Jon's Health Tips - Latest Health Research

Friday, July 22, 2011

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1. I'll try to remember this the next time I'm hit in a sensitive area while playing soccer:

Stand Tall To Reduce Pain


By simply adopting more dominant poses, people feel more powerful, in control and able to tolerate more distress. Out of the individuals studied, those who used the most dominant posture were able to comfortably handle more pain than those assigned a more neutral or submissive stance.


2. I am making a real effort to move around more at work and at home:

Too much sitting may be bad for your health

Lack of physical exercise is often implicated in many disease processes. However, sedentary behavior, or too much sitting, as distinct from too little exercise, potentially could be a new risk factor for disease.


Sitting for long periods doubles risk of blood clots in the lungs


Fidgeting your way to fitness

Walking to the photocopier and fidgeting at your desk are contributing more to your cardiorespiratory fitness than you might think.

Researchers have found that both the duration and intensity of incidental physical activities (IPA) are associated with cardiorespiratory fitness. The intensity of the activity seems to be particularly important, with a cumulative 30-minute increase in moderate physical activity throughout the day offering significant benefits for fitness and long-term health.


Women who sit for long periods of time everyday are two to three times more likely to develop a life-threatening blood clot in their lungs than more active women,.


3. More good news about

A. Exercise, etc

Physical activity=lower rates of cognitive impairment


Engaging in regular physical activity is associated with less decline in cognitive function in older adults.


Over half of Alzheimer's cases may be preventable

The biggest modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease are, in descending order of magnitude, low education, smoking, physical inactivity, depression, mid-life hypertension, diabetes and mid-life obesity.


Healthy lifestyle associated with low risk of sudden cardiac death in women


Adhering to a healthy lifestyle, including not smoking, exercising regularly, having a low body weight and eating a healthy diet, appears to lower the risk of sudden cardiac death in women


Soluble fiber, exercise reduce belly fat

All fat is not created equal. Unsightly as it is, subcutaneous fat, the fat right under the skin, is not as dangerous to overall health as visceral fat, the fat deep in the belly surrounding vital organs.

According to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the way to zero in and reduce visceral fat is simple: eat more soluble fiber from vegetables, fruit and beans, and engage in moderate activity.



B. Red Wine

Red wine, grapes may protect against Alzheimer's disease


Red wine: Exercise in a bottle?


The "healthy" ingredient in red wine, resveratrol, may prevent the negative effects sedentary lifestyles have on people.




C. Positive Thinking

The secret to successful aging: Focus on the positive


Whether we choose to accept or fight it, the fact is that we will all age, but will we do so successfully? Aging successfully has been linked with the "positivity effect", a biased tendency towards and preference for positive, emotionally gratifying experiences.


Satisfaction with the components of everyday life appears protective against heart disease
D. Fish Oil


OMEGA-3 REDUCES ANXIETY AND INFLAMMATION IN HEALTHY STUDENTS


A new study gauging the impact of consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and, surprisingly, in anxiety among a cohort of healthy young people. The findings suggest that if young participants can get such improvements from specific dietary supplements, then the elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases might benefit even more.


E. Good fat vs. bad fat

Modified Fat Diet Key to Lowering Heart Disease Risk

The debate between good fat versus bad fat continues, as a new evidence review finds that a modified fat diet — and not a low fat diet — might be the real key to reducing one’s risk of heart disease.

A low fat diet replaces saturated fat — such as or animal or dairy fat — with starchy foods, fruits and vegetables, while a modified fat diet replaces saturated fat with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, found in foods such as liquid vegetable oils, fish, nuts and seeds.


F. Alcohol

Mortality lower among moderate drinkers than among abstainers

There is a strong protective effect of moderate drinking on coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality. Non-drinkers had much higher risk of death than did almost all categories of subjects consuming alcohol.


Alcohol drinking in the elderly: Risks and benefits

The report was conspicuously lacking in a discussion of the important role that moderate drinking can play in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke, diabetes, dementia, and osteoporosis.

Evidence is also accumulating that shows that the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia is lower among moderate drinkers than among abstainers. Neurodegenerative disorders are key causes of disability and death among elderly people. Epidemiological studies have suggested that moderate alcohol consumption, may reduce the incidence of certain age-related neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease. Regular dietary intake of flavonoid-rich foods and/or beverages has been associated with 50% reduction in the risk of dementia, a preservation of cognitive performance with ageing,a delay in the onset of Alzheimer's disease and a reduction in the risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

Further, scientific data are consistent in demonstrating that quality of life is better and total mortality is lower among moderate drinkers than among abstainers.

A particular interesting paper by White et al showed a direct dose-response relation between alcohol consumption and risk of death in women aged 16-54 and in men aged 16-34, whereas at older ages the relation is U shaped. These investigators used statistical models relating alcohol consumption to the risk of death from single causes to estimate the all-cause mortality risk for men and women of different ages. The authors state that their data suggest that women should INCREASE their intake to 3 units a day over age 75, and men rise from 3 units a day up to age 54 to 4 units a day up to age 84.



G. Vitamin D

Calcium Plus Vitamin D May Reduce Melanoma Risks



A combination of calcium and vitamin D may cut the chance of melanoma in half for some women at high risk of developing this life-threatening skin cancer.


Vitamin D can help elderly women survive

Vitamin D fights macular degeneration>

H. Salt not being such a problem after all

Cutting down on salt doesn't reduce your chance of dying

I. Aspirin

Higher daily dose of aspirin prevents heart attacks

J. Strawberries

Strawberries Fight Diabetes and Nervous System Disorders

A recent study from scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies suggests that a strawberry a day (or more accurately, 37 of them) could keep not just one doctor away, but an entire fleet of them, including the neurologist, the endocrinologist, and maybe even the oncologist.

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