Jon's Health Tips - Latest Health Research

Saturday, June 4, 2011

I'm still having some problems with gout, but not because of this:

Sugar sweetened beverages increases gout risk four-fold

I suspect red wine is the culprit.


My father died from complications of ulcer surgery, only a year before they discovered a very simple cure, but I do make an effort to try not to stress out:

Stress may increase risk for Alzheimer's disease

I'm going to be buying some tomorrow:


Tangerines Fight Obesity/Protect Against Heart Disease

New research has discovered a substance in tangerines not only helps to prevent obesity, but also offers protection against type 2 diabetes, and even atherosclerosis, the underlying disease responsible for most heart attacks and strokes.


I am still eating plenty of fish - cooked and raw, but will have to give up, or at least cut way back on my quite limited consumption of fried fish:


Heart Failure Risk Lower in Women Who Often Eat Baked/Broiled Fish


This study showed that they type of fish and cooking method may affect heart failure risk. The researchers found that dark fish (salmon, mackerel and bluefish) were associated with a significantly greater risk reduction than either tuna or white fish (sole, snapper and cod).

In a similar analysis, eating fried fish was associated with increased heart failure risk. Even one serving a week was associated with a 48 percent higher heart failure risk.


For all the benefits of my drinking red wine and occasionally, beer, it appears that for me, alcohol consumption raises the risk of hypertension, while for women , especially at one drink a day, it actually protects them:
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Alcohol Consumption and the Risk of Hypertension

More research (in the last two weeks!) on the benefits of

Green Tea (I have switched to white)

Fruit (I'm eating a lot)

1. Social Life and2. Cultural Activities (I'm in big trouble here)

Selenium ( I gave it up - may need to re-think)

Blueberries (I'm going to buy some tomorrow)

1. Omega-3 and 2. Fish oil (I am back on my regular regimen of fish oil supplements, but I am worried about mercury contamination, and I may switch to plant based Omega 3 )

Yoga (not for me, at least not yet)

Resveratrol (I'm drinking two glasses of new red wine most days, and taking a supplement on days I miss) and

Salt - It Helps You Relax (Wow - now I feel even less guilty about my lightly salted snack foods)

For me and my soccer playing friends:

I'm not warming and stretching up as much as I used to ( I want to save my energy for the game)


1. Stretching before a run does not prevent injury


2. When it comes to warm-up, less is more

The experiment involved high performance sprint cyclists performing a traditional warm-up lasting about 50 minutes with a graduated intensity that ranged from 60 to 95 per cent of maximal heart rate before ending with several all-out sprints. The experimental warm-up was much shorter at about 15 minutes, and was performed at a lower intensity. "What we found, was that the shorter warm-up resulted in significantly less muscle fatigue and a peak power output that was 6.2 per cent higher. "


I need to change my after-soccer routine:

1.Protein drinks after exercise help maintain aging muscles

A new research report shows that what someone drinks after exercise plays a critical role in maximizing the effects of exercise. Specifically, the report shows that protein drinks after aerobic activity increases the training effect after six weeks, when compared to carbohydrate drinks. Additionally, this study suggests that this effect can be seen using as little as 20 grams of protein.



2. Post-exercise recovery advantages of low-fat chocolate milk


New research suggests an effective recovery drink may already be in your refrigerator: lowfat chocolate milk. Grabbing lowfat chocolate milk after a tough workout helped give both trained and amateur athletes a post-exercise training advantage, according to three new studies presented at the American College of Sports Medicine and published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research this month. Athletes in the studies who had a post-exercise lowfat chocolate milk– with the right mix of carbs and high-quality protein – had improved training times, better body composition (more muscle, less fat) and were in better shape than their peers who drank typical sports beverages with carbohydrates only.


Brief, intense workouts most efficient & beneficial


And from my Soccer and Baseball blog:

Stronger hips improved running mechanics, lessened knee pain

Athletes competing against an opponent wearing red are more likely to lose

Thoughts That Win



Back in high school, on the soccer field, poised to take a crucial penalty kick, “I always had a lot of thoughts going on in my head; I think most people do” says sports psychologist Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis. “I was setting the ball and planning my shot; I was the captain and never missed those types of shots; then I had that thought striking me that it was not going to be good. I knew I was going to miss,” he recalls, “and I did miss.” Even then, he could see that his mind had a big effect on his body.

From these unhappy experiences evolved Hatzigeorgiadis’ interest in the psychology of sport – the link between one’s thoughts and performance, and specifically in “self-talk”— the mental strategy that aims to improve performance through the use of self-addressed cues (words or small phrases), which trigger appropriate responses and action, mostly by focusing attention and psyching-up.

“We know this strategy works, and it works in sports,” says Hatzigeorgiadis. But what makes it work better, and in what situations? To find out, Hatzigeorgiadis and his colleagues at the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Thessaly, Nikos Zourbanos, Evangelos Galanis, and Yiannis Theodorakis conducted a meta-analysis of 32 sport psychological studies on the subject with a total of 62 measured effects. Their findings will be published in an upcoming issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

As expected, the analysis revealed that self-talk improves sport performance.



And check out my latest blog: Prostate Cancer Research Report

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