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Author: Sima

Published on Leave a comment on Study Finds Vitamin D Supplements are Linked to Lower Risk of Melanoma

The results from well done studies on vitamin D supplements have frequently been disappointing due to lack of health benefits. However, a recent study found that the risk of melanoma (a skin cancer) was significantly reduced in persons taking vitamin D supplements.

The Univ. of Eastern Finland researchers also found no link between vitamin D supplementation and facial photoaging, actinic keratoses, nevus count, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Just keep in mind that the people were not randomly selected  - these were self-selected groups, and thus this is a correlation study. There could be a reason other than vitamin D for the different outcomes.

From Science Daily: Fewer cases of melanoma among people taking vitamin D supplements

Fewer cases of melanoma were observed among regular users of vitamin D supplements than among non-users, a new study finds. People taking vitamin D supplements regularly also had a considerably lower risk of skin cancer, according to estimates by experienced dermatologists. The study, conducted in collaboration between the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital and published in Melanoma Research, included nearly 500 people with an increased risk of skin cancer. ...continue reading "Study Finds Vitamin D Supplements are Linked to Lower Risk of Melanoma"

Published on Leave a comment on Fast Food and Liver Disease
Fast food Credit: Wikipedia

The results of a recent study may give extra motivation to those trying to cut back on the amount of fast food that they eat. The study found that consumption of fast food is linked to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

The researchers found moderate increases in liver fat in everyone consuming  20% or more of daily calories from fast food (about 1 meal a day). They also found that obese individuals or people with diabetes who consume 20% or more of their daily calories from fast food had severely elevated levels of fat in their liver.

We already know that fast foods are associated with a greater risk of diabetes and heart disease, and now NAFLD can be added. It is thought that NAFLD affects 30% of the U.S. population!

According to the US National Institute of Health: "Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition in which fat builds up in your liver. Nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are types of NAFLD. If you have NASH, you have inflammation and liver damage, along with fat in your liver."

What to do about this abnormal build up of fat in the liver? The only treatment is changing your diet and losing weight. A healthy diet is one rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, seeds, and nuts. For example, a Mediterranean style diet.

From Science Daily: Consumption of fast food linked to liver disease

A study from Keck Medicine of USC published today in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology gives people extra motivation to reduce fast-food consumption. ...continue reading "Fast Food and Liver Disease"

Published on Leave a comment on Exercise Snacks Can Be An Easy Way To Improve Fitness

Some good news for those finding it hard to find time or motivation for lengthy exercise sessions. It turns out that frequent little bursts of exercise about 1 to 2 minutes long also have tremendous health benefits, even if you spend most of the day sitting. Think of them as "exercise snacks".

An exercise or activity snack is a "brief snippet of exercise, usually lasting a minute or two, and done frequently during the day". There are studies (exercise snacking research!) finding it a good way to improve fitness, especially cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic health. The benefits of exercise snacking can be comparable to lengthier traditional workouts.

Some examples of exercise or activity snacks: walking quickly up and down a staircase, walking quickly around a room, rising and lowering 15 times from a chair, and jumping up and down. Ideally anything that'll raise your heart rate and breathing briefly. Sounds easier than going to a gym, doesn't it?

The Washington Post has a nice article about exercise snacking. Below that is an example of recent exercise snack research.

From The Washington Post - These 2-minute exercise bursts may be better than your regular workout

Here’s an easy and effective way to add physical activity to your daily routine during the new year: turn your exercise into a snack.

New research shows exercise “snacks,” which consist of brief spurts of exertion spread throughout the day, can improve metabolic health, raise endurance and stave off some of the undesirable changes in our muscles that otherwise occur when we sit too long.

...continue reading "Exercise Snacks Can Be An Easy Way To Improve Fitness"

Published on Leave a comment on Higher Physical Activity Levels Associated With Less Severe COVID-19

The more physically active a person is before getting COVID-19, the lower the rates of hospitalization, deterioration events, and death from COVID-19 infection. In other words, physical activity is protective.

The results of a Kaiser Permanente member analysis of 194,191 adults with COVID-19 infection found a strong dose-response relationship - with higher physical activity levels before COVID-19 associated with less severe outcomes.

What levels of exercise were reported by patients? In the 2 years before a COVID-19 infection, physical activity/exercise levels reported by patients were categorized as: always inactive (10 minutes per week or less), mostly inactive (0 to 60 minutes per week), some activity (60 to 150 minutes per week), consistently active (greater than 150 minutes per week), and always active (always greater than 150 minutes per week).

No matter the sex, race, ethnicity, age, BMI categories, whether one had cardiovascular disease or hypertension - the results were generally consistent for everyone. Bottom line: Aim for 150 minutes of physical activity or more every week. [similar results earlier study]

From Medical Xpress: More exercise linked to less-severe COVID-19 outcomes

Kaiser Permanente members who were more physically active prior to being diagnosed with COVID-19 had a lower risk of severe outcomes, according to research published Dec. 15, 2022, in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. ...continue reading "Higher Physical Activity Levels Associated With Less Severe COVID-19"

Published on Leave a comment on Walking Teabag Style For A Few Minutes Is A Fun Way to Exercise
Monty Python silly walks Credit: Wikipedia

Every December the British Medical Journal publishes some lighthearted studies. Included this year is a fabulously wacky study finding that doing a "funny walking style", called the "Teabag style" from the 1971 Monty Python Ministry of Silly Walks sketch, is a great exercise for health.

Specifically, the researchers estimated that adults could achieve 75 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity per week by walking in Teabag style (instead of normal walking) for about 11 minutes per day. They called this high energy walking style "inefficient walking". Hah! But lots of fun.

