Latest Health Research

Supplements 

Vitamin D determines severity in COVID-19

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 4 days ago

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin are calling on the government in Ireland to change recommendations for vitamin D supplements [Monday 11th May 2020]. A new publication from Dr Eamon Laird and Professor Rose Anne Kenny, School of Medicine, and the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), in collaboration with Professor Jon Rhodes at University of Liverpool, highlights the association between vitamin D levels and mortality from COVID-19. The authors of the article, just published in the *Irish Medical Journal*, analysed all European adult population studies, completed since ... more »

Dietary supplements an important weapon for fighting off COVID-19

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 3 weeks ago

Supplements containing vitamins C and D and other micronutrients, sometimes in amounts exceeding the federally recommended levels, are a safe, effective and low-cost means of helping your immune system fight off COVID-19 and other acute respiratory tract diseases, Adrian Gombart , an Oregon State University researcher says. Findings were published in the journal *Nutrients*. "Around the world, acute respiratory tract infections kill more than 2.5 million people every year," said Gombart, professor of biochemistry and biophysics. "Meanwhile, there's a wealth of data that shows the rol... more »

 

Exercise

Online exercise advice rarely aligns with national physical activity guidelines

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 2 days ago

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY SHARE PRINT E-MAIL CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Whether for convenience, cost or comfort, many people look to online resources for fitness and exercise information -- especially when faced with fitness center and gym closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, most internet-based recommendations for physical activity don't match up with the guidelines supported by national health organizations, a recent study from Oregon State University found. "Online exercise advice is incomprehensible for many and incomplete for everybody," said researcher Brad Cardi... more »

Aerobics may be a smart workout for your brain at any age

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 4 days ago

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY SHARE PRINT E-MAIL MINNEAPOLIS - It's never too late to lace up some sneakers and work up a sweat for brain health, according to a study published in the May 13, 2020, online issue of *Neurology®*, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study suggests older adults, even couch potatoes, may perform better on certain thinking and memory tests after just six months of aerobic exercise. "As we all find out eventually, we lose a bit mentally and physically as we age. But even if you start an exercise program later in life, the ben... more »

Adding yoga to your regularly prescribed migraine treatment may help

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

Adding yoga to your regularly prescribed migraine treatment may be better than medication alone, according to a study published in the May 6, 2020, online issue of *Neurology®*, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The new research suggests yoga may help people with migraines have headaches that happen less often, don't last as long and are less painful. "Migraine is one of the most common headache disorders, but only about half the people taking medication for it get real relief," said study author Rohit Bhatia, M.D., D.M., D.N.B., of the All India Institute of... more »

Moderate exercise in middle and older age cuts time spent in hospital

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

Men and women aged 40-79 are at significantly lower (25-27%) risk of long or frequent hospital admissions if they do some form of physical activity, a new study suggests. Inactive participants in the study spent just over 4 days more in hospital over the next ten years than those who did at least some physical activity, whether for work or leisure. And similar results were observed 10 years later when the same participants were 50-90 years old. The study, by researchers at the University of Cambridge's Department of Public Health and Primary Care and MRC Epidemiology Unit, calculates ... more »

Strenuous exercise safe for people at high risk of knee arthritis

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

No need to dial back jogging, cycling, skiing, aerobic dance and tennis - Many worry strenuous exercise could hurt their joints - 10 years of vigorous activity did not pose risk - Strenuous activity for one to two hours weekly reduces risk of knee osteoarthritis by 30% - Osteoarthritis affects 32.5 million adults in U.S. CHICAGO---People at high risk for knee osteoarthritis (OA) may be nervous and reluctant to participate in strenuous physical activities such as jogging, cycling, singles tennis and skiing. But a new Northwestern Medicine study that followed high-ris... more »

 

