A
Healthy Take
Cranberries
could be powerful antibacterials
Researchers
are finally starting to understand how cranberry juice can fight a host of
human illnesses, many which are caused by E. coli bacteria, including
urinary-tract infections. Scientists have found that compounds (tannins)
found in cranberry juice can render E. coli bacteria incapable of
initiating an infection
.
Researchers
at Worcester Polytechnic Institute say that the cranberry may offer an
alternative to antibiotic treatment to combat E. coli in the future.
Annually,
about 8 million people are affected by urinary-tract infections.
Researchers have suspected that something in cranberry juice stopped
bacteria from adhering to the
On
the molecular level the tannins in cranberry juice cause the shape of the
bacteria to change from rods to spheres. The tannins also alter the
bacterial cell membranes, and they make it difficult for the bacteria to
make contact with the cells, or from latching on if they do make contact.
The
higher the concentration of cranberry juice, the stronger the effects were
on the bacteria, indicating that whole cranberry products would have
better results than
diluted
products. Scientists will likely explore the use of cranberries as
powerful antibacterial agents in the future, especially since there is
much concern about the overuse of antibiotics.
Obese
people believe they are eating �healthy�
It�s
true: 64.5 percent of American adults are overweight. Not only that, but
30.5 percent are obese, with 4.7 percent being found to be morbidly obese.
Despite
these �heavy� facts in a new study by Thomson Medstat, more than four
out of five Americans say their eating habits are either �very
healthy� or �somewhat healthy.� The survey looked at the difference
in perception and the reality of the American weight issue and surveyed
12,000 American adults.
Questions
were asked about eating habits and each respondent�s body-mass index to
help categorize participants.
Here
are some of the findings:
 |
More
than three-fourths of the obese survey respondents characterized their
eating habits as either �very healthy� or �somewhat healthy.� |
|
Just
2.9 percent of all Americans and 11.2 percent of morbidly obese
Americans characterized their eating habits as �not healthy at
all.� |
|
When
asked if they ate fast food on a weekly basis, 43.1 percent said they
did not. However, 37.6 percent said they ate fast food one or two
times per week. |
|
The
majority of the fast-food orders eaten were not �supersized,� but
22.3 percent of Americans said they sometimes ask for �super� or
�biggie� sizes. However, 3.6 percent said they supersize their
orders �all of the time.� |
|
About
50 percent of respondents say they exercise three or more times a
week. Forty percent of the obese respondents said they exercise
regularly, but only 24.8 percent of the morbidly obese said they
exercised regularly. |
|
When
asked on average how many times they ate snacks (chocolates, sweets,
chips, cookies, etc.) each day, the majority of respondents said once
or twice a day.
|
So
what is really going on? Researchers believe that many Americans are
engaging in several activities that actually put their health at risk, but
that many Americans believe are �somewhat healthy.� Those behaviors, a
combination of occasionally eating a fast-food meal, moderate snacking and
not quite enough exercise, are looked upon as living a �somewhat
healthy� lifestyle, but researchers say this practice is merely
rationalizing behaviors that negatively affect health.
Want
to reduce pain � try meditation
In
a recent study,
It
is estimated that 50 million people in the world suffer from chronic pain,
and it appears that meditation can reduce that pain by half in many
people. David
Orme-Johnson, lead author of the study, says, �Prior research indicates
that transcendental meditation creates a more balanced outlook on life and
a greater equanimity in reacting to stress. This study suggests that this
is not just an attitudinal change, but a fundamental change in how the
brain functions.�
