Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

What and when you eat certain foods can boost how you feel at different times during the day. When it comes to meal planning, timing is everything. Important for anyone trying to lose weight, research shows that having a high-protein breakfast — that means 35 grams’ worth — can keep your appetite in check for the entire day. It may even help you avoid evening snacking. Options with that amount of protein include a very generous cup-and-a-half of Greek yogurt; an omelet prepared with one egg and three egg whites and filled with ricotta or cottage cheese; or a less conventional breakfast of four ounces of chicken breast or six ounces of canned salmon. A lot has been written about what to eat before and after workouts. Choosing the right foods at the appropriate times can boost your stamina and quicken recovery time. Current thinking is to have a small meal with carbs and protein one to three hours before you exercise, and then a snack 15 to 20 minutes afterward to replenish energy stores and help muscles grow. Pre-Exercise Fuel Choices Peanut butter and banana or PBJ sandwich Fruit slices with nut butter Greek yogurt or oatmeal and berries Handful of raisins and nuts Post-Exercise Fuel Choices Whole-grain wrap with turkey Low-fat chocolate milk Low-fat milk and fruit smoothie One study found that having… read on >

Your unhealthy eating habits could increase your risk of cancer as much as drinking alcohol can, new research reports. The Tufts University study found that poor diets cause about the same number of cancer cases as alcohol consumption does in the United States. The researchers said their modeling study estimated that dietary factors may have accounted for over 80,000 of the new invasive cancer cases reported in 2015, or about 5% of that year’s total among U.S. adults. Alcohol was associated with 4% to 6% of cases, overweight and obesity with 7% to 8% of cases, and physical inactivity with 2% to 3%, the study authors noted. The study also found that poor diet was linked with 38% of colorectal cancer cases, and with nearly 26% of mouth, pharynx and larynx cancers reported in 2015 in the United States. In actual numbers, in 2015, poor diet was associated with over 52,200 colorectal cancer cases; over 14,400 mouth, pharynx and larynx cancers; nearly 3,200 uterine cancers; just over 3,000 cases of breast cancer in postmenopausal women; 2,000 kidney cancers; nearly 1,600 stomach cancers; and 1,000 liver cancers. The investigators also looked at specific eating habits linked with cancer risk. Low intake of whole grains was associated with the largest number and proportion of diet-related cancer cases, followed by low levels of dairy products, eating lots of… read on >

It’s a simple concept, but new research reinforces the idea: Teens with type 1 diabetes benefit when they feel their concerns have been heard. Teens with type 1 diabetes may experience anger, frustration and anxiety if they haven’t met their treatment goals. Their parents and health care providers may also feel frustrated and may blame the teen. But the new study suggests that interventions designed to improve diabetes-related care and communication could improve a teen’s diabetes self-management. “The biggest thing people don’t understand about living with type 1 diabetes is that patients become physicians essentially, and doctors and staff become consultants,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Harold Starkman. He’s the director of pediatric endocrinology at the BD Diabetes Center at Atlantic Health System’s Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, N.J. “Families and teens who have type 1 diabetes have the responsibility of caring for diabetes all the time. They have to figure out how much insulin they need, what to eat, count the carbohydrates in the food, consider the impact of diabetes,” he explained. Most teens are trying to do the best they can, but it’s a lot of responsibility, he said. And, it’s frustrating to ask for help when you’re a teenager. “Normally, teens need to separate from their parents and move on, but for teens with type 1 diabetes, diabetes is a tether,”… read on >

Many people — including those who are overweight themselves — view people with obesity as less human or less evolved, new research reveals. In four online studies questioning more than 1,500 participants from the United States, the United Kingdom and India, researchers also found that dehumanization of those with obesity predicted support for policies that discriminate against this group. “We’ve obviously heard the way that people speak about people with obesity,” said study author Inge Kersbergen. She’s a research fellow at the University of Sheffield in England. “In that sense, we’d be surprised if we didn’t find anything,” Kersbergen said. “But I don’t think we were prepared for the magnitude of our findings.” In the first report believed to indicate that people with obesity are blatantly dehumanized, Kersbergen and her colleagues pooled data examining whether dehumanization depended on participants’ body weight and if those with obesity were dehumanized more than other social groups different from the norm. These other social groups included those based on appearance, such as underweight Americans, or illness, such as Americans with cancer. Different measures of attitudes toward people with obesity were used in the four separate studies. For example, participants indicated how evolved they considered various groups of people to be, including Americans, obese Americans, Americans addicted to heroin, Arabs, homeless Americans, and employed Americans. The research also included measures… read on >

The way you view aging can affect how well you manage stress. Older people who see aging negatively have stronger (negative) emotional reactions to day-to-day stresses, while such events have little effect on the moods of adults who are more positive about getting older. Their sunny outlook acts as a buffer against little annoyances. That’s not all. People who carry negative views also have lower levels of satisfaction and well-being. And they’re more likely to be hospitalized or die young, according to research published in the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences. Surveys by the nonprofit West Health Institute and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago found that the time to gain a positive perspective on aging is early in life — your 30s and 40s. This is when many people start to have general concerns about the future, such as facing health and financial issues, developing memory problems and losing their independence. The survey found increasing worry among younger people that government programs don’t — and won’t — do enough for seniors. What can you do to ward off such worries? Stay on top of lifestyle habits that help you avoid serious health threats, like diabetes and heart disease, and that maintain mental sharpness. These include eating a healthful diet, doing regular exercise and getting enough sleep. But beyond activities… read on >

