Daily Archives: November 29, 2016

Penn State Cheesin’

According to researchers in the Department of Kinesiology of Penn State in an article by the Daily Collegian, there is an alleged link between dairy cheese consumption and heart disease prevention. The study was conducted by Penn State researcher/professor, Lacy Alexander. This article, released on Penn State’s news site, details how the experiment was conducted.

This is what the basic outline of the experiment was according to the article:

  • Participants, aged 55-60, were fed dairy cheese or pretzels. These sodium-rich foods were used to compare if it was just the sodium having an effect on the vascular health or if it was just the dairy cheese. Another independent variable food item was soy cheese. It was used as a control due to see if dairy cheese had different results.chdfsd
  • To test the dependent variable, which was the health of the vascular system based on blood flow, researchers used a laser light to observe the flow of red blood cells in the subjects’ arms.

The study found that dairy cheese actually benefitted the blood flow and even strengthened the cardiovascular system.

Although the study yields results that show a correlation between dairy cheese and heart disease prevention, even the researchers are not completely confident in the mechanism. One researcher told the Collegian that it may be milk’s lacrotripeptides that cause the strengthening of blood vessels and subduement of sodium’s negative effects. However, this is only speculation and the researcher admitted that the exact mechanism is still unknown.

Another issue with the study is that it was only geared towards short term results. Alexander said that she wishes to conduct more studies that deal with the long-term health effects of dairy cheese consumption.

The study may have suffered from the Texas sharp shooter fallacy. The researchers may not have had a specific blood pressure or blood flow in a formulated hypothesis. This may have altered the conclusion that they found to match data that was geared towards proving that dairy cheese was healthy.

It is also important to note who was funding the research. Dairy Management Inc. approached Alexander to conduct the study. This doesn’t mean that the companies involvement and probable investment in the results swayed the data, but it should be a recognized fact of the study. This means that the company’s products will most likely boast that it decreases heart disease, which can be misleading if the consumer does not fully recognize the origin and motive of that conclusion.

Adderall-Worth the risk?

Adderall is a stimulaadderallnt drug prescribed mainly to ADHD patients to increase their focus and concentration.  There has been an enormous increase in the use of un-prescribed Adderall in college students recently.  A study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health watched mainly 18-25 year olds use of the drug from 2006-2011. Over this period of time, the amount of Adderall prescribed stayed the same but non-prescribed use of the drug rose 67% and emergency room visits rose 156%.

Why are there so many more emergency room visits? The recreational use of Adderall with, alcohol, marijuana, and/or cocaine has become much more common and is extremely dangerous.  When drinking alcohol while on Adderall one is much more likely to get alcohol poisoning.  The use of any drug (including alcohol) severely increases the chances of overdose and/or complications such as a heart attack.  It is also very easy for people who are already abusing the drug to become addicted. If one were addicted and didn’t take it one day they would feel foggy, tired, and unable to concentrate or be productive. The withdraw effects are severe and it is often difficult for users to quit on their own.

The majority of people who misuse Adderall are students but other large groups who abuse the drug are working professionals, athletes, and people with eating disorders.  Athletes use it to feel less tired and more focused during games, and people with eating disorders use it for its ability to suppress appetite.

The side effects perscription-useof using Adderall include irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, anxiety, paranoia, headaches, and depression.  Ultimately, if you are prescribed Adderall and use to because you actually cannot concentrate without it, the risk of these side effects are worth it.  If you are using it to “have a good time” and plan on using it with other drugs/alcohol the risk is most definitely not worth the reward of……? It is one’s own decision if they want to use it as a “study drug” but personally I do not think the risks of all these side effects and the long term effects are worth it.

Is dark chocolate actually good for you?

As a generally healthy eater, I have always enjoyed the said health benefits of dark chocolate. Though, as I thought about the cocoa treat more, I wasn’t sold on the idea that the dark chocolate is all that healthy for you. I decided to do some digging.

