Science is So Sexy...

Science is So Sexy is 5!

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 07:50:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

My little Sexy blog is 5 today!

I started this blog after going to a talk by a lady from Sense about Science about Standing Up for Science! I was inspired to create my own platform where I could lay down answers to my Science questions and my friends/readers' Science questions.

It has grown into this beautiful blog and inspired me to make a career in healthcare communication!

I was a Research Scientist 5 years ago, I am now a Senior Medical Writer, and it's all thanks to the experience I've gained writing for you guys.

Recently, someone asked me to write a little bit about myself and my love for Science as part of her blog series Ladies Who Lab (if you'd like to read it, it's here)
The response has been amazing!!

Science is So Sexy also made me discover the extraordinary life of our gut flora and their impact on our health, mental and physical.
Since January, I've been blogging weekly on My Bugs And I and have been reposting some of them over here as well.

I hope you can follow me over there too, so...

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Summer Giveaway: Win an Amazon's Best Seller!

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 10:19:00 +0000

Summer is finally here!!!

We can enjoy those gardens, pimm's, flip flops and dresses we bought at the last sale...

There's so much to do during July and August, between summer camps for big kids and playgrounds for the little ones, juggling with work and nursery drop offs and pick ups, organising summer BBQs and parties, celebrating weddings and birthday parties, I admit blogging is a bit far down the list of priorities... And I haven't even mentioned the two weeks away for a beach holiday with the preparations beforehand and the tidying up afterwards!!!

So, what I'm trying to say is that I've had to make the difficult decision to take a summer blogging break! Sniff... I know...

But while this is happening, let's have a GIVEAWAY!!! And I'm feeling generous...

You know the rules...

T&C's

- The giveaway will run from 10th July until 31st August 2016 and hosted on MyBugsAndI.com
- One winner will receive Ella Woodward's book 'Deliciously Ella every day' and 2 Giffgaff sim cards
- One winner will receive Rachel Kelly's 'Walking on sunshine: 52 small steps to happiness' and 2 Giffgaff sim cards
- One winner will receive 2 Giffgaff sim cards
- You need to be 18 or over
- UK residents only
- No automated entries

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone and Happy Summer!!!

PS: Let me know in the comments which book you would prefer, should you be one of the winners! Good luck!

The prizes' images are affiliate links.

What's GBS infection?

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Sun, 29 May 2016 08:06:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy readers,

This is a post I wrote for my other blog My Bugs And I but I thought you Sexy guys might be interested too.

This is actually Part II of the question I was asking myself: Is water birth bad for baby?
If you'd like to catch up on the first part, please follow here.

GBS stands for Group B Streptococcus and can be worrying for pregnant women who are found to have some in their gut (mums are then called GBS carriers). In fact, up to 41% of women are carriers and 1 in 2 children born from these mothers will themselves be colonized by GBS. Out of all these children, it was estimated that 1% could develop complications that sometimes can be life-threatening (1 in 10).

When researching for answers, I came accross an article saying that it was 'bad'; however, what is the truth in this since many professionals strongly disagree.
Interestingly one of them brought forward an article on the risk of GBS infection during water birth:

This US paper stated that there was a 300% lower rate of early onset GBS infection when babies were born in water (and without using antibiotic prophylaxis) compared with babies born on dry land (both hospitals) - when looking at uncomplicated pregnancy (what are GBS' pregnancy complications?).

In the UK, pregnant women are not routinely screened for GBS (NHS)

The article concluded that if there is a risk of early onset GBS, the risk may be lowered by encouraging the mother to give birth in a warm water pool without antibiotics (effect of antibiotics at birth coming soon).

Another 2007 study showed that GBS-carrier mums who gave birth in the water - as opposed to laboured in the water and got out before the big push - contaminated the water pool with their GBS much more, nevertheless there were fewer of their children colonized by GBS!

In conclusion, for now we can say that water birth has not been shown to influence baby's gut early microbiota and it may even have a protective effect for babies at risk of GBS infection.

Do you know if you are a GBS carrier?

If you'd like to share your thoughts or stories, please don't hesitate to leave me a comment, I'd love to read them.

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Scientific articles on GBS here and here

Calorie labels aren't the same value for everyone

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Sat, 19 Mar 2016 18:51:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Here is one from my blog 'My Bugs and I' I really wanted to share with you as we've addressed the subject of calories somewhere else:

We are not all equal when it comes to food. We’ve known this for a few years now, some people are just not equipped with the best genes. However, it seems that we may have missed a major player in the digestion equation, namely our microbiota.

Our gut microbiota have a formidable secondary role in extracting energy from food that ends up undigested in our gut.

Having passed through the small intestine, it is then our microbes’ turn to chew leftovers and extract as many calories as possible from them for their, as well as for our, benefit.

But, knowing that microbiota species identities are different from person to person, is extracting calories from food a unique and tailored process for each one of us?

Indeed, some of these micro-organisms are just better than others. Peter Turnbaugh was a PhD student when he conducted an experiment on mice that would change the way scientists think of calories-in/calories-out:

What he did was simple enough, he transferred the gut germs of obese mice into lean germ-free mice (let’s call them Batch O), he also transferred the gut germs of normal lean mice into lean germ-free mice (Batch L). He then fed Batch O and L with exactly the same food. Two weeks later, Batch O had gained a lot more weight than Batch L. Since he used recipient mice with no germs that could influence the results, the effect was directly linked to the germs from obese mice (see figure, excuse the mice's coat colours please).

Turnbaugh's experiment in 2006

Turnbaugh calculated that Batch O was getting 2% more calories from food because the germs from obese mice were better at extracting energy. For each 100 calories Batch L would get, Batch O would get 102 calories. Not much of a difference but think about it in the long-term: it all adds up!

Other experiments have been conducted in humans that reach the same conclusion:

It is our gut microbial content that determines how much energy we extract from food – Do you want to tweet this?

This has some serious implications, imagine food labels for example: a 145 calories chocolate cookie may mean 148 for someone with an unfortunate set of gut bacteria super good at extracting energy.

This said, the set of microbiota that we are hosting is directly influenced by our day-to-day dietary habits. For example, someone who is not used to eating fats will not harbour the germs that are good at extracting energy from it, so the fat will go through undigested; whereas someone who’s used to a high fat diet, has the ‘right’ set of germs to deal with fat and get the most out of it.

Effectively, it means that the odd cookie won’t affect a no-cookie diet person the way it will affect a cookie lover who indulges frequently in cookie eating.

