healthbriefs
More Bok Choy, Less Ice Cream Boosts Breast Health
researchers, while consuming too many high-fat dairy products produces an opposite effect, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The paper on veggies presented at the American Association for Cancer Research showed that the more cruciferous vegetables a woman ate in the first two years after her breast cancer diagnosis, the lower was her risk of the cancer returning or death from the original cancer. Eating broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy and cabbage worked to reduce the rate of recurring breast cancer by 35 percent and the risk of
C
death in the following nine years by 62 percent. On the other side of the coin, the NCI study showed that women treated for early stage breast cancer that regularly ate one or more servings of high-fat milk, cheese, yogurt or ice cream increased their risk of dying of breast cancer by 44 percent and of earlier death from all causes by 64 percent.
Brief Bouts of Yoga Bolster the Brain
ust 20 minutes of yoga postures, breathing and meditation are valuable tools for bolstering mental functioning. A study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reports that a single, 20-minute hatha yoga session significantly improved participants’ speed and accuracy on tests of working memory, focus, retention and ability to absorb and use new information. Study participants didn’t get the same positive brain buzz from 20 minutes of aerobics. The study appeared in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health.
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Vitamin C Halves Colds in Athletes T
howing down on cruciferous veggies reduces the risk of recurring breast cancer, say Vanderbilt University
Produce Banishes the Blues
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ew research from New Zealand’s University of Otago shows that consuming more whole fruits and vegetables increases peacefulness, happiness and energy in one’s daily life. Scientists discovered the strong relationship to be particularly apparent in countering winter blues. A total of 281 college-age
students filled out an online food diary and mood survey for 21 consecutive days. Results showed that eating fruits and vegetables one day led to improvements in positive mood the next day, regardless of other key factors, such as body mass index. Other types of food did not produce the same uplifting effect. “After further analysis, we
aking vitamin C before engaging in physically demanding activities helps keep colds away for people that are heavy
exercisers, say Finnish researchers at the University of Helsinki. While their meta-study showed that non-exercisers that took vitamin C daily gained little or no protection from colds, the story for marathoners, competitive skiers and soldiers on subarctic assignments was much different. The study, published in the Cochrane Review, found that the 598 heavy exercisers cut their risk of colds in half.
demonstrated that young people would need to consume approximately seven to eight total servings of fruits and vegetables per day to notice a meaningful positive change,” says Tamlin Conner, Ph.D., with the university’s department of psychology. “One serving of fruit or vegetables is approximately the size that could fit in our palm, or half a cup.” Study co-author Bonnie White suggests that this can be accomplished by having vegetables comprise half of the plate at each meal and snacking on whole fruit like apples. The American Psychiatric
Association acknowledges that seasonal affective disorder (SAD) affects, at least mildly, as many as 20 percent of Americans.
NaturalAwakeningsSA.com January 2014 9
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