August 2006 | Whole Health
Body Talk
By Elizabeth Barker
Tune In, Turn On
Women may get just as turned on as men when it comes to viewing sexy images—at least from a neurological perspective. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine recently measured brainwave activity of 264 women as they watched color slides of everything from water skiers to snarling dogs to partially clad couples in “sensual poses.” Anytime an erotic image appeared, changes in the brain’s electrical activity took place 20 percent faster than when the women looked at any of the other images. The study authors were surprised by that response speed, since past research has suggested that men get more aroused by erotic images than women. “Based on [previous] data we would expect lower responses in women, but that was not the case,” states study author Andrey P. Anokhin, PhD. “Women have responses as strong as those seen in men.”
Veggies Build Better Bones
For the key to building stronger bones, look outside the milk carton. Greater bone density is linked to a high intake of fruits and vegetables, according to a new American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study that examined the bone mineral status and food intake of 212 adolescent boys and girls, 90 young women (aged 23 to 37 years) and 134 older men and women (aged 60 to 83 years). Those who ate the most fruits and veggies had the best bone mineral content, a finding that doesn’t surprise Los Angeles-based alternative-medicine dietitian Jill Place, RD. “Alkaline-forming foods, such as fruits and vegetables, allow the body to make more bone-forming vitamin D and help bones to retain calcium,” Place says. “Not only that, but fruits and vegetables are also chock-full of bone-building vitamins like A, B6, B12, folic acid, D and K, as well as minerals like magnesium, boron, copper, phosphorus and zinc.”
To beef up your bone density—and to increase protection against heart disease and cancer—Place suggests getting five to nine servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Calcium-rich plants like broccoli, kale and collard greens are especially bone-building, notes Los Angeles-based dietitian Ruth Frechman, RD.
Cocoa for Clear Skin
Maybe chocolate doesn’t trigger breakouts after all. New research from the Journal of Nutrition suggests that flavanols—phytochemicals found in cocoa—may actually better your complexion and even help protect against sun damage. For 12 weeks, 24 women drank a cocoa drink with either 329 mg or 29 mg of flavanols per serving. The women in the high-flavanol group showed improvements in their skin’s circulation, texture, structure and—perhaps most promising of all—defense against UV irradiation. “Photoprotection may be due to the antioxidant activities or the UV-filtering properties of cocoa flavanols,” explains study author Wilhelm Stahl, who notes that antioxidant-rich foods like green tea and tomatoes may also offer UV protection.
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