Performance Edge Chiropractic PC

How bone adapts to exercise may be affected by timing of calcium and vitamin D supplementation

2013-06-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Taking calcium and vitamin D before exercise may influence how bones adapt to exercise, according to a new study. The results will be presented on Tuesday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
“The timing of calcium supplementation, and not just the amount of supplementation, may be an important factor in how the skeleton adapts to exercise training,” said study lead author Vanessa D. Sherk, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. “Further research, however, is needed to determine whether the timing of calcium supplementation affects the skeletal adaptations to exercise training.”
Previous research has shown that a year of intense training is associated with substantial decreases in bone mineral density among competitive road cyclists. Experts believe that this kind of exercise-induced bone loss could be related to the loss of calcium during exercise.
As blood calcium levels drop, the parathyroid gland produces excess parathyroid hormone, which can mobilize calcium from the skeleton.
In this study, investigators found that an exercise-induced decrease in blood calcium occurred whether calcium supplements were taken before or after exercising. Pre-exercise supplementation, however, resulted in less of a decrease. Although not statistically significant, parathyroid hormone levels increased slightly less among cyclists who took calcium before exercising.

“These findings are relevant to individuals who engage in vigorous exercise and may lose a substantial amount of calcium through sweating,” Sherk said. “Taking calcium before exercise may help keep blood levels more stable during exercise, compared to taking the supplement afterwards, but we do not yet know the long-term effects of this on bone density.”

The timing of calcium supplementation did not cause a difference in blood levels of a compound that is a biological indicator of bone loss. Both the before- and after-exercise groups exhibited 50-percent increases in the level of this compound, called CTX, for collagen type-1 C-telopeptide.

Study participants included 52 men aged 18 to 45 years. Investigators randomly assigned participants to take 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 1,000 international units of vitamin D either 30 minutes before or one hour after exercise. The exercise comprised a simulated 35-kilometer time trial, and participants wore skin patches to absorb sweat. Investigators measured blood levels of calcium and parathyroid hormone before and immediately after exercise. They also measured CTX before and 30 minutes after exercise. They used pre- and post-body weight, adjusted for fluid intake, combined with the calcium measured in the sweat from the skin patches, to estimate the amount of calcium lost through the skin during exercise.

Source - See more at: http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/how-bone-adapts-to-exercisemay-be-affected-by-timing-of-calcium-and-vitamin-d-supplementation/nutrition-supplements/#sthash.SPXlrcyL.dpuf

Tai chi, the ‘perfect exercise,’ is going more mainstream

2013-06-18T06:46:00.002-07:00

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

(Reuters) – For modern, harried lifestyles focused on getting and spending, fitness experts say tai chi, the ancient Chinese slow-moving exercise, can be an ideal way for anyone to stay fit.
A staple in senior citizen centers and a common dawn sighting in public parks, the practice can offer long-term benefits for all age groups.
“In this high-tech world that’s all about speed, greed and instant gratification, tai chi is the antidote to bring us back to balanced health,” according to Arthur Rosenfeld, a tai chi master and the author of a new book called Tai Chi–The Perfect Exercise: Finding Health, Happiness, Balance, and Strength.

“It doesn’t mean you can win the marathon or clean and jerk 750 pounds or win a cycle sprint,” said the South Florida resident, 56. “It’s not about getting there sooner.” Tai chi is more about how the body works than how it looks, and is about aging gracefully and “with less drama.”

“The last time I looked, there were some 500 studies about the various physical benefits of tai chi, from improving balance and attention span to boosting the immune system to beating back the symptoms of arthritis, asthma and insomnia,” said Rosenfeld.

- See more at: http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/tai-chi-the-perect-exercise-is-going-more-mainstream/fitness-tai-chi/#sthash.YaWEFLB3.dpuf

Juven, the dietary supplement, linked to increased muscle mass in the elderly

2013-06-18T06:42:00.001-07:00

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

SAN FRANCISCO– A supplemental beverage used to treat muscle-wasting may help boost muscle mass among the elderly, according to a new study. The results were presented today at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
The supplemental beverage, called Juven®, contains three amino acids, including arginine. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and are required for cell growth and repair. The amino acid arginine is especially important because it increases growth-hormone production, which causes the body to produce a critical protein called insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF-1. This protein promotes growth and development and, as its name suggests, is similar in structure to the hormone insulin.

Previously, studies showed that Juven® helped increase muscle mass in patients with AIDS or cancer. These earlier findings led this study’s investigators to hypothesize that the increased muscle mass could result from greater blood concentrations of IGF-1. They theorized that these increased protein levels could have the same benefits among the elderly, who also experience decreased muscle mass and strength related to drops in hormone production that occur with aging. In turn, increased muscle strength could potentially improve quality of life among the elderly.

They found that participants who received Juven® had significant increases in lean body mass, while those who received placebo did not have any change. In addition, blood concentrations of IGF-1 increased among Juven® recipients, but not among the placebo group. The correlation between the improved IGF-1 concentrations and increased lean tissue, however, was not statistically significant.

“The amino acid cocktail of the dietary supplement Juven® appears to hold promise for increasing lean body in healthy older adults,” said study lead author Amy C. Ellis, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. “However, more research is needed to determine the cause-and-effect relationship and the mechanisms by which the amino acids in Juven® may favorably affect body composition of healthy, older adults.”

Study participants were 29 healthy adults between the ages of 65 and 87 years. Each received either Juven® or a placebo drink twice a day, along with their regular daily diet, for six months. At the beginning of the study and again six months later, investigators used a special test to measure lean body mass. At both times, they also assessed participants’ blood levels of IGF-1 after fasting.

The National Institutes of Health and the Center for Aging at the University of Alabama-Birmingham funded the study. Abbott Laboratories, the manufacturer of Juven®, provided the dietary supplement and the placebo.

Source - See more at: http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/juven-the-dietary-supplement-linked-to-increased-muscle-mass-in-the-elderly/elder-care/#sthash.FYjSN05L.dpuf

Purchase at:

http://www.amazon.com/Abbott-Nutrition-Juven-Packet-Institutional/dp/B005X9F7RE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1371562553&sr=8-4&keywords=juven

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/juven/ID=357344-brand

Obesity leads to brain inflammation, and low testosterone makes it worse

2013-06-18T06:29:00.001-07:00

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Low testosterone worsens the harmful effects of obesity in the nervous system, a new study in mice finds. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
“Low testosterone and obesity are common in aging men, and each is associated with type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease,” said the study’s lead investigator, Anusha Jayaraman, PhD, of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “Our new findings demonstrate that obesity and low testosterone combine to not only increase the risk of diabetes but also damage the brain.”
The study – which was conducted in the laboratory of Christian J. Pike, PhD, Professor in the Davis School of Gerontology at USC and funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging – consisted of three groups of male mice that received a high-fat diet (60 percent of calories were from fat) to induce obesity. Each group had eight mice and varied by testosterone status. One group had normal testosterone levels, and the second group underwent surgical removal of the testes so that the mice had low testosterone levels. The third group also underwent castration but then received testosterone treatment through a capsule implanted beneath the skin.
The high-fat diet, Jayaraman reported, resulted in obesity and evidence of diabetes – abnormally high blood glucose (sugar) levels and poor glucose tolerance, which is the ability to clear glucose from the bloodstream. Compared with the group that had normal testosterone levels, the testosterone-deficient mice had more body fat, higher blood sugar levels and poorer glucose tolerance, she said.

