Archive for March, 2010

Salt Raises Stomach Cancer Risk

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Salty food – typical of Asian cuisine – may increase likelihood of stomach cancer by 10%; a Korean study has determined.

Stomach cancer is very common in Korea, but less common in Western nations, such as the United States.

Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers examined data on 9,620 men and 2,773 women and found those who ate saltier diets had a 10% higher risk of developing gastric cancer.

But harmful effects of salt vary. Table salt has been shown to promote heart disease, while salted foods are more likely to lead to cancer.

Salt is a tough addiction to kick.

Everyone loves Chinese food. Too bad it’s loaded with salt, but try and wrangle the General Tso’s chicken out of a college student’s hands.

Image credit: Nutrex Solutions

Obesity Plus Alcohol Increases Liver Damage

Monday, March 29th, 2010

If obesity isn’t bad enough, now experts are recommending very overweight people limit their intake of alcohol.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, researchers analyzed 9,559 men, finding obese men drank 1 to 14 drinks were five times more likely to have liver disease.

This compared to heavy drinkers who were normal weight or underweight.

And drinking contributed mightily to liver disease risk regardless. Men consuming 15 drinks or more each week had three times the risk of liver disease than non-drinkers.

Researchers suggest lowering “safe limits” to drinking. Fifteen drinks is a lot, if you had all that on a weekend bender, some would say you would have a problem.

So drinking it throughout the week isn’t much different, really.

Image credit: Welt Online

Coffee That Doesn’t Cause Heartburn

Friday, March 26th, 2010

A cup of good coffee can be like a gallon of hot acid down your throat, so scientists are now working on heartburn-less java.

Zeroing in on compounds in coffee that irritate the stomach may be the key.

N-methylpyridinium, a chemical in darker roast, such as French coffee, was found to inhibit acid.

Tinkering with N-methylpyridinium could lead to a more stomach friendly brew.

Gentler coffee would tap into a tremendous market of potential buyers.

It’s estimated 40 million people avoid coffee due to sensitive stomachs.

Image credit: 38 Minutes

Coffee That Doesn’t Cause Heartburn

Friday, March 26th, 2010

A cup of good coffee can be like a gallon of hot acid down your throat, so scientists are now working on heartburn-less java.

Zeroing in on compounds in coffee that irritate the stomach may be the key.

N-methylpyridinium, a chemical in darker roast, such as French coffee, was found to inhibit acid.

Tinkering with N-methylpyridinium could lead to a more stomach friendly brew.

Gentler coffee would tap into a tremendous market of potential buyers.

It’s estimated 40 million people avoid coffee due to sensitive stomachs.

Image credit: 38 Minutes

Vitamin D Helps Cut Flu Risk

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Change of seasons – warm to cold, cold to warm – are prime cold and flu times.

But there’s more you can do about than just getting your flu shot and eating lots of vitamin C and zinc tablets.

Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, scientists found children – i.e. little disease spreaders – with high vitamin D intake were less likely to get influenza.

For the study, participants – children ages 6 to 15 – were randomly given a placebo or vitamin supplement from December 2008 to March 2009.

Data showed the vitamin D group was 58% less likely to get the flu, but only for influenza A, which usually occurs early in the flu season. Influenza B – common later on – risk was not reduced by vitamin D supplementation.

But researchers don’t know why.

Major sources of vitamin D include milk and plain old regular sunshine. Easy!

Image credit: Mi9.com

Erectile Dysfunction Plus Heart Disease Increase Risk of Death

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

One is bad enough, but now a new study claims having both erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease raises risk for heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and death.

Writing in the journal Circulation, scientists found that men with cardiovascular disease and erectile dysfunction were:

  • 1.9 times more likely to die from heart disease
  • 2 times more likely to have a heart attack
  • 1.2 times more likely to have heart failure
  • 1.1 times more likely to have a stroke

The researchers also found men suffering from erectile dysfunction had greater risk of high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and urinary tract surgery, compared to men without erectile dysfunction.

Erectile Dysfunction can also single other serious health problems, such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

Image credit: Jim’s Notes

Magnesium Helps Cut Colon Cancer Risk in Men

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Leafy green vegetables, meats, grains, nuts, and dairy products are all sources of dietary magnesium, which is now being linked to lower risk of colon cancer.

Writing in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers found consuming a minimum of 327 milligrams of magnesium each day lowered the risk of colon cancer by 52%.

For the study, experts assessed dietary intake of magnesium in 87,117 people.

And during the research 689 men were diagnosed with colon cancer, but those with the highest average consumption of magnesium had a lower risk.

But the findings for magnesium and women were less clear.

Via Food Navigator.

Image credit: designsg

Boiling Shrimp May Stop Shellfish Allergy

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Researchers estimate 1 in 50 people living in the United States have an allergy to shrimp and other shellfish.

Tropomyosin a chemical found in shellfish is responsible for the allergic reaction.

