On TRAC with DrMark

I've moved

Symmetry has built a new blog site for me. You should soon be able to read the new site from our company home page (the way you may have come here) but until that gets connected; you can read the blog here: www.DrMarkNow.com 

Fish oil in pregnancy may ward off babies' colds, study shows

Newborns whose moms took DHA supplements got sick less often, better quicker

Women who take fish oil supplements during pregnancy may boost their babies’ immune systems and help protect against colds during the first months of life, a new study shows.

Infants whose mothers were given DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil, got sick less often and for shorter periods of time than babies whose mothers got none. 

The entire article may be found at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43950352/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/ 

Content of Cocoa Beans and Chocolate

Cocoa beans, what chocolate is made from, contains about 50 percent fat. This fat content is primarily composed of stearic acid, palmitic acid (both saturated fats) and oleic acid (monounsaturated fat). It is important to take note that cocoa butter and chocolate alone do not raise blood cholesterol levels. It is when milk or other types of fat are added to chocolate that it becomes instrumental in raising blood cholesterol levels.

Cocoa beans contain a significant amount of dietary fiber (soluble and insoluble) and starch. It also contains a very little amount of simple sugars. However, the chocolate’s sugar content is increased because sugar is added during its manufacturing process.

Cocoa beans have polyphenols or flavonoids that are known to have antioxidant properties. These polyphenols are composed of catechins, procyandins and epicatechins. These flavonoids are stored in the non-fatty parts of the cocoa beans. Part of the functions of flavonoids is reduce blood clotting, thus help in reducing the risk of heart attacks or strokes.

Other nutrients found in cocoa beans and chocolate include theobromine (helps increase urine production), caffeine, phenylethylamine, serotonin, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, calcium, zinc, potassium, vitamins A, B2, C, B1, B3 and pantothenic acid.

 

Ouch, It Pains A Lot

Feel tired? Feel the aches and pains? Well, the biological link between pain and fatigue, leading to easier treatment for arthritis, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, has just been discovered. Here are five ways to avoid stress-induced aches.

Keep the pillow date Sleeping 7 hours for men is fine. For working women, 8 hours is essential. There are biological differences; accept them. And you’ll be pain free.

 

Leave it to the team Being a perfectionist has its drawbacks; one of the biggest being stress, which increases internal inflammation and, hence, pain. Delegate. Be known as a good boss who trusts the team.

Keep inflammation off your plate Fast foods, cold drinks, too many cups of tea or coffee, hard liquor and cigarettes, all cause inflammation. If 80% of your diet can be fruits, vegetables, oily fish (tuna, mackerel, salmon, sardines), nuts and seeds, complex carbohydrates, some green tea and an occasional red wine, you’re pretty much on an anti-inflammatory diet. That will ensure you don’t get even simpler stuff like hypertension (unless you’re overweight or have other medical conditions).

Take the quarterly break A three-day weekend every three months is better than 15 days at the end of the year. For your body at least. Take the break. The company won’t shut down. Your body may.

De-stress For some, it’s reading. For others, it’s music. Go find yours. There is ample research showing a direct physical connection between music and pain levels, pranayam and pain levels, yoga and pain levels. Whatever is your calling, just go and do it.

Grapes of health Resveratrol, a compound in grapes, displays antioxidant and other positive properties. In a study published on this by researchers at the UT Health Science Center, San Antonio, resveratrol’s beneficial health effects have been stressed. Resveratrol stimulates the expression of adiponectin, a hormone derived from cells that manufacture and store fat, the team found. Adiponectin has a wide range of beneficial effects on obesity-related medical complications.
Hmmm. Time to reach for some red wine, doctor?

You may find this, in whole, at:

http://business.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?277720

Red wine could benefit astronauts in orbit

Study finds it may help prevent the ill effects of prolonged weightlessness

While the astronauts on NASA's final shuttle mission right now don't have a sip of alcohol around, new research suggests it actually might be good for their health.

The study found that red wine could help prevent the ill effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body.

An ingredient in red wine, called resveratrol, has shown promise protecting against the bone density loss and insulin resistance that can be side effects of flying in space, researchers said. The finding is based on a study of rats held upside down by their hind limbs and tails to simulate weightlessness. The rats fed resveratrol did not develop the adverse symptoms of the other group.

"For the first time, we report a simple countermeasure that prevents the deleterious adaptations of the major physiological functions affected by mechanical unloading," the researchers, led by Iman Momken of the University of Strasbourg in France, wrote in a paper reporting their findings in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

Resveratrol "could thus be envisaged as a nutritional countermeasure for spaceflight but remains to be tested in humans," the scientists wrote.

Not just for space
The researchers say their findings could apply not just to astronauts but to sedentary people on the ground, too, who can experience some of these problems simply from not moving around enough.

"There are overwhelming data showing that the human body needs physical activity, but for some of us, getting that activity isn't easy," Dr. Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of the journal, said in a statement.

"A low gravity environment makes it nearly impossible for astronauts. For the earthbound, barriers to physical activity are equally challenging, whether they be disease, injury, or a desk job. Resveratrol may not be a substitute for exercise, but it could slow deterioration until someone can get moving again."

Will alcohol in space fly with NASA?
But despite the health benefits, NASA may be a tough sell on giving astronauts wine while on duty. NASA regulations forbid astronauts to drink alcohol during spaceflights or within 12 hours of launch time.

The prelaunch policy, initially an unofficial guideline adapted from its T-38 jet flight rules, was officially adopted for human spaceflight in 2007, when an independent health panel reported two anecdotal incidents of astronauts drinking before launch. A NASA investigation later found no evidence to support that the incidents had ever occurred, and an anonymous survey of astronauts and flight surgeons conducted a year later also found no indications that any astronauts consumed alcohol, or had seen others do so, before a launch.

Four veteran spaceflyers are currently flying on NASA's 135th and last space shuttle mission ever. The agency is planning to retire its three shuttle orbiters to embark on a new program of deep space human exploration to asteroids and Mars.

While NASA has found that strenuous exercise on special machines on the shuttle and International Space Station help mitigate the worst effects of weightlessness so far, missions to more distant bodies would require humans to be in space for longer periods of time.

"Each of these adaptations could turn to serious health deterioration during the long-term spaceflight needed for planetary exploration," Momken and colleagues wrote.

In those cases, a supplement of resveratrol — or, you know, a glass of wine — just might prove beneficial. 

This comes to us from:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43798875/ns/technology_and_science-space/ 

UF study says wine is fruitful for one's health

Here's an alcoholic beverage UF can get behind: red wine.

Drinking red wine in moderation can lead to health benefits, according to a recent UF study.

Heather Hausenblas, UF associate professor at the College of Health and Human Performance and one of the study's three researchers, said the research reviewed past and present human clinical studies on a polyphenol compound named resveratrol, which is found in large amounts in red wine.

The year-long review concluded resveratrol could improve health.

"It appears to have antioxidant effects as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetics," she said.

Antioxidants protect the body from free radicals, which damage cells and can play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases, according to the National Institute of Health.

Organic red grapes will also contain more of this compound compared to non-organic, Hausenblas said, since organic fruits are not artificially protected.

Charles Sims, UF professor in the food science and human nutrition department, said the compounds that give health benefits, such as antioxidants, are concentrated in the skin of red grapes.

Sims, however, advises those who drink red wine to do so in moderation.

"If you are drinking two to three glasses a day, that's usually the reasonable amount to give you the health benefits without consuming too much alcohol," he said.

This comes to us from:

http://www.alligator.org/news/campus/article_a3db4cb0-b744-11e0-b650-001cc4c03286.html

Antioxidants boost sperm health

Antioxidants vitamin E and beta-carotene help maintain male fertility and offer the best protection against sperm damage.

In a study of crickets, researchers found that a combination of these antioxidants provided to be the best weapon to boost the health of the sperm.

In a study of crickets, researchers found that a combination of these antioxidants provided to be the best weapon to boost the health of the sperm.

Study author Maria Almbro, from the University of Western Australia (UWA), said sperms were known to be vulnerable to attack from highly reactive molecules known as free radicals. They damage sperm cells, unless neutralised by antioxidants.

