HEALTH & HAPPINESS 4 YOU: Issue 25

Page 1

Autumn 2017

HEALTH & HAPPINESS 4 YOU

Have close friends for sharper memory

Exercise and joint pain

Stress as bad as junk food Absolutely no alcohol in pregnancy Stroke 10 key risk factors

INTERMITANT FASTING FOR DIABETES AND HEART



HEALTH & HAPPINESS 4 YOU: SERVING THE COMMUNITY FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS

Climate change is killing us

CONTENTS Autumn 2017, Issue 25

A report published last month in the Lancet says that climate change is proving disastrous for public health. It says more than 6.5 million people are killed annually due to local air pollution. Rising temperatures are spreading infectious disease, reducing farm yields, increasing hunger and malnutrition and prolonging allergy seasons. The report says that there has been a 46% rise in extreme weather disasters like hurricanes, typhoons, and floods since 2000. According to the Lancet report in 2015 approximately 175 million elderly-people were affected by heatwaves. Most vulnerable are children and the elderly. No country is immune. Cities like Beijing and New Delhi have earned the dubious distinction of having the most polluted air. Air pollution is causing concern in many parts of the UK and has risen to unacceptable levels in parts of central London. The UK has pledged to phase out coal by 2025, a process that will save thousands of lives each year and save the NHS up to ÂŁ3.1bn a year in health costs.

5- Skipping breakfast may lead to hardening of the arteries 6- Exercise: An effective prescription for joint pain 7- There is no safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy 8- A better way to wash pesticides off apples 9- Yoga and aerobic exercise may help in heart disease 11- Want a sharper memory? Have close friends 12- Stress could be just as unhealthy as junk food 13- How your friends influence your mood 14- Stroke: 10 Key risk factors 16- For better sleep remove digital devices from the bedroom of your kids 18 - Intermittent fasting may help those with diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Vijay Rana Editor Health & Happiness 4 You

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Tel: 07850 374 595 Website: www.healthandhappiness4you.com HEALTH & HAPPINESS 4 YOU is a voluntary group dedicated to spreading the message of positive health and wellbeing. Disclaimer: The information available in this magazine is for general awareness only. It is NOT a substitute for the knowledge and judgment of qualified medical experts. We make no warranty as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of this information. Should you have any medical condition, you are strongly advised to consult a qualified health care professional. Views expressed by our contributors are their own and we take no responsibility for their views.



Skipping breakfast may lead to hardening of the arteries Skipping breakfast is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis, or the hardening and narrowing of arteries due to a build-up of plaque, according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Eating a healthy breakfast has been shown to promote greater heart health, including healthier weight and cholesterol. While previous studies have linked skipping breakfast to coronary heart disease risk, this is the first study to evaluate the association between breakfast and the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis. "People who regularly skip breakfast are likely to have an overall unhealthy lifestyle," said study author Valentin Fuster, MD, Ph.D., MACC director of Mount Sinai Heart and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. "This study provides evidence that this is one bad habit people can proactively change to reduce their risk for heart disease." Researchers in Madrid examined male and female volunteers who were free from cardiovascular or chronic kidney disease. A computerized questionnaire was used to estimate the usual diet of the participants, and breakfast patterns were based on the percentage of total daily energy intake consumed at breakfast. Three groups were identified -- those consuming less than five percent of their total energy intake in the morning (skipped breakfast and only had coffee, juice or other nonalcoholic beverages); those consuming more than 20 percent of their total energy intake in the morning (breakfast consumers); and those consuming between five and 20 percent (low-energy breakfast consumers).

The 4,052 participants, 2.9 percent skipped breakfast, 69.4 percent were low-energy breakfast consumers and 27.7 percent were breakfast consumers. Atherosclerosis was observed more frequency among participants who skipped breakfast and was also higher in participants who consumed low-energy breakfasts compared to breakfast consumers. Additionally, cardiometabolic risk markers were more prevalent in those who skipped breakfast and low-energy breakfast consumers compared to breakfast consumers. Participants who skipped breakfast had the greatest waist circumference, body mass index, blood pressure, blood lipids and fasting glucose levels. Participants who skipped breakfast were more likely to have an overall unhealthy lifestyle, including poor overall diet, frequent alcohol consumption and smoking. They were also more likely to be hypertensive and overweight or obese. In the case of obesity, the study authors said reverse causation cannot be ruled out, and the observed results may be explained by obese patients skipping breakfast to lose weight.

