Study: Fiber-rich diets encourage weight loss

New evidence suggests losing weight is as simple as eating more fiber -- sort of.
Anyone familiar with the world of nutritional science knows there's an overwhelming amount of conflicting evidence to sort through. So many of the strategies are both complex and contradictory, at least part of the reason dieting is so hard. Not to mention, the tenets are ever-changing.

All that is to say that simple formulas are especially cherished. When the goal is straightforward -- eat healthier, lose weight -- why shouldn't the approach be, too?

A new study found there is a simple strategy that works: eating more fiber. Adding just 30 grams of daily fiber to study participants' diets, said researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, matched or bested the effects of the diet proffered by the American Heart Association (AHA).

The AHA's diet includes 13 components, and even though study participants following it lost slightly more weight than fiber-focused dieters, the discrepancy was negligible.

"The more complex AHA diet resulted in slightly larger (but not statistically significant) weight loss, but a simplified approach emphasizing only increased fiber intake may be a reasonable alternative for individuals who find it difficult adhering to a more complicated diet," lead researcher Dr. Yunsheng Ma, associate professor of medicine, explained in a press release.

Participants who employed the fiber diet were able to lose weight, lower blood pressure, and improve their insulin response. All 240 of the volunteers participating in the study had symptoms of metabolic syndrome, including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol, and were overweight.

Yoga’s Popularity Grows Among Adults And Children

Yoga studios are popping up across the country as more and more Americans find benefits in the ancient art, and as more Western doctors recommend it for relaxation and exercise. The percentage of US adults practicing yoga has increased from 5.15% in 2002 to 9.5% in 2012 and in 2012, about 21 million adults practiced yoga as revealed in the survey conducted by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

While yoga alone is not a proven cure for any particular disease, more support for such mind-body therapy is coming from an even more authoritative source – doctors.

Previously, medical sceptics would not acknowledge the glowing testimonials of practitioners because yoga’s presumed benefits evaded — and still do — measurement by conventional medical standards.

But now, some general practitioners recommend yoga to their patients.

Skipping Breakfast Might be Just Fine, According to a New Study

An old and beloved adage says “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” but new research suggests that it might need to retire.

According to a new study recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, skipping breakfast might be just fine. It challenges the long-standing belief that starting your day with the right combination of healthy foods is the best strategy for all day energy, improved focus and concentration and overall well-being for a busy day.

This is actually not the first study to provide evidence that breakfast-eaters fare no better than non-breakfast-eaters (the evidence says, basically, breakfast is a wash, you could take it or leave it). While some previous studies have suggested that skipping breakfast could lead to heart disease down the line, this new study provides evidence that, at least in the short term, opting for big meal later in the day fares you no better or worse than bulking up on nutrition first thing in the morning.

The Young and Smart Gene

A gene known for its anti-aging effects also benefits the brain, according to a new study published in the journal Cell Reports. Variants of the gene could help scientists to develop treatments to improve memory and learning.

Patients with a variant of the gene produce more of a hormone called klotho—named for the Fate from Greek mythology who spun the thread of life—and typically enjoy longer lives. This recent study, however, suggests that the hormone also benefits cognition, and not just among the elderly.

"Based on what was known about klotho, we expected it to affect the brain by changing the aging process," said the study's director and UC-San Francisco professor Lennart Mucke. "But this is not what we found."

Mucke put their results gently—the scientists' hypothesis was totally wrong. The study found that rather than reducing cognitive decline, high levels of klotho had relatively little effect on this type of health.

VIDEO: Watch man use first bionic hand with a sense of touch

Dennis Sorensen was able to 'feel' and describe objects while blindfolded thanks to the revolutionary prosthetic which could change the lives of millions of amputees.

Using a bionic hand to grip an object, blindfolded Dennis Sorensen can tell from how it feels it is a plastic cup.

This astonishing feat was made possible as he is the first person to have a prosthetic hand fitted which has a sense of touch.

Dennis, 36, who lost his left hand in a firework accident nine years ago, said it was “quite amazing” to suddenly be able to feel things again.

The incredible technology uses sensors in the prosthetic device to pick up information about touch. This data is then converted into impulses which his nerves can interpret.

The signals are sent through wires into four electrodes that were surgically implanted into what remains of Dennis’s arm nerves.

He said: “You can feel round things and hard things and soft things.

“The feedback was totally new to me, and suddenly when I was doing the movements I could feel actually what I was doing, instead of looking at what I was doing.”

The dad added: “It was quite amazing because suddenly I could feel something I had not been feeling for nine years. My kids thought it was cool.”

Long-term use of birth control pills may increase risk of glaucoma

Women who use birth control pills for three years or longer could have an increased risk of developing glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness, DailyRx News reported.

In a study presented at the 117th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, researchers examined data from more than 3,400 women aged 40 and older in the United States, who had completed questionnaires regarding their reproductive care and eye health.

Overall, women who took the pill for three years or more had double the risk of developing glaucoma, compared to women who used the pill for a shorter period of time or who never used the pill at all.

