How cool is this! From the Scope blog at Stanford University:
How laughter, anger may influence heart health
Lia Steakley on August 29th, 2011 1 Comment
Anger and the inability to manage stress can harm your heart, while laughter can be an effective stress-reliever and improve cardiovascular function, according to a pair of studies presented yesterday at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting.
In the first study, Italian researchers recruited 228 survivors of an acute myocardial infarction, 200 of whom were men, conducted psychological evaluations of individuals and followed them for 10 years to evaluate how negative emotions such as anger, depression and anxiety might affect prognosis in cardiology. During this time, researchers recorded 51 cardiac events. According to an ESC release:
To understand which factors were able to predict these events the authors used a statistical analysis known as the Cox model. Examining factors such as the age of patient, gender, psychological variables, clinical data (traditional risk factors, peak cardiac necrosis enzymes, left ventricular wall motion score index and heart rate variability), the results show that the only factors able to predict cardiac events in patients are the Anger and Stress-related disturbances, with a relative risk of 2.30 and 1.90 respectively. Patients who had reported a high score on the Anger scale had a higher risk of experiencing a new event, 2.30 times superior in comparison with those who had reported a low score on the same scale.
These study results were particularly interesting in light of additional findings presented at the ESC meeting by University of Maryland researcher Michael Miller, MD, who has been exploring the role of laughter and humor in reducing the risk of heart disease for the past decade.
Miller’s early work suggested mental stress caused blood vessels to constrict so he decided to examine if positive emotions, such as laughter, had the opposite effect. In his latest study, participants were instructed to watch either a comedy or intense drama and were monitored for carotid artery activity during the films. According to an ESC release:
When study volunteers watched the stressful movie, their blood vessel lining developed a potentially unhealthy response called vasoconstriction, reducing blood flow. This finding confirms previous studies, which suggested there was a link between mental stress and the narrowing of blood vessels. However, after watching the funny movie, the blood vessel lining expanded.
Overall, more than 300 measurements were made with a 30-50% difference in blood vessel diameter between the laughter (blood vessel expansion) and mental stress (blood vessel constriction) phases. “The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium after laughing was consistent and similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic exercise or statin use” says Dr. Miller.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Can practicing yoga help women suffering from Fibromyalgia?
Good news! A new study published in the Journal of Pain Research suggests it can! Thanks to the Scope blog for passing along the following news:
Women suffering from fibromyalgia may find some welcome relief in yoga. A new study from York University in Toronto shows that practicing yoga boosts levels of the stress hormone cortisol, helping ease some of the symptoms, which include pain, fatigue, muscle stiffness and depression. Low cortisol has been tied to fibromyalgia, and this study is the first to look at the effect of yoga on levels of this hormone.
For the study, which appears in the Journal of Pain Research, the researchers followed a group of women who practiced 75 minutes of hatha yoga twice a week. After eight weeks, saliva samples revealed elevated levels of cortisol. Women also reported significant reductions in both physical and psychological symptoms. Kathryn Curtis, the study’s lead author, explains more in a release:
“We saw their levels of mindfulness increase – they were better able to detach from their psychological experience of pain,” Curtis says. Mindfulness is a form of active mental awareness rooted in Buddhist traditions; it is achieved by paying total attention to the present moment with a non-judgmental awareness of inner and outer experiences.
“Yoga promotes this concept – that we are not our bodies, our experiences, or our pain. This is extremely useful in the management of pain,” she says. “Moreover, our findings strongly suggest that psychological changes in turn affect our experience of physical pain.”
Women suffering from fibromyalgia may find some welcome relief in yoga. A new study from York University in Toronto shows that practicing yoga boosts levels of the stress hormone cortisol, helping ease some of the symptoms, which include pain, fatigue, muscle stiffness and depression. Low cortisol has been tied to fibromyalgia, and this study is the first to look at the effect of yoga on levels of this hormone.
