Category: Persuasion

Almost half of females had an anxiety disorder along with just over a quarter of males.

There are specific signs that a child will go on to develop an anxiety disorder, a study finds.

These include a tendency to do things alone, crying easily and often and frequently appearing sad and miserable.

All these behaviours are related to being socially and emotionally withdrawn.

In contrast, being shy, submissive or fearful of authority figures  or people in general does not predict adult anxiety disorders.

Mr Nathan Monk, the study’s first author, said:

“Basically, what we have found is that childhood anxious behaviors related to social isolation and sadness appear to carry risk for developing an anxiety disorder in later life.

In contrast, behaviors related to situational fears and anxiety around adults do not appear to carry the same risk.”

The study tracked over 1,000 children born in Christchurch, New Zealand for over four decades.

It found surprisingly high levels of anxiety, with almost half of females having an anxiety disorder along with just over a quarter of males.

Dr Kat Donovan, study co-author, said:

“This research reinforces the importance of actively developing social skills and skills in managing emotions, especially in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life where parents and whānau (a Māori word for extended family) play a key role.”

She continued:

“All tamariki (Māori children) experience anxiety at a certain stage but it only causes concern when it disrupts their development and reduces educational and emotional learning opportunities.”

Dr Donovan has some advice for parents of anxious children:

“It’s tough for parents and whānau to see their child in distress but it’s important they help them tolerate their feelings and not avoid them, by encouraging them to be in situations which are challenging and providing them with opportunities to be exposed to those situations.

However, if they don’t feel they have the skills to cope with certain behaviors they should seek out parenting courses or professional support.”

The study was published in the journal Psychological Medicine (Monk et al., 2021).

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Supplementation reversed the effects of age-related memory loss.

A diet low in flavanols is linked to age-related memory loss, a large study finds.

However, taking a daily flavanol supplement over three years reversed these losses.

Many people already get enough flavanols from a healthy diet, however those with a poorer diet will probably benefit.

Flavanols, which are a type of flavonoid, are found in nearly all fruits and vegetables, as well as in tea.

Participants in the study with a mild flavanol deficiency experienced boosts to their cognitive functioning of 16 percent over the three years of the study.

Professor Adam Brickman, the study’s first author, said:

“The improvement among study participants with low-flavanol diets was substantial and raises the possibility of using flavanol-rich diets or supplements to improve cognitive function in older adults.”

Neurons in the hippocampus

Professor Scott Small, study co-author, has been studying age-related memory loss for many years.

His lab has shown that changes in the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus, are central to memory decline.

Flavanols, though, enhance neuron and blood vessel growth in this region.

Professor Small said:

“The identification of nutrients critical for the proper development of an infant’s nervous system was a crowning achievement of 20th century nutrition science.

In this century, as we are living longer research is starting to reveal that different nutrients are needed to fortify our aging minds.”

The current study included over 3,500 healthy adults given either a flavanol supplement or a placebo over three years.

The supplement contained 500 mg of flavanols, including 80 mg of epicatechins, a type of flavanol thought to be particularly effective.

The memories of those with mild flavanol deficiencies improved by 10.5 percent compared to placebo and by 16 percent compared to their scores at the start of the study.

Dramatic improvements

While the study provides strong evidence for the benefits of a healthy dietary flavanol intake, Professor Small is cautious:

“We cannot yet definitively conclude that low dietary intake of flavanols alone causes poor memory performance, because we did not conduct the opposite experiment: depleting flavanol in people who are not deficient.”

Next, Professor Small wants to look at the effects of rectifying a severe flavanol deficiency:

“Age-related memory decline is thought to occur sooner or later in nearly everyone, though there is a great amount of variability.

If some of this variance is partly due to differences in dietary consumption of flavanols, then we would see an even more dramatic improvement in memory in people who replenish dietary flavanols when they’re in their 40s and 50s.”

High-flavanol foods

Foods that containing high levels of flavanols include:

• pears,
• olive oil,
• wine,
• tomato sauce,
• kale,
• beans,
• tea,
• spinach,
• broccoli,
• apples,
• and oranges.

Related

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Brickman et al., 2023).

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The common drink is linked to a higher level of education.

Smarter people are more likely to drink alcohol daily, research finds.

Better educated people are also more likely to have a drinking problem.

Higher grades in school at the age of just 5-years-old predict greater intake of alcohol many decades later.

