health briefs
Increase Focus by Reducing Saturated Fat
Eating a meal heavy in satu- rated fat can hinder the abil- ity to concentrate, even five hours later, a new study from the Ohio State University College of Medicine shows. Researchers tested 51 women on computer games that measured attention spans and response times, and then fed them a 930-calorie meal that
mimicked the fare of fast-food restaurants. For half the subjects, their meal was cooked in saturated fat, and for the others it was cooked with sunflower oil that is high in unsaturated fat. Five hours later, the women that ate the saturated fat meal had erratic and slower response times on the 10-minute concentration tests and they were less able to maintain their attention.
Dirt Can Help Heal Wounds
Dirt has specific healing properties for wounds, new research from the University of British Columbia has found. The study published in Blood Advancesreported that the presence of soil in wounds helps activate a blood protein known as coagulation factor XII that kicks off a rapid chain reaction helping trigger the formation of a plug, sealing the wound and limiting blood loss. “Excessive bleeding is responsible for up to 40 percent of mortality in trauma patients. In extreme cases and in remote areas without access to health care and wound-sealing products like sponges and sealants, sterilized soil could potentially be used to stem deadly bleeding following injuries,” says senior author Dr. Christian Kastrup. The study was done with sterilized dirt; unsterilized dirt poses a risk of infection.
A Passion for Women’s Health Gabriela Pichardo, MD
Internal Medicine • Integrative Medicine ~ Women’s Health ~ Hormone-related Issues
~ Gut Health Se Habla Español
Eat Spuds for Muscle Protein
The potato, a perennial favorite deemed nutritionally lackluster, can be a source of high-quality protein that helps to maintain muscle, reports the journal Nutrients. Researchers from Canada’s McMaster University, in Ontario, gave young, healthy women either a placebo or a pudding made with potato protein isolate that doubled the amount of pro- tein the women typically consumed daily. The study found that the potato protein increased the rate at which the women’s muscles produced new protein. “This study provides evidence that the quality of proteins from plants can support muscle,” says Sara Oikawa, lead author of the study.
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