Asparagina ajuda a propagar cancro?

https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/mundo/descoberto-aminoacido-nos-espargos-que-propaga-o-cancro-da-mama_n1057034

Citando:
" Um estudo publicado na revista científica Nature mostrou que os tumores do cancro da mama têm dificuldades em dispersar quando não estão associados ao componente que também se encontra em carnes vegetais, produtos lácteos e marisco.

Espera-se que, no futuro, sejam aproveitadas estas informações para ajudar pacientes que têm cancro da mama a adaptar a dieta para que a doença não seja propagada para outras partes do corpo. A asparagina é um aminoácido, um bloco de proteína, que se encontra nos espargos.

O estudo teve lugar no Centro de Pesquisa do Cancro de Cambridge e foi conduzido em ratos com uma forma agressiva de cancro da mama. Os produtos do estudo levavam duas semanas até morrer mas descobriu-se que havendo uma dieta pobre em asparagina, os tumores do cancro da mama demoravam a propagar."

Stress leva a obesidade?

Níveis de cortisol elevado (por stress prolongado) podem levar a excesso de peso ou será ao contrário (R: não se sabe ainda)? E pode-ser ser obeso e viver mais que pessoas com IMC mais saudável (R: aparentemente sim):
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/06/is-it-possible-to-be-healthy-and-obese-stress

Citando:
" Long-term stress raises cortisol levels, and the researchers found that the larger volunteers had higher levels in their hair. So does this mean we can attribute obesity to stress and, if so, what can we can do about it?

The idea itself isn’t new. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands that sit on top of the kidneys. It plays a vital role in keeping glucose levels in the bloodstream in a steady state. When we are stressed or threatened, cortisol levels rise to release more glucose from stores in the liver, so we have more fuel to fight or run for our lives. Too much cortisol means too much glucose floating around and if it doesn’t get used, the excess is stored as fat."
(...)
Algumas perguntas ainda por responder:
"Is the raised cortisol a cause or an effect of obesity? Will lowering levels prove an effective treatment? And will we ever be able to stem the rising tide of obesity? Furthermore, is it actually that bad to be fat? Some might point to a studyshowing that older people who are overweight (BMI 25-30) live longer than those of normal weight and that the optimal BMI is 27. What they don’t say is that many of those will tip into being obese (a BMI of more than 30) as time goes on. "

Relação entre dormir mais de 9h e Alzheimer?

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/199356/20170226/more-than-nine-hours-of-sleep-could-indicate-alzheimers-disease-here-are-other-warning-signs-of-dementia.htm

Citando:
"Although the researchers did not find a heightened dementia risk for individuals who had been sleeping for nine hours or more a night for more than 13 years, they noticed an increased risk for those who recently started to sleep for more than nine hours.

The researchers found that new long-sleepers have an increased likelihood of developing dementia. Those who recently started to sleep for more than nine hours were found to have a 20 percent increased likelihood of being diagnosed with the neurological condition. They also appeared to have smaller brain volumes."

Relação entre açúcar e Alzheimer estabelecida

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170223124253.htm

Citando:
"For the first time a "tipping point" molecular link between the blood sugar glucose and Alzheimer's disease has been established by scientists, who have shown that excess glucose damages a vital enzyme involved with inflammation response to the early stages of Alzheimer's.
(...)

By studying brain samples from people with and without Alzheimer's using a sensitive technique to detect glycation, the team discovered that in the early stages of Alzheimer's glycation damages an enzyme called MIF (macrophage migration inhibitory factor) which plays a role in immune response and insulin regulation.

MIF is involved in the response of brain cells called glia to the build-up of abnormal proteins in the brain during Alzheimer's disease, and the researchers believe that inhibition and reduction of MIF activity caused by glycation could be the 'tipping point' in disease progression. It appears that as Alzheimer's progresses, glycation of these enzymes increases.

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports"

Gatos e esquizofrenia? Não.

http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/bdn06/cats-dont-make-people-crazy-scientists-make-people-crazy-20170225

Citando:
"The list goes on. And on. And on.

Despite that, new research released this week shows “no link between owning a feline and exhibiting psychotic symptoms.”

Yes, the mere fact that scientific research has been done on this subject reveals that something is definitely not right with cat owners.

Still, the University College London, a research university in London, did an extensive study.

Why? Because other research revealed cats are a primary host of Toxoplasma Gondi, or T. Gondi for short. T. Gondi causes mental health conditions such as schizophrenia.

The study followed about 5,000 people born in 1991 or 1992, people who had cats while their mothers were pregnant or grew up in houses with cats.

“Our study suggests that cat ownership during early pregnancy or in early childhood does not post a direct risk for late psychotic symptoms,” Dr. James Kirkbride, the study’s senior author said in a news release.

He did caution that T. Gondi exposure could lead to serious birth defects and other health problems in children.”"