General Health

Acupuncture may be safe and effective for easing indigestion symptoms

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 4 days ago

A 4-week course of acupuncture increased self-reported relief and improvement of symptoms for patients with a subtype of indigestion known as postprandial distress syndrome (PDS). The effects of acupuncture persisted through the 12-week follow-up without symptom relapse or rebound. Findings from a randomized clinical trial are published in *Annals of Internal Medicine*. PDS, a condition characterized by bothersome early fullness after eating and upper abdominal bloating, places a substantial burden on the health care system because of its high prevalence in a relatively young patien... more »

Work-related stress linked to increased risk for peripheral artery disease

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 2 weeks ago

People who reported work-related stress were more likely to be hospitalized for peripheral artery disease compared to those who did not report work-related stress, according to new research published today in the *Journal of the American Heart Association*, an open access journal of the American Heart Association. The article appears in a special spotlight issue exploring different aspects of the complex relationships between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular health. Peripheral artery disease, or PAD, is a cardiovascular disease that occurs when cholesterol or other fatty subs... more »

 

Diet

Healthy eating behaviors in childhood may reduce the risk of adult obesity and heart disease

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 4 days ago

How children are fed may be just as important as what they are fed, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, "Caregiver Influences on Eating Behaviors in Young Children," published today in the *Journal of the American Heart Association*. The statement is the first from the Association focused on providing evidence-based strategies for parents and caregivers to create a healthy food environment for young children that supports the development of positive eating behaviors and the maintenance of a healthy weight in childhood, thereby reducing the ri... more »

Effects of antioxidant rich Indo-Mediterranean foods on pre-heart failure

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 4 days ago

The role of diets in the pathogenesis of cardiac dysfunction is controversial. However, it is well known that Western diet causes oxidative stress and has pro-inflammatory effects, whereas Mediterranean style diets are anti-inflammatory. Recently, cohort studies and case control studies, have demonstrated that western style diets rich in sugar and physical inactivity with obesity are important behavioural risk factors of heart failure. Pre-heart failure may be defined as a state of myocardial dysfunction, which is at high risk for developing complete heart failure. It is similar to... more »

 

Our ability to focus may falter after eating one meal high in saturated fat

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 4 days ago

Fatty food may feel like a friend during these troubled times, but new research suggests that eating just one meal high in saturated fat can hinder our ability to concentrate - not great news for people whose diets have gone south while they're working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study compared how 51 women performed on a test of their attention after they ate either a meal high in saturated fat or the same meal made with sunflower oil, which is high in unsaturated fat. Their performance on the test was worse after eating the high-saturated-fat meal than after they ate ... more »

Drinking sugary drinks daily may be linked to higher risk of CVD in women

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 4 days ago

Drinking one or more sugary beverages a day was associated with a nearly 20% greater likelihood of women having a cardiovascular disease compared to women who rarely or never drank sugary beverages, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association. In the large, ongoing California Teacher's Study, which began in 1995, drinking one or more of any type of sugary beverage daily was associated with a 26% higher likelihood of needing a revascularization procedure, such as angioplasty to op... more »

Excess coffee consumption a culprit for poor health

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 4 days ago

PRINT E-MAIL [image: IMAGE] IMAGE: TOO MUCH COFFEE CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF OSTEOARTHRITIS, ARTHROPATHY (JOINT DISEASE) AND OBESITY. view more CREDIT: PHOTO BY CYRIL SAULNIER ON UNSPLASH Cappuccino, latte or short black, coffee is one of the most commonly consumed drinks in the world. But whether it's good or bad for your health can be clarified by genetics, as a world-first study from the University of South Australia's Australian Centre for Precision Health shows that excess coffee consumption can cause poor health. Using data from over 300,000 participants in the UK Biobank, re... more »

 

Green tea may help with weight loss efforts

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

PRINT E-MAIL In an analysis of randomized controlled trials, individuals who consumed green tea experienced a significant decline in body weight and body mass index. On the other hand, the analysis did not show any significant change in terms of waist circumference (a measure of abdominal fat) with green tea supplementation. The findings are published in *Phytotherapy Research*. The analysis of 26 randomized controlled trials including 1,344 participants found that body weight and body mass index significantly changed after green tea was consumed for periods longer than 12 week... more »

 

 

Researchers find certain foods common in diets of US adults with inflammatory bowel disease

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY SHARE PRINT E-MAIL [image: IMAGE] IMAGE: DR. DIDIER MERLIN, PROFESSOR IN THE INSTITUTE FOR BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES AT GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY view more CREDIT: GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY ATLANTA--Foods, such as French fries, cheese, cookies, soda, and sports and energy drinks, are commonly found in the diets of United States adults with inflammatory bowel disease, according to a new study by researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University. The researchers analyzed the National Health Interview Survey 2015 to determine the foo... more »

 

High alcohol consumption = increased stroke and peripheral artery disease risk

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

Higher alcohol consumption was shown to be associated with an increased risk of having a stroke or developing peripheral artery disease, according to new research published today in *Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine*, an American Heart Association journal. While observational studies have consistently shown that heavy alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of certain cardiovascular diseases, they often use self-reported data and are unable to determine cause. Researchers in this study used a different technique called Mendelian randomization that identif... more »

More berries, apples and tea may have protective benefits against Alzheimer's

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

*Study shows low intake of flavonoid-rich foods linked with higher Alzheimer's risk over 20 years* Older adults who consumed small amounts of flavonoid-rich foods, such as berries, apples and tea, were two to four times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and related dementias over 20 years compared with people whose intake was higher, according to a new study led by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University. The epidemiological study of 2,800 people aged 50 and older examined the long-term relationship betwee... more »

Higher caffeine intake protective against Parkinson's

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

Two purines, caffeine and urate, have been associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) in multiple study groups and populations. Analysis of data from the Harvard Biomarkers Study shows that lower levels of caffeine consumption and lower blood urate are inversely associated with PD, strengthening the links between caffeine intake and urate levels and PD, reports a study in the *Journal of Parkinson's Disease (JPD)*. "Both caffeine and urate possess neuroprotective properties via adenosine receptor antagonist and antioxidant actions, respectively," explained lead inves... more »

Potatoes serve high quality protein that's good for women's muscle

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

Researchers from McMaster University have found that the potato, primarily known as a starchy vegetable, can be a source of high-quality protein that helps to maintain muscle. The findings, reported in the journal *Nutrients*, highlight the potential benefits of what is considered a non-traditional source of protein, particularly as dietary trends change and worldwide demand has increased for plant-based alternatives to animal-derived sources. "While the amount of protein found in a potato is small, we grow lots of potatoes and the protein, when isolated, it can provide some measurab... more »

 

Which foods do you eat together? How you combine them may raise dementia risk

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 3 weeks ago

Study finds 'food networks' centered on processed meats, starches may raise risk AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY SHARE PRINT E-MAIL MINNEAPOLIS - It's no secret that a healthy diet may benefit the brain. However, it may not only be what foods you eat, but what foods you eat together that may be associated with your risk of dementia, according to a new study published in the April 22, 2020, online issue of *Neurology*®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study looked at "food networks" and found that people whose diets consisted mostly of highly process... more »

How to make the healthiest coffee

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 3 weeks ago

We may all be drinking more coffee to help us survive the COVID-19 lockdown. Today scientists announce the healthiest way to make a brew. The first study to examine links between coffee brewing methods and risks of heart attacks and death has concluded that filtered brew is safest. The research is published today in the *European Journal of Preventive Cardiology*, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 "Our study provides strong and convincing evidence of a link between coffee brewing methods, heart attacks and longevity," said study author Professor Dag S. Thelle of... more »

 

Coffee changes our sense of taste

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 3 weeks ago

AARHUS UNIVERSITY SHARE PRINT E-MAIL Sweet food is even sweeter when you drink coffee. This is shown by the result of research from Aarhus University. The results have just been published in the scientific journal *Foods*. Coffee lovers with a penchant for dark chocolate now have a scientific explanation for why the two are a perfect match. A study from Aarhus University shows that coffee makes you more sensitive to sweetness. In the study, 156 test subjects had their sense of smell and taste tested before and after drinking coffee. The researchers found no changes tin their se... more »