After blood testing, brain tissues from the mice underwent analysis for changes. The brains of obese mice showed substantial inflammation and were less able to support nerve cell growth and survival, according to Jayaraman. These damaging effects of diet-induced obesity were significantly worse in mice with low testosterone, she said, adding that control groups of mice fed a normal diet did not show these changes.

“Our findings suggest that low testosterone and obesity interact to regulate inflammation of the nervous system, which may increase the risk of disorders such as type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease,” she said.

Because many of the negative outcomes of the high-fat diet were eased in the group of mice that received testosterone therapy, Jayaraman said that “testosterone treatment may be useful in reducing the harmful effects of obesity and low testosterone on the nervous system.”

Source - See more at: http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/obesity-leads-to-brain-inflammation-and-low-testosterone-makes-it-worse/diabetes/#sthash.DPuayYiF.dpuf

Weight loss improves memory and alters brain activity in overweight women

2013-06-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

SAN FRANCISCO– Memory improves in older, overweight women after they lose weight by dieting, and their brain activity actually changes in the regions of the brain that are important for memory tasks, a new study finds. The results were presented today at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
“Our findings suggest that obesity-associated impairments in memory function are reversible, adding incentive for weight loss,” said lead author Andreas Pettersson, MD, a PhD student at Umea University, Umea, Sweden.
Previous research has shown that obese people have impaired episodic memory, the memory of events that happen throughout one’s life.
Pettersson and co-workers performed their study to determine whether weight loss would improve memory and whether improved memory correlated with changes in relevant brain activity. A special type of brain imaging called functional magnetic resonance imaging (functional MRI) allowed them to see brain activity while the subjects performed a memory test.
The researchers randomly assigned 20 overweight, postmenopausal women (average age, 61) to one of two healthy weight loss diets for six months. Nine women used the Paleolithic diet, also called the Caveman diet, which was composed of 30 percent protein; 30 percent carbohydrates, or “carbs”; and 40 percent unsaturated fats. The other 11 women followed the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations of a diet containing 15 percent protein, 55 percent carbs and 30 percent fats.
Before and after the diet, the investigators measured the women’s body mass index (BMI, a measure of weight and height) and body fat composition. They also tested the subjects’ episodic memory by instructing them to memorize unknown pairs of faces and names presented on a screen during functional MRI. The name for this process of creating new memory is “encoding.” Later, the women again saw the facial images along with three letters. Their memory retrieval task, during functional MRI, was to indicate the correct letter that corresponded to the first letter of the name linked to the face.
Because the two dietary groups did not differ in body measurements and functional MRI data, their data were combined and analyzed as one group. The group’s average BMI decreased from 32.1 before the diet to 29.2 (below the cutoff for obesity) after six months of dieting, and their average weight dropped from 188.9 pounds (85 kilograms) to 171.3 pounds (77.1 kilograms), the authors reported. This study was part of a larger, diet-focused study funded by the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation.
Memory performance improved after weight loss, and Pettersson said the brain-activity pattern during memory testing reflected this improvement. After weight loss, brain activity reportedly increased during memory encoding in the brain regions that are important for identification and matching of faces. In addition, brain activity decreased after weight loss in the regions that are associated with retrieval of episodic memories, which Pettersson said indicates more efficient retrieval.
“The altered brain activity after weight loss suggests that the brain becomes more active while storing new memories and therefore needs fewer brain resources to recollect stored information,” he said.

Source - See more at: http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/weight-loss-improves-memory-and-alters-brain-activity-in-overweight-women/cognitive-impairment/#sthash.IQ4b0Gf4.dpuf

Food Over Medicine: The Conversation That Could Save Your Life

2013-06-17T06:50:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Nearly half of Americans take at least one prescription medicine, with almost a quarter taking three or more, as diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and dementia grow more prevalent than ever. The problem with medicating common ailments, such as high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol, is that drugs treat symptoms—and may even improve test results—without addressing the cause: diet.
Overmedicated, overfed, and malnourished, most Americans fail to realize the answer to lower disease rates doesn’t lie in more pills but in the foods we eat.With so much misleading nutritional information regarded as common knowledge, from “everything in moderation” to “avoid carbs,” the average American is ill-equipped to recognize the deadly force of abundant, cheap, unhealthy food options that not only offer no nutritional benefits but actually bring on disease.

In Food Over Medicine, Pamela A. Popper, PhD, ND, and Glen Merzer invite the reader into a conversation about the dire state of American health—the result of poor nutrition choices stemming from food politics and medical misinformation. But, more important, they share the key to getting and staying healthy for life.
Backed by numerous scientific studies, Food Over Medicine details how dietary choices either build health or destroy it. Food Over Medicine reveals the power and practice of optimal nutrition in an accessible way.
Includes recipes from Chef Del Sroufe, author of the bestselling Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook and Better Than Vegan

Read the first few pages of Food Over Medicine: The Conversation That Could Save Your Life

Vitamin D and the athlete: risks, recommendations, and benefits

2013-06-15T08:12:00.001-07:00

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Stone Hearth

News Nutrients. 2013 May 28;5(6):1856-68. doi: 10.3390/nu5061856; Vitamin d and the athlete: risks, recommendations, and benefits; Ogan D, Pritchett K.; Source: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Health Science, Central Washington University, 400 E. University Way, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA. danastorlie@yahoo.com.

Abstract

Vitamin D is well known for its role in calcium regulation and bone health, but emerging literature tells of vitamin D’s central role in other vital body processes, such as: signaling gene response, protein synthesis, hormone synthesis, immune response, plus, cell turnover and regeneration. The discovery of the vitamin D receptor within the muscle suggested a significant role for vitamin D in muscle tissue function. This discovery led researchers to question the impact that vitamin D deficiency could have on athletic performance and injury. With over 77% of the general population considered vitamin D insufficient, it’s likely that many athletes fall into the same category. Research has suggested vitamin D to have a significant effect on muscle weakness, pain, balance, and fractures in the aging population; still, the athletic population is yet to be fully examined. There are few studies to date that have examined the relationship between vitamin D status and performance, therefore, this review will focus on the bodily roles of vitamin D, recommended 25(OH)D levels, vitamin D intake guidelines and risk factors for vitamin D insufficiency in athletes. In addition, the preliminary findings regarding vitamin D’s impact on athletic performance will be examined. Source

How sugar overload can damage heart

2013-06-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

HOUSTON – (June 14, 2013) – Too much sugar can set people down a pathway to heart failure, according to a study led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).A single small molecule, the glucose metabolite glucose 6-phosphate (G6P), causes stress to the heart that changes the muscle proteins and induces poor pump function leading to heart failure, according to the study, which was published in the May 21 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association. G6P can accumulate from eating too much starch and/or sugar.
Heart failure kills 5 million Americans a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The one-year survival rate after diagnosis is 50 percent and there are 550,000 new patients in the United States diagnosed with heart failure each year.
“Treatment is difficult. Physicians can give diuretics to control the fluid, and beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors to lower the stress on the heart and allow it to pump more economically,” said Heinrich Taegtmeyer, M.D., D.Phil., principal investigator and professor of cardiology at the UTHealth Medical School. “But we still have these terrible statistics and no new treatment for the past 20 years.”

