The IAA One Minute Blog

While speaking “baby talk” to an infant can be cute and fun, it may also help babies learn to make words, according to a new study.

Baby Talk and Language Development

Mimicking the sound of a smaller vocal tract clues babies into how words should sound coming out of their own mouths, the researchers said.

The way adults instinctively speak to babies, using a higher pitch, slower speed and exaggerated pronunciation, appeals to them, research suggests. 

For this study, the team changed the frequency sounds to mimic either an infant or an adult vocal tract, and then tested how infants reacted to them.

Six to eight month old babies displayed a preference for vocal tracts that were similar to their own. However, four to six month old babies did not have a preference, suggesting that older babies’ dawning ability to control their voices and make words out of babble could be what makes the infant-like sounds more appealing, according to the researchers.

The study was published by the journal, “Speech, Language and Hearing.”

Talking With Your Baby

Eighty percent of a child’s brain physical development happens during their first three years. As their brain gets bigger, it also forms the connections it needs to think, learn and process information. These connections, called synapses, form at a super-fast rate, about 700 per second in the first few years. Speaking to your baby fires up those important synapses in the part of their brain that handles language. The more words they hear, the stronger those mental connections get. That process can strengthen your child’s future language skills and their overall ability to learn.

To get the most out of baby talk:

1. Talk with them often: Talkative parents tend to have talkative children.
2. Get some alone time with your infant: Baby talk is most beneficial when it is one-on-one between parent and child, with no other adults or children around.
3. When your baby tries to talk back to you, don’t interrupt or look away. They need to know you care about listening to them.
4. Look your child in the eyes: They’ll respond better to speech when they are looking right at you.
5. Limit how much TV they see and hear: Too much can stunt language growth.
6. Throw in some grownup speak too: Your baby needs to hear how words sound in everyday conversation.

Infants who get more baby talk know more words by age two than their peers.

What IAA has to Say

Who knew that baby talk could actually be helpful? Insurance Administrator of America wants you to know what is going on in the world of health. Keep up to date with IAA!

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Eating late at night may increase a person’s risk for glucose intolerance, or prediabetes, a new study found.

Late Night Meals and Glucose Levels

After assessing the effects of nighttime eating on nightshift workers, it appears that food consumption during the overnight hours causes a misalignment between the body’s central and peripheral circadian “clocks,” researchers said. Circadian clocks are the body’s natural time keepers that regulate physical, mental and behavioral changes throughout the day. 

Of the participants who were studied, those with the biggest disruption of their circadian system showed the largest impairment of glucose tolerance. Glucose intolerance results in high levels of sugar in the bloodstream, a precursor to Type 2 diabetes.

Nightshift workers, who typically sleep during the daytime and eat in the evening, have as much as a 60 percent higher risk for developing Type 2 diabetes compared with day-shift workers, research suggests. That is perhaps because of the body’s reduced ability to process sugars overnight.

For the study, the team assessed the effects of nighttime eating in 19 healthy young participants who stayed awake for 32 hours in a highly controlled, dimly lit environment, where they kept constant body posture and consumed identical snacks every hour. 

Following this period, the participants engaged in a simulated night work schedule and followed one of two eating schedules, researchers said. One group ate at night to simulate a schedule typical among nightshift workers, while the other ate during the day, thus aligning the meal schedule to that of the circadian clock. Then the participants followed a second, 40 hour constant routine schedule to assess the effects of the meal schedules on their circadian rhythms.

Participants who ate at night had increased blood glucose levels, while those who ate only during the day experienced no significant changes, the data showed.

In addition, nighttime eating reduced pancreatic beta-cell function, which impacted the participants’ ability to process sugars, the researchers said. Beta cells produce insulin, a hormone that helps the body process sugar.    

The results indicate that meal timing was primarily responsible for the reported effects on glucose tolerance and beta cell function. 

In addition to applying to nightshift workers, the findings could have implications for others who eat meals at atypical times, the researchers said.

The study was published in the journal “Science Advances.”

 Late Night Meals

What happens to your body when you eat late?

1. Your weight might go up: Nighttime snacking often leads to overeating, which can contribute to weight gain. And eating processed foods late at night can mess with a hormone called leptin, which tells you when you’re full. If leptin can’t signal you to stop eating, you may over eat unhealthy food, which can lead to weight gain overtime.
2. Your digestion may suffer: You digest best when you’re upright and gravity can help move food down through your digestive system. That is why laying in bed after a late-night meal can cause your stomach acid to flow back into your esophagus and give you acid reflux.
3. Your blood sugar might change: Processed high carb foods can cause unhealthy blood sugar spikes.

Those late night meals could have a lasting effect on your health.

What IAA has to Say

The world of health is constantly changing. That is why Insurance Administrator of America is here to keep you informed. Remember, with IAA one call does it all. 

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‘Tis the season to help those in need, but those who give their time and effort may be getting something in return.

Improving Health Through Giving

When it comes to helping others and your health, it might be better to give than to receive, a new study suggests.

Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 Americans between 34 and 84 about their social involvement and how much they thought they could rely on their family, friends or a spouse if they needed help.

On a key measure of health, chronic inflammation, positive social relationships were associated with lower inflammation only among respondents who said they were available to provide social support to family and friends. In other words, having people who support you may not help your health unless you’re also there when they need you, according to the findings.  

Preliminary data suggests that the connections between offering social support and health are strongest in women.

The findings were published online in the journal “Brain, Behavior and Immunity.”

Lending a Hand

Lending other people a hand not only can benefit them, but can help you as well:

1. Helping others feels good: There is some evidence to suggest that when you help others, it can promote physiological changes in the brain linked with happiness.
2. It creates a sense of belonging: Helping others can help us make new friends and connect with our community.
3. It gives you a sense of purpose: Studies show that volunteering enhances an individual’s overall sense of purpose and identity. This is because helping others can make you feel rewarded, fulfilled and empowered.
4. It’s contagious: One study found that people are more likely to perform acts of generosity after observing another do the same.
5. Helping others can help you live longer: Regular volunteering can improve your ability to manage stress and stave off disease, as well as increasing your sense of life satisfaction.
6. You’ll boost your self-esteem: People who volunteer have been found to have higher self-esteem and overall well-being.

It is also important to note, having a positive impact on someone else could help you change your outlook and attitude. Experts say that performing acts of kindness boosts your mood and ultimately makes you more optimistic and positive.

What IAA has to Say

Insurance Administrator of America encourages everyone to donate their time this holiday season. It not only benefits others, but can help you as well. IAA wishes you a happy and healthy holiday season!

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A new blood test may be more than 80 percent accurate at identifying people at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, a study found.

Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Disease

The test called PrecivityAD identifies those with elevated levels of the protein amyloid in the brain, researchers said. In people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, this protein accumulates in clusters in the brain called plaques, disrupting cognitive function.

These plaques, which form before the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear, typically are identified through PET scans of the brain. However, study data showed the PrecivityAD test can accurately predict levels of amyloid plaques people will have on PET scans 81 percent of the time, which researchers say may lead to earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Blood-based screening is a giant leap forward in detecting changes in the brain among people who do not yet show signs of memory loss.

Based on the results of the study, PrecivityAD will be used in a National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trial which seeks to identify ways to prevent Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, researchers said.  For the study, PrecivityAD will be used to identify participants at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, based on elevated amyloid levels.

About 6 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, making it the most common form of dementia, the Alzheimer’s Association estimates. 

Alzheimer’s Disease and the Brain

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that causes the brain to shrink and brain cells to die.

In Alzheimer’s disease, brain proteins fail to function normally, which disrupts the work of brain cells and triggers a series of toxic events. Neurons are damaged, lose connections to each other and eventually die.

The damage most often starts in the region of the brain that controls memory, but the process begins years before the first symptoms.

Alzheimer’s disease is not a preventable condition. However, a number of lifestyle risk factors for Alzheimer’s can be modified. Evidence suggests that a change in diet, exercise and habits—steps which help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease—may also lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. 

What IAA has to Say

Any new research into Alzheimer’s disease is something Insurance Administrator of America likes to hear about. Researchers are finding new information every day, and IAA wants to make sure you are in the know.

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New research suggests feeding eggs to infants could reduce their risk of developing an egg allergy later on.  

New Egg Allergy Study

For the study, researchers analyzed U.S. government data from more than 2,200 parents who were surveyed about their children’s eating habits and food allergies from birth to six years of age.

The study’s author found that children who hadn’t had egg introduced by 12 months were more likely to have egg allergy at six years of age.

Among the more than 2,200 parented surveyed, 0.6 percent reported an egg allergy in their children at one year of age, the study found.

Of the more than 1,400 parents who reported food allergy data on their children until age six, 0.8 percent reported an egg allergy at that age.

Children with egg allergy at ages one and six ate fewer eggs at 5, 6, 7, and 10 months of age than those without egg allergy, the researchers reported.

Since 2017, allergists and pediatricians have said that parents should introduce peanut product to children around the time they begin eating solid foods, to reduce the risk of peanut allergy.  Now it looks like eggs can follow that route as well.

Egg Allergy in Children

Eggs are one of the most common allergy-causing foods for children.  An immune system overreaction causes food allergies. For an egg allergy, the immune system mistakenly identifies certain egg proteins as harmful.

Egg allergy symptoms usually occur a few minutes to a few hours after eating eggs or food containing eggs.  Egg allergy reactions vary from person to person and usually occur soon after exposure to egg. Egg allergy symptoms can include:

• Asthma signs and symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or shortness of breath
• Digestive symptoms, such as cramps and nausea
• Nasal congestion, running nose and sneezing
• Skin inflammation or hives, the most common egg allergy reaction

Egg allergy can occur as early as infancy. Most children, but not all, outgrow their egg allergy before adolescence. 

What IAA has to Say

Insurance Administrator of America is here to bring you the latest health news. New guidelines and recommendations are happening all the time in healthcare so stay tuned for more updates. Remember, with IAA one call does it all.

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