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Exercise Healthy Tips

Regular Exercise Reduces a Large Number of Health Risks

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Regular exercise can reduce the risk and symptoms of more than 20 physical and mental health conditions, and can also slow down how quickly your body ages.

A review of research, which summarized the findings of 40 papers published between 2006 and 2010, found that exercise affects conditions including cancer, heart disease, dementia, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, obesity and high blood pressure.

Science Daily reports:
“… [A]part from not smoking, being physically active is the most powerful lifestyle choice any individual can make to improve their health.”

A separate study also found that women who exercise for 150 minutes a week or more could be reducing their risk of endometrial cancer, whether or not they are overweight.

Researchers examined data collected from a case-control study that included almost 700 women with endometrial cancer and compared them to a similar number of age-matched control women. Those who exercised for 150 minutes a week or more had a 34 percent reduced risk of endometrial cancer.

Newswise reports:
“This association was more pronounced among active women with a body mass index (BMI) less than 25, or underweight women, where the reduction in risk was 73 percent compared with inactive women with a BMI more than 25, or what is commonly considered overweight.

Although BMI showed a strong association with endometrial cancer, even women who were overweight, but still active, had a 52 percent lower risk.”

Resources:
Science Daily November 16, 2010
International Journal of Clinical Practice December 2010; 64(13):1731-4
Newswise November 12, 2010

Posted by: Dr. Mercola | December 09 2010

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Health Problems & Solutions

Some Health Quaries & Answers

When mamma is at work …..
Q: I am a working woman. I recently had a baby and would like to continue to feed her breast milk. Can I store the milk in the refrigerator?

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A: Expressed breast milk (EBM) can be safely used for your baby. It is safer and healthier than cow’s milk or tinned formula. Wash your hands and collect the milk in a sterile plastic bottle with a tight screw-type lid. Label the bottle clearly, with the date and time, so that the oldest milk is used first. Place the bottle at the back of the refrigerator or in the freezer. Do not mix used leftover milk with fresh milk and use it for the next feed.

EBM can be warmed or thawed by placing it in a bowl of warm water. Do not use a microwave for this. Do not boil it. After warming it, do not refreeze and use again. EBM can be stored in the refrigerator for five days and in a freezer for two weeks. Otherwise, it can be kept in a cool place for six hours.

You may click to see :Breast Milk Storing

Stiff hands
Q: I am 55 years old and drive an hour to work. When I reach my office, my fingers become stiff — fixed in a claw-like position — and can’t be moved easily. I also get “catches” in my leg and chest muscles.

A: You need a check up to see if you are suffering from diseases such as diabetes or hypertension. If so, they need to be tackled. If you are overweight, try to reach your ideal body weight. Walk briskly for an hour and do stretches for 20 minutes before going to work. Yoga, particularly suryanamaskar, is ideal. While stretching, concentrate on the hands. Eat four to six helpings of fruits and vegetables daily. Take calcium supplements. If all this does not help, consult a physician.

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Hernia problem
Q: My doctor said I have an intestinal hernia. What does it mean?

A: Hernias are of many types. An umbilical hernia occurs at or just next to the umbilicus. Incisional hernias occur at the site of a previous surgical scar. Inguinal hernias are commoner in men and occur in the groin area. If the abdominal wall is lax, the intestines can appear to lie just under the surface of the skin, a condition called divarication.

A weakness or deficiency in the abdominal wall present from birth can’t be repaired except through surgery. Incisional hernias and divarication can be prevented by not gaining weight and maintaining abdominal muscle tone with regular exercise.

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Pricking ears
Q: My ears are always pricking. Cleaning them brings out fungus, which forms again becoming worse.

A: The secretion may not be fungus but discharge owing to an infection, allergy or impacted wax. Fungus in the ear causes pain. Allergic or seborrhic dermatitis is more likely to cause pricking or itching.

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You need to consult an ear-nose-throat surgeon to make a diagnosis. Using inappropriate over-the-counter antimicrobial eardrops may make the condition worse. Cleaning the ears may rupture the skin, aggravating the pain and pricking.

 

High BP
Q: What is BP? How can I diagnose and prevent it? What’s the treatment?

A: BP is short for blood pressure. It should be below 140/90. If it is higher, the person is said to have high BP or hypertension. For most adults, there’s no identifiable cause of high BP. It tends to develop gradually over years. Sometimes, high blood pressure can occur as a result of tumours, defects in the blood vessels, kidney diseases or certain medications.

High BP occurs with increasing age, particularly if one or both parents have hypertension. It is commoner in overweight individuals. Smoking or living with people who smoke also increases the BP. Drinking excessively damages the heart and raises the blood pressure.

If you have high BP, stop smoking and drinking. Do regular exercises, combined with yoga and meditation, and reduce your salt intake. Your doctor will be able to prescribe appropriate medications if it does not fall with these simple measures.

The pill
Q: I take pills for diabetes, hypertension and chest pain. I find it hard to have sex. Can I use Viagra?

A: Viagra is a trade name for Sidenafil citrate and is used for erectile dysfunction, which is probably what you have. It is contraindicated in persons with hypertension, stroke or coronary artery disease, and chest pain due to angina.

It is better to discuss the issue with your physician and see if the medicine is advisable for you. He would also advise you on the dosage and time. Relying on the neighbourhood medical shop for supply and advice might be dangerous for your health.

Source:The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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Health Alert News on Health & Science

An Increase in Leptin Could Promote Colorectal Cancer

While researchers have known that obesity increases the risk for the development of colon cancer, the underlying molecular mechanisms have remained unclear.
…CLICK & SEE
Now, for the first time, researchers have found that an increase in leptin, a cytokine that is normally increased in obese or overweight individuals, may promote colorectal neoplasms by activating colorectal cancer stem cells.

Cancer stem cells constitute a small subfraction of tumor cells that are characterized by long lifespan and capacity for self-renewal, and are responsible for tumor development, resistance to treatments and cancer recurrence. In colon cancer, leptin is able to increase the growth, survival, and resistance to certain chemotherapy treatments in this key cell population.

Leptin, a fat tissue-derived pluripotent cytokine regulating appetite and energy balance in the brain, also controls many physiological and pathological processes in peripheral organs, including carcinogenesis.

Colon cancer has increased in developed countries, possibly due to sedentary lifestyles and high caloric diets. Prior research has linked obesity to colorectal cancer risk by .4-1.0 fold in men and up to 2.0 fold in premenopausal women.

“Since targeting cancer stem cells may be a translationally relevant strategy to improve clinical outcomes, interfering with leptin signaling by targeting leptin receptors might become a novel attractive option for colorectal cancer treatment, particularly in obese patients,” says senior author of the study, Eva Surmacz.

“It is important to consider that cancer stem cells have been identified in several human malignancies,” says Monica Bartucci, study co-author. “Understanding how cancer stem cells interact with a tumor environment, including hormones like leptin, is likely to have significant implications for treatment management of different cancer types in human patients. We hope, in collaboration with Dr. Surmacz, not only to test the effects of leptin antagonist compounds on colon cancer stem cells but also to study the results of leptin stimulation on cancer stem cells isolated in other cancer tissues.”

Source: Elements4Health

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Toolkit Helps Parents Recognize a Child’s Risk of Obesity

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Some simple interventions used by pediatricians were enough to change a parent’s perspective about a child’s being overweight or obese, and change the parent’s behaviors at home to reduce those risks.
..
Researchers confirmed previous reports that parents of overweight or obese children do not recognize their child’s weight problem. But this time, by arming pediatricians with a “toolkit,” an easily used chart and a series of questions and suggestions, the researchers addressed several problems.

“Doctors often don’t have time to discuss overweight; they don’t have the tools to do it; and many aren’t confident that they’re going to make a difference in their patients’ lives,” said Eliana Perrin, lead author of the study.

“Also, parents don’t recognize weight problems or don’t know how to make things better, and even if they do, there are often barriers to healthier eating or more activity for these families,” says Perrin.

As First Lady Michelle Obama‘s “Let’s Move!” campaign aims to reduce childhood obesity – almost one-third of young people are overweight – two leading questions are how to affect that change and if it can be successful.

Perrin’s study is likely the first evidence that a parent’s assessment of their child’s weight can be changed. Her study also showed improved dietary behaviors in children and reduced time playing video games or watching television, called “screen time.”

“We found something we can do to help stem the obesity epidemic,” says Perrin, whose previous research in childhood obesity has shown that using a body mass index, or BMI, chart color-coded like a traffic light helps parents understand the often confounding measurement.

Perrin’s research group trained pediatric resident physicians on how to use the color-coded BMI chart and a revision of a questionnaire called “Starting the Conversation,” originally designed by Alice Ammerman, a co-author on the study. The STC gives health care providers a snapshot of potential red flags to help counsel patients as well as tips to implement change.

