Tag Archives: health

Chemophobia: A Natural or Synthesized Fear?

Posted on March 11, 2013 by nicoledgehring | 2 comments

When did ‘chemical’ come to mean the opposite of ‘natural’? Consider for example, caffeine isolated from cocoa beans or tea leaves versus caffeine synthesized in a laboratory. Is one better for you than the other?

In the view of the general public, substances that are ‘natural’ and those that are ‘chemical’ are seen as two different things. Natural seems to stand for something positive and pure: Things that are healthy, mild or ‘good for the environment’ whereas chemicals are often viewed as toxic, dangerous and unhealthy.

This misconception is called chemophobia: An irrational fear of chemicals and we are a chemophobic culture.

Chemophobia and Our Culture
Credit: CHEMJOBBER via Flickr Creative Commons

Have you ever had a sales assistant tell you that a product was made entirely from natural ingredients, and contained no chemicals? Most people would think this was a selling feature, but what are those natural ingredients? Is it possible they might also be chemical compounds? Surely they must be. Those ingredients had to of come from somewhere.

Our negative view of chemicals is influenced by the fact that some chemicals are used in dangerous man-made materials such as Agent Orange, DDT and napalm. Other chemicals are responsible for environmental problems like smog, air pollution and the formation of the ozone hole. That being said, chemophobics can be blind to the vast majority of chemicals they encounter everyday. Everything around us is composed of life’s building blocks: Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, all of which are chemicals. Daily essentials that we require to live are chemicals. Water and the air we breathe are composed of oxygen and hydrogen. Arsenic is a naturally occurring element, but would we label is as “100% natural” and willingly consume it? I cannot stress enough that all matter is made of chemicals.

Natural vs. Synthetic Vitamin D
Credit: Jarek Esarco, from http://ohiospecific.blogspot.ca/

It’s important to understand the misleading notion of natural versus synthetic chemicals. It may shock some of you to know that sometimes synthetic is actually safer for your health, such as synthetic melatonin supplements since those naturally derived may contain viral material. In addition, some sources of synthetic chemicals are actually good for the environment. For example, natural sources of vanilla (the vanilla bean) are quickly being depleted and synthetic versions are our first alternative. In fact synthetic chemicals are indistinguishable from the natural source. They are molecularly identical with the exact same properties, appearance, smell and taste.

This widespread misconception colors public perceptions of chemistry and its role in the modern world. Chemophobia may not be as direct a threat to our future as say, climate change, but it clouds public understanding of real and very important issues we face.

-Nicole Gehring

2 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science Communication

Tagged "all natural", Caffeine, chemical, chemophobia, health, misconceptions, natural, synthetic

Burn Fat in 8 Seconds

Posted on March 10, 2013 by alvinesh | 10 comments

After a long winter it’s no doubt that we all put on a few extra pounds. Summer is on the horizon and you know you’ll have to shed your winter wear, exposing those soft spots around your belly and love handles.

Unfortunately, the average student usually has too much on their plate from commuting to school to late night cramming sessions. This leaves no time for long intensive workouts at the gym.

An empty gym
Source: flickr commons via floating_zen

What if we can get more out of our workouts with less time and less effort?

Too good to be true?

Well a team of scientists out of Australia might have solved this problem for all us “busy” people. Dr. Boutcher and his team placed 45 overweight women through their SPRINT-training which is a short, high-intensity training based on cycle sprints over 12 weeks. They discovered a significant drop in their abdominal fat and an increase in muscle mass.

Nothing out of the ordinary, high-intensity training has been known to be a great fat burning workout, but this is where it gets very interesting.

It was found 1 hour SPRINT-training a week burns the same amount of body fat in men as jogging for 7 hours a week.

Brian McPhail, an S-3 clerk with 7th Marine Regiment, ‘sprints’ as fast as he can on a stationary bike. Source: Wikimedia

So what is SPRINT training?

Using a fitness bike, you sprint for 8 seconds, followed by 12 seconds of exercising lightly for a total of 20 minutes. You would perform this 20 minute exercise three times a week for a total of 1 hour of exercise a week, which should fit in anybody’s schedule.

Why does it work?

“We think the reason that it works is because it produces a unique metabolic response,” said Professor Boutcher.

During the intermittent 8 second sprinting large amounts of catecholamine is released. A specific hormone that is involved in oxidizing fat storage which results in greater weight loss.

