Health & WellnessS


Beaker

The Rainbow Of Food Dyes In Our Grocery Aisles Has A Dark Side

David W. Schab & Michael F. Jacobson
Washington Post
Fri, 25 Mar 2011 19:17 UTC
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© foodfarce.comToday’s supermarket is a fun house of riotously colored processed foods.
Today's supermarket is a fun house of hues. Its aisles feature riotously colored processed foods perfectly engineered to appeal to the part of your brain that says "yum": Technicolor Starburst candy. Polychromatic Froot Loops. A rainbow of flavored juices.

Those hyper-saturated colors have come to seem normal, even natural, like the come-ons of tropical fruits. But they are increasingly produced through the magic of artificial food dyes, applied not just to candies and snack foods but to such seemingly all-natural products as pickles, salad dressing and some oranges.

Artificial dyes aren't just making your Yoplait Light Red Raspberry yogurt blush and your Kraft Macaroni and Cheese glow in the dark. They are causing behavioral problems and disrupting children's attention, according to a growing number of scientific studies. On Wednesday, following the lead of European regulators, a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee will begin a review of research on the behavioral effects of artificial dyes. In a significant turn from the agency's previous denials that dyes have any influence on children's behavior, an FDA staff report released last week concluded that synthetic food colorings do affect some children.
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Bug

'Superbug' spreading to Southern California hospitals

Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Howard Blume
Los Angeles Times
Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:28 UTC
A dangerous drug-resistant bacterium has spread to patients in Southern California, according to a study by Los Angeles County public health officials.

More than 350 cases of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, or CRKP, have been reported at healthcare facilities in Los Angeles County, mostly among elderly patients at skilled-nursing and long-term care facilities, according to a study by Dr. Dawn Terashita, an epidemiologist with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

It was not clear from the study how many of the infections proved fatal, but other studies in the U.S. and Israel have shown that about 40% of patients with the infection die. Tereshita was not available for comment Thursday morning but was scheduled to speak about the study in the afternoon.

superbug,map
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Target

Bullying alters brain chemistry, leads to anxiety


Rockefeller University
Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:32 UTC
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© UnknownBullies and the brain. Mice that have been repeatedly bullied by dominant males show an unusual reluctance to approach new, even nonthreatening mice. Above a bullied mouse (right) keeps as much distance as it can from its corralled counterpart.
Being low mouse on the totem pole is tough on murine self-esteem. It turns out it has measurable effects on brain chemistry, too, according to recent experiments at Rockefeller University. Researchers found that mice that were bullied persistently by dominant males grew unusually nervous around new company, and that the change in behavior was accompanied by heightened sensitivity to vasopressin, a hormone involved in a variety of social behaviors. The findings suggest how bullying could contribute to long-term social anxiety at the molecular level.

"We found that chronic social stress affects neuroendocrine systems that are paramount for adaptive mammalian social behaviors such as courtship, pair-bonding and parental behaviors," says Yoav Litvin, M. S. Stoffel Postdoctoral Fellow in Mind, Brain and Behavior. "Changes in components of these systems have been implicated in human disorders, such as social phobias, depression, schizophrenia and autism."
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Eye 1

Look Into My Eyes to Predict My Amputation Risk

Wendy Zukerman
New Scientist
Sat, 26 Mar 2011 09:00 UTC
Eye Diagnose
© Suren Mannvelyan/AlamySeeing the damage done
A glimpse in an eye might soon be enough to diagnose the nerve damage associated with diabetes.

Up to 50 per cent of people with diabetes experience nerve damage, which in extreme cases leads to the loss of limb sensation, prompting the need for amputation.

Nerve fibre damage is typically assessed through invasive tests, including nerve and tissue biopsies. Now Nathan Efron at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues have developed a non-invasive alternative.

Diabetes affects peripheral nerves, but Efron suspected that it might also leave a signature in the cornea - the most densely innervated tissue in the body.
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Alarm Clock

Lack of Sleep Makes Us Hungrier

John Briffa
drbriffa.com
Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00 UTC
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© UnknownLack of Sleep Symptoms
My eye was caught by the report of a study presented this week at the American Heart Association meeting in Atlanta in the US. In short, what this research found is that sleep deprivation led to increased eating (in the order of about 300 calories a day). This is not the first study to link shortened sleep duration with enhanced food consumption. Previous work has shown that sleep deprivation may:
  • Increase levels of ghrelin - a hormone that stimulates appetite
  • Reduce levels of leptin - a hormone that suppresses appetite (and also speeds the metabolic rate)
Perhaps not surprisingly, previous evidence has linked shorter sleep duration with an enhanced risk of being overweight or obese.

This recent research should remind us, I think, of the importance of sleep for optimal health. We have evolved to spend about a third of our lives asleep, so perhaps it's no surprise that sleep turns out to have some vital functions for us. It occurs to me that many of us live in cultures were getting enough sleep can be challenging.
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Document

Writing Therapy, or What You Get for the Cost of a Number Two Pencil and a Piece of Paper


Marks Daily Apple
Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:12 UTC
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© Unknown
Last week's bibliotherapy post got folks talking about their reading practices - both favorite books and personal motivations. There were even a few professional bibliotherapy practitioners among the mix. Small world it is. Thanks, as always, for the amazing feedback and conversation. Today's topic - and flip side of reading therapy: writing therapy. Just as we learn through the lens of others' tales, we gain insight by composing our own. Avid journal keepers out there are already nodding their heads. Anyone who's faced down deep grief, been flooded with joy, been plagued by confusion and picked up a pen in response is likely recalling the trigger of that moment now. When we're drawn to fill a page, we're often surprised at what is summoned. Oftentimes, we don't truly know our thoughts until we put language to them. That's the point of writing therapy (or one of them anyway). Words act as a medium for expression and catalyst for clarity - or at least illumination. In writing our experience, we move beyond the factual detail, obvious chronology, and surface reaction. We delve into the heart of the beast and come out changed for the passage.

