Substance in tangerines fights obesity and protects against heart disease

 

VIDEO: New research by Murray Huff, a vascular biology scientist with the University of Western Ontario has found a flavanoid in tangerines called Nobiletin not only prevents obesity, but also offers... view more

Credit: The University of Western Ontario

New research from The University of Western Ontario has discovered a substance in tangerines not only prevents obesity, but also offers protection against type 2 diabetes, and even atherosclerosis, the underlying disease responsible for most heart attacks and strokes. Murray Huff, a vascular biology scientist at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, along with Erin Mulvihill, a PhD student, studied the effects of a flavonoid in tangerines called Nobiletin. Their research is published in the journal Diabetes.
In a model of metabolic syndrome developed by the Huff laboratory at the Robarts Research Institute, mice were fed a "western" diet high in fats and simple sugars. One group became obese and showed all the signs associated with metabolic syndrome: elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, high blood levels of insulin and glucose, and a fatty liver. These metabolic abnormalities greatly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
The second group of mice, fed the exact same diet but with Nobiletin added, experienced no elevation in their levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin or glucose, and gained weight normally. Mice became much more sensitive to the effects of insulin. Nobiletin was shown to prevent the buildup of fat in the liver by stimulating the expression of genes involved in burning excess fat, and inhibiting the genes responsible for manufacturing fat.
"The Nobiletin-treated mice were basically protected from obesity," says Huff, the Director of the Vascular Biology Research Group at Robarts. "And in longer-term studies, Nobiletin also protected these animals from atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in arteries, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. This study really paves the way for future studies to see if this is a suitable treatment for metabolic syndrome and related conditions in people."
Huff's research has focused on the pharmacological properties of naturally-occurring bioactive molecules. Two years ago, his research drew international attention when he discovered a flavonoid in grapefruit called Naringenin offered similar protection against obesity and other signs of metabolic syndrome. Huff says "What's really interesting to us is that Nobiletin is ten times more potent in its protective effects compared to Naringenin, and this time, we've also shown that Nobiletin has the ability to protect against atherosclerosis."
Source- eurekalert.

Health, well-being no different for children raised in same-sex parent families

Among stable families, the health and well-being of children raised by parents of the same sex are no different to that of children raised by parents of different sexes. This is the conclusion of a new study published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.

The health and well-being for children raised in same-sex parent families is no different to those raised in different-sex parent families.

The number of same-sex parents in the US has increased significantly in recent years. According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, there are currently 594,000 same-sex couple households in the US, of whom around 27% have children.
Most studies investigating the health and well-being of children within same-sex parent families have found they fare just as well as children from families with different-sex parents.
However, the researchers of this latest study - including Dr. Henry Bos of the University of Amsterdam - note that the results of many of these studies "relied on convenience samples and/or fertility recruitment," causing many people to question their accuracy.
Furthermore, many individuals continue to believe that children fare better when being raised by parents of different sexes, despite evidence to the contrary.
For their study, Dr. Bos and colleagues analyzed data from the National Survey of Child Health, from which they identified 95 female same-sex parent households and 95 different-sex parent households with children aged 6-17 years.
Both groups were matched for parent and child characteristics, and the families were considered stable, meaning they had no history of family instability - such as divorce or separation - since the birth or adoption of their child.
The team notes that male same-sex parent households were excluded from the analysis due to an insufficient sample size; only eight could be identified.

Child outcomes no different for children with same-sex parent families

Through a telephone interview with one parent per household, the researchers gathered information on the general health, emotional difficulties, coping behavior and learning behavior of each child.
The team also assessed levels of parental stress, the relationship quality between partners and the quality of parent-child relationships.
When it came to child outcomes, the researchers identified no differences in the general health and well-being of children from same-sex parent families, compared with those from different-sex parent families.
Among both groups, a more positive parent-child relationship was linked to better general health and coping and learning behaviors, while a better partner relationship was associated with fewer emotional difficulties among children.
Same-sex parent families did report experiencing higher levels of stress than different-sex parent households, but the researchers note that this had no impact on child outcomes.
"These findings are relevant to clinicians, public policy analysts, litigators and legislators who are consulted on matters pertaining to same-sex parent families," note the authors.
source- medicalnewstoday