 

Aging

Cognition and gait speed often decline together

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

Do thinking and walking go hand in hand in determining the health course of senior adults? A study published by UT Health San Antonio researchers found that, indeed, the two functions often parallel each other in determining a person's health trajectory. The researchers analyzed data from 370 participants in the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging (SALSA) and found that they grouped into three distinct trajectories. These classifications were based on the participants' changes on a cognitive measure and a gait speed task over an average of 9½ years: - Stable cognition and ga... more »

Seniors should pick up weights to combat frailty

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 1 week ago

Physical exercise may not be top of mind for older adults during the COVID-19 outbreak. But according to one UBC Okanagan researcher, strength training can be an effective way to stay healthy while at home. A recent study from UBCO professor Jenn Jakobi shows that strength training with free-weights that progresses in intensity is effective in combating declining health often observed with adult aging. "Inactivity and social isolation are key contributors to age-related frailty," says Jakobi. "While social isolation is a complex challenge these days, there is absolutely some work we ... more »

 

Latest Health Research - Last Summary

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 3 weeks ago

Diet Children's fruit drinks need clearer labels Jonathan Kantrowitz at Health News Report - 5 days ago Health and nutrition experts recommend that children do not consume drinks with added sugars or nonnutritive sweeteners, yet drinks containing both represent a major portion of beverages consumed by children. One reason may be that the labels of drinks marketed to kids do not help parents and other consumers differentiate among fruit juice and sugar-laden, artificially flavored drinks, finds research from NYU School of Global Public Health. While the FDA regulates drink labels, it p... more »

Online exercise advice rarely aligns with national physical activity guidelines

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

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CORVALLIS, Ore. --

 Whether for convenience, cost or comfort, many people look to online resources for fitness and exercise information -- especially when faced with fitness center and gym closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, most internet-based recommendations for physical activity don't match up with the guidelines supported by national health organizations, a recent study from Oregon State University found.

"Online exercise advice is incomprehensible for many and incomplete for everybody," said researcher Brad Cardinal, a kinesiology professor in OSU's College of Public Health and Human Sciences. "There wasn't anything we came across that was a complete message, and for many people, they would be left out of it altogether."

The dearth of reliable physical activity information online exacerbates existing health inequities, Cardinal said, because the information often is tailored for people who are already active and comfortable in the exercise world. For those who are trying to initiate physical activity for the first time, such incomplete information could lead to accidents or injuries, as well as feelings of stigmatization and exclusion.

The study, published earlier this month in the Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, analyzed fitness recommendations in 72 web articles from four types of organizations: government, commercial sites, professional associations and voluntary health agencies. Researchers compared the information with the national Physical Activity Guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The national guidelines advise adults to "move more and sit less" throughout the day. For "substantial health benefits," they say adults should complete 150 to 300 minutes (2.5 to 5 hours) of moderate aerobic activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, each week, spread across several days. Additional health benefits can be gained by exercising more than 300 minutes. The guidelines also recommend adults do some moderate- or greater-intensity strength-training activity that involves all muscle groups at least two days a week.

"Moderate" aerobic activity means something like a brisk walk, Cardinal said -- about a pace of 3 or 4 miles per hour, when you can still comfortably hold a conversation.

The guidelines are mostly the same for adults ages 65 and older and for adults with disabilities or chronic conditions, but include the caveat that if people in these groups are unable to complete the full recommendations, they should be as "physically active as their abilities and conditions allow."

In their analysis, the researchers found that professional associations such as nationally accredited groups of health care providers were the best at sharing accurate information, including total recommended minutes, spreading exercise throughout the week, and explaining how the time recommendation shifts based on the intensity of the activity.

Across all four types of sites the researchers studied, recommendations were more likely to be correct on aerobic exercise; very few included correct or complete information on muscle-strengthening activity.

