Evan Watson, NatureCity author & contributor

A US Government study released August 19th, 2009 found mercury contamination in every fish tested in nearly 300 streams across the country.

Consuming fish with high levels of mercury can damage the nervous system and cause learning disabilities among young children and fetuses.

For the study, scientists tested more than 1,000 fish including catfish, bass and trout between 1998 and 2005.

Although all the fish in the study had some level of contamination, about a quarter had levels that were unsafe for people who eat average amounts of fish, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

This study, which was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, is the most comprehensive analysis of mercury pollution in our nation’s streams to date.

These are some alarming findings and they show just how widespread mercury pollution has become. The researchers note that it is imperative that our country continue to combat pollution and search for alternative energy sources because the main source of atmospheric mercury is coal-fired power plants.

There are many health benefits associated with eating fish, so if you are worried about mercury contamination from stream caught fish, you might consider eating more of the smaller species such as perch, bluegill or crappie.

Like most pollutants, mercury becomes more concentrated as it moves up the food chain so smaller fish tend to have lower levels of the toxin.

You may also want to consider taking an omega-3 supplement certified for purity in order to reap the health benefits of fish without having to worry about mercury contamination. Omega-3s have been shown to boost heart health, lower the risk of developing dementia, improve cognitive function and relieve inflammation.

Evan Watson, NatureCity author & contributor

A new randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the August 2009 issue of Obesity Research & Clinical Practice found that licorice oil may help you lose weight.

Japanese researchers from Kaneka, Tokyo’s Kaiyuu Clinic, Haradoi Hospital, and Kiryu University recruited 56 overweight men and 28 overweight women aged between 40 and 60 for the study.

The participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups to receive daily doses of a placebo or 300, 600, or 900 mg of licorice oil for eight weeks.

At the end of the study period, the researchers observed significant reductions in total body fat, bad LDL cholesterol and visceral fat among the participants that received the licorice oil supplementation.

Visceral fat is the fat that surrounds the internal organs and has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

The participants that received the highest dose of licorice oil saw a 2 pound reduction in total body fat. The researchers observed no adverse effects due to supplementation.

This study did not determine the mechanism behind these benefits but the researchers note that previous studies have found that licorice oil may help you lose fat by increasing energy expenditure.

Licorice oil has a high antioxidant content and therefore can provide a number of health benefit. However, it is important not to take too much because it can lead to water retention and high blood pressure.

Since there are no verified daily recommendations or dosage for licorice, it is best to strictly follow the directions on the label of your licorice product.

Sarah McGowan-Freije, NatureCity author & contributor

German researchers recently found that analyzing levels of a certain protein may make it possible to predict the risk of knee and hip joint replacement due to severe osteoarthritis.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Erlangen-Nuremburg, was published in the August 2009 issue of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Osteoarthritis, which is also known as degenerative joint disease, is characterized by a breakdown of cartilage in joints. It is the most common type of arthritis. While osteoarthritis can occur in nearly any joint in the body, it is most common in the weight bearing joints of the hips, knees and spine.

For the study, the researchers recruited 912 healthy people from Italy, 60 of whom had severe osteoarthritis that led to a knee or hip replacement between 1990 and 2005.

The researchers found that participants with a high level of a protein called vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) at the start of the study had a much higher likelihood of undergoing hip or knee surgery due to severe osteoarthritis.

This was the first study to find a biomarker that may be able to predict the risk of severe osteoporosis. Researchers hope these findings will help doctors provide early diagnosis for this dangerous and increasingly prevalent disease.

VCAM-1 causes pain and inflammation in the joints and can inflame arteries and may contribute to heart disease. Previous studies have shown that 5-LOXIN, a natural extract from boswellia serrata, inhibits VCAM-1. Taking a supplement that contains 5-LOXIN may provide protection from osteoarthritis with no side effects.

As you age, osteoarthritis becomes more and more of a concern. Diagnosing the disease early can prevent any serious damage. There are also a number of things you can due to avoid the disease altogether. Here are five important steps to take in order to avoid developing this painful condition:

1. Maintain Your Ideal Body Weight

2. Exercise Regularly and Participate in Regular Physical Activity

3. Protect Your Joints

4. Avoid Repetitive Stress on the Joints

5. Avoid Injury to Joints

Evan Watson, NatureCity author & contributor

University of Michigan researchers recently discovered some of the first scientific evidence backing the pain relieving benefits of acupuncture.

Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine which has been used for over 2,000 years to promote health and alleviate pain. The therapy involves inserting small needles into the skin at very specific points on the body to open energy channels. There are over 1,000 acupuncture points on the body.

While countless people have seen positive results from acupuncture treatment for thousands of years, scientists have been hard pressed to find any solid scientific evidence to back the ancient practice.

In order to find such evidence, a team at Michigan University recently conducted a groundbreaking study which will appear in the September 2009 issue of NeuroImage.

The researchers scanned the brains of participants that either underwent real acupuncture treatment for 4 weeks or a sham acupuncture treatment which involved placing the needles at random points on the body.

They found that the participants who underwent the real acupuncture treatment had increases in the binding ability of receptors in regions of the brain that process and control pain signals.

Certain pain killers such as morphine and codeine work by binding these receptors as well.

The researchers suggest that these findings show acupuncture has the same pain relieving abilities as pharmaceutical pain killers.

Many people steer clear of acupuncture treatment because they worry it will be painful. In reality, acupuncture is not painful at all and, as this study shows, it is actually a method of unleashing your body’s natural painkillers.

Previous studies have linked acupuncture to alleviating pain for patients following surgery, decreasing menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea. Not only did acupuncture prove just as effective as modern medicine in these studies, it also resulted in less negative side effects.

Evan Watson, NatureCity author & contributor

A first of its kind study published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine found that eating more chocolate may help you survive longer following a heart attack.

For the study, researchers followed 1,169 non-diabetic patients hospitalized for a heart attack between 1992 and 1994 in Stockholm County, Sweden.

The participants filled out a questionnaire to determine chocolate consumption and were then followed for 8 years.

The researchers found that consuming chocolate 2 or more times per week was associated with a 66% reduction in cardiac mortality. Eating chocolate just once in a month was associated with a 27% reduction in cardiac mortality and up to once per week was associated with a 44% reduction.

Most prior studies have only focused on dark chocolate, which has been shown to have the highest health benefits of all chocolates. This study, however, did not differentiate between the different types of chocolate.

The findings of this study support a growing body of evidence confirming the health benefits of chocolate. The high levels of antioxidants in chocolate as well as its anti-inflammatory properties are most often cited as the source of these health benefits.

These antioxidants, called flavonols, have been shown to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease>, improve skin health and increase blood flow to the brain.

While eating chocolate seems to have some very clear benefits, you should avoid eating more than one serving (20g) a day. The high saturated fat content can easily cancel out any antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Evan Watson, NatureCity author & contributor

High or even borderline high cholesterol levels at midlife may significantly increase the risk of dementia later in life.

This was the finding of a first of its kind 40 year study published in the August 2009 issue of the journal Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.

The study was conducted by researchers at Finland’s University of Kuopio and Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research.

10,000 northern California residents aged 40-45 participated in the study.

The participants were followed for up to 40 years and by the end of the study 598 cases of dementia were diagnosed.

The researchers observed a 66% increase in dementia risk for those with high cholesterol (240 or higher), and a 52% higher risk for those with borderline high cholesterol (200 to 239).

This study did not differentiate between “good” HDL cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol because when the study started 40 years ago there was little understanding about the different types of cholesterol.

The researchers note that these are some very alarming findings because dementia rates are already soaring and with almost 100 million Americans having high or borderline cholesterol levels we could see dementia rates rise even higher.

Natural ways to avoid high cholesterol are eating nutritious foods, avoiding saturated fats, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight.

Some foods like fatty fish, walnuts, oatmeal, and oat bran may help manage cholesterol levels.

Scott Greenberg, NatureCity author & contributor

A new study from China found that individuals with high intakes of omega-3 fatty acids and low intakes of omega-6 may see a large decrease in colorectal cancer risk.

The study was published in the August 2009 issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

For the study, researchers obtained dietary data on 73,242 Chinese women using food frequency questionnaires.

They found that women with the highest ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 had a 95% increased risk of colorectal cancer compared to those with the lowest ratio.

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are both essential fatty acids (EFAs), meaning they cannot be made in the body and must be obtained from food.

The average western diet does not provide nearly enough omega-3 fatty acids, which are found most abundantly in cold water fish like salmon and mackerel, whole grains and beans.

On the other hand, the western diet contains much more omega-6 than our body needs, due to the use of huge amounts of oils that are extracted from plants, such as corn and peanut oils. Consuming too much omega-6 can result in raised blood pressure, increased blood clotting and may block a person’s ability to respond to insulin.

However, a certain amount of omega-6 fatty acids is essential for good health, and a 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 consumption is recommended. The current ratio for the average North American is estimated to be at 15:1.

Many studies have found that consuming more omega-3 fatty acids can have numerous positive benefits for your health, such as healthier cholesterol and blood pressure levels. You can boost your omega-3 consumption by taking a supplement, but make sure it’s certified for quality and purity first.

Evan Watson, NatureCity author & contributor

By reducing oxygen uptake better than any other known means, beetroot juice may boost endurance and allow you to exercise longer, according to a study published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology.

8 men between 19 and 38 years of age were recruited for the study. They were asked to consume 500 ml of organic beetroot juice every day for six days.

They also underwent a placebo phase which involved consuming blackcurrant cordial for six days.

After each phase, the participants underwent a series of tests while using an exercise bike.

The researchers found that participants were able to exercise for up to 16% longer after the beetroot juice supplementation.

After consuming the beetroot juice, the participants also had lower resting blood pressure, which supports findings from a similar beetroot juice study in 2008.

While this study was not designed to find the specific mechanisms behind these benefits, according to lead author Professor Andy Jones from the University of Exeter, it appears that beetroot juice reduces the oxygen cost of exercise.

During aerobic exercise, working muscles must consume oxygen. Oxygen uptake is a measure of how much oxygen your body is consuming at any given time. The more oxygen your body is capable of consuming, the longer you can sustain aerobic exercise.

The researchers note that since there are no other known means for controlling oxygen uptake, these findings could result in a whole new class of athletic drinks. They also plan to investigate whether people who suffer from poor fitness may be able to improve their daily lives through beetroot supplementation.

While more research will serve to look deeper into the implications of these findings it seems having a glass of beetroot juice before exercising could help you go that extra mile.

Evan Watson, NatureCity author & contributor

A study published in the August 2009 issue of the journal Atherosclerosis found that higher blood levels of lycopene are linked to decreased stiffness of the arteries and reduced inflammation.

Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant which helps neutralize harmful free radicals. It is a red pigment found in a number of fruits and vegetables including tomatoes, pink grapefruit and watermelon.

Lycopene has been shown to have heart, blood pressure, prostate and osteoporosis benefits.

The researchers, from the Department of Food and Nutrition at Yonsei University in South Korea, recruited 264 women aged between 31 and 75 for the study.

They took blood samples to measure levels of lycopene, certain markers for inflammation and levels of oxidized LDL (bad) cholesterol, which are associated with hardening of the arteries.

They found that women with the highest blood levels of lycopene had lower levels of a marker for inflammation called c-reactive protein and lower oxidized LDL levels.

This combination of benefits is associated with a decreased risk of developing atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries..

If you want to increase lycopene levels you may want to consider taking a lycopene supplement, or increasing your consumption of red-pigmented foods such as tomatoes and papayas.

Certain diets , such as the Mediterranean diet, are also high in lycopene. The Mediterranean diet is rich in vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, and healthy oils, such as those found in fish, olives, and nuts.

This healthy diet, typical of people who live in the European countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and metabolic syndrome, lower blood pressure and protect against neuro-degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Evan Watson, NatureCity author & contributor

Overeating and lack of physical exercise have long been known risk factors for diabetes, and now lack of sleep may be added to the list.

These three hallmarks of the Western lifestyle are posing serious health risks for Americans. A recent study published online in in the June, 2009 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that this deadly combination significantly increases the risk of developing diabetes.

University of Chicago researchers recruited 14 volunteers with an average age of 39 for the study.

The volunteers went through two 14 day periods of “couch potato” lifestyles, marked by little to no exercise and free access to food. During the first 14 day period, they were allowed to sleep for 8.5 hours a day and during the second period they were only allowed to sleep for 5.5 hours per day.

The researchers gave the participants two common sugar tests during both periods. They found that participant’s responses to the tests changed during the period of reduced sleep. In fact, responses were similar to those observed in people with an increased risk of developing diabetes.

These findings emphasize what is becoming apparent to many people; maintaining a healthy lifestyle does not only mean eating well and exercising, it also means getting at least 6.5 hours of sleep per night.

Lack of sleep has many other negative effects on the mind and body beyond diabetes risk. These include increased risk of high blood pressure, weight gain, stroke and depression.

There are many ways to improve your sleep. Some helpful tricks include:

Listening to white noise like a fan

Avoiding snacks right before bed

Avoiding caffeine and alcohol

Exercising more during the day

Going to bed around the same time every night