Coffee

Coffee Drinkers May Live Longer

Your morning cup of coffee may start to taste even better after a major government study found that frequent coffee drinkers have a lower risk of dying from a variety of diseases, compared with people who drink little or no coffee.

The report, published online in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, analyzed the coffee-drinking habits of more than 400,000 men and women ages 50 to 71, making it the largest-ever study of the relationship between coffee consumption and health.

  Read on

Water

“Water is a critical element of the body, and adequate hydration is a must to allow the body to function properly. Up to 75% of the body’s weight is made up of water. Most of the water is found within the cells of the body and the rest is found in blood vessels and the spaces between cells. Dehydration occurs when the amount of water leaving the body is greater than the amount being taken in. Water levels in the body are very dynamic and are always changing; you may be dried out more than you realize. Even mild dehydration can shift moods, increase anxiety, and affect work quality, according to a 2011 University of Connecticut study. To find out more, check out the Mayo Clinic’s tutorial on dehydration.“
– Health + Healing Editor

7 reasons to take a water break
Our bodies are composed of over 60 per cent water, so it should come as no surprise that when the river runs dry, we start feeling a bit agitated. In fact, mild dehydration can shift moods, increase anxiety, and affect work quality, according to a 2011 University of Connecticut study.  Read on

Don’t Forget to Eat Your Fruits, Veggies … and Popcorn?

Don’t Forget to Eat Your Fruits, Veggies … and Popcorn?
Want a healthy snack? Consider passing the popcorn. A new study says the whole-grain treat contains more of the “good for you” antioxidants called polyphenols than some fruits or vegetables.

The amount of polyphenols in popcorn was up to 300 milligrams (mg) per serving compared with 114 mg per serving of sweet corn and 160 mg per serving for all fruits, according to study findings to be presented Sunday at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego. This is because polyphenols are diluted in the 90 percent water that makes up many fruits and vegetables, whereas they are more concentrated in popcorn, which averages only about 4 percent water, the study authors said.  Read on

Cancer Science, Many “Discoveries” Don’t Hold Up

In Cancer Science, Many “Discoveries” Don’t Hold Up
The failure to win “the war on cancer” has been blamed on many factors, from the use of mouse models that are irrelevant to human cancers to risk-averse funding agencies. But recently a new culprit has emerged: too many basic scientific discoveries, done in animals or cells growing in lab dishes and meant to show the way to a new drug, are wrong. A former researcher at Amgen Inc. has found that many basic studies on cancer — a high proportion of them from university labs — are unreliable, with grim consequences for producing new medicines in the future.  Read on

Obesity Era

HBO Documentary Points to an Obesity Era
Philadelphia’s public health community descended on the Franklin Institute on Tuesday evening for a preview screening of The Weight of the Nation, an HBO documentary series about obesity in America that will be shown May 14th and 15th at 8 p.m.

The message is that the country’s obesity crisis is serious: 37 percent of adults are obese, as are 17 percent of kids. Its causes are complex and thoroughly intertwined with our cultural, economic, and physical environments. And, luckily, the whole situation is preventable.  Read on