Taegtmeyer performed preclinical trials in animal models, as well as tests on tissue taken from patients at the Texas Heart Institute who had a piece of the heart muscle removed in order to implant a left ventricle assist device by O.H. “Bud” Frazier, M.D., and his team. Both led to the discovery of the damage caused by G6P.
“When the heart muscle is already stressed from high blood pressure or other diseases, and then takes in too much glucose, it adds insult to injury,” Taegtmeyer said.
The study has opened doors to possible new treatments. Two drugs, rapamycin (an immunosuppressant) and metformin (a diabetes medication) disrupt signaling of G6P and improved cardiac power in small animal studies.
“These drugs have a potential for treatment and this has now cleared a path to future studies with patients,” Taegtmeyer said.

Swiss ball improves muscle strength and walking performance in ankylosing spondylitis

2013-06-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Madrid, Spain, 12 June 2013: A new study presented at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, demonstrates that progressive muscle strengthening using a Swiss ball is effective in improving muscle strength and walking performance in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).

Patients randomised to the exercise programme showed statistically significant improvements in muscle strength with no worsening of disease activity; in addition these patients reported greater satisfaction with their treatment than those in the control group.

AS is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease affecting the spine and joints in the lower back and pelvis. 0.1-2% of the population suffers from AS, with the highest prevalence in northern European countries.2 Initial symptoms are chronic pain and stiffness in the middle and lower part of the spine, which is worse at rest and eased by exercise. However, many patients find their mobility to be significantly restricted, impacting their ability to exercise.

According to lead author Mr Marcelo de Souza physiotherapist of the Rheumatology Division, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, “exercises are recommended in the management of patients with AS, yet the benefits of specific exercise programmes are not as well defined.”

“Our study has confirmed that a progressive muscle strengthening programme using a Swiss ball significantly improves functional capacity, muscle strength, and mobility in patients with AS, with no harmful effects on disease activity,” Mr de Souza concluded.

There was a statistically significant improvement in strength in the intervention (exercise) group, compared to the control group, for the muscles used in the exercises: abdominal (p =0.003), rowing exercises (p=0.02), squat (p=0.01), triceps (p=0.021) and reverse fly (p=0.02). The intervention group also improved the 6-minute walk test* (p=0.005) at week 16.

There was also a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of treatment satisfaction at all times (p <0.001), measured using a Likert scale.†

60 clinically and demographically similar patients were randomized to either the intervention group or the control group, with 30 patients in each. Eight exercises were completed by the intervention group with free weights on a Swiss ball, twice a week for 16 weeks. Loads were reassessed and increased every 4 weeks. The control group remained on a waiting list, receiving drug therapy but without any exercise.

Source

Vitamin C may be beneficial against exercise-induced bronchoconstriction

2013-06-12T10:10:00.002-07:00

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Vitamin C may substantially reduce bronchoconstriction caused by exercise, says Dr. Harri Hemila from the University of Helsinki, Finland. Hemila’s meta-analysis “Vitamin C may alleviate exercise-induced bronchoconstriction” was published in BMJ Open (7 June, 2013). Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction means the transient narrowing of the airways that occurs during or after exercise. It can cause symptoms such as cough, wheezing and the shortness of breath. Formerly, this condition was called exercise-induced asthma.

The Respiratory System at a Glance: “… an accessible introduction and revision text [that] provides a user-friendly overview of the respiratory system…”

Usually, the diagnosis of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction is based on a 10% or greater decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) caused by exercise. About 10% of the general population suffers from exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, but among some fields of competitive winter sports the prevalence can be up to 50%.
Previously, vitamin C was found to halve the incidence of common cold episodes in people enduring heavy short-term physical stress, which indicated that vitamin C might also have other effects on people under heavy physical exertion. The new systematic review focused on the effect of vitamin C on bronchoconstriction caused by exercise and identified three relevant randomized placebo-controlled trials. Each of the three identified trials found that vitamin C halved the FEV1 decline caused by exercise challenge test. The pooled estimate of vitamin C effect indicated a 48% reduction in the FEV1 decline caused by exercise.
Dr. Hemila concludes that given the low cost and safety of vitamin C and the consistency of positive findings in three randomized trials on EIB, it seems reasonable for physically active people to test vitamin C on an individual basis if they have respiratory symptoms such as cough associated with exercise.
Source

Sport at competitive level improves the academic performance of secondary education students

2013-06-12T10:06:00.001-07:00

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Academic performance is better if young people play sports competitively, as is clear from the findings of the thesis presented by Ana Capdevila Seder at the Universitat Jaume I. The thesis has been directed by the lecturer of Teaching Body Language and director of the UJI Sports Service Carlos Hernando Domingo.
Academic performance in adolescence is a matter of concern for teachers, parents and researchers. Similarly, the sedentary lifestyle is affecting more and more children and young people, causing, among other, cardiorespiratory ailments and diseases specific to adulthood. In the adolescence, specifically among secondary education students, sports abandonment occurs massively and the main cause is focused on the lack of time to combine sport and studies.
The main results of the research conducted by Ana Capdevila show that the profile with a better academic performance corresponds to female students studying in private schools or state-subsided schools who play sports (even competitively) and with parents who have higher education and practice sport. In addition, the findings show that athlete students have better study habits and spend less time on sedentary leisure activities than non-athlete students.

Other remarkable results from the study of the assistant professor in the Department of Education at the UJI have been the positive influence that the practice of sport of parents has on children’s academic performance, and also in their sport practice, because if parents practice sport, almost 86 per cent of children do too. Similarly, the family plays a key role in facilitating that children can combine study tasks and sport. Their greater involvement in issues such as transport, food or rest increases performance.
Young athletes have scored higher on the test on study habits; especially in areas such as attitude and time schedule to study (they are more motivated to study and the reasons why they do it are more clear to them). This fact suggests the importance of arranging the free time when this time is occupied, in large part, by training and racing, and how profitable it is to invest time in active leisure instead of sedentary leisure activities, thus showing that sport at competition level improves performance and does not interfere with studies during adolescence.
The study involved 313 adolescents in the second cycle of compulsory secondary education in Castellón de la Plana, 124 of which were athletes (with a minimum commitment of 10 hours of sport per week) and 189 non-athletes. Students answered two questionnaires, the CHTE questionnaire on study habits and practice, and the PFYTL on physical activity and leisure. In addition, parents were administered a questionnaire and participants’ academic marks were also taken into account in the research.
Source

- See more at: http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/sport-at-competitive-level-improves-the-academic-performance-of-secondary-education-students/updates/#sthash.ZNOIb7zu.dpuf

15-minute walks taken after meals help curb risky rise in blood sugar, new GW study says

2013-06-12T10:03:00.002-07:00

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

WASHINGTON, DC (June 12, 2013)—A fifteen minute walk after each meal appears to help older people regulate blood sugar levels and could reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS). The study, published today in Diabetes Care, found that three short post-meal walks were as effective at reducing blood sugar over 24 hours as a 45-minute walk of the same easy-to-moderate pace. Moreover, post-meal walking was significantly more effective than a sustained walk at lowering blood sugar for up to three hours following the evening meal.
"These findings are good news for people in their 70s and 80s who may feel more capable of engaging in intermittent physical activity on a daily basis, especially if the short walks can be combined with running errands or walking the dog,” said lead study author Loretta DiPietro, PhD, MPH, chair of the SPHHS Department of Exercise Science. “The muscle contractions connected with short walks were immediately effective in blunting the potentially damaging elevations in post-meal blood sugar commonly observed in older people,” she said.
The findings, if confirmed by additional research, could lead to an inexpensive preventive strategy for a pre-diabetic condition that can over time develop into frank type 2 diabetes, she said. An estimated 79 million Americans have pre-diabetes but most have no idea they are at risk. Other studies have suggested weight loss and exercise can prevent type 2 diabetes but this is the first study to examine short bouts of physical activity timed around the risky period following meals—a time when blood sugar can rise rapidly and potentially cause damage.

