Jolie Rouge
11-06-2002, 01:10 PM
Who Knew Eating Food Had THIS Effect?
By Cathryn Conroy, Netscape News Editor
What and when you eat may have the most powerful influence on how your internal body clock--or circadian rhythm--is regulated. It could even be stronger than the effect of light! Lest you think this isn't important, note this: Your body clock impacts your vital signs, such as temperature and blood pressure and influences when you sleep and when you wake. Scientists have long known that our circadian rhythm is greatly influenced by light. It's why we sleep at night and stay awake during the day. But new evidence from the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center in Dallas suggests that food's influence may be even stronger than light.
The real takeaway from this research? You can combat jet lag when you travel to a different time zone by adopting the meal schedule of the new place before you leave town. Lead study author Dr. Steven McKnight told Reuters that it's just a matter of training your stomach to adopt the destination's time zone. As soon as you get to the airport, "begin to have your feeding cycle on that new daylight schedule that you're going to be in," he advised. The findings were presented to the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.
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Oh No! Iron Deficiency Could Lead To...
By Cathryn Conroy, Netscape News Editor
...the decay of brain cells that is similar to the degeneration that is caused by Alzheimer's disease. If you get enough iron in your diet now, will you prevent Alzheimer's later? It's too soon to make that leap, senior study author Dr. Bruce N. Ames of the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California, told Reuters. But he still encourages people to take a multivitamin that contains iron as "an insurance pill" just in case the link between an iron deficiency and Alzheimer's is confirmed.
When we don't get enough iron, our metabolism is disrupted. That damages mitochondria, which fuel cells. When the mitochondria are damaged, harmful oxidants accumulate in the cells and kick-start the aging process. Heme is the form of iron that is essential for normal cell function, and the experiments led by Ames and Hani Atamna showed that interfering with the production of heme caused cells to degenerate and sometimes die. This process mimics what happens to the brain when someone has Alzheimer's. Ames told Reuters that the study does not prove that a lack of heme is what causes Alzheimer's-related degeneration, but it does provide "a plausible mechanism." The top 10 iron-rich foods are cooked clams, tofu, raisin bran, sirloin steak, cooked shrimp, enriched spaghetti, dry-roasted cashews, canned chickpeas, raisins, turkey breast, and whole wheat bread. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
By Cathryn Conroy, Netscape News Editor
What and when you eat may have the most powerful influence on how your internal body clock--or circadian rhythm--is regulated. It could even be stronger than the effect of light! Lest you think this isn't important, note this: Your body clock impacts your vital signs, such as temperature and blood pressure and influences when you sleep and when you wake. Scientists have long known that our circadian rhythm is greatly influenced by light. It's why we sleep at night and stay awake during the day. But new evidence from the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center in Dallas suggests that food's influence may be even stronger than light.
The real takeaway from this research? You can combat jet lag when you travel to a different time zone by adopting the meal schedule of the new place before you leave town. Lead study author Dr. Steven McKnight told Reuters that it's just a matter of training your stomach to adopt the destination's time zone. As soon as you get to the airport, "begin to have your feeding cycle on that new daylight schedule that you're going to be in," he advised. The findings were presented to the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.
----------------------------
Oh No! Iron Deficiency Could Lead To...
By Cathryn Conroy, Netscape News Editor
...the decay of brain cells that is similar to the degeneration that is caused by Alzheimer's disease. If you get enough iron in your diet now, will you prevent Alzheimer's later? It's too soon to make that leap, senior study author Dr. Bruce N. Ames of the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California, told Reuters. But he still encourages people to take a multivitamin that contains iron as "an insurance pill" just in case the link between an iron deficiency and Alzheimer's is confirmed.
When we don't get enough iron, our metabolism is disrupted. That damages mitochondria, which fuel cells. When the mitochondria are damaged, harmful oxidants accumulate in the cells and kick-start the aging process. Heme is the form of iron that is essential for normal cell function, and the experiments led by Ames and Hani Atamna showed that interfering with the production of heme caused cells to degenerate and sometimes die. This process mimics what happens to the brain when someone has Alzheimer's. Ames told Reuters that the study does not prove that a lack of heme is what causes Alzheimer's-related degeneration, but it does provide "a plausible mechanism." The top 10 iron-rich foods are cooked clams, tofu, raisin bran, sirloin steak, cooked shrimp, enriched spaghetti, dry-roasted cashews, canned chickpeas, raisins, turkey breast, and whole wheat bread. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.