Faith






via




Popular posts from this blog

A horse named charley

Although we may fight for it, in the end we just can't stop people from naming their horses "Charlie". But maybe we can help them with an involuntary contraction or spasm causing a muscle cramp, sometimes called a "charley horse". Usually they occur due to an overused or injured muscle, but can also be caused by lack of minerals such as potassium (1). So, before and after exercise, eat your bananas. Reference List 1. MedlinePlus. Charley Horse. Medline Encyclopedia. Available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002066.htm
Read more

Half-hearted Atkins diet and cardiovascular disease

I would like to comment on a recent  article comparing the Atkins, Ornish and South Beach diets (Miller et al., 2009; full reference at the end of this posting), which has been causing quite a lot of commotion among bloggers recently. Especially low carb. bloggers. An excellent post by Michael Eades clarifies a number of issues with the study, including what one could argue is the study's main flaw. Apparently the study compared a half-hearted Atkins diet, with probably equally half-hearted Ornish and  South   Beach  diets. I refer to the study's Atkins diet as half-hearted because it seems to rely on a daily consumption of between 120 and 180 grams of carbohydrates. This is unlikely to lead to ketosis, the cornerstone of the Atkins diet, where the body uses ketone bodies (made from dietary as well as body fat) as a source of energy. As I see it, the main findings of the study were that the participants in the half-hearted Atkins diet, after a period of 4 weeks on the diet,
Read more

Boost brain health by living like an Indian

Getting plenty of sun and eating curry are integral parts of Indian culture. Now scientists have found that this combination also helps guard against Alzheimer's disease. The biochemical mechanism by which the combination works is through immune system macrophages (1). Vitamin D was found to stimulate type I and II macrophages to break down and clear beta-amyloid plaques through genomic pathways. Curcuminoids, specifically bisdemethoxycurcumin, assisted with stimulating type 1 macrophages through non-geneomic pathways. Immune therapies to clear beta-amyloid plaque are a new approach that health scientists hope will assist in prevention and treatment of AD. Because vitamin D and curcumin work in different ways biochemically, both may be used in therapy for most promising effects. Apart from hereditary implications, obesity, diabetes and hypertension are all risk factors in AD. Other promising dietary interventions are caloric reduction, antioxidant intake from fruits and vegetables,
Read more