Thank you for reading 🙂
Advertisements
Health Tip
Tag: Health
Health Tips
Thank you for reading 🙂
Avoid An Early Death- Do These…
The five: exercises to help avoid an early death
Easy-to-access activities that help to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and the risk of heart diseaseGregory RobinsonSun 10 Nov 2019 00.30 EST
Running
Last week, research published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that running can reduce the risk of early death regardless of how long or at what speed you run. The research focused on 14 previous studies based on six different groups of participants, totalling more than 230,000 people over a period of between 5.5 and 35 years. The authors reported that any amount of running, even just once a week, is better than no running at all.
Swimming
Swimmers were found to have a 28% lower risk of early death and a 41% lower risk of death as a result of stroke or heart disease, according to a 2017 study by Swim England. Over 80,000 people took part. The report also said swimming is a cost-effective, safe and viable exercise for people of all ages, it helps older people stay mentally and physically fit and can help children develop physical, cognitive and social skills through swimming lessons.
Tennis
Scientists attempting to find the health benefits of different sports found that regular tennis and badminton sessions reduce the risk of death at any given age by 47%. The study, published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, gathered responses from over 80,000 adults aged 30 and over, through surveys taken between 1994 and 2008.
Yoga
In addition to improving strength, breathing and flexibility, yoga has been found to reduce risk factors for heart disease, such as high body mass index, cholesterol and blood pressure. A study by the American College of Cardiology found that people combining yoga practice and aerobic exercise, such as running or swimming, saw double the reduction in high BMI, cholesterol levels and blood pressure in comparison with people who were taking part in just one or the other exercise.
Brisk walking
Numerous studies have suggested that sitting for too long can be a risk factor for early death. A study published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that low-level activities, such as going for a walk for just 10 to 59 minutes per week, can lower the risk of death from any cause by 18%.Topics
amp.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/10/five-exercises-help-avoid-early-death
Thank you for reading 🙂
Damaging Your Lungs…without knowing it
Your lungs are one of your body’s most important organs. They deliver oxygen to the body while ridding it of carbon dioxide.
Smoking
Smoking is one of the worst things you can do for your lungs. The numerous chemicals in cigarette smoke damage your bronchial tubes, lungs, and the cilia in your respiratory tract. Fortunately, quitting smoking can improve breathing almost immediately, usually after only 72 hours of being cigarette-free.
Breathing secondhand smoke
Living with a smoker is also harmful to your lungs. Composed of nearly 4,000 chemicals, secondhand smoke damages your respiratory system. In addition to increasing your risk of developing lung cancer, secondhand smoke can also cause asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory illnesses.
To keep your lungs healthy, avoid contact with secondhand smoke and encourage the smokers around you to butt out for good.
Living with thirdhand smoke
You may not smoke, but did the previous occupants of your home indulge in the habit? Watch out for thirdhand smoke, especially if you have rugs in your house. Even though you may not smell it, thirdhand smoke can hang around in floors and walls for years and ultimately cause lung problems.
Before moving into a home that once belonged to a smoker,
Not exercising enough
Physical exercise doesn’t just help you stay in better shape—practicing a sport also increases your lung efficiency. As you exercise more frequently, your stronger muscles will need less oxygen, and you won’t become winded as quickly.
Exercising near a busy street or factory
Partaking in physical activity means taking in a larger amount of air. If the air you breathe is polluted, your lungs will absorb a larger amount of harmful chemicals. Stay away from factories, busy roads, and highways when you exercise. Try working out in green spaces instead.
Rarely dusting your home
Air containing too much dust can eventually harm your lungs and cause various respiratory tract infections. Prevent this by regularly cleaning your home. Dust your furniture, vacuum, and wash your floors and walls.
Frequently using a wood-burning fireplace
Warming up beside a wood-burning fireplace may be cozy on a winter day, but it can be hazardous to your lungs. Wood smoke contains numerous chemicals that irritate lungs and bronchial tubes and can put you a risk of developing several respiratory illnesses.
Reduce the harmful effects of wood smoke by always burning dry wood and keeping your fire small.
