health

Naps Linked with Higher Risk of Death

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Middle-age and older adults who take daytime naps may be at increased risk of dying, a new study from England suggests.

In the study, people ages 40 to 79 who napped daily, for less than an hour, were 14 percent more likely to die over a 13-year period, compared to those who did not nap. Longer naps were linked with a higher risk: people whose daily naps lasted an hour or more were 32 percent more likely to die over the study period.

Many people turn to sleeping pills to help get some rest at night. But do these pills actually put you to sleep?
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The findings held even after the researchers took into account many factors that could affect people’s risk of death, such as their age, gender, body mass index (BMI), whether they smoked, how much they exercised, and whether they had certain pre-existing medical conditions (such as diabetes, cancer or asthma)

In particular, naps were linked with an increased risk of dying from respiratory diseases. And the link between napping and risk of dying was highest among the younger people in the study, those between ages 40 and 65, who were nearly twice as likely to die during the study period if they napped for an hour or more, compared to those who did not nap.

The reason for the link is not known. It may not be napping per se that’s unhealthy, but rather, that those who tend to nap also have undiagnosed medical conditions that affect their risk of dying, the researchers said.

“Further studies are needed before any recommendations can be made,” the researchers, from the University of Cambridge, wrote in the May issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. “Excessive daytime napping might be a useful marker of underlying health risks, particularly respiratory problems, especially among those 65 years of age or younger,” they said.

The study involved more than 16,000 people in England (where napping is not a cultural norm) who answered questions about their napping habits between 1998 and 2000, and were followed for 13 years.

Some studies have suggested that “power naps” of less than 30 minutes can be beneficial, but the new study could not specifically look at the effect of power naps, because it asked participants only whether their naps lasted more or less than an hour.

Sleep apnea, or frequent pauses in breathing during sleep, can make people sleepy during the day, and is also linked with an increased risk of dying over a given period. The new study could not directly take into account whether people had sleep apnea, but people who had a high BMI and took medications for high blood pressure were considered likely to have sleep apnea, the researchers said.

Future studies should more precisely measure sleep apnea, and should investigate whether daily naps are linked with physiological changes that might be harmful, the researches said.

Source: discovery news

5 Ways Pets Can Improve Your Health

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A pet is certainly a great friend. After a difficult day, pet owners quite literally feel the love.

In fact, for nearly 25 years, research has shown that living with pets provides certain health benefits. Pets help lower blood pressure and lessen anxiety. They boost our immunity. They can even help you get dates.

Allergy Fighters

“The old thinking was that if your family had a pet, the children were more likely to become allergic to the pet. And if you came from an allergy-prone family, pets should be avoided,” says researcher James E. Gern, MD, a pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

However, a growing number of studies have suggested that kids growing up in a home with “furred animals” — whether it’s a pet cat or dog, or on a farm and exposed to large animals — will have less risk of allergies and asthma, he tells WebMD.

In his recent study, Gern analyzed the blood of babies immediately after birth and one year later. He was looking for evidence of an allergic reaction, immunity changes, and for reactions to bacteria in the environment.
If a dog lived in the home, infants were less likely to show evidence of pet allergies — 19% vs. 33%. They also were less likely to have eczema, a common allergy skin condition that causes red patches and itching. In addition, they had higher levels of some immune system chemicals — a sign of stronger immune system activation.

“Dogs are dirty animals, and this suggests that babies who have greater exposure to dirt and allergens have a stronger immune system,” Gern says.

Date Magnets

Dogs are great for making love connections. Forget Internet matchmaking — a dog is a natural conversation starter.

This especially helps ease people out of social isolation or shyness, Nadine Kaslow, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University in Atlanta, tells WebMD.

“People ask about breed, they watch the dog’s tricks,” Kaslow says. “Sometimes the conversation stays at the ‘dog level,’ sometimes it becomes a real social interchange.”

Dogs for the Aged

“Studies have shown that Alzheimer’s patients have fewer anxious outbursts if there is an animal in the home,” says Lynette Hart, PhD, associate professor at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

“Their caregivers also feel less burdened when there is a pet, particularly if it is a cat, which generally requires less care than a dog,” says Hart.

Walking a dog or just caring for a pet — for elderly people who are able — can provide exercise and companionship. One insurance company, Midland Life Insurance Company of Columbus, Ohio, asks clients over age 75 if they have a pet as part of their medical screening — which often helps tip the scales in their favor.

Pet owners with AIDS are far less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets. “The benefit is especially pronounced when people are strongly attached to their pets,” says researcher Judith Siegel, PhD.

In one study, stockbrokers with high blood pressure who adopted a cat or dog had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than did people without pets.

People in stress mode get into a “state of dis-ease,” in which harmful chemicals like cortisol and norepinephrine can negatively affect the immune system, says Blair Justice, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health and author of Who Gets Sick: How Beliefs, Moods, and Thoughts Affect Your Health.

Studies show a link between these chemicals and plaque buildup in arteries, the red flag for heart disease, says Justice.

Like any enjoyable activity, playing with a dog can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine — nerve transmitters that are known to have pleasurable and calming properties, he tells WebMD.

“People take drugs like heroin and cocaine to raise serotonin and dopamine, but the healthy way to do it is to pet your dog, or hug your spouse, watch sunsets, or get around something beautiful in nature,” says Justice, who recently hiked the Colorado Rockies with his wife and two dogs.

Good for the Heart

Heart attack patients who have pets survive longer than those without, according to several studies. Male pet owners have less sign of heart disease — lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels — than non-owners, researchers say.

Source: web md

‘I will do it tomorrow’ attitude hidden in genes

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Is “I will do it tomorrow” is all you hear every time you ask your kid to do homework? The secret of such a trait may well be trapped in his/her genes, a study reveals.

Those who procrastinate are also likely to be more impulsive and both the traits are linked to genes that one inherits, the study has found.

“Everyone procrastinates at least sometimes but we wanted to explore why some people procrastinate more than others and why procrastinators seem more likely to make rash actions and act without thinking,” said psychological scientist Daniel Gustavson of the University of Colorado Boulder in the US.

The researchers found that procrastination is indeed heritable, just like impulsivity.

Not only that, there seems to be a complete genetic overlap between procrastination and impulsivity – that is, there are no genetic influences that are unique to either trait alone, the study found.

For the study, researchers had 181 identical-twin pairs and 166 fraternal-twin pairs complete several surveys intended to probe their tendencies toward impulsivity and procrastination, as well as their ability to set and maintain goals.

The research appeared in the journal Psychological Science.

Source: Business standard

Reverse signs of ageing with healthy lifestyle

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Wrinkles, hyper pigmentation and greying hair add decades to your chronological age. Though many cosmetic companies assure you of reversing the signs of early ageing, are they enough to compensate for the wear-and-tear of the cells caused by years of living a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle and exposure to ultraviolet rays and pollutants?

What is premature ageing?
Ageing is a natural phenomenon occurring due to the interplay between genetic, metabolic and environmental factors. The rate of ageing is an actively regulated metabolic process and so is not fixed. Premature ageing refers to the unnatural acceleration of the natural process of ageing. Possession of certain unfavorable genetic variants and/or an unhealthy lifestyle can become the cause of premature ageing, reflecting the importance of your well being both from the inside and the outside.

What are the factors that speed up the process?
Skin health correlates with the genetic makeup and metabolic condition, and is influenced by environmental and lifestyle-related factors like nutrition, exercise, personal habits and stress. Our body cells are exposed to the damage provoked by external and internal stressors including heat, radiation, pollution, genetic variations, excess glucose, oxygen free radicals, and collagen breakdown among others. The rate at which we age is determined by the ability of our body cells to cope with this damage.

