PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

 BODYBUILDING AND HEART RISKS Professional male bodybuilders face a much higher risk of sudden cardiac death than you might expect, according to research published in the European Heart Journal in May 2025. The study, led by Dr. Marco Vecchiato from the University of Padova, Italy, found that heart-related deaths are alarmingly common among bodybuilders, especially those at the pro level. In fact, their risk is more than five times higher than that of amateurs. Sudden cardiac death—an unexpected fatal heart malfunction—is rare in healthy-looking young adults. But in the world of bodybuilding, it happens too often. The research team compiled a list of over 20,000 male competitors from International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation events between 2005 and 2020, then tracked deaths using news articles, forums, and social media, verifying each case with medical experts. They found 121 deaths, with the average age just 45. Nearly 40% of these were sudden cardiac deaths. The causes? O...

 Immune Response to Daylight Researchers at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckla nd, have found that the immune system operates more actively during the day, thanks to the body's internal regulation. The study, published in Science Immunology, focused on neutrophils—the most common type of white blood cell that quickly responds to infections and kills bacteria. Using genetically similar and transparent zebrafish as a model, the team observed immune responses in real time. Lead researcher Associate Professor Christopher Hall notes that earlier research showed the fish's immune responses were most potent in the morning, aligning with their most active period. This pattern likely evolved because animals are more exposed to potential infections when they're active during daylight hours. The new research revealed that neutrophils carry circadian clocks, which signal daytime and enhance their bacteria-fighting function. Most cells in the body have these clocks, which are hig...

  KETAMINE OPTIMIZED TO WORK LONGER For the millions of people living with major depressive disorder (MDD), standard treatments often fall short. About one in ten Americans deals with MDD at any given time, and up to a fifth will experience it at some point. The usual antidepressants don’t work for roughly 30 percent of patients, leaving a massive gap in care. Ketamine has been a rare bright spot. Given at low doses, it can lift depression within hours, even for people who haven’t responded to anything else. The catch? The effects of this treatment fade quickly, so patients need regular infusions. That means more trips to the clinic, a higher risk of side effects like dissociation, and the looming possibility of addiction or relapse if treatments stop. Now, a research team at Vanderbilt University may have found a way to stretch out ketamine’s benefits. In experiments led by neuroscientists Lisa Monteggia and Ege Kavalali, they figured out how to push a single dose’s antidepressant...

  PAIN KILLER: OPIOID ALTERNATIVE Researchers at Duke University have developed a painkiller that could shake up how we treat pain, without the dangers tied to opioids. The experimental drug, known as SBI-810, takes a more precise route than traditional pain meds. Unlike opioids, which rapidly impact the nervous system, SBI-810 targets a specific neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1) receptor found on sensory nerves and the spinal cord. Here’s why that’s exciting: In mouse studies, SBI-810 delivered intense pain relief after surgery, bone fractures, and nerve injuries. It did the job without making the mice sleepy or causing constipation, two classic opioid problems. Opioids, for all their power, come with a hefty price: addiction, tolerance, and a risk of deadly overdose. SBI-810 avoids the euphoric “high” that makes opioids so addictive by activating only the pain-relief side of the receptor. Even more interesting, pairing SBI-810 with opioids allowed for lower opioid doses, making the ...

  LIVE LONGER BY STAYING CONNECTED A new study says seniors who stay socially engaged are much more likely to live longer. Social engagement among seniors is associated with a lower risk of death when compared to seniors who are loners, according to findings published May 21 in the  Journal of the American Geriatrics Society . Researchers said such social engagement includes interacting with others, participating in sports or hobby groups, and volunteering. “Staying socially active is more than a lifestyle choice. It is closely linked to healthier aging and longevity,” lead researcher  Dr. Ashraf Abugroun , an assistant professor at the University of California - San Francisco, said in a news release. For the study, researchers tracked nearly 2,300 Americans 60 and older participating in an ongoing health and retirement study. The participants all came from the 2016 survey wave. Participants completed questionnaires tracking their lifestyles and social activities as part ...

