Tag: Sleep

Micronutrient Treatment for PMS, Smoking and Sleep

write about vitamin and mineral effects

We came across this topic some time back and thought it would be good inspiration for a NutriScape.NET article written from the dietitian’s point of view. Here are some quick snippets you can follow.

A recent study conducted in my lab investigated the effect that micronutrients could have on helping people quit smoking. The micronutrients were comparable to or better than other smoking cessation treatments, but with far fewer side effects:

For those who received the full intervention, after 3 months of treatment, 42% of those who were treated with micronutrients were still smoke free versus 23% of those on placebo. This quit rate for those people on the micronutrients was higher than that observed with the drug Champix as well as Nicotine Replacement Therapy + Quitline (which are the current treatments for smoking cessation being subsidized by the New Zealand government), both of which show 3 month success rates around 22-26%.

This study opens up the idea that nutrients may well be able to help people overcome addictions and also supports other research showing that nutrition can help people wean themselves off of addictive drugs.

Remember, it makes more biological sense to use the entire spectrum of minerals, vitamins and nutrients for your brain to function optimally. And this perhaps, is why one consistent anecdotal report we hear, is that micronutrients can, believe it or not, eliminate PMS or post-menstrual syndrome for many women. And furthermore, controlled research from the University of Canterbury has confirmed these anecdotal reports. More than two-thirds of our participants went into remission in their PMS symptoms, just with nutrients. This is a truly remarkable finding because it is such a cheap and easy intervention, with minimal side effects. And, given that PMS regularly affects 20 to 30percent of all women, and sometimes quite severely, this is definitely something worth knowing about.

Over the years, we kept hearing that nutrients reduce cigarette cravings. This got us curious;could we help people with nicotine addiction? Turns out we can help many people, but not everyone.Our lab conducted the first RCT, investigating the impact of a broad-spectrum micronutrient formulato reduce, or even stop, cigarettes altogether. And we found that 42 percent of the micronutrientgroup achieved full abstinence for 12 weeks, versus 23 percent of the placebo group. In fact the micronutrientswere better than other smoking cessation treatments, but with far fewer side effects.

This quit rate is higher than that observed with the drug Champex, 12-week quit rate of 22percent, as well as nicotine replacement therapy along with Quitline, a 12-week quit rate of 26 percent.Now we do need to be cautious about over interpreting these results. We had a high dropoutrate of 58 percent. And staying off nicotine is difficult, so it was not surprising that many relapsed overthe course of the three-month study. But equally, it’s exciting that this study opens up the ideathat nutrients may well be able to help people overcome addictions.

Sleep

Finally, let’s talkabout sleep. Insomnia is the persistent inability to get sleep of sufficient length and quality.It’s one of the most prevalent contemporary health problems in adults, and is estimated to affect12 to 15 percent of them, and as many as 50 percent of clients in primary health care settings.

A multiple baseline design, meaning different people started the nutrients at different times,was used as a clever way to reduce the placebo effect. 17 people were followed over eight weeks,using a multi-nutrient treatment. Participants took the nutrients at breakfast and lunch time,to avoid the energizing effects of the nutrients at night. And the benefits were large and robust.

The nutrients decreased the time to drop off to sleep, and the number of night awakenings, and alsoimproved sleep quality. And along with improved sleep, there was also observations of improvedcoping with stress, less anxiety, and better mood. So in this video, I highlighted some specific studiesshowing the breadth of benefits of micronutrients in helping people regulate their mood, quit smokingand sleep better. And with more research on its way, we are building a strong case that supplementingwith micronutrients can be a lifesaver for some people. I want to emphasize that anoverarchingtheme we see across all our studies, is that quality of life and resilience for coping withlife’s challenges just seems to get better and better over time. And that’s got to be a good thing.

Planning And Writing Your Article- With 1 Free CEU!

Although all dietitians are well-versed in academic writing, it can be a challenge to organize our vast knowledge in a way that hits the right chord for readers on the web. Before you sit down to write your epic article, save yourself some time by investing an hour in learning the basics of a solid writing process that can help you create your very best work.

We’ve scoured the internet for the best practices on writing and distilled the information to meet the needs of NutriScape writers. In our 1-hour CEU presentation, “Copywriting Skills for the Internet”, we discuss a structured process for each phase of writing and cover critical SEO principles that are key to getting articles found on Google.

Access “Copywriting Skills for the Internet”

This writer’s guide is a resource that will be sure to help as you organize your thoughts:

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Sleep deprivation increases Alzheimer’s protein

write about sleep

In a small study, losing just one night of sleep led to an increase in beta-amyloid, a protein in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease.”

Original Article: Sleep deprivation increases Alzheimer’s protein

Your writing adds immense value to The NutriScape Project’s educational mission and places our writers as experts in the field. It can deliver you attention from your perfect clients so that they can connect—that’s what it’s all about. But first, let’s make sure this article is going to get the attention it deserves.

When Google Likes Your Article, Clients Find You

We want to make it easy to write great articles that get awesome levels of traffic.  That requires SEO.  SEO is the art and science of getting found on Google. It is a highly technical topic that most dietitians prefer not to tackle. And SEO is best done before any writing even takes place. 

Our specialist dietitian has already done much of the SEO work for you–researching and testing out the best keywords and heading structure to include to make your article show up in internet searches.

Keywords:

Coming up with the best keywords is tricky. Many of the keywords we would normally think of having either too much competition or too little search traffic. You will want to use the keyword/keyphrase in the first paragraph of your article and several more times.