Furthermore, with this short burst of high intensity output with a longer period if normal output hinders the build up of lactic acid in your muscles. This is that painful burn you feel when your muscles are actually doing work, in simple terms this type of training helps prolong your workouts because it takes longer for your muscle to tire out.

This video gives a brief overview of where catecholamine and other steroids come from:

Source: harpinmartin

This kind of exercise is great for people who don’t have time to spend hours in the gym, and even better you only require a stationary bike which is not that expensive to purchase for yourself.

Lastly, Dr. Boutcher notes that “Overall, any type of exercise is good. You just have to work out your objectives, whether it is to increase muscle, lose fat, or enhance other aspects of your life such as improving the quality of your sleep.”

-Alvinesh Singh

10 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences

Tagged catecholamine, Fat-loss, Fitness, gym, health, hormones, lactic acid, Workout

Caffeine: a misunderstood friend

Posted on March 4, 2013 by eremandaban | 9 comments

Every once in a while, some of us need a pick-me-up to make it through a long day. It can come in the form of coffees, teas and even chocolate bars. The common element behind these products is the chemical, caffeine. Often labelled as the bad guy in health industries, caffeine has been through a great deal of scrutiny in the scientific community. In the past, many
caffeine-related myths arose. For example, it was once thought that regular consumption of caffeinated products lead to weak bones and increased risk for heart disease. However, many of these false facts have since then been debunked. In addition to the amnesty granted to caffeine, many health benefits from its use have been discovered which include improvements in both physical and mental aspects of performance and health and even treatments in Alzheimer’s disease.

A delicious cup of black coffee. By Jon Sullivan via Wikimedia Commons

Caffeine has many applications in the sports and health industries. Many studies have been done which note an improvement in performance in certain sports. Researchers found that caffeine intake boosted the quality of work done in sports requiring power like weightlifting, sports requiring periodic bursts of effort like rugby and tennis, and in sports requiring endurance like running and cycling. These effects were observed from just small doses of caffeine typical of the general public. In addition to the benefits achieved in a sports-setting, caffeine also has use in body composition control. An increase in metabolic rate and fat loss was observed in subjects three hours after caffeine intake. Researchers noted an increase in the total amount of available energy in the form of circulating free fatty acids from predisposed fat stores in the body. This specific property can be used in treating obesity and aiding those individuals looking to lose fat with regular exercise. While caffeine has been found to be extremely useful in achieving physical well-being, it can also play a role in mental health and function maintenance.

Cyclists in the US Air Force. By U.S. Air Force via Wikimedia Commons

Many energy drinks containing caffeine often state that their product helps temporarily restore mental alertness and wakefulness. This claim has some truth to it as most studies involving caffeine have recently found. Countless studies have found that fatigued individuals performed better on cognitive tasks with the ingestion of caffeine. Although it is widely known for its effects on alertness and attention, it can also aid in learning. In a study done in France, a researcher observed an increase in a specific type of learning when administering human participants with caffeine. Passive learning increased in individuals when they given information to remember operating on the premise that no test would be given afterwards. Furthermore, caffeine has applications in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. In one study, it was discovered that taking
500 mg of caffeine or an equivalent three cups of coffee provided protection against this ailment. In most patients with this disease, aggregations of a compounds called beta amyloids were found in their brains. Caffeine’s primary pharmacological action in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is the inhibition of certain enzymes needed for the formation of these beta amyloids which resulted in the reduction in the cognitive decline observed in patients.

A discussion of the therapeutic use of caffeine. (attributed to YouTube user: healthycoffeeupdate)

Caffeine, when used in moderation, is an extremely useful substance. From increasing physical performance to maintaining mental health, caffeine provides many benefits. So next time a barista at your favorite coffee-house asks you if you want either a regular cup of joe or decaf, I’d personally recommend the former!

-Earvin Remandaban

9 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences

Tagged Alzheimer's, Caffeine, chocolate, Coffee, health, Learning, Tea

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!

Posted on February 11, 2013 by alvinesh | Leave a comment

Whenever Michael Buffers announces “Let’s get ready to rumble!” I get a tingly feeling at the back of my neck because I know what’s about to go down, two men who have trained for months are about to go to battle in a ring with only some gloves on. Being a boxing fan nothing is more entertaining than seeing a boxer knocking out (KO) his opponent.

Ricardo Dominguez (left) and Rafael Ortiz in the midst of a battle. (ShawnC via Wikimedia)

But I never thought of the implications the boxers face, until I saw the debilitating state of one of the greatest boxers ever to live, Muhammad Ali. At the age of 42, in 1984 Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, doctors and scientists believe that the main culprit for the disease was possibly the repeated blows to the head he received during his reign in the ring.