Happiness fueled by relationships, work and something 'larger than self,' filmmaker finds

What does it take to be happy — to escape life's ennui, low-level sorrow or what Freud called the "worried well?"
Can you consciously make yourself happy?
Probably not, experts say. But understanding your biological makeup, how you perceive the world and your relationships with others can help to boost happiness.
Stefan Sagmeister, a New York City-based graphic artist who created album covers for the Rolling Stones, Jay-Z and the Talking Heads, set out to see if he could orchestrate his own happiness.
His quest, which was in many ways a failure, is the subject of his first documentary with Ben Nabors, "The Happy Film," which premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend and goes on to international festivals.

Courtesy of Ben Wolf

During a cognitive behavioral therapy experiment, Stefan Sagmeister follows his doctor's advice to "seek discomfort" by attempting to pick up a woman on the street.

"Ultimately, we have a conscious and unconscious mind," Sagmeister, 52, told TODAY. "The unconscious mind is a big elephant and the conscious mind is a tiny rider who thinks he can tell the elephant what to do. But in real life, the sub-conscious mind has its own ideas and direction."
Watch the trailer for "The Happy Film"
"Only through training can we make the two work together," he said. "And it doesn't happen overnight."
Sagmeister is highly successful and had every reason to be happy, but he became easily bored with creative projects when they were not new, and with women after passion waned.


So what was missing in his life?
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist from New York University and author of "The Happiness Hypothesis," says humans are complex creatures who "survive and thrive" in an intensely social world.
"True happiness comes when you get three kinds of relationships right," he told TODAY. "The one between yourself and others, between yourself and work or something productive and between yourself and something larger than yourself."

The Happy Film

Happiness depends on many factors, but you can't just think happy to make it happen.

As for love, passion usually ends in about six months, but the joys of companionship rise. He also advises finding a sense of fun and playfulness in life.
Before embarking on his experiment, Sagmeister consulted Haidt, who recommended three scientifically valid approaches to curbing his relationship anxiety — meditation, cognitive therapy and SSRI antidepressants. He also graded his happiness level.
source--healthnews

Is medicinal tree bark the next big cancer prevention strategy?

(NaturalNews) Researchers at the University of Arizona (UA) College of Pharmacy and the UA Cancer Center recently discovered that a derivative found in cinnamon called cinnamaldehyde, which gives cinnamon its unique smell and taste, acts as a potent protective agent against colorectal cancer.

"Given cinnamon's important status as the third-most-consumed spice in the world," Dr. Georg Wondrak explained, "there's relatively little research on its potential health benefits. If we can ascertain the positive effects of cinnamon, we would like to leverage this opportunity to potentially improve the health of people around the globe."

Dr. Wondrak and Dr. Donna Zhang's study, "Nrf2-Dependent Suppression of Azoxymethane/Dextrane Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colon Carcinogenesis by the Cinnamon-Derived Dietary Factor Cinnamaldehyde" demonstrated that by simply adding cinnamaldehyde to their food, the mice were protected from colorectal cancer.

Cinnamaldehyde bolstered the animals' cells enabling them to "protect themselves against exposure to a carcinogen through detoxification and repair."

"This is a significant finding," said Dr. Zhang, who along with Dr. Wondrak, is a member of the UA Cancer Center. "Because colorectal cancer is aggressive and associated with poor prognoses, there is an urgent need to develop more effective strategies against this disease."

Future research will focus on whether whole cinnamon, not merely the pure isolated compound cinnamaldehyde, can prevent cancer using the cancer model employed with mice. Because cinnamon has been safely added to food for thousands of years, a human study shouldn't be far off.



Dr. Wondrak further questions if cinnamaldehyde or cinnamon can be used against other diseases, such as inflammatory dysregulation and diabetes.

Previous cinnamon cancer research

A 2005 study published by researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Maryland made a rather astounding discovery. The popular kitchen spice cinnamon acts as a medicine that can kill cancer cells.

In the USDA cinnamon study the researchers used a water-soluble, powdered extract of cinnamon bark, which they injected into growing cancer cell cultures.

Typically for such studies, scientists utilize cell lines that are either actual cancer cells properly maintained for laboratory use, or they create cancer cells via various chemicals, radiation or viruses.

