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Bottoms up: The type of alcohol you prefer may say something about your lifestyle, new research reveals. Beer drinkers are more likely to have an unhealthy lifestyle than folks who prefer wine or liquor, scientists report. Beer drinkers have lower-quality diets, are less active and are more likely to smoke than those who drink wine, liquor or a combination, researchers found. Those lifestyle factors can make a big difference in the health of people who are already drinking too much and risking getting liver disease, said lead researcher Dr. Madeline Novack. “Alcohol overuse is the leading cause of [liver] cirrhosis in the U.S., and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease [MASLD] is rapidly increasing,” said Novack, chief resident of Tulane School of Medicine’s internal medicine residency program. “Both types of liver disease often coexist, and lifestyle changes are key to managing and preventing these conditions, starting with understanding the link between alcohol use and poor nutrition,” Novack added in a Tulane news release. For the study, researchers analyzed national survey data on more than 1,900 U.S. adults who drink alcohol. The respondents answered detailed questions on their eating habits. About 39% said they only drink beer, 22% wine, 18% liquor and 21% a combination of alcohol types, researchers said. None of the drinkers came close to achieving the 80-point score that’s considered an adequately healthy diet… read on > read on >

It doesn’t take much: Adding just five minutes of exercise to your daily routine lowers your blood pressure and might cut your odds for heart disease, new research shows. “The good news is that whatever your physical ability, it doesn’t take long to have a positive effect on blood pressure,” said study lead author Jo Blodgett, from University College London (UCL). “What’s unique about our exercise variable is that it includes all exercise-like activities, from climbing the stairs to a short cycling errand, many of which can be integrated into daily routines.” Her team published its findings Nov. 6 in the journal Circulation. According to the researchers, high blood pressure affects almost 1.3 billion adults globally and is one of the biggest causes of premature death due to stroke and other causes. The new study focused on almost 15,000 adult volunteers who were given activity trackers to chart their daily involvement in six key activities: Sleep Sedentary behavior (such as sitting) Slow walking (less than 100 steps per minute) Fast walking (100 steps per minute or more) Standing More vigorous exercise (such as running, cycling or stair climbing) Each day, the average participant got seven hours of sleep, 10 hours of sedentary behavior such as sitting, three hours of standing, one hour of slow walking, one hour of fast walking and just 16 minutes of… read on > read on >

There’s just something about sitting. New research shows that too much time on sofas and chairs harms the heart — even among people who get the minimum recommended amount of daily exercise. “Taking a quick walk after work may not be enough” to offset the health dangers of sitting, said study lead author Chandra Reynolds. She’s a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Her team published its findings recently in the journal PLOS One. The data comes from an ongoing study of over a thousand former or current Coloradans, 730 of who are twins. Reynolds’ team focused on participants aged 28 to 49. Study lead author Ryan Bruellman said the cohort was relatively young, because “young adults tend to think they are impervious to the impacts of aging. But what you do during this critical time of life matters.” Bruellman is now a PhD candidate at the University of California, Riverside. A lot of the participants were sitting a lot of the time: An average of almost nine hours per day, according to the study. Exercise rates ranged from 80 and 160 minutes of moderate physical activity per week and less than 135 minutes of vigorous exercise weekly. The Boulder team then assessed each person’s “heart age” using two key heart health indicators: total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein and body mass… read on > read on >

Yoga can help ease chronic low back pain, even if the classes are conducted online, a new study shows. Guidelines recommend using physical therapy or yoga to treat lower back pain before moving on to painkillers, but it can be tough for some people to make it to a yoga studio. “Attending yoga classes in person can be challenging,” said senior researcher Dr. Robert Saper, chair of the wellness and preventive medicine at Cleveland Clinic. But the study found that people taking virtual yoga classes had a sixfold greater reduction in pain compared with those not assigned to the online sessions, researchers reported Nov. 1 in the journal JAMA Network Open. The online yoga students also had a nearly threefold improvement in their back-related function. “This research shows that a virtual yoga class program can be a safe and effective therapeutic option for the treatment of chronic low back pain,” Saper said in a Cleveland Clinic news release. For the study, 140 people with chronic low back pain were randomly assigned to either participate in a virtual live-streamed yoga class for 12 weeks or continue with their usual medical care. All the participants were members of Cleveland Clinic’s Employee Health Plan from either northeast Ohio or Florida. In the classes, yoga instructors delivered a program designed especially for virtual delivery to treat people with low… read on > read on >

Find it hard to take time to exercise during your busy workweek? No problem, a new study says — one or two “weekend warrior” workouts are just as likely to help you maintain your brain health. People who regularly exercise, whether solely on the weekend or throughout the week, are more likely to stay sharp as they age compared to people who never work out, researchers found. About 13% of cases of mild cognitive impairment might be avoided if all middle-aged adults exercised at least once or twice a week, researchers estimated. “This study is important because it suggests that even busy people can gain cognitive health benefits from taking part in one or two sessions of sport and exercise per week,” concluded the research team led by Gary O’Donovan, an adjunct professor of sport science with Los Andes University in Bogota, Colombia. For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 10,000 people in Mexico City. All participants were asked how often they worked out or played sports, and they also took part in a cognitive function test. Weekend warriors worked out once or twice a week, while regularly active people said they exercised three or more times a week. During an average follow-up period of 16 years, about 26% of the people who never exercised developed mild cognitive impairment, compared with 14% among… read on > read on >

