Posts

EXTEND YOUR LIFE

-
Image
EXTEND YOUR LIFE Adopting a more active lifestyle at any stage of adulthood can significantly reduce your risk of dying from any cause, particularly from heart disease. According to a central review published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, people who are consistently physically active lower their risk of death by 30–40%, while those who start being active later in life still see a 20–25% reduction. The Evidence The research analyzed 85 studies involving hundreds of thousands of adults, looking at how physical activity patterns throughout adulthood affect overall mortality. While it’s long been recommended to aim for 150–300 minutes of moderate exercise or 75–150 minutes of vigorous exercise each week, most earlier studies only considered activity at a single point in time. This new analysis wanted to know: Does changing your activity level during adulthood—either ramping it up or letting it slip—make a difference in how long you live? The answer: Yes, and quite a bit. Consi...
Post a Comment
Read more

SUGARY DRINKS AND AFIB

-
Image
 SUGARY DRINKS AND AFIB A  study published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, a journal from the American Heart Association, finds that adults who drink two liters (about 67 ounces) or more of sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened beverages each week are at a higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib), an irregular heart rhythm, compared to those who consume less. In contrast, those who drank up to one liter (about 34 ounces) per week of pure, unsweetened juice—like orange or vegetable juice—were less likely to develop AFib. While the study couldn’t prove that sweetened drinks directly cause AFib, the association remained even after accounting for genetic risk factors. Previous research has already linked sweetened drinks to conditions like Type 2 diabetes and obesity, but this is one of the first large-scale studies to explore a possible link with AFib. AFib raises the risk of stroke fivefold, and by 2030, more than 12 million Americans are expect...
Post a Comment
Read more

LIRAGLUTIDE RESTORES BRAIN

-
Image
  LIRAGLUTIDE RESTORES BRAIN Obesity changes the way the body handles energy and makes cells less responsive to insulin. Medications known as "anti-obesity drugs" are being used more frequently to address obesity, drawing significant attention in the United States.  Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne, Germany, have demonstrated that, in people with obesity, reduced insulin sensitivity impairs the brain's ability to learn sensory associations. Remarkably, a single dose of the anti-obesity medication liraglutide was able to reverse these effects and restore normal brain circuit function. For us to regulate our actions, the brain needs to form associations, such as connecting a neutral stimulus with its outcome—think of recognizing that a glowing red hotplate can burn your hand. This process, called associative learning, is critical for building neural connections and motivating behavior. It's controlled mainly by the dopaminergic ...
Post a Comment
Read more

VASCULAR HEALTH AND BRAIN FUNCTION

-
Image
VASCULAR HEALTH AND BRAIN FUNCTION   Researchers at the Karolinska Institute have used an AI-based tool to analyze brain scans from healthy 70-year-olds, estimating the biological age of their brains. Their findings suggest that factors that harm vascular health—like inflammation and high blood sugar—are linked to brains that look older than their actual age. Conversely, people with healthier lifestyles tended to have brains that appeared younger. The study was published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association . Every year, more than 20,000 people in Sweden are diagnosed with dementia, and about two-thirds of those cases are Alzheimer's disease. The rate at which the brain ages appears to be influenced by a mix of health and lifestyle factors. "Even though we've seen new drugs for Alzheimer's, they're not suitable for everyone," said Anna Marseglia, the study's lead author and a researcher at the Department of Neur...
Post a Comment
Read more

WEIGHT MAY NOT DETERMINE HEALTH

-
Image
  WEIGHT MAY NOT DETERMINE HEALTH For years, weight has been treated as a quick snapshot of someone’s health. But more doctors are pushing back against that idea, arguing that judging a person’s well-being by the number on the scale misses the bigger picture. Recent research suggests that most people with higher body weight struggle to keep weight off long-term through diet and exercise alone, and that the pressure to do so can backfire. Not only does it rarely work, but it can also trigger harmful effects—think disordered eating or reinforcing stigma against larger bodies (BMJ Group, 2025). Dr. Juan Franco and his colleagues, writing in The BMJ, point out that while living a healthy lifestyle—eating well, staying active—matters, it’s not the same thing as losing weight. They say the standard advice to eat less and move more has failed to deliver lasting results for most people with obesity. Even more concerning, the relentless push for weight loss can cause real harm by fueling ne...
Post a Comment
Read more

WOMEN'S HEART HEALTH: SLEEP MATTERS

-
Image
  WOMEN'S HEART HEALTH: SLEEP MATTERS A new study is shaking up what we know about women’s heart health during midlife, highlighting sleep as a surprisingly decisive factor. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Baylor University have found that poor sleep in women going through Menopause can sharply raise the risk of heart disease and even early death. The study, published July 8 in the journal Menopause , followed nearly 3,000 women and tracked their health over time. The research team used the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) score—a tool that looks at eight health habits and risk factors, including sleep, blood pressure, and nicotine use. Only about 1 in 5 women in the study hit the mark for overall heart health. Four of the eight LE8 factors stood out as the biggest drivers of future heart issues: blood sugar, blood pressure, sleep quality, and nicotine use. Among these, sleep quality was essential for pred...
Post a Comment
Read more

CREATINE: ENHANCES MIND AND BODY

-
Image
  CREATINE: ENHANCES MIND AND BODY For years, creatine was primarily associated with weightlifters chasing personal records. But research is quickly broadening our understanding of what this supplement can do, well beyond building muscle in the gym. Dr. Richard Kreider, who leads the Exercise & Sport Nutrition Lab at Texas A&M University, has spent decades studying creatine’s effects. According to Kreider, creatine is fundamental for cellular energy. It combines with phosphate in our muscles to form creatine phosphate, which acts as a quick-access energy reserve, especially when our bodies are under stress, whether from intense exercise or certain health conditions. “Creatine phosphate is needed to maintain energy in the cell,” Kreider explains, “and therefore has a lot of protective and health benefits, in addition to the exercise performance effects that have been seen” (Texas A&M University, 2025). How Much Creatine Do We  Need? Your body naturally produces abou...
Post a Comment
Read more