Mile High Natural Awakenings

The portable computers that serve as our business and communication “lifelines” may actually be thwarting unborn lives. Researchers suggest that laptop computer (LTC) users should avoid putting the devices directly on their laps, especially for extended periods of time. Recent research reported in the journal Fertility and Sterility examined semen samples from 29 healthy male donors that used an LTC on their laps, near their testes. The scientists found that LTCs connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi resulted in decreased sperm motility and increased sperm DNA fragmentation. A separate study, published in the journal Archives of Environmental and Occupational Health, noted that electromagnetic fields produced by LTCs likely induce currents within the body and can expose developing fetuses in pregnant women to unsafe levels. The researchers concluded that, “[An individual’s] ‘laptop’ is paradoxically an improper site for the use of an LTC, which consequently should be renamed to not

A Healthy Family Starts With Walnuts FOLSOM, Calif., Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Research published in the recent issue of Biology of Reproduction Papers-in-Press reports that 75 grams (approximately 2.5 ounces) of walnuts consumed per day improved sperm vitality, motility, and morphology (normal forms) in a group of healthy young men between 21-35 years of age.  These findings are of particular interest to the 70 million couples worldwide who experience sub-fertility or infertility.  In fact, 30 – 50% of these cases are attributed to the male partner, and in the United States the prevalence of men seeking help for fertility is estimated at ~3.3 – 4.7 million[1]. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120816/SF58428-a ) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120816/SF58428LOGO-b ) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120112/MM34615LOGO-a ) This research suggests that walnuts provide key nutrients that may be essential in male reproductive health.  Accord

Talking on a cell phone or texting might have an unexpectedly troubling downside. Researchers at Stony Brook University, in New York, studied young people that were texting while walking and discovered that they walked slower, veered off course more and experienced decreased working memory.

When it comes to improving bone health in postmenopausal women—and people of all ages, for that matter—eating dried plums is a simple, proactive solution to help prevent fractures and osteoporosis, reports a Florida State University researcher. “During my career, I have tested numerous fruits, including figs, dates, strawberries and raisins, and none of them come anywhere close to having the effect on bone density that dried plums, or prunes, have,” says Bahram H. Arjmandi, The Florida State University’s Margaret A. Sitton Professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences. Arjmandi and his colleagues tested two groups of postmenopausal women over a 12-month period. The first group of 55 women consumed 100 grams of dried plums (about 10 prunes) each day, while the second, control group of 45 women ate 100 grams of dried apples. All participants also received daily doses of calcium (500 milligrams) and vitamin D (400 international units). The group that con