Prostate Cancer Symptoms Tips What is prostate cancer symptoms? We have tips about prostate cancer symptoms

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1. This is the wrong time of the year (NFL playoffs, UConn basketball, snow, cold, early darkness) to find this out:

Spending too much leisure time in front of a TV or computer screen appears to dramatically increase the risk for heart disease and premature death from any cause. People who devote more than four hours to screen-based entertainment like watching TV, using the computer or playing video games, are more than twice as likely to have a major cardiac event that involves hospitalization, death or both.

Question - why would working in front of a computer, or reading for work or leisure be any different? If not I'm in big trouble year round. I am going to try to get up and move around more while I work, watch sports, and read.

2. Or maybe I should lift weights while watching TV ( I actually tried to do this for a while):

Resistance Training Benefits Cardiovascular Health

3. Perhaps I should just sit (or move around) in the darkness all evening:

According to a recent study exposure to electrical light between dusk and bedtime strongly suppresses melatonin levels and may impact physiologic processes regulated by melatonin signaling, such as sleepiness, thermoregulation, blood pressure and glucose homeostasis.

4. I went and ate some blueberries as soon as I read this:

Eating blueberries can guard against high blood pressure

5. I don't drink coffee, but probably should, but do drink a lot of green tea:

Coffee protects against diabetes

Regularly drinking green tea could protect against Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia

Nothing else new here, but it's a great summary:

Research indicates that tea strengthens the body’s immune system, reduces buildup of plaque on arterial walls, and aids in the control and prevention of diabetes.

Like tea, coffee is packed with polyphenols, and it actually has a higher content of antioxidants than green or black tea and other beverages such as fruit and vegetables juices. New research has suggested that coffee consumption can lower cardiovascular risks as well as lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 50 percent. Coffee also appears to have a positive effect on neurological diseases with coffee consumption possibly reducing the risk of both Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

6. I'm doing still not getting quite enough red wine ( and an occasional beer) but I'm doing better, and I take a resveratrol pill as well:

a. Alcohol Abstinence = Increased Risk of Cognitive Impairment

Both abstainers and subjects consuming large amounts of alcohol have a greater risk for cognitive impairment than light drinkers.

b. How resveratrol works

7. I've been repeatedly urged to get this shot by my pediatrician ( my daughter). I don't find the evidence all that overwhelming:

Shingles Vaccine Associated With 55 Percent Reduced Risk of Disease

8. And, of course more research on diet, (I'm doing much better choosing the right kinds of foods) exercise, ( I just joined a gym! -to get into shape for soccer) and Vitamin D. (I'm doing pretty well with supplements):

Diet

a. Mediterranean Diet Associated With Slower Rate of Cognitive Decline

New research suggests that eating a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables gives you a more healthy golden glow than the sun.

The face in the middle shows the woman's natural colour. The face on the left shows the effect of sun tanning, while the face on the right shows the effect of eating more carotenoids. Participants thought the carotenoid colour looked healthier.



Exercise

a. Exercise Could Help Prevent, Treat Eating Disorders

b. Consistent exercise = lower risk of colon cancer death

Vitamin D

a. Low Vitamin D = Increased Risk of Hip Fracture

b. Vitamin D deficiency could be linked to the development and severity of certain autoimmune lung diseases.

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Exercise – it will cure what ails you, or at least some of the most common ailments.

Research conducted in the College of Health Sciences’ Department of Health, Leisure and Exercise Science at Appalachian State University has shown that resistance training has some similar effects as aerobic exercise in lowering a person’s blood pressure.

Dr. Scott Collier was the lead investigator of the study published in the October 2010 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The study is part of the growing body of research being conducted at Appalachian on the effects of exercise, supplements and health.

Collier looked at changes that occurred to arteries and blood flow following 45 minutes of moderate intensity resistance exercise using machines like those typically found in fitness centers.

He found that the resistance training resulted in as much as a 20 percent decrease in a person’s blood pressure, which is as good as or better than the benefit of taking anti-hypertensive medication. “And exercise has no adverse side effects,” Collier said.

“Resistance exercise increases blood flow which reduces blood pressure,” he said. The findings are significant, he explained, because it shows that aerobic exercise isn’t the only way a person can improve their cardiovascular health.