Finding studies on this matter was not too difficult, it seems in the recent years it has been a field of intensive study.

“A knock-out in neuro-psychiatric terms corresponds to a cerebral concussion.”

In 2010, a study out of the Technical University of Munich conducted by Hans Forstl evaluated the health of boxers for the past 10 years. They discovered that getting knocked out resulted in persistent symptoms such as headaches, impaired hearing, nausea, unstable gait, and forgetfulness. A long career in boxing may result in boxer’s dementia (dementia pugilistica), which is strikingly similar to Alzheimer’s disease.

So what exactly happens to cause a knock-out?

A report by Popular Mechanics written by Marita Vera goes into technical aspect of the knock-out.

“The body contains dissolved sodium, potassium and calcium, collectively known as electrolytes, which are responsible for conducting impulses along neurons. Every time a fighter receives a blow to a nerve, potassium leaves the cell and calcium rushes in, destabilizing the electrolyte balance, while the brain does all it can to keep these levels in balance. With each successive blow, this balance becomes harder and harder to maintain, and more and more energy must be spent in the process. When the body reaches the point where the damage outweighs the body’s ability to repair itself, the brain shuts down, to conserve enough energy to fix the injured neurons at a later point.”

Dr. Charles Bernick and his colleges from the Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health have compiled over a 100 boxers and mixed martial artists (MMA) fighters to conduct studies on their brain. Through M.R.I scans, they found a reduction in the size in the hippocampus and thalamus of the brains of fighter with more than six years in the ring. Dr. Bernick notes that “these parts of the brain deals with the function of memory and alertness.”

This video shows the work of Dr. Charles Bernick:

Prevention?

Along with Dr. Bernick’s work, Sanna Neselius and her team out of Gothenburg, Sweden are working on bio-markers in the blood that indicates the severity of damage to ones brain.

“Preferably, we would like to find a simple blood test that provides the same information as our more advanced brain fluid examinations. The capability does not presently exist, but can perhaps become an option in the future with further and more extensive studies.”

Discovering what these boxers have put on the line, day in and day out has gained a great sense of respect from my part, hopefully through the power of science there will be better ways to prevent and protect these courageous men and women doing their jobs, while not taking anything away from the true essence of boxing.

-Alvinesh Singh

Meat you in Heaven?

Posted on February 6, 2013 by abbyperehudoff | 2 comments

Anyone that knows me knows that I eat, sleep, and love vegetables. I have been a vegetarian for the last 3 years. People always tend to ask me why I do it? The truth is that you can reap a lot of benefits by being a vegetarian and people are becoming more aware of the health benefits of being a vegetarian. In fact, animal rights issues is only one of the reasons why people decide to go on a vegetarian diet. People are even becoming vegetarian because they are beginning to care more about the environment. However, the main reason why people go on a vegetarian diet is because of the health benefits.

All meat in general is not good for you as it has many negative effects on the body. This is especially true if you eat red meat, as it has much more fat compared to white meat. Excessive intake of fats into the body can result in having a high level of cholesterol.

A study done at Oxford of 44,500 people showed that people were 32% less likely to die or need hospital treatment as a result of heart disease. Now I’m no statistician but 32% is a huge number seeing, as heart disease is the number cause of death in North America. Heart disease is responsible for about 29,340 out of 100,000 deaths per year that’s almost 70,000 deaths per year in Canada alone. Not to mention that Canadian acute care hospitals handle almost three million hospitalizations due to heart disease and account for 17% of total hospitalizations per year.

Heart disease occurs when the heart’s own blood supply becomes blocked up by fatty deposits in the arteries that nourish the heart muscle. It can cause angina or even lead to a heart attack if the blood vessels become completely blocked.

Most heart attacks happen when a clot in the coronary artery blocks the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. A blockage that is not treated within a few hours causes the affected heart muscle to die.
Image: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Diseases and Conditions Index

Scientists at Oxford University analyzed data from 15,100 vegetarians and 29,400 people who ate meat and fish. Over the course of 11 years, 169 participants in the study died from heart disease and 1,066 needed hospitalization – and they were more likely to have been meat and fish eaters than vegetarians. The results also showed that vegetarians had lower blood pressure, lower levels of “bad” cholesterol and were more likely to be at a healthy weight. Moreover, vegetarians had a 32% lower risk of heart disease than non-vegetarians.

