Heena Sharma Blog

Eating a big breakfast rather than a large dinner may prevent obesity and high blood sugar, according to study which may lead to better clinical dietary recommendations to reduce body weight and prevent metabolic diseases . The study, published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, assessed 16 men who consumed a low-calorie breakfast and high-calorie dinner -- and vice versa in a second round -- over the course of three days. "Our results show that a meal eaten for breakfast, regardless of the amount of calories it contains, creates twice as high diet-induced thermogenesis as the same meal consumed for dinner," said the study's corresponding author, Juliane Richter from the University of Lubeck in Germany. "This finding is significant for all people as it underlines the value of eating enough at breakfast," Richter said. Read More

Americans and others around the world have turned increasingly to dietary supplements in order to maintain or preserve their brain health . A recent study found that a quarter of adults over 50 take a supplement for brain-related health. But that same study, done by experts convened by the AARP, suggests that seniors should spend their money elsewhere. The supplements don’t work. This is no small issue. Expenditures on non-vitamin brain health supplements such as such as minerals, herbal mixtures, nurtraceuticals or amino acids, have extended into the billions of dollars. This can amount to between US$20 and US$60 a month for seniors, a sizable sum that could be put toward other expenses, including fresh vegetables and fruit that actually do make a difference. As a neurologist who studies brain health and prevention of dementia, and who has been involved in research in memory and Alzheimer’s disease for my entire career, I can help explain what we do and don’t know about sup

Green tea may reduce the risk of obesity and a number of inflammatory biomarkers linked with poor health, a study conducted in mice suggests. Mice fed a diet of two per cent green tea extract fared far better than those that ate a diet without it, according to the study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. The finding has prompted an upcoming study of green tea's potential benefits in people at high risk of diabetes and heart disease. The benefits seen in the study appear to stem from improved gut health, including more beneficial microbes in the intestines of the mice and less permeability in the intestinal wall -- a condition typically called "leaky gut" in people. "This study provides evidence that green tea encourages the growth of good gut bacteria, and that leads to a series of benefits that significantly lower the risk of obesity," said Richard Bruno, the study's lead author and a professor at The Ohio State University

While it's well-established that eating fruits and vegetables can benefit physical health. A recent study suggests that it may also benefit psychological well-being. The research showed a positive association between the quantity of fruit and vegetables consumed and people's self-reported mental well-being. Specifically, the findings indicate that eating just one extra portion of fruits and vegetables a day could have an equivalent effect on mental well-being as around 8 extra days of walking a month (for at least 10 minutes at a time). Findings of the study were published in the Journal of Social Science & Medicine. "It's well-established that eating fruit and vegetables can benefit physical health . Recently, newer studies have suggested that it may also benefit psychological well-being," said Peter Howley, lead author of the study. Explaining the study, Howley said, "Our research builds on previous work in Australia and New Zealand by

The market is full of hair care products , but to amplify their results, it is first essential to make dietary changes to include vitamins and minerals that promote hair growth and reduce hair fall significantly, suggest experts. Arvind Poswal, Hair Expert and Hair Transplant Surgeon, Dr. A's Clinic, and Karan Gupta, Director and Men's Grooming Expert, Qraa Men, have given out some tips on foods that can boost hair health: *Eggs: The hair are build-up of protein, so it is essential that we always consume enough amounts to proteins to ensure augmented regeneration of hair. Eggs are the richest source of protein and are packed with high amounts of Biotin. The goodness instilled in eggs prevents hair loss thereby promoting the hair growth. *Carrots: This season of winter calls for us to consume ample amounts of carrots. The carrots help the scalp in producing the natural sebum oil which as this oil keeps the roots healthy. Not only this, carrots are enriched with Vi

Turns out, a high cholesterol diet can trigger changes in the immune system that can lead to a serious form of fatty liver disease . Known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), it eventually progresses to cirrhosis or liver cancer, especially in those with obesity or Type 2 diabetes . Researchers at Keck School of Medicine found how a toxic combination of dietary fat and cholesterol impacts the behaviour of macrophages, a type of white blood cell, in the liver. The findings of the study are published in the Journal of Hepatology. Using a mouse model, the study detailed the cascade of events in the immune system that eventually leads to the type of liver inflammation and scarring that is commonly seen in patients with NASH. "Despite its increasing prevalence and burden to the health care system, there are currently no food and drug administration-approved therapies for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease," said Hugo Rosen, study's corresponding author

Just 35 minutes of walking or cycling three times a week along with a healthy diet may improve cognitive skills in older adults, a new study suggests. The study, published in the journal Neurology, examined the effects of both exercise and diet on cognitive skills. For the study, the team involved 160 persons with an average age of 65 and randomly assigned them to one of the four groups -- aerobic exercise alone; DASH diet alone; both aerobic exercise and the DASH diet; or health education, which consisted of educational phone calls once every week or two. The research team found those who exercised and consumed the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, and lean meats, had greater improvements compared to health education controls. Participants who exercised showed significant improvements in cognitive skills when compared to those who did not exercise. Read Mo

