The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health |
- Olive oil found to protect against Alzheimer's disease
- Four anti-inflammatory foods you should be eating
- Health concern? Most are unlikely to post questions on social media: survey
| Olive oil found to protect against Alzheimer's disease Posted: 26 Mar 2013 03:20 AM PDT Want to keep Alzheimer's disease at bay? A new study suggests upping your intake of olive oil. While the Mediterranean liquid gold has long been touted for its multiple health benefits, a team of US scientists from the University of Louisiana has identified a specific component in olive oil that they say protects nerve cells from damage brought on by Alzheimer's disease. Their research stems from a larger trend observed in the worldwide prevalence of the cognitive illness: While it's estimated that 30 million people suffer from the disease around the world, rates are notably lower in Mediterranean countries. And though scientists had long attributed the trend to the high consumption of healthy, monounsaturated fats found in olive oil, the latest study, released by the American Chemical Society last week, identifies a substance called oleocanthal that was observed to protect against the leading cause of Alzheimer's in the brain: the accumulation of peptide beta-amyloid. The findings were published in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience. In animal studies, scientists found that oleocanthal worked by boosting the production of proteins and key enzymes believed to be critical in removing the beta-amyloid in the brain. "Extra-virgin olive oil-derived oleocanthal associated with the consumption of Mediterranean diet has the potential to reduce the risk of AD or related neurodegenerative dementias," the report concludes. Meanwhile, earlier this month, another study found that olive oil is an effective way of satiating hunger pangs and curbing the munchies. For their research, Austrian researchers fed participants yogurt enriched with lard, butterfat, rapeseed oil or olive oil. The result? Olive oil had the biggest satiety effect. -- AFPRelaxnews |
| Four anti-inflammatory foods you should be eating Posted: 25 Mar 2013 10:26 PM PDT While inflammation is the body's natural response to injury, chronic inflammation can lead to health problems -- but here are four anti-inflammatory foods that can help minimise the damaging effects. "The inflammation process has one goal: to respond immediately to detect and destroy the toxic material in damaged tissues before it can spread throughout the body," said Dr. Lauren Whitt of the University of Alabama in a March 22 release from the university. "The trouble with inflammation occurs when the defense system gets out-of-control and begins to destroy healthy tissue, causing more damage than the original issue." Being overweight is known to increase inflammation in the body, which researchers say can lead to increased risks of heart attack or stroke. Prior research from Johns Hopkins University (November 2012) in the US has found that low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets can reduce inflammation. Whitt added that the right anti-inflammatory foods are one way of targeting the problem. Here are a few items to consider adding to your shopping list: • Citrus fruits -- vitamin C and vitamin E are essential antioxidants • Dark, leafy greens -- high in vitamin K • Tomatoes -- the fruit's red pigment, lycopene, is a potent antioxidant • Wild-caught salmon -- contains a rich concentration of omega-3 fatty acids "Eating to minimise inflammation doesn't have to be an overwhelming task," she said. "Take baby steps by incorporating leafy greens into a salad at lunch, or add a piece of whole fruit to your breakfast." In addition, Whitt recommended eating more foods straight from the farm, as well as fewer processed and fried foods. Doing so may reduce the need for some medications, she said. People "are constantly on the lookout for a quick-fix, so when our immune systems kick into overdrive, we would generally prefer to pop a pill and keep moving," Whitt added. "But if we focus on our diets, we can alleviate the need for the anti-inflammatory medications in many cases." -- AFPRelaxnews |
| Health concern? Most are unlikely to post questions on social media: survey Posted: 25 Mar 2013 07:48 PM PDT A new study from Brigham Young University (BYU) in the US finds that while most people go online regularly to diagnose health issues, many are reluctant to post health information, questions, or experiences on their social networks. "Less than 15 percent of us are posting the health information that most of us are consuming," said lead researcher Rosemary Thackeray in a press statement from the university dated March 25. The study appears online in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. According to the survey of 1,745 adults in the US, more than 60 percent of internet users go online for health help -- looking for advice, digging up user experiences on social media and consulting online reviews of health providers and health care facilities. Thackeray believes that if people were more "social" about health information on social media, the information would become better. "If you only have a few people sharing their experience with using a painkiller, that's different than 10,000 people doing that," Thackeray said. "If we're really going to use this social media aspect, there needs to be a true collective wisdom of the crowds." New research (January 2013) from the Pew Internet Project reveals that 59 percent of US adults say they have looked online for health information in the past year. Additionally, 35 percent said they have gone online specifically to try to figure out what medical condition they or someone else might have. -- AFPRelaxnews |
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