What, and When To Eat For Maximum Health Benefit

One simple way to stay healthy is to pay attention to what we eat, that much we know, and of more of that about a specific part of our diet in the Health Bite at the end of this piece.

Now it seems that when we eat could be just as vital to good health. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has turned the conventional wisdom that our body’s metabolism is controlled by our body’s circadian rhythms –our body clock, but instead it’s our liver that is responsible.

Our liver, which is the body’s metabolic clearing house, contains thousands of genes that wax and wane throughout the day and this process is mostly controlled by our food intake, not our body clock and this has a huge huge impact on our metabolism.

Previously it was thought that people like shift workers, who are unusually prone to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, high cholesterol levels and obesity, had these problems because of their shift patterns disrupting their normal circadian rhythm. Now this theory gives them an opportunity to change that as controlling eating and fasting periods can manage the body’s processes much more easily.

We all have a ‘master clock’ in the brain which is set by light and determines our sleep-wake cycles and when we eat. We also have subsidiary clocks in our other organs and they are not affected by light but do keep time through the fall and rise of gene activity on a roughly 24-hour schedule that anticipates environmental changes and adapts many of the body’s physiological function to the appropriate time of day.

This initial research has been done by putting laboratory mice on a strict 8-hour feeding/16-hour fasting schedule and this could be translated into how we eat on a daily basis. For example, genes that encode enzymes needed to break down sugars rise immediately after a meal, while the activity of genes encoding enzymes needed to break down fat is highest when we fast.

How does this help?

If you want to optimize burning fat and sugar, to control weight, you would want your period of ‘fasting’ after a meal high in fat, and all your food intake for a 24 hour period to take place within an 8 hour time frame. The researchers have found that not eating between 8 pm and 8 am works best if you want to lose weight and stay healthy and certainly much naturopathic advice has been not to eat a heavy meal at night, but it might be worth seeing if not eating all during the evening period makes a difference.

Healthy Bite:

So now you know when to eat, and here’s some advice on what not to eat to lose weight and stay healthy. Mount Sinai School of Medicine published their findings in the October/November issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism and it means throwing away that frying pan, if you haven’t already, and giving up processed foods.

They conclude that simply by stopping frying food you will reduce inflammation in the body, restore its natural defence system, lose weight, possibly increase your lifespan and improve or prevent diabetes, cardiovascular disease and kidney disease.

Wow, and this works no matter what your age or whether you already have a serious disease. The processes of heating, pasteurizing, drying, smoking, frying or grilling food produces harmful toxins called Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs). When you eat foods subject to any of these processes then the AGEs adhere to tissues and oxidize them. This causes inflammation which can result in numerous diseases.

The new clinical study put their subjects on a diet of only eating food that was poached, stewed or steamed, but with no change in the number of calories they had each day. After four months of this they found that AGE levels, inflammatory markers, and biomarkers of vascular function declined by as much as 60 percent. Kidney patients put on this diet showed a similar reduction but after only one month on the diet.

So if you want to maintain a healthy immune system and avoid inflammatory disease it might be a good idea to follow that poaching, stewing and steaming diet recommendation.

Soy May Be Key in Preventing Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is the third most deadly form so any preventive measures for those at risk are worth studying.

A new study carried out by the Children’s Hospital & Research Center in Oakland, USA has identified Sphingadienes (SDs), natural lipid molecules, which are found naturally in soy and that can prevent and possibly treat colon cancer. .

Soy has been previously mentioned as protective against colon cancer, but the exact nature of how it did so was not able to be identified until now. It seems that high levels of SDs actually induces the death of mutant cancer cells, in other words it is toxic to them.

Preventative colon cancer strategies often focus on cell death, the normal process the body uses to remove unhealthy or cancerous cells, and so anything that can raise SDS levels will speed this removal process. Soy is a rich source of SDs, and research is under way to see if the active ingredient can be used in drug therapy for cancer.

The natural prevention is to increase the amount of soy products in the diet if you at high risk of colon cancer.

Willing to Pay More For Nutritional Labelling?

Santiago de Compostela is more renowned as a centre of pilgrimage, but it seems they also have a University that is interested in studying food and nutrition.

