Weight Loss Tips ...


In the era of commercialization, we find various weight loss pills, anti-cellulite products and expensive fitness gadgets popping up on the internet and television screens, but these can only cause frustration and may prove detrimental to our health. Natural herbal remedies are safe and promising in reducing weight.

Eat a Balanced Diet

A balanced diet and any form of exercise plays a vital role in reducing as well as maintaining a normal weight. One should eat a diet good in green vegetables and fresh fruits. Some of the fat burning spices such as black pepper, long pepper, mustard, ginger, cinnamon and cayenne should be added to the meals or used in preparations.

Fish like tuna & salmonare high in Lectin, a protein, which helps improve metabolism and aids fat loss. Reduce the intake of salt & carbohydrate rich, high calorie foods (eg. rice, potatoes). Having vegetable soup or eating papaya at dinner time is helpful in reducing weight. Eating a cabbage salad also helps reduce weight as tartaric acid, an ingredient in the vegetable is known to inhibit conversion of dietary sugar to fat.

Follow any Form of Exercise Regularly

Along with diet, regular exercise is quite beneficial. Brisk walk, skipping a rope, jogging, aerobics, yoga and pranayam (yogic breathing exercises) are among few exercises that can be of help to attain a healthy weight. Also, one should eat slowly as it satisfies hunger with less food, thereby reducing calorie intake. Drink plenty of water (3-4 litres/ day) as it has no calories and reduces hunger.

Herbal Remedies for Weight Loss


Along with a balanced diet and regular exercise regime, do try some of these natural herbal remedies for controlling weight in a healthy manner, that too, without any side effects.
  • Squeeze a lemon in a glass of bitter gourd juice and have it every morning.
  • Boil about 10 gm of triphala (a combination of equal amount of Amla, Harra & Beheda powder in a glass of water for 10 minutes. Consume it warm in the morning.
  • Consuming 2 cups of Green tea is also believed to shed excess fat.
  • To keep a check on weight, soak a few leaves of Indian plum/ Jamun overnight. Discard the leaves & drink water in the morning on an empty stomach.
  • Take ½ tsp of guggal powder, a tsp of ginger rhizome powder and mix in honey to make it into a paste. Administer it once a day to lose weight.
  • Mix in a glass of lukewarm water, a tsp of honey with ½ tsp lemon juice. Drink it every morning and evening to lose weight.
  • Pound a ginger rhizome & boil the same in water. Add to it, ½ tsp lemon juice and 1/4th tsp black pepper powder. Have it when hot.
  • Having a tomato or two in morning is said to be beneficial in reducing weight.
  • Remember Folks, losing weight isn't a mysterious process… it’s a matter of burning more calories than we eat! So get going! All the best! The Slimming Furnace: Best Weight Loss Tips Ever!
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Exercising in mid and later life can reduce dementia risk – new study

For years, scientists have known that moving our bodies can sharpen our minds. Physical activity boosts blood flow to the brain, enhances neuroplasticity and reduces chronic inflammation. These processes are believed to protect against cognitive decline, including dementia.

Yet despite decades of research, major questions have remained unresolved.

Does exercising at any age help reduce your risk of dementia? Or only when you’re young? And what if you have a higher genetic risk – can exercising still make a difference?

New research from the long-running Framingham Heart Study in the United States, published today, offers some of the clearest answers to date. Their findings support what many clinicians already tell patients: exercise helps.

But the study also offers new insight into the potentially protective effect of staying active at the age of 45 and over – even for those with a certain genetic predisposition to dementia.

What did the study examine?

The new research draws on data from 4,290 participants enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort. This study began in 1948, when researchers recruited more than 5,000 adults aged 30 and over from the town of Framingham, Massachusetts, to investigate long-term risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

In 1971, a second generation (more than 5,000 adult children of the original cohort, and their spouses) were enrolled, forming the Offspring cohort. This generation then had regular health and medical assessments every four to eight years.

In the new study, participants self-reported their physical activity. This included incidental activity such as climbing stairs as well as vigorous exercise.

Participants first reported these activities in 1971, and then again over several decades. Based on the age at which each participant was first evaluated, they were grouped into three categories:

  • young adulthood (26–44 years): assessed in the late 1970s

  • midlife (45–64 years): assessed during the late 1980s and 1990s

  • older adulthood (65 years and over): assessed in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

To examine how physical activity influences dementia risk, the researchers looked at how many people developed dementia in each age group and at what age they were diagnosed.

Then they considered physical activity patterns within age groups (low, moderate, high) to see if there was any link between how much exercise people did and whether they developed dementia.

They also looked at who had a known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, the APOE ε4 allele.

Research has long shown moving our bodies can sharpen our minds. Jonathan Borba/Unsplash

What did they find?

Over the follow-up period, 13.2% (567) of the 4,290 participants developed dementia, mostly in the older age group.

This is quite high compared with other long-term longitudinal dementia studies and with Australian rates (one in 12 or 8.3% Australians over 65 currently have dementia).

When researchers examined physical activity levels, the pattern was striking. Those with the highest levels of activity in midlife and later life were 41–45% less likely to develop dementia than those who had the lowest levels of activity.

This was the case even after adjusting for demographic factors that increase dementia risk (such as age and education) and other chronic health factors (such as high blood pressure and diabetes).

Interestingly, being physically active during early adulthood did not influence dementia risk.

A key innovation of this study was its examination of the genetic risk factor, the APOE ε4 allele. This analysis suggests something new:

  • in midlife, higher physical activity lowered dementia risk only in people who didn’t carry this genetic predisposition

  • but in later life, higher physical activity lowered dementia risk in both carriers and non-carriers.

This means for people genetically predisposed to dementia, staying active later in life may still offer meaningful protection.

How significant are these results?

The findings largely reinforce what scientists already know: exercise is good for the brain.

What sets this study apart is its large sample, multi-decade follow-up, and its genetic analysis across different life periods.

The suggestion that midlife activity benefits some individuals differently depending on their genetic risk, while late-life activity benefits nearly everyone, may also add a new layer to public health messaging.

But there were some limitations

Physical activity was largely self-reported in this study, so there is a possibility of recall bias. We also do not know what type of exercise brings the best benefits.

Dementia cases in the youngest age group were rather rare too, so the small sample limits how definitively we can make conclusions about early adulthood.

The cohort is also predominantly of European ancestry and share environmental factors as they come from the same town, so this limits how much we can generalise the findings to more diverse populations.

