Key takeaways:
Good: Seeing/smelling coffee, stable resting heart rate, moving more, muscle power rather than muscle strength, smiling, replacing red meat with healthy plant proteins, creatine for vegetarians.
Diet
Smelling coffee gives rise to the beverage's psychoactive, arousing effects
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 5 hours ago
New international research by Monash University and the University of Toronto has found that the placebo effect of coffee can heighten arousal, ambition and focus in regular drinkers without them actually consuming the beverage. Dr Eugene Chan, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the Monash Business School, and Sam Maglio, Associate Professor of Marketing and Psychology at the University of Toronto, explored the association between coffee and arousal to see if the brain's exposure to stimuli could deliver the same cognitive benefits as a caffeine buzz. "As long as individuals see a con... more »
FDA allows the low-calorie sweetener allulose to be excluded from total and added sugars counts
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 10 hours ago
The latest data suggests that allulose is different from other sugars in that it is not metabolized by the human body in the same way as table sugar. It has fewer calories, produces only negligible increases in blood glucose or insulin levels, and does not promote dental decay. As such, we’ve issued guidance today stating that we intend to exercise enforcement discretion to allow allulose to be excluded from the total and added sugars declarations on the Nutrition Facts and Supplement Facts labels when allulose is used as an ingredient. Allulose will still count towards the calori... more »
Labeling added sugars content could lower heart disease/diabetes risk
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago
A label showing added sugars content on all packaged foods and sugary drinks could have substantial health and cost-saving benefits in the United States over the next 20 years, according to a new study published in the American Heart Association's journal *Circulation*. Using a validated model, researchers were able to estimate a significant reduction in cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes cases from 2018 to 2037, if such a mandated addition to the Nutrition Label was implemented. Poor diet, especially with overconsumption of sugar, is a known, preventable cause of cardiovascu... more »
Diet rich in animal protein is associated with a greater risk of death
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
A diet rich in animal protein and meat in particular is not good for the health, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland finds, providing further backing for earlier research evidence. Men who favoured animal protein over plant-based protein in their diet had a greater risk of death in a 20-year follow-up than men whose diet was more balanced in terms of their sources of protein. The findings were published in the *American Journal of Clinical Nutrition*. Men whose primary sources of protein were animal-based had a 23% higher risk of death during the follow-up than men wh... more »
Substituting healthy plant proteins for red meat lowers risk for heart disease
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Diets that replaced red meat with healthy plant proteins led to decreases in risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Purdue University. The study is the first meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials examining the health effects of red meat by substituting it for other specific types of foods. The study was published in the journal *Circulation*. "Previous findings from randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of red meat on cardiovascular disease risk factors have been inconsistent. B... more »
Mothers of infants prefer facts, not criticism, about the health risks of sugary drinks
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
A new study at Columbia University suggests that giving mothers plain facts about the health risks of consuming sugary drinks during pregnancy and early childhood may offer a new strategy to reduce childhood obesity. The study was published in the journal *Academic Pediatrics*. *Why It's Important* Obesity affects approximately 18 percent of children in the U.S. Recent studies show that obesity is growing fastest among young children between the ages of 2 to 5 years. "Emerging evidence suggests that regular consumption of sugary beverages, either by the mother during pregnancy or by ... more »
Nutrients from food, not supplements, linked to lower risks of death, cancer
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Adequate intake of certain nutrients is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality when the nutrient source is foods, but not supplements, according to a new study. There was no association between dietary supplement use and a lower risk of death. In addition, excess calcium intake was linked to an increased risk of cancer death, which the researchers found was associated with supplemental doses of calcium exceeding 1,000 mg/day. The study was published on April 9 in *Annals of Internal Medicine*. "As potential benefits and harms of supplement use continue to be studied, som... more »
Healthy diet helps older men maintain physical function
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
A person's ability to maintain independence and to physically care for themselves is an essential part of healthy aging. But few studies have examined how a person's diet may allow some aging people to maintain physical function -- basic everyday tasks like bathing, getting dressed, carrying groceries or walking up a flight of stairs -- while others' abilities diminish. A new study by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital examines the role of a healthy diet and finds that this highly modifiable factor can have a large influence on maintaining physical function, lowering t... more »
New study exonerates refined grains
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
