Snacking To Sleep

There are millions of Americans who suffer from insomnia and many end up raiding the fridge. But did you know that someone snack foods will keep you awake while some will help you get a good nights rest? Here are a few examples:

First, let’s look at the foods that are most likely to keep you tossing and turning.

1. Caffeine. Now, you don’t need a doctor to tell you that caffeine will keep you awake, but it can lurk in unexpected places. Chocolate not only contains caffeine but also alkaloids which have a stimulating effect.

So what can you raid the refrigerator for to limit the sheep count? It has a lot to do with serotonin.

1. Milk (warm or not) contains tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin. It’s tryptophan in turkey that makes us so sleepy after that Thanksgiving dinner. Cheese, chicken, soy, yogurt, nuts and seeds also have tryptophan. Eat these (and all foods) at least 45 minutes prior to your planned bedtime.

Eating Disorders In the News Again

After two models died from eating disorders, people are once again talking about bulimia and anorexia. Specifically they are talking about the fact that young teens can access ways to lose weight and hide what they are doing from the people around them. These sites started about 5 years ago and have become known as pro-anorexia or Pro-Ana sites. They encourage people with eating disorders by showing pictures of obese or extremely thin people and also trade some very dangerous tips including buying unconfirmed weightloss drugs from the internet.

A pilot study released on Monday of U.S. eating disorder patients aged between 10 and 22 showed that up to a third learn new weight loss or purging methods from Web sites that promote eating disorders by enabling users to share tips, such as what drugs induce vomiting and what Internet sites sell them.

Children Get One Flu Shot

In the last 3 years studies have shown that children are not getting two shots of the flu vaccine when they should be. Only getting one shot means that kids are not fully immunized and needs to get the second shot.

No Fountain of Youth in Pills

Every year cosmetic and health companies roll out the next line of products that will magically make you look and feel younger. Now a study shows what many of us have always known: You will not find the fountain of youth in that bottle of mystery that you bought from that 1800 number.

Study: Anti-aging supplements don’t work