VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 1 • JANUARY 2012
A SLICE OF ORANGE Refreshing Your Health
WHAT’S NEW FROM 2011 Traffic and MP3 players don’t mix Keep your blood pressure low Mix exercise with vitamin E Mix sports with coffee Exercise – even if you don’t lose weight Diet only twice a week Sometimes, herbal is not always better Ecstasy is NOT the “safe” drug
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What’s new from 2011 AS WE ENTER 2012, LET US LOOK BACK AT THE NEW THINGS 2011 HAS FOR US FOR BETTER HEALTH. Medicine is an ever-changing science. Everyday, new discoveries are made that helps us understand the human body better, and hopefully these new discoveries lead to better ways to stay healthy. The past year has brought us tons of such new discoveries, some shedding light on old questions, others confirming things about the body that people (including doctors) just gave their best guesses to.
A SLICE OF ORANGE
VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 1 • JANUARY 2012
Mix exercise with vitamin E
HERE ARE SOME OF THE MOST APT HEALTH TIPS FOR EVERYDAY WORKING PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME—ALL FROM THE ARCHIVES OF 2011 DISCOVERIES.
Traffic and MP3 players don’t mix In 2011, researchers at the University of Michigan discovered that the combination of traffic noise and music from MP3 players can bust your hearing. Everyone knows that noise is bad for your ears. The researchers discovered that commuters stuck in traffic actually suffer from minimal hearing damage from the noise of honking horns and otherwise-normal city noise. But the moment they plug in their earphones to drown the noise, 90 percent subjected themselves to noise levels exceeding the level considered safe for your ears. So instead of helping you, you are actually harming your self by plugging in.
Keep your blood pressure low Everyone knows that high blood pressure is bad, and should be treated. But new studies in 2011 confirmed how bad it is – and how
good treating it is. First of all, one study discovered just last month that patients with high blood pressure, and treated properly, can live up to 20 years longer than those who did not get treated properly. What makes this study so special? Other studies on blood pressure never last longer than a decade. However, the SHEP trial was started in 1985, delivering the first ever long-term data of how much benefit blood pressure control can bring: a whopping 20 years. A second study showed that you should mind your blood pressure even when you are not yet high blood. People with blood pressure between 120/80 mm Hg and 139/89 mm Hg are not high blood, but can be considered to have pre-hypertension. A 2011 study showed that people with blood pressure lower than this blood pressure range are more protected from stroke compared to those within the range. What does this mean for you? Measure your blood pressure regularly even when you have normal blood pressure, and try to lower it further (lower than 120/80) through exercise, a low-salt diet, and avoidance of tobacco.
Vitamin E has long been considered a vitamin, but its real benefits have always remained unclear (I bet you didn’t know that!). What we do know is that vitamin E deficiency leads to muscle problems. But last year, it was discovered that the real role of vitamin E is that it helps our muscles repair themselves, especially after exercise. Vitamin E does this in many ways, but the major mechanism is through its antioxidant effects. This effect has long been known, but what this effect brings is now only becoming clear. And while you’re at it …
Mix sports with coffee Many people frown upon and avoid coffee, not knowing that coffee has many health benefits, including protecting your liver. Now, caffeine with sugar has been discovered to improve sports/exercise performance (skill). Athletes usually take coffee to improve endurance, but it has now been discovered that it also improve skill as well. So now, you can play your favorite sport, not just longer, but also better, all thanks to coffee. Take coffee 30 minutes before playing, and at half time.
Exercise – even if you don’t lose weight It is a well-known fact that your diet is more important than your physical activity when it comes to losing weight. So many people choose to starve themselves than to hit the gym. However, in terms of health, physical
A SLICE OF ORANGE
VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 1 • JANUARY 2012
a low-calorie diet. However, there are some warnings: 1) In this diet, you can only eat lean (meaning not fried) protein during your diet days; and 2) During the rest of the week, you should eat like a normal human being – meaning eating slowly, and stopping as soon as you are full.
activity alone may be more helpful than losing weight alone. A 2011 study showed that people who exercised, even though they did not lose weight in the process, had better heart health and lived longer. According to the lead researcher, Dr. Duck-chul Lee, “This is good news for people who are physically active but can’t seem to lose weight … You can worry less about your weight as long as you continue to maintain or increase your fitness levels.” Of course, if you can lose weight through diet and exercise combined, that would be better. How do you do this? Read on.
Diet only twice a week A very recent study showed that eating a lowcarbohydrate diet (while eating as much lean protein until desired), two times a week, can help you lose twice as much weight as eating
Sometimes, herbal is not always better In this age of natural living, many people have been turning away from taking medicines and multivitamins, and turning towards herbal supplements. But reseachers from the University of Milan discovered that some plant-based food supplements may contain compounds such as alkenylbenzenes or pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can cause liver tumors. Those with the basil, fennel, nutmeg, sassafras, cinnamon or calamus are the most common culprits. If you are taking supplements with these ingredients, it may be better to switch back to conventional purified multivitamin supplements.
Ecstasy is NOT the “safe” drug Ecstasy is a highly popular recreational drug, especially in the yuppie population. Its popularity comes not just because of the intense euphoria and emotional warmth it causes, but also because people think it is safe. This alleged safety is attributed to the fact that it does not cause any physical dependence (meaning it does not cause severe withdrawal symptoms), and because it is believed not to cause permanent damage. Now while the former is true, new research from the Vanderbilt University showed that the latter is false. The study showed that it causes lasting brain damage, by changing the receptors of the brain. These damages cause a loss in brain efficiency, which leads to poorer thinking processes, poorer ability to learn, and poorer memory. These are just a sneak peak into what the 2012 volume of A Slice of Orange has to offer. Stay tuned!
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A Slice of Orange
is a newsletter designed to help clarify basic health information and offer juicy tips on uplifting your health.
Editorial team Alvin Delfin Christine Llenes-Delfin Ivan Olegario, MD