Posts Tagged ‘exercise’

For the majority of Americans, our access to health care is intimately linked to whether we have a job or not. Even though many of us have lost health insurance benefits, obtaining good health doesn’t have to cost a bundle.  M.D. Anderson, one of America’s top cancer centers, has released their top 5 list of low-cost tips to reduce your risk of cancer, four of which doesn’t involve stepping foot into the doctor’s office. ”If we eat healthier meals and increase daily exercise, we could avoid about one-third or 186,000 cancer deaths this year,” says Michele Forman, Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology at M.D. Anderson. Here’s what made the list:

1. Exercise daily.
2. Eat more fruits and vegetables.
3. Avoid tobacco.
4. Practice sun-safety.
5. Get regular check-ups.

See why these tips made the list and share your comments here.

New research from the UK is suggesting that not only do children learn from their parents, they tend to learn from their parents of the same sex, at least when it comes to the issue of obesity.  After studying 226 families, researchers found that daughters of obese mothers were 10 times more likely to be obese, compared to daughters of normal-weight mothers. Sons were 6 times more likely to be obese if they have an obese father. Researchers attribute this finding to a phenomenon called “behavioral sympathy” where children will adopt the lifestyles of their same-sex parent. The obesity epidemic has innumerable causes, but the fight against it has to involve educating both parents and children. Healthy eating and living are learned behaviors, not a consequence of genetics.

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As the nation gears up for another July 4th holiday, those with respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and COPD need to be aware of potential disease flare ups due to soot and ozone propelled into the air by barbecues, fireworks, and the increased number of cars on roads. Exposure to high levels of ozone can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and even heart attacks in both healthy people and those with pulmonary disease. Therefore, be aware of your local pollution level and limit strenuous exercise (which can cause you to inhale more pollutants) during times of increased air pollution. Have a safe and happy fourth!

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Tai Chi is a form of exercise that has been practiced in parts of Asia, especially China, for hundreds of years. It’s a form of martial arts that aims to cultivate the mind and body. Many practice Tai Chi because they experience improved physical function and mood. And now Australian researchers have determined that Tai Chi does in fact improve pain and disability in patients suffering from arthritis. However, I’m sure that practitioners of the art don’t need convincing, but modern medicine demands research trials be done. The researchers state, “The fact that Tai Chi is inexpensive, convenient, and enjoyable and conveys other psychological and social benefits supports the use this type of intervention for pain conditions such as arthritis.” The study is published in the June issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

Have you tried Tai Chi?  Share your comments here.

A recent study presented at the 56th annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) suggests that the mood enhancing effects of exercise can last longer than an hour, as previously thought. Compared with a control group that did not exercise, the survey group of healthy men and women who exercised reported enhanced moods up to 12 hours post-exercise. volunteers performed exercise at 60% of aerobic capacity, which indicates that moderate-intensity exercise is enough to boost mood. Because these effects appear to fade after 12 hours, the researchers are recommending daily exercise. Current ACSM guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, which can be achieved in 30 minute segments five days a week.

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The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences report today that vitamin C and vitamin E supplements may counteract the beneficial affects of exercise on diabetes and glucose metabolism. The University of Jena and Harvard University study shows that exercise induces bursts of free radicals that cause our body to activate and metabolize carbohydrates more efficiently, which can prevent type 2 diabetes and other conditions that may lead to stroke, coronary artery disease and kidney failure. Mitigating these free radicals with antioxidant vitamins could, therefore, block the health effects conferred by exercise.

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Studies have shown that moderate physical activity 30 minutes a day for at least 5 days of the week has beneficial effects on our health. But what exactly qualifies as “moderate” intensity exercise? University of California San Diego researchers are publishing in the May 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that taking 1000 steps in 10 minutes should be the target. This boils down to 100 walking steps per minute. A useful way to achieve this goal is to obtain an inexpensive pedometer and to try to accumulate 1000 steps in 10 minutes, since this is the minimum exercise time for producing health benefits. Then, when that pattern is well established and achievable, try to reach 3000 steps in 30 minutes.

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Had a “senior moment” lately? You know, those sudden, momentary lapses when you just can’t seem to remember the most common things. For most of us, we will experience what physicians term normal cognitive aging. Now, Columbia University researchers say that elevated blood glucose levels that occur naturally when we age may contribute to age-related cognitive decline. “This is news even for people without diabetes since blood glucose levels tend to rise as we grow older. Whether through physical exercise, diet or drugs, our research suggests that improving glucose metabolism could help some of us avert the cognitive slide that occurs in many of us as we age,” reported the lead investigator. Although regularly checking your blood sugar level isn’t recommended for non-diabetics, daily exercise is recommended for everyone (especially diabetics) because it contributes to normalization of blood glucose.

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Exercise is known to reduce cancer risk. Just how and why is unclear. On the contrary, decreased sleep appears to be correlated with an increased risk of cancer, according to a new study presented this week at the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual research meeting. It is unclear why this is the case, but scientists found that among the women 65 and younger who engage in exercise, those who had less than 7 hours sleep a day had higher overall cancer risk, suggesting that much of the cancer-preventive benefit that might come from exercise could be undermined by lack of adequate sleep. Sleep, after all, is critical for general bodily repair and recovery.

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Regular aerobic exercise has been extensively studied and is known to have long-term cardiac benefits. However, did you know that listening to your favorite tune can dilate your blood vessels the same way exercise or drugs used to treat high blood pressure and cholesterol do? Researchers have shown that when people listen to music that makes them feel good (you pick the song) the effect of blood vessel dilation can last for almost an hour afterwords. Blood vessels that are able to react by dilating are termed as more “elastic.” More elastic vessels decrease the risk of atherosclerosis and blood clot formation that can lead to stroke and heart attacks.

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