Health A-Z

Cleaner Plate Club: More Fruits, Veggies Eaten at School

Empty plates and half-eaten scraps on thousands of cafeteria trays offer the first tangible evidence that new federal standards on school meals are sprouting healthier eating habits, a new study claims.

Based on before-and-after inspections of more than 1,000 trays at four schools in an “urban, low-income” district, students chose 23 percent more fruits and consumed 16 percent more vegetables after the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its rules in 2012, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health reported Tuesday.

And if a nutritional reset is occurring among American students, baby carrots may be the gateway food, the researchers say.

“We were surprised by the vegetable findings,” said Juliana Cohen, lead author and a research fellow at Harvard. “We thought perhaps it was because students were eating more potato-based products like French fries, which count as a vegetable (in federal standards). We were very surprised to see that potato-based products weren’t being served on study days. Kids loved fresh vegetables, especially baby carrots.”

The federal guidelines are meant to reduce sodium and fat on school menus. Researchers will not name the city in which the schools were monitored, revealing only they are in Massachusetts.

Researchers weighed serving samples then recorded what foods sat atop test trays as students paid for meals. Later, those trays were collected and remaining foods were re-weighed.

At the same time, however, the Government Accountability Office reported Thursday that participation in the National School Lunch Program dropped by 1.2 million students, or 3.7 percent, in 2012-13 when compared to 2010-2011. Analysts cited the veggie-heavy guidelines.

According to the GAO, “state and local officials reported that the changes to lunch content and nutrition requirements … influenced student participation” and that almost all states reported “that obtaining student acceptance of lunches that complied with the new requirements was challenging.”

“Implementing change to a national program is complex and no one should expect every district or school across the country to instantly make it work,” said Dr. Howell Wechsler, CEO of Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a nonprofit that combats childhood obesity. The group works with 22,000 schools that meet or exceed the USDA rules. “There seems to be no reason why all school districts can’t meet federal nutritional guidelines.”

Source: NBC news

Revealed – How sex makes you more intelligent

sex-makes-you-intelligent

Sex not only helps decrease stress levels and burn away calories, but boosts your intelligence too!

Love-making proved to greatly increase the creation of new neurons located within the hippocampus – an area of the brain that is responsible for the formation of long-term memory, say researchers.

‘We discovered that even though there had been the production of new neurons, the cognitive abilities acquired during the experiment decreased once the mice were subjected to long periods without sexual activity,’ psychologists from the University of Maryland in the US were quoted as saying.

Increased sexual activity floods an individual’s brain cells with oxygen, they noted. Another study by Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, provided further substantial evidence. According to the Korean study, sex increases intellectual functions. Sexual activity buffers the creation of neurons in the hippocampal region of the brain, which acts against detrimental functions caused by extreme stress. Older couples that are more sexually active have less odds of getting dementia which is due to a variation of complicated reasons, said a report in Glamour magazine.

Other health benefits of sex

Besides making you intelligent, sex has some other health benefits too that you probably didn’t know about.

1. Makes you look younger

Yes! Believe it or not, sex can make you look younger. According to a study conducted by Dr David Weeks of Royal Edinburgh Hospital, people who had sex more than 4 times a week, felt as much as 10 years younger.

2. Boosts your immunity

While eating fruits and vegetables are known to boost your immunity, having sex can have a similar effect. A research conducted at Wilkes University, Pennsylvania, revealed that people who had more sex had 30% higher levels of the antigen immunoglobin A, as compared to people who didn’t. The higher levels of antigen improves our body’s defence against cold and flu.

Source: the Health site

Tips for treating excessive sweating

Heavy sweating (also known as hyperhidrosis) is a very real and embarrassing problem, but there are some effective ways to treat it. Before you hide under bulky sweaters or move to a chillier climate, you can try these proven techniques for combating excessive sweating.

Antiperspirants

The easiest way to tackle excessive sweating is with an antiperspirant, which most people already use on a daily basis. Antiperspirants contain aluminum salts. When you roll them onto your skin, antiperspirants form a plug that blocks perspiration.

You can buy an antiperspirant over the counter at your local supermarket or drug store, or your doctor can prescribe one for you. Over-the-counter antiperspirants may be less irritating than prescription antiperspirants. Start with an over-the-counter brand, and if that doesn’t work, see your dermatologist for a prescription.

Many antiperspirants are sold combined with a deodorant, which won’t stop you from sweating but will control the odor from your sweat.

Antiperspirants aren’t only for your underarms. You can also apply them to other areas where you sweat, like your hands and feet. Some may even be applied to the hairline.