Writing therapy focuses on expressive writing and its value in processing life experience, particularly trauma and transition. As in bibliotherapy, writing therapy is used both in the clinical setting by trained professionals and in more personal forums. Participants are encouraged to write about their "deepest thoughts and feelings" regarding a particular subject (e.g. their illness, recent loss, life transition). Research results are nothing short of impressive.
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Health

Americans Have Higher Rates of Most Chronic Diseases than Same-Age Counterparts in England

Christian Purdy
Oxford University Press
Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:00 UTC
Researchers announced today in the American Journal of Epidemiology that despite the high level of spending on healthcare in the United States compared to England, Americans experience higher rates of chronic disease and markers of disease than their English counterparts at all ages. Why health status differs so dramatically in these two countries, which share much in terms of history and culture, is a mystery.

The study uses data from two nationally representative surveys to compare the health of residents of the United States and England from 0 to 80 years, focusing on a number of chronic conditions and markers of disease. This research builds on previous studies by other scholars that focused primarily on older adults.

"A systematic assessment of cross-country differences in health by age group and type of condition provides necessary context for learning about why older residents of England suffer fewer chronic health conditions than their counterparts in the US," notes Melissa L. Martinson, Office of Population Research, Princeton University.
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Bulb

Leprosy: India's Hidden Disease

Richard Cookson and Seyi Rhodes
The Guardian
Fri, 25 Mar 2011 06:09 UTC
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© Channel 4Seyi Rhodes in a leprosy colony.
Leprosy has officially been eliminated in India, yet 130,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. Richard Cookson and Seyi Rhodes report on the plight of the patients shunned by society

Narsappa was just 10 years old when he was told he had leprosy, but the news changed the course of his life forever. People in his Indian village immediately began to shun him and told his parents that he had to leave. He says his mother started grieving for him "as if I was already dead". Shortly afterwards, his father took him to a hospital two hours away from home and left him there. No one ever came to visit him and Narsappa never went home again.

Now 42, he now lives in a leprosy colony on the outskirts of Hyderabad and campaigns on behalf of people affected by the disease. "I lie awake at night thinking about how I was treated and how I can stop others from going through the same thing," he says.

India may have one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but 130,000 Indians are diagnosed with leprosy every year - more than every other country put together. It's partly because the country's population is so huge but also, campaigners say, because the Indian government and some international donors are neglecting the fight against the disease. Hundreds of thousands of Indians suffer from leprosy and its debilitating after-effects.

Given the number of new cases, it may come as some surprise that India announced it had eliminated leprosy in 2005. According to a target set by the World Health Organisation, countries can announce 'elimination' when there are fewer than one case for every 10,000 people. Since then, the government has channeled funding previously dedicated to leprosy back into the general health system. Leprosy charities say that donations have also fallen significantly and some projects have had to close.
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Cell Phone

Study Finds: Cell Phone Use May Weaken Bones


NewsInferno
Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:53 UTC
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© drmercola.comResearch suggests that wearing a cell phone on your hip may weaken an area of your pelvis.
Exactly how dangerous cell phone radiation might be has been an issue of dispute, with the industry, not surprisingly, insisting the devices are safe. While numerous studies point to links between the devices and dangerous diseases including cancer and fertility issues, an emerging study has found a potential link to reduced bone density.

Dr Fernando Sravi of Argentina's National University of Cuyo reports that men who wear their cell phone on their belt on the right side of their body experienced reduced bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) in that hip, said TG Daily. "The different patterns of right-left asymmetry in femoral bone mineral found in mobile cell phone users and non-users are consistent with a nonthermal effect of electromagnetic radiofrequency waves not previously described," he said, quoted TG Daily.
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Attention

Even 'BPA-Free' Plastics Leach Endrocrine-Disrupting Chemicals


Dr. Mercola
Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:07 UTC
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© scrink.comDespite all of the media attention about the safety of plastic products over the last year; the toxic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) is still found in many products.
Plastic containers and linings often leach chemicals into the surrounding environment. And some of those chemicals, like the endocrine-disrupting bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates, may be harmful to your health.

Manufacturers have even begun advertising some products as "BPA-free." But a recent study found that most plastic products leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals even if they're labeled "BPA-free!" The scientists found that 70 percent of common plastic products tested positive for estrogenic activity, and that number rose to 95 percent when the products were subject to real-world conditions such as dishwashing or microwaving.

Time Magazine reports:
"BPA is particularly worrisome simply because it is so common. Nearly every American has some amount of BPA in his or her body, in part because plastics are so ubiquitous."
Sources

Time Magazine March 8, 2011

Environmental Health Perspectives March 2, 2011 (Epub Ahead of Print)
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