Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

A diet rich in whole grains, fruits and non-starchy vegetables is the best recipe for middle-aged folks trying to keep their weight under control, new research finds. Low in added sugar, yet rich in vitamins and minerals, such foods are considered “high-quality” carbs, investigators explained. The same cannot be said of refined grains, sugary beverages or starchy vegetables. Such foods are “low-quality” carbs that are likely to fuel an expanding waistline at a time in life when weight gain is common. “The quality and source of carbohydrate is crucial for long-term weight management, especially for people already with excessive body weight,” said study lead author Yi Wan, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of nutrition at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. The good news, said Wan, is that switching from low-quality to high-quality carbs “may support efforts to control body weight,” and could even help stave off the risk for diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The findings follow a review of data from three different ongoing studies gathered between 1986 and 2015. In sum, the studies included a pool of more than 136,000 men and women, all aged 65 or younger. All were deemed healthy at enrollment, meaning they were free of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, kidney disease and/or gastrointestinal illness. Dietary routines were assessed by way of… read on > read on >

Grandma knew it all along: Certain places on the body are “hot spots” for unhealthy microbes. That notion — which the authors of a new study dubbed “the grandma hypothesis,” after grandma’s admonitions to clean behind the ears — was tested by students in a genomics course at George Washington (GW) University in Washington, D.C. The investigators proved what grandma knew all along: Skin behind the ears and between the toes can harbor unhealthy microbes. The collection of microbes living on and in the body is known the microbiome. It has a role in human health. The skin’s microbiome varies across dry, moist and oily areas. So students set out to test the hypothesis. Keith Crandall, director of the Computational Biology Institute at GW, recalled his own grandmother always telling the kids in his family to “scrub behind the ears, between the toes and in the belly button.” Crandall thought these hot spots were normally washed less often compared to the skin on the arms or legs and might harbor different types of bacteria. Together with Marcos Pérez-Losada, an associate professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics, he designed this genomics course. In it, 129 graduate and undergraduate students were taught to collect their own data by swabbing certain moist and oily hot spots, behind the ears, between the toes and in the naval. They swabbed calves… read on > read on >

Extensive exercise regimens are keeping astronauts healthy and protecting their hearts during extended space missions, new research finds. A study from scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas found no loss of heart mass or output, and no loss of function in the heart’s ventricles, during flights that can last up to six months. The findings could have implications for treating diseases in which gravity plays a role. They also could help in planning longer missions, such as to Mars. “Our study shows that, remarkably, what we are doing in space to preserve heart function and morphology is pretty effective,” said senior study author Dr. Benjamin Levine. He is a professor of internal medicine in the division of cardiology at UT Southwestern. It has been known that when astronauts return to Earth, they typically experience a dramatic loss in blood pressure. A key cause is remodeling that the heart experiences because of space’s microgravity conditions. While in space, astronauts’ bodies don’t have to counteract the effects of gravity. That means their bodies are working less hard. It’s similar to what someone would experience while on bed rest, the researchers explained. The heart muscle mass decreases by an average of 1% per week while in space and the volume of blood that the heart holds also drops. It was not known whether the two hours… read on > read on >

The risk of falls increases in older age, and along with it, the risk for serious physical or psychological damage, but there are steps people can take to help prevent these accidents. Each year, about 27% of adults 65 and older fall and about 10% of those are injured. “If you’ve experienced a fall or have a fear of falling, you are at a higher risk of falling. Once an older adult falls, they can develop post-fall anxiety syndrome,” said Dr. Angela Catic, associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine’s Center on Aging, in Houston. “It’s important for older populations to remain as independent as possible in their own homes. You can help support this by making sure common falling hazards are not in their homes,” Catic added in a college news release. She offered some tips for improved safety: Stay active but avoid exercises and equipment where seniors cannot be in complete control of their environment. This includes treadmills or other heavy machinery. Work with a physical therapist to determine what kind of exercise is best suited to the individual. Be aware of medications that can cause cognitive impairment. Give up slippers and flipflops in favor of shoes with traction. Make sure lighting is adequate both in and outside the house. Make sure paths inside the home and to bedrooms and living spaces are… read on > read on >

Some children who have a common form of eczema should also be tested for allergic reactions because they may have a second allergic-type eczema, a new study suggests. While atopic dermatitis is common and usually develops by age 5, allergic contact dermatitis has similar symptoms and can be triggered by a range of substances. In general, eczema is a group of medical conditions causing inflamed, irritated and itchy skin. In the study, children with atopic dermatitis were more likely to test positive for allergies in patch testing. The findings were published Sept. 26 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. “When a dermatologist sees a child who looks like they have eczema, we usually think that it’s atopic dermatitis because nearly 1 in 5 children develop it,” said senior study author Dr. JiaDe (Jeff) Yu, an assistant professor of adult and pediatric dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Sometimes these kids could have allergic contact dermatitis, but the only way to tell is through patch testing, which is designed to identify substances that may be irritating your skin,” he said in a journal news release. Patient Liz Schoeben knows the importance of testing for this allergic-type eczema. Schoeben has had atopic dermatitis since she was 9 and now knows she also has the allergic contact dermatitis. “I remember having it in elementary school off… read on > read on >

