Fruit, vegetable consumption tied to ‘progressively shorter survival and higher mortality rates’

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

                                  Fruit and vegetable consumption and all-cause mortality: a dose-response analysis 1,2,3; First published June 26, 2013, doi: 10.3945/​ajcn.112.056119 Am J Clin Nutr August 2013 ajcn.056119 Andrea Bellavia, Susanna C Larsson, Matteo Bottai, Alicja Wolk, and Nicola Orsini; Author Affiliations: 1 From the Units of Nutritional Epidemiology (AB, SCL, AW, and NO) and Biostatistics (AB, MB, and NO), Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Author Notes: 2 Supported in part by a Young Scholar Award from the Karolinska Institutet’s Strategic Program in Epidemiology, the Swedish Medical Society (SLS-250271), and the Swedish Research Council; 3 Address correspondence to N Orsini, Unit of Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, PO Box, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: nicola.orsini@ki.se.

Abstract

Background: The association between fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption and overall mortality has seldom been investigated in large cohort studies. Findings from the few available studies are inconsistent.

 Objective: The objective was to examine the dose-response relation between FV consumption and mortality, in terms of both time and rate, in a large prospective cohort of Swedish men and women.

 Design: FV consumption was assessed through a self-administrated questionnaire in a population-based cohort of 71,706 participants (38,221 men and 33,485 women) aged 45–83 y. We performed a dose-response analysis to evaluate 10th survival percentile differences (PDs) by using Laplace regression and estimated HRs by using Cox regression.

 Results: During 13 y of follow-up, 11,439 deaths (6803 men and 4636 women) occurred in the cohort. In comparison with 5 servings FV/d, a lower consumption was progressively associated with shorter survival and higher mortality rates. Those who never consumed FV lived 3 y shorter (PD: −37 mo; 95% CI: −58, −16 mo) and had a 53% higher mortality rate (HR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.19, 1.99) than did those who consumed 5 servings FV/d. Consideration of fruit and vegetables separately showed that those who never consumed fruit lived 19 mo shorter (PD: −19 mo; 95% CI: −29, −10 mo) than did those who ate 1 fruit/d. Participants who consumed 3 vegetables/d lived 32 mo longer than did those who never consumed vegetables (PD: 32 mo; 96% CI: 13, 51 mo).

Conclusion: FV consumption <5 servings/d is associated with progressively shorter survival and higher mortality rates. The Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish Men were registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01127698 and NCT01127711, respectively.

Legislation may be needed to increase physical activity: National Centre for Cardiovascular Prevention and Outcomes

         

 Posted on June 26, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Nat Rev Cardiol. 2013 Jun 25. doi: 10.1038/nrcardio.2013.90. [Epub ahead of print]; Exercise: friend or foe?; Dangardt FJ, McKenna WJ, Lüscher TF, Deanfield JE; Source: National Centre for Cardiovascular Prevention and Outcomes, 170 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7HA, UK.

Abstract

Physical activity and exercise have been associated with reduced cardiovascular risk, morbidity, and mortality, as well as all-cause mortality, both in the general population and in patients with various forms of cardiovascular disease.

 Increasing amounts of exercise are associated with incremental reductions in mortality, but considerable benefits have been found even with a low level of exercise.

Exercise is beneficial for most individuals, but risks exist.

Exercise is associated with reduced long-term morbidity and mortality, but acute exercise can transiently increase the risk of fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular events. Although tragic, these events are very rare, and even to some extent preventable with screening programmes.

 Low-intensity physical activity is important and beneficial to all individuals, including those with a high risk of adverse cardiovascular events.

 In individuals who are physically fit and who do not have genetic predisposition to, or signs of, cardiovascular disease, the greater the intensity and amount of exercise, the greater the health benefits.

 Nevertheless, effective strategies to encourage exercise in the population are lacking.

 A sustained increase in physical activity is likely to require more than individual advice, and needs to include urban planning and possibly even legislation.

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Older adults taking up exercise are not at increased risk of injury versus younger age groups

       

  Posted on June 26, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

                                 BMJ Open. 2013 Jun 20;3(6). pii: e002831. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002831. Print 2013; A 12-month incidence of exercise-related injuries in previously sedentary community-dwelling older adults following an exercise intervention; Little RM, Paterson DH, Humphreys DA, Stathokostas L; Source: Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, University of Western Ontario London, London, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Fear of injury is reported as a barrier to exercise by older adults. However, the literature is limited in describing exercise injuries in older adults.