Antibióticos em vez de remoção do apêndice (na apendicite aguda)?

Medicação poderá ser substituta da operação mais comum em crianças (no RU):
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/17/antibiotics-not-surgery-could-treat-appendicitis-in-children-study-suggests

Citando:
"Antibiotics could be an effective alternative to surgery for treating children with appendicitis, research suggests.

According to the NHS, appendicitis affects an estimated one in 13 people at some point in their life, with appendix removal the most common reason for emergency surgery in children. 

But researchers say using antibiotics alone might offer a less invasive alternative – an approach that has already had some success in adult patients."

Perguntas frequentes - infecção por bactéria Shigella

Uma FAQ para a bactéria altamente contagiosa que está a afectar o RU (vómitos, diarreia - por vezes com sangue - e outros sintomas):
http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/15100957.The_horrific_vomiting_bug_sweeping_the_UK___what_you_need_to_know/

Como evitar  o contágio?
Citando:
"How can I prevent it spreading?

Good personal hygiene is essential.

Always wash and dry your hands:

• after using the toilet

• after changing a baby’s nappy

• before preparing food

• after handling raw food 

• after contact with pets and other animals 

• after contact with contaminated bedding or clothing.

Keep contact with an infected person to a minimum especially while they have symptoms.

At home, an infected person should keep a hand towel that only they use.

Wash all clothes, bedding and towels from an infected person in the washing machine at the hottest cycle possible for the type of clothing to be washed.

Clean toilet seats, toilet bowls, flush handles, taps and wash hand basins regularly with hot soapy water."

Salmonela a combater o cancro?

Parece que poderá ser possível em algo que se chamará bacterioterapia:
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11803567

Citando:
"A genetically-altered form of salmonella has been developed that will attack tumour cells but leave healthy cells alone.

The bugs are a leading cause of food poisoning in the UK each year, reports DailyMail.

It is the latest example of developments in a new field of cancer treatment called "bacteriotherapy".

Experiments on mice using a modified version of salmonella reduced the size of cancer tumours, the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Boston heard.

Alterations made to the salmonella bug stopped it attacking and infiltrating into normal healthy cells. Instead it targeted cancer cells."

Licopeno (em suplementos) ajuda a recuperar artérias danificadas

Um estudo confirma (apesar do mecanismo ainda não estar bem compreendido) a acção benéfica do licopeno (presente no tomate, ketchup) mesmo em suplementos:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/09/tomato-extract-lycopene-relieves-damaged-arteries-cambridge-study

Citando:
"A substance found in tomatoes relieves impairment of blood vessels, which may explain why people who eat a Mediterranean diet have a notably reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease, according to a study.

A supplement of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant which is 10 times more potent than vitamin E, improved and normalised function of the endothelium (the inner lining of blood vessels) in volunteers with cardiovascular disease, researchers from the University of Cambridge found."
(...)
Lycopene is found in tomatoes and its potency appears to be enhanced when it is consumed pureed, in ketchup or in the presence of olive oil. It is also found in other fruit and vegetables, such as grapefruit, watermelon, asparagus and carrots."

Os homens suam mais que as mulheres?

Sim, em média, mas não porque são homens. O que determina mais a quantidade de suor não é o sexo da pessoa mas outros factores como o peso:
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/do-men-sweat-more-women-1608200

Citando:
"It's not their sex, but their size and weight, which explain why men and women sweat differently. Scientists have found that larger individuals sweat more than smaller ones during exercise, showing that gender differences in sweating depend on morphology rather than gender.

Sweating and increasing circulation to the skin's surface are the two main ways that the body has to cool down. However, physiologists still don't completely understand how and why gender affects the sweating process."
(...)
"The researchers found that regardless of sex, similar changes in body temperatures were observed. Weight and morphology explained 10 to 48 per cent of the individual variance in sweating and blood flow responses. In contrast, gender explained only five per cent of inter-individual variability in sweating.

Another finding of the study was that smaller men and women who have more surface area per kilogram of body mass were more dependent on increasing blood circulation and less dependent on sweating to reduce their body temperature.

The scientists concluded that the reason men and women may differ when it comes to cooling their body down during exercise is based on their morphology, not on their gender. Fit men may sweat more than fit women, but it is differences in morphology that mediate this difference."

Estudos para todos os gostos: Exercício físico e apetite sexual

Vários estudos na ligação seguinte alguns com resultados surpreendentes, outros nem por isso (como o que motiva o título desta notícia):
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/fitness/intense-exercise-lowers-mens-libido-study-finds-20170224-gukf9j.html

Citando:
"Exercise is meant to make us hot-blooded, but too much of it can sap our sex drive, a new study has found.

Research has tended to focus on how our sex drive benefits from regular exercise. Aside from the confidence-boost exercise gives us (and confidence leads to greater sexual satisfaction), there are the physiological effects. "
(...)
"it is not the first study to show the "negative impact" of endurance exercise and elite sport.

