Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Chromium picolinate is a supplement that many folks take, as it’s touted to unlock insulin, burn fat and build muscle. But do you really need to add it to your diet when the mineral chromium is already present in many foods, albeit in tiny amounts? “There is little evidence or support for chromium supplementation, though advertisements suggest it can enhance muscle mass and help with weight loss and insulin sensitivity,” said Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. The European Food Safety Authority Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies agrees, saying there is no convincing evidence that chromium is an essential nutrient. Tell that to athletes and bodybuilders, who claim chromium picolinate supplements are a safe and effective alternative to steroids and growth hormones. And some tout chromium’s benefits in helping people with diabetes lower their blood sugar levels. According to Mount Sinai in New York City, as many as 90% of American have diets that are low in chromium. People with low chromium levels can include: The elderly Those who do a lot of strenuous exercise Those who eat a lot of sugary foods Pregnant women. Chromium picolinate benefits Low chromium levels can increase blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol levels, and increase the risk for diabetes and heart disease, according to Mount Sinai. Chromium supplements… read on > read on >

It’s clear that staying active is key to being healthy, and fitness trackers and smartwatches have become popular tools for tracking activity. But just how many steps does someone need to take to lose weight? That’s not such a simple a question. While evidence is limited on exactly how many steps a day it takes to lose weight, experts say to get about 150 to 300 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise weekly, said Amanda Paluch, an assistant professor in the department of kinesiology and Institute for Applied Life Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. That’s about an average of 22 minutes per day on the low end and 45 minutes on the high end, Paluch said. “And we do know that for weight loss and weight maintenance, you really need to get to that higher end,” Paluch said. “We do need to exercise more often at this moderate to vigorous intensity to really see weight loss,” Paluch added, but “we really haven’t figured out how much that equates to in terms of steps per day.” Tracking steps That doesn’t mean a person shouldn’t track their steps. “These types of devices can really help us with tracking and goal-setting,” Paluch said. Harvard Health cited a review of recent studies that found people who were overweight or obese and who had chronic health conditions were… read on > read on >

Treatments for gum disease may have little benefit for heavy smokers, new research shows. The study findings suggest the need to rethink treatment of the common gum disease periodontitis, according to researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark. “To our surprise, we could see that the disease had actually grown worse in some parameters in the hardest-hit group, despite the fact that this particular group had received the most extensive, individually designed treatment,” study co-author Julie Pajaniaye, a dental hygienist, said in a university news release. Periodontitis, or gum disease, leads to breakdown of the teeth’s supportive tissue and, in serious cases, can result in loss of teeth. For the study, the researchers studied the effect of different levels of smoking on results of gum disease treatment. Heavy smokers with the most severe forms of gum inflammation got no benefit from the treatment, the study found. Heavy smokers with moderate periodontitis had a 50% effect from the treatment, compared to lighter smokers. About 40% of the population is affected by periodontitis and 18% of Danes smoke daily or occasionally, the study authors noted. Treatment of the disease is adapted to the individual patient, including deep cleansings of affected teeth, education about the harmful effects of smoking and, in some cases, surgery. Pajaniaye said the findings illustrate the need to include referrals to smoking cessation courses in… read on > read on >

Children’s amped-up immune systems allow them to beat back COVID-19 easily, producing a strong initial response that quickly slaps away the virus. But there might be a price to be paid for that sharp reaction, a new study from Australia says. Because the initial response provides such a swift takedown, kids’ immune systems don’t remember the virus and don’t adapt to be prepared for future infections, according to scientists with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney. As a result, their body still treats COVID as a new threat, opening them to becoming sick from future COVID infections. “The price that children pay for being so good at getting rid of the virus in the first place is that they don’t have the opportunity to develop ‘adaptive’ memory to protect them the second time they are exposed to the virus,” lead author Tri Phan said in an institute news release. He’s head of the Intravital Microscopy and Gene Expression (IMAGE) Lab at Garvan. Everyone’s immune system has two modes — the innate and the adaptive systems. The innate immune system is mainly comprised of barriers like skin and mucosal surfaces that physically block viruses from entering the body. It also can generate general immune responses when it detects a foreign invader like a virus or a bacterium, although it can’t distinguish between specific pathogens.… read on > read on >

“Move it or lose it” the saying goes, but too much exercise or playing sports can lead to overuse injuries. These injuries include damage to bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles due to repetitive actions, such running, throwing, biking, lifting and swimming, to name a few. An overuse injury can be the result of poor training techniques such as doing too much too fast; not warming up or cooling down; failing to take enough time to recover after exercise; or not doing the proper cross training to support the activity. Shoulder impingement Shoulder impingement is an overuse injury in the rotator cuff — the muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint. It is caused by “repetitive overhead activities while the shoulder joint is in a forward rotated position,” said Jessica Moyer, owner of Viva Stretch in Jacksonville, Fla., and a sport rehabilitation specialist for nearly 20 years. According to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, pain is usually felt when lifting overhead, and is most common in active adults in their 30s and 40s. In a hospital release, Dr. Lawrence Gulotta, head of the shoulder and elbow division at the hospital’s Sports Medicine Institute, says this type of injury often stems from poor technique and rushing when lifting weights. How to prevent it: Moyer recommends strengthening the scapular, or shoulder blade, muscles.… read on > read on >

