Briefly Speaking

the benefits of consuming coconut oil

Consuming coconut oil daily for just four weeks may lower the risk of heart disease and stroke, suggests a recent study. Researchers Kay-Tee Khaw and Professor Nita Forouhi from the University of Cambridge conducted the study on 94 volunteers between the ages of 50 and 75, none of whom had a history of heart disease or diabetes. They split the participants into three groups and each of them was asked to consume 50 grams or roughly three tablespoons of either coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter every day for four weeks. They wanted to analyse that how eating these fats regularly would affect the volunteers’ cholesterol levels. The findings indicated that the participants, who consumed butter saw an average rise of 10 per cent in their levels of LDL cholesterol, known as the ‘bad cholesterol’. Those, who consumed olive oil saw a slight reduction in LDL levels and a five per cent rise in HDL cholesterol levels, which is often referred to as the ‘good cholesterol’.

binge-eating health food adds to weight

Many people have made weight loss their new year’s resolution and have stocked their kitchen shelves with healthy items like avocados, and coconut oil. But according to some nutritionists, binge-eating healthy items can also stop you from losing weight. Rather they would recommend counting calories, but that doesn’t mean the quantity of food you’re eating isn’t important. Specialist dietician Nichola Ludlam-Raine of Nic’s Nutrition said, “Everything can be ‘unhealthy’ if consumed in excess, even water! Foods that are high in fat and low in nutrients, such as fries, doughnuts should be kept to an ‘occasional’ food, but when it comes to foods that are high in fat and high in nutrients we can indeed have them more frequently.”

meditation to treat PTSD effectively

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be treated with just 20 minutes of meditation two times a day. An individual develops PTSD after witnessing or experiencing a terrifying incident. People who are aged above 40 are more likely to suffer from this. If the victim gets social support, he/she is more likely to overcome the disorder. The symptoms are escaping from situations which bring back the trauma, nightmares or flashbacks, depressed mood, elevated reactivity to stimuli, or anxiety. Meditation has the potential to reduce symptoms of the disorder. According to a study, Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique — a practice of developing a state of relaxed awareness and avoiding distracting thoughts — can help PTSD patients. Researchers found that practising the TM technique gave relief to veterans of the war in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan, who were suffering from PTSD.