Malnutrition early in life appears to diminish brain function in older adulthood, according to a study led by a Michigan State University researcher that has implications for many poor, developing nations.
The study of more than 15,000 elderly people in China suggests that fighting hunger throughout childhood not only saves lives and improves health but also may enhance cognitive well-being in late life. The study appears in the journal Social Science & Medicine.
Across the world, 178 million children under age 5 are stunted or short in stature due to hunger, infection or both, said Zhenmei Zhang, MSU assistant professor of sociology and lead researcher on the project.
"It's important for policymakers to know that investing in children really has long-term benefits, not only for those individuals but for society as a whole," Zhang said. "For example, fighting childhood hunger can reduce future medical expenditures. It's very expensive for families and society to take care of people who suffer from dementia or cognitive impairment."
Health & Wellness
Mild cognitive impairment is often seen as a transition stage between the cognitive decline of normal aging and the more serious problems of Alzheimer's disease. But what leads to mild cognitive impairment?
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found that lower, though not necessarily impaired, performance on tests measuring story learning or retention and processing speed in motor tasks dependent on visual control, as well as symptoms of depression, predicted subsequent cognitive decline in a normal population.
None of the factors alone predicted the onset of mild cognitive impairment a year later. Rather, poor learning had to be accompanied by either slower visuomotor processing speed or depressive symptoms to be significantly related to later problems in cognition.
Using an advanced statistical methodology that analyzed multiple variables at once, the researchers also found that neither gender nor the apolipoprotein E genotype -- long believed to be risk factors for mild cognitive impairment -- had any substantial influence on later impairment.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found that lower, though not necessarily impaired, performance on tests measuring story learning or retention and processing speed in motor tasks dependent on visual control, as well as symptoms of depression, predicted subsequent cognitive decline in a normal population.
None of the factors alone predicted the onset of mild cognitive impairment a year later. Rather, poor learning had to be accompanied by either slower visuomotor processing speed or depressive symptoms to be significantly related to later problems in cognition.
Using an advanced statistical methodology that analyzed multiple variables at once, the researchers also found that neither gender nor the apolipoprotein E genotype -- long believed to be risk factors for mild cognitive impairment -- had any substantial influence on later impairment.
© Kiichiro Sato/AP Photo
A patient is transferred to Hope Children's Hospital from Advocate Trinity Hospital's emergency room in Chicago.
A patient is transferred to Hope Children's Hospital from Advocate Trinity Hospital's emergency room in Chicago.
That might come as a surprise to those who thought getting 32 million more people covered by health insurance would ease ER crowding.
It would seem these patients would be able to get routine health care by visiting a doctor's office, as most of the insured do.
But it's not that simple.
Pupils should be encouraged to grow vegetables and tend flowerbeds because gardening boosts a child's development and improve standards in other subjects.
Academics from the National Foundation for Educational Research surveyed 1,300 teachers and studied 10 schools to examine the impact of gardening on pupils.
People who eat a diet high in fructose, in the form of added sugar, are at increased risk of developing high blood pressure, or hypertension, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that cutting back on foods and beverages containing a lot of fructose (sugar) might decrease one's risk of developing hypertension.
© NaturalNews
I could have told you this was coming. Actually, myself and a long list of other natural health authors, doctors and independent journalists did tell you this was coming. We warned over a year ago that the swine flu pandemic was a hoax, and that the CDC and WHO were fanning the flames of a this false pandemic in order to increase demand for H1N1 vaccines that would inflate the profits of their corporate masters (the drug companies).
What we didn't know at the time was how deep the corruption at the CDC and WHO really goes. It turns out that key advisors in both organizations were on the take from Big Pharma, collecting cash payments even as they pushed for a global declaration of a pandemic that never appeared. This was more than a mere statistical error or "guessing on the safe side" -- this was a planned conspiracy to create demand for vaccines by scaring the public into taking a drug that the industry already knows doesn't even work. The WHO still won't release the names of the discredit scientists who urged it to declare a stage six pandemic.
© Unknown
Official health watchdog NICE has called for a veto on the killer fats, which are blamed for high cholesterol in the blood, clogged arteries and heart attacks.
However Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has decided to reject the advice and sided with the food industry - which argues a ban is unnecessary.
In a separate announcement, he told the British Medical Association the Government was likely to opt out of legislating on health and diet.
Mr Lansley said it was wrong to lecture people on what they should eat and argued the efforts of Jamie Oliver to tackle child obesity and ill-health had failed.
NICE, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, insists banning trans fats is key to combating as many as 40,000 early deaths a year linked to junk food high in fat, salt and sugar.
It said: 'Industrially-produced trans fatty acids constitute a significant health hazard.'
The compound, called pterostilbene, has the potential to be developed into a natural medicine for lowering cholesterol, particularly for people who don't respond well to conventional lipid-lowering drugs, said Agnes Rimando, a research chemist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She described the findings yesterday before the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in Philadelphia.
Dursban (chlorpyrifos), a pesticide made by the Dow Chemical Company, is the subject of numerous lawsuits. The pesticide is known to be particularly dangerous to children, and has been tied to birth defects and neurological problems. Dursban is so dangerous that many of its uses were banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2000. However, its use has not been entirely eliminated.
Plaintiffs in Dursban lawsuits allege that exposure to the pesticide poisoned their children, thus causing nerve damage, including paralysis, as well as birth defects. Other maladies alleged in Dursban lawsuits include cancer, infertility, hepatitis, pancreatitis, paralysis and mental retardation.
Dursban is an organophosphate pesticide that kills by attacking the nervous system. Such chemicals were first developed in the 1930s by the Nazi regime as chemical weapons. Prior to the EPA ban, Dursban was the most popular household pesticide in the U.S., and could be found in over 800 products. In one sampling of American children, more than 90 percent of the study group had chlorpyrifos present in their urine.
Plaintiffs in Dursban lawsuits allege that exposure to the pesticide poisoned their children, thus causing nerve damage, including paralysis, as well as birth defects. Other maladies alleged in Dursban lawsuits include cancer, infertility, hepatitis, pancreatitis, paralysis and mental retardation.
Dursban is an organophosphate pesticide that kills by attacking the nervous system. Such chemicals were first developed in the 1930s by the Nazi regime as chemical weapons. Prior to the EPA ban, Dursban was the most popular household pesticide in the U.S., and could be found in over 800 products. In one sampling of American children, more than 90 percent of the study group had chlorpyrifos present in their urine.
© Unknown
A recent study by researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands has discovered that schizophrenic patients who use marijuana may see an initial benefit from smoking pot, but their symptoms become worse with pot use.
