Tag Archives: Health

To Sip Or To Not Sip? The Benefits of Coffee on Health

Posted on March 23, 2015 by | 2 comments
Image Courtesy of: Flickr Commons

Image Courtesy of: Flickr Commons

After water, coffee is the most popular beverage consumed worldwide. There are countless reasons that people consume coffee on a day-to-day basis. Many people drink it to stay awake during a long day. Some people drink it in the morning to wake themselves up. According to the National Coffee Association, in 2012 over 64% of U.S. adults over the age of 18, regularly drank coffee. Many people wonder if this number is something to worry about – what kind of effect does coffee have on our overall health? Luckily for all those coffee drinkers out there, there are numerous health benefits for drinking that morning cup of joe.

In a recent study, coffee has been found to have a positive effect on Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a disorder caused by progressive impairment of neurons in the brain, usually occurring in the aging population. When these neurons function normally, they produce dopamine; a transmitter that serves as a messenger between parts of the brain. This lack of dopamine seen in Parkinson’s disease causes poor coordination and muscle motion, ultimately leading to loss of control of body movements. The caffeine in coffee helps prevent the dopamine deficits that are characteristic of Parkinson’s. Therefore a higher intake of coffee is associated with a lower incidence of Parkinson’s disease.

Both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Effect the Aging Population Image Courtesy of: Flickr Commons

Both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Effect the Aging Population
Image Courtesy of: Flickr Commons

According to this same study, coffee may prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease as well. Alzheimer’s disease is a type of brain disorder that causes problems with behavior and memory, occurring more frequently in the aging population and those with damaged neurons in the brain. A component of coffee beans called Trigonelline showed regeneration of nerves in the brain, significantly improving memory in Alzheimer’s patients. To be clear, coffee consumption does not cause a decline in the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, it is associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s, and a reduction of some of the common symptoms of Alzheimer’s patients.

Additionally, another study showed that coffee drinking is inversely associated with mortality, meaning coffee consumption is associated with living a longer life. A comparison was done between men who drink coffee and men who don’t, and it was seen that coffee drinkers had a 10% lower risk of death. When comparing females, a 15% lower risk of death was seen in those drinking coffee. Coffee consumption was also found to be inversely related to major causes of death such as heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes and infections.

These studies have shown that coffee consumption has an inverse relationship with death and disease of many causes. All in all, coffee is surprisingly found to have an overall positive effect on people’s health. So welcome that morning coffee, and know that it is having a positive effect on your health!

Check out this video on the positive effects of coffee!

YouTube Video Courtesy of: Natural Foods Diet

Posted by: Alex Ensing

 

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Posted in Science Communication

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WHY IS IT HARD TO STOP SMOKING IN ONE SHOT?

Posted on March 8, 2015 by | 3 comments

Even though it is widely known that smoking causes serious health problems, people still do it. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds us that some of the consequences of smoking are cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems, cancer development, and even death. Nevertheless, some people are still smoking because of good feeling nicotine leaves in the body. On the contrary, some others are trying to quit smoking. Trying. But why is it hard to do it in just one shot? Here is a video from ehowhealth YouTube channel which explains what nicotine does in the body.

Recent research at the University of Copenhagen has demonstrated that the post-smoking symptoms are what make quitting smoking really difficult. In a press-release from ScienceDaily, Professor Albert Gjedde, neuroscience researcher at the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen explains “Regular smokers experience an almost dementia-like condition in the early hours after quitting, as suggested by brain scans.”

Risk from Smoking        Source: Wikipedia

According to brain scans on smokers performed by Gjedde’s research team, after having stopped smoking, the blood flow and oxygen uptake in the brain decrease by almost 20%. This is considered a stressful situation for the body, which in turn starts producing an anxiety-like reaction, which is “probably one of the reasons why it can be very difficult to quit smoking once and for all. Smokers drift back into abuse, perhaps not to obtain a pleasant effect […] but simply because the withdrawal symptoms are unbearable.” MedlinePlus  provides a comparison of the way one feels while smoking and one does after. From such list, it is evident why people have a hard time when throwing cigarettes away.

