While curry may burn your mouth, it does a whole lot of good for your lungs.
Help In A Curry
If you’ve ever been a Marlboro man, you may be able to undo some of the damage: consuming curry can help former smokers breathe easier. In a Singapore study, ex-smokers who ate curry monthly scored 10% higher on a lung function test than those who didn’t eat the spice blend. Even folks who had never lit up took deeper breaths after downing curry-rich food. Credit the antioxidants in the spice turmeric, says study author Dr Ng Tze Pin. Not a curry fan? Make yellow mustard your go-to condiment; it’s high in turmeric.
Related: Daily Expert: 7 Surprising Things My Kids Taught Me About Eating Smarter
Cholesterol- Lowering Leaves
Here we go ’round the mulberry bush… A new study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry suggests that mulberry leaves may help unclog arteries. When researchers fed mulberry leaf extract to rabbits with high cholesterol, the bunnies’ LDL and triglyceride levels fell, along with their arterial plaque. The scientists speculate that compounds in mulberry leaves increase production of p53, a protein that may help prevent formation of artery-clogging plaques.
Related: These Are The Scary Health Effects Of Air Pollution
Give Till It Heals
hen the going gets tough, the tough give back. A University at Buffalo study found that volunteering may help you live longer. People who reported a major stressor (like a job loss) in the last year were 30% more likely to die within a five-year follow-up than those who hadn’t had a crisis. The exception: people who did volunteer work had no increased risk of dying. Selfless acts may release the bonding hormone oxytocin, which blunts stress, says researcher Dr Michael Poulin. That’s key – stress can trigger heart attacks. Log 20 to 39 hours a year, the average range of time people in the study volunteered.
Related: Ben Ungermann Shares His Life Lessons On Being A Chef
Allergic To Erections
Sex isn’t a race, but you could still lose by a nose. Scientists in Taiwan found that men with nasal allergies were 37% more likely to have erectile dysfunction than men without the sneezing condition. Study author Dr Kun-Ta Chou, explains that allergies tax your body with chronic, low-grade inflammation, which may limit penile bloodflow. If you can’t kick your allergies the OTC way, ask your doc to prescribe a corticosteroid nasal spray.
Look Before You Cook
Your kitchen is clean. Your kitchen is germy. Both can be true, a University of Colorado study found. Most folks are diligent about sanitising food-prep surfaces like counters, but they miss the less obvious kitchen areas, says study author Dr Gilberto Flores. On average, the locations identified above harboured the widest variety of bacteria types.
