Two large studies from Europe reported that middle-aged and older adults who ate at least 3 ounces of fatty fish a week were 30 percent less likely to develop heart failure or acute coronary syndrome, which includes heart attack and chest pain, compared with individuals who did not eat fish.

“These studies add more evidence that consuming fatty fish regularly is associated with a lower likelihood of two major types of heart disease, the leading cause of death in western countries,” said Joyce Nettleton, D.Sc., editor of the PUFA Newsletter and Fats of Life. “Moreover, omega-3 fatty acids from seafood have diverse benefits in many other tissues and health conditions.”

Case in point, U.S. researchers who provided healthy toddlers different amounts of the omega-3 DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) found that those in the highest DHA group (130 mg per day) had significantly fewer respiratory illnesses—17% compared with 46%—than the group receiving unsupplemented formula.

“If confirmed in larger studies, these results could have far-reaching effects on the health of preschool and school-aged children who are frequently exposed to respiratory illnesses,” Nettleton noted.

Premenopausal women may also benefit from higher intakes of seafood omega-3 fatty acids. A large U.S. epidemiological study of 1,000 women showed that those with higher intakes of omega-3s had a 22 percent lower chance of developing endometriosis.

“These findings are especially intriguing because the treatment options for endometriosis are limited and often undesirable,” Nettleton said. “If proven effective in controlled intervention trials, omega-3s would offer a non-invasive treatment without side effects.”

For the first time, research in older adults linked fish consumption to a significantly lower chance of developing age-related hearing loss. In one study, those who ate fish at least one to two times a week experienced half the rate of progressive hearing loss over five years compared with those who didn’t eat fish. Recommendations to consume fatty fish at least twice a week may be well worth listening to.

People who sleep after processing and storing a memory carry out their intentions much better than people who try to execute their plan before getting to sleep, say psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis.

The researchers have shown that sleep enhances our ability to remember to do something in the future, a skill known as prospective memory.

Moreover, researchers studying the relationship between memory and sleep say that our ability to carry out our intentions is not so much a function of how firmly that intention has been embedded in our memories. Rather, the trigger that helps carry out our intentions is usually a place, situation, or circumstance—some context encountered the next day—that sparks the recall of an intended action.

These are the key findings from a study published online this month in Psychological Science. The focus of the work is on “prospective memory”—things we intend to do—as opposed to “retrospective memory”—things that have happened in the past.

Prospective memory includes such things as remembering to take a medication, buying a Mother’s Day card, or bringing home the ice cream for a birthday party.

While the vast majority of sleep literature in psychology is devoted to retrospective memory, this study is the first foray into the relationship between sleep and prospective memory, the kind of memory we put to work every day. The findings, researchers say, offer important contributions to the understanding of the role sleep plays in cognition as well as memory.

Let’s say that you intend to give a colleague a message tomorrow, says Mark McDaniel. Seeing the colleague the next day will be a strong cue for remembering to give the message. But, during the time your brain encoded the intention, you’re also vaguely thinking of a meeting the two of you will attend the next afternoon. The context of the conference room is weakly associated with your intention to give the message even though you haven’t really thought explicitly about associating the room with the message.

The study shows that sleep strengthens the weak association between the conference room (the context) and the delivery of the message (the intention). But sleep does little or nothing with the stronger association between the person and the message.

“We found that sleep benefits prospective memory by strengthening the weak associations in the brain, and that hasn’t been shown before,” says Michael Scullin, doctoral candidate in psychology.

“One of the more provocative findings we have is that sleep didn’t strengthen the link between the explicit cue, which is the person, and the intention, rather it strengthened the weak association and the intention,” McDaniel says.

The researchers believe the prospective memory process occurs during slow wave sleep—an early pattern in the sleep cycle—involving communication between the hippocampus and cortical regions. The hippocampus is very important in memory formation and reactivation and the cortical regions are keys to storing memories.

“We think that during slow wave sleep the hippocampus is reactivating these recently learned memories, taking them up, and placing them in long-term storage regions in the brain,” Scullin says. “The physiology of slow wave sleep seems very conducive to this kind of memory strengthening.”

The study involving 2,268 Minnesotans found that people who use any type of tanning bed for any amount of time are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma.

