Monthly Archives: April 2014

Apr
24
2014

Dark Chocolate- Good for the Heart

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Have A Piece of Dark Chocolate

            Do you have high blood pressure? Eat a dark chocolate truffle. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. One piece of dark chocolate a day can’t keep the doctors away, but it can help prevent you from having a stroke or even a heart attack. Dark chocolate is a great source of antioxidants, which can help strengthen your ability to fight infection and diseases.

We all know atherosclerosis is when arteries become stiff and white blood cells stick to the walls of blood vessels. By adding a piece of dark chocolate everyday it can help restore flexibility to arteries and prevent those white blood cells from sticking to the walls. Dr. Esser and his colleagues at Wageningen University in the Netherlands recently evaluated 44 middle-aged overweight men over two separate 4- week periods that had two ounces of chocolate per day. The study showed that the chocolate consumption increased endothelium-dependent vasodilation.

Dark chocolate has a number of ways it can improve other health problems such as, decreasing your LDL cholesterol, reducing your rick of getting blood clots, increasing blood flow in arteries and the heart. Dark chocolate has even been found to improve mood by boosting the serotonin and endorphins in the brain. Also beware, dark chocolate is high in fat and calories, so be sure to eat right and balance out those extra pieces of dark chocolate. Go ahead and indulge in a sweet sugary goodness, and do not feel guilty because you’re helping your heart out!

Heather Mundlin

http://www.fasebj.org/content/28/3/1464.abstract

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140227092149.htm

Apr
24
2014

New bacterial treatment for colon cancer

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Colorectal cancer is making a move in research, and allowing longer life expectancy for people who are diagnosed with it. As I will discuss there are several options that have become available for people who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, also known as colon cancer. The options that are available now are early screenings, surgeries, intravenous injections, different types of therapy and even vaccines are being researched.

Research has shown that people who get regular screenings are better off than those who do not get screenings. If colon cancer is found early it can have a more successful outcome rather than if it is found at a later stage. Research is underway to use robots for colorectal cancer operations and procedures. Research is ongoing for a strain of bacteria that can destroy cancerous colon cells. They will do this by injecting the bacteria Clostridium Novyi-NT intravenously. Several types of therapy are being researched and these include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. There is also continuing research on vaccines that are immune based and other agents to treat cancer of the colon. This vaccine will involve immune system cells being taken from the body, and then reintroduced to body after they have mixed it with a cancer killing ingredient.

The options available for people who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer are on the rise. Research is taking a whole new level for finding treatment for colon cancer. Individuals and society both will be affected by this. Many lives could be saved each year if people got tested like they should. Prevention, detection, and treatment for colon cancer are on the rise. As research progresses lives will be saved and people will be advised of more ways to help prevent cancer.

Works Cited

“New Treatment and Research.” John Hopkins Medicine.http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/. 19 March 2014 Web.

“What’s new in colorectal research and treatment?” American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/cancer/colonandrectumcancer/detailedguide/colorectal-cancer-new-research. 19 March 2014 Web.