Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

If you have high blood pressure, hitting the gym may be as helpful as taking drugs to lower your numbers, researchers say. There’s “compelling evidence that combining endurance and dynamic resistance training was effective in reducing [blood pressure],” according to the authors of a new report. The British researchers stressed that it’s still too early to recommend that people toss their antihypertensive meds, and exercise instead — there’s not yet been a head-to-head trial of drugs versus exercise for blood pressure. But comparing the numbers from hundreds of blood pressure trials involving either exercise or medication suggests they have the same benefit, said the team led by Huseyin Naci. He’s a health policy researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science. For now, one U.S. expert said, exercise should be considered an “and” rather than an “or” when it comes to treating high blood pressure. “Exercise is a pillar in the foundation of treatment for hypertension, but for those patients that require drug therapy, exercise is not a replacement for medication,” said Dr. Guy Mintz. He directs cardiovascular health at the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. The new research was published online Dec. 18 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. In the study, Naci’s team analyzed data from 197 clinical trials that assessed the effects of structured workouts on… read on >

Reducing stress could cut your risk of allergy and asthma symptoms during the holidays. “Studies show stress can cause a number of negative health effects, including causing more symptoms for allergy and asthma sufferers,” said Dr. Todd Mahr, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. “It makes sense that if you want to make your holidays more fun and less challenging, you might focus on ways to bring peace and wellness to your household,” Mahr added in a college news release. The college offers some other tips for controlling asthma and allergy symptoms over the holidays: Exercise can help reduce stress, but exercising in cold weather may make asthma symptoms worse. If you have symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, tightness in your chest or shortness of breath when you exercise in cold weather, you may have undiagnosed asthma. If you have asthma, warm up with gentle exercises for about 15 minutes before you start more intense exercise. Cover your mouth and nose with a scarf or face mask when you exercise in cold weather. Take your recommended asthma medicines. Another option is to move your workouts indoors when the outside temperature falls below freezing. Scented candles and wood-burning fireplaces can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms. Consider flameless candles and an electric fireplace instead. If you or a family member has food allergies,… read on >

Vaping among American teenagers increased dramatically in 2018, with nearly two of every five high school seniors reporting they’ve tried an e-cigarette during the past year, a new survey reveals. There was a bit of good news in the report, with teens reporting decreased use of alcohol, tobacco and opioids. But the vaping trends remained troubling. About 37 percent of 12th graders said they’d vaped within the past 12 months, compared to about 28 percent in 2017, according to the latest Monitoring the Future survey. Vaping rates also increased by about one-third in younger teens, with about 18 percent of 8th graders and 32 percent of 10th graders reporting they’d tried e-cigarettes in 2018. “That’s a marked increase just over a one-year period,” said Dr. Wilson Compton, deputy director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funds the survey. “In fact, the investigators pointed out this is the largest increase they’ve ever seen in a substance product by youth in America,” he noted. After alcohol, vaping is the second-most common form of substance use in the United States, the survey found. However, marijuana use remains steady among high schoolers, with nearly 6 percent of 12th graders reporting daily use. For the past two decades, daily use among high school seniors has hovered between 5 and 6.6 percent. “When we see rates of around… read on >

You’d think vitamin deficiencies would be rare in the United States, but many people are running low on vitamin D, and it’s a serious health threat. Being short on vitamin D not only affects bone density, it’s also been linked to conditions such as heart disease, mental decline, some types of cancer, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and type 2 diabetes. The problem is twofold: Not knowing how much vitamin D you really need, and how to get it. While 600 to 800 International Units (IUs) is the recommended daily amount, it can take more than that to bring you up to a healthy level and maintain it once you have a deficit. The body can make vitamin D through sun exposure, but there are many variables, from time of day and the season to your location and your skin color. People with pale skin make vitamin D more quickly than those with darker skin. While there is concern about skin cancer risk, under the right conditions, exposing arms and legs (and your torso when possible) for only a few minutes two to three times a week allows the skin to produce enough vitamin D. Very few foods naturally contain D. Many others are fortified with it, but it’s usually only 100 IUs per serving, making it unlikely that you’ll get even the daily minimum just… read on >

Whether it’s the stress of choosing the right gift, drinking and eating too much, or fighting with relatives about politics, the holidays can be hard on your heart. In fact, new research from Sweden found the odds of a heart attack jump nearly 40 percent on Christmas Eve. “Traditional holidays were associated with increased risk of heart attack. The risk overall during Christmas/New Year’s was 15 percent higher than a regular December day,” said study senior author Dr. David Erlinge. He’s the head of the office of cardiology at Skane University Hospital in Lund. Erlinge noted that the 15-year study of more than 300,000 heart attack patients suggested that the risk was highest at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve. But the study did not prove that the holiday actually caused heart attack risk to rise, only that there seemed to be an association. In Sweden, Christmas Eve is the most important day of the holidays, and is typically celebrated with immediate family, the researchers noted. The festivities continue on Christmas Day and again on Boxing Day, Dec. 26. New Year’s Eve in Sweden is usually spent with friends. As in the United States, the holiday generally involves eating heavily and drinking alcohol to excess. The study found that the risk of heart attack wasn’t higher on New Year’s Eve, but it did go up by… read on >

