Diet
Adding high-quality plant-based foods to diet decreases risk of deaths from heart disease
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 16 hours ago
As long as you don't count French fries and soda as healthy choices, it's never too late to increase your longevity and cut your risk of heart disease death by adding fruits and vegetables to your diet, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2019, a premier global exchange of the latest advances in population based cardiovascular science for researchers and clinicians. "Not all plant-based diets are equal, but boosting the intake of high-quality plant-base... more »
Low-carb diet tied to common heart rhythm disorder
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
Low-carb diets are all the rage, but can cutting carbohydrates spell trouble for your heart? People getting a low proportion of their daily calories from carbohydrates such as grains, fruits and starchy vegetables are significantly more likely to develop atrial fibrillation (AFib), the most common heart rhythm disorder, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session. The study, which analyzed the health records of nearly 14,000 people spanning more than two decades, is the first and largest to assess the relationship betw... more »
Want a healthy heart? Turn off the TV and eat a good breakfast
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
The small lifestyle choices we make each day add up when it comes to heart health. In a new two-pronged study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session, people who spent less time watching TV and regularly ate an energy-rich breakfast showed significantly less plaque and stiffness in their arteries, indicating a lower chance of developing heart disease or suffering a stroke. "Environmental and lifestyle factors are important but underestimated risk factors for cardiovascular diseases," said Sotirios Tsalamandris, MD, a cardiologist at the... more »
Mediterranean diet boosts endurance exercise within days
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
Researchers at Saint Louis University have found that eating a Mediterranean diet can improve athletes' endurance exercise performance after just four days. In a small study published in the *Journal of the American College of Nutrition*, investigators found that participants ran a 5K six percent faster after eating a Mediterranean diet than after eating a Western diet. Researchers found no difference between the two diets in performance in anaerobic exercise tests. The Mediterranean diet includes whole fruits and vegetables, nuts, olive oil and whole grains, and avoids red and pr... more »
Heart-healthy diets in early adulthood linked to better brain function in middle age
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, moderate in nuts, fish and alcohol and low in meat and full-fat dairy is associated with better cognitive performance in middle age, according to a study published in the March 6, 2019, online issue of *Neurology*®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Cognitive abilities include thinking and memory skills. "Our findings indicate that maintaining good dietary practices throughout adulthood can help to preserve brain health at midlife" said study author Claire T. McEvoy, PhD, of Queen's University Belfast in Northern I... more »
Updated dietary reference intakes for sodium and potassium
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reviews current evidence and updates intake recommendations known as the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for sodium and potassium that were established in 2005. Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium revises the Adequate Intakes (AIs), which are the best estimate of intakes assumed to be adequate in apparently healthy individuals. The report reaffirms the sodium AI for individuals ages 14-50, decreases the sodium AIs for children age 1-13, increases the sodium AIs for adults ages 51 and ol... more »
Tracking food leads to losing pounds
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 6 days ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *People who tracked weight and food using a free app lost pounds in a new Duke study. view more Credit: Duke University DURHAM, N.C. -- Without following a particular diet, overweight people who tracked daily food consumption using a free smartphone app lost a significant amount of weight in a new Duke University study. The results were achieved using automated, free tools, rather than expensive in-person interventions, suggesting a possible low-cost route to effective weight loss. "Free and low-cost weight loss apps have changed the ways that Americans manag... more »
Plant-based meals improve insulin and incretin secretion in those with type 2 diabetes
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
A plant-based diet improves the secretion of insulin and incretin hormones in those with type 2 diabetes, according to new research published in *Nutrients*. Researchers compared the effects of a plant-based meal to a meal containing meat on the hormone levels of a group of 20 men who have type 2 diabetes in a randomized crossover trial. The meals consisted of either a tofu-based veggie burger or a meat-based burger and contained the same amount of calories and ratio of macronutrients. The results show that participants' postprandial secretion of insulin increased more after the pl... more »
Thirty years of fast food: Greater variety, but more salt, larger portions, and added calories C
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Despite the addition of some healthful menu items, fast food is even more unhealthy for you than it was 30 years ago. An analysis of the offerings at 10 of the most popular US fast-food restaurants in 1986, 1991, and 2016, published in the *Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics*, demonstrates that fast-food entrees, sides, and desserts increased significantly in calories and sodium and entrees and desserts in portion size over time. It also shows that while the variety of entree, sides, and dessert options soared by 226 percent, new or discontinued items tended to be le... more »
Aging
Bone fractures increasing as seniors walk dogs to stay active
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
While walking a dog provides older Americans with a valuable outlet for regular, physical activity, a Penn Medicine study has shown that fractures related to these walks have more than doubled between 2004 and 2017 in patients 65 and older. In this population, 78 percent of the fractures occurred in women, with hip and upper extremity breaks being the most common. This study was published today in *JAMA Surgery*. The rise in injuries in this population is a result of two trends, the researchers say: increased pet ownership and a greater emphasis, in recent years, on physical activi... more »
