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Being a ‘Couch Potato’ and Drinking Alcohol Boosts Brainpower? … A
Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread - and Thou … Could the romantic idyll of ‘A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and thou’ become ‘A bag of crisps, a carafé of wine (consumed while supine) – and TV’? Perish the thought. The idea that watching TV can make you clever, especially when lying down may be a ‘Couch Potato’s’ dream. However, a surfeit of tele-viewing contributing to inactivity and obesity could shorten your life.2&3 What is going on? Well, if you take things too literally, don’t read between the lines or probe further, some news-worthy research announcements can give you the wrong impression. But as we shall see, at least part of that proposition is not quite as bizarre as you may at first think.
Anti-TV campaigners argue, not without foundation in some cases, that ‘The Box’ has come to rule our lives. On the other hand, a controversial new book Everything Bad Is Good For You4 argues that far from damaging society, popular TV shows and video games are helping to boost the intelligence of young people.
Back in 2002, on average, Britons spent three hours a day watching TV, compared to 17 minutes reading newspapers, 11 minutes reading books and 7 minutes online (Internet). When taking into account that also on average we work eight hours, sleep eight hours, watching TV for 3-4 hours is like committing half of the rest of your day and life to television5, not to mention the fact that many people are stuck in front of computer VDU’s for hours of their working day. Add to that the ‘time spent’ queuing in shops, supermarkets, waiting at railway stations and airports, it doesn’t leave much time for contemplation and reflection necessary to self-development and the freedom to just ‘be’ in daily living. There is also the ‘spin-off’ of the ever-growing inability of children to use their own imagination to entertain themselves, a state that grows into adulthood – never mind changes to the way we eat and the disappearing ‘corner stone’ of family life ‘to sit down at table and eat together’ which is important for children and to every member of the family.
The author of Everything Bad Is Good For You puts forward the idea that watching TV can raise your IQ because certain programmes now make greater mental demands on their audience than in the past, requiring them to follow multiple story lines. He also argues that video games help children develop key skills such as analysing information. But “there is consistent evidence that violent imagery in television, film and video, and computer games has substantial short-term effects on arousal, thoughts, and emotions, increasing the likelihood of aggressive or fearful behaviour in younger children, especially in boys.”6 Too much TV-watching by young children has been linked to later attention problems.7 It therefore looks like too much telly’s disadvantages far outweigh it’s debatable rewards.
Violent videos do not fare well in many respects; a recent experiment found that when participants were assigned to play either a violent or non-violent version of a video game the effects were shown to undermine pro-social motivation and promote exploitive behaviour in social interactions. In other words the participants in the violent condition were significantly more likely to choose to exploit their partners.8 Not a very nice tendency to encourage in growing and developing children.
On the other hand, everything has its use, including psycho-visual suggestion. The good news is that recent research has found that when stroke victims played virtual reality games in which they imagined they were diving with sharks or snowboarding down a narrow slope, their ability to walk eventually improved.9 Brain imaging done before and after the experiment indicated a reorganization of brain function after therapy. Indeed, a paper published last year from a University in Hungary who have worked on multimedia and virtual reality projects for a decade have been designing help for various groups of disadvantaged people by developing multimedia software and virtual reality worlds to be used for rehabilitation and psychology. The projects include: tutorial and entertainment programs for handicapped children, rehabilitation programmes for stroke patients and patients with phobias; software for handicapped children with various impairments such as partial vision, hearing difficulties, locomotive difficulties, mental retardation, dyslexia &c. The researchers show the advantages of using multimedia software to develop mental skills in handicapped people and deal with the special needs of handicapped children. This commendable serious work is geared to demonstrate the advantages of virtual reality in their investigations, to give evaluation and treatment of perception, behaviour and neuropsychological disorders.
Thinking on your back For those who subscribe to the view: ‘Don’t stand if you can sit, and don’t sit if you can lie down’, new research about Thinking on your back sounds to be an excellent choice. But, there is a world of difference between slouching in front of a TV with an unhealthy bag of crisps and a fizzy drink or something stronger, often succumbing to mind-numbing poor quality so-called entertainment, and studiously ‘lying down to think’.11
How can one be brainier about answering questions and solving anagrams when supine? Latest research suggests that insight may be influenced by body posture.12 Consistent with the idea that lying down decreases the amount of noradrenalin, a hormone produced in the brain in response to stress, which can interfere with concentration, the participating subjects solved anagrams significantly faster when supine than when standing. It throws a whole different light on the term: ‘thinking on your feet’.13
It may also shed some light on the practice of early psychoanalysts requesting their subjects to lay supine on couches. They may have acquired this custom with a view to nothing more than making their patients feel comfortable, but this new research suggests there is a psycho-somatic element involved that they did not know about at the time.