While the national guidelines focus on "hearts and lungs," most online advice focuses on "abs and buns," Cardinal said -- meaning the intent is more about improving appearance than about health.

His previous research has shown that online exercise messages also include a lot of hidden advertising, often for costly workout gear or "health food" products, which can add another perceived barrier to low-income folks trying to start exercising.

"For people who are inactive, and even people whose jobs include active labor but are hoping to develop an exercise routine, the online information was generally unhelpful," Cardinal said. "The majority of articles focused on those who were already involved in an exercise program." This finding was affirmed in another study that examined the same web articles' production quality.

"It's good to reinforce the message for people who are active; it's good to give them encouragement. But if someone is new to this or has been away from physical activity for a while, the materials aren't really comprehensive for people," he said. "They're going to feel overwhelmed by them, and they're going to get an incomplete and inaccurate picture of what to do, and they could end up doing things wrong and potentially getting themselves hurt. The online resources might be doing more harm than good."

Acupuncture may be safe and effective for easing indigestion symptoms

A 4-week course of acupuncture increased self-reported relief and improvement of symptoms for patients with a subtype of indigestion known as postprandial distress syndrome (PDS). The effects of acupuncture persisted through the 12-week follow-up without symptom relapse or rebound. Findings from a randomized clinical trial are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

PDS, a condition characterized by bothersome early fullness after eating and upper abdominal bloating, places a substantial burden on the health care system because of its high prevalence in a relatively young patient population and the chronic relapsing nature of its symptoms. The condition is reported to have a great negative effect on health-related quality of life, which makes finding an effective treatment imperative. Previous studies on acupuncture have been limited by the small number of participants and poor study quality.

Researchers from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine randomly assigned 278 Chinese patients with PDS to 12 sessions of acupuncture or sham acupuncture over 4 weeks and then compared the proportion of patients in each group who reported "extreme improvement" or "improvement" in their stomach symptoms as well as the proportion of patients who experienced complete resolution of their symptoms. They found that a significantly higher proportion of patients in the acupuncture group experienced overall improvement or elimination of their symptoms than in the sham acupuncture group. The improvement was sustained for at least 12 weeks after the final acupuncture treatment and there were no serious adverse events among the study patients.

Healthy eating behaviors in childhood may reduce the risk of adult obesity and heart disease

How children are fed may be just as important as what they are fed, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, "Caregiver Influences on Eating Behaviors in Young Children," published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The statement is the first from the Association focused on providing evidence-based strategies for parents and caregivers to create a healthy food environment for young children that supports the development of positive eating behaviors and the maintenance of a healthy weight in childhood, thereby reducing the risks of overweight, obesity and cardiovascular disease later in life.

Although many children are born with an innate ability to stop eating when they are full, they are also influenced by the overall emotional atmosphere, including caregiver wishes and demands during mealtimes. If children feel under pressure to eat in response to caregiver wants, it may be harder for them to listen to their individual internal cues that tell them when they are full.

Allowing children to choose what and especially how much to eat within an environment composed of healthy options encourages children to develop and eventually take ownership of their decisions about food and may help them develop eating patterns linked to a healthy weight for a lifetime, according to the statement authors.

"Parents and caregivers should consider building a positive food environment centered on healthy eating habits, rather than focusing on rigid rules about what and how a child should eat," said Alexis C. Wood, Ph.D., the writing group chair for the scientific statement and assistant professor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agriculture Research Services Children's Nutrition Research Center and the department of pediatrics (nutrition section) at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

The statement suggests that parents and caregivers should be positive role models by creating an environment that demonstrates and supports healthy food choices, rather than an environment focused on controlling children's choices or highlighting body weight. Parents and caregivers should encourage children to eat healthy foods by:

• providing consistent timing for meals;
• allowing children to select what foods they want to eat from a selection of healthy choices;
• serving healthy or new foods alongside foods children already enjoy;
• regularly eating new, healthy foods while eating with the child and demonstrating enjoyment of the food;
• paying attention to a child's verbal or non-verbal hunger and fullness cues; and
• avoiding pressuring children to eat more than they wish to eat.

