Nerdy Science Blog

Good news for egg-lovers again, researchers do not only prove that eggs do not increase your blood cholesterol, but also link to lowering high blood pressure.

Kaustav Majumber and Jianping Wu at University of Alberta, Canada, discovered that eggs can reduce hypertension.  Eggs reacted like ACE-inhibiting prescription drugs, which lowered the blood pressure.  They discovered that stomach and small intestines reacted by producing proteins when eggs were consumed.  These proteins released react in the body in a similar manner like the blood pressure medication.  Researchers also found that fried eggs had more ACE-like inhibiting activity than boiled eggs.  The discovery was published in American Chemical Association’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

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Currently physicians diagnose patients with systolic and diastolic blood pressures of 140/90 and above as hypertension (high blood pressure).  Physicians tend to use systolic blood pressure to predict the risk of having heart disease at middle aged or older individuals.

Dr Stanley Franklin and colleagues from UC Irvine Heart Disease Prevention Program showed that by looking at both systolic and diastolic blood pressures together could be a more effective predictor for heart attack or stroke risks.  The study reviewed 9,567 participants who had not receive antihypertension treatment from Framinham Heart Study.  The combination of high systolic blood pressure with low (under 70 mm Hg) blood pressure or high diastolic blood pressure had higher risk of getting cardiovascular disease.  However people with systolic and diastolic blood pressures of 120/40 and below are normal.  The results were published in the journal Circulation.

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A common gene variant links to high blood pressure a.k.a. hypertension has been identified by researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Scientists believe that there are multiple genes involved in hypertension.  By using a new technique called genome-wide association study, the first hypertension susceptibility gene, STK39 gene, has been uncovered.  The DNA of 542 members of the Old Order Amish community in Lancaster County, Pa, were analyzed to examine the connection between STK39 gene and blood pressure.  The STK39 gene is located on chromosome 2.  Chromosome 2 is a gene that produce proteins involve in kidney regulation for salt processing, which is essential in controlling blood pressure.  It is found that 20% of the Caucasians in the United States and Europe possess the gene variant.  Senior author Yen-Pei Christy Chang envisioned that the finding can lead to the development of personalized medicine.

The ideal systolic and diastolic blood pressure should be less than 120/80.  Common high blood pressure a.k.a. essential hypertension can be caused by environment and lifestyle factors, such as diet, exercise, and stress level.  It can cause cardiovascular disease, stoke, or kidney failure.

The study is published online on Dec 29th, 2008 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), titled ‘Whole-genome association study identifies STK39 as a novel hypertension susceptibility gene’.

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Love it or hate it.  Garlic can embellish a dish making it the tastiest dish you ever eat, but it can also gives you a really bad breath that makes everyone cover their nose when you are talking.  Do you know that garlic is not only used for culinary purposes, but also medicinal purposes?

The allicin (sulfur compound) produced by garlic when it is wounded (chopped or chewed) has the anti-bacterial effect.  Garlic can be beneficial to one’s health by enhancing the body’s immune system against common cold.  Garlic is also subject in cancer treatment research.  Garlic is also found to control cholesterol level and preventing heart disease.  There are numerous health benefits of garlic.

Many animal studies suggested that traditional Chinese treatment for cardiovascular disease by using garlic can actually reduce blood pressure (hypertension).  Although there are no strong evidences showing that garlic can reduce blood pressure in human, the research data  showed that the use of garlic has the potential in high blood pressure reduction.  There are also many studies in human showed that garlic does not have any effect on blood pressure.  Raw garlic were consumed in the studies.

Figure. Garlic uses, effects, and consumption advises (modified from Messina, 2006).

There are insufficient evidences showing a strong relation between garlic and hypertension reduction.  Please note that although garlic has a lot of medicinal benefits, garlic (or its supplements) should not be overdose.  It can also cause bad breath, indigestion, nausea, emesis, diarrhoea and other side effects.  You are also being reminded not to feed your dogs with garlic as it can be toxic to them.

References:

Capraz, M., Dilek, M., and Akpolat, T. (2007), Garlic, Hypertension and Patient Education, Int J. Cardiol., 121(1), pp. 130-1.

Duda, G., Suliburska, J., and Pupek-Musialik, D. (2008), Effects of Short-term Garlic Supplementation on Lipid Metabolism and Antioxidant Status in Hypertensive Adults, Pharmacol Rep., 60(2), pp. 163 – 70.

Messina, B.A. (2006), Herbal Supplements: Facts and Myths — Talking to Your Patients About Herbal Supplements, J Perianesth Nurs, 21(4), pp. 268-78.

Pittler, M.H. and Ernst, E. (2007), Clinical Effectiveness of Garlic (Allium sativum), Mol Nutr Food Res, 51(11), pp. 1382 – 5.

Reinhart, K.M., Coleman, C.I., Teevan, C., Vachhani, P., and White C.M. (2008), Effects of Garlic on Blood Pressure in Patients With and Without Systolic Hypertension: A Meta-analysis, Ann Pharmacother, 42(12), pp. 1766 – 71.

Ried,K., Frank, O.R., Stocks, N.P., Fakler, P., and Sullivan, T. (2008), Effect of Garlic on Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, BMC Cardiovasc Disord., 8:13.

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Sauna is a ‘sweat bathing’ facility that has been widely used today. Stones are often used to exert high temperature in a room by pouring water over hot stone to produce steam. The heat accumulates in the room making it humid or hot. This promotes sweating, hence relax a person. There are many psychological and physical benefits for using sauna.

The sauna session can improve a person’s social affair. People can talk to each other disrobing themselves in the sauna, and this definitely gives them a special bonding between each other.

Relaxation can also be achieved through sweating cause by the heat in the sauna. This further leads to mind cleansing of a person. Studies (Kukkonen-Harjula & Kauppinen, 2006) showed that sauna is suitable for people of all age, and it does not post any health risks to pregnant women, and patients with high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure (provided they are medicated). It was also found that sauna can help musculoskeletal disorders patient to relieve pain.

It should be reminded that people suffering from toxaemia might not be suitable to use sauna. For those who are taking antihypertensive medication may cause hypotension after bathing.

The earliest sauna known was a pit dug in a slope in the ground as bathroom in winter, and it is not Finnish invention. There are many types of sauna available these days, such as using a metal woodstove, or kiuas with a chimney instead of using hot stones.

Reference:
Kukkonen-Harjula, K. and Kauppinen, K. (2006), Health Effects and Risks of Sauna Bathing, Int J Circumpolar Health, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 195 – 205.

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Assistant Professor Tingrui Pan and postdoctoral researcher Hailin Cong developed ’smart’ contact lenses that will make you cry when you try to peep at women’s panties.  Silver powder is placed on the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and then they are shaped into contact-lens shape.  PDMS-silver functions as conductive wires and also has antimicrobial properties.  When you look at the panties, it will cause a glaucoma effect, which is a disease caused by build-up of pressure in the eyes and can lead to blindness.  Although the smart contact lenses won’t help you record the panties you see, it can send the eyes pressure data for doctors to learn more about glaucoma and improve glaucoma treatment.

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