It brings to mind the ancient Greeks, Romans, and possibly Carthaginians, who reclined to dine. The Romans, who in particular favoured the reclining position to dine, belonged to the ‘thinking’ section of society, the educated elite or the rich. They were not totally supine. In a male oriented society ‘men only’ reclined propped up on their left elbow.14 “Certain locations on the couches were places of honour, especially on the host’s right.” Women and children were seated on straight-backed chairs, but were not present if important business was to be conducted.14
Fortunately the ancient Romans were very astute regarding any digestive problems aggravated by eating lying down. They were on their renowned Mediterranean diet and wisely ate Globe Artichokes (Cynara scolymus) to ameliorate any ill-effects and to aid digestion. From this we may perhaps deduce that those ancients who did not indulge in excesses were inadvertently boosting their brain power to the max. Greek Thinkers and the Roman’s Forum and their strategic multi-talented Warriors left us a remarkable history to allow for and corroborate such speculation.
Some shareholders in big companies, and the public at large, may be thoroughly disgusted with the inordinate sums of money paid to ‘Fat Cats’, but they might not quibble at giving their Boards a few couches if it could give them an edge in the highly competitive global market-place!
Alcohol makes the brain grow?
Grapes (Vitis vinefera) – www.ars.usda.gov Photographer: Scott Bauer
Recently it was boldly announced by Swedish researchers that drinking alcohol boosts the growth of new nerve cells in the brain.15 This animal-based study demonstrated that moderate beer and wine consumption over a long period led to the formation of new nerve cells in the brain. The growth of new neurons could improve memory and learning.
However, before you go out to swill pints of beer or down a glass of wine to boost your memory, while this might sound good in theory, the researchers also believe these new cells could contribute to the development of alcohol dependence! Lead researcher Professor Stefan Brene said: ‘We believe that he increased production of new nerve cells during moderate alcohol consumption can be important for the development of alcohol addiction and other long-term effects of alcohol on the brain.” Brene estimates that alcohol stimulates cell growth in much the same way as antidepressant drugs, but you might be better off going for a run!16
It is known that alcohol dependence causes brain shrinkage17 and heavy social drinkers US researchers have found (people who down more than 100 drinks a month) suffer memory loss, reduced intelligence, poor balance and impaired mental agility.18
It has been stated by some that male children inherit their intellect from their mothers, if that is indeed the case ‘Ladettes’ may be down-grading the intellect of their future off-spring, because women’s brains are damaged by drink more quickly.
In the summer of last year, reviewed research found that neurodegeneration and neurological impairment associated with alcohol suggested that women may well be at greater risk of alcohol-induced brain injury than men. This year brain atrophy in female and male alcoholics was seen by means of computed tomography (CT). “Under the assumption of a gradual development of consequential organ damage, brain atrophy seems to develop faster in women. As shown in other organs (i.e., heart, muscle, liver), this may confirm a higher vulnerability to alcohol among women.” 19 In line with previous findings, women experience much alcohol-related harm before men at the same level of drinking.
Whatever, the UK scourge of ‘binge drinking’ and excessive alcohol intake by young women does not only damage their brains and bodies and risk alcohol dependence, but furthermore may cause Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which describes a set of physical and neurological defects that occur in the newborn as a direct results of maternal alcohol consumption. This appears to result in lower IQ (on average 70) and can cause significant hyperactivity and attention deficit.20
Change in attitude towards drinking alcohol is one of the problems. In the 1950s music was ‘big’; young people went to parties to socialize and dance. If the party was formal, good party food was expected too. In fact the student age-group, generally short of money, were responsible for first popularizing wine-drinking in Britain for economic reasons. If they went to a ‘bottle party’, to buy a bottle of wine was cheaper than buying quantities of beer or a bottle of spirits. ‘The Pub’ was more a venue for ‘meeting up’ rather than getting blitzed. The night club was a place to be entertained and dance. The objective was to enjoy people, places and things, not to get drunk. Children (under sixteens) did not have legal access to alcoholic drinks and would not have been welcomed by their even slightly older teenage peers at any of these venues. In short, developing brains were not assaulted by alcohol.