  D VITAMIN: SLOWS AGING A recent randomized controlled trial suggests that vitamin D supplements can help protect against biological aging by slowing telomere shortening. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, and their gradual shortening is associated with increased risk of age-related diseases. The findings, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, come from a sub-study of the larger VITAL trial, which was co-led by researchers at Mass General Brigham and the Medical College of Georgia. According to the report, vitamin D supplementation helped preserve telomere length in participants over a multi-year period. “VITAL is the first large-scale and long-term randomized trial to demonstrate that vitamin D supplements can protect telomeres and help maintain their length,” said Dr. JoAnn Manson, co-author and principal investigator of VITAL. Dr. Manson also noted that previous VITAL findings showed vitamin D’s benefits in reducing inflammation and low...

  CALORIE BURNING: ADD SPICE Adding a bit of heat to your meals could help you eat less, according to new research from Penn State. The study, led by scientists at the university’s Sensory Evaluation Center, looked at how increasing “oral burn”—the sensation of spiciness from ingredients like chili pepper—affects how much people eat during a meal. The research team discovered that slightly upping the spiciness of a dish led participants to eat more slowly and consume fewer calories overall, without making the meal less enjoyable. Their findings are available online and will appear in the October Food Quality and Preference issue. “We know that slowing down while eating tends to help people eat less,” said Paige Cunningham, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in nutritional sciences at Penn State. “We wondered if making food a little spicier—not so much that it’s unpleasant, but enough to notice—would have the same effect.” To test this, the team ran three related...

  Sciatica: Causes and Treatments Sciatica is pain that travels along the path of the sciatic nerve—a big nerve stretching from your lower back, through your hips and buttocks, and down each leg. This pain usually pops up when something irritates or presses on the nerve roots in your lower spine. Common triggers include a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or other spine issues. People often describe sciatica pain as sharp, burning, or shooting, sometimes paired with numbness or muscle weakness in the leg it affects. Doctors typically begin sciatica treatment with simple, non-surgical approaches. These often involve physical therapy, over-the-counter pain meds like NSAIDs, and advice to keep moving rather than lying down too much. No single treatment has proven to be the clear winner, but the good news is that most folks start feeling better within a few weeks without needing surgery. Adding targeted exercises and stretches helps ease sciatica symptoms. Gentle stretches like the piri...

  ORAL HEALTH: BEYOND THE SMILE Oral health isn’t just about having a nice smile—it’s a key part of staying healthy overall. Problems like cavities, gum disease, and tooth loss can follow when oral hygiene slips. But the effects reach further than your mouth. Studies have found that poor oral health is connected to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory infections. Infections and inflammation in the mouth can worsen these health issues or even help trigger them (see the Journal of the American Dental Association via ResearchGate: Inflammation: the relationship between oral health and systemic disease). Maintaining hygiene habits—like brushing, flossing, and seeing your dentist—can help you avoid common dental issues such as cavities and gum disease. If left untreated, these problems can become serious. For example, severe gum disease (periodontitis) has been linked to a greater risk of long-term illnesses and even early death (Periodontology 2000). Oral health ...

EXERCISING: OPTIMAL AMOUNTS   How much exercise is “too much”? There is no neat answer, but research provides clear boundaries and warning signs. How Much Is Healthy? Exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health—no surprise. Most experts suggest at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity weekly. But what happens if you go way beyond that? Doing a lot more than the minimum is usually safe for healthy people. Significant studies show that even if you’re getting up to ten times the recommended amount of exercise, you’re still seeing benefits, like a lower risk of dying from any cause, and not much evidence of harm. For example, a primary pooled analysis found that the mortality benefits of exercise level off after about three to five times the recommended minimum, but the risks don’t go up until you hit extremely high levels (think: more than ten times the minimum). JAMA Internal Medicine , British Journal of Sports Medicine . When Exercise Go...

  SUGAR OVERLOAD: HEALTH RISKS Sugar gets a bad rap, and for good reason—too much of it has been tied to a whole host of health problems, especially long-term ones. Here’s what’s going on: When you load up on added sugars, especially from things like sodas and sweetened drinks, you’re piling on extra calories. That often leads to weight gain, and carrying extra weight is a significant risk factor for diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Research has consistently shown that the more sugar people eat, the higher the rates of obesity in both kids and adults. There’s also a strong link between high sugar intake and heart problems. One major study found that people who got 17–21% of their daily calories from added sugars were much more likely to die from heart disease than those who kept it under 10%. Sugar can also mess with your body’s ability to handle insulin, raising your risk for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, especially if you’re getting a lot of it from suga...

CANCER: WHAT SCIENCE KNOWS SO FAR   Cancer isn’t just one disease—it’s a group of related conditions that all start with cells growing out of control. After years of research, scientists have learned much about what drives these changes and how people can lower their risk. Experts estimate that somewhere between a third and half of all cancer cases could be prevented if we focused on what we already know about risk factors. Prevention remains one of the most effective—and affordable—ways to tackle cancer (Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene). How Cancer Starts Cancer develops when genetic mutations cause normal cells to multiply unchecked. Some risk factors, like aging or inheriting specific genes, are beyond our control. But a large share of cancer risk comes from things we can change, like lifestyle habits and environmental exposures (British Journal of Cancer). Prevention: What Makes a Difference Tobacco Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of cancer globally. Smo...

  VITAMIN D: OPTIMIZED WITH EXERCISE As summer brings more sunlight and boosts vitamin D, it’s easy to forget how scarce both can be in winter. However, research from the University of Bath and collaborators shows that regular exercise is a simple way to protect vitamin D when the days get short. In a study published in Advanced Science, researchers followed overweight and obese adults through the winter months, having some participants participate in a 10-week indoor exercise program. The routine included four weekly sessions: treadmill walking, steady-state cycling, and high-intensity interval bike training. Everyone’s weight stayed stable, and no one took vitamin D supplements. The research ran from October to April, when sunlight-driven vitamin D production is minimal in the UK. The results? Those who exercised saw their overall vitamin D levels drop only about 15% over winter. In contrast, the number of people who didn’t exercise declined by around 25%. More striking: exercise...

  Carb Quality and Healthy Aging A new study from Tufts University and Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health suggests that what you eat in middle age could shape your health decades later. Researchers found that women who consumed more high-quality carbohydrates and dietary fiber in their forties and fifties were more likely to enjoy better mental and physical health as they aged. The team followed over 47,000 women from the long-running Nurses' Health Study, tracking their diets every four years between 1984 and 2016. By 2016, all participants were between 70 and 93 years old. The researchers compared their intake of different types of carbohydrates, like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and dietary fiber, to their health status in later life. To be considered healthy aging, women must avoid 11 major chronic diseases, maintain good mental health, and preserve their cognitive and physical abilities. In the end, just over 3,700 women met these criteria. The resul...

ANXIETY: WEIGHTED VESTS MAY HELP Weighted vests — and similar tools like weighted blankets — are all about giving your body calming, steady pressure, a technique called deep pressure therapy (DPT). The idea is that this pressure can help soothe your nerves and take the edge off anxiety. But what does the research say? What the Science Shows Physiological Effects: Recent studies suggest that wearing a weighted vest (especially with added vibration) can reduce your body’s stress response. Your sympathetic nervous system, which fires up when you’re anxious, seems to chill out a bit. One study in Health Science Reports described these vests as a “promising tool” for easing anxiety, at least in the short run. The catch? Scientists say we need more research to be sure. Deep Pressure Therapy (DPT): Research on DPT, the mechanism behind weighted vests and blankets, shows it can help people feel calmer and report less anxiety, especially for those who enjoy or seek out tactile comfort. Some ...