- A new study published this week in *Advances in Nutrition*, a peer-reviewed medical journal from the American Society of Nutrition, boldly substantiates that refined grains have gotten a bad rap. Extensive analyses of the existing body of published studies show that refined grain consumption is not associated with any of the chronic diseases to which it usually is attributed. As a result, this study illustrates that current dietary recommendations to reduce refined grain consumption conflict with the substantial body of published scientific evidence. The study encompassed 11 meta-a... more »
Moderate alcohol consumption raises risk of stroke
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Although high alcohol intake is dangerous, 1 in many prospective studies moderate intake (about one to two drinks per day, or 100 g of alcohol per week) is associated with somewhat lower incidence of stroke and myocardial infarction than no alcohol intake. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 However, these apparently protective associations do not necessarily mean that moderate alcohol intake itself is protective against either condition. For, poor health might affect alcohol consumption (reverse causality), and other systematic differences might exist between people with different drinking pa... more »
Aging
Brain stimulation reverses age-related memory loss
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 5 hours ago
Memory in older adults restored to young adult level Northwestern University - Stimulation targets memory brain regions disrupted by age - Rebuilds part of memory that helps you recall where you left your keys - Scientists will also test technique on early-stage Alzheimer's patients Stimulating a precise location of the brain's memory center with electromagnetic pulses improves the memory of older adults with age-related memory loss to the level of young adults, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. "Older people's memory got better up to the level that we could ... more »
Electrostimulation can improve working memory in people
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago
In a groundbreaking study published in *Nature Neuroscience*, Rob Reinhart, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University and BU doctoral researcher John Nguyen, demonstrate that electrostimulation can improve the working memory of people in their 70s so that their performance on memory tasks is indistinguishable from that of 20-year-olds. Reinhart and Nguyen's research targets working memory--the part of the mind where consciousness lives, the part that is active whenever we make decisions, reason, and recall our grocery lists. Working memory start... more »
Low scam awareness in old age may be an early sign of impending cognitive decline and dementia
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 8 hours ago
------------------------------ Low scam awareness in older people is associated with risk for developing Alzheimer dementia or mild cognitive impairment in the future. These findings suggest that changes in social judgment occur before changes in thinking or memory are recognizable. Findings from a prospective cohort study are published in *Annals of Internal Medicine*. Identifying predictors of dementia and mild cognitive impairment is critically important, but which aspects of behavior to target remains unclear. Older adults frequently are targeted by con-artists and are highly v...
Study identifies factors for healthy memory at any age
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
University of Alberta neuroscientists have identified different factors for maintaining healthy memory and for avoiding memory decline in those over age 55, according to a new study. The results have implications for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease through targeted early intervention efforts. Memory decline is one of the first signs of cognitive and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. Understanding and designing interventions for memory decline is critical for efforts toward preventing or delaying these illnesses. "We found different risk factors for stabl... more »
Cognitive training for adults with mild cognitive impairment
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Researchers at the Center for BrainHealth®, part of The University of Texas at Dallas, investigated the effects of combining two non-pharmacological interventions for adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): eight semi-weekly sessions of Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART), a cognitive training program shown to improve reasoning and ability to extract the bottom-line message from complex information; and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) over the left frontal region, an area associated with cognitive control and memory recovery success in people wi... more »
Sleep
Common sleep myths compromise good sleep and health
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago
People often say they can get by on five or fewer hours of sleep, that snoring is harmless, and that having a drink helps you to fall asleep. These are, in fact, among the most widely held myths about sleeping that not only shape poor habits, but may also pose a significant public health threat, according to a new study publishing online in *Sleep Health* on April 16. Researchers from NYU School of Medicine reviewed more than 8,000 websites to identify the 20 most common assumptions about sleep. With a team of sleep medicine experts, they ranked them based on whether each could be ... more »
Exercise
Despite transition period, maximal running shoes may still increase risk of injury
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago
Oregon State University [image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *A runner wears maximal shoes in the FORCE Lab at OSU-Cascades. view more Credit: Rob Kerr/OSU-Cascades BEND, Ore. - A six-week transition period did not help wearers adjust to "maximal" running shoes, indicating that increased impact forces and loading rates caused by the shoe design do not change over time, a new study from Oregon State University - Cascades has found. The shoes, which feature increased cushioning, particularly in the forefoot region of the midsole, affect runners' biomechanics, leaving them at increased risk of inju... mor