At that time the age of ‘majority’ and the right to vote was ‘21’. This was not lowered to ‘18’ by the then Labour Government with the right to vote until 1970, in time for the 1970 UK General Election. Reaching your majority was not just a matter of getting ‘the keys of the door’, meaning the front door to where you lived, it marked the age of responsibility. Parental control still lived and Latch-key kids barely existed. The gradual breakdown of society and health may be further fuelled by excessive alcohol intake.
Another problem with UK alcohol consumption is that people are not inclined to eat when drinking – there’s no ‘blotting paper’ to absorb the alcohol, so people get drunk more easily. Unfortunately, ‘binging’ and then eating will often result in highly unsociable and offensive public vomiting.
We have embraced the Mediterranean Diet; perhaps we could take some pointers from the reclining ancient Romans who used alcoholic drink as an accompaniment with food. For example, the Spanish still eat ‘tapas’ (tasty snacks) with their drinks.
If you a bit heavy-handed with the vino, but keen to get some goodness from the grape, why not try drinking purple grape juice?
Of late there has been considerable interest in identifying specific foods and phytochemicals that may have breast cancer preventive properties. Recently, Purple grape juice, using grapes rich in polyphenolic chemicals and anthocyanins, underwent animal research to see if its biological properties could suppress cancer with antioxidant, anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic actions. In the results, the grape juice constituents appeared to have benefit in decreasing susceptibility of the animal mammary gland to some tumour-initiating actions.21 Resveratrol is another antioxidant found in grapes, grape products, and some other botanical sources with anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties.22
It has long been known that oxidative stress in humans is associated with damage to DNA, proteins and biological membranes and has been implicated in aging and a number of human diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. A recent Korean study was performed to test whether the consumption of fruit juices may improve antioxidant status in human plasma.23 The study was on male subjects only and grape juice was a contender. Except for pear juice, all eight juices tested were potent radical scavengers that acted quickly, which effects was maintained for up to 90 minutes. Interestingly, grape juice continuously exerted persistent antioxidant activity until 2 hours after supplementation.
Dietary polyphenols, including anthocyanins, are also suggested to be involved in the protective effects of red wine against cardiovascular diseases. When the anthocyanin tested for in red wine, de-alcoholized wine and red grape juice were compared, concentrations were not significantly different after the consumption of either red wine or de-alcoholized red wine and were about two times less than those measured after consumption of red grape juice.24
Grape juice may not be ‘a drop of the hard stuff’, but it is good stuff.
Oh! A word of warning: In the days when the choice of red or white wine was prevalent at a variety of functions, (water was not then popular as an alternative to alcohol), I once took a bottle of sparkling grape juice to an Art Exhibition Opening. After half an hour I was hiding it under the long white cloth of the drinks table, being utterly fed-up with people asking me where I’d got the ‘sparkling wine’ and not believing it was ‘sparkling grape juice’ until they had tasted it! I left early because I was running out too fast of anything to drink!
Inhale a Martini instead of drinking it! America is another country plagued by underage drinking and adult alcohol abuse. Last autumn, an alternative to straight alcoholic drinking was tested - a novel new machine called AWOL (Alcohol Without Liquid), which delivers alcohol to the system via inhalation of vaporized booze, so customers can inhale it rather than drink it. In a land riven by obesity, the machine was marketed as low-calorie and low-carbohydrate and called ‘the ultimate party toy’. However, customers found it either expensive to get the desired effect or that it didn’t give much of a ‘buzz’! It was deemed by one County Legislator to be ‘dangerous to a person’s health’ and likely to cause an increase in drunken driving by a Police Chief. The general consensus of opinion was that AWOL was not likely to catch on.23
There is it appears no substitute for ‘self-control’ when it comes to alcohol intake.
Kudzu - Herbal Help is at Hand
Kudzu (Pueraria lobata syn. P. Montana (Lour.) Merr.) Photographer: Lowell Urbatsch @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
Kudzu (Pueraria lobata syn. P. Montana (Lour.) Merr.) Photographer: Lowell Urbatsch @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database Kudzu (Pueraria lobata), Japanese Arrowroot, a legume, is an invasive plant introduced to America from Japan in 1876 as an ornamental in the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The vine was appreciated for its fragrant flowers, lush vegetation and tropical effect. It is naturalized throughout the south-eastern states.