How climate Change is damaging our health -

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Over 803,000 premature and avoidable deaths were reported in 2015 as a result of air pollution across 21 Asian countries, attributable to just one type of air pollution from coal power, transport and use of fossil fuels in the home. A striking increase of 3% and 5.9% in the vectorial capacity for the transmission of Dengue due to climate trends, by just two types of mosquito since 1990 resulting in 50 to 100 million infections of Dengue each year. Source: The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change


Exercise: An effective prescription for joint pain Regular movement can help relieve ankle, knee, hip, or shoulder pain Joint pain can rob you of life's simple pleasures — you may no longer look forward to walking your dog, gardening, or chasing a tennis ball across the court. Even the basics of getting through your day, like getting into the car or carrying laundry to the basement, can become sharp reminders of your limitations. But the right exercises performed properly can be a long-lasting way to subdue ankle, knee, hip, or shoulder pain. Although it might seem that exercise would aggravate aching joints, this is simply not the case. Exercise can help to relieve joint pain in multiple ways: --It increases the strength and flexibility of the muscles and connective tissue surrounding the joints. When thigh muscles are stronger, for example, they can help support the knee, thus relieving some of the pressure on that joint. --Exercise relieves stiffness, which itself can be painful. The body is made to move. When not exercised, the tendons, muscles, and ligaments quickly shorten and tense up. But exercise — and stretching afterward — can help reduce stiffness and preserve or extend your range of

motion. --It boosts production of synovial fluid, the lubricant inside the joints. Synovial fluid helps to bring oxygen and nutrients into joints. Thus, exercise helps keep your joints "well-oiled." --It increases production of natural compounds in the body that help tamp down pain. In other words, without exercise, you are more sensitive to every twinge. With it, you have a measure of natural pain protection. --It helps you keep your weight under control, which can help relieve pressure on weight-bearing joints, such as your hips, knees, and ankles. --If all this isn't enough, consider the following: exercise also enhances the production of natural chemicals in the brain that helps boost your mood. You'll feel happier — in addition to feeling better. For more on developing and mastering an exercise plan to combat joint pain, buy The Joint Pain Relief Workout, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.


THERE IS NO SAFE AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL DURING PREGNANCY Any amount of alcohol exposure during pregnancy can cause extreme lasting effects on a child, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. A team of researchers led by Marvin Diaz, assistant professor of psychology at Binghamton University, determined that even a small to moderate amount of alcohol exposure produces significant amounts of anxiety in offspring, lasting through adolescence and into adulthood. This research differed in its use of only low levels of alcohol exposure, whereas prior studies used high levels of exposure to reach the same conclusion. “There’s been a lot of media coverage on whether there’s a safe amount of alcohol to drink,” said Diaz. “This study shows that there isn’t.” Pregnant rats were exposed to ethyl alcohol vapour for a sixhour period on their twelfth day of gestation; this was the only time the rats were exposed to alcohol. The offspring were then subjected to a series of anxiety tests. The researchers found that anxiety was most apparent in male rats during their adolescence. After entering adulthood, the effects were opposite, with ethanol-exposed male rats showing reduced anxiety, while the females still appeared to be unaffected. “The most important takeaway from this study is that the effects we studied on the rats only took one day of exposure to produce — just six hours,” said Diaz. Diaz is interested in taking this research further, to determine exactly what changed in the brain to cause such increased levels of anxiety after alcohol exposure, and to see why the effects are apparent in male rats but not females. The article “Moderate Maternal Alcohol Exposure on Gestational Day 12 Impacts Anxiety- Like Behavior in Offspring,” was published with contributions from students and faculty in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.