Among women, there is an especially strong link between alcohol consumption and being highly educated.

The reason may be that middle-class lifestyles — accessible through education — are linked to more alcohol consumption.

It could also be because intelligent people often value novel things and are at a greater risk of getting bored.

The study’s authors write:

“The more educated women are, the more likely they are to drink alcohol on most days and to report having problems due to their drinking patterns

The better-educated appear to be the ones who engage the most in problematic patterns of alcohol consumption.”

The results come from a study that followed everyone born in the UK in one week in 1970.

Women with degrees were 86% more likely to drink on most days than those with less education, the study found.

Highly-educated women were 1.7 times more likely to have a drinking problem than the less well-educated.

The authors write:

“Both males and females who achieved high-level performance in test scores administered at ages five and 10 are significantly more likely to abuse alcohol than individuals who performed poorly on those tests.”

The link between alcohol consumption and education could come down to a range of factors, the authors write:

“Reasons for the positive association of education and drinking behaviours may include: a more intensive social life that encourages alcohol intake; a greater engagement into traditionally male spheres of life, a greater social acceptability of alcohol use and abuse; more exposure to alcohol use during formative years; and greater postponement of childbearing and its responsibilities among the better educated.”

The study was published in the journal Social Science and Medicine (Huerta & Borgonovi, 2010).

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High IQ brains have greater functional connectivity and higher synchronisation, but this has an unexpected real-world effect.

Intelligent people take longer to solve difficult problems than those with lower IQs, a study finds.

The reason seems to be that people with higher IQs avoid jumping to conclusions, which means they are more likely to end up with the correct answer.

On simpler problems, though, people with high IQs do indeed answer more quickly.

Greater functional connectivity

The conclusions come from a study of 650 people who were given a series of logical problems to solve, which became steadily harder.

From a combination of brain scans and simulations of brain activity, the researchers found that the brains of smarter people took longer to solve difficult problems.

High IQ brains have greater functional connectivity and higher synchronisation.

It is these properties that allow the more intelligent brain to ‘hold out’ while complex information is being processed.

Dr Michael Schirner, the study’s first author, said:

“Synchronization, i.e., the formation of functional networks in the brain, alters the properties of working memory and thus the ability to ‘endure’ prolonged periods without a decision.

In more challenging tasks, you have to store previous progress in working memory while you explore other solution paths and then integrate these into each other.

This gathering of evidence for a particular solution may sometimes takes longer, but it also leads to better results.

We were able to use the model to show how excitation-inhibition balance at the global level of the whole brain network affects decision-making and working memory at the more granular level of individual neural groups.”

Brain simulations

To reach their conclusions, the researchers used simulations of brain activity, personalised for each of the 650 people in the study.

Professor Petra Ritter, study co-author, explained:

“We can reproduce the activity of individual brains very efficiently.

We found out in the process that these in silico brains behave differently from one another—and in the same way as their biological counterparts. Our virtual avatars match the intellectual performance and reaction times of their biological analogues.”

The simulations revealed that the brains of people with lower IQs cannot wait until all the various areas of the brain have finished their processing steps before ‘jumping to conclusions’.

In contrast, greater synchrony in high IQ brains allowed time for all the brain regions to complete their processing and deliver up an answer that was more likely to be correct.

Related

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications (Shirner et al., 2023).

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The pill contains natural substances that help lower “bad” cholesterol in an effective way.

A plant sterols and stanols (PSS) pills can reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called “bad” cholesterol.

Daily dietary supplementation of PSS from 1.5 to 3 g  has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol by 7.5 percent to 12 percent, a review of different studies concludes.

One study found that 1.8 g of soy stanols pills over the course of 6 weeks could reduce bad cholesterol by nearly 10 percent.

Professor Anne Carol Goldberg, the study’s first author, said:

“Those who started with higher LDL got a bigger response, a bigger drop in their LDL, when they added plant sterols to their regimen.”

PSS, also known as phytosterols or plant steroids, are natural substances that are produced by plants.

Nuts, seeds, whole grains, vegetables, legumes, fruits, and vegetable oil-based margarines contain good amounts of PSS.

Phytosterol dietary supplements and phytosterol-enriched foods have been sold for decades.

The National Cholesterol Education Program advises that people with high cholesterol should consume foods containing plant sterols, because of its effect on reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

PSS have a similar structure to cholesterol and compete with cholesterol to get absorbed.

