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Putting Me First: Finding Work and Life Balance
What do sleep, meditation, downward dog and hydration have in common?
Continue reading “Putting Me First: Finding Work and Life Balance”
New Research finds emotional eating is learned by children
A new study out of the University College of London concludes that children with unhealthy eating habits are likely to have learned them rather than having inherited them.
Home environment, rather than genetic or other heritable biological factors, the study found, is the main determining variable in whether or not children develop emotion-motivated eating behavior.
The researchers concluded that parental behavior such as giving food to upset children is a leading cause of children learning to use food to self-soothe.
According to senior researcher, Dr Clare Llewellyn, “The tendency to eat more as a response to unpleasant emotions may present a risk for the evolution of obesity. Emotional overeating- and emotional under-eating might potentially be key to the development of common eating disorders like anorexia or binge-eating. Understanding how poor eating habits develop is critical, since it helps clinicians give better advice on how to prevent or change these habitual eating problems, and where to direct future research.”
Recent twin studies corroborate these findings. A research project published by the journal Pediatric Obesity examined 398 British twins aged four years old. Fifty percent of the twins were raised with families where obesity was prevalent. The other 50 percent were raised by families where the parents had better-eating habits and maintained healthy weights.
Reports from the parents indicated that the children raised by obese families tended to develop unhealthy emotional eating habits- that is, eating to self-soothe while experiencing negative emotions.
Related studies showed that emotional eating habits came in the following forms;
- Eating rapidly
- Rate of delay in feeling full
- Tendency to eat for pleasure
Dr. Llewellyn says, “The trait begins to form in the all important formative years during pre-school. It indicates that there is good reason for giving parents better advice about the kinds of interventions they employ to help children cope with their emotions when upset during these early years when behaviors begin to develop.”
These findings appear to support a number of similar studies concerned with obesity and eating habits. The trend seems to buck the long-held notion that the tendency to be overweight is largely beyond the control of the individual indicating that it is due to learned behavior.
Dr Llewellyn’s comments suggest that if a person’s eating habits are out of control, the underlying cause is developmental in nature. If correct, this could mean that cognitive behavioral therapy could be a viable mode of treatment for obese adults struggling with poor eating habits.
A Guiding Light in the Middle of the Night: the Life of a Medical Student
New research shows job stress can lead to heart problems
People have long suspected that stress and anxiety can cause health problems in the long term, particularly heart problems. Now, new research suggests that this is more than just a suspicion.
Now, a recent Swedish research program has developed data which indicate overwhelmingly that persons with high-stress jobs are at significantly greater risk of developing atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a common heartbeat irregularity which can cause stroke.
Eleanor I. Fransson, an associate professor at Jönköping University, said, “Atrial fibrillation is a common condition with serious consequences and therefore it is of major public health importance to find ways of preventing it.”
The researchers defined a “high-stress job” as one that gives the job holder little control over work situations and is psychologically demanding. For workers in high stress jobs, the combination of a high level of effort with low predictability of outcomes generates what psychologists call toxic stress.
Toxic stress is chronic anxiety caused by conditions that are long-lasting. The result is that those suffering from it remain in a low level fight or flight mode over extremely prolonged periods of time. Our sympathetic nervous system is optimized, in part, to prepare us to respond to danger, to escape the danger- and then to return to normal. You might think of chronic stress as similar to revving the engine of a car far too long and far too often. This hyper-readiness is extremely taxing on the entire body- particularly the heart. Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common consequences of chronic, or toxic stress.
The consequences of atrial fibrillation vary greatly from person to person. The condition can go unnoticed for years, appearing only after a serious medical episode. It can be temporary for some people, and permanent for others depending on a number of genetic and environmental reasons. Those who have it are five times more likely to experience a stroke compared to someone who does not have it.
More than 750,000 people are admitted to hospitals each year for reasons associated to A-Fib, and an estimated 130,000 deaths result from these cases.
According to the research, toxic stress at work is the leading cause of this condition. Prof. Fransson and her team are now looking into ways to accurately model stressful workplaces in order to better measure chronic stress across various study groups.
Research shows missing microbes causing childhood cancer
t’s been a truism for as long as science has known about germ theory that letting children get dirty is good for their immune systems. Now, new research has shown that overprotecting children from germs is correlated with the most common form of childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Professor Mel Greaves, of Britain’s Institute of Cancer Research, has put together three decades of data which shows the connection between acute lymphoblastic leukemia and too little exposure to germs in early childhood. While the subject of childhood cancer is certainly tragic, this research comes to a promising conclusion. It would appear to mean that there is a simple and free method to reduce the chance that children will develop the disease. That is exposing children to germs in a medical setting.