For the study, which appears in the Journal of Pain Research, the researchers followed a group of women who practiced 75 minutes of hatha yoga twice a week. After eight weeks, saliva samples revealed elevated levels of cortisol. Women also reported significant reductions in both physical and psychological symptoms. Kathryn Curtis, the study’s lead author, explains more in a release:
“We saw their levels of mindfulness increase – they were better able to detach from their psychological experience of pain,” Curtis says. Mindfulness is a form of active mental awareness rooted in Buddhist traditions; it is achieved by paying total attention to the present moment with a non-judgmental awareness of inner and outer experiences.
“Yoga promotes this concept – that we are not our bodies, our experiences, or our pain. This is extremely useful in the management of pain,” she says. “Moreover, our findings strongly suggest that psychological changes in turn affect our experience of physical pain.”
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Two important things parents can do to change the childhood obesity epidemic
The following is a repost from Stanford School of Medicine's Scope blog:
Following a controversial commentary published last week in the Journal of American Medical Association, the ever-growing childhood obesity epidemic is once again the subject of many headlines and roundtable discussions. Today, as a guest on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, Stanford pediatrician Thomas Robinson, MD, MPH, took on the issue and responded to listeners’ calls and e-mails. Many parents, he said, don’t know how to solve their child’s weight problems – and some don’t know how to identify if their child needs help in the first place.
Robinson, who runs the Center for Healthy Weight at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and serves on the Institute of Medicine’s standing committee on childhood obesity prevention, says the most important thing for parents is to set a good example, and he offered up two simple suggestions: Turn off the TV and don’t bring foods you don’t want your children eating into the home. “If you know that they shouldn’t be drinking sodas all the time… then you shouldn’t have them in your home,” Robinson said.
Following a controversial commentary published last week in the Journal of American Medical Association, the ever-growing childhood obesity epidemic is once again the subject of many headlines and roundtable discussions. Today, as a guest on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, Stanford pediatrician Thomas Robinson, MD, MPH, took on the issue and responded to listeners’ calls and e-mails. Many parents, he said, don’t know how to solve their child’s weight problems – and some don’t know how to identify if their child needs help in the first place.
Robinson, who runs the Center for Healthy Weight at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and serves on the Institute of Medicine’s standing committee on childhood obesity prevention, says the most important thing for parents is to set a good example, and he offered up two simple suggestions: Turn off the TV and don’t bring foods you don’t want your children eating into the home. “If you know that they shouldn’t be drinking sodas all the time… then you shouldn’t have them in your home,” Robinson said.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Beetroot Juice: The new cardiovascular cure-all???
Check this out! I don't usually get too excited about a new wonder drug -- but what happens when the new wonder drug is juiced up plant product? Beetroot? I'm not sure how that is going to taste. Or if your teeth are going to become permenantly purple but....
![]()
Researchers are finding that the nitrates in beetroot juice lower blood pressure (the high the pressure the more effective it is!), increase our ability to exercise, and improve physical performance in events like the Tour de France.
How's this all possible? And what are the downsides?
Well...the nitrates in the juice relax the blood vessels and cause working muscles to require less oxygen for a given amount of work.
As for the downsides.....taste, maybe? Research has shown results with 250 ml of juice. Seems like a very small price to pay to possibly avoid having to take blood pressure meds!
What do you think?
How's this all possible? And what are the downsides?
Well...the nitrates in the juice relax the blood vessels and cause working muscles to require less oxygen for a given amount of work.
As for the downsides.....taste, maybe? Research has shown results with 250 ml of juice. Seems like a very small price to pay to possibly avoid having to take blood pressure meds!
What do you think?
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
We're not victims -- we need to get to work!
“Individual behavior is highly modifiable-and is responsible for the lion’s share of health status and associated costs. An individual’s lifestyle choices-smoking, nutrition, weight, exercise and stress management-are responsible for approximately 40% of one’s health status and 87.5% of healthcare claim costs. Clearly an opportunity exists to reduce healthcare spending by motivating healthier behaviors and lifestyle choices.” (S.A. Schroeder in the NE Journal of Medicine and the IPFW Study of 2006).
