That's Fit

Do you remember how many cups of coffee you drank yesterday? If you do, your recall ability may be due to the fact that you drank those cups in the first place. Allow me -- better still, allow researchers who published their study findings in the peer-reviewed journal Neurology -- to explain.

In a study of over 7,000 older adults, researchers discovered that women age 65 and older who drank at least three or more cups of coffee (or any other caffeinated beverage) per day experienced less memory loss than women who drank only one cup or less per day.

Although it appears that caffeine does not prevent dementia, it may delay some age-related memory loss in older women.

Did you know that fiber can help you breathe easier? A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that fiber increased lung capacity.

Specifically, folks who took in at least 27 grams daily had a larger lung capacity than did those who consumed fewer than 10 grams. Additionally, the group that consumed more fiber were found to be 15 percent less likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The author of the study, Stephanie London, M.D., Ph.D., said, "The fiber found in cereal and produce may reduce tissue inflammation that can damage lungs." There are plenty of ways to get fiber, and it's good for you in so many ways, you really have no excuse!

Research shows that women who drink even small amounts of alcohol can spike their breast cancer risk. But getting enough folic acid can help.

A long-term Nurses' Health Study shows that the proper intake of the B vitamin may reduce breast cancer risk for those who consume more than the equivalent of one glass of wine per day.

Want to get enough folic acid in your diet? Ask your doctor about a multivitamin containing the recommended amount or make a commitment to consuming lots of fortified cereals, leafy greens, citrus fruits, and juice.

You already know that caffeine can put a little extra pep in your step, but did you know that it could translate to better race times? A study in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport concluded that a shot of pre-race caffeine could help you race faster.

The study compared the effects of the equivalent of an eight-ounce cup of coffee with a placebo, and the 5k times of runners of all levels improved, generally by 10 to 12 seconds.

This could be due to a change in your perception of pain, according to the study's co-author Brendan O'Brien, Ph.D. For maximum effectiveness, have your java 30 to 60 minutes before the start. Make sure you know how you react to caffeine -- jittery joggers don't generally win medals, you know.

I'm thinking back to the dinner I had last night. I'm visualizing it: Spinach lettuce, red grapes, shredded carrots, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, topped with salmon. No dressing. Just a bowl full of healthy stuff, all mixed together, simply scrumptious.

This visualization exercise is intended to cause me to eat fewer calories today. Not sure it's working. I think it's making me hungry instead.

According to the August issue of The Oprah Magazine, the findings of a study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior (2008) reveal that women who wrote a detailed description of their last meal (it happened to be lunch for this study) ate fewer cookies than those who didn't. OK, so maybe I should have written down my dinner items. No. I don't think that would have worked any better. Obviously, for some, journaling past meals does work. Might want to try it and see if it works for you.

If you would like to start trying for a baby soon, you may as well pick a paint color for the room now. That's because it's entirely possible for mothers to have some influence on the gender of their child by following either a high-calorie or calorie-restricted diet, say U.K. researchers.

In a joint study conducted at the University of Exeter and Oxford University, it was discovered that when women eat a diet rich in calories (including a regular breakfast) around the time of conception, they might be increasing the liklihood that they will give birth to a boy. Conversely, by restricting their caloric intake at this time, women may be improving their chances of giving birth to a girl.

It is known from IVF research that high levels of glucose encourages the growth and development of male embryos while inhibiting female embryos, just as low levels of glucose might encourage the opposite. However, researchers caution against restricting calories for the purpose of increasing your chances of having a girl. As one a fertility expert from the University of Sheffield stated in a recent BBC News interview, "It has been observed in some animal studies that even small changes in female diet can affect the life long health of the offspring, so it is important that the mother has appropriate nutrition at the time of conception and throughout her pregnancy."

Kids in predominantly Caucasian countries get pretty good sleep, says a new study. Better than kids in Asian countries, anyway.

This study, led by researcher Jodi Mindell of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, is the first ever to look at sleep patterns in infants and toddlers cross-culturally. The results, says Mindell, are astonishing. Here are two of them.

• Mindell found significant variability in bedtimes and total sleep time. For example, 15.1 percent of children in Canada shared a room, compared to 94.5 percent in Thailand, and the percentage of parents who believed their child had a minor or severe sleep problem ranged from 11 percent in Thailand to 76 percent in China.
  
  

• Kids in Asian countries were more likely to have later bedtimes, shorter total sleep times, increased parental perception of sleep problems, and were more likely to share a room than children in Caucasian countries. But there were no significant differences in night wakings and naps.
  
  

Mindell says her findings present more questions than they do answers, like: Why the differences? Could it be different cultural practices? And what is the impact of these differences? Seems it's time for another study.

Millions of women suffer from chronic headaches, with 90 percent of them experiencing migraines. As if that isn't difficult enough to deal with, a study showed that women with chronic headache were four times likelier to report symptoms of major depression than were those with episodic headache.

The women who reported the symptoms of major depression were three times more likely to have symptoms related to the headache, like low energy, trouble sleeping, nausea and other pains and problems. These painful physical symptoms could cause or provoke major depression, and depression can heighten pain perception.

While the cause of the link between headache and depression isn't entirely known, it is certain that one is related to the other, making the research and treatment of both all the more important.

Having just watched a beloved family friend endure a debilitating bout of chemotherapy, I'm very skeptical about a new survey released by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS).

According to an article that appears in the current issue of Men's Health, a NCCS survey found that 94 percent of cancer patients claim that chemotherapy is not as enfeebling as most people perceive it to be. Again, I find this figure to be somewhat hard to believe. Even as a kid, when a good friend's father battled cancer, I witnessed the manner in which the treatment assaulted his body. I'm doubtful that he felt his initial concerns proved to be unwarranted once his treatment concluded.