Higher fitness level can determine longer lifespan after age 70
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
Researchers have uncovered one more reason to get off the couch and start exercising, especially if you're approaching your golden years. Among people over age 70, physical fitness was found to be a much better predictor of survival than the number of traditional cardiovascular risk factors in a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session. While high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and smoking are closely linked with a person's chance of developing heart disease, these factors are so common in older people that the total n... more »
Menopause symptoms nearly double the risk of chronic pain
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
In addition to the other health conditions affected by estrogen, it has also been shown to affect pain sensitivity. This finding was the basis of a study of more than 200,000 records from the Veterans Health Administration that demonstrated a link between menopause symptoms and chronic pain. Study results are published online today in *Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)*. Women are more likely than men to report common chronic pain conditions such as back pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis, and osteoarthritis. Women with these conditions additionally r... more »
Attitudes about health affect how older adults engage with negative health news
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago
To get older adults to pay attention to important health information, preface it with the good news about their health. That's one takeaway from a study that found older adults are more willing to engage with negative health information when they have a positive attitude about their health. "There's a lot of research showing that older adults prefer positive information, often avoiding or ignoring negative information," says Tom Hess, a professor of psychology at North Carolina State University and co-author of a paper on the new findings. "That can have consequences for older adult... more »
Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 6 days ago
Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neuropathy, spinal cord damage and multiple sclerosis, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. The study not only found medical marijuana may be safe and effective, it also found that one-third of participants reduced their use of opioids. However, the study was retr... more »
Resistance training even as little as once per week benefits older individuals
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
According to a recent research, resistance training improves the health of over 65-year-olds, and the benefits occur even when some people train as little as once per week. The benefits show in improvements in blood values, muscle strength and mental well-being. "We found that individuals who were close to having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood glucose, or high levels of inflammation improved the most after our 9-month training program. Training two or three times per week didn't provide greater benefit in these individuals," says Dr. Simon Walker of the Faculty o... more »
Medicine and Supplements
Statins linked to higher diabetes risk
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
Individuals who take cholesterol-lowering statins may be at higher risk for developing high blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, and eventually type 2 diabetes, according to an analysis published in the *British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology*. The analysis examined information from 9,535 individuals older than 45 years of age who were free from diabetes at the start of the population-based Rotterdam Study and were followed up to 15 years. Compared with participants who never used statins, those who used statins tended to have higher concentrations of serum fasting insulin and... more »
Many benefits of aspirin: cardiovascular disease and migraines, decrease risks of colorectal cancer and delay cognitive loss as well as reduce the development of type 2 diabetes
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 19 hours ago
Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., senior author of a report on underutilization of aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer as well as recurrent polyps in these high risk patients in the *American Journal of Medicine* was the first to demonstrate that aspirin significantly reduces a first heart attack as well as recurrent heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular death when given within 24 hours after onset of symptoms of a heart attack as well as to a wide variety of patients who have survived a blockage in the heart, brain or legs. His landmark and first discoveries on aspirin... more »
Nutritional supplements cannot prevent depression
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago
A daily intake of nutritional supplements won't help stave off the onset of depression, a new study has revealed. Instead, regular lifestyle coaching to help people improve their diets and eating behavior may provide a more effective method for people to prevent major depressive disorder. The study is published in the *Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)* on Tuesday, March 5th 2019. A team of international researchers, including Professor Ed Watkins from the University of Exeter, has conducted a pivotal new study into whether nutritional supplements available in the ... more »
Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 6 days ago
Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neuropathy, spinal cord damage and multiple sclerosis, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. The study not only found medical marijuana may be safe and effective, it also found that one-third of participants reduced their use of opioids. However, the study was retr... more »
Exercise
Resistance training may help prevent type 2 diabetes
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
A new study published in *Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews* points to the benefits of exercise, especially resistance training (RT), for preventing type 2 diabetes. In the randomized controlled trial, 172 people who were 55 to 75 years old and had prediabetes were assigned to a control group, an aerobic training (AT) group, an RT group, or an AT plus RT group. Supervised exercise programmes were completed for 60 minutes per day, three non-consecutive days per week for 24 months. Follow-up data were available for 137 participants. The incidence of type 2 diabetes was decrea... more »