What are the lifestyle changes that can help delay the ageing process?
A healthy lifestyle can postpone the visible signs of skin ageing and favorably influence the longevity of the skin. So focus on a balanced diet, drink lots of natural fluids and make sure that your day doesn’t end without an adequate intake of fruits and vegetables. A simple pranayama or yoga for a few minutes can relax your mind, while easy floor exercises and brisk walking can contribute to your fitness level. Indeed, the inside of the body must always be made to work in tandem with the outside of the body.

How does one understand that the body is ageing faster compared to the chronological age?
Skin changes are amongst the most visible signs of ageing. Skin ageing is evidenced by wrinkles, age spots, dryness and sagging. Ageing skin appears thinner, less plump, more pale, and translucent; and it repairs itself more slowly than younger skin. Overt signs of premature ageing as noticed by one’s self, or by comments on our appearance from others, tell a lot about our ageing tendency. But a genetic assessment on age-regulating genes can provide strong insights on ageing rate.

What is the role of gender in the ageing process? Do women age faster than men?
Dermis (the skin layer lodging skin-firmness protein, collagen) in men is much thicker than in women, hence men have a higher collagen density. As collagen relates to skin ageing signs, assumedly a woman’s skin appears about 15 years older than a man of the same age. Men seldom use sunscreens; hence UV damage negates the benefits of slowed intrinsic ageing in men, shadowing the noticeable difference.

How can understanding genetics help age better?
You are unique, so is your skin. Though the human genome sequence is 99.6% identical in all people, a small genetic change, or variation, that occurs within a person`s DNA sequence can have an impact on his/her health. Genetic assessment will give you a clear picture of your genetic information in relation to your health condition and ageing pattern. The skin might exhibit similar signs of ageing from the outside, but from the inside its genetic and metabolic regulations stand unique. Managing genetic risks for premature ageing by appropriate lifestyle changes can help us age better.

Source: Zee news

8 Ways Aloe Can Be Used For Everday Health And Beauty

The Aloe plant is part of the genus, succulent plants, which comprises of over 500 different types of species. It has been cultivated for many years because of its pharmaceutical uses. Dating back 5,000 years to ancient Egypt, aloe was known as a powerful herbal medicine. The plant produces gel and latex, which are both used for medicinal purposes. The gel is the clear gooey substance that is found when you break the plant, and the (yellow) latex comes from right under its skin. Many beauty experts and other health care professionals list aloe as an important plant curing many skin ailments. Here are a few of its suggested uses:

Burns
Applying aloe cream to the skin might help to heal certain burns. A 2009 study found that 30 patients with second-degree burns, who applied aloe cream, healed in areas with minor wounds in less than 16 days.

High cholesterol and Hyperlipidemia
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), preliminary evidence suggests that taking 10 to 20 milliliters of aloe orally daily for 12 weeks can reduce total cholesterol by about 15 percent, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by about 18 percent, and triglycerides by about 25 to 30 percent in people with hyperlipidemia.

Cold Sores
Research suggest that aloe gel speeds up canker sores and helps to alleviate some of the pain

Acne
Some research has shown that aloe helps to heal present acne and acne scars because of its antimicrobial properties. It’s also moisturizing without being greasy.

Dry Hair
The inside of the plant makes a great hair conditioner because of the its hydrating properties. Use the plant’s “juice” and gel in your hair, then rinse and apply your normal conditioner.

Diabetes
The NIH says that, while it’s inconclusive aloe may reduce blood sugar in people with diabetes. “Two studies indicate that taking aloe gel by mouth can reduce blood sugar in women with type 2 diabetes. But another study did not show the same benefit.”

Sunburns
Due to the cooling effect aloe has on the skin, it’s often an over-the-counter recommendation by physicians and pharmacists for minor sunburns.

