A ‘Coffee’ Breath Mint ?

Sounds a little strange given that coffee, which has a dehydrating effect in the mouth, can make someone’s breath smell, to honest, not so good.

But new research from Israel has turned up a coffee extract that can inhibit the bacteria that lead to bad breath.

This surprised even the researchers. Expecting to find that coffee did indeed cause bad breath, they found instead some components in coffee that actually inhibit bad breath.

Prof. Mel Rosenberg, the lead researcher, now aims to isolate the bacterial-inhibiting molecule in coffee. If he’s successful, it could result in a whole new class of mouthwashes, breath mints, and chewing gum. 

Imagine the possibilities…

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There is something very therapeutic about music. It brings out emotions, makes us want to dance and sing, and soothes and relaxes when you’re weary.

Now a new Italian study highlights the fact that  “music induces a continuous, dynamic—and to some extent predictable—change in the cardiovascular system.”

This new study is a follow on from previous studies done by Luciano Bernardi and his team which had found that changes in the respiratory and cardiovascular systems mirrored musical tempos.

To find out more about how the body responds to changing rhythms, they hooked up 24 volunteers - half experienced singers, half with no musical training - to monitors that measure physiological signals. The volunteers were then subjected to five random selections of Bach, Beethoven, Puccini, and other classical artists as well as a two-minute segment of silence.

The results: When volunteers listened to musical selections with a series of crescendos, the monitors recorded a proportional constriction of blood vessels and increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. The opposition happened happened during decrescendos and the silent periods.

Most interestingly, during periods of ‘rich’ music phrases, such as the famous arias of Verdi, the volunteers heart rates synchronized with the music.

While the study sampled only a small number of participants, it indicates that further research and studies are warranted to explore ways to utilize music in new therapies targeting strokes and other heart conditions.

For further reading on this, check out Scientific American’s article Heart Beat: Music May Help Keep Your Cardiovascular System in Tune.

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A recent article in the New York Times,  ‘A Slimmer You May Be a Whiff Away’, highlights some interesting niche products that have been marketed on the theory that manipulation of smell can lead to weight loss.

The idea is that by saturating the sensory system you won’t be as hungry.

It’s an interesting idea but I’m not sure how it would work.  To me, the smell of food always stimulates my taste buds. For example,  everytime I smell toast I suddenly get hungry and want to eat some. 

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The makers of an over-the-counter gender prediction test say their product, the IntelliGender, will let expecting moms know the sex of their baby as  early as 10 weeks after conception.

It’s a simple urine test that’s based on the science that certain hormones found in the pregnant woman’s urine, when combined with a “proprietary mix of chemicals”, will react  differently depending on whether the woman is carrying a boy or a girl.

Apparenly, within 10 minutes of taking the urine test, the specimen will turn green if it’s a boy, and orange if it’s a girl.

But IntelliGender co-founder Rebecca Griffin is quick to say that they do not guarantee 100% accuracy. The test, after all, is not a  diagnostic tool.

For that, you need to wait for a sonogram at around 20 weeks.

So what do you think?

Would you take the test?

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RunPee.com’s tag line says it all - ‘helping your bladder enjoy going to the movies as much as you do.’

Yes, that’s right. A website that will tell you the perfect time to leave the movie theater and visit the bathroom.  After all, you haven’t paid out the price of a ticket just to miss the important scenes.

Now those of you with weak or over full bladders don’t have to.

RunPee.com,  based on  user generated content, highlights the optimum times for bathroom stops.

For example, if you’re watching ‘Night in the Museum’, you’ll have to wait 45 minutes until it’s safe.  ‘Star Trek’ on the other hand seems to have so many optimum toilet run times that it makes you wonder whether the movie has any good bits in it.

Have listen to this NPR interview to find out how this unique site evolved.

You can follow of twitter and there will soon be an iPhone App.

Strange but true…

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A couple of months ago I wrote about a study that found drinking coffee or other caffeinated drinks an hour before exercise will reduce muscle pain.

