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Scientists find key brain circuits for attention (Reuters)

Reuters - Scientists have identified the brain circuits that play a key role in helping buy bulk ellagic acid pay attention, a finding that may help explain why things go wrong in diseases such as Alzheimer's and attention deficit disorders.

Myths about womens health abound in the information age, especially about weight loss, breast cancer and heart disease. Part of the confusion is that these womens health concerns are fairly static, but the advice always seems to be changing.

Myths have a nasty habit of spreading faster than authentic research findings. Let me clarify: Im talking about myths as untruthful information here, not myths as delightful stories we cozy up to read on a rainy day. Most of the time, myths spread because they reinforce what we want to believe.

This is doubly true in the mommy blogging community, which fades in and out between journalism and personal opinion. I recently scanned through my favorite womens blogs and was saddened to see some persistent myths crop up for three of the top health concerns for women: heart disease, breast cancer and staying in shape. Check out these myths, which are followed by related scientific findings.

MYTH 1: Heart disease is a mans disease.

Most women do not realize that heart disease is the most serious health concern for women. The truth will get your heart racing: one in two women die from cardiovascular disease. A large part of this trend is due to the lack of early detection of womens high cholesterol or artery health.

The good news is that a new survey method is available for womens coronary health concerns. Called the Reynolds Risk Score, this diagnostic tool more accurately predicts a womans risk of heart attack and stroke.

MYTH 2: Exercise is the fastest way to lose weight.

This myth about weight loss is more of a half-truth. The fact is, walking or jogging for a mile burns about 100 calories. But, guess what? Sitting in a comfortable chair burns about 60 calories. Moderate exercise is only moderately good for losing weight. To really get results, moderate exercise should be complemented with a healthy diet.

Actually, its best to think about exercise as a way of toning what youve got, rather than as a way to acheive weight loss. In a related study, researchers at the University of Connecticut have recently discovered how weight training is great for women. Long-term weight training does more than tone; its good for bone and metabolic health. Healthy bones means less osteoporosis later in life. And by raising metabolic levels, tissue reduction in old age is greatly reduced.

MYTH 3: Birth control pills increase the risk of breast cancer.

This pervasive myth has been around for over a decade. I even saw someone repeat it in a blog comment just last week. Truthfully, many studies have published results showing no link between the pill and breast cancer. Also, birth control pills actually reduce the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers.

An exciting related finding is that eating mushrooms can reduce the risk of breast cancer. Mushrooms? Yes, its true. Mushrooms interfere with the production of an enzyme that makes too much of the hormone estrogen. Estrogen is exactly what feeds many breast cancers. By eating 100 grams of mushrooms a day, whether they are white buttons or delicious shitakes, estrogen production is reduced to almost half.

So, despite the wealth of information on the Internet, its important to realize that myths about womens health abound. A few Internet authority sites have emerged that sort through the dizzying array of new findings about womens health issues. Sites such as www.4women.gov and www.healthywomen.org are excellent resources to find out about the most common health issues for women.

In general, always make it a practice to notice conflicting sources of information. Sometimes both are right, but are emphasizing different points. By keeping a critical perspective when visiting web forums and discussion boards, you can find excellent advice from the Internets storehouse.

Dont take my word for it: research womens health concerns by relying on authority sites and government pages. And, of course, always consult your doctor.

Want to pamper yourself while reading those other kinds of myths? Check out http://www.lucieclaire.com for a great selection of cozy Barefoot Dreams robes and blankets.

posted by frontfootdriverkst @ 8:48 PM 0 comments

California fines two health plans $13 million - Los Angeles Times

California fines two health plans $13 million Los Angeles Times - 2 hours ago Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield also agree to restore coverage to patients whose coverage was canceled after they became ill. By Lisa Girion, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield -- two of the state's biggest health plans ... 2 health insurers to pay $13M to Calif. regulators The Associated Press California fines Blue Shield and Anthem Blue Cross San Francisco Chronicle FOXBusiness - Sacramento Bee - Reuters - OCRegister all 255 news articles

While getting all your essential nutrients from natural foods is ideal, it may not be practical in todays society and many people turn to vitamin pills to supplement their diets. Make no mistake about it however, vitamin supplements buy pure l-alanine big business and not all manufacturers have your best interests at heart.

There are thousands of supplements to choose from and consumers spend billions of dollars each year - many never get even a small fraction of their moneys worth.

How do you choose a vitamin supplement that wont just go down the toilet?

There are 3 types of vitamin supplement delivery systems. Capsules, Liquid, and tablets. The trick is to pick one that dissolves properly and does not just pass through thus wasting your hard earned money.

The liquid would be the best, but unfortunately there are not many choices out on the market. Plus, the can be inconvenient and they taste like cough syrup. But, they are great if you cant swallow pills and are good for kids as well.

Tablets are the most common form of vitamin supplement. They are made by mixing in an organic or inorganic cement and compressing them into shape. For the pills to dissolve properly, an organic cement should be used but this costs more and as you can imagine, many manufacturers skimp on this stel. There are also coated tablets that resemble little candy-coated M&M's. These are very commonly found in the one a day cheap drug store vitamins.

Capsules are gelatin containers that dissolve quickly and in most cases the best choice. Because they're not compressed like the tablets, you will typically have to take two of them to equal one tablet.

One important thing with vitamin supplements is that you want to make sure you absorb as much as possible, otherwise you are just wasting your money. Studies have shown that individual vitamin isolates found in supplements are only about 10% absorbed while vitamins directly from a fresh plant source are 77% to 93% absorbed. Minerals have an even lower absorption rate - 1% to 5%. But, from plants like raw broccoli, the minerals are 63% to 78% absorbable.

The reason for this difference in absorption is that in nature, each vitamin and mineral molecule is attached to a protein molecule. That's why you must take your vitamin supplements with meals - unless stated otherwise on the label. During digestion, only about 10% of the vitamin and mineral molecules, aided by enzymes, will attach to the protein molecules found in your food allowing them to be absorbed and used by your cells. Without these accompanying proteins, the body will see the vitamin isolates as a foreign substance and filter it out. Thats why you might have noticed bright yellow urine after you take a vitamin - thats your bodies way of getting rid of chemicals it thinks it cant use.

When selecting a vitamin supplement, make sure it has adequate amounts of the vitamins and minerals you want. Remember only about 10% of what is in the supplement will be absorbed. Look for the BP (British Pharmacopoeia) or USP (United States Pharmacopoeia) designation on the label. You will find the USP or BP initials next the the vitamin and this designation means the vitamin isolates are of the highest quality and are easily dissolved in the digestion process.

When looking at the minerals section of the label, look for "chelate" or "chelated". This indicates that the minerals are attached to protein prior to being added to the supplement. This increases absorption by 400% to 800%.

Look for a supplement with a "food base". This is concentrated plant material to which the vitamins and minerals are added. Supplements with a food base will contain enzymes and nutrients that boost the absorption of the vitamins and minerals. This is probably the best type of vitamin you can buy but the tablets will be larger and you may have to take more of them.

Nutritional supplements can never take the place of food and should not be used as a crutch to supplement a poor diet. The best recipe for health is to eat a nutritious and healthy diet which can be supplement when necessary.

Lee Dobbins writes for the A2Z Vitamin And Herbs Guide For Natural Healing where you can find out more about vitamins and herbs as well as natural healing methods.

posted by frontfootdriverkst @ 2:26 AM 0 comments