She says there are two reasons for this – the psychological and the physical. It is known that intense exercise can negatively impact testosterone (which affects both sex drive and sperm count), but Quirk adds:

"There's a parallel between immunological function and sexual interest and there is a negative effect – in elite sports and endurance athletes – on immunological function."

Quirk adds that moderate activity provides "a reasonable amount of benefit" but when we start pushing ourselves hard for extended periods of time, we become mentally and physically "spent".

"Sex will be very low on the list," she says. "

Intermitent fasting - o que é?

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25498742 e...

O que é (citação):
"During each five-day fasting cycle, when I ate about a quarter the average person's diet, I lost between 2kg and 4kg (4.4-8.8lbs) but before the next cycle came round, 25 days of eating normally had returned me almost to my original weight.
But not all consequences of the diet faded so quickly."

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25549805 (os efeitos: redução de IGF-1 associada ao crescimento de certos cancros e aparecimento de células regeneradoras, embrionárias - Stem Cell like).

Citando:
""You had a dramatic drop in IGF-1, close to 60% and then once you re-fed it went up, but was still down 20%," Longo told me.

Such a reduction could make a significant difference to an individual's likelihood of developing certain cancers, he says. A study of a small population of people in Ecuador, who have much lower levels of IGF-1, because they lack a growth hormone receptor, showed that they rarely develop cancer and other age-related conditions.

My blood tests also revealed that the major inhibitor of IGF-1, which is called IGFBP-1, was significantly up during the fasting period. Even when I resumed a normal diet, the IGFBP-1 level was elevated compared with my baseline. It is, according to Longo, a sign that my body switched into a mode that was much more conducive to healthy ageing.

Data from other participants in the study is still being analysed, but if they also show lower levels of IGF-1 and higher levels of IGFBP-1, it could help scientists develop an intermittent fasting regime that allows people to eat a normal diet for the vast majority of the time, and still slow down the ageing process.

One idea being explored by Longo is that a five-day intervention every 60 days may be enough to trigger positive changes in the body.

"This is exactly what we have in mind to allow people, for let's say 55 every 60 days, to decide what they are going to eat with the help of a good doctor, and diet in the five days. They may not think it is the greatest food they have ever eaten, but it's a lot easier, let's say, than complete fasting and it's a lot safer than complete fasting and it may be more effective than complete fasting."

The very small meals I was given during the five-day fast were far from gourmet cooking, but I was glad to have something to eat. There are advocates of calorie restriction who promote complete fasting.

My blood tests also detected a significant rise in a type of cell, which may play a role in the regeneration of tissues and organs."

Passar fome regenera Pâncreas (ajudando na diabetes Tipo 2)

Parecido com o livro sobre a reversão da diabetes tipo 2, há estudos que analisam o efeito da redução calórica (jejum) no pâncreas, parecendo que ajuda à sua regeneração e normalização dos níveis de açúcar no sangue:
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-39070183

Citando:
"Experts said the findings were "potentially very exciting" as they could become a new treatment for the disease.

People are advised not to try this without medical advice.

In the experiments, mice were put on a modified form of the "fasting-mimicking diet".

It is like the human form of the diet when people spend five days on a low calorie, low protein, low carbohydrate but high unsaturated-fat diet.

It resembles a vegan diet with nuts and soups, but with around 800 to 1,100 calories a day.

Then they have 25 days eating what they want - so overall it mimics periods of feast and famine.

Previous research has suggested it can slow the pace of ageing."

O estudo:
(published in the journal Cell)
http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(17)30130-7

Livro sobre como reverter a Diabetes tipo 2

... apenas com alterações do que se come:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3810684/Eat-beat-diabetes-Guilt-free-sweet-treats-scrumptious-puds-won-t-believe-low-sugar-never-need-buy-loaf-again.html

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/8-Week-Blood-Sugar-Diet-reprogramme/1780722400

Como construir uma refeição saudável que o mantém sem fome - Time.com

How to Build a Healthy Meal That Actually Keeps You Full - Nutrition - Health.com

Resumo:
A todas as refeições:

1. - Adicionar vegetais ricos em fibra (mesmo ao pequeno almoço);
2. - Adicionar proteínas (fontes, em Inglês: eggs, seafood, poultry, Greek yogurt; pulses = lentils, beans, and peas, like chickpeas, black eyed peas);
3. - Adicionar gorduras vegetais (fontes: avocados, nuts and seed [including ground-up versions like almond butter and tahini], extra virgin olive oil; Mediterranean olives, olive tapenade, and pestos made with EVOO and nuts or seeds);
4. - Adicionar hidratos de carbono complexos (fontes: whole grains like oats or quinoa, starchy veggies like skin-on potatoes and squash, fresh fruit, and pulses);
5. - Adicionar especiarias e outros temperos (fresh or dried basil, cilantro, oregano, rosemary, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, zest, and pepper. Even vinegars like balsamic, and hot peppers like chili or jalapeno).

