A Recent Study Has Revealed the Long-Term Impact of Drinking Coffee Every Day was discussed by Ashley Richmond for Medium.com/InFitnessAndInHealth, 3 October 2021.
A recent study by the European Society of Cardiology, 28 August 2021, has revealed how the amount of coffee we drink each day impacts our risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from all causes.
Here’s what they found
Light to moderate coffee drinkers of 0.5 to 3 cups per day had a lowered risk of all-cause mortality of 12% compared to non-coffee drinkers. They also found a 17% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 21% lower risk of stroke.
In regard to the mechanism behind this effect, the researchers explained: “The imaging analysis indicated that compared with participants who did not drink coffee regularly, daily consumers had healthier sized and better functioning hearts. This was consistent with reversing the detrimental effects of aging on the heart.”
Therefore, it appears that long-term, drinking 0.5 to 3 cups of coffee each day has a beneficial impact on our health with the main mechanism of improving our heart health.
What You Can Do
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- Drink 0.5–3 cups of coffee per day.
- Remember to take regular breaks from caffeine, such as one week of each month.
- Drink coffee at the right times — wait at least 1 hour after waking and stop at least 10 hours before bedtime.
Read more: Light-to-moderate coffee drinking associated with health benefits
Diet beverages may thwart efforts to lose weight was published by UPI.com, 1 October 2021.
According to a University of Southern California study, “There is controversy surrounding the use of artificial sweeteners because a lot of people are using them for weight loss,” said corresponding author Dr. Kathleen Page, an associate professor at the university’s Keck School of Medicine, in Los Angeles. “While some studies suggest they may be helpful, others show they may be contributing to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic disorders. Our study looked at different population groups to tease out some of the reasons behind those conflicting results,” she said in a school news release.
There was increased activity in those brain areas after women and people who were obese had drinks containing sucralose, compared with drinks containing real sugar. And levels of hormones that tell the body “I feel full” fell after sucralose-containing drinks, suggesting that artificially sweetened drinks may not be effective in suppressing hunger. In addition, women, but not men, who drank sucralose-containing drinks ate more at the snack buffet, the study findings showed.
“By studying different groups we were able to show that females and people with obesity may be more sensitive to artificial sweeteners. For these groups, drinking artificially sweetened drinks may trick the brain into feeling hungry, which may, in turn, result in more calories being consumed,” Page said. The findings were published this week in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Read more: Diet beverages may thwart efforts to lose weight
Unraveling the mystery of why we overeat was written by Bobbi Nodell, University of Washington School of Medicine for MedicalExpress.com, 12 October 2021.
Eating is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and overeating is one of life’s growing problems.
In 2019, researchers from The Stuber Lab at the University of Washington School of Medicine discovered that certain cells light up in obese mice and prevent signals that indicate satiety, or feeling full. Now comes a deeper dive into what role these cells play.
A study published Oct. 7 in the journal Neuron reports on the function of glutamatergic neurons in mice. These cells are located in the lateral hypothalamic area of the brain, a hub that regulates motivated behaviors, including feeding. The researchers found that these neurons communicate to two different brain regions: the lateral habenula, a key brain region in the pathophysiology of depression, and the ventral tegmental area, best known for the major role it plays in motivation, reward, and addiction.
“We found these cells are not a monolithic group, and that different flavors of these cells do different things,” said Garret Stuber, a joint UW professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine and pharmacology. He works at the UW Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, and was the paper’s senior author. Mark Rossi, acting instructor of anesthesiology and pain medicine, is the lead author.
Read more: Unraveling the mystery of why we overeat
Low-Carb Diet Not Tied to Adverse LDL Cholesterol Levels Inspite of High Saturated Fat Levels, as reported by Hina Zahid for MedicalDialogues.in, 29 September 2021.
Boston Children’s Hospital researchers have found in one of the largest studies that low-carb diets – even though higher in saturated fat – produce better cardiovascular and metabolic profiles than low-fat, higher-carbohydrate diets.
Surprisingly, the low-carb diet did not adversely affect LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, despite having saturated fat levels far in excess of current recommendations,” says David Ludwig, MD, PhD, who led the study together with first author, Cara Ebbeling, PhD. The findings were published online 28 September 2021 by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
As compared with higher-carb, lower-fat diets, the low-carb diet improved the profiles of a range of blood lipids related to cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance. It also increased adiponectin, a hormone made by fat cells that promotes sensitivity to insulin and protects against atherosclerosis. “We also found that the low-carb diet reduced lipoprotein(a), an under-appreciated risk factor for atherosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke that previously was not thought to be influenced by diet,” says Ludwig.
