health briefs

Exercise More to Counter Risks of Poor Sleep

Poor sleepers can cut their health risks by exercising more, reports a new study of 380,055 middle-age people in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Both physical inactivity and poor sleep are independently linked to a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and death, but Australian researchers found that more exercise lowers the consequence of poor sleep. People that ate better, drank less alcohol and were more physically active also tended to sleep better. The lower the sleep score, the higher were risks of death from any cause, including cardiovascular disease and ischemic stroke. Those at the bottom of the scales with both poor sleep scores and little physical activity had a 57 percent higher risk of death from any cause. People that were younger, female, thinner or better off financially tended to have healthier sleep scores, as did those that ate more fruits and vegetables, spent less time seated, had no mental health issues, never smoked, didn't work shifts, drank less alcohol and were more physically active.

blue bird/Pexels.com

Drink Green Tea to Ward Off Flu

Green tea, a staple of Japanese culture now enjoyed in many American homes, contains compounds called catechins that have significant antiviral activity against influenza, charlotte may/Pexels.com report researchers from Thailand’s University of Phayao in the journal Molecules. They analyzed eight studies involving 5,048 people and found that gargling or drinking green tea reduced the risk of influenza by 33 percent in randomized controlled trials and by 48 percent in longitudinal cohort studies.

Skip Southern Food to Avoid a Heart Attack

The fried foods, added fats, eggs, organ meats, processed meats and sugar-sweetened drinks of a Southern-style diet can have dire consequences for people’s hearts, reports the American Heart Association. A 10-year study of 21,000 people found that those that eat the Southern diet regularly have a 46 percent higher incidence of sudden cardiac death compared to those that don’t eat those foods. By contrast, people that closely follow the Mediterranean Diet—which emphasizes vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains and legumes with little meat or dairy—have a 26 percent lower risk of sudden cardiac death.

vittaya_25/AdobeStock.com

Eat High-Flavonoid Foods to Reduce Cognitive Decline

Eating foods high in flavonoids—the antioxidant-rich plant compounds found in strawberries, oranges, peppers and apples—can reduce trang doan/Pexels.com the risk of cognitive decline by 20 percent or more, reports new research published by the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers followed more than 78,000 people in their late 40s and early 50s for 20 years, asking them what they ate and to evaluate their cognitive skills. They found that those foods with more flavones, such as yellow or orange fruits and vegetables and some spices, reduced cognitive decline the most, at 38 percent—the equivalent of being three to four years younger in age.

Anthocyanins, found in blueberries, blackberries and cherries, were associated with a 24 percent reduced risk of cognitive decline. “The people in our study who did the best over time ate an average of at least half a serving per day of foods like orange juice, oranges, peppers, celery, grapefruits, grapefruit juice, apples and pears,” says study author Walter Willett, M.D., a nutrition and epidemiology professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “And it’s never too late to start, because we saw those protective relationships whether people were consuming the flavonoids in their diet 20 years ago or if they started incorporating them more recently.”