DiPietro and her colleagues recruited ten people age 60 and older who were otherwise healthy but at risk of developing type 2 diabetes due to higher-than-normal levels of fasting blood sugar and to insufficient levels of physical activity. Older people may be particularly susceptible to impairments in blood sugar control after meals due to insulin resistance in the muscles and also due to a slow or low insulin secretion from the pancreas. Post-meal high blood sugar is a key risk factor in the progression from impaired glucose tolerance (pre-diabetes) to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, DiPietro said.
Participants completed three randomly-ordered exercise protocols spaced four weeks apart. Each protocol comprised a 48-hour stay in a whole-room calorimeter, with the first day serving as a control period. On the second day, participants engaged in either post-meal walking for 15 minutes after each meal or 45 minutes of sustained walking performed at 10:30 in the morning or at 4:30 in the afternoon. All walking was performed on a treadmill at an easy-to-moderate pace. Participants ate standardized meals and their blood sugar levels were measured continuously over each 48 hour stay.
The team observed that the most effective time to go for a post-meal walk was after the evening meal. The exaggerated rise in blood sugar after this meal—often the largest of the day—often lasts well into the night and early morning and this was curbed significantly as soon as the participants started to walk on the treadmill, DiPietro said.
Most people eat a big afternoon or evening meal and then take a nap or watch television. “That’s the worst thing you can do,” DiPietro said. “Let the food digest a bit and then get out and move,” she says. A walk timed to follow the big evening meal is particularly important because this research suggests high post-dinner blood sugar is a strong determinant of excessive 24-hour glucose levels, DiPietro said.
The results of this study must be confirmed with larger trials that include more people, DiPietro cautioned. Still this study monitored blood sugar levels continuously for 48-hour periods and controlled the environment carefully. The findings have tremendous public health importance in that they offer powerful evidence that smaller doses of exercise repeated several times per day have greater overall benefits to blood sugar control among older people than one large sustained dose –especially if those short bouts are timed just right.
Source

The Healing Power of Meditation

2013-06-09T17:45:00.001-07:00

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Regular meditation practice has a powerful impact on the mind and body, rewiring the brain and bringing us all kinds of benefits: contentment and well-being, resilience and focus, better mental and physical health, and greater empathy and compassion. This wide-ranging anthology brings together pioneering Tibetan Buddhist teachers, scientific researchers, and health professionals to offer fascinating perspectives on the mind and emotions, new studies, and firsthand accounts of how meditation is being applied to great effect in health and social care today.

• Sogyal Rinpoche and Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche on how meditation unlocks the mind’s healing power
• Jon Kabat-Zinn on the benefits of mindfulness in mainstream health care
• Clifford Saron on the Shamatha Project, the most comprehensive study of the effects of meditation ever conducted
• Sara Lazar on what happens to our brain when we meditate
• Erika Rosenberg on how meditation helps us relate better to our emotions
• Dr. Lucio Bizzini, MD, on how Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy is used to treat depression
• Ursula Bates on how mindfulness supports terminally ill patients as they approach the end of their lives

Plus chapters from other innovators who apply meditation in health care and social work: Dr. Edel Maex, MD, Dr. Cathy Blanc, MD, Rosamund Oliver, and Dr. Frédéric Rosenfeld, MD.

Source: Wiley

A 20-minute bout of yoga stimulates brain function immediately after

2013-06-09T17:43:00.001-07:00

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers report that a single, 20-minute session of Hatha yoga significantly improved participants’ speed and accuracy on tests of working memory and inhibitory control, two measures of brain function associated with the ability to maintain focus and take in, retain and use new information. Participants performed significantly better immediately after the yoga practice than after moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise for the same amount of time.

The 30 study subjects were young, female, undergraduate students. The new findings appear in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.

“Yoga is an ancient Indian science and way of life that includes not only physical movements and postures but also regulated breathing and meditation,” said Neha Gothe, who led the study while a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Gothe now is a professor of kinesiology, health and sport studies at Wayne State University in Detroit. “The practice involves an active attentional or mindfulness component but its potential benefits have not been thoroughly explored.”

“Yoga is becoming an increasingly popular form of exercise in the U.S. and it is imperative to systematically examine its health benefits, especially the mental health benefits that this unique mind-body form of activity may offer,” said Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Edward McAuley, who directs the Exercise Psychology Laboratory where the study was conducted.

The yoga intervention involved a 20-minute progression of seated, standing and supine yoga postures that included isometric contraction and relaxation of different muscle groups and regulated breathing. The session concluded with a meditative posture and deep breathing. Participants also completed an aerobic exercise session where they walked or jogged on a treadmill for 20 minutes. Each subject worked out at a suitable speed and incline of the treadmill, with the goal of maintaining 60 to 70 percent of her maximum heart rate throughout the exercise session.

“This range was chosen to replicate previous findings that have shown improved cognitive performance in response to this intensity,” the researchers reported.

Gothe and her colleagues were surprised to see that participants showed more improvement in their reaction times and accuracy on cognitive tasks after yoga practice than after the aerobic exercise session, which showed no significant improvements on the working memory and inhibitory control scores.

“It appears that following yoga practice, the participants were better able to focus their mental resources, process information quickly, more accurately and also learn, hold and update pieces of information more effectively than after performing an aerobic exercise bout,” Gothe said. “The breathing and meditative exercises aim at calming the mind and body and keeping distracting thoughts away while you focus on your body, posture or breath. Maybe these processes translate beyond yoga practice when you try to perform mental tasks or day-to-day activities.”

Many factors could explain the results, Gothe said. “Enhanced self-awareness that comes with meditational exercises is just one of the possible mechanisms. Besides, meditation and breathing exercises are known to reduce anxiety and stress, which in turn can improve scores on some cognitive tests,” she said.

“We only examined the effects of a 20-minute bout of yoga and aerobic exercise in this study among female undergraduates,” McAuley said. “However, this study is extremely timely and the results will enable yoga researchers to power and design their interventions in the future. We see similar promising findings among older adults as well. Yoga research is in its nascent stages and with its increasing popularity across the globe, researchers need to adopt rigorous systematic approaches to examine not only its cognitive but also physical health benefits across the lifespan.”

The research team included U. of I. kinesiology and community health professor Charles Hillman and Michigan State University kinesiology professor Matthew Pontifex (a U. of I. alumnus).

Source

Water immersion recovery for athletes

2013-06-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Sports Med. 2013 Jun 7. [Epub ahead of print]; Water Immersion Recovery for Athletes: Effect on Exercise Performance and Practical Recommendations; Versey NG, Halson SL, Dawson BT
Source
Performance Recovery, Australian Institute of Sport, PO Box 176, Belconnen, Canberra, ACT, 2616, Australia, nathan.versey@gmail.com.
Abstract

Water immersion is increasingly being used by elite athletes seeking to minimize fatigue and accelerate post-exercise recovery. Accelerated short-term (hours to days) recovery may improve competition performance, allow greater training loads or enhance the effect of a given training load. However, the optimal water immersion protocols to assist short-term recovery of performance still remain unclear. This article will review the water immersion recovery protocols investigated in the literature, their effects on performance recovery, briefly outline the potential mechanisms involved and provide practical recommendations for their use by athletes. For the purposes of this review, water immersion has been divided into four techniques according to water temperature: cold water immersion (CWI; ≤20 °C), hot water immersion (HWI; ≥36 °C), contrast water therapy (CWT; alternating CWI and HWI) and thermoneutral water immersion (TWI; >20 to <36 °C). Numerous articles have reported that CWI can enhance recovery of performance in a variety of sports, with immersion in 10-15 °C water for 5-15 min duration appearing to be most effective at accelerating performance recovery. However, the optimal CWI duration may depend on the water temperature, and the time between CWI and the subsequent exercise bout appears to influence the effect on performance. The few studies examining the effect of post-exercise HWI on subsequent performance have reported conflicting findings; therefore the effect of HWI on performance recovery is unclear. CWT is most likely to enhance performance recovery when equal time is spent in hot and cold water, individual immersion durations are short (~1 min) and the total immersion duration is up to approximately 15 min. A dose-response relationship between CWT duration and recovery of exercise performance is unlikely to exist. Some articles that have reported CWT to not enhance performance recovery have had methodological issues, such as failing to detect a decrease in performance in control trials, not performing full-body immersion, or using hot showers instead of pools. TWI has been investigated as both a control to determine the effect of water temperature on performance recovery, and as an intervention itself. However, due to conflicting findings it is uncertain whether TWI improves recovery of subsequent exercise performance. Both CWI and CWT appear likely to assist recovery of exercise performance more than HWI and TWI; however, it is unclear which technique is most effective. While the literature on the use of water immersion for recovery of exercise performance is increasing, further research is required to obtain a more complete understanding of the effects on performance.
Source

New UK research centre to reduce sports injuries’ risk

2013-06-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

The Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis brings together for the first time in Europe experts in sports medicine and osteoarthritis, aiming to reduce the risk of sports injury developing into osteoarthritis.
On Monday (10th June) Arthritis Research UK will launch a new £3m research centre aiming to reduce the impact of sports injuries incurred by elite and recreational players and understand why some sport and exercise injuries develop into debilitating osteoarthritis in later life.
Researchers at the new Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis, led by Nottingham University Hospitals and The Universities of Nottingham and Oxford, aim to develop better injury treatments and screening tools to predict an individual’s risk of developing osteoarthritis following sports injury.
Centre director Professor Mark Batt, consultant in sport and exercise medicine at Nottingham University Hospitals, explained:
“Regular exercise is vital to keep your joints healthy and the long-term benefits of exercise far outweigh the risk of injury.
“Our centre aims to keep people of all sporting abilities active and injury-free by developing definitive, evidence-based advice and information to minimise the consequence of injury and recommend effective treatments to reduce long-term damage.
“This is the first time in Europe that specialists in sports medicine and osteoarthritis are combining their expertise to understand why some sports injuries will go on to develop into osteoarthritis, and whether we can prevent or slow down degeneration of the joints.”
An injury to the joint is one of the main risk factors for osteoarthritis, along with ageing and obesity. Approximately 8 million people in the UK are affected by osteoarthritis, which is the most common form of joint disease. A poll carried out by Arthritis Research UK in 2011[1] found 40% of active people were worried about limited mobility and joint problems in the future.
Young footballers are at particular risk from a potentially career-ending form of groin injury called femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).The cause is not known but over-training as the bones are developing may play a role. In FAI the head of the thigh bone rubs against the socket, leading to intermittent groin or hip pain in the short term, and potentially osteoarthritis of the hip in the longer term.
Arthritis Research UK researchers will scan young footballers aged nine from a number of professional football academies, using state-of-the-art MRI, every two years. They will be compared to two other same-age groups – ordinary schoolboys and also young elite athletes from other sports.
The sophisticated MRI scans will be able to pick up holes or cracks in cartilage and metabolic changes to cartilage and bone, so training movements could be modified or avoided to prevent injury occurring.

The researchers will also design a range of targeted training programmes aimed at reducing the incidence of injuries in professional footballers – a concept known in the sports medicine world as ‘pre-habilitation’. This will involve developing ways of improving training and warm-ups to reduce the incidence of injuries such as pulled muscles and tendons, to ensure that players use their muscles correctly and don’t overload their joints during matches and in training. They hope their research will enhance current FIFA (F-Marc: Football for health) and 11-plus guidelines on warming-up.
Rickie Lambert, the Southampton FC striker who has experienced hip pain but has managed it successfully through exercise, supports the new centre.
He said:
“Hip pain is one of the most common injuries amongst footballers, and lots of players have to retire early if they don’t get the correct treatment. I’ve been very lucky at my club; I’ve got certain exercises I do that have helped me and improve the problems I’ve had.
“Making sure young footballer get the right treatment in their teens is massively important and will improve their chances of succeeding in the game. If these problems can be picked up early by automatic testing, the better for everyone. On behalf of all professional footballers I would like to show my support for the new centre’s research.”
Gary Lewin, the current permanent first-team physiotherapist for the England national football team added:
“Physiotherapists recommend regular physical activity to maintain good general health. It is therefore encouraging to see this investment in research to better understand the nature and impact of common sporting injuries. The learning from this work will help people exercise safely and keep active.”
Other activities being investigated in the research include rugby, Olympic Games, horse racing and athletics.
The Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis has the backing of leading sports organisations including the International Olympic Committee, Rugby Football Union, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, UK Athletics, the FA and the Professional Footballers Association.
The centre is a consortium of seven universities led by Nottingham University Hospitals and the Universities of Nottingham and Oxford, and involving the Universities of Southampton, Bath, Loughborough, Leeds and University College London.
For more information about looking after your joints when exercising visit www.arthritisresearchuk.org. If you are interested in taking part in the research contact
centre administrators: Joanne.bartram@nuh.nhs.uk or Lis.alhstrom@ndorms.ox.ac.uk
[1] Survey of 3,000 members of the public who took the Arthritis Research UK ‘Taking the pain out of sport’ survey in 2011.
Source

Back pain steroid injection therapy may increase risk of spinal fracture

2013-06-07T08:07:00.003-07:00

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Rosemont, Ill. –Most aging adults will experience back pain or a spinal disorder at some time in their life. In fact, about 25.8 million visits were made to physicians’ offices due to primary back problems. Treatment focuses on pain relief and is available in both non-surgical (medication or physical therapy) and surgical forms.
A retrospective study in the June 5th issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) looked at one type of back treatment– a lumbar epidural steroid injection (LESI) – and whether or not that treatment had an impact on bone fragility and vertebral fractures (spinal fractures). A higher number of injections was associated with increased risk. Authors concluded that LESIs may lead to increased bone fragility over time, and while injection therapy is useful in some cases, it should be approached cautiously for patients at risk for fractures associated with osteoporosis.
Patients at a high risk for vertebral fractures after an epidural injection include older women, those who have had an earlier fracture, those who smoke and those who are underweight. Young and active male patients have a lower risk of vertebral fracture.
“In the appropriate setting, and for the right patient, LESI provides effective symptomatic relief and improved level of function, said Shlomo Mandel, MD, MPH, lead author of the JBJS study and orthopaedic surgeon at Henry Ford Health System. “Through careful screening and monitoring steroid exposure, the risk of a fracture can be minimized. As orthopaedic surgeons who specialize in spine, we know there is a role for injection therapy, but the challenge is to make sure it is administered safely and still provide long-term benefits.”

Study Details and Key Findings:

Authors identified a total of 50,345 patients who had medical diagnosis codes involving the spine and from that group, a total of 3,415 patients had received at least one LESI.
3,000 patients were randomly selected from the 3,415 injected population, and then 3,000 patients from the non-injected group were selected as a control group. The incidence of vertebral fractures was assessed.
There was no significant difference between the injected and non-injected groups with respect to age, sex, race, hyperthyroidism, or corticosteroid use.
An increasing number of injections were associated with an increasing likelihood of fractures, and each successive injection increased the risk of spinal fracture by 21 percent.

“It’s important to remember that when contemplating an epidural steroid injection a physician should have a symptomatic history, physical findings and corresponding imaging of direct pressure on a single nerve, ” added Dr. Mandel. “Together with our patient, we review the benefits and risks of alternative treatments before selecting an epidural steroid injection.”
Dr. Mandel and his co-authors agree that more research is warranted on this relationship. They have a prospective study on vertebral fractures and injection therapy in the works.
Source

Health club industry leaders make their mark on Capitol Hill and across the nation

2013-06-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

BOSTON, June 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Leaders from the club industry gathered on Capitol Hill during National Physical Fitness and Sports Month in May. They pulled together to urge Congress to support public policies and legislation to help create a national environment that champions physical activity and healthy lifestyles–the building blocks for a healthy workforce, economy, and nation. Their gathering was part of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association’s (IHRSA) 11th Annual Summit for a Healthier America on May 14 and 15.
“For two days in May, the club industry was on Capitol Hill urging Congress to support legislation to promote physical activity in an effort to restore the health of our nation,” said Joe Moore, IHRSA’s President and CEO. “But every day, all across America, club owners and operators are moving our country toward greater economic and national security by leading our local communities toward healthier lifestyles.”
Presentations at IHRSA’s Summit made clear that moving America back to wellness–and especially solving the dual problem of physical inactivity and obesity–won’t be simple. These are complex issues affected by many aspects of American life and influenced by all sectors of society.
Attendees at IHRSA’s Summit clearly demonstrated that the industry is a critically important part of the solution. In fact, the club industry is a composite of a million solutions–all working in tandem across America to reverse the plague of inactivity and unhealthy lifestyles that has undermined our nation’s health, economy, competitiveness, and global standing.
“The … club industry is central to solving our nation’s physical and fiscal health problems,” said Helen Durkin, IHRSA’s Executive Vice President of Public Policy. “And although not every club owner or manager is able to come to Washington, D.C. for the Summit each year, the role they play on the local level is both essential and valued.”
“What we do on the national level in Washington affects clubs and the communities they serve,” Durkin continued. “But what clubs do on the local level equally affect what happens in Washington. As our Summit’s keynote speaker reminded us, ‘Politics is local.’ Club professionals are the foot soldiers for change in America. Collectively, we have the power to create a national groundswell for increased physical activity, healthy lifestyles, and primary prevention. From Main Street in our hometowns–to K Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, and Capitol Hill in Washington, DC–we are the drivers for positive change in America. We are a vibrant and healthy ‘change’ industry.”
During the two-day Summit, industry leaders spoke to Members of Congress and their staffs about specific pieces of legislations, including the Workforce Health Improvement Program (WHIP) Act; the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act; and the Physical Activity Guidelines Act. Industry leaders also requested full funding for the Carol M. White “PEP” grants.

IHRSA and many other health-promotion organizations–which have been working tirelessly to foster a national climate wherein physical activity and healthy lifestyles become the easy choice for all Americans–applauded Congress on May 23 when it introduced three bills aimed at promoting physical activity: The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAG) Act, the Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids (FIT Kids) Act, and the Promoting Health for Youth Skills in Classrooms and Life (PHYSICAL) Act.
The Impact of America’s Clubs
Change operates on the ripple effect. And all across our country, clubs are working in their local communities to affect change toward a healthier, more prosperous America.
Because of health clubs:
– More than 51 million Americans are finding support and encouragement to
exercise and live healthy lives.
– More than $21 billion are being pumped into economies across America as
more than 30,000 club facilities work to inspire millions of
Americans to embrace a culture of health and wellness.
– Hundreds of thousands of families are providing their children with the
memories and legacy of enjoyable physical activity and active lifestyles.
– Hundreds of thousands of Americans with diabetes, heart disease, cancer,
arthritis and other illnesses are finding it easier to manage their
chronic conditions and enjoy life.
– Hundreds of thousands of Americans confronted with stress, anxiety and
depression are finding a healthy way to cope–along with the social and
professional support of other club members and fitness professionals.
– An unstoppable movement of wellness–and the belief in a strong America
for generations to come–is taking hold across the country, one club and one healthy community at a time.
How Health Clubs Create a Positive Domino Effect on Wellness in America
When people exercise:
– They improve their health. Wellness goes up. The risk of type 2 diabetes,
heart disease, arthritis, dementia, depression, anxiety, osteoporosis and
even some cancers goes down.
– They better control their weight. Fitness goes up. Obesity goes down.
– They build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints. Mobility and
its enjoyment go up. Immobility and pain go down.
– They decrease their likelihood of falling. Balance improves. Fall-related
injuries drop.
– Their energy levels go up. Enjoyment and productivity on the job
increase. Presenteeism goes down.
– They are more productive at work. Employees succeed. Employers profit.
– They stimulate their creative thinking. Ideas are borne. Solutions are
found.
– Their mood lifts. Feeling good becomes a regular part of life. Quality of
life improves.
– Their stress levels go down. The ability to cope improves. Stress-induced
fatigue, illness, and unhealthy behaviors diminish.
– We all enjoy the benefits of wellness. Healthcare costs are contained.
Dollars are saved. The vision for a healthier, more prosperous America is
realized.
SOURCE IHRSA

The 5 so-called healthy foods to avoid

2013-06-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Newswise — Think twice before grabbing foods labeled sugar-free, fat-free or whole-wheat. Recent studies show people tend to let their guard down and eat twice as much or more of these foods because they are marketed as healthy food products.
“Consumer food marketing can be extremely persuasive and the right buzzword on a package can lure a shopper into making an unwise purchase,” said Kari Kooi, a registered dietician at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. “We need to educate consumers on how to read nutrition labels so they can avoid falling prey to the ‘health halo’ effect.”
Here are Kooi’s top five foods to avoid:
• Vegetable Chips: Vegetable chips are marketed as a healthy substitute for vegetables, but most brands have nutrition labels that read the same as a regular potato chip. Vegetable chips contain vegetable powders. Once a vegetable is processed into a chip, many of the nutrients are lost and the calories increase because fat is added. Nutrients are lost as a result of processes that expose food to heat, light and oxygen. You’re better off eating vegetables.

• Nutrient-Enhanced Waters: Most nutrient-enhanced waters are nothing more than colored sugar
water loaded with empty calories that can contribute to weight gain. The beverages that claim to be a healthy choice because of added vitamins are marketing hype. The added vitamins are useless to the majority of people since our bodies get adequate amounts from other dietary sources. The body only uses what it needs and excretes the rest. A better option would be taking a daily multivitamin with a glass of water.
• Muffins: Muffins may look like a healthier option than a doughnut, especially when sprinkled with a few oats or studded with blueberries, but don’t fool yourself. Made with refined white flour and plenty of oil and refined sugar, muffins are nothing more than cupcakes without icing. Many coffee shop muffins are mega-sized and can easily top 500 to 600 calories.
• Premade Smoothies: Most premade commercial smoothies are syrupy concoctions loaded with calories and sugar. The sugar rush these beverages provide can leave you with a subsequent energy slump. Keep the calories in check by making fresh smoothies with high-quality, nourishing ingredients like low-fat Greek yogurt, skim milk and fresh or frozen fruits.
• Frozen Yogurt: Frozen yogurt is a delicious summertime treat made with low-fat or fat-free dairy ingredients, but it’s definitely not calorie-free. Most include a hefty amount of added sugar. Many of the live and active cultures added to frozen yogurt are not able to survive freezing, so don’t count on any probiotic benefits.

Malignaggi vs Broner just weeks away. Get caught up on the drama and Hype.

2013-06-05T07:42:00.002-07:00

Why heart health matters to your brain

2013-06-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – June 4, 2013 – People suffering from type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are at an increased risk of cognitive decline, according to a new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Lead author Christina E. Hugenschmidt, Ph.D., an instructor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest Baptist, said the results from the Diabetes Heart Study-Mind (DHS-Mind) suggest that CVD is playing a role in cognition problems before it is clinically apparent in patients. The research appears online ahead of print in the Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications.

“There has been a lot of research looking at the links between type 2 diabetes and increased risk for dementia, but this is the first study to look specifically at subclinical CVD and the role it plays,” Hugenschmidt said. “Our research shows that CVD risk caused by diabetes even before it’s at a clinically treatable level might be bad for your brain.

“The results imply that additional CVD factors, especially calcified plaque and vascular status, and not diabetes status alone, are major contributors to type 2 diabetes related cognitive decline.”

Hugenschmidt said DHS-Mind is a follow-up study to the Diabetes Heart Study (DHS), which examined relationships between cognitive function, vascular calcified plaque and other major diabetes risk factors associated with cognition. The DHS investigated CVD in siblings with a high incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes, where extensive measurements of CVD risk factors were obtained during exams that occurred from 1998 to 2006.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health through NINDS R01NS058700-02S109 and NIDDK 1F32DK083214-01.

The DHS-Mind study added cognitive testing to existing measures with the express purpose of exploring the relationships between measures of atherosclerosis and cognition in a population heavily affected by diabetes, a novel approach given that previous studies have focused on diabetes and cognition in the context of clinically evident CVD, Hugenschmidt said. The researchers followed up with as many of the original 1,443 DHS study participants as possible who had cardiovascular measures. Of that 516 total, 422 were affected with type 2 diabetes and 94 were unaffected.

Hugenschmidt said the researchers ran a battery of cognitive testing that looked at different kinds of thinking like memory and processing speed, as well as executive function, which is a set of mental skills coordinated in the brain’s frontal lobe that includes stop and think processes like managing time and attention, planning and organizing. She said that being able to look at data where the comparison group was siblings, some of whom had a high level of CVD themselves, made the results more clinically relevant because the participants shared the same environmental and genetic background.

“We still saw a difference between these two groups. Even compared to their own siblings who were not disease free, those with diabetes and subclinical cardiovascular disease had a higher risk of cognitive dysfunction,” Hugenschmidt said.

CVD explains a lot of the cognitive problems that people with diabetes experience, Hugenschmidt said. “One possibility is that your brain requires a really steady blood flow and it’s possible that the cardiovascular disease that accompanies diabetes might be the main driver behind the cognitive deficits that we see.”

Hugenschmidt said the takeaway for clinicians is to take CVD risk factors into consideration when they’re treating patients with type 2 diabetes patients because even at borderline clinical levels, it might have long-term implications for peoples’ mental, cognitive health.

###

Co-authors include: Fang-Chi Hsu, Ph.D., Satoru Hayasaka, Ph.D., J. Jeffrey Carr, M.D., Barry I. Freedman, M.D., Jeff D. Williamson, M.D., and Donald W. Bowden, Ph.D., all of Wake Forest Baptist; and David L. Nyenhuis,Ph.D., University of Illinois, Chicago.

Source

IBD sufferers may benefit from vitamin A, says new research

2013-06-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Dublin, June 5th, 2013 – Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have made novel discoveries around the protective influence of Vitamin A against the damaging immune responses that lead to inflammatory bowel disease. The research led by Professor of Experimental Immunology, Kingston Mills has just been published in the leading peer reviewed medical journal The Journal of Experimental Medicine. http://jem.rupress.org/content/early/2013/05/14/jem.20121588?papetoc
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) include Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and affect over 2 million people in Europe and more than 15,000 in Ireland. The diseases are characterised by inflammation and damage to the intestine caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The damaging inflammation is mediated by immune cells that infiltrate the gut tissue and are activated locally by bacteria normally resident in our gastrointestinal tracts.
The main job of the immune system is to protect us from infection with disease-causing bacteria and viruses, but these responses must be tightly regulated in order to prevent them from causing damage from unwanted inflammation. However in certain individuals genetic or environmental influences can upset the balance leading to excessive inflammation and diseases, like IBD.

Professor Kingston Mills’s research team at the School of Biochemistry and Immunology in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute have discovered that administration of retinoic acid, a dietary metabolite of Vitamin A, can protect mice against intestinal inflammation. Intestinal inflammation is caused by immune cells in the gut that release inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-17 in response to intestinal bacteria. Other anti-inflammatory cytokines, such IL-22 have the opposite effect of suppressing inflammation and inducing tissue repair. Postdoctoral Fellows Lisa Mielke, Sarah Jones and Mathilde Raverdeau, working in Professor Mills’s group have shown that retinoic acid turn on IL-22, and inhibits IL-17 from two immune cells types found in the intestine, called γδ T cells and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). The net effect of this intervention is to reduce the damaging effect of the gut bacteria and to promote recovery of the damaged tissue in the intestine.
Commenting on the significance of the findings, Professor Mills said:
“Our finding provide valuable new information on the ‘ying and yang’ of the immune system and how its dysregulation can lead to inflammatory diseases, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. On a practical level it has confirmed the importance of Vitamin A-rich green and root vegetables in our diet, and how Vitamin A helps to promote a healthier gut by stimulating the production of protective molecules in a hostile gut environment.”
The findings from this Science Foundation Ireland-funded research carried out in the Immunology Research Centre at TCD was just published in the leading medical peer-review journal The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Source

Fish oil supplements may protect the heart in stressful situations

2013-06-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Newswise — Fish oil supplements may protect the heart in stressful situations, according to a recent study. Jason Carter, a researcher at Michigan Technological University, conducted the study with 67 healthy volunteer test participants in their 20s. Over a 2-month period, they were either given nine grams of fish oil pills or nine grams of olive oil as a placebo.
The test subjects were screened for heart rate, blood pressure and other related metrics. At the end of the test period, both groups took a mental arithmetic test that involved adding and subtracting numbers in their head. Their stress response was measured at that time.
“Those in the fish oil group showed blunted heart rate reactivity while they were stressed compared to those who took olive oil,” said Carter. “Similarly, the total [muscle sympathetic nerve activity] reactivity to mental stress was also blunted in the fish oil group.” There was not much difference between the two groups at rest, however.

Results of the study were published in the May edition of the American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, published by the American Physiological Society. It is available online at http://bit.ly/10j0CSS
Carter is chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology at Michigan Tech and associate dean of the university’s College of Sciences and Arts.

Obesity can be prevented by neighborhood features

2013-06-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

PHILADELPHIA (June 4, 2013)— Living in a neighborhood that supports a healthy lifestyle can make a measurable difference in preventing obesity, according to a longitudinal study recently published in the journal Obesity.

The five-year study found that significantly fewer people became obese when living in neighborhoods with healthier food environments, compared to those who had fewer healthy food options within a mile of their homes.

Previous cross-sectional “snapshot” studies have shown that healthier, less-obese people are more likely to live in neighborhoods with supermarkets and access to fresh food, and to some extent in neighborhoods that are walkable.

“Interpretation of results from cross-sectional analyses is limited since that type of study can’t determine whether weight gain preceded the neighborhood exposure” said researcher Dr. Amy Auchincloss, an assistant professor in the Drexel University School of Public Health. Auchincloss and her co-authors consider their new study’s results more robust than much of the other work to date on neighborhood risk factors and obesity. They selected participants not obese and baseline and tracked who became obese during a five-year follow-up period and they accounted for person-level factors that could influence both health status and neighborhood choice.

Auchincloss led the new study with co-authors from University of Michigan School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Gramercy Research Group.

The researchers analyzed health data from 4,008 adults from six cities across the United States, followed over a period of five years as part of a larger Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. The study participants completed surveys about qualities of the area surrounding their homes: To what extent are healthy foods available nearby? And how walkable do they perceive the neighborhood to be?

During the five-year study period, 406 of the participants became obese.

A healthy food environment was associated with lower obesity – even after accounting for factors such as age, sex, income and wealth, education, ethnicity, smoking, diet, physical activity, as well as walkability of the neighborhood.

Walkability was also associated with lower obesity, but this association was not independent of healthy food environment

“Healthy food environments and walkability are often correlated in urban areas which is why it can be hard to assess their independent effects,” Auchincloss noted.

Auchincloss and her co-authors suggested that altering residential environments so that healthy lifestyles are easy to maintain, may be a pre-condition for promoting healthy behavior – but that these changes should work in combination with other strategies for improving health.

“Programs including farmer’s markets and subsidies for fresh food vendors to locate in disadvantaged areas, are the types of adaptations cities and towns can make to create healthier communities – without putting the burden on individuals to have to move to a new neighborhood in order to adopt a healthier lifestyle,” Auchincloss said.

Source

Knee osteoarthritis guidelines updated by AAOS

2013-06-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

ROSEMONT, Ill., June 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) recently released its revised clinical practice guideline (CPG) on the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee, addressing two key changes. Most of the remaining recommendations provided in the 2009 CPG go unchanged. CPGs are not meant to be stand-alone documents, but rather serve as a point of reference and educational tool for both primary care physicians and orthopaedic surgeons.

The original guideline, as well as this revised version, was developed to include only treatments which are less invasive than knee replacement surgery. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common condition that can affect any joint in the body particularly after years of use. It is also known as “wear and tear” arthritis and most commonly occurs in people who are 65 years of age or older. Some 33 million Americans are affected by osteoarthritis, and it is the leading cause of physical disability.

The two primary changes recommended in the 2013 guidelines that differ from the 2009 CPG include:

Acetaminophen: The recommended dosage was reduced from 4,000 mg to 3,000 mg a day. This is not a change made by AAOS specifically for OA patients, but an overall change made by the FDA since 2009 for individuals who use acetaminophen.

Intra-articular Hyaluronic Acid (HA): Intra-articular hyaluronic acid is no longer recommended as a method of treatment for patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee. The 2009 guidelines review was inconclusive regarding this treatment method.

“Fourteen studies assessed intra-articular hyaluronic acid injections,” said David S. Jevsevar , MD, MBA, chair of the Committee on Evidence-Based Quality and Value which oversees the development of clinical practice guidelines. “Although a few individual studies found statistically significant treatment effects, when combined together in a meta-analysis the evidence did not meet the minimum clinically important improvement thresholds.”

Other important recommendations that remain in the revised guideline include:

Patients who only display symptoms of osteoarthritis and no other problems, such as loose bodies or meniscus tears, should not be treated with arthroscopic lavage.

Patients with a Body Mass Index (or BMI) greater than 25 should lose a minimum of five percent of their body weight.

Patients should begin or increase their participation in low-impact aerobic exercise.

“One of the best ways for a patient to reduce his or her pain and realize better health is to be proactive,” said Dr. Jevsevar, who also is an orthopaedic surgeon in St. George, Utah.

“For instance, if a patient is overweight, losing weight is probably the best thing he or she can do to slow the progression of osteoarthritis of the knee.”

The AAOS work group suggests that patients with symptomatic OA of the knee receive one of the following analgesics for pain (unless there are contraindications to this treatment):

Acetaminophen (not to exceed 3,000 mg per day)

For short-term pain relief, intra-articular corticosteroids

Non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

The AAOS work group cannot recommend the following treatments:

Custom made lateral wedge insoles

Glucosamine and/or chondroitin sulfate or hydrochloride

Needle lavage (aspiration of the joint with injection of saline)

In addition, although acupuncture continues to grow in popularity, the evidence did not support its use in patients with OA of the knee.

Due to a lack of available research, the CPG is unable to recommend for or against the use of bracing, growth factor injections and/or platelet rich plasma.

“There are many treatment options for osteoarthritis of the knee,” said Dr. Jevsevar.

“However, not all are effective. There needs to be more and better testing, since results are still inconclusive. Therefore, if you are experiencing knee problems, the best advice is to work closely with your physician and orthopaedic surgeon to develop the best course of treatment for you.”

The full guideline along with all supporting documentation and workgroup disclosures is available on the AAOS website