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Category: healthy living

Published on Leave a comment on Large Study Finds Vitamin D and Calcium Supplements Do Not Prevent Fractures

Uh-oh, two popular supplements don't have the health benefits that many think. Millions take vitamin D or calcium (or both) for stronger bones. A large review of 69 studies found that taking calcium or vitamin D or both does not prevent fractures and falls in older adults.

Other studies have had similar results. Bottom line: Focus on eating well and getting enough exercise, especially resistance exercises and balance exercises.

From Science Daily: Millions take calcium and vitamin D for stronger bones. A major review finds little benefit

A comprehensive review published in The BMJ suggests that calcium supplements, vitamin D supplements, or taking both together provide little to no clinically meaningful benefit in preventing fractures or falls for most older adults. ...continue reading "Large Study Finds Vitamin D and Calcium Supplements Do Not Prevent Fractures"

Published on Leave a comment on Sitting Many Hours A Day Has Health Harms

We all know that there are lots of health benefits, such as better heart health, to being more physically active. In contrast, a recent study found health harm from sitting more during leisure time and increased risk of early death, especially from cardiovascular disease (heart disease).

The study found that physical activity could not overturn the effects of prolonged sitting (6 or more hours every day) during leisure time - but it did help. Best was sitting the least (less than 3 hours per day) and being the most active.

Those who both sat more (6 or more hours per day) and were less physically active were more likely to have an early death - 94% increase in women and 48% more likely for men (when compared to those who sat the least and were the most physically active).

Bottom line: Turn off the TV, put away the cell phone, and get up and move!

From Science Daily: More time spent sitting linked to higher risk of death; Risk found to be independent of physical activity level

A new study from American Cancer Society researchers finds it's not just how much physical activity you get, but how much time you spend sitting that can affect your risk of death. Researchers say time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality, regardless of physical activity level. They conclude that public health messages should promote both being physically active and reducing time spent sitting. ...continue reading "Sitting Many Hours A Day Has Health Harms"

Published on Leave a comment on Many Studies Link A Commonly Used Pesticide To Health Harms

It has long been known that the pesticide chlorpyrifos has harmful health effects on humans, especially developing fetuses and children. Unfortunately, it is still in use.

A recent review of nearly 300 studies looking at chlorpyrifos found that the pesticide has harmful effects throughout the body, also causes DNA damage, harms children's brains and nervous systems, causes cancer.and that harmful effects are found at levels that are considered safe by the EPA. Unfortunately, more health harms are found each year.

While the pesticide is no longer allowed to be used for household use in the US (remember cans of Raid cockroach killer?), it is still allowed to be used on farms, in greenhouses, golf courses, and more. Keep in mind that industry-funded studies of chlorpyrifos have been used to shape federal policy and exposure limits for decades.

In other words, federal standards do not protect public health. Why is that not surprising?

Excerpts from the investigative journalism site U.S. Right To Know: Nearly 300 studies link the common pesticide chlorpyrifos to multi-organ damage, DNA disruption, and chronic disease 

Key findings:

    • A review of nearly 300 studies summarizes evidence that chlorpyrifos may harm multiple systems throughout the body, including the brain, hormones, liver, gut microbiome, muscles, reproductive organs, and bones.
    • The review describes DNA damage, chromosome instability, and epigenetic changes that may alter how genes function long after exposure.
    • Some harmful effects appear at exposure levels below those considered safe under current pesticide exposure testing standards.

...continue reading "Many Studies Link A Commonly Used Pesticide To Health Harms"

Published on Leave a comment on Areas of High Pesticide Use and Cancer Rates

People assume that if a pesticide is allowed to be used, than it must be safe. Wrong! Pesticides are registered with the government precisely because they are dangerous.

We are not exposed to just one pesticide at a time, but mixtures of pesticides - for example, in the foods we eat, our yards, our homes, our water, and even our air (from drift). The big question is: What (if anything) are these pesticide mixtures doing to us?

A recent study conducted in Peru set out to answer the question regarding exposure to pesticide mixtures. They compared heavily agricultural areas (lots of pesticides applied) and non-agricultural areas throughout the country. 31 pesticides were looked at, and yet none of these are considered cancer-causing (according to the World Health Organization).

