World of Medicine
The Benefits of Feeling Your Partner’s Pain
A 2017 study published in Psychological Science followed 145 patients with knee osteoarthritis and looked at the three ways that their significant others responded when they were in pain: The partners could be empathetic (show emotional support), solicitous (take over tasks and encourage rest), or punitive (express frustration). Only those whose spouses reacted mainly with empathy had improved physical function after 18 months. In other words, you really can help your loved one heal.
Why Coffee Makes You Crave Dessert
Cornell University researchers might have found a scientific answer to that age-old question: Why does coffee pair so perfectly with pastries? Normally, a chemical called adenosine binds to nerve cell membrane receptors, making you feel sleepy. Caffeine binds to the receptors to block them, which is why you feel less tired when you drink coffee. But that process also makes it harder for you to taste sweetness—which, ironically, makes you crave it more.
Whey Protein for Antiaging
Bodybuilders swear by whey protein, and older folks should, too—whether or not they pump iron. In a new study, one group of men age 70 and older took a protein-based nutritional supplement for six weeks. A second group took a placebo. Then they added resistance and high-intensity interval training while continuing to take the supplement or placebo for an additional 12 weeks. The participants taking the whey protein gained
1.5 pounds of lean body mass— muscle, mostly—in the first six weeks, which is the amount they would typically lose in a year. They also noticed greater strength gains after they began weight lifting compared with the participants who took the placebo.
Reversing Peanut Allergies Bigger Men More Likely to Die from Prostate Cancer
A recent study of almost 142,000 men has revealed that being larger than average—either taller or heavier— puts men at a higher risk of developing a more aggressive prostate tumor and, in turn, dying from it. But prostate cancer is highly treatable, so if you are an overweight or taller-thanaverage man, get a prostate-specific antigen test to detect the disease early. Peanut allergies in children have tripled in the United States in the past two decades. Now a team of Australian researchers has developed a treatment that may help stop the trend. In a small clinical trial, children with a peanut allergy were randomly assigned to two groups. The first group received a daily probiotic combined with peanut protein in increasing amounts for 18 months, while the other received a placebo. When the original study was completed in 2013, 82 percent of children treated were deemed tolerant to peanuts, compared with less than 4 percent of the placebo group. A follow-up study has revealed that the majority of the children who gained an initial tolerance now consume peanuts regularly, and 70 percent passed a test to confirm that they have developed a long-term tolerance for peanuts.