A better way to wash pesticides off apples Polishing an apple with your shirt might remove some dust and dirt, but getting rid of pesticide residues could take a little more work. Researchers now report in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, that washing apples with a common household product -- baking soda -- could do the trick for residues on the surfaces of the fruit. The use of pesticides can help increase crop yield, but concerns over their potential effects on human health have been raised over the years. Washing could be one effective strategy to clean pesticides off produce, and it is standard practice in the food industry. But some of the plant-protecting compounds that get absorbed by fruits and vegetables might not be easily removed using current cleaning methods. Lili He and colleagues wanted to find out which washing method can most effectively reduce pesticides.The researchers

applied two common pesticides -- the fungicide thiabendazole, which past research has shown can penetrate apple peels, and the insecticide phosmet -- to organic Gala apples. They then washed these apples with three different liquids: tap water, a 1 percent baking soda/water solution, and a U.S.-EPA-approved commercial bleach solution often used on produce. The baking soda solution was the most effective at reducing pesticides. After 12 and 15 minutes, 80 percent of the thiabendazole was removed, and 96 percent of the phosmet was removed, respectively. The different percentages are likely due to thiabendezole's greater absorption into the apple. Mapping images showed that thiabendazole had penetrated up to 80 micrometers deep into the apples; phosmet was detected at a depth of only 20 micrometers. Washing the produce with either plain tap water or the bleach solution for two minutes, per the industry standard, were far less effective.

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Yoga and aerobic exercise together may improve heart disease risks

Study shows significant improvement in heart health when patients practice both activities Heart disease patients who practice yoga in addition to aerobic exercise saw twice the reduction in blood pressure, body mass index and cholesterol levels when compared to patients who practiced either Indian yoga or aerobic exercise alone, according to research to be presented at the 8th Emirates Cardiac Society Congress in collaboration with the American College of Cardiology Middle East Conference October 19-21, 2017 in Dubai. Lifestyle intervention has been shown to aid in reducing the risk of death and heart disease comorbidities when used alongside medical management. Indian yoga is a combination of whole exercise of body, mind and soul, and a common practice throughout India. Researchers in this study looked specifically at Indian yoga and aerobic training's effect on the coronary risk factors of obese heart disease patients with type 2 diabetes. The study looked at 750 patients who had previously been diagnosed with coronary heart disease. One group of 225 patients participated in aerobic exercise, another group of 240 patients participated in Indian yoga, and the third group of 285 participated in both yoga and aerobic exercise. Each group did three, six-month sessions of

yoga and aerobic exercise. The aerobic exercise only and yoga only groups showed similar reductions in blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, weight and waist circumference. However, the combined yoga and aerobic exercise group showed a two times greater reduction compared to the other groups. They also showed significant improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction, diastolic function and exercise capacity. "Combined Indian yoga and aerobic exercise reduce mental, physical and vascular stress and can lead to decreased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity," said Sonal Tanwar, Ph.D., a scholar in preventative cardiology, and Naresh Sen, DM, Ph.D., a consultant cardiologist, both at HG SMS Hospital, Jaipur, India. "Heart disease patients could benefit from learning Indian yoga and making it a routine part of daily life."

Fun Facts - The human body contains nearly 100 trillion cells. - There are at least 10 times as many bacteria in the human body as cells.



Want a sharper memory?

Have close friends Maintaining positive, warm and trusting friendships might be the key to a slower decline in memory and cognitive functioning, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. SuperAgers -who are 80 years of age and older who have the cognitive ability at least as good as people in their 50s or 60s -- reported having more satisfying, highquality relationships compared to their cognitively average, same-age peers, the study reports. Previous SuperAger research at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center (CNADC) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has focused on the biological differences in SuperAgers, such as discovering that the cortex in their brain is larger than their cognitively average, same-age peers. This study, published Oct. 23 in the journal PLOS ONE, was the first to examine the social side of SuperAgers. “You don’t have to be the life of the party, but this study supports the theory that maintaining strong social networks seems to be linked to slower cognitive decline,” said senior author Emily Rogalski, associate professor at Northwestern’s CNADC. The study provides a first look at the social side of SuperAgers versus the biological side. Participants answered a 42-item questionnaire called the Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale, which is a widely used measure of psychological well-being. The scale examines six aspects of psychological well-being: autonomy, positive relations with others, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life and selfacceptance. SuperAgers scored a median overall score of

40 in positive relations with others while the control group scored 36 -- a significant difference, Rogalski said. “This finding is particularly exciting as a step toward understanding what factors underlie the preservation of cognitive ability in advanced age, particularly those that may be modifiable,” said first author Amanda Cook, a clinical neuropsychology doctoral student in the laboratory of Rogalski and Sandra Weintraub. Other research studies have reported a decline in social networks in people with Alzheimer’s disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and previous literature has shown psychological well-being in older age to be associated with reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia. “It’s not as simple as saying if you have a strong social network, you’ll never get Alzheimer’s disease,” Rogalski said. “But if there is a list of healthy choices one can make, such as eating a certain diet and not smoking, maintaining strong social networks may be an important one on that list. None of these things by themselves guarantees you don’t get the disease, but they may still have health benefits.” 11 HEALTH & HAPPINESS 4 YOU


Stress could be just as unhealthy as junk food

We all know that a poor diet is unhealthy, but a new Bringham Young University study finds that stress may be just as harmful to our bodies as a really bad diet. In a new paper published in Nature Scientific Reports, BYU professor of microbiology and molecular biology Laura Bridgewater found that when female mice were exposed to stress, their gut microbiota — the microorganisms vital to digestive and metabolic health — changed to look like the mice had been eating a highfat diet. “Stress can be harmful in a lot of ways, but this research is novel in that it ties stress to female-specific changes in the gut microbiota,” Bridgewater said. “We sometimes think of stress as a purely psychological phenomenon, but it causes distinct physical changes.” Bridgewater and her collaborators at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China took a large group of 8-week-old mice and exposed half of the males and half of the females to a high-fat diet. After 16 weeks, all of the mice were exposed to mild stress over the course of 18 days. Researchers then extracted microbial DNA from the

mice fecal pellets before and after the stress to test how the gut microbiota was affected. They also measured mouse anxiety based on how much and where the mice travelled in an open field arena. The researchers found fascinating differences between genders: Male mice on the high-fat diet exhibited more anxiety than females on the high-fat diet, and high-fat males also showed decreased activity in response to stress. However, it was only in female mice that stress caused the gut microbiota composition to shift as if the animals were on a high-fat diet. While the study was only carried out on animals, researchers believe there could be significant implications for humans. “In society, women tend to have higher rates of depression and anxiety, which are linked to stress” said Bridgewater, who also serves as Associate Dean of the BYU College of Life Sciences. “This study suggests that a possible source of the gender discrepancy may be the different ways gut microbiota responds to stress in males vs. females.”

Want to be happy? Quit Facebook Facebook is making us unhappy and causing people who suffer “Facebook envy” to be particularly depressed, a study has found. Users who took a week-long break from the social media site were found to be more satisfied with life and rated their own well-being as higher. The University of Copenhagen experiment involved 1,095 people, half of whom were asked to continue their Facebook habits and half ordered to abstain from logging on.


You can 'pick up' a good or bad mood from your friends New research suggests that both good and bad moods can be 'picked up' from friends, but depression can't.

A team led by the University of Warwick has examined whether friends' moods can affect an individual, therefore, implying that moods may spread across friendship networks. The team analysed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health which incorporates the moods and friendship networks of US adolescents in schools. Their paper ‘Spreading of components of mood in adolescent social networks’ has been published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. The team's findings imply that mood does spread over friendship networks, as do various different symptoms of depression such as helplessness and loss of interest. However, they also found that they also found that the effect from lower or worse mood friends was not strong enough to push the other friends into depression. Using mathematical modelling they found that having more friends who suffer worse moods are associated with a higher probability of an individual experiencing low moods and a decreased probability of improving. They found the opposite applied to adolescents who had a more positive social circle. Public health statistics researcher Rob Eyre led the study. He said, "We investigated whether there is evidence for the individual components of mood (such as appetite, tiredness and sleep) spreading through US adolescent friendship networks while adjusting for confounding by modelling the transition probabilities of changing mood state over time.

"Evidence suggests mood may spread from person to person via a process known as social contagion. "Previous studies have found social support and befriending to be beneficial to mood disorders in adolescents while recent experiments suggest that an individual's emotional state can be affected by exposure to the emotional expressions of social contacts. "Clearly, a greater understanding of how changes in the mood of adolescents are affected by the mood of their friends would be beneficial in informing interventions tackling adolescent depression." The World Health Organisation has estimated that depression affects 350 million people across the world, impacting on individual's abilities to work and socialise and at worse leading to suicide. This study's findings emphasise the need also to consider those who exhibit levels of depressive symptoms just below those needed for a diagnosis of actual depression when designing public health interventions. The study also helps confirm that there is more to depression than simply low mood. At the individual level, these findings imply that following the evidencebased advice for improving mood, e.g., exercise, sleeping well, and managing stress, can help a teenager's friends as well as themselves. Whilst for depression, friends do not put an individual at risk of illness so a recommended course of action would be to show them support.

