Eat to dream

Sleep, like nutrition and physical activity, is a critical determinant of health and well-being. With the increasing prevalence of obesity and its consequences, sleep researchers have begun to explore the factors that predispose individuals to weight gain. A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows for the first time that certain nutrients may play an underlying role in short and long sleep duration and that people who report eating a good variety of foods had the healthiest sleep patterns.

It is known that that those who sleep 7-8 hours are more likely to have a better well being and health. This study tried to see if there are differences in the diet of those who report shorter sleep, longer sleep, or standard sleep patterns.The authors found that total caloric intake varied across groups:
-Short sleepers (5-6 hours) consumed the most calories
-Food variety was highest in normal sleepers (7-8 hours), and lowest in very short sleepers.
-Very short sleep (< 5hours per night) was associated with less intake of tap water, lycopene (found in red- and orange-colored foods), and total carbohydrates.
-Long sleep ( >9 hours) was associated with less intake of theobromine (found in chocolate and tea), choline (found in eggs and fatty meats), total carbohydrates, and more alcohol.

In conclusion, people who sleep 7 to 8 hours each night differ in terms of their diet, compared to people who sleep less or more. Moreover, short and long sleep are associated with lower food variety. The next thing to explore is if people altered their diets, would they be able to change their overall sleep pattern?

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Food to avoid while taking medication

A lot of people are not aware that the food they eat can interfere with certain drugs they are taking. Grapefruit is one of these food as it can interact with more than 85 oral medications and cause serious side effects . Other examples include:

- Vitamin K-rich foods can make warfarin (anticoagulant used to prevent blood clots) less effective  according to Britain's National Institutes of Health. Foods containing high amounts of vitamin K include herbs such as parsley and coriander, leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard, soybeans and chickpeas.

- Licorice if taken in high quantities it can increase the chances of toxicity for people taking the medication Lanoxin (used to treat congestive heart failure and heart rhythm disorders). Licorice can also make certain blood pressure drugs and diuretics less effective according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

-Calcium from dairy foods or from supplements can interfere with the absorption of thyroid medicine.

Finally,  alcohol can cause problems for people taking a wide range of medications, including blood-thinning drugs like warfarin, antibiotics, anti-depressants, diabetic medication, anti-psychotics and anti-seizure drugs.

Take home message: it is always advised to read the labels on the drugs and ask the doctor or pharmacist about any potential food interaction or side effects. 

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Spice Allergy

According to allergists at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, 2 to 3 percent of individuals in the world are living with a spice allergy.

Spices are one of the most difficult allergen to identify or avoid as they are widely used products in foods, cosmetics and dental products. Since they are not regulated by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, they often are not noted on food labels.

According to allergist Sami Bahna, "while spice allergy seems to be rare, with the constantly increasing use of spices in the American diet and a variety of cosmetics, we anticipate more and more Americans will develop this allergy." Having this type of allergy means you can never dine in restaurants, wear makeup, smell sweet perfumes or eat a large percentage of food we usually find on store shelves ! Overall, it can really decrease the quality of life and lead to strict dietary avoidance. In fact, the allergic reaction can be caused from breathing, eating or touching spices but the symptoms range from mild sneezing to a life-threating allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.

Common spice allergy triggers include cinnamon and garlic, but can range from black pepper to vanilla. Several spice blends contain anywhere from 3 to 18 spices, and the hotter the spice, the greater the chance for allergy. "Boiling, roasting, frying and other forms of applying heat to spices may reduce allergy causing agents, but can also enhance them depending on the spice".

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What happens when you skip breakfast ?

The brain is an often overlooked yet a significant organ in an array of dietary disorders. More and more research are highlighting how the brain's biological mechanisms may contribute to most of the health challenges we are dealing with today such as obesity, diabetes, binge eating...
One study in particular looked at the effect of skipping breakfast on brain activity using brain scans of normal weight people. The result showed that skipping breakfast makes fatty, high calorie foods appear far more attractive later in the day. In fact, when they compared the brain scans of the breakfast eating and the breakfast skipping visits, the researchers noticed different patterns of activity in the orbitofrontal cortex. This area is situated just above the eyes and influences judgements about pleasantness and reward value of food. On an empty stomach, this area appears to be more active when looking at pictures of high calorie foods.


To conclude, skipping breakfast will lead to an increased appeal to high calories foods and a subsequent increased food consumption at lunch. So for those trying to keep a healthy weight or to loose weight skipping breakfast is not a smart choice !

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A pack of walnuts a day keeps the fertility doctors away

Approximately 70 million couples experience infertility worldwide, with 30 to 50 percent of these cases attributable to the male partner. An increasing western style diet have been shown in some studies to affect sperm quality. Dr. Wendie Robbins and her colleagues at the University of California, decided to investigate whether increasing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are critical for sperm maturation would increase sperm quality in men consuming a Western-style diet.

117 healthy men between the ages of 21 and 35 were selected. They were split into two groups: one (58 men) who would avoid eating tree nuts and another (59 men) who would eat 75 grams of walnuts per day.  The men's semen quality was analyzed before and after the experiment. The findings showed that after 12 weeks, the men consuming walnuts had significantly increased levels of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids and experienced improvement in sperm vitality, motility, and morphology. Those eating walnuts also had fewer chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm following the walnut dietary intervention. The other group, on the other hand, experienced no changes.

Even though, this study have shown that eating walnuts can positively affect a young men sperm, it does not show whether the benefits would apply to men with fertility problems


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