The Buzz

WORKER BEES DAILY BITES

Where to start!

Health 2.0 – it’s a term now – is taking off in a big way.

You can be part of it here at MDA! Collaboration, hand-built information, and alternative health news and views – now that’s personalized health care. Check out a health care industry blogger’s take on it by hitting this clickativity.

We’re anti-peanut and not afraid to say it!

Our fellow blogger Dr. Joe Mercola blogs about the latest shenanigans of the food industry. Not even peanuts are safe. Peanuts! But we still like almonds. (Psst…peanuts are full of molds and toxins. Not exactly your best bet for lunch. The government actually allows what’s considered a permissible amount of contamination. Thanks, Uncle Sam. We feel the love.)

You have to wonder when peanut butter companies save you the trouble of using a knife and talk about that like it’s a good thing.

How Healthy Are You, America?

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released its annual health report. We’ll be getting into some of the 2006 numbers tomorrow. Take a gander now if you’re curious…

Grandma’s Favorite Dish Made Your DNA?

Not only is a mother’s diet during pregnancy important for the health of the child…but so was Grandma’s. A new study reported in Science Daily has discovered that eating habits can have an effect on DNA through several generations. Now, this was a “murine” study – in other words, some squeakers (mice).

So don’t feel too guilty about that year you had a little too much love for chai soy lattes. However, the important message is that genetics and health are more complicated than we’ve previously thought. Makes dinner take on a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?

Technorati Tags: DNA, food, peanut butter, web 2.0

Posted By: Worker Bee

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Take 2 Bites & We’ll See You in the Morning

Worker Bees’ Daily Bites

1. Ririan Rocks
We love how the posts over at Ririan make life so much easier and more productive. Check out the essential tips for good sleep – and we’ll add one to the list…

Spend 5 or 10 minutes before bed doing one of the following:

- Journaling (write your thoughts, your to-do list, your worries, whatever!)

- Prayer or meditation (concentrate on the positive – focus on appreciation)

- Light a candle, take 10 deep breaths, and decide to get a great night’s sleep. You’ll be amazed at how the decision to rack out will really work! (Work up to 20, 30 or more deep breaths before going to sleep.)

2. Allergic? Pour It On

We’ve been noticing a particular allergy hypothesis begining to take hold in the scientific community. Well, actually, Mark has been noticing and pointed it out. Scientists are finding that, in some cases, increased exposure to an allergen seems to be the best way to cure the allergy. Of course, this is not a “do it yourself” experiment; so far, studies have been strictly controlled in labs. The latest study could make a big difference for children’s food allergies. Check it out by jumpin’ on this clickativity.

Technorati Tags: sleep tips, improve sleep, allergies

Posted By: Worker Bee

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Did You Know?

WORKER BEES’ DAILY BITES

Did you know?

Gut bugs don’t just make you gain weight – bacteria cause ulcers, too.

Ulcers cause inflammation elsewhere in the body – enough to cause atherosclerosis!

In terms of blood sugar impact, yams (sweet potatoes) typically have half the sugar of regular potatoes.

Now there’s some health knowledge to whip out at tonight’s festivities!

Be sure to check out these fun and informative bites, and have a great weekend, Apples.

Technorati Tags: h. pylori, bacteria, gut bugs, yams, glycemic index, inflammation, atherosclerosis

Posted By: Worker Bee

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Clickativity Scene

Worker Bees’ Daily Bites

1) Gosh, thanks, Labelman!

The FDA has created an interactive online tool to help people better understand the Nutrition Facts Label. Visitors to the site learn to “Make Your Calories Count” with the help of Labelman. Yes.

The program helps explain percentages, serving sizes and caloric information.

The Nutrition Facts Label has been criticized virtually since its introduction. The label is perhaps misleading to some because it is based upon a 2,000 calorie-per-day diet, which is much more than many people, especially women, need to consume. Additionally, nutritional percentages are somewhat misleading. A candy bar may “only” have 20% of one’s daily recommended saturated fat intake, but that doesn’t make a candy bar healthy. The big problem with this percentage standard is that the actual product may be ridiculously high in fat, sodium or sugar, but appear to be “low” compared to the total daily limit. For example, a soda may contain about one-eighth of the recommended daily sugar for a 2,000-calorie-consumer. But soda is nothing more than sugar water and is therefore one of the worst things you can put in your body.

Cynics in the health industry point out that this “percentage” comparison standard, which does not actually reflect the individual merit of the product, almost encourages unhealthy eating habits.

We’re not sure how helpful a guy named Labelman could be, but we want to know why the standards are what they are, anyway. Who says 160 grams of carbohydrates a day is desirable? Is saturated fat really so terrible if it’s properly balanced with health fatty acids like Omega-3? And how about serving sizes – who really only drinks 8 ounces of something or eats 7 chips? Discuss, Apples.

2) Seven Ways, Same Result

The New England Journal of Medicine released a study today that says newer tests are not appreciably better at predicting heart attacks than standard tests. Now, if you run a Google search for this story, you’ll find that they are all suspiciously alike – even newspapers in India are running the same lines. What that means? A press release or a statement from NEJM, most likely. (Yes, this happens all the time.)

The study of some 3,900 people found that testing for CRP, homocysteine and other substances (considered the new rock stars in heart disease treatment) aren’t much better at predicting heart problems than a good old cholesterol or blood pressure test.

This study reveals some interesting things. Let’s read between the lines. It doesn’t necessarily mean that CRP or homocysteine tests are bad; it simply means that obvious factors are enough to determine risk. Guess what those obvious factors are? Even the conservative NEJM discusses them:

However, the standard risk factors — high blood pressure, high cholesterol, family history, advanced age, smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and diabetes — proved to be just as accurate when it came to predicting heart disease.

Testing cholesterol is still a great way to go, not because cholesterol is bad (like mainstream medicine would have you believe) but because it is indicative of inflammation. Many of the other easy-to-see risk factors are entirely preventable through lifestyle choices. In a roundabout way, this long-term study reflects what we already ought to know: an expensive test can show what’s already written all over one’s face.

Here’s the money quote:

“This really supports the value of focusing on risk-factor reduction, not looking for a magic blood test,” said Dr. Richard Stein, director of preventive cardiology at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.

Clickativity!

Technorati Tags: CRP, homocysteine, cholesterol, inflammation, heart disease risk factors, NEJM, New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Richard Stein, FDA, Labelman

Posted By: Worker Bee

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Wednesday’s Mix: Tastier Than Mesclun

WORKER BEES’ DAILY BITES

Almost Deserves a Sherlock Award…

The New England Journal of Medicine has announced that Vitamin D is so good for you, it might even help prevent multiple sclerosis, a tragic and degenerative disease of the nervous system that affects about 350,000 people. Actually, the study is really worth checking out, although we’re a little annoyed (hey, we’re bees). Science has long shown Vitamin D to be a crucial nutrient for all sorts of health issues, from nerves, tissues and teeth to eyes and bones. In fact, a lot of people don’t realize Vitamin D is just as necessary for bones as calcium. But we bet you know that.

Gut Bugs – Yum!

The news that digestive germs play a role in making you fat is already causing a big hot mess in the health world. One doctor in the article is quite the contrarian, saying flatly, “I think it’s totally wrong.” The article didn’t go on to explain if he had reasons for his belief, but we’re going to recommend you read it for yourself and also be sure to see Mark’s related gut-bug post. Hmm…gut bugs. What a term! Suddenly, we’re just not hungry…

Check out the germ clickativity.

Posted By: Worker Bee

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