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Stroke: 10 Key risk factors 17M strokes, 6.5M deaths, 26M survivors around the world A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut o. Without blood, brain cells can be damaged or die. This damage can have different effects depending on where it happens in the brain. It can affect a person’s body, mobility and speech, as well as how they think and feel. Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability globally. Stroke can happen to anyone at any age. It affects everyone: survivors, family and friends, workplaces and communities – but strokes are preventable.

90% of strokes are linked to 10 key risk factors. If you have diabetes, heart problems or history of stroke/TIA talk to your doctor about stroke risk and preventive treatments. Here are some actions we can all take to reduce the risk of stroke. 1. CONTROL HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE Hypertension is linked to almost half of all strokes. Knowing and controlling your blood pressure with lifestyle change, or medication will reduce your risk of stroke. 2. DO MODERATE EXERCISE 5 TIMES A WEEK Over a third of all strokes happen to people who don’t take regular exercise. Moderate exercise five times a week will reduce your risk of stroke.

Stopping smoking will reduce your risk of stroke. Getting help to quit increases your chances of success.

3. EAT A HEALTHY, BALANCED DIET Almost a quarter of strokes are linked to poor diet, in particular low consumption of fruit and vegetables. Eating five or more portions of fruit and vegetables will reduce your risk of stroke.

7. REDUCE ALCOHOL INTAKE Over 1 million strokes each year are linked to excessive alcohol consumption. Reducing our alcohol intake to two units of alcohol a day for men and one for women will help to reduce your stroke risk.

4. REDUCE YOUR CHOLESTEROL More than 1 in 4 strokes are linked to high levels of ‘bad’ (LDL) cholesterol. Eating low saturated, non-hydrogenated fats instead of saturated fats will reduce your stroke risk. If you can’t maintain a healthy cholesterol level with diet alone, talk to your doctor about treatments that could help.

8. IDENTIFY AND TREAT ATRIAL FIBRILLATION An irregular heartbeat or other heart condition is linked to 9% of strokes. Talk to your doctor about possible treatments to reduce your risk.

5. MAINTAIN A HEALTHY BMI OR WAIST TO HIP RATIO Almost 1 in 5 strokes are linked to obesity. A good way to know if you need to lose weight is to divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. If the number is over 0.9 (man) and 0.85 (woman) your weight is putting you at higher risk of stroke and you would benefit from losing weight. 6. STOP SMOKING AND AVOID SECOND-HAND EXPOSURE More than 1 in 10 strokes are linked to smoking.

9. DIABETES As well as sharing many of the same risk factors, diabetes increases the risk of stroke. Reducing your risk of diabetes will reduce your risk of stroke. If you have diabetes, talk to your doctor about treatments to reduce your risk of stroke. 10. INCOME AND EDUCATION Across and within countries low levels of income education are linked to stroke. Government policies that address poverty and improve equitable access to healthcare and education will have a positive impact on stroke and other non-communicable diseases. 14 HEALTH & HAPPINESS 4 YOU



Removing digital devices from the bedroom can improve sleep for children According to Marjorie S. Miller of the Pennsylvania State University removing electronic media from the bedroom and encouraging a calming bedtime routine is among recommendations Penn State researchers outline in a recent manuscript on digital media and sleep in childhood and adolescence. The manuscript appears in the first-ever special supplement on this topic in Pediatrics and is based on previous studies that suggest the use of digital devices before bedtime leads to insufficient sleep. The recommendations, for clinicians and parents, are: •