Exercício físico como a melhor maneira de evitar a reincidência de cancro da mama

Mais uma excelente revisão das notícias (e estudo) que referem que o exercício físico é a melhor maneira de prevenir a reincidência do cancro da mama. As conclusões do perito do NHS são que o estudo é interessante do ponto de vista de analisar o impacto do estilo de vida sobre o cancro da mama apesar de ter algumas limitações (bias effect, etc.):
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2017/02February/Pages/Exercise-most-proven-method-to-prevent-return-of-breast-cancer.aspx

Citando:
"The researchers' review of evidence found that physical activity had the strongest reported effect on reducing the risk of breast cancer recurring and dying from breast cancer.

Following the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week guidance, as well as two to three weekly sessions of strength training, can help reduce the risk of breast cancer returning and death from the disease.

The effects of treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy can take a toll on motivation to exercise. But clinical guidelines recommend a gradual return to regular exercise."

História da "Vitamina" D e necessidade ou não da suplementação

Depois das notícias (p.e. da Time) sobre como evitar constipações (R: Tomando vitamina D), algumas críticas à recomendação e um pouco de história:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/02/definitive-vitamin-d/517302/

Citando:
"The scientific process behind the health claims was ethically fraught, too, in that it came from University of Wisconsin researchers who owned the patent on producing the compound that had recently been named “vitamin D.” The term started as a colloquialism for what chemists know as cholecalciferol and ergocalciferol, which are not structurally or functionally similar to the other compounds widely known as “vitamins.”

D is technically a pre-hormone involved in multiple metabolic processes but mainly known to affect the levels of calcium and phosphorus in our bodies. Though little was known in the 1930s about exactly how “vitamin D” worked to prevent people’s bones from warping, the biochemist who patented the process of synthesizing the compound said, “If the public should demand vitamin D in its beer, there is no reason why [we] should not provide it.”

The demanding people weren’t ready for vitamin beer, apparently, and Schlitz took it off the market two years later. Instead cow’s milk became the delivery vehicle for vitamin D supplements in the United States. A milk-fortification law was passed to combat the scourge of rickets. So arose the belief that drinking cow’s milk was necessary for strong bones. As the dairy industry made the case in government-sponsored advertising, vitamin D actually became a primary selling point for milk—the reason that many Americans believe drinking cow’s milk is necessary still today. (Even though adult cows don’t drink it.)"

Gene associado a desordens ao nível do colesterol

... que se não forem tratadas (com estatinas desde cedo) podem levar a morte prematura:
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15106022.Gene_puts_thousands_at_risk_of_early_heart_attack_death/

Citando:
"The British Heart Foundation is calling for improved screening to pinpoint those affected by the inherited condition, known as familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), after new estimates indicated the genetic defect is more common in Scottish children than type one diabetes and is likely to affect around 21,000 people in Scotland."
(...)
"FH causes abnormally high levels of cholesterol in a person’s blood, meaning that otherwise healthy individuals are at a much greater risk of having a heart attack at a young age.

Without treatment, people with FH can die prematurely in their 20s, 30s or 40s. Each child of a parent who has FH has a 50 per cent chance of inheriting the condition.

Early treatment with statins can bring a carrier’s life expectancy back to that of someone without the condition. However, the BHF warns that people are needlessly dying because most people are not diagnosed and treated for the condition, despite one of the faulty genes responsible for the majority of FH cases first being discovered 30 years ago."

Skyr, um novo tipo de iogurte?

O Sykr é um tipo de iogurte alternativo que já se encontra à venda em Portugal (e.g. no Lidl) e tem cerca de 11g de proteína por cada 100g. Por comparação, o iogurte natural mais corrente tem carca de 3-4g de proteínas por cada 100g e a aveia tem cerca de 12g de proteína por cada 100g:

De realçar: Baixo teor de gordura, alto nível de proteínas e de cálcio; bactérias Streptococcus thermophilus e Lactobacillus bulgaricus (benéficas para os intestinos).

Mais info:
Skyr: há um novo iogurte a revolucionar o mundo fit (e a receita é dos vikings)

PS: "Kudos to M. Oliveira for the tip"

Sobre os pontos brancos nas unhas...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/science/you-sometimes-little-white-spots-9860481
Citando:
"But, generally, you can rest assured that white dots – known scientifically as punctate leukonychia – on your nails are nothing sinister. Typically, they appear simply because there's been some trauma to the nail."
(...)
"Puncate might not mean a lack of calcium, but could suggest a zinc deficiency. Eating foods such as spinach, kidney beans, beef, and seeds is a good way to combat this."