Friday, May 6, 2011
Fitness Triumphs over Medicine -- one Aussie's thoughts
Here's an article from an Austrialian talking about the Triumph of Fitness over Medicine. The article is his but I have to say I agree with a lot of what he has said. I am looking forward to hearing what you think.....
.......You're not wrong.
Here's an article I drafted recently based on the Australian experience - where despite record levels of spending on medical care, the health of the population continues to decline.
I don't like the word 'prevention'. 'Preventive health' is medical speak.
You don't prevent health you create it yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FITNESS TRIUMPHS OVER MEDICINE
If you ever you wanted evidence that the best bet for departments of health throughout Australia was fitness not medicine, all you had to do was watch the final of the Biggest Loser.
In the race to improve the health of Australians the Commonwealth Government continues to spend infinitely more on medical research, surgeries and hospitals that it does on fitness. However, you can put down the glasses, the race is over, it’s fitness first, daylight second, medicine a distant third.
I’m a big fan of the Biggest Loser. Where else can you see people go from fat to thin, unhealthy to fit, sad to happy, all in a few short months? Certainly not in many surgeries and pharmacies around Australia
The Commonwealth Government’s timid response to the epidemic of personally generated body system dysfunctions - metabolic, musculo-skeletal and psychological - is to set up a toothless Preventive Health Agency with the bulk of the ‘illhealth’ budget still ending up in the pockets of an increasingly ineffective, expensive and bloated medical industry: preventive health $145m versus Medical industry $68B.
So, here’s the blue print for health, fitness and wellbeing in this country.
* we need to make a distinction between what's medical and what's not. Too many people are going to doctors for things doctors can't fix and for things that would best be attended to by someone else, like a nurse, naturopath, counsellor or fitness practitioner.
1. Then we need to make the distinction between what's a disease and what's a personally-generated body system dysfunction. If you've got a disease, a medical complaint or your dysfunction is too far gone, you need medical treatment. Otherwise start working on yourself.
1. Anyone with any of the personally generated dysfunctions who is prepared to donate 4 weeks of their time to work on their fitness can have free access to fitness instruction at a fitness centre close to their home. Getting fit becomes their full time job. No pussy footing, no molly codling, just 8 hours a day devoted to restoring poor function to good with a balanced health, fitness, wellbeing and nutrition program.
* the health of Australians to improve, departments of health around Australia have to lever the fitness industry into the front line of primary health care.
You know that the bulk of the illhealth problems in this country are fitness problems and you know you can’t solve a fitness problem with a medical solution.
* the current Department of Health into two to form a Department of Health, Fitness and Wellbeing on one side of the ledger and a Department of Medicine on the other, with the current budget for general practice being split evenly between general practice and the new Department of Health, Fitness and Wellbeing.
* Commonwealth Government has to publicly acknowledge that in a toxic, sedentary society, that’s under nourished, over fed and stressed to the max, the medical model is the wrong model for improving health, fitness and wellbeing. Over the last 35 years it’s had a good trial and come up short.
* Commonwealth Government has to recognize the effect that the practice of junk medicine is having on health standards, junk medicine being the prescription of medications which mask symptoms rather than restoring poor function to good.
John Miller
So....what do you think??? Click the comment icon and share your thoughts.
.......You're not wrong.
Here's an article I drafted recently based on the Australian experience - where despite record levels of spending on medical care, the health of the population continues to decline.
I don't like the word 'prevention'. 'Preventive health' is medical speak.
You don't prevent health you create it yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FITNESS TRIUMPHS OVER MEDICINE
If you ever you wanted evidence that the best bet for departments of health throughout Australia was fitness not medicine, all you had to do was watch the final of the Biggest Loser.