Weight Loss
Aloe Vera juice made its way last year as a health drink. According to the Daily Mail, aloe contains a number vitamins “including A, C, E, folic acid, B1, B2, B3, B6, and it is one of the few plants that contains vitamin B12, which helps with brain and nervous system function.” As a super food it helps with digestion and clears your skin from the inside.

Source: Medical daily

Meet the man who has eaten pizza for every meal for 25 years

When Dan Janssen tells people about his pizza-only diet, he usually gets one of two reactions.

“They either want to kill me, or they think I’m a hero,” he told.  Janssen, 38, claims that he has eaten pizza for nearly every meal over the past 25 years. He said he rarely eats breakfast, subsisting on mainly coffee in the morning, and then downs a whole pizza for lunch and another one for dinner, day after day.

“I think I’m an anomaly,” he said. “I don’t advocate this. I’ve been surprised at how polarizing this is.”

Janssen, the founder of artisanal woodshop Imperium Woodcraft in Ellicott City, Md., was raised on a meat-and-potatoes diet but became a vegetarian for ethical reasons when he was 14 years old. There was just one problem with that.

“I hate vegetables,” he said. “I tried for maybe a couple weeks, and then I realized the thing I really like is pizza, so I’m going to eat that.”

And while many who have heard of his diet are nothing short of jealous, some are worried about his well-being.

“Eating the same food day in and day out can limit a person’s ability to get a vast array of foods and nutrients he or she needs to optimize health and meet daily nutritional needs,” said Elisa Zied, a New York-based dietitian/nutritionist and the author of “Younger Next Week.” “While pizza tastes great and certainly has its virtues, subsisting on it and having little else in the diet is a recipe for an unhealthy, nutritionally-inadequate diet. Also, limiting foods/food groups can set you up for one boring diet.”

Janssen eats plain pizza, but mixes it up with everything from frozen pizza to local pizza places to making his own.

“I love the nuance of pizza, so I try to vary it in different ways,” he said. “Once a week to be healthy, I’ll eat a bowl of Raisin Bran, but other than that it’s just pizza.”

His freezer is crammed with frozen pizzas, and then the other part of the refrigerator includes ingredients from artisanal pizza shops. He went to one pizza place so much that he became friendly with the owners to the point where he started helping them with their marketing.

“I would say all the pizza shops around here know me by name,” Janssen said. “All the Domino’s places know I used to work there in college.”

He also considers his diet to be economical.

“I save a lot on food,” he said. “In today’s foodie culture with all the focus on organic and no preservatives and locally grown, you can go to the grocery store, spend $100 and only get two meals out of it. I can get pizza for a week on that.”

While it may be cheaper, Janssen’s diet often prompts questions about how it affects his health. He says he was diagnosed with diabetes, which runs in his family, before embarking on his pizza-only diet, but has not had any complications. He does not drink or smoke, and exercises regularly by riding his bike long distances.

“I understand that this is a disgusting diet,” he said. “You expect me to be overweight and have no energy, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Whenever I see a new doctor, I tell him, ‘I have a terrible diet, and I only eat pizza.’ With three different doctors, they have done bloodwork and my cholesterol levels and blood pressure are great, and I am fit and energetic.

“I’m sure when I’m 60 I’ll drop dead of a heart attack, but right now I am fine.”

Janssen says he’s heard varying reactions since his story first appeared on Vice.

“People are really angry about it, which I don’t understand,” he said. “When somebody says, ‘I’ve been a smoker for 20 years,’ most people say, ‘That’s your choice.’ I eat pizza for 20 years, and people want to kill me, or they think I’m a hero.”

While pizza is his first choice, he has subsisted on other foods when necessary. During a two-week trip to Germany, he ate only soft pretzels because German pizza was so bad.

“I’m good at pretending,” he said. “It’s not that I’ll die if I eat something new. I can fake it, like if I go to a wedding or something. My reputation precedes me where I live. I’ll get an invite, and it will say, ‘We’re having a party, but there’s not gonna be any pizza there.’ I’ll eat whatever if it’s a situation like that.”

