For Your Health: Three Bananas a Day...
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Can we blame our coffee addictions on our parents? Scientists from Harvard and the National Cancer Institute have discovered two genes that impact how many cups you drink a day. This information could be useful for further research on the effects of caffeine:
All people have both genes, but the study, involving more than 47,000 middle-aged Americans of European descent, finds that people with the highest-consumption variant for either gene consumed about 40 milligrams more caffeine than people with the lowest-consumption gene varieties. Forty milligrams is the equivalent of 1/3 cup of caffeinated coffee or one can of soda.
Researchers say it's likely that genetics plays a major role in other behaviors, such as alcohol consumption and smoking.
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Turns out retail therapy may actually work! A new study out of Taiwan found that daily shoppers are 27 percent less likely to die than their non-shopper counterparts. Experts say this could be due to the physical and social aspects of the activity:
Writing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health online, the authors say: "Shopping captures several dimensions of personal wellbeing, health and security, as well as contributing to the community's cohesiveness and economy, and may represent or actually confer increased longevity."
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Forget about an apple a day keeping the doctor away. Now researchers say that eating three bananas a day can cut your risk of stroke by about 21 percent. The potassium helps reduce chances of a blood clot on the brain:
The average banana contains around 500 milligrammes of potassium, which helps to lower blood pressure and controls the balance of fluids in the body.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Too little potassium can lead to an irregular heartbeat, irritability, nausea and diarrhea.