In the race to improve the health of Australians the Commonwealth Government continues to spend infinitely more on medical research, surgeries and hospitals that it does on fitness. However, you can put down the glasses, the race is over, it’s fitness first, daylight second, medicine a distant third.
I’m a big fan of the Biggest Loser. Where else can you see people go from fat to thin, unhealthy to fit, sad to happy, all in a few short months? Certainly not in many surgeries and pharmacies around Australia
The Commonwealth Government’s timid response to the epidemic of personally generated body system dysfunctions - metabolic, musculo-skeletal and psychological - is to set up a toothless Preventive Health Agency with the bulk of the ‘illhealth’ budget still ending up in the pockets of an increasingly ineffective, expensive and bloated medical industry: preventive health $145m versus Medical industry $68B.
So, here’s the blue print for health, fitness and wellbeing in this country.
* we need to make a distinction between what's medical and what's not. Too many people are going to doctors for things doctors can't fix and for things that would best be attended to by someone else, like a nurse, naturopath, counsellor or fitness practitioner.
1. Then we need to make the distinction between what's a disease and what's a personally-generated body system dysfunction. If you've got a disease, a medical complaint or your dysfunction is too far gone, you need medical treatment. Otherwise start working on yourself.
1. Anyone with any of the personally generated dysfunctions who is prepared to donate 4 weeks of their time to work on their fitness can have free access to fitness instruction at a fitness centre close to their home. Getting fit becomes their full time job. No pussy footing, no molly codling, just 8 hours a day devoted to restoring poor function to good with a balanced health, fitness, wellbeing and nutrition program.
* the health of Australians to improve, departments of health around Australia have to lever the fitness industry into the front line of primary health care.
You know that the bulk of the illhealth problems in this country are fitness problems and you know you can’t solve a fitness problem with a medical solution.
* the current Department of Health into two to form a Department of Health, Fitness and Wellbeing on one side of the ledger and a Department of Medicine on the other, with the current budget for general practice being split evenly between general practice and the new Department of Health, Fitness and Wellbeing.
* Commonwealth Government has to publicly acknowledge that in a toxic, sedentary society, that’s under nourished, over fed and stressed to the max, the medical model is the wrong model for improving health, fitness and wellbeing. Over the last 35 years it’s had a good trial and come up short.
* Commonwealth Government has to recognize the effect that the practice of junk medicine is having on health standards, junk medicine being the prescription of medications which mask symptoms rather than restoring poor function to good.
John Miller
So....what do you think??? Click the comment icon and share your thoughts.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The average cost of a sick day in the US -- anyone have any guesses??
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average cost, in lost productivity, of a sick day is:
$348!!
Our National recovery just might depend on the US getting healthier and staying healthier! It just costs too much to be sick!
$348!!
Our National recovery just might depend on the US getting healthier and staying healthier! It just costs too much to be sick!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Worried about your child's weight?
Here is one of the best posts I've ever read talking about the childhood obesity epidemic. Please read it and see if this approach makes sense to you, too.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Just another reason for me to love my iphone!!!
Ever been blown away by just how smart your smart phone is? I am! (and slightly scared too)
Here is some research that indicated our phones might provide just what is needed to make prosthetic limbs work better! Super, duper cool.
Here is some research that indicated our phones might provide just what is needed to make prosthetic limbs work better! Super, duper cool.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Exercise -- good for what ails you
Not be beat a dead horse (and yes, I am TOTALLY biased about the power of exercise!) -- but here is an a summary of 40 research article findings published between 2006 and 2010 that support the premise that exercise positively effects TWO DOZEN health conditions -- from cancer to dementia.
Here are some highlights:
•Regular moderate to intense physical activity is associated with decreased risk of coronary heart disease and ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke.
•A growing body of evidence suggests that increasing physical activity can also reduce the risk of certain types of cancers, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, depression, obesity and high blood pressure.
•Evidence of the beneficial effects of physical activity in the primary prevention and management of cancer is growing and there is an association between higher levels of physical activity and lower cancer death rates.