“Aerobic exercise is the American Heart Association’s preferred exercise for decreasing cardiovascular risk,” Collier said. “However, there are a lot of people with orthopedic or obesity limitations who can’t walk or run long distances. For them, that type of exercise would be contraindicated.” he said.

He found that the beneficial effects of resistance training continued about 30 minutes after the exercise had ended and as long as 24 hours in individuals who trained for 30-45 minutes three times a week.

Collier said women who use resistance training to lower their blood pressure gain additional benefits. “Resistance training also helps protect against or treat osteoporosis,” he said. “Any exercise is good. But if you can’t do aerobic exercise, resistance exercise can help decrease blood pressure and increase metabolism as well as provide social and psychological benefits”.

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Eating blueberries can guard against high blood pressure, according to new research by the University of East Anglia and Harvard University.



High blood pressure – or hypertension – is one of the major cardiovascular diseases worldwide. It leads to stroke and heart disease and costs more than $300 billion each year. Around a quarter of the adult population is affected globally – including 10 million people in the UK and one in three US adults.

Published next month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the new findings show that bioactive compounds in blueberries called anthocyanins offer protection against hypertension. Compared with those who do not eat blueberries, those eating at least one serving a week reduce their risk of developing the condition by 10 per cent.

Anthocyanins belong to the bioactive family of compounds called flavonoids and are found in high amounts in blackcurrants, raspberries, aubergines, blood orange juice and blueberries. Other flavonoids are found in many fruits, vegetables, grains and herbs. The flavonoids present in tea, fruit juice, red wine and dark chocolate are already known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

This is the first large study to investigate the effect of different flavonoids on hypertension.

The team of UEA and Harvard scientists studied 134,000 women and 47,000 men from the Harvard established cohorts, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study over a period of 14 years. None of the participants had hypertension at the start of the study. Subjects were asked to complete health questionnaires every two years and their dietary intake was assessed every four years. Incidence of newly diagnosed hypertension during the 14-year period was then related to consumption of various different flavonoids.

During the study, 35,000 participants developed hypertension. Dietary information identified tea as the main contributor of flavonoids, with apples, orange juice, blueberries, red wine, and strawberries also providing important amounts. When the researchers looked at the relation between individual subclasses of flavonoids and hypertension, they found that participants consuming the highest amounts of anthocyanins (found mainly in blueberries and strawberries in this US-based population) were eight per cent less likely to be diagnosed with hypertension than those consuming the lowest amounts. The effect was even stronger in participants under 60.

The effect was strongest for blueberry rather than strawberry consumption. Compared to people who ate no blueberries, those eating at least one serving of blueberries per week were 10 per cent less likely to become hypertensive.

“Our findings are exciting and suggest that an achievable dietary intake of anthocyanins may contribute to the prevention of hypertension,” said lead author Prof Aedin Cassidy of the Department of Nutrition at UEA’s Medical School.

“Anthocyanins are readily incorporated into the diet as they are present in many commonly consumed foods. Blueberries were the richest source in this particular study as they are frequently consumed in the US. Other rich sources of anthocyanins in the UK include blackcurrants, blood oranges, aubergines and raspberries.”

Sports drinks and enhanced waters have become extremely popular among athletes and consumers who want to live a healthy lifestyle. Yet a growing body of evidence points to old-school beverages—tea, coffee and low-fat or chocolate milk—as the best elixirs for nutrition, health and workout recovery.

For hundreds of years, ancient cultures have relied on tea for medicinal purposes, and modern science is now verifying why. Tea is an antioxidant-rich beverage containing more polyphenols than many fruits and vegetables. Besides being rich in compounds that combat cell-damaging oxidative stress, tea has a chemical makeup that includes enzymes, carbohydrates, protein, and lipids. Oxidative stress is a molecular imbalance that interferes with the body’s ability to detoxify harmful compounds leading to cellular damage and is associated with chronic health problems such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, dementia, and even cancer. Packed with compounds that protect cells from oxidative stress, tea has emerged as a natural dietary aid to lower the risk of these ailments. Research indicates that tea strengthens the body’s immune system, reduces buildup of plaque on arterial walls, and aids in the control and prevention of diabetes.