Not using the vent when showering
When you take a bath or shower, remember to turn on your ventilation fan. This simple habit minimizes the proliferation of mold. Usually appearing as small black spots, mold is harmful to the lungs, especially for people with asthma or allergies.
Renovating a home containing asbestos
Are you planning to renovate a home that contains asbestos? Leave it to the experts. Breathing in asbestos fibers, even a small amount, is particularly dangerous to the lungs. You risk developing a chronic pulmonary illness that may not appear until years later.
Never testing your home for radon
Are you familiar with radon? This radioactive gas is the second most common cause of lung cancer in Canada. Invisible and odorless, radon usually enters homes through cracks, pipes, and windows. The only way to know if your home has radon is to purchase a radon test (they are usually quite affordable).
If you find that your home has too much radon, hire a specialist to correct the problem.
Never going to the doctor
If you can’t remember the last time you saw your doctor, it’s probably time to make an appointment. Depending on your age and history, your doctor may have you undergo a few exams and screening tests to ensure that your lungs are healthy.
Don’t wait until you experience symptoms before seeing your doctor. Some respiratory illnesses are asymptomatic at first and early detection can save you lots of
Never cleaning your gas stove
In addition to increasing its lifespan, regularly maintaining your gas stove minimizes your risk of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) poisoning. NO2 inflames respiratory passages and increases the risk of hospitalization due to pulmonary illness. If you don’t know how to clean your appliance, ask a professional for help.
14/21 SLIDES © Shutterstock
Cooking without using an exhaust hood
No matter what kind of stove you have, fine particles are released into the air each time you cook. These pollutants irritate the lungs, which can lead to respiratory problems and asthma attacks. To purify the air in your home when you cook, use an exhaust hood with an exterior vent.
Never cleaning your humidifier
Humidifiers can be quite useful, especially in homes with dry air. To truly benefit from this device, however, it must be cleaned regularly.
If you rarely clean your humidifier, it may end up emitting bacteria and mold into the air. You’ll feel the effect of these irritants in your lungs first and, over time, you may develop a pulmonary illness.
Not drinking enough water
The human body is made mostly of water so it’s important to drink enough H2O to stay hydrated. If you don’t drink enough water, your organs, especially your lungs, will suffer.
In fact, insufficiently hydrated people develop thicker-than-average mucus. Breathing becomes more difficult, and the risk of respiratory problems increases.
Not washing your hands often enough
Did you know that 80 percent of the most common respiratory infections are spread by touch? To protect your lungs from such infections, wash your hands frequently.
You should, for example, wash your hands before and after eating. If you have a cold, you should wash your hands after blowing your nose or sneezing.
Using chemical paint
Wall paint that’s high in volatile organic compounds (VOC) can irritate the lungs. To minimize health risks, choose a natural paint that contains the fewest VOCs possible.
If you regularly work with high-VOC paint, wear appropriate protective equipment and make sure your workplace is well ventilated.
Keeping your windows closed
While keeping your windows closed shuts out noise, this practice may also be bad for your lungs, especially if your home does not have a central ventilation system. Opening your windows ventilates your home by expelling noxious air and lowers the risk of mold development by reducing humidity.
Using air purifiers
Using an air purifier certainly helps your home smell better, but your lungs may not benefit as much. These devices usually contain VOCs that impair respiratory passages. Even natural and unscented products aren’t risk-free. To purify the air in your home, open your windows. It’s easy and doesn’t cost a thing!
Using chemical housecleaning products
While cleaning products eliminate bacteria, they pose a danger to your lungs. In one study, researchers found that women who regularly used chemical agents to clean their homes experienced a decrease in lung capacity.
To reduce the effects of chemical products on your lungs, use natural or homemade cleaning products.
Thank you for reading 🙂
Depression- There is a diet for that!
THE MARGIN
This is the best diet for treating depression
By Nicole Lyn PescePublished: Oct 10, 2019 1:24 pm ET
A new study suggests that diet can help mental health
Load up on fish and leafy greens.
Stop feeding into your depression.
