HEALTH BULLETIN .CO: November 2014

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

No wonder we diet after the holidays! Thanksgiving travelers eat 8,300 Cinnabons EVERY HOUR - that's 175million calories per day

American travels trying to get home for the holidays will be fueling up on Cinnabons, it seems.

Cinnabon has revealed that it expects to sell nearly one million rolls between Wednesday and Sunday - that's a whopping 8,300 rolls every hour, and 175million calories per day.

'Some people wait all year to indulge,' Deborah Rowley, Cinnabon’s vice president of new market operations, told Bloomberg Businessweek of the 880-calorie cinnamon roll.

Cinnabon has revealed that it expects to sell nearly one million rolls between Wednesday and Sunday - that's a whopping 8,300 rolls every hour

According to Ms Rowley, Cinnabon sales increase about 50per cent from Thanksgiving until January 2nd, with Las Vegas airport being the biggest Cinnabon seller.

Cinnabon, which was founded in Seattle in 1985, now operates more than 770 locations worldwide, and according to Google, even searches for the sweet treat increase during the holiday period.

Christmas Eve, however, is Cinnabon's busiest day of the year with some stores receiving 500 pre-orders that day.

'It’s kind of crazy,' admitted Ms Rowley.

And for Cinnabon lovers that want to indulge in moderation, the chain launched a store on November 23 that sells bite-sized versions of the treat.

The Bon Bake Shop in Willowbrook Mall, Houston, Texas, offers pastries that are just 90 calories - far less decadent than the original 880 calorie item - just in time for the holidays.

The store will be rotating a seasonal list of special flavors for the holidays, such as Pumpkin Caramel, Toasted Coconut, Bavarian Cream Pie, Brownie Batter and Butterfinger.

'This is really embarrassing but...' The quirky sex questions everyone's too shy to ask answered by TRACEY COX

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

How a bad relationship can, quite literally, break your heart: Being trapped in a bad marriage 'increases risk of heart disease'

Couples who argued for decades are more likely to develop heart disease

Findings especially true for wives who internalise negative feelings

Experts advise relationship counselling should be offered to older couples

Adds to research showing bad relationships lead to health problems

These include depression, high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity

You might think years of being trapped in a bad marriage leads only to a messy divorce.

But it can also quite literally break your heart, scientists believe.

A study found that people who have experienced decades of conflict with their spouse are more likely to develop heart disease than those in good marriages.

The finding was especially true for wives - possibly because women tend to internalise negative feelings more than men.

People in bad marriages are more likely to develop heart disease, a study found. The finding was especially true for wives - possibly because women tend to internalise negative feelings more than men (file pic)

It suggests that relationship counselling should be directed at older couples as well as those starting out on the marital journey, the U.S. researchers said.

Sociologist Hui Lui, from Michigan State University, U.S. said: 'Marriage counselling is focused largely on younger couples. But these results show that marital quality is just as important at older ages, even when the couple has been married 40 or 50 years.'

The findings back up previous research by Dr Lui, and other, which found people who are unhappy with their spouse could be at higher risk of depression, high blood pressure and even heart disease

While a happy marriage provides support and enhances physical health, experts believe the stress of an unhappy marriage can cause depression.

Unhappy relationships can lead people to take up unhealthy habits, such as smoking and drinking, and can increase the body’s levels of stress hormones.

One study found that people who had heated arguments with their spouse and also had a history of depression were more likely to be obese, as these two factors seemed to alter how the body processes high-fat foods.

In today's study, Dr Lui's team analysed five years of data from around 1,200 married men and women who were aged 57 to 85 at the start of the study.

All were participants in a major U.S. investigation, the National Social Life Health and Aging Project which included questions on marital quality and looked at rates of heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure.

The findings add to previous research showing bad relationships lead to health problems including depression, high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity (file pic)

The study, published online in the Journal Of Health And Social Behavior, found that bad marriages tainted by rows, criticism and demands were more harmful to the heart than good supportive ones were beneficial.

It also showed that the effect of marital quality on heart and artery disease risk became much stronger at older ages.

Over time, stress from a bad marriage may become more harmful because of declining immune function and frailty, the researchers believe.

Women, but not men, also appeared to experience a decline in marital quality as a result of suffering heart disease.

This may reflect the fact that wives are more likely to provide support and care to sick husbands than the other way round, said the scientists.

'In this way, a wife's poor health may affect how she assesses her marital quality, but a husband's poor health doesn't hurt his view of marriage,' said Dr Liu.

Coca-Cola to sell milk... at twice the normal price: Firm says lactose-free product with 30% more calcium will 'rain money' for the company

Company to produce brand of milk as it moves away from sugary drinks

Bosses predict new milk product Fairlife will 'rain money' for the firm

Drink will cost twice as much as normal milk but boasts 50% more protein

Coca Cola is to to produce its own brand of milk as it expands from carbonated sugary drinks.

The American drinks giant is making a daily pint called Fairlife which it predicts will ‘rain money’ for the firm.

The new product will cost double the price of traditional versions containing higher protein, less sugar and it will be lactose free.

Fairlife will contain 50 per cent more protein, 50 per cent less sugar than normal milk, and 30 per cent more calcium.

Coca Cola is to to produce its own brand of milk as it expands from carbonated sugary drinks

Coke’s move into the dairy business follows a shift into water and its Simply juices as profits fall from its main range of fizzy drinks.

The milk claims it has a longer shelf life than ordinary pasteurised milk - as ‘we pasteurise our milk at an even higher temperature for less time’.

