Energy drinks may boost performance during exercise by activating the brain, new research suggests.
Apparently, brain areas can be activated by titillation of unknown and mysterious receptors in the mouth, according to a study in the latest issue of the Journal of Physiology.
These receptors are independent of ordinary taste buds, says Ed Chambers, PhD, of the University of Birmingham in England and lead author of the study.
Chambers tells WebMD by email that the “study suggests that the human mouth may have receptors sensitive to carbohydrate that are independent of the ‘sweet’ taste receptor. This supports research performed with rodents that suggests these mammals have taste receptors that are responsive to carbohydrate.”
A piece of dark chocolate a day — a very small piece — keeps the doctor away.
An Italian study shows that dark chocolate can significantly reduce the inflammation that leads to cardiovascular disease. The ideal amount is 6.7 grams per day (0.23 ounces). A typical Hershey chocolate bar weighs about 43 grams. That means eating one dark chocolate bar over the course of 6 1/2 days to get 6.7 grams per day.
Is it just me, or does it seem like, these days, almost everyone has cancer somewhere in their family tree? Terrifying? Totally. But the good, absolutely fantastic, news is that regardless of your family history, you can very easily lower your cancer risk. The best way to start: Pile some delicious food on your fork, chew, swallow and repeat.
It turns out that a healthy diet can help to override any cancer-prone genes you might have at work in your body. “Nutrition has a bigger influence on cancer than inherited genes, which means you could significantly reduce your odds of the disease through diet alone,” explains Joel Fuhrman, M.D., author of Eat for Health (Gift of Health Press).
There is a strong connection between muscle mass and good health, says Robert Wolfe, director of Translational Research in Aging and Longevity at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. “As we age, we tend to lose muscle, especially if we are not using it,” says Wolfe. “These losses eventually affect quality of life, our balance, strength and ability to recover from an illness or accident.”
In fact, muscles do everything from help you move and digest your food, to — in the case of your heart muscle — pump nutrients throughout your body. “Our heart, brain, skin and other organs are in a constant state of remodeling with tissue being built and broken down,” says Nancy Rodriguez, a registered dietitian and director of sports nutrition programs at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. “Muscles offer a significant supply of amino acids to ensure these vital parts stay strong.”
Recently my sister-in-law and I were having a conversation about how much we love peanut butter. While peanut butter is a staple in my diet, she was lamenting that it’s an easy lunch for my 2 ½ year-old niece but that the old favorite peanut butter and jelly sandwich is banned at her preschool. My heart dropped for all those peanut-allergy sufferers who have never been able to taste the creamy deliciousness of my favorite sandwich spread. This then sparked a debate about the rise of life-threatening allergies, especially high in children, because when we were in school, the only allergy I knew about (and sympathized for) was a boy in my elementary school who was allergic to chocolate. Even then the only precaution taken was that he always got a vanilla cupcake or sugar cookie on someone’s birthday. My sister-in-law said that she and the other teachers at preschool have to schedule homemade play-doh days around one child that has an allergen to whey. Whey and peanuts are two of the top eight food allergies along with milk, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, eggs, and soy, which the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) hopes to clarify through their new labeling system.
Although most people realize when they’ve had enough and should stop eating, it’s still often difficult to maintain portion control.
The Cleveland Clinic offers these suggestions to help prevent overeating:
- Use a smaller dish, so that it looks like your plate is more full.
- Serve up an appropriate portion, and don’t tempt yourself with seconds.
- Put away leftovers quickly after dinner, and store them in portion-controlled containers. Freeze whatever you don’t want right away.
- Never eat right out of the bag, box or takeout container.
- Put bowls or platters of food away or out of sight during dinner.
Childhood summers bring me back to my white bike helmet with neon stickers, matching skinned knees from too-eager starts or stops, and riding a few blocks away with friends to the local frozen yogurt shop. Between licks of refreshing flavors that would inevitably melt down my fingers and settle in the web of my hand making the ride home that much stickier, it was well worth it. Memories of carefree days were captured in those flavors and since adulthood, every time I drove by the shop I felt a wave of nostalgia for the light, cool, tang of frozen yogurt settling on my tongue. Not long ago, I turned into my favorite local shopping center and noticed a white “For Lease” sign covering where the hours of the shop should have been. My frozen yogurt shop was closed for good and has yet to be replaced. I got to thinking, is frozen yogurt dead?