Frequent users are 2.5 to 3 times more likely to develop melanoma than those who never use tanning devices. (The study defines frequent uses as people who used indoor tanning for 50 plus hours, more than 100 sessions, or for 10-plus years. This increased risk applies similarly to all ages and genders.)

Details are reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

“We found that it didn’t matter the type of tanning device used; there was no safe tanning device,” says DeAnn Lazovich, lead researcher and associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota. “We also found—and this is new data—that the risk of getting melanoma is associated more with how much a person tans and not the age at which a person starts using tanning devices. Risk rises with frequency of use, regardless of age, gender, or device.”

Melanoma is one of the fastest increasing cancers across the United States and in Minnesota. About 69,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with melanoma this year; nearly 1,000 of those people will be Minnesotans.

Although melanoma accounts for only about 4 percent of all skin cancer, it causes about 79 percent of all deaths from skin cancer. In a more advanced state, melanoma is especially difficult to successfully treat.

Before this study, indoor tanning has been only weakly associated with melanoma risk, Lazovich says.

“Most reports were not able to adjust for sun exposure, confirm a dose-response, or examine specific tanning devices,” she adds. “Our population-based, case-control study was conducted to address these limitations.”

Funding for this research was provided by the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.

Researchers from the VA Medical Center, Minneapolis; University of New Mexico Cancer Center, Albuquerque; and Brown University contributed to the work.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center first observed water’s curious ability to increase blood pressure about 10 years ago, in patients who had lost their baroreflexes—the system that keeps blood pressure within a normal range.

The observation came as a complete surprise, says David Robertson, professor of medicine, pharmacology, and neurology.

“We had to unlearn the idea that water had no effect on blood pressure, which is what all medical students had been told until the last couple of years.”

Although water does not significantly raise blood pressure in healthy young subjects with intact baroreflexes, the investigators found that it does increase sympathetic nervous system activity and constrict blood vessels (which prevents pooling of blood in the extremities).

Because it raises sympathetic nervous system activity—and consequently energy expenditure—it does promote weight loss, Robertson says.

“I calculated it might be as much as five pounds a year if you drank three 16 ounce glasses of water a day and nothing else changed. This is not going to be the answer to the weight problem in the United States, but it’s interesting that activation of the sympathetic system is enough to do that.”

These findings prompted the American Red Cross to conduct a study of water drinking as a method for reducing fainting responses. The study found that drinking 16 ounces of water before blood donation reduced the fainting response by 20 percent.

“This response to water may turn out to be very important for retaining blood donors,” Robertson says. “If you pass out after giving blood, you pretty much never give blood again. If we can reduce fainting by 20 percent, we can reduce the unpleasantness of passing out and really bolster the number of people who can continue to be blood donors.”

Julia McHugh, a Vanderbilt student, tackled the questions of where water is acting, and how, in a series of studies in mice. The team’s latest findings are reported in the journal Hypertension.

McHugh and colleagues found that water introduced directly into the stomach or duodenum (the first part of the small intestine) raised blood pressure, which ruled out an oral or esophageal mechanism for the response. They also tested a similar volume of saline (salt-containing solution).

This did not raise blood pressure, which suggested that stretch of the tissues was not part of the mechanism and that perhaps water’s lack of salt might be important.

The investigators ultimately determined that water dilutes the plasma in the blood vessels leading away from the duodenum and that this short-lived reduction in salt concentration (hypo-osmolality) is responsible for water’s blood pressure-raising (pressor) effect.

They implicated a protein called Trpv4 in the mechanism. Mice lacking the Trpv4 gene did not have a pressor response to water.

While it is clear that water evokes a pressor response, the normal role for this physiological system is not certain.

McHugh says she found it fascinating that mice and humans share “such a primitive system, and yet we don’t know why it’s there or what beneficial effects it might have.”

The newly discovered system and its molecular mediators—such as Trpv4—may be targets for blood pressure regulation, particularly in situations of low blood pressure and fainting, the investigators say.

The findings also suggest that investigators who use water as a control substance (a “non-drug”) in studies may need to take water’s pressor effects into account.

The National Institutes of Health provided funding for the research.

The findings are important because impulsive personality traits are strongly associated with attention deficit/hyperactivity and antisocial personality disorders, and impulsivity is a key risk factor for developing substance abuse.

