The Telangana Science Journal, January 2006, Issue 97

Contents

Diet and Exercise	Miscellaneous	Recipes	Financial Health
Vegetarians have Lower Blood Pressure Yogurt Turmeric Omega-3 Fats Caffeine Drink Coffee and Crave for Sex Coffee lowers Breast Cancer Risk Detox is a Waste Work Hard to Be Happy Walking Reduces Depression Soy Benefits Exercise and Alzheimer's Obesity and Heart Health Obesity and Prostate Cancer Low Calorie Diet Tomatoes Breast feeding	Smoking and Secondhand Smoke Avoid birth defects Bed-wetting Back Pain Erectile Dysfunction is a Symptom of Heart Disease Healing Monster Stress and Cardiovascular Health Consequences of Fatherlessness	Stuffed Tomatoes with Feta Mushroom Masala	Good Credit Avoid These Homebuyer's Mistakes

Diet and Exercise

Vegetarians have Lower Blood Pressure
Higher intake of vegetable protein associated with lower blood pressure levels. People who eat more protein from vegetables tend to have lower blood pressure, according to a new study in the January 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. Most adults have either high blood pressure (hypertension) or prehypertensive blood pressure levels, according to background information in the article. Previous studies have found evidence that meat eaters generally have higher blood pressure than vegetarians. Other research looked directly at the effect of high overall protein intake and found that people with higher total protein intake are likely to have lower blood pressure, the authors report.

Yogurt
Yogurt may be one of our oldest foods as it finds regular mention in the Vedic texts.

Yogurt remained primarily a food of India, Central Asia, Western Asia, South Eastern Europe and Central Europe until the 1900s, when a Russian biologist named Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov theorized that heavy consumption of yoghurt was responsible for the unusually long lifespans of Bulgarian peasants. Believing lactobacillus to be essential for good health, Mechnikov worked to popularize yoghurt as a foodstuff throughout Europe.

Ancient Sanskrit texts describe a range of "starters" to get those bacteria to do their thing, including the Ber fruit and the bark of the Palash tree. The starter culture for most yogurt production in North America is a symbiotic blend of Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus (ST) and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (LB). Although they can grow independantly, the rate of acid production is much higher when used together than either of the two organisms grown individually. ST grows faster and produces both acid and carbon dioxide. The formate and carbon dioxide produced stimulates LB growth. On the other hand, the proteolytic activity of LB produces stimulatory peptides and amino acids for use by ST. These microorganisms are ultimately responsible for the formation of typical yogurt flavour and texture. The yogurt mixture coagulates during fermentation due to the drop in pH. The streptococci are responsible for the initial pH drop of the yogurt mix to approximately 5.0. The lactobacilli are responsible for a further decrease to pH 4.0.

A traditional Scandinavian beverage, fermented milk, can help reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension, a new study reported in American Journal of Hypertension, December 2005, from Finland shows. The drink has long been popular in Scandinavian countries. It is made by adding Lactobacillus to milk, which breaks down the milk protein casein into two types of protein fragments called tripeptides. The tripeptides, isoleucine-proline-proline and valine-proline-proline, have been shown in animal studies to reduce blood pressure and also lower blood pressure in people with mild hypertension.

Yogurt bacteria may be useful in blocking HIV transmission, providing a cheap and effective way of fighting the virus, Nature magazine said, citing a study by researchers in the U.S. and the U.K. Lactococcus lactis, a bacterium used to produce cheese and yogurt, was altered genetically by scientists at Brown Medical School in Rhode Island and the U.K.'s Food Research institute to generate cyanovirin, a drug that has been used to stop HIV infection in the cells of monkeys and humans. The bacterium is also found in the human body, including the stomach and vagina where it halts the growth of other harmful bacteria. The same principle could be applied with the genetically modified version. The bacteria may have advantages over vaccines because it could be applied directly to peripheral areas of the body including the mucosal surfaces of the vagina, the report said. The bacteria can live in the vagina for as long as a week, and the scientists are working to prolong the life, the magazine said. Bharat Ramratnam, an HIV specialist at Brown in Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues led the research, which is published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Yogurt Recipes:
Orange Yoghurt Shake http://www.nicholaspiramal.com/health_recipes_orangeyoghurtshake.htm
Sweet Lassi Drink http://www.pilotguides.com/destination_guide/asia/india/lassi.php

