A new study from the US suggests that middle-aged men who are able to do 40 push-ups and more in one session have lower risk of cardiovascular disease than men who can do fewer than 10 push-ups.
For a retrospective longitudinal study from 2000 to 2010, 1,104 firefighters from Indiana whose age was over 18 years were included. Their average age was 39.6 years and average body mass index 28.7.
Recent research from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, US, suggests that getting enough sleep at nights connected to the decreased risk of developing atherosclerosis, a condition in which plaque builds up on the inner walls of the arteries.
For the study, a team of researchers used mice model. They found that those rodents who didn’t get enough sleep had the increased risk of developing atherosclerosis.
Dr Swirski, one of the researchers, says: “The identification of a link between…the region of the brain that promotes wakefulness, appetite and how it directly communicates with bone marrow was a surprise. ‘We know cells in the bone marrow fight off infection and are linked to cancer and cardiovascular disease. We have more questions that we need answered.”
A new study from Portland State University in Oregon suggests that the Western diet can increase severity of sepsis, which is also called as blood poisoning.
For the study, researchers fed mice the equivalent of a Western diet which included a lot of fat and sugar had little fiber. The mice in a control group were fed the standard diet.
Having analyzed the received data, the researchers found that the Western diet could increase levels of inflammation in a number of systems in the body such as cardiovascular system, the brain, and the intestines.Moreover, the scientists noted that the mice which were fed the Western diet experienced more severe cases of sepsis and had a higher mortality risk.
Recent research, completed by scientists from the University of Manchester, suggests that part of our brain called cerebellum, which is responsible for movement and balance, can be resistant to dementia.
During the study, the vital organs of 9 people who died from Alzheimer’s disease were analyzed. The researchers found that the cerebellum produced proteins which protect against the disease in these people.
Lead researcher Richard Unwin explains: “The cerebellum, previously thought [to] be unaffected, displays a significant response at the molecular level. Many of the changes here are not seen in other regions and this could imply that this region actively protects itself from disease. We won’t know for sure until we carry out more research.”
A new study, published in the journal Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, suggests that an 8-week yoga regimen may relieve physical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the psychological distress caused by the condition.
To examine the effect of this physical exercise, the researchers included 72 people with rheumatoid arthritis who were actively practicing yoga. All participants were divided into 2 groups. Both groups continued taking disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). At the same time, one group had 120-minute yoga sessions five times per week, for 8 weeks in total.
The lead study author Dr. Rima Dada, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Anatomy at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, writes: “Our findings show measurable improvements for the patients in the test group, suggesting an immune-regulatory role of yoga practice in the treatment of RA. An intensive yoga regimen,” she continued, “concurrent with routine drug therapy induced molecular remission and re-established immunological tolerance. In addition, it reduced the severity of depression by promoting neuroplasticity.”
A new study, performed by a team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, suggests that flaxseed fiber can influence the gastrointestinal microbiota and help in obesity treatment.
For the study, the researchers used mice which were split into four groups and were fed a different diet. The first group received a standard diet with 4.6% soy-derived fiber (control diet), the second group got a high-fat diet without any fiber, the third group was assigned a high-fat diet with 10% indigestible cellulose fiber, and the fourth group consumed a high-fat diet with 10% flaxseed fiber.
Having analyzed the received results, the scientists concluded that mice from the flaxseed diet group were more physically active and showed less weight gain than mice with other diets
Recent research finds that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may affect a person’s ability to form memories about life. Researchers believe that this dysfunction can be a sign of depression.
For the study, a team of researchers examined 44 adults with OSA who were not treating the condition, and 44 healthy adults without OSA. The researchers analyzed their abilities to recall different memories from childhood, early adult lives, and recent events.
Having analyzed the received data, the scientists found that more than 52% of the participants with the condition had overgeneral memories compared to less than 19% of healthy participants with overgeneral memories.
Dr. Jackson, a senior research fellow at RMIT’s School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, comments: “Our study suggests sleep apnea may impair the brain’s capacity to either encode or consolidate certain types of life memories, which makes it hard for people to recall details from the past. Brain scans of people with sleep apnoea show they have a significant loss of grey matter from regions that overlap with the autobiographical memory network.”
A new study, conducted by researchers from Rutgers University, finds chemical changes in two significant genes with heavy and binge drinking adults.
For the study, two genes, hypothalamic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and Per2, were analyzed in blood samples taken from 47 volunteers who participated in larger experiment on drinking behaviors. The group of volunteers included non-smoking moderate consumers, alcohol bingers, or heavy drinkers.
The analysis showed that there is a tendency for Per2 and POMC genes among binge- and heavy drinkers to be methylated. This process of gumming up a gene with a molecule is described as an epigenetic change. The gene’s code remains the same, but its expression is altered. In this case, the methylation forced the genes to decrease their expression.
Recent research from the Columbia University finds that regular aerobic exercise can boost essential gray matter in all adults boosting memory and thinking skills.
For the study, a team of researchers followed 132 participants whose age was between 20 and 67 years. All participants were assigned to 6 months of either aerobic exercise or stretching and toning 4 times per week.
Study author Professor Yaakov Stern, of the Taub Institute for the Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University in New York, comments: “Since thinking skills at the start of the study were poorer for participants who were older, our findings suggest that aerobic exercise is more likely to improve age-related declines in thinking skills rather than improve performance in those without a decline.”
According to the recent research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, sleep deprivation is associated with the increased sensitivity to pain due to numbing the natural mechanisms of the painkilling response of the brain.
For the research, the scientists induced pain in 24 healthy young volunteers applying heat to their legs while scanning the brains of these participants to examine the circuits that process pain. Having analyzed the received data, the researchers found that those participants with inadequate sleep were feeling discomfort at lower temperatures.
Professor Matthew Walker from the University of California in Berkeley, one of the authors of the study, says: “Our findings suggest that patient care would be markedly improved, and hospital beds cleared sooner, if uninterrupted sleep were embraced as an integral component of healthcare management.”
A new study from the School of Public Health at Indiana University in Bloomington, US, suggests that optimism may protect postmenopausal women against type 2 diabetes.
The team of scientists discovered that the most optimistic women were 12% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women with the lowest quartile of optimism. Scientists also concluded that low optimism and high negativity linked to the higher risk of incident diabetes in postmenopausal women.
Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, the executive director of the journal Menopause, where the results of the research were published, comments: “In addition to efforts to promote healthy behaviors, women’s personality traits should be considered to guide clinical or programmatic intervention strategies in diabetes prevention.”
Mediterranean diet includes foods that are high in omega-3s and healthy fats, such as fish, olive oil, nuts, grains, fruits, and vegetables. Here are the 8 major benefits of this diet:
1. It is good for your heart, as it is associated with the decreased risk of heart disease, stroke, and early death.
2. It boosts your brain health lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
3. The diet helps with depression and anxiety.
4. The diet is connected to the lower risk of cancers such as colon cancer, breast cancer, and gastric cancer.
5. It helps to keep healthy weight.
6. It is good for post-menopausal women, positively impacting bone and muscle mass.
7. It is good for healthy microbiota.
8. The diet is linked to the longevity.