•Research has found that walking or cycling for at least an half-an-hour a day is associated with a reduction in cancer and that when this is increased to an hour cancer incidence falls by 16 per cent.
•Evidence is mixed when it comes to specific cancers. Research has shown a strong relationship between increased physical activity and reduced colon cancer in both sexes. And men who are more active at work -- not just sitting at a desk -- have lower rates of prostate cancer.
•Other cancer studies show that physical activity after diagnosis can aid recovery and improve outcomes.
•Studies have also shown that men who are physically active are less likely to experience erection problems.
•There is growing evidence that physical activity could decrease the risk of dementia in the elderly.
As a note: the highlighting is mine. Sure...you probably know that exercise decreases the risk for Type II Diabetes but the C word (cancer) is SCARY!! And if you can do something that will make you feel better immediately and decrease the risk of cancer -- I am all for that!!!
How powerful is exercise?
An extensive research review, published in the December issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice, says that apart from not smoking, being physically active is the most powerful lifestyle choice any individual can make to improve their health.
The most powerful choice you can make second to being a non-smoker! Wow!
Here are some highlights:
•Regular moderate to intense physical activity is associated with decreased risk of coronary heart disease and ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke.
•A growing body of evidence suggests that increasing physical activity can also reduce the risk of certain types of cancers, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, depression, obesity and high blood pressure.
•Evidence of the beneficial effects of physical activity in the primary prevention and management of cancer is growing and there is an association between higher levels of physical activity and lower cancer death rates.
•Research has found that walking or cycling for at least an half-an-hour a day is associated with a reduction in cancer and that when this is increased to an hour cancer incidence falls by 16 per cent.
•Evidence is mixed when it comes to specific cancers. Research has shown a strong relationship between increased physical activity and reduced colon cancer in both sexes. And men who are more active at work -- not just sitting at a desk -- have lower rates of prostate cancer.
•Other cancer studies show that physical activity after diagnosis can aid recovery and improve outcomes.
•Studies have also shown that men who are physically active are less likely to experience erection problems.
•There is growing evidence that physical activity could decrease the risk of dementia in the elderly.
As a note: the highlighting is mine. Sure...you probably know that exercise decreases the risk for Type II Diabetes but the C word (cancer) is SCARY!! And if you can do something that will make you feel better immediately and decrease the risk of cancer -- I am all for that!!!
How powerful is exercise?
An extensive research review, published in the December issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice, says that apart from not smoking, being physically active is the most powerful lifestyle choice any individual can make to improve their health.
The most powerful choice you can make second to being a non-smoker! Wow!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Call to ACTION
The other day I was listening to a report about some farmer/ranchers/ORV hobbyist out West who were concerned than an native endangered toad would cause the government to legislate how they could use their land in an effort to save the endangered toads' habitat. Their fear was the government would step in and tell them no more off-road riding, no more ranching, etc.
In an effort to stop the government from doing this, land owners got together and figured out how to create habitat for the toad population in a way that would let them still use their land like they wanted to. And it worked! The toad population is on the rise!
The real point I want to make here is the "why" of why this worked. It worked because people took action together. They created a tribe of people interested in tackling this problem...now! People are powerful when they rally together and act -- most of the time we just need a place to come together and get to work.
If you are concerned with our rising inactivity and how our behaviors are effecting our kids -- here is your rallying place. Sound out and leave a comment. Let others know your out there and you have the will to take action on this problem! Today. Let's move (literally) on this today!!!
In an effort to stop the government from doing this, land owners got together and figured out how to create habitat for the toad population in a way that would let them still use their land like they wanted to. And it worked! The toad population is on the rise!
The real point I want to make here is the "why" of why this worked. It worked because people took action together. They created a tribe of people interested in tackling this problem...now! People are powerful when they rally together and act -- most of the time we just need a place to come together and get to work.