Make sleep a priority by talking with family members about the importance of sleep and healthy sleep expectations; • Encourage a bedtime routine that includes calming activities and avoids electronic media use; • Encourage families to remove all electronic devices from their child or teen’s bedroom, including TVs, video games, computers, tablets and cell phones; • Talk with family members about the negative consequences of bright light in the evening on sleep; and • If a child or adolescent is exhibiting mood or behavioural problems, consider insufficient sleep as a contributing factor. “Recent reviews of scientific literature reveal that the vast majority of studies find evidence for an

adverse association between screen-based media consumption and sleep health, primarily delayed bedtimes and reduced total sleep duration,” said Orfeu Buxton, associate professor of bio-behavioral health at Penn State and an author on the manuscript. The reasons behind this adverse association likely include time spent on screens replacing time spent sleeping; mental stimulation from media content; and the effects of the light interrupting sleep cycles, according to the researchers. Buxton and other researchers are further exploring this topic. They are working to understand if media use affects the timing and duration of sleep among children and adolescents; the role of parenting and family practices; the links between screen time and sleep quality and tiredness; and the influence of light on circadian physiology and sleep health among children and adolescents. Other authors on the manuscript include AnneMarie Chang, assistant professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State; Lauren Hale, from the Department of Family, Population and Preventative Medicine at Stony Brook Medicine in New York; Monique LeBourgeois and Lameese Akacem, from the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado Boulder; and Hayley Montgomery-Downs, from the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University. Ravneet Sawhney is the Director/Proprietor of Modern Day Nursery with Branches in Chiswick and Hounslow. For more information visit: www.moderndaynursery.com 16 HEALTH & HAPPINESS 4 YOU


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Intermittent fasting may help those with diabetes and cardiovascular disease Intermittent fasting has been all the rage, but scientific evidence is showing how such regimes affect human health was not always clear-cut. Now a scientific review in the British Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease published by SAGE, suggests that fasting diets may help those with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, alongside established weight loss claims. Intermittent fasting -fasting on a given number of consecutive or alternate days -- has recently been hailed as a path to weight loss and improved cardiovascular risk. A team led by James Brown from Aston University has evaluated the various approaches to intermittent fasting in the scientific literature. They searched specifically for advantages and limitations in treating obesity and type 2 diabetes using fasting diets. The basic format of intermittent fasting is to alternate days eating 'normally' with days when calorie consumption is restricted. This can either be done on alternative days or where two days each week are classed as 'fasting days.' These types of intermittent fasting have been shown in trials to be as effective as or more effective than counting calories every day to lose weight. Evidence from clinical trials shows that fasting can limit inflammation, improve levels of sugars and fats in circulation, and reduce blood pressure. Our fasting bodies change how they select which fuel to burn, improving metabolism and reducing oxidative stress. For people with obesity, only one drug (orlistat) is currently available in the UK, and gastric surgery is a relatively rare and expensive alternative. Dietary changes remain the most common intervention used for obese people. Fasting is known to help, but former treatments were based on intermittent starving. Today's intermittent fasting regimes are easier to stick to and are proven to help remove excess pounds melt away.

Scientists have known since the 1940s that intermittent fasting helps us lose weight, and can cut the incidence of diabetes in lab animals. Recent studies have also confirmed that restricting calorie intake could reverse type 2 diabetes in some people. Researchers measured improved pancreatic function and fewer of the fatty deposits associated with insulin resistance were present in fasting subjects. A healthy heart In animal models, scientists have shown that intermittent fasting has some cardiovascular benefits that appear similar to exercising, such as improving blood pressure and heart rate and lowering cholesterol. Fasting also appears to aid those with ischemic heart disease. Fasting may even protect the heart by raising levels of adiponectin, a protein that has several important roles in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and vascular biology. "Intermittent fasting might achieve much of the benefit seen with bariatric surgery, but without the costs, restriction on numbers and risks associated with surgery," according to lead author, James Brown. "Whether intermittent fasting can be used as a tool to prevent diabetes in those individuals at high risk or to prevent progression in those recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes remains a tantalising notion and we are currently in preparation for clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of this form of lifestyle intervention in various patient groups." Intermittent fasting is an increasingly popular diet plan that hit the headlines in the run-up to Christmas 2012 after the release of a book on the subject. Proponents claim that in addition to weight loss, the diet can lead to longer life, and protection against disease, particularly conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

“May I thank you all those who have supported this hugely popular magazine through advertising, donations and subscription for the last six years.� Vijay Rana, Editor Health & Happiness 4 You.




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