This is particularly important given global inequities in dementia risk and diagnosis. Knowledge about dementia and risk factors also remains low in ethnically diverse groups, where it is often still seen as a “normal” part of ageing.

What does this mean for us?

The takeaway is refreshingly simple though: move more, at any age. At this stage we know there are more benefits than harm.

The Conversation

Joyce Siette, Associate Professor | Deputy Director, The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Is it healthier to only eat until you’re 80% full? The Japanese philosophy of hara hachi bu

Aisling Pigott, Cardiff Metropolitan University

Some of the world’s healthiest and longest-living people follow the practice of hara hachi bu — an eating philosophy rooted in moderation. This practice comes from a Japanese Confucian teaching which instructs people to only eat until they’re around 80% full.

More recently, it’s been gaining attention as a strategy for weight loss. But while hara hachi bu might emphasise eating in moderation and stopping before you’re full, it shouldn’t really be as seen as a method of dietary restriction. Rather, it represents a way of eating that can help us learn to have awareness and gratitude while slowing down at mealtimes.

Research on hara hachi bu is limited. Previous studies have evaluated the overall dietary patterns of those living in regions where this eating philosophy is more commonplace, not the “80% rule” in isolation.

However, the available evidence does suggest hara hachi bu can reduce total daily calorie intake. It’s also associated with lower long-term weight gain and lower average body mass index (BMI). The practice also aligns with healthier meal-pattern choices in men, with participants choosing to eat more vegetables at mealtimes and fewer grains when following hara hachi bu.

Hara hachi bu also shares many similar principles with the concepts of mindful eating or intuitive eating. These non-diet, awareness-based approaches encourage a stronger connection with internal hunger and satiety cues. Research shows both approaches can also help reduce emotional eating and enhance overall diet quality.

Hara hachi bu may also have many advantages that go beyond losing weight.

For instance, hara hachi bu‘s focus on awareness and eating intuitively may offer a gentle and sustainable way of supporting long-term health changes. Sustainable health changes are far easier to maintain in the long-term. This may improve health and prevent weight regain, which can be a risk for those who lose weight through traditional diet approaches.

The ethos of hara hachi bu also makes perfect sense in the context of modern life and may help us develop a better relationship with the food we eat.

Evidence suggests that around 70% of adults and children use digital devices while eating. This behaviour has been linked to higher calorie intake, lower fruit and vegetable intake and a greater incidence of disordered eating behaviours including restriction, binge eating and overeating.

As a dietitian, I see it all the time. We put food on a pedestal, obsess over it, talk about it, post about it – but so often, we don’t actually enjoy it. We’ve lost that sense of connection and appreciation.

Being more aware of the food we eat and taking time to taste, enjoy and truly experience it as hara hachi bu emphasises, can allow us to reconnect with our bodies, support digestion and make more nourishing food choices.

Trying hara hachi bu

For those who might want to give hara hachi bu or taking a more mindful and intuitive approach to improve their relationship with food, here are a few tips to try:

1. Check in with your body before eating

Ask yourself: Am I truly hungry? And if so, what kind of hunger is it — physical, emotional, or just habitual? If you’re physically hungry, denying yourself may only lead to stronger cravings or overeating later. But if you’re feeling bored, tired, or stressed, take a moment to pause. Giving yourself space to reflect can help prevent food from becoming a default coping mechanism.

2. Eat without distractions

Step away from screens and give your meal your full attention. Screens often serve as a distraction from our fullness cues, which can contribute to overeating.

3. Slow down and savour each bite

Eating should be a sensory and satisfying experience. Slowing down allows us to know when we’re satiated and should stop eating.

4. Aim to feel comfortably full, not stuffed

If we think of being hungry as a one and being so full you need to lie down as a ten, then eating until you’re around “80% full” means you should feel comfortably satisfied rather than stuffed. Eating slowly and being attuned to your body’s signals will help you achieve this.

5. Share meals when you can

Connection and conversation are part of what makes food meaningful. Connection at meal times is uniquely human and a key to longevity.

6. Aim for nourishment

Ensure your meals are rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre and energy.

7. Practice self-compassion

There’s no need to eat “perfectly”. The point of hara hachi bu is about being aware of your body – not about feeling guilty over what you’re eating.

Importantly, hara hachi bu is not meant to be a restrictive eating approach. It promotes moderation and eating in tune with your body – not “eating less”.

When viewed as a means of losing weight, it risks triggering a harmful cycle of restriction, dysregulation and overeating – the very opposite of the balanced, intuitive ethos it’s meant to embody. Focusing solely on eating less also distracts from more important aspects of nutrition – such as dietary quality and eating essential nutrients.

This practice also may not suit everyone. Athletes, children, older adults and those living with illness often have higher or more specific nutritional needs so this eating pattern may not be suitable for these groups.

While often reduced to a simple “80% full” guideline, hara hachi bu reflects a much broader principle of mindful moderation. At its core, it’s about tuning into the body, honouring hunger without overindulgence and appreciating food as fuel — a timeless habit worth adopting.The Conversation

Aisling Pigott, Lecturer, Dietetics, Cardiff Metropolitan University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Some US protein powders contain high levels of lead. Can I tell if mine is safe?

Evangeline Mantzioris, University of South Australia

This week, the United States non-profit Consumer Reports released its investigation testing 23 protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes from popular brands to see if they contained heavy metals.

More than two-thirds of the products contained more lead in a recommended serving size serving than the Californian guidlines recommend in a day: 0.5 micrograms (mcg or µg).

Protein powders and shakes are most commonly used to build muscle. But some people may use it in a weight-loss program as a meal replacement, or to gain back weight lost after an illness or injury.

Some products Consumer Reports tested were plant-based, some were labelled as organic and some used animal and dairy-based protein. Only one product didn’t contain detectable levels of lead.

So what does this mean for people who use protein powder? And what’s the situation in Australia?

Lead has been found in protein powder before

Consumer Reports found lead levels increased since its last report in 2010. One product contained twice as much lead per serving than the worst performer in 2010.

A separate investigation in 2018 which analysed 130 protein powders available on Amazon found 70% had heavy metals in them.

Another analysis of 36 protein powders in 2021 found lead levels ranged from 0.8-88.4 mcg per kilogram of product. Consuming a single 20 gram serve a day, would mean a range of intake of 0.016 mcg to 1.77 mcg.

How does lead get into these products?

Lead comes from both natural sources (such as volcanic activity and chemical weathering of rocks) and human-made sources (such as leaded petrol, industrial processes and paint). This results in crops absorbing lead and the metal entering the food and water supply.

