Top Four Health Mistakes Teens Make

You probably don't always think about your health, or the effects certain factors can have on your body. You tend to roll through life, taking care of day-to-day issues, and enjoy as much of life as you can. But if you're not careful, you can end up facing consequences to your health that could have been avoided. To prevent this, avoid these top four health mistakes teens make.

1. Most teens stay up late studying or hanging out with friends and don't get enough sleep. By not having a regular sleep pattern, you could be doing your body damage. You may think you're sleeping enough, but your body may not be getting the amount of rest it really needs. Teens need eight to ten hours of sleep a night to function best.

2. When you munch on a lot of junk food while studying, hanging out with friends, watching TV, and at the movies, you're causing serious damage to your health. Eating too much junk food can cause serious weight issues, heart disease, diabetes, and other major medical issues. To avoid them, eat some healthy munchies throughout the day, instead of just chips and sweets. Try carrot sticks, crackers, pretzels, cheese, and nuts. You can still munch, but munch healthier foods.

3. A lot of teens tend to skip breakfast, especially if they're running late in the mornings. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" is not just a slogan. It prepares your body to face the day ahead, allows you to think clearly, and keeps you awake. If you don't have time or the appetite for a big breakfast, try a small bowl of cereal, breakfast drink, granola bar, or muffin. You can take most of these with you and eat them on the way to school.

4. You may be enrolled in a gym class, but that doesn't mean you're getting enough exercise. If you tend to sit around playing games during your time off, you're not doing your body any favors. Get up and go for a walk or bike ride. Go out for one of your school's sports teams. If you are a big gamer, try games that get you moving around, not just sitting on the couch with a remote in your hand.

These top four health mistakes teens make could and should be avoided. To make sure you're taking proper care of yourself, take a look at how you live, and make the necessary changes. You'll feel better, and be glad you did.

For more tips and trends for young adults, sign up for my newsletter at http://www.andreabuginskyauthor.blogspot.com.

Folate-Rich 'Super Tomato' Could Cut Birth Defects

WEDNESDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- You say tomato, scientists say "fewer birth defects."

U.S. researchers say they've created a folic acid-enriched "super tomato" that could cut the rate of birth defects, anemia and other folate deficiency-linked problems in the developing world.

"We used the tomato, because it is a very good model to work with," explained study co-author Andrew D. Hanson, professor of plant biochemistry at the University of Florida at Gainesville. "Now we want to move the strategy we have developed into cereal and tuber crops such as sweet potatoes."

Hanson's group published its findings in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Folate deficiency is associated with birth defects such as spina bifida and also with heart disease and some cancers. Grain products in the United States and other western countries are now fortified with folic acid, and pregnant women are advised to take folate supplements if necessary.

Unfortunately, folic acid supplies are much harder to come by in less developed countries, Hanson said, so genetically engineered crops could help prevent deficiency in those areas.

Hanson worked in close collaboration with Jesse F. Gregory III, professor of food science and human nutrition at UF. They targeted two molecular pathways by which tomatoes (and other plants) make folate -- one that produces a molecule called pteridine, the other producing another molecule, p-aminobenzoate (PABA). Those two molecules eventually become linked in the process that creates folate.

"Humans don't have the ability to produce parts of those pathways, which is why we require [folate] as a vitamin," Gregory explained.

In 2004, Hanson and Gregory reported that they had added a gene to the pteridine pathway in tomatoes. That doubled the tomato's production of folate.

"It was a synthetic gene, a DNA sequence based on a mouse gene," Hanson said. "But that engineered tomato plant was not good enough."

Keeping the engineered tomato plant intact, they added a second gene, this time one extracted from a weed calledArabidopsis. The gene is commonly used in plant genetic work on the PABA pathway.

That genetic manipulation resulted in amajorincrease in folate production, Hanson said.

"The tomatoes that we are reporting in this paper have very substantially elevated levels of folate," he said. "If the fruit is ripened on the plant, there can be 25 times more folate than normal."

The work is just beginning, he emphasized. "We have produced a few experimental plants," Hanson said. "This is a proof-of-concept study. With just two genes, it is possible to substantially increase the folate level of fruits. This is a demonstration that it can be done."

Now the goal is to show that the same increase in folate production can be achieved in plants that are dietary staples in many countries, he said.

"The most important targets of future work are cereal crops that are used around the world," he said.

"Rice would be a major target. Various groups are working on this, and we are in partnership with them."

The Florida researchers have collaborations with centers in Britain, France, Belgium, Australia and African countries, Hanson said.

"We will also be trying other genetic engineering strategies," he said.

More information
There's more on folate deficiency at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
SOURCES: Andrew D. Hanson, Ph.D., professor, plant biochemistry, and Jesse F. Gregory III, Ph.D., professor, food science and human nutrition, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Gainesville, Fla.; March 6-9, 2007,Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences