Saturday, May 21, 2011

Health Tips - Latest Health Research

I have a family history of diabetes, so I should be more worried about it than I am, but I will certainly try to keep my fat consumption down (with the occasional assistance of ALLI)

Lowering Fat Intake Might Stave Off Diabetes Even without Weight Loss



Small differences in diet – even without weight loss – can significantly affect risk for diabetes. In this study, 69 healthy, overweight people who did not have diabetes — but were at risk for it — were placed on diets with modest reductions in either fat or carbohydrate for eight weeks. At eight weeks, the group on the lower fat diet had significantly higher insulin secretion and better glucose tolerance and tended to have higher insulin sensitivity. These improvements indicate a decreased risk for diabetes.




This is no longer a concern of mine, but I’m glad I keep my cell phone usage to a minimum:

Cell phone use may reduce male fertility

I don’t drink coffee ( I used to think it was bad for me) but even if I started I doubt that I would drink 6 cups a day:


Coffee seems to lower the risk of lethal prostate cancer


A Harvard School of Public Health study of nearly 48,000 men found that those who drank more than six cups of coffee per day had a 60% reduced risk of developing lethal prostate cancer compared with nondrinkers.

The reduction in lethal prostate cancer risk was similar between decaf and regular coffee drinkers. Thus, the researchers conclude, caffeine isn’t the wonder element.


Coffee Reduces Breast Cancer Risk

Drinking coffee specifically reduces the risk of antiestrogen-resistant estrogen-receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer.


But on the other hand, maybe I was right about drinking coffee after all (and I guess I should avoid all these other activities as well – or maybe not all – I do get angry)


Drinking coffee, having sex are triggers that raise rupture risks for brain aneurysm


From drinking coffee to having sex to blowing your nose, you could temporarily raise your risk of rupturing a brain aneurysm — and suffering a stroke, according to a study published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Dutch researchers identified eight main triggers that appear to increase the risk of intracranial aneurysm (IA), a weakness in the wall of a brain blood vessel that often causes it to balloon. If it ruptures, it can result in a subarachnoid hemorrhage which is a stroke caused by bleeding at the base of the brain. The researchers identified the eight factors and their contribution to the risk as:

* Coffee consumption (10.6 percent)
* Vigorous physical exercise (7.9 percent)
* Nose blowing (5.4 percent)
* Sexual intercourse (4.3 percent)
* Straining to defecate (3.6 percent)
* Cola consumption (3.5 percent)
* Being startled (2.7 percent)
* Being angry (1.3 percent)


My only regular dairy consumption is no fat yogurt, but I guess I should stop avoiding the cheeses I really like:

Dairy consumption does not elevate heart attack risk


Dairy products can be high in harmful saturated fat but not necessarily in risk to the heart. A newly published analysis of thousands of adults in Costa Rica found that their levels of dairy consumption had nothing to do statistically with their risk of a heart attack.

Rather than suggesting that the saturated fats in dairy products are harmless, researchers hypothesize that other nutrients in dairy products are protective against heart disease, for all but perhaps the highest dairy consumption quintile in their study. The potentially beneficial nutrients include calcium, vitamin D, potassium, magnesium and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).


I really should take this to heart, and do some quick runs on off-days:

Brief, intense workouts most efficient & beneficial

I guess I should be glad I don’t have any effect on the risk of dying of the people I supervise, but their co-workers do;

Getting Along With Co-Workers May Prolong Life But Support from the Boss Has No Effect on Mortality




People who have a good peer support system at work may live longer than people who don't have such a support system, according research published by the American Psychological Association.

This effect of peer social support on the risk of mortality was most pronounced among those between the ages of 38 and 43. Yet similar support from workers' supervisors had no effect on mortality, the researchers found.

In addition, men who felt like they had control and decision authority at work also experienced this "protective effect." However, control and decision authority increased the risk of mortality among women in the sample.

Here are some other research reports released in the last two weeks that may be of interest:


Simple fitness test could predict long-term risk for heart attack, stroke



A 55-year-old man who needs 15 minutes to run a mile has a 30 percent lifetime risk of developing heart disease. In contrast, a 55-year-old who can run a mile in eight minutes has a lifetime risk of less than 10 percent.



Lack of exercise linked to higher heart disease

Parsley, Celery Component Fights Against Breast Cancer


Vitamin D deficiency associated with increased mortality

Rising PSA means prostate cancer is in patient's future

The Power of Placebos

Taking Additional Selenium Will Not Reduce Cancer Risk


Most At-Risk Patients Don’t Adhere To Statin Treatment, Despite Real Benefits

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