For this study three types of human cancer cells were used: Two leukemia and one lymphoma cell line. Leukemia presents as a proliferation of malignant blood cells called leukocytes whereas lymphoma is the malignant onslaught of lymphocytes a type of lymph cell.

The rationale behind the study was to determine if the cinnamon extract could halt the progression of these cancer cells in vitro (petri dish) and if so exactly how it was accomplished.

The USDA study results

(1) The cinnamon extract effectively reduced the proliferation rate of all three types of cancer cells over a 24-hour time span, which is the time necessary for one doubling of the cell population.
(2) The higher the dose of cinnamon extract the greater the reduction in cell proliferation.
(3) The highest cinnamon concentration resulted in about a 50 percent reduction in cell proliferation compared to the control group.

Cinnamon extract contains water soluble, insulin mimicking compounds called procyanidins (type A). It also contains MHCP (methylhydroxychalcone polymer), another water soluble compound which was postulated to be the causative factor behind cinnamon's ability to mimic insulin. Both are polyphenols.

There are literally thousands of plant polyphenols that have a plethora of beneficial actions as antioxidants and the ability to inhibit or stimulate enzymes that control cellular differentiation, proliferation, and death, which may confer protection against cancer.

The fact that cinnamon seems to be beneficial for both diabetes and cancer begs the question: Is there a hidden link between diabetes and cancer?

Sources:naturalnews

No Drop in Teen Use of Tobacco Products, CDC Says, and E-Cigs May Be Why

Use of tobacco products by U.S. teens hasn't fallen since 2011, and federal officials say electronic cigarettes may be to blame.
One in four high school students now uses what officials define as a tobacco product. And e-cigarettes have eclipsed traditional cigarettes as the most widely used tobacco product among teens, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"E-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product among youth, and use continues to climb," CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said Thursday in an agency news release. "No form of youth tobacco use is safe. Nicotine is an addictive drug, and use during adolescence may cause lasting harm to brain development."
Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat nicotine and flavorings to create a vapor that is inhaled by the user.
Last year, 4.7 million middle and high school students said they used a tobacco product at least once in the previous 30 days, and more than 2.3 million used two or more tobacco products.
Three million middle and high school students used e-cigarettes in 2015, up from 2.5 million in 2014, according to data from the 2015 U.S. National Youth Tobacco Survey.
Last year, 16 percent of high school and 5.3 percent of middle school students were users of e-cigarettes, making the devices the most widely used tobacco product among young people for the second straight year, federal officials said.
From 2011 to 2015, e-cigarette use rose from 1.5 to 16 percent among high school students and from 0.6 percent to 5.3 percent among middle school students, according to the study.
While there was a significant drop in cigarette smoking between 2011 and 2015, there was no change between 2014 and 2015, the report found. Last year, just over 9 percent of high school students and slightly over 2 percent of middle school students smoked cigarettes, making them the second most widely used tobacco product among youth.
Other tobacco products used by high school students in 2015 included: cigars, 8.6 percent; hookahs, just over 7 percent; smokeless tobacco, 6 percent; and bidis, 0.6 percent. Other tobacco products used by middle school students included: hookahs, 2 percent; smokeless tobacco, 1.8 percent; cigars, 1.6 percent; pipe tobacco, 0.4 percent; and bidis, 0.2 percent.
The new study appears in the April 14 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
"We're very concerned that one in four high school students use tobacco, and that almost half of those use more than one product," Corinne Graffunder, director of CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, said in the news release.
"We know about 90 percent of all adult smokers first try cigarettes as teens. Fully implementing proven tobacco control strategies could prevent another generation of Americans from suffering from tobacco-related diseases and premature deaths," she added.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is finalizing a rule to bring "tobacco products" such as e-cigarettes, hookahs (water pipes) and some or all cigars under its regulatory control. The agency already regulates cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco.
"The FDA remains deeply concerned about the overall high rate at which children and adolescents use tobacco products, including novel products such as e-cigarettes and hookah," said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products.
"Finalizing the rule to bring additional products under the agency's tobacco authority is one of our highest priorities, and we look forward to a day in the near future when novel tobacco products like e-cigarettes and hookah are properly regulated and responsibly marketed," he said in the news release.
source--health.usnews