This happens in such a way that it lowers the absorption of cholesterol in the gut and so they cannot be transported into the blood.

But PSS are not easily absorbed in the intestine unless they have been dissolved in something absorbent in the intestine.

Margarine is one sterol-containing food that has been found to lower LDL cholesterol, as well as some juices and puddings which have added plant sterols.

One or two tablespoons of sterol-containing margarine per day could reduce LDL cholesterol considerably.

However, these types of sterol-containing foods can be inconvenient for some patients or those who need to lose weight.

Professor Goldberg said:

“One problem is many of our patients already have lowered their intake of fats and calories and don’t use products like margarine on a regular basis.

In addition, many of these people eat out regularly, and they can’t easily take a particular brand of margarine to a restaurant.”

Consequently, the sterols in pill form can be a practical and helpful option but to see the benefits, they should be consumed with a proper meal such as breakfast, lunch or dinner and preferably twice a day.

The review was published in the Journal of Nutrients (Elke et al., 2018) and the study was published in the American Journal of Cardiology (Goldberg et al., 2006).

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The vitamin helps easy many symptoms of IBS, which include abdominal pain, diarrhoea, constipation and bloating.

Vitamin D eases the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, such as stomach bloating, research finds.

Stomach bloating affects one-third of adults in the US.

Over 90 percent of people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) experience stomach bloating.

The study found that many people with IBS also had a vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D supplementation helps easy many symptoms of IBS, which include abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation and bloating.

Dr Bernard Corfe, study co-author, said:

“The study provides an insight into the condition and, importantly, a new way to try to manage it.

It is evident from the findings that all people with IBS should have their vitamin D levels tested and a large majority of them would benefit from supplements.

IBS is a poorly understood condition which impacts severely on the quality of life of sufferers.

There is no single known cause and likewise no single known cure.”

The research was a review of seven different studies on the connection between vitamin D levels and IBS.

The study’s authors write that:

“The available evidence suggests that low vitamin D status is common among the IBS population and merits assessment and rectification for general health reasons alone.

An inverse correlation between serum vitamin D and IBS symptom severity is suggested and vitamin D interventions may benefit symptoms.”

IBS may affect as many as one-in-five people.

The condition can cause much embarrassment and can frequently be a lifelong disease.

Another way to combat stomach bloating is by reducing salt intake.

A low sodium diet decreased the risk of stomach bloating by 27 percent.

How salt causes bloating is not yet known, although the scientists think it could be because salt causes water retention.

The study was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Williams et al., 2018).

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People with this trait are more likely to be in both good psychological and good physical health.

People with a stronger sense of purpose in life are more likely to live healthily — both mentally and physically.

According to research, the reason may be that purpose in life banishes the natural conflict people experience when trying to make healthy choices.

Purpose in life can come from work, family, a sense of self or other broad aim or goal being pursued.

Feeling purposeful contributes to the feeling that life is meaningful:

• People who feel life is meaningful are more likely to be in both good psychological and good physical health.
• People who feel life isn’t meaningful are more likely to be depressed, to require therapy and even feel suicidal.

Dr Yoona Kang, the study’s first author, said:

“Purpose in life has been robustly associated with health in previous studies, but the mechanism through which life purpose may promote healthy living has been unclear.”

For the study, 220 people with sedentary lifestyles answered a survey that asked them how much they agreed with statements like:

• “I have a sense of direction and purpose in my life”
• “I don’t have a good sense of what it is I’m trying to accomplish in life.”

They were then shown messages urging them to get more exercise.

While reading these messages, their brains were scanned.

The results showed that people who had more purpose in life had less activity in brain regions related to processing conflicts.

In other words, a generalised purpose in life made people argue with the statement less.

Sure enough, they were also more likely to accept that doing a little more exercise was a good idea.

Dr Emily Falk, study co-author, said:

“We conduct studies both to understand how different kinds of health messaging can help transform people’s behaviors and why some people might be more susceptible than others.

This study does a nice job starting to unpack reasons why people who have a higher sense of purpose in life might be more able to take advantage of this messaging when they encounter it.”

The study was published in the journal Health Psychology (Kang et al., 2019).

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Transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS can be beneficial for people whose depression does not respond to other treatments.

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High dosage of this vitamin can help prevent diabetes developing, a new study has found.