But this is only the first step, calories in. Calories out is the next step. All that energy that has been kindly extracted by our microbiota needs to have a purpose: either it is used immediately, or it is stored away for later use.

But that is another story…

Are you a calorie counter? Will you change your attitude towards food labels?

I’d love to read your thoughts, feel free to leave me a comment, I’d love to read them.

The fascinating results from Peter Turnbaugh were published in the famous Nature paper in 2006 (yep, and we’re only catching up now!). Although it is unfairly hidden behind a pay wall, you can read its abstract here.

Why do I always feel so sh!t?

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 09:58:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Feeling sluggish? Depressed, sad, longing for sunny days? I'm with you on that one!! Winter feels so long and summer so short! Especially this year with all these weather changes, and when is actually winter now? In Spring? OK, let's stop the rant now and see why I have this unstoppable need for ranting...

Winter blues, called SAD for Seasonal Affective Disorder, is a seasonal depression and mood variation known to be related to how much sunlight you receive. Your mood is influenced by a complexed relationship between sunlight, melatonin (sleep hormone) and serotonin (awake AND good mood hormone).

Winter Blues

As the dark hours increase during winter, our body increases levels of melatonin, leaving less hours for the body to increase its serotonin levels. Whereas during summer, serotonin levels increase when you are exposed to bright light making you feel in a better mood!

Indeed it is well known that bright light therapy can bring quick benefits to people with depression or SAD because light affects the balance between melatonin and serotonin

What's up with Vitamin D then?

Lights actually stimulates the production of a component called cholecalciferol, which the body eventually transforms into vitamin D (named D because it was the 4th vitamin discovered). It is the vitamin D that helps the body maintain higher levels of serotonin during the winter.

Which means that exposing your body to the sun (ie ultraviolet-B) during summer helps store this cholecalciferol for the coming winter months.

Where do we get that vitamin D?

Sunlight-induced vitamin D production in the skin accounts for about 80% of obtained vitamin D.

It is of course well known that exposure to the sun also increases risk of developing skin cancer, so in all cases, moderation and more time spent during the early hours of the sun are better than the leather-type skin!!

Diet makes relatively small contribution but can be obtained for example from oily fish, eggs or sun-dried tomatoes.

We can also obtain vitamin D through vitamin-Do fortified food (in the US: milk and orange juice) though it has been shown that to correct our vitamin D levels, supplements seem to be the best.

Skin complexion and vitamin D production

This production is particularly efficient in individuals with low levels of skin melanin.

Therefore, Evolution theory suggests that people who migrated to the North developed a fair skin complexion to efficiently synthesize vitamin D under conditions of less UV-B exposure. The inverse s true that people living in sunny regions have a skin with high melanin content which protects against sunlight-induced damage.

Vitamin D and disease

Depression: It is also true to develop depression when you suffer from a vitamin D-sensitive disease such as obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, multisclerosis, kidney disease, rheumatism where it was find that vitamin D levels were lower than the healthy population.
Obesity: Obese and overweight people have an increasek risk for vitamin D defficiency because they tend to absorb it in their fat stores, which prevents to be utilized in their blood. In this case, a study has shown that a daily intake of supplements was both safe and effective at improving vitamin D status.
Diabetes: In the case for example of Diabetes, it has been shown that vitamin D supplementation improves glucose metabolism by reducing insulin resistance.
Vitamin D was discovered in 1922 by McCollum as the cure for Rickets, a bone disease where softened bones lead to fractures and/or deformities. But even before McCollum, it was well known that sunlight was effective in preventing rickets. Note that vitamin D and calcium levels are related.

Conclusion

Next summer, store up your vitamin D precursor by exposing yourself to the sun a maximun BUT at reasonable hours --> so no sunburn, no dark skin from the damaging midday sun which would be more aggressive than the searched benefits!!

What about you guys? How do you feel during winter?

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

The truth behind detox plans

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 19:46:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

This is a topic that I covered about 4 years ago and unfortunately it is still true nowadays as this year again, after our multiple binge eating and drinking, we are being bombarded by those so-called Detox treatments!!!

Our body full of toxins needs to be purified using creams, brushes, special vitamin pills, food supplements, teas, etc.

Getting rid of internal or external toxins

Externally

Pollution particles accumulate on your skin and hair; detox gels/creams/pads help get rid of those impurities.

Companies sell you products that are made with special ingredients to detoxify your skin and hair. But if you look at the composition of those detox shower gels and special shampoos, you will see that the main active ingredients will always be the same as normal shampoos', i.e. a combination of detergent/foaming agent such as Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulphate with some derived glycerol compound for the texture, some fragrance, and preservatives such as paraben.

In 2010, the Voice of Young Science Network compiled a report analysing 15 products found on shelves of our major UK supermarkets and pharmacies. They called company sales representatives or advisors and asked them on what basis these specific products were efficient in detoxifying our body, they all admitted they weren't.

These products rely one one infallible mechanism: our body's own detoxifying system:

Let's explore our skin

Skin structure

Our skin is a fantastically well-made barrier: it consists of three main layers, each with its own unique function and purpose.

The outermost layer, the epidermis is the key to the skin barrier. Made up of overlapping layers of dry cells, the epidermis helps keep moisture in the body and vital nutrients in and damaging substances and elements out.

Think about all the elements and substances you are exposed to every day, such as chemicals, pathogens and sunlight. The human skin does a good job of blocking out all these undesirable substances and forces. And all this happens around the clock, on a level so small you can't even see it.

Internally

The selling point of many products is that we absorb damaging toxins through food and drink. Those detoxifying pills target the build up of toxins inside our organs and help them flushing them out. Or according to representatives from companies that were interrogated by VYSN, toxins are stored in fatty acids and our body has difficulty breaking down those deposits.

Of course with all those detox pills, it will always be recommended to have a healthy low sugar low salt diet and drink plenty of water!!

Now, I'll hear you say, well of course you'll feel better if you stop binge drinking and eat healthy food!

Exactly, that's the point! Our body is perfectly capable of behaving by itself without the need for magic pills. Four organs are responsible for the detoxification of our body: the liver, the kidneys, the intestinal tract and the skin (see above)

Let's have a look at our liver - This chapter has now been extensively written HERE and HERE

Photo from HERE

Among others, our liver is

processing digested food from the intestine

controlling levels of fats, amino acids and glucose in the blood

combating infections in the body

clearing the blood of particles and infections including bacteria

neutralising and destroying drugs and toxins

manufacturing bile

storing iron, vitamins and other essential chemicals

breaking down food and turning it into energy

manufacturing, breaking down and regulating numerous hormones including sex hormones

making enzymes and proteins which are responsible for most chemical reactions in the body, for example those involved in blood clotting and repair of damaged tissues.