In US government testing from 2014 to 2016, 27% of all food samples (2,923) had lead detected in them.

In Australia, testing in 2019 found that of the 508 food samples, 15% had detectable levels of lead. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) modelling suggests this would result in an average lead intake of 0.018–0.16 mcg per kg a day across different age groups. For a 70kg person, this would range from 1.26 to 11.2 mcg per day from food and drinks.

Lead can also be inhaled as dust from industrial processes such as mining smelters or by inhaling (or licking) fragments of lead-rich paint when handling old lead toys or other lead equipment, or from consuming or coming into contact with contaminated water or soil.

How can lead affect your health?

Lead provides no health benefits. It’s harmful to the body and can damage nearly every organ system.

Its greatest impact is on the brain and nervous system. For children, this can lead to impaired cognitive and physical development, learning disabilities and behavioural problems.

With high levels of lead exposure, adults are at increased risk of anaemia, joint pain, kidney damage and nerve damage leading to tingling, numbness and muscle weakness.

During pregnancy, lead can be transmitted to the fetus, leading to complications such as premature birth, low birth weight and developmental issues in the baby. It’s also a concern for breastfeeding mothers, as some lead can be transmitted through the breast milk.

Lead has also been listed as a possible carcinogen, or cause of cancer, by International Agency for Research on Cancer.

As levels increase in the blood, health concerns grow. Very high levels in the blood (above 120 mcg per decilitre) can cause death.

What do other guidelines say is a safe level of lead?

Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) concludes there is no set safe level of lead in your diet. You should aim to consume as little as possible to avoid health impacts.

The NHRMC recommends blood levels, which take into account all exposures, should be below 5 mcg per decilitre of blood. (But Australia doesn’t have a daily limit.)

In 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration updated its maximum safe dietary lead levels to 2.2 mcg a day for children and 8.8 mcg a day for women of childbearing age. This is much higher than the Californian levels Consumer Reports used.

Using the FDA levels, all the products Consumer Reports tested could be consumed daily for adults – but this doesn’t account for exposure from other foods or the environment.

Should we be concerned in Australia?

Most of the products Consumer Reports tested are available for purchase online, and may possibly be available in stores.

There is no data on lead levels in protein powder sourced and manufactured in Australia.

So there is no way of knowing whether your protein supplement has lead in it, unless you get a chemical analysis done through an accredited laboratory as Consumer Reports did.

So should I limit my intake?

Probably, but not just because of concerns about lead.

We simply don’t know how much lead is in each scoop of protein powder, so it’s difficult to make recommendations about whether these products are safe to use daily. Levels will vary between products and even between containers. Occasional use is likely to be safe, but using it daily or more often could lead to unsafe intakes of lead.

It’s also important to remember that your blood levels will also be affected by environmental exposures and other foods.

But most of us don’t need extra protein, even if we’re training. Around 99% of Australians already meet their protein requirements.

It’s better to consume protein from whole foods, and you’ll get the benefits of other nutrients as well:

  • dairy products also contain calcium and vitamin B12
  • fermented dairy such as yoghurt and cheese also contains probiotics
  • fish has omega-3 fats
  • red meat contains iron and zinc
  • lentils, beans and nuts give you antioxidants and fibre.

All these nutrients are equally important for our good health and are less likely to be concentrated sources of heavy metals such as lead.The Conversation

Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Your body can be a portable gym: how to ditch membership fees and expensive equipment

You don’t need a gym membership, dumbbells, or expensive equipment to get stronger.

Since the beginning of time, we’ve had access to the one piece of equipment that is essential for strength training – our own bodies.

Strength training without the use of external forces and equipment is called “bodyweight training”.

From push-ups and squats to planks and chin-ups, bodyweight training has become one of the most popular ways to exercise because it can be done anywhere – and it’s free.

So, what is it, why does it work and how do you get started?

What is bodyweight training?

Bodyweight training simply means you use your own body weight as resistance, instead of external weights such as barbells and dumbbells.

Common exercises include push-ups, squats, lunges and sit-ups.

But bodyweight training can also use static holds that challenge your body without moving, like planks or yoga poses.

Bodyweight training can be used for any muscle group. Typically, we can break down the exercises by movement type and/or body region:

  • upper body: push-ups, pull-ups, handstands
  • lower body: squats, lunges, step-ups, glute bridges
  • core: sit-ups, planks, mountain climbers
  • whole body: burpees, bear crawls, jump squats.

Bodyweight training can also be done with equipment: calisthenics is a style of bodyweight training that uses bars, rings and outdoor gyms.

What are the main forms?

Types of bodyweight training include:

  • calisthenics: often circuit-based (one exercise after another with minimal rest), dynamic and whole-body focused. Calisthenics is safe and effective for improving functional strength, power and speed, especially for older adults
  • yoga: more static or flowing poses with an emphasis on flexibility and balance. Yoga is typically safe and effective for managing and preventing musculoskeletal injuries and supporting mental health
  • Tai Chi: slower, more controlled movements, often with an emphasis on balance, posture and mindful movement
  • suspension training: using straps or rings so your body can be supported in different positions while using gravity and your own bodyweight for resistance. This type or training is suitable for older adults through to competitive athletes
  • resistance bands: although not strictly bodyweight only, resistance bands are a portable, low-cost alternative to traditional weights. They are safe and effective for improving strength, balance, speed and physical function.

What are the pros and cons?

There are various pros and cons to bodyweight exercises.

Pros:

  • builds strength: a 2025 meta-analysis of 102 studies in 4,754 older adults (aged 70 on average) found bodyweight training led to substantial strength gains - which were no different from those with free weights or machines. These benefits aren’t just for older adults, though. Using resistance bands with your bodyweight workout can be as effective as traditional training methods across diverse populations
  • boosts aerobic fitness: a 2021 study showed as little as 11 minutes of bodyweight exercises three times per week was effective for improving aerobic fitness
  • accessible and free: bodyweight training avoids common barriers to exercise such as access to equipment and facilities, which means it can be done anywhere, without a gym membership
  • promotes functional movement: exercises like squats and push-ups mimic everyday actions like rising from a chair or getting up from the floor.

Cons:

  • difficulty progressing over time: typically, we can add weight to an exercise to increase difficulty. For bodyweight training, you need to be creative, such as slowing your tempo or progressing to unilateral (one-sided or single-limb) movements
  • plateau risk: heavy external loads are more effective than bodyweight training for increasing maximal strength. This means if you stick to bodyweight training alone, your strength gains are more likely to plateau than if you use machines or free weights.

