Post by J Khan

Recent studies have shown that drinking more coffee can lead to better health by reducing chances of heart disease, and thus, eventually, lead to a longer life. Especially in women, the studies showed up to a 25% lower chance of heart disease. Decaffeinated coffee has also produced similar results, which shows that the ingredient causing the health benefits may not necessarily be caffeine, if at all.

Does this mean we should go out and binge on our coffee drinking? Not really. In order to “live halal” we know that too much of anything could become a bad thing. Too much fat, sugar, or salt in one’s diet can be quite harmful. In fact, even too much water can be deadly. However, we can take advantage of the health benefits of anything we put into our bodies by balancing it with other foods, or control the amounts we take in.

The Prophet Muhammad (saw), advised us:

“There is no worse vessel for the son of Adam to fill than his stomach, but if he must fill it, then let him allow one-third for food, one-third for drink, and one-third for air.” -Authentic hadith in Sahih Al-Jame’

ما ملأ آدمي وعاء شرا من بطنه ، بحسب ابن آدم أكلات يقمن صلبه ، فإن كان لا محالة ، فثلث لطعامه ، و ثلث لشرابه ، و ثلث لنفسه

Allah provided us with several bounties on the earth in the form of a variety of foods which each bring about their own unique benefits. In this same way, coffee will also do our bodies more good than bad (God willing). However, we should make sure to reinstate the advice of our beloved Prophet (saw) by moderating our intakes to make our experience more enjoyable.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/06/16/coffee-habitsstudy.html

In general, fruits and vegetables are good for our health. Living in western countries with laws and regulations that govern the farming sectors we assume that most of our fruits and vegetables are free of any pesticides and contaminants.  The Environmental Working Group released a list of fruits and veggies that can still contain pesticides even after thoroughly washing them.

Read more: http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php

Recent studies are confirming the ill efftects of certain plastics.  Especially, be mindful of the bottles and sippy cups being used for the children.  A good rule of thumb is to look at the bottom of the bottle, there is small triangle looking shape with a number.  From what we have read, number 1 and 5 are safe but number 7 is UNSAFE.

Read more: http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/bpa

Happy Marriage, Happy Heart

Thursday, March 20, 2008; 12:00 AM

THURSDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) — Happily married people have lower blood pressure than unhappy married people or singles, a Brigham Young University study says.

On the other hand, even having a supportive social network did not translate into a blood pressure benefit for singles or unhappy married people, according to the study.

“There seem to be some unique health benefits from marriage. It’s not just being married that benefits health — what’s really the most protective of health is having a happy marriage,” study author Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a psychologist who specializes in relationships and health, said in a prepared statement.

The study included 204 married and 99 single adults who wore portable blood-pressure monitors for 24 hours. The monitors recorded blood pressure at random intervals and provided a total of about 72 readings.

“We wanted to capture participants’ blood pressure doing whatever they normally do in everyday life. Getting one or two readings in a clinic is not really representative of the fluctuations that occur throughout the day,” Holt-Lunstad said.

Overall, happily married people scored four points lower on the blood pressure readings than single adults. The study also found that blood pressure among married people — especially those in happy marriages — dipped more during sleep than in single people.

“Research has shown that people whose blood pressure remains high throughout the night are at much greater risk of cardiovascular problems than people whose blood pressure dips,” Holt-Lunstad said.

The study was published in the March 20 issue of the journalAnnals of Behavioral Medicine.

The study also found that unhappily married adults have higher blood pressure than both happily married and single adults.

Holt-Lunstad noted that spouses can encourage healthy habits in one another, such as eating a healthy diet and having regular doctor visits. People in happy marriages also have a source of emotional support, she said.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers advice on how to reduce high blood pressure.

SOURCE: Brigham Young University, news release, March 20, 2008