If you are concerned with our rising inactivity and how our behaviors are effecting our kids -- here is your rallying place. Sound out and leave a comment. Let others know your out there and you have the will to take action on this problem! Today. Let's move (literally) on this today!!!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
A Kanasas State University Professor goes on the "Twinkie" Diet
Ok -- there is a LOT of confusion out there about "healthy" eating, healthy weight and portion control. Think you have it all figured out??? You may need to think again! Click here to read how this university professor ate Twinkies, Little Debbie snack cakes, Doritos, and the like and LOST WEIGHT, reduced his cholesterol, reduced his triglycerides and became healthier by current health standard.
This is definitely food for thought!
This is definitely food for thought!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Pay yourself First
Chris Brogan posted a list of "pay yourself first" principles -- I think they are really worth taking under consideration. The healthier you are, the more productive you can be -- but more importantly, the more you are able to find the joy in your own life (which has the benefit of making you healthier....note the positive reinforcing circle?) So here they are ( if you like the list -- click on over to Chris' site and check it out):
If you want to improve your lot in life, if you want to balance your priorities, here’s my quick little recipe for paying yourself first:
Weigh every business opportunity against your change in quality of life.
Ask for what you’re worth, so you can work the right number of hours for respectable pay.
Work your core projects first over all external projects.
Weigh the negatives and positives of any trip you might be asked to take. Decide accordingly.
Realize that physical fitness boosts mental fitness and make it a priority, not a nice-to-have.
Listen for warning signs (your body tells you when you’re messing with its parameters).
Cut out junk: food, hours, consumption, entertainment. Your mind and body deserve the best.
Audit how you’re spending your time and validate whether it’s working for you.
Get out into nature once every two days at least. Nature is that other window with the higher resolution.
If you want to improve your lot in life, if you want to balance your priorities, here’s my quick little recipe for paying yourself first:
Get as close to 8 hours of sleep a night as you can.
Schedule “do not disturb” time with your family as often as possible.
Ask for what you’re worth, so you can work the right number of hours for respectable pay.
Work your core projects first over all external projects.
Weigh the negatives and positives of any trip you might be asked to take. Decide accordingly.
Realize that physical fitness boosts mental fitness and make it a priority, not a nice-to-have.
Listen for warning signs (your body tells you when you’re messing with its parameters).
Cut out junk: food, hours, consumption, entertainment. Your mind and body deserve the best.
Audit how you’re spending your time and validate whether it’s working for you.
Get out into nature once every two days at least. Nature is that other window with the higher resolution.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Green tea affecting iron absorption?
We all try to eat healthy -- increase our antioxidants -- do all the things we should to maintain and improve out health. What happens when too much of one good thing interferes with another?
Research has recently reported at study looking into what happens when participants ate grape seed extract and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) found in green tea.
The take home: these compounds may block iron absorption. Interested in learning more? Click here.
Research has recently reported at study looking into what happens when participants ate grape seed extract and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) found in green tea.
The take home: these compounds may block iron absorption. Interested in learning more? Click here.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Life is about balance
I just read an interesting article on folate and Vitamin B12. Each one has benefits -- appropriate folate is associated with fewer neural tube defects in newborns, and better cognitive functioning in older adults.
B12 helps regulate normal body functioning and assists in red blood cell formation. Life gets tricky when things get out of balance:
"After adjusting for other factors, the researchers found significant links between low B12 and increased risk of anemia (170%) and cognitive impairment (150%). Among the subjects with low vitamin B12 status, high levels of folate were associated with both anemia (210%) and cognitive impairment (160%). Those findings suggest a possible harmful effect from excess folic acid when paired with B12 deficiency.
For subjects with normal B12 levels, however, folic acid seemed to have a beneficial effect on cognitive impairment. High folate levels in this group were associated with a 60% lower risk of cognitive impairment. No significant association was seen for other conditions."
For more information on the importance of folate/Vitamin B12 balance, click here!