Turmeric
Rutgers researchers have found that the Indian curry spice turmeric holds real potential for the treatment and prevention of prostate cancer, particularly when combined with certain vegetables. The scientists tested turmeric, also known as curcumin, along with phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a naturally occurring substance particularly abundant in a group of vegetables that includes watercress, cabbage, winter cress, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, kohlrabi and turnips. PEITC and curcumin, alone or in combination, demonstrate significant cancer-preventive qualities in laboratory mice, and the combination of PEITC and curcumin could be effective in treating established prostate cancers. The discovery was announced in the Jan. 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States, with a half-million new cases appearing each year. The incidence and mortality of prostate cancer have not decreased in past decades despite tremendous efforts and resources devoted to treatment. This is because advanced prostate cancer cells are barely responsive even to high concentrations of chemotherapeutic agents or radiotherapy. The authors noted that in contrast to the high incidence of prostate cancer in the United States, the incidence of this disease is very low in India. This has been attributed to the dietary consumption of large amounts of plant-based foods rich in phytochemicals – nonnutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease-preventive properties. Consequently, scientists have been investigating intervention options based on compounds found in edible and medicinal plants. They have had some success, and a majority of patients with prostate cancer are now combining the conventional therapies with these compounds as alternative, supplementary or complementary medications. The paper, "Combined Inhibitory Effects of Curcumin and Phenethyl Isothiocyanate on the Growth of Human PC-3 Prostate Xenografts in Immunodeficient Mice," is available at cancerres.aacrjournals.org.

Omega-3 Fats
The omega-3 fatty acids can dramatically reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac death. They stabilize the rhythm of the heart and help to prevent the irregular heart beats called ventricular fibrillation that can lead to death. The omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish, but the fish that are the highest in the omega-3 fatty acids are also the highest in fat and cholesterol and, often, in toxic substances such as mercury. The best alternative to fish is flaxseed (linseed) oil. Being a rich source of many Essential fatty acids (such as omega-3 fatty acid, omega-6 fatty acid and omega-9 fatty acid), as well as containing B vitamins, potassium, lecithin, magnesium, fiber, protein, and zinc, Flax seed oil is commonly considered a very healthful supplement. About 3 or 4 grams a day will provide the protective effects; more is not better. Some of the other food sources of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are soya oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, hemp oil, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, urad lentils, leafy vegetables, and walnuts. To get the right amount of omega-3 fatty acids one may take capsules. These usually come in 1-gram doses, so you can take three or four capsules a day.

Common Flax Scientific classification
Kingdom:    Plantae
Division:    Magnoliophyta
Class:    Magnoliopsida
Order:    Malpighiales
Family:    Linaceae
Genus:    Linum
Species:    usitatissimum
Binomial name: Linum usitatissimum Linnaeus.

Flax is grown in wide areas of temperate and sub-tropical regions of both hemispheres. Flax fibre is obtained from the stems of the LINUM USITATISSIMUM plant, belonging to the LINACÆ family. The use of flax for weaving into "linen" cloth dates back to Egyptian dynasties over four thousand years ago and from the latter part of the Middle Ages it became the most commonly used textile material in Europe. It was not until the early part of the nineteenth century that cotton began to challenge this premier position. Today flax production for commercial textile purposes (it is also grown widely for its oil-yielding seed, especially in North America) is primarily in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Belo-Rus, Egypt and China. Estimated crop for the three main producers (France, Belgium and the Netherlands) for 2003 was 90,000 tons of long flax and 35,000 tons of short flax from a combined hectarage of 98,000.