Professor Greaves’ data also suggests that the disease has three stages:
- A genetic mutation triggered ion the womb, which cannot be remedied.
- Low exposure to germs in the first 12 months of life.
- Infection can then trigger immune malfunction followed by leukemia.
This disease model, which Greaves calls a unified theory of leukemia, was assembled from the data provided by many disparate studies. Case studies contributing to his conclusion include:
- A swine flu outbreak in Milan
- Breastfeeding related data showing breastfed children have a lower incidence of leukemia.
- Cases where children with older siblings or who went to nurseries had a lower chance of developing leukemia.
- Children born vaginally had lower rates of leukemia compared to children delivered via C-section.
- Animal studies reflect these data sets by showing that animals born in sterile environments develop leukemia after exposure to infection.
Professor Greaves commented, “The most important lesson is that the majority of cases of childhood leukemia are probably preventable.” He recommends administering a bacteria cocktail, such as a specialized yogurt, to stimulate the immune systems of children. The children who are at the greatest risk due to genetics and the method of delivery would be strong candidates for the preventative treatment.
This research will further ingrain the relatively recent insight that germs are not always our enemy. It may be an uphill battle, however, convincing parents to submit to feeding their children a “bacteria cocktail.” But, as for the children of the digital age, they will certainly benefit from being encouraged to spend more time outdoors.
New Research shows Eggs can be great for your diet
For years we’ve been on a roller coaster ride over whether or not eggs are good for you, or if they contribute to obesity and heart disease. Anytime a new study was released that claimed one or the other, you could start the clock on the publication of new research that would contradict it. Well, there’s a new study out that favors eggs. Get your skillets warmed up, egg fans because things are looking up for you.
This new study published by the Charles Perkins Centre Research Program Director University of Sydney tackles a problem with ongoing research that hasn’t been addressed before. As it turns out, all of the studies done on eggs over the last three or four decades which told us eggs were evil- failed to account for the rest of people’s diets. In other words, they would look at an egg eating group and a non-egg eating group. Then they would follow them around for a number of years and tell us how they each of them turned out. As we are all aware, the results were all over the place. Until now, nobody understood why.
The fact is, the egg eating groups would tend to have poorer eating habits overall. The reason for this, presumably, is the fact that because eggs had a bad reputation- people who ate them regularly would tend to also eat a lot of bacon, butter, sweets, and other known dietary villains. Those who avoided eggs tended to be more health conscious.
According to Doctor Nick Fuller, responding to Medicalresearch.com, “Research shows that high egg consumption is detrimental to a person’s health was conducted when we were told to avoid eggs. People eating a high egg diet were likely to have other poor eating habits high in saturated fat and low in whole grains. The studies did not control for these factors.”
If you were around in the late 80s, you probably remember eggs were so feared that a prominent anti-drug public service announcement featured the frying of an egg as a fear tactic.
Today, we know a lot more about cholesterol, and eggs don’t seem quite so frightening. The study concluded that people with type 2 diabetes can safely consume 12 eggs per week, and most likely, everyone else can as well. What’s important is to maintain a healthy diet overall.
A new research breakthrough may lead to a cure for the common cold
The common cold, it’s just a fact of life, right? You’re going to get it. No one is immune – technically speaking. If you want to lower your chances of getting a cold, the thing to do is eat right, exercise, and practice good hygiene… and don’t go outside with wet hair.
The traditional wisdom on fighting odd illness is to boost and aid the immune system, which all of the above motherly advice is meant to do. We do not attack the virus itself, we let our natural immunity do that. Well, scientists in the UK have developed a treatment that contributes a powerful line of defense against the common cold, a defense that might be so strong that the common cold virus may have met its match.
In the fight against the common cold, researchers do not attempt to attack the virus itself because it mutates so rapidly, any effective cure would be obsolete within a week. So clinical researchers from the Imperial College of London have developed a drug that targets key proteins in the human body.
The proteins they were concerned with were ones that cold viruses are most fond of attacking. In laboratory tests, the drug worked within minutes. It was applied to human lung cells in a petri dish. The protein of interest, called NMT, suddenly became less vulnerable to attack by the virus.
