Science is so wonderful. There are always scientists hard at work trying to make sense of things, trying to understand and make things better. It’s awesome. Here are some recent studies:
- A Sense of Humor Helps Keep You Healthy Until Retirement Age
- Tidy House, Fitter Body?
- Spending Time in Nature Makes People Feel More Alive
- Meditation Reduces the Emotional Impact of Pain
- If You Don’t Brush Your Teeth Twice a Day, You’re More Likely to Develop Heart Disease
- Antibiotic Resistance Lasts Up to a Year
- Coffee Consumption Unrelated to Alertness: Stimulating Effects May Be Illusion
- Studies Provide More Support for Health Benefits of Coffee
- New Evidence That Chili Pepper Ingredient Fights Fat
- Peppers May Increase Energy Expenditure in People Trying to Lose Weight
- Milk: Two Glasses a Day Tones Muscles, Keeps the Fat Away in Women
- Cereal And Milk Is The New Sports Supplement
A Sense of Humor Helps Keep You Healthy Until Retirement Age: A good sense of humor helps you reach retirement age and be healthy. But after the age of 70, the health benefits of humor decrease, according to researchers in Norway. The records of 53,500 people were examined and then followed up after 7 years. “There is reason to believe that sense of humor continues to have a positive effect on mental health and social life, even after people have become retirees, although the positive effect on life expectancy could not be shown after the age of 75. At that point, genetics and biological aging are of greater importance.” The test only measured for “friendly humor”, not insulting, bullying or humor based on conflict.
The lead scientist of this study believes there are many myths and misunderstandings about humor. For example, one myth is that happy people have a better sense of humor than people who are more serious. …A sense of humor can be learned and improved through practice. There was another study 4 years ago that also came to the same conclusion, so this larger study confirms the findings from the first. Read the rest of this entry »
Here are some recent studies that seemed quite interesting.
Traditional Aerobic Fitness Training Trumps Pedometer-Based Walking Programs for Health Benefits: What to do: walk around the block or work up a sweat in an aerobic workout at the gym? If you’re looking for the best health benefits from an exercise program, a traditional aerobic fitness program that gets your heart pumping beats a walking program hands down. But if you want to get moving, a walking program is easier to do, it’s good for you, and you’re more likely to stick with it.
Wild Birds Opt for Conventional Food Over Organic: The nutritional benefits of organic food have been called into question by new research which shows wild garden birds prefer conventional seed to that which has been organically- grown. “Protein is an essential nutrient in the diet of all birds and mammals and getting enough of it — especially in winter — can be hard. “We showed that when given free choice, wild birds opt for the conventional food over the organic, and the most likely explanation is its higher protein content. “This study is only looking at one aspect of the organic food debate — it does not take into account the long-term health implications of using chemical fertilisers and pesticides, or the often negative environmental impact of conventional farming; for example, other work has shown that pesticides can strongly reduce availability of seeds for birds. “But it does raise questions about the nutritional benefits of organic food and what consumers are being led to believe.” Read the rest of this entry »
So, I crawled out from under my comfy rock the other day and found out about a study that was published last year that I thought I’d share with you in case you missed it too. Gregory S. Paul published a study back in 2005 called Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look. I remember it from awhile ago and thought it was very interesting. Basically he looked at the health of prosperous societies and then looked at their absolute belief in god. If I recall, he found that the more religious a country was, the less societally healthy it was. He looked at things like crime, abortion, sexual dysfunctions, and other factors.
It was an interesting study but it was criticized in the scientific community. Well, he did another study in 2009 and this time was more rigorous. The follow up study is called The Chronic Dependence of Popular Religiosity upon Dysfunctional Psychosociological Conditions. Now I haven’t read the whole thing, but Tom Rees of Epiphenom has. He was attracted to the charts, as I was, which I’ve added below.
What societal ills bring a country down from being successful and healthy? Paul used indicators like murder, suicide rates, size of prison populations, mortality, alcohol consumption, poverty, unemployment, sexually transmitted diseases, abortions and deaths. I think he had some positive indicators like marriages too.