Consumers are increasingly drinking healthier products containing less fat and sugar.

Speaking at a consumer conference Coke’s global chief customer officer Sandy Douglas said: ‘We’re going to be investing in the milk business for a while to build the brand so it won’t rain money in the early couple of years. But like Simply, when you do it well it rains money later.’

Douglas said that the milk which has been tested in Minnesota in America will ‘taste better and we’ll charge twice as much for it as the milk we are used to buying in a jug.’

Consumers are increasingly drinking healthier products containing less fat and sugar

Fairlife will cost double the price of normal milk but will contain higher protein, less sugar and is lactose free

The product is specially filtered to extract elements of fat and sugar and Coke hopes that it will compete in the rapid growth sports and energy drinks market.

It comes at a time when milk sales in America have been tumbling as consumers moved to orange juice and other drinks.

A spokesman said Fairlife is only available in America at present.

The firm has a chequered history in terms of launching new products in the UK.

In 2004 it was discovered that the main ingredient to its Dasani water brand which was priced at 95p a bottle was tap water.

Bottled in south-east London, wags pointed out that Coke’s venture into water was remarkably similar to Del Boy’s attempts to sell Peckham water in Only Fools and Horses.

Later 500,000 of its bottles in the UK eventually had to be withdrawn after it was discovered the drink had been potentially contaminated with carcinogenic chemicals.

The brand was never reintroduced to the UK.

The product is already available in the United States where it has a racy advertising campaign in place

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Did ADHD once have an evolutionary advantage? Traits linked with disorder may have helped nomads survive when hunting

This is according to New York-based Professor Richard Friedman

Hyperactive and impulsive nomads were more likely to survive

These characteristics are similar to those associated with ADHD

Theory is backed up by a study of tribes in Kenya with these traits

Around five per cent of the population are diagnosed with condition

Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is today labelled as a problem in society, with diagnoses surging by as much as tenfold in some countries.

But it may not have always been considered as something that needs treating. In fact, one scientist claims ADHD may have helped the human species survive.

New York-based Professor Richard Friedman argues that nomads who were adventurous, hyperactive and impulsive were more likely to survive in their harsh surroundings.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is today labelled as a problem in society, with diagnoses surging by as much as tenfold in some countries (stock image used)

These traits are similar to ones associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a condition that affects around five per cent of the population.

'Having the profile of what we now call ADHD would have made you a Paleolithic success story,' Weill Cornell Medical College psychiatry Professor Richard Friedman wrote in the

Scientific studies seem to back up this theory. Professor Friedman points to a study conducted several years ago on the Ariaal tribe in Kenya.

The research, led by of Northwestern University, analysed part of the tribe that had settled into an agricultural community. The rest of the tribe remained nomadic.

The tribesmen were tested for DRD4 7R, a genetic variant that the study said, 'has been linked to greater food and drug cravings, novelty-seeking, and ADHD symptoms.'

Professor Richard Friedman claims that nomads who were adventurous, hyperactive and impulsive were more likely to survive in their harsh surroundings. Pictured is a band of Kung hunters in Namibia

Those tribesmen who had the ADHD-linked gene variant tended to be better nourished. However, in the settled group, people with DRD4 7R were underweight, reported Business Insider.

The study suggests certain characteristics linked with ADHD may have helped some people survive under conditions similar to those experienced by early nomads.

'Nomadic Ariaal, with short attention spans and novelty-seeking tendencies, are probably going to have an easier time making the most of a dynamic environment, including getting more to eat,' wrote Professor Friedman.

'This same brief attention span would not be very useful among the settled, who have to focus on activities that call for sustained focus, like going to school, growing crops and selling goods.'

WHAT IS ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a group of behavioural symptoms that include inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

ADHD can occur in people of any intellectual ability, although it is more common in people with learning difficulties.

People with ADHD may also have additional problems, such as sleep and anxiety disorders.

Symptoms of ADHD tend to be first noticed at an early age, and may become more noticeable when a child's circumstances change, such as when they start school.

Most cases are diagnosed in children between the ages of 6 and 12.

The symptoms of ADHD usually improve with age, but many adults who are diagnosed with the condition at a young age will continue to experience problems.

Source: NHS Choices

Around three to seven per cent of children, or 400,000, are believed to have ADHD in the UK, with many being prescribed drugs to try and improve their concentration at school.

In the US, around five per cent of children are thought to have ADHD. The prevalence of ADHD in US adult is at around three to five per cent.

Professor Friedman says the lower value society places on ADHD traits may account for why more children are being diagnosed with the condition each year.

'Digital life, with its vivid gaming and exciting social media, is a world of immediate gratification where practically any desire or fantasy can be realised in the blink of an eye,' said Professor Friedman.

'By comparison, school would seem even duller to a novelty-seeking kid living in the early 21st century than in previous decades.

'The comparatively boring school environment might accentuate students' inattentive behaviour, making their teachers more likely to see it and driving up the number of diagnoses.'

There remains controversy surrounding the condition. Last week, experts said the global surge in ADHD diagnosis has more to do with marketing than medicine.

Diagnosis rates and prescriptions of stimulant drugs are soaring compared with five years ago.

However, Professor Peter Conrad, of Brandeis University claims ADHD is 'more of an economic and cultural plague than a medical one'.

Diagnosis rates and prescriptions of stimulant drugs are soaring compared with five years ago.However, Professor Peter Conrad, of Brandeis University claims ADHD is 'more of an economic and cultural plague than a medical one'

Pages