Every day brings advances to our understanding of health and the science behind it. Through lab work we are able to confirm health ideas that have a major everyday impact after extensive study and/or utilize research to disprove those based on bad data or pseudo-science.
- Nourishment
A great example covered here on World of Female digs through the benefits of herbal teas. Through lab work, researchers were able to confirm teas like chamomile include an amino acid that acts as a sedative (which is why we associate it as “sleepy time tea”). The list goes on and well worth a read to show how folklore can become confirmed through science. The Food Pyramid is a concept the majority of people know. The concept is actually far older than you’d imagine as the early beginnings can be traced back as far as 1894. Over time, research to define Recommended Dietary Allowances (calorie intake and essential nutrients) found its footing. With a few tweaks to the formatting, we now had our Food Pyramid which would help define nutrition for most society.
- Medical
Medical advancements have been accelerated greatly in part through the pairing of newer, better technologies. Biological storage is up there in importance because it allows us to maintain, regulate, and protect access to important biological materials such as blood/plasma, serum, stem cells, plant matter, and all other types that make so much research possible that eventually leads to benefits in health and furthering science. It may be a no-brainer to us but washing hands wasn’t commonplace especially in medical environments. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the CDC published guidelines on the matter. It took until the 1800’s and research in the lab to be able to show conclusive evidence that hand-washing proved effective for reducing the spread of infections and disease.
- Vices
Science has stepped in to give better options for dealing with vices. Those having issues quitting smoking have found the use of electronic cigarettes with lower nicotine juices to help ease them from their vice (with 31% interviewed saying it lead to them quitting tobacco within six months). The alternatives discovered in research include patches, lozenges, gums, and daily prescriptions. It is incredible how quickly science has turned a 180 on the effects of smoking, reacted to the marketplace, and have provided solutions for this nasty vice. Serious vices that lead to extreme addictions have been thoroughly studied through physical and neurological examination and treatment. Step programs do offer a common path to treating addiction through support but when addiction is too much for one to handle it’s important to seek a medical detox and long-term program. The detox program and pharmaceuticals were, of course, developed in the lab and has given us a great understanding of the mental impact of vices and additions.
- Exercise (Mind & Body)
Work by scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and other institutions shows, for instance, that “even a few minutes of training at an intensity approaching your maximum capacity produces molecular changes within muscles comparable to those of several hours of running or bike riding.” Take a bit of science, apply it to healthier lifestyle choices, and we now have real facts into the best approach to exercise. Researchers tackle the mind, as well, and through their work they’ve developed mental health advancements in areas such as memory through research and exercise. Meditation has been shown to memory recall after eight weeks of practice. A regular cup of coffee (because of caffeine) strengthen memories. How sleep deprivation has effects on our long-term memory.
Isn’t it amazing all the advancements we’ve made in our everyday health through the wonders of research and science? It makes you wonder what they’ll find next. Who knows? Maybe we’ll reach that cure for cancer or find the perfect routine for optimal health. Time will tell.
