A new study conducted by the Mayo Clinic has an interesting main objective: to find out if having a dog in your room while you sleep could have a negative or positive impact on the quality of sleep you experience. A previous study from 2015 (organized by the same institution) surveyed pet owners on whether they allowed their pets to sleep in their bedroom. A majority permitted their furry best friends to sleep in their rooms with them, but a group of these responders did identify their pets as disruptive to their rest.

This new study, titled “The Effect of Dogs on Human Sleep in the Home Sleep Environment,” expands on the original study, with a focus specifically on dogs. 40 study participants and their dogs wore accelerometers to help track their level of relaxation over a week-long evaluation period. “We found that many people actually find comfort and a sense of security from sleeping with their pets,” said Luis Krahn, a specialist in sleep medicine at the Mayo Clinic.

There are some other factors that should be considered when evaluating this outcome. For one, it was found that people who allowed their dog to sleep on the bed with them experienced lower quality sleep than those who had a separate dog bed in their room. Also, none of the dogs were younger than 6 months, so of course the data may be different for people with energetic or untrained puppies.

Overall, the conclusion of this study should be seen as positive to most dog owners, “A dog’s presence in the bedroom may not be disruptive to human sleep, as was previously suspected.”

For the full article, click here.

To read more about this study, visit the Mayo Clinic website here.

The immediate impacts of the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas have been well documented over the past week, but risks will remain after the waters subside. The water damage to homes will be irreversible, and the cleanup required by the community to restore large cities like Houston will be daunting. It is easy to overlook the possible long-term effects of sewage and waterborne germs for the time being, as emergency responders’ main concern is to prevent drownings or rescue stranded people from their homes. Eventually, the focus must shift to the mental effects a disaster such as this can have on its victims.

 

 

Those who have sought relief at shelters also face the risks of being around large groups of people in limited space. Simple illnesses can spread quickly, and they can have a devastating effect if not addressed. “This is rapidly evolving. I always worry in these large congregations of people about viral outbreaks that cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. And we are just getting started,” stated Dr. David Persse, the director of Houston’s Emergency Medical Services.

Maintaining a sanitary environment for survivors is a key priority for volunteers working in these shelters.

Surveys of victims from Hurricane Katrina show that around 10% of victims suffered some form of post-traumatic stress disorder after the hurricane that devastated New Orleans. It will be important for the people of Houston to evaluate their mental health as well as their physical health once this disaster has been dealt with.

For more on this subject, click here.

If you are interested in contributing to the relief effort for the people of Texas and Louisiana, you can find more information about making a financial donation to the Red Cross here.

A research study conducted as part of an academic research program at the University of North Dakota has found evidence that when drinks with added sugar are consumed alongside meals that contain a large amount of protein, the body’s metabolism becomes less efficient. This triggers the body to increase the amount of fat it creates and stores, which leads to increased weight gain and can result in someone becoming overweight or obese.

The study, published in a journal called BioMed Central, used a metabolic chamber to evaluate participants over 2, 24-hour study visits. A metabolic chamber is an airtight room that allows researchers to quantify how the volunteers’ bodies are using the nutrients they consume. The key metrics evaluated in this case were oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, and urinary nitrogen excretion.

Each participant ate the exact same foods throughout their testing days; one day consisted of foods with a 15% protein content, the other a 30% protein content. Each meal they consumed was accompanied by either a drink sweetened with sugar, or an artificially-sweetened drink. After a participant consumed a protein rich meal along-side a sugary drink, their fat use and diet-induced thermogenesis decreased by an amount greater than the other combinations of drinks and meals.

As always it is important to not only consider the individual food items you are consuming, but also the sum of these items.

For the full article, click here.

A revision of four major studies of the health benefits of coconut oil by the American Heart Association (AHA) has revealed that it may not be the cure-all some health gurus make it out to be. The AHA has released a presidential advisory that saturated fats, contained in coconut oil, are not a healthy fat and should be avoided. Coconut oil is reported as being 82% saturated fat, and can raise your LDL (bad cholesterol) by as much as items like butter, palm oil or beef fat. High levels of LDL are a major link to cardiovascular disease and stroke risk. There ha been plenty of conflicting and controversial research done on this subject recently, and there are many opinions on the health effects of saturated fats.

 

 

Registered Canadian dietitian Cheryl Strachan supports the new claims by the AHA, stating “The hype is way ahead of the evidence. If you look on the internet, you’ll see it’s a cure for everything from Alzheimer’s disease to heart disease. But the evidence to support that is just not there.” Of course, coconut oil does not need to be avoided completely but enjoyed in moderation. Items such as olive oil and canola oil are much healthier for day-to-day usage.

According to a recent poll, it was found that 72% of Americans believe coconut oil is considered a healthy fat. Researchers believe that coconut oil is just another health craze born from a “kernel of truth,” and made publicly popular by internet culture.

To read the full article on coconut oil, click here.

An American study released near the end of last year has brought forward evidence that cases of dementia in the U.S. have been dropping since 2002. This drop of 3% translates to around 1.5 million fewer cases of dementia in the United States among people aged 65 or older. According to the “Key Points” of the study, “Increasing educational attainment and better control of cardiovascular risk factors may have contributed to the improvement, but the full set of social, behavioral, and medical factors contributing to the improvement is still uncertain.”

So what do these findings mean for Canada? Being a developed country and having a similar population to the nation the study was conducted in could lead some to believe Canada has been experiencing a similar phenomenon. But as Carmela Tartaglia from the University of Toronto says, it may not be so simple: “The total number of people with dementia is still rising. That’s a function of age, and more and more people are living longer. There’s no doubt that it will be a very expensive problem. The annual cost of caring for dementia patients in Canada today is about $10 billion, and we expect that will rise to more than $16 billion by 2031. So we really need a more targeted approach.”

There are a couple of ways you can help to reduce your risk of serious cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The first is keeping to a regular exercise regimen. Aerobic exercise has proven to be the most effective form of exercise for reducing risk. Examples of this type of exercise include jogging, biking, swimming, walking and hiking. Other forms of exercise such as weight training and stretching also have their benefits.

The second method to reduce your risk is to follow a dietary pattern recommended by epidemiological studies, such as the MIND diet researched in 2015. Many of these diet patterns are based on what is known as the “Mediterranean Diet,” that is characterized by a high consumption of vegetables and olive oil, and a moderate consumption of proteins. These styles of nutrition consumption are often associated with slower cognitive decline.

For the full article, click here.

For the full study results showing a reduced prevalence of dementia in the U.S., click here.