"We believe at this point, by analyzing the data, there is an association between long-term birth control use and glaucoma," study author Elaine Wang, of Duke University, told CNN. "Why? We're not sure. The next step is to examine the eyes carefully and look at exactly what is happening to a woman's vision when she's on birth control pills. We need to verify these findings."

Additionally, researchers found that other factors such as age, race, eye health history and age of first menstrual period were associated with increased odds of glaucoma.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com

Exercise During Pregnancy Gives Infant Brain a Head Start

As little as 20 minutes of moderate exercise three times a week during pregnancy enhances a newborn’s brain development, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Montreal note this head start could have an impact on the child’s entire life.

“We hope these results will guide public health interventions and research on brain plasticity,” said Dave Ellemberg, Ph.D., who led the study.

“Most of all, we are optimistic that this will encourage women to change their health habits, given that the simple act of exercising during pregnancy could make a difference for their child’s future.”

While in the past obstetricians would tell women to rest during their pregnancy, it is now commonly accepted that inactivity actually increases the risk of complications during pregnancy, noted Daniel Curnier, Ph.D.

“Being active can ease postpartum recovery, make pregnancy more comfortable and reduce the risk of obesity in the children,” he said.

Tackling fears 'while you sleep'

US researchers suggest smells could be used to calm fears - while people sleep.

People were trained to associate two images, linked to smells, with fear.

During sleep they were exposed to one of those smells - and when they woke they were less frightened of the image linked to that smell.

A UK expert praised the Nature Neuroscience study and said it could help treat phobias and perhaps even post-traumatic stress disorders.

People with phobias are already commonly treated with "gradual exposure" therapy while they are awake, where they are exposed to the thing they are frightened of in incremental degrees.

This study suggests that the theory could be extended to therapy while they are in slow-wave, or deep, sleep.

This is the deepest period of sleep, where memories, particularly those linked to emotions, are thought to be processed.

'Dead' Man Resuscitated, Stuns Doctors

More than two weeks after an Ohio man believed to be dead was revived, physicians are still struggling to explain the event. Furthermore, far beyond assuming the expected vegetative state or requiring a heart transplant, Anthony Yahle, 37, says he feels well enough to return to work.

According to ABC, Yahle's wife, a nurse of seven years, called for an ambulance after she woke up and realized his breathing didn't sound right. Unable to wake him up, she and her son performed CPR until paramedics arrived on the scene. After shocking Yahle several times, first responders detected a heartbeat.

In the hospital, doctors were reportedly positive regarding Yahle's condition, saying that his arteries appeared to be clear. Then, later that afternoon, his heart stopped.

For 45 minutes Yahle "coded," a term referring to a medical emergency, and doctors tried to revive him before they agreed that it was too late.

"We looked at each other," Dr. Raja Nazir, Yahle's cardiologist at Kettering Medical Center, said. "We'd given him all the medicine we had in our code cart. At some point, you have to call it off."

Four cups of coffee a day may raise early death risk in younger adults

You may have read recent reports on coffee's health benefits, including reduced risk for stroke, heart failure, Alzheimer's, some cancers and even suicide risk.

But a new decades-long study finds coffee didn't have protective benefits: Drinking four or more cups of joe per day can be deadly for some.

Researchers found drinking 28 cups of coffee or more per week increased a person's odds of dying prematurely by 21 percent. The risk was more than 50 percent higher in adults under 55 years old.

"There continues to be considerable debate about the health effects of caffeine, and coffee specifically, with some reports suggesting toxicity and some even suggesting beneficial effects," study co-author Dr. Carl Lavie, a cardiology researcher at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, said in a statement.

The average American adult drinks about three cups of coffee per day, according to the authors.

For the study, researchers looked at data collected between 1979 and 1998 on nearly 44,000 people between 20 and 87 years old who answered health surveys about their personal and family medical histories, and lifestyle habits -- including how much coffee they drank. Most of the study participants were men.

Breast Cancer Risk May Rise With Blood Pressure Medicines

Using a type of blood pressure drug for more than a decade may raise breast-cancer risk, a study found, the first potential link between long-term use of the popular medicines and the most common malignancy among women.

Image: Norvasc, which is available as a generic in the U.S., generated about $1.35 billion in 2012 sales for New York-based Pfizer mostly on sales outside the U.S.

Women who took blood pressure drugs called calcium-channel blockers, like Pfizer Inc. (PFE)’s Norvasc, for 10 years or more had a 2.5 times higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who never took the medicine or who used other blood pressure treatments, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study released yesterday is the first to find that long-term use of calcium-channel blockers is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer, the authors said. More research is needed to replicate the findings and to better understand why the class of medicines may increase the risk of the disease, said Christopher Li, the lead study author.

“While this is an intriguing finding, much more work still needs to be done,” Li, head of the Translational Research Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said in an e-mail. “While we appreciate that these results may cause concern for women currently using these medications, we do not think that they should change current clinical practice because they require confirmation and because of the importance of managing hypertension effectively.”