Tips for getting started (safely)

As with any form of exercise, it’s always best to speak to a medical professional before starting.

If you are ready to get going, here’s some tips:

  • start small: pick simple moves to begin and progress them as you gain strength, confidence and experience
  • focus on form: think quality over quantity. Completing movements with good control and body position is more important than how many you can do with poor control
  • progress gradually: vary the number of sets or repetitions to make your exercise more challenging. You can progress the movements from easier (push-ups on your knees) to harder (decline push-ups) as you get stronger and need more of a challenge
  • mix it up: use a variety of types of bodyweight training as well as targeting different muscle groups and movements
  • seek guidance: reach out to your local exercise professionals or use apps like the Nike Training Club to help guide your planning and progress.

Bodyweight training means you don’t need expensive equipment to improve your health. Whether it’s squats in the park, push-ups at your children’s football game, or yoga at home, your body is a portable gym.

With consistency, creativity and time, bodyweight exercises can help you build strength and fitness.The Conversation

Dan van den Hoek, Senior Lecturer, Clinical Exercise Physiology, University of the Sunshine Coast and Jackson Fyfe, Senior Lecturer, Strength and Conditioning Sciences, Deakin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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New Study of 10,000+ People Revealed Regular Physical Activity Is Linked to Larger Healthier Brains

– credit, Getty Images for Unsplash +

In a new study, scientists seeking to better understand how physical activity protects against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s found it’s because exercise makes the brain larger.

2 to 3 days of moderate to vigorous physical activity was correlated to a significant increase in total brain matter and in specific regions like the temporal lobe and hippocampus.

To ensure the record is understood absolutely clearly—there’s no doubt that physical activity protects the brain from neurodegenerative diseases, including mild and severe cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, and other forms of dementia.

The Canadian/American research team sought to better understand the mechanisms behind this effect.

Light physical activity, number of steps taken per day, and number of city blocks traversed per day, are all modalities that have been used to measure connections between physical activity and preventing these diseases, showing that even pedestrian, non-athletic, non-sportive activity can be neuroprotective in some cases.

One of the main culprits, in a positive sense, for this effect is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is released into the brain during periods of exercise where it lowers neuro-inflammation, improves synaptic connection, and performs other functions too numerous to list here.

The study benefitted from the use of a deep-learning neural network that allowed for multiple MRI scans of the same brain to be analyzed rapidly.

10,000 participants (and their brains) with an average age of 54, but ranging from 18 to 97, who were about half men and half women made up the study cohorts.

Exercise was self-reported—an inevitable flaw when conducting large population studies like this one. Participants were asked how many days of the week they engaged in 10 minutes or more of moderate or vigorous intensity exercise.

While previous studies quantified moderate and vigorous intensity through heartbeats per minute, this and other more modern studies simply define moderate as being engaged in physical activity and still being able to talk, but not being able to sing. Vigorous was defined as being in a state where only a few words could be spoken before pausing to breathe.

10,125 brain MRI scans were examined, and it was determined that a higher number of days of moderate to vigorous physical activity “predicted larger normalized brain volumes in multiple regions, including total gray matter volume, total white matter volume, hippocampus, frontal cortex, parietal lobes, and occipital lobe,” the authors wrote.

This was particularly true for the occipital lobe, parietal lobe, hippocampus, posterior cingulate, and temporal lobe, which all had correlative significance (also known as the p-value) of 6 or higher. A result of 6 or higher is typically when scientists begin to take notice of correlations—trained as they are to take them always with a grain of salt.

Brain matter and size are all predictors of better cognitive and neurological health as we age, while neurodegenerative diseases are often found in less-dense brains.

“The study included adults aged 18-97, showing it’s never too early or late to start,” wrote Chris Kresser, founder of the California Center for Functional Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

“While 75% of participants reported doing some regular physical activity, many didn’t meet standard exercise guidelines—yet still showed brain benefits. This adds to growing evidence that even modest physical activity can protect brain health.”

“Notably, moderate exercise appeared more beneficial than vigorous activity, suggesting you don’t need to be a super-athlete to reap the brain benefits,” he added. New Study of 10,000+ People Revealed Regular Physical Activity Is Linked to Larger Healthier Brains
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Junk food, low physical activity and low intake of fruits & vegetables leading risk factors for diabetes in India: ASSOCHAM


Choose a healthy track to manage diabetes.(photo: IANSLIFE)

New Delhi, (IANS) The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the apex trade association of the country, as part of its 'Illness to Wellness' campaign and in the light of the forthcoming 'World Diabetes Day' on Saturday unveiled a report on the findings of a National Level Survey conducted on the state of Diabetes in India.

The release was followed by a webinar on "Diabetes Free India" organized with the objective of cascading awareness and disseminating wisdom on diabetes management and its prevention, which was attended by a panel of eminent experts and doctors from across the country.

The survey report entitled "Diabetes in India" was produced by ASSOCHAM and the Delhi-based think tank, Thought Arbitrage Research Institute (TARI). The survey was designed and conducted by IMRB-Kantar and covered 2,33,672 people and 673 public health offices in 21 state clusters covering appropriate regions and age segments.

The key findings of the survey relate to the burden of diabetes and its primary causes or risk factors which lead to its rise and increasing spread in the country. According to the report, the prevalence of diabetes cases in India almost doubled from 42.6 million cases in 2005 to 85.4 cases in 2019.

Globally, on the other hand, the prevalence of diabetes increased from 273.4 cases in 2005 to 460 million cases in 2019. Small wonder then that India has the dubious distinction of becoming the global hub for diabetes cases with prevalence of cases increasing from 15.6 per cent to 18.6 per cent cases in the same interval.

Globally, diabetes accounts for 70.9 million DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years) and 36.7 YLDs (Years Lived with Disability) in 2019. In India, diabetes accounts for 12.8 million DALYs, 6.7 million YLDs and 0.3 million deaths during the same time-period.

In terms of risk factors for diabetes, dietary habits related to high intake of junk / fried foods, most common in younger people today, has highest relative risk of 47 per cent. The next highest risk factors as elicited by the survey report relate to low physical activity (38 per cent), low intake of fruits and vegetables (28 per cent), and other causes such as stress, pollution, and high consumption of alcohol and carbonated/ sugary drinks.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Over the time, uncontrolled diabetes leads to serious body's systems damage, especially the nerves and blood vessels. There are ample studies conducted by RSSDI (Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India) which emphatically depict and highlights that diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, and lower limb amputation.

The survey outlines the prevalence landscape of diabetes in that it accounts for 25 per cent of all NCDs in India at a rate of 2.9 percent. The disease incidence increases significantly in individuals above 35 years of age and affects men more than women.

