ScienceDaily: Reduction Of Body Iron Stores And Cardiovascular Outcomes
“There were no significant differences between treatment groups for the primary (all-cause death) or secondary (death plus nonfatal MI and stroke) study end points,” the authors report. “All-cause deaths occurred in 148 patients (23 percent) in the control group and in 125 (20 percent) in the iron-reduction group. Death plus nonfatal myocardial infarction and stroke occurred in 205 patients (32 percent) in the control group and in 180 (28 percent) in the iron-reduction group.” The researchers also examined whether effects of iron reduction differed across subgroups. They found apparent improvement with iron reduction among younger patients, those without diabetes and in smokers.
They say more studies need to be done, but this one is encouraging for meat-eaters.
Carbs may explain ethnic variations in cholesterol | Science&Health | Reuters.co.uk
Previous research has identified ethnic differences in cholesterol and other blood fat levels that couldn’t be explained by genes, obesity, lifestyle factors or diet, Merchant and his team note, but these analyses usually looked at dietary fat, not carbohydrate consumption. When calories from carbohydrates replace energy from fat in a person’s diet, both LDL and HDL cholesterol levels fall while triacylglycerol levels rise, the researchers explain.
For the uninitiated, lowering the HDL (good) cholesterol is bad.
Miracle Muffins sent from the Heavens - The Diabetes Blog
Miracle is a strong word. However, when you see the impact these muffins have on blood sugar — you’ll agree it’s miraculous. Ramsey wanted to create a muffin that his diabetic mother could enjoy without the rise in her sugar. He concocted a recipe that contains generous amounts of fiber, healthy soy protein, low-glycemic sweeteners, and very low in fat. Another fact for good measure - the muffins fit comfortably into the diet programs of Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, LA Weight Loss, Nutra System and Zone.
The muffins look similar to megamuffins, but less nutritious. While megamuffins take longer to prepare (slightly) it is probably worth the effort. Still, these could be a handy backup for when one is either short on ingredients or time.
It may be better than the alternatives. According to Are You Sugar Coating Your Workout:
Most personal trainers surveyed (65 percent) said their clients are fueling their workouts with nutrition bars or shakes. However, both personal trainers and consumers are unaware of the wide range of nutrition content found in popular nutrition bars.
When asked which in a list of food items has the most sugar, more than one in three personal trainers incorrectly identified a Krispy Kreme(R) glazed doughnut as having more sugar than many popular nutrition bars. In an October 2006 consumer survey, half of American adults surveyed made the same mistake in response to the same question. In reality, a PowerBar Performance top-selling* Chocolate bar (18g of sugars) and Clif Bar’s top-selling* Crunchy Peanut Butter (18g of sugars) tip the sugar scale more than a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut (10g of sugars).
Of course I’m being sarcastic about the doughnut. The article identifies low-sugar nutrition bars as an alternative. But why stop there? Why not have a megamuffin, or a grilled chicken salad? Or a chicken salad made with non-fat yogurt rather than mayonnaise? Why, in other words, turn to a highly processed nutrition bar at all?
Eating Fabulous » Chili Peppers Can Keep Cancer Away
Capsaicin, a secondary plant metabolite produced by chili peppers, has a number of documented medical uses. Recently, this compound has also been shown to kill cancer cells by targeting the mitochondria, the power house of the cell.
They don’t know whether eating spicy foods prevents cancer, but who cares? It tastes good and hasn’t been shown to do any harm.
MedlinePlus: Siestas May Cut Heart Disease Risk
A large study of Greek men and women suggests that taking a daily midday nap may reduce your risk of dying from heart disease by more than 30 percent.Siestas are common in Mediterranean countries and several Latin American nations, and in these countries, the rate of dying from heart disease is comparatively low. Earlier studies had looked at the association between midday naps and heart disease, but the results were inconsistent. The new study is the first large, prospective study of people who were healthy at the start of the study, and it’s also the first one to take into account risk factors, such as diet and exercise.
I need a nap.
It’s what type of carbs. Fat-Burning Foods » iFitandHealthy.com reports:
In a study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eight women completed a 60-minute run about three hours after eating a breakfast containing either high-glycemic-index (GI) foods (white bread, margarine, jam, corn flakes, and a sugary, carbonated drink) or low-GI foods (muesli, an apple, canned peaches, yogurt, and apple juice).The glycemic index ranks carbohydrates according to how quickly they tend to raise blood sugar levels after eating; items lower on the scale lead to a more gradual elevation, and for most people, a steady, sustained energy level.
The study found that although the calories burned by both groups during exercise were similar, those who ate the low-GI meal burned twice as much fat than the group who ate the high-GI items.
I’ve been trying to adjust to a lower-GI diet, but I’m not measuring it.
The Benefits of Green Tea » iFitandHealthy.com
Researchers looked at green tea consumption and mortality among 40,530 Japanese men and women between the ages of 40 and 79.They found that drinking green tea reduced participants’ risk of death during the 11-year study period, particularly from cardiovascular disease (CVD), but did not have an impact on cancer death.
The effect was stronger in women, and the more green tea people drank, the greater the protection it offered.
Drink up!
On Growth Hormone and Longevity - Or Not
Growth hormone is one of those topics in which the science is fighting a slow and steady uphill battle against the marketing dollars of those making money from the application of growth hormone (or anything that they can pass off as its application). The “anti-aging” industry will make money in the short term, but being on the wrong side of the science is a losing proposition in the long term - they can’t waste time and misinform people forever. From the recent past here at Fight Aging!:Talking About Human Growth Hormone :
Growth hormone, once you cut through the irresponsible marketing, is nothing more than another fairly outmoded workhorse therapy for very specific conditions.
In any case, my attention was drawn today to further confirmation of the above viewpoints from the scientific community:No longevity benefit with growth hormone:
Liu’s team undertook a systematic review and analysis of published studies, excluding any that looked at diseases for which growth hormone is an accepted therapy. They focused solely on studies using growth hormone to treat the elderly, specifically those whose main maladies were nothing worse than age and being mildly to moderately overweight. They also included only studies that evaluated the use of the hormone in randomized, controlled clinical trials.
“From our review, there’s no data to suggest that growth hormone prolongs life, and none of the studies makes that claim,” said Liu.
Furthermore, given the allergies to bovine growth hormones developed by certain people we know, we would tend to avoid any added hormones in any form if possible.
Weight loss tip: Think you are thin! : Scientists, body mass index, weight : IBNLive.com : CNN-IBN
Researchers made the discovery after monitoring 84 women hotel housekeepers who cleaned about 15 rooms a day.Even though they exceeded daily recommended exercise levels to stay in trim they were “less healthy” than expected.
Half of them were told that their work gave them enough exercise to lose weight and keep fit.
They were told how many calories their daily tasks burned off every 15 minutes such as 60 for cleaning, 50 for vacuuming and 40 for changing beds.
The rest were not told about the health benefits of their work. Four weeks on the first group had lost 2lb on average, cut body fat by about 0.5 per cent, body-mass index by 0.35 and blood pressure by 10 per cent.
The others saw no improvement in health or physique. All the women were aged 18 to 55.
So if you think you’ll lose weight, you will? Sounds like shoddy science to me. Could telling them that their work was exercise possibly have motivated them to eat less or get a little additional exercise after work compared with their peers? The article is silent on that, but if you are going to claim the weight loss is due to the thought process it seems you would want to control for such factors.