Health Highlight: We’re All Suffering from ‘Successaholism’ and It Needs to Stop

Working late

In her new book, “The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success,” Emma Seppala explains why happiness often paves the way for professional success. Unfortunately, she says, many workers have it backward, thinking that they need to be successful before they can ever be happy.

Call it workaholism or “successaholism” — Seppala, the science director for Stanford University’s Center for Altruism and Compassion Research and Education, says it’s a problematic cycle because it eventually leads to burnout and worse job performance.

Yet these behaviors are unlikely to disappear anytime soon because they’re encouraged by our friends, colleagues, and employers.

Source: Business Insider

Health Highlights is a recurring series of curated health and medical news from around the web.

Health Highlight: Natural Metabolite Might Reset Aging Biological Clocks

Polyamides linked to aging

As we age, our biological clocks tend to wind down. A Weizmann Institute research team has now revealed an intriguing new link between a group of metabolites whose levels drop as our cells age and the functioning of our circadian clocks – mechanisms encoded in our genes that keep time to cycles of day and night. Their results, which appeared in Cell Metabolism, suggest that the substance (called polyamides), which is found in many foods, could possibly help keep our internal timekeepers up to speed.

Source: Weizmann Institute of Science

Health Highlights is a recurring series of curated health and medical news from around the web.

Health Highlight: Researchers use gut bacteria to map genetic mutations in colorectal cancer tumours

Gut bacteria

Colorectal cancer is now understood to be definitely linked to microbial problems in the gut. Research has shown that the disease is linked with less numbers and diversity in the gut microbiome, and with the increased presence of more harmful strains. Therefore using gut bacteria to diagnose and even aid in cancer prevention is highly desirable due to it’s quick, non-invasive ease of investigation.

Now, a study from researchers at University of Minnesota has predicted key genetic mutations in colorectal tumours by analyzing the types of gut bacteria present around them. The team state that it could be possible to genetically classify the colorectal tumour a person has without having to do a biopsy and dissect it. Their findings were presented at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) 2015 Annual Meeting.

Source: Healthinnovations

Health Highlights is a recurring series of curated health and medical news from around the web.

Health Highlights – July 18th, 2011

Health Highlights is an occasionally recurring series focused on particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

Health Highlights

Health Highlights – June 6th, 2011

Health Highlights is an occasionally recurring series focused on particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

Health Highlights