Herbal Home remedies

If you’re worried about aging, perhaps a little corn on the cob, followed by a bowl full of cherries, and topped off with a glass of red wine might be in order.  Why?  Because all of these foods contain melatonin, and recent studies indicate the substance may be the long sought after “fountain of youth.”  Melatonin, a substance that helps neutralize oxidative damage and delays neurodegenerative processes, might have a hand in putting off old age, according to a University of Granada study.

In the study, 5-month-old mice, which are the human age equivalent of 30-year-olds, were used.  This is the age where mice start to show signs of aging, due to an increase in free radicals (oxygen and nitrogen), which cause inflammation.  This “oxidative stress” can cause cell membranes to become more fragile, making them easier to break and damage.  The mice then received melatonin in small amounts.  The melatonin not only neutralized the damages, but also delayed the negative effects of aging in the mice.  Researchers believe that daily intake of melatonin by humans beginning at the age of 30 could prevent or at least delay some of the negative consequences of aging, such as neurodegenerative disorders (e.g. Parkinson’s disease) and other illnesses such as diabetes.  More research is being done in the hope of developing a supplement containing enough melatonin to positively affect the aging process.

In the meantime, melatonin can be found naturally in small amounts in certain fruits and vegetables like cherries, bananas and onions; in cereals such as corn, oats and rice; and in aromatic plants such as mint, lemon verbena, sage or thyme’ and last but not least in red wine.

Enjoying the eating process without focus on dietary restrictions may be key to managing weight and staying healthy, as per scientists who have unveiled a new and effective model for managing eating.

The Satter Eating Competence Model, also known as ecSatter, was created by Ellyn Satter, a registered dietitian, family therapist and author of Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family, Kelcy Press.

Competent eaters are positive, flexible and comfortable with their eating habits and make it a priority to regularly provide themselves with enjoyable and nourishing food. They guide food intake based on the internal processes of hunger, appetite and satisfaction, and rely on the bodys innate ability to maintain a preferred and stable weight.

Satter observes that the eating competence model cultivates effective eating attitudes and behavior by emphasizing permission and discipline:

• The permission to choose food you enjoy and eat it in amounts you find satisfying.

• The discipline to provide yourself with regular and reliable meals and snacks and to pay attention when you eat them.

Being eating competent appears to mirror overall-well being, notes Satter of Madison, Wis. People with high eating competence feel more effective, are more self-aware and are more trusting and comfortable both with themselves and with other people.

Barbara Lohse, associate professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State, directed the research on ecSatter. Lohse underscores the models attention to psychological and biological needs.

"A number of of us have eating problems, because as children, we are forced into eating more or less food than we need. That is traumatic. Eating becomes a mindless activity invested with conflict and anxiety, and not something to be enjoyed. To overcome those feelings, you have to ignore how you feel about eating, just eat," said Lohse.

Research by Lohse and her Penn State colleagues suggests that people with high eating competence do better nutritionally, have healthier body weights, higher levels of good cholesterol and fewer of the components of sticky plaque, todays high-tech approach to predicting the tendency to cardiovascular disease.

The Penn State researcher says ecSatter represents a fundamental shift from the conventional approach to eating management. "If it was successful to have people be uncomfortable and restrictive with what they eat, just going by the rules for the nutrients and calories they need, we would not have an obesity problem," said Lohse, whose findings appear this month (September/October) in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

"We need a different mindset: Weight is not the big issue, but rather being comfortable with how you eat," she added.

As per Satter and Lohse, there are four steps to competent eating:

• Take time to eat, and provide yourself with rewarding meals and snacks at regular and reliable times.

• Cultivate positive attitudes about eating and about food. Emphasize providing rather than depriving; seeking food rather than avoiding it.

• Enjoy your eating, eat things you like, and let yourself be comfortable with and relaxed about what you eat. Enjoying eating supports the natural inclination to seek variety, the keystone of healthful food selection.

• Pay attention to sensations of hunger and fullness to determine how much to eat. Go to the table hungry, eat until you feel satisfied, and then stop, knowing another meal or snack is coming soon when you can do it again.

