Health Tips ... from UPI

GUILT-FREE TURKEY DINNER

You can enjoy a hearty Turkey Day dinner without guilt. Researchers at the American Chemical Society say the Thanksgiving menu is stuffed with healthy food choices. The honey in your honey-baked ham and turkey does more than offer sweet taste -- a recent study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign finds honey contains antioxidants that may help protect against heart disease. A German chemist says bread crust used for stuffing is a rich source of cancer-fighting antioxidants and may provide a much stronger health benefit than the rest of the bread and researchers at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania report cranberries rank No. 1 in antioxidants, which also are believed to reduce the risk of heart disease. Other studies have shown canned corn may actually be healthier than corn on the cob, and for dessert, that sweet potato or pumpkin pie is rich in alpha- and beta-carotene, which promote healthy vision.

TRYPTOPHAN AFFECTS MOOD, MEMORY

If you have the urge to nap after Thursday's big Thanksgiving meal, it's because of a chemical in turkey that also plays a role in maintaining good mood and memory. Wim J. Riedel and colleagues at the Brain and Behavior Institute at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands examined the effects of the body's depletion of an amino acid called tryptophan on mood and cognitive function. Tryptophan, known for its presence in turkey and commonly blamed for creating the sluggish post-meal feeling, is a metabolic precursor to the chemical messenger serotonin. It also is found in milk, bread, cheese and bananas. Tryptophan depletion decreases serotonin levels in the brain, which in turn can lead to depression and other problems. Researchers say while the study does not offer a solid conclusion that eating more tryptophan will enhance memory or mood, it does indicate a possible connection.

NUTS PROTECT AGAINST DIABETES

Harvard School of Public Health officials say nuts and peanut butter can help lower the risk of type 2, adult-onset diabetes in women. The research, in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, says earlier studies have linked components of nuts with added risk of type 2 diabetes, but nuts actually are high in unsaturated fat and other nutrients that may improve glucose and insulin stability. The researchers analyzed almost 84,000 cases from the huge Nurses' Health Study, which was begun in 1976 and included 121,700 female nurses aged 30 to 55 years. They found the risk for developing type 2 diabetes for four levels of nut consumption -- a 1-ounce serving -- were: never/almost never, no change in risk; less than once per week, 8 percent lower risk; 1-4 times per week, 16 percent lower risk; and 5 or more times per week, 27 percent lower risk. When researchers made adjustments for intake of dietary fats, cereal fiber and other dietary factors, the results did not change.

TRAVEL, EXERTION ASTHMA TRIGGERS

Travelers with asthma who use inhalers before travel or asthmatics who do high-altitude hiking are more likely to have an asthma attack, say Israeli researchers. The Tel Aviv University study of 203 patients with asthma, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, finds 147 engaged in high altitude trekking and 88 had asthma attacks during travel. Among these, 40 reported worsening asthma during travel, 32 reported experiencing the worst asthma attack ever, and 11 reported a life-threatening attack. The researchers found participants who used bronchiodilators three or more times per week before travel were more than three times as likely to suffer an asthma attack, and participants who engaged in intense physical exertion during trekking were twice as likely to suffer an asthma attack. When both risk factors were present, participants were more than five times as likely to suffer an attack.

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(EDITORS: For more information on THANKSGIVING DINNER, contact Beverly Hassell at 202-872-4065 or e-mail b_hassell@acs.org. For TRYPTOPHAN, call the Health Behavior News Service at 202-387-2829 or go to www.hbns.org, for NUTS, Kevin Myron at 617-432-3952, and for ASTHMA, contact Dr. Yoav Golan by e-mail at ygolan@lifespan.org)