Health News

REPORTING POINT 08/09
HEALTH NEWS
“Live healthy...Live well”
Dedicated to providing pertinent information on health, fitness, and nutrition to foster a culture of wellness among Southwest Airlines flight crews and their families.
by Larry Kline

TOASTING IS HEALTHIER – toasting bread may make it healthier, according to a U.K. study. When participants ate bread that had been frozen, thawed, and toasted, their blood sugar rose 39 percent less than it did when they consumed fresh slices. Both freezing and toasting worked on their own, too, reducing glycemic response by at least 26 percent each. It could be that these processes chemically alter starch and prevent it from breaking down into sugar.
The scientists recommend storing the loaves in the freezer and letting slices defrost overnight at room temperature before toasting. Men’s Health 7/07.

CANCER SURVIVOR? – consult with your physician about any dietary supplements you are taking. Some research suggests that large amounts of zinc or antioxidants may actually promote the recurrence of certain cancers. Survival rates have risen in the U.S., and thus there are many more long-term cancer survivors.
A Duke University Medical Center study finds that 75 percent of cancer survivors over 65 take dietary supplements. However, the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund recommend against taking high-dose supplements as a way to reduce the risk of cancer or its recurrence. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 12/08.

DRINK TEA TO LOWER STROKE RISK – three cups of green or black tea a day will potentially lower the risk of stroke by 21 percent. 60 percent of those who die from stroke are women. Stroke warning signs: sudden severe headache, confusion, numbness on one side of the body, or sudden trouble walking, seeing, or speaking. If you have these symptoms or see someone who is experiencing these symptoms, get medical attention immediately as often the long-term effects of stroke can be reduced with certain medications. Health 5/09.

COFFEE CONSUMPTION MAY REDUCE DEMENTIA – a large Finnish study reported in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found that middle-aged people who drank coffee had a lower risk of dementia during the next two decades than those who did not drink it. The lowest risk – a 65 percent lower rate of dementia – was seen in those averaging three to five cups a day. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 4/09.

HONEY TO BURN – several studies have found that burned skin covered with honey healed as much as four days faster than skin treated with antibiotic creams or sterile wound dressings.
Honey has powerful anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It is ideal because it rapidly soothes the pain, promotes healing, and prevents further damage to the tissue.
It is recommended to cool the skin with cold water, spread honey on some gauze, and apply it to the burn. Change the dressing twice a day; if it is a severe burn; see a physician. Men’s Health 3/08.

DOES ALCOHOL REALLY KILL BRAIN CELLS? – the concentration of alcohol in the brain of even a very drunk person does not come close to the levels required to kill living cells. People become intoxicated with only a tenth of a percent of alcohol in their blood. Alcohol does not target or affect a specific part of the brain, but rather impacts the entire organ so that a few drinks can temporarily block new memory formation, dull thinking, judgment, and reasoning, and reduce muscle control.
As you age, your ability to function (hold your alcohol) diminishes. Older people get higher blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) than younger people after consuming a given amount of alcohol and are more affected by a given BAC. Older people are also less likely to realize they are impaired than younger drinkers (age 25 to 35), and likely to do worse on performance tests. Alcohol can also interact with many medications older people take. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 6/09, The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine.

NEEDLE PHOBIA-PART TWO - last year, we reported that British researchers discovered that coughing during needle injections greatly reduced the perceived pain of the injection. Now Japanese researchers showed that you can use numbers to numb yourself to injection pain. Patients who began counting out loud while receiving an injection reported zero discomfort, but those who did not count complained of stinging and subsequent soreness. The most likely explanation is that counting may influence the same part of the brain that is used to detect pain, effectively blocking the pain.
Try counting and closing your eyes: a British study found that pain receptors peak if you see yourself being pricked with the needle. Men’s Health 3/08.