Posted by: Evelyn    Source

Researchers have shown that when either lean or obese individuals exercise after eating a high fat meal, their fats are broken down and oxidized in skeletal muscle, making them healthier. These results show for the first time how a high fat diet and exercise stimulate the breakdown of fats and may help design ways to reduce excessive fat in the body.

Fat is broken down inside fat cells to generate energy by a process called lipolysis. The resulting fatty acids are released into the bloodstream and carried to tissues that require energy. In obese individuals, too much fat accumulates, compromising lipolysis, but the details of how this happens are not well understood. Also, obese individuals can show altered responsiveness to the stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine in their subcutaneous fat.

Max Lafontan and his colleagues investigated how fat is broken down in both lean and obese subjects who exercised after either fasting or eating a high-fat diet. They noticed that after eating a high-fat diet, fats were broken down in both lean and obese individuals. Under fasting conditions, the breakdown of fats was more pronounced in the lean subjects, but the high fat meal enhanced lipolysis in the obese subjects.

The researchers also studied the effects of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) which are found in high fat diet on cultured fat cells. They noticed that LCFAs increase lipolysis when it is induced by epinephrine, one of the hormones known to stimulate lipolysis.

By showing for the first time how a high fat diet and LCFAs affect hormone-induced lipolysis in fat cells, this study paves the way for further research on the role of various fatty acids on the metabolism of muscle and blood vessel cells, the scientists conclude.

Article: Acute exposure to long-chain fatty acids impairs alpha2-adrenergic receptor-mediated antilipolysis in human adipose tissue, by Jan Polak, Cedric Moro, David Bessiere, Jindra Hejnova, Marie A. Marques, Magda Bajzova, Max Lafontan, Francois Crampes, Michel Berlan, and Vladimir Stich.


Posted by: Evelyn    Source

If you’re dining alfresco, you might want to see if there’s a no-smoking section, even though you’re out-doors.

Stanford researchers have found that sitting a few feet downwind from a smoker when you are out of doors means that you are likely to be at least periodically exposed to substantial levels of contaminated air.

Neil Klepeis, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and the lead author of the study, says, “Some folks have expressed the opinion that exposure to outdoor tobacco smoke is insignificant, because is dissipates quickly into the air.  But our findings show that a person sitting or standing next to a smoker outdoors can breathe in wisps of smoke that are many times more concentrated than normal back-ground air pollution levels.”

Researchers say they were surprised at some of the findings.  Wayne Ott, professor of environmental engineering and co-author of the study says, “If you’re at a sidewalk caf, and you sit within 18 inches of a person who smokes two cigarettes over the course of an hour, your exposure to secondhand smoke could be the same as if you sat one hour inside a tavern with smokers.  Based on our findings, child in close proximity to adult smokers at a backyard party also could receive substantial exposure to secondhand smoke.”

The researchers found that if people move about 6 feet away from an outdoor smoker, exposure levels drop significantly.

The results of the study were publishes in the Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association.

The Greater New Bedford Community Health Center is pleased to announce that its WIC Program has received a rating of “exceeds” in its 2007 performance review by the Department of Public Health.

WIC is nutrition program that provides free nutritious food, nutrition counseling, breastfeeding support, immunization screening and referrals for children, and social service and health referrals.  WIC services are available to eligible pregnant and postpartum women and children under the age of 5. Health Center patients participating in WIC have shown reduced numbers of low birth weights and reduced infant mortality.

Performance measurements looked at leadership and management, participant service, community based participation, and the clinic environment. When asked about community based coordination, Darlene Dymsza, Program Director, said the goal of the Health Center’s WIC program has been to increase the enrollment of Central American women in their first trimester of pregnancy. In addition, the Community Coordinator regularly visits organizations to set up referrals for eligible women and children.  

When asked how the Health Center’s WIC Program has done in the past, Darlene said it has always done well. When asked why, she replied the staff is very committed to the program and its patients. She proudly added “close to 500 people have been enrolled in the past 4 to 5 years without sacrificing the quality of the program”.