They recently looked at the labelling of breakfast biscuits and found that people would be willing to pay more for products that carry more detailed nutritional information. Apparently consumers are willing to pay a premium price for products labelled ‘light’ – usually a euphemism for containing sweeteners in my experience – and apparently will pay more for good labelling. The product chosen for analysis was the breakfast biscuit owing to its popularity in Spain, and it’s high fat content, to see if consumers were concerned about what they were eating.

Older readers may remember the breakfast biscuit produced by Huntley and Palmers, and in Georgian times it was not uncommon to have sweet biscuits and tea as the first item of the day, but now we eat chewy cereal bars instead. These are not always as healthy as they seem as they often contain high amounts of fat and sugar, but if the Spanish experiment can encourage manufacturers to be even more forthcoming about their nutritional labelling I am all for it.

Teenage Girls Obesity and MS Link

Teenage girls are often obsessed with weight, and a lot of emphasis naturally has been put on the fight against anorexia and false body image. However, the reverse is also flagging up a problem as recent research has shown that girls who were obese at age 18 faced double the risk of developing multiple sclerosis as adults.

The study is part of a very long running research project by the Nurses’ Health Study in the USA and found a much higher relative risk of MS among those girls who had a body mass index value of 30 or more at age 18. They have speculated that it could be related to inadequate levels of vitamin D or the systemic inflammation that is also associated with obesity. Those who are obese are often found to have very low levels of vitamin D.

Interestingly being overweight in childhood did not carry a similar risk, it was the weight as they reached 18-20 that was significant so it’s worth keeping an eye on teenage girls weight as they reach mid teens, if they will let you.

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Going For Gold To Detect Prostate Cancer

Scientists from the USA’s Northwestern University have developed gold and magnetic nanoparticles that has a 300% better chance of detecting prostate cancer than conventional methods and could also track a wide variety of diseases.

The nanoparticles can detect prostate specific antigens (PSA – a protein produced by the prostate), and these are the leading indicator of prostate cancer, at far lower levels than is possible with existing blood tests. The new technology could not only save the lives of millions of men but also be adapted to detect or monitor a wide variety of diseases, from HIV to CJD.

When a man has had a cancerous prostate removed his PSA level drops to below what is currently detectable. At the moment prostate cancer testing is done using two methods: a manual examination of the prostate or/and a blood test. The blood is tested for the presence of PSA, and men with prostate cancer typically have a higher level of PSA in their blood than normal.

The old test directly measured the amount of PSA in the blood, but this new test will indirectly measure PSA levels by adding two types of nanoparticles to the blood sample. First, spherical gold nanoparticles tipped with antibodies bind to one side of the PSA proteins. Next, magnetic nanoparticles bind to the other side, basically sandwiching the PSA.

A magnet then draws the PSA and nanoparticle sandwich out of the blood. The nanoparticles then separate, which in turn can spur the release of thousands of DNA strands.

Since every single PSA particle can result in thousands of DNA pieces, even the tiniest amounts of PSA can be easily detected. Compared with the existing PSA blood tests, this new method is 300 percent more sensitive.

The bonus here is that usually a man who has had prostate surgery may have to wait up to seven years before he definitively knows whether he is cancer free. The new test would shave years off that wait.

Also, by changing the antibodies that coat gold and magnetic nanoparticles, this technology can be easily adapted to detect or monitor virtually any other disease.

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How Fish Is Cooked Affects Omega 3 Levels

We know all about the heart benefits of eating fish high in Omega 3, but did you know that how you cook it can seriously affect the levels? Research carried out by the University of Hawaii and was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions on November 20 and found that if you want to get the maximum benefit your fish needs to baked or boiled, rather than fried, salted or dried.

You can also enhance the benefits by adding low-sodium soy sauce or tofu when cooking it. Frying does not generally get many health points and fish is no exception – despite the wonderful crisp batter from my local fish and chip shop – and in fact has several associated health risks.

The researchers studied the intake of various forms of omega 3 including tinned fish, soy products like tofu and shoyu and studied the results.

The Gender Difference

Men with a high Omega-3 intake from fish had a lower risk of death due to heart disease, but women got the same heart protection from both fish and plant sources. The researchers theorised that, for women, eating omega-3s from shoyu and tofu that contain other active ingredients such as phytoestrogens, might have a stronger cardioprotective effect than eating just omega-3s from fish alone. Also, that eating salted and dried fish was a risk factor in women, but not in men.

