HLife | Healthy Living Redefined

Exercise: Poor air quality apparently affects the running times of women marathoners, according to a study. Higher levels of particles in the air were associated with slower running times for women, while men were not significantly affected. The differences, according to researcher Linsey Marr of Virginia Tech, may be due to the smaller size of women’s tracheas, which makes it easier for certain particles to deposit there and possibly cause irritation. “Although pollution levels in these marathons rarely exceeded national standards for air quality, performance was still affected,” Marr said. Her studies were conducted where major USA marathons are located, such as New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, where pollution tends to be highest. Although the regular person might not be significantly impacted by low-yet-still-acceptable air quality, marathoners typically inhale and exhale about the same amount of air as a sedentary person would over the course of two full days. This means they are exposed to much greater amounts of pollutants than under typical breathing conditions. Interestingly, the performances of female marathoners appeared to only be affected by particulate matter, and not other pollutants like carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide or sulfur dioxide. The research was published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise.

Parenting: The final results are in – violent video games make kids more aggressive. According to research published in the Psychological Bulletin, “We can now say with utmost confidence that regardless of research method — and regardless of the cultures tested in this study, you get the same effects. And the effects are that exposure to violent video games increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior in both short-term and long-term contexts. Such exposure also increases aggressive thinking and aggressive affect, and decreases prosocial behavior,” said Craig Anderson, author of the analysis that includes 130 research reports. Anderson also said that while this doesn’t mean that video gamers will go out and join gangs, these effects are conclusive and not trivial, and determine not only future aggression but also other sort of negative outcomes. More importantly: This is one risk factor that is within parental control.

Pesticides: According to evidence in male frogs, Atrazine wreaks havoc with hormonal balance. In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Atrazine (one of the world’s most widely used pesticides) has been found to be a potent endocrine disruptor to the point that it left many male frogs in the lab “chemically castrated” (unable to reproduce) and turned others into females. “Atrazine has caused a hormonal imbalance that has made them develop into the wrong sex,” said Tyrone B. Hayes, author of the study. Some 80 million pounds of the herbicide atrazine are applied in the USA on corn and sorghum to control weeds and increase crop yield. More and more research, however, is showing that atrazine interferes with endocrine hormones such as estrogen and testosterone – in fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles, laboratory rodents and even human cell lines, with a possible link to human birth defects and low birth weight after exposure in the womb. As a result, the EPA is reviewing its regulations on use of this pesticide, with several states considering banning it, and the European Union already barring its use. Syngenta, which manufactures atrazine, disputes many of the studies, but Hayes says, “when you have studies all over the world showing problems with atrazine in every vertebrate that has been looked at – all of them can’t be wrong.”

Nutrition: The fluorescent lighting in supermarkets can boost the nutritional value of fresh spinach, scientists report. A simulation of a grocery store scenario in which researchers exposed spinach to light and darkness cycles similar to those of retail stores for three to nine days yielded a surprisingly positive effect: Significantly higher levels of vitamins C, K, E and folate (a B vitamin). They also had higher levels of the healthful carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. The more light exposure, the more the levels of folate and vitamins increased. By contrast, spinach leaves stored under continuous darkness tended to have declining or unchanged levels of nutrients, scientists say. The research was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Stress: Stress takes you back to the grind – of your teeth, that is. Research published in the journal Head & Face Medicine indicates that people who are stressed by daily problems or trouble at work seem to be more likely to grind their teeth at night, a condition known as ‘sleep bruxism’. This was especially common in those who try to cope with stress by escaping from difficult situations. Bruxing can lead to tooth wear, looseness and sensitivity of teeth, as well as pain in the muscles responsible for chewing. The best way to stop: Find a way positive coping strategy to deal with stress and relax before you get to bed.

Brain: A new EEG study found that Transcendental Meditation activates the brain’s natural “ground state”.  The research, published in a special issue of Cognitive Processing dedicated to the neuroscience of meditation and consciousness, discovered that TM technique specifically produced a unique state of “restful alertness” as seen in the much higher alpha power in the frontal cortex and lower beta and gamma waves in the same frontal areas during TM practice, and that it also created a greater alpha coherence between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, suggesting that it was working as a whole. Most importantly, the study concluded that TM practice enhances an individual’s sense of “self” by activating what neuroscientists call the “default mode network”, the natural ground state of the brain often seen during eyes-closed rest.

Immunity: A new study touts the benefits of soluble fiber saying that it reduces inflammation associated with obesity-related diseases and strengthens the immune system. According to the researchers, soluble fiber changes the personality of the immune cells – from pro-inflammatory angry cells to anti-inflammatory healing cells that help us recover faster from infection. This happens because soluble fiber causes increased production of the anti-inflammatory protein interleukin-4. Good sources of soluble fiber are oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, lentils, citrus fruits, apples, strawberries, and carrots. Insoluble fiber, found in whole wheat and whole-grain products and green leafy vegetables, is also valuable for providing bulk and helping food move through the digestive system, but it doesn’t provide the boost to the immune system that soluble fiber provides. The study will appear in the May 2010 issue of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.