Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Photo by I Yunmai on Unsplash Visceral fat, active fat on your abdomen, can have potentially dangerous consequences, including type-2 diabetes and heart disease. This kind of fat is known as “active fat”, as it influences how hormones function in the body. Imaging scans, CT …
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash Written by Allison Menor, BS Emotional eating is a problem that has plagued our country for decades as a result of unhealthy cultural behaviors. The use of unhealthy foods for positive reinforcement has caused millions of Americans to associate …
According to Penn State College of Medicine, researchers have found that using technology before bed was associated with less sleep, poor sleep quality, greater fatigue, and high body mass indexes (BMI).
Previous research points to technology impacting sleep patterns. But new research shows that 40% of children have cell phones by grade 5, and many of those previous studies have not targeted the effects of technology on the younger population. As we all know, sleep is critical to a child’s development.
The researchers asked the parents of 234 children between the ages of 8 and 17 years old questions regarding their children’s sleep and technology habits, sleep patterns, nutrition and activity.
Results found several adverse effects associated with using different technologies before bed.
Caitlyn Fuller, medical student from Penn State, says, “We found an association between higher BMIs and an increase in technology use, and also that children who reported more technology use at bedtime were associated with less sleep at night. These children were also more likely to be tired in the morning, which is also a risk factor for higher BMIs.”
According to the study’s results, children who reported watching TV or playing video games before bed got an average of 30 minutes less sleep than those who did not, while kids who used their phone or a computer before bed averaged an hour less of sleep than those who did not. An association between using technology before bed and increased cell phone use at night, such as waking up to text someone, with watching TV resulting in the highest odds.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that parents create boundaries around technology use, like no devices at dinner. Dr. Marsha Novik, associate professor of pediatrics and family and community medicine, said that while more research is needed to determine whether multiple devices at bedtime results in worse sleep than just one device, the study can help pediatricians talk to parents about the use of technology. “Although there are many benefits to using technology, pediatricians may want to counsel parents about limiting technology for their kids, particularly at bedtime, to promote healthy childhood development and mental health.”
This research was supported by the Bedrick Family Medical Student Research Program Award and the Penn State Clinical and Translational Research Institute.
Lutein has been nicknamed “the eye vitamin” – and for good reason! Lutein and Zeaxanthin are powerful antioxidants naturally found in vegetables like kale, broccoli and citrus fruits. Think of them as built-in sunglasses for your eyes. The antioxidant abilities of Lutein has allowed it to fight against free radical damage cause by blue light and sun exposure. Cell phones, televisions and computer screens all emit blue light, so it is more important now than ever to protect the retina.
According to Nicole Crane, BS, NTP, former Director of Nutrition for InVite® Health, the human body cannot make the Lutein and Zeaxanthin it needs, which is the reason why colorful vegetables are essential to good nutrition, especially for the eyes and brain. If you aren’t getting enough leafy greens and other colorful veggies, it is ideal to supplement with these essential nutrients. “The average American is getting just 10% of the amount of Lutein and Zeaxanthin (about 2 mg combined) that is required by the eye to stay healthy for a lifetime. An early study showed that just 6 mg of Lutein per day has been shown to reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration by 43%.”[1]
[1] https://www.invitehealth.com/Article-antioxidants-eye-lutein-zeaxanthin.html
Photo by Ivan Timov on Unsplash Weight management is a challenge. Technology has led to a sedentary lifestyle; instead of physical activity, a large majority of Americans spend their time in front of a screen, lending to an unhealthy epidemic – obesity. A new study …
The presence of excess body fat is known as Overfat; posing an increased risk of chronic diseases, mortality and reduced quality of life.
If you’ve ever been on a diet, one common tip is to not eat heavy meals at night, usually past 9pm. The reason being that the probability of high activity level after that time, enough to burn the fat from that meal, is very slim. But findings presented at SLEEP 2017, the 31st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC, report that eating late at night could be more dangerous than you think.
In order to understand how eating a meal late at night can negatively impact your body, you must understand how healthy digestion takes place. First, of course, as you eat your meal, your teeth are breaking up the food and enzymes are breaking down the sugars. Once the food makes it way to the stomach, stomach acids and enzymes break it down into proteins. Next, it travels to the small intestines, where enzymes are further breaking down the food particles into proteins, fats and sugars. Once the nutrients from the food particles are absorbed into the small intestines, they pass through the blood stream and are carried to the liver to be processed.
When you are eating harmful foods like junk food, the digestion process is slower. Fast foods do not have the healthy enzymes needed to breakdown the foods properly. An unbalanced diet leads to a high amount of carbohydrates, sugars, salt, and fats at a low nutritional value. The foods are processed and refined but lost most of their key nutrients, do not contain enough nutrients, or contain poor water content (needed to break down the food).
New findings of a small study performed by researchers at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine report that, compared to eating earlier in the day, prolonged delayed eating can increase weight, insulin and cholesterol levels, and negatively affect fat metabolism, and hormonal markers implicated in heart disease, diabetes and other health problems.
In the study, nine healthy weight adults underwent two conditions, one of daytime eating – three meals and two snacks between 8am and 7pm – for eight weeks. The other, delayed eating – three meals and two snacks eating from noon to 11pm – for eight weeks. There was a two-week washout period between conditions to make sure there was no carry over effect. The sleep period was held constant, between 11pm and 9am. Metabolic measures and blood was drawn throughout the study to allow the team to note changes in weight, metabolism and energy used.
The participants who ate later, compared to the daytime condition, weight increased. Respiratory quotient (the ratio of carbon dioxide products by the body to oxygen consumed by the body) rose as well, indicating that eating later led to metabolizing fewer lipids and carbs. The hormone ghrelin that stimulates appetite was found to peak earlier in the daytime in those who followed daytime eating conditions. Researchers say this suggests that eating earlier may help prevent overeating in the evening and at night.