Ozempic, a type 2 diabetes drug that has increasingly been used to help with weight loss, will now be labeled as having the potential to block intestines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently made the label update for the drug made by Novo Nordisk, without directly citing Ozempic as the cause for this condition. “Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure,” the label reads. The side effect, known by the medical term “ileus,” is also listed on labels for the weight-loss drug Wegovy, also made by Novo Nordisk, and in the diabetes medication Mounjaro, made by Eli Lilly, CBS News reported. Both Ozempic and Wegovy are known generically as semaglutide. Among more than 8,500 reports of gastrointestinal disorders after using semaglutide medications through June 30, ileus is mentioned in 33 cases, including two deaths, CBS News reported. The two pharmaceutical companies that make these medications are both being sued for claims that the drugs can cause a similar health issue known as gastroparesis, or stomach paralysis, CBS News reported. More information The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more on ileus. SOURCE: CBS News read on >

Suffering from PTSD may take a toll on your sex life if you’re a woman, new research reveals. About 10% of women have PTSD symptoms because of combat exposure, childhood abuse and sexual violence. Little research has been done looking at how these symptoms might affect sexual functioning among midlife women. “As women age, there are many reasons why sexual functioning may become an issue for them,” said Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for the North American Menopause Society. “This study highlights the need for health care professionals to ask about any history of trauma and open up the dialogue with their patients on this sensitive issue,” she said in a society news release. Researchers studied this in more than 100 postmenopausal women ages 45 to 66. The authors accounted for factors such as age, race/ethnicity, education, vaginal estrogen use, alcohol use and depressive symptoms. Study participants needed to have met certain criteria — they had to have experienced PTSD symptoms and had sexual activity within the month prior to evaluation. On average, women who reported moderate and severe PTSD symptoms also reported lower sexual functioning. The authors then considered specific aspects of PTSD symptoms. They found that greater avoidance/numbing symptoms were related to poorer sexual functioning. The results will be presented Wednesday during the Menopause Society’s annual meeting, in Philadelphia. Findings presented at medical… read on > read on >

Heart failure can make everyday activities and exercise tough to carry out, but yoga might be a beneficial add-on to standard care. A new study from India finds this ancient practice improves quality of life and cardio functioning. “Our patients observed improvement in systolic blood pressure and heart rate compared to patients who were on medication without yoga,” said lead study author Ajit Singh, a research scientist at Manipal Academy of Higher Education. (Systolic blood pressure is the first number in a blood pressure reading.) In heart failure, the heart muscle is either too weak or too stiff to pump properly. This can lead to fluid buildup, shortness of breath and other complications. How might yoga help? “Yoga is a combination of mind-body techniques, which is a set of physical exercises [asana] with breathing techniques [pranayama], relaxation and meditation that can be effectively used to stimulate physical and mental well-being,” Singh explained in an American College of Cardiology news release. For the study, the researchers enrolled 75 heart failure patients between the ages of 30 and 70 at a care center in South India. They had received recommended therapy for the previous six months to one year. Each had what’s called left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of less than 45%, a sign of mild to moderate dysfunction, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.… read on > read on >

Ashley Haugen’s 13-month-old daughter, Kipley, woke up projectile vomiting in their Texas home one morning in July 2017. The Haugens took her to the doctor after it became apparent she wasn’t keeping anything down. After not responding to medication, Kipley was whisked to a nearby children’s hospital for emergency surgery. “I remember [the surgeon] showing us the picture of the material that he pulled out of Kipley’s small intestine,” Haugen recalls. “He was like, ‘I found this inside her small intestine, do you know what this is?’ And we recognized it immediately as the birthday gift that we had gotten for Abigail,” their 6-year-old daughter. The obstruction was a water bead — a tiny, super-absorbent pellet of gel that expands into a soft, slippery, squishy ball when soaked in water. Water beads are sold as toys and “sensory aids” for children, but regulators and consumer advocates are putting out an alert that the beads pose a health hazard to children. Kids can easily ingest the beads, which can cause choking or intestinal blockage as they absorb water from the body. Some kids have inserted the beads into their noses or ears, suffering damage as the gel expands, experts said. In some cases, beads have even wound up in children’s lungs. Some of the colorful beads start as tiny as a candy sprinkle and then grow… read on > read on >

Ginger supplements may help those with certain autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, control inflammation. New research has added evidence to support the impact of ginger on white blood cell function, particularly a type of cell called a neutrophil. The researchers were particularly interested in neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, also called NETosis, and its role in controlling inflammation. When healthy people take ginger, the study found, their neutrophils are more resistant to NETosis. NETs are microscopic spider web-like structures. They propel inflammation and clotting, which contribute to many autoimmune diseases, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. “There are a lot of diseases where neutrophils are abnormally overactive,” senior co-author Dr. Kristen Demoruelle, associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said in a university news release. “We found that ginger can help to restrain NETosis, and this is important because it is a natural supplement that may be helpful to treat inflammation and symptoms for people with several different autoimmune diseases.” A clinical trial with healthy volunteers showed that a week of daily intake of 20 mg of gingerols boosted a chemical inside the neutrophil called cAMP. These high levels of cAMP then inhibited NETosis’ response to the disease. “Our research, for the first time, provides evidence for the biological mechanism that underlies ginger’s apparent anti-inflammatory properties in people,”… read on > read on >