The plant later promoted as a nutritious fodder and cover crop in the southeast USA. It then became used as an erosion control via the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) along the steep cuts created in the construction of highways and railroads. Plus there was value in its ability to be used to generate fertility of nutrient-deprived soils. Gradually the vine fell from favour as it grew wildly out of hand, extending to farmland and forest, as well as commandeering buildings and large trees. No matter that kudzu vines are an excellent honey source, can be woven into baskets and furniture and its fibres can be used to make paper and cloth, finally, in the 1980s, it became the focus of a wide-scale eradication programme.26
Notwithstanding such set-backs, the kudzu plant is very versatile and edible. The most economically valued part of kudzu is the root, containing a useful amount of starch, which is renowned in Asia for its culinary, nutritional and medicinal properties. The nutritious leaves are high in vitamins C and A, which can be eaten by humans steamed, boiled, deep-fried, pickled, or raw when taken from herbicide-free areas. You can even make a Kudzu Blossom Jelly.26 Kudzu powder or kudzu root tea is used to treat many ailments such as inflammation, hangovers, sexual apathy, indigestion, respiratory disorders, headaches, sinus troubles, muscle stiffness, kidney trouble, breast-feeding complications, and skin rashes.26
However much anecdotal evidence from China that kudzu (Ge Gen) could be useful for the treatment of alcoholism, it is only since 1994 that Science has taken an interest and experiments began.27 This is despite the fact that it is one of the earliest medicinal plants used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and has many profound pharmacological actions including antidipsotropic (anti-alcohol abuse) activity and the roots and flowers of the plant have been used to treat alcohol abuse safely and effectively in China for more than a millennium!28
The most recent research this year demonstrates that Kudzu appears to contain a compound that can be effective in reducing alcohol intake in humans. A sip-by-sip analysis of the study’s volunteers drinking behaviour was taken, plus none of the subjects had any side effects from mixing kudzu root herbal extract with beer. “Male and female ‘heavy’ alcohol drinkers were treated with either placebo or a kudzu extract for 7 days and then given an opportunity to drink their preferred brand of beer while in a naturalistic laboratory setting.” … “Kudzu treatment resulted in significant reduction in the number of beers consumed that was paralleled by an increase in the number of sips and the time to consume each beer and a decrease in the volume of each sip. These changes occurred in the absence of a significant effect on the urge to drink alcohol.” In conclusion the data suggests that Kudzu root extract may be a useful adjunct in reducing alcohol intake.29
The lead researcher Scott Lukas said: “It’s perfectly safe, from what we can tell. Individuals reported feeling a little more tipsy or light-headed, but not enough to make them walk into walls or stumble and fall.”
Independently, Dr. Wing Ming Keung, a pathology professor at Havard Medical School who has studied kudzu’s potential medical applications, has extracted a compound from Kudzu root he says he hopes to turn into a drug for reducing alcoholic’s cravings. This is groundbreaking work and excellent news, because one of the greatest difficulties for alcoholics who wish to give up their ‘dis-ease’ is the enormous difficulty they experience in resisting ‘cravings’.
However, whether wonderful Kudzu is taken as an herbal extract or evolves as a drug, or the ‘cold turkey’ method is used to get through and past alcoholism, sufferers will always need the programme of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), because if alcoholism is indeed sponsored by an addictive gene it may be one thing to ‘stop drinking’ but quite another to ‘stay stopped’.
AA stands for many things, but among them ‘Altered Attitudes’ that cannot be bought or prescribed but involves a rigorous, tough, but enormously rewarding foray on self-redevelopment to achieve lasting results.
COMMENT: There are many simple ways to boost brain power including a good diet, exercise and sleeping well.
In order for the brain to function properly a balanced diet with all nutrients required in recommended amounts are necessary. However, certain foods are helpful; foods that are high in protein - a good breakfast with beans and/or eggs doesn’t go amiss. Oily fish and fish oil containing essential fatty acids (EFAs - Omega 3) are supportive.
There are three types of Omega-3 fatty acids: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentanoic acid (EPA), and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel contain DHA and EPA. Breast milk is a better source of DHA than formula for infants. There are plant sources of ALA such as flaxseed oil, olive oil, walnuts and dark green vegetables.
Although eating fruits and vegetables is generally good for health, being excellent sources of a wide variety of vitamins e.g. Vitamin C in citrus fruit, Vitamin A (Carotenes) in carrots, folic acid in greens, fresh fruits can also have a very positive stimulating effect on the brain. They contain natural sugars that stimulate the brain and facilitate faster thinking and information recall. Antioxidant fruits, such as cranberries are said to be neuro-protective.
