Aggressively pursuing higher social status may exact a toll on health

University of Utah, March 19, 2022 

Bad news for relentless power-seekers: Climbing the ladder of social status through aggressive, competitive striving might shorten your life as a result of increased vulnerability to cardiovascular disease. That's according to new research by psychologist Timothy W. Smith and colleagues at the University of Utah. And good news for successful types who are friendlier: Attaining higher social status as the result of prestige and freely given respect may have protective effects, the researchers found. \ In surveys with 500 undergraduate volunteers, hostile-dominant types reported greater hostility and interpersonal stress. Warm-dominant types tended to rank themselves as higher in social status. Both styles were associated with a higher personal sense of power.

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Vitamin D helps immune cells prevent atherosclerosis and diabetes

Washington University School of Medicine, March 19th, 2022 

In recent years, a deficiency of vitamin D has been linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, two illnesses that commonly occur together and are the most common cause of illness and death in Western countries. Both disorders are rooted in chronic inflammation, which leads to insulin resistance and the buildup of artery-clogging plaque. Now, new research in mice at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests vitamin D plays a major role in preventing the inflammation that leads to type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. Further, the way key immune cells behave without adequate vitamin D may provide scientists with new therapeutic targets for patients with those disorders. "The finding that vitamin D helps regulate glucose metabolism may explain previous epidemiological studies identifying an increased risk of diabetes in patients with vitamin D deficiency," said senior investigator Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, MD, associate professor of medicine and of cell biology and physiology. "In our study, inactivation of the vitamin D receptor induced diabetes and atherosclerosis, so normalizing vitamin D levels may have the opposite effect."

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Research Discovers This Degenerative Disease to Develop in 20’s

Northwestern University, March 19, 2022

Until now, the development of Alzheimer’s was only thought to begin in late age, where proteins known as amyloid plaques begin to develop in the brain. But recent research suggests that the development of this brain-destructive disease may start in our early 20’s – finding that these proteins start to accumulate around this time. Published in the journal Brain, the recent report reveals how plaques begin to form early in life. While amyloid is initially beneficial to our brains processes, the mis-formation of these proteins in the brain in some individuals is what leads to brain degeneration. The result is dementia and memory loss. The researchers found evidence of amyloids in a section of the brain in every person – though from a region that isn’t normally studies for Alzheimer’s. Ultimately, the results show that Alzheimer’s progression can start in our early 20’s, and that it’s important to take measures to prevent the accumulation of these amyloid plaques.

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New research investigates potential probiotic benefits of a pear-enriched diet

INorth Dakota State University, March 19, 2022

A new in vitro (test tube) study, "Dietary functional benefits of Bartlett and Starkrimson pears for potential management of hyperglycemia, hypertension and ulcer bacteria Helicobacter pylori while supporting beneficial probiotic bacterial response," was published in the March issue of Food Research International.1 In a laboratory in vitro setting, Kalidas Shetty, PhD, currently a professor of plant science at North Dakota State University, and the research's lead author, Dr. Dipayan Sarkar, studied the compounds found in two pear varieties, Bartlett and Starkrimson, in order to better understand the impact of those compounds on chronic diseases. The results suggest fermentation of these pear cultivars further enhances their ability to control stomach related diseases involving H. pylori, the most common chronic bacterial infection in humans, without affecting beneficial bacteria with probiotic potential.

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Is too much artificial light at night making us sick?

University of Connecticut, Macrh 18, 2015

Modern life, with its preponderance of inadequate exposure to natural light during the day and overexposure to artificial light at night, is not conducive to the body's natural sleep/wake cycle. "It's become clear that typical lighting is affecting our physiology," Stevens says. "But lighting can be improved. We're learning that better lighting can reduce these physiological effects. By that we mean dimmer and longer wavelengths in the evening, and avoiding the bright blue of e-readers, tablets and smart phones." Those devices emit enough blue light when used in the evening to suppress the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and disrupt the body's circadian rhythm, the biological mechanism that enables restful sleep.