Read more: Low-Carb Diet Not Tied to Adverse LDL Cholesterol Levels In Spite of High Saturated Fat Levels
Danone thinks it can make a plant-based milk that’s indistinguishable from dairy was written by Adele Peters for FastCompany.com, 8 October 2021. It’s all about the flavor curve and the mouth feel.
Plant-based milk is now fully mainstream: In 2020, sales of the category grew twice as fast as cow’s milk in the U.S. Oat milk sales more than tripled, to $274 million, and almond milk topped $1.6 billion. Still, many consumers still haven’t made the switch from traditional milk. Danone, one of the world’s largest dairy brands, wants to convince the holdouts to give plant-based alternatives a try and has spent more than a year developing new plant-based milk designed to be as indistinguishable as possible from the real thing.
In early 2022, the company plans to launch Silk NextMilk, with similar nutrients and taste as standard dairy, and So Delicious Wondermilk, which was designed both for drinking and to work well in cooking food like macaroni and cheese. The Wondermilk line will also include pints of ice cream-like desserts. Both are made from a mixture of oat, soy, and coconut milk.
The company, which has owned the Silk soy milk brand since 2016, when it acquired White Wave Foods, used its experience with both dairy and plant-based dairy to refine the new products. “The first step was to learn about and deconstruct the classic dairy drinking experience, particularly the key nutritional factors of dairy, the molecular composition of dairy, but also the very iconic sensory elements,” says Takoua Debeche, chief research and innovation officer at Danone North America.
Read more: Danone thinks it can make a plant-based milk that’s indistinguishable from dairy
Neuroscience says listening to this song reduces anxiety by up to 65% was written by Melanie Curtin for FastCompany.com, 29 November 2018. This is an older article but seemed interesting!
Here’s a science-backed technique to manage stress: make a playlist of the 10 songs found to be the most relaxing on earth. Sound therapies have long been popular as a way of relaxing and restoring one’s health. For centuries, indigenous cultures have used music to enhance well-being and improve health conditions.
Now, neuroscientists out of the UK have specified which tunes give you the most bang for your musical buck. According to Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson of Mindlab International, which conducted the research, the top song produced a greater state of relaxation than any other music tested to date. In fact, listening to that one song — “Weightless” — resulted in a striking 65 percent reduction in participants’ overall anxiety, and a 35 percent reduction in their usual physiological resting rates.
That is remarkable.
Equally remarkable is the fact the song was actually constructed to do so. The group that created “Weightless”, Marconi Union, did so in collaboration with sound therapists. Its carefully arranged harmonies, rhythms, and bass lines help slow a listener’s heart rate, reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
So, don’t drive while listening to these, but do take advantage of them:
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- “We Can Fly,” by Rue du Soleil (Café Del Mar)
- “Canzonetta Sull’aria,” by Mozart
- “Someone Like You,” by Adele
- “Pure Shores,” by All Saints
- “Please Don’t Go,” by Barcelona
- “Strawberry Swing,” by Coldplay
- “Watermark,” by Enya
- “Mellomaniac (Chill Out Mix),” by DJ Shah
- “Electra,” by Airstream
- “Weightless,” by Marconi Union
Here’s a public playlist of all of them on Spotify that runs about 50 minutes (it’s also downloadable). There’s also a free 10-hour version of “Weightless” available if you want a longer listening experience.
Read more: Neuroscience says listening to this song reduces anxiety by up to 65%
Someone forgot to put Pink Floyd Animals on the list. they even dropped Ozzy Osborn I ma iron man. Pst, they don’t know the most relaxing songs at all.. 🙂
This is a lot of food blogging regarding diabetes, without any mention that women with diabetes are 2.5 times more likely to have an eating disorder than women without. Or that One out of every seven men with type one diabetes will report having an eating disorder at some point after diagnosis during his life time. Food does a lot of good && bad for our body. As people living with diabetes sometimes that’s all we’re talked to about. In fact, many people with diabetes have reported feeling like their diabetes educator only spoke to them about their diet. Just some food for thought! (please pardon the awful pun!)
Thanks so much, Erin.