“The brain has a number of different thermostats, which sense the levels of certain brain chemicals and adjust the output of those chemicals accordingly, says Joshua Buckholtz, a PhD candidate in neuroscience working with David Zald, associate professor of psychology and psychiatry at Vanderbilt University.

“We show that one particular thermostat-like mechanism—midbrain autoreceptor regulation of striatal dopamine release—is out of whack in people with high levels of trait impulsiveness.”

Gaining a better understanding of the brain mechanisms that cause impulsivity could lead to better treatment of these disorders, which affect millions of people and cost society billions of dollars each year, according to the study that was published online July 31 in Science.

People with higher levels of impulsivity showed increased dopamine levels in a region of the brain called the striatum following the administration of the stimulant drug amphetamine.

These highly impulsive people showed lower amounts of a kind of receptor that sits on dopamine neurons in a region of the brain called the midbrain. These receptors—called autoreceptors—control the firing of the dopamine neuron, and can therefore regulate how much dopamine is present throughout the entire brain.

Buckholtz compares the regulation of dopamine by autoreceptors to the action of a thermostat:

“In your house, you have a thermostat that senses the ambient temperature and either cranks up or ramps down the activity of your furnace in response to current environmental conditions.

“The brain has a number of different thermostats, which sense the levels of certain brain chemicals and adjust the output of those chemicals accordingly. We show that one particular thermostat-like mechanism—midbrain autoreceptor regulation of striatal dopamine release—Is out of whack in people with high levels of trait impulsiveness,” he says.

As a result, too much dopamine is produced in certain regions of the brain associated with reward and motivation, at times leading to enhanced motivation to obtain rewards in impulsive individuals, who tend to seek rewards without considering the consequences of their actions, and without the ability to put the brakes on their behavior.

In addition, these data suggest that exaggerated dopamine responses to stimulant drugs may promote an especially strong craving for those drugs. This may explain why impulsive people are more likely to abuse drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine.

Better understanding the alterations in neural function that promote impulsivity might lead to improved treatments for psychiatric disorders that are characterized by high levels of impulsivity.

For example, it may be possible to use targeted drug therapies to correct the dysregulation in dopamine circuitry that results in excess dopamine in the striatum.

Certain drugs do affect the function of dopamine autoreceptors, Buckholtz says, and with further study it may be possible to use such medicines to re-regulate this circuitry to reduce levels of impulsivity.

In a new study, published in the August issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, children who took a simulated walk to school later experienced smaller elevations in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and perceived stress while taking a short exam than children who had gotten a simulated ride to school.

Cardiovascular reactivity—including changes in heart rate and blood pressure due to stress—is associated with the beginnings of cardiovascular disease in children, and atherosclerosis—the dangerous build-up of cholesterol, calcium, fat and other substances in artery walls—in adults.

“The cardiovascular disease process begins in childhood, so if we can find some way of stopping or slowing that process, that would provide an important health benefit,” says James Roemmich, associate professor of pediatrics and exercise and nutrition science at the University at Buffalo.

“We know that physical activity has a protective effect on the development of cardiovascular disease, and one way it may be doing so is by reducing stress reactivity.”

Roemmich says because it’s not known how long the protective effect of a bout of exercise lasts, parents and educators should promote active play time throughout the day.

“If it only lasts a couple of hours, then it would be most beneficial if a child walked or biked to school, then had recess during school, as well as a break at lunch, so they had opportunities for physical activity throughout the day,” Roemmich says.

“This would put them in a constantly protective state against stressors that they’re incurring during the school day, whether that be taking an exam, trying to fit in with peers or speaking in front of classmates.”

Roemmich says his study is the first to show that moderate-intensity exercise can reduce children’s cardiovascular reactivity during later, stressful activities. The research builds on his earlier work, which demonstrated that higher-intensity interval exercise could afford similar protection in children.

In the new study, Roemmich examined a group of 20 boys and 20 girls, all Caucasian and ages 10-14. All visited the Behavioral Medicine Research Laboratory in the morning.

To simulate a ride to school, half sat in a comfortable chair and watched a 10-minute slide show of images of a suburban neighborhood, ending with an image of a suburban school.

The other half performed a one-mile walk on a treadmill at a self-selected pace, wearing a book bag containing 10 percent of their body weight. As they walked, the images of the suburban neighborhood were projected onto a screen.