So the liver's roles in detoxification are to filter the blood from toxins and to convert fat-soluble toxins into water-soluble toxins that will be excreted via the kidneys (and then urine) or via the bile (which also works as a bacteria killing detergent).

And those roles don't need no help from pills!!!

Now, these past few years, we have been witnesses of a very disturbing fashion, namely colon cleansing!!!

Colonic Therapy

This colonic irrigation is intended to remove feces and non specific toxins lining the walls of our intestinal tract that are responsible for general ill-health.

But if our body was accumulating toxins on its gut walls, it wouldn't be able to absorb essential nutrients, we'd all be starving to death!

So one of the claims of the beneficial effects of colon therapy being a help to losing weight is self contradictory!

Unfortunately, as well as being complete BS (and I don't mean to insist on the S), irrigating your colon is more damaging that anything else:

Colon cleansing may disturb the delicate but essential balance between bacteria and natural chemicals in the bowell and therefore may interfere with the colon functions. It also disrupts fluid and the balance in electrolytes leading to dehydration and cardiac problems.

Less unintended effect is also the inability to defecate without assistance!!!

Also, on rare occasions, gastrointestinal perforation for incorrect insertion and amoebic infections from poorly sterilized equipment have been reported.

If you really want to "cleanse" your colon , simple fact is eating a healthy diet high in fibers does the trick!!

Conclusion:

From HERE

Healthy low sugar, low salt, high fibers diet, and drinking lots of water is and will always be the best and cheapest Detox plan you'll find on the market!!!

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Pre-launch party for My Bugs and I

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 12:28:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

My Bugs and I will be live in less than a month and I wanted to share with you a little bit more information about this new venture in the form of a Giveaway!!!

A fantastic Kindle Fire tablet is to be won, and I know for a fact it is a fantastic little gem as I have purchased one for myself... Hmmm for my son, I mean... so I could download Hollyoaks during my daily commute... Hmmm I mean so I could download cartoons and games for my 3 year old for him to play while daddy and I are having lunch in a quiet restaurant... Yes, you've guessed it, possibilities are endless with this little device, I luuuurve it!!!

Go over HERE for a chance to win this beautiful Fire

Anyoooh, for a chance to win it, please go over to my new blog www.MyBugsAndI.com where you'll be able to enter the giveaway with your FB or email log in details. Alternatively, you can click on the Giveaway tab right here on Science is So Sexy ;)

Good luck and see you soon for more Sexy Science,

All will be revealed...

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 09:00:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

My sincere apologies for not posting much this year. As you can expect, life has been absolutely hectic: I changed jobs, twice!, I went on holiday, twice!, my son got chicken pox, once! - but at the same time as his best friend so I guess I can say twice as we kept them together for company.

As it seems I do everything in double this year, I have to confess to something else.. I've been secretly preparing for the launch of a second Science blog...

Fear not, it will still be a nice easy to read Science blog, but the content will focus on only one subject: our microbiota!

If you remember, I already talked about our gut microbes a while back, and it's really that research I had done at the time that sparked my interest for our microbiota.

During the months that followed, I read more and more articles on the role of our gut microbes on our health and sanity. If you follow me on twitter, you may have noticed the fact that I mentioned quite a few time how excited I was about this new field of research.

Recently, I read a truly inspiring book called 10% human:

From the first page, I knew that I was holding something special in my hand - or rather my kindle was containing an amazing file! I devoured page after page - not sure what the kindle equivalent is - and decided that everyone should know about the amazing therapeutic potential that represents the modulation of our gut microbes, and I should do something about it! As a writer, a blog seemed the obvious solution.

I hope you are as excited as I am, I can't wait to share it with you.

Launch will be on Monday 4th January 2016

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Shelf Life - a Collection for Curious Minds

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 15:49:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

I was contacted a few weeks ago by Roberto from the Department of Marketing at the American Museum of Natural History. He was telling me about their new original series called Shelf Life which is on the history and importance of scientific collections. Curious as I am, I clicked, clicked clicked and discovered these videos, watched them with big wide eyes the same way my son discovers new episodes of Peter Rabbit!

Shelf Life is a collection for curious minds—opening doors, pulling out drawers, and taking the lids off some of the incredible, rarely-seen items in the American Museum of Natural History - Tweet This

Shelf Life is a monthly feature and 3 episodes have been published so far.
Here is their first one:

What I found interesting in this first instalment is the fact that they have 200 scientists, working on 33 million items classified in anthropology, paleontology, vertebrate or invertebrates, rocks and gems but they also have a massive collection of frozen DNA-containing tissue available to scientists all over the world. More surprisingly, they have 12 meteorites from mars!!!! But also, the astrophycisists are amassing massive digital data from the skies.
It truly is a 21st Century Museum Collection!

In the second episode, my highlight was "The wonder part of these collections is not so much in the object but in the relationship in what they tell us in a sophisticated way."

Their next episode is premiering on February the 17th. If you are interested in getting updates, you can subscribe to their Youtube channe l. I can't wait to discover what they have in their drawers :)

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Website
amnh.org/shelflife

Myths about Cancer

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 14:59:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Reader,

Today, I've decided to be a bit lazy in the writing department. But it's only because in doing my research I came across this article on emedecinehealth.com that I thought was perfect.
The original article is actually part of a Cancer file where you can found amazing information on about anything you've always wondered about cancer. Here it is:

Cancer Myths and Reality

Myth #1
Progress for people with advanced cancer has been so slow because there is a conspiracy between the American Medical Association and drug companies. Some people with cancer and their families think doctors are keeping the cure for cancer under wraps so that money can be made from cancer treatments.

Reality #1

Does any reasonable person think that a cure for cancer would remain secret for long? Obviously not.

Now, let's think about this for a moment. Nurses get cancer. Pharmacists get cancer. Physicians get cancer, as do family members of these professionals. With the Internet and high-speed modems, it is inconceivable that some scientist laboring in isolation in a bunker someplace will have a cure for this problem.
The World Wide Web can be your best source for sound information (but also at times a repository for some of the worst). A cure for cancer does not exist in cyberspace, or in a clinic in Mexico, or with a healer in the Philippines.

Myth #2

We can put a man on the moon. We can send a rocket around Jupiter. Why can't we cure cancer?

