PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

  HEART ATTACKS DIAGNOSED IN MINUTES WITH NEW DEVICE  According to a study published in Lab on a Chip, researchers from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Florida have developed a sensor that could diagnose a heart attack in less than 30 minutes . Currently, it takes health care professionals hours to diagnose a heart attack. Initial results from an echocardiogram can quickly show indications of heart disease, but to confirm a patient has a heart attack, a blood sample and analysis are required. Those results can take up to eight hours. "The current methods used to diagnose a heart attack are not only time intensive, but they also have to be applied within a certain window of time to get accurate results. "Because our sensor targets a combination of miRNA, it can quickly diagnose more than just heart attacks without the timeline limitation." By targeting three distinct types of microRNA or miRNA, the newly developed sensor can distinguish between an acute

  LOW-FAT MILK IS NO BETTER THAN WHOLE MILK FOR CHILDREN A world-first study from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found whole fat milk is just as good for kids as low fat. The research published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition today suggests current public health advice recommending children over the age of two consume low-fat dairy products may need to be revised. ECU's Associate Professor Therese O'Sullivan led the investigation into the consumption of full-fat dairy products in children as part of the Milky Way study. Over three months, 49 healthy children aged four to six were randomly allocated to receive either whole-fat or low-fat dairy products in place of their average daily intake. Dairy products were home delivered every fortnight in plain packaging at no cost to the participants to ensure purchase price wasn't a factor. Neither group knew whether they were consuming whole-fat or low-fat dairy, while any leftover products were weighed each fortnigh

   Ultra-processed food Consumption is on the rise in the United States. 18-year study measures increase in industrially manufactured foods that may be contributing to obesity and other diseases Consumption of ultra-processed foods has increased over the past two decades across nearly all segments of the U.S. population, according to a new study by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health. "The overall composition of the average U.S. diet has shifted towards a more processed diet. This is concerning, as eating more ultra-processed foods is associated with poor diet quality and higher risk of several chronic diseases," said Filippa Juul, an assistant professor and postdoctoral fellow at NYU School of Public Health and the study's lead author. "The high and increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods in the 21 st  century may be a key driver of the obesity epidemic." Ultra-processed foods are industrially manufactured, ready-to-eat or heat, include ad

  B12 MAY HELP PREVENT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. Worms don't wiggle when they have Alzheimer's disease. Yet something helped worms with the disease hold onto their wiggle in Professor Jessica Tanis's lab at the University of Delaware. In solving the mystery, Tanis and her team have yielded new clues into the potential impact of diet on Alzheimer's, the dreaded degenerative brain disease afflicting more than 6 million Americans. A few years ago, Tanis and her team began investigating factors affecting the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. They were doing genetic research with  C. elegans , a tiny soil-dwelling worm subject of numerous studies. Expression of amyloid-beta, a toxic protein implicated in Alzheimer's disease, paralyzes worms within 36 hours of reaching adulthood. While the worms in one petri dish in Tanis's lab were rendered completely immobile, the worms of the same age in the adjacent petri dish still had their wiggle, documented as &

  TYPE 2 DIABETES TREATMENTS SHOULD FOCUS ON WEIGHT LOSS An international panel of experts from four renowned diabetes research centers, including U.T. Southwestern Medical Center, has reviewed current literature and recommends a pivotal change in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes to focus on obesity first and glucose control second. "It's known that obesity contributes to the progression of diabetes. What's new is that instead of focusing exclusively on lowering blood sugar, we recommend the primary approach to the treatment of Type 2 diabetes be on the treatment of obesity," said first author Ildiko Lingvay, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.C.S. The researchers state that dropping 15% or more of body weight can have a disease-modifying effect in Type 2 diabetes, an outcome that is unattainable by any other glucose-lowering intervention. The new focus would require updating current treatment guidelines and providing significant provider education, they note. The panel's recommen

  DIET AND EXERCISE ARE EFFECTIVE AGAINST TREATMENT-RESISTANT HYPERTENSION People with treatment-resistant hypertension successfully reduced their blood pressure by adopting the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan, losing weight, and improving their aerobic fitness by participating in a structured diet and exercise program at a certified cardiac rehabilitation facility, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal  Circulation . Uncontrolled high blood pressure (130/80 mm Hg or higher) despite using three or more medications of different classes, including a diuretic to reduce blood pressure, is a condition known as resistant hypertension. Although estimates vary, resistant hypertension likely affects about 5% of the general global population and may affect 20% to 30% of adults with high blood pressure. Resistant hypertension is also associated with end-organ damage and a 50% greater risk of adverse cardiovasc

  FRUIT FLYS HELP RESEARCHERS FIGHT CANCER IN HUMANS A new anti-cancer strategy -- blocking chemicals produced by tumors -- could boost life span, healthspan. The experience of a fruit fly dying from cancer may seem worlds away from that of a human with a life-threatening tumor. Yet, University of California, Berkeley, researchers are finding commonalities between the two that could lead to ways to prolong the lives of cancer patients. Fruit fly research points to a new anti-cancer strategy distinct from the conventional goal of destroying the tumor or cancerous cells. Instead, the research suggests, launching an attack against the destructive chemicals the cancer is throwing off could increase survival rates and improve patients' health. "It's a really complementary way of thinking about therapy," said David Bilder, UC Berkeley professor of molecular and cell biology. "You're trying to help the host deal with the effects of the tumor, rather than killing the

  Screen time linked to risk of myopia in young people A new study published in one of the world's leading medical journals has revealed a link between screen time and higher risk and severity of myopia, or short-sightedness, in children and young adults. The open-access research, published this week in  The Lancet Digital Health,  was undertaken by researchers and eye health experts from Singapore, Australia, China, and the UK, including Professor Rupert Bourne from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU). The authors examined more than 3,000 studies investigating bright device exposure and myopia in children and young adults aged between 3 months old and 33 years old. After analyzing and statistically combining the available studies, the authors revealed that high levels of intelligent device screen time, such as looking at a mobile phone, is associated with around a 30% higher risk of myopia and, when combined with excessive computer use, that risk rose to around 80%. The research comes

  BETTER MENTAL HEALTH FOR CHILDREN WHO EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. According to new research from the University of East Anglia, children who eat a better diet packed with fruit and vegetables have better mental wellbeing. A new study published today is the first to investigate the association between fruit and vegetable intakes, breakfast and lunch choices, and the mental wellbeing of UK school children. It shows how eating more fruit and veg is linked with better wellbeing among secondary school pupils. And children who consumed five or more portions of fruit and veg a day had the highest mental wwellbeingcores. The study was led by UEA Health and Social Care Partners in collaboration with Norfolk County Council. The research team says that public health strategies and school policies should be developed to ensure that good quality nutrition is available to all children before and during school to optimize mental wewellbeingnd empower children to fulfill their full potential. Le

  A 'cousin' of Viagra reduces obesity by stimulating cells to burn fat Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have found that a drug first developed to treat Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and sickle cell disease reduces obesity and fatty liver in mice and improves their heart function -- without changes in food intake or daily activity. These findings, published online Oct. 7 in the  Journal of Clinical Investigation , revealed that a chemical inhibitor of the enzyme PDE9 stimulates cells to burn more fat. This occurred in male and female mice whose sex hormones were reduced by removing their ovaries, thus mimicking menopause. Postmenopausal women are well known to be at increased risk for obesity around their waist and at risk for cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Inhibiting PDE9 did not cause these changes in female mice with their ovaries, so the study's female sex hormone status was important. "Currently, there isn't a pill that has been proven ef