At face value, dark chocolate contains many great nutrients that are listed directly on the nutrition label. BUT, this only counts if the dark chocolate is made with a high content of cocoa. I found a layout of what nutrition a 100 gram of dark chocolate contains through a food nutrition site, Authority Nutrition, which is an evidence based site that lists all of the nutrition facts about foods that we consume on a daily basis. The site states that a 100g bar of dark chocolate contains about 11 grams of fiber, 58% of magnesium, and 98% manganese. To confirm these numbers, I went to another nutrition site, Self Nutrition Data, which is another site that states facts about the foods we consume, which confirmed that the same numbers were valid for a 100 gram bar of dark chocolate. Self Nutrition Data declared that the vitamin content for a 100 gram bar of dark chocolate included a 58% DV of Magnesium, 67% DV of Iron, and a 98% DV of Manganese.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/10638/2

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/10638/2

Both websites matched with information about fiber content and calories. Comparing the two nutrition fact sites, the numbers are almost exact for each vitamin and mineral, therefore I think that the information is valid.

At face value, dark chocolate holds a large amount of vitamins and nutrients, as shown by the data from a 100 gram bar. Kris Gunnar’s article about 7 Proven Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate includes an interesting point, saying that 100 grams is a lot of chocolate to indulge in during one day, and that the 100 gram bar comes packed with about 600 calories. He suggests that dark chocolate is best enjoyed in moderation. That makes sense. Although dark chocolate comes with many health benefits, it also comes with not so great benefits (sugar, calories) that need to be split up between enjoyments.

With the nutrients that dark chocolate provides, is it possible that the cocoa-filled treat could cause significant changes in health?

In this particular context, the null hypothesis would state that dark chocolate would make no changes to a person’s health. On the other hand, the alternative hypothesis would state that the consumption of dark chocolate would cause significant health changes in an individual.

As I read up on this question, I found a study that suggested that dark chocolate can improve blood pressure by improving blood flow throughout the body. The study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association studied for the effects that dark chocolate could have on blood pressure. The first study was conducted with 44 adults that all had higher blood pressure. The 44 were randomly given either dark chocolate or white chocolate in order to randomize and control for other confounding variables, such as health history and gender. The results of the study showed that over the 18 weeks over the trial, the people that were given dark chocolate had lowered blood pressures.

In relation to the File Drawer problem, which Andrew discussed in class, there is a possibility that the study may have suffered from it. The File Drawer problem is when a scientist puts all of the studies that show no positive results into a “file drawer” and do not publish them. Whenever a positively concluded study is published, there is always the possibility that there are other trials of this study with negative results sitting in a drawer within a scientists laboratory.

The idea of whether the previous study may have suffered from the File Drawer problem is further pressed when another study, published by Hypertension, a medical journal based around blood pressure and the such, tested for cocoa-enriched drinks having an effect on blood pressure. The study concluded that blood pressure actually rose when people consumed cocoa-enriched drinks over a period of time, causing the exact opposite effect on the blood pressure as compared to the first study I mentioned.

The bottom line is that if eaten in moderation, dark chocolate delivers many health benefits, such as large amounts of vitamins and minerals. In a  question if dark chocolate can have a significant impact on health/bodily changes, it is possible pure dark chocolate can aid in lowering blood pressure, but drinks and other dark chocolate additives may not have the same effect. Many more studies must be done, and compared through a meta-analysis, in order to come to a more definitive conclusion to whether dark chocolate can cause significant changes of a person’s blood pressure.

Citations:

https://authoritynutrition.com/7-health-benefits-dark-chocolate/

http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/207783

http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/56/5/839.long#sec-9

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-chocolate-dark-chocolate-70-85-cocoa_f-ZmlkPTE1MzQ2MQ.html

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/10638/2

 

Predicting the weather based on joint pain?

I have heard many anecdotes where people experience pain due to certain weather patterns like rain. People even report that they can even tell when a storm is coming. My grandma always tells me that she can feel it in her bones. This relationship dates all the way back to the Roman age.I question if there is actually any science behind this relationship or if it is all just anecdotes that people tell.

Image taken from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/home/ovc-20197388

Image taken from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/home/ovc-20197388

Many of the studies done look at the effect that weather changes have on rheumatic patients. These people have a disease called rheumatoid arthrisits. Rheumatoid Arthritis affects more than 2 million people around the world. The disease consist of the body’s immune system attacking its own tissues and affects areas like the joints. This causes an immense amount of pain and causes swelling to occur. The swelling and pain usually spreads to smaller joints like fingers and toes. As the disease gets worse it spreads to the knees and ankles. Being a female of older age increases the risk of of rheumatoid arthritis. I found two different studies done testing this hypothesis.

