Sayshun depictor5 General Description: The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztec xocolatl , meaning "bitter water." Indeed, the unsweetened drink the Aztecs made of pounded cocoa beans and spices was probably extremely bitter. Bitterness notwithstanding, the Aztec king Montezuma so believed that chocolate was an aphrodisiac that he purportedly drank 50 golden goblets of it each day.
TNG Lighted Boards Physical and Social Pain Are Processed in Some of the Same Areas of the Brain Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names can hurt just as much. Indeed, according to converging evidence reported in a new review in Current Directions in Psychological Science, physical and social pain are processed in some of the same regions of the brain. Naomi Eisenberger, co-director of the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at UCLA, published the first brain-imaging paper revealing the overlap in 2003. Physical pain has two components, Eisenberger explains: sensory and emotional. “The affective component, which tells you more how much the pain is bothering [you], how much suffering it is causing — that experience seems to be more localized to the dACC and the anterior insula,” Eisenberger says. MORE: Why French Fries Are Such Good Comfort Food The dACC, which is rich in receptors for endorphins, the brain’s natural opioids, is also directly affected by opioid drugs including heroin and Oxycontin. MORE: A Blood Test to Predict Everlasting Love?
Original Growing Number of Americans Using Vitamin Supplements The use of vitamin supplements is on the rise among American adults ages twenty and over, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The report contains estimates of dietary supplement use for specific population groups over time, as well as those for specific nutrients consumed through use of the supplements. Over the span of almost two decades, between the years 1988 and 2006, the use of dietary supplements has become widespread among U.S. adults. Usage has increased from 42 percent during the period from 1988 to 1994, to 53 percent between 2003 and 2006, especially among women. Among the most commonly used dietary supplements among men and women are multivitamins/multiminerals with approximately 40 percent reporting their use during the period from 2003 through 2006. Supplemental usage of folic acid among women ages 20 to 39 for all racial and ethnic groups remained stable at 34 percent from 1988 through 1994, and through the 2003 to 2006 period.
Fish Oil Reduces Heart-Related Illness Fish oil, and its high level of omega-3 fatty acids, has been proven reduce the risk of some forms of cancer, relieve joint pain and other rheumatoid problems, and lessen the effects of depression and other mental disorders. Omega-3 fats can also help with some forms of skin problems and has been reported to ward off Alzheimer’s disease. Now there are heart benefits as well. An omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) study was conducted by Italian researchers to test the benefits of fish oil. In a parallel study, the same team studied heart failure rates of 2,285 patients who were given the statin rosuvastatin, also known as Crestor, while 2,289 were given a placebo. This study confirms the results of previous studies that investigated the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, but they have largely been observational and have lacked a direct comparison to a placebo. However, in an editorial accompanying the journal report, Dr.
Prenatal Diet and Nutrition Affects Risk of Birth Defects SUMMARY: Research shows that women who keep to a healthy, well-rounded diet during the nine months of pregnancy have a lower chance of delivering babies with birth defects. Pregnancy is a special time in a women’s life and requires special attention to diet and lifestyle. In fact, research shows that women who keep to a healthy, well-rounded diet during the nine months of pregnancy have a lower chance of delivering babies with birth defects. A new study out of Stanford University, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, found that “better maternal diet quality was associated with reduced risk for selected birth defects.” Reviewing data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, researchers found that pregnant women who ate along the lines of a Mediterranean diet or followed the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid (now called MyPlate), had a significantly lower chance of their baby being born with a neural tube defect or orafacial cleft. Dr.
Multivitamin and Iron Supplements Pose Health Risks in Older Women SUMMARY: A long-term study has revealed the startling revelation that certain supplements taken by older women could pose a health risk. A long-term study has revealed the startling revelation that certain supplements taken by older women could pose a health risk. The nineteen-year study found that women who took supplements, particularly vitamin B-6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper— often found in combination in multivitamins—could increase risk of early death by 6 percent. The study, out of Finland and published in The Archives of Internal Medicine, followed 38,000 women with an average age of 62, for almost two decades. Of the group, 85 percent took at least one supplement a day. At the start of the study, the women reporting use of vitamins and supplements were found to be healthier overall than those women who were not taking regular doses of multivitamins or supplements.
Vitamin E Tied to Higher Risk of Prostate Cancer SUMMARY: A high dosage of Vitamin E taken over a long period of time could increase the risk of prostate cancer in men. NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men taking daily vitamin E were more likely to get prostate cancer than those not taking the dietary supplement in a new study of close to 35,000 North Americans. Over a decade, an additional one or two men out of 100 taking vitamin E would be expected to get prostate cancer, researchers found. "If you have enough of these vitamins in your system...extra doesn't help you any, and too much of something like this can be harmful," Dr. The findings, released today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, come on the heels of a study suggesting older women who take multivitamins have slightly increased death rates than those who don't (see Reuters Health story of October 10, 2011). "There's a theme here that taking vitamins is not only not helpful but could be harmful" in people who aren't deficient, Klein said.