15 April, 2015

Eat apples and drink green tea to prevent heart attacks and cancer!

A compound found in green tea and apples can help reduce the risk of heart attacks and cancer, says a new research. Polyphenols in green tea and apples block a key molecule which in the body can trigger atherosclerosis and is a target for some anti-cancer drugs, the findings showed.

Atherosclerosis can lead to heart attack, stroke, or even death.

‘These data provide a plausible mechanism, which links bioactive compounds in food with their beneficial effects,’ said research leader Paul Kroon at the Institute of Food Research (IFR) in Britain.  

In the body, the molecule ascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a main driver of blood vessel formation in diseased cells via a process called angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis is crucial in cancer progression as well as in the development of atherosclerotic plaques and plaque rupture which can cause heart attacks and stroke.

Using cells derived from human blood vessels, the researchers found that the polyphenols — epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) from green tea and procyanidin from apples — stopped a crucial signalling function of VEGF.

‘If this effect happens in the body as well, it provides very strong evidence for a mechanism that links dietary polyphenols and beneficial health effects,’ Kroon noted.

The study appeared in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

15.04.2015

Can painkillers kill pleasure too?

Think again before you pop a painkiller as researchers have found that along with pain, they can also reduce pleasure, something you may not want your drug to do.

Acetaminophen, a common pain reliever used in hundreds of over-the-counter and prescription medicines, blunts positive emotions, the findings showed.

‘Rather than just being a pain reliever, acetaminophen can be seen as an all-purpose emotion reliever,’ said lead author Geoffrey Durso from the Ohio State University, US.

In the study, participants who took acetaminophen reported less strong emotions when they saw both very pleasant and very disturbing photos, when compared to those who took placebos.

People in the study, who took the pain reliever did not appear to know they were reacting differently.

‘Most people probably are not aware of how their emotions may be impacted when they take acetaminophen,’ said Baldwin Way, assistant professor of psychology at the Ohio State University.

The photographs that the participants saw in the study ranged from the extremely unpleasant (crying, malnourished children) to the neutral (a cow in a field) to the very pleasant (young children playing with cats).

Results showed that participants, who took acetaminophen rated all the photographs less extremely than did those who took the placebo.

In other words, positive photos were not seen as positively under the influence of acetaminophen and negative photos were not seen as negatively.

The same was true of their emotional reactions.

‘People who took acetaminophen didn’t feel the same highs or lows as did the people who took placebos,’ Way said.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

15.04.2015

If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try

 Seth Godin