Your health

Mealtime helicopters

Most parents probably realize that forcing a kid to finish everything on his plate can backfire - at least in theory. Turns out there can be consequences the very next day.

In a Cornell University study, preschoolers whose parents told them to clean their plates at home ate more Froot Loops during snack time the following morning. For the study, the children were allowed to fill their own cereal bowls.

"We found that the more controlling parents were about telling their child to clean their plate, the more likely the kids, especially the boys, were to request larger portions of sweetened cereal at day care," said lead author Brian Wansink.

Researchers said parents should offer moderate portions of a variety of foods, encourage children to at least try all of them and let them decide how much to eat.

Grab a pencil

Your co-worker who doodles during a meeting might be paying better attention than you are.

In a new study, subjects who doodled while listening to a dull phone message had a 29 percent better recall than the nondoodlers. Doodling apparently puts the brakes on daydreaming, which is what many people do when they are bored.

"This study suggests that in everyday life doodling may be something we do because it keeps us on track with a boring task, rather than being an unnecessary distraction that we should try to resist doing," said psychologist Jackie Andrade, one of the researchers. The study was published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology.

Spice of life

Marigold-yellow turmeric - a spice used in many Indian foods - is also known for its antibiotic, antiviral and anti-cancer properties.

As a child in India, University of Michigan researcher Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy drank turmeric-laced tea when he had a cold and breathed turmeric-infused steam to clear his stuffy nose. Now, he's discovered that turmeric works by inserting itself into cell membranes to make them more orderly, improving the cell's resistance to infection and cancer.

"The membrane goes from being crazy and floppy to being more disciplined and ordered, so that information flow through it can be controlled," Ramamoorthy said.

The researchers are now looking at the spice's effect on the formation of amyloids - proteins involved in type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and Parksinson's disease.

Art contest

Kids can win a trip to Washington, D.C., and up to $500 in a national art contest to illustrate the theme "Protecting Children from Tobacco Smoke."

"This is an opportunity for children to exercise their creative side to alert other children - and parents - to the dangers of tobacco and secondhand smoke," said Dr. David Tayloe, president of Elk Grove Village-based American Academy of Pediatrics.

Visit aap.org for rules, official entry forms and consent forms.

- Anna Madrzyk