New Teeth Grown with Stem Cells from Urine

A healthy smile doesn't just look nice. It says so much about your overall physical health. Swollen, red and bleeding gums can lead to signs of gingivitis, which can cause chronic inflammation, infection and permanent bone loss and tooth loss down the road. Hence why your dentist is always handing out free tooth brushes at the end of every visit or your mom is pestering you about flossing and rinsing before bed.

Well, you should listen. According to the World Health Organization, while nearly 100 percent of adults (and 60 to 90 percent of children) have dental cavities, poor dental cleaning habits can lead to severe periodontal disease later in life, including tooth, gum and bone lose.

Fortunately,researchers from the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (China) have possibly found a temporary answer for those who have already missed out on the memo to properly brush and floss. They've created stem cells to make rudimentary forms of human teeth, only not in the most pleasant way. They derived stem cells in this new experiment from human urine.

How Height Is Connected to Cancer

Jealous of your long-legged peers? Turns out they may not have won the gene pool after all.

New research published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention found a surprising correlation between height and cancer risk among postmenopausal women; the taller the woman, the greater her risk for the disease.

The researchers studied more than 20,900 women ages 50 to 79 who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI)  study, an on-going analysis of post menopausal women and the factors that contribute to their health. They separated the women into five groups based on their height, starting with women shorter than 5 feet 1 inch, and matched them to data on their cancer rates.

They discovered that for every 10 centimeters of height, a woman’s risk of developing a range of different cancers increased by 13%. When they looked at all the cancers together, they found that taller women had a 13% to 17% greater risk of developing melanoma, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer and colon cancer. They also had a 23% to 29% greater risk of developing kidney, rectum, thyroid and blood cancers.  All of the cancers showed a positive association with height; none of the taller women showed a lower risk of cancer compared to their shorter counterparts.

While the connection seems odd, previous studies have exposed the same association;  it’s possible, for example, that on the most basic level, the greater number of cells and tissues that taller people possess simply increases the odds that some of those cells will develop abnormally and become malignant. Alternatively, some of the same processes that fuel the growth that contributes to height may also feed tumors.

Harvard study reveals coffee may lower risk of suicide by 50%

Study indicates caffeinated coffee lowers risk of depression and suicide in men and women.

Keep calm and get your caffeine on.

A recent Harvard study revealed that caffeinated coffee may lower the suicide risk in both men and women by 50%, Huffington Post reported.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health compared the risk of suicide for adults who drank two to four cups of caffeinated coffee per day with non-coffee drinkers, who consumed less coffee per day and those who chose decaffeinated.

The study, published in The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, included more than 200,000 subjects observed during a 16-year period. Results indicated that the suicide risk for those who drank between two to four cups of coffee per day were about 50% less than the risk for subjects in the other groups.

"Unlike previous investigations, we were able to assess association of consumption of caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages, and we identify caffeine as the most likely candidate of any putative protective effect of coffee," lead researcher Michel Lucas said in the statement.

Eat Vegetarian, Live Longer?

People who eat a vegetarian diet live longer than those who eat meat, according to research published this week.

Researchers from Loma Linda University in California followed 73,308 members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which encourages a vegetarian diet, for almost six years. There were 12 percent fewer deaths among vegetarians over that period compared to meat-eaters, the researchers reported in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Other studies have pointed toward similar connections, but this research analyzed a larger group of people. Specifically, researchers found that vegetarians were less likely to die from heart disease, diabetes and kidney failure.

Can People Live on Only Sunlight and Water?

A woman in Seattle who believes she can live without food is trying to prove it, and promoting her claims through social media.

According to a story on Fox News, “Navenna Shine, the founder and subject of the Living on Light experiment, plans to spend the next four to six months abstaining from food of any kind and living on only light, water and tea. According to her website Livingonlight.com, Shine started the experiment in an attempt to follow a group of obscure Yogis, who for thousands of years have claimed the ability to live on light.”

The claimed ability to survive without food (and sometimes without water as well) is called inedia, and those who attempt it are called “inediates” (among other things). One common version of inedia includes a belief called breatharianism, which teaches that humans can be trained to survive just on water and sunlight.

Uganda Ebola outbreak: patients flee hospital amid contagion fears

Science and techno world topic: Health

The Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic fever, an acute disease characterised by high fever and bleeding into the skin. 

Ebola outbreak in Uganda claims at least 14 lives as health officials battle to stem spread of deadly virus

Terrified patients fled from a hospital in western Uganda as soon as news broke that a mysterious illness that killed at least 14 people in the region was Ebola, one of the world's most virulent diseases.

Ignatius Besisira, a member of parliament for Buyaga East County in the Kibaale district, said people had at first believed the unexplained deaths were related to witchcraft. "Immediately, when there was confirmation that it was Ebola … patients ran out of Kagadi hospital (where some of the victims had died)," he told the Guardian. "Even the medical officers are very, very frightened," he said.

Government officials and a World Health Organisation representative confirmed the Ebola outbreak at a news conference in Kampala on Saturday. "Laboratory investigations done at the Uganda Virus Research Institute ... have confirmed that the strange disease reported in Kibaale is indeed Ebola haemorrhagic fever," they said in a joint statement.