1. Did You Know? BEAT MD
Drinking a lot of coffee is associated TEA AND THEANINE FOR MENTAL FOCUS Is your mental focus not what you’d like it to be? A cup of
with a signifi- cantly reduced risk of ag-
gressive prostate cancer. tea might help. When Dutch researchers had volunteers perform tasks designed to test attention before, 10
minutes after, and an hour after drinking a beverage containing two of the most active ingredients in tea, they
American children and teen- agers scored significantly better than after drinking a placebo beverage. The two compounds, which have a number
devote nearly eight hours a day to TV, of positive effects on cognitive function, are caffeine and L-theanine. Caffeine definitely improves alertness
video games, and the Internet. and short-term memory, but it makes some people jumpy—and it should be used only in moderation by kids.
L-theanine, on the other hand, has no stimulatory effects and is safe for people of all ages. This unique amino
L-carnitine, 1,000 mg twice a day, was acid improves concen- tration and focus by rapidly increasing the activity of alpha waves, which are associ-
shown to improve liver enzymes and ated with feelings of relaxation and mental alertness, and boosting levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that
lipid levels in patients with nonalcoholic calms the brain and helps relieve anxiety. Theanine is abundant in tea, but it is avail- able in higher concentra-
liver disease.
tions in supplement form. Look in your health food store for a product that contains Suntheanine, a standard-
Obesity increases risk of asthma in ized extract, and take 100 mg one to three times a day.
children.
MULTIVITAMINS FOR AGE-RELATED DISEASE PREVENTION Could a daily multivitamin and mineral
Heart attack rates increase by about supplement be your best protection against age-related disease? Bruce Ames, PhD, one of America’s best-
five percent the first week after Day- known and most-respected scientists, believes so. He postulates in his “triage theory” that when micronutri-
light Savings Time begins. ents are in short supply, the body allocates scarce resources to activities necessary for short-term survival,
such as energy production, blood circulation, and brain function. This leaves other, less vital processes—DNA
Deaths caused by over- doses of pre- and mitochondrial repair, for example—to bear
scription drugs are catching up to and,
in some states, surpassing traffic fatali- the brunt of the deficiencies. Over time, Dr. Ames maintains, cumulative damage and disruptions in metabo-
ties. lism lead to diseases of aging.
I wholeheartedly agree with this theory. Hundreds of thousands of studies support the role of micronutrient
Men with the highest blood levels of deficiencies in a wide range of health problems. Calcium and osteoporosis, vitamin D and cancer, magnesium
folate (folic acid) are half as likely to and heart disease, potassium and hypertension—the list goes on and on. Dr. Ames’ conclusion that a multivi-
be depressed as those with the lowest tamin-mineral is a “low-cost way to ensure intake of...micronutrients throughout life,” is advice that each and
levels. every one of us should heed.
More than 30 million oper- ations are PREVENTIVE ROUTINES FOR CHILDHOOD OBESITY Nearly a third of our kids are overweight and
performed in the U.S. every year.
17 percent are clinically obese. There’s a lot of talk about how to reverse this with measures relating to school
Avocados contain compounds shown to lunches, food advertisements, and public education. However, according to a study published in the March
protect against cancer. 2010 issue of Pediatrics, three factors—all of them within parents’ immediate control—have a significant im-
pact on children’s weight: eating dinner as a family, getting enough sleep, and watching fewer than two hours
Taking probiotics prior to colon surgery of TV or videos a day on weekdays.
results in reductions in post- operative Of the more than 8,000 preschoolers involved in this study, those whose families followed these three routines
infections. were nearly 40 percent less likely to be obese than kids from families that adhered to none of them. Although
more than half of the study participants reported that they usually sat down together for dinner or that their
A high intake of tea, onions, apples, kids got adequate sleep (10.5 hours is optimal for preschoolers), most of the children watched more TV—and
broccoli, and other flavonol-rich foods
reduces stroke risk by 20 percent. only 14.5 percent complied with all three routines. The good news is that we as parents can encourage, even
insist on these behaviors and, in the process, give our children a gift that will last a lifetime.