healthbriefs


Cranberries’ Red Power W


hile the properties of cranberries for warding off urinary tract infections


have been well documented, research- ers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) are now reporting a surprise finding that expands the red berries’ healing char- acteristics. They discovered that cranberry juice cocktail evidently helps block a strain of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus from bringing on staph infections, which can range from minor skin rashes to seri- ous bloodstream problems. One particular


strain, Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), is a growing public health concern because it doesn’t respond to most antibiotics. To cause an infection, bacteria must first adhere to host tissue, and then


gather in colonies to form a biofilm. In their study, the scientists found that in participants who had recently consumed cranberry juice, the ability of bacteria such as E. coli and S. aureus to form biofilms was significantly decreased, thus reducing the chance of contracting a urinary or staph infection. “We saw essen- tially no biofilm in the staph samples,” reports Terri Camesano, a WPI professor of chemical engineering.


he best gift of all can be as simple as an act of kindness, generosity and cooperation. Even better, we hope that our good acts may spread. Now, a study published in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides the first laboratory evidence that kind behavior is indeed conta- gious and that it spreads from person to person. In short, the researchers found that when just a few people ben- efit from kindness, they pay it forward by helping others who were not originally involved. This cascade of cooperation can influence many known and unknown participants in a broadening social network. Here’s how researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and


Kindness is Contagious Pass it On T


Harvard University illustrated the principle: When one person gave money to help others in a public-goods game where people had the opportunity to cooperate, the recipients were more likely to give away their own money to other people in subsequent games. This type of behavior created a domino effect, in which one person’s gener- osity spread first to three people, then to nine and then to others in subsequent waves of the experiment. Better yet, the effect of being part of such a kindness circle persists, observes James Fowler, associate professor at UCSD, who co-led the study, observing, “You don’t go back to being your old selfish self.”


8 NA Pensacola/FWB Emerald Coast www.emcoast.naturalawakeningsmag.com


Holiday


Binge Alert Here’s another reason to take it easy at the holiday buffet: A study published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Nutrition & Metabolism has found that just a four-week episode of excessive food consump- tion, accompanied by limited physical activity, can have long-term negative impacts on our body weight and fat storage, even after weight initially gained is lost. Re- search participants were in their 20s and early 30s.


I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.


~ Charles Dickens


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