New research has found that gardening is an effective way to exercise. Researchers at Kansas State University determined that gardening is a form of “moderate intensity” exercise that can easily contribute to the exercise recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which advises at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days of the week in order to maintain and improve optimal health. This recommendation is especially important for older Americans, who can be less likely to fulfill this requirement, yet are more at risk for chronic diseases associated with aging. Moderate intensity exercise is physical activity that causes an increase in breathing or heart rate and is typified by such things as walking, cycling, swimming or even dancing.
It is well-known that older adults often tend toward a sedentary lifestyle, and that this is one of the factors leading to a decline in […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Are the following claims true or false?
Excess sugar causes hyperactive children
Poinsettias are poisonous
Suicides increase over the holidays
Eating at night makes you fat
Going hatless causes excess heat loss
According to Drs. Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll, both of the Indiana University School of Medicine, none of these commonly held beliefs has any scientific basis and must therefore be considered false. Writing in the British Medical Journal, http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec17_2/a2769 the two pediatricians searched both the published medical literature and the internet for support of the claims but found hard evidence lacking.
Since everyone knows that sugar gives us energy, it seems logical to think that excess sugar would result in excess energy. Not true according to the researchers. “At least 12 double blind randomised controlled trials have examined how children react to diets containing different levels of sugar. None of these studies, not even studies looking specifically at children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Tis the season to be jolly, but not everyone feels that way. For some, the onset of winter, with its short days, brings on symptoms of depression. In fact, however, by the time winter officially begins on December 21 the days have already been getting progressively shorter and shorter for months culminating in the solstice, the shortest day of the year. So although it’s often referred to as winter blues, seasonal depression actually has a fall onset that coincides with the beginning of the inexorable loss of daylight that occurs in northern latitudes between November and February.
For some people, symptoms of depression predictably recur every year when the days grow short in fall and winter and the definition of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is just that; namely, recurring depression with a seasonal onset and remission. While it has this unique pattern of occurrence, SAD is […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
I’ve been so busy getting ready for the holidays that I missed National Hand Washing Awareness Week, which was December 7-13. No matter. Hand washing, as we say here in the Pacific Northwest, is an evergreen topic that doesn’t go out of season. And with cold and flu season hard upon us, reminders, and even extra reminders, on hand washing are especially appropriate. Hand washing is simple to do and is the best way to prevent infection and its spread because your hands are constantly coming into contact with germ-laden surfaces and transferring those germs to your eyes, nose and mouth. According to the Centers for Disease Control, here’s when to wash your hands:
Before preparing or eating food
After going to the bathroom
After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has gone to the bathroom
Before and after tending to someone who is sick
After blowing your […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
It’s the time of year when annual “top” lists begin appearing everywhere like so many ornaments on the tree. So here’s Dr. Z’s roundup of the top five health scams of 2008:
Kinoki Detox Foot Pads
Kinoki and all other so-called detox foot pads top the list because of the sheer audacity involved in their shameless marketing and the utter lack of either a scientific basis through which they might work or any medical studies proving that they do. Yet we’ve received over 400 comments on my blog about them, attesting to the surprising interest people have in these worthless products. Despite their having been debunked on National Public Radio and the ABC news program “20/20″ inquiring minds still want to know, likely due to relentless marketing and widespread distribution. Users of these pads seem quite impressed that they turn brown or black after being worn overnight […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Not long ago, I recommended you avoid CT angiography as a screening test for heart disease unless you were absolutely convinced that it was necessary and not just being ordered either because it’s a new, extremely cool, technology, or because your doctor has an equity position in the machine (meaning he or she or the practice profits every time the test is run because they own or lease the equipment). I noted that as a screening test for people without symptoms of heart disease, CT angiography has yet to be proven effective. Moreover, even though the test is quite short, there is significant radiation exposure from the X-rays used to obtain the high-tech images (orders of magnitude greater than that used in a simple chest X-ray).But let’s say that you actually have symptoms of coronary artery disease. Is CT angiography an appropriate diagnostic test for you? […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Last time, I wrote about Ginkgo biloba being ineffective for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, which may have led you to wonder what actually can prevent it? In your Internet search, you might have been drawn in by the headline at CNN: “Five ways to keep Alzheimer’s away.” Unfortunately, that article, as with many similar ones that abound on the Internet, is long on hype and short on hard evidence. The article is so misleading, in fact, that before I tell you what’s really known about preventing Alzheimer’s I’d like to briefly puncture that particular hot air balloon.The CNN list of five ways to prevent Alzheimer’s begins with antioxidants, and in particular, vitamins A, C and E. They quote a psychiatrist who claims that “There are studies that suggest antioxidants might prevent dementia.” Yes, but those studies are seriously flawed and by no means definitive. […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
It’s not often that I recommend natural remedies because there’s rarely any scientific evidence that they work better than a placebo. But when there’s data supporting their use I’m all for it. Such is now the case in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as shown by a review of research recently published in the British Medical Journal. Turns out that two of the best treatments for IBS, peppermint oil and fiber, are old-fashioned, inexpensive and widely available over-the-counter (OTC). And I don’t mean that these are just two of the best natural remedies or two of the best OTC remedies, they are two of the best remedies period.
The research review found three IBS treatments to be consistently better than placebo. In addition to peppermint oil and fiber, the anti-spasmodic scopolamine (also called hyoscine), a natural product derived from certain plants, is also effective […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Diabetes is common and increasing in prevalence. About 24 million Americans already have diabetes, and millions more are at risk. Moreover, if current trends continue, one in three Americans (one in two for minorities) born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetimes. In fact, recent research has found that the rate of new cases of type 2 diabetes, which is the most common type, has nearly doubled in the last 10 years while spending on diabetes medications has also nearly doubled, but in just the last six years. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease, blindness and amputation. And since 1987 the death rate due to diabetes has increased by 45%, while the death rates due to heart disease, stroke, and cancer have declined.
Is it any wonder then that during November, American Diabetes Month®, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is asking, “Why should […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
With the economy slowing (or crashing depending on your point of view), and food prices rising, you may be forced to make some tough choices when it comes to what to eat, where to eat it and how to pay for it. Can you still afford to buy nutritious fresh food, which is notoriously more expensive, or will you turn to more calorie-dense, less nutritious packaged foods? Will you “dine” at fast food restaurants more often, eating their high-fat, high-sugar but low-price offerings? Recent articles in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC.com address this issue.
You might think that leaner times would lead to leaner waistlines as people cut back on spending. But it appears that the opposite is true. Adam Drewnowski, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington in Seattle and Director of their Center for Obesity Research, is quoted on […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