Many of us turn to comfort foods when we are feeling down, which are generally defined as those dishes and snacks that are easy to make (or order out — thanks, GrubHub GRUB+1.46% and Postmates — or open from a package) that are filled with nostalgic or sentimental value. (They’re also often loaded with sugar, salt, fat and/or refined carbs.)
But new research shows that we’re doing comfort food all wrong. In fact, cutting out processed foods and adding in more fruits, vegetables and fish doesn’t just make you healthier — it may also make you happier.
A small, randomized trial published in PLOS Onethis week (just in time for World Mental Health Day) looked at 76 adults ages 17 to 35, who all scored “moderate to high” on a scale of depression symptoms used by doctors, and who also consumed diets that were high in processed foods, saturated fats and refined carbohydrates.
The subjects were split into two groups. One was encouraged to eat healthier by receiving money for grocery shopping, a small hamper of pantry items, as well as tips to eating healthier, whole foods. Researchers checked in on them twice a week for three weeks to see how their diets were going. The control group, on the other hand, didn’t receive any food, money or nutritional guidance.
And at the end of three weeks, those on the diet who ate more fruits, vegetables and fish — aka a Mediterranean-style diet — saw their moods significantly improve, and their “moderate to high” depression scores dropped within a normal range. Those in the control group who had stuck to their less healthy diets didn’t see change to their moods or scores. Three months later, the subjects who continued with the healthy eating habits continued to have elevated moods and more improved life outlooks.
Now, this was a very small trial, and more randomized control trials are needed to establish whether there really is a cause-effect relationship between diets and depression. The control group in this case did nothing, for instance. Future research should compare the outcomes of people who eat healthy with those trying a different intervention, such as social support, to show how effective a new diet would be in comparison.
And no one is saying that simply eating more vegetables can take the place of therapy and medication in treating depression and other mental health conditions.
But as study co-author Heather Francis, a nutritional neuroscience researcher from Macquarie University in Sydney, told Live Science, “These findings add to a growing literature to suggest that healthy diet can be recommended as an effective therapy to improve depression symptoms, as an adjunct to pharmacological and psychological therapy.”
One in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and one in six U.S. youth ages six to 17 also have a mental health disorder. It’s estimated that serious mental illness causes $193.2 billion in lost earnings in the U.S. alone each year, and costs the global economy $1 trillion annually, NAMI reports.
Previous studies have also suggested that changes to diet — and following a Mediterranean diet, in particular — could improve symptoms of depression and anxiety.
A 2018 meta-analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults found that those who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet had a 33% lower risk of developing depression over eight to 12 years compared with those whose diets were the most opposite. What’s more, a 2018 study published in the World Journal of Psychiatry came up with an Antidepressant Food Scale. And topping its list of the 12 best foods loaded with nutrients that influence depression were bivalves (clams and mussels) and seafood packed with vitamin B12, iron, zinc, copper, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as leafy greens, lettuces, peppers and cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower and broccoli) also packed with iron and vitamins.
On the flip side, those familiar sweet or salty comfort foods that provide a pick-me-up in the moment can end up making you feel worse. Foods that spike your blood sugar (like sweets, white breads and processed starches like pasta and french fries) often lead to a “crash” later on — like feeling shaky, lethargic, irritable or anxious in the afternoon.
In fact, a systematic review of 12 studies that looked at diet and mental health in children and adolescents found that eating more saturated fat, refined carbs and processed foods led to worse mental health.
Thank you for reading 🙂
Pancreas~ Trouble Signs
Your stool looks funny.
If you notice your stool is light colored and floating, that’s a sign of poor nutrient absorption. “The enzymes your pancreas produces help you digest fats in your diet,” Hendifar explains. Along with breaking down fats, your pancreas helps your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins like A, E, and K, he says.
When pancreatic disease messes with your organ’s ability to properly manufacture those enzymes, the result is feces that looks paler and is less dense. You may also notice your poop is oily or greasy. “The toilet water will have a film that looks like oil,” Hendifar says. That’s the dietary fat your body failed to break down, he explains.
If you notice your poop looks funky now and then, that’s no reason to freak out. But if all or most of your poops have these characteristics, let your doctor know.
Your insides ache.
Abdominal pain is one of the most common symptoms of both pancreatic cancer and acute pancreatitis, which is a type of deadly inflammation, Hendifar says. But that pain manifests in different ways depending on the underlying condition.
If the pain seems to start in your middle before “radiating” into your mid or lower back—and if it lingers for weeks—that may be a sign of pancreatic cancer, Epperly says. Also, if you’ve already seen your doctor and he or she has prescribed a type of drug called a proton-pump inhibitor—such as omeprazole (Prilosec) or esomeprazole (Nexium)—let your doc know if your symptoms don’t improve. Hendifar says it’s common for doctors to mistake pancreatic cancer–triggered pain for reflux or other GI issues, many of which a proton-pump inhibitor should help resolve.
On the other hand, if the pain comes on suddenly and is intense and focused in the middle of your abdomen, that’s the type associated with acute pancreatitis, Epperly says.
In either case, don’t freak out. A lot of health issues—some serious, but many mild—can cause stomach aches or pain, Hendifar adds. Just get yourself to a doctor.
Diabetes rears its head.
Your pancreas produces hormones that help control your body’s production of insulin, as well as your blood sugar levels. When the pancreas is imperiled, it’s common for sufferers to develop type 2 diabetes, Hendifar says. If your weight is under control and you eat a healthy diet, a new diabetes diagnosis should lead to a closer examination of your pancreas.
The same holds for a diabetes sufferer who suddenly finds her disease hard to manage. “Those sudden changes in diabetes status without an obvious explanation, those are things we see associated with pancreatic cancer,” he says.
You’re nauseated after burgers.
Nausea and vomiting are symptoms to watch out for—particularly if you’ve been eating fatty foods, Hendifar says. Again, because your pancreas produces enzymes that help your digestive system break down fat, diseases that mess with your pancreas tend to mess with your body’s fat-digesting capabilities, which leads to nausea. “Hamburgers are often nausea triggers, and so are avocados and nuts, which are all high in fat,” he says. “Pizza is another one that’s really tough for patients with a compromised pancreas.” Epperly says pancreatitis is more likely than pancreatic cancer to lead to sudden vomiting and nausea.
You’re experiencing weight loss.
It’s tempting to credit your new diet. But if you’re shedding weight—and especially if you’re experiencing the radiating pain described above—that weight loss could be due to the digestive issues associated with pancreatic cancer or disease, Hendifar says. Thyroid issues and some other health conditions can also explain rapid weight loss. In any case, you need to see someone.
MSN.Health
Thank you for reading 🙂
Vitamin Deficiencies~
3 Most Common Vitamin Deficiencies
Darwin Malicdem 6 hrs ago
Many people believe that malnutrition is not a problem in developed worlds, including the U.S. The country has an abundant food supply that could help meet the population’s nutritional needs.
© Farion_O/Getty Images
However, studies showed that not all residents of “well fed” communities are healthy. Nutrient deficiencies are also common in the U.S.
One research conducted in 2018 under the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) suggested that both children and adults in the country have high cases of vitamin deficiencies.
Researchers found that 31 percent of the entire population was at risk for one vitamin deficiency. Many Americans have been following diets high in calories but low in nutrients.
Heather Moday, an allergist and immunologist from Moday Center for Functional and Integrative Medicine, has been treating many patients who experienced deficiencies. But she noted Americans lack three common vitamins due to Western diets. And they are as listed below:
Magnesium
It plays an important role in the body and supports 300 biochemical reactions. Moday recommended that people consult their doctors to take some supplements.
“It’s an electrolyte that we don’t readily get back into our bodies, and we don’t find it a lot naturally in foods,” she told mindbodygreen. “So that one I tend to supplement a lot with.”
Video: 3 Signs You’re Not Getting Enough Magnesium (Reader’s Digest)Click to expand
Vitamin B
Moday said many of her patients lacked vitamin B. This could be surprising since people can get all forms of B vitamins from plant- and animal-based foods.
She explained that the body easily loses the vitamin because it supports multiple functions, including the nervous system, detoxification system and immune system. However, the Western diet might not provide enough amounts of vitamin B to meet the body’s needs.
