Eating Strawberries Can Make Red Blood Cells Stronger

In a recent study, the researchers from Italy's Marche Polytechnic University, healthy volunteers were fed 500 grams of strawberries per day (about 3 cups) for two weeks. Blood samples were taken after four, eight, 12 and 16 days, as well as a month later. The results showed eating strawberries improved the antioxidant capacity of blood plasma and also made the red blood cells more resistant to fragmentation.

"We have shown that regularly eating strawberries make red blood cells more resistant to oxidative stress", lead author Maurizio Battino, said.  It is believed that consuming a diet high in antioxidants found in berries and other fruits and vegetables may help keep red blood cells robust and longer-lived.  "The important thing is that strawberries should form a part of people's healthy and balanced diet, as one of their five daily portions of fruit and vegetables," Battino added.

Sleep-Deprived Teens Crave More Carbohydrates

Daytime sleepiness is associated with an increased craving for carbohydrates among teens, according to new research.  The study of 262 high school seniors in New Jersey found that their desire for carbohydrates increased with the severity of daytime sleepiness. The likelihood of having a strong craving for carbs was 50% higher among those with excessive daytime sleepiness.  Additionally, students with major depression were nearly three times more likely to have a strong craving for carbohydrates.

"This is one of the first studies in a high school population to show a linear relationship between carbohydrate craving and sleep deprivation," principal investigator Dr. Mahmood Siddique said.  “Sleep plays a major role in regulating appetite and metabolism.  This study highlights the importance of diagnosing sleep deprivation as a risk factor for obesity among young adults. Those who are depressed and sleep-deprived may be at special risk for obesity", Siddique noted.

Teens have greater sleep needs than adults.  Most teens require a bit more than 9 hours of sleep a night to feel alert and well-rested during the day, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Too Much TV Raises Risk of Diabetes, Heart Disease and Death

Analysis found two hours a day increased chances of health problems by up to 20%

Couch potatoes beware: All those hours in front of the TV may be making you sick, or even killing you.  Watching television for two to three hours or more per day is linked to significantly higher risks of developing diabetes and heart disease and dying from all causes, according to a new analysis from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Noting that Americans watch an average of about five hours of TV per day -- the most common daily activity aside from working and sleeping -- researchers analyzed data from eight studies done between 1970 and 2011 on the association between TV viewing and incidence of type 2 diabetes, fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.  Two hours of daily television watching was tied to a 20 percent greater risk for diabetes, a 15 percent higher chance of cardiovascular disease and a 13 percent elevated risk for all-cause deaths.

"The results really are not surprising at all. We already know that people who watch a lot of TV are more likely to eat an unhealthy diet and be obese," said senior study author Dr. Frank B. Hu. "The message is actually quite simple . . . those who watch a lot of TV should cut back on TV watching and do more of something else."  Americans watch an average of more than 4.5 hours of television per day.

Prior research has established the negative health effects of TV viewing, including associations with less physical activity and unhealthy eating, such as higher consumption of fried foods, processed meat and sugar-sweetened beverages and lower intake of fruits and vegetables.

Based on disease incidence in the United States, Hu and his colleagues estimated that each two-hour increment of TV watching each day was linked to an absolute risk of 176 new cases of type 2 diabetes, 38 new cases of fatal cardiovascular disease, and 104 new cases of all-cause mortality among 100,000 people per year.  Hu noted that the particularly marked influence that TV has on diabetes risk is due largely to T.V. time’s link to obesity, one of the biggest contributors to diabetes.  Hu also added that physical activity can help to dampen the negative effects of TV watching though sedentary time is a risk factor even for those who are active, saying, "Certainly any physical activity would be beneficial regardless of the amount of TV you watch.  But the reality is that people spend almost five hours a day watching TV. How much exercise do they do? There is a huge imbalance."

Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Help Heart Patients with Stents

Combining omega-3 fatty acids with blood-thinning drugs may reduce the risk of heart attacks in patients who've had stents placed in their coronary arteries, a new European study suggests.  While other research suggests that foods rich in omega-3s, including fatty fish such as salmon, help reduce the risk of heart problems in those with existing coronary artery disease, the new study is thought to be the first to look at the effect of the omega-3s on those treated with blood-thinning medications after stent placement.

In people with heart disease, a stent is a small tube placed in a coronary artery to keep it open and to allow the normal flow of blood and oxygen to the heart. But if a blood clot forms at the stent site, it can block blood flow and result in life-threatening problems such as a heart attack.

"Our results demonstrated improved clot properties and decreased thrombin [a clot promoter] formation after treatment with the fish oil capsules," wrote Dr. Grzegorz Gajos.

Gajos and colleagues studied 54 patients, on average about 63 years old. They all had their clogged arteries opened by a catheter procedure. They then had stents inserted to keep the vessels open.  All were on the standard medical therapy used in these patients, including a daily dose of aspirin and an anti-platelet drug, clopidogrel (Plavix), for four weeks after the stent was installed.  Twenty-four patients were randomly assigned to receive a placebo pill daily and 30 patients received 1,000 milligrams of omega-3s (EPA and DHA fat types) in pill form daily. The researchers found that those who took the omega-3 fatty acids had improved clot properties and decreased clot formation after the treatment compared to the placebo group. The clots that formed in those on the fish oil pills, for example, were easier to disrupt.  The patients taking omega-3s not only produced less of the clot-promoting thrombin, their clots had larger pores and so were easier to break up. Clot destruction time in those patients was also 14.3 percent shorter than in the patients taking placebo pills.

The researchers cautioned that fish oil is not a replacement for the blood-thinner drugs or other treatments but simply an added treatment.  Because every patient’s health situation is unique, and some medications should not be combined with fish oil, always consult your doctor before beginning fish oil supplementation.

Eating More Broccoli Could Help You Live Longer

To the likely delight of nagging parents, a new study shows that people who eat more fruit and veggies tend to live longer.  Plants from the mustard family -- including broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are especially associated with longevity. 

These findings were based on a survey of nearly 135,000 adults from Shanghai, China.  Participants filled out questionnaires about their eating habits and health history, and the researchers then divided them into five categories according to how much produce they ate.  Over five years, four percent of the people died. Those who downed the most vegetables or fruits, however, were 15 percent less likely to die over that period than those who ate the fewest.  For mustard-family vegetables, there was an even bigger difference in death rates between people with high and low intakes.  The researchers found a similar pattern when they looked at people dying from heart disease -- about a quarter of all deaths in the study.

Mustard-family vegetables are high in vitamin C and fiber and also contain other nutrients that may have health benefits.  The findings "provide strong support for the current recommendation to increase vegetable consumption to promote cardiovascular health and overall longevity," study researcher Dr. Zhang, of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.  Heart disease is the leading killer worldwide, causing more than 600,000 deaths every year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommends eating two to four cups of fruit and vegetables daily.