Reality #2

This question underscores a common misbelief that cancer is one disease. In fact, cancer is a group of hundreds of diseases. Each disease has a unique biological record, and each of which may be caused by very different circumstances. One "magic bullet" will not eradicate all types of cancers.

A major study from the University of Chicago stated that the survival from cancer is no different now compared with 30 years ago. This is an extreme view because, in fact, people with cancer are living longer and clearly have a better quality of life than they did a generation ago. Today, 2 of every 3 of those diagnosed with cancer are alive more than 5 years following their diagnosis. In 1970, this was only true for about 1 in 3.
We know this because some cancers are indeed curable, even in the far advanced stages as with testicular cancer, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkins lymphomas, acute leukemia in both children and adults, and in a few other types of cancer.

Myth #3

If we can only hold on for a few more months, a cure will be on the horizon and all will be well.

Reality #3

Although there have been spectacular advances in the treatment of cancer and although people are living far longer today than in any time in history, it is not reasonable to expect that, within the next years, there will be a "heat-seeking missile" or some magical vaccine to annihilate cancer. Progress against this dreaded group of diseases has been agonizingly slow, but it is moving forward in the right direction.

Clinical trials and conventional therapies hold promise, but cure is not possible for most people with advanced cancer.
But what is possible is a better quality of life because we now have far better treatments for pain, nausea, and vomiting than we did just a few years ago.

Of course, there are many more myths surrounding the complexities of cancer. If you are interested, feel free to leave me a comment with the myth or the info you may have heard and are not sure if it's true.

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

This article originally appears here:

Cancer: What you need to know

What are superfoods?

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:02:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Thank you all for the amazing feedback I got from you on the different social networks about my latest article "What's a gluten-free diet?".

Right after the holiday season, we all love a good detox program to purify our body and soul from all our Christmas sins. Some of us take the plunge and go for the latest fad diet. Whereas others feel they got the whole Healthy Diet with particular attention to superfoods.

But what are those Superfoods everyone seem to talk about these days? And most importantly is there any truth, medical or theoretical evidence that these foods are Super?

What are Superfoods?

Superfoods are nutrient-rich foods that are considered to be especially beneficial for our health and well-being.

Superfood Berries

However the name 'Superfood' has been disputed by many saying that it is a non-medical term used in marketing with little scientific evidence for it. The term itself has been prohibited in the European Union since 2007 unless it is accompanied by a medical notice approved by an medically and scientifically accredited name or organisation.

What are these superfoods?

Berries, nuts and seeds in general, dark green vegetables (such as spinach, kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli), citrus fruits, fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines, vegetables with bright, dark, or intense colors (such as beets and their greens, and sweet potatoes), many legumes (peanuts, lentils, beans, raw cocoa), and whole grains as a group.

You might say, 'Well, if these are good foods to begin with, foods that could be part of a healthy diet, what's wrong with naming them Superfoods?'

Tweet This - If these are good foods, part of a healthy diet, what's wrong with naming them Superfoods?

And in essence, there's nothing wrong with it if these are actually eaten as part of a healthy diet and not popped in your mouth in a pill form!!!

Green tea leaves from Chengdu

For example, green tea is well known for its superfood quality as it is a superoxidant and contains B vitamins, folate (naturally occurring folic acid), manganese, potassium, magnesium, and caffeine. Many weight loss supplements include green tea extracts but there is currently insufficient scientific evidence that consumption of green tea or its specific extract EGCG has any health benefit. The FDA itself sent a warning letter in 2013 about false advertising and health claims concerning the effects of green tea consumption.

Why are they called Superfoods?

Many Superfoods contain natural chemicals that have been shown to have positive health effects in laboratory studies. These include antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

It’s certainly true that a healthy diet can help to reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes but it is unlikely that any single food will make a major difference on its own.

Cancer Research UK note that Superfoods are often promoted as having an ability to prevent or cure diseases, including cancer; they caution, 'you shouldn’t rely on Superfoods to reduce the risk of cancer. They cannot substitute for a generally healthy and balanced diet'.

Fighting Cancer with Superfoods?

From HERE

There is some lab data that show that some of these ingredients can affect cancer cells in a laboratory setting, including killing them and stopping them from growing. But unfortunately jumping to the conclusion that eating those nutrient-rich foods can affect your cancer outcome is a biiiiiiig leap!

First of all, your body is a complex organism and the interactions between the food we eat and our bodies are much more complex than those between a purified chemical and cells in a tube.
Secondly, food is itself complex: An isolated chemical may behave very differently in a test tube than when it is eaten as part of food.
Last but not least, dose as always is of paramount importance. Even eating very large portions of a ‘superfood’ might not provide enough of a specific ingredient to a sufficient amount to have any effect on our health. For example, garlic contains a nutrient alleged to help reduce cholesterol and blood pressure. But you'd have to eat up to 28 cloves a day to match the doses used in the lab!

Is it bad though?

As part of a healthy diet, the short answer is not at all. With everything though, dosing and pacing are essential. You won't get a quick fix by gorging yourself on Superfoods, you won't cure any disease and your disease risk may not be that much reduced if you are already on a healthy diet. If anything, an exclusive diet might put you at risk of deficiency of other essential nutrients.
Some foods when eaten in large quantities can put you at risk of toxicities - think fish and mercury - for example, some seaweeds contain natural toxins which are thought by some to increase risk of cancer and liver damage.

Do you like your Superfoods? Do you include them in your diet on purpose?

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

References and further reading

Wikipedia
Cancer Research UK - Superfoods
NHS - Superfoods

What's a gluten-free diet?

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 17:32:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

First of all, I would like to wish you a fantastic New Year!!!!

A lot of people may feel that January is a good month to work on their New Year resolutions.

One of these may be to go gluten-free to help their body cope with the excess food they have accumulated during the holiday season.

Many of you will hopefully detect that the above sentence contains 3 non evidence-based facts*, but as I typed it, I felt strangely liberated like I could do something that would cancel out my overindulgence and Christmas sins!

I'm a greater believer though in knowing the truth and understanding our body (HERE), how it works (HERE and HERE) and how things we ingest (HERE, HERE or HERE) or slather on it do to us (HERE and HERE).

So if you'd like to know the scientific truth about gluten and gluten-free diets that supermarkets, unscrupulous nutritionists and restaurant owners purposefully don't share with you, please keep on reading... (Well, yes of course it's a new and very lucrative business...)

Discover the truth about gluten and gluten-free diet they don't want to share with you - Click here to tweet this

What is Gluten?

