11 Reads: How Sleep Impacts Your Health

Sleep may no longer be, as Dr. Ellen Hughes once put it, “the forgotten key to health and wellness,” at least not among researchers. Through recent years, there have been quite a few interesting studies on the impact of sleep quantity and quality (and the lack of it!) on health. Here’s a round-up of the …

One Way Bacteria Make Themselves at Home in Your Mouth

As said, oral microbes are ingenious little bugs. And the more research that’s done, the more clever they seem! To wit, A new research report published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows how the bacteria known for causing gum disease – Porphyromonas gingivalis – manipulates the body’s immune system to disable normal processes that …

How Stress Triggers Immune System, & Other News of Note

Study Shows How Stress Triggers Immune System (USA Today) Shedding some light on why stress might be bad for you, a new study finds that parts of your immune system ramp up when you get into personal conflicts with others. It’s not clear how this effect of stress may make you sick, but the activated …

BPA Saturation in the US & Other News of Note

BPA Levels Highest in the US, Study Finds (Consumer Reports) People in the U.S. have more exposure to bisphenol A (BPA)—a chemical linked to reproductive abnormalities, certain cancers, diabetes, and heart disease—than other studied populations, according to a new report from the Canadian Medical Association. The analysis included prior studies that had measured exposure to …

Triclosan, BPA & Your Immune System, & Other News of Note

Study: You Can Be “Too Clean” (Detroit News) A study published online this week in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal shows overexposure to triclosan, a chemical compound commonly found in antibacterial soaps, is linked to increased allergies in young people. What’s more, excessive exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) — a common chemical in plastics including …

Boost Your Immune System – for Cold & Flu Season, or Anytime

 

Is Insomnia Harming Your Immune System? (Guest Post)

Marquette La/Flickr   I recently heard a celebrity doctor say 7 hours of sleep per night is ideal; more than that, we are shortening our life spans. But not long after, I read an article in a health journal advising 8 hours of sleep for optimal health. Obviously, there are conflicting views about how much …

Trauma Affects the Immune System & Other News of Note

Trauma Leaves Its Mark on Immune System (New Scientist) Traumatic experiences can scar for life, both mentally and physically. Now it seems they even leave chemical marks on DNA – in areas responsible for immune functions and memory. The result could help explain why people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including some soldiers and victims …

Routine Breast Scans Don’t Affect Mortality & Other News of Note

Routine Breast Scans Don’t Affect Mortality (Globe & Mail) Screening programs in which post-menopausal women undergo routine mammography to help detect tumours have virtually no impact on reducing breast-cancer deaths, a new study concludes. The research, published in today’s [Mar. 24] edition of the British Medical Journal, says that while breast-cancer mortality has fallen sharply …

The Role of Communication in Healing & Other News of Note

Communication Is the Best Medicine (Futurity) Efforts to improve communication between patients, family doctors, and specialists can have a crucial impact on patients – in some instances working as effectively as drugs. * * * [According to lead researcher Bobbie Foy, professor of primary care at the University of Leeds,] “The results were impressive. In …