Hypothesis being tested: Does changes in weather cause joint pain?

Alternative Hypothesis: Changes in weather does cause joint pain

Null Hypothesis: Changes in weather does not cause joint pain

Based on the two studies that i looked at the weather changes that might have an effect on patients consist of changes in barometric pressure, humidity, and temperature.

In the first study done by Daniela Guedj and Abraham Weinberger they studied 62 rheumatic patients. These patients completed questionaries for four weeks straight.  They found that there was a positive relationship between barometric pressure and pain. That means that if barometric pressure goes up so does the pain. They also found that women were more sensitive to the changes than men. Overall this study is a relatively small study that was not done experimentally. This study used a descriptive research method of surveying. There can not be a definitive casual relationship present and the relationship can be due to outside third variables. It is hard to truly test this hypothesis objectively because many of the results depend on the reports of the patients.

Image taken from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjm1pvQys7QAhWFwiYKHYyPAPQQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fghr.nlm.nih.gov%2Fcondition%2Frheumatoid-arthritis&bvm=bv.139782543,d.amc&psig=AFQjCNHi4HGuDlT9pAlB7wxWxxmDKktb8w&ust=1480433707632173

Image taken from https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/rheumatoid-arthritis

In another study with 134 patients they were also given a questionnaire. This questionnaire was also completed for 31 consecutive days. This study considered temperature, humidity and barometric pressure.  But this study found that an increase in pressure decreased joint pain. So although there was a relationship found between the two variables. These two variables have an inverse relationship. This contradicts with the previous study. This study was also larger than the other study so there may be more truth to this study but nothing can be said with 100% truth.

I am still unsure about the conclusion given the data. There are many contradicting results based off other studies. Both studies sought out to reevaluate the relationship. But the results found were also contradictory. There is very little information published on this subject. In conclusion I feel like larger studies that are done experimentally can really determine if there is a direct casual relationship between the two variables. In both studies they do review results found from other studies. This can be considered peer review and that is important to improve the research found in this area.

 

Can a lamp improve your health?

After moving into our tiny dorm, my roommate (like most freshman) had too much stuff and not enough space.  She had to decide what was important enough to stay and what would have to go back home.  I saw a large, glowing, salt-lamps-2orange/yellow rock taking up a large portion of her desk and recommended she gave that the boot.  I immediately regretted my suggestion when she turned around with a look of disgust on her face.  “It’s not a rock, it’s a salt lamp and you’ll thank me later when our room is clean and you don’t get sick” I was very skeptical, until about a month later.  The bulb in the lamp died.  For a few days nothing changed but slowly we noticed dust collecting in our room, and both of us developed small colds.  Was it a coincidence, simply ironic timing, or was the salt lamp keeping us healthy?

The claim is that these lamps emit negative ions into the air and air with more negative ions is what causes the benefits. They say that these salt lamps can increase energy, neutralize electromagnetic radiation, better sleep, improve mood and concentration, treat Seasonal Affective Disorder(SAD), and reduce static electricity in the air.  It’s true, an increase in negative ions in the air would cause all of these benefits, but salt lamps produce barely any.  A study showed the negative ions produced by salt lamps were almost too small to measure.  Therefore, the salt lamps can’t cause any of these benefits.

Although they don’t produce negative ions it has been proven that salt lamps do help clean the air.  Water vapor constantly floats around the air and carries dust, pollen, and other microscopic compounds with it.  The lamp attracts water in the air, along with the pollutants.  Once attracted the compounds stay on the lamp rather than floating in the air.

dust            It would be beneficial for my roommate and I to conduct a well thought out study to support/contradict the other studies I found.  We would take a notebook and write down how we were feeling (stuffy nose, sore throat, etc.), the cleanliness of our room and quality of air (dusty/clean), how we slept, and our overall mood.   We could do this for two weeks with the salt lamp and two weeks without and repeat several times.  If we wanted to have a larger size study we could have some of our friends get salt lamps and do the same thing.

