Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Your metabolism rate determines how fast you burn calories, and that can influence how fast you lose weight — and how easily you can gain it. After age 25, metabolism naturally slows by 5 percent every decade. So if you eat as much in your 40s as you did in your 20s, you’re going to add extra pounds — especially if you exercise less and lose muscle. In addition to weight training to maintain muscle, these tips from the American Council on Exercise can help. Stick to well-spaced meals at the same times each day. This lets your body know to expect fuel at regular intervals and prevents it from conserving calories and adding to fat stores. Calorie cutting is important if you need to lose weight, but reducing your intake to starvation levels also puts your body in conservation mode, slowing down metabolism. So rather than speeding up weight loss, starvation ultimately slows it. And that’s why it’s so easy to regain lost weight when you start eating normally: Your metabolism tends to stay slow. Dehydration can lead to a 2 percent drop in the number of calories burned, so drink at least 8 glasses of water throughout each day, and even more when you sweat a lot. Watch the alcohol. Besides adding empty calories to your diet, processing alcohol diverts the liver from… read on >

(HealthDay News) — From heart disease to arthritis, many major diseases have been linked to chronic inflammation. Favoring anti-inflammatory foods in your diet could reduce your risk of illness. Harvard Medical School recommends that anti-inflammatory diets include: Tomatoes. Olive oil. Nuts. Fatty fish, such as salmon and tuna. Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale.

Fatigue can plague many people with multiple sclerosis (MS). But a small new study suggests a soothing cup of hot cocoa may bring some relief. Like dark chocolate, cocoa is rich in flavonoids, which are abundant in fruit and vegetables and have been linked with anti-inflammatory properties, explained researcher Shelly Coe, of the Center for Nutrition and Health at Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom, and her colleagues. That anti-inflammatory power may help fight MS fatigue, the researchers believe. “Our study establishes that the use of dietary interventions is feasible and may offer possible long-term benefits to support fatigue management,” Coe said in a news release from the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Her team published their findings online in the journal March 5. Prior research has suggested that dark chocolate, which is between 70 percent and 85 percent cocoa solids, appears to lessen fatigue in people with chronic fatigue syndrome, the British researchers noted. Would cocoa do the same for MS patients? To find out, Coe’s group tracked the symptoms of 40 adults recently diagnosed with the common “relapsing remitting” form of MS. Participants were asked to drink a cup of either high-flavonoid cocoa powder mixed with heated rice milk (19 people) or a low-flavonoid version (21 people), every day for six weeks. Small improvements in fatigue were seen in 11 of… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Everyone is susceptible to dry skin during winter. As we age, our skin becomes thinner and drier, but harsh winters can irritate anyone’s skin, the American Academy of Dermatology says. To help dry skin in the cold weather, you can: Use an oil-based moisturizer. Oil creates a protective layer on the skin. Wear sunscreen. The winter sun and snow glare can dry out your skin. Hook up a humidifier. More moisture in the air will rehydrate your body. Take warm, not hot baths. Hot baths break down important barriers in the skin that keep it hydrated.

The biggest worry a person usually has when they’re getting a tattoo is how it will look. But sometimes, getting inked can lead to something worse than bad body art, an expert warns. If you suffer skin problems after getting a tattoo, see a dermatologist and alert the tattoo artist, said Dr. Marie Leger, a dermatologist in New York City. About 10 percent of people have a complication after a tattoo. Common ones include infections, allergic reactions and worsening of an existing skin condition, such as psoriasis or eczema, according to Leger. Another potential complication is sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease that can affect the skin and other organs. The first sign may be bumps at the tattoo site. Infections are most common within the first few days or weeks of tattooing. They can cause redness and pain around the site of the tattoo (not just on the actual ink), as well as drainage, crusting and pus, Leger said. “If you experience these symptoms after getting a tattoo, see a doctor right away, because infections can be quite serious,” she said in an American Academy of Dermatology news release. Infections can be caused by contaminated ink, unsterile application or improper aftercare, Leger explained. Allergies and sarcoidosis may occur months to years later. Signs include itching, bumps, scaling, periodic swelling or the tattoo becoming raised. If you… read on >

