Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

Richard McIntosh hadn’t had any pets since his childhood farm dogs, but then he started a relationship with a competitive dog trainer and found his life filled with Golden Retrievers. Now McIntosh, 59, of Cornelius, Ore., can’t imagine growing old without a dog or two by his side. “There was a little something missing from my life,” McIntosh said. “These dogs give me activity, they give me joy, companionship. When I’m not feeling good, they’re there for me. When I am feeling great, we’re playing and running. I get a lot out of it.” According to a new poll, McIntosh is one of many aging pet owners who swear that their animal buddies help them better cope with the physical and mental issues that come with age. About 55% of U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 have a pet, and an overwhelming majority of them say that their pets bring a host of positive benefits to their lives, the new National Poll on Healthy Aging found. “Most people who have pets perceive that they are beneficial to their physical and emotional health,” said Mary Janevic. She is an assistant research scientist with the University of Michigan School of Public Health, who helped design the poll. The benefits of pet ownership for older folks included: Helping them enjoy life (88%) Making them feel loved (86%) Reducing… read on >

Eating habits and physical activity have a greater impact on weight-loss surgery’s long-term success than measures like counting calories, a new study finds. Researchers also found that evaluation of patients’ mental health and eating habits before weight-loss (bariatric) surgery did not help predict who would be successful in keeping weight off years afterwards. “Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severe obesity. It results in sustained weight reduction and remission of diabetes and other health problems in the majority of patients,” said study author Wendy King. She’s an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health. “However, as with all types of weight-loss interventions, patients usually regain at least some of the weight they initially lose,” she added in a university news release. The study included nearly 1,300 adults who had a type of weight-loss surgery called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The patients were followed for an average of 6.6 years. Limiting sedentary behaviors (such as watching TV), self-weighing at least once a week, avoiding fast food, and correcting “problematic” eating behaviors were all factors associated with a greater chance of limiting weight gain after weight-loss surgery. Problematic behaviors included eating continuously, eating when full, loss of control and binge eating. Younger patients were likely to gain more weight than older ones. Other characteristics linked with higher weight regain included… read on >

Rates of prostate cancer cases and deaths have declined or stabilized in many countries. And the United States had the largest recent decrease in disease incidence, a new study says. “Previous studies have indicated significant variation in prostate cancer rates, due to factors including detection practices, availability of treatment, and genetic factors,” said study author MaryBeth Freeman. She’s a senior associate scientist for surveillance research at the American Cancer Society. “By comparing rates from different countries, we can assess differences in detection practices and improvements in treatment,” Freeman said in a news release from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Researchers examined long-term and short-term data from 44 countries with incidence data and 71 countries with prostate cancer death data. Of the 44 countries assessed for incidence, prostate cancer rates rose in four countries and fell in seven, with the United States with the biggest decrease. Rates remained stable in the other 33 countries. Of the 71 countries assessed for prostate cancer death rates, there were decreases in 14, increases in three, and no change in 54. As of 2012, prostate cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in 96 countries and the leading cause of death in 51 countries, according to the study. Freeman said the findings confirm the benefits of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening. She noted that in the United… read on >

As electronic cigarettes took off, some worried they would lead teens back to traditional cigarettes. But new research suggests that’s not the case. Vaping has done little to slow or reverse a two-decade decline in the popularity of regular cigarettes among youth, a British study suggests. “Given the important contribution to public health which has been achieved by the ‘denormalization’ of smoking among young people, we need to keep a close eye on anything which might reverse that,” stressed study author Graham Moore. So, could vaping somehow make smoking “cool” again among youth? To find out, Moore’s team analyzed surveys conducted between 1998 and 2015 of roughly 248,000 English, Scottish and Welsh students, aged 13 to 15. The polls revealed that the percentage of teens who had ever tried a cigarette plummeted from 60% in 1998 to just 19% by 2015. The percentage of regular smokers also dropped, from 19% to 5%. That trend continued despite the advent of vaping earlier this decade, the investigators found. “From our conversations with young people, the fact that the rise in experimentation with e-cigarettes was not accompanied by a rise in smoking does make some sense,” added Moore, a reader in the school of social sciences at Cardiff University in Wales. Moore noted that today’s youth “tend to distinguish quite strongly” between smoking cigarettes and using e-cigarettes. For… read on >

Scientists are looking to an unexpected source in the battle against drug-resistant bacteria: fish slime. The researchers said that microbes in the protective mucus that coats young fish holds promise in fighting multidrug-resistant bacteria. These include the so-called “superbug” microbes that cause methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The slime protects fish from bacteria, fungi and viruses, trapping them before they can cause infections. It is also rich in compounds known to have antibacterial activity, the study authors said. The study was presented Sunday at the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) meeting, in Orlando, Fla. Research presented at meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. “For us, any microbe in the marine environment that could provide a new compound is worth exploring,” principal investigator Sandra Loesgen said in an ACS news release. Loesgen is an assistant professor of chemistry at Oregon State University, in Corvallis. Molly Austin, an undergraduate chemistry student in Loesgen’s laboratory, said that the mucus is fascinating because the environment in which fish live is complex. “They are in contact with their environment all the time with many pathogenic viruses,” Austin explained. The researchers are trying to determine if anything in the fish mucus could help protect people. The slime the investigators are studying is from juvenile deep-sea and surface-dwelling fish caught off the Southern California coast. Young fish… read on >