Now I’m not advocating that everyone eats a vegetarian diet. Vegetarians have a lower intake of saturated fats so it makes sense that there is a lower risk of heart weight. All I’m saying that incorporating more vegetables into your diet instead of meat and fish could ultimately save your life.

2 Comments

Posted in Science in the News

Tagged health, healthy diet, Heart Disease, Vegetarian

Mozart or No Mozart

Posted on January 28, 2013 by vivian09 | 3 comments

Musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Copyright: Wallsfree.com

Without scientific proofs, many people tend to correlate the learning of Mozart’s compositions to an increase in intelligence in newborns. One of the most apparent example is that parents often play Mozart’s composition to their newborn with the hopes that their child will become smarter. This is commonly known as the Mozart effect. The Mozart effect was first introduced in 1991, but it did not become a popular topic two years later when this idea was published in a journal by Nature, a science journal. Since the publication of this journal, many people began advertising CDs and online audio of Mozart’s music. For example, in 1998, the governor of the state of Georgia in the United States placed aside a certain budget so each newborn babies will be sent a classical CD. Similarly, when a psychologist named Sergio Della Sala visited a farm in Italy, he learned that the farmer plays Mozart three times a day for the cows to help them produce better milk. While there are many examples of the Mozart effect, there has not yet been any scientific reasonings behind this theory.

Child with Headphone
Copyright: Wallpapers Craft

Although the Mozart effect is still very popular, some studies done did not support the Mozart’s effect. For example, in 2006, a large study involving eight thousand children ages 10 to 11 was conducted in Britain. These children listened to mozart’s string quintet in D major, a discussion on a certain topic, and or a sequence of three pop songs: “Country House” by Blur, “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison, and “Stepping Stone” by PJ and Duncan. Following the experiment, participants were given series of mental tasks to complete. The most common task asked the participants to look at folded pieces of paper with different cuts in them and they are then asked to predict the appearance of the paper when it is unfolded. In this particular experiment, the results were that the children who listened to series of pop music did better than the children who listened to Mozart. Furthermore, studies focused solely on the Mozart group showed that the effect of listening to Mozart to increase intelligence is only temporary. In reality, the Mozart effect only last 15 minutes on average. This caused many questions concerning the Mozart effect and whether listening to Mozart’s music really improves intelligence in newborn and children.

Play me a song, Baby
Copyright: dearbabyblog.com

With studies failing to support the Mozart’s effect, other studies began to question the failure as well as to derive new conclusion based on old data. An explanation for rejecting the Mozart’s effect is that instead of listening to Mozart, any stimulus to the brain can allow us to perform better. In addition, it is more favorable to stimuli the brain with something that interest the participants for maximum results. Furthermore, a study conducted by Jessica Grahn, a scientist from Western University, Ontario, suggests that to increase long-term intelligence, learning music instruments in one year is able to increase one’s IQ by as much as three points. Thus, the era of the Mozart effect was proven to be over and the era of learning new instruments began.

Youtube video on today’s parenting and their views on the Mozart’s effect. “The Mozart Effect? Sooo 90’s. Now introducing…The DoReMi Effect!” Copyright to CreativityMobile

– Vivian Wu

3 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Public Engagement, Science Communication, Science in the News

Tagged Brain, Children and Newborns, health, Mozart's Effect, Music, Science and Environment

Ahchoo: Oh no not the flu!

Posted on January 21, 2013 by abbyperehudoff | Leave a comment

Flu season is gearing up here in Canada so I figured it to be a good time to talk about the flu. Three years ago, there was an unusual flu outbreak with a nasty variant that seemed like it could turn into a pandemic. This year is also a non-typical flu season, as most seasons are. The rate of influenza infection has been on the rise early this year. This means either one of two things: it could mean we are having a flu season that will normalize once it is all over but shifted early or it could mean that we are having a very bad flu season, during which we will see a high peak rate of infection and what we are seeing now is just the beginning.

Flu Trends in BC. Canada: Influenza-like illness (ILI) data provided publicly by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Doctors recommend that everyone that is 6 months of age or older get the flu shot. If you already got a flu shot this year, your immune system has been signaled to prepare itself for the invasion of three different strains of flu. A mild reaction such as soreness, headaches and fevers are common side effects of the flu vaccine. There is no downside to getting the flu vaccine other than a few mild side effects, in fact, if more people got the flu vaccine there would be less people getting sick and dying from the influenza virus.