Exercise such as walking for half an hour three times a week can improve learning, concentration and reasoning by up to 15%, particularly in the elderly. Other forms of exercise may help – gardening is predominantly great exercise for the body overall.
Night-hawking is not a good idea, according to The New Scientist, staying awake for 21 hours leads to the mind behaving like a drunk. The brain needs respite from its non-stop busy occupation to recharge its batteries.
‘If you don’t use it you lose it’ also applies to maintenance of brain power; keeping the brain active staves off its decline. Retired persons as well as the elderly need hobbies and activities such as knitting, crosswords (Sudoku anyone!), and other forms of gentle cerebral exercise are useful to the maintenance of brain power.
Listening to music, especially Mozart is well-known to aid mental capacity pre-birth even. Music has been proved to improve the mind’s mathematical capabilities. Pop music does not appear to have the same effect.
Lying supine and listening to Mozart sounds a very good option for brain power enhancement. References: 1. The Rubaiyat 12th-Century poem by Omar Khyyam, Persian poet, philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer. In his own country, he was renowned for his scientific achievements, but not as a poet. His rhymes were rediscovered by the English scholar and poet Edward Fitzgerald (1809-83) in the mid-nineteenth century. 2. ’Comparison of overweight and obesity prevalence in school-aged youth from 34 countries and their relationships with physical activity and dietary patterns.’ Janssen I, et al. The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Obesity Working Group. Dept. of Community Health and Epidemiology, Queen’s Uv., Kingston, Canada. Obes Rev. May 2005: 6(2):123-32. “… Within most countries physical activity levels were lower and television viewing times were higher in overweight compared to normal weight youth. … In conclusion, the adolescent obesity epidemic is a global issue. Increasing physical activity participation and decreasing television viewing should be the focus of strategies aimed at preventing and treating overweight and obesity in youth.” 3. ‘TV-watching by young children linked to later attention problems.’ Child Health Alert. May 2004. 4. ‘Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter’ by Steven Johnson, Pub. Riverhead Hardcover, ISBN: 1573223077. ‘How couch potatoes boost their brainpower’ by Robin Yapp, Science Reporter, Daily Mail 2nd May 2005 5. ‘Self Improvement, the couch potato way’ by Jonathan Duffy BBC News Magazine Online 28th April 2005. Source: Orange Prize for Fiction 2002. 6. ‘The influence of violent media on children and adolescents: a public-health approach.’ Browne KD, Hamilton-Giachritsis C. Centre for Forensic and Family Psychology, School of Psychology, Uv. Of Birmingham, UK. Review: The Lancet, 19th February 2005;365(9468):1387-8.. 7. ‘TV-watching by young children linked to later attention problems.’ Child Health Alert. May 2004. 8. ‘Deciding to defect.’ Sheese BE, Graziano WG. Purdue Uv., Psychol Sci. 2005 May;16(5):354-7 9. ‘Video games may help stroke victims’ by Jamie Stengle, AP writer, 12th May, 2005 – Dr. Robert Felberg, Director of the Stroke programme, Ochsner Clinic, New Orleans, U.S.A. Journal Stroke 12.5.2005 – Lead author Sung H. You, Asst. Prof. Physical Therapy, Hampton Uv,. Hampton, Virginia, USA. 10. ‘Developing multimedia software and virtual reality worlds and their use in rehabilitation and psychology’’ Sik Lanyi C, et al. Colour and Multimedia Lab., Uv. of Veszprem, Egyetem u. Hungary. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2004;105:273-84. 11. ‘How couch potatoes boost their brainpower’ by Robin Yapp Science Reporter, Daily Mail, 2nd May 2005. 12. “Thinking on your back: Solving anagrams faster when supine than when standing”. The research paper is an ‘article in press’. Lipnicki D M and Byrne DG’, School of Psychology, The Australian National Uv., Canberra, Australia. Cognitive Brain Research. Abstract by courtesy of Dr Darren Lipnicki. 13. ‘Thinking on your feet’ means e.g. in an interview, Board Room, or other venue or situation where your mental agility might be assessed or evaluated, when you may be asked something that’s like ‘a wild card’ question thrown into the pack, you have the ability (the mental breadth, depth and development) to answer any unexpected question on the spot. 14. Roman Glossary – Couch: http://chucksp1.tripod.com/glossary.htm 15. ‘Alcohol makes your brain grow’ BBC Online News 29th April 2005. The Karolinka Institute, Sweden. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. 