Gluten is the protein component that can be found in wheat, barley and rye or any food containing these. It can be found in but is not restricted to pasta, couscous, bread, flour tortilla, cookies, cakes, muffins, pastries, cereal, crackers, beer, oats, gravy, dressings, sauces (ketchup), etc...

The Gluten family is composed of Gliadin and Glutenin which are, notably, responsible for raising the bread dough as they retain gas.

What does gluten normally do?

In the normal gut (figure 1), proteins such as gluten are digested to peptides by specific enzymes. Peptidases further break down peptides into basic amino acids. Over much of the small intestine only small solutes, like water, can cross the tight junctions between the intestine cells.

From HERE

What does gluten do in a diseased condition?

In very simple words, gliadin peptide can cross the tight junction between the intestine cells and causes an auto-immune response (figure 1). The type of auto-immune response can differ but always the body defense mechanism detects a foreign body where it shouldn't be and triggers an inflammatory response. In doing so, it damages its own intestinal surface, leading to pain and discomfort and all sorts of different and varied unpleasant symptoms.

Gluten-related medical conditions

There are 3 known medically relevant reasons why a person should avoid gluten:

Coeliac disease - an incurable but manageable genetic auto-immune disease that affects the digestive process of the small intestine causing health issues ranging from abdominal bloating, gas, diarrhea and vomiting to migraine headaches and joint pain. It can appear at any age.

Wheat allergy - a short-term allergic reaction to components of wheat that does not cause tissue damage like coeliac disease does.

Gluten Sensitivity - An as-yet uncategorised condition that arises from a non-immunological stress response to another wheat component leading to intestinal symptoms (such as in irritable bowel syndrome IBS).

What is a gluten-free diet?

A gluten-free diet is a diet that categorically excludes gluten for medical reasons. For sources of gluten, please read 'What is Gluten?' here above.

A Gluten-free diet

Why gluten-free is not a good idea if you are not a medically-assessed gluten sufferer?

Healthier? - Although popular culture promotes a gluten-free diet as a healthier way to eat, studies have shown the risk of essential nutrient deficiency in those who don’t have a medical reason for following a gluten-free diet.

The real risk of essential nutrient deficiency of going gluten-free for no medical reason - Click here to tweet this

Deficiency is variable depending on what you’re consuming. Many whole foods (like rice, potatoes & corn) are naturally gluten-free, but low in nutritional benefit. A large percentage of B vitamin intake comes traditionally from enriched breads and cereals. However, gluten-free breads and cereals are often not enriched.

Better digestion? - Food containing gluten are also source of fibres. Numerous studies have shown the beneficial effects of fibre consumption in protection against heart disease and cancer, normalisation of blood lipids, regulation of glucose absorption and insulin secretion and prevention of constipation.

Gluten foods are source of fibres that protect against heart disease and cancer - Click here to tweet this

There are a lot of special gluten-free replacement products on the market, unfortunately these are ladden with excess carbohydrates, sugar and salt, and may not have been fortified or enriched in micronutrients like the gluten versions are.

Weightloss? - Gluten free does not equal weight loss. Whole grains, which contain gluten, are a good source of fiber, vitamins and minerals, gluten-free products are often made with refined grains, are low in nutrients and very high in calories. Studies show gluten-free diets can be deficient in fiber, iron, folate, niacin, thiamine, calcium, vitamin B12, phosphorus and zinc and reports have shown that coeliac patients on a gluten-free diet (no refined replacement products) have a higher percentage of body fat than control people.

Gluten-free diet patients have a higher % of body fat - Click here to tweet this

I suspect I am sensitive to gluten, what do I do?

Anyone who chooses to follow a gluten-free diet needs to first being screened for coeliac disease (which must be done while on a gluten-containing diet) and then only eats gluten free with a medical reason and under the supervision of a medical professional and nutritionist.
Removing gluten from your diet makes it practically impossible to diagnose the degree of a possible gluten intolerance and most importantly serious underlying health issues.

Are you avoiding gluten? Do you know anyone suffering from coeliac disease and is on a gluten-free diet? Feel free to share your story in the comment box.

See you Soon for more Sexy Science, my next article about Superfoods is now ready to view,

* 1. Going gluten-free doesn't help anything, please read this article; 2. Our body is coping very well on its own, we'd all be dead a while ago if that wasn't the case; 3. No food - nor toxin - accumulates anywhere in our body, food is digested and transformed in energy, in waste, or in fat, we'd all explode if our body was storing stuff!

References

Chemical composition and nutritional quality of wheat grain
Gluten immunochemistry
Coeliac disease and non coeliac gluten sensitivity
Diabetes.org
Should we eliminate gluten from all foods?

Did you Know? #11- Neurotransmitters and hormones

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Thu, 27 Nov 2014 12:00:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Today a very short sexy story part of our Did you Know? series. I was writing about stress and how our body copes with it. There was obviously a lot of mention of hormones and neurotransmitters and I thought "Hang on, are we clear on what these are?"

What are hormones and neurotransmitters? #DYK11
* Hormones are molecules produced by a gland and released into the bloodstream where it will be vehiculated to its target site.
* Neurotransmitters are chemical signals released from the presynaptic nerve to specific receptors on postsynaptic neurons transiently changing the electrical properties of the target cells, leading to an intracellular response.
Note: Some hormones change the way neurotransmitters operate.

How neurotransmitters (on the left) and hormones (on the right) work

An example we might all be familiar with is adrenaline! Adrenaline is a hormone released by the adrenal gland into the bloodstream and it affects the heart; and it's a neurotransmitter when it is released from a stimulated presynaptic nerve cell and acts on its neighbouring postsynaptic cell.

In summary, they are distinct classes of molecules, but some of these chemicals are used as both hormones (to send messages all over the body) and neurotransmitters (to send messages from one part of the brain to another).

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

What is COPD?

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 11:55:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Do you know what COPD stands for? I think it's one of those things, if you don't know anyone affected by it, it's highly unlikely you would know about it. However the disease is fairly common unfortunately (estimated 3 million of people in the UK!) and has been attributed its own World Awareness Day - 19th November 2014.
Worldwide, COPD affects 329 million people or nearly 5% of the population.
In 2012, it ranked as the third-leading cause of death, killing over 3 million people.

COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease

You may have heard words such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis?
Typical symptoms include increasing breathlessness when active, a persistent cough with phlegm, frequent chest infections.