Wood noted that some parents and caregivers may find it challenging to allow children to make their own food decisions, especially if the children become reluctant to try new foods and/or become picky eaters. These behaviors are common and considered normal in early childhood, ages 1 to 5 years, as children are learning about the tastes and textures of solid foods. Imposing rigid, authoritarian rules around eating and using tactics such as rewards or punishments may feel like successful tactics in the short term. However, research does not support this approach; rather, it may have long-term, negative consequences. An authoritarian eating environment does not allow a child to develop positive decision-making skills and can reduce their sense of control, which are important developmental processes for children.

In addition, the authoritarian approach has been linked to children being more likely to eat when they are not hungry and eating less healthy foods that are likely higher in calories, which increase the risk of overweight and obesity and/or conditions of disordered eating.

On the other hand, an indulgent approach, where a child is allowed to eat whatever they want whenever they want, does not provide enough boundaries for children to develop healthy eating habits. Research has also linked this "laissez-faire" approach to a greater risk of children becoming overweight or having obesity.

Research does suggest that some strategies can increase children's dietary variety during the early years if they are "picky" or "fussy" about foods. Repeatedly offering children a wide variety of healthy foods increases the likelihood they will accept them, particularly when served with foods they prefer. In addition, caregivers or parents who enthusiastically eat a food may also help a child accept this food. Modeling eating healthy foods - by caregivers, siblings and peers - is a good strategy for helping children to be open to a wider variety of food options.

"Children's eating behaviors are influenced by a lot of people in their lives, so ideally, we want the whole family to demonstrate healthy eating habits," said Wood.

It is important to note that not all strategies work for all children, and parents and caregivers should not feel undue stress or blame for children's eating behaviors. "It is very clear that each child is an individual and differs in their tendency to make healthy decisions about food as they grow. This is why it is important to focus on creating an environment that encourages decision-making skills and provides exposure to a variety of healthy, nutritious foods throughout childhood, and not place undue attention on the child's individual decisions," concluded Wood.

Caregivers can be a powerful force in helping children develop healthy eating habits, and yet their role is limited by other factors. The statement authors encourage policies that address barriers to implementing the statement's recommendations within the wider socioeconomic context, including social determinants of health such as socio-economic status, food insecurity and others. While efforts that encourage caregivers to provide a responsive, structured feeding environment could be an important component of reducing obesity and cardiometabolic risk across the lifespan, they note that they will be most effective as part of a multi-level, multi-component prevention strategy.

Effects of antioxidant rich Indo-Mediterranean foods on pre-heart failure

The role of diets in the pathogenesis of cardiac dysfunction is controversial. However, it is well known that Western diet causes oxidative stress and has pro-inflammatory effects, whereas Mediterranean style diets are anti-inflammatory. Recently, cohort studies and case control studies, have demonstrated that western style diets rich in sugar and physical inactivity with obesity are important behavioural risk factors of heart failure. Pre-heart failure may be defined as a state of myocardial dysfunction, which is at high risk for developing complete heart failure. It is similar to pre-diabetes or pre-hypertension for developing diabetes mellitus and hypertension, respectively. Pre-heart failure is characterised with changes in cardiac muscles that are known as remodelling which may help to keep the blood pumping, but the ventricular walls may eventually weaken and are not able to pump adequate blood to the circulatory system resulting in to chronic heart failure. The heart may have high filling pressure with symptoms of dyspnoea and other congestive symptoms. In this process, aldosterone and cortisol predict medium-term left ventricular remodelling in an attempt to prevent cardiac failure. In the pathophysiology of cardiomyocyte dysfunction as well as in the conversion of physiological remodelling to pathological remodelling and pre-heart failure to complete heart failure, behavioural risk factors have important role. In previous studies, Dhalla et al. have observed subcellular remodelling and alterations in sarcoplasmic reticulum to be important which could be identified early by speckle tracking echocardiography. In view of the rapid increase in the burden of heart failure in the developed and developing countries, and unmet needs in the early diagnosis and treatment, it is important to find out new risk factors and methods for identification of heart failure in early stage of pre-heart failure. This analysis, re-examines, the role of nutritional factors as unmet needs in the pathogenesis and management of heart failure. This meta-analysis included data from three randomized, controlled single blind trials, published earlier, The intervention and control groups were compared for behavioural risk factors, food intakes, fatty acid intake and on ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acid(PUFA)/flavonoid intake respectively in the two groups (n = 1446 vs 1320).The criteria for the diagnosis of pre-heart failure and heart failure were electrocardiographic and radiological increase in size of the heart. 