A study of 9,000 mothers and children in Avon suggested those who consumed less of the essential fatty acid Omega-3 had children with lower Iqs, mothers with the lowest intake of the essential fatty acid had children with a verbal IQ six points lower than the average. These children also had poorer motor skills and hand-to-eye co-ordination, research in the Economist said. One of the richest sources of Omega-3 are larger fish which eat other fish, but research shows that the fish contain pollutants, such as mercury, which cause brain damage in children.

However, even in high doses, omega-3 fatty acids found in flax, nuts, urad and fish, don't reduce cancer risk, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers analyzed results from more than 38 previous studies conducted over the past 40 years. They found no convincing evidence that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids prevented any of a wide range of cancers, The New York Times News Service reports in January 2006.

Caffeine
Drinking caffeine drinks appears to stifle the body's ability to boost blood flow to the heart during exercise, suggests new research out of Switzerland. Blood flow to the heart has to increase during exercise in order to match the increased need of oxygen. But when 18 healthy people were given the equivalent of two cups of coffee, scientists found that blood flow increase during exercise was much lower than when they exercised without having consumed coffee, reported in the 17 January issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (vol 47, pp405-410). This effect was even stronger when the participants were in a chamber simulating high altitude, said the scientists at the University Hospital in Zurich. They say that although caffeine drinks are known to stimulate the brain, their results show that caffeine is unlikely to boost athletic performance. This counters previous research suggesting that caffeine-based drinks may help sportspeople. A UK team previously reported that introducing caffeine into sports drinks increased the rate in which carbohydrate is delivered to the athlete. Many professional sportspeople already take caffeine tablets to boost their performance.

Drink Coffee and Crave for Sex
In a study, titled "Coffee, Tea, and Me," is due to appear in an upcoming issue of Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior. Caffeine may put females in the mood for sex, a new study shows.
In the study, female rats that got their first shot of caffeine before mating were quicker than uncaffeinated females to scurry back to a male rat after sex. The caffeinated females weren't just looking for company, but they wanted to have sex again. Caffeine didn't affect how quickly the female rats left their partners after sex, the study shows.

Coffee lowers Breast Cancer Risk
Women with BRCA1 gene mutations, which confer a high risk of developing breast cancer, might decrease their risk by drinking a lot of coffee, according to a multicenter team of investigators. The likelihood of developing breast cancer among BRCA mutation carriers who drank 1 to 3 cups of coffee daily, 4 to 5 cups, or 6 or more cups was reduced by 10 percent, 25 percent and 69 percent, respectively, compared to those who drank no coffee, according to the report in the International Journal of Cancer.

Detox is a Waste
Millions are spent on detox products. But scientists are now saying detox remedies are a waste of money and a glass of water and an early night is far more beneficial. The body detoxifies itself. The body is rehydrated with ordinary tap water and is refreshed with a good night's sleep. Many of the detox diets and supplements really aren't that good for you, nor have they been properly tested.

Work Hard to Be Happy
Researchers from Gothenburg University in Sweden have been studying published data on what makes people happy. They believe working to achieve a goal, rather than attaining it, makes people more satisfied - although they said good relationships were important. UK experts agreed, but said the work had to match an individual's strengths.

Walking Reduces Depression
A study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise suggests that 30 minutes of brisk walking can immediately improve the mood of people with depression. The study looked at 40 people ages 18 to 55 who had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder. The participants were not taking antidepressant drugs and were not regularly exercisers. The researchers assigned half the patients to walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes. The other half sat quietly for 30 minutes. The researchers asked the participants about their mood five minutes before the half-hour session, then again 30 and 60 minutes afterward. All the participants reported feeling less tension, depression, anger and fatigue after the session, The Associated Press reports. But people who exercised reported feeling good -- they felt more vigorous and had a greater sense of psychological well-being, the AP says. The effects of exercise only lasted for about an hour, but the AP quotes other experts who say exercise could give people with mild to moderate depression a way to help themselves in the short term.