Janssen, who is engaged, has seen a therapist about his eating habits but says that right now he is perfectly happy with his pizza-centric diet.

“My fiancée is trying to slowly get me to change,” he said. “I do want to change, but this is how I’m living, and I feel great.”

Source: today

Eating vegetarian diets may help lower BP

A new study has revealed that eating a vegetarian diet is associated with lower blood pressure (BP), and the diets can also be used to reduce blood pressure.

Factors such as diet, body weight, physical activity and alcohol intake play a role in the risk of developing hypertension. Dietary modifications have been shown to be effective for preventing and managing hypertension.

The authors analyzed seven clinical trials and 32 studies published from 1900 to 2013 in which participants ate a vegetarian diet. Net differences in BP associated with eating a vegetarian diet were measured.

In the trials, eating a vegetarian diet was associated with a reduction in the average systolic (peak artery pressure) and diastolic (minimum artery pressure) BP compared with eating an omnivorous (plant and animal) diet.

In the 32 studies, eating a vegetarian diet was associated with lower average systolic and diastolic BP, compared with omnivorous diets.

The study was published in the journal JAMA.

Source: DNA India

5 reasons why walking on grass is good for your health

There is a common belief that walking on grass in the morning and evening is a great for your health; especially for your eyes. Have you ever wondered why? Well, here are five reasons waking on grass can do a great deal of good for your mind and body.

Rejuvenates your senses and calms the mind: The entire environment in the morning – the fresh air, sunlight and peaceful atmosphere helps you in innumerable ways. Fresh oxygen helps your body work better, sunlight helps you keep warm, replenishes your vitamin D stores and the calm atmosphere helps relax your entire body and mind, allowing you to let go of all your stress. Apart from that the green colour of grass, helps stimulate your body to produce calming hormones that help you relax

Stimulates your entire body, including the eyes: Our feet are store houses of reflexology zones that correspond to various organs of our body. According to the principles of reflexology, stimulating these points can help relieve ailments of the particular organs and keep them in a general state of good health. The foot has points for the eyes, ears, lungs, nerves of the face, stomach, spleen, brain, kidneys and many more organs, so when we walk on grass, these areas are gently stimulated, helping your entire body stay healthy. Dr Anjali Sharma, senior consultant, Naturopathy, Sri Balaji action medical institute, Delhi says, ‘When we walk on grass we stimulate the nerve endings of the foot, where thousands of nerve endings converge. These nerve endings get gently yet directly stimulated by the grass, helping the body stay in a state of equilibrium.’

Another reason for this belief is that when we walk, we put maximum pressure on the first, second and third toe. The reflexology pressure points for the eyes are present on the second and third toes, which is why walking on grass has a large number of benefits for one’s eyes.

Connects you to the earth and neutralizes your electrical energies: Dr Anjali says, ‘In naturopathy we base our treatment on the five elements of nature, out of which one of the elements is earth. The earth contains magnetic fields and has a certain flow of energy. Therefore when we walk barefoot on grass, we directly get connected to the magnetic field of the earth, which affects the entire electrical and magnetic field of our body. This exchange of energies helps neutralize negative electrical impulses in our body which are known to cause certain ailments. Therefore, cleansing our bodies of negative electrical energies definitely has a positive effect on our overall health.’

Lets you soak in the sun: When we walk on grass early in the morning we give our bodies the precious gift of ‘sun energy’. Dr Anjali says that sun energy is a great source of healing energies and restorative powers. ‘Sun energy’ – as it is called in Naturopathy – is the source of life and energy. It helps disinfect the body, tones the muscles and nerves, supplies the entire body with energy and supplies the body with the all essential vitamin D.

Dr Anjali suggests that, ‘Walking in the sun is extremely important and beneficial and one gets the maximum benefit of the sun between 6:30 to 9 in the morning and between 4:30 or 5 to about 6:30 in the evening. That being said, one should be careful not to expose themselves to harsh sunlight that we commonly see in the afternoons, as this can be damaging to the body.’