Results? Unhealthy societies are more religious. Religion needs a dysfunctional society to flourish, which explains why a first world country like the U.S. can still be so religious, as you can see in all the charts. (click for larger versions) Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re like me, and you enjoy dark chocolate, then I have some studies to share with you! I think they’ll be helpful for the holidays as well as generally beneficial throughout the year. If you don’t like chocolate (WTF, just kidding), see below for swine flu info, and other linky goodness.
Dark Chocolate Helps Ease Emotional Stress: A new study found that eating about an ounce and a half of dark chocolate a day for two weeks reduced levels of stress hormones in people who felt highly stressed. The chocolate also partially corrected other stress-related biochemical imbalances. “The study provides strong evidence that a daily consumption of 40 grams [1.4 ounces] during a period of 2 weeks is sufficient to modify the metabolism of healthy human volunteers,” the scientists say.
That led me to a study from last December. It’s rather small and involves self-reporting, but it could be a promising line for further research, and could be something you experiment with yourself to see if it works for you:
Dark Chocolate Lessens Cravings: Dark chocolate is far more filling than milk chocolate, lessening our craving for sweet, salty and fatty foods. In other words, eating dark chocolate may be an efficient way to keep your weight down over the holidays (and throughout the year!) The dark chocolate gives a feeling of satiety. Read the rest of this entry »
Water is good for you. If you’re thirsty, it’s usually the best choice. But do you need 8 glasses a day? Does it count when you drink tea or juice or coffee? Do you need to force down another glass even if you aren’t thirsty?
According to Heinz Valtin, a retired professor of physiology from Dartmouth Medical School who specialized in kidney research and spent 45 years studying the biological system that keeps the water in our bodies in balance, the answer is no. If you have kidney stones or if you get urinary tract infections easily, then drinking lots of water can be beneficial.
But there is no scientific evidence to support the notion that healthy people need to drink 64 ounces of water a day.
Valtin found that the 8 x 8 guideline may have originated from a misunderstanding. In 1945 the Food and Nutrition Board, now part of the National Academy of Sciences’s Institute of Medicine, suggested that a person consume one milliliter of water (about one fifth of a teaspoon) for each calorie of food. The math is pretty simple: A daily diet of around 1,900 calories would dictate the consumption of 1,900 milliliters of water, an amount remarkably close to 64 ounces. But many dieticians and other people failed to notice a critical point: namely, that much of the daily need for water could be met by the water content found in food. Read the rest of this entry »
I think I understand what it’s like to be lost in a world of woo thinking. Maybe even an inkling of what it’s like to believe in Jesus as your personal hero.
Butch, my awesome husband, came home Friday night and told me he felt awful. He and I both got a cold about 3 weeks ago and he shook if off in about 4 days while I suffered with a nasty chest cold, congestion and laryngitis until just the other day. I didn’t want to hear that he was sick again. It was my birthday weekend, we were supposed to go out to dinner on Sunday (last night), and I was hoping we’d both be feeling well for a change.
Alas, it was not to be. He had a fever, the chills, and was completely miserable. And here’s where I realized I felt totally helpless. I can’t stand seeing someone I love sick. When Butch or my dogs or someone I care about has a problem or is in pain, I want to fix them. I want to make them at least feel better. But sometimes there’s nothing you can do. Read the rest of this entry »
Monday is going to be a great day. I just know it. At least I’m really excited about it. Of course I’m also sort of dreading it for a different reason.
Monday I will hopefully get both my wonderful, new microscope as well as the slides for it. That will be awesome and fun and keep me busy for a long time.
Monday is also my 40th birthday. March 2nd, mark it on your calendars. I’m going to thoroughly be middle aged. This one is really hitting me hard, for some reason. Should I have accomplished something by now? I think about other people my age and then I think about my life and I feel like I haven’t done anything yet. I’m not ready for my life to be half over. I’m just getting started, in some ways.
Anyway, I’m trying to be positive about it all. The microscope is a perfect distraction for my woes.
On another note, I learned about a new study recently that sounded interesting and possibly quite helpful to me. I thought I’d share it with you.
I heard about it on a Canadian science podcast. The professor is James Timmons in league with other researchers in Scotland. It goes like this: Read the rest of this entry »
Science is so wonderful. There are always scientists hard at work trying to make sense of things, trying to understand and make things better. It’s awesome. Here are some recent studies:
