Prevention April 2019

I ALWAYS LIKED running best when I was alone and it was quiet. Chitchat and music were not for me. When my dog was younger, she came along, but she kept to herself. Recently, I decided to tackle a 15K race—that’s over nine miles—and I needed to do increasingly long runs on weekends. My son, who is 6, loves his bike and his Saturday Mom time, so I found myself with what I’d been avoiding for years: a chatty running partner. He was happy to shoulder the bulk of the conversation, though, with complicated stories and extra-loud singing. Spoiler alert: I loved his company. Still, I hung on to the core of what I loved about running: It’s fuss-free. I could put on my shoes and go; I didn’t need anything but…

Dark leafy greens like spinach and kale are famous for their nutritional superpowers, but there’s new insight into the best way to eat them: raw or in a smoothie, says a study in the journal Food Chemistry. Swedish researchers found that ripping or cutting spinach leaves and keeping them raw allowed more of the antioxidant lutein to be released than when they were boiled or pan-fried. (Lutein is important because it may help prevent or slow the development of agerelated macular degeneration and cataracts.) Heat degrades lutein, making it less available for your body to absorb and use. Blending spinach into a smoothie also preserves lutein content, but a particular fat found in milks (dairy or plant-based) is needed for it to be better absorbed. Still, it’s fine to get…

People who eat a diet high in red meat have triple the levels of a gut-generated chemical linked to heart disease, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), of those who eat mostly white meat or plant-based proteins, says a new study in the European Heart Journal. Saturated fat and cholesterol are often the focus of red meat’s impact on the heart, but studies show thatTMAO may also play a role. “Our prior research showed that blood levels ofTMAO predict future risks of heart attack, stroke, and death,” says Stanley Hazen, M.D., study author and chair of the department of cardiovascular and metabolic sciences at Cleveland Clinic.TMAO levels can be detected through a simple blood test, so researchers say these findings may help doctors discover new strategies to prevent or treat heart disease. But…

A video game might be exactly what kids need. Digital treatment embedded in a game called Project: EVO helped kids with a dual diagnosis of autism and ADHD focus better, both during the game and after completing it, according to a small study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. About half of children who receive both diagnoses don’t respond as well to ADHD medications, meaning they often deal with impairments in memory, attention, and goal-reaching; this may make day-to-day life a struggle. The video game was designed by Akili Interactive with researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a larger follow-up study is planned.…

VITAMIN IV DRIP Intravenous drips filled with vitamins promise to provide an energy boost or cure a hangover. How? The theory is that you absorb the nutrients better than if you were to eat them or pop a pill. OUR TAKE: SKIP IT! Getting an IV when you don’t need it (and you should need it only during a true medical problem) is an unnecessary risk—it may cause bleeding, infection, or blood clots. Plus, are you really clamoring to get stuck with a needle for fun? Probably not! WHITEN TEETH WITH GUM If you’ve heard that chewing a few pieces of gum after eating or drinking is the secret to getting bright pearly whites, you probably think it sounds too good to be true. Is it? OUR TAKE: TRY IT! While chomping some gum after meals won’t…

Did you switch from hot coffee to cold brew because you’d heard it was lower in acidity and would be easier on your stomach? You might want to reconsider your order. Researchers atThomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia tested hot and cold brew coffee samples and found that their pH levels were comparable, meaning the chilled variety (which differs from traditional iced coffee in that it’s actually brewed with cold water) probably doesn’t do much to alleviate coffee-induced gastrointestinal distress. If java messes with your tummy, “drink smaller amounts of it, try decaf, or systematically eliminate extras such as sweeteners to figure out if it’s coffee or your add-ins that are causing problems,” suggests William D. Chey, M.D., professor of gastroenterology and nutrition at Michigan Medicine.…