HEALTHY LIVING
The latest health news
IS ACV A TICKET TO WEIGHT LOSS?
The practice of knocking back a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar (ACV) before meals has steadily gained traction. Perhaps it’s because news of a 2009 Japanese study published in the Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry journal has slowly filtered through to us. The researchers compared three groups of obese people: one group drank 15ml of vinegar diluted in a 500ml drink; another group had 30ml in their drink; and the third didn’t take any vinegar at all. After 12 weeks, the vinegar groups showed significant changes in weight (about 1–2kg to be specific), BMI, visceral fat, waist circumference and serum triglyceride levels, so it was concluded that taking a little vinegar every day might be useful in preventing metabolic syndrome by reducing obesity. Note that they said ‘a little’.
Isn’t it interesting that we traditionally douse slap chips with vinegar, and salads with a vinegar dressing?
Professor Carol Johnson of Arizona State University has been studying the impact of vinegar on health for over 10 years. She hasn’t seen much benefit in terms of weight loss – just very subtle improvements – but she says that the acetic acid in vinegar does calm the blood sugar spike that comes with eating starchy food.
So does apple cider vinegar have the edge over other types? Any vinegar will do, says Prof Johnson, but she recommends red wine vinegar as it’s smoother. Whatever you do, dilute it, otherwise it can damage your throat and oesophagus – and drink it at the start of your meal, she adds.
CHICKEN SOUP FOR MORE THAN THE SOUL
Got the flu? Chances are you’ve ordered chicken soup from your significant other for supper. It’s an age-old home remedy, and science backs it up. At the very least, it’s good for reducing mucous in the lungs, says The Conversation, an independent source of news from the academic community.
HOW TO REMEMBER
Got a student in the house? Or perhaps back to the books yourself? If you’re relying on typical study strategies like underlining, highlighting, rereading, and repetition, Peter Brown, Henry Roediger and Mark A McDaniel, authors of Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, say you’re wasting your time, as these strategies ‘create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly’. Here are three of their tips:
• WRITE NOTES, DON’T TYPE THEM: Writing helps you distil the info.
• DON’T SKIMP ON SLEEP: Sleep, the authors say, helps consolidate memories and improves retrieval.
• JUMP FROM ONE SUBJECT TO ANOTHER: Wait to re-study new material until you feel you’ve forgotten it, and weave the practice of one skill or topic with another, rather than focusing on only one topic.
ARE YOU CAGEY ABOUT YOUR DRINKING?
If you’re a heavy drinker, how sure are you that you’re not tipping over into dependency? The CAGE questionnaire is one way of finding out. Answer these questions honestly, and if two or more get a ‘yes’, it’s time to get help.
• Have you ever felt you needed to Cut down on your drinking?
• Have people Annoyed you by criticising your drinking?
• Have you ever felt Guilty about drinking?
• Have you ever felt you needed a drink first thing in the morning (Eye-opener) to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?