And unfortunately, guess what? The main cause is Smoking (pollution and genetics to a MUCH lesser extent)! And the longer you have smoked in your life, the higher the chance your airways are damaged:

Over many years, the inflammation leads to permanent changes in the lung. The walls of the airways thicken and more mucus is produced. Damage to the delicate walls of the air sacs in the lungs causes emphysema and the lungs lose their normal elasticity. The smaller airways also become scarred and narrowed. These changes cause the symptoms of breathlessness, cough and phlegm associated with COPD. - NHS.UK

It is important that COPD is diagnosed as early as possible (as early as 35 years old!) so treatment can be used to try to slow down the deterioration of your lungs - the best way is by stopping smoking. This is particularly true for smokers who dismiss their symptoms because they think all they have is a bad "Smoker's cough"!

In UK, there are about 25,000 deaths related to COPD so it's not just a case of bad cough!

The number of deaths is projected to increase due to higher smoking rates and an aging population in many countries.
That's why awareness days are important!

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

World Diabetes Day - 14th November

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 08:00:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Did you Know that the World Diabetes Day is observed on the 14th of November?
Now this month is rich of disease awareness campaigns, so why should you bother reading about Diabetes?
Well first of all, as I wrote previously, it's very important to understand what is diabetes and what is the difference between the different types of diabetes:

Diabetes
Diabetes is when our body either doesn't make enough insulin (produced by our pancreas) or cannot use its own insulin properly to help get the sugar (coming from food or our liver) to move from our blood into the cells of our body, causing build up of that sugar in our bloodstream.

The Insulin binds to its Receptor and makes the Glucose transporter move to the cell surface where it can open up a passage to let the Glucose come inside the cell. If there's no insulin or the receptor doesn't recognize or respond to it, the Glucose is stuck in the blood and accumulates = Diabetes

There are 2 types of diabetes

Type 1 is when the body doesn't produce insulin. It requires insulin to treat, is typically developed as a child or young adult, and is a disease that destroys pancreatic cells meaning no insulin production is possible.

Type 2 is when the body doesn't produce enough insulin or the insulin produced is not working properly. It is considerably more common and typically affects people over the age of 45, who are also overweight.

Diabetes is when our body either doesn't make enough insulin (produced by our pancreas) or cannot use its own insulin properly to help get the sugar (coming from food or our liver) to move from our blood into the cells of our body, causing build up of that sugar in our bloodstream.

Diabetes is when our body either doesn't make enough insulin (produced by our pancreas) or cannot use its own insulin properly to help get the sugar (coming from food or our liver) to move from our blood into the cells of our body, causing build up of that sugar in our bloodstream.

The disease is life-long and requires many lifestyle adjustments to be made

In order to make the right decisions about behaviour when managing and living with diabetes, sufferers need to be correctly informed about the implications.
Poor diabetes education results in more chance of complications and less chance of leading a healthy life.
Being aware of risk factors such as obesity, glucose intolerance, lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet is important in the fight against further incidences of diabetes.

Awareness of risk factors such as obesity, glucose intolerance, unhealthy lifestyle is vital #WorldDiabetesDay
Click To Tweet This

Those with these risk factors also need to look out for warning signs including tiredness, weight loss, increased thirst, blurred vision and lack of concentration. Education is key to prevention.

Do you know anyone with diabetes? What are their challenges? Do you think it's important to remind people through awareness campaigns?

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Talk Nerdy to me

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 08:56:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Today, I would like to share with you this TED video:

Melissa Marshall brings a message to all scientists (from non-scientists): We're fascinated by what you're doing. So tell us about it — in a way we can understand. In just 4 minutes, she shares powerful tips on presenting complex scientific ideas to a general audience.

"Make sure that we can see that your Science is Sexy"

Click to Tweet

"Scientists and engineers, please talk nerdy to us. I want to share with you a few keys on how you can do that to make sure that we can see that your Science is Sexy"

"Make sure that we can see that your Science is Sexy"

Click to Tweet

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

The Scientist...

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 09:00:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Today's post is not about Science facts but Science itself!
As a medical copywriter, I get to work on diverse creative pieces of communications as well as for our company's blog SoreThumbThinking! For that platform, I get to explore my inner thoughts on creativity and advertising. Recently, I wrote a piece on Science as a mean for influential creativity.
I thought, well I'm sure my Sexy Readers would be interested to read something different :)
So here it is:

The Scientist:

I've always wondered if being a scientist isn't closer to being an artist than most people think! What I mean is that we have to be incredibly creative in our experimental designs and particularly imaginative when we analyse data and need to find a meaning out of black and white lines!

Tweet This - Scientists, Science Artists?

I’ve always found that scientists despite their geekiness and nerdy looks could be super creative. When I was one of them (actually, I still am a scientist, it’s a way of life really…), I would see countless videos of fellow scientists parodying songs to depict the true life of lab researchers.

But of course, this goes completely against what we all know, which is that the left brain is the analytical, practical, organised and logical (i.e. Science) side; and the creative, passionate, arty part sits on the right side of the brain.

How do we then explain why scientists spend hours and hours pouring their hearts out and losing their minds over scientific enigmas if there is no passion and poetic craziness involved?

Although there is some truth to the left brain/right brain distinction, there is undeniably a more complex relationship between both sides of our brain.

(If you have time to watch it, this is a very interesting video… and his voice is very addictive!)

For example, on the neuroscience of creativity, latest findings by neuroscientists have now shown that the entire creative process – from preparation to incubation to illumination to verification – consists of many interacting cognitive processes (both conscious and unconscious) and emotions.

Depending on the stage of the creative process, and what you’re actually attempting to create, different brain regions from both the right and the left side are recruited in large-scale networks to handle the task.

So if we accept that science is not just the left side of the brain and can be interlinked with the artistic potential of an individual, could it be considered as a mean for influential creativity?

From my own definition: “Influential creativity is about connecting with an audience on a personal, emotional or practical level; it is about understanding their lives, getting comfortable with them and letting them know that you are there to make them feel better, or be better, or make them question themselves by providing them with an emotion, an ideal, a service, or a product.“

I do think you could apply this definition to the concept of science by saying: “Science is about connecting on a practical level, understanding lives, and it is there to make us question ourselves by providing us with both emotions and product i.e. knowledge.”

What do you think? Is it too farfetched?

What is Stress?

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 11:29:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

First of all, I would like to thank Mica from Science Koekje for her blog lovin' and mentioning Science So Sexy in her latest blog article. If you don't know her yet, she's a beauty blogger from Germany based in Belgium (and I shall add "for Love"). You, my Sexy readers, might be interested in her review on her first Belgian BirchBox.