Don’t just roll or spray on your antiperspirant/deodorant in the morning and forget about it. Also apply it at night before you go to bed — it will help keep you drier.

Medical Treatments for Heavy Sweating

If antiperspirants aren’t stopping your hands and feet from sweating too much, your doctor may recommend one of these medical treatments:

1. Iontophoresis: During this treatment, you sit with your hands, feet, or both in a shallow tray of water for about 20 to 30 minutes, while a low electrical current travels through the water. No one knows exactly how this treatment works, but experts believe it blocks sweat from getting to your skin’s surface. You’ll have to repeat this treatment at least a few times a week, but after several times you may stop sweating. Once you learn how to do iontophoresis, you can buy a machine to use at home. Some people only require a couple of treatments a month for maintenance.

Although iontophoresis is generally safe, because it uses an electrical current it’s not recommended for women who are pregnant and people who have pacemakers or metal implants (including joint replacements), cardiac conditions, or epilepsy.

2. Botulinum toxin: Another treatment option for heavy sweating is injections of botulinum toxin A (Botox), the same medicine used for wrinkles. Botox is FDA-approved for treating excessive sweating of the underarms, but some doctors may also use it on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

Botox works by preventing the release of a chemical that signals the sweat glands to activate. You may need to have several Botox injections, but the results can last for almost a year

 Steps You Can Take at Home to Control Heavy Sweating

While you’re trying out different antiperspirants, or whatever other treatment your doctor recommends, you can also incorporate some of these four at-home solutions to reduce sweating.

Don’t wear heavy clothes that will trap sweat. Instead, wear light, breathable fabrics such as cotton and silk. Bring along an extra shirt when you know you’ll be exercising or outdoors in the heat. Your feet can sweat too, so wear socks that wick moisture away from them (merino wool and polypro are good choices).
Shower or bathe every day using an antibacterial soap to control the bacteria that can inhabit your sweaty skin and cause odors. Dry yourself completely afterward, and before applying antiperspirant.

Use underarm liners and shoe inserts to absorb sweat so it doesn’t ruin your clothes or start to smell.

Don’t order a double jalapeno burrito with a margarita at your favorite Mexican restaurant. Spicy foods and alcohol can both make you sweat, as can hot drinks like tea and coffee.

Source: web md

 

Some surprising health benefits of the cool cucumber!

Next time you hit the vegetable market make sure you grab some crunchy cucumbers! Apparently, there is much more to this low calorie member of the melon family than keeping you cool and refreshed!

The humble cucumber has more nutrients to offer than just water and electrolytes. It is chock-full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which are vital for health

One of the oldest vegetables, cultivated for thousands of years in India and parts of Asia, the veggie is an excellent source of vitamin C and A (anti-oxidants), folate, manganese, molybdenum, potassium, silica, sulfur, and vitamin B complex, sodium, calcium, and phosphorus in slighter lesser amounts.

Often referred to as a superfood, cucumber is one of the best vegetables for your body’s overall health. We list below some of the surprising health benefits of cucumber.

Hydrates body
Given that cucumbers contain 96% of water content, they help keep our body hydrated during the hot scorching summers. Apart from providing a cooling effect in the blazing sun, dietary fiber in cucumbers work wonders in flushing out toxins from the body.

Cancer
Studies suggest some of the compounds found in cucumbers have the potential to reduce estrogen-dependent cancers such as breast and other gynecological malignancies like ovarian, uterine and prostate cancer.

Weight loss & digestion
Since cucumbers have low calories and high water content, they are an ideal snack for people wanting to shift pounds. The veggie also aids digestion and is a wonderful remedy for chronic constipation.

Joint pain
Cucumber is enriched with silicon which alleviates joint pain and strengthens connective tissues in the bones, ligaments, muscles, tendons and cartilage. In addition, vitamin A, B1, B6 or magnesium and potassium found in the vegetable helps in lowering uric levels in the body. Daily intake of cucumber juice is beneficial in dissolving kidney stones and treating bladder infections.

Anti-inflammatory
Cucumbers are effective in inhibiting inflammatory enzymes and preventing the overproduction of nitric oxide in the body that increases inflammation. This in turn can avert health issues ranging from asthma to heart disease and many more.

Hangover headache
The beneficial vitamins contained in cucumbers can relieve a terrible headache especially that triggered by a hangover. Eating a few cucumber slices before retiring to bed after a night of binge drinking can replenish essential nutrients and help bring the body back into equilibrium avoiding a headache.

Diabetes, cholesterol & blood pressure
Cucumber has been found to be beneficial for diabetics, for reducing cholesterol levels and is effective in regulating blood pressure.

Breath freshener
The phytochemcials found in cucumber kill the bacteria in your mouth that causing bad breath. If you have run out of gum or mints, simply place a thin slice of cucumber against the roof of your mouth for 30 seconds before chewing it. It will not only make your breath minty fresh but also provide a cooling sensation.

Cucumber therapy for beauty

  • Cucumbers contain vitamin C and caffeic acid, two antioxidants which when applied to the skin ward off wrinkles, sun damage and more. Chilled and sliced cucumbers placed over eye sockets relieve puffy lids. The natural anti-inflammatory properties of cucumber soothe skin reddened by sunburn.
  • Cucumbers are great for conditioning damaged hair. Puree cucumber and blend with an egg and a tablespoon of olive oil. Leave it in for about 10 minutes and then rinse thoroughly.
  • Cucumber is a quick fix to remove cellulite. Rub sliced cucumbers along your dimply area for a few minutes. The phytochemicals in the veggie cause the collagen to tighten, firming up the outer layer of skin and diminishing cellulite.

Source: medguru

The Shocking Truth About Aspirin – It Doesn’t Work!

Aspirin has been around for over half a century. It’s primary and “original” use was for pain relief. But when Tylenol and NSAIDs (such as Advil) took over the pain relief field, the aspirin industry “bigwigs” pulled out the “big guns” and went after: heart disease.

What the heck, they figured. After all, a billion-dollar medicine has to go somewhere. And like most businesses, you have to keep growing and finding new “revenue streams” to increase revenue and profits. The “big killer” of heart disease seemed like a natural avenue to go down. So aspirin decided to acquire “new indications” as a blood-clot fighter and is already widely used to treat and prevent strokes and heart attacks.

It Didn’t Work For Apples
Just about every male I know over the age of 60 (including younger men) and many women (BOTH my parents in fact) are taking “an aspirin a day to keep the doctor away.” Well, it didn’t work for apples and I don’t think it works for aspirin either. But that isn’t stopping its promoters from telling people it will do that and a whole lot more.

Crazy Claims
Take a quick look at some of the other claims the “Aspirin Institute” is making about its product. The “Institute” strongly hints (“studies suggest that…”) that this “miracle drug” cures, decreases, alleviates, or prevents:

  • Breast cancer
  •  Migraine headaches
  •  Hodgkin’s disease Alzheimer’s disease
  •  Prostate cancer
  •  Cancer of the pancreas
  •  Colon cancer Birth defects
  •  Leukemia Immune disorders, including AIDS

And that’s just a partial list, But geez … take a look at the last one – AIDS! Wow, if Aspirin really could do that, it would be a “miracle” drug, right? …

So the “experts” seem to think that at least 95 percent of the population needs aspirin on a daily basis. But the dangers associated with extensive use of aspirin are downright horrifying.

Aspirin Does The Opposite
Researchers have reported that aspirin might, in fact, increase your risk for stroke, heart attack, macular degeneration (blindness), and cataract formation! You didn’t hear anything about these findings because no one reported on them in the popular press. So if you don’t read medical journals in your spare time, you probably missed these REAL bits of news.

Here’s what the researchers have to say:

  •  40% of people who regularly take large doses of aspirin actually demonstrated an INCREASED risk of both stroke and heart attack.
  •  Regular aspirin users have a significantly increased risk of macular degeneration with blindness!
  •  Aspirin use also puts people at a 44% increased risk of cataracts.

Of course, there’s always the widely known increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding that accompanies aspirin too. And these sorts of findings weren’t published in some lowly rag. No, the highly respected prestigious rags, like the British Medical Journal, Lancet, and the Journal of the American Medical Association, came to a similar conclusion: aspirin shows no benefit in the prevention of heart attacks!

Source: self growth

Florida man dies from spider bite

Central Florida authorities are reporting a rare death from a spider bite. Polk County Medical Examiner Stephen Nelson tells The Ledger that Ronald Reese of Lakeland died Feb. 16 from complications of a spider bite.

Nelson said the bite became infected and developed into an abscess on the back of Reese’s neck, which pressed on his spinal cord.

Reese’s father says the 62-year-old had been bitten in August by a brown recluse spider.  H.K. William Reese says required lengthy hospital stays and numerous procedures for six months after the bite.

“He was working in an old house tearing out the existing walls and ceilings and replacing  them. Brown recluse spiders like to live in those old houses,” he said.

Nelson said Reese was never tested to determine what type of spider bit him, but medical records show there were definite complications from a spider bite wound on his neck.