They researchers found up to 150% higher incidence of cancers in the regions with higher environmental pesticide exposure. There were cancer "hot-spots" in the country, and different cancers depending on the pesticide mixtures people are predominantly exposed to.

By the way, finding increased cancers in both adults and children in heavy pesticide use areas (generally agricultural areas), is also found in other studies. The people exposed to the most are farmworkers, their families, and anyone living near farms. But also anyone with pets (e.g., flea treatments), and anyone having pesticide treatments in their homes or in their yards. People also ingest pesticides/pesticide residues from the foods they eat.

From Science Daily: Pesticide exposure linked to 150% higher cancer risk in major study

A major new study published in Nature Health has found a strong connection between environmental exposure to agricultural pesticides and an increased risk of cancer. By combining environmental monitoring, national cancer registry data, and biological research, scientists from the IRD, Institut Pasteur, University of Toulouse, and the National Institute of Neoplastic Diseases (INEN) in Peru provide new insight into how pesticide exposure may contribute to the development of certain cancers. ...continue reading "Areas of High Pesticide Use and Cancer Rates"

Published on Leave a comment on Farting Is Perfectly Normal
Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The topic of farts is rarely discussed in adult conversations. This is because passing gas or farting can be embarrassing to the person farting, especially when occurring in a public setting. One wonders: Is farting (flatulence) normal? How many farts per day is normal?

Research shows that releasing intestinal gas through the rectum (farting) is part of normal and healthy digestion. On the other hand, "excessive farting" could be a sign of some sort of intestinal problem. Two recent studies examined "normal farting" and came up with different results. An Australian study found that overall people reported 5 farts per day using a "Chart your fart" app, but a Maryland study had participants wear special "smart" underwear that measured any passing of gas and came up with 32 farts per day!

From Medscape: Flatus Status: How Many Farts a Day Is Normal?

Researchers Emily Brindal and Danielle Baird developed the “Chart Your Fart” app as a citizen-science initiative.

The app allows people to log their emissions in real time, and to (optionally) rate them in terms of stench, loudness, duration, and — critically — detectability. Which is obviously necessary to determine whether he who smelt it actually dealt it. ...continue reading "Farting Is Perfectly Normal"

Published on Leave a comment on Research Finds Vitamin D3 to Be Beneficial, But Not Vitamin D2

Vitamin D supplements are available in both D2 and D3 form. Research has long supported that it's vitamin D3 that has health benefits, and that vitamin D2 doesn't do anything. Well... a recent study found that vitamin D2 actually has a negative effect - that it lowers how much vitamin D3 the body absorbs.

Ingesting vitamin D2 supplements results in lower levels of vitamin D3 in the blood - measured as  serum vitamin 25(OH)D3 concentrations.  Note that Vitamin D3 is the form of vitamin D synthesized in human and animals skin upon exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from sunlight. Thus, vitamin D3 is the form of vitamin D that our body naturally produces from sunlight and then use.

All the more reason to avoid vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), and instead only take vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Read the ingredients list on the bottle!

From Science Daily: Scientists warn popular vitamin D supplement may have a “previously unknown” downside

Taking vitamin D2 might lower the body's levels of the more efficient form of vitamin D, vitamin D3, according to new research from the University of Surrey, John Innes Centre and Quadram Institute Bioscience. Many people take vitamin D supplements to support their bone and immune health and meet the UK government recommendation of 10 micrograms (µg) each day, especially during the winter months. ...continue reading "Research Finds Vitamin D3 to Be Beneficial, But Not Vitamin D2"

Published on Leave a comment on New Technique Being Developed For Vision Correction
Human eye Credit: Wikipedia

Scientists are now working on a treatment for vision problems that would avoid the need for lasers or surgery (e.g., LASIK). This would be an amazing development.

The new technique called electromechanical reshaping (EMR) is still experimental, but very promising. Instead of carving away tissue, which is done in LASIK, the new method temporarily softens the cornea so it can be gently molded into a new shape.

But studies need to be done in animals (only rabbit eyeballs tested so far), and only then can it be tested in humans. Stay tuned...