Cigarette Smoking           Source: Johanna Keppler – Flickr

 

So what could be the best method to quit smoking? Scientists have recommended that a gradual withdrawal from smoking could be less traumatic than trying to quit in a single attempt. The explanation is that the effect of the post-smoking symptom will not hit not be as overwhelming, since they will not ‘hit’ the person at once. That way quitting smoking will be more manageable.

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science in the News

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Spirulina, Chlorella, and “Superfoods” – Yuppie Bunk or True Superfoods?

Posted on February 23, 2015 by | 2 comments

Even the most brief of visits to the aisles of a health food store such as Whole Foods will introduce you to a bevy of products with outlandish marketing claims. Supplement labels would have you believe that all of your problems are only a few of their company’s products away from being resolved. Lax (but improving) regulations regarding supplement labels and a tendency for some less scrupulous companies to lie outright about the contents of their products creates a treacherous landscape for those trying to enhance their health through supplementation.

With labeling practices as dubious as these in place, it is easy to adopt a cynical attitude towards any sort of claim made about a novel supplement. This attitude is warranted indeed. Many companies will commission professionals with questionable credentials and presumably extinct scruples to advocate their products. How many times have you seen a toothpaste that “four out of five dentists” advocate, with convenient omissions as to the amount of dentists polled, their identities, and their credentials? All of these factors serve to make it very difficult to make informed supplementation decisions, especially when marketing claims are considered.

Two examples of this are chlorella and spirulina. Chlorella is a green algae while spirulina is a blue-green cyanobacterium, a type of bacterium similar to algae. Both are highly edible, and marketed in a very similar way. The word “superfood” is liberally applied to both to imply medicinal benefits beyond their nutritional value. Chlorella, however, has little medicinal benefit. It’s basically a decent plant source of vitamin b12, a vitamin found mostly in animal products. Spirulina is far more interesting. In addition to containing a large amount of both b12 and protein, it has a compound that modulates the immune system to both increase immune response and decrease inflammation – a seemingly contradictory effect considering that inflammation is a reaction of the immune system to cell damage! To this end, it has been demonstrated to assist with nasal congestion related to seasonal allergies. These two supplements demonstrate how two supplements can be touted equally and have much different medical relevance.

– Erik Johnson

Taken from www.algaeindustrymagazine.com

Chlorella, a single-celled green algae.

Taken from spirulina.sg

Spirulina, a photosynthetic cyanobacterium.

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Sitting Leads to Premature Death?

Posted on February 2, 2015 by | 7 comments

Right now, as you are sitting and reading this blog, you are inviting a premature death. A recent study by Biswas et al. in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal states that sedentary time, i.e. time sitting down, shows a correlation to the risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some cancer types. These diseases allude us to people lacking physical activity however, in the study done by Biswas et al., it is suggested otherwise.

Sedentary Time. Source: Google Images

Sedentary Time. Source:Simpsons Wikia

Physical activity is emphasized deeply in our everyday lives. Data shows physical inactivity has led to many of deaths and is believed that physical activity decreases the risk of diseases. However, in the study done by Biswas et al., the correlation between sedentary time and diseases is independent to physical activity. A related study suggests that reallocating 30-minutes of sedentary time everyday showed to be slightly beneficial, whether it be sleeping, physical activity, or even standing up. The study showed unspecific benefits and were not able to come to a conclusion that physical activity was beneficial.

Pressure Points. Source: Wikimedia

Pressure Points. Source: Wikimedia Commons

 

A CNN coverage on this topic by Jen Christensen suggests that a person should stand up every 30 minutes for 1-3 minutes in order to reduce the risks of these diseases. The coverage suggests that when a person is standing up, there are some pressure points in the body which are activated so that the body secretes certain types of chemicals essential for the body. However, when sitting down, the body does not generate these chemicals hence the increase risk of diseases.

 

The next video describes in further in detail on how the body responds to prolonged sedentary time.

YouTube Preview Image

 

Everyone nowadays spends at least half of their day sitting down, whether it be at home watching TV, at work finishing up a presentation, or even sitting down to read a book. Contrastingly, healthy living is emphasized so greatly in our lives. Balancing healthy living and our normal lives can be struggling, but taking small steps can help reach that struggle. Standing up and stretching every 30 minutes or so can help, as well as exercising at least 10 minutes a day can decrease the risk of harmful diseases.

-Tommy Kim

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Posted in Issues in Science, Science in the News

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