Now, on to our next topic that fits into our rich November's awareness campaigns list:
The 16th National Stress Awareness Day, which is held to celebrate helping people to beat stress is taking place today, 5th of November 2014.

http://www.isma.org.uk/about-national-stress-awareness-day-nsad/

Of course, you might say, "Uh uh, today is Guy Fawkes' day!" - Although if you are not UK-based, you probably don't know about this traditional fireworks extravaganza. Mind you if you are UK-based, you might think there is a sick link between the two, reality is there isn't... but could be!

Now, I chose this affliction as part of my Condition awareness list because I really do feel it is a physical, as well as psychological, affliction and therefore deserves a mention on a science-related blog.

Stress

From here

Stress can have a massive impact on our body. Within our brain and body, our central nervous system plays a huge role and it works closely with the body's endocrine system (= hormonal system) to regulate the stress-related mechanisms.

From our brain side, we have to think about it like a giant network that fires information about a stressful situation:

Different brain regions are involved

A giant network of brain regions including:

* Our Hypothalamus (located below the Thalamus)

It produces various hormones such as the corticotropin-releasing hormone when it senses a stressful event.
This hormone stimulates the pituitary gland to release the adrenocorticotropic hormone which itself stimulates the adrenal gland to produce cortisol (see the HPA axis figure below).

The HPA axis is a multi-step biochemical pathway that can regulate itself via feedback

Now, Cortisol is very important because it is the one that increase blood sugar to redistribute energy to regions of the body that need it most during the fight-or-flight situation. It also suppresses the immune system (you can get sick more quickly or recover more slowly) and helps the fat and protein metabolism (you can lose weight, although it has also been shown that chronic stress promotes the accumulation of abdominal fat).

* The Amygdala
It is thought to be involved in the process of emotions, also modulates response mechanisms to stress.

* The Hippocampus
It is another part of our brain and the one that plays a very important role in memory. Under stress, remembering memories can be very important in inducing a response to the stress situation. Under chronic stress, the Hippocampus is highly susceptible to damage because it becomes overstimulated.

* The prefrontal cortex
It is very important to regulate our behaviour including planning, attention and problem solving. Under stress, the connections it establishes with other regions to make it happen can be affected. That's why some people feel overwhelmed and cannot think under pressure. Ever experienced a blank mind?

Anatomy of the brain

* The Locus coeruleus
It is an area located in the pons of the brainstem that produces a very important hormone called noradrenaline involved in the fight-or-flight response to stress (along with its counterpart adrenaline). You know those butterflies?

* Another area in the pons of the brainstem called Raphe nucleus
It produces another important neurotransmitter called serotonin which plays a role in mood regulation, extending to anxiety, fear and depression conditions. It is also thought to be involved in the body's circadian rhythm and sensation of pain.

Chronic stress

Unfortunately, chronic stress has a more damaging effect on our body than a single stressful event. Chronic stress can raise blood pressure, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, increase vulnerability to anxiety and depression, contribute to infertility, and hasten the aging process.

Also, in these conditions, cortisol which normally prevents the production of cytokines, whose job is to initiate an immune response against illnesses, is over produced. This means that our anti-inflammatory response is not optimal and a potential illness won't be cured as fast.

And that, my Dear Sexy Readers, is only a summary of the biology of stress. Now, to address the psychological aspect of stress is a whole new chapter!! But as promised, I stick to the Science I understand.
If you want more information, feel free to visit the International Stress Management Association.

Are you suffering from constant stress? How do you cope?

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

What is Psoriasis?

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 08:56:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

I don't know about you my Sexy guys but I feel like once Halloween is done and dusted we are overwhelmed with special events in November!

But for now, let's talk about this week's awareness campaign!

This week (1-8 November) is not about cancer, it's about raising awareness for a condition that affects millions of us around the world: PSORIASIS.

Psoriasis
Psoriasis is an auto-immune condition that affects the skin and joints. About 2-3% of people living in the United Kingdom are affected. That's about 1.8 million people!!!

Basically, it's when flaky skin appears as a result of the regular process of skin cell replacement being sped up.

Our skin cell replacement happens every 21-28 days but in the case of psoriasis, it can be soon as every 2 to 6 days.

The scaliness on the skin is caused by a build up of cells that will be shed and the redness will appear as a result of the blood vessels pumped to support the process!

Different types of psoriasis

Anyone can develop it and at any time: adults, children, older people, although there seems to be two peak times: from the late teens to early thirties, and between the ages of around 50 and 60.

The most common type people develop is called 'plaque psoriasis' and appears commonly on certain parts of the body like the elbows and scalp. It affects about 8 out of 10 Psoriasis sufferers.

Other types include guttate, invert and pustular.

Some people will have a family history of the condition, but others may not. You cannot catch psoriasis from a sufferer!

A flare-up of psoriasis can be triggered by a number of factors, such as stress or anxiety, injury to skin, hormonal changes, or certain infections or medications

Mechanism

Recent research has found that the psoriasis-causing changes in the skin begin in the immune system when certain immune cells (T cells) are triggered and become overactive. The T cells act as if they were fighting an infection or healing a wound, which leads to them producing inflammatory chemicals, again leading to the rapid growth of skin cells causing psoriatic plaques to form.

To find out about more types of psoriasis, click here.

Treatments

Called topical therapies, these include creams, lotions and gels. Ultraviolet light used in phototherapy and biologics are also all available.

More info?

About Psoriasis Awareness Week

So, my dear Sexy Readers, do you know anyone who suffers from Psoriasis?

If you are interested in this article, you might be interested in reading about another skin condition, eczema.

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Trick or Treat - A UNICEF Halloween initiative

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 02:00:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

I'm sure I don't need to remind you that today is Halloween!!!

If you are in the US, this is a great alternative to the unhealthy trick or treat tradition:

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF began in 1950 as a way to help kids who need more than candy. Since then, children all over America have gone door-to-door on Halloween with UNICEF collection boxes, calling out, "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!" They have raised more than $170 million for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF since 1950.

Trick or Treat for UNICEF

Now, this is not the usual science topic I treat you to ;) But as you can see on the image above, one the thing you can help raise money for is Vaccination kits for children.

This gives me a fantastic opportunity to let you know or remind you if you've seen it before that Seran's infographic on children immunisation programme is up.

This is another thing you can do this Halloween, you can share it, you can tweet it, you can +'s it - Help dismiss some of the claims anti-vaxxers make to rally hesitant parents.

It's becoming a cruel fact that we cannot rely on our herd immunity anymore so our children need our help to build it back up so all of them, vaccinated or not (for medical reasons or others) are protected!