Study Links Green Spaces to Longer Lives for Women

Women living in homes surrounded by lots of trees and vegetation may have a lower risk of death than those in areas with less greenery, a new study suggests.
Researchers sifted through data on more than 108,000 women across the United States. The information was collected between 2000 and 2008.
The researchers found that women living in the greenest surroundings had a 12 percent lower risk of death than those in the least green locations. The study also found that women with the most vegetation around their homes had a 34 percent lower rate of respiratory disease-related death. And women living with lush vegetation had a 13 percent lower rate of cancer death than those with the least green surroundings, the study reported.
Although the study found associations between living in greener areas and living longer, it wasn't designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
"We were surprised to observe such strong associations between increased exposure to greenness and lower [death] rates," said study author Peter James, a research associate at Harvard T.S. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston.
"We were even more surprised to find evidence that a large proportion of the benefit from high levels of vegetation seems to be connected with improved mental health," he said in a school news release.
The researchers said that better mental health was observed through lower levels of depression. Other elements that may be involved in the benefits of greenery include more opportunities for socializing, more physical activity and less exposure to air pollution, the study authors said.
source--usnew s

About Half of Women May Benefit From Mammograms at 40: Analysis

New research suggests that all women turning 40 should get a breast cancer risk assessment, since half of them may have risks that are high enough to warrant annual mammograms right away.
The finding is important because the latest guidelines on mammograms advise that most women can wait until the age of 45 or 50 to start having annual screenings.
But the review of female patients between the ages of 40 and 44 found that 50 percent had an above-average risk for breast cancer, and therefore would be eligible to begin screening mammography at age 40, said lead researcher Dr. Jennifer Plichta. She's a breast surgery fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
The study also found a significant percentage of women would qualify for other breast screening methods, including breast MRI and genetic testing, Plichta said.
"We believe formal risk assessment is essential for women ages 40 to 44 in order to identify those who require screening mammography to start at the age of 40, and those who would qualify for screening MRIs and genetic testing," Plichta said.
Plichta was to present her team's findings Thursday at the American Society of Breast Surgeons annual meeting in Dallas. Findings presented at meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until they've been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The analysis was designed to look at new breast cancer screening guidelines from the American Cancer Society and the American Society of Breast Surgeons.
The cancer society updated its guidelines in 2015, recommending that women could wait until age 45 to start receiving annual mammograms. Previously, the cancer society had recommended yearly screenings starting at age 40.
The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBS) subsequently changed its guidelines to mirror the new cancer society recommendation, Plichta said. However, she noted the ASBS added a few extra conditions:

• Women should start mammograms earlier than 45 if they have a calculated lifetime risk greater than 15 percent.
• Women with a 20 percent or greater lifetime risk of breast cancer also should undergo screening MRIs.
• Women with a 5 percent or greater risk of a breast cancer-related genetic mutation should receive genetic testing.

"Critical to the development and interpretation of both of these new guidelines is formal risk assessment," Plichta said. "Furthermore, risk assessment is needed not only to determine who qualifies for mammography, but also who may require screening MRIs and/or genetic testing."
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations state that most women begin mammography at age 50. However, they also say that women should talk to their doctors about risk factors that could lead them to start breast cancer screening earlier.
The new study involved more than 900 women. None had been diagnosed with breast cancer. All were seen as new patients at the Massachusetts General Hospital breast clinic between March 2011 and October 2015, the researchers said.
Fifty percent of these women met either the ACS or the ASBS requirements for early mammography, Plichta said. That includes 39 percent who met the ACS criteria for above-average risk for breast cancer, and an additional 11 percent who met the American Society of Breast Surgeons' criteria.
The researchers also found that 32 percent of the women met the groups' eligibility standards for regular screening MRIs, and 25 percent would be eligible for genetic testing, Plichta said.
Breast cancer risk assessments are typically not a part of standard care for this age group, the researchers noted. Since the new guidelines lean heavily on knowing breast cancer risk, doctors need to redouble their efforts to make sure risk assessments are done for women in their early 40s, they concluded.
source-.usnews