Moday said problems with gut health might also contribute to vitamin B deficiency.
Zinc
Moday said zinc is one of the most common vitamins not available in the diet plans. Zinc mainly supports the immune system and helps the body prevent the spread of potentially harmful bacteria and viruses.
“If I had to pick a deficiency that a lot of people have outside of vitamin D, it would be zinc,” she said.
Moday said eating more seafood could help treat the vitamin deficiency. Some zinc-rich foods are oysters and mollusks.
Thank you for reading 🙂
Slow Metabolism?
If You Have a Slow Metabolism, Here Are 5 Doctor-Approved Ways to Burn Belly Fat
If you have a slow metabolism, trying to lose belly fat can be disheartening to say the least. Good news: it’s still achievable. But there’s also a reason why losing weight is challenging when you have a slow metabolism.
To explain that, let’s first define what your metabolism actually is. When we say “metabolism,” we’re actually referring to metabolic rate, which is the way your body turns what you eat and drink into usable energy, and how it stores that energy so you can use it later on. Your metabolic rate is tied to your body composition and muscle mass, said Elizabeth Lowden, MD, bariatric endocrinologist at the Northwestern Medicine Metabolic Health and Surgical Weight Loss Center at Delnor Hospital. Specifically, you can boost your metabolism by increasing your muscle mass and lowering your body fat.
But, your slow metabolism makes it difficult to lose the fat, but the fat makes it difficult to speed up your metabolism. It’s a frustrating conundrum, said Holly Lofton, MD, director of the Medical Weight Management Program at NYU Langone Health. “We have to break that cycle somewhere,” she told POPSUGAR.
Do I Have a Slow Metabolism?
“Those with smaller body frames, who are shorter and may have difficulty holding on to muscle mass, tend to have lower metabolisms,” Dr. Lowden told POPSUGAR. How can you tell if that’s you? Get your metabolism tested, Dr. Lofton said. You can do this at weight management centers as well as some gyms and dietitians’ offices, and you have a few different options to choose from.
The first is called indirect calorimetry, which determines your metabolic rate by measuring your oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production. The second option is bioelectric impedance, which measures your fat mass, muscle mass, and water percentage – and from those, your metabolism – by way of a painless electrical impulse that passes through your body.
If neither testing option is available to you, Dr. Lofton said, you can also get a rough estimate of your metabolic rate from an online calculator. “Keep in mind that these only base off height and weight, and will have some error depending on one’s fat mass,” Dr. Lofton cautioned. Here are a few other ways to determine if you have a slow metabolism.
Be in a Caloric Deficit
If you have a slow metabolism and want to lose belly fat, the first priority is to eat fewer calories, Dr. Lofton told POPSUGAR. You want to be in a slight caloric deficit, which means consuming fewer calories than you burn. “Weight loss always comes down to energy balance,” Dr. Lowden explained. Dr. Lofton recommended cutting about 250 calories a day to start. Here’s exactly how to get into a caloric deficit, if you’ve never done it before.
Decreasing your food intake slightly has two positive effects. For one thing, you’ll start to lose fat. Maybe not necessarily from your belly; now is a good time to remember that you can’t spot-reduce fat, but by reducing your body fat as a whole, you’ll start seeing results around your belly. And when you lower your body fat percentage, you’ll also start to boost your metabolism, Dr. Lofton said.
Increase Physical Activity, Especially Intense Cardio Exercise
While you’re lowering your caloric intake, Dr. Lofton also recommended getting more exercise. Building muscle through strength training is actually the best way to boost your metabolism, but when your overall goal is to lose belly fat, Dr. Lofton actually recommended starting with cardio. “The body loses fat efficiently by doing intense physical activity,” Dr. Lofton explained. Both cardio and strength training are important for your overall health and weight loss, but initially upping your cardio while reducing your caloric intake will lead to faster results.
Any kind of exercise will be helpful to start: walking more, taking the stairs, getting up and moving throughout the day. But the best weight loss results will come when you’re really upping your heart rate, “huffing and puffing, exerting yourself to the point where it’s difficult to hold a conversation, but still possible,” Dr. Lofton said. “That’s the level of intensity you want to get to.”
