Health in the News
Season Food With Cinnamon and Lower Blood Sugar
Don Graves of the University of California says: “Cinnamon itself has an insulin-like activity and also can potentiate insulin.” This could be very important in the management of type II diabetes. The research was done on obese mice that were fed food containing cinnamon.
Summer Vacation? Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite
Two decades ago it was thought that bedbugs were eradicated; however, their numbers are increasing in many developing countries. An expert for the Institute of Biology believes they may have developed resistance to pesticides. An encounter with these blood-sucking bugs could spoil a vacation.
Folks “Down Under” Know About Alzheimer’s and Vitamin E
In a one-year study the Australian Centre for Neuropsychotherapy found a strong link between vitamin E and folate deficiencies and the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. The study found that the lowest rate of Alzheimer’s disease in the world may be in northern India where the community consumes high quantities of tumeric. Tumeric is an active component of curcumin, a potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory that research suggests has brain protective properties.
Hard-wired for Feeding Behavior
A research team led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators has found that the appetite-regulating hormone leptin causes rewiring of neurons in the areas of the brain that regulate feeding behavior (April 2004, Science). Leptin also regulates when and where fat is deposited. However, studies have shown that an individual’s response to leptin is variable. Studies such as these will help to develop strategies to reduce obesity.
Compiled by Margaret Arthur, M.D.
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