16. ‘The antidepressant effect of running is associated with increased hippocampal cell proliferation.’ Bjornebekk A, Mathe AA, Brene S. Dept. of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2005 Mar 15;1-12 [Epub ahead of print]. 17. ‘Temporal dynamics and determinants of whole brain tissue volume changes during recovery from alcohol dependence.’ Gazdzinski S, Durazzo TC, Meyerhoff DJ. Dept of Veterans Affairs Medical Centre San Francisco and the Dept. of Radiology, Uv. of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, Calfornia, USA. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2005 Jun 1;263-73. Epub 2005 Jan 15. 18. ‘Social boozing damages the brain’ BBC News Online 15th April 2004. Dr Dieter Meyerhoff et al. Vanderbilt Uv., Tennessee and Uv. of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA. Journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 19. ‘Alcohol worse for female brains’ BBC Online News 15th May 2005. Daily Mail (With bingeing on the increase, concerns grow about the consequences) ‘Drink ‘damages women’s brains more quickly’ by Matthew Bayley, 16th May 2005. ‘Do women possess a unique susceptibility to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol? Prendergast MA. Dept of Psychology, Uv. of Kentucky, Lexington USA. J Am Med Womens Assoc. 2004 Summer;59(3):225-7. ‘Neuroimaging of gender differences in alcohol dependence: are women more vulnerable?’ Mann K et al. From Central Institute of Mental Health (KM, KA, BC, HN, AD), Uv. of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, and Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (GM), Uv. of Tubingen, Tubingen, Germany. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2005 May;29(5): 896-901. 20. ‘Foetal alcohol syndrome and foetal alcohol effects. The University of Minnesota experience.’ Caruso K, ten Bensel R. Uv. of Minnesota, USA. Minn Med. 1993 Apr;76(4):25-9. 21. ‘‘Purple grape juice inhibits 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced rat mammary tumorigenesis and in vivo DMBA-DNA adduct formation.’ Jung KJ, et al. Dept. Of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Uv. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA. Cancer Lett. 2005 May 5; [Epub ahead of print] 22. ‘An LC-MS method for analyzing total resveratrol in grape juice, cranberry juice and in wine.’ Wang Y, et al. Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Uv. of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. J Agric Food Chem. 2002 Jan 30; 50(3):431-5. 23. ‘Comparison of the antioxidant activities of nine different fruits in human plasma.’ Ko SH, et al. Dept. of Pharmacology, Seoul National Uv. School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. J Med Food. 2005 Spring; 8 (1):41-6. 24. ‘Malvidin-3-glucoside bioavailability in humans after ingestion of red wine, dealcoholized red wine and red grape juice.’ Bub A, et al. Institute for Nutritional Physiology, Federal Research Centre for Nutrition, Kalsruhe, Germany. Eur J Nutr. 2001 Jun; 40(3): 113-20. Clinical trial, Randomized Controlled Trial. 25. ‘Sobering obstacles for alcohol machine’ by Jim Ftizgerald, AP: Sacramento Bee: 15th September 2004. White Plains NY. NB: “The New York State Liquor Authority has not decided whether the machine will be allowed to operate anywhere in the state.” Quote: Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano. Above Quoted: Police Chief Joseph Krzeminski, Port Chester and Suffolk County Legislator Jon Cooper. 26. Kudzu (Pueraria lobata): (Shurtleff & Aoyagi 1985) http://www.a-spi.org/tp/tp55.htm Kudzu Blossom Jelly recipe. 27. ‘Kudzu extract shows potential for moderating alcohol abuse’ [No authors listed] News. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1994 Mar 15;51(6):750. 28. ‘Kudzu root: an ancient Chinese source of modern antidipsotropic agents.’ Keung WM, Vallee BL. Centre for Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences and Medicine. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Phytochemistry 1998 Feb;47(4):499-506. 29. ‘An Extract of the Chinese Herbal Root Kudzu Reduces Alcohol Drinking by Heavy Drinkers in a Naturalistic Setting.’ Lukas SE, et al. From Behavioural Psychopharmacology Research Lab. (SEL, DP, JB, LV, CP, GM) and Bio-Organic and Natural Products Lab. (DY-WL), McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, Havard Medical School (SEL, DP, CP, GM, DY-WL), Cambridge, Massachusetts; and New England Research Institutes (EAM), Watertown, Massachusetts. USA. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2005 May;29(5):756-762. 30. ‘Study: Kudzu helps curb binge drinking’ by Michael Kunzelman, AP writer 17th May 2005. |
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