Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

Maybe you rush around with work and activities during the day, then settle in for a large, relaxing meal in the evening. But new research says the later in the day you eat, the more weight you’re likely to pack on. That’s the takeaway from a week-long study involving 31 overweight and obese patients, mostly women. “We evaluated meal and sleep timing in patients with overweight/obesity at the beginning of a weight loss trial, before participants started the intervention,” said lead author Dr. Adnin Zaman, an endocrinology fellow at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Her team found that “eating later into the day was associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) and greater body fat.” BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. For the study, participants were enrolled in a weight-loss trial comparing daily calorie limits to time-restricted feeding. In other words, once the trial launched, they could only eat during certain hours of the day. Ninety percent of the participants were women. Their average age was 36. A week before the study, they were outfitted with electronic devices to monitor their activity and sleep. They also were asked to snap cellphone photos of everything they ate. The photos were time-stamped using an app called MealLogger. Zaman and colleagues did not define which hours would amount to… read on >

For people who carry too much weight and suffer from migraines, dropping some pounds might help ease their pain, new research shows. “When people lose weight, the number of days per month with migraine decreases, as does pain severity and headache attack duration,” said lead researcher Dr. Claudio Pagano. He is associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Padova in Italy. Pagano’s team looked at data from 10 different studies that included 473 migraine patients in total. The analysis showed that weight loss was associated with large declines in migraine frequency, duration, pain and disability. The benefits were similar whether reductions in weight were achieved through weight-loss surgery or changes in diet and exercise, and were similar in kids and adults. How overweight you were to begin with didn’t seem to matter, however. Improvements in migraine were not tied to either the original level of obesity or the overall amount of weight loss, Pagano’s group reported. The findings were to be presented Saturday at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, in New Orleans. The bottom line is that “if you suffer from migraine headaches and are obese, losing weight will ameliorate the quality of your family and social life, as well as your work and school productivity. Your overall quality of life will greatly improve,” Pagano said. “Weight loss in adults and children with… read on >

People transitioning female to male face issues around future fertility. But new research suggests children in the future are a real possibility for these transgender men. Now, research shows that transgender men can remain fertile after even one year of testosterone treatment. It’s common for transgender men — those who were born female but who identify as male — to undergo testosterone therapy as a gender-affirming treatment. But some may later want children through their own pregnancy or via surrogate, the Israeli researchers explained. “Because the long-term effects of testosterone therapy on fertility are unknown, the current recommendation is to stop testosterone at least three months before fertility treatments,” said lead investigator Dr. Yona Greenman. She heads the Transgender Health Center at Tel Aviv-Sourasky Medical Center. The study included 52 transgender men, aged 17 to 40, who received testosterone therapy over 12 months. They had the expected increase in testosterone blood levels and decrease in estrogen, but their levels of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) remained in the normal range for fertility. AMH levels are used to appraise remaining eggs in the ovaries. Average levels in study participants decreased only slightly, suggesting their ovarian function was well-preserved, according to Greenman. Participants also showed no changes in the thickness of their uterine lining. A thick lining is crucial for embryo implantation and a successful pregnancy. The findings are… read on >

Recent research shows that eggs can be part of a healthful diet. Eggs are highly nutritious because they deliver the essential amino acids your body needs to build and repair muscle and help keep your metabolism humming. Egg yolks in particular contain many nutrients, including vitamin A, B vitamins and hard-to-get vitamin D. Whether white or brown, commercially raised or free-range, eggs have equal nutrition, because the hens all have the same mostly grain diet. However, if you can afford pasture-raised eggs, they are somewhat superior because those hens have a more diverse diet, which increases the eggs’ nutritional value. If you’ve shied away from eggs in the past, health studies have found that having one egg yolk a day doesn’t increase blood serum cholesterol in healthy adults. Of course, do talk to your doctor about limiting yolks if you have high cholesterol or diabetes. Got five minutes for a fast, hot morning meal? Here’s how to make a delicious scrambled egg breakfast. (One way to extend eggs’ goodness is to have one whole egg plus two extra whites per serving. You’ll get both more protein and volume.) Easy Egg Scramble 1 egg plus 2 egg whites Olive oil-based cooking spray 2 tablespoons of your favorite salsa or hot sauce, to taste 1 tablespoon fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley or cilantro To easily separate… read on >

