REPORTING POINT 01/10
HEALTH NEWS
“Live healthy...Live well”
Dedicated to providing pertinent information on health, fitness, and nutrition to foster a culture of wellness among Southwest Airlines flight crews and their families.
by Larry Kline
EXERCISE TO SAVE YOUR EYES – people who exercise regularly have a lower risk of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to research from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The key seems to be vigorous exercise. Two studies followed thousands of runners over several years and found that people who ran about 2.5 miles a day or more reduced their risk for both conditions the most – for AMD, risk dropped by more than 50 percent. Experts think strenuous exercise may help curb inflammation that might contribute to cataracts and AMD. Health 6/09.
START THEM YOUNG – being physically active makes kids smarter and more confident, according to a report in the journal Pediatrics. A study of 12,000 teenagers found that those who played sports were less likely to participate in risky behaviors or have low self-esteem.
Athletic kids also had better grades. The researchers believe teens who are active are exposed to team building and can see the benefits of hard work. The report recommends instead of having TV time, build in time when the family is active together. Men’s Health 7/06.
JAVA FOR YOUR MIND – according to a study from the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease people who drink three cups of caffeinated beverages a day have a lower risk of developing dementia by up to 70 percent. Health 6/09.
FIBER FOR YOUR HEART – University of Massachusetts scientists discovered that the more fiber one eats, the less likely you are to have high blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a strong predictor of future heart disease. The researchers report that increasing fiber intake from 14 grams daily (about the average for most people) to 22 grams reduces the risk of high CRP levels by 82 percent.
Fiber appears to decrease arterial inflammation, lowering CRP levels. Men’s Health 7/06.
DON’T HAVE TIME FOR A LONG WORKOUT? – short bouts of exercise can be just as good as long workouts. A study at Indiana University found that four brisk 10-minute walks in a four-hour period were just as effective in lowering blood pressure as one brisk 40-minute walk in people with pre-hypertension (slightly elevated blood pressure.) The effect of the shorter bouts lasted longer – 11 hours after the last 10-minute walk, compared to 7 hours after the 40-minute walk. Previous studies have found that short bouts can be just as good as longer ones at lowering cholesterol, improving aerobic fitness, and decreasing anxiety. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 12/06.
CURB HUNGER – intense aerobic exercise, like jogging, may suppress your appetite for up to three hours by reducing levels of hunger hormones produced in your digestive system. A British study also credited weight training with hunger reduction.
University of Pennsylvania researchers also found that eating an apple 15 minutes before mealtime can result in less calories consumed at a meal because the whole fruit (not apple juice or applesauce) seems to boost satiety, leading you to eat less. Health 7/09.
OATMEAL PRIMER – all oatmeal starts out as whole oat kernels, called groats. The outer hull is removed, but the fiber-rich bran and nutrient-rich germ and endosperm are retained. No matter how the oats are further processed, all forms are “good” carbs that provide the same vitamins, minerals, fiber (particularly beta-glucan, a cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber), and phytochemicals.
Steel-cut oats, also called Irish or Scotch oatmeal, are whole-grain oats that have been sliced into coarse pieces by steel blades. Rolled or old-fashioned oats are steamed, pressed with a roller, and flaked. Quick-cooking oats are cut before rolling, with instant oatmeal cut finest and rolled thinnest.
The major difference between the forms is their cooking times and textures. Steel-cut, the least processed, takes the longest to cook and has a chewier texture and nuttier flavor. Faster-cooking oats, including instant oatmeal that you just mix with hot water, are convenient but tend to be gummier.
Steel-cut and other less processed oats are sometimes promoted because they have a lower glycemic index (GI), meaning they are digested more slowly and cause less of a spike in blood sugar. But whether that makes a difference to your health is debatable and the variations in GI among different oatmeal processes are minor.
Oatmeal is a nutritious breakfast or snack, but be aware that many instant oatmeals have added sugar and salt. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 10/07.