Move more to live longer
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 4 days ago
Improving fitness doesn't require doing activities you don't like. That's the main message of research presented today at EuroPrevent 2019. The largest study to date of cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy people found that moving more is linked to living longer, regardless of age, sex, and starting fitness level. "People think they have to start going to the gym and exercising hard to get fitter," said study author Dr Elin Ekblom-Bak, of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm. "But it doesn't have to be that complicated. For most people, just being more active... more »
Ability to lift weights quickly can mean a longer life
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 4 days ago
Prolong your life by increasing your muscle power. That's the main message of a study presented today at EuroPrevent 2019, a congress of the European Society of Cardiology.1 "Rising from a chair in old age and kicking a ball depend more on muscle power than muscle strength, yet most weight bearing exercise focuses on the latter," said study author Professor Claudio Gil Araújo, director of research and education, Exercise Medicine Clinic - CLINIMEX, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "Our study shows for the first time that people with more muscle power tend to live longer." Power depends on t... more »
High-intensity interval training increases injuries
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
People who engage in high-intensity interval training are at greater risk for injury, especially in the knees and shoulders, a Rutgers study found. These workouts, which combine aerobic exercising, weight lifting and calisthenics at maximum capacity, followed by periods of recovery, have been growing in popularity over the past decade, driven by the efficiency of the exercise to deliver fitness goals in less time. The study, which appears in the *Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness*, acknowledged that while this type of training is effective in improving cardiorespirato... more »
General Health
Mid-life resting heart rate of 75 plus beats/minute linked to doubling in early death risk
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 8 hours ago
A resting heart rate of 75 beats per minute in mid-life is linked to a doubling in the risk of an early death from all causes-at least among men-reveals research published in the online journal *Open Heart*. And an increase in the rate for men in their 50s is associated with a heightened risk of heart disease over the next 11 years, the findings show. Resting heart rate-the number of heart beats per minute when the body is at rest-usually changes with age, with lower rates indicative of better cardiovascular fitness and more efficient heart function. A r... more »
Smiling really can make people feel happier
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 6 days ago
Smiling really can make people feel happier, according to a new paper published in *Psychological Bulletin*. Coauthored by researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Texas A&M, the paper looked at nearly 50 years of data testing whether facial expressions can lead people to feel the emotions related to those expressions. "Conventional wisdom tells us that we can feel a little happier if we simply smile. Or that we can get ourselves in a more serious mood if we scowl," said Nicholas Coles, UT PhD student in social psychology and lead researcher on the paper. "But psyc... more »
Low cholesterol linked to higher risk of bleeding stroke in women
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol reduces the risk of heart attacks and stroke, with an ideal value below 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). But can it be too low? A new study finds that women who have levels of LDL cholesterol 70 mg/dL or lower may be more than twice as likely to have a hemorrhagic stroke than women with LDL cholesterol levels from 100 to 130 mg/dL. The study is published in the April 10, 2019, online issue of *Neurology*®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. LDL cholesterol is called bad cholesterol because it can lead to ... more »
Stress-related disorders linked to heightened risk of cardiovascular disease
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Stress related disorders--conditions triggered by a significant life event or trauma--may be linked to a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), finds a large Swedish study published in *The BMJ* today. The risk of severe and acute CVD events, such as cardiac arrest and heart attack, was particularly high in the first six months after diagnosis of a stress related disorder, and within the first year for other types of CVD. Most people are, at some point during their life, exposed to psychological trauma or stressful life events such as the death of a loved one, a diagnosis ... more »
Caregiving not as bad for your health as once thought
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
For decades, articles in research journals and the popular press alike have reported that being a family caregiver takes a toll on a person's health, boosting levels of inflammation and weakening the function of the immune system. Now, after analyzing 30 papers on the levels of immune and inflammatory molecules in caregivers, Johns Hopkins researchers say the link has been overstated and the association is extremely small. Caregiver stress explains less than 1 percent of the variability in immune and inflammation biomarkers, they report. Their new meta-analysis was published March... more
Teeth whitening products can harm protein-rich tooth layer
