healthbriefs

message conversations while jumping between websites or watching television. But be aware that people who are regularly bombarded with multiple electronic media streams are paying a big mental price, according to recent research from Stanford University. “They’re suckers for irrelevancy,” con- cludes Professor Clifford Nass, who participated in the study. “Everything distracts them.”

Brains in Trouble

N

The researchers found that heavy multitaskers consistently underperform

those who prefer to complete one task at a time. Weaknesses include their in- ability to pay attention to detail, organize memory and switch from one job to the next.

TRAIN LESS TO RUN FASTER

R

early all of us are high-tech jugglers these days as we race to keep up with emails and instant

WHY LATE NIGHT SNACKS PUT ON WEIGHT

isn’t quite enough when it comes to pursuing or main- taining a healthy weight. New re- search from North- western University shows that eating

E

at the right times helps, too. The researchers believe that eating later at night, when the body wants to sleep, may influence weight gain because its natural circadian rhythms (the internal clock that responds to light and dark cycles) also regulate energy use and prompt the body to burn nighttime calories less efficiently than during daylight.

unners can improve both their short- and long-term performance results by reducing the

amount of training by 25 percent and introducing speed endurance work into their regimens. By do- ing short sprints three to four times a week during a recent study, runners improved their times in 10-kilometer runs by a full minute after just six to nine weeks of such altered training.

Source: University of Copenhagen, 2009

Nutrition for a Healthy Prostate

B

Source: American Association for Cancer Research, 2009

Can Soft Drinks Cause Cancer?

A

recent study published in the

journal Cancer Epidemiology,

ased on prolific research, experts generally agree that diet plays a key role in reducing the risk of prostate cancer. They recommend eating foods low in fat, keeping portions of meat and dairy small and avoiding highly processed or charcoaled meats, while loading up on fruits and vegetables. The kinds of produce identified as having anticancer properties include to-

matoes, papaya, cantaloupe, cauliflower and broccoli. Drinking green tea also helps, as it contains an active compound that prevents and curbs the progres- sion of prostate cancer. In addition, various studies propose vitamin E, zinc and selenium as aids in reducing the risk of this type of cancer. Plant oils, nuts and seeds are naturally rich sources of vita- min E. Zinc is abundant in pumpkin seeds and oysters. Brown rice and whole grains supply selenium.

Sources: American Association for Cancer Research, 2009 and Wiley-Blackwell, 2009

14

Phoenix

Biomarkers and Prevention found

that individuals who consume two or more soft drinks a week had nearly twice the risk of developing pancreatic can- cer compared with those who don’t drink so- das. Pancreatic cancer is rare, but often lethal, because it is seldom detected in early stages, according to the Mayo Clinic.

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