Men often have a hard time acknowledging erectile dysfunction, or ED. But it can leave their partner feeling confused or even blaming themselves for something not within their control. First, know that while the odds of ED rise after age 50, many men experience normal physical changes that are not ED. Erections may not be as firm as they once were, and it may take more foreplay to get one. It may help to have sex in the morning, when both partners are full of energy. True ED is not being able to get or maintain an erection, though this may not happen every time. It can be related to lifestyle habits such as smoking, heavy drinking or being overweight. Stopping harmful habits, losing weight and getting into a regular exercise program can be helpful. In middle age, ED can often be connected to a medical condition — such as diabetes, heart disease or Parkinson’s — and new or worsening ED may signal that the condition is getting worse. Erectile dysfunction can also be a side effect of some medications and cancer treatments. It’s also important to know that up to 25 percent men under 40 experience ED, often from a psychological issue, like performance anxiety or depression. But for some, it’s an early warning sign of heart disease. For all of these reasons, encourage… read on >

Need another reason to stay slim? People who are overweight have a greater risk of dying from pancreatic cancer, especially those who are carrying extra pounds before age 50, a new study suggests. “No matter what the age, there was some increase in pancreatic cancer deaths associated with excess weight. But the association was stronger for excess weight measured in people’s 30s and 40s,” said the study’s lead author, Eric Jacobs, senior scientific director of epidemiology research at the American Cancer Society (ACS). “We’re not completely sure why this is. Weight gain later in life may simply have less time to cause cancer,” he said. Between 2000 and 2015, the rate of pancreatic cancer rose about 15 percent, he said. It’s now the third-leading cause of cancer death in the United States. One reason pancreatic cancer is so deadly is that it often isn’t discovered until it has reached an advanced stage. The disease rarely causes noticeable symptoms, and there are no effective screening tests, according to the cancer society. But a few risk factors for pancreatic cancer can be changed. Smoking, weight and exposure to workplace chemicals are the three known risk factors that can be modified. In the new study, researchers looked at data for almost 1 million U.S. adults with no history of cancer. The participants were enrolled in a nationwide study… read on >

(HealthDay News) — If you or someone you know has a mental illness, help is out there. To find treatment services in your area, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). You can also call your doctor to see what services are near. For immediate help, call 1-800-273-8255 or go to the National Suicide Prevention Life’s website. Trained crisis workers are available at all hours. For life-threatening situations, call 911 or go to a hospital.

The healthiest community in the United States is Douglas County in Colorado, according to the 2019 rankings just released by U.S. News & World Report. The others in the top five healthiest communities are Los Alamos County in New Mexico; the city of Falls Church and Loudoun County, both in Virginia; and Broomfield County in Colorado, according to the magazine. For the rankings in the second annual report, nearly 3,000 communities across the United States were evaluated on 81 health-related measures in 10 categories, including education, environment, population health and infrastructure. Douglas County, a suburb of Denver, was among the top in at least four of the 81 measures, including physical activity, educational attainment and median household income. Six other communities in Colorado were in the top 20: Broomfield County (ranked number 5), Chaffee County (11), Routt County (14), San Miguel County (17), Pitkin County (19) and Boulder County (20). In all seven Colorado counties, nearly all adults exercise and only about a quarter missed their annual wellness checkup. Across all of its counties, Colorado also has the highest average score in the country in the environment category, which includes measures of natural amenities and air and water quality. Iowa has the strongest presence in the rankings overall, with 62 counties among the top 500. Average community scores put Iowa among the top 10 states… read on >

She thought red yeast supplements would be a natural way to lower her cholesterol. What could be easier? Instead, the 64-year-old woman landed in the hospital with acute liver damage that her doctors say was likely caused by taking the over-the-counter product. “Many people are cautious to use [prescription] medications because of potential side effects, and rightly so,” but natural supplements are not necessarily safer, explained lead researcher Lize Loubser, from Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. “Make sure you do your research before using them, and realize that often taking a supplement means taking an unknown dose of the active component,” Loubser said. Red yeast rice supplements are made by mixing fermented steamed rice with food fungus. It’s commonly used as an alternative to statins to lower high cholesterol. “Statins and red yeast rice contain the exact same chemical [monacolin k], which is responsible for reducing cholesterol,” Loubser said. But this chemical can also potentially cause liver damage, she added. “Whether monacolin k is derived synthetically, in the case of statins, or naturally, in the case of red yeast rice, does not matter,” Loubser said. “The difference is that statins come in known doses of monacolin k, whereas in red yeast rice, monacolin k concentration is not measured or regulated, and can vary widely.” In this case, the woman was hospitalized with symptoms of… read on >