Soy Benefits
Soy Burgers
An American Heart Association statement notes that soy products like tofu, soy butter, soy nuts and some soy burgers should be heart-healthy because they contain a lot of polyunsaturated fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals and are low in saturated fat. Veggie burgers and tofu are very good alternatives for unhealthy burgers, but they might not be ward off heart disease. An American Heart Association committee reviewed a decade of studies on soy's benefits and came up with results that are now casting doubt on the health claim that soy-based foods and supplements significantly lower cholesterol. Nutrition experts say soy-based foods are good because they often are eaten in place of less healthy fare like burgers and hot dogs. But they don't have as much direct benefit as had been hoped on cholesterol, one of the top risk factors for heart disease. The committee members reviewed 22 studies and found that large amounts of dietary soy protein reduced LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, about 3 percent and had no effect on HDL, or "good" cholesterol, or on blood pressure. Bad cholesterol numbers would certainly get worse if instead of eating tofu burgers we went out and had hamburgers. Soy isn't a magic bullet, but it can be a valuable contributor to a heart-healthy diet.
Soy Prevents Breast Cancer
A diet rich in soy, with its natural plant estrogens or isoflavones, may help protect postmenopausal women with relatively high levels of estrogen from getting breast cancer, preliminary research at Wake Forest University suggests. Soy is considered good for building bones and good for heart health as well as for relieving hot flashes during menopause.
Soy doesn't help hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
According to a study findings in the Jan. 4 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, consuming soy might adversely affect the sick with a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Male mice, who carried a gene mutation associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease in which the heart muscle thickens abnormally, were taken off their normal soy diets, their heart function improved significantly compared to HCM male mice who stayed with soy. Female mice with HCM did not show the same significant change. For the normal, healthy mouse, a soy diet doesn't seem to be either harmful or beneficial, but in the context of this particular disease, soy has a detrimental effect on male mice.

Exercise and Alzheimer's
Yet another study finds that just a little bit of regular exercise can help ward off Alzheimer's disease. In a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine this week, researchers looked at more than 1,700 people over 65 years old. The researchers examined and interviewed the participants every two years between 1994 and 2003; they evaluated the participants' exercise routines, physical abilities, memory and cognitive functions, and other health habits. People who had been getting regular exercise at the beginning of the study -- 15 minutes of physical activity at least three days a week -- had a 32% lower risk of developing dementia than those who exercised less, the researchers found.

Consuming apple juice may protect against cell damage that contributes to age-related memory loss, conclude researchers investigating the benefits in mice. They believe their results are down to the rich antioxidant levels in concentrated apple juice. The team from the University of Massachusetts Lowell previously showed the benefits of feeding apple juice in mice bred to be prone to Alzheimer's disease. But the new tests were carried out on mice designed to represent the normal aging process. This new study suggests that eating and drinking apples and apple juice, in conjunction with a balanced diet, can protect the brain from the effects of oxidative stress – and that we should eat such antioxidant-rich foods. "An apple a day" now has new meaning for those who want to maintain mental dexterity as they age.

Compounds in black currants may help protect against Alzheimer's disease, according to a study in the current issue of Chemistry & Industry magazine. Researchers found that these compounds -- anthocyanins and polyphenolics -- had a strong protective effect in cultured neuronal cells. Darker black currants contain more anthocyanins and are likely to be more potent. While previous research found that compounds in black currants acted as antioxidants, this is the first study to demonstrate that they may help protect brain cells.

Obesity and Heart Health
Obesity doesn't just create conditions that increase the risk of heart disease -- it may be a risk factor all on its own. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that middle-age people who are overweight have a higher risk of dying from heart disease later in life -- even if their cholesterol levels and blood pressure are normal. Middle-age people who are overweight but have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels are kidding themselves if they think their health is just fine as there is a growing body of science suggesting that excess weight alone is an independent risk factor for heart attacks, strokes and diabetes.

Obesity and Prostate Cancer
Obese men may have a higher risk of dying from prostate cancer, because the disease is more difficult to detect in them. That's the finding of a study to be published in the Journal of Urology. The study suggests that doctors should take particular care in screening obese men for prostate cancer. Because obese men tend to have larger prostates than normal-weight men, prostate biopsies end up sampling less of the total tissue.