Headed out on vacation? Beware of heart attack: It’s the leading cause of natural death among travelers. If you have heart attack symptoms on the road, getting immediate medical care can improve your odds of long-term survival, according to a study presented Saturday at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, in Malaga, Spain. “If you are traveling and experience heart attack symptoms — such as pain in the chest, throat, neck, back, stomach or shoulders — that lasts for more than 15 minutes, call an ambulance without delay,” study author Dr. Ryota Nishio said in a society news release. “Our study shows that long-term outcomes after a heart attack while traveling can be good if you get prompt treatment,” added Nishio, who works in the cardiology department at Juntendo University Shizuoka Hospital in Izunokuni, Japan. For the study, the researchers examined data on more than 2,500 patients who had a heart attack and rapid treatment with a stent (percutaneous coronary intervention, PCI) between 1999 and 2015 at the hospital. It’s located on the Izu Peninsula, a popular tourist destination near Mount Fuji, and a regional center for PCI. Patients who were traveling tended to be younger than other patients, and had a higher prevalence of heart attacks due to a blockage in a major artery to the heart, the investigators found. The researchers… read on >

If life looks gray and cloudy when you smoke, you might not be imagining it. Heavy smoking may actually damage color and contrast vision, researchers report. They looked at 71 healthy people who smoked fewer than 15 cigarettes in their lives and 63 people who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day. The participants were aged 25 to 45 and had normal or corrected-to-normal vision. But the heavy smokers showed significant changes in their red-green and blue-yellow color vision and also had greater difficulty discriminating contrasts and colors than nonsmokers. “Our results indicate that excessive use of cigarettes, or chronic exposure to their compounds, affects visual discrimination, supporting the existence of overall deficits in visual processing with tobacco addiction,” said co-author Steven Silverstein, director of research at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. “Cigarette smoke consists of numerous compounds that are harmful to health, and it has been linked to a reduction in the thickness of layers in the brain, and to brain lesions, involving areas such as… the area of the brain that processes vision,” he added in a university news release. And, he noted, “Previous studies have pointed to long-term smoking as doubling the risk for age-related macular degeneration and as a factor causing lens yellowing and inflammation.” Nicotine and smoking harm the body’s circulatory system, and these findings indicate they also damage blood… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Vitamin B12 helps keep the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy, and assists in making DNA, the U.S. National Institutes of Health says. The agency provides this additional information: Vitamin B12 is naturally found in a wide range of animal foods and is added to some fortified foods. B12 is a component of almost all multivitamins. A prescription form of B12 is available for those with a deficiency. Most people get enough B12 in the foods that they eat. About 1.5 percent to 15 percent of people are deficient, typically because they have trouble absorbing it. If you do not get enough B12, it can cause fatigue, weakness, weight loss, numbness of the hands and feet, problems with balance, confusion, poor memory and soreness.

Osteoporosis is a threat to many women, especially after menopause. But the lead up to weak, brittle bones can start much earlier in life. When bone density drops but isn’t yet at the level of osteoporosis, it’s called osteopenia. Osteopenia affects more than 33 million Americans over age 50, men and women, while 10 million have osteoporosis. Yet the DEXA scan, the painless X-ray-based test that measures bone density, isn’t recommended for women until age 65, when they may need bone-building drugs to avoid fractures. For men, the prevalence of osteoporosis doesn’t increase with age until 80, but even then, there are no screening guidelines. So, what’s the answer? Cost versus benefit is one reason insurers don’t universally cover the scan for women under 65. But you may be a candidate for earlier testing if you broke a bone after age 45, are losing height, are developing a slumped or hunched posture, or have sudden, unexplained back pain. If you’re healthy but have concerns about bone health or risk factors for osteoporosis, you can talk to your doctor about earlier testing. Factors that can increase your fracture risk include your height and weight — very thin women are at greater risk. Not getting enough exercise, smoking, drinking alcohol, a family history of osteoporosis or having a parent who broke a hip are others. Having a… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Unwanted pigmentation problems, such as dark spots, can occur in all skin types. Dark spots are primarily caused by sun damage, the American Academy of Dermatology says, noting that the severity of dark spots varies with a person’s history of sun exposure. The academy mentions these ways to treat pigmentation problems among lighter-skinned people: Dark spots from early sun damage are often superficial, affecting only the top layer of skin. Dermatologists frequently recommend topical retinol, an over-the-counter form of vitamin A. But consult a dermatologist about any dark spots that appear suspicious. When topical therapy fails, superficial chemical peels containing salicylic acid and glycolic acid may be used. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) devices and Q-switched lasers also may be used alone or in combination with topical therapies to selectively target dark spots. Lasers and IPL devices should only be used under the direct supervision of a physician. Daily sun protection with a sunscreen that provides broad-spectrum protection from UVA and UVB rays and has a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 30 or greater is important in preventing additional sun damage.