There’s been plenty of questioning reports in the media about the health hazards of bisphenol A or BPA plastic used for drinking bottles and in the lining of food cans. A new study suggests one more snag in the man-made material: It might block the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments for cancer patients.

The research, published in the most recent issue of the medical journal Environmental Health Perspectives, adds to the high suspicion that BPA is already involved in cancer developing in the body. BPA is documented as similar in chemical structure to the cancer-promoting agent diethystilbesytrol or DES.

Short science lesson: DES causes cancer cells to multiply, while it appears that BPA acts to protect existing cancer cells from damage in a sort of same-chemical-family way. In the case of chemotherapy, the BPA calls for additional proteins that in turn neutralize chemotherapy medications. University of Cincinnati researchers discovered this dastardly symbiosis in lab tests.

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You might say it’s about time to jolt the federal government into taking a closer look at energy drinks.

Dozens of the nation’s top nutrition researchers and food scientists recently petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the alarming amount of caffeine in many energy drinks. Here is an excerpt of what those professionals wrote as a research review document to the FDA, including clear action steps for addressing a health consumer issue that affects a significant amount of pre-teens, teens and adults.

“The review analyzes several problems related to the use and marketing of energy drinks, with information and suggestions we hope will be helpful for the development of FDA regulatory policy regarding this relatively new and rapidly growing segment of consumer products.

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That junk food causes about one third of worldwide heart attacks is not exactly an all-points health bulletin. It seems logical that fried foods and salty snacks clog arteries and weaken cardiovascular function. What’s noteworthy is this percentage is documented in a new study of 52 countries that generally follow a “Westernized” diet. That’s a lot of heart attacks caused by our fast-food culture.

The Western diet features meat, eggs and junk food (including French fries, anything deep fried, the copious snack chips available in supermarkets, processed sweets such as cookies and cakes). Along with questioning 16,000 patients, researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, collected blood samples and requested that each participant fill out a detailed report on their individual eating habits over four years.

In contrast, the study authors discovered those respondents who ate more fruits and vegetables had a lower risk. The research was published in the latest issue of the medical journal Circulatio.

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In the spirit of the political season, as a final stamp on Sleep Power Week, the Alternative Health Blog endorses…naps! Science makes a strong pitch for regular power napping, either as it fits into your weekdays or, still effectively, on weekends.

University of California-San Diego researcher Sara Mednick has devoted a good portion of her professional career to studying the positive effect of naps. In one study, she compared a group of volunteer subjects who napped for 90 minutes (which seems long) compared to a second group that drank 200 milligrams of caffeine (equivalent to two strong cups of coffee, three generous shots of espresso or three to four colas). A third group acted as a control group, taking purported caffeinated beverages without any actual caffeine. On subsequent skills tests for typing and spatial recognition, the caffeinated group performed significantly worse than the control group. Plus, the nappers made fewer mistakes than both groups.

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How much sleep in enough? There is no one right answer, despite what you might have been told time and again about getting eight hours per night. Well, there are some wrong answers, including anyone who insists four to five hours of slumber is enough.

The National Sleep Foundation, which conducts yearly surveys on Americans’ sleep habits and serves as clearinghouse for researcher and consumer groups, suggests a healthy total for adults is seven to nine hours nightly, while teens are better off with 8.5 to 9.5 and five- to 12-year-olds need somewhere between nine and 11 hours. Notice there is a range for each age category; even babies are deemed to require 14 to 18 hours.

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Some of the newest and most welcome sleep research indicates that getting enough slumber can help your build muscle and burn fat. Hmm, sounds good, sleep more and shed the pounds. What’s more, other studies show that even “partial sleep deprivation” can lead to an increased appetite for both more overall calories and more empty-calorie foods such as candy and cookies.

The esteemed University of Chicago sleep lab performed the appetite study. Volunteer subjects (all healthy young men) who slept only four hours per night for just two nights experienced an 18 percent reduction in leptin, the brain hormone that tells the body to stop eating. Plus, the subjects’ ghrelin levels increased 28 percent, on average, in the same two nights. Ghrelin is a hormone that leads us to feel hungry.

(Yeah, know what you are thinking…man, my ghrelin level is high right now…at least, mine always seems to be, especially when blogging.)

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Don’t look now, but sleep is catching on in the corporate world. It’s all in the name of creativity. Research shows sleep helps us to reorganize and more originally connect our thoughts, which in turn leads to a more creative result.

That’s why 21st century companies like Google and Cisco Systems along with long-established brand maker Proctor & Gamble have installed “EnergyPod” leather recliners in their offices to allow employees to take naps. The recliner blocks out noise and light for the most efficient power sleep.

Universities, including Tufts and Wellesley among about a dozen schools in Massachusetts, have established “get your sleep” campaigns to encourage students to get enough rest. The campus awareness efforts are squarely aimed at convincing students they will stand to get better grades with more slumber and fewer all-nighters.

See what we mean by this Sleep Power Week stuff?

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Sleep problems are common enough and no doubt the current economy is affecting our ZZZs. One of every five Americans has trouble sleeping through the night, and about a third of us will have face a significant bout of insomnia some time in our lives. Yet 80 percent of those adults don’t turn to alternative health therapies for relief. Research shows they are missing out.

Individuals who use either herbal remedies or relaxation techniques report improved sleep and more energy in their daily lives. Even so, optimal sleep starts with evaluating whether your diet is affecting your slumber.

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The most underrated health strategy—by far—is getting enough sleep. That’s why it is “Sleep Power Week” at the Alternative Health Blog. Studies are clear that adequate sleep helps us burn more fat. Plus, shorting ourselves on slumber can accelerate onset of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

Not exactly what you thought sleep might accomplish, right? Burning more fat, even while sleeping, sounds like a good deal. But adequate sleep means good sleep habits or what researchers like to call “sleep hygiene.” Here are science-based suggestions from sleep researchers at the University of Maryland and Stanford University:

Maintain regular bedtimes and wakeup times. Try to keep to the schedule most every day. If you have to deviate with bedtimes, awaking at roughly the same time each day will still be quite effective for getting the deepest sleep.

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As a healing art, yoga has been a popular part of humanity for centuries. So it isn’t surprising that a number of studies show yoga not only improves strength, flexibility and balance but also can, say, reduce blood pressure or lessen joint pain in rheumatoid arthritis patients. But the scientific emergence of yoga nonetheless helps convince the medical community (both doctors and health insurance plans) that yoga can fit into any recovery or wellness program.

The American Council of Exercise, which certifies personal trainers and fitness instructors, commissioned a recent University of Wisconsin–La Crosse study to determine if yoga can increase strength, flexibility and aerobic endurance. The researchers recruited 34 sedentary women and enrolled about half in a three-times weekly hatha yoga class. Compared to the control group, after two months the women from yoga class could perform six more pushups and 14 more sit-ups, on average.

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