Can Sleeping More Really Help You Eat Less of This?

Hi and welcome to this week’s look at headlines in natural health on iHealthTube.com…

Here’s a novel way to cut back on your sugar consumption… sleep more!  It sounds strange… but a recent study out of England found that may be the case.

The study looked at helping people improve their sleep duration.  Some of the volunteers received consultations on how to improve sleep.  86 percent of those who did increased their average sleep time.  All of the volunteers kept a food journal… the group that saw the sleep increase… which ranged from an extra 52 to 88 minutes a night… also averaged 10 fewer grams of sugar a day at the end of the study.

The numbers also suggested those who slept longer consumed fewer fats and total carbohydrates… but the four week study was likely too short to show any changes in things like weight or cholesterol levels.

It may sound obvious… but low fitness levels are linked to a higher waist size and a higher degree of inflammation in the body.

Research out of Denmark looked at data from about 11 thousand individuals from a previous survey.  The results showed in fact that higher levels of fitness were linked with a smaller waist circumference and lower degree of inflammation.  Previous studies have shown that abdominal fat may increase the risk of chronic inflammation and metabolic disease… which opens the door to the possibility of many other health problems.

Finally… more research is indicating yet another reason for mothers to consider breastfeeding their children… but this is a benefit for the mothers.

The study is showing that breastfeeding for six months or more across all births can cut the risk of type two diabetes in the mother by up to 47 percent compared to those who did not breastfeed at all.  Mothers who breastfed for six months or less still had a 25 percent reduction in diabetes risk.

The benefits of breastfeeding were similar for black and white women and in women with and without gestational diabetes.

That’s a look at what’s making headlines in natural health this week.  Make sure to go to iHealthTube.com and sign up for our free email newsletter to stay connected to the latest in natural health!