Fiber: It’s not just for adults

(HealthDay)—You know how important fiber is for overall health, making meals more filling and staying “regular.”

But did you know that children need their fair share of fiber, too? And for the same reasons.

How much is enough? In general, the U.S. Institute of Medicine states that monitoring should start early in life, and by their teen years, kids need nearly as much fiber as adults.

Grams of Fiber by Age:

  • Ages 1-3: 19 g.
  • Ages 4-8: 25 g.
  • Ages 9-13: 26 g for girls, 31 g for boys.
  • Ages 14-18: 26 g for girls, 38 g for boys.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says to remember the number 5—make sure kids eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day plus other good sources of fiber, like .

The nutrition facts panel on packaged foods can help you make fiber-rich choices. If a food claims to be a good source of fiber, the fiber grams will be listed under carbohydrates. “Excellent” sources have 5 or more grams of fiber per serving. “Good” sources have at least 3 grams.

While whole grains make healthier choices than refined ones, some have more fiber than others. For instance, whole-grain wheat has more than whole-grain brown rice or oats. Also, the amount of fiber in the same grain can vary by brand so always read those labels. For variety, try new like bulgur, buckwheat, cornmeal and wild rice.

Simple changes can add up to a big improvement.

When serving veggies and fruit, don’t remove edible peels—they contain fiber, plus there’s less prepping for you. When you do cook produce, avoid overcooking, which destroys fiber. Dried fruits, pumpkin and , and freshly made popcorn all make great high-fiber snacks.

Try to replace some protein and starchy veggies, like potatoes, with legumes—beans, peas and lentils. They’re high in fiber, vitamins and minerals, and deliver plant-based proteins without the saturated fat of meat.

Keep in mind that the earlier in their lives that you start kids on a fiber-rich diet, the easier it will be for them to carry this healthy habit into adulthood.

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How words get an emotional meaning

Dr. Louise Kulke. Credit: Mega Photo GmbH Lehrte

Many objects and people can convey an emotional meaning. A pair of wool socks, for example, has an emotional value if it was the last thing the grandmother knitted before her death. The same applies to words. The name of a stranger has no emotional value at first, but if a loving relationship develops, the same name suddenly has a positive connotation. Researchers at the University of Göttingen have investigated how the brain processes such stimuli, which can be positive or negative. The results were published in the journal Neuropsychologia.

The scientists from the Georg Elias Müller Institute for Psychology at the University of Göttingen analysed how people associate neutral signs, and faces with emotional meaning. Within just a few hours, participants learn these connections through a process of systematic rewards and losses. For example, if they always receive money when they see a certain neutral word, this word acquires a positive association. However, if they lose money whenever they see a certain word, this leads to a negative association. The studies show that people learn positive associations much faster than neutral or negative associations: Something positive very quickly becomes associated with a word, or indeed, with the face of a person (as their recent research in Neuroimage has shown).

Using electroencephalography (EEG), the researchers also investigated how the the various stimuli. The brain usually determines whether an image or word is positive or negative after about 200 to 300 milliseconds. “Words associated with loss cause specific neuronal reactions in the after just 100 milliseconds,” says Dr. Louisa Kulke, first author of the study. “So the brain distinguishes in a flash what a newly learned meaning the word has for us, especially if that meaning is negative.”

It also seems to make a difference whether the word is already known to the subject (like “chair” or “tree”) or whether it is a fictitious word that does not exist in the language (like “napo” or “foti”). Thus, the existing semantic of a word seems to play a role in the emotions that we associate with that word.

Participant during EEG testing. Credit: Anap-Lab

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Maternal stress leads to overweight in children

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Overweight is unhealthy. Yet more and more people in Germany are overweight, particularly children. As part of the LiNA mother-child study coordinated by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), researchers were able to identify mother’s perceived stress during the first year of the child’s life as a risk factor for developing overweight in infancy. According to the study recently published in the BMC Public Health specialist magazine, researchers from the UFZ, the University of Bristol and the Berlin Institute of Health found this to have long-lasting effects on girls’ weight development in particular.

In Germany, nearly ten percent of children aged two to six are overweight, of which three percent are classified as obese. High-caloric diets and too little exercise are known to be for obesity. “Maternal stress is also thought to contribute to the development of obesity in children,” explains nutritionist Dr. Kristin Junge from the Department of Environmental Immunology at the UFZ. “In terms of child development, the period between pregnancy and the first years of life is particularly sensitive to external influences, which may lead to illness or obesity.” And this may include psychological influences such as maternal stress. In their current study, UFZ researchers are investigating whether and how perceived maternal stress during pregnancy and the first two years of life, affects the child’s weight development up to the age of five. To do so, they analysed data available from the LiNA mother-child study.