Repeated concussions dramatically increase a hockey player’s risk of depression and burnout, a new study warns. Hockey players who’d suffered three or more concussions had twice the risk of depression symptoms than whose who’d never had a concussion, researchers found. They also faced three and a half times the risk of burnout symptoms, results showed. Concussion caused these effects in both male and female players, the researchers noted. “Other studies have shown that women experience more short-term symptoms after a concussion than men, but it was interesting that the link between concussion and heightened prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and burnout was equally strong for both sexes,” said lead researcher Mitchell Andersson, a doctoral student in psychiatry at Lund University in Sweden. “This might indicate that the long-term neuropsychiatric recovery process is more similar in men and women than the short-term process,” Andersson added in a university news release. For the study, researchers surveyed nearly 650 active hockey players in Sweden’s top hockey divisions. They found that more than 1 in 4 men and nearly 1 in 5 women reported having suffered three or more concussions. Both men and women had a higher risk of depression if they’d suffered repeated concussions, researchers found. Athletes with at least three concussions were also 3.5 times more likely to develop burnout as those with none, and twice… read on > read on >

A heart-pounding workout suppresses a person’s hunger levels better than less strenuous exercises like a brisk walk or active yoga, a new study shows. Running, swimming laps or taking a fast-paced spin class is more effective in suppressing the hunger hormone ghrelin than less intense exercise, researchers report. What’s more, women might respond better than men to this sort of exercise, results show. “We found that high-intensity exercise suppressed ghrelin levels more than moderate intensity exercise,” said lead researcher Kara Anderson, a postdoctoral fellow with the University of Virginia School of Medicine. “In addition, we found that individuals felt ‘less hungry’ after high-intensity exercise compared to moderate-intensity exercise.” For the study, researchers examined eight men and six women. All fasted overnight and then completed exercises of varying intensity levels. The intensity of their exercise was measured by levels of lactic acid in their bloodstream. Lactic acid is produced in the body during intense physical activity. The researchers then tested participants’ blood levels of ghrelin, and asked them to self-report their appetite levels. Ghrelin has been shown to have wide-ranging effects in the body, influencing energy balance, appetite, blood sugar levels, immune function, sleep and memory, researchers noted. Women had higher levels of ghrelin prior to exercise, compared to men. But only women had significantly reduced levels of acylated ghrelin — one form of the hormone —… read on > read on >

Maybe you’ve seen a cartoon character shake their head back and forth following a sharp blow — clearing away whatever stars or birds are circling their noggins. Turns out, that same move might help coaches and physical trainers identify a concussion that’s occurred on the field. About 72% of athletes — and 92% of football players — said they’ve quickly shaken their head back and forth following a concussion, researchers report. These SHAAKEs — Spontaneous Headshake After a Kinematic Event — might help identify up to 33% of concussions that might otherwise be missed, researchers argued. “Sports and medical organizations should immediately add SHAAKE to their lists of potential concussion signs,” said researcher Chris Nowinski, co-founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. “Coaches, medical professionals and concussion spotters should be trained to recognize when a SHAAKE happens and remove athletes for further assessment,” Nowinski added. “It’s an easy change, with no downside, that could prevent catastrophic outcomes and save careers.” A SHAAKE occurs within seconds or minutes of an impact, researchers said. People shake their heads side to side two to eight times a second, typically for less than two seconds, and they aren’t trying to communicate non-verbally with someone else. Nowinski recognized SHAAKE as a potential concussion sign after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a controversial undiagnosed concussion during a game on Sept. 25,… read on > read on >

Women fighting breast cancer can relieve some of their chemotherapy “brain fog” through aerobic exercise, a new clinical trial in Canada suggests. Breast cancer patients on chemo who participated in a regular aerobics class reported that they felt sharper and had better quality of life, researchers found. “Our findings strengthen the case for making exercise assessment, recommendation and referral a routine part of cancer care,” said lead researcher Jennifer Brunet, a professor of human kinetics with the University of Ottawa. “This may help empower women living with and beyond cancer to actively manage both their physical and mental health during and after treatment.” For the study, 57 breast cancer patients in Ottawa and Vancouver were randomly assigned to take either 12 weeks or 24 weeks of aerobic exercise along with their chemotherapy. About half of the women started their aerobics regimen at the same time they initiated chemo, and the other half started after they completed chemo. No significant differences between the two groups were found in objective tests of brain function. However, women who took part in aerobics during chemo reported that they felt like they had a clearer, sharper mind, and that their overall quality of life was better. The new study was published recently in the journal Cancer. The results show that more exercise options need to be made available to women… read on > read on >

Teenagers are increasingly turning to protein-packed bars, shakes and powders to help them add muscle to their frames, a new study shows. Two in five parents say their teen consumed protein supplements in the past year, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Teen boys more commonly turned to protein supplements, which they were more likely to take every day or most days, parents said. “Protein is part of a healthy diet, but it can be hard for parents to tell if their child is consuming the right amount,” said Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark. “Our poll highlights that many teens are using protein supplements, particularly protein powders, to improve their athletic performance and build muscle.” Boys are more likely to use protein supplements to boost muscle growth and for athletic training, researchers said. On the other hand, girls more often use protein supplements to replace a meal when they’re on-the-go or to help maintain a balanced diet, results show. About 1 in 10 parents also indicated their teen used protein supplements to help with weight loss, most often girls. This additional protein likely is unnecessary for most teenagers, Clark said. “Despite what some teens — and their parents or coaches — think, eating more protein than what your body needs will not result in larger… read on > read on >