healthy living for women + their families
Many Americans who take statins don’t have a healthy diet because the drugs give them a false sense of security, according to a new study. And the number of statin users with unhealthy diets appears to have increased.
The research by investigators from UCLA indicates that patients who took statins in 2009-2010 were eating more calories and fat than those who used statins earlier. Among people who didn’t use statins, there was no similar increased.
Hospital stays for colorectal-surgery patients can be cut by two days via a practice known as “enhanced recovery,” according to researchers from Duke University Hospital. The practice also reduced readmission rates.
Anyone who’s ever had a high-fat meal knows how sluggish it can make you feel. (Thanksgiving dinner, anyone?) To get the most from your exercise routine, you need to eat healthy and nourishing foods. Here, from the Mayo Clinic, are some suggestions:
1. Eat a healthy breakfast
Editor’s Note: CoQ10 is a popular supplement that’s said to be effective in fighting everything from congestive heart failure to gum disease. But is it safe, and is there reliable evidence to support these claims? Before you reach for a bottle of CoQ10 on your next trip to the drugstore, read this information from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the federal National Institutes of Health:
Here's another addition to our ThirdAge video collection. Read more at www.thirdage.com.
Researchers have identified a pathway that works to prevent new cells from getting too many or too few chromosomes. That presence of abnormal numbers of chromosomes has been directly linked to cancer and other serious illnesses.
Mark Hall, associate professor of biochemistry, Purdue University, discovered that when cells are nearly finished dividing, the enzyme Cdc14 activates Yen1, another enzyme. Yen1 helps repair the DNA breaks that lead to cancer in cells.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects an estimated 3 to 20 percent of the population, according to the federal National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). According to the NDDIC, IBS is a collection of symptoms, not a condition. It’s been known by a number of other names in the past, including colitis and spastic colon.
Add one more to the already long list of exercise benefits: A study of older adults at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease shows that moderate physical activity may protect brain health.
Everyone loses some brain volume with age, but people with a genetic risk for Alzheimer’s usually show greater weakening overtime in the area of the brain known as the hippocampus. The hippocampus is responsible for memory and spatial orientation.
Researchers have devised a new approach to the treatment of Alzheimer’s by identifying a class of compounds that can decrease a deadly protein associated with dementia.
The compounds, called pharmacologic chaperones, can decrease levels of amyloid-beta. That protein is thought to contribute to the development of dementia.
The mouse-model study, by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), Weill Cornell Medical College, and Brandeis University, was published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
Researchers are drawing closer to a safer alternative to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that relieve pain but can cause heart attacks, strokes and even sudden cardiac death.
Investigators from the University of Pennsylvania built on previous work to further explore the role of an enzyme, mPGES-1, in delaying the development of atherosclerosis. Their findings were reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Editor’s Note: The overwhelming growth of internet use and social media has made it clear how we need to think about conventional matters in new ways. One of these subjects is making your will. While traditional wills left physical objects to loved ones, or specified what should be done with those objects, digital wills deal with the text, photos, videos and music we have put on the Internet. They can be just as important a part of our legacy as more conventional possessions, and should be treated as such.
Internet use by elderly people can sharply reduce the likelihood of depression, a common ailment among older Americans, research shows.
The finding comes from Michigan State University researchers, who followed the lives of thousands of older Americans for six years.
They concluded that Internet use by elderly people can reduce the risk of depression by more than 30 percent.
Experts say a team-based approach to handling undesirable behaviors in dementia patients could lead to a reduction in the use of psychiatric drugs.
The approach is known as DICE – Describe, Investigate, Evaluate and Create. The researchers said they hope that using the DICE approach will create better teamwork among people who care for dementia patients at home, in hospitals and clinics and in residential facilities.
The panel of experts published their analysis in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
When it comes to bad or embarrassing memories, it’s better for you to focus on the whole picture rather than only on what you did, a new study shows.
“Sometimes we dwell on how sad, embarrassed, or hurt we felt during an event, and that makes us feel worse and worse. This is what happens in clinical depression—ruminating on the negative aspects of a memory,” said psychology professor Florin Dolcos of the Cognitive Neuroscience Group, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois.
Men who have chronic inflammation of prostate tissue appear to have nearly twice the risk of getting prostate cancer than do those with no inflammation, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins.
The link between persistent inflammation and cancer was especially strong for men with aggressive cases of the disease.
Editor’s Note: Bipolar disorder is often talked about, but sometimes misunderstood. The story of days-long manic episodes followed by prolonged depressed periods is a familiar one. But that isn’t the only form this disorder takes. And if someone you love has a variation on classic bipolar disorder, it’s important to recognize the condition and seek diagnosis and treatment. The experts at the National Institute of Mental Health offer the distinctions between the different types of bipolar disorder:
Here, from the Cleveland Clinic, some smart advice on creating healthy salads you’ll actually want to eat, plus a listing of the vitamins you’ll get with every forkful!
1. Start off strong
Lettuces: The darker and redder, the better – think romaine and leaf lettuces (Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium)
Greens: Jazz things up with spring mix, kale mix, baby greens or arugula (beta – carotene, antioxidants)
Note: Steer clear of iceberg and other pale lettuces. Their high water content means fewer nutrients.
Study: Scientists are coming closer to understanding exactly how variations in immune-system reactions can play a part in patients’ widely differing responses to Lyme disease.
The study, conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins and Stanford, was published in the journal PLOS One.