Low Calorie Diet
A very low calorie diet can help the heart age more slowly, according to researchers who released what they call the first-ever human study on the subject, (The Journal of the American College of Cardiology). The findings confirmed earlier studies on mice and rats that demonstrate the cardiac benefits of a restricted calorie diet.

Tomatoes
Tomato juice is rich in beta-carotene, which is easily converted to vitamin A. A Japanese report, in the February issue of The American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, appears to be the first to link tomato consumption to emphysema prevention. They found that after eight weeks of exposure to cigarette smoke, the fast-aging mice did develop emphysema, while the normal mice did not. But when they had the mice drink a 50 percent tomato juice mixture, emphysema did not develop. Lycopene was probably responsible for the protective effect, they wrote, because tobacco smoke is full of tissue-destroying oxidant molecules, and lycopene is a powerful antioxidant.

Breast feeding
A new study suggests that the longer infants are breastfed, the lower the likelihood they'll be overweight as adolescents, a relationship that does not appear to be influenced by sociocultural factors. The findings, published in the journal Epidemiology, add to the not always consistent body of research on breastfeeding and childhood weight gain. While a number of studies have suggested that breastfed babies are less likely to become overweight than bottle-fed infants, others have found no such benefit or that the weight difference does not last far into childhood.

Miscellaneous
Smoking and Secondhand Smoke
California became the first state to declare secondhand smoke a toxic air pollutant in January 2006, putting tobacco fumes in the same category as diesel exhaust, arsenic and benzene because of its link to breast cancer. The unanimous decision by the state Air Resources Board relied on a September report that found a sharply increased risk of breast cancer in young women exposed to secondhand smoke. It also links drifting smoke to premature births, asthma and heart disease, as well as other cancers and numerous health problems in children.

Using information from a national database on U.S. births, researchers found that babies born to women who smoked during pregnancy were 31 percent more likely to have birth anomalies as babies of non-smokers. And the more a woman smoked, the greater the risk. The habit, researchers say, may raise the risk of having a baby with extra, missing or webbed fingers and toes. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, January 2006

Researchers have known for years that smokers are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, but Swedish scientists now think they know why: Tobacco use makes it more likely that a rare genetic condition will trigger the body's immune system to attack itself. Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by inflammation in the joints and may stick around indefinitely, flaring up at certain times. According to researchers, smoking appears to double the risk that someone will get rheumatoid arthritis. The study findings appear in the January issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Avoid birth defects
Setting up a nursery, finding a pediatrician, picking out a name — planning for a new baby is a lot of work. But don't forget what's most important: a healthy, full-term pregnancy. About one in 28 babies is born with birth defects each year.* The cause is usually unknown or unavoidable. But you can reduce the risk of birth defects, even before you're pregnant, by taking these steps: http://www.humana.com/visitors/article1_1.asp

Bed-wetting
Bedwetting may occur because a child sleeps very deeply, according to Feldman and his colleagues. Ten to 15 percent of 5-year-olds and 6-8 percent of 8-year-olds wet the bed, they note. Parents hoping to help their children stay dry at night can take the following steps, the CPS states:
--make getting up at night to go to the bathroom a clear goal, and make the toilet easily accessible
--stay away from excess fluids and caffeine-containing foods before bed
--have the child urinate before bedtime
--stop using diapers at night, although training pants may be appropriate
--have the child help clean up the wet bed in the morning "in a nonpunitive manner"
--and "preserve the child's self-esteem."
Known scientifically as nocturnal enuresis, bedwetting should not be seen as a possible medical issue unless a child continues to wet the bed at least twice weekly past the age of five, according to the CPS. If bedwetting persists beyond age eight to ten, the group advises, psychological problems such as poor self esteem may be involved, making "reassurance, support, and avoidance of punishment and humiliation" particularly crucial.
The most effective treatment for bedwetting is an alarm device that goes off when the child wets the bed, according to CPS. Although it cures bedwetting less than half the time, the group states, alarms can be helpful for older, motivated children with motivated families when simpler approaches don't work.