SAVE YOUR SHOULDERS – narrowing your grip when bench-pressing reduces the risk of shoulder injury. This change can prevent over rotation of the shoulders, an error that plays a role in almost 20 percent of weight-lifting injuries. The narrower grip won’t reduce the strength or muscle gains. Place the hands no farther than shoulder-width apart on the barbell, and keep the elbows tucked in at your sides so the forearms form 45-degree angles to the torso. This also reduces stress on the shoulder joints and rotator cuffs.
Another tip: by performing cardio exercises after lifting weights, you will increase gains by 19 percent. Strength and Conditioning Journal, Journal of Applied Physiology.

MELAMINE – since the fall of 2008, close to 300,000 Chinese babies have been sickened and at lest six have died after drinking formula made with milk contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine. Many had kidney stones.
Unscrupulous Chinese manufacturers added the melamine to make watered-down milk appear higher in protein. (Melamine is rich in nitrogen, and test for protein often measure nitrogen.)
Melamine can crystallize in the kidneys and clog the tiny tubules that filter the blood. That can lead to stones, kidney failure, and death. Infants are especially vulnerable because formula is their main source of food, and because their tiny bodies get more melamine per pound of body weight.
Traces of melamine have turned up in a small number of foods – milk drinks, instant coffee, candy, and biscuits – mostly sold in Asian groceries.
Most experts believe tht those foods pose little risk as there have been no reports of illnesses in children outside China or in adults in any country, including China.
As a precaution, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has detained all Chinese foods containing dairy ingredients until the manufacturers or buyers have them tested to show that they are free of melamine. Nutrition Action Healthletter 2/09.

WASH YOUR MELONS – before cutting a cantaloupe or any melon, wash it with cool running water and a scrub brush. Food poisoning from Salmonella and other bacteria has been linked to melons. If the unwashed rind is contaminated, the knife can drag the bacteria into the fruit, or your hands can spread them. Refrigerate cut melon. It can be left unrefrigerated at a buffet or picnic for up to four hours; after that, discard it. At markets, buy cut melon only if refrigerated. Unlike most fruit, melons are not acidic, so bacteria can thrive on them when they are cut up and not kept cold. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 6/09.

RED WINE TO AVOID “TRAVELERS' DISTRESS” – lab tests by researchers at the University of Missouri, Columbia, show that red wine may be a potent weapon against food-borne bacteria like salmonella and listeria.
Grape skins contain bacteria-inhibiting compounds that are removed during the production of white wine, but red wine and even some grape juices may contain enough to help prevent a very unpleasant bout of the “revenge.” Men’s Health 3/08.

GO FOR THE REAL THING – when craving a snack, choose a piece of fruit over a glass of fruit juice. People in a study who consumed an apple vs. a glass of apple juice with their lunch reduced their daily calorie intake by as much as 20 percent. The scientists believe chewing stimulates satiety hormones better, while the whole food takes longer for the intestines to process, helping one feel “full.” The benefit was also observed when participant ate cheese instead of drinking milk. International Journal of Obesity.

GIVE TEA A BOOST – adding lemon juice to green tea helps prevent the breakdown of the polyphenol antioxidants during digestion. Researchers at Purdue University discovered that adding lemon juice to tea helped preserve five times more polyphenols in the body. It is possible that the additional vitamin C protects the tea’s antioxidants during digestion. Men’s Health 3/08.

SUPPLEMENT MAY LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE – taking the supplement quercetin, an antioxidant supplement, may lower blood pressure. University of Utah researchers found that hypertensive people who consumed 730 milligrams of quercetin daily for a month had a 5 percent drop in blood pressure, enough to reduce the risk of a fatal stroke by 14 percent. Quercetin may counter enzymes that constrict blood vessels. Good food sources of quercetin include apples, grapes and onions. Men’s Health 3/08, Christine Kline, R.D.

BETTER SKIN – 54 percent of adults have acne. Eating refined carbohydrates fuels acne breakouts. A study showed that when people who were acne-prone cut refined carbs from their diets, nearly half saw their complexions clear in just one week.
The sugary foods cause a spike in blood sugar and a corresponding increase in insulin – high insulin levels spur the cells in the oil ducts to multiply, which results in blockages of the ducts. Journal of Clinical Nutrition.