Teen moms are the most likely to experience heart problems as they get older

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Teen moms are exposed to a lot more risks than women over 20 who decide to have a baby, and a recent research has just discovered a new one to add. It seems that those women who get pregnant during teenage years are more likely to develop heart problems as they grow older. This risk is higher than the one present in women who have their first baby after the age of 20, or in those who do not have children.

Teen moms have a higher heart disease risk than any other women

For this research, scientists looked at data collected during the 2012 study on International Mobility in Aging. The participants were 1,000 women aged between 65 and 74, coming from various cultural backgrounds and countries, such as Albania, Colombia, Brazil, and Canada. For this study, researchers measured the women’s Farmingham Risk Score.

This score is measured in women only, and can tell how likely they are to develop cardiovascular problems. The results showed that those women who had a baby before turning 20 were a lot more likely to have heart disease than those who never became mothers, or even those who had more children.

Teenage pregnancy is often associated with a poorer social status

The study doesn’t suggest that teen moms were less healthy, or that they led a precarious lifestyle after having the baby. However, the results showed they came mostly from poorer families, meaning that they couldn’t afford the same health services as other women. Also, having the baby so early in life often takes other opportunities from them, such as better education and career advancement.

This highlights one thing that is necessary. Medical officials need to find solutions to improve the health care offerings given to teen moms, so that they might live a better life and reduce their future health risks. Teenage pregnancy is often seen as a taboo, but this shouldn’t mean the banishment of these women, and their condemnation to a poor life.
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Red wine might be the key for women to get pregnant more easily

(Mirror Daily, United States) – If you are desperately trying to get pregnant, drinking some wine from time to time might really help. A recent study presented during the annual Congress of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine revealed that drinking red wine regularly significantly improved ovarian reserves, increasing the women’s chances to conceive.

Red wine might improve the ovarian reserve

This new study, who is soon to be published in a scientific journal, put 135 women at test, and discovered that red wine is great for improving fertility. Those women who had over five servings of the drink in a month had a significantly better ovarian reserve, namely the egg quantity which can be found in the ovaries at any given time.

However, the results had to face plenty of skepticism. Older guidelines told women to stay away from alcohol, as it might have been bad for their future baby. However, red wine contains an anti-inflammatory compound called resveratrol, which is beneficial for the ovaries. This component is not to be found in white wine, beer, spirits, or in any other types of alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol might not be that bad for fertility, but don’t overdo it

Therefore, you don’t have to cut the alcohol completely if you’re willing to conceive. Even so, be careful and don’t overdo it. Alcohol can still be bad for the child, so reduce your red wine consumption to no more than six units in a week.

Previous studies showed drinking over three glasses of red wine per week reduced the chances of conception, but researchers argue there were actually other factors, such as stress, which influenced these small chances to conceive. Even so, you should still take these findings with a grain of salt.

Drinking red wine regularly might not influence fertility, but the quantity of alcohol consumed in a month is really important. The study didn’t account for binge drinking or excessive alcohol consumption in a sitting, and also ignored some other factors which could have influenced a woman’s chances to conceive.
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Having oral sex with more than five partners is risky for men

(Mirror Daily, United States) – The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a lot more dangerous than many people think, so we should always take all the measures of precaution against it. Oral sex is one of the main activities which put us at risk of getting HPV, and it seems the risk is higher for men. If they have more partners with whom they practice oral sex, their chances of developing neck and head cancer significantly increase.

HPV can easily be transmitted through oral sex, but a recent research suggests men are much more at risk than women. Therefore, having more than five partners can significantly increase the risk of oropharyngeal cancer. The risk gets higher if these men are also smokers. As a comparison, the chances of developing cancer associated with HPV are smaller for non-smokers, women, or for those who had performed oral sex on less than five partners.

There are many types of HPV existent, but only three of them put people at risk of cancer, namely cervical or oropharyngeal cancer. At the moment, cervical cancer is a lot more widespread, but doctors think the disease of the head and neck will take over by 2020.

Oral sex is one of the main risk factors for neck cancer

Therefore, they are trying to make people aware of the factors which increase their risk. This way, they can be aware of who needs screening, and increase the chances of discovering any cancer cases while still in the early stages. By doing this, the chances of survival get higher.

For this study, published in the journal Annals of Oncology, researchers analyzed a number of 13,089 people with ages between 20 and 69. They looked at their chances of developing oropharyngeal cancer, and analyzed their behaviors which might have influenced this risk.

This is how they found out the risk among women remained more or less the same, no matter how many oral sex partners they had. In men, the risk was also low if they had less than five partners. Then, the risk gradually increased as the number of partners increased, as well as if they smoked.
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The psilocybin in magic mushrooms might relieve symptoms of depression

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Although magic mushrooms are now illegal, people have been using the hallucinogen component in it for many years. This component, called psilocybin, might have some benefits for a certain group of people. Researchers from Imperial College, London, developed a controlled study, and discovered this psychoactive component could ease the symptoms of depression.

Magic mushrooms might ‘kick’ people out of depression

Humans have been using magic mushrooms for thousands of years, and some of their positive effects are quite popular. Therefore, researchers have decided to see if these hallucinogens are really that good, so they started analyzing the effect of psilocybin on the brain.

After performing several brain scans on the participants, they observed how this component instantly had the effect of an antidepressant. However, the study, published in the journal Science Advances, has its limitations. The number of participants was quite small, and it lacked a control group, which should have received a placebo.

Researchers gathered 19 people with depression and gave them two doses of magic mushrooms in a highly controlled environment. Then, they performed fMRI brain scans on them both before and after taking their doses. The symptoms of depression were carefully assessed through questionnaires.