But writing in the Journal of Food Science, scientists found boiling shrimp for 10 minutes may lower allergy triggers in shrimp and reduce allergic reactions in people.

Experts say this discovery will help diagnose shrimp allergies, especially among populations consuming a lot of shellfish.

Too bad shrimp sushi is so awesome!

Via Food Navigator.

Image credit: The Daily Apple

Healthy Diet Makes it Easier to Think

Monday, March 8th, 2010

FVIt’s impossible to eat too healthfully. A good diet will help you lose weight, stay fit, and feel great. Can’t argue with that!

But eating a healthy diet might also improve how well you think.

Published in the journal Hypertension, researchers found people who eat right had better cognitive function.

For the study, scientists followed 124 men and women with high blood pressure, age 52, and a minimum of 15 pounds overweight.

Depending on their grouping, individuals were either instructed to continue eating as they normally do or switch to a healthy diet.

And when given tests to assess mental function – in this case crossing off specific digits on a piece of paper as quickly as possible – individuals on a healthy diet did 30% better than individuals on a normal diet.

Regular exercise also contributed to the group’s success.

Researchers add that the diet and exercise groups lost an average of 19 pounds and lowered their blood pressure.

Via HealthDay News.

Image credit: Cross Fit

Is Your Diet Plan Something You Can Follow for the Long Term?

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

weight lifting programMost people want to follow a diet plan at some point so that they can lose weight and become their ideal weight, but most of them don’t work for the long-term. Why? Because most people don’t change their lifestyles; instead, they follow a “diet” for the short term, in hopes of losing weight. It almost never works, because it doesn’t translate into lifelong commitment. To find something that really works for you, you’ll need to be able to do “forever.” While a new diet plan can be exciting to start, if it’s not something you like and can stay with over the long term, that excitement is going to fade really quickly.

Here are five things you should look for in your diet plan so that you know it’s going to work for you.

1. You Really Enjoy It – Any good and long lasting diet plan is going to have healthy foods included — but you’re going to love them. If you’re excited about the food you get to eat and you’re satisfied with the amounts, this is probably something that’s going to stick around for a long, long time.

Don’t go for “fad” diets that are impossible to follow for long, in that you have to force yourself to follow it and don’t enjoy doing so. You can’t consistently be depriving yourself and expect to stay on track. You either need to change your own tastes, so that you like the foods on the diet, or you need to find a plan that incorporates those with you already like (easiest way).

2. The Main Environment You’re in Supports Your Choices – If you live in an environment that supports your food choices and your diet, it’s a lot easier to stay on it and not stray. For example, if you’ve decided to become a vegetarian, it’s going to be difficult (though certainly possible) to remain focused on excluding meat from your diet; at the very least, those people should be supportive of the fact that you are vegetarian and not constantly tempt you with meat.

If the others in your house don’t follow your eating plan and further, if they like to “junk it up” with junk foods, you’re much more likely to break with your plan. Creating a support network for yourself is going to make it easier to stay on your eating plan even if everyone around you doesn’t eat as you do.

3. You Find Your Diet Rewarding – People are creatures who like to be rewarded, and you’ll need to see regular benefits from your diet if you want to be able to continue without much struggle.

Of course, one possible benefit from this is losing weight, but you’ll also have to be truly enjoying your diet at the same time. It’s going to have to make you feel better or give you more energy, for example, so that you remain motivated to stay on it. Other benefits may include that you don’t just lose the weight, but also maintain it easily once you’ve lost enough weight, as well as having more energy, better physical health, and so on. If you want to continue on your diet uninterrupted, you’ll need to see benefit from it, regularly.

4. Your Plan Includes Physical Activity – In some form, every single day, you should be getting some type of exercise. If you’re looking to lose weight, this is going to make that happen faster, but it will also make you feel better and will also help you stay “with the program,” so to speak. In turn, that’ll help keep you motivated so that you continue with your progress.

5. Your Plan Includes Goals – Last (but not least), your plan should allow you to set goals so that you can continually achieve “the next thing.” These types of goals will also help keep you motivated as you continue and progress.

As one example, if you weigh 200 pounds now and you want to get down to 150, losing those 50 pounds can make your first goal, and then maintaining that weight can be the second goal you set. If you strive to stay on your plan and don’t go too far off, you’ll succeed, but if you go too far “off plan,” you’re not likely to maintain your weight loss once you’ve achieved it. Keeping the goal in mind that you want to stay at 150 pounds is going to help keep you there.

Every diet plan that works is doable, consistent, lets you eat what you enjoy, and contains activity as well that you like doing and makes you healthy. The goals within the plan are realistic (it doesn’t say, for example, that you can drop 10 pounds overnight). If the diet plan you’re on now is something you don’t enjoy and doesn’t contain all of the above elements, you may want to change plans. There’s a diet plan out there for you that’s going to work for you and keep you healthy and positive at the same time. As just a start, you can write something down as a plan for yourself that shows you what you can and cannot eat. You can start there, and then improve as you go.

Source: best diet plans


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