Following a 20-minute rest period after completing the passive and active commutes, all children took a Stroop test, which asks subjects to correctly identify the color of color names printed in the wrong color (the word “green” printed in blue ink, for instance).

On average, during this activity, heart rate increased by about three beats per minute in children who walked, compared with about 11 beats per minute in children who “rode” to school. Similarly, the rise in systolic blood pressure was more than three times higher, and the change in perceived stress about twice as high, for the passive commuters.

“The perception of a stressor as a threat is the beginning of the stress reactivity process, so if you can dampen that initial perception, then you reduce the magnitude of the fight-or-flight response,” Roemmich says. “This results in lower heart rate and blood pressure responses to the stressor. Exercise helped dampen even the initial respons

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) studied 100,000 produce pesticide reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to create a list of 49 of the dirtiest and cleanest produce.

So before you hit the grocery store, see how some of your favorite fruits and veggies measured up.

Celery: Dirty
This stalky vegetable tops the dirty list. Research showed that a single celery stalk had 13 pesticides, while, on the whole, celery contained as many as 67 pesticides.

Chemicals fester on this vegetable as it has no protective skin and its stems cup inward, making it difficult to wash the entire surface of the stalk. It’s not easy to find locally grown celery, so if you like this crunchy veggie, go organic.

Peaches: Dirty
Peaches are laced with 67 different chemicals, placing it second on the 2010 Dirty Dozen list of most contaminated fruits and vegetables. They have soft fuzzy skin, a delicate structure, and high susceptibility to most pests, causing them to sprayed more frequently.

Strawberries: Dirty
This red, juicy fruit has a soft, seedy skin, allowing easier absorption of pesticides. Research showed that strawberries contained 53 pesticides. Try to buy strawberries at a local farmer’s market for a sweet dessert.

Apples: Dirty
Apples are high-maintenance fruit, needing many pesticides to stave off mold, pests, and diseases. The EWG found 47 different kinds of pesticides on apples, and while produce washes can help remove some of the residue, they’re not 100% effective.

Blueberries (domestic): Dirty
These antioxidant-rich berries have a thin layer of skin that allows chemicals to more easily contaminate the fruit. Domestic blueberries were loaded with 13 pesticides on a single sample, according to the EWG. Imported blueberries also made the list at No. 14 for the dirtiest produce.

Sweet bell pepper: Dirty
This crunchy, yet thin-skinned, vegetable is highly susceptible to pesticides. According to the EWG, sweet bell peppers showed traces of 63 types of pesticides. While some pesticides can be washed away, many still remain.

Spinach, kale, collard greens: Dirty
These leafy green vegetables are on the Dirty Dozen list, with spinach loaded with 45 different kinds of pesticides and kale 57.

In 2006, Dole recalled bagged baby spinach after multiple E. coli illnesses associated with the vegetable made their way across the country.

Grapes (imported): Dirty
These tiny fruit have extremely thin skins, allowing for easy absorption of pesticides. And think twice before buying imported wine. The grapes that go into the wine could be coming from vineyards that use too many pesticides.

Potatoes: Dirty
Have you ever indulged in a potato skin at your favorite restaurant? You might want to think twice before eating the skin. This spud was highly laced with pesticides—36, according to the EWG—that are needed to prevent pests and diseases.

Cherries: Dirty
Cherries, like blueberries, strawberries, and peaches, have a thin coating of skin—often not enough to protect the fruit from harmful pesticides.

Research showed cherries grown in the U.S. had three times the amount of pesticides as imported cherries. Because cherries contain ellagic acid, an antioxidant that neutralizes carcinogens, it’s worthwhile to buy organic or seek imported ones.

Clean: Onions, Asparagus, Eggplant, Avocado, and Pineapple
These fruits and veggies all received high marks. Either they are naturally less endangered by pests, and therefore require fewer pesticides, or their thick skins protect the edible insides from soaking any chemicals.

A couple is defined as a husband and wife, mom and daughter, father and son, co-workers—basically a partner to help you through the challenge. We encourage creative thinking here, as well as traditional couples.

Download the official entry form here.

This program will be a six month commitment to gain a lifetime of knowledge for healthy living.  Each couple will need to be available for interviews and photo shoots for Healthy & Fit Magazine.  The first half of the challenge is designed to give you step by step instruction and illustration on the What, How, and Why of weight loss.  The second half is designed to show you that you can do it on your own.