LiNA is a long-term study in which sensitive childhood development phases are investigated with special consideration given to lifestyle, environmental pollution and the subsequent occurrence of allergies, respiratory diseases and obesity. Since 2006, UFZ researchers in cooperation with the Städtisches Klinikum St. Georg in Leipzig, and more recently with the Universitätsklinikum Leipzig, have been following several hundred mother-child pairs from pregnancy onwards to investigate the effects of environmental influences and lifestyle habits on health and well-being. As part of the research, regular surveys are completed, pollutant measurements are taken in the living environment, and the mothers and children undergo clinical examinations. The current UFZ study is based on data from 498 mother-child pairs from the LiNA study. Using the data for height and weight, the researchers determined the children’s Body Mass Index (BMI) and standardised the results by age and gender. Mothers’ perceived stress was assessed by validated questionnaires and included topics such as worries and fears, feelings of tension, general satisfaction as well as coping with daily demands. “We compared the data on mothers’ perceived stress during pregnancy and in the first two years of the child’s life with the child’s BMI development up to the age of five, and investigated whether there was a correlation,” explains biochemist Dr. Beate Leppert, the study’s lead author.

First year of life particularly influential

And the study results show: There is actually a correlation. If mothers’ perceived stress was high during the child’s first year of life, there was a high probability that her child would develop a higher BMI in the first five years of their life. “The effects of maternal stress seem to have a long-term impact,” says Kristin Junge. The correlation between perceived maternal stress in the child’s first year of life and an increased BMI was especially evident in girls. “It seems that daughters of stressed mothers in particular are at increased risk of becoming overweight,” says Dr. Saskia Trump, senior author of the current study,who now works at the Berlin Institute for Health Research. “There are studies that demonstrate that psychological factors such as perceived maternal stress may be experienced less intensely or may be better compensated by boys.” Perceived maternal stress during pregnancy or during the child’s second year of life showed little evidence for an effect on the weight development of either gender. “The first year of life seems to be a sensitive phase and a characteristic factor for the tendency to be overweight,” says Dr. Junge. After all, mothers and children usually spend the entire first year together – a lot of time in which the mother’s perceived stress and/or associated behaviour is experienced by the child. “During this time, special attention should therefore be paid to the mother’s condition,” adds Dr. Trump.

Identified stress factors

But what causes perceived maternal stress in the first place? To answer this question, researchers examined further data from the mother-child study and searched for possible influencing factors, such as household income, level of education, and the quality of the living environment. The results showed that mothers with a considerably higher perceived stress level were often exposed to high levels of traffic or noise, had poor living conditions or had a low household income. Maternal stress caused by difficult living conditions or an unfavourable living environment can lead to children becoming overweight in the long term. “Stress perceived by mothers should be taken seriously,” says Dr. Junge. “Midwives, gynaecologists, paediatricians and GPs should be particularly attentive to signs of in the first year following the child’s birth.” After all, if mothers are helped early on or are offered support, we may be able to kill two birds with one stone: To improve maternal well-being and also prevent their becoming overweight. Following from this study, the UFZ team will continue to investigate whether the effects of perceived also extend beyond the age of five.

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Insomnia has many faces

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Researchers at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience revealed that there are five types of insomnia. This finding was published on Monday January 7 by The Lancet Psychiatry. A commentary in the journal stated that the finding could be a new page in the history of insomnia, promoting discoveries on mechanisms and interventions.

One out of 10 people suffer from chronic . It’s the second-most prevalent and burdensome mental disorder. Findings on underlying mechanisms have been inconsistent. Treatment that is effective for some gives no relief to others. Thanks to volunteers of the internet-platform slaapregister.nl there is now hope for faster discoveries.

With the help of thousands of volunteers, Drs. Tessa Blanken and her colleagues at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience now report the difficulty of obtaining consistent brain mechanisms and treatment effects. “While we have always considered insomnia to be one disorder, it actually represents five different disorders. Underlying brain mechanisms may be very different. For comparison: Progress in our understanding of dementia was propelled once we realized that there are different kinds, such as Alzheimer’s dementia, vascular dementia and frontal-temporal dementia.”

Five insomnia types

Surprisingly, the five insomnia types did not differ at all on such complaints as difficulty falling asleep versus early morning awakening. Some earlier attempts to define subtypes focused on these sleep complaints, and may therefore have been unsuccessful. Blanken and colleagues identified subtypes by looking beyond sleep complaints. They assessed dozens of questionnaires on that are known to be rooted in brain structure and function. Insomnia subtypes could be discovered by looking at trait profiles. Type 1 scores high on many distressing traits such as neuroticism and feeling down or tense. Types 2 and 3 experienced less distress and were distinguished by their high versus low sensitivity to reward. Type 4 and 5 experienced even less distress and differed by the way their sleep responded to stressful life events. These induced severe and long-lasting insomnia in type 4, while the sleep of type 5 was unaffected by these events.