Replenishes your vitamin D stores: In recent times, osteoarthritis and other bone related diseases have become common place. Doctors say that this is mainly due to the lack of exposure to the sun. Therefore when you walk in the open – early in the morning – the sun replenishes your vitamin D stores automatically, helping you keep bone and joint diseases at bay. If you are pregnant, this vitamin is all the more important for you

Source: the Health site

How often should you wash your bed sheets?

The majority of people are aware of the importance of personal hygiene, although many people may not be aware of how important it is to wash your sheets regularly.

Think of it this way, would you wear the same clothes for several weeks unwashed? We may spend more time in our sheets than we do in our clothes, yet we wouldn’t wear the same clothes everyday as that would be considered not hygienic.

Imagine what happens every night to your sheets as you rest on your most sanction of places. While you sleep your body sheds dead skin cells, you secrete oils from your skin, your body sweats and to top it off you may often leave small amounts of fluids from our groin region. On top of all of that, if you’re in a healthy relationship, it’s likely you have sex in your sheets every week which leaves behind even more stuff.

How does this affect our health?

Dust mites
These microscopic creatures thrive off of your dead skin. They live, eat, reproduce and die right in your bed and pillows; leaving behind their own rotting bodies. The average bed has anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million dust mites living there. Your health is greatly affected by these creatures if not properly kept under control. You may develop severe allergies and have a lowered immune system.

Allergies
Many people suffer from allergies and may not be aware that you can prevent them by properly cleaning your living space, especially your bedding. If you wake up with allergy symptoms this may be due to your sleeping environment.

Bacteria
Many kinds of bacteria and germs live on your dirty sheets. This can cause you numerous health problems if your sheets remain unwashed.

How often should you wash your sheets?

At least once every two weeks will keep your resting place hygienic. Every week would be ideal and any less than once a month would affect your health.

To keep your bed in the best condition you should wash your sheets every two weeks in hot soapy water and dry them completely through in the dryer. Washing your pillow every month is also important to disinfect and wash away the dust mites. You can purchase dust mite proof covers for your mattress and pillows which will help in controlling the dust mites. Wash your bedding more often if there is reason to do so

Source: love lifestyle

Addicted to Sugar? Here’s How You Can Beat Your Cravings

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A secret weapon that you may like to use in your own personal war against sugar. It stops cravings in their tracks but also deals with mid-afternoon energy slumps. Ready for it? It’s coconut oil.

Take it a tablespoon at a time

Eat it directly after lunch. Or mix it with a little raw cacao powder to make the simplest chocolate snack

It kills sugar cravings, immediately.
How so? Coconut oil is made up of medium-chain fatty acids, or medium chain triglycerides (MCTs). Indeed, coconut oil is nature’s richest source of MCTs. These fatty acids produce a host of health benefits which you can read about here. But here’s the bit I like: your body sends medium-chain fatty acids straight to your liver to use as energy. This means coconut oil is a source of instant energy, much like sugar and other simple carbohydrates. But although both deliver quick energy to your body, unlike the carbohydrates, coconut oil does not produce an insulin spike in your bloodstream. This saves you from a slump, and is really good news for anyone struggling with insulin issues. Like me.

It fills you up, immediately.
After two tablespoons I’m not hungry for about four hours.

And bonus: it helps you lose weight!
Again, it’s the medium-chain fatty acids. Most plant oils are made up of longer chain fat triglycerides (LCTs). LCTs are typically stored in the body as fat; MCTs are transported directly to the liver, promoting “thermogenesis” which increases the body’s metabolism. There are a stack of studies that have shown this to be the case, like this one. This study shows eating two tablespoons of coconut oil with a meal caused body temperature to rise, boosting metabolism. Plus, MCTs are not easily converted into stored triglycerides and cannot be readily used by the body to make larger fat molecules.

Source: huffington post