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One cup of leafy green vegetables a day lowers risk of heart disease

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New Edith Cowan University (ECU) research has found that by eating just one cup of nitrate-rich vegetables each day people can significantly reduce their risk of heart disease.

The study investigated whether people who regularly ate higher quantities of nitrate-rich vegetables, such as leafy greens and beetroot, had lower blood pressure, and it also examined whether these same people were less likely to be diagnosed with heart disease many years later.

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death globally, taking around 17.9 million lives each year. [Read more…] about One cup of leafy green vegetables a day lowers risk of heart disease

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    Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask studyA new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that stretching is superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure in people with high blood pressure or who are at risk of developing elevated blood pressure levels. Walking has long been the prescription of choice for physicians trying to help…
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  • One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation
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    One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillationA study of nearly 108,000 people has found that people who regularly drink a modest amount of alcohol are at increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a condition where the heart beats in an abnormal rhythm. The study, published today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal, found that, compared to drinking no…
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  • Higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower risk of cancer
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    Higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower risk of cancerNext time you make a salad, you might want to consider adding mushrooms to it. That's because higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower risk of cancer, according to a new Penn State study, published on March 16 in Advances in Nutrition. The systematic review and meta-analysis examined 17…
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  • Déjà brew? Another shot for lovers of coffee
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    Déjà brew? Another shot for lovers of coffeeLong black, espresso, or latte, whatever your coffee preference, drink too much and you could be in hot water, especially when it comes to heart health. In a world first genetic study, researchers from the Australian Centre for Precision Health at the University of South Australia found that that long-term,…
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  • The right '5-a-day' mix is 2 fruit and 3 vegetable servings for longer life
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    The right '5-a-day' mix is 2 fruit and 3 vegetable servings for longer lifeStudies representing nearly 2 million adults worldwide show that eating about five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, in which 2 are fruits and 3 are vegetables, is likely the optimal amount for a longer life, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation. Diets…
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Policies designed to protect public health from fracking may be ineffective in practice

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Frequent use of exemptions may undermine public health protections of oil and gas setback policies, according to a new study led by researchers at the research institute PSE Healthy Energy, Harvard University, and Nicholas Institute for Environmental Solutions at Duke University.

The study, published April 28, 2021 in Energy Policy, is the first to assess the effectiveness of distance-based setback regulations for unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) or “fracking”.

“Setback regulations are commonly employed to protect public health, so we wanted to test if they’re effective in practice,” said lead author Drew Michanowicz, DrPH, MPH, CPH Senior Scientist at PSE Healthy Energy and visiting scientist with the Center for Climate, Health, and Global Environment at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (Harvard Chan C-CHANGE). [Read more…] about Policies designed to protect public health from fracking may be ineffective in practice

Designing healthy diets – with computer analysis

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A new mathematical model for the interaction of bacteria in the gut could help design new probiotics and specially tailored diets to prevent diseases. The research, from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, was recently published in the journal PNAS.

“Intestinal bacteria have an important role to play in health and the development of diseases, and our new mathematical model could be extremely helpful in these areas,” says Jens Nielsen, Professor of Systems Biology at Chalmers, who led the research.

The new paper describes how the mathematical model performed when making predictions relating to two earlier clinical studies, one involving Swedish infants, and the other adults in Finland with obesity. [Read more…] about Designing healthy diets – with computer analysis

AI pinpoints local pollution hotspots using satellite images

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Researchers at Duke University have developed a method that uses machine learning, satellite imagery and weather data to autonomously find hotspots of heavy air pollution, city block by city block. 

The technique could be a boon for finding and mitigating sources of hazardous aerosols, studying the effects of air pollution on human health, and making better informed, socially just public policy decisions.

“Before now, researchers trying to measure the distribution of air pollutants throughout a city would either try to use the limited number of existing monitors or drive sensors around a city in vehicles,” said Mike Bergin, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke. [Read more…] about AI pinpoints local pollution hotspots using satellite images

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Superbug killer: New nanotech destroys bacteria and fungal cells

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Researchers have developed a new superbug-destroying coating that could be used on wound dressings and implants to prevent and treat potentially deadly bacterial and fungal infections.

The material is one of the thinnest antimicrobial coatings developed to date and is effective against a broad range of drug-resistant bacteria and fungal cells, while leaving human cells unharmed.

Antibiotic resistance is a major global health threat, causing at least 700,000 deaths a year. Without the development of new antibacterial therapies, the death toll could rise to 10 million people a year by 2050, equating to $100 trillion in health care costs. [Read more…] about Superbug killer: New nanotech destroys bacteria and fungal cells

Eye-brain connection evolved much earlier than previously thought

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The network of nerves connecting our eyes to our brains is sophisticated and researchers have now shown that it evolved much earlier than previously thought, thanks to an unexpected source: the gar fish.

Michigan State University’s Ingo Braasch has helped an international research team show that this connection scheme was already present in ancient fish at least 450 million years ago. That makes it about 100 million years older than previously believed.

“It’s the first time for me that one of our publications literally changes the textbook that I am teaching with,” said Braasch, as assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology in the College of Natural Science. [Read more…] about Eye-brain connection evolved much earlier than previously thought

Keep pace: Walking with a partner is great but might slow you down

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If you walk with your spouse or partner on a regular basis, you might want to speed up. Or tell them to.

A new study by Purdue University nursing, health and kinesiology, and human development and family studies researchers shows that couples often decreased their speed when walking together. Speed further decreased if they were holding hands.

The study looked at walking times and gait speeds of 141 individuals from 72 couples. The participants ranged from age 25-79 and were in numerous settings, including clear or obstacle-filled pathways, walking together, walking together holding hands and walking individually. [Read more…] about Keep pace: Walking with a partner is great but might slow you down

New method uses smartphone cameras to measure pulse, breathing rate and could help telehealth

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Telehealth has become a critical way for doctors to still provide health care while minimizing in-person contact during Covid-19. But with phone or Zoom appointments, it’s harder for doctors to get important vital signs from a patient, such as their pulse or respiration rate, in real time.

A University of Washington-led team has developed a method that uses the camera on a person’s smartphone or computer to take their pulse and respiration signal from a real-time video of their face. The researchers presented this state-of-the-art system in December at the Neural Information Processing Systems conference.

Now the team is proposing a better system to measure these physiological signals. This system is less likely to be tripped up by different cameras, lighting conditions or facial features, such as skin color. The researchers will present these findings April 8 at the ACM Conference on Health, Interference, and Learning. [Read more…] about New method uses smartphone cameras to measure pulse, breathing rate and could help telehealth

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    Making health care more personalThe health care system today largely focuses on helping people after they have problems. When they do receive treatment, it’s based on what has worked best on average across a huge, diverse group of patients. Now the company Health at Scale is making health care more proactive and personalized –…
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A strong coffee half an hour before exercising increases fat-burning

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Scientists from the Department of Physiology of the University of Granada (UGR) have shