Episodes
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If you’re thinking about taking up yoga, there’s evidence it may have benefits beyond what you’re expecting. A study from the University of Illinois suggests hatha yoga may also boost brain function in older adults.
Researchers studied people between the ages of 55 and 79. Some attended hatha yoga classes, while the others did stretching and toning exercises. At the end of eight weeks, the group that did yoga three times a week performed better on cognitive tests than it had before the start of yoga classes. They displayed significant improvements in working memory capacity and were also able to perform the tasks quickly and accurately, without getting distracted.
The group that did stretching and toning displayed no significant change in cognitive performance over time.
The researchers speculate that the focus on body, mind and breath during yoga practice may have carried over to situations outside of the yoga classes, resulting in an improved ability to sustain attention.
Over the years, all sorts of health benefits have been attributed to yoga - including boosting the immune system, easing migraines and promoting better sleep. -
Here’s a tip from scientists on how to avoid a holiday hangover. It may come down to the colour of your preferred tipple.
A study out of Brown University found that bourbon gave drinkers a more severe hangover than vodka. They suffered more headaches, nausea, loss of appetite and thirst.
One reason could be that bourbon contains 37 times more toxic compounds than vodka does, including nasty organic molecules such as acetone, acetaldehyde, tannins and furfural. Researchers say a good rule of thumb for liquors, is that the clearer they are, the less of these substances they contain.
But vodka drinkers aren’t off the hook: Drinkers’ sleep suffered equally with both drinks, as did their performance the morning after on tasks requiring attention and quick responses. -
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You know the famous “five-second rule” —Well scientists are now saying it’s a bunch of baloney to think we can eat dropped food as long as it’s quickly scooped off the floor.
Clemson University food researchers re-visited the long debated issue in National Geographic.
Though previous research has shown we may have up to a minute to rescue certain types of spilled food before it becomes contaminated, this work makes a strong case for the “zero-second rule.”
The study found that salmonella and other bacteria can live up to four weeks on dry surfaces and be immediately transferred to food.
The zero-tolerance standard, however, conflicts with the findings by other researchers, who found, for instance, that it takes a minute for apple slices to pick up bacteria from a college dining room floor.
Still, most researchers agree that the critical thing is not time, but location.
Some say it’s okay to brush off the bagel that fell from the stroller onto the sidewalk and give it to your screaming child, for example, because the pavement is cleaner than the kitchen floor in terms of the types of germs that cause illnesses. They argue the kitchen floor, however, is probably a zero-second zone because the bacteria from uncooked meat and chicken juices are more hazardous than the ‘soil’ bacteria outside.
The bathroom floor is another zero-second zone because it’s a great potential source of bacteria and shorter-lived viruses that can cause gastrointestinal illness if ingested. -
It is an agonizing decision for terminally ill cancer patients and their families. Should they undergo more chemotherapy?
The answer is usually no for very sick patients. But palliative chemo is often considered a reasonable option for those who are stronger, because of the hope that it may ease symptoms or buy time.
Now, a study suggests that end-of-life chemotherapy is more likely to make things worse. The work in JAMA Oncology followed more than 300 patients with a prognosis of less than six months to live. About half opted for end-stage chemotherapy.
Researchers found that treatment worsened quality of life for those patients who could still work and perform day-to-day tasks when the study started. And it didn’t improve things for those who were sicker at the beginning.
The findings are the opposite of what was expected because the patients who were assumed to benefit did not. The lead researcher says the bottom line is that incurable cancer patients with a limited life expectancy who use chemotherapy are likely to impair the quality of their remaining days. -
There’s more evidence about the benefits of exercise, especially as we age. A study out of Norway finds that older men doing three hours of exercise a week lived around five years longer than those who were sedentary.
The research tracked 5700 men aged tracking 68 to 77. It found that those putting in the equivalent of six, 30-minute sessions of any intensity, were 40% less likely to have died during the 11-year study. While those who carried out vigorous exercise saw the highest benefits, even light intensity activity lowered mortality risk – However, anything less than an hour a week of light exercise had no impact.
The benefits of exercise are well-known but the experts behind the study said they were taken back by just how large the impact could be, even in later life. The report detailed that even men who were 73 years of age at start of follow-up, had five years longer than the sedentary.
The study concluded that the impact of this physical activity was as good as quitting smoking. The work only looked at men, but the researchers say the findings would apply equally to women. -
Are you a foodie? It means you’re passionate about food and love trying new dishes. Many people think those of us who fit this description are indulgent and gluttonous, let along pretentious. But a study from the famous Cornell Food and Brand Lab suggests the opposite: Foodies weigh less and could be in better health than the less discerning among us.
The researchers asked 500 women about their weight satisfaction, lifestyle and personality traits and provided a list of 16 novel foods and asked them to report which ones they had tried.
Those who had sampled nine or more of the foods on the list were considered "foodies" in the study and the rest were classified non-adventurous eaters.
The research team adjusted the data to draw on possible associations between adventurous eating, BMI and body image.
Those who said they had tried things like beef tongue, Kimchi and rabbit also described themselves as more concerned with the healthfulness of what they ate than did those who stuck to traditional fare.
Foodies were also more physically active and their BMI’s were slightly lower than their counterparts.
The study authors say these findings are important to dieters because they show that promoting adventurous eating may provide a way for people -- especially women -- to lose or maintain weight without feeling restricted by a strict diet. -
Here’s an interesting tidbit for those of us who are pondering the possibility of living to 100. Men are less likely than women to reach that milestone, but according to a study out of London, those who do tend to be healthier than their female peers.
The British researchers found that women are now four times more likely than men to hit 100. But they are more likely to suffer broken bones or develop more than one chronic health problem, such as incontinence or loss of vision or hearing. Men had fewer chronic ailments. All of the centenarians were more likely to have chronic, nonfatal issues such as arthritis rather than more serious diseases like cancer or diabetes. And the study authors say they found a surprising number of 100-year-olds who had no major illnesses.
The researchers analyzed public health records of more than 11,000 centenarians. The number of women living to 100 increased by 50 percent between 1990 and 2013, the study found, compared to a 30 percent increase among men. More research is needed to understand why some people reach very old age without serious health problems and some don't.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. -
Here’s another reason to hate excessive noise. According to Swedish researchers. Exposure to noise from traffic, trains, planes and maybe even deafening restaurants could be linked to a burgeoning belly.
The study in Occupational & Environmental Medicine followed 5000 people around Stockholm for four years. It found that women had a 0.08-inch increase in waist size for every additional 5 decibels in noise exposure. For men the increase was .06 inches. And the risk of a larger waist rose with the number of sources of noise someone was exposed to at the same time.
The scientists speculate that long-term exposure to noise, especially from traffic may affect our metabolism and lead to abdominal obesity. That’s because noise is stressful, and stress can alter levels of hormones which influence where in the body excess calories are deposited. Earlier research has shown associations between traffic noise and high blood pressure and heart attacks. They conclude that since abdominal obesity is a risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, noise should be recognized as a serious threat to public health. -
Here’s something unexpected to look forward to when your marriage hits the 50 year milestone. For many, if not most couples who have been together for a long time, things can get a little dull in the bedroom. Now a study says that after around 50 years of marriage, your sex life could pick up again thanks to a renewed sense of trust and commitment.
Researchers at Louisiana State university analyzed the sex lives of over 1,600 adults from their late-50s all the way to their mid-80s. They noticed a slight "rebound" in how often long-married couples were having sex once they had surpassed 50 years of marriage.
They say that while new couples start off with vibrant sex lives, the frequency often diminishes over time. But the good news for long-married couples is that after all those years together, a sense of commitment, and continuity could be what leads to an uptick in sexual activity
Another fascinating finding was the frequency of sex in first marriages versus second marriages. Researchers found that people who stay in their first marriages instead of getting divorced and remarried, often have more sex. -
Here’s another reason to make sure you eat lots of fibre. If you do, you might be less likely to die prematurely from a range of illnesses -- including heart disease, cancer, and infection, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
We already know that fibre promotes weight loss, lowers cholesterol, and protects against heart disease. This work suggests that it has broader health benefits and may prevent other common killers.
Researchers followed 400,000 people for 9 years, and found that people who ate the most fibre were 22 percent less likely to have died of any cause during the study than people who ate the least, when they took into account age as well as health and lifestyle factors.
Fibre is found in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans. Most Canadians get only half of the recommended amount. After the age of 50, women should get 21 grams, men 30. For example, a half cup of raw almonds has nearly 9 grams, a cup of cooked oatmeal has 4 grams and half a cup of pitted prunes has about 6 grams.
The researchers say the bottom line is: eat as much fibre as possible. -
There’s dramatic evidence that a cocktail of vitamins may slow memory loss. Scientists from Oxford University say daily tablets of large doses of B vitamins can halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people with memory problems and may slow their progression toward dementia.
They came to that conclusion after a two-year clinical trial - the largest to date - into the effect of B vitamins on mild cognitive impairment, which is a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
Mild cognitive impairment affects around 16 percent of people aged over 70 worldwide and is characterized by slight problems with memory loss, language or other mental functions. It does not usually interfere with daily life, but around 50 percent of people diagnosed with it go on to develop the far more severe Alzheimer's disease within five years.
Experts say these findings are important and they are calling for larger, longer full-scale clinical trials to confirm the safety and effectiveness of this treatment. The pills used in the trial contained around 300 times the recommended daily intake of B12, four times daily advised folate levels and 15 times the recommended amount of B6.
Alzheimer's is a mind-wasting disease for which there are few treatments and no cure, and which affects 26 million people around the world. -
Get a good education. Get married. Don’t gain weight.
These are some of the keys to long life for Zoomer men, according to a US study.
In fact, nine factors in all were identified as good predictors of which 50-plus men would live healthily into their 80s and beyond, according to a 40-year study of nearly 6,000 Japanese-American men living in Hawaii. The study, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, concluded men were more likely to remain healthy, vigorous and disability-free at older ages, if they avoided certain risk factors.
The risks linked to insulin levels such as being overweight, having high blood sugar, high triglycerides and high blood pressure— are strong indicators of whether men will survive to old age and whether they will be healthy if they do.
Men are also more likely to live longer, if they possess a strong grip which indicates overall strength and fitness, have low blood sugar, avoid heavy drinking, and don’t smoke.
The study found that men who followed the healthful criteria had an 80 percent chance of living to age 80 and a better than 60 percent of being healthy at that age. On the other hand, those with six or more of these risk factors had less than a 10 percent chance of living in their mid-80s. -
It’s something we’ve always suspected - that attractive people have an advantage when it comes to finding a job. A new study suggests that while handsome men do better while looking for work, good looks can end up hurting a woman’s chances of scoring a job interview. Israeli researchers came to that conclusion by sending more than 5,000 resumes in pairs for half as many job openings. In each pair, one CV was without a picture while the second, otherwise almost identical CV, contained a headshot.
The resumes of "attractive" males received a 20 percent response rate, nearly 50 percent higher than the response rate for "plain" males and more than double the 9.2 percent response rate for men who didn’t send pictures.
However, the study showed that, contrary to popular belief, "attractive" women were called back for a position LESS often than "plain women", as well as those who had no picture on their resume.
Women without pictures had the highest response rate, 22 percent higher than plain women and 30 percent higher than good looking ones.
When a man included a photo with his résumé, employers found that it showed confidence and that the candidate was presentable. But when a woman did the same, it was viewed as a negative, suggesting she was “attempting to market herself via her appearance.”
Bottom line the researchers say one way or another, beauty distorts the hiring process. -
LADIES, if you’ve ever thought that having a younger husband would give you a boost, think again: New research from Denmark shows that boy toys can be bad for your health.
Researchers have long thought that younger spouses were better for both men and women. But new data gleaned from 2 million couples destroy that theory.
Younger wives are better for men’s health, but younger husbands can be deadly for women.
The numbers show that women who marry men seven to nine years younger increase their mortality risk by 20 per cent. In contrast, men who marry younger women decrease theirs by 11 per cent.
Researchers are at a loss to explain this. They say one possibility is that couples with younger husbands violate social norms and thus suffer from social sanctions. It’s also possible that a younger husband may not enrich a woman’s social life or provide companionship and support late in life. A younger wife, however, appears to do all of those things for her older husband.
But it may not be so good for those young wives. The study, published in the journal Demography, says marrying a much older man shortens a woman’s life somewhat.
Apparently, the best choice is to marry a man of exactly the same age. But don’t worry too much. The researchers want to remind us that marriage overall still raises life expectancy for women and men compared with people who don’t marry. -
What’s the tone of your conversations? Surprisingly it makes a difference in whether or not they will provide you with mental benefits. A study finds friendly discussions with other people can help you solve common life challenges, but conversations that are competitive in tone aren't helpful.
Researchers from the University of Michigan found engaging in a short, 10-minute conversation in which participants got to know another person helped boost the their performance on a variety of cognitive tasks involving memory, self-monitoring, and the ability to suppress distractions. But when the conversations had a competitive tone, the participants showed no improvement on those tasks.
They believe that performance boosts come about because these social interactions induce people to try to read others' minds and take their perspectives on things. Bottom line: the findings suggest that having a friendly talk with a colleague before a big test or presentation may prove beneficial. -
Here’s some news about a natural pain-killer – and it’s not exactly something a doctor can prescribe. Researchers say falling in love can act as a potent painkiller because love stimulates the brain's reward pathway, much like the rush of an addictive drug. It’s probably because the euphoric phase of a fresh romance has been linked to brain regions rich in the chemical dopamine.
Study participants looked at either a picture of their new love or a picture of an attractive acquaintance, or they were given distracting tasks. Researchers touched them with a hot wand to induce moderate pain and scanned their brains.
They found that looking at their loved one and distraction produced equal pain relief, but the distraction worked through cognitive pathways while the romance triggered a surge in that reward pathway.
That means the brain can generate pain-controlling responses without medications.The next question is whether better understanding of the love-pain relationship might somehow help scientists tackle chronic pain. -
It’s no surprise. A healthy lifestyle will help look good as well as feel good! Living well is not only good for your health ... researchers studied the aging differences in identical twins ... and found one part was genetics, but the visible signs of aging also depend on the health choices they made. Here's a list of the top five aging mistakes ... and what you can do to fix them.
"Yo-yo dieting" alters the ligaments in the face and makes you look older. Instead...find your ideal weight and maintain a healthy diet and exercise plan to help you stay there. Don't lose too much weight.
If you're over 45 ... remind yourself that having the body of a 15 year old, size 0 model will make you look "less" ... not more ... attractive.
Bad lifestyle choices such as "smoking" make you appear older. Stress is an ager. While you can't necessarily avoid a divorce or quit your job, you can seek out ways to help deal with that stress. And eating too much sugar leads to sagging, wrinkled skin.
Cut back on sugary products with ingredients such as corn syrup, glucose, fructose and sucrose. -
Here’s some good news about getting older. A new survey suggests aging may actually help us take it easier and be happier.
On average, people reported being less worried after the age of 50, and less stressed and angry in the years after their 20s. People in their 70s and 80s had the fewest negative emotions. That was the case even though they were dealing with more medical problems and the deaths of people close to them.
Researchers at New York's Stony Brook University came to these conclusions after examining a 2008 Gallup phone survey of more than 340,000 people who live in the United States.
The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found people were more stressed and angry in their 20s, and their levels of stress and anger declined all the way through their 80s. As for worrying, from around 20 to about age 50, the pattern was flat. But then there was a reduction in how much people worried through their 80s.
What's going on? One popular theory is that people stop looking forward as they get older and begin appreciating what they have in life. It’s also possible that they make decisions to maximize their pleasure in the now.
Bottom line it’s another piece of information that debunks some stereotypes about older people. And that’s good news for Zoomers. -
We all know that it’s a good idea to cut back on red meat. Now a new study finds the kind of meat you eat makes a big difference. The research published in the journal Circulation shows eating processed red meat -- such as hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and cold cuts -- is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.
But the study shows no such link for unprocessed red meat.
Eating one serving a day of processed meat -- or the equivalent of a single hot dog or two slices of salami -- was associated with a 42% increased risk for heart disease and a 19% increased risk for diabetes.
Eating unprocessed beef, pork, or lamb was not linked to a higher risk. The study is the largest research review ever to attempt to tease out the health impact of eating processed vs. unprocessed red meat. Both types of meat contain similar amounts of fat and cholesterol, but processed meats contain about four times more sodium and 50% more nitrate preservatives.
The finding has important implications for public health. The researchers advise that eating processed meat once a week would be fine. And they caution that this study should not be taken as license to eat unlimited amounts of unprocessed red meat. -
They say a smile can brighten the darkest day. Now researchers think it can also extend your days.
A study in the journal Psychological Science examined a database of professional baseball players and found those who put on a happy face in their official photographs — ended up living longer than those who didn't smile. Those with broad smiles lived an average of five years longer than players who didn't smile — reaching an average age of nearly 80. Those with partial smiles lived an average of 73 years.
While psychologists have found increasing evidence that a positive outlook leads to a more stable and happy life, this is the first time they have linked smile intensity with lifespan.
Psychologists say this makes sense but it doesn't necessarily mean people who don't smile a lot are facing a shorter life expectancy.
Bottom line, it’s another indication that happiness is good for your health. - Montre plus