These NMT proteins, which come in two types, are the most viable targets for viruses to latch on to. You could think of them as being like rural cottages which an invading army can easily plunder and take rest in before moving on to assault the main city. By making these proteins less hospitable to the virus, the treatment makes the human body far less accommodating to the common cold.
Professor and researcher, Ed Tate told the BBC, “The idea is to give the treatment to someone just after they first become infected. It would then stop the virus from replicating and spreading further.”
Tate said the drug, which is inhaled, would be of benefit to everyone, but it would be especially beneficial in protecting those whose health is fragile. The elderly, cancer patients, very young children, and anyone who might be killed by a simple cold virus would potentiality have their lives saved by this new treatment.
Is BMI a trustworthy measure of health?
New research has emerged which appears to indicate that Body Mass Index, (BMI) may not be a reliable way to measure total body fat. BMI is still a fair indicator of body fat for general purposes. It can be effectively used to indicate whether a person is healthy based on weight and height and it works for the vast majority of people. However, it is possible that two people of the same height and weight could get drastically divergent BMI numbers.
One reason for this is the simple fact that different people are built with different proportions. But the most important reason is that a person could be carrying around a given amount of body fat, while their height and weight counterpart has very little body fat and substantially more muscle. A 6 ft tall 200 lb athlete, for example, would have a lot of muscle contributing to his weight. At the same time, however, a 6 ft tall 200 lb couch potato, would have the same BMI as an athlete of the same height and weight. This is where BMI fails as a metric of health.
Professor of medical statistics at the University College of London Tim Cole, says, “You don’t see many bodybuilders but you do see plenty of overweight people. Lots of people get excited about that unnecessarily.” He explains that BMI is good for setting ordinary people into broad categories of health. For someone who is not an athlete and is visibly overweight, a BMI measurement may offer a helpful diagnostic guide for a physician. But for everyday use, it is less valuable.
Where BMI fails critically is in its inability to accurately appraise the difference between someone who carries some fat at the hips and someone who carries it at the waist and belly. That may not seem like a big difference, but health statistics show that those who carry their body fat at the waist are at higher risk for diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. This means measuring your waistline is a better way to gauge your health.
As a general rule, men should have a waste line no greater than 37 inches, and women should try to stay under 31.5 inches. These numbers hold true regardless of height.
So, BMI might be a good metric for doctors to use, but it is limited- in its usefulness for personal use as a fitness metric. So, our advice is to leave BMI to the doctors- and stick to measuring your waistline.
New research shows exercise benefits can be passed down to children
Scientists have proven that we may pass the benefits of physical and mental exercises to our brain onto our children through improved learning ability. And that happens without any alterations in the DNA.
That’s why people over 50 years old should do brain twisting exercises such as puzzles to keep their mind sharp. As such, they can delay the onset of dementia and diseases such as Alzheimer.
The German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease (DZNE) exposed mice to a stimulating environment with plenty of exercises and found out their offspring benefitted.
Reportedly, compared to the control group, the young ones of the mice in the stimulating environment achieved a much better learning ability. There were also significant improvements in their synaptic plasticity, i.e., how well cells communicate with each other as well as the cellular basis for learning. That’s the epigenetics phenomena.
What is Epigenetics?
Epigenetics is a field of study that attempts to understand how the environment interacts with the genes.
For a long time, we’ve believed children can’t inherit skills that don’t modify the DNA sequence, but now scientists say otherwise.
Scientists have found that some lifestyle circumstances such as trauma and stress can affect your offspring. For instance, poor diet not only exposes you to the risk of diseases but also poses the threat of diseases to your children.
And that’s the phenomenon known as ‘epigenetic’ inheritance, which is in no way associated with changes in the DNA sequence.
How Offspring Acquire the Physical and Mental Benefits of their Parents
Parents pass the physical and mental benefits through RNA molecules contained in sperms alongside the paternal DNA.
According to Prof Andre Fischer from DZNE, the RNA molecules alter the brain development. That boosts the connections of the neurons resulting in a cognitive advantage for the offspring.
Prof Marcus Pembrey from Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health has something to say. He asserts this research would probably establish if other factors contribute to individual’s intelligence than just genetic inheritance and learning after birth.
He also adds that if science proves the system of offspring inheriting physical and mental applies to humans, then it could explain the Flynn effect. The Flynn effect tries to explain why the population IQ has continued to rise every decade for the last century.
Prof Simon Fishel from the Private Care Group thinks the research is fascinating as it increases the evidence that how we conduct our lives will have an impact on our offspring.