Effects of Indo-Mediterranean style foods on parameters of pre-heart failure and heart failure and arrhythmias were significantly lower in the intervention group compared to control group. At baseline all the parameters of heart failure showed no significant differences, between intervention and control group. However, after a follow up of two years, left ventricular strain (Odds Ratio 0.57 (P < 0.01), left ventricular hypertrophy (OD 0.69, CI 0.64 - 0.75, P < 0.01), as well as, NYHA class II-IV heart failure (OR 0.59, P < 0.05) were significantly lower in the intervention group compared to control group. Incidence of cardiac arrhythmias were also significantly lower in the intervention group compared to control group (OR 0.49; P < 0.01). It is possible that treatment with Indo-Mediterranean style diets can cause significant decline in pre-heart failure, heart failure as well as in arrhythmias, possibly due to the anti-inflammatory effects of such diets, which may be important mechanisms for reduction in cardiovascular mortality in patients with recent myocardial infarction and high risk of cardiovascular diseases.

This article is open access and can be obtained from the following link: https://benthamopen.com/ABSTRACT/TOINFJ-8-1

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Too little sleep can mean more asthma attacks in adults

A good night's sleep is crucial to good health. A new article in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) reveals that too little sleep, and occasionally too much sleep, can negatively impact adults with asthma.

"Previous research revealed that poor sleep quality has a negative effect on asthma symptoms in adolescents," says Faith Luyster, PhD, lead author of the study. "Our study shows that adults with asthma are equally affected by too little (or sometimes too much) sleep. Compared to normal sleepers, short and long sleepers had a higher proportion of people who reported having an asthma attack in the past year (45 percent vs. 59 percent and 51 percent respectively) and had more days with impaired health-related quality of life. Impaired quality of life was characterized by more days of poor physical and mental health.

The study surveyed 1,389 adults who were 20 years and older who self-identified as having asthma. Of the group, 25.9 percent slept 5 hours or less, 65.9 percent slept 6-8 hours and 8.2 percent slept 9 or more hours. Sleep duration was measured by a single question, "How much sleep do you usually get at night on weekdays or workdays?" "Short sleepers" were more likely to be younger and non-White, while "long sleepers" were more likely to be older, female and a smoker.

Short sleepers, as compared to normal sleepers, had a greater likelihood of an asthma attack, dry cough, and an overnight hospitalization during the past year. Short sleepers also had significantly worse health related quality of life -- including days of poor physical and mental health and inactive days due to poor health -- and more frequent general healthcare use during the past year as compared to normal sleepers. The odds for long sleepers to have some activity limitation due to wheezing was higher when compared to normal sleepers. No significant differences in other patient-reported outcomes and healthcare use were observed between the long and normal sleepers.

"Disturbed sleep in an asthma patient can be a red flag indicating their asthma isn't well-controlled," says allergist Gailen D. Marshall, MD, PhD, ACAAI member and Editor-in-Chief of Annals. "This study adds solid evidence to the practice of asthma patients discussing sleep issues with their allergist to help determine if they need to change their asthma plan to achieve adequate sleep as a component of overall good asthma management. It also warns that consequences can be expected when sleep patterns are chronically inadequate."

