Author: Lauren

Most prostate cancers detected by screening aren’t dangerous in the first place

Only about one in 10 prostate cancers detected by screening actually poses a threat to a man’s life, according to a new analysis conducted by researchers from the University if Cambridge. Continue reading “Is all Prostate Cancer Deadly?”

Saturated fats are very bad for your heart, right?

After all, you read that “fact” again and again, all the time.

However, you won’t read it in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

That issue carries an analysis of 21 studies that included more than 345,000 adult subjects who were in good health. All subjects reported their dietary habits, and then medical records were followed for at least five years, some longer than 20 years.

Researchers report NO LINK between saturated fat intake and a higher risk of heart disease, cardiovascular disease, or stroke.

This isn’t the first study to come to this conclusion. But they’re all widely ignored because they run so contrary to the accepted belief that saturated fats are dietary villains.

In fact, the opposite is true when you eat high-quality saturated fats in moderation. For instance, saturated fats contain antiviral agents and help maintain cell membranes.

And some vitamins are fat-soluble, so they actually work more effectively in your body with the help of saturated fats. And these are key powerhouse vitamins like D, E, K, and A.

One thing you absolutely DON’T want to do is impede your body’s ability to utilize stores of vitamin D

Nothing really engages the human brain like music.

The left brain enjoys rhythmic structures, chord progressions, and the way lyrics fit nicely. While the right brain soars on melody and emotional responses produced by the infinite combinations of instruments and voices.

But music’s effect on the brain may go far beyond enjoyment. In fact, more than 5,000 certified music therapists in the US base their professional practice on the healing properties of music.

Along with these specialized therapists, neurologists have been conducting research that’s already revealed evidence that music is a multipurpose therapeutic tool.

Less confusion, less depression

In a recent news article, US Harvard neurologist Dr. Gottfried Schlaug explains that when an area of the brain is disabled due to trauma or disease, music provides a unique way to reach that area, sometimes restoring impaired functions such as movement, memory, and speech.

For instance, researchers have found that music can establish a steady pace that helps patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease initiate walking.

Music therapy has also been used to temporarily open up areas of memory for Alzheimer’s patients. And in one study, mood and function significantly improved in subjects with dementia who learned that when they pushed a button they would be rewarded with a familiar song.

In research conducted by Dr. Schlaug, stroke victims who developed speech impairments were taught to improve speech fluency by expressing themselves with a chant-like form of singing.

I mentioned in a previous post about a University of Helsinki, in Finland, study that examined 60 stroke patients. Divided into three groups, some patients listened to whatever music they liked, some patients listened to audio books, and some patients had no specific listening plan.

After three months, focused attention and mental operation abilities improved by nearly 20 per cent in the music group, but didn’t improve at all in the other two groups. Verbal memory scores in the music group improved by a very large margin, and subjects were less confused and less depressed compared to the other groups.

One stroke expert told the BBC that more research is needed before widespread use of music as therapy can be recommended for stroke victims. This caution is laughable unless someone can produce any evidence at all of a single adverse side effect of music.