HLife | Healthy Living Redefined

Exercise: Regularly practicing yoga may help with inflammation. According to a study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, women who routinely practiced yoga had lower amounts of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in their blood. IL-6 is an important component of the body’s inflammatory response, and reducing inflammation may provide benefits for diseases like stroke, type-2 diabetes, arthritis and other debilitating conditions. The yoga practitioners also showed smaller increases in IL-6 after stressful experiences than did women who were the same age and weight but who did not practice yoga. “Hopefully, this means that people can eventually learn to respond less strongly to stressors in their everyday lives by using yoga and other stress-reducing modalities,” said Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, lead author of the study. “Muscles shorten and tighten over time, mainly because of inactivity. The stretching and exercise that comes with yoga actually increases a person’s flexibility and that, in turn, allows relaxation, which can lower stress,” said Ron Glaser, co-author of the research.

Brain: Blocking the function of an enzyme in the brain with a specific kind of Vitamin E can prevent nerve cells from dying after a stroke, according to new research. In a study using mouse brain cells, scientists found that the tocotrienol form of Vitamin E, an alternative to the popular drugstore supplement, stopped the enzyme from releasing fatty acids that eventually kill neurons. “Our research suggests that the different froms of natural Vitamin E have distinct functions. The relatively pooorly studied tocotrienol form of Vitamin E targets specific pathways to protect agains neural cell death and rescues the brain after stroke injury,” said Chandan Sen, senior author of the study that appears in the online edition of the Journal of Neurochemistry.

Herbs: Six essential oils – from thyme, clove, rose, eucalyptus, fennel and bergamot – can suppress inflammation, a study shows. Carvacol, a chemical in these oils, is the primary active agent and can act agains the inflammatory COX-2 enzyme.  These findings appear in the January issue of Journal of Lipid Research, and provide more understanding of the health benefits of botanical oils, adding to already established properties like antibacterial and analgesic.

Sexes: Ah, the scent of a woman. Femmes spend billions of dollars each year on exotic-smelling perfumes and lotions hoping to attract a mate, but it looks like they should save their pennies. According to a new study in the journal Psychological Science, going “au natural” may be the best way to capture a potential mate’s attention. Animal studies have shown that male testosterone levels are influenced by odor signals emitted by females, particularly when they are ovulating (when they are most fertile). The researchers tested this in humans by having women sleep in the same shirts for three nights during various phases of their menstrual cycle, and then asking male volunteers to smell the worn shirts. Results revealed the same as with animals: the men who smelled the shirts of ovulating women then had higher levels of testosterone, and also rated these as the most pleasant smelling. “The present research is the first to provide direct evidence that olfactory cues to female ovulation influence biological responses in men,” said the authors of the study.

Mind: Choose your company carefully. A study published in the online edition of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin found that self-control – or lack thereof – is contagious.  The researchers found that people tend to mimic the behavior of those around them and that this includes self-control or lack of self-control, and that even thinking about someone who exhibits this behavior will affect your own behavior not just in one area but across the board. In other words, watching or thinking about someone who exercises self-control by working out regularly will not only make you more likely to stick to your own exercise routine, but may also help you have more self-control with your finances, career goals and anything else that takes self-control on your part. “The take home message of this study is that picking social influences that are positive can improve your self-control. And by exhibiting self-control, you’re helping others around you do the same,” said lead author Michelle vanDellen.