I really shouldn’t be reading any Science Daily articles today…I should be working instead…but a few items caught my attention, so I’m going to post the links. Ah yes, procrastination…I know, I know. I’m an expert in that field! 😉 

Before getting to the SD articles, I wanted to highlight something that I learned this morning from a blog reader who sent me the link to a study (full text available online) showing that low levels of magnesium might increase our C-reactive protein (= CRP) levels. Ooooh, that’s not good at all! Many myeloma patients take magnesium for leg cramps and neuropathy…but now there’s yet another reason to take it. See: http://goo.gl/jrcph 

Excerpt: Among the 70% of the population not taking supplements, magnesium intake below the RDA was significantly associated with a higher risk of having elevated CRP. The lower the magnesium intake, the higher was the likelihood of elevated CRP. ‘Nuff said.

Okay, now for the two Science Daily articles. The first is about bacteriaaaaa. Just writing that word, BACTERIAAAAA, gave me the willies. Brrrr! And I have to admit that after reading the first paragraph I wanted to shut down my computer, grab my cats, rush off and live out the rest of my life in a completely isolated mountain cave, if such a thing still exists…

I mean, someone coming into my study right now could be adding 37 MILLION BACTERIA to the air I breathe every single hour??? That’s almost 617000 bacteria per minute!!! 😯 Here’s the link (I dare you to read this…thing! 😉 ): http://goo.gl/hSzQ1

The second SD article is about capsaicin, the fabbbbulous ingredient in hot pepper, which inhibits the infamous STAT3 pathway, thereby killing myeloma cells (see my Page on capsaicin).

Well, capsaicin seems to have many other health benefits, too, as you can read in the article, including lowering blood pressure, reducing blood cholesterol and blocking the formation of blood clots. Oh, it also inhibits COX-2, which is involved in myeloma (and not in a good way!). This article highlights capsaicin’s heart-protecting potential: http://goo.gl/oe2rV So hey, bring on the heat! Yummy, too. 

Okay, now I’ll stop procrastinating and get back to work…Uffa.