Detroit's school system has found elevated levels of lead and copper in nearly a third of its elementary schools

Detroit's hard-pressed school system has found elevated levels of lead and copper in nearly a third of its elementary schools, contamination that one expert says could be found nationwide, wherever school authorities spend the time and money to look.The news gave parents in the 46,000-student district yet another reason to worry, and prompted the teachers' union to appeal for help from autoworkers, who trucked bottled water to a school where some students were drinking from bathroom sinks after the water fountains were shut down as a precaution.
"Our students want water all day long," Detroit teachers' union president Ivy Bailey said Thursday.
Nine of every 10 schools and day care centers in the U.S. are not required to test for lead contamination under federal law, since their water is already tested by municipal suppliers. But like most other school districts nationwide, Detroit has aging buildings with lead pipes and water fixtures that have parts made with lead — and that's where the trouble lies.
The testing was prompted by the crisis in Flint, where lead flowed from taps after state authorities switched that city's water supply from Detroit's system to the Flint River to save money. About 8,000 Flint-area children under age 6 have potentially been exposed to lead.
In Detroit, school officials discovered that even though the municipal water complies with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, elevated levels of lead and some of copper were found in the drinking water fountains or kitchens at 19 of the 62 schools tested so far.
"It provides clear evidence that schools have to be proactive in finding and fixing these problems — it is not going to go away by itself," said Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor who helped expose Flint's water crisis.
"Because the harm from lead is irreversible, finding and fixing lead in school problems is good news. The alternative is to do nothing and be willfully blind and allow even more harm to occur," Edwards added.
Lead is a neurotoxin that can damage child brain development, cause behavioral problems and sicken adults. Copper can cause gastrointestinal distress, and long-term exposure can damage the liver or kidneys.
District spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski characterized the levels of lead and copper as concerning but "by no means excessive or extreme."
On the high end, a lead sample from a water fountain at Brown Academy showed 1,500 parts per billion — 100 times the EPA limit of 15 parts per billion. Water from a kitchen sink at Priest Elementary-Middle School showed copper levels of 3,400 parts per billion — nearly three times the EPA limit of 1,300 parts per billion.
"What we want parents to know is that we did this because we want to provide the best, safest learning conditions for our students and really safe working conditions for our staff," Zdrodowski told The Associated Press.
The rest of the district's 93 buildings, where middle and high schoolers are taught, will be screened over the next two weeks, and the schools already showing elevated levels will get more intensive testing by an environmental consulting firm, she said.
Schools and child care centers across the country are testing classroom sinks and cafeteria faucets in the wake of the Flint crisis, trying to uncover problems and reassure parents. But few are as financially pressed as Detroit Schools, which is paying for half of the $50,000 testing cost from its district budget and using a city grant for the rest.
Michigan lawmakers recently approved $48.7 million in emergency funding just to keep Detroit schools open this academic year. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder also is pushing a $720 million school restructuring plan to pay off the district's operating debt, and wants to spend $18 million over two years to test water in every state school.
source-.usnews

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Researchers testing stem cells to treat Alzheimer's in first-of-its-kind trial

This image shows a cross section of a normal brain, right, and one of a brain damaged by advanced Alzheimer's disease. (AP)

In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine are using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in an attempt to slow or reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The team is aiming to enroll 30 patients who will be tested and observed for cognitive function, memory, quality of life and brain volume over the course of a year.
“This is a phase 1 study; we want to prove that it’s safe,” Dr. Bernard Baumel, principal investigator and an assistant professor of neurology at the Miller School of Medicine, told FoxNews.com. “We minimally would like to see that it slows down the progression of the disease.”
Baumel and his team began investigating MSCs because of their anti-inflammatory properties and because they have shown the ability to develop into many different types of cells. The cells are also thought to promote neurogenesis, which allows the brain to produce new cells in the hippocampus, which is where new memory forms and Alzheimer’s disease begins.
“[MSCs] are anti-inflammatory and they promote indigenous stem cells in your body to proliferate,” Baumel said. “They stimulate cell growth and have a lot of attributes that are very advantageous for using them in humans.”
One such attribute is the ability to migrate to areas in the body in which they are needed. Baumel explained that if you were to inject stem cells into the body of someone who had no need for them, they would simply wither away and die. However, for the patients enrolled in the trial, due to the pathology of Alzheimer’s Baumel and his team hope to see the MSCs cross the blood brain barrier and help reduce inflammation, stimulate neural stem cells to proliferate and repair damaged areas. In a best case scenario, Baumel said the team would see MSCs remove the brain inflammation associated with Alzheimer’s altogether.
The approach has previously been tested in mice with promising results. Researchers pathologically altered the mouse to replicate Alzheimer’s disease, which saw an increase in amyloid plaque build-up and caused them to struggle to move through a maze. Mice treated with MSCs had a marked reduction in plaque and showed improved behavior.