Researchers need more results before reaching a conclusion

Researchers were aware that people who took magic mushrooms experienced feelings of relief right after the dose. Now, they were able to prove these feelings did actually occur, as the depressive symptoms got reduced. The fMRI scans showed how psilocybin affected the area of the brain which controls emotional responses.

All patients reported feeling relieved and ‘rebooted’ after taking magic mushrooms. Therefore, psilocybin could give them that short boost which was enough to help them overcome the symptoms of crippling depression. However, researchers insisted on warning people about the results.

The study is only at the beginning, and more results are needed before establishing the effect of magic mushrooms on a wider sample of people. Therefore, depression patients should not attempt taking the drugs in a non-controlled environment, as the hallucinogens might have unwanted effects.
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Researchers found two genes which control picky eating

(Mirror Daily, United States) – A recent study has revealed why you shouldn’t blame your kids for refusing to eat vegetables. It seems it’s not their fault that they don’t like healthy foods, but their genes dictate them what to eat and not to eat. Researchers managed to identify two gene mutations which influence the picky eater behavior.

It’s not parents who are to blame for a child’s picky eating behavior

Many parents blame themselves for their children’s diet, and keep trying to talk them into eating more fruits and vegetables. However, they shouldn’t feel like they failed in their mission as parents if they cannot convince the little ones to eat healthier.

A recent study published in the Journal of Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics identified two genes related to picky eating. The first one, TAS2R38, leads to a predilection for a lack of diversity in a diet, while the second one, CA6, influences a chaotic behavior during meals. Therefore, it’s in the children’s genetics to be extremely picky with the food, and to select it according to its aspect, smell, or taste.

Genes keep a child from trying new foods

Several gene variants lead to a higher sensitivity to bitter tastes in young children. This leads to the children refusing to eat certain vegetables which their parents see as healthy. Therefore, it’s genetics, not bad upbringing, which keeps kids from eating broccoli. However, if children refuse to try some new foods, and keep eating the same unhealthy meals, they might develop serious health complications later in life.

Researchers collected samples of saliva from 153 preschool children, and then interviewed their parents regarding their breastfeeding habits, and the fussiness of their kids when it came to food. They are planning to analyze how the aspect influences these picky eating habits, but they found out quite a big information gap on the switch from milk to full meals, that the entire family can eat.
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Zinc selectively attacks calcium deposits in cancerous cells, while normal cells are not affected

(Mirror Daily, United States) – A recent research detected a possible solution to prevent esophageal cancer. The findings suggest zinc might have the potential to reduce the rate at which cancerous growths develop on the esophagus, so opting for a diet rich in zinc might can really reduce the cancer risk.

Zinc inhibits the growth of esophageal cancer cells

Researchers reached interesting findings regarding zinc. They noticed how the substance had an effect on cancer cells by influencing calcium concentrations present in them. These calcium signatures cannot be found in normal cells and, while administering the zinc treatment, researchers noticed how normal esophageal cells didn’t respond to it.

This is how they established normal cells were not sensitive to zinc. On the other hand, the growth of cancerous cells was significantly inhibited by the same treatment, so the conclusion was that zinc acted selectively, and could direct its effect only towards the malignant growth in the esophagus.

The chemical is good to maintain one’s overall health

Also, since zinc acted upon the extra calcium deposits in the cancerous cells, they determined the strong relation between the two chemicals. In fact, these two can be linked and made to work together against cancer.

The relation between zinc and cancer is proven in other ways as well. Many patients suffering from the disease have been found to have serious zinc deficiency. Therefore, the absence of the substance is related to the presence of the disease. Apart from warding off cancer, the chemical can maintain the overall wellness of the body.

Therefore, aggressive treatment are not the only solutions against an invasive disease like cancer. Following a healthy diet, and adding vital substances, such as zinc, is the key to a healthy life. The study on the connection between zinc and esophageal cancer has been published in The FASEB Journal.
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Sexual harassment can have serious psychological implications

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Many people experience sexual harassment while they are at work if they happen to collaborate with different customers. However, they are not the only ones who can exhibit such an offensive behavior towards an employee. Even bosses or other work colleagues can behave like this towards a person, and this type of harassment is often more psychologically harmful.

Sexual harassment is common at the workplace

A team of Danish researchers assessed the treatment over 7,600 employees had received at the workplace, and discovered around one percent of them suffered sexual harassment from a superior, a colleague with the same status, or even a subordinate. Also, 2.4 percent had to struggle with the same offenses coming from someone outside their workplace.

As expected, women are more often victims of sexual harassment. From all 4,116 women who were part of the research, 169 of them declared they had to deal with such behavior coming from a customer. On the other hand, only 11 of 3,487 men had this problem. Also, 48 women and 31 men were harassed by a work colleague.

Such a behavior is associated with higher depression risks

From these women who are put in unpleasant situations, about a third listen to uncomfortable jokes, while a fourth receive comments regarding their clothes or their bodies. About one in four women admitted to having been touched in an inappropriate manner, and one in eight saw her male colleagues trying to kiss her.

Researchers assessed the effect these behaviors have on people, and found they could really lead to depression. Sexual harassment increases the likelihood of a person to develop depression, and increases the depressive instances they might suffer. Also, harassment coming from work colleagues was more damaging than the one coming from customers.

Therefore, such a behavior should not be promoted either among work colleagues or among customers. If someone experiences such a treatment, they should immediately issue a complaint and stop such incidents from happening. The research of the Danish researchers has been published in the journal BMC Public Health.
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