Ready for a bit of refreshing good news?
1) Worldwide drop in mothers’ death rate
For the first time in decades, researchers are reporting a significant drop worldwide in the number of women dying each year from pregnancy and childbirth, to about 342,900 in 2008 from 526,300 in 1980. This was not due to high technology or doctor care. It appears that mothers are surviving pregnancy and childbirth better because of prenatal education, adequate nutrition, improved sanitation and hygiene and better access to midwives.
2) Heart healthy diet also prevents dementia
A diet rich in omega -3 oils from fish dishes, eaten with plenty of fruits and vegetables has been well established to protect against heart disease. But now researches have documented that this heart-healthy diet also protects against Alzheimer’s dementia. People who ate a modified Mediterranean diet with frequent fish meals and low sugar fruits and green veggies had a 38% less risk of Alzheimer’s than people on the typical American diet of sugary foods, refined wheat, white rice, meats and fast foods. So eat well for your heart and your memory!
3) Dark chocolate may be good for your liver
Dark chocolate appears to be good for patients with advanced liver disease. Cocoa contains antioxidants called flavonols. They relax the blood vessels causing them to widen, reducing the high vessel pressures that lead to bleeding in liver patients. This latest research adds to chocolate’s long list of health benefits, including protecting the heart and stimulating the feel-good hormones endorphins.
4) Stroke, heart attack and lung cancer are less deadly than before.
Stroke deaths, heart disease deaths steadily declining. Stroke death rates have continued to decline, dropping 25.6% in ten years. Death from ischemic (poor circulation) heart disease has dropped nearly 32%, however it remains the leading cause of death in the US. Even lung cancer death rates have dropped by 9.2%. (Now if only taxes could go in the same direction!)
Ref: Grady, D, Maternal Deaths Decline Sharply Across the Globe, NY Times, , April 13, 2010
Ref: Yian Gu, PhD; Jeri W. Nieves, PhD; Yaakov Stern, PhD; Jose A. Luchsinger, MD, MPH; Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, MS. Food Combination and Alzheimer Disease Risk, A Protective Diet, Arch Neurol. 2010;67(6).
Ref: Hirschler, B., Chocolate may be good medicine for liver patients, Reuters, Apr 15, 2010, available athttp://af.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idAFTRE63E3SR20100415, last accessed 4/15/10.
Ref: Towfighi, A., Stroke Declines From the Second to the Third Leading Organ- and Disease-Specific Cause of Death in the United States, Stroke. 2010;41:499-503.