REPORTING POINT 3/10
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
WORSE FOR MEN – a study in the British medical journal Lancet reveals that men are twice as likely as women to suffer from deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), a potentially deadly blood clot that can develop by sitting for long periods of time. If you have a family history of DVT and usually sit for long periods of time, ask your physician for a thrombin-generation test (developed by Austrian researchers.) If the level of risk is high, some prescription blood thinners such as warfarin may significantly reduce the danger of DVT. Men’s Health 11/06.
VARIETY IS BEST – when it comes to produce, consuming a variety may be more important than the quantity consumed. Colorado State University researchers discovered that, despite eating one less serving daily, people who consumed a wider array of fruits and vegetable experienced more health benefits than those who chose from a smaller assortment. The protective benefit of plant foods comes from phytochemicals, compounds that guard cells against damaging oxidation.
Phytochemicals vary from one botanical family to another. The scientists observed more benefit from smaller amounts of many different phytochemicals than from larger amounts of a few. Men’s Health 11/06.
IT TAKES BOTH TO LOSE – people who diet and exercise shrink their abdominal fat cells twice as much as those who diet only, even when they lose the same amount of weight. Scientists at Wake forest University analyzed the body fat distribution of study participants who lost an average of 22 pounds. The test subjects who included exercise in their weight-loss programs were able to specifically target belly fat.
Abdominal fat cells may have different amounts of metabolic enzymes than other parts of the body, causing them to be more responsive to exercise. Men’s Health 11/06.
WEIGHT GAIN RELATED TO TYPE 2 DIABETES – people who gain weight between age 25 and 40 are at much higher risk for eventually developing Type 2 diabetes than those who gain a similar amount of weight between age 40 and age 55, according to a German study.
Earlier weight gains tend to result in younger onset of the disease. Thus, besides the amount of weight gain, duration of obesity is an important risk factor, the study concluded.
In another study from Canada, researchers found that people with diabetes are likely to develop cardiovascular disease 15 years earlier than other people. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 11/06.
FIBER FUELS FAT LOSS – people who eat a high-fiber breakfast before working out burn twice as much fat while running as they do after a similar meal without the fiber.
Eating low-fiber refined carbohydrates significantly raises the amount of insulin in the body, which limits the ability of the body to use fat for fuel. Men’s Health 11/06.
ANOTHER REASON TO EAT FISH – eating fatty fish may help protect against actinic keratoses, skin growths caused by long-term sun exposure that can turn cancerous. In a study published in the American journal of Clinical Nutrition people who ate six ounces of fatty fish a week on average were about 30 percent less likely to develop actinic keratoses over four years than those eating little or no fish after controlling for sun exposure and other factors.
Omega-3 fats in fish may guard the skin against inflammation and free radical damage after ultraviolet exposure and have other protective effects. The best way to prevent actinic keratoses (and skin cancer) is to limit sun exposure and use sunscreen. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 7/09.
INCREASE THE ACCURACY OF A PAP TEST – to increase the accuracy of a Pap test, the American Cancer Society recommends the following steps. Do not have the test during your menstrual period. During the prior 48 hours, do not have sexual intercourse; do not use tampons, birth control foam, jellies, or other vaginal creams or vaginal medication: and do not douche. Many gynecologists recommend against douching as it can actually be harmful. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 7/09.
PILOTS’ EATING HABITS MAY AFFECT THEIR FLIGHT PERFORMANCE - Recently I came across a study by Dr. Glenda Lindseth that looked at how diet may affect a pilot’s job performance. Her review of different diet compositions and the effect on decision-making abilities is compelling and worthy of discussion. In her background, she states that aircrew human factors account for approximately 80% of the accidents in the aviation industry. She acknowledges that while the positive effects of a balanced diet and healthy foods have been shown to make significant contributions to improve safety, the effects of diet on cognitive performance are often overlooked. The objective of this study was to test the effects of dietary intake on cognition and flight performance while controlling for all other related factors.
Dr. Lindseth and colleagues enrolled 45 pilots in this study and evaluated their decision making abilities and number of errors following different diets depending on their balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats. At the end of a session with each diet, the pilots underwent cognitive testing with the standard tests for memory and mental alertness. The pilots performed significantly better on the short-term memory test and had fewer errors after eating the diets high in fats and complex carbohydrates vs. just high protein. Lindseth suspects the performance edge with the complex carbohydrate and high-fat diets was related to availability and metabolism of B complex vitamins that occurs with carbohydrate intake.
She speculated that the fats supported brain cell communication and allowed B vitamins to be available for better cognition. Deficiency of B vitamins has been shown to lead to irritability and poor cognition. In conclusion, Dr. Lindseth indicated that this had a direct impact for the military, especially the pilots who are flying, but also for anybody who needs to be alert and have high cognitive performance. She will be conducting a three-year study to further study the short term and long term effects.
So the question you might ask? How much do you believe your diet affects your job performance? It would be interesting to see how strategic business decisions and negotiations fare with these different diets. I suspect we would see similar results. by Patti Milligan, Director of Nutrition, Institute for Sustainable High Performance (reprinted with permission from the author...LK)
NOT FLOSSING REGULARLY? – Japanese researchers had discovered that eating just two ounces of yogurt a day reduces the risk of gum disease. One likely reason is that the lactobacillus, the healthy bacteria found in yogurt, may prevent the growth of harmful bacteria in the mouth.
Besides causing a loss of teeth and bad breath, gum disease has been linked to heart disease and stroke. Men’s Health 5/08.
CHRONIC NECK PAIN? – there is some evidence that acupuncture may help, according to the Cochrane Collaboration, a non profit organization that evaluates scientific literature. In its review of ten studies, people suffering from neck pain for at least three months who underwent acupuncture reported greater pain relief than those who received other therapies.
According to a study in Arthritis & Rheumatism lifting weights may remedy a stiff neck. When adults with nagging neck pain spent 20 minutes three times a week strengthening their upper trapezius muscles, they reported 80 percent less discomfort after ten weeks. That is because resistance training may help repair damaged muscles tissue. Stronger muscles can bear more strain, preventing further wear and tear. To work the upper trapezius muscles, stand with your arms hanging straight down at your sides, hold a weight in each hand and shrug your shoulders. Two sets of 8 to 10 reps will help. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 11/06, Men’s health 5/08.
GRAPES VS RAISINS – ounce for ounce, raisins have nearly three times the antioxidant power of red and green grapes, as measured by one standard test. Raisins are one of the richest sources of antioxidants of all foods.
That is not surprising since when fruits are dried, their compounds are greatly concentrated (it takes more than six ounces of grapes to make one ounce of raisins.) Most of the vitamin C in grapes, as well as heat-sensitive phytochemicals, is destroyed in the drying process, but obviously plenty survive, since raisins test so high in antioxidant activity.
Raisins are also a good source of potassium, fiber, and some minerals. But remember, the drying process also concentrates the sugars and thus the calories, so watch how many you eat. A half cup of grapes has about 50 calories, while a half cup of raisins has about 220 calories. An ounce of raisins (about 60), with 85 calories, is a good snack. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter, 7/09.