The drug desmopressin is an effective short-term treatment for some children, and may be useful for camp or sleepovers, they add. Behavioral approaches such as rewards or waking the child to go to the bathroom can be helpful for some children, according to CPS, although they carry the risk of causing poor self-esteem in the child and frustrating the parents.

In general, bedwetting does not stem from a medical, psychological or emotional problem. But it can become a problem if parents, children, or physicians allow themselves to be bothered by it. Most children who wet the bed will outgrow it, and treatment is necessary only if bedwetting is upsetting to the child, according to new guidelines from the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS). Pediatrics & Child Health, December 2005.

Back Pain
Back pain is an extremely common condition, with four out of five Americans suffering from it at some point in their lives, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Fortunately, most back pain is short-term -- called acute. However, if back pain lasts longer than three months, it is considered chronic. People with chronic lower back pain can reap as much benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy as they do from physical therapy, a new Dutch study suggests. Results of the study appear in the Jan. 20 issue of the open access journal Musculoskeletal Disorders from BioMed Central.

Erectile Dysfunction is a Symptom of Heart Disease
Recent studies have tied erectile dysfunction to vascular disease, but this study links it with abnormal results on cardiac stress testing. One recent report found that men who had no problems with sexual function at the start of the seven-year study but later developed erectile dysfunction were 25 percent more likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared with those who did not develop erectile dysfunction. The latest study appears in the Jan. 23 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine. The study found that 54.8 percent of the men had some degree of erectile dysfunction. In addition, men with erectile dysfunction had poorer scores on exercise tests and other measures of coronary heart disease. These men also had evidence of significant coronary artery blockages. There is considerable evidence that vascular disease can be prevented or delayed through behavioral interventions.

Experts have long noted temporary light sensitivity and color vision problems as possible side effects of the two erectile dysfunction drugs, which are taken by an estimated 23 million American men. Reporting in the current issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology, the authors found that patients taking Viagra and/or Cialis who also had a history of heart attack were almost 11 times more likely to develop nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy than patients who had no similar heart history and did not take either medication.

Healing Monster
Researchers and doctors who treat the diabetes say that a drug derived from the Gila ( pronounced HEla) monster lizard's venom is one of the most powerful new treatments for diabetes in the past five to 10 years. The injectable drug, which is a synthetic version of the Gila's saliva, won Food and Drug Administration approval and has been on the market for six months.

Stress and Cardiovascular Health
A British study strengthens the link between on-the-job stress and the risk of heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular problems. People who report that their job is stressful are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome: a collection of cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, according to the report.

Consequences of Fatherlessness
Only one in six divorced fathers sees his children once a week or more. Almost 40 percent of children who live with their mothers haven't seen their fathers in at least a year. The bottom line is, fathers are vanishing from the social landscape, and as the following facts compiled by the National Fatherhood Initiative demonstrate, father absence has dramatic and extremely serious effects on us all:
Seventy-two percent of all teenaged murderers grew up without fathers. Sixty percent of rapists were raised in fatherless homes. Seventy percent of the kids now incarcerated in juvenile corrections facilities grew up in a single-parent environment. Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school as their classmates who live with two parents.Fatherless children are eleven times more likely than are children from intact families to exhibit violent behavior. Children whose fathers are absent consistently score lower than the norm in reading and math tests. Three of four teen suicides occur in single-parent families. Children who live apart from their fathers experience more accidents and a higher rate of chronic asthma, headaches, and speech defects. Eighty percent of the adolescents in psychiatric hospitals come from fatherless homes. Compared to girls raised in homes where both parents are present, the daughters of single parents are 164 percent more likely to become pregnant before marriage, 53 percent more likely to marry as teenagers, and 92 percent more likely to dissolve their own marriages.

A growing body of evidence establishes a high correlation between fatherlessness and violence among young men (especially violence against women).
The absence of a biological father increases by 900 percent a daughter's vulnerability to rape and sexual abuse (often these assaults are committed by stepfathers or the boyfriends of custodial mothers). Jeffery M. Leving's book, Fathers' Rights http://dadsrights.com/leving_book.html#Fatherlessness

Health and Nutrition

Issue 97