But here’s a study that goes one better and suggests that drinking beer after exercise  improves your hydration better than drinking water would.

The study from Spain is a couple of years old and I haven’t seen any follow-up studies which makes it difficult to judge it’s accuracy.

So have a read and see what you think.

The study done by researchers at Granada University in Spain tested 25 students over several months, asking them to run on a treadmill at 104F temperatures until they were close to exhaustion. At that point, their level of hydration, concentration, and motor skills were measurd.

Then half of the students were given 2 half pints of Spanish lager to drink and the remaining students were given just water.

The study found that those who drank the beer had a slightly better rehydration effection than those who drink only water. 

The researchers believe this is because the contents of the beer - sugars and salts - quickens the absorption of fluids.  Further more, they think that the bubbles, caused by carbon dioxide, quenches thirst and carbohydrates in the beer replace calories lost in exercise.

Based on these results, the Spanish researchers went on to recommend moderate consumption of beer as a part of athletes’ diets. Their definition of  moderate consumption being 500 mls per day for men and 250 mls per day for women.

So what do you think?

Should we being having a pre-exercise coffee and a post-exercise beer?

Don’t know about you but it all sounds too much for me!

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Having trouble toilet training the toddler?

Then check out this interesting idea - a musical diaper that triggers a ‘wetting alarm’. 

Seriously.

In a study recently published in Neurology and Urodynamics, the participants (young healthy children between 18 and 30 months) in a daycare center were observed for the effectiveness of wearing a diaper with an ‘alarm’ system. Some wore the actual diapers with the actual wetting alarm and others wore diapers with a placebo alarm.

The results - those wearing the ‘wetting alarm’ diapers achieved independent bladder control almost 60% of the time as compared to the placebo alarm group that achieved independent bladder control only 8.3% of the time.

Makes sense really. The ‘wetting alarm’ training method offers both the child and the caregiver immediate information of any leakage which allows the caretaker to take the child to the bathroom at that particular moment. This offers the child awareness of bladder behavoir and more quickly helps the child make a connection between feeling the need to urinate and the need to get to the toilet.

Will this make the musical diaper the next big thing on the supermarket shelf?

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Dream of writing the great American novel or become an acclaimed artist?

Then maybe you need to think about living abroad. 

According to a new research by the American Psychological Association, living abroad expands the mind.

This conclusion is based on 5 studies involving students at Sorbonne University, INSEAD and the Kellogg School of Management in the US. 

Of course, despite these findings, moving abroad does not guarantee a budding writer or artist will create the perfect masterpiece or manuscript.

But as an expat, it’s interesting to know that living overseas is possibly increasing my creativity.

One more reason to stay where I am!

(source and image source)
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1065698

MSNBC reported the other day that ‘thanks to the swine flu, there’s a little less hugging and kissing  [going on] in the United States’.  They base this on a recent  Harvard survey that found about 1 in 10 Americans have stopped hugging, kissing, and even shaking hands because of swine flu concerns.

Sounds pretty extreme and probably not all that good for your health. Hugging, after all, makes people happier. And happier people will often be healthier people.

Hugging, a simple physical expressions of affection,  improves and strengthen peoples connections and relationships with other people and themselves.

Hugging, even in the time of swine flu H1N1 flu, is good for you. 

To find out more about why hugging is good, check out this recent article over at The Happiness Project that highlights some ‘hugging’ studies.  

So go on….

Hug someone today, especially your mother this Mother’s Day.

And let someone hug you back.

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Think you know all about baby making?

After all, you know all about the ‘birds and the bees’.  Unfortunately, for some people, baby making’s not that easy. They have to think outside the square and use such methods as fertility drugs, IVF, surrogacy, and maybe even adoption.

But this couple seems to have come up with a unique way of baby making. It’s way out in left field. It will definitely make you laugh.

If only it was that easy for those who have trouble conceiving.