Good Example Of Essay On Focus Article 1

Section A

One cup of blueberries per day helps relieve high blood pressure and hardened arteries

Citation

Wilson, J. (2015, Jan 9). One cup of blueberries per day helps relieve high blood pressure and hardened arteries. Natural news. Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/048381_blueberries_blood_pressure_medicinal_food.html#ixzz3Vm77L1dB
Section B
This article was about the use of blueberries in relieving hypertension and hardening of arteries.
Section C
According to Wilson (2009), consumption of blueberries among postmenopausal women led to reduction in both high blood pressure and arterial stiffness. High blood pressure and arterial stiffness are some of the factors behind cardiovascular disease. Therefore, reduction of both factors may lead to a reduction in cardiovascular diseases in the long run.
Focus article 2
Section A
American Cancer Society, Komen Foundation deny link between bras and breast cancer.
Citation
Huff, E. A. (2014, Apr 4). American Cancer Society, Komen Foundation deny link between bras and breast cancer. Natural news. Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/045200_American_Cancer_Society_Komen_Foundation_bras.html#ixzz3VlzSoTQN
Section B
This article was about the impact of wearing bras on breast cancer risks.
Section C
According to Huff (2014) article, studies have linked wearing of bras to high cancer rates in women, though American Cancer Society denies any link between the two. The subject has, therefore, been controversial.
Section D
Chen, L., Malone, E. K., & Li, C. I. (2014). Bra wearing not associated with breast cancer risk: a population based case-control study. American Association for Cancer Research. Retrieved from http://www.aacr.org/Newsroom/Pages/News-Release-Detail.aspx?ItemID=588#.VRhX5-E7yug
McAnulty, L. S., Collier, S. R., Landram, M. J., Whitataker, D. S., Isaacs, S. E., Klemka, J. M. McAnulty, S. R. (2014). Six weeks daily ingestion of whole blueberry powder increases natural killer cell counts and reduces arterial stiffness in sedentary males and females. PMC, 34(7):577-584. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.
Section E
Summary of focus article 1
Consumption of blueberries has so many a number of health benefits in the daily lives of individuals. Some of these benefits are in terms of memory improvement, aiding digestion and lowering the risks of hypertension, arterial stiffness, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. In the article by Wilson (2015), researchers examined the effect of blueberry consumption on hypertension and arterial stiffness of postmenopausal women with hypertension. The participants consisted of a total of 48 women who had passed menopause stage and had prehypertension and stage 1 hypertension. The women were divided into two groups; experimental and control group. The experimental group were given 22 grams of blueberry powder daily for two months while control group were given the same amount of placebo powder for the same length of time.
Summary of Journal article 1
In another study to determine the effect of blueberry consumption on the number of natural killer cells counts and arterial stiffness in sedentary males and postmenopausal females, McAnulty et al (2014) recruited twenty five participants who were then randomly placed to experimental (n=13) and control groups (n=12). The hypothesis for the start was that daily blueberry intake could lead to an increase in natural killer cells and a reduction in blood pressure. The experimental group were administered with 250 grams of blue berry powder while the control group were given equal amounts of placebo. To determine if the treatment will have an effect on both blood pressure and arterial stiffness, the participants’ blood pressure and arterial stiffness data were taken before the start of the experiment and also at the end. The findings indicated that natural killer cells increased by 4% in the treatment groups. In addition, blue berry treatment lead to a significant decrease in blood pressures. However, there was no significant changes I the two variables in the control group.
Summary of focus article 2
The subject of whether wearing of bras is connected to breast cancer cases in women has been a bit controversial. In an article “American Cancer Society, Komen Foundation deny link between bras and breast cancer”, Huff (2014) brings out two opposite sides of the topic. On one hand, the author cited a credible research done by two medical anthropologists that squarely placed bra wearing to breast cancer in women. The study emphasizes that wearing of bra constricts lymphatic of breasts thus preventing their bodies from efficiently eliminating wastes which are to blame for breast cancers. In this study, 4000 women aged between 30 and 79 were recruited to participate. Despite the concrete findings, American Cancer Society, a respected organization, denies any association between bras and breast cancer.
Summary of Journal article 2
A study by Chen, Malone, and Li (2014) investigated the relationship between bra wearing and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women. For the study, the experimental group consisting of 454 women who had invasive ductal carcinoma diseases and 590 invasive lobular carcinoma diseases diagnosed between 2000 and 2004 were compared with 469 control women ranging from 55 to 74 years of age. Data on bra wearing behaviours and other breast cancer risk factors were gathered from participants via personal interviews. After the study, data analysis revealed that there was no relationship between bra wearing and increased breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women.
Section F
Personal position about the validity of claims made in focus articles
An article by Wilson (2015) that examined a research on the role of blue berries in reducing blood pressure and arterial stiffness found out that blood pressure is lowered after 8 weeks of consumption of the fruits. Similarly, a journal article by McAnulty et al (2014) reported the same findings. Based on the similarity in findings with the journal article, I find the focus article valid since they are fully supported by McAnulty et al (2014) findings.
The second focus article by Huff (2014) reported that though there are credible researches that have found out an association between bra wearing and the risk of breast cancer, American Cancer Society denies any association between bras and breast cancer. Similarly, Chen, Malone, and Li (2014) investigating the relationship between bra wearing and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women found out that no relationship between bra wearing and increased breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women. Based on the findings from the journal article, the focus article can be said to be highly valid.