Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

Stress abounds during the holiday season, but you can ease it, an expert says. The way to manage stress is to recognize it and take steps to minimize it so it doesn’t overwhelm you, according to Cinnamon Stetler, an associate professor of psychology at Furman University, in Greenville, S.C. One way to ease holiday stress is to avoid unrealistic expectations, such as believing the holidays will change people and family relationships. “If your stress stems from other people’s actions, that’s largely out of your control. What you can do is limit your exposure,” Stetler said in a university news release. Don’t obsess about family holiday traditions. “Reflect on why that tradition is so important to you and what about it carries the meaning. See if there’s a way to adapt the tradition while still maintaining the important pieces of it,” Stetler said. “While it is good to maintain traditions, they can cause extra stress if you feel you have to do it the same way no matter what.” Change your approach to gift-giving, which can cause financial worries. For example, instead of buying a person several gifts, choose just one or two that will be especially meaningful. And remember that material things provide only short-term happiness, while doing things for others and appreciating what you have can bring lasting happiness. Take care of yourself during… read on >

(HealthDay News) — More than three-quarters of Americans say money is a significant cause of stress for them, says the American Psychological Association. To help manage financial stress, the association encourages people to: Remain calm and stay focused. Identify financial stressors and make a plan. Recognize how you currently deal with stress related to money. Turn challenging times into opportunities for growth and change. Ask for professional support from financial planners and psychologists.

Children will face more food shortages and infections if climate change continues unchecked, researchers from the World Health Organization and 34 other institutions warn. Climate change is already harming children’s health. And they’re at risk for lifelong health threats unless the world meets Paris Agreement targets to limit warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, the scientists reported in the Nov. 14 issue of The Lancet. “This year, the accelerating impacts of climate change have become clearer than ever,” said Hugh Montgomery, co-chair of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. “The highest recorded temperatures in Western Europe and wildfires in Siberia, Queensland and California triggered asthma, respiratory infections and heat stroke. Sea levels are now rising at an ever-concerning rate. Our children recognize this climate emergency and demand action to protect them. We must listen, and respond,” Montgomery said in a journal news release. Montgomery is director of University College London’s Institute for Human Health and Performance, in the United Kingdom. The health impact of climate change needs to be at the top of the agenda at the UN Climate Conference (COP25) next month in Madrid, the scientists urged. Without action, children born today will live in a world that’s an average of more than 4 degrees Celsius warmer by age 71, posing a risk to their health at every stage of their… read on >

Taking vitamin D and fish oil supplements won’t prevent kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes, a new study finds. Many diabetics use the supplements, hoping they will have a positive effect on their kidneys and heart, the researchers said. “We wanted this study to clarify whether these supplements have any real kidney benefit in adults with diabetes. Even if it’s not the result we hoped for, closing a chapter is useful for patients and clinicians and researchers alike,” said lead author Dr. Ian de Boer. He is a professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle. The researchers hoped the supplements would be beneficial because animal studies and lab experiments had suggested that anti-inflammatory and other properties in these supplements might prevent or slow progression of kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes. And in humans, other research has found a link between kidney problems and low levels of vitamin D and diets lacking fish. For the study, which was part of the nationwide Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL), the researchers looked at kidney function in more than 1,300 people with type 2 diabetes. Study participants were randomly assigned to get vitamin D and fish oil supplements; vitamin D and a fish oil placebo; fish oil and a vitamin D placebo; or two placebos. Over five… read on >

Nearly nine in 10 American adults lose sleep to binge watch TV, a new survey finds. The more than 2,000 U.S. adults who took part in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) poll in September ranked sleep as their second-highest priority, with family being first. But despite considering sleep important, 88% said they’d stayed up late to watch multiple episodes of a TV show or streaming series. The rate was highest (95%) among 18- to 44-year-olds. Many also delay bedtime to play video games, read and watch sports, the survey revealed. “It’s encouraging that Americans rank sleep as one of their highest priorities, but choosing to binge on entertainment at night instead of sleeping has serious ramifications,” AASM president Dr. Kelly Carden said in an academy news release. Younger adults (aged 18 to 34) were more likely than those 35 and older to have stayed up late to play video games (72% versus 38%), and men were more likely to do so than women (59% versus 42%). Two-thirds of respondents said they’d lost sleep to read. Women were more likely to do so than men (71% versus 61%), the survey found. Nearly 60% of adults lost sleep to watch sports, including 75% of men and 45% of women. Adults between 25 and 54 years of age were more likely than those in other age… read on >