Consuming a higher amount of green leafy vegetables can help reduce the risk of developing liver disease , a new study has suggested. Liver steatosis or fatty liver is a common disease that affects approximately 25 per cent of the global population. The most important causes are overweight or high alcohol consumption and there is currently no medical treatment for the disease. In a study published in the journal PNAS, researchers from Karolinska Institute showed how a larger intake of inorganic nitrate, which occurs naturally in many types of vegetable, reduces accumulation of fat in the liver. They also showed how a greater intake of inorganic nitrate can prevent the accumulation of fat in the liver. "When we supplemented with dietary nitrate to mice fed with a high-fat and sugar Western diet, we noticed a significantly lower proportion of fat in the liver," said Mattias Carlstrom, a researcher. Read More Business Standard

Yo-yo dieting , or weight cycling, or the cyclical loss and gain of weight is associated with a higher death risk, researchers have warned. A study found that this form of dieting leads to adverse health outcomes and 80 per cent of people who lose weight gradually regain either the same weight or even more than they had before going on a diet. The Endocrine Society's Scientific statement on the causes of obesity found that this was because once an individual loses weight, the body typically reduces the amount of energy expended at rest, during exercises and daily activities. While it increases hunger, thereby creating conditions for weight gain. "This study shows that weight cycling can heighten a person's risk of death," said Hak C. Jang, Professor from the Seoul National University (SNU) in South Korea. Read More Business Standard

Researchers have found that obesity and food restrictions are associated with less food enjoyment. Led by the University of Granada (UGR), the study has been published in the journal, Food Quality and Preference. For this work, 552 adolescents between 11 and 17 years old from several high schools in Granada, have had their emotional reactions analysed during the visualisation of images of sweet foods. Thus, the researchers observed that those adolescents who reported different types of dietary restrictions (different types of diet, dieting very often, skipping breakfast, eating less frequently, etc.), along with those who were obese and those who had unhealthy behaviours unrelated to food (such as smoking or having insufficient sleep), felt less pleasure, attraction and desire to eat the highly palatable foods they were looking at (images of sweets, doughnuts, ice-creams, chocolate crepes, etc.). How To Lose Weight As explained by Laura Miccoli, main author of

Cottonseed can drastically improve cholesterol profiles in young adult men, a recent study suggests. The researchers conducted a five-day outpatient feeding trial of 15 healthy, normal weight men to test the effects of diets enriched with cottonseed oil and olive oil on lipid profiles. The researchers found that a high-fat diet enriched with cottonseed oil drastically improved cholesterol profiles in young adult men. Participants showed significant reductions in cholesterol and triglycerides in the cottonseed oil trial compared to minimal changes on the olive oil-enriched diet . The results appear in the journal Nutrition Research. Jamie Cooper, the corresponding author of the study said, "One of the reasons these results were so surprising is because of the magnitude of change observed with the cottonseed oil diet. To see this amount of change in such a short period of time is exciting." The subjects, all healthy men between the ages of 18 and 45, were pr

Turns out, drinking a glass of wine daily for health reasons may not be so healthy after all. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that consuming one to two drinks four or more times per week increases the risk of premature death by 20 percent, compared with drinking three times a week or less. First author Sarah M. Hartz said, "It used to seem like having one or two drinks per day was no big deal, and there even have been some studies suggesting it can improve health. But now we know that even the lightest daily drinkers have an increased mortality risk." Although some earlier studies have linked light drinking to improvements in cardiovascular health, Hartz said the new study shows that those potential gains are outweighed by other risks. Her team evaluated heart disease risk and cancer risk and found that although in some cases, drinking alcohol may reduce risk of heart-related problems, daily drinking increased ca

Middle-aged women who follow a Mediterranean-style diet -- rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, potatoes, olive oil, seeds, fish, low saturated fat, dairy products and red meat -- may have a reduced risk of stroke, say researchers. The study shows that the diet may be especially protective in women over the age of 40, regardless of menopausal status or hormone replacement therapy . The diet reduced the onset of stroke by 17 per cent in all adults, but women saw greater reduction of 22 per cent, whereas the benefit was seen only in 6 per cent men. "It is unclear why we found differences between women and men, but it could be that components of the diet may influence men differently than women," said lead researcher Ailsa Welch, Professor at the UK's University of East Anglia. Read Complete Article  

Turns out, a high gluten intake by mothers during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of their child developing type 1 diabetes. Gluten is a general name for the proteins found in wheat, rye, and barley and is suggested to affect the development of type 1 diabetes . In animal studies, a gluten-free diet during pregnancy almost completely prevented type 1 diabetes in offspring. To better understand the nature of this association, researchers set out to examine whether gluten intake during pregnancy is associated with subsequent risk of type 1 diabetes in children. Read Complete Article Article Source >> Business Standard

Apart from building healthy bones, vitamin D also may reduce cancer risk as well as breast cancer mortality, especially in women with a lower body mass index. Breast cancer remains the most common cancer in women worldwide and is the leading cause of death from cancer in women. Reproductive risk factors such as early onset of puberty, late menopause, later age at first pregnancy, never having been pregnant, obesity, and a family history have all been shown to be associated with breast cancer development. The role of vitamin D concentration in the development of breast cancer, however, continues to be debated. Researchers involved in the study concluded that postmenopausal women had an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency at the time of their breast cancer diagnoses, associated with higher rates of obesity than women of the same age group without cancer. Read Complete Article