Significant but uneven improvements in air quality have greatly reduced U.S. deaths related to air pollution over the past decade, a new study shows. But researchers are concerned that climate change and regulatory rollbacks under the Trump administration will wipe out those advances and put thousands more lives at risk from bad air every year. “If you look at the trend, it’s already been slowing down in recent years,” said lead researcher Kevin Cromar. He is an associate professor of population health and environmental medicine at New York University in New York City. “If we want to continue these improvements, these rollbacks are pushing us in the wrong direction.” Overall, deaths tied to air pollution have decreased by about 43% — from about 12,600 deaths in 2010 to 7,140 in 2017, Cromar and his colleagues reported. But the story gets more complicated when you zero in on the two main causes of air pollution: soot and ozone. Deaths due to airborne soot, or fine particle pollution, declined by more than half between 2010 and 2017 — from 8,330 down to 3,260, the findings showed. “We really have seen some great improvement in terms of the health impacts of particle pollution,” Cromar said. “That’s real progress.” But deaths due to smog — also known as ozone pollution — have remained relatively level over the years. There… read on >

Cannabidiol (CBD) has been receiving a lot of attention lately as a potential treatment for everything from epilepsy to anxiety. Now, researchers report it might also help curb the cravings that come with opioid addiction. Like marijuana, CBD comes from the cannabis plant. Unlike pot, it does not produce a high. The study included 42 men and women with a history of heroin abuse who were not current users. Heroin is an illegal opioid. Other opioids include powerful prescription painkillers such as oxycodone (OxyContin). For the study, participants received either an oral CBD solution or an inactive placebo and then were shown videos that contained neutral and drug-related cues. Neutral cues included relaxing scenarios such as scenes of nature, while drug-related cues included scenes of IV drug use and heroin-related items such as syringes, rubber ties and packets of powder. The researchers found that, compared to a placebo, CBD reduced drug cue-induced craving and anxiety in the participants. “Our findings indicate that CBD holds significant promise for treating individuals with heroin use disorder,” said first author Yasmin Hurd. She is director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai in New York City. “A successful non-opioid medication would add significantly to the existing addiction medication toolbox to help reduce the growing death toll, enormous health care costs, and treatment limitations imposed by stringent government regulations amid… read on >

For all of those men who view a mustache as a largely ornamental addition to their masculine appearance, a new study reveals it can also guard against lip cancer. “Mustaches seem to protect the lip the same way that hair protects the scalp,” explained study author Dr. Daniel Aires. He is director of dermatology with the University of Kansas Health System. “While this makes intuitive sense, it had not been tested before.” To do just that, Aires and his team examined 200 male patients who had already been diagnosed with a precancerous condition known as actinic keratosis on the head or face. “Actinic keratosis is a scaly spot on the skin that can develop into a dangerous cancer called squamous cell carcinoma,” Aires explained. “Since lip skin is so thin, lip actinic keratoses can invade and become deadly faster than actinic keratoses elsewhere on the skin.” Roughly 3 million Americans are diagnosed with actinic keratosis each year, he noted, accounting for one of every seven dermatology visits. But, “likely many more go undiagnosed and untreated, since studies estimate that more than 10% of adults have actinic keratosis,” he added. Nearly 60 of the men in the study had a long history of sporting substantial “sheltering” mustaches, meaning mustaches that are at least 9 millimeters thick (about a third of an inch). In the end, Aires… read on >

With childhood obesity rates high, many studies have investigated lifestyle factors that can make a difference — which ones increase the risk and which ones reduce it. Beyond diet, a lack of sleep has been linked to weight gain both in adults and children, so it’s important that kids get enough shuteye, even with their — and your — busy schedules. Since a child’s wake-up time is usually determined by when school or day care starts and can’t be easily altered, an earlier bedtime is needed to ensure kids get the sleep they need, according to research published in The Journal of Pediatrics. After following nearly 1,000 kids from birth to age 15, researchers found that attention to sleep needs to start in the preschool years. For instance, 4-year-olds who went to sleep before 8 p.m. cut their obesity risk in half compared to those who went to sleep after 9 p.m. This simple lifestyle modification can make a lifelong health difference. Understandably, this is easier said than done when one or both parents work late, which can delay dinner and evening activities. So parents might need to make compromises or adjustments at least on weeknights when there’s less opportunity for family time. Given the link between sleep and a healthy weight, plus its many other benefits for kids’ well-being, setting that 8 p.m. bedtime… read on >

If you’re looking for a tasty way to hydrate in warm weather, a juicy melon is the ticket. Melons are low-calorie, high-water content foods that also provide high doses of certain vitamins, minerals and important phyto-nutrients. Nutrients in Powerhouse Melons Cantaloupe: vitamins A and C, carotenoids, folate and potassium Honeydew: vitamins B and C, potassium and copper Watermelon: lycopene, vitamins A and C, and potassium To pick the perfect melon, gently rap it with your knuckles. If it makes a dull thud, it’s full of juice, and ripe for consumption. As refreshing as it is to bite into a melon, don’t limit yourself to snacking on chunks or wedges. Melons make great ingredients for salads, like the popular combination of watermelon and feta over arugula. Honeydew pairs well with cilantro and lime for a twist on salsa. And there are few easier appetizer recipes than melon and prosciutto, a centuries-old Italian antipasto that’s ideal for entertaining. Here’s a crunchy take on this tasty dish to serve at your next cookout or dinner get-together. The ingredients can be multiplied as needed. Melon and Prosciutto 4 slices prosciutto 1 small ripe cantaloupe, seeded and thinly sliced 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn into small pieces Preheat your oven… read on >