Like tea, coffee is packed with polyphenols, and it actually has a higher content of antioxidants than green or black tea and other beverages such as fruit and vegetables juices. New research has suggested that coffee consumption can lower cardiovascular risks as well as lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 50 percent. Coffee also appears to have a positive effect on neurological diseases with coffee consumption possibly reducing the risk of both Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

It is widely known that milk is an excellent source of protein, calcium, and vitamin D and it helps build teeth and bone mass during childhood and adolescence. Recent research findings detail the benefits of whole, low-fat, and chocolate milk when it comes to overall nutrition, bone density, weight loss, muscle-building and more. Other research indicates that when consumed after resistance training, both unflavored and chocolate-flavored versions of reduced-fat milk, improve muscle development, enhance strength, and increase fat loss.

Food Technology magazine is published by the Institute of Food Technologists. Read the full article.

Researchers discover molecular mechanism behind drink's prophylactic effect


Coffee, that morning elixir, may give us an early jump-start to the day, but numerous studies have shown that it also may be protective against type 2 diabetes. Yet no one has really understood why.

Now, researchers at UCLA have discovered a possible molecular mechanism behind coffee's protective effect. A protein called sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) regulates the biological activity of the body's sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, which have long been thought to play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. And coffee consumption, it turns out, increases plasma levels of SHBG.

Reporting with colleagues in the current edition of the journal Diabetes, first author Atsushi Goto, a UCLA doctoral student in epidemiology, and Dr. Simin Liu, a professor of epidemiology and medicine with joint appointments at the UCLA School of Public Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, show that women who drink at least four cups of coffee a day are less than half as likely to develop diabetes as non-coffee drinkers.

When the findings were adjusted for levels of SHBG, the researchers said, that protective effect disappeared.

The American Diabetes Association estimates that nearly 24 million children and adults in the U.S. — nearly 8 percent of the population — have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease and accounts for about 90 to 95 percent of these cases.

Early studies have consistently shown that an "inverse association" exists between coffee consumption and risk for type 2 diabetes, Liu said. That is, the greater the consumption of coffee, the lesser the risk of diabetes. It was thought that coffee may improve the body's tolerance to glucose by increasing metabolism or improving its tolerance to insulin.

"But exactly how is elusive," said Liu, "although we now know that this protein, SHBG, is critical as an early target for assessing the risk and prevention of the onset of diabetes."

Earlier work by Liu and his colleagues published in the New England Journal of Medicine had identified two mutations in the gene coding for SHBG and their effect on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes; one increases risk while the other decreases it, depending on the levels of SHBG in the blood.

A large body of clinical studies has implicated the important role of sex hormones in the development of type 2 diabetes, and it's known that SHBG not only regulates the sex hormones that are biologically active but may also bind to receptors in a variety of cells, directly mediating the signaling of sex hormones.

"That genetic evidence significantly advanced the field," said Goto, "because it indicated that SHBG may indeed play a causal role in affecting risk for type 2 diabetes."

"It seems that SHBG in the blood does reflect a genetic susceptibility to developing type 2 diabetes," Liu said. "But we now further show that this protein can be influenced by dietary factors such as coffee intake in affecting diabetes risk — the lower the levels of SHBG, the greater the risk beyond any known diabetes risk factors."

For the study, the researchers identified 359 new diabetes cases matched by age and race with 359 apparently healthy controls selected from among nearly 40,000 women enrolled in the Women's Health Study, a large-scale cardiovascular trial originally designed to evaluate the benefits and risks of low-dose aspirin and vitamin E in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

They found that women who drank four cups of caffeinated coffee each day had significantly higher levels of SHBG than did non-drinkers and were 56 percent less likely to develop diabetes than were non-drinkers. And those who also carried the protective copy of the SHBG gene appeared to benefit the most from coffee consumption.

When the investigators controlled for blood SHBG levels, the decrease in risk associated with coffee consumption was not significant. This suggests that it is SHBG that mediates the decrease in risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Liu said.

And there's bad news for decaf lovers. "Consumption of decaffeinated coffee was not significantly associated with SHBG levels, nor diabetes risk," Goto said. "So you probably have to go for the octane!"