According to our research, these are the best keyword(s) or keyphrase(s) to include in your article:

  • can sleep deprivation cause Alzheimer’s
  • how is Alzheimer’s caused by proteins
  • what protein builds up in Alzheimer’s?

Suggested Headings

Readers love easy reading! Google looks for readability and scanability, so headings are important. Headings make your article easy to scan and can also break up long blocks of text that tend to overwhelm your readers.

During the keyword research process, these heading ideas came up in the top-rated articles and searches. If these headings fit the topic you are writing about and the article you want to write, they would probably help the article rank well in Google searches. They are only suggestions, so if they don’t fit what you are writing, you will want to create something better. Here are the headings our SEO dietitian suggested for this article:

  • A Lack of Sleep in Middle Age Can Increase the Risk of Dementia
  • Alzheimer’s disease – Causes
  • What Happens to the Brain in Alzheimer’s Disease?
  • Sleep deprivation increases Alzheimer’s protein

Planning And Writing Your Article

This resource is sure to help as you organize your thoughts:

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Losing sleep can lead to more extra pounds

write about sleep

If you have sleep issues or weight issues, you should read this.”

Source: Losing sleep can lead to more extra pounds

Planning And Writing Your Article- With 1 Free CEU!

Although all dietitians are well-versed in academic writing, it can be a challenge to organize our vast knowledge in a way that hits the right chord for readers on the web. Before you sit down to write your epic article, save yourself some time by investing an hour in learning the basics of a solid writing process that can help you create your very best work.

We’ve scoured the internet for the best practices on writing and distilled the information to meet the needs of NutriScape writers. In our 1-hour CEU presentation, “Copywriting Skills for the Internet”, we discuss a structured process for each phase of writing and cover critical SEO principles that are key to getting articles found on Google.

Access “Copywriting Skills for the Internet”

This writer’s guide is a resource that will be sure to help as you organize your thoughts:

Download The Writer’s Guide

The best foods to eat for a good night’s sleep

write about sleep

A dietician recommends her top foods for a peaceful sleep.

Source: The best foods to eat for a good night’s sleep

Your writing adds immense value to The NutriScape Project’s educational mission and places our writers as experts in the field. It can deliver you attention from your perfect clients so that they can connect—that’s what it’s all about. But first, let’s make sure this article is going to get the attention it deserves.

When Google Likes Your Article, Clients Find You

We want to make it easy to write great articles that get awesome levels of traffic.  That requires SEO.  SEO is the art and science of getting found on Google. It is a highly technical topic that most dietitians prefer not to tackle. And SEO is best done before any writing even takes place. 

Our specialist dietitian has already done much of the SEO work for you–researching and testing out the best keywords and heading structure to include to make your article show up in internet searches.

Keywords:

Coming up with the best keywords is tricky. Many of the keywords we would normally think of having either too much competition or too little search traffic. You will want to use the keyword/keyphrase in the first paragraph of your article and several more times.

According to our research, these are the best keyword(s) or keyphrase(s) to include in your article:

  • best foods to help you fall asleep
  • foods that help you sleep fight insomnia
  • What foods help with a good night sleep?

Suggested Headings

Readers love easy reading! Google looks for readability and scanability, so headings are important. Headings make your article easy to scan and can also break up long blocks of text that tend to overwhelm your readers.

During the keyword research process, these heading ideas came up in the top-rated articles and searches. If these headings fit the topic you are writing about and the article you want to write, they would probably help the article rank well in Google searches. They are only suggestions, so if they don’t fit what you are writing, you will want to create something better. Here are the headings our SEO dietitian suggested for this article:

  • The best and worst foods for sleep
  • Foods That Help or Harm Your Sleep
  • The best foods to help you sleep through the night
  • The Best Foods To Help You Sleep

Planning And Writing Your Article

This resource is sure to help as you organize your thoughts:

Download The Writer’s Guide

Get Some Sleep!

write about sleep

A growing body of research suggests that there’s a link between how much people sleep and how much they weigh. In general, children and adults who get too little sleep tend to weigh more than…

Source: Sleep Deprivation and Obesity | The Nutrition Source | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Is Sleep a Good Enough Reason to Introduce Solids Earlier?

When should you introduce your baby to solid food?

Official advice is to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of life. Experts say women should still heed this recommendation, although it is under review.”

by Laurel Ives, BBC Health, July 10, 2018

Summary

When it comes to infants and what they’re eating, there’s often a lot of questions about what the timings are. How long should they should be breastfed, and when should they be introduced to solid food? This study gives a bit of (baby)food for thought for parents who are trying to decide what route to take, suggesting introducing solid food relatively early might have noticeable benefits on an infant’s sleep.

The Benefits of Early Solid Food?

In a study conducted by JAMA Pediatrics, they had two groups of infants three months of age, one group was fed entirely breastmilk for their first six months and the other were given both solid food and breast milk. The parents then filled out online questionnaires until the baby was twelve months old.  The solid food group reported that its babies slept an average of 16 minutes longer per night and had fewer sleep problems. While not a huge difference, it does equate to about two extra hours of sleep for parents per week, which doesn’t sound too bad at all.

To read more of the study’s findings, check out the original article at BBC News.

Falling To Sleep Faster

write about sleep

Baylor University has conducted a study that suggests that writing a to do list at bedtime may help people to fall to sleep quicker as published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Experimental Psychology.   This study involved 57 students compared sleep patterns of participants who had taken 5 minutes to write down a list of forthcoming activities and duties with participants who recorded completed their completed tasks.

Source: Easing Into Falling To Sleep Faster