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Previous health research posts:

April 21

April 13

April 1

March 9

February 20

February 3

January 15

So many new research reports have come out this week that I'm doing a new report much sooner than usual (click on links for details.)

Lots of research on what's good for you: .



Vitamin D

and drinking alcohol doesn't reduce value of Vitamin D

100 Percent Fruit Juice

Green tea

Seeing sick people

Just seeing someone who looks sick is enough to make your immune system work harder. (Even looking at a picture works!)

Keeping food off the table

"When we kept the serving dishes off the table, people ate 20% fewer calories. Men ate close to 29% less."

Brown rice

Brown rice may decrease the activity of a protein known to induce high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Exercise

Exercise can forestall osteoporosis

Regular aerobic exercise is good for the brain

But lack of exercise combined with other bad behaviors, is really bad

Four unhealthy behaviors—smoking, lack of physical activity, poor diet and alcohol consumption—appear to be associated with a substantially increased risk of death when combined.Individuals with four compared with zero poor health behaviors had about three times the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease or cancer, four times the risk of dying from other causes and an overall death risk equivalent to being 12 years older.

More good:

Grapes

Findings show grape consumption lowered blood pressure, improved heart function and reduced other risk factors for heart disease and metabolic syndrome

But blueberries are better. Also extra good are sweet potatoes, papaya, kale, raspberries and watercress.

"Americans could improve their phytonutrient intake by choosing to eat more concentrated sources of phytonutrients as well as a wider variety," said Keith Randolph, Ph.D., Technology Strategist for Nutrilite. "For example, grapes are the top contributor of the phytonutrient family of anthocyanidins in most Americans' diets, but blueberries actually contain higher amounts of this phytonutrient. Research suggests anthocyanidins support heart health," Randolph added.

Phytonutrients are compounds that naturally occur in plants and provide a range of potential health benefits from promoting eye, bone and heart health to supporting immune and brain function. It's widely believed that the health benefits that phytonutrients may offer come from the pigments in fruits and vegetables that give these foods their vibrant reds, yellows, greens and other rich colors. Certain fruits and vegetables contain higher levels of these compounds, making them more concentrated and potentially more effective sources of phytonutrients.

For 10 of the 14 phytonutrients included in the analysis, a single food type accounted for approximately two-thirds or more of an individual's intake of the specific phytonutrient, regardless of whether that person was a high or low fruit and vegetable consumer. Based on the current study, the top food sources consumed by Americans for some selected phytonutrients were as follows:

Beta-carotene – carrots
Beta-cryptoxanthin – oranges/orange juice
Lutein/zeaxanthin – spinach
Ellagic acid – strawberries
Isothiocyanates – mustard

For each of these phytonutrients, however, there is a more highly concentrated food that could be chosen instead:

Beta-carotene – sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes have nearly double the beta-carotene compared to carrots in a single serving.
Beta-cryptoxanthin – papaya
A serving of fresh papaya has roughly 15 times the beta-cryptoxanthin of an orange.
Lutein/zeaxanthin – kale
By substituting cooked kale for raw spinach, it is possible to triple lutein/zeaxanthin intake.
Ellagic acid – raspberries
Serving per serving, raspberries have roughly three times the ellagic acid compared to strawberries.
Isothiocyanates – watercress
Just one cup of watercress as the basis for a salad has about the same level of isothiocyanates as four teaspoons of mustard.

Here's something we all need more of:

Laughter

Norman Cousins first suggested the idea that humor and the associated laughter can benefit a person's health in the 1970s. His ground-breaking work, as a layperson diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, documented his use of laughter in treating himself—with medical approval and oversight—into remission. He published his personal research results in the New England Journal of Medicine and is considered one of the original architects of mind-body medicine.

Laughter helps optimize the hormones in the endocrine system, including decreasing the levels of cortisol and epinephrine, which lead to stress reduction. They have also shown that laughter has a positive effect on modulating components of the immune system, including increased production of antibodies and activation of the body's protective cells, including T-cells and especially Natural Killer cells' killing activity of tumor cells. Their studies have shown that repetitious "mirthful laughter" enhances your mood, decreases stress hormones, enhances immune activity, lowers bad cholesterol and systolic blood pressure, and raises good cholesterol (HDL).

and another supplement that's apparently particularly good for me - I'm an over 50 cyclist:

L-Arginine supplements

Taking L-arginine supplements can improve the cycling ability of over-50s.

Arginine is abundant in many different types of foods, and your body can also make it. Arginine-rich foods include red meat, fish, poultry, wheat germ, grains, nuts and seeds, and dairy products.

Although it has been suggested that arginine may treat asthma, studies in humans have actually found that arginine worsens inflammation in the lungs and contributes to asthma symptoms. Therefore, taking arginine by mouth or by inhalation is not recommended in people with asthma.

And some things bad for me -

Soda (I don't drink it)

Phosphorous in sodas and processed foods accelerates signs of aging.

Sugar (I probably still eat too much)

Consuming a higher amount of added sugars in processed or prepared foods is associated with lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, the “good cholesterol”) and higher levels of triglycerides, which are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Sodium (I'm really trying to cut down - I'm buying only unsalted nuts now)

Sodium is a major culprit in our nation's epidemic of high blood pressure—a disease that can start in childhood and will afflict nine out of 10 Americans over the course of their lifetimes. A 35 percent reduction in Americans' average daily sodium intake could save billions of dollars annually on health costs—and save upwards of 90,000 lives—by lowering people's blood pressure, and in turn, their risk of heart disease and stroke.

Some tuna sushi (This is going to be hard for me to figure out and give up)

Mercury levels are significantly higher in bluefin akami (sushi from lean, dark red tuna) and all bigeye tuna samples than in bluefin toro (sushi from fatty tuna) and yellowfin tuna akami samples. This is probably because mercury accumulates differently in different tissue types: mercury has an affinity for muscle and not fatty tissue, so the leanest fish tend to have the highest concentration.

But there also seem to be other factors in play. Although yellowfin tuna is very lean, this species tends to have lower accumulation of mercury, likely because yellowfin are typically smaller than other tuna and are harvested at a younger age.