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New study shows indoor lighting has profound suppressive effect on the hormone melatonin


According to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), exposure to electrical light between dusk and bedtime strongly suppresses melatonin levels and may impact physiologic processes regulated by melatonin signaling, such as sleepiness, thermoregulation, blood pressure and glucose homeostasis.

Melatonin is a hormone produced at night by the pineal gland in the brain. In addition to its role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle, melatonin has been shown to lower blood pressure and body temperature and has also been explored as a treatment option for insomnia, hypertension and cancer. In modern society, people are routinely exposed to electrical lighting during evening hours to partake in work, recreational and social activities. This study sought to understand whether exposure to room light in the late evening may inhibit melatonin production.

"On a daily basis, millions of people choose to keep the lights on prior to bedtime and during the usual hours of sleep," said Joshua Gooley, PhD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. and lead author of the study. "Our study shows that this exposure to indoor light has a strong suppressive effect on the hormone melatonin. This could, in turn, have effects on sleep quality and the body's ability to regulate body temperature, blood pressure and glucose levels."

In this study, researchers evaluated 116 healthy volunteers aged 18-30 years who were exposed to room light or dim light in the eight hours preceding bedtime for five consecutive days. An intravenous catheter was inserted into the forearms of study participants for continuous collection of blood plasma every 30-60 minutes for melatonin measurements. Results showed exposure to room light before bedtime shortened melatonin duration by about 90 minutes when compared to dim light exposure. Furthermore, exposure to room light during the usual hours of sleep suppressed melatonin by greater than 50 percent.

"Given that chronic light suppression of melatonin has been hypothesized to increase relative risk for some types of cancer and that melatonin receptor genes have been linked to type 2 diabetes, our findings could have important health implications for shift workers who are exposed to indoor light at night over the course of many years," said Gooley. "Further research is still needed to both substantiate melatonin suppression as a significant risk factor for breast cancer and determine the mechanisms by which melatonin regulates glucose metabolism."

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When treating an eating disorder, exercise is rarely considered therapeutic; it's more likely to be viewed as dangerous for patients already obsessed with their weight. But a new University of Florida study shows that the psychological benefits of exercise could be used as an intervention for -- or even a way to prevent -- eating disorders.

Despite the documented mental and physical benefits of exercise, health care practitioners have long assumed that people with eating disorders shouldn't be encouraged to burn calories through physical activity. While it's true that compulsive exercisers risk further harm, healthy exercise that's not compulsive could help people with eating disorders or people who are at risk for eating disorders, said Heather Hausenblas, a UF exercise psychologist who co-authored the study, published in the January issue of European Eating Disorders Review.

"When it comes to eating disorders, exercise has always been seen as a negative because people use it as a way to control their weight. But for most people, exercise is a very positive thing," Hausenblas said. "Our results show it's not necessarily bad for people with disordered eating to engage in exercise. The effects on self-esteem, depression, mood and body image can reduce the risk of eating pathologies."

In the study, co-authored by Brian Cook, an exercise psychologist at the University of Kentucky, Peter Giacobbi, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, and former UF doctoral student Daniel Tuccitto, Hausenblas and her colleagues surveyed 539 normal-weight students, most of whom were not at risk for eating disorders. They evaluated the students' drive to be thin, along with their exercise habits and risk for exercise dependence, and used statistical models to find potential relationships. She found that, more than its physical benefits, the psychological effects of exercise could help prevent and treat eating disorders.

The study's findings could have far-reaching impact, said Danielle Symons Downs, director of the Exercise Psychology Laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University.

"The public health implications of this study are important," she said. "This research is important for understanding the complex interactions between exercise behavior and eating pathology, and it can assist clinicians with better understanding how to intervene with and treat eating pathology."

Beyond offering an affordable treatment to address the needs of people with eating disorders, exercise therapies also could help relieve the burden of such diseases on the health-care system, Hausenblas said. "If a patient is extremely underweight, you're not going to have them exercising two or three hours a day. But once they're at a stable level, exercise could have a big positive effect," she said. Hausenblas hopes to launch another study that would follow at-risk individuals over a period of several months to see if exercise impacts their symptoms.

"We'd like to assess them over time, and we hope to see their risk factors go down," she said.