Tame Inflammation with Whole Grains

Swapping refined grains for whole ones could lower your levels of a protein linked to heart disease and diabetes, suggests a new study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. For 12 weeks, 50 obese adults ate low-fat dairy, lean protein, five daily servings of fruits and veggies, and either whole or refined grains. Both groups lost an average of 8 to 11 pounds, but only study members on the whole-grain-rich diet had a decrease in C-reactive protein, an inflammation marker associated with a number of diseases.

By cooking a pot of brown rice, barley, or quinoa each week and refrigerating it, you can add whole grains to every meal, says Robin Asbell, author of The New Whole Grains Cookbook. Serve grains with scrambled eggs, stir into soups, and reheat with leftover vegetables for a quick stir-fry.

Water Bottle Warning

Think twice before drinking hot liquids from plastic bottles. New research from the University of Cincinnati shown that bottles made of polycarbonate plastic can release a certain endocrine-disrupting chemical up to 55 times faster when exposed to hot water. A synthetic chemical also found in baby bottles, bisphenol A (BPA) is known to mimic female hormones and alter endocrine function. Although there's limited research on BPA's human-health effects, a number of animal studies have concluded that the chemical may interfere with reproduction and hamper brain development.

Even when they're not filled with hot liquid, polycarbonate bottles can leak BPA. But occasionally drinking cold water from plastic isn't likely to drastically increase your exposure, says Kirby Donnelly, Ph.D., head of Texas A&M University's Environmental and Occupational Health department. Still, he notes, opting for glass or stainless-steel bottles is the best way to avoid BPA and other potentially harmful synthetic chemicals.

Straight From The Shelf

Want to live a richer life? Start by investing in the most incredible resource of all: the one between your ears. In Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want, James Arthur Ray points out that last year, 85 percent of North American households didn't buy a nonfiction book and 90 percent of those who did didn't read it. Yet our Tv's run an average of more than six hours per day. "I've never met one massively high achiever who has time to sit in front of the plug-in drug," he writes. Instead, Ray suggests hitting the books and giving yourself a break from the 24/7 news cycle. "You may need to be informed," Ray notes, "but you don't have to be inundated."

Clean the Air

According to the EPA, an estimated 20 percent of respiratory-related hospital visits in summer have ozone pollution to blame. Breathe easier and do your part for cleaner air by updating your lawn mower. Operating a pre-1997 model for one hour can pollute just as much as driving a car for 65 miles.

Exercise Improves Your Body and Your Brain

Exercise is a critical component of good health, especially as you age. Exercise will help you:

• sleep better
• Lose weight, gain weight, or maintain weight, depending on your needs
• Improve your resistance to fight infections
• Lower your risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes
• Help your brain work better, making you smarter

Key points to remember when exercising:

• Listen to your body
• Be consistent
• Start with walking if you are overweight
• Increase your intensity regularily
• Stick with it

Simple Secrets to Living Longer and Happier

Researchers may have found a way to help people see the biggger, broader picture: Positive emotions.

In this study, researchers asked a group of nearly 90 students to watch one of three video genres: horror to induce anxiety, comedy to induce joy and laughter or "neutral" to have no effect on emotions. After viewing one of the three movies, the students were then shown 28 yearbook-style photos of college-aged people in random order for 500 milliseconde.

Findings showed:

• Students who watched the comedy had much higher positive emotions, while those who viewed the horror movie had far more negative emotions.
• In a testing phase, more images passed by and students were asked to acknowledge whether or not they had seen the photos earlier -- those in a positive mood had a far greater ability to recognize members of another race, while their ability to recognize members of their own race remained the same.

It was concluded that negative emotions create a "tunnel vision" view of the world, whereas positive emotions (i.e. joy, humor and happiness) promote big-picture thinking and allow one to become more inclusive and detail-oriented. Also, positive emotions allow one to think in terms of "us" rather than "them".

University of Michigan News Service

Does Sunshine Really Cause Skin Cancer?

Dermatologist Dr. Bernard Ackerman devotes many hours of his time diagnosing cases of cancer. On a recent trip, he didn't seem worried about the potential risk of the disease while he sunbathed without the use of sunscreen or a hat.

Ackerman, an expert in the field of dermatology, said that the connection between melanoma and the sun is both inconclusive and inconsistent.

Commonly held assumptions on the sun and melanoma:

• If a person is badly sunburned, to the point of blistering at an early age in their life, they will develop skin cancer later on in life. Ackerman pointed out there were contradictions in the studies supporting this theory.
• Another common assumption is that sunscreen is that sunscreen acts as a protetion against melanoma. To counter this theory, Ackerman referred to a study completed in a dermatology journal on the subject that didn't provide any factual evidence to support this theory.

The more intense the exposure to the sun, the greater the liklihood of developing melanoma. Ackerman claimed that much of the epidemiological research is innaccurate and doesn't evaluate cause and effect findings.

Ackerman advised keeping out of the sun if you're concerned about premature aging or if you're very fair-skinned due to the increased risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma, a less dangerous form of cancer. Otherwise, Ackerman said it was not wise to hold onto the beliefs that included avoiding the sun and using sunscreen as ways to protect against melanoma.

ContraCosta Times