Training beyond exhaustion can prevent learning skills
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago
Researchers have found that muscle fatigue caused by overexertion when practicing a skill can affect the task in hand and impair learning afterwards. The findings, published in the open-access journal *eLife*, suggest that the common practice of training beyond fatigue should be reconsidered as it could do more harm than good. The saying goes that 'practice makes perfect'. And although intense repetition of motor skills is a routine part of learning in many disciplines - from playing a musical instrument to becoming a better artist, a faster runner or perfecting intricate surgical ... more »
Resistance training even as little as once per week benefits older individuals
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
According to a recent research, resistance training improves the health of over 65-year-olds, and the benefits occur even when some people train as little as once per week. The benefits show in improvements in blood values, muscle strength and mental well-being. "We found that individuals who were close to having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood glucose, or high levels of inflammation improved the most after our 9-month training program. Training two or three times per week didn't provide greater benefit in these individuals," says Dr. Simon Walker of the Faculty o... more »
General Health
Women of childbearing age have staggeringly low rates of lipid screening
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
Eight out of 10 women of childbearing age have never had their cholesterol levels checked, despite clear guidelines to get a first lipid blood test early in adulthood, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session. The study, which researchers say is the first to highlight real world lipid screening patterns in young women, calls attention to important gaps to optimally identify people with elevated cholesterol levels, as well as those with genetic cholesterol disorders, including familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and i... more »
Blue-enriched white light to wake you up in the morning
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 17 hours ago
[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *Figure 1. Changes in melatonin secretion during day and night time. view more Credit: KAIST Here is a good news for those of who have difficulty with morning alertness. A KAIST research team proposed that a blue-enriched LED light can effectively help people overcome morning drowsiness. This study will provide the basis for major changes in future lighting strategies and thereby help create better indoor environments. Considerable research has been devoted to unmasking circadian rhythms. The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Jeffrey C. Hall,... more »
Being overweight may be linked to better survival from stroke
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago
It may seem counterintuitive, but having some extra body fat may be linked to an increased chance of surviving a stroke, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. Medical experts call such an occurrence the obesity paradox. The obesity paradox is a medical theory that suggests obesity may be protective for some people, such as very old people or those with certain chronic diseases. "It was first noticed that carrying extra weight may play a role in survival ... more »
Sensitivity to emotions changes across the lifespan
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 5 days ago
Why do we become more positive as we grow older? Why are adolescents so sensitive to negative social cues? These are a few of the questions addressed in "Emotion Sensitivity Across the Lifespan: Mapping Clinical Risk Periods to Sensitivity to Facial Emotion Intensity," a new paper published in the *Journal of Experimental Psychology: General*. The paper presents findings from a groundbreaking study examining how people of all ages detect subtle changes in social cues. McLean Hospital's Lauren A. Rutter, PhD, Laura Germine, PhD, Ipsit Vahia, MD, Brent P. Forester, MD, MSc, and Kerry... more »
Sleeping in on the weekend won't repay your sleep debt
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 6 days ago
Think sleeping in on the weekend can repair the damage from a week of sleepless nights? Not so, according to University of Colorado Boulder research published today in *Current Biology*. In fact, on some health measures, trying to play catch-up for a few days and then returning to poor sleep habits makes things worse. "Our findings suggest that the common behavior of burning the candle during the week and trying to make up for it on the weekend is not an effective health strategy," said senior author Kenneth Wright, director of the Sleep and Chronobiology Lab. Previous research h... more »
Mindfulness could promote positive body image
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 6 days ago
Making people more aware of their own internal body signals, such as heartbeat or breathing rate, could promote positive body image, according to new research published in the journal *Body Image*. Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University recruited a sample of 646 adults and found that there were statistically significant relationships between people's interoceptive awareness - the extent to which people are aware of internal signals given out by the body such as heartbeat or feelings of discomfort or hunger - and body image. While previous studies on the subject have tended to recr... more »
Lowering blood pressure and cholesterol may not improve thinking and memory
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
While drugs that lower blood pressure and cholesterol have been shown to be beneficial for heart health, a new study has found that two such drugs may not provide a similar benefit to the brain. The study, published in the February 27, 2019, online issue of *Neurology*®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that when older people took candesartan plus hydrochlorothiazide to lower blood pressure or rosuvastatin to lower cholesterol, or a combination of the two, the drugs did not slow decline in thinking and memory. "Heart disease has been linked to problem... more »
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