Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

Most people know how important recycling is for a healthier environment, yet a survey by the Pew Research Center showed that Americans may not always put that knowledge into practice. Though most people in the United States have access to recycling programs, the rules and practices vary within states and even within communities. Only 28 percent of survey participants said their community strongly encourages recycling and re-use. Even when recycling programs exist, not everyone uses them. Some people aren’t fully aware of what exactly can be recycled in their area. This might explain why recycling rates have been on a plateau, after rising for decades. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans recycle or compost 1.5 pounds of waste per person per day — the same amount as in 2006. What’s Being Recycled — An EPA Scorecard: 99 percent of lead-acid batteries from cars and trucks. 92 percent of corrugated cardboard boxes. 71 percent of steel cans. 62 percent of major appliances. 55 percent of aluminum beer and soda cans. 30 percent of high-density polyethylene containers such as milk jugs. One bright spot is that people are doing better at creating less trash to start with. That’s fallen from 4.7 pounds per person per day to 4.4 pounds, an amount that could go down even further by tweaking shopping habits. First, look for… read on >

The average person’s daily diet will need to change drastically during the next three decades to make sure everyone is fed without depleting the planet, a panel of experts has concluded. Global consumption of foods such as red meat and sugar will have to decrease by about half to make sure the Earth will be able to feed a growing population of 10 billion people by 2050, according to the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. At the same time, people will need to double the amount of plant-based foods they eat, including nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes, experts said. Agriculture must to be redirected to focus on these new food goals, which will put less stress on the environment, researchers said. An effort also will be needed to protect land and ocean resources, and cut food waste globally. While the recommended dietary changes might be wrenching for some, they come with a tremendous benefit in terms of human health, said co-lead commissioner Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “About 11 million premature deaths per year could be avoided if everyone adopted this healthy diet,” Willett said. “That’s because this reduces unhealthy parts of the diet but substantially increases health-promoting parts of the diet.” The globally sustainable diet recommended by… read on >

Money worries may contribute to heart disease in black Americans, a new study suggests. “Stress is known to contribute to disease risk, but the data from our study suggest a possible relationship between financial stress and heart disease that clinicians should be aware of as we research and develop interventions to address social determinants of health disparities,” said study senior author Dr. Cheryl Clark. She is a hospitalist and researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Her team analyzed data gathered between 2000 and 2012 from more than 2,200 participants in a long-term study examining heart disease in black men and women in the Jackson, Miss., area. None of the participants had evidence of heart disease at the start of the study. They were asked to rate the level of stress they had in several areas, including financial struggles, such as difficulty paying bills and running out of pocket money. Compared to those without financial stress, the risk of heart disease was nearly three times higher among those with moderate-to-high financial stress, and nearly two times higher among those with mild financial stress, the investigators found. The combination of three important heart disease factors — depression, smoking and diabetes — appeared to explain some of the connection between financial stress and heart disease risk, the study authors said. The findings suggest that financial stress… read on >

(HealthDay News) — More than 70 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases says. Are you one of them? Before starting a weight loss plan, you should visit your doctor. The first questions to consider are: How can I change my eating habits so I can reach a healthier weight? How much and what type of exercise do I need to reach a healthier weight? Could I benefit from seeing a nutrition professional or weight-loss specialist? The agency says you should do your research before starting a new weight loss plan. Look for one that will promote healthy behaviors that help you lose weight safely. Also, find one that you will commit to every day, to help keep the weight off permanently.

Anyone who has cared for a hospitalized loved one knows that frequent nighttime sleep interruptions — caused by noise or nursing checks — are a big concern. But in a new study, a Chicago hospital adopted sleep-friendly measures for patients that led to fewer nighttime awakenings without compromising care. Nighttime room entries dropped by 44 percent after researchers educated doctors and nurses on the health consequences of in-hospital sleep deprivation. The researchers also tweaked the hospital’s electronic health records system to avoid unnecessary overnight disruptions. Over a year, patients in the so-called SIESTA unit also experienced an average of four times fewer disruptions for medication dosing and three times fewer for routine vital signs. “We’ve known [inpatient sleep deprivation] is a problem since Florence Nightingale in the 1800s, so why hasn’t it been fixed? It’s a very patient-centered problem that also has health implications,” said study author Dr. Vineet Arora. She’s a professor of medicine at University of Chicago. Arora’s prior research showed that even short amounts of sleep loss among hospital patients were associated with higher blood pressure and higher blood sugar levels during hospitalization. Other research has focused on delirium in sleep-deprived patients, as well as hospital readmission rates, she said. A prior survey of Medicare patients also showed that only 62 percent reported their room was kept quiet at night, Arora noted.… read on >

If the fun is often missing from your social activities or play feels like work, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have an explanation: You’re probably overplanning. With so many demands on your time, precise scheduling might be the only way to accomplish everything you want. But while that can help at work and with family responsibilities, applying it to leisure time takes away spontaneity and, in turn, much of the enjoyment. Researchers conducted 13 studies that examined how scheduling affects the way people experience a variety of leisure activities, like meeting for coffee and going to the movies. They found that assigning a specific date and time for an activity can undermine its fun factor and make it feel like a chore or even work. Scheduling lessened both the happy anticipation of an event and the fun when doing it. But don’t completely delete your e-calendar. Leisure activities are important for personal well-being, so do make time for them. Just be more casual in your approach. Researchers suggest roughly scheduling them, meaning choose the date in advance, but be less firm about the details until the actual day. You can apply this to any type of leisure activity. For instance, if you’re organizing a vacation, resist overscheduling every day in advance. Prep before you go with a “big picture” list of things you’d… read on >

Nearly all TV food ads aimed at Hispanic and black children in the United States are for unhealthy products, a new report claims. In 2017, black teens saw more than twice as many ads for unhealthy food products as white teens, researchers found. “Food companies have introduced healthier products and established corporate responsibility programs to support health and wellness among their customers, but this study shows that they continue to spend 8 of 10 TV advertising dollars on fast food, candy, sugary drinks and unhealthy snacks, with even more advertising for these products targeted to black and Hispanic youth,” report lead author Jennifer Harris said in a University of Connecticut news release. Harris is director of marketing initiatives at the university’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. In the report released Tuesday, researchers analyzed advertising by 32 major restaurant, food and beverage companies that spent at least $100 million or more on advertising to U.S. children and teens in 2017. They were part of the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, a voluntary program that sets standards for food advertising aimed at children younger than 12. Fast food, candy, sugary drinks and unhealthy snacks accounted for 86 percent of food ad spending on black-targeted TV programming, and 82 percent of ad spending on Spanish-language TV, the researchers found. Of the nearly $11 billion spent… read on >

To support your hip joints, you need to strengthen the muscles that support them. This can help prevent or relieve hip pain and guard against injury. Appropriate exercises target muscles of the thighs and the glutes. Here are three to add to your fitness regimen. Note: Before conditioning, always warm up with five to 10 minutes of easy exercise, like walking or riding a stationary bike. Hip abduction exercises primarily work the outer thighs. Lie on your left side, top leg straight but not locked, bottom leg bent. Slowly raise the straight leg to make a 45-degree angle with the floor. Hold for five seconds, then slowly lower. Do three sets of eight to 12 reps, then switch sides and repeat. Hip adduction exercises primarily work the inner thighs. Lie on your left side with both legs straight. Cross your top leg over the lower leg, placing the foot flat on the floor. Raise the lower leg six to eight inches off the floor, hold for five seconds, and then slowly lower. Do three sets of eight to 12 reps, then switch sides and repeat. Prone hip extensions primarily work the glutes. Lie flat on your stomach on a firm surface and place a pillow under your hips. Bend your right leg so that your calf makes a 90-degree angle with your thigh (the sole… read on >

For many people struggling with weight, an underlying reason for the excess pounds is the habit of using food to soothe bad feelings and reward good behavior. To lose weight, turn that habit on its ear. Incentives can help motivate you in many areas, including your diet, but your incentive can’t be food. Small, non-food treats or dollars for your piggy bank can sway you to choose less food at meals. It can help with kids, too, and avoid instilling the food-as-reward habit in them. University of Southern California researchers tested the theory with experiments involving kids and adults. They found that kids were willing to cut portions in half when offered inexpensive headphones. Adults were eager to eat less if given just the chance to win a prize, such as a gift card, frequent flyer miles or a small amount of money. What’s more, eating less did not lead participants to compensate by eating more later in the day. There are many ways you can incentivize yourself, if not at every meal, certainly at ones when you’re apt to overeat. Try putting a dollar in a “mad money” jar — that’s merely the money you saved by eating less — and then buy yourself a non-food item at the end of every month. Make a list of the rewards you’d like most and then… read on >

A study of nearly 200 poor women living in the St. Louis area found that two out of three had to go without feminine hygiene products at least once over the prior year, due to cost. About one-fifth — 21 percent — said this happened on a monthly basis, and nearly half said they often had to make tough choices between buying food or period-related products. The findings add fuel to demands by women’s groups across the United States to ban sales taxes on feminine hygiene products. There are also calls to make such products available through programs such as the federal Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC). “Adequate menstrual hygiene management is not a luxury,” according to researchers led by Anne Sebert Kuhlmann, of Saint Louis University. “It is a basic need for all women and should be regarded as a basic women’s right,” the team reported. “Our failure to meet these biological needs for all women in the United States is an affront to their dignity, and barrier to their full participation in the social and economic life of our country.” Kuhlmann stressed that a lack of pads or tampons can have real health consequences for poor women. The threat mounts even higher when mothers and daughters are in this situation together. “The cost of buying menstrual hygiene products for multiple women in… read on >