Day: November 29, 2024

Categories : Diet and NutritionTags : Leave a comment

Drinking Plenty of Water may Actually be Good for You

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Amanda María on Unsplash

Public health recommendations generally suggest drinking eight cups of water a day. And many people just assume it’s healthy to drink plenty of water.

Now researchers at UC San Francisco have taken a systematic look at the available evidence, analysed 18 randomised controlled trials. In their review, published in JAMA Network Open, they concluded that drinking enough water can help with weight loss and prevent kidney stones, as well as migraines, urinary tract infections and low blood pressure.

“For such a ubiquitous and simple intervention, the evidence hasn’t been clear, and the benefits were not well established, so we wanted to take a closer look,” said Benjamin Breyer, MD, MAS, professor and chair of the UCSF Department of Urology.

“The amount of rigorous research turned out to be limited, but in some specific areas, there was a statistically significant benefit,” said Breyer, the senior author of the study. “To our knowledge, this is the first study assessing the benefits of water consumption on clinical outcomes broadly.”

Strong evidence suggested that drinking eight cups of water a day significantly decreased the likelihood of getting another kidney stone. Several studies found that drinking about six cups of water a day helped adults lose weight. But a study that included adolescents found that drinking a little more than eight cups of water a day had no effect.

Still, the authors said that encouraging people to drink water before meals would be a simple and cheap intervention that could have huge benefits, given the increased prevalence of obesity.

Other studies indicated that water can help prevent migraines, control diabetes and low blood pressure, and prevent urinary tract infections. Adults with recurrent headaches felt better after three months of drinking more water. Drinking about four more cups of water a day helped diabetic patients whose blood glucose levels were elevated.

Drinking an additional six cups a day of water also helped women with recurrent urinary tract infections. It reduced the number of infections and increased the amount of time between them. Drinking more water also helped young adults with low blood pressure.

“We know that dehydration is detrimental, particularly in someone with a history of kidney stones or urinary infections,” Breyer said. “On the other hand, someone who suffers from frequent urination at times may benefit from drinking less. There isn’t a one size fits all approach for water consumption.”

Source: University of California – San Francisco

Categories : COVID General InterestTags : Leave a comment

How COVID Transformed Family Dinners for the Better

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Vanessa Loring on Pexels

While the lockdowns associated with the COVID pandemic led many families to eat more meals at home, they had an additional benefit: an increase in the quality of family time during those dinners, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

The study, published in the journal Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, found that families who ate together more often during the pandemic also had more positive interactions, shared news and information, and even embraced technology such as videoconferencing to connect with distant family members.

“The predominance of past research on family dinners has focused on frequency as the key predictor of benefits for children and adolescents,” said lead author Anne Fishel, PhD, a clinician and researcher in family therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital. “This study highlights the importance of examining both frequency and quality to understand the full picture of how shared meals can impact families.”

Researchers examined data from a survey of 517 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse parents across the United States, administered in May 2021. Their aim was to investigate changes in family dinner frequency and quality during the COVID pandemic.

Participants were asked about dinner frequency, quality and post-pandemic expectations. The survey included questions about positive and negative interactions, family support and incorporation of the outside world. They were asked questions such as, “During the pandemic, did all or most of the people living in your home eat dinner together less, about the same, or more than compared to before the pandemic?” Participants then provided answers ranging on a scale of 1–5, 1 being “much less” and 5 being “much more.”

Over 60% of respondents reported eating dinner together more often during the pandemic compared with pre-pandemic times. There was also a significant increase in positive interactions (e.g, expressing gratitude, laughing or feeling connected) during family meals.

“Specifically, 56% said they increased talking about their days during dinner, 60% said they increased talking about their identity as a family, 60% said they increased expressing gratitude, 67% said they increased laughing together and 59% said they felt more connected to each other around the dinner table,” said Fishel. This positive association was evident across income levels, education, age, gender and race.

The pandemic introduced new aspects to family dinners, including remote dining with extended family members and more discussions about current events, according to Fishel. Many families turned to videoconferencing to connect with extended family, potentially strengthening a sense of belonging to a larger family unit. Most parents who increased the use of technology for remote dinners during the pandemic reported that they plan to continue this practice as the pandemic subsides.

The researchers also found an increase in families incorporating news and information from the outside world into their dinner conversations, potentially offering a safe space for children to discuss anxieties and questions with their parents.

Overall, this study suggests that the increased frequency of family dinners during the pandemic may have had lasting positive effects on family dynamics, according to Fishel.

Source: American Psychological Association