In no way am I casting doubt on the efficacy of chemotherapy; rather, I'm simply voicing my opinion on this particular study. I simply find it hard to believe -- given what I've experienced personally with loved ones -- that such a high percentage of people finish treatment and essentially take the attitude of "It wasn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be." Could I be wrong? Of course -- wouldn't be the first time, definitely won't be the last. That's why I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the results of this survey. Feel free to weigh in on this matter in the comments section below.

An eye-opening study from the University of Miami revealed that by ages 12 to 14, half of obese children have metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that predicts type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

This information is cause for concern, as the numbers of obese children has continued to rise steadily since the data for this study were collected (between 1999-2002, at which time more than 17 percent of chidldren aged eight to fourteen were obese).

As these children age, their chances of facing a lifetime with a chronic illness escalates if they're weight is not reined in. As one researcher from the University of Miami study states in a WebMD article, "If a kid is age 8 with metabolic syndrome, it will take 10 years or less for that child to become a type 2 diabetic or develop heart disease."

The study analyzed data data on some 1,700 children as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

It's kind of strange, really; there are literally thousands of supplements out there claiming to do this and that for your health and fitness, yet very few have the empirical research to prove it. And, as odd as it may seem, the one thing that continuously shows promise in scientific studies is a household ingredient almost everyone already uses: Caffeine.

In a recent study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition Exercise, evidence shows that caffeine reduces "pain" during exercise. Now, I put the word pain in quotation marks because I feel it's necessary to clarify something first before proceeding about the study. Unlike the old fitness maxim "No Pain, No Gain," the pain described in this case refers to the buildup of tenseness in the muscles. The burn, if you will. Pain should never be the goal; in fact, pain should be avoided at all costs. Yearn For the Burn? Sure, that fitness credo works fine. But No Pain, No Gain? Sorry ... no dice. Anyway, sorry for the cautionary detour. Back to the study.

Researchers discovered that when volunteers were given 5mg of caffeine per kilogram of bodyweight, they reported less muscle fatigue during a 30-minute session on an exercise bike (at 80-percent effort) than volunteers who were given a placebo. Bear in mind, however, that excessive amounts of caffeine have also been shown in separate studies to restrict blood flow during exercise. Therefore, using this old and new information as a general guide, it seems that allowing yourself a small amount of caffeine before workout is a safe and effective way to give yourself a little boost.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Dear Fitz, I know that most people are trying to lose weight, but I am trying to gain. Gain muscle, that is. I am going to the gym three to four times per week. I'm using the weight machines there, but It doesn't seem like I am gaining any muscle. Could you give me some advice? What types of healthy food should I eat? Should I be doing more reps with less weight or fewer reps with more weight? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Lea Rettig

A. Hey Lea, your question is superb, and the answer thank goodness is quite simple. Strength training should be challenging. Funny enough, my clients always seemed shocked and follow up that feeling of shock by giving me dirty looks when I pass them the dumbbell I'd like them to lift. Along with that dirty look, I receive chronic cries of, "Fitz! That's heavy!" Well, yes. Yes it is. The purpose of strength training is to get stronger, and yes ... build muscle. If I were to give them weights they could already lift comfortably ... they wouldn't be getting any stronger!

When we think about the biological clock ticking away, we pretty much immediately think of women. After all, age only matters for the mom -- the father can be as old as he wants and it doesn't make a difference, right?

According to a recent Danish study of over 100,000 children, not exactly. Children in the study who were fathered by men over 45 were much less likely to reach their nineteenth birthday than were the children of men in their late 20s.

The older men's children were especially likely to die from birth defects like heart problems. Another common cause of death was as a result of suicide, accidents, or fights, which could be explained by their higher rates of autism, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.

When I think interesting and engaging reading material, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition immediately jumps to mind. Nothing gets me going like page after page of almost incomprehensible empirical findings written by some of the most cerebral people on the planet. Okay, fine ... so I don't actually read the journal ... or many of the articles for that matter. I'm more of an abstract guy, probably a carry-over from my Cliff Notes days back in high school.

That all being said, in the course of skimming through a recent edition of this well-respected journal, I happened upon a study on vitamin C that caught my attention. Thanks to the abstract, I learned right away that having higher levels of vitamin C in the bloodstream may help reduce the risk of stroke. Upon further examination of the article itself, I found that this comprehensive study (which included 20,649 British men and women) revealed that people with the highest level of vitamin C had a 42 percent lower risk of stroke than people with the lowest levels.

Even when outside variables -- such as age, sex, smoking, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, exercise habits, etc. -- were controlled for, these findings remained the same. Researchers posit that high vitamin C levels may signal a healthy lifestyle that lowers the risk of stroke, specifically a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Peanut allergies have become pretty popular. And what causes them remains a bit confusing.

When my now almost three-year-old daughter was a baby, our pediatrician told us the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended peanut consumption be delayed until age three because the allergy was believed to be developed due to repeated exposure at a very young age. But new studies suggest no relation between allergies to peanuts and when a child began eating them. This is what AAP had to say. Since the cause is still clear as mud, study authors recommend more research on the cause of early allergic reactions to peanuts, as well as successful prevention efforts.

Meanwhile, we're still eating sunflower seed butter in our house. This web page touts its similarity to peanut butter in consistency, taste and price and offers a nutritional breakdown (it does contain a bit more sugar than some peanut butters). We started when the pediatrician gave us the nitty gritty on nut allergies and we have no plans to stop. It's really tasty. I like it better than peanut butter. We pick up a couple jars every time we go to Trader Joe's. But it's also available in other local markets.

So until researchers come up with some more news on peanuts, consider sunflower seed butter as a tasty alternative that you don't have to worry about.