Health aNd Fitness Guide » Health

Why Juices Are Good

Aziz — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:31:08 +0000

Fruit juices have better effect against atherosclerosis (clogged arteries, which can cause heart attack or stroke), than the fruits themselves. To study the effect of juicing on beneficial phenolic compounds (antioxidants) in fruits, researchers in France fed rodents grapes, apples and their juices, or water, along with a high cholesterol diet. (more…)

Meditation Lowers BP

Aziz — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:31:31 +0000

Practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM) daily can control high blood pressure. Researchers at the University of Kentucky studied nine randomized trials that used TM as the principal source of BP reduction, and compared them with a control group. (more…)

Keep Freinds, Live Longer

Aziz — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:31:32 +0000

Satisfying friendships are a greater predictor of longevity than even close family ties, and they can protect against obesity, depression and heart disease, according to a 10-year study of senior citizens in Adelaide, Australia. Here are six friends to keep on speed dial. (more…)

Calorie Conscious? Check This

Aziz — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:31:12 +0000

Artificial sweeteners may not help lose weight. Consuming food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to more weight gain and adiposity than consuming the same food sweetened with higher calorie sugar, according to researchers at the University of Purdue, USA. A study on rats fed on artificially sweetened food showed that they ate more food and gained more weight compared to rats fed on food sweetened with normal sugar. Researchers say that the body is confused when a sweet taste is not followed by a heavy-calorie food, leading the rats on artificially sweetened diet to crave for more food. The results of the study are yet to be translated in humans.

Dying For A Smoke?

Aziz — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:31:40 +0000

Smoking-related diseases will kill about one million Indians a year by 2010. It could account for 20 per cent of all male deaths and 5 per cent of all female deaths in the 30 to 69 age group, says a study based on a nationwide survey of 1.1 million homes. There are about 120 million smokers in India. Around 30 per cent of men and 5 per cent of women in the 30-69 age group smoke either bidis or cigarettes. Men who smoke bidis shorten their lives by six years, and women by eight years. Men who smoke cigarettes lose ten years. “Smokers in India start later in life and smoke fewer cigarettes, or bidis, than those in Europe or America, but the risks are as extreme as in the west,” said Prabhat Jha, lead author of the study and professor at the University of Toronto. He said graphic warnings would be more effective in educating people about the dangers of smoking, as 50 per cent of smoking-related deaths were expected to be among poor, illiterate Indians. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was led by a team of doctors from India, Britain and Canada.

Obesity Linked To Cancer

Aziz — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:31:09 +0000

Obesity may be linked to cancers of the breast, colon, thyroid, uterus, kidney, esophagus, and gallbladder. Researchers at the University of Manchester analyzed 282,137 cases of cancer to establish a link between different cancers and Body Mass Index. In men, an increase in BMI showed an increased risk of esophageal cancer by 52 percent, thyroid cancer by 33 per cent, and colon and kidney cancers by 24 per cent. In women, excessive weight gain was linked to a 59 per cent increase in endometrial and gallbladder cancers, 51 per cent increase of esophageal tumors, and 34 per cent increase in kidney cancers. Obesity also led to an increased risk of rectal cancer and malignant melanoma in men and post menopausal breast, pancreatic, thyroid and colon cancers in women. The study does not state that obesity causes cancer. But Dr Walter C. Willette of the Harvard School of Public Health has warned that obesity will overtake smoking as a leading cause of cancer.

Bad News For Diabetics

Aziz — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:31:06 +0000

Diabetics have the same risk of having a heart attack or stroke as someone with a history of heart attack, and twice the risk of dying from a heart attack compared to non-diabetics, said a Danish study published in the journal Circulation. (more…)

Jobs And Ailments

Aziz — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:31:57 +0000

Administrators and managers are less likely to have cancer. It may be because people in secure jobs have very good sick leave arrangements and can take time out if needed, said a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia. Managers are also less likely to be exposed to carcinogens, compared to other workers. Researchers, who analyzed records of more than 4,200 workers in various fields, concluded that nurses and others in the health services were more likely to suffer from heart diseases. People in the retail field were more at risk of having back and muscle pain.

Happy Marriage, Healthy Life

Aziz — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:31:58 +0000

Happily married couples have lower blood pressure, according to researchers at the Brigham Young University. They studied 204 married and 99 unmarried people who kept a portable blood pressure monitor that randomly recorded blood pressure during a 24-hour period. They found that happily married people scored four points lower on their blood pressure readings than singles. Having a close network of friends and relatives did not prove beneficial for singles and unhappily married people. Happily married people too saw a bigger dip in their blood pressure during sleep. People whose blood pressure remains high throughout the night are at greater risk of cardiovascular problems.

Lung Info Helps Smokers

Aziz — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:31:53 +0000

Telling smokers about their ‘lung age’ may make them quit smoking, according to a study in the British Medical Journal. Researchers subjected 561 smokers aged above 35 to a test that recorded the volume and rate at which they exhaled air. While they advised everyone to quit smoking, half of the group were told about their lung age and how quitting could arrest the damage. Saliva tests at the end of one year showed that while 13.6 per cent of the smokers who knew about their lung age quit smoking, only 6.4 per cent of smokers in the other group did so.