Vaping isn’t necessarily better for your heart health than smoking tobacco, a pair of new studies argue. They report that use of e-cigarettes negatively affects risk factors for heart disease in ways similar to traditional tobacco cigarettes: Levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides are elevated in people who use e-cigarettes, according to results from the first study. E-cigarette users also experience a decrease in blood flow to the heart muscle, the second study says. “People are making the assumption if they switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, their risk will be substantially reduced of cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, deputy chief science and medical officer for the American Heart Association, and co-author of the first study. “That’s not necessarily the case.” Both studies are to be presented Monday at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting, in Philadelphia. Research presented at meetings is typically considered preliminary. For the first study, researchers evaluated 476 healthy adults who took no daily heart medications to see how smoking might affect their cholesterol levels. Of these participants, 285 were tobacco cigarette smokers, 45 were e-cigarette smokers, 52 were “dual users” who smoke and vape, and 94 were nonsmokers. All tobacco users — including vapers — had higher total cholesterol levels, as well as higher levels of triglycerides and “bad” LDL cholesterol, the study found. Researchers said they found the… read on >

As Americans pay tribute to all veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces Monday, new research suggests that how comrades died can affect levels of grief among soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. “Our goal was to better understand how combat veterans experience the deaths of their military comrades in battle or by suicide, and what factors predict the nature and level of their grief,” said study senior author Roxane Cohen Silver. She is a professor of psychological science, public health and medicine at the University of California, Irvine. More than 5,400 U.S. military personnel have died in combat since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began in 2001 and 2003, respectively, according to the latest casualty report from the U.S. Department of Defense. And a 2017 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America survey found that 58% of respondents said they knew a veteran who had died by suicide, and 65% knew a veteran who had attempted suicide. The study included hundreds of veterans of the two wars and discovered that a number of factors influence grief over the loss of comrades. Suicide death is unexpected and can make acceptance of the loss more difficult, the findings showed, while combat death was described as expected and heroic, and can help make it easier to accept the loss. Bonds forged in combat intensify… read on >

Getting more exercise could help ward off depression, even if you have a genetic risk for it, new research shows. For the study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 8,000 people and found that those with a genetic predisposition were more likely to be diagnosed with depression over the next two years. But that was less likely for people who were more active at the study’s start, even if they had an inherited risk. Higher levels of physical activity helped protect even those with the highest genetic risk for depression, the investigators found. Both high-intensity exercise (such as aerobics, dance and exercise machines) and lower-intensity activities (such as yoga and stretching) were associated with a reduced risk of depression, the findings showed. Adding four hours of exercise a week could lower the risk of a new episode of depression by 17%, according to the study published Nov. 5 in the journal Depression and Anxiety. “Our findings strongly suggest that, when it comes to depression, genes are not destiny and that being physically active has the potential to neutralize the added risk of future episodes in individuals who are genetically vulnerable,” said lead author Karmel Choi. She is a clinical fellow in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. “On average, about 35 additional minutes of physical activity each… read on >

The popular herbal supplement kratom may cause liver damage, researchers warn. Kratom is widely available in smoke shops and online. It’s a botanical product made from Mitragyna speciosa, a tropical evergreen tree found in Southeast Asia. At low doses, it’s a stimulant. At high doses, it has an opioid-like effect. Use of kratom has risen sharply since the start of the opioid epidemic, and more than 90 deaths have been linked to it, researchers say. “There are risks associated with using kratom, and liver injury is on the list of things that are a potential consequence of using it,” said William Eggleston, a clinical assistant professor at the Binghamton University-State University of New York’s School of Pharmacy. He wasn’t involved with the study, but reviewed the findings. There were eight cases of reported liver injury associated with kratom products in the study. Eggleston said this may not seem like a lot, but they are enough to be concerning. “Maybe we need to re-evaluate whether or not this drug should be available as a dietary supplement,” he said. Unlike prescription drugs, dietary supplements don’t need approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. And though kratom is a legal herbal supplement, the FDA has warned against its use. The agency has called it “opioid-like” and cited concerns that it might pose an addiction risk. Some patients… read on >