The report also finds that about 16.8 per cent of the male adult population (15 years) and 14.6 per cent of the female adult population (15 years) on average are estimated to be diabetic. Prevalence of diabetes is highest in southern states including Puducherry, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and lowest in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

In terms of sufferers seeking treatment for diabetes, the survey presented some important insights in this regard too. About 7 per cent of the respondents who were suffering from diabetes stated that they were not seeking any treatment at all. However, more than 56 per cent of the respondents stated that they are seeking treatment for more than one year, a fact testifying to the indisputable and inevitable morbidity of this disease.

Diabetes is proven through studies to be associated with a high risk of cardiac arrest and there have been substantial increases in new cases of diabetes during the Covid-19 pandemic due to various reasons. In the current situation, diabetes has become a serious health concern since large numbers of patients are already vulnerable to the coronavirus. Thus, diabetic patients affected by Covid-19 can cause a major health crisis. Reports show that large occurrence of diabetes makes it a serious comorbidity in Covid-19 patients. Diabetes also imposes a substantial burden on society in the form of higher medical costs, lost productivity, premature mortality, and intangible costs in the form of reduced quality of life.

Setting the tone for the panel discussion at the webinar, Anil Rajput, Chairperson, ASSOCHAM CSR Council, said: "This year marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin. It is, however, unfortunate that diabetes has been underrated as a global public health issue. This needs to be addressed on priority and we as a nation need to take urgent important steps to address this challenge. It is a fact that diabetes is one of the top three NCDs in India and with each year the burden of this disease is rising."

Dr. Banshi Saboo, President, Research Society for Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI), said: "Diabetes prevention must be part of a larger national mission. Students should be taught 'Health Science' as a subject in schools which can help in preventing this disease and creating awareness about healthy lifestyles among our future generations. We must also change the age limit for the cyclical three-year testing protocol for sugar from 30 years presently to 25 years of age."

Dr. (Col.) Sudhir Tripathi, Chairperson and HOD, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital New Delhi, said: "Diabetes can be prevented even at the pregnancy stage. Healthy mothers give birth to healthy children. We must also educate and inform people that this disease is reversible with healthy lifestyle and timely interventions. Babies who are healthier, not obese, have a far lesser risk of developing diabetes in adulthood. It is advised that we must now have a National Diabetes Month in November to spread awareness and access about diabetes amongst people."

Dr. Dinesh Agarwal, Senior Consultant Internist and Head of Department, Department of Medicine Marwari Hospitals, Vice Chairman, RSSDI Assam Chapter, said: "One of the key risk factors and causes of diabetes is stress and junk food. Even children undergo a huge amount of stress these days due to a highly competitive and strained environment. It is a fact that stress leads to hormonal changes which in turn can trigger diabetes in individuals. Add to this the fact that lack of exercise among both children and adults lead to an onset of the disease which could have easily avoided by following simple steps."

Dr. Rajesh Kesari, Founder and Director, Total Care Control, Delhi-NCR, said: "Diabetes free India is a dream for all of us. Diabetes, a chronic disease, has so many affected all of us either as families or as individuals. It is important to control this disease because not only does it cause many other diseases or co-morbidities and complications to take place, but also leads to a huge economic burden. The interesting aspect here is that 95 per cent of diabetes can be prevented, and it is important that we all work towards this."

The webinar was addressed by Shri Anil Rajput, Chairperson, ASSOCHAM CSR Council; Dr. Kaushik Dutta, Founder and Co-Director, Thought Arbitrage Research Institute (TARI), New Delhi and eminent doctors which included - Dr. Banshi Saboo, President, Research Society for Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI), Dr. (Col.) Sudhir Tripathi, Chairperson and HOD, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital New Delhi, Dr. Dinesh Agarwal, Senior Consultant Internist and Head of Department, Department of Medicine Marwari Hospitals, Vice Chairman, RSSDI Assam Chapter, and Dr. Rajesh Kesari, Founder and Director, Total Care Control, Delhi-NCR.

Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from news agency feeds and has not been edited by The Morung Express.

Source: IANS


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7,000 daily steps can cut your risk of cancer, depression, death: The Lancet

IANS Photo

New Delhi, (IANS) Just 7,000 daily steps can be key to reducing your risk of developing a range of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and cognitive issues like depression, dementia, as well as death, according to a new study published in the journal The Lancet Public Health on Thursday.

The comprehensive review, including 57 studies, analysed data from over 160,000 adults, and found that walking approximately 7,000 steps per day is associated with reductions in the risk of several serious health outcomes.

The 7,000 steps aided in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (by 25 per cent), cancer (by 6 per cent), type 2 diabetes (by 14 per cent), dementia (by 38 per cent), depression (by 22 per cent), and falls (by 28 per cent). The all-cause mortality was cut down by nearly 50 per cent.

Notably, while the current unofficial target of 10,000 steps per day, the study highlighted that 7,000 steps daily may be more realistic, particularly for less active people.

“Although 10,000 steps per day can still be a viable target for those who are more active, 7,000 steps per day is associated with clinically meaningful improvements in health outcomes and might be a more realistic and achievable target for some,” said corresponding author Prof Ding Ding, from The Charles Perkins Centre, at The University of Sydney in Australia.

The study also revealed that even modest step counts (around 4,000 steps per day) are linked to better health compared to very low activity (around 2,000 steps per day).

For some conditions, such as heart disease, health benefits continued to increase beyond 7,000 steps, but for most conditions, the benefits tended to level off.

However, the team also acknowledged limitations, such as the small number of studies available, particularly for cancer and dementia, and a lack of age-specific analysis and biases at the individual study level.

Yet, the findings underscore the value of using daily step counts as a straightforward way to measure physical activity, the researchers said.They suggest these results could help shape future public health guidelines and recommendations, encouraging more people to track their steps as a practical way to improve their health. 7,000 daily steps can cut your risk of cancer, depression, death: The Lancet | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
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Teen Who Was Told He'd Never Walk with Cerebral Palsy Just Took 1st Place in Bodybuilding Competition

Instagram – @hunter_moore_123

Hunter Moore is just like any other teen athlete. He loves to play sports, made the varsity team, and doesn’t mind throwing up a few gym selfies on his Instagram.

“It’s all genetics, bro,” he says laughingly while pumping his nearly 20-inch bicep. The genetics, in Moore’s case, is Dystonic Cerebral Palsy from a stroke he suffered as an infant that left him partially paralyzed on his left side.

