PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

  Are high-protein total diet replacements the key to maintaining a healthy weight? According to the World Health Organization, obesity has nearly tripled worldwide since 1975. In 2016, for example, more than 1.9 billion adults were categorized as overweight. Of these, more than 650 million had obesity. Because obesity is associated with a higher incidence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers, the rise in its incidence has led to a global public health emergency. Total diet replacements, nutritionally complete formula foods designed to replace the whole diet for a set period of time, have become increasingly popular strategies to combat obesity. Another popular weight management strategy is high-protein diets, which have been shown to promote weight loss and weight maintenance by increasing our sense of fullness, energy expenditure, and ability to maintain or increase fat-free mass. Taken together, the combination of a total diet replacement with a high-protein die...

  Bursts of exercise can lead to significant improvements in indicators of metabolic health. Short bursts of physical exercise induce changes in the body's levels of metabolites that correlate to and may help gauge an individual's cardiometabolic, cardiovascular and long-term health, a study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has found. In a paper published in  Circulation , the research team describes how approximately 12 minutes of acute cardiopulmonary exercise impacted more than 80% of circulating metabolites, including pathways linked to a wide range of favorable health outcomes, thus identifying potential mechanisms that could contribute to a better understanding of cardiometabolic benefits of exercise. "Much is known about the effects of exercise on cardiac, vascular and inflammatory systems of the body, but our study provides a comprehensive look at the metabolic impact of exercise by linking specific metabolic pathways to exercise response variables and long-...

  Killing cancer naturally: New process to produce compounds with anti-cancer properties Scientists have uncovered a method of combining natural organic compounds to create anticancer drugs with minimal side effects. In the past decades, cancer has surpassed many other diseases to become the current second leading cause of death globally, with one in six people dying. This concerning position has given it a unique and ubiquitous position in global culture, so much so that finding a cure for cancer is considered one of the noblest things any person can do. Sadly, humanity hasn't arrived at this cure yet; tons of research is being conducted to explore every cancer angle, trying to find a weakness. A group of scientists from the Tokyo University of Science, led by Prof Kouji Kuramochi, has also been dedicated to this mission. Their search for a weapon against cancer turned to a specific set of organic compounds called "phenazines." Phenazines are a large group of nitrogen-co...

  Researchers examine which approaches are most effective at reducing COVID-19 spread Social bubbles and masks more situation-dependent in terms of effectiveness Simon Fraser University professors Paul Tupper and Caroline Colijn have found that physical distancing is universally effective at reducing the spread of COVID-19. At the same time, social bubbles and masks are more situation-dependent. The researchers developed a model to test the effectiveness of physical distancing, masks, or social bubbles when used in various settings. Their paper was published Nov. 19 in the journal  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences  of the United States of America (PNAS). They introduce the concept of "event R," which is the expected number of people who become infected with COVID-19 from one individual at an event. Tupper and Colijn look at factors such as transmission intensity, duration of exposure, the proximity of individuals, and degree of mixing -- then examine what m...

  Why does COVID-19 seem to spare children? Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and their colleagues have determined a key factor as to why COVID-19 appears to infect and sicken adults and older people preferentially while seeming to spare younger children. Children have lower levels of an enzyme/co-receptor that SARS-CoV-2, the RNA virus that causes COVID-19, needs to invade airway epithelial cells in the lung. The findings, published today in the  Journal of Clinical Investigation,  support efforts to block the enzyme to potentially treat or prevent COVID-19 in older people. "Our study provides a biologic rationale for why particularly infants and very young children seem to be less likely to either get infected or to have severe disease symptoms," said Jennifer Sucre, MD, assistant professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology), who led the research with Jonathan Kropski, MD, assistant professor of Medicine. Sucre and Kropski are co-corresponding authors ...

  In the lab, scientists identify possible COVID-19 treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant illness and death, while treatment options remain limited. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered a potential strategy to prevent life-threatening inflammation, lung damage, and organ failure in patients with COVID-19. The research appeared online in the journal  Cell . After discovering that the hyperinflammatory immune response associated with COVID-19 leads to tissue damage and multi-organ failure in mice by triggering inflammatory cell death pathways, the scientists identified the drugs. The researchers detailed how the inflammatory cell death signaling pathway worked, which led to potential therapies to disrupt the process. "Understanding the pathways and mechanism driving this inflammation is critical to developing effective treatment strategies," said corresponding author Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti, Ph.D., vice-chair of the St...

  A few kilograms of weight loss nearly halves the risk of diabetes. Losing a few kilograms in weight almost halves people's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes -- according to a large scale research study led by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the University of East Anglia . A new study published in the international journal  JAMA Internal Medicine  shows how providing support to help people with prediabetes make small changes to their lifestyle, diet, and physical activity can almost halve the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The findings come from the Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study (NDPS) -- the largest diabetes prevention research study in the world in the last 30 years. The NDPS clinical trial ran over eight years and involved more than 1,000 people with prediabetes at a high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The study found that support to make modest lifestyle changes, including losing two to three kilograms of weight and increased physical a...