BULK UP…YOUR DIET – University of Massachusetts scientists discovered that the more fiber you eat, the less likely y9u are to have high blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a strong predictor of future heart disease. The researchers report that increasing fiber intake from 14 grams daily – about average for most Americans – to 22 grams reduces the risk of high CRP levels by 82 percent. Fiber appears to decrease arterial inflammation, lowering CRP levels.
Eating lots of fruits and vegetables and consuming whole grains is the best way to increase dietary fiber. Men’s Health 8/06.
TWO FOR YOUR HEART – Harvard scientists discovered that choline and betaine – two relatively obscure micro-nutrients – predict blood levels of homocysteine, an important marker of cardiovascular disease. The scientists found that when choline and betaine intakes are high, homocysteine concentrations stay low.
These nutrients appear to help convert homocysteine to methionine, an essential amino acid. The process automatically lowers homocysteine levels, reducing heart-disease risk. Dietary sources of choline are eggs, and spinach is a good source of betaine. Men’s Health 8/06.
WHEELS OF MISFORTUNE – cycling is a great way to get a good low-impact aerobic workout. However, the vast majority of cyclists have chronic injury complaints.
About 85 percent of cyclists suffer nagging pains. Scientists at Olympic Research in Seattle compiled data and published it in Sports Medicine Journal. Here are the percentages of complaints and prevention tips:
Common cause Prevention strategy
43%-knees Bike doesn’t fit Place the saddle high enough for
hips to remain steady while pedaling
29%-neck/ Poor riding posture Move forward in the saddle and
shoulders raise handlebars to avoid neck
hyper-extension.
40%-wrists/ Resting weight on Wear padded gloves and change
hands wrists hand position frequently
53%-buttocks A narrow, hard saddle Lower the saddle to prevent the
creates pressure side-to-side rocking motion that
can chafe.
30%-back Front of saddle is angled Point the saddle down 10 to 15
too far up degrees from horizontal.
Men’s Health 8/06.
5-SECOND RULE – there is an urban myth of dropped food on the ground being safe if retrieved within 5-seconds. Food experts indicate that food safety is dependent on more than just time on the ground . The texture and landing place also affect how many bacteria transfer to the fumbled morsel.
Bacteria experts from the University of Chicago compared different food types and surfaces to answer this important question on behalf of mankind.
They compared gum, cookies, a chicken leg, and a hot dog and dropped these items on a kitchen floor, living room carpet, concrete step, bathroom floor, and finally a lawn.
The time comparison was from 2 seconds to 10 seconds on the ground. The researchers found that generally, items dropped on the kitchen floor and living room carpet fared better than a concrete step, bathroom floor and lawn. Moisture in the food was a large determinant of bacteria contamination, with the chicken leg and hot dog being the worst.
As far as surfaces compared, the lawn was by far the worst, with just a 10-second time exposure contaminating the vast majority of food items. Men’s Health 7/06.
LACK OF SLEEP = HIGH BP – a lack of sleep can permanently raise blood pressure. Columbia University researchers examined survey data on people, excluding those who were overweight or suffered from sleep disorders, and found that logging less than 5 hours a night increased the incidence of high blood pressure by 60 percent. Sleep deprivation stimulates stress hormones, which cause short-term spikes in blood pressure.
Missing sleep regularly may cause lasting damage to heart valves. Sleeping less raises average 24-hour blood pressure and heart rate which, through increased strain, can set up the cardiovascular system to persistently operate at an elevated pressure.
Evening exercise can lower core body temperature, which may aid in sleep quality. Men’s Health 11/06.
GETTING TEETH BLEACHED? – if you get your teeth bleached, the laser or other light source often used may not be necessary and may even be harmful, according to a study in a journal from the Royal Society of Chemistry. Researchers who tested the effects of bleaching with and without light, found that in six out of seven cases, using the lamp did not increase the degree of tooth whitening compared to the bleach alone. Moreover, the light from the lamps (which emit ultraviolet radiation) can reflect and scatter to other parts of the mouth and face and to the eyes, if eye protection is not used or is inadequate. The skin in the mouth may be even more sensitive to ultraviolet rays than skin elsewhere. If the dentist insists on using a lamp make sure your skin and eyes are properly protected. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 7/09.
