Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

How do you make healthy food more popular? Start by giving it a yummy-sounding name, researchers say. People are much more likely to choose good-for-you foods like broccoli or carrots if labeled with names that emphasize taste over nutritional value, according to Alia Crum, an assistant professor of psychology at Stanford University, and her colleagues. In previous research, Crum’s team found that Stanford students were far more likely to go for decadent-sounding veggies like “twisted citrus glazed carrots” over an equivalent option that might be labeled “dietetic carrots.” The key, however, is the food must actually be tasty, the new study confirms. “This is radically different from our current cultural approach to healthy eating which, by focusing on health to the neglect of taste, inadvertently instills the mindset that healthy eating is tasteless and depriving,” Crum, senior author of the new report, said in a university news release. “And yet in retrospect, it’s like, of course, why haven’t we been focusing on making healthy foods more delicious and indulgent all along?” she added. In the new study, the researchers tracked food choices made by students enrolled across a network of 57 U.S. colleges and universities. The investigators looked at 71 vegetable dishes labeled with either taste-focused, health-focused or neutral names. Students were 29% more likely to select veggies when taste was emphasized rather than health.… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Applying to college can be a stressful experience for teens, says Hillside Treatment Center. Made worse by other sources of stress — such as homework and extracurricular activities — anxiety during this time is common. To ease college application anxiety, Hillside Treatment Center encourages parents to: Create realistic expectations. Avoid comparing your child to others. Offer support and pay attention to their feelings. Ensure your child eats well and gets enough sleep. Focus on finding the right college, not necessarily the best college. Enjoy quality time with your child, away from college concerns.

When you hear the word diet, you might think only of weight loss. But a lifestyle diet can bring even greater benefits. One option that belongs on your radar is the MIND diet created by researchers at Rush University in Chicago. MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. It’s a hybrid of those two heart-healthy diets, both of which reduce the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack and stroke. In initial studies, the MIND diet offered a huge additional benefit — lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by up to 53% in participants who stuck to it rigorously and by about 35% in those who only did so moderately well. But the key is to start now, no matter your age, because it seems like the longer you follow it, the lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Do Eat: Green leafy vegetables and other vegetables Nuts Blueberries or strawberries Beans Whole grains Fish Poultry Olive oil Wine Do Limit: Red meat Butter and stick margarine to less than a tablespoon a day Cheese, pastries, sweets, fried or fast food to one serving in total per week The MIND diet isn’t complicated. Each day have at least three servings of whole grains, a salad and one other vegetable along with a glass of wine. On most days, make nuts your snack. Have beans… read on >

Feel bad about feeling bad? Don’t. Studies done at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that acknowledging a blue mood — and not berating yourself for it — can help you work through it more easily. It turns out that accepting negative emotions is better for your long-term mental health than constantly passing judgment on yourself, which can cause your feelings of negativity to snowball. Putting pressure on yourself to feel upbeat can make you feel even more downbeat, according to the research. It turns out that the people who let feelings like sadness, disappointment and even resentment run their course had fewer mood disorder symptoms than people who judged themselves for having them or who tried to bury them. Accepting negative emotions seems to help you better cope with your stressors. There’s one important caveat, however. While it helps to acknowledge the normalness of negative emotions and not think you can — or need — to feel happy 24/7, it’s also important not to ignore a persistent and deep blue mood, and other signs that could signal depression. Symptoms of depression include a loss of interest in things that you used to enjoy, and deep feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness that last for three or more months. Unlike a blue mood, depression needs treatment, such as counseling, medication or both. Other Key Signs… read on >

Brexit has thrown the United Kingdom into political and economic uncertainty, but it might have actually triggered a psychotic break in one man, a new report suggests. The 2016 Brexit referendum started the process of the U.K. leaving the European Union. Three weeks after the referendum, a middle-aged man was taken by paramedics to the hospital in an acute psychotic state. He was confused, agitated and had disordered thoughts and speech. He was hearing voices and was delusional and paranoid, believing people were spying on him and planning to kill him, and radio/TV discussions were targeting him. Since the referendum, his wife said, the man had found it difficult to cope with the politics around him and became increasingly worried and had difficulty sleeping. Although he took drugs to deal with his anxiety and agitation, he got worse. After two weeks in the hospital, he was sent home on tranquilizers and antipsychotic drugs. He made a full recovery and has had no further episodes as of his last checkup in June. There was no history of mental illness in his family. But before the referendum, he had experienced work and family pressures, the report noted. It was published Oct. 1 in the journal BMJ Case Reports. And the man had experienced a psychotic episode 13 years earlier, following work stress. That episode had been much… read on >

