Even a little running on a regular basis can extend your life, Australian researchers say. They analyzed 14 studies that included more than 232,000 people whose health was tracked for between 5.5 and 35 years. During the study periods, nearly 26,000 participants died. The collective data showed that any amount of running was associated with a 30% lower risk of death from heart disease, and a 23% lower risk of death from cancer. Even as little as 50 minutes of running once a week at a pace slower than 6 mph appeared to be protective, according to the authors of the study published online Nov. 4 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. They said that makes running a good option for people who say they are too busy to exercise. The reasons running is associated with a reduced risk of premature death are unclear, and the study doesn’t establish cause and effect, said lead researcher Zeljko Pediscic. He’s an associate professor of public health at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. His team also noted that the number of studies analyzed was small and considerable variation in their methods may have influenced the results. Even so, any amount of running is better than none, the authors suggested. “Increased rates of participation in running, regardless of its dose, would probably lead to substantial improvements in population…  read on >

Are you still having a hard time getting your kids to eat their fruits and vegetables? Studies, including one in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, show that a successful solution is to grow your own. Kids get excited as they watch a garden produce and are more motivated to eat what they had a hand in growing. Gardening is also a great way to get in extra exercise and reap the benefits of time spent outdoors in fresh air and sunshine. Whether you have a small patio bucket or can allocate square footage in your backyard, start your planning well before spring. Use online resources like Chicago Botanic (chicagobotanic.org) in the North, and Georgia Organics (georgiaorganics.org) in the Southeast to determine your climate zone and the right planting times. To get kids interested, the Arizona Farm Bureau suggests looking through colorful seed catalogs with them and letting them help pick out the choices. On the other hand, you don’t need to fill them in on every last prep detail unless they want to know. To avoid having them feel overwhelmed by the new activity, be sure to keep their responsibilities age appropriate. Older children can be more involved from the planning and design of the garden to harvesting, and even preserving some of the foods. Younger children can help with planting…  read on >

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting about 31 million Americans, and is the leading cause of disability among adults. Known as OA, it causes pain and other symptoms in joints, which can affect the ability to do everyday tasks. There’s no known cure, but there are treatments that can relieve pain and maintain joint function, according to a rheumatologist at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, N.C. “Osteoarthritis is the thinning or wearing down of cartilage, which is the cushion between the separate bones in a joint,” Dr. Francis Luk said in a health system news release. “When your doctor says you have arthritis, most often they are referring to osteoarthritis.” The main risk factors are aging, obesity, prior injury, repetitive stress on a joint and genetics. OA can occur in any joint, but the most common are knees, hips and hands. “Symptoms vary from person to person but someone with osteoarthritis of the knee typically will have pain when they stand up from a seated position or when they’re walking, especially when going up and down stairs,” Luk said. “With osteoarthritis of the hands, people typically experience pain when they do things that involve gripping — washing dishes, holding a wrench, opening a jar, things like that,” he added. Treatments include over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,…  read on >

The range of motion of the human thumb makes so many everyday hand movements possible. Whether you’re an athlete gripping sports equipment, a baker whisking egg whites or a do-it-yourselfer hammering a nail, you’d be at a total loss without your thumbs. Yet most people do little to protect these overlooked but essential digits. First, be aware of the common ways you can injure your thumbs. At the top of the list is overuse from texting and playing video games. Putting out your hand to cushion a fall is another cause. So is oxer-extending the thumbs when you’re playing tennis and when you’re skiing, typically when you fall if your hands get caught in your poles. To prevent problems, take steps to avoid overuse injuries and condition your thumbs just as you would any other body part. Give your thumbs a rest from texting by using your index fingers and/or the voice feature on your phone and other gadgets. Do daily stretches to improve range-of-motion and flexibility, like thumb extensions and flexions. With your palm up and fingers together, first extend your thumb out to the side to make a 90-degree angle with your hand, then cross your thumb over your open palm toward the base of your pinkie and hold for 10 seconds. Next, open and close your fingers in a fist. Finally do…  read on >

If you’ve been told that your blood glucose is higher than normal and that you have prediabetes, your doctor is likely to first suggest lifestyle steps to stop it from progressing to diabetes. The steps that can have the most benefit are losing weight and improving your diet, which obviously go hand in hand. But studies also show that different types of exercise can play an important part in diabetes prevention as well, especially if you’re overweight. Research done at the University of Michigan and published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that, for overweight people, regular aerobic activity could interrupt the changes in metabolism that set the stage for diabetes. As you’re mapping out a fitness strategy with your doctor, talk about how to incorporate both types of exercise into your life. National guidelines are to get 150 minutes per week of aerobic activity, which could be 30 minutes on each of five days or, for beginners, three chunks of 10 minutes each on five days. Strength training could be done on the two non-aerobic activity days as long as there is a rest period of at least 48 hours between sessions to give muscles time for recovery and growth. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on prediabetes and how to prevent it from progressing.