DESIGN: This study prospectively evaluated the 12-month incidence of exercise-related injuries to community-dwelling older adults (n=167 respondents; 63 men, 104 women; mean age 69±5 year).

METHODS: A questionnaire developed for use in older adults was administered to document self-reported injuries. Linear regression analysis was conducted to identify covariates related to injury outcomes.

RESULTS: 23 people (14%) reported injuries. 41% of injuries were to the lower extremities, where the most common type was overuse muscle strains (32%, n=7). Overexertion was the most common cause of injury (n=9) and walking accounted for half of the activities during which injury occurred. 70% of injuries required medical treatment. 44% were not able to continue exercising after injury and return-to-activity time varied from 1 to 182 days. Sex, age and exercise volume were not significantly associated with injury occurrence.

CONCLUSIONS: These results showed similar, or lower, exercise-related injury rates as compared with previous reports on younger and middle-aged adults; however, the definition of, and criteria for, ‘injury’ reporting varies in the literature. This study indicates that older adults taking up exercise are not at increased risk of injury versus younger age groups.

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Dr Baio on ASKIMO.TV

I recently got a chance to speak with a few people over at ASKIMO.TV

Here are the segments I did revolving around MMA, Boxing, and pain triggers.

I hope you enjoy.

 

Please comment with any questions.

 



Only half of U.S. youth meet physical activity standards, NIH study shows

 

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Only about half of U.S. adolescents are physically active five or more days of the week, and fewer than 1 in 3 eat fruits and vegetables daily, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

In a survey of youth in 39 states, NIH researchers questioned nearly 10,000 students between 11 and 16 years old about their activity levels and eating habits. They also asked the students to describe their emotional health, body image, and general satisfaction with life.

NIH researchers charted patterns of physical activity, screen time and diet after surveying 10,000 students between 11 and 16 years old. The researchers classified these patterns as typical, unhealthful and healthful.

“The students showed a surprising variability in eating patterns,” said lead author Ronald J. Iannotti, Ph.D., of the Prevention Research Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the NIH Institute in which the study was conducted. “But most — about 74 percent — did not have a healthy pattern.”
Dr. Iannotti conducted the research with NICHD colleague Jing Wang, Ph.D. In addition to NICHD, funding also was provided by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Their findings appear in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
The researchers found that the adolescents’ diet and activity habits could be classified into three general categories. They described the first group as unhealthful. This group accounted for 26 percent of participants. The second group, classified as healthful, accounted for 27 percent. Because it was the largest group — including 47 percent of participants — the researchers classified the third group as typical.
The researchers surveyed participants about: their daily amount of physical activity, the amount of time they spent in front of a computer screen or other electronic screen, and the amount of healthy and unhealthy foods they consumed. Other questions sought information on symptoms of depression and self-satisfaction with their bodies.
The analysis of the survey results showed that the typical youth were least likely to exercise five or more days each week or to eat fruits and vegetables at least once a day. They were more likely to spend time watching television, playing video games or on a computer than the healthful group, and less likely to do so than the unhealthful group. They infrequently ate fruits and vegetables but also infrequently ate sweets, chips or fries, or had soft drinks. Youth in this group were more likely than youth in the other two groups to be overweight or obese and to be dissatisfied with the appearance of their bodies.
The unhealthful group consumed the most sweets, chips, french fries, and soft drinks. They also were more likely than the other groups to report watching TV, playing video games and using a computer more than two hours a day. Despite the caloric foods they consumed, youth in the unhealthful group were more likely to be underweight and to report needing to put on weight. Youth in this group also were more likely to report symptoms of depression and of poor physical health, such as backaches, stomachaches, headaches or feeling dizzy.
Nearly 65 percent of students in the group that the researchers termed healthful reported exercising five or more days per week — the highest rate of the three groups. These students were least likely to spend time in front of a screen and were most likely to report eating fruits and vegetables at least once a day. Students in this group also were least likely to consume sweets, soft drinks, chips and French fries. They reported the lowest rates of depressive symptoms and the highest life satisfaction ratings.
All three groups could stand to improve their health habits, Dr. Iannotti said, whether walking or biking between home and school or eating more fresh produce each day.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans , children and adolescents should get one hour or more of moderate or vigorous aerobic physical activity a day, including vigorous intensity physical activity at least three days a week.
About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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Yoga practice may improve pain tolerance and alter brain anatomy

 

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

Regular and long-term practice of yoga may improve pain tolerance, according to a recent study. Findings from the study also show that practitioners have more gray matter in multiple brain regions compared with individually matched people who did not practice. The study, supported in part by NCCAM, was published in the journal Cerebral Cortex.

