of BPA in urine have also been tied to an increased risk of obesity among children.

For the new study, Ehrlich and her colleagues recruited 24 Harvard School of Public Health students and staff between 2010 and 2011. The participants were at least 18 years old and not pregnant. First, the participants were asked to handle receipts for two hours with their bare hands. After at least one week, they were asked to handle receipts again while wearing gloves.

Before they handled the receipts, the researchers found that 20 of the 24 participants’ urine samples had small but measurable amounts of BPA. After the first experiment, BPA was present in all urine samples, though at levels that remained within national averages.

The concentration of BPA in the urine samples had increased, though by an amount equivalent to about a quarter of what would be expected from eating canned soup, for example.

After waiting a week and having the participants handle receipts for two hours while wearing gloves, the researchers found no significant increase in the BPA levels in the participants’ urine samples afterward.

Ehrlich said the average person should not be alarmed by the findings, but cashiers and bank tellers who handle receipts throughout the day may want to take precautions – especially if they’re pregnant or of child-bearing age.

“Handle receipts with care,” she said. “They are a source of exposure to BPA and if people are handling them a lot on a daily basis … they should perhaps consider using gloves for now.”

In the current study, the researchers used nitrile gloves. Ehrlich said additional research would be needed to determine whether latex or other types of gloves also work.

She also said people may want to wash their hands after handling receipts.

“I don’t think people should be super alarmed, but they should be aware,” she said.

Source: the globe and mail

Father claims he delivered his own baby after staff left delivery room

One Florida dad is arguing he had to deliver his wife’s baby in a hospital – without a nurse or doctor present. But the hospital is disputing his claim.

According to a report, Zaheer Ali took his wife, Indira, to Bethesda Hospital East in Boynton Beach, Fla., late Saturday evening after she started experiencing contractions.  Once at the hospital, doctors felt that Indira’s labor was stalling, so they put her on a
Pitocin drip to help increase her contractions.

As Indira’s contractions began speeding up, another woman elsewhere in the hospital started having a complicated delivery and needed an emergency cesarean section. Indira’s obstetrician, Dr. Elana Deutsch, said she ordered the Pitocin drip stopped so she could leave Indira to quickly perform the C-section.

But Zaheer said the baby was coming – with or without the Pitocin drip. “My wife was screaming,” Zaheer Ali told . “The nurse says, ‘You have to wait.’ ”

The nurse left the room to retrieve Deutsch, but by the time they came back, the baby had already been delivered. Deutsch said it must have happened very quickly, since it only took her 30 minutes to perform the C-section.

“The patient was obviously very upset. I was very upset,” Deutsch said. “I think it was a new nurse, and I think she was nervous about being in the room alone.”

Both Indira and her new baby Aaliyah are both healthy and doing fine, but the now father of three is not happy.

“The hospital is saying, ‘Sorry,’ but I just feel it’s wrong,” Zaheer Ali said. “It’s a hospital. There are supposed to be nurses and midwives. A nurse should be there with you.”

However, Bethesda Hospital East conducted an investigation of the incident, and Lisa Kronhaus, a spokeswoman for the hospital, claims the family wasn’t alone after all. She said that hospital charts show that Aaliyah was indeed delivered by a nurse.

“There was a 1-to-1 ratio that night. The nurse did leave the room to tell the doctor she was ready to deliver. Mom made a noise. The nurse sitting outside of her room went in, checked her, and saw the baby started to crown, and nurse delivered the baby,” Kronhaus told. “It’s in the medical chart. It’s legally documented.”

Source: fox news

Too many Canadians studying medicine overseas

The number of Canadians studying medicine outside of Canada has more than doubled in the last five years and a number of them may never get the opportunity to continue their training and to practice at home.

In its first survey since 2006, the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) identified approximately 80 schools in almost 30 countries as having Canadian students enrolled in medicine. CaRMS is the not-for-profit organization that matches medical graduates with a post-graduate training position or residency in Canada. Without such training the candidates cannot practice as doctors in the Canadian healthcare system.

According to this latest CaRMS survey, 90 per cent of the students who go abroad would like to return to Canada. But it won’t be easy for them.

It’s a question of basic math. Sandra Banner, the executive director and CEO of CaRMS, says, “This year I have 628 Canadians studying abroad in this match. The number of positions available for entry-level training is going to be around 400 positions. In addition we have 1,800 immigrant medical students who want to come to Canada. There definitely will be Canadian students who will not get back into Canada.”

There are now about 3,500 Canadians studying medicine overseas, which compares to about 10,500 in Canada.

The survey found that every year additional schools are offering international students the opportunity to study medicine. The majority of these programs target North American students. Banner says that foreign medical schools have become more aggressive about recruiting Canadian students.

CaRMS noted that Canadians mostly go to the Caribbean to study; Ireland comes in second as a place to get a medical degree. But there are also a growing number of schools in Poland, Australia and the Middle East.

Recently, St. Andrews University in Scotland launched a program that allows students to complete a medical undergraduate degree and then be automatically admitted into medical school at the University of Edinburgh, one of the most prestigious in the world. The program outline says Canadian and American students will get “dedicated assistance with preparation for” exams and residency matches at home. The program costs well over $250K in tuition alone.

Most international students say their fees are paid for by a combination of family support and bank loans.

Some students go to medical school abroad directly out of high school and that number is on the rise. But most go after finishing an undergraduate degree in Canada and have not applied to Canadian medical schools as many times as a successful applicant in Canada.