This comes from the Times of India

Taking Antioxidants May Reduce Risk Of Hearing Loss

Taking vitamin supplements for overall well-being is a health-related tactic that millions of Americans use every year to try to stay trim and energetic. Studies have shown that dietary supplements may improve the body's nutrition levels, contribute valuable minerals to a daily diet or even lower blood pressure or improve digestion, depending on their contents.

Now, research conducted at Vanderbilt University and Australia's University of Sydney has determined that people who take supplements containing vitamins A and E had a lower incidence of hearing loss than those who don't.

The report, which was published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, found that participants who took those vitamins the most often had the lowest likelihood of hearing loss.

Researchers estimated that each standard deviation increase in the consumption of vitamins A and E resulted in a 14 percent reduction in this risk, even after they adjusted the results for age, gender, occupational hearing damage, a family history of hearing impairment and other factors.

An estimated 36 million Americans have some level of hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

 

What's a Calorie? (And Other Nutrition Buzzwords, Defined)

Antioxidants
Antioxidants are substances that prevent the damage that occurs naturally through the digestive process to our cells and DNA. When our tissue comes into contact with oxygen as we breathe and eat, a process called "oxidation" occurs which can set off a reaction that permanently damages cells -- and even DNA -- within your body. Although this is a lot of science talk, oxidative stress is believed to contribute the development of a host of conditions -- including cancer, cataracts, arthritis, stroke and heart disease. Antioxidants can prevent oxidative stress. Some of the most common antioxidants include Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Uric Acid and Melatonin. They can be ingested naturally through certain foods or be taken in supplement form.

Calorie
Calorie is a fairly straightforward term -- a calorie is simply a unit of measurement. One calorie is one unit of energy, specifically the energy it takes to raise the temperature of one cubic centimeter of water by one degree (Celcius). When it comes to food, what we refer to as calories are actually kilocalories, measuring an amount of energy that is 1,000 times larger than a calorie in scientific terms.

So the calories that we see on our food labels are really indicating the amount of energy that will be released into our body when that food product reacts with oxygen. Fats, carbohydrates and proteins have the greatest amount of calories, generally.

Omega-3s
Omega-3 fatty acids are a particular type of essential unsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids cannot be produced naturally in the human body but are necessary for your body's metabolism, meaning that the only way to get them is by eating foods that contain them or by taking a supplement. Omega-3s naturally occur in fatty fish (i.e. tuna, albacore, salmon etc.) as well as algae, krill and some nut oils. There is some evidence that Omega-3s can boost brain function and put you at less risk for development of chronic health conditions.

Macronutrients and Micronutrients
Nutrients (all of those great things that keep your body going) are divided into two categories -- Macronutrients and Micronutrients. Macronutrients are the big ones (the things we consume most often and in the largest quantities): fats, carbohydrates, alcohol and proteins. Micronutrients constitute everything else.

Unsaturated vs. Saturated Fat
The difference between unsaturated and saturated fats lies in their chemical make-up. The easiest way to think about it is that saturated fats are, in fact, "saturated" with hydrogen. Unsaturated fats are not.

Chemically speaking, fats are made up of what is called "fatty acid chains" -- sets of atoms linked together. When these chains contain at least one double bond (which gets rid of hydrogen atoms in that part of the chain), they are considered unsaturated.

Saturated fats are more likely to come from animal sources, while unsaturated fats often come from plant-based foods. Saturated fats are also solid at room temperature, while unsaturated fats are liquid. Generally, saturated fats are considered to be agents of high cholesterol while the opposite is true for unsaturated fats.

Foods with higher proportions of saturated fats include: butter, lard, coconut oil and milk. Foods with higher proportions of unsaturated fats include: olive oil, avocado, sunflower oil and corn.

This article comes from:

http://www.thatsfit.com/2011/07/21/whats-a-calorie-and-other-nutrition-buzzwords-defined/

Meeting in Tarlac

Symmetry leader, Ellen Flores, speaks to a SRO group in Tarlac City after my seminar.