People battling diabetes can take a cue from fighters everywhere: muscle strength helps make winners. New research finds that low muscle mass — common in elderly and obese people at greatest risk of type 2 diabetes — is associated with the insulin resistance that causes the disease. People with incipient or frank symptoms have long been told to eat well and exercise, but the new finding help make the latter prescription more specific. While walking and cardiovascular workouts are still important, building strong muscles is a critical component to reversing the disease. Muscle mass is empowering! (Via ScienceDaily.)
are statins’ benefits worth their risks?
The cholesterol-lowering statins drugs are among the most widely prescribed. By lowering cholesterol, proponents say, drugs such as Crestor and Lipitor help reduce the risk of killer strokes and heart disease. A recent study published in the British Medical Journal considered the benefits and risks of the drugs, and came up with some interesting findings. The researchers considered data on more than 2 million English patients. Among the women, they found 271 fewer cases of heart disease and eight fewer cases of esophageal cancer for every 10,000 high-risk women treated with the drugs. On the flip side, however, they found high levels of side effects: 74 extra cases of liver dysfunctions, 307 cases of cataracts, 23 cases of acute renal failure and 39 cases of muscle pain and weakness. The numbers were similar among male patients, although the men experienced more of the muscle side effects. (Via Reuters.)
sex, trust and hormones
Intimacy both requires and ideally engenders trust. And, researchers from Utrecht University in Holland have discovered, both sides of this coin have hormonal triggers. Think of a romantic dinner, with soft lighting and gentle caresses. Those warm, fuzzy feelings are partly the result of a pulse of the hormone oxytocin (also triggered by childbirth and orgasms) that makes a person more trusting. The flip side, researchers found, is associated with testosterone. In women, this hormone is associated with sexual arousal — but also with decreased trust. Researchers believe this makes evolutionary sense: Testosterone spikes in women when they’re most fertile, which is also a time when good decision making about a potential parenting partner is most critical. (Via The New York Times.)
pesticide linked to ADHD risk
Organophosphate pesticides kill agricultural pests by poisoning their brains. New research suggests those chemicals may harm young human brains, too, increasing risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) even at low doses. Researchers looked for evidence of exposure to the pesticide malathion in children’s urine. They found that abnormal levels, even when low, raised the risk of ADHD by 55 percent. These results don’t definitively show the pesticides caused the problem, but certainly raise important questions — and suggest that eating organic might help prevent the disorder. The effects of pesticides have been studied before, but mostly among populations such as farm workers that get regular, high-level exposure. The new study was the first to consider the effects of the low amounts children get by eating fruits and vegetables contaminated with the pesticides in the field. Federal statistics show that roughly one quarter of strawberries and frozen blueberries tested were contaminated with malathion in 2008, as was 19 percent of celery. (Via the Los Angeles Times and Time).
fatty fast food bad for asthmatics
Fatty fast-food burgers aren’t particularly healthy for anyone. But new research finds they’re especially bad for asthmatics, increasing inflammation in the lungs and blocking the life-saving effects of emergency inhalers.
Asthma affects about 34 million people in the United States and nearly 3 million in Canada, and those numbers have been climbing steadily.
To study the effect of food choices on asthma, a group of asthmatics were given two different kinds of meals. One group got burgers and hash browns, high in fat and calories, and the other got yogurt instead — with 80 percent fewer calories. Four hours later, folks in the high-fat group showed more activation of a gene that makes the body consider fats a pathogen — fighting it the same way as it would a virus or bacterium. Inflammation is how the body mounts such a fight.
The burger and hash browns combination also reduced the effect of albuterol inhalers, which help relax spasming airways during an asthma attack, possibly by blocking receptors the drugs target.
Naturopathic medicine offers great options for asthmatics, starting with diet and moving on to reducing inflammation and bronchospasm.
cell phone/cancer link murky but present
The World Health Organization has completed a large, 10-year study to determine if cell-phone use causes cancer. The answer? Not clear enough to make recommendations other than further study of the issue. The report, to be released later this week, does find an increase in gliomas, a type of brain cancer, in people who used cell phones for 30 minutes daily for 10 years. They also found, however, that a little bit of cell phone use can be protective against brain cancer. So while the big news of the study is that it offered little news, it’s also telling that the researchers couldn’t definitively call cell phones safe, either. (Via The Daily Mail).
Olive oil helps prevent ulcerative colitis
English researchers, as part of a large study looking at the effects of diet on health, have found moderate amounts of olive oil make a big difference in preventing the debilitating digestive disorder ulcerative colitis. Looking at detailed food records kept by 25,000 study participants, the scientists were able to consider differences in people who developed the condition. Study participants who ingested the most olive oil had 90 percent less risk of developing ulcerative colitis than those who didn’t. Researchers conclude that half of all cases could be prevented by increasing consumption of oleic acid, which is plentiful in olive oil. And it only takes a modest 2-3 tablespoons daily to see the effect. (Via ScienceDaily).
To maintain your brain, eat like a Greek
The Mediterranean diet, touted for its ability to protect the heart aid longevity, now has another great outcome to recommend it: reducing the effects of aging on the brain. Researchers followed nearly 3,800 men and women in their 60s or older, asking them to report what they ate and then measuring mental function. Those who ate closest to the traditional Mediterranean diet — lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, fish, olive oil and moderate amounts of wine — scored highest on their brain tests. How this works isn’t clear, although researchers suspect it may be related to the diet’s known effects on the heart and circulation. Better circulation would mean more oxygen and nutrients to the brain, helping it stay limber longer. (Via WebMD).
Sleep stabilizes blood sugar
Getting your nightly eight hours may be doing more for you than you think — it may help prevent Type II Diabetes. That diseases occurs when cells become resistant to insulin, the hormone that helps sugar move from the bloodstream and into cells, which use the sugar as food. In a small study, researchers compared insulin responses of healthy people after a good night’s sleep and after a night where they slept only four hours. They found that just one bad night reduced cellular receptivity to insulin. Diet, lack of exercise and family history are all important components in the disease; add these to life in a chronically sleep-deprived society, and it’s no wonder this form of diabetes is on the rise. Can more sleep help people who already have the disease? The researchers haven’t tested that yet, but it’s certainly an idea to sleep on. (Via ScienceDaily).
Dark chocolate protects brain from stroke effects
Dr. Melissa Berry makes these amazing truffles: missionarychocolates.com.
Sweet news from the chocolate researchers: They’re now finding a component in dark chocolate can help protect brain cells when oxygen is cut off by a stroke. The researchers gave epicatechin, found naturally in dark chocolate, to lab animals before and after inducing a stroke. The pretreated animals did much better than their untreated counterparts. Even more interestingly, researchers found the effect even when treating up to 3.5 hours after the stroke; most current post-stroke treatments are only effective if given more quickly. How does it work? It seems that epicatechin turns on two pathways that work to protect brain cells. This suggests that a little bit of regular, high-quality, dark chocolate may be a good defense — and a handy item to keep in the first-aid kit. (Via ScienceDaily.)