High doses of vitamin D for prediabetic people can increase glucose metabolism, which in turn slows down the disease’s development.

The action of insulin in muscle tissue improved when vitamin D3 was given to newly diagnosed diabetes patients, the study found.

Researchers used a dosage of 5,000 IU per day over a 6-month period, which is about 5 to 10 times more than the recommended daily vitamin D intake.

There are different types of Vitamin D: the two major forms are vitamin D2 or ergocalciferol, and vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol.

According to a new CDC report, more than 100 million U.S. adults are now living with diabetes or prediabetes.

Prediabetes is linked to higher blood glucose levels than normal.

Prediabetes is a fast growing problem that, if not treated, can lead to type 2 diabetes in 5 years.

Type 2 diabetes can cause serious diseases including kidney failure, nerve damage, cardiovascular diseases and blindness.

People at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes can have low levels of vitamin D.

The effect of vitamin D in prediabetes or new diabetes patients was recently studied by Dr Claudia Gagnon and colleagues from Université Laval in Quebec.

They measured glucose metabolism and markers of insulin function before and after six months supplementation with vitamin D and found that insulin sensitivity was significantly improved.

High insulin sensitivity makes our cells use blood glucose more efficiently and so blood sugar will decrease in the body.

People who are not sensitive to insulin suffer from a condition called insulin resistance (IR), a factor that leads to type 2 diabetes.

Dr Gagnon says:

“The reason we saw improvements in glucose metabolism following vitamin D supplementation in those at high risk of diabetes, or with newly diagnosed diabetes, while other studies failed to demonstrate an effect in people with long-standing type 2 diabetes is unclear.

This could be due to the fact that improvements in metabolic function are harder to detect in those with longer-term disease or that a longer treatment time is needed to see the benefits.”

She adds:

“Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes are a growing public health concern and although our results are promising, further studies are required to confirm our findings, to identify whether some people may benefit more from this intervention, and to evaluate the safety of high-dose vitamin D supplementation in the long term.

Until then I would suggest that current vitamin D supplementation recommendations be followed.”

The study was published in the European Journal of Endocrinology (Lemieux et al., 2019).

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This routine daily behaviour found to be a sign of high blood pressure and stroke.

Taking an afternoon nap has previously been suggested to fight fatigue, improve memory and mood, and in general be good for health.

However, a study reveals that regular napping during the day increases the odds of high blood pressure by 12 percent and stroke by 24 percent.

Other warning signs of high blood pressure can include dizziness, chest pain, headache, shortness of breath, blurry vision, and nosebleeds.

Daily napping

While short naps are sometimes healthy, they can be a symptom of poor sleep and lead to a higher risk of heart disease, and diabetes.

According to the study, people who nap every day are more likely to be men, smokers, drinkers, insomniacs, have lower income and education, to snore, and typically be an evening person.

The results show that as the number of naps increases (from not at all to occasionally or occasionally to often), the likelihood of having high blood pressure soars by 40 percent.

The analysis shows frequent nappers who were under 60 years old were 20 percent more likely to have high blood pressure than those who didn’t have the habit of napping.

The risk for participants who were older than 60 and napped often was increased by 10 percent compared to those who never took naps.

The team used UK Biobank data from 358,451 participants with no history of hypertension or stroke with a follow-up of 11 years.

The subjects were divided into 3 groups (never or rarely, sometimes, and usually napping) based on self-reported daytime nap frequency.

Dr Michael Grandner, an expert on sleep and health, commenting on the study, said:

“This may be because, although taking a nap itself is not harmful, many people who take naps may do so because of poor sleep at night.

Poor sleep at night is associated with poorer health, and naps are not enough to make up for that.

This study echoes other findings that generally show that taking more naps seems to reflect increased risk for problems with heart health and other issues.”

How to lower blood pressure

Many studies have found that following a healthy diet, exercise, and getting good quality sleep will reduce hypertension dramatically.

For example one study shows that food containing potassium along with lower sodium, can help to reduce hypertension.

A review suggests that even less strict plant-based diets containing small amounts of animal products can also lower blood pressure.

A UK study found that a diet high in flavanols such as berries, nuts, cocoa products, apples, and tea can improve blood circulation and vascular health.

Another study shows that a little exercise plus following the DASH diet leads to a remarkable reduction in blood pressure and weight loss.

This study was published in the journal Hypertension (Yang et al., 2022).

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