When it comes to tobacco control, some states do a far better job than others of preventing and reducing smoking. A new report from the American Lung Association (ALA) notes that California, Maine, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., are doing the best job of putting proven tobacco control policies in place. Conversely, those who have the most need to enact policies are Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas. Policies vary widely from state to state. Some states still allow workplace smoking, including in restaurants and bars. Others have had smoke-free laws in place for decades. “The policies examined in our report have a direct impact on the health of state residents,” said Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association. “Since no state received all ‘A’ grades, every state has the opportunity to improve their tobacco control policies and improve public health. This is also why federal tobacco control action is so important. Every person in America deserves the same protections.” The report grades states on the strength of their smoke-free workplace laws, ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products, funding for state tobacco prevention programs, the level of state tobacco taxes, and coverage and access to services to quit tobacco. Grades varied, with 23 states and Washington, D.C., getting A grades for strength of their smoke-free workplace laws and 45 states receiving… read on > read on >

Many people who have surgery for chronic pancreatitis continue to have health struggles in the years afterward — with some dying at a young age, a new study finds. The study, done at one U.S. medical center, is the largest to look at overall survival in the years after people have surgery for chronic pancreatitis — a condition in which the pancreas becomes permanently damaged by inflammation. And it found that while short-term survival was high, more than one-third of patients died within 10 years of surgery, often at a young age. Among patients who died, the median age at death was about 50. That means half were younger than that. Experts said the findings underscore how serious chronic pancreatitis can be, and how important it is for patients to have long-term care after surgery. “It can’t just be go to your primary care provider once a year,” said lead researcher Dr. Gregory Wilson, an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, in Ohio. Instead, he said, patients need continuing care for physical health conditions like diabetes, and in many cases, psychological counseling and care for addiction — whether to alcohol, smoking or the opioids many patients are prescribed to manage their pain. The pancreas is a vital organ that produces enzymes that aid digestion and hormones that regulate blood… read on > read on >

A cosmetic laser treatment that promises to erase wrinkles, scars, age spots and sun damage may also prevent the return of some skin cancers, a new, small study suggests. Researchers found that in patients who had basal or squamous cell skin cancers, nonablative fractional laser treatment lowered the chances of the cancer recurrence by about half. “We actually don’t know why this procedure has this result,” said senior researcher Dr. Mathew Avram, director of the Dermatology Laser and Cosmetic Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “We have to go to the lab and try to figure out why this is the case. There are theories about whether or not the treatment causes your immune function and skin to change, but we have no evidence of that,” he said. “Fractional lasers treat a fraction of the skin and leave the majority of the skin untreated,” Avram said. “But even though we’re only treating a part of the skin, the entire skin benefits from it.” Basal and squamous cell skin cancers are the most common type of skin cancer and are usually curable when caught early. For the study, Avram’s team reviewed the records of patients who had basal or squamous cell cancer. These patients typically have a 35% risk of developing new cancer within three years and a 50% risk of recurrence within five years.… read on > read on >

Even short bouts of light exercise can help the millions of people with knee osteoarthritis reduce pain and improve their range of motion. Knee osteoarthritis, the wear-and-tear form of the disease, occurs when the cartilage between your bones breaks down, causing pain, stiffness and swelling. Researchers in a new study compared high-dose and low-dose exercise in 189 people with knee osteoarthritis. Everyone exercised three times a week for 12 weeks. Exercises included indoor cycling and various lower body exercises such as de-loaded squats and knee extensions. De-loaded exercises use bands or pulleys to take weight off the knee joint and minimize pain. Folks in the high-dose group performed 11 exercises in 60- to 90-minute sessions. Folks in the low-dose exercise group performed five exercises during 20- to 30-minute sessions. The result? Everyone showed improvements on a standard scale measuring knee osteoarthrosis pain and function at three, six and 12 months. People in the high-dose group did show greater improvements in knee function during sports and recreation at six months, suggesting that a high-dose program may be better for athletes and weekend warriors. The study, led by Wilhelmus Johannes Andreas Grooten, a physiotherapist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, was published Jan. 24 online in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Outside experts are quick to point out that the best exercise plan for someone with knee… read on > read on >

Vitamin D is widely promoted for better health, but if you’re overweight, you might not reap the benefits. In a new study, researchers found a 30% to 40% reduction in cancer, cancer deaths and autoimmune diseases among people with a lower body mass index (BMI) who took vitamin D supplements, but only a small benefit among those with higher BMIs. “Patients with obesity, despite taking the same amount of supplement, had a lower response,” said lead researcher Deirdre Tobias, an assistant professor in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston. The cutoff was a BMI of less than 25, which is considered a healthy weight, the study authors noted. It’s not known why being overweight or obese affects levels of the so-called “sunshine vitamin,” but low absorption of vitamin D could be widespread, given that more than 40% of Americans are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It’s not clear whether it’s due to their body weight, per se, or maybe some other factor related to an individual’s body weight. It may be due to adiposity itself. Having a lower body weight may lead to a higher internal dose of vitamin D,” Tobias said. Adiposity is having too much fatty tissue in the body. The next step in the research is to try and… read on >