Researchers recruited 14 experienced practitioners, as well as 14 people who did not practice any mind-body techniques (individually matched for sex, age, body mass index, left/right handedness, education, and exercise level other than yoga). Participants underwent a cold pain tolerance test—they immersed a hand in cold water until they could no longer tolerate the pain. Researchers then asked participants about strategies they used to tolerate the pain. The researchers also conducted brain imaging scans to examine the structural differences in gray matter and white matter between the practitioner group and the control group.
The researchers found that yoga practitioners tolerated cold pain more than twice as long as the controls. Researchers also found no significant difference in total gray matter volume between groups, but practitioners had greater gray matter volume in brain regions related to pain processing, pain regulation, and attention. Across participants, only the increased gray matter in the mid-insular cortex (a portion of the brain believed to play a role in autonomic integration) correlated with the higher pain tolerance. The volume of insular gray matter in yoga practitioners also positively correlated with the duration of yoga practice, suggesting that yoga experience contributed to these structural differences in the brain. In addition, practitioners had increased white matter integrity within the left insula. Finally, the researchers observed that to tolerate pain practitioners used cognitive strategies that are integral parts of yoga practice, such as observing the sensation without reacting, accepting the sensation, using the breath and relaxation while most control participants did not.
The researchers noted that because of the cross-sectional nature of this study, no definitive causal conclusions can be made. However, based on the findings, the researchers suggest that regular, long-term yoga practice may equip individuals with tools to deal with sensory inputs and the potential emotional reactions attached to those inputs, which may lead to structural changes in brain anatomy and connectivity.
Source

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Americans’ vitamin D levels are highest in August, lowest in February, study shows

      

    Posted on June 22, 2013 by Stone Hearth News

                                 Irvine, Calif. – UC Irvine and Mayo Clinic researchers have found that vitamin D levels in the U.S. population peak in August and bottom out in February. The essential vitamin – necessary for healthy bones – is produced in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet B rays from the sun.

Vitamin D helps bones absorb calcium and can protect against osteoporosis. It’s also thought to play a role in seasonal illnesses, such as the flu. Low levels of vitamin D are believed to impair “innate immunity” i.e., the body’s first line of defense against pathogens. To further study this link, good estimates of the cyclicality of the vitamin are necessary. Solar exposure – a timely topic since June 21 marks the first day of summer – is the most important way people acquire vitamin D. But certain foods, including egg yolks and oil-rich fish like mackerel, salmon, sardines and herring contain the nutrient. In addition, milk and cereal are often enriched with vitamin D.

 “Even with food fortification, vitamin D levels in the population show a high level of seasonality due to the influence of sunlight,” said Amy Kasahara, a UC Irvine graduate student in public health and first author on the paper, which appears in the journal PLOS ONE.

 “The exact biochemical pathways from UVB rays to vitamin D were discovered in the 1970s,” she said. “In this study, we have shown that vitamin D levels lag the solar cycle, peaking in August and troughing in February.”

 The correlation between the seasons and vitamin D has been known for some time. “What we have been able to do is put a lot more precision on the estimates of vitamin D seasonality,” said Andrew Noymer, associate professor of public health and senior author of the article.

“Our analysis, combined with other data, will help contribute to understanding the role of vitamin D in all seasonal diseases, where the simple winter/spring/summer/fall categories are not sufficient.”

Researchers measured the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in 3.4 million blood samples collected weekly in the U.S. between July 2006 and December 2011.

 The study looked at population averages, so people shouldn’t make assumptions about their own levels of vitamin D based on the calendar. Healthcare providers can perform individual blood tests to measure vitamin D directly, and supplements are available for those who cannot or do not receive enough exposure to sunlight.

 Ravinder J. Singh of the Mayo Clinic co-authored the work.

 Source -
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 http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/americans-vitamin-d-levels-are-highest-in-august-lowest-in-february-study-shows/vitamin-d/#sthash.Su9pfZ3x.dpuf