More on this...

• Light therapy shows promise in activating memories lost due to Alzheimer's

• Gender may play a role in symptoms of early Alzheimer's, study says

• Maple syrup isn't just delicious, it could also cure Alzheimer's disease

“It’s the first time it is being done [in humans],” Baumel said. “There’s been no successful study done therapeutically since 2002, so we’re very excited that this is a new approach to Alzheimer’s therapy, and hopefully it will work.”
There currently is no cure for Alzheimer’s, a progressive disease that is the most common form of dementia. More than 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, with symptoms including memory loss, confusion, disorientation and mood and behavior changes.
The Allogeneic Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Infusion Versus Placebo in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease study is being conducted in collaboration with Joshua M. Hare, M.D., founding director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Louis Lemberg, professor of medicine.
source--.foxnews

Even ‘Healthier’ Fast Food Meals Still Have Too Much Fat and Salt

Photo: Getty Images

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Popular restaurants have cut calories in children’s meals and are offering some healthier side dishes, such as fruits and vegetables, a new study reports.
But, the researchers added, while these restaurants appear to be making some progress in providing lower-calorie menu options, the meals are still packed with too much salt and fat.
“The industry has started to make some changes, but it’s focusing mostly on calories. Improvements are needed to consistently offer healthier combinations,” said study co-author Christina Economos. She is an associate professor at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition in Boston.
The investigators looked at online nutrition information for children’s meal options in 2014. The research included the 10 most popular fast-food outlets: Arby’s, Burger King, Chik-Fil-A, Dairy Queen, Jack-in-the-Box, KFC, McDonald’s, Sonic, Subway, and Wendy’s. It also included the 10 most popular sit-down restaurant chains: Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chili’s, Denny’s, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Red Robin, and TGI Friday’s.
The study focused on the numerous combinations that children could create from the options for their meals at each restaurant. For example, a burger and fries could come with a variety of soft drink options.
According to the results, 72 percent of fast-food meals and 63 percent of sit-down meals had 600 calories or less, meaning they met recommended calorie guidelines. The researchers believe these options offer fewer calories than in the past.
“We can encourage parents to look at the menus and the nutrition numbers, and try to construct meals that fall within that 600-calorie guideline,” Economos said.
However, only 32 percent of meal combinations at fast-food restaurants and 22 percent of those at sit-down restaurants met guidelines for fat, saturated fat and salt (sodium), as well as calories. In both types of restaurants, “the calorie target was most frequently met, and the sodium target the least,” the study authors reported.
The researchers declined to identify which restaurants did the best and worst. Timing is one reason, Economos said: “If we were to single out a restaurant and finger point, they may have made some changes in the last month.”
High levels of fat contribute to obesity, which is a major problem among kids in the United States. But why is salt an issue when children don’t tend to get salt-related health problems, such as high blood pressure?
“When we’re providing kids with high-sodium meals, we’re encouraging them to develop a preference for those foods,” Economos said.
“No one would want to have a lot of sodium up to age 18 and then be restricted. We need to expose kids to less sodium in their younger years so they can continue that behavior into older years,” she said.
Besides calorie counts that appear to be decreasing, there’s good news with the presence of fruit and veggies as sides in children’s meals, Economos said.
“You didn’t see them a decade ago in many of the restaurants. There’s definitely a shift happening, and we’re excited about their availability,” she added.
The study comes with several caveats, however. For example, the study didn’t look at what kids actually eat. And the study assumed the nutrition information was accurate. Plus, it didn’t include details about free add-ons such as drink refills, toppings, and dressings, the study authors said.
While more research is needed to figure out what kids order and eat, Economos said, it’s still clear that “there are healthier options out there for kids.”
So, how do parents get their kids to make better choices?
“We can eat in restaurants and still maintain a good dietary pattern, but it requires some effort to be informed,” said Dr. Robert Murray, professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University.
He recommends that families mix and match items from five groups—fruits, vegetables, grains/whole grains, dairy, and quality proteins—at each meal.
“A hamburger or cheeseburger that has lettuce or spinach, tomato or salsa, and a whole grain bun—without the other sauces, bacon, or frills that run up calories—can be easily balanced using a side of fruit or veggie, perhaps a baked rather than fried potato,” he said. “A milk or flavored milk, or iced tea, rather than soft drinks can help immensely.”
As for the big picture, Murray said “restaurants can help shape the American eating pattern toward more healthful ends by moving toward lower calorie items and smaller portions, and including more diverse entrees and nutritious sides.”
The study appears in the April issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
source-news.health.