See a short video (scroll down) comparing how the participants walked Teabag style with the original Monty Python sketch. Try it and enjoy yourself!

From Medical Xpress: Walking 'Teabag style' for a few minutes a day could help adults meet physical activity targets

Adults could achieve global physical activity targets by walking inefficiently for just a few minutes each day, finds a study in the Christmas issue of The BMJ. ...continue reading "Walking Teabag Style For A Few Minutes Is A Fun Way to Exercise"

Published on Leave a comment on Walking Is A Good Treatment For Knee Arthritis

Walking may be the best way to deal with arthritis pain in the knees (knee osteoarthritis) and to slow its progression. Yes, rather than resting arthritic knees, the best treatment appears to be walking.

A study of individuals over the age of 50 found that walking for exercise prevented flare ups of arthritis knee pain from becoming persistent pain. This might be because consistent movement can help create muscle mass, strengthening ligaments around the joints that have osteoarthritis.

The study also found that walking for exercise is an effective way to slow the damage that occurs within the knee joint. Who would have guessed?

From Science Daily - Walking Towards Healthier Knees

A new study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reveals that walking for exercise can reduce new frequent knee pain among people age 50 and older diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. Additionally, findings from the study indicate that walking for exercise may be an effective treatment to slow the damage that occurs within the joint. ...continue reading "Walking Is A Good Treatment For Knee Arthritis"

Published on Leave a comment on The Pesticide Industry Is Fighting All Local Government Attempts To Restrict Pesticide Use

The pesticide industry is lobbying tooth and nail to take away the right of towns and states to pass pesticide laws that protect people. And to do away with laws already passed in about 200 communities in the U.S. The pesticide industry doesn't like that these laws are stricter than federal laws (which are pretty lax).

It has been documented over and over that the chemical industry has basically corrupted the EPA with chemical industry money, with the end result that many dangerous chemicals (including pesticides) are allowed to be used freely in this country. This includes pesticides that are banned in other countries (because they are so harmful).

The House of Representatives will try to adopt a bill in 2023 that will prohibit local governments from adopting pesticide laws that are more protective than federal rules.  This is H.R. 7266, which was introduced in the House of Representatives in March 29, 2022. In summary:

This bill amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to prohibit local regulations relating to the sale, distribution, labeling, application, or use of any pesticide or device subject to regulation by a state or the Environmental Protection Agency under FIFRA.

Why is this is a big deal? This is an attack on local governments and on the nearly 200 communities across the United States that have passed their own policies to restrict the use of toxic pesticides. Communities need to keep the right to restrict pesticides linked to cancer and other health problems, that contaminate water, that result in the decline of pollinators, and to protect the health of residents and local ecosystems.

A good example is a town deciding that it would encourage pollinators (bees!) by banning neonicotinoid pesticides within the town. (Yes, there are alternate pesticides one can use.) However, such a move would not be allowed under the new bill because they are not banned at the federal level. It doesn't matter that the community totally supports such a ban (perhaps bee-keeping and honey are a main industry in the town).

Note that many pesticides targeted by local city residents, including neonicotinoids, glyphosate, and atrazine, have been banned or restricted in other countries due to health or environmental concerns.

 An informative write-up of this issue from Beyond Pesticides: In New Congress, Republican-Led Legislation Would Prevent Local Governments from Protecting Health and Safety

As the new 118th Congress convenes on January 3, 2023, one of the key issues on the agenda led by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives is preemption of local authority to restrict pesticide use—undercutting the local democratic process to protect public health and safety. In the 117th Congress, H.R. 7266 was introduced to prohibit local governments from adopting pesticide laws that are more protective than federal rules. ...continue reading "The Pesticide Industry Is Fighting All Local Government Attempts To Restrict Pesticide Use"

Published on Leave a comment on The EPA Is Still Approving Pesticides Linked To Breast Cancer

The EPA has many serious problems, from protecting corporations and not consumers, to ignoring studies that find health problems with products or chemicals. Dr. Jennifer Liss Ohayon, a research scientist at Silent Spring Institute and Northeastern University, pointed out in a recent article that the EPA keeps approving pesticides linked to breast cancer.

These pesticides act as endocrine disruptors on the breast, with effects occurring at low doses. Many are commonly used (e.g., malathion, atrazine), which means women are exposed to in food, water, the workplace, and at home (yes - home, garden, and lawn chemicals!).

Why be concerned? Young women are experiencing earlier breast development, difficulty in breastfeeding, and increasing rates of breast cancer. Many studies link this in women (and in animals) with chemical exposures, especially endocrine disrupting chemicals (this is because they screw with hormones, and so have an effect on breast development and breast tissue).

But... the EPA is dismissing or ignoring relevant studies and pooh poohing the idea that chemicals can have harmful endocrine disrupting effects. Effects on the breast (mammary gland) are NOT required to be part of the EPA's chemical risk assessment (which determines whether a pesticide will be approved). The studies the EPA relies on are almost all financed by the manufacturers (hmmm...of course they'll say the pesticide is safe).

Note that the European Union bans many of the worrisome pesticides - they are not ignoring the science, and in doing so protect people.

From a piece by Dr Jennifer Liss Ohayon at Environmental Health News (EHN): Why is the EPA still exposing women to pesticides linked to breast cancer?

This fall marks the 60th anniversary of writer and scientist Rachel Carson’s 1962 book “Silent Spring.” The book was seminal in that it sparked the modern environmental movement, a U.S. ban of DDT, and the founding of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, despite decades passing since Carson first warned us about the dangers of pesticides, EPA continues to approve pesticides linked to breast cancer. ...continue reading "The EPA Is Still Approving Pesticides Linked To Breast Cancer"