Rowing is often called the best aerobic exercise because it offers a total body workout and is low-impact. Rowing involves performing a continuous motion with focused coordination between the arms and the legs. If you’ve never rowed a boat or paddled a canoe before, it may take some time to get the hang of it, but the fitness benefits are worth time spent on the learning curve. Home machines come very close to simulating this fun yet strenuous activity, but try different models before you buy. Don’t be swayed by price alone: The resistance mechanism on cheaper models often relies on pistons and may not give you the smoothest motion. Check out rowing machines that rely on air, water or magnetic resistance to find the one that feels most natural to you. While you should feel comfortable on the seat, working with the oars will tell you how well a machine suits you. You should be able to move your arms through a full range of motion. The resistance should feel smooth, not jerky, and you should be able to easily adjust the tension level to suit your ability. Don’t rush through a test run. In fact, you may want to return to the store for a second visit before you invest in a machine. After you’ve made the purchase and have your rower set… read on >

Postpartum depression is a common and often devastating condition for new mothers, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the first drug to help combat it. The drug, Zulesso (brexanolone), is delivered via intravenous infusion. “Postpartum depression is a serious condition that, when severe, can be life-threatening,” noted the FDA’s Dr. Tiffany Farchione. “Women may experience thoughts about harming themselves or harming their child.” The condition “can also interfere with the maternal-infant bond,” added Farchione, who is acting director of the Division of Psychiatry Products in the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. The FDA decision “marks the first time a drug has been specifically approved to treat postpartum depression, providing an important new treatment option,” she said in an agency statement. Psychiatrist Dr. Martha Wald agreed that women battling postpartum depression have long needed new options. “There is tremendous stigma around postpartum depression for women,” said Wald, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst at Duke University, in Winston-Salem, N.C. “Many women experience great shame and feel inadequate as mothers if they struggle with depression at a time that is supposed to be joyous.” “Because of this stigma, many women choose to not seek help and endure great suffering in silence,” she said. “Postpartum depression affects 15 to 20 percent of the general population, and at least half of this group goes untreated.… read on >

The jittery, delusional potheads of the old movie “Reefer Madness” have prompted eye rolls and chuckles over the years, but a new study argues that the cult classic might contain a kernel of truth. Smoking pot every day could increase your risk of a psychotic break with reality, particularly if you have access to high-potency strains of marijuana, European researchers report. As many as 1 in 5 newly diagnosed cases of psychosis might be linked to daily cannabis use, according to data gathered from 11 hospitals across Europe. People who used pot on a daily basis were three times more likely to have a first-time diagnosis of psychosis, and five times more likely if they used high-potency marijuana every day, researchers said. The new study “raises real concerns about the dangers posed by high-potency marijuana,” said Emily Feinstein, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Center on Addiction. “Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the availability of high-concentration THC products, for both medical and recreational use,” said Feinstein, who wasn’t involved with the study. “While there may still be questions about the nature of the link between daily use of high-potency marijuana and psychotic disorder, this study suggests that we should be monitoring this issue very closely and taking steps to protect the public’s health.” But NORML Deputy Director… read on >

Video games provide unlimited entertainment, and interactive ones can even help you burn off calories. But you may not know that playing games — either in person or through shared online networks — can unite family members from many generations in meaningful ways. Researchers at Concordia University in Montreal found that playing social network games, through Facebook for instance, offers family members a fun, common topic of conversation, and creates shared experiences, even though there’s often no direct communication. That’s just one of dozens of studies that have explored the benefits of family gaming. One study done at the University of California, Davis, found that the more often family members play video games together, the greater their feelings of family satisfaction and closeness. What’s more, because those with poor inter-family communication benefited more than those who already had good communication, video gaming can be a bridge to better relationships. Family gaming can easily extend beyond those living in a single household. With more grandparents and other older relatives now using social media to get news about relatives, playing word games and other family-friendly choices can keep the generations better connected because these activities transcend age barriers. Playing can also help connect you to faraway relatives you may not have the chance to get to know in traditional ways. The Concordia researchers also found that people… read on >

Expectant moms often try to plan as many aspects of their upcoming delivery as they can. But one thing they might not consider is what type of pain relief they will choose if they need to have a C-section. Now, new research from the University of Texas suggests that while opioids can control pain, a combination of other painkillers could offer similar relief with fewer side effects and no risk of addiction. “Opioids do not need to be routinely prescribed for every woman,” said study author Dr. Jenifer Dinis. She is a clinical instructor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at UT Health McGovern Medical School in Houston. “We can control pain effectively with ibuprofen and acetaminophen. For those who do need opioids, we don’t need to give out as much,” Dinis said. A big concern anytime opioids are used is the potential for addiction. As many as one in four people given a long-term prescription for opioids in primary care has reported struggling with addiction, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even if people don’t use the opioid prescriptions they’re given, family members or friends may end up using those drugs. In 2016, more than 11 million Americans said they had misused opioids during the past year, the CDC said. Approximately 130 Americans die every day due… read on >