 

 

Do your doctor’s political views affect your treatment?

With the extreme controdoctor-politicsversy that came with the most recent presidential election, differing political views are more prominent than ever.  It has proven itself over and over again that political views have creeped into areas far from politics.  Such as job hiring, relationships/friendships, churches and many others.  A study conducted by Yale students says politics have now entered the doctor’s office.

The study included 20,000 doctors in 29 states across the country.  They were given nine patients at random.  Three of the patients brought up politically sensitive topics such as marijuana use, firearm possession, and abortion.  The republican and democratic doctors gave significantly similar advice.  Their treatment plans for issues such as depression, alcohol abuse, and obesity were all very similar.  Republican doctors would stress the importance of family life (opposed to abortion) and not using marijuana.  Democratic doctors would point out the importance of not having firearms in the house; republicans tended to just reinforce the importance of proper storage of these firearms. different medical advice on these three topics, but on non-political issues they gav

 

Many patients will choose a doctor based on their gender to feel more comfortable and get the kind of treatment best suited for them.  Should doctors have to disclose their political views for patients to feel demrep-doctor-graph
more comfortable?  Ultimately, doctors political views will affect the treatment they prescribe on politically sensitive issues, but doctors’ advice on these issues are merely suggestions.  If a doctor says you should/shouldn’t have a firearm in your house, it is up to you to take this advice and determine your own political views on the issue.

Is Autism Genetic?

My cousin has Aspergers and growing up I would think to myself, “Why does Sean have Aspergers?”. I often thought it wasn’t fair that he had to struggle with Aspergers and no one else in my family did. I wondered how it must feel to be the only person in our family to have it and how it must feel to know you are different from everybody else. The most recent time I saw my cousin I started wondering if the type of autism he has, Aspergers, is genetic. Did my Aunt and Uncle carry certain genes that made him have Autism? While thinking about blog topics to write about this one came to mind and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to do some research on the question I had, is autism genetic?

 

baby-genetics-dna

(link to image)

 

What is Aspergers?

First off I’ll give you some background about the form of autism my cousin has, Aspergers. The way my parents explained it to me is that it is a form of Autism and many people that have it don’t pick up on social cues and are generally socially awkward in social situations. For example, my cousin is 19 and he is visually uncomfortable when he has to simply greet people and shake their hand. Aspergers is a high functioning form of Autism. Some cases are worse than others but many people with Aspergers have jobs and are productive members of society. Aspergers according to Merriam Webster’s dictionary is defined as, “A developmental disorder resembling autism that is characterized by impaired social interaction, by restricted and repetitive behaviors and activities, and by normal language and cognitive development.” (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Is Autism Genetic? 

According to the first source I read while researching this question autism seems to be more common in people who share similar genes, like twins. Twins are more likely to both be born with autism than fraternal twins are. I think that this shows how there must be a genetic link to autism. This source also talks about how scientists think that there is definitely a genetic thread in autism. I know that scientists do not yet know what exact genes cause autism but I think that with time that will be discovered. With more technology advanced and research done on autism I think figuring out the exact genes that play a part in causing autism will be discovered. I was surprised when I found out while reading that autism seems to be hereditary. This surprised me because my cousin who has Aspergers is the only one in our family to have a form of autism. Before doing research I didn’t think that autism would have been genetic. Researchers have found 20 chromosomes that have areas of them that can help researchers figure out which genes are linked to autism. Once researches are able to find the certain gene or genes that are linked to autism I think many advancements will be made. With the help of the advancing technology surrounding genetics I predict researchers will be able to get rid of the gene that causes autism and one day autism won’t exist. Another source I found researching found in a study trying to determine the causes of autism that it was 95% genetic in a study of 258 twins. This source also mentions how there are many possible genes that link to autistic traits. I think this is going to make it a lot harder for scientists to figure out exactly which ones do. Clearly autism is genetic but we don’t know yet what exact gene or maybe genes link to autism. With technology advancing I am hopeful that one day scientist will know exactly which genes link to autism. That would be a huge breakthrough discovery in science.

