Here’s yet another reason to listen to your mother when she says to make sure you eat your fruits and vegetables. A new study in the British Journal of Psychiatry has found that those who regularly eat fish, fruit, and vegetables decrease their chances for developing depression.
About 3,500 British civil servant’s diets were observed by scientists at London’s University College. Five years later they evaluated the individuals symptoms of depression. These researchers pointed out the beneficial effect of a whole-food healthy diet that seemed to protect those who consumed it. On the flip side, they found that those who ate a poor diet consisting of sweets, processed meats, fried food, refined cereals and high-fat dairy foods appeared to make them more vulnerable to depression.
The study drew attention to a link between diet and depression. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a poor diet definitely causes depression, but these results are compelling. So what is most likely giving the protection for good mental health? The researchers suggested a variety of possibilities. Maybe it could be the antioxidants in fruits and vegetables believed to protect cells from harm, the folic acid found in leafy greens that affects brain tissue, or the omega-3 fatty acids in fish that are found in specific brain membranes. Or they theorized that the benefits could be from a combination of all of these factors.
A new study provides some encouraging news concerning childhood obesity. It found that less than 1 percent of American teens are anticipated to need cholesterol drugs.
Alarming new guidelines were announced last year by the American Academy of Pediatrics: Doctors were called on to consider cholesterol medicine for more kids, sometimes as young as 8, if they had elevated levels of “bad cholesterol,” or LDL, accompanied by other health issues such as obesity and high blood pressure.
the academy did not talk about the amount of children that be included in that group. A study that was announced on February 16 in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation helps diminish anxiety about many children that might need to be on cholesterol medicine, according to Dr. Stephen Daniels, who is the main author of the pediatric guidelines.
He said that there was a worry that a rising amount of obesity cases would lead to an increase in cholesterol levels. He said that they don’t seem to be increasing.
The new pediatrics guideline was established from indicators that damage leading to heart disease starts in early life. Simultaneously, current research has revealed that drugs used to lower cholesterol are basically safe for children.
Dr. William Scott, a cardiologist and pediatrics professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said that as long as a child does not have an inclination to high cholesterol, regular exercise and a healthy diet should keep the cholesterol under control. Scott said, “You really are empowered by your diet and activity.
Can watching TV make you fat? There are some increasing amount of indicators that link too much TV viewing to becoming overweight or obese.
The most recent study on eating habits has revealed that kids who watch more TV than other kids in middle and high school have diets that are not as healthy 5 years later. During this time, these kids tend to eat more fast food, fried foods and sugary drinks and eat less fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
The lead researcher of this study, Daheia Barr-Anderson said that they don’t know what exactly links TV and diets, but she knows there is a definite connection. She said that there are a lot of commercials for snacks and soda on TV that target children, and this tends to affect their food choices. Also, many lifelong habits are shaped in the adolescent years, such as a tendency to snack and watch TV.
American adolescents definitely play a role in the obesity upswing. Fewer than 5% of 12-19 year olds were overweight in the mid-1960s, but today there are about 17% who are overweight and another 17% who are obese.
In earlier studies, Harvard researchers found that for each hour of TV watching, kids ate an extra 167 calories a day, mainly because they usually eat more junk food. The University of Missouri-Columbia advocates that the combination of family meals and less TV can help kids to avoid getting overweight.
This most recent study was conducted on a survey of 2000 middle and high school children in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. This study was different, because it compared the subjects’ behavior in two separate time periods instead of at the same time. It can be found in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.