Here is what you can expect:

• For the first three months
  • Two (2) set sessions per week at State of Fitness (24 total)
  • One session is with a coach in the semi-private training and one is on weight management and nutrition education
  • Each participant will be given a notebook and food journal along with weekly menus
  • State of Fitness staff will weigh and measure each contestant to accurately chart progress
  • Unlimited group coaching classes
  • Plus unlimited use of the State of Fitness facility including all mind and body classes

• For the next three months
  • 1 session per week is offered as support and continuing weight management and nutrition education
  • State of Fitness staff will continue to weigh in and chart progress weekly
  • Unlimited group coaching classes at State of Fitness
  • Plus unlimited use of the State of Fitness facility including all mind and body classes

Monthly prizes will be awarded based on participation and top weight loss percentage. Couples will be featured monthly in Healthy & Fit Magazine and on the Healthy & Fit Magazine and State of Fitness websites.

There is a cost to this year’s challenge and no one will be turned away who enters. The cost is $129 per person per month for the six month challenge.

To enter the competition, please download the following form and complete it by November 1.

Nichols, who lives in Mason, was referred to a registered dietitian at Ingham Regional Medical Center where she learned what product ingredients, foods and beverages are safe to eat and drink. She also joined a local celiac support group. “At first, I didn’t think I needed a support group,” says Nichols, “But when I started the special diet, it was a big adjustment—it was overwhelming. There’s so much information about celiac disease on the Internet: Some is great and helpful, but not all is factual. The support group is a valuable source of accurate information and advice such as where to find quality products and good recipes.” Nichols symptoms improved quickly and over time, her body has healed, but she must follow a special diet for the rest of her life. “Nine out of ten people who have celiac disease don’t know it. If you think you have it, get the tests done to find out. Managing celiac disease properly is important because, if you don’t, it can cause other health problems and diseases.”

What is celiac disease?
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the villi (the finger-like projections lining the small intestines) are damaged by gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Symptoms are highly variable and can occur at any age. One or more of these symptoms may be present in varying degrees of severity: diarrhea, constipation (or both), anemia, nausea, reflux, bloating, gas, lactose intolerance, weight loss, mouth ulcers, extreme fatigue, bone and joint pain, easy bruising, menstrual irregularities, miscarriage, infertility, migraines, depression, ataxia, seizures, neuropathy, elevated liver enzymes, and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), a skin condition. Those who have DH have celiac disease.

What causes celiac disease?

Celiac disease is a common, yet under-diagnosed, inherited disorder. It’s estimated to affect as many as 1 in 100 Americans. Celiac disease may be triggered by a viral or gastrointestinal infection, pregnancy, severe stress or surgery. In those who are genetically susceptible, consuming gluten triggers an autoimmune response which damages the villi lining the small intestine, causing malabsorption of nutrients. Untreated celiac disease can result in nutrient deficiencies, osteoporosis, increased risk of intestinal cancers, reproductive complications and other autoimmune disorders.

How is celiac disease diagnosed?

Specific blood tests are used for the initial diagnosis, but results must be confirmed by a biopsy of the small intestine. For accurate results, usual eating habits must be continued: Consuming a gluten-free diet will skew the test results.

How is celiac disease managed?

The only treatment for celiac disease is a strict gluten-free diet for life. Referral to a registered dietitian with expertise in celiac disease is crucial for assessment, education and follow up. Joining a local and/or national celiac group for ongoing support is also recommended.

“No matter where you go, food is a part of your life,” says Nichols. “Gluten is in things you would never imagine like modified food starch, malt vinegar, canned chicken and Gatorade. I have to read every single label. I never know if gluten is in the food that’s served at friends’ houses, potlucks or weddings, so I had to get used to preparing my own food and eating at home beforehand. I also take my own food everywhere I go.”

Resources:
Gluten-Free Diet Information and Resources: www.glutenfreediet.ca
Michigan Capital Celiac/DH Group: http://micapitalceliacs.atspace.com
Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic by Dr. Peter Green and Rory Jones
Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide by Shelley Case
The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread by Bette Hagman

Karen Giles-Smith, MS, RD, is a registered dietitian and freelance writer based in Mason, Michigan. Visit her Web site and blog at www.TheWellnessWriter.com