Allergists are specially trained to diagnose and treat asthma. To find an allergist near you who can help create a personal plan to deal with your asthma and help you live your best life, use the ACAAI allergist locator.

Our ability to focus may falter after eating one meal high in saturated fat

Fatty food may feel like a friend during these troubled times, but new research suggests that eating just one meal high in saturated fat can hinder our ability to concentrate - not great news for people whose diets have gone south while they're working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study compared how 51 women performed on a test of their attention after they ate either a meal high in saturated fat or the same meal made with sunflower oil, which is high in unsaturated fat.

Their performance on the test was worse after eating the high-saturated-fat meal than after they ate the meal containing a healthier fat, signaling a link between that fatty food and the brain.

Researchers were also looking at whether a condition called leaky gut, which allows intestinal bacteria to enter the bloodstream, had any effect on concentration. Participants with leakier guts performed worse on the attention assessment no matter which meal they had eaten.

The loss of focus after a single meal was eye-opening for the researchers.

"Most prior work looking at the causative effect of the diet has looked over a period of time. And this was just one meal - it's pretty remarkable that we saw a difference," said Annelise Madison, lead author of the study and a graduate student in clinical psychology at The Ohio State University.

Madison also noted that the meal made with sunflower oil, while low in saturated fat, still contained a lot of dietary fat.

"Because both meals were high-fat and potentially problematic, the high-saturated-fat meal's cognitive effect could be even greater if it were compared to a lower-fat meal," she said.

The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Madison works in the lab of Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology and director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State. For this work, Madison conducted a secondary analysis of data from Kiecolt-Glaser's study assessing whether high-fat meals increased fatigue and inflammation among cancer survivors.

Women in the study completed a baseline assessment of their attention during a morning visit to the lab. The tool, called a continuous performance test, is a measure of sustained attention, concentration and reaction time based on 10 minutes of computer-based activities.

The high-fat meal followed: eggs, biscuits, turkey sausage and gravy containing 60 grams of fat, either a palmitic acid-based oil high in saturated fat or the lower-saturated-fat sunflower oil. Both meals totaled 930 calories and were designed to mimic the contents of various fast-food meals such as a Burger King double whopper with cheese or a McDonald's Big Mac and medium fries.

Five hours later, the women took the continuous performance test again. Between one and four weeks later, they repeated these steps, eating the opposite meal of what they had eaten on the first visit.

Researchers also analyzed participants' fasting baseline blood samples to determine whether they contained an inflammatory molecule that signals the presence of endotoxemia - the toxin that escapes from the intestines and enters the bloodstream when the gut barrier is compromised.

After eating the meal high in saturated fat, all of the participating women were, on average, 11 percent less able to detect target stimuli in the attention assessment. Concentration lapses were also apparent in the women with signs of leaky gut: Their response times were more erratic and they were less able to sustain their attention during the 10-minute test.

"If the women had high levels of endotoxemia, it also wiped out the between-meal differences. They were performing poorly no matter what type of fat they ate," Madison said.

Though the study didn't determine what was going on in the brain, Madison said previous research has suggested that food high in saturated fat can drive up inflammation throughout the body, and possibly the brain. Fatty acids also can cross the blood-brain barrier.

"It could be that fatty acids are interacting with the brain directly. What it does show is the power of gut-related dysregulation," she said.

The statistical analysis accounted for other potential influences on cognition, including depressive symptoms and the participants' average dietary saturated fat consumption. The women in the study ate three standardized meals and fasted for 12 hours before each lab visit to reduce diet variations that could affect their physiological response to the high-fat meals.

The findings suggest concentration could be even more impaired in people stressed by the pandemic who are turning to fatty foods for comfort, Kiecolt-Glaser said.

"What we know is that when people are more anxious, a good subset of us will find high-saturated-fat food more enticing than broccoli," she said. "We know from other research that depression and anxiety can interfere with concentration and attention as well. When we add that on top of the high-fat meal, we could expect the real-world effects to be even larger."