Turn off evening TV to ensure kids' sleep

If your preschooler can't sleep - turn off the violence and nighttime TV.

That's the message in a new study that found sleep problems are more common in 3- to 5-year-olds who watch television after 7 pm. Watching shows with violence - including kids' cartoons - also was tied to sleeping difficulties.

Watching nonviolent shows during the day didn't seem to have any connection with sleep problems in the 617 youngsters studied.

The study builds on previous research linking media use with kids' sleep problems, and also bolsters arguments for limiting children's screen time.

Young children go to sleep best with nighttime rituals that help calm them, including bedtime stories and cuddling with parents, says Dr Marc Weissbluth, a sleep disorders specialist at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital and author of several books on healthy sleep habits.

TV can have the opposite effect, stimulating children, and if it's replacing that down time with parents, it can be unhealthy, Weissbluth says.

Cook sprouts to avoid E. coli infection

Sprouts should be thoroughly cooked before consumption to prevent the risk of a dangerous E. coli infection, a spokesman for a Bonn-based consumer information service says. An E. coli outbreak in Germany in May, linked to contaminated sprouts, has killed some 40 people and caused over 3,000 to fall ill.

Sprouts are often eaten raw as a salad topping or sandwich filler but can be eaten safely after they have been heated for several minutes at a core temperature of at least 70 C, says spokesman Harald Seitz of the consumer service Aid.

"A lot of Asian cuisine contains sprouts," Seitz notes, pointing to wok dishes such as fried noodles and fried rice as well as Thai dishes with coconut milk.

Donating blood is good for your heart too

Donating blood is healthy not just for the recipient. According to a recent study, it can also lower heart attack risk.

"It stimulates production of new blood stem cells and the entire circulatory system," says Friedrich-Ernst Dueppe, who works for the western regional blood donation service of the German Red Cross. "According to a recent Finnish study, regular blood donations even lower men's risk of heart attacks because cholesterol is flushed out."

A healthy body quickly replaces the lost fluids and red blood cells. "It's important, however, to eat sufficiently both before and afterwards, and to drink more than usual," says Jan Noack of the blood donation service in Leipzig.

'Lean gene' raises risk of heart disease

Being slim may not always lead to a lower risk of heart disease and diabetes, scientists said on Sunday after they identified a gene linked both to having a lean body and to a higher risk of metabolic diseases.

Researchers from Britain's Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit said that while a so-called "lean gene" was linked to having less body fat, it was also linked to an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes - illnesses normally associated with being overweight.

"We've uncovered a truly fascinating genetic story, and when we found the effect of this gene, we were very intrigued," says Ruth Loos, whose study was published in Nature Genetics journal.

Loos' team found strong evidence that a gene called IRS1 is linked with having less body fat.

When they investigated further, they found IRS1 also leads to having unhealthy levels of cholesterol and glucose in blood - key markers for so-called metabolic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

Reuters-DPA