MENTAL HEALTH CARE: ASKING FOR HELP   Figuring out if you need professional mental health support isn't always straightforward. It usually starts with tuning in to your feelings and spotting signs that something's off. When stress or sadness goes from annoying to overwhelming, consider reaching out for help. What to Watch For Most people first realize they need help when day-to-day struggles stop feeling manageable. Research shows you'll often notice a problem, wonder if therapy could help, and then (hopefully) take action. Here are some warning signs to pay attention to: You often feel sad, anxious, or numb, and those feelings won't budge. They start messing with your work, school, or home life. Your sleep, appetite, or energy levels have changed a lot—maybe you're barely eating, can't sleep, or doing both way more than usual. Handling work, classes, or hanging out with friends feels like too much. You're using substances more, harming yourself, or having t...

  FASTING: WATER ONLY HAS RISKS Experts from the University of Sydney are warning anyone considering water-only fasting diets—especially those with heart or vascular problems—to check with their doctor first. Water-only fasting has exploded in popularity on social media, promising quick weight loss to anyone willing to drink only water for days. However, new research published in Molecular Metabolism suggests that these diets carry serious risks for some people. The international study team, led by Professor Luigi Fontana, tracked 20 volunteers through a 10-day water-only fast and a 5-day refeeding period. While participants lost about 7.7 percent on average and trimmed their waists by 6 percent, they also reported side effects like headaches, trouble sleeping, and low blood pressure. Professor Fontana said the researchers initially thought prolonged fasting would lower inflammation. They found the reverse: fasting increased levels of pro-inflammatory proteins in the blood, wh...

 MEDITATION: THE POWER TO SOOTH Meditation helps tune the mind and body by working on psychological and neurological levels. When you practice mindfulness meditation, you're training your brain by focusing on the present and letting your thoughts and feelings come and go without judging them.  Over time, this kind of practice strengthens neural circuits tied to focus, body awareness, emotional balance, and even how you see yourself. Studies show that these changes aren't just theoretical: experienced meditators have more gray matter in brain areas linked to learning, memory, and emotional control. That's a solid foundation for handling stress and returning from life's ups and downs. The benefits are wide-ranging. Regular meditation has been found to help with anxiety, depression, pain, and sleep quality. People who stick with it often report a better overall sense of well-being. Meditation can boost your immune system and lower your chances of getting sick, probably bec...

  APPLES: A POTENT HEALTH BOOSTER Apples have a long-standing reputation for being healthy, and modern research backs it up. They're loaded with fiber, vitamins, and—most importantly—a class of plant compounds known as polyphenols. These phytochemicals give apples much power, offering antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that help protect against disease. What Makes Apples Special? Phytochemicals and Antioxidants: Unpeeled apples contain compounds like quercetin, catechins, and phenolic acids. These act as antioxidants, neutralizing free radicals that can harm cells and speed up aging or chronic illness. Most of these antioxidants are concentrated in the skin, so eating apples unpeeled is best. Heart Health: People who eat apples regularly tend to have a lower risk of heart disease. Apples can help lower blood pressure, reduce "bad" LDL cholesterol, and improve blood vessel function. Polyphenols—especially procyanidins and quercetin glycosides—play a big part in th...

HEART DISEASE: REMAINS U.S. TOP KILLER   Heart disease has consistently held the grim title of the leading cause of death in the United States for decades, outpacing all other single causes. Even in 2020, as COVID-19 surged to become the third leading cause, heart disease remained at the top, followed by cancer. This highlights the relentless nature of chronic disease in humans, even when a pandemic dominates the headlines (JAMA). When you factor in stroke, which usually ranks fourth or fifth depending on the group, cardiovascular diseases cause an enormous share of deaths every year. Some studies have even argued that medical error could be the third leading cause, though this depends on how deaths are counted and is still debated (BMJ). Here’s the part that matters: many of these deaths don’t have to happen. The CDC points out that many fatalities from the five major causes—heart disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases, stroke, and unintentional injuries—are preventable with bette...