TUESDAY, Oct. 1, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Treating depression during pregnancy can be vital to the health of both mother and child, but new research suggests that taking antidepressants may make a woman more vulnerable to gestational diabetes. Specifically, the drugs venlafaxine (Effexor) and amitriptyline (Endep) were associated with the highest risk, especially when taken for a long time. Still, “depression needs to be treated during pregnancy,” said study author Anick Berard, research chair of medications, pregnancy and lactation at the University of Montreal. “If a woman is pregnant and is taking antidepressants, she should not stop by herself, but should have a discussion with her physician to assess the best way forward,” she said. There are many types of treatments for depression — antidepressants are only one option, Berard noted. And because this study looked back at data over time, it can’t prove that antidepressants cause gestational diabetes, only that the two appear linked. But the connection might be that antidepressants affect sugar metabolism. Also, a side effect of antidepressants is weight gain, which is a risk factor for diabetes, Berard and her university colleagues pointed out. Venlafaxine is in a class of drugs called serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and amitriptyline is an older type of drug called a tricyclic antidepressant. Gestational diabetes can result in overweight babies and longer bouts of… read on >

Foam rollers are great tools for improving range of motion before a workout and easing soreness as part of the cooldown after exercise. Rollers come in different densities. As a general guideline, choose low-density if you’re a beginner or if you’re rehabbing and need to slowly work to increase blood flow to the injured area. Medium-density rollers often have raised lines to encourage more oxygen and blood to reach the spot you’re working on. High-density foam rollers are made for more advanced athletes. The technique for using a foam roller is simple. Position the roller directly under the muscle or area you want to reach and gently roll back and forth on it. Take care not to roll over any joints. For hamstrings, position the roller under your legs, just above the backs of the knees. Press your hands into the floor to lift your rear off the ground and slowly roll back and forth along the length of your thighs. For calves, move the roller below the knees and roll to just above the ankles and back. For quads, turn onto your stomach and place the roller under your thighs. Prop yourself up on your elbows before you roll back and forth. If you feel a knot or trigger point, stop when you roll onto it and press into the roller for 20 to… read on >

Could living near the coast be an inexpensive balm for mental troubles? “Our research suggests, for the first time, that people in poorer households living close to the coast experience fewer symptoms of mental health disorders,” said researcher Dr. Jo Garrett, from the University of Exeter, in England. “When it comes to mental health, this ‘protective’ zone could play a useful role in helping to level the playing field between those on a high and low income,” Garrett said in a university news release. For the study, her team analyzed survey responses from nearly 26,000 people who took part in the Health Survey for England. The investigators compared people’s health to their proximity to the coast and found that people living in towns and cities near the coastline reported having better mental health, even the poorest folks. About one in six adults in England suffers from mental anxiety and depression, and they are more likely from poorer families, the study authors noted. Research into what the investigators call “blue health” should boost efforts by governments “to protect, create and encourage the use of coastal spaces,” said Dr. Mathew White, an environmental psychologist at the university. “We need to help policy makers understand how to maximise the wellbeing benefits of ‘blue’ spaces in towns and cities and ensure that access is fair and inclusive for everyone.”… read on >

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is in the news a lot, and now newer research has prompted a leading pediatricians’ group to update its guidelines for diagnosing and treating the disorder for the first time since 2011. Dr. Mark Wolraich, lead author of the guidelines, noted that there weren’t any dramatic differences between these and previous guidelines. But, he said, these latest updates keep the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines in sync with the same diagnostic and treatment criteria used by child and adolescent psychiatrists. ADHD “is not a ‘new’ diagnosis. It’s a real diagnosis that needs treatment,” said Wolraich. “There are two forms of treatment effective for ADHD: medications, especially stimulant medications; and behavioral treatments. Neither treatment is curative,” he said, but they can help manage the symptoms. Wolraich is an emeritus professor at the University of Oklahoma, in Oklahoma City. More than 9% of U.S. children between the ages of 2 and 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the guideline authors. Boys are more than twice as likely as girls to be diagnosed with the disorder. Kids with ADHD often have symptoms of another mental disorder, such as depression or anxiety, and they may also have learning and language problems. Updates to the guidelines include: Changing the age at which symptoms need to have first started. Previously, symptoms needed to begin before age… read on >

New research suggests that anxiety and depression can make it hard for some kids to manage their asthma. Young patients with all three conditions ended up in the emergency room nearly twice as often as kids who only struggle with asthma, the study found. “Asthma self-management is complex, requiring recognition of symptoms, adherence to medication and avoidance of triggers,” explained study first author Dr. Naomi Bardach. She is from the University of California, San Francisco’s department of pediatrics and Institute for Health Policy Studies. “The symptoms of anxiety and depression can make it more challenging to follow treatment, leading to more ER visits,” she added in a university news release. “There also may be a greater tendency to use the ER for supportive services, even in the absence of a serious asthma attack.” Though many of these emergency department visits are not necessary, they account for 62% of asthma-related costs, the investigators found. Anxiety and depression are more common in children with asthma than in those without the lung disease, the researchers noted. Among the asthma patients in the study, just over 11% had anxiety and nearly 6% had depression. This compared with about 7% and 3%, respectively, for children aged 3 to 17 in the general population, based on data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the study, the researchers… read on >