In this case, the genetics are the obstacle to overcome, not the immutable advantage some athletes enjoy. Yet Moore was born into a military family, and so received an upbringing full of dictates to never give up, to prove them all wrong, and it drove Hunter to spend most of his childhood building a body that was capable of the rigors of athletics.

For 7 years he always made his schools’ soccer teams, and now plays as the long snapper for his junior varsity football team, while regularly posting pretty impressive weightlifting numbers that even a non-paralyzed person could feel safe bragging about.

Even though he can’t use his left arm for isolated lifts, he still tries to incorporate it as often as possible for the sake of symmetry—one of bodybuilding’s most important judging criteria. He’ll lock his left arm around a bar, and pry it away from where it usually sits tucked up into his armpit. Like this, he can do a squat or a deadlift.

By the time he competed last summer in the Professional Natural Bodybuilding Association, he was pressing 120 lbs. with one arm, and deadlifting 405. He took first place in his category in Dallas, Texas, and competed again in November in Las Vegas to win first place in the professional class for Men’s Disabled Standing.

In an interview, Moore described posing on stage as “one of the scariest things that I have ever attempted,” but the whistles and cheers he received were a tangible reward for an amount of hard work that the majority of people, disabled or not, cannot manage.

“I will define myself and not let cerebral palsy or anyone else define me,” he told Joker Magazine, adding that he plans to go to university to study marine biology and hopes to also pursue motivational speaking. Teen Who Was Told He'd Never Walk with Cerebral Palsy Just Took 1st Place in Bodybuilding Competition
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Walking Slightly Faster Can Help Seniors Stay Active Longer – Plus an Easy Way to Measure Steps Per Minute

Richard Sagredo

Walking just slightly faster helps older people stay active for longer, and stave off frailty.

Taking just 14 steps per minute more than their usual pace led to “meaningful” improvements in physical well-being for seniors who were frail or at risk of becoming frail, according to new findings.

The research team explained that frailty is a medically defined condition in older people that increases vulnerability to everyday stresses, leading to a higher risk of falls, hospitalization, and loss of independence.

Warning signs of frailty include 1) unintentional weight loss, 2) moving slowly, 3) feeling weak, 4) persistent tiredness and 5) low levels of physical activity.

Because most of these signs have a direct link to how active someone is, scientists say walking is a particularly effective way for older people to improve their overall health and quality of life, and maintain their independence longer.

But the question had remained until now: how fast do they need to walk to see real benefits.

Traditionally, the “talk test” has been used to guide walking intensity where people are encouraged to walk at a pace that makes it difficult to sing but still allows for comfortable conversation. But this method is subjective and difficult to apply consistently.

The new study, led by scientists at the University of Chicago Medicine, found that cadence—the number of steps per minute—may be the key, and the researchers developed a smartphone app designed to accurately measure walking pace, making it easier to integrate the beneficial practice into daily life.

Anesthesiologist Dr. Daniel Rubin became interested in walking cadence during his clinical experience evaluating older patients preparing for surgery, because they have a higher risk of complications associated with surgery.

“Traditionally, surgical teams have relied on physical function questionnaires to risk-stratify patients, but I thought there must be a way to develop more objective metrics,” he said in a media release.

Dr. Rubin and his colleagues studied older adults classified as either frail or pre-frail. The participants with an average age of 69 were enrolled in structured walking programs within their retirement communities, guided and assessed by clinical research staff. Cadence was measured by a device fitted to their thigh.

One group was encouraged to walk “as fast as safely possible” while another group walked at their usual comfortable pace. The results, published in the journal PLOS One, showed “clear” benefits.

Shoot for 100 steps per minute

Those who increased their cadence to around 100 steps per minute—14 steps per minute above their usual pace—experienced “substantial” improvements in their functional capacity (demonstrated by their ability to walk longer distances in a standardized test).

SWNS

“People who haven’t experienced frailty can’t imagine how big a difference it makes to be able to not get tired going to the grocery store or not need to sit down while they’re out,” Rubin said.

Building on those findings, Rubin’s team created a smartphone app, called Walk Test, which they designed specifically for measuring walking cadence accurately because they didn’t necessarily trust the built-in trackers in smartphones.

The app, which is not yet available publicly, uses a novel open-source method to analyze the data measured by the phone. Validation testing showed the app counts steps-per-minute with “exceptional” accuracy, closely matching specialized, research-grade accelerometers.

But right now, people can easily maintain the beneficial cadence of 100 steps per minute by using a metronome app—or simply play an audio of a metronome at 100 beats per minute.“Even casual walking had positive effects on our study participants, but for those who are able, increasing their walking pace judiciously can yield even greater results.” Walking Slightly Faster Can Help Seniors Stay Active Longer – Plus an Easy Way to Measure Steps Per Minute
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Fitness Bands: Track Your Progress & Unlock Your Potential


By The Techy Guy: Fitness Bands are wearable technology products to track your progress & unlock your potential. Discover how to maximize the results of your fitness bands.

Have you ever wanted to track your fitness progress in real-time? With the help of fitness bands, you can do just that!

Fitness bands are wearable technology devices that allow you to monitor your physical activity, heart rate, and more.

In this guide, we’ll discuss the different types of fitness bands available and how they can help you reach your fitness goals.

We’ll also talk about how to use them properly and offer tips on choosing the right band for your needs. So let’s get started unlocking your potential with wearable technology!
What are Fitness Bands and How Can They Help You Reach Your Goals?

Fitness bands are a great tool to help you reach your fitness goals. They are small, lightweight devices that can track your physical activity, heart rate, and other vital signs.

Wearable tech has become increasingly popular in recent years for its convenience and accuracy. With the help of fitness bands, you can easily monitor your progress and make necessary changes to reach your fitness goals.

Fitness bands also provide valuable insights into your overall health and well-being. Whether you are looking to lose weight or improve your cardiovascular health, these devices can help you get there faster and easier than ever before.
Understanding the Different Types of Fitness Bands & Their Benefits

Fitness bands are becoming increasingly popular among people who are looking to stay fit and healthy. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and features, so it can be difficult to know which one is the best for your needs.

There are different types of fitness bands available on the market today, as well as their benefits and how they can help you reach your fitness goals.

The activity trackers, heart rate monitor watches, and sleep tracking apps can help you get an even better understanding of your health and progress.
Using a Fitness Band to Monitor & Improve Your Health

With the help of a fitness band, you can easily monitor and improve your health. These bands are equipped with sensors that track your steps, heart rate, and other data-driven health insights.

This data can then be used to create personalized goals and plans for improving your overall health. By tracking your progress over time, you can assess how well you are doing in terms of achieving those goals.

Moreover, with the help of a fitness band’s companion app, you can easily view all the data collected by the device in one place.

This will give you an overview of your current activity level and make it easier to identify any areas that need improvement.
How to Maximize Results with a Fitness Band

Fitness bands are becoming increasingly popular as a way to track your fitness progress. They provide real-time feedback on your workout, sleep patterns, and more.

With the help of a fitness band, you can maximize the results of your workouts and reach your fitness goals faster.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to take full advantage of your fitness band and achieve success in no time. You can maximize the outputs by setting realistic goals, tracking progress regularly, and using the data from your band to make informed decisions about your health. Fitness Bands: Track Your Progress & Unlock Your Potential
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How to Lose Belly Fat- Tips for a Flat Tummy!


We all want a toned flat stomach, but the question that comes to our mind is how to lose belly fat? Before we start, let us first find out the culprits that cause the accumulation of fat and lead to weight gain! Yes, it is your desk bound lifestyle, unhealthy food habits, and stress and anxiety that further worsens the situation! 

So how do you shape up? Incorporate these suggestions below and you will be on your way to a flatter belly in no time flat!


Cut Down on Sugars!

Cut down your sugar intake! Reduce calories by filling yourself up with protein, vegetables, whole grains, and replacing bad habit snacks with sprouts and fruit salads. Include vitamin C rich fruits like kiwi, oranges and lemon in your diet chart as these not only help in slicing off fat but also help encounter the stress and anxiety that causes ‘stress eating’.

Load Up on Greens!


Not only are vegetables like lettuce, broccoli and kale practically calorie- free, they are also rich in vitamins and are super filling! Munching on these at lunch time or for snacks will make you less likely to eat junk.

Hydrate Your Body!


To regulating your metabolic rate and consequently, your body's fat-burning mechanisms, drink your recommended 3-4 liters of water daily to help body run more efficiently. This would make your workouts and healthy eating efforts way more effective.

Take a Deep Breath!


When you are feeling worked up, close your eyes and take long deep breaths for about 5 minutes. Stopping work and taking conscious breaths can calm your mind and give you a rejuvenating time out. Don’t let stress creep up and leave you feeling frazzled by the end of the day, that way may lead to comfort eating.

Sleep Affects your Weight!


Do you know, you require 6-8 hours of sleep every night? By getting the right amount of sleep, your body and metabolism will stay regulated, keeping you and your tummy on-point.

Time to Stretch Your Body!

Schedule a stretching break and do simple exercises from the comfort of your office chair or while you are at home! try pulling in your tummy when you are sitting or standing for a minute to strengthen your abdominal muscles. Stand up straight, pull shoulders back and walk tall!

Abdominal Crunches to Lose Belly Fat!

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and hands behind your head. Now, lift your shoulders off the floor and curl legs towards your rib-cage simultaneously. Slowly, return to the starting position.


2. Lie on your back, lift and bend your knees at 90-degrees. Contract your abs to stabilize torso, and bring hips and knees towards your chest. Slowly return to the starting position.

3. Lie on your back with legs extended & arms behind head to support your neck. Contract abs & lift shoulders off the floor. Use your oblique muscles by attempting to bring the left shoulder towards the right knee and the right shoulder toward the left knee. The Slimming Furnace: How to Lose Belly Fat- Tips for a Flat Tummy!
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What Are The Pros And Cons Of Wearable Fitness Trackers In India?


Wearable fitness trackers, like smartwatches and fitness bands, are becoming a trend, especially among young adults in India. These devices track your daily activities like steps, sleep, heart rate, and more. They’re quite handy, but like everything, they have their upsides and downsides.

Pros Of Wearable Fitness Trackers

The wearable fitness trackers make you more aware of your physical activity. You might start noticing how much you walk or how well you sleep. They’re great motivators. Seeing your steps or workout progress pushes you to do better.

Plus, they’re social tools. Many apps let you connect with friends, making fitness fun and competitive. A big plus is tracking your health progress. It’s like having a mini health diary on your wrist.

However, these benefits come when you use them as part of a larger health plan. They’re not magic wands. You still need to exercise and eat right.

Cons Of Wearable Fitness Trackers

Accuracy can be an issue. Sometimes, these devices might not give you the exact data, like the exact number of calories burned. This can be misleading. Then there’s the risk of getting too obsessed with the numbers.

Constantly checking steps or calories can become stressful, taking the fun out of fitness. The cost is another factor. While there are affordable options, the high-end models can be pricey. And, they might not track all activities, like weight lifting or yoga accurately.

Moreover, there’s the issue of data security. These devices collect a lot of personal health data, which could be misused if not handled properly. So, it’s important to choose a reputable brand that takes data privacy seriously.

Should You Embrace or Avoid Wearable Fitness Trackers?

Wearable fitness trackers are useful tools if used correctly. They should complement, not dictate, your health regime. Remember, they are tools to assist you, not solutions by themselves. Before you buy one, think about why you need it and if it fits into your lifestyle and budget. And always, it’s good to consult with a health professional before making any big fitness changes. Stay informed and choose wisely! What Are The Pros And Cons Of Wearable Fitness Trackers In India?
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The Slimming Furnace: 10 Tips for Fast Weight Loss

  1. Do not skip breakfast! This will help you curb your snack attacks a lot better and help stop unhealthy cravings. Eating breakfast helps stabilize your hormones and keeps potential overeating at bay.
  2. Slow down you eating! Because slow eating and chewing food properly gives ample time to the body for appetite-related hormones to activate, slow eaters munch through nearly 70% less calories per meal. Evidence shows that this way you'll end up eating less.
  3. Eat more ‘small’ meals! It is fine to have several snacks or small meals during the day, if you are eating healthy. Keeping hunger at bay prevents mindless cravings to binge on food at the very sight of it.
  4. Out of sight is out of mind! Keep snacks out of sight! Stock up on healthy snacks like fruits, salads, oats and corn flakes instead!
  5. Cut the salt! Do you know that sodium holds up to 50 times its weight in water!! Eating more than 1 tablespoon of salt daily will cause you to retain water and gain weight. The urge to drink water is an indicator of the fact that sodium intake in your diet is too high. Consuming salty snacks like potato chips, salted peanuts, etc can add more of salt into your body system.
  6. Avoid eating straight from a multi-serve packet! The basic or natural tendency to keep reaching for the food is given a huge blow if you serve yourself from a small bowl or cup. Pour out the amount you intend to eat, and give it a stop when it's over.
  7. Walk after every 4 hours! Sitting down or being virtually inactive for longer than 4 hours slows down your metabolism making it easier for you to store fat so to prevent this from happening try standing up for at least 10 minutes within every 4 hours.
  8. Time for some workout! Weight loss would be more effective with a good exercise routine & mixing with cardio would be the best way! Any workout that stresses on muscle tone and enhanced heart rate is helpful in losing weight and keeping it off. This would make your body burn more fat to help you slim down.
  9. Combat stress & anxiety! Stress and anxiety always harms our body and mind and leads to weight gain in the long run. Nurture your hobbies and spend quality time with your loved ones and friends. Try practicing yoga and deep breathing exercises to combat stress.
  10. Drink plenty of water! Water is one of the best tools for weight loss, first of all because it often replaces high-calorie drinks like soda and juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn't have any calories. Water is great appetite suppressant, and often when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty. Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar. Drink plenty to help your weight-loss regimen. The Slimming Furnace: 10 Tips for Fast Weight Loss
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Never Too Late to Start Eating the MIND Diet That May Prevent Dementia: New Study of 90,000 People

