Public Health

Question: I am a 30-year-old woman, very active in my home routines. But during my menstrual cycles I have noticed excess weight around my abdomen. I am really confused about it. My friend told me it may be due to water retention.  I really want, to know does water retention cause weight gain and how much? Response: From the fact that you are often active in your home routines, the notable increases in weight during the menstrual period can be as a result of water retention. Just like it is with your case, the majority of women experience an increase in weight at specific days of every…

Middle-school children who consume energy drinks are 66% more likely to be at risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms, according to results from the Yale School of Public Health, which could have implications for school success and lends support to existing recommendations to limit the amount of sweetened beverages schoolchildren drink. The authors, led by professor Jeannette Ickovics, director of Community Alliance for Research and Engagement, recommend that children avoid energy drinks because of high levels of sugar and caffeine.  To make their determination, the authors…

Research shows that six month old infants who have been introduced to salted starchy food have a greater preference to salty taste as compared to infants who are not yet fed such foods. This early exposure to salty food is carried on to preschool with preference to salty food. In a more recent study, scientists found that children with higher body fat prefer saltier food. Sodium is critical to maintain life. It is estimated that the amount of salt required to maintain normal osmotic pressure and physiologic functions is about 200 mg of sodium per day. But in a typical Western diet the…

A recent finding about capsaicin from chili peppers curbing obesity in mice may be why nutritionists and diet marketing groups latch onto it in 2015. The world doesn't need another gimmick diet but clearly people need to eat less. Fully one third of the world is overweight, by World Health Organization estimates. Now a group at the University of Wyoming has found promise in the potential of capsaicin -- the chief ingredient in chili peppers -- as a diet-based supplement. The temptation to eat fatty foods is often so strong that, for many, it can override or overpower any dietary restrictions…

'Steam douche' advocate Gwyneth Paltrow. More like hot air. Erprofe, CC BY-NC By Helen King, Professor of Classical Studies at The Open University  Gwyneth Paltrow stirred up an interesting discussion with her latest recommendation for the spa fan: the Mugworth V-Steam. As she put it: “You sit on what is essentially a mini-throne, and a combination of infrared and mugwort steam cleanses your uterus, et al. It is an energetic release …” But as obstetrician and gynecologist Jen Gunter simply says: “don’t”. For me this recalls a treatment used on women in ancient Greek medicine: the…

Hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs) and contraceptive implants remain highly effective even one year beyond their approved duration of use, according to a new study. Now the researchers are evaluating whether such long-acting forms of birth control are effective for up to three years past the length of use under which they were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Contraceptive implants - matchstick-sized rods inserted into the arm - are approved for three years while hormonal IUDs are approved for five years. Medical companies have to be conservative in modern litigious…

If you need a reason to drink wine, there is more good news from the world of science. A recent study exposed human liver and fat cells grown in the lab to extracts of four natural chemicals found in Muscadine grapes, a dark-red variety native to the southeastern United States. One of the chemicals, ellagic acid, proved particularly potent: It dramatically slowed the growth of existing fat cells and formation of new ones, and it boosted metabolism of fatty acids in liver cells. These plant chemicals are not a weight-loss miracle, cautions Neil Shay, a biochemist and molecular biologist…

Remember all those great Super Bowl ads for beer? According to a study by researchers at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) and Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD), seeing and liking alcohol advertising on television among underage youth was associated with the onset of drinking, binge drinking and hazardous drinking. Alcohol is the most common drug used by young people. In 2013, 66.2 percent of U.S. high school students reported trying alcohol, 34.9 percent reported alcohol use in the past 30 days and 20.8 percent reported recent binge drinking. The alcohol…

Mars One, a private effort to do what governments seem incapable of achieving, has believers excited about colonizing another planet, but the long-term consequences of living in low or no-gravity conditions remain unclear.  Mice are not people but if they are an accurate model, it might not go well. A new paper in The FASEB Journal found that spaceflight may be associated with a process of accelerated aging of the immune system. Specifically, researchers found that mice in low gravity conditions experience changes in B lymphocyte production in their bone marrow similar to those…

A new study has linked a previously unexplored biological process to the failure of embryos to attach to the uterine wall during in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF only has around a 25% success rate, largely due to the high rates of failure when embryos try to implant. Some women suffer from recurrent implantation failure, where the embryo is transferred but fails to attach to the endometrium – the mucus membrane of the uterine wall. This is a significant cause of the failure of IVF as most embryo losses occur at this early stage. Women who repeatedly suffer this failure have been shown to…