Few statistics on deaths attributed to spider bites are available. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, only two people died from spider bites between 2001 and 2005. Both were believed to be caused by brown recluse spiders.

The brown recluse spider, which is not native to Florida, is one of just a handful of spiders that are dangerous to humans, though all spiders carry venom as a way to kill and digest their prey, said Polk State College biology professor Logan Randolph.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a bite from a brown recluse spider starts with two small puncture wounds and develops into a blister. The venom can also cause a severe lesion by destroying skin tissue, which requires medical attention.

However, the bites typically aren’t lethal, Randolph said. “In most spider bites, complications arise mostly if there’s some secondary factor. If the person has a specific allergic reaction, if their health was compromised in some other manner, or if the bite causes an open wound with a secondary infection,” Randolph said.

Spiders typically avoid humans, he said. “Most spiders aren’t going to attack you,” Randolph said. “It’s when you trap them, or

you’re moving something out of a cabinet and your hand brushes them – it’s typically a defense. They react rather than attack.”

Source: fox news

Shun snacks that affect a good night’s sleep

Do some bedtime snacks help you sleep better? Perhaps not.

Several studies suggest that eating a small snack a few hours before bedtime may help you sleep by preventing hunger from waking you.

But are there snacks that guarantee you sleep?

Some people say that cereal with milk, peanut butter on toast, and cheese with crackers are good bedtime snacks because they combine carbohydrates with protein.

The theory is based on the fact that tryptophan, an amino acid, makes you sleepy.

A new research done on the sedating effects of tryptophan needed up to 15 grams of tryptophan to create an effect.

And you would need to eat more than a pound of turkey to get just one gram of tryptophan!

To get a good night’s sleep, it is more important to avoid foods like high-fat foods, garlic-flavoured and highly spiced foods, alcohol, caffeine and any beverages before bed, reported.

Other than foods, sticking to a regular bedtime and wake time schedule helps keep you in sync with your body’s circadian clock, a 24-hour internal rhythm affected by sunlight.

Try not to nap too much during the day – you might be less sleepy at night.

Exercise at regular times each day. Try to finish your workout at least three hours before bedtime, said the report.

Source: DNA India

Leprosy the world’s oldest infectious disease?

lep

Researchers have found two leprosy-causing bacteria from a last common bacterial ancestor around 10 million years ago.

“Leprosy is a strict human disease that stretches back millions of years,” said Professor Han from University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Centre.

He found that two leprosy-causing bacteria, including Mycobacterium leprae, were pinpointed to come from a last common bacterial ancestor around 10 million years ago – meaning that ancient humans suffered from the disease.

Human beings carried the leprosy bacteria when departing Africa around 100,000 years ago to populate the rest of the world, said the study.

“Tracing the ultimate origin of leprosy through the parasitic adaptive evolution of the leprosy bacteria is rather insightful – not only for this single disease but also for our better understanding of the mechanism behind other human infections,” explained Han.

Together with Francisco Silva, of the University of Valencia’s Evolutionary Genetics Unit, Han concluded that leprosy can be viewed as a natural consequence of a long parasitism.

The study was published in the journal PLOS Neglected

Source: Business standard

Hundreds of foods in U.S. contain ‘ADA’ plastics chemical: report

Nearly 500 foods found on grocery store shelves in the United States, including many foods labeled as “healthy,” contain a potentially hazardous industrial plastics chemical, according to a report issued Thursday by a health research and advocacy group.

Azodicarbonamide, also known as ADA, was found as an ingredient in breads, bagels, tortillas, hamburger and hot dog buns, pizza, pastries, and other food products, according to a report by the Environmental Working Group, based in Washington.

Some consumer groups have called for the removal of azodicarbonamide from use in foods. Fast food chain Subway said earlier this month that it was removing the chemical from its products, but stated that ADA is a safe and widely used ingredient for many foods.

Azodicarbonamide is fully approved for use in food by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. But ADA is banned as an additive in Australia and some European countries.

As a food additive, azodicarbonamide is used as a flour bleaching agent and as an oxidizing agent in dough to improve its performance for bakers. It is also used in plastics to improve elasticity and can be found in yoga mats and shoes.

The World Health Organization states that epidemiological studies in humans and other reports have produced “abundant evidence that azodicarbonamide can induce asthma, other respiratory symptoms, and skin sensitization” to people working with the chemical.

The Environmental Working Group said manufacturers should immediately end the use of ADA in food. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, this month called on the FDA to ban ADA from foods.

The FDA states that azodicarbonamide can be used safely if the amount in flour does not exceed 2.05 grams per 100 pounds of flour or 45 parts per million.

Source; Reuters

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