So the question is, “Do I really need to get the flu shot every year?” and to be honest it really depends who you are and who you are around. If you’ve just had a baby, hang out with your grandparents a lot or hang out with someone who is immune-comprised, you’d better get the shot otherwise you risk giving the virus to those who already have a weaker immune system. If you’re a student then getting the vaccine might not be so dramatic although dorms, gyms and schools are warm and moist and what virus isn’t going to love that combination, its basically a giant petri dish. If one person gets sick, everyone gets sick. So it really comes down to can you afford to be sick.

There is no benefit to getting sick with the influenza virus. In fact, there is no reason to even get the influenza virus. We have a vaccine. Yes, there is always the risk that the vaccine may not contain the correct strains and you might get sick anyways but might as well stack the deck in your favor to keep yourself from getting sick.

Mozart or No Mozart

Posted on January 13, 2013 by vivian09 | 1 comment

Child with Headphone -Copyright Wallpapers Craft
(found at http://wallpaperscraft.com/resize/child_headphones_face_shirt_64313)

Without scientific proofs, many people tend to correlate Mozart’s compositions with the superstition that its complex stimuli to the brain will increase the intelligence in newborns. One of the most apparent example is that parents often play Mozart’s composition to their newborn with the hopes that their child will become smarter later in life. This is commonly known as the Mozart effect. The Mozart effect was first introduced in 1991, but it did not become a popular topic two years later when this idea was published in a journal by Nature, a science journal. Since the publication of this journal, many began advertising CDs and online audio of Mozart’s music. For example, in 1998, the governor of the state of Georgia in the United States placed aside a certain budget so each newborn babies will be sent a classical CD. Similarly, upon his visitation to a farm in Italy, Sergio Della Sala, a psychologist, learns that the farmer plays Mozart three times a day for the cows to help them produce better milk. However, while there are many examples of the Mozart effect, there has not been any scientific reasoning to support this theory.

Although the Mozart effect was very popular, some studies done did not derived the same conclusion. For example, in 2006, a large study involving eight thousand children ages 10 to 11 was conducted in Britain. These children listened to Mozart’s string quintet in D major, a discussion on a certain discussion, or a sequence of three pop songs: “Country House” by Blur, “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison, and “Stepping Stone” by PJ and Duncan. Following the experiment, participants were given series of mental tasks to complete. Most commonly, the tasks focus on asking participants to look at folded pieces of paper with different cuts in them and they are then asked to predict the appearance of the paper when it is unfolded. In this particular experiment, the results were that the children who listened to series of pop music did better than the children who listened to Mozart. In addition, studies focused solely on the Mozart group shows that the effect of listening to Mozart to increase intelligence is only temporary. The mozart effect only last 15 minutes on average. This caused many questions about the Mozart effect and whether listening to Mozart’s music really improves intelligence in newborns and children.

With studies failing to support the Mozart effect, other studies began to question the failure as well as to derive new conclusion based on old data. An explanation for rejecting the Mozart effect is that perhaps providing the brain with any kind of stimulus, preferably something that interests the participants, is enough to stimulate the brain to perform. Furthermore, a study conducted by Jessica Grahn, a scientist from Western University, Ontario, suggests that to increase long-term intelligence, learning a music instrument in one year can increase one’s IQ by as much as three points. Thus, the era of the Mozart effect was proven to be over and the era of learning new instruments began.

Here is a short radio clip from BBC Radio 4 on Mind Myths where it talks about common myths about human brains, including the Mozart effect.

-Vivian Wu

Reference:

Hammond, C. 2011. Mind Myths. BBC Radio 4.

Sack, K. 1998. Georgia’s Governor Seeks Musical Start for Babies.

Schellenberg, E.G., and Hallam, S. 2006. Music listening and cognitive abilities in 10- and 11-year-olds: The Blur effect. University of Toronto at Mississauga, Department of Psychology, Ontario.

1 Comment

Posted in Public Engagement, Science in the News

Tagged Brain, Children/Newborns, Experiments, health, Mozart Effect, Music, Science&Environment

Tag Archives: health

Chemophobia: A Natural or Synthesized Fear?

Burn Fat in 8 Seconds

Caffeine: a misunderstood friend

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!

Meat you in Heaven?

Mozart or No Mozart

Ahchoo: Oh no not the flu!

Mozart or No Mozart

New User

Recent Posts

Categories

Authors

Blogroll

Tag Archives: health

New User

Recent Posts

Categories

Authors

Blogroll

Tags