Before you start shaking that soy sauce bottle, please note that the benefits apply only when using a low salt version as the standard one is very high in salt which can raise blood pressure. You might do better to make tofu a regular part of your diet as that also seemed that eating it also had a cardio-protective effect. Personally I think it’s like eating your school eraser but without the added taste benefit of ink, so soak it in low salt shoyu before using it, or try smoked tofu instead as that has more flavour.

So, banish that frying pan and steam/bake your fish instead for a healthier option. Interestingly they didn’t study microwave cooking, and as this is a very fast way of cooking that essentially steams the food it would have been useful to see if that was also a good method for preserving the Omega 3.

How To Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Everyone occasionally has trouble sleeping, but if it becomes a habit then it a very damaging one for your health. You need a certain level of deep, uninterrupted sleep to help your body do its essential maintenance during the night and if you don’t get it then you definitely will suffer – ask any new mother!

New research has shown that an amazing 64% of us have a bad night’s sleep at least once a wee

k, with nearly one in five of us having sleep problems every night of the week and one in three of us is getting a minimal three to six hours a night. The main reason for sleep difficulties is usually down anxiety and stress and sadly most people put up with it, just lying there hoping to eventually fall asleep.

There are some six simple tips that can help, so let’s see if any of these work for you:

1 Pretend you are a child again and have a regular, enforced, bedtime.

2 Establish another routine in helping you unwind and relax before bed – not watching an adrenalin fuelled movie on tv, but maybe a relaxing bath or quietly meditating to or thinking of what you have to be grateful for that day. It will all help you let go of the stress of the day and be able to relax into sleep.

3 Keep the last hour of the day totally non tech and don’t watch TV, use the computer, mobile phone or iPod. However pleasurable, these will all over stimulate your brain and that’s the last thing you need when you are trying to get to sleep.

4 Make your bedroom a relaxing place that is just where you sleep and not where you keep books or TV or computers.

5 If your worries are keeping you awake, try writing them down before you go to sleep and tell yourself they are taken care of until the morning. Just doing this will help you put anxiety to one side during the night.

6 Spend some time and thought in making your bedroom a really calm, comforting sanctuary. It is your retreat from the world so make it a real pleasure to be in there.

Extra Help

If you still have trouble, before you resort to sleeping pills, do try these natural ways to encourage a good night’s sleep. I use them to combat the effects of the wind and rain which are making me anxious at the moment!

Lavender is very soothing so try having a lavender oil bath, or spray lavender in your bedroom to help you unwind.

Valerian and Hops are two herbs traditionally used to help sleep and there are two herbal remedies from Lane’s you might try. One is called Quiet Life which is particularly helpful if your sleeplessness is due to anxiety and worry and another called Kalms, especially for night time use.

Honey is used in India, just add two teaspoons to a cup of hot water and drink before bedtime.

Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland that helps regulate the body’s biological clock. When your sleep pattern is disturbed then this rhythm is thrown off and supplementing with melatonin may help.

LightSleeper is a new product from a student who used to have terrible sleep problems. It uses the fact that the way the eyes track a book when reading can be soothing and she has mimicked that movement by using a light source instead. LightSleeper projects a light onto the ceiling and it moves in a controlled, circular motion, and it is claimed that following it encourages the mind to relax into a good night’s sleep. I am trying it myself so I will let you know how I get on, but if you want more information go to the website at www.lightsleeper.co.uk and you can also find it online at www.boots.com

Natural Help For Dandruff

Dandruff has had a bad reputation as people have mistakenly linked it to poor or inadequate hair washing, which is far from the case. It is caused by eczema or seborrhea, and also affected by climate and genetic factors.

Many dandruff shampoos are a cocktail of chemicals, so for a more natural approach: you could try using a shampoo that is gentle and preferably organic with ingredients like Rosemary and Tea Tree oil. Just Google Natural Dandruff Shampoo and you will get plenty of ideas.  Wash daily, or every other day until the dandruff is gone and then wash only about twice a week.

Your scalp needs moisture, so add some GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) to your diet in the form of Evening Primrose Oil and omega-3 fatty acids from ground flaxseed or fish oils to prevent flaking.

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