health briefs
Try Infrared Sauna for Weight Loss Regular use of an infrared sauna is a healthy way to shed extra weight. They use heat and light to relax and detoxify the body. The difference between these types of saunas and typical steam or dry saunas is that light directly penetrates the skin, but does not warm the air. Body temperature goes up quickly, causing encouraging perspiration to release toxins that are mostly stored in fat cells, which may effect the body’s ability to lose weight. Recent studies indicate that regular sauna use has a significant effect on body mass loss and can contribute to the healthy shedding of weight. Infrared sauna use may also improve overall health and well-being, and alleviate a variety of different health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue, poor digestion, depression and chronic muscle and joint pain. Additional health benefits may include detoxification, stress relief, a strengthened immune system, pain relief, improved circulation, lower blood pressure, muscle recovery and healthier skin.
Avoid Coffee When Pregnant to Safeguard Brain Development A mother’s coffee drinking during pregnancy can change important pathways in an infant’s developing brain, raising the risk of behavioral issues, attention difficulty and hyperactivity years later, say researchers at the University of Rochester, in New York. Analyzing thousands of brain scans of 9- and 10-yearolds, researchers found clear changes in how white matter tracks, which form connections between brain regions, were organized in children whose mothers
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Nix Baby Foods that Harbor Toxic Metals As convenient as storebought baby food is, it can pose hidden dangers for infant brains, say U.S. congressional investigators. A report issued by the House of Representatives on February 4 found “dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals,” including arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, in baby foods made by major companies Hain Foods, Gerber, Beech-Nut and Happy Family Organics. Walmart, Campbell Soup Company and Sprout Organic Foods refused to cooperate with the investigation. On March 5, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pledged to enact new standards, increase inspections and testing, and support research to lower baby food contaminants. Low levels of exposure to heavy metals can cause serious, irreversible damage to children’s brain development, studies show. Naturally present in the environment, they enter baby foods through soil, water and air; companies attempt to minimize this impact through processing. In one example, Hain Celestial, which makes Earth’s Best Organic, says it no longer uses brown rice, which can harbor arsenic. 12
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reported consuming caffeine while pregnant. “These are sort of small effects and it’s not causing horrendous psychiatric conditions, but it is causing minimal, but noticeable behavioral issues that should make us consider long-term effects of caffeine intake during pregnancy,” says John Foxe, Ph.D., principal investigator of the university’s Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. Previous studies have found that a fetus does not have enough of the enzyme necessary to break down caffeine when it crosses the placenta.