B12 helps regulate normal body functioning and assists in red blood cell formation. Life gets tricky when things get out of balance:
"After adjusting for other factors, the researchers found significant links between low B12 and increased risk of anemia (170%) and cognitive impairment (150%). Among the subjects with low vitamin B12 status, high levels of folate were associated with both anemia (210%) and cognitive impairment (160%). Those findings suggest a possible harmful effect from excess folic acid when paired with B12 deficiency.
For subjects with normal B12 levels, however, folic acid seemed to have a beneficial effect on cognitive impairment. High folate levels in this group were associated with a 60% lower risk of cognitive impairment. No significant association was seen for other conditions."
For more information on the importance of folate/Vitamin B12 balance, click here!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Good news!!
Want your child to be smarter? Get them moving!! A recent study found that kids who were better at utilizing the oxygen they breathe (THE measure of fitness), had better developed parts of the brain that control memory and spacial relations (the hippocampus) -- 12% larger than unfit children.
Perhaps we are cutting funding to physical education classes prematurely. Perhaps we should think about how much time kids get in front of the TV. Perhaps they should be outside running around -- building up their fitness levels so they can grow the brains they need to do well in life.
Perhaps we are cutting funding to physical education classes prematurely. Perhaps we should think about how much time kids get in front of the TV. Perhaps they should be outside running around -- building up their fitness levels so they can grow the brains they need to do well in life.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sports drinks do not mean health drinks
Okay, this is a pretty big no brainer if you take time to think about it. There has been a ton of research recently about perceptions of food based on the context it is presented to the consumer. (Think "anything at Subway must be healthy because Jerod lost a bunch of weight and it's slogan is "Eat Fresh") -- so not necessarily true!
This next study talks about sugar-sweetened sports drinks, who's drinking them, and how much they are drinking. Many times, kids are presented with these drinks as "Healthy Options" to soda because they are related to sport -- again, not necessarily true.
Sports drinks do have large value in certain situations -- those who have lost salt and water (whether athlete or senior citizen) can benefit from the replacement factor sports drinks offer. But if the kids are just drinking them instead of water when their shleppin' around school, then need to know it's the wrong tool for the job.
This next study talks about sugar-sweetened sports drinks, who's drinking them, and how much they are drinking. Many times, kids are presented with these drinks as "Healthy Options" to soda because they are related to sport -- again, not necessarily true.
Sports drinks do have large value in certain situations -- those who have lost salt and water (whether athlete or senior citizen) can benefit from the replacement factor sports drinks offer. But if the kids are just drinking them instead of water when their shleppin' around school, then need to know it's the wrong tool for the job.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tight Blood Pressure Control
I always find it interesting when a study comes out saying that there isn't a real difference between tight regulation (though pharmacological means) and improved long-term outcomes of the disease the tighter control is meant to help.
This study is a case in point. It looks at the incidence of adverse cardiovascular outcomes during the follow up period. It determines that those with BP kept under 130 mm Hg systolic pressure did not decrease their chances of dying in the follow-up period more than those with a BP kept between the 140-130 mm Hg level.
Usually, the extra control comes from adding another BP medication. But my question has always been, is that extra med doing any good? And, is that extra med doing more harm, since it is another non-food item the body has to metabolize and get out of the system.
I am not advocating you go off your BP meds right now -- but I think it at least bears some thought and perhaps some thoughtful discussion with your health care provider. Like so many other things -- sometimes more is not better...it is just more.
This study is a case in point. It looks at the incidence of adverse cardiovascular outcomes during the follow up period. It determines that those with BP kept under 130 mm Hg systolic pressure did not decrease their chances of dying in the follow-up period more than those with a BP kept between the 140-130 mm Hg level.
Usually, the extra control comes from adding another BP medication. But my question has always been, is that extra med doing any good? And, is that extra med doing more harm, since it is another non-food item the body has to metabolize and get out of the system.
I am not advocating you go off your BP meds right now -- but I think it at least bears some thought and perhaps some thoughtful discussion with your health care provider. Like so many other things -- sometimes more is not better...it is just more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)