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Why should I vaccinate my baby?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 15:03:00 +0000

Hi sexy science readers! :)

Did you know that smallpox was the first, and the only infectious disease of humans that has been completely eradicated through our medical advancements? The eradication of this disease was kick-started by Edward Jenner, who led the vaccine revolution…

“Should I vaccinate my baby?”

…But even then, there was resistance to the concept of vaccination, and this resistance still continues today. Indeed, there are lots of myths and misunderstandings about whether it’s safe or not to vaccinate your baby. So to help sort out fact from myth, I’ve created a quick infogram that addresses some of these misconceptions.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this. At the end of the day, it’s info that shows vaccines can save lives!

Seran

What is Osteoporosis?

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 10:16:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Today we are addressing a request from a fellow blogger who posted about her newly diagnosed osteoporosis. Coincidentally, I have been working on this at work so I have all the scientific literature at hand AND on the 20th October is WORLD OSTEOPOROSIS DAY

Osteoporosis, the basics:
Osteoporosis is a common, skeletal disorder characterized by a lower bone mass and a deterioration of bone tissue. As a consequence, you are more susceptible to have an increase in bone fragility and are more prone to fracture.
The diagnosis of the disease relies on assessing the bone density which is considered as a marker for bone strength and can be predictive of risk fracture.*

Fracture sites

Common sites for osteoporotic fracture are the spine, hip, distal forearm (wrist) and proximal humerus (shoulder). The likelihood of a fracture at any of these sites is 40% or more in Western Europe, which is close to the probability of coronary heart disease.
Fractures can also happen at many other sites of course such a the pelvis, ribs and distal femur and tibia.

Common fractures sites

Approximately 50% of fracture-related deaths in women were due to hip fractures, 28% to clinical vertebral and 22% to other fractures.

Who's at risk?

Apart from medical conditions, there are some risk factors we cannot do anything about such as getting old (!). Other factors include gender (after menopause, female hormone deficiency leads to a rapid reduction in bone density), family history, a previous fracture, ethnicity (European or Asian ancestry has strong predisposition).
However, there are things that we do to ourselves that can influence our risk of fracture. These include smoking, heavy drinking, Vitamin D deficiency, low calcium intake, poor nutrition and eating disorders, imbalance between Omega-3 and -6.

What to do to avoid a fracture?

Essentially, some risk factors are unchangeable but a healthy lifestyle could potentially help you reduce your risk of fracture, such as eating well, not drinking too much, keeping a healthy weight and BMI, doing some daily exercise, bending smart (bending at the knee and not the waist), taking supplements.

Interventions

The most commonly used agents in Europe are raloxifene; the bisphosphonates (alendronate, ibandronate, risedronate and zoledronic acid); agents derived from parathyroid hormone; denosumab; and strontium ranelate. They have all been shown to reduce the risk of vertebral fractures and in some cases, some of these agents have been shown to specifically decrease the risk of fracture at the hip.

Do you know someone who suffers from osteoporosis? What do you think of the fact that the healthy lifestyle is again given as advice to reduce risks?

Let me know, my Sexy Readers, in the comment box below. Soon, we'll have Seran's second post up, it will focus on baby's immunisation programme! A contentious topic, so don't forget to come back soon to check it out ;)

See you soon for more Sexy Science,

* It's very important not to fall for "low bone density=fracture".
To use an analogy we might be more familiar with:
Blood pressure - Hypertension - Stroke:
Although we cannot directly link high blood pressure to the inevitability of a stroke, we measure our blood pressure to diagnose a hypertension which put us at a higher risk of a stroke.
The same way here:
Bone density - bone strength - fracture
We measure the bone density to diagnose bone fragility which puts us at a higher risk of a fracture.

Further reading
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Osteoporosis/Pages/Prevention.aspx
http://www.iofbonehealth.org/world-osteoporosis-day

What is Ebola?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 09:52:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Here is Seran's first official post:

As of 2014, an epidemic of the Ebola Virus Disease has engulfed West Africa, killing 1 in 2 people who have caught the virus. Ebola seems like the disease from nightmares. Asides from the high mortality rate from the disease, it also causes horrific symptoms including bleeding from virtually every orifice of the body- including the mouth, genitals and eyes.

…And it’s got the potential to become even worse.

We currently don’t have a cure for Ebola and we’ve been finding it difficult to contain Ebola for a variety of social, political and economic reasons.

I’ve created a quick infographic explaining these points in a bit more detail…

…In short, however, the ‘big deal’ about Ebola is that it’s very deadly!

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Seran

3 years !

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 14:33:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Science is So Sexy is 3 years old!!!! I am delighted that I've kept this project running for so long, I think it was definitely a learning curve. I remember my first posts, I wasn't writing as if you sexy guys and gals were real people. I would start my article by "Right, today we are gonna talk about this and that" like I was some sort of teacher, which defeated my blog objectives! How funny!
Nowadays, I have the sexy laid back but excited attitude to Science that I'm hoping to transfer onto you, my Sexy readers. I hope you can feel that this is not the usual Science blog and that when you're here, you are at ease to ask me whatever you would like me to cover.
I would like to thank all my readers, regulars or not: You guys Rock, you are all super Sexy :)

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

National Eczema week 13-21 September 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Esmeralda) — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 12:30:00 +0000

My Dear Sexy Readers,

If you suffer from eczema, you will know how frustrating it can be and how hard it is to avoid scratching! But you are not alone - it is estimated that 5 million people in the UK suffer from some form of this inflammation of the skin.
While some may have a few patches of eczema around the body, there are many different kinds of this dermatitis, some of which can really affect your day to day living.

We already addressed this subject in an earlier post with the amazing participation of Sugarpuffish.

But I thought I would draw your attention to it this week as this is National Eczema week, so maybe we can share some stories to raise awareness between us Sexy blog readers :)

I'll start.
When my son was born, I met a lot of new friends, I call them my Mummy besties. One of them, her son was badly affected by eczema. She tried everything, every cream. She was breastfeeding her child so she also took notice of what she was ingesting. Slowly, one scab at a time, his eczema cleared and at 2 years of age, he is the most beautiful little blondie blue-eyed boy you could meet. Now and again, his eczema flairs up like for example, when they went on holiday, he was constantly scratching the small of his back because of nappy heat rash. It is difficult to pin point the reason for his eczema and to know if it will flair up again later on in life, but help is out there, and awareness days or weeks like this one are important for everyone!

What about you, do you suffer from Eczema, or do you know anyone who is?

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,