Volunteers measured again after five years mostly retained their own type, which suggested anchoring in the brain. Indeed, types also differed in their EEG response to environmental stimuli. Underlying mechanisms can now be better mapped with brain research. Subtyping was also clinically relevant. Effectiveness of treatment with sleeping pills or differed per type. And the risk of developing depression varied dramatically. Subtyping now enables much more efficient research into the prevention of depression, by inviting specifically those with the . The researchers now commenced a study into prevention of depression in people with insomnia that run the highest risk.

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Assessments could reduce end-of-life hospital stays for seniors

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Better use of standard assessment tools could help long-term care homes identify which new residents are at risk of hospitalization or death in the first 90 days of admission.

A study from the University of Waterloo and Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging has found that newly admitted residents’ history of heart failure, as well as their score on the interRAI Changes to Health, End-Stage disease, Signs and Symptoms (CHESS) scale, can accurately determine which residents are most at risk.

“Being able to identify at-risk residents early can help long-term care homes ensure they have the necessary care and management strategies in place,” said George Heckman, associate professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems at Waterloo and Schlegel Research Chair in Geriatric Medicine. “These assessments can also help health providers determine which conditions require a trip to the hospital or which would be better managed as a hospice-type condition within the homes themselves.”

He added, “It is not always advisable to take someone who is closing in on the end of life out of their home and put them into a hospital setting. These residents are very complex and frail, and not only might they not benefit from the hospital visit, the transition itself can lead to harms such as delirium and further disability.”

The study examined data collected from 143,067 residents aged 65 years or older, admitted to long-term care homes in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, between 2010 and 2016.

It found that over 15 percent of residents had a history of heart failure. Residents with heart failure were more likely to be hospitalized than those without (18.9 percent versus 11.7 percent). Residents with a history of heart failure were also twice as likely to have higher mortality rates than those without, 14.4 per cent versus 7.6 per cent. At the one-year mark, residents with a history of failure had a mortality rate of more than 10 per cent higher, at 28.3 percent compared to 17.3 percent.

The CHESS scale identifies frailty and health instability, and is embedded within the MDS, an interRAI instrument mandated in almost all long-term care homes across Canada. Higher health instability, identified through higher CHESS scores, were associated with a greater risk of hospitalization and death at three months. Most notably, residents with high CHESS scores were more likely to die even when sent to hospital, regardless of whether they had or not. Mortality rates for the highest CHESS scores were 80 percent; most of these residents died in hospital.

“Together, these two factors independently identified this increased risk,” Heckman said. “By making clinical assessments early, advance care planning discussions can take place. Furthermore, by ensuring that the entire long-term care home care team, including personal support workers, understand these risks, they can help monitor resident health and optimize their quality of life in the long-term care home.”

The study, Predicting Future Health Transitions Among Newly Admitted Nursing Home Residents with Heart Failure, appears in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.

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Creating a home gym on the cheap

(HealthDay)—A state-of-the-art home gym might not just be beyond the scope of your budget, it also might be beyond the scope of available space. But don’t rule out this convenient fitness option so fast.

According to the American Council on Exercise, if you can clear a 6-foot by 6-foot area for working out, you can outfit a home gym with the basics for under $100. Plus, these space-conscious items can be stored in a closet or under the bed when not in use. Just don’t forget that they’re there once you buy them!

Start with a good mat for floor work, like yoga, Pilates, ab exercises and push-ups. The price typically depends on the thickness you choose, and thickness depends on what you’re using it for.

Next is at least one stability ball for doing a variety of exercises, including balance work and crunches. Choose one made for your and height. When you’re sitting on it, your thighs should be parallel with the floor.

Stretchy resistance bands are great for when you don’t want a full set of weights. On their own, they weigh nothing and take up less space than a pair of socks. You might buy them in various tensions to match up with the different strengths of various muscle groups. There are also circular bands that go around your ankles for working the outer hips.

If you’d like to use dumbbells for upper body , a set with three pairs of graduated weights is an inexpensive option. If you’re a beginner, choose a set with 3-, 5- and 10-pound weights; if you’re more experienced, go for 5-, 10- and 15-pounds.

However, you might get more mileage for your money with a barbell and weight plates—but again, start with low-weight plates and then add as you gain .

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