Parents were asked about their children’s weight status and discussions about weight in the doctor’s office. The Starting the Conversation form used in this study was revised by Perrin and asked parents about non-healthy eating habits – frequency of sugary snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages and eating out at restaurants, as well as activity and screen time. It also asked about the parent’s readiness to change. The pediatrics residents were instructed to show parents their children’s weight status in a color-coded BMI chart and were taught to use the parents’ responses to the questionnaire to engage the parents in discussions about healthier eating behaviors and activities.

Researchers enrolled 115 children ages 4 to 12 who were covered by Medicaid or the State Health Insurance Program and repeated the Starting the Conversation questionnaire as well as questions about weight status at one-month and three-month follow-up appointments.

The study showed the most significant improvement in dietary changes among children who were overweight. At follow up, they were more likely than healthy-weight children to drink lower-fat milk and showed the largest reduction in the frequency of eating out. But overall, children improved fruit and vegetable consumption, decreased sweetened beverages and unhealthy snacks, drank lower-fat milk more and reduced screen time.

In the initial visit, all of the parents of healthy-weight children accurately perceived their child’s weight. However, only 57 percent of overweight children’s parents did so at baseline. That improved significantly to 74 percent at three month follow up.

BMI was measured and tracked and a few children became more overweight, while more reached healthier weights but no significant improvements in weight status were noted in this short study, Perrin says. “The research has to be replicated and expanded, and it must determine if improvements in parental perception of children’s weight motivates families to improve behavior and, ultimately, leads to healthier weight over time,” she says.

“Everyone’s talking about BMI and we have a lot of studies to show that parents do not see their overweight children as overweight. That often does not sink in with parents,” Perrin says. “This is the first time we’ve seen a changed perspective from parents. We hope that parents who know their children are overweight will be empowered to help them achieve healthier lifestyles that can last a lifetime.”

Source: Elements4Health

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Alcohol Consumption Associated With Reduced Risk of Arthritic Conditions

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According to study results, alcohol consumption is associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing several arthritic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondylarthropathy. Regardless of the type of arthritis, all patients reported drinking less alcohol than controls, leading to questions around the inflammatory pathways behind the effects seen.

In this Dutch study, alcohol consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.27 (0.22-0.34), Osteoarthritis (OR 0.31, (0.16-0.62), spondylarthropathy (OR 0.34, 0.17-0.67), psoriatic arthritis (OR 0.38, 0.23-0.62), and reactive arthritis (OR 0.27, 0.14-0.52). A particularly protective effect was shown in the rheumatoid arthritis population with the presence of Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibodies (ACPA, potentially important surrogate markers for diagnosis and prognosis in rheumatoid arthritis), (OR 0.59, 0.30-0.99).

Interestingly, researchers also found that the degree of systemic inflammation in patients was shown to increase as the amount of alcohol consumed decreased (p=0.001) and that there was no dose response relationship (low 0.12 (0.08-0.18), moderate 0.46 (0.36-0.59), high 0.17 (0.12-0.25)) between the amount of alcohol consumed and the risk of arthritis development. Researchers hypothesize that there could be two explanations for this inflammatory effect; either that patients with more severe disease activity consume less alcohol due to associated changes in their lifestyle, or that the presence of alcohol in the system could protect against the development of systemic inflammation.

“We know from previous research that alcohol consumption may confer a protective effect against developing rheumatoid arthritis, our data have shown that this effect may apply to other arthritic conditions too,” said Dr Annekoos Leonoor Huidekoper, lead author of the study. “What intrigues us now is that the findings related to systemic inflammation, further research into the inflammatory pathways involved is needed to determine the exact nature of the association.”

Patients with arthritic conditions (n=997; rheumatoid arthritis n=651, reactive arthritis, spondylaropathy or psoriatic arthritis n=273, osteoarthritis n=73) were enrolled from the Leiden Early Arthritis Cohort and healthy controls (n=6,874) recruited from the Multiple Environmental and Genetic Assessment of risk factors for venous thrombosis study. Alcohol consumption was recorded at baseline (units per week), and the effect of alcohol consumption on risk of disease development was analysed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression (statistical tests that predict the probability of an event occurring). Odds ratios and confidence intervals (95%) were adjusted for age, sex, Body Mass Index (BMI) and smoking.

Professor Paul Emery said: “These are very interesting findings but we should assert the need for caution in the interpretation of these data. Alcohol should be consumed in moderation, with consideration for local public health recommendations. A number of social and medical problems are associated with increased consumption of alcohol; therefore any positive implications of its use must be understood within the wider health context.”

You may Clock to see:->Strong Thigh Muscles Reduce Knee Osteoarthritis Symptoms in Women

Source: Elements4HealthJune 16.2010

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