Most of us know that chewing gum will freshen our breath, but get us in trouble at school. A new study suggests that chewing sugar-free gum can help us consume fewer calories later and increase our energy expenditure too. Gum chewers also felt more energetic after chewing.
Archive for October, 2009
Chewing the Fat? Maybe.
On October - 30 - 2009Comments Off on Chewing the Fat? Maybe.
WHO says? Major Report on Premature Death
On October - 28 - 2009Comments Off on WHO says? Major Report on Premature Death
For those in developed countries, extending life expectancy can be mostly an issue of tuning lifestyle according to the latest report from the World Health Organization that takes a long hard look at preventable death. Their findings are that relatively few factors are having a tremendous impact on human health and life expectancy world wide. Nearly all of them are readily modifiable. Read the rest of this entry »
Workout Music
On October - 26 - 2009Comments Off on Workout Music
Maybe you’ve noticed that exercise can be easier with the right choice of music. Thankfully, MP3 players have made it very easy to bring your favorite workout music with you wherever you go. But while your personal choices might be made quickly and subjectively, scientists have spent over 20 years figuring out what it is about music, how and why music can help us at the gym, and exactly what sort of music will help us do our best.
Coffee, more than just a morning tonic
On October - 23 - 20091 COMMENT
There’s good news for coffee drinkers from the ongoing Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial. It turns out that patients with hepatitis C-related bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis have 53% less risk of progression of their liver disease if they drink at least 3 cups of coffee a day. No benefit was seen from lower coffee intake or from green tea intake. More:
The researchers put forward several ways in which coffee intake might protect against liver disease, including by reducing the risk of type two diabetes, which has been associated with liver illness; or by reducing inflammation, which is thought to cause fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver.
If coffee can be shown to reduce inflammation, that opens up a lot of potential research. Inflammation has been shown to be an important factor in a wide range of chronic diseases including arthritis, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), and many cancers. Have you had your coffee today?
Eating Healthy is More than Looking for Checkmarks
On October - 21 - 2009Comments Off on Eating Healthy is More than Looking for Checkmarks
The FDA has sent a “Guidance for Industry” letter warning the food industry that “both the criteria and symbols used in front-of-package [‘FOP’] and shelf-labeling systems [should] be nutritionally sound, well-designed to help consumers make informed and healthy food choices, and not be false or misleading.” It’s a follow up to an August letter to the General Manager of the “Smart Choices” program warning that “FDA and FSIS would be concerned if any FOP labeling systems used criteria that were not stringent enough to protect consumers against misleading claims; were inconsistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans; or had the effect of encouraging consumers to choose highly processed foods and refined grains instead of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.” In other words: the FDA has noticed that some cereals with the Smart Choice logo are almost 50% sugar, and if they don’t clean up their act the FDA will declare some regulations to do it for them.