Losing a Loved One May Literally Break Your Heart

Photo: Getty Images

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Losing your nearest and dearest may break your heart, literally.
People are more likely to develop an irregular heartbeat following the death of their spouse or life partner, particularly if they’re younger or the loved one died unexpectedly, a new study suggests.
Risk of atrial fibrillation—a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can cause stroke and heart disease—was 41 percent higher among people mourning the death of their partner, compared to others who are not grieving, Danish researchers report.
The study reinforces earlier research that has suggested a link between heart rhythm problems and emotional turmoil, said Dr. Mark Estes, director of the New England Cardiac Arrhythmia Center at Tufts Medical Center, in Boston.
“Many patients describe that their atrial fibrillation gets worse at a time of emotional stress,” Estes said. “This really validates prior observations. It’s something we hear from our patients all the time.”
People younger than 60 were more than twice as likely to develop atrial fibrillation if they lost their partner, the new study reported.
In addition, those whose partners were relatively healthy in the month before they died were 57 percent more likely to develop atrial fibrillation. This increased risk was not seen in people whose partners were ailing and expected to die soon.
In both cases, it appears that the shock of the death added to the impact of the event on the survivor’s health, said Dr. Mary Norine Walsh, medical director of heart failure and cardiac transplantation at St. Vincent Heart Center in Indianapolis.
“This suggests the suddenness or the unexpectedness of the death contributed to the risk of a-fib,” said Walsh, who also is vice president of the American College of Cardiology. “The people who were older and suffered a loss, maybe their loss was more expected.”
For the study, researchers compared more than 88,600 Danish people newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation with 886,120 healthy people, matched for age and sex, between 1995 and 2014.
People who lost their partner were not only at greater risk for an abnormal heart rhythm, but the risk was independent of gender and other conditions that might contribute to the disorder, the researchers said.
The risk seemed greatest eight to 14 days following a death, after which it gradually subsided. After a year the risk was similar to that of someone who had not been bereaved, the researchers said.
Because this was an observational study, it cannot draw a direct cause-and-effect link between the death of a partner and atrial fibrillation, the researchers noted.
But stress and powerful emotions are known to flood the body with “fight or flight” hormones that can take a toll on the heart, said Dr. Suraj Kapa, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist in Rochester, Minn.
For example, studies have shown that depression or anxiety can be used to predict whether a person will relapse into atrial fibrillation after going through cardioversion, a medical procedure that uses electricity or drugs to put the heart back into a normal rhythm, Kapa said.
Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women’s Heart Health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said the study shows why people who’ve suffered a tragic death in their lives need the support of friends and family.
“We use that phrase ‘broken heart’ as though it’s a colloquialism, but there’s a reality to it,” Steinbaum said. “The most important thing is having a support system, especially in the event of a sudden, unexpected death. It’s so important that people get the support they need.”
It also underlines the importance of doctors taking a few minutes during an office visit to ask about their patient’s personal life, Walsh said.
“Physicians should be taking a careful personal history so the loss of a loved one is not missed,” Walsh said, noting the bereaved can be counseled on ways to protect their heart health.
The study was published April 5 in the journal Open Heart.
source-news.health