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Americans spend more than a billion dollars on teeth whitening products each year. Although these products can make smiles brighter, new research shows that they might also be causing tooth damage. In three new studies, researchers found that hydrogen peroxide, the active ingredient in over-the-counter whitening strips, can damage the protein-rich dentin tissue found beneath the tooth's protective enamel. Undergraduates working in the laboratory of Kelly Keenan, PhD, associate professor of chemistry at Stockton University in New Jersey, will present this research at the American So... more »
Supplements, medications
Sunscreen use could lead to better blood vessel health
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
A new study suggests that sunscreen protects the skin's blood vessel function from harmful ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure by protecting dilation of the blood vessels. Perspiration on the skin may also provide protection to the skin's blood vessels from sun damage. The findings will be presented today at the American Physiological Society's (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2019 in Orlando, Fla. UVR from the sun has been well-documented as a contributing factor to skin cancer and premature skin aging. UVR has also been found to reduce nitric oxide-associated dilatio... more »
Dietary supplement creatine boosts cognitive function in vegetarians
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Vegetarians who take the dietary supplement creatine may enjoy improved brain function, according to a new study. The research will be presented today at the American Physiological Society's (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2019 in Orlando, Fla. Creatine is a chemical stored in the muscles and brain that helps build lean muscle. In addition to being produced by the human body, creatine is also naturally occurring in red meats and seafood--and in smaller amounts, dairy products. People who do not eat animal products generally have lower creatine levels in the brain th... more »
High doses of vitamin D can lead to kidney failure
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
A case study in *CMAJ* highlights the dangers of taking too much vitamin D. A 54-year-old man, after returning from a trip to Southeast Asia where he spent much of his holiday sunbathing, showed increased levels of creatinine, suggesting kidney damage or malfunction. After referral to a kidney specialist and further testing, it was discovered that he had been prescribed high doses of vitamin D by a naturopath, who recommended a dose of 8 drops every day. Over 2 ½ years, the patient, who did not have a history of bone loss or vitamin D deficiency, took 8-12 drops of vitamin D daily, ... more »
Nutrients from food, not supplements, linked to lower risks of death, cancer
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Adequate intake of certain nutrients is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality when the nutrient source is foods, but not supplements, according to a new study. There was no association between dietary supplement use and a lower risk of death. In addition, excess calcium intake was linked to an increased risk of cancer death, which the researchers found was associated with supplemental doses of calcium exceeding 1,000 mg/day. The study was published on April 9 in *Annals of Internal Medicine*. "As potential benefits and harms of supplement use continue to be studied, som... more »
You're probably not allergic to vaccines
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
There is little chance you are actually allergic to vaccines and, if you are, your allergist can give it to you. Only one in 760,000 vaccinations will respond with anaphylaxis. For all other side effects, there are ways around any problem. Five facts about allergies to vaccines, pulled together by two McMaster University physicians, were published today in the *Canadian Medical Association Journal* (*CMAJ*). Derek Chu is a fellow in clinical immunology and allergy in the Department of Medicine and Zainab Abdurrahman is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics... more »
Anti-inflammatory medicines can have a beneficial effect on depression
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
The World Health Organization (WHO) calls depression one of the most serious mental disorders, and researchers around the world are trying to improve treatment of the disease. Now in the largest meta-analysis ever carried out, researchers from iPSYCH have shown that medicine which inhibits inflammation such as e.g. arthritis medicine can also be effective in the treatment of people suffering from depression. "Our study shows that a combination of anti-inflammatory medicine, which is what arthritis medicine is, and antidepressants can have an additional beneficial effect on patients... mor
Acetaminophen can reduce positive empathy for others
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
A new study by an Ohio University faculty member showed that acetaminophen limited positive empathy a person has for others while taking it. The study, titled "A Social Analgesic? Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Reduces Positive Empathy" was conducted by Visiting Assistant Professor Dominik Mischkowski. In the study, 114 participants were either given 1000 milligrams of acetaminophen or an inert placebo. The experiment was conducted double blind - neither the study coordinators nor the participants were aware if they were being given acetaminophen or the placebo. After an hour, participa... more »
FDA warns about risks of using home use test strips that are pre-owned or not authorized for sale in U.S., including those for glucose, warfarin
Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned against using test strips from a previous owner (pre-owned) or test strips not authorized for sale in the U.S. because they may potentially cause infection or lead to inaccurate test results, which can cause serious harm, including death. The FDA issued a safety communication alerting patients and health care professionals about the risks of using these kinds of test strips. “Millions of Americans use test strips at home to monitor serious diseases or conditions. We recognize that some people may be choosing to purchase pre-owned ... mo
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