The survey suggested these students opt to study overseas because they have decided they would not be accepted into medical school in Canada, or would rather not wait several years through repeated attempts. It is not uncommon in Canada to apply to medical school two or three times before being admitted. The acceptance rate for first-time applicants in Canada is under 30 per cent. In the U.S. the success rate is 44 per cent.

The majority of Canadians studying medicine abroad are male, slightly older, single and with more post-secondary education than their medical student counterparts in Canada. And, more of them have a medical doctor as a parent. They mostly are residents of British Columbia and Ontario which have the lowest acceptance rates for medical school applicants.

The number of residency positions is decided by each province. More than half of residency positions for international students are in Ontario. International medical graduates are a combination of Canadians studying abroad and immigrants wanting to practice in Canada.

HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Agency helps doctors from outside Canada understand the Ontario medical system. Executive director, Bradley Sinclair, says Ontario has been increasing the number of residency positions for international medical graduates since 2002 and is very proud of having more than 200 positions available.

Sinclair says there are other avenues open to the graduates who do not get a residency placement in Canada. “They can stay where they are and do post-graduate work or they can go to the U.S. where there are more opportunities and then come back to Canada as fully qualified doctors.”

Sandra Banner did point out however that many countries do not offer residency programs for international students. St. Andrews, for example, says very clearly in its brochure that students “are not eligible for inclusion in the clinical postgraduate training program in the UK.” The survey noted the schools that recruit Canadian students in Ireland, Poland, other European countries and Australia have little or no postgraduate opportunities available for international students.

The increase in international students comes at a time when a number of communities in Canada report they are under-serviced. Some of these communities have offered cash incentives to try to attract doctors.

Source: cbc news

Meet the man who has eaten pizza for every meal for 25 years

When Dan Janssen tells people about his pizza-only diet, he usually gets one of two reactions.

“They either want to kill me, or they think I’m a hero,” he told.  Janssen, 38, claims that he has eaten pizza for nearly every meal over the past 25 years. He said he rarely eats breakfast, subsisting on mainly coffee in the morning, and then downs a whole pizza for lunch and another one for dinner, day after day.

“I think I’m an anomaly,” he said. “I don’t advocate this. I’ve been surprised at how polarizing this is.”

Janssen, the founder of artisanal woodshop Imperium Woodcraft in Ellicott City, Md., was raised on a meat-and-potatoes diet but became a vegetarian for ethical reasons when he was 14 years old. There was just one problem with that.

“I hate vegetables,” he said. “I tried for maybe a couple weeks, and then I realized the thing I really like is pizza, so I’m going to eat that.”

And while many who have heard of his diet are nothing short of jealous, some are worried about his well-being.

“Eating the same food day in and day out can limit a person’s ability to get a vast array of foods and nutrients he or she needs to optimize health and meet daily nutritional needs,” said Elisa Zied, a New York-based dietitian/nutritionist and the author of “Younger Next Week.” “While pizza tastes great and certainly has its virtues, subsisting on it and having little else in the diet is a recipe for an unhealthy, nutritionally-inadequate diet. Also, limiting foods/food groups can set you up for one boring diet.”

Janssen eats plain pizza, but mixes it up with everything from frozen pizza to local pizza places to making his own.

“I love the nuance of pizza, so I try to vary it in different ways,” he said. “Once a week to be healthy, I’ll eat a bowl of Raisin Bran, but other than that it’s just pizza.”

His freezer is crammed with frozen pizzas, and then the other part of the refrigerator includes ingredients from artisanal pizza shops. He went to one pizza place so much that he became friendly with the owners to the point where he started helping them with their marketing.

“I would say all the pizza shops around here know me by name,” Janssen said. “All the Domino’s places know I used to work there in college.”

He also considers his diet to be economical.

“I save a lot on food,” he said. “In today’s foodie culture with all the focus on organic and no preservatives and locally grown, you can go to the grocery store, spend $100 and only get two meals out of it. I can get pizza for a week on that.”

While it may be cheaper, Janssen’s diet often prompts questions about how it affects his health. He says he was diagnosed with diabetes, which runs in his family, before embarking on his pizza-only diet, but has not had any complications. He does not drink or smoke, and exercises regularly by riding his bike long distances.

“I understand that this is a disgusting diet,” he said. “You expect me to be overweight and have no energy, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Whenever I see a new doctor, I tell him, ‘I have a terrible diet, and I only eat pizza.’ With three different doctors, they have done bloodwork and my cholesterol levels and blood pressure are great, and I am fit and energetic.

“I’m sure when I’m 60 I’ll drop dead of a heart attack, but right now I am fine.”

Janssen says he’s heard varying reactions since his story first appeared on Vice.

“People are really angry about it, which I don’t understand,” he said. “When somebody says, ‘I’ve been a smoker for 20 years,’ most people say, ‘That’s your choice.’ I eat pizza for 20 years, and people want to kill me, or they think I’m a hero.”

While pizza is his first choice, he has subsisted on other foods when necessary. During a two-week trip to Germany, he ate only soft pretzels because German pizza was so bad.

“I’m good at pretending,” he said. “It’s not that I’ll die if I eat something new. I can fake it, like if I go to a wedding or something. My reputation precedes me where I live. I’ll get an invite, and it will say, ‘We’re having a party, but there’s not gonna be any pizza there.’ I’ll eat whatever if it’s a situation like that.”

Janssen, who is engaged, has seen a therapist about his eating habits but says that right now he is perfectly happy with his pizza-centric diet.

“My fiancée is trying to slowly get me to change,” he said. “I do want to change, but this is how I’m living, and I feel great.”

Source: today