Heart-healthy cat naps
Afternoon naps may do more than just leave you refreshed, they be as good as drugs at protecting your heart against disease. A research group at the Harvard School for Public Health in Boston has found that those who nap regularly-at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes-have a 37 per cent lower chance of dying of a heart attack. The study involved nearly 24,000 volunteer subjects ranging from 20 to 86 years old. Tracking volunteers for an average of six years and controlling for other factors like diet, physical activity and gender, the study found that the protective effect of napping was more substantial in working subjects than retired ones. The authors suggest that napping may play as important a role in heart health as diet or cholesterol-lowering drugs by reducing stress hormones, making sleep important for rejuvenating stressed workers. Other studies have shown that high levels of stress hormones lead to inflammation of blood vessels, a precursor to heart disease.
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine
-Abigale Miller
It tastes like purple!
Can the colour of a drink change how it tastes? Researchers investigating the effects of colour, sugar levels, and brand name on the perceived taste of orange juice have found that it can. While brand name influenced people’s preferences for one cup of juice over another, labeling one cup with a premium brand and another with an inexpensive brand did not affect perceptions of taste. However, when given two cups of the same juice with one cup darkened by food colouring, the study’s participants thought they perceived differences in taste. Surprisingly, when given two cups of juice of the same colour, with one cup sweetened with additional sugar, the participants failed to notice the difference.
Source: Journal of Consumer Research
-Mayce Al-Sukhni
Poor poor prognoses
Despite Canada’s apparently equal-access health care system, University of Alberta researchers have suggested that all people may not receive equal treatment. A recent study found that, compared to richer people, people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who suffer heart attacks don’t recover as easily. They are less likely to undergo aggressive medical treatment, they frequent emergency departments more often and have higher mortality rates one year after the attack. Poorer patients were less likely to be treated with invasive procedures, compounding the medical difficulties of these patients and leads to worse prognoses. However, when patients did receive invasive cardiac procedures, the mortality rates were similar between the two groups. Considering the many difficulties faced by poorer patients, including purchasing medications and having adequate social support systems, it was expected that richer patients would do much better than poorer ones.
Source: American Journal of Medicine
-Mayce Al-Sukhni
