Survey Says: There’s No Lack of Research for Whatever Might Ail You
By Dan Vierria, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.
Mar. 11–Health and fitness studies, as numerous as aches and pains, praise or pooh-pooh everything from vitamin E to Pilates.
Everybody, it seems, is conducting research and releasing surveys. The findings can be bewildering. Consider that air conditioning and a strong faith in God may contribute to obesity. Yes, those were two real studies.
Now, whether you choose to believe the findings of these health and fitness studies is another matter. Basically, if it’s not harmful and works for you, great.
If not, you may want to consider others.
Sniff ‘n’ snore
Warm milk, boring books, melatonin, Lunesta, Ambien, Sonata, Rozerem. You’ve tried them all and still can’t sleep. Try sniffing lavender or jasmine.
Researchers at Wesleyan University found lavender to have a deep, sleep-inducing quality. Place cuttings of the fragrant herb on the nightstand or under the pillow. Spritz its essence on sheets or on your neck, like a nocturnal perfume. Even if it doesn’t encourage ZZZs, lavender smells good.
At Wheeling-Jesuit University in West Virginia, jasmine was deemed more effective. Those who inhaled its sweet fragrance at night awoke more refreshed than those who went without. Lavender also was tested, but jasmine produced a better result in this study.
Lavender, by the way, has also been cited as effective in treating depression.
Coffee, tea or … tea it is
Forty percent of office workers say they need coffee to get them through the work day, according to a survey conducted by WorkPlace Media, a direct marketer. However, tea may be a better choice.
A Japanese study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last fall indicated that women cut their risk of death from heart disease by one-third if they drank at least five cups of antioxidant-rich green tea per day.
Dr. Andrew Weil, writing in the April issue of Prevention magazine, cites a study of black tea that produced similar stress- relieving results.
Coffee studies have found only “modest benefits to the heart,” he writes. “If you are a coffee drinker, try substituting good quality tea for some of the coffee you now consume.”
He also notes that adding milk to tea “interferes with its antioxidant activity.”
Fidgeting fitness
A study of fidgeters is among the most intriguing of recent years. You fidgeters are perpetual-motion machines, shrugging, nodding, tapping, swaying back and forth. It’s not uncommon in restless young children. When it persists to adulthood, fidgeting manifests into a weight-loss activity. We’re not making this up.
An obesity study conducted by the Mayo Clinic in 2005 revealed that fidgeters burn around 350 calories a day more than listless folks.
Researchers reported that your basic fidgeting (all that moving around) can add up to a 10- to 30-pound weight loss per year. They call it “non-exercise activity thermogenesis,” or NEAT.
Even overeating, adult fidgeters tend to control their weight better than those who mainly keep still. Pretty NEAT, huh?
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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