healthbriefs
Yoga Boosts Brain Gray Matter R
esearch from the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke University Medical Center has found that a regular
hatha yoga practice increases gray matter within the brain, reversing the loss found among those with chronic pain. The researchers tested seven hatha yoga meditation practitioners and seven non-practitioners. Each of the subjects underwent tests for depression, anxiety, moods and cognition levels, along with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans. The scientists found that the brains of the yoga meditation practitioners contained significantly greater gray matter by
volume in key brain regions, including the frontal, temporal and occipital cortices, plus the cerebellum and the hippocampus, compared to the non-yoga subjects. The yoga meditation practitioners also had more gray area in the prefrontal cortex regions that are involved in decision-making, reward/consequence, control and coordination.
Smog Increases Stroke Risk R
esearch from Germany has found that the high particulate numbers in smoggy areas increase the risk of stroke. The Heinz Nixdorf Recall study followed more than 4,400 people between the ages of 45 and 74 years old. The researchers began the study in 2000. They compared stroke and heart attacks to air pollution particulate matter (PM) levels of PM10 (particle sizes of 10 micrometers or less) and PM2.5 (2.5 micrometers or less). The study found that stroke incidence was more than two-and-a-half times higher among people with long-term
exposure to PM10, while stroke incidence increased by more than three times among people with long-term exposure to PM2.5 smog.
I
n a study of 1,677 Mexican-Amer- ican men and women over the age of 65 from the Southwestern U.S., researchers have found that drinking chamomile tea decreases the risk of earlier mortality by an average of 29 percent. Researchers from the University
Chamomile Tea Helps Us Live Longer
of Texas Medical Branch followed the study population for seven years. Among those tested, 14 percent drank chamomile tea regularly. These were primarily women, and those women that drank chamomile tea experienced a 33 percent reduced mortality during the study period. The small group of men that drank the chamomile tea regularly did not register a significant difference in mortality.
Chamomile also has a long his- tory of use in folk medicine and is primarily used to settle digestion and calm the mind. It is a leading natu- ral herbal tea in many countries and contains no caffeine. While various species may be
used, chamomile tea is traditionally made by infusing the flowers of ei- ther German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) or Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) into hot water. In Spanish-speaking regions, chamomile tea is often referred to as manzanilla tea—consumed in Mexico and other Spanish cultures for centuries.
18 Lehigh Valley
www.healthylehighvalley.com
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