_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition The Importance of Prebiotics and Probiotics By Sondra Forsyth article By Sondra Forsyth Both prebiotics and probiotics are essential components of a healthy diet. Prebiotics are indigestible carbohydrates that act as food for probiotics, which contain live bacteria. Together, they help promote the growth of the good bac- teria in your intestines and maintain your gut’s ecosystem. When a food contains both substances, it is called synbiotic: a synergistic combination of the two. Prebiotics
_ Exercise How To Have The Exercise Talk With Your Doctor By Jane Farrell article The health benefits of exercise are almost too numerous to list: Experts say that regular physical activity can have a positive effect on health conditions ranging from depression to diabetes. But it’s essential to talk to your doctor you begin exercising, want to take your current routine to the next level, or want to start a different activity.
_ Exercise Health & Fitness Injury Prevention & Treatment Debunking Injury Prevention and Treatment Myths By Sondra Forsyth article By Sondra Forsyth
_ Stem Cells Make ΓÇ£Heart Disease-on-a-ChipΓÇ¥ By Jane Farrell article Harvard scientists have merged stem cell and “organ-on-a-chip” technologies to grow, for the first time, functioning human heart tissue carrying an inherited cardiovascular disease. The research appears to be a big step forward for personalized medicine because it is working proof that a chunk of tissue containing a patient's specific genetic disorder can be replicated in the laboratory.
_ Skin Skin Health Is It Shingles? By Jane Farrell article Shingles is one of the most common conditions for American adults: more than 50 percent have had it by the time they reach 80. However, it’s most frequent in the years between 60 and 80. How can you tell if you have this bothersome, painful problem, and what should you do about it? The experts at the SeniorHealth division of the National Institutes of Health have some answers:
_ AFib = Dementia Risk If Meds Are Out of Range By article A study done by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City has found that atrial fibrillation patients who are on blood thinning medications are at higher risk of developing dementia if their doses are not in the optimal recommended range. The findings presented at the 2014 Annual Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Session on Friday, May 9th, 2014 in San Francisco.
Longevity Gene May Be a Brain Booster By article If you’re lucky, you inherited a longevity gene that will up your chances of living to a ripe old age. Better yet, scientists at the University of California San Francisco have shown that people who have a variant of a longevity gene called KLOTHO are blessed with superior brain skills such as thinking, learning, and memory regardless of their age, sex, or even whether they have a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
_ Aging Well Hand Grip Reveals the Speed of Aging By article A hand grip test shows wide differences between the rates of aging among different population groups, according to new research by demographers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. The study was published on May 7th 2014 in the journal PLOS ONE
_ Regular Doc Visits Help Prevent Skin Cancer Deaths By article The risk of dying from, melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer is significantly reduced with regular doctor visits, according to a study done in Detroit at Henry Ford Hospital. The researchers believe that this is the first study to link melanoma mortality with routine health care use.
_ 6 Tips for Overcoming Diabetes Burnout By article By Ginger Vieira Diabetes isn’t easy, and having to prick your finger day in and day out to check your blood sugar can be grating. Even though this task takes up about a combined 120 seconds of our day, it’s a tedious responsibility that comes with “good” or “bad” news depending on whatever our blood sugar is. After a while, who could blame you for being sick of it, for forgetting to do it, or for wanting to forget you have diabetes altogether?
_ Alzheimer's Subtype Often Misdiagnosed By Jane Farrell article Neuroscientists have defined a subtype of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that they say is neither well recognized nor treated appropriately. The variant - called hippocampal sparing AD - made up 11 percent of the 1,821 AD-confirmed brains examined by researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Florida.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Mental & Emotional Health Stress Management Stress-Free Living Chronic Stress Makes Junk Food Even Worse for You By article File this under “That’s not fair!” People who are not dealing with chronic stress can get away with eating a lot of high-fat, high-sugar food without upping their risk of metabolic syndrome, but stressed out people can’t. That’s the finding of research done at the University of Califorina, San Francisco.
Going Bananas By blog There it was on Facebook, a video I HAD to watch, or so they said. “You have to watch this video. You have been peeling bananas wrong your whole life!”
A Better Approach to Colorectal Surgery By Jane Farrell article 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.
_ Eating And Exercising: 5 Top Tips By Jane Farrell article 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
_ Mental & Emotional Health Anxiety Medications as You Age By article Anxiety medications can affect you differently as you age. The National Institutes for Health Senior Health Portal alerts you in to possible problems: The research on treating anxiety disorders in older adults is limited. However, most disorders can be treated with medication or psychotherapy. For some people, a combination of medication and psychotherapy may be the best treatment approach. Antidepressants
_ The Screen-Time Diet By Jane Farrell article To help manage your body weight, you need to reduce the amount of time you spend being sedentary. For many of us, that includes time (lots of it) spent in front of a screen, whether you’re watching TV, playing video games or using the computer. A sedentary lifestyle can easily lead to excess weight and even obesity, with its myriad health risks.
_ Obesity Can Up Bone and Muscle Loss in Older Women By article Here’s yet another compelling reason to stick your diet if you’re 50+ and considerably overweight. Florida State University researchers have identified a new syndrome called "osteosarcopenic obesity" that links the deterioration of bone density and muscle mass with obesity.