High-intensity interval training is one option to try that’s been proven to help with fat loss, especially when it comes to visceral fat, Dr. Lowden told POPSUGAR. Visceral fat is the fat around your organs, as opposed to the subcutaneous fat under your skin, which is the kind you can see. (Here’s more on the difference between the two.) Visceral fat is actually the more dangerous kind, Dr. Lowden said, leading to metabolic health issues like abnormal blood sugar, heart disease, high blood pressure, and fatty liver disease. So doing HIIT actually benefits you in multiple ways: it’ll help you lose fat overall and dangerous visceral fat in particular. We recommend this 45-minute bodyweight HIIT workout for weight loss as a good place to start.5/7 SLIDES© Getty / mihailomilovanovic
Build Muscle
When you’re about halfway to your goal weight, Dr. Lofton recommended starting strength training to increase your metabolism further. A caloric deficit and cardio workouts should help you lose fat, which improves your metabolism; now, putting on lean muscle mass will rev it up even more. Muscle increases your basal metabolic rate, explained Dr. Lowden, which means that your body burns more calories at rest. “Higher levels of muscle mass can also increase the number of calories you burn during activities and exercise,” she added. Basically, muscle equals a higher metabolism all-around. Get started with this four-week weightlifting workout plan that’s tailored for beginners.
Boost Your Metabolism With Healthy Fats and Protein
Healthy fats and protein take longer for your body to digest, and you actually expend more energy digesting them than you do other foods, said Dori Arad, PhD, director of the Mount Sinai PhysioLab, in a previous interview. Though building muscle is the best way to increase your metabolism, eating more of these foods can give you a small boost. Protein has the added bonus of helping you build muscle, too. And when it comes to losing weight and working on your metabolic rate, every little bit counts!
Go for healthy fats like:
- Nuts, including almonds and walnuts
- Fatty fish, such as salmon and trout
- Avocados
- Olive oil
And choose lean sources of protein, such as:
- Skinless chicken and turkey
- Beans and lentils
- Fish
- Tofu
- Ground beef that’s 90 percent lean or leaner
Make Long-Term Changes and Stay Consistent
Having a slow metabolism and trying to lose weight can be incredibly frustrating, for all the reasons we’ve discussed, but it’s not an impossible task. The difference between a “fast” and “slow” metabolism is less than you might think, Dr. Lowden told POPSUGAR, and it can be overcome with consistent lifestyle changes. “Lower basal metabolic rates mean that patience and consistency are important,” she said. “It may take longer to make the right changes and see the results you are looking for, but it does not mean you will fail.”Increase Physical Activity, Especially Intense Cardio Exercise While you’re lowering your caloric intake, Dr. Lofton also recommended getting more exercise. Building muscle through strength training is actually the best way to boost your metabolism, but when your overall goal is to lose belly fat, Dr. Lofton actually recommended starting with cardio. “The body loses fat efficiently by doing intense physical activity,” Dr. Lofton explained. Both cardio and strength training
Any kind of exercise will be helpful to start: walking more, taking the stairs, getting up and moving throughout the day. But the best weight loss results will come when you’re really upping your heart rate, “huffing and puffing, exerting yourself to the point where it’s difficult to hold a conversation, but still possible,” Dr. Lofton said. “That’s the level of intensity you want to get to.”
High-intensity interval training is one option to try that’s been proven to help with fat loss, especially when it comes to visceral fat, Dr. Lowden told POPSUGAR. Visceral fat is the fat around your organs, as opposed to the subcutaneous fat under your skin, which is the kind you can see. (Here’s more on the difference between the two.) Visceral fat is actually the more dangerous kind, Dr. Lowden said, leading to metabolic health issues like abnormal blood sugar, heart disease, high blood pressure, and fatty liver disease. So doing HIIT actually benefits you in multiple ways: it’ll help you lose fat overall and dangerous visceral fat in particular. We recommend this 45-minute bodyweight HIIT workout for weight loss as a good place to start.
Thank you for reading 🙂
