PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

  Carrots are healthy, but active enzyme unlocks full benefits. Carrots are a good source of beta-carotene, which is a precursor of vitamin A. But to get the full health benefits of this superfood, you need an active enzyme to produce this vitamin. Beta-carotene is the bioactive compound that gives carrots their orange color. Studies with humans and mice show the conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin A reduces "bad" cholesterol in the blood. Thus, beta-carotene can help protect against atherosclerosis development, which leads to the accumulation of fats and cholesterol in our arteries. Atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease is the primary cause of death worldwide, says Jaume Amengual, assistant professor of personalized nutrition in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois. Amengual and his colleagues conducted two studies to further understand the effects of beta-carotene on cardiovascular health. They confirmed its importance but ide...

  Three pillars of mental health: Good sleep, exercise, raw fruits, and veggies Getting good quality sleep, exercising, and eating more raw fruits and vegetables predicts better mental health and well-being in young adults, a University of Otago study has found. The study, published in  Frontiers in Psychology , surveyed more than 1100 young adults from New Zealand and the United States about their sleep, physical activity, diet, and mental health. Lead author Shay-Ruby Wickham, who completed the study as part of her Master of Science, says the research team found sleep quality, rather than sleep quantity, was the strongest predictor of mental health and well-being. "This is surprising because sleep recommendations predominantly focus on quantity rather than quality. While we did see that both too little sleep -- less than eight hours -- and too much sleep -- more than 12 hours -- were associated with higher depressive symptoms and lower well-being, sleep quality significantly...

  Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of having another heart attack, study shows. Heart disease is the main cause of death in developed countries. There is evidence that shows that factors related to lifestyle, such as diet, have an influence on developing these kinds of diseases. But, do they have any effect on patients who are already ill? A team from the University of Córdoba, Queen Sofia University Hospital, and the Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba (IMIBIC) have published a study in  PLOS Medicine . This study compares the effects of two different healthy diets on the endothelium, the walls that cover the arteries. 1002 patients who had previously had an acute myocardial infarction took part in the study and were monitored over the course of a year. The research group had previously worked on a similar study with healthy patients. However, this is the first time it has been done with ill patients, who are more likely to have other heart attacks. "The de...

  Lab results don't explain the 'obesity paradox,' but bias may Results of standard laboratory tests performed on adult outpatients to provide an overall picture of their health are fairly consistent between those with obesity and their leaner counterparts, investigators report. The finding negates one rationale behind what's called the "obesity paradox," which is that people with obesity are known to be at increased risk for a host of health problems like diabetes and hypertension but tend to do better with these conditions than their leaner peers, including when they get admitted to critical care for reasons like a heart attack or stroke. One thought was that patients with obesity end up in intensive care sooner because their laboratory results were already out of line with their thinner peers. These acute health events push them higher, they report in  The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine . "People who have obesity also have more hypertension, th...

  Test your heart health by climbing stairs Climbing four flights of stairs in less than a minute indicates good heart health, according to research presented at EACVI -- Best of Imaging 2020, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). "The stairs test is an easy way to check your heart health," said study author Dr. Jesús Peteiro, a cardiologist at University Hospital A Coruña, Spain. "If it takes you more than one-and-a-half minutes to ascend four flights of stairs, your health is suboptimal, and it would be a good idea to consult a doctor." This study was conducted to examine the relationship between a daily activity -- i.e., climbing stairs -- and the results obtained from exercise testing in a laboratory. "The idea was to find a simple and inexpensive method of assessing heart health," said Dr. Peteiro. "This can help physicians triage patients for more extensive examinations." The study included 165 symptomatic patie...

  Obesity impairs immune cell function, accelerates tumor growth A high-fat diet allows cancer cells to outcompete immune cells for fuel Obesity has been linked to increased risk for over a dozen different types of cancer, as well as worse prognosis and survival. Over the years, scientists have identified obesity-related processes that drive tumor growth, such as metabolic changes and chronic inflammation. Still, a detailed understanding of the interplay between obesity and cancer has remained elusive. Now, in a study in mice, Harvard Medical School researchers have uncovered a new piece of this puzzle, with surprising implications for cancer immunotherapy: Obesity allows cancer cells to outcompete tumor-killing immune cells in a battle for fuel. Reporting in  Cell  on Dec. 9, the research team shows that a high-fat diet reduces the numbers and antitumor activity of CD8+ T cells, a critical type of immune cell, inside tumors. This occurs because cancer cells reprogram the...