 

istock_000045435866_small

(link to image above)

Bibliography

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

“Autism and Genetics.” Autism and Genetics | Understanding Genetics. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

GeneticLiteracy. “Autism in Our DNA? Slew of Studies Points to Genetics as Main Driver, but There Is No “autism Gene” | Genetic Literacy Project.” Genetic Literacy Project. N.p., 09 Aug. 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

“Controlling the Genetic Genie.” 3D PERSPECTIVES RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Doc. “Autism, Down Syndrome, and Other Genetic Disorders.” Organic Lifestyle Magazine. N.p., 13 May 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Why stretching in the morning is so awesome

Its 45 minutes before your first class, the alarm clock just woke you up and the first thing you do before getting out of bed is stretch. In every funny position imaginable, crossing each limb backwards and forwards, trying to wake your body up from the long slumber it just endured. It’s the best feeling, and I’ve never known why. My friend I was just sitting with said, “Dani, don’t you ever just want a machine to stretch your arms and legs in all directions?” So naturally, I had to write about it.

Writer Luis Villazon briefly discusses the surface level reason for why our bodies need to stretch in the mornings. He says its because when you sleep, your muscles are not as toned and some fluid builds up, so by stretching your muscles out past their normal capacity in the morning, it can allow for a normal body function throughout the rest of the day.

There are many reasons for stretching that we don’t always think about when we do it, but that DO help our bodies and lead to the positive feeling we get when we stretch. For example, stretching in the morning can lead to joint flexibility. I know when I wake up, I‘ll hear a few cracks from my joints here and there, but if I stretched more first, this would put less pressure on my body and cause it to be more relaxed throughout the day. A Null Hypothesis for this claim would be that if a person stretched, nothing would happen to their body. An Alternative Hypothesis would be that is a person stretched something beneficial did indeed come from it, such as joint flexibility or less stiff muscles.

There are some people who just stretch in miscellaneous ways until they feel less stiff from their sleep, while others stretch to a routine, or do specific moves to straighten their bodies back out. These are all effective ways to de-stress your muscles and to spread the fluids in your body back out in order to have an energized day.

Brown Fruit

From childhood on, professionals and parents encourage kids to include fruit as a part of a healthy diet. I remember being taught the ever changing food table, recommended daily servings, and hearing, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ In an effort to reach my fruit quota for the day, I would sometimes pack an apple in my lunch for school. If I cut the apple in the morning, by the time I got ready to eat it, it would be all brown. After making observations such as the smell and texture of the fruit, I made the decision that the fruit was still good to eat, despite it’s rotting color. Just as Andrew taught us about risk, I weighed the cost of eating the fruit:

Eating the apple The apple is bad and I get sick. The apple is fine and I get the nutrients from the apple.
Not eating the apple The apple is bad and I avoid getting sick. The apple is fine and I miss out on the nutrients.

I ate the apple because I decided it would be worth the risk. Because science builds upon knowledge that already exists, I also decided to eat the apple because I had seen people eat an apple that turned brown after being cut, and not get sick.

brown-apples

(Picture)

Typically, when naturally bright foods turn brown, it is bad news. Why does this not hold true for apples? According to Lynne McLandsborough, it all has to do with something in apples called o-quinones. Once an apple is cut and interacts with the air, certain enzymes oxidize compound that react with the o-quinones, which cause the brown color.

Another fruit that I notice has a similar reaction is avocado. I had not had much experience with avocados until much later in life compared to apples. I noticed their browning when I opened a container of guacamole that had been made the day before. The top layer of the dish was all brown. In this case, my sister encouraged me it was not bad, but I chose not to eat the brown part. The risk of eating the guacamole seemed bigger to me because I was not as familiar with that food. I could not make any observations that would confirm or deny the quality of the fruit as I did with the apple.

guacamole

(Picture)

Avocados appear to be a much different fruit compared to apples, but Compound Interest explains how the browning occurs in a similar way. In avocados, the enzyme polyphenol oxidase, once in contact with oxygen, helps quinones form polyphenols. The polyphenols are the mechanism that causes the brown color.

I took the risk and ate the browning fruit, but many other people do not. Anastasia Bodnar  explains how scientists have created modified apples to avoid the browning color. It will be interesting to see how produce may transform in the next few years to get rid of or reduce browning in fruits such as apples despite its harmlessness.