Get a Dog! Several studies have shown that children exposed to dogs during early infancy have a much lower risk for developing allergies and asthma. Now, researchers and the University of California-San Francisco believe they know the reason and it’s in the gut. Mice were exposed to dust samples from homes with and without dogs.…

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away. Experts in the United Kingdom (UK) estimate that if everyone over the age of 50 simply ate one apple each day, this act alone would prevent about 8,500 vascular-related deaths each year. Previous studies estimate that prescribing statins to all adults over 50 years old could prevent…

Pesticides and Endometriosis. Endometriosis is a common condition that affects 10% of women during their reproductive years. Symptoms may include painful menstrual periods, pelvic pain, and infertility. Researchers looked to see if exposure to environmental chemicals with estrogenic properties (like some pesticides) could increase a woman’s risk for developing the disease. They found that women…

Stressed Mothers and Offspring. Female rats born to mothers who had been through stressful life events prior to pregnancy showed increased expression of the CRF1 gene (a gene that mediates the body’s response to stress) in the frontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in emotional regulation and decision making. When the female offspring…

Sleep for Children. In a recent study, when children increased their sleep by 90 minutes per night over just a few weeks, they consumed an average of 134 fewer calories per day, weighed a half pound less (~.2 kg), and had lower fasting levels of leptin, a hunger-regulating hormone that is also highly correlated with…

Music and the Mind. Despite not having played an instrument in 40 years, researchers found that people who completed 4-14 years of music training early in life had a one millisecond faster response to speech sound than people who did not play an instrument during their youth. This finding suggests that musical training, early in…

Physical Fitness Helps the Heart Too! Coronary heart disease is the number one cause of death among both men and women in the United States. After following 9,800 coronary heart disease patients for an average of 11 years, researchers found that the patients with higher levels of physical fitness were less likely to suffer a…

Kids Need Regular Bedtimes. A study of 10,000 children in the United Kingdom found that children with inconsistent bedtimes are more likely to suffer from behavioral and emotional problems than their peers who go to sleep at the same time every night. The good news is that the effects are reversible once children settle into…

5 Meals a Day? A regular five meal pattern – breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks a day – was associated with a reduced risk of being overweight or obese. Skipping breakfast was associated with a greater BMI and waist circumference. PLoS One, October 2013

Citrus for the Kidneys! Regular consumption of naringenin, a component found in grapefruit and other citrus fruits, may successfully block the development of kidney cysts. British Journal of Pharmacology, October 2013