From Science Daily: Forget LASIK: Safer, cheaper vision correction without lasers or surgery

Millions of Americans live with blurry vision, nearsightedness, or more severe sight problems. While glasses and contact lenses help many people, millions have turned to corrective procedures such as LASIK to sharpen their eyesight. But scientists are now exploring a very different approach that could someday reshape the eye without lasers, cutting, or invasive surgery. ...continue reading "New Technique Being Developed For Vision Correction"

Published on Leave a comment on Humans May Be Able To Grow New Teeth In A Few Years
Human teeth Credit: Wikipedia

The idea of regrowing lost teeth is fabulous. A study focusing on a tooth regeneration treatment came out last year, but I just read about the study in Popular Mechanics and Dentistry Today.

The Japanese scientists pointed out that humans already have a third set of teeth available in their mouths as buds, and these have the potential to grow as needed. Some people with hyperdontia can already grow more than one full set of teeth (about 1% of the population). The scientists are now working on how to promote tooth regrowth by using an experimental drug.

Human trials are now ongoing. They hope to have a tooth-growing treatment available for general use by 2030. Stay tuned...

From Popular mechanics: Grow New Teeth Within Just 4 Years

    • While bones can regrow themselves when they break, teeth aren’t so lucky, and that leads to millions of people worldwide suffering from some form of edentulism, a.k.a. toothlessness.
    • Now, Japanese researchers are moving a promising, tooth-regrowing medicine into human trials.
    • If the trial is successful, the researchers hope the drug will become available for all forms of toothlessness sometime around 2030.

...continue reading "Humans May Be Able To Grow New Teeth In A Few Years"

Published on Leave a comment on Egg Consumption Is Beneficial For Brain Health

Remember when health advice was to limit egg consumption, that they had too much cholesterol, and to only eat egg whites? Well.... studies in the last decade have proven that advice as being 100% wrong for a number of reasons. It turns out that eggs are a great source of a number of nutrients (e.g., choline) needed for brain health and memory function.

A recent study found that frequent egg consumption by persons (mean age 59 years at the start of the study) lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). The researchers found that there was a 27% decreased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease among persons who ate at least 5 eggs a week, but even eating fewer eggs was beneficial. The participants were followed for 15 years.

Other studies have also found a decreased risk of AD in persons eating eggs frequently - with one study finding that more than one egg consumed per week reduced the risk of developing AD up to 47%.

Some key nutrients necessary for brain health that are provided by eggs are: choline, the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, tryptophan, phospholipids, and an omega-3 fat known as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). The researchers viewed the nutrients in eggs as being "neuroprotective" (protecting neurological function).

From Medical Xpress: Egg consumption associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease

Consumption of eggs is associated with a lower risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease for those 65 years and older, according to researchers at Loma Linda University Health. Eating one egg per day for at least five days a week reduces the risk of Alzheimer's by up to 27%, researchers found. ...continue reading "Egg Consumption Is Beneficial For Brain Health"

Published on Leave a comment on Common Knee Operation May Be Unnecessary
Human knees Credit: Wikipedia

It is incredibly hard to change routine medical practice, even when new evidence says that it does not help, and may even harm. A new study shows that a commonly done surgery called partial meniscectomy for knee cartilage damage (meniscal tears) actually does not help and may harm long-term.

The research (just published in the New England Journal of Medicine) found that people with knee meniscal tears who underwent surgery had more symptoms, poorer knee function, and worse osteoarthritis after 10 years, when compared to those who did not have the surgery. The study (146 patients followed for 10 years, 5 hospitals participating) was well done - the control group actually had "sham surgery", but did not actually get the procedure.

The actual surgery group did not appear to benefit and scored worse on a range of measures designed to measure knee function, pain, and progression of symptoms.

The results (and other studies having similar results) should result in a medical reversal regarding how frequently the procedure is done. But it is very hard for the medical establishment to change course, and also all that lucrative $$ from doing the procedure.

From Medical Xpress: One of the world's most common knee surgeries does not help and may even be harmful

Partial meniscectomy does not improve patient symptoms or function, reveals a 10-year follow-up of the FIDELITY, a placebo-surgery controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. ...continue reading "Common Knee Operation May Be Unnecessary"