Monika Grabkowska for Unsplash+

It’s never too late to start eating better to prevent dementia, according a new analysis of research involving 90,000 adults.

People over the age of 45 who followed a dietary pattern known as the MIND diet were “significantly” less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or related forms of dementia, said the University of Hawaii scientists.

The MIND diet stands for Mediterranean Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, and was developed by the late Martha Clare Morris, ScD, a Rush University nutritional epidemiologist. It combines the traditional Mediterranean diet with the blood pressure-lowering DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).

It includes proven ‘brain-healthy’ foods such as leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts, fish, and olive oil.

The study found that the MIND diet had a stronger and more consistent risk reduction relationship with dementia than other ‘healthy’ diets for the majority of racial groups in the study.

Participants who improved their adherence to the diet the most over time showed the greatest pattern of risk reduction.

Overall, participants who scored higher for MIND adherence at the start of the study had a 9% lower risk of dementia, with an even greater reduction, of around 13%, among those who identified as African American, Latino or White.

The beneficial relationship was seen similarly among younger and older groups, which suggests that there are benefits to adopting the diet at any age.


DIET TO THE RESCUE: Type 2 Diabetes Patients Who Stick to Low-Carb Diet May Be Able to Stop Taking Medication: Study

“Our study findings confirm that healthy dietary patterns in mid to late life, and their improvement over time. may prevent Alzheimer’s and related dementias,” said Dr. Song-Yi Park, Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

“This suggests that it is never too late to adopt a healthy diet to prevent dementia.”

Dr. Park and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 90,000 American adults who provided information about their diet, starting in the 1990s.

Credit: Irina del

The participants were between 45- and 75-years-old at the outset, and more than 21,000 developed Alzheimer’s or related dementias in the years that followed.

The results also showed that people who improved their adherence to MIND over 10 years—including those who didn’t follow the diet closely at first—had a 25% lower risk of dementia compared to those whose adherence declined.

Dr. Park said that trend was consistent across different ages and racial groups.

However, the protective relationship between a healthy diet and dementia was not as apparent among Asian Americans and even less so for Native Hawaiians.

“A tailored approach may be needed when evaluating different subpopulations’ diet quality,” said Park, who added that further studies could help clarify those patterns.

Dr. Park presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition in Orlando, Florida, on June 2 Never Too Late to Start Eating the MIND Diet That May Prevent Dementia: New Study of 90,000 People
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2 Years of Exercise Reversed 20 Years of Aging in the Heart, Says Longest-Ever Randomized Trial on Exercise

Eliptical machines were sometimes used for the interval training to avoid excess load on the joints – credit, Center for Better Aging

Exercise was in the news recently for being found in an epidemiological study to reduce the risk of colon cancer.

But what should be in the news is that a study published 7 years ago is going somewhat viral on the internet thanks to the profile of a popular health influencer, Dr. Rhonda Patrick.


The study found middle-aged adults could reverse 20 years of age-related decline in their heart muscles through a 2 year exercise program, and that it effectively turned sedentary 55-year-olds into 30-year-olds when viewed through heart activity monitoring equipment.

Being that heart disease is the leading cause of death for most people in the United States, and cardiac strength is inversely correlated with heart disease, it’s probably one of the most significant studies on exercise ever carried out.

To wit, the authors describe their trial, which took 61 people and put them on an exercise regimen for 2 years, as the longest, randomized controlled trial documenting the physiological effects of supervised, structured exercise on cardiovascular health ever performed.

The results were mentioned above: 2 years of work created a heart capable of working as hard as a 30-year-old’s, as if 20 years of aging had been reversed.

– credit Jon Matthews

The training program started light and gradually grew in intensity and duration, with months 6-10 representing peak output. The second year was characterized by a “maintenance period” of moderate intensity.

Broken down, it involved specifically two interval training sessions per week, along with one hour of “base pace,” which focused on a fun activity like low to moderate-intensity sports, cycling, or hiking. At peak training load, participants were training 5–6 hours per week, while during the maintenance period of the latter 14 months, that was dropped to about 4 hours, and included the removal of one of the two interval training sessions.

It bears mentioning that even the lower intensity maintenance phase involved more training than typical government prescriptions of two-and-a-half hours. But as study author Benjamin Levine said on Dr. Patrick’s show, exercise should be thought of as personal hygiene—to be done with the same routine urgency as brushing one’s teeth or showering.

1 hour of base pace was included in the program, and typically involved recreational exercise like sports – credit Age Cymru

A key point the authors made is that a measurement of fitness in middle age is the strongest predictor of future heart failure, and men and women of middle age who have had a lifetime of exercise behind them enjoy heart health closer to that of a 30 year old. But their study showed this could still be achieved in middle age even without a lifetime of exercise—in fact, just 2 years were required.

The study also points out, however, that there are limits to exercise’s abilities of age reversal and the heart’s capacity to forgive a lifetime of sedentary behavior. If moderate-intensity training programs are started age 65 or later, they do not appear to be able to overcome the damage—specifically the heart stiffening and shrinkage—from past sedentary periods.This suggests for physicians and clinicians that middle-aged hearts retain some degree of cardiac plasticity, and may represent a more optimal time—or quite simply the last time—to intervene with aggressive lifestyle modification aimed at improving cardiac health. 2 Years of Exercise Reversed 20 Years of Aging in the Heart, Says Longest-Ever Randomized Trial on Exercise
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