People seeking more satisfaction in their later years might find sex is the spice of life, new research suggests. For the study, researchers analyzed survey data from nearly 6,900 older adults, average age 65, in England. The investigators found that those who said they’d had any type of sexual activity in the previous 12 months had higher life enjoyment scores than those who weren’t sexually active. Among women, kissing, petting and fondling more often, as well as feeling emotionally close to their partner during sex, was associated with a higher enjoyment of life. But there was not a significant association between sexual intercourse and enjoyment of life. Among men, satisfaction with their sex life and how often they had sexual intercourse was associated with greater enjoyment of life. “The findings of our study suggest that it may be beneficial for physicians to query geriatric patients about their sexual activity and offer help for sexual difficulties, such as problems with erections, as sexual activity helps older people live more fulfilling lives,” said study co-leader Lee Smith. He is a reader in exercise medicine at Anglia Ruskin University in England. “Previous research has suggested that frequent sexual intercourse is associated with a range of benefits for psychological and physiological well-being, such as improved quality of life and mental health, and lower risk of certain cancers and fatal… read on >

Calcium is best known as a building block of strong bones, and studies show that getting it from the source — milk — is more effective than supplements. Nutritionists also are learning that it has another important role that’s especially beneficial for dieters. Research has found that calcium can help suppress appetite and even lower your intake at the next meal, as well as help you retain muscle mass while losing fat. While other research has found that whole milk has health benefits after all, if you’re trying to cut calories to lose weight, reach for low-fat and non-fat milk. There are many ways besides drinking a glass of milk to get this rich store of calcium into your diet. Try using low-fat milk instead of water when making hot cereals such as oatmeal. Add low-fat milk to soups, vegetable purees and casseroles to make them creamy and flavorful without actual cream. Mix up your own chocolate milk by vigorously stirring unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar substitute and a dash of cayenne for spiciness into non-fat milk. Microwave for 30 seconds for hot chocolate. Need an afternoon pick-me-up? Have a non-fat hot or iced latte. For a nightcap, add a dash of vanilla and cinnamon to hot non-fat milk for a silky alternative to herbal tea. Of course, milk makes a great base for many smoothie… read on >

Discrimination doesn’t just cause emotional pain in the moment, it may affect a victim’s physical recovery from a heart attack, new research suggests. In studying more than 2,600 heart attack survivors between the ages of 18 and 55, researchers found that those reporting more perceived discrimination were more likely to have poorer outcomes. A year after their heart attacks, they had more physical limitations and chest pain, lower quality of life and impaired mental health. Perceived discrimination — being treated unfairly because of personal characteristics such as race, gender or sexual orientation — was already associated with risk factors for having a heart attack. Discrimination is a chronic stressor, said study author Andrew Arakaki, a doctoral candidate at the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Conn. “It’s linked to a heightened reactive stress response as well as chronic systemic inflammation,” Arakaki said. “There’s quite a bit of literature out there about the impact of chronic inflammation on cardiovascular disease, and so that may be part of the underlying mechanism, but I think that what makes discrimination stand out from some other chronic psychosocial stressors is that it’s also really closely linked to structural barriers to health.” That includes things like economic status, access to health insurance and neighborhood investment. It may be that disadvantaged people have trouble accessing essential post-care visits. While the… read on > read on >

Women who have autism are more vulnerable during pregnancy to depression and anxiety, according to a new British study. That makes it imperative that effective mental health screening and support is available to help this group, said lead researcher Sarah Hampton, from the University of Cambridge. “The results also suggest that autistic people may benefit from accommodations to prenatal health care. These may include adjustments to the sensory environment of health care settings, as well as adjustments to how information is communicated during prenatal appointments,” co-author Rosie Holt said in a university news release. She is a research associate at the Cambridge-based Autism Research Center. For their study, researchers surveyed more than 900 women about their pregnancy experience. Anyone who was pregnant at the time or had previously given birth was eligible to take part in the online survey. In all, 417 respondents had autism and 524 did not. Women with autism were about three times more likely to report having had prenatal depression. About 24% of those with autism experienced depression, compared to 9% of others. Nearly half — 48% — of those with autism experienced anxiety, while only 14% of respondents without autism did. “We are grateful to members of the autistic community for providing feedback when we designed this research,” said study co-author Carrie Allison, deputy director of the Autism Research Center.… read on > read on >

A bad marriage can break your heart — literally. Heart attack survivors in a stressful relationship are more likely to have a rocky recovery, a new study reports. “We found there’s an independent association between severe marital stress and worse outcomes within their first year of recovery,” said lead researcher Cenjing Zhu, a doctoral candidate in chronic disease epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. Compared to people in healthy relationships, heart patients under severe marital stress were 67% more likely to suffer recurring chest pain during the first year of their recovery, Zhu and her colleagues found. Severe marital stress also increased a person’s chances of rehospitalization by nearly 50%, and affected their quality of life and health. On a 12-item scale, for example, participants with severe marital stress scored 2.6 points lower in mental health and more than 1.6 points lower in physical health, compared with those reporting little to no stress. Zhu is scheduled to present the findings Sunday at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting, in Chicago. The findings shed new light on the nuanced effect that relationships can have on a person’s health, said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, medical director of Atria New York City and a clinical associate professor of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Health. “Earlier studies on marriage found that people who were couples have better… read on > read on >