Broccoli Reduces Your Risk of Four Major Diseases

University of Illinois, June 23, 2022

 

It's one of the most advantageous veggies you can eat, and love it or hate it, broccoli offers an array of health benefits. University of Illinois researchers have identified candidate genes controlling the accumulation of phenolic compounds in broccoli. Consumption of phenolic compounds, including certain flavonoids, is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease, type II diabetes, asthma, and cancer.

 

Sulforaphane in broccoli can also help to prevent or slow the progress of one of the most common forms of arthritis. Scientists have also discovered that broccoli protects the skin against the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.  Many studies have shown that a diet rich in vegetables -- particularly brassica vegetables such as broccoli -- is linked to decreased risk of heart disease and stroke.The researchers crossed two broccoli lines and tested their progeny in terms of total phenolic content and their ability to neutralize oxygen radicals in cellular assays. They then used a genetic technique called quantitative trait locus analysis to search for the genes involved in generating phenolics in the most promising progeny.

 

By identifying the genes involved in accumulating these compounds, the researchers are one step closer to breeding broccoli and related Brassica vegetables like kale and cabbage with mega-doses of phenolic compounds.

 

The good news is that phenolic compounds are flavorless and stable, meaning the vegetables can be cooked without losing health-promoting qualities.

 

Once these vegetables are consumed, the phenolic compounds are absorbed and targeted to certain areas of the body or concentrated in the liver. Flavonoids spread through the bloodstream, reducing inflammation through their antioxidant activity.

 

"These are things we can't make ourselves, so we have to get them from our diets," Juvik says. "The compounds don't stick around forever, so we need to eat broccoli or some other Brassica vegetable every three or four days to lower the risk of cancers and other degenerative diseases."

 

 

 

Can Chronic Cellphone Use Hinder your Infant’s Development?

Environmental Health Trust, June 23, 2022

 

The two most important communicative mechanisms a newborn innately has to navigate his world are eye gaze and crying. From birth, newborns are constantly developing speech, language and communication skills with every response they command from their caregiver. As early as 5 days old, an infant can tailor his cries to reflect hunger, wetness, or discomfort as well as differentiate between mother and caregiver. Additionally, very early on newborns and infants develop prelinguistic skills: eye gaze (signaling a cue for communication) and joint attention – the ability of an infant to rest his or her gaze on a object at the same time the caregiver is looking at the same object. It is speculated that eye gaze between baby and mother is one of the most important prelinguistic skills to occur before verbal communication develops.

 

However, excessive cell phone usage can work to hinder the communicative rhythm and bonding experience that new mothers and infants work to establish, especially within the first six months. Communicative cues can be easily missed and trying to decode differences in newborn cries (hunger vs wet diaper) can become very difficult. As it is so important for new mothers to pay attention to different cries, constant distraction from a cell phone can alter the way the other perceives the cry, thus making it more difficult to decode. 

 

Infants are so intuitive early on, that even the slightest delay in response to a coo or a cry can alter the way they perceive their world. Additionally, if a mother is perusing high-emotion content that is so pertinent in Facebook and social media, the overflow of emotion may inadequately color her response to the infant.

 

Breastfeeding can also be affected by