"study" news and stories

Wine, fast food, beer, a heavy meal: all things that make you crash right to sleep, right? New research shows that though these foods may help you fall asleep, they don't actually make your sleep any more restful.

Washington Post columnist Jennifer LaRue Huget recently wondered if there were some magic food to solve sleep problems but found that it was more plausible to define which foods actually hinder sleep.

As it turns out, if you want to get a good night's rest, don't consume a ton of fat or alcohol before hitting the hay, as these both have the ability to disrupt the REM cycle, which is when your body actually rests.

Beer and belly. Photo: Paul Keleher, Flickr

From the UK comes excellent news for beer drinkers -- and their bellies: According to the results of a new study, beer bellies are caused by genetics, not beer.

After tracking 7,876 men and 12,749 women over the course of eight and a half years, a group of German and Swedish researchers discovered that while regular drinkers -- especially those who consumed the equivalent of two pints a day -- were more likely to gain weight overall, that weight did not necessarily accumulate in the abdominal region. The scientists concluded that while "beer consumption seems to be rather associated with an increase in overall body fatness," evidence of more "site-specific" weight gain was limited. Somewhat unsurprisingly, given its pivotal role in most weighty matters, genetics was the real culprit.

The news couldn't have come at a better time, i.e summer, when hot days call out for cold brews and beer aficionados seek sweet relief in air-conditioned bars across the country. It's possibly the best news since, oh, last week, when New York City declared July Good Beer Month, and will doubtless inspire countless toasts made over frosty mugs held high.

Photo: Brettf/Flickr

File under Common Sense: A new study finds that carrots cooked whole have 25 percent more cancer-fighting power than carrots that are chopped up before they're cooked.

Why? More cutting means more surface area. And more surface area means more exposure to cooking water, which leaches out the carrot's nutrients. Among those nutrients is falcarinol, an anti-cancer compound.

That discovery should come as no surprise to anyone who's ever eaten carrots that have been boiled within an inch of their life: the more they're cooked, the less flavor they retain. So it follows that if flavor can be lost, so can nutrients.

The scientists who conducted the study at England's Newcastle University also made the connection between lost nutrients and flavor, noting that the whole-cooked carrots also tasted better because they retained more of their natural sugars.

Better health and better flavor: a win-win situation, cloaked in a flattering shade of orange.

The obesity epidemic in the US has been well documented, but could it be caused, at least in part, by thinking? There's a new study out that indicates thinking could contribute to an expanding waistline.

Researchers split participants into three groups: one group just rested, one had to read, the last one had to complete mental tests on a computer. Then all the participants were allowed to eat whatever they wanted to. Even though they only used about three more calories, the groups who were using their brains ate 200 (the readers) and 250 (the computer test takers) more calories. Through extensive blood sample-taking (before, during, and after the experiment), the researchers found wide variations in blood glucose levels from different phases of the experiment.

They concluded that "the body reacts to these fluctuations by demanding food to restore glucose, a sugar that is the brain's fuel. Glucose is converted by the body from carbohydrates and is supplied to the brain via the bloodstream. The brain cannot make glucose and so needs a constant supply. Brain cells need twice as much energy as other cells in the body. "

They cautioned that people who have intellectually demanding jobs should keep this in mind when they're choosing what and how much to eat. I think we all need to keep this in mind, as well as get out of the office to go for a walk.

It's Monday morning, and if you have a lot of work to catch up on or a deadline to meet, consider popping a piece of gum.

There's a new study from Australia that found chewing gum not only raises alertness, it also reduces stress and anxiety. Study participants were subjected to a test called DISS (Defined Intensity Stressor Simulation). The gum chewers also had "significant improvement in overall performance on multi-tasking activities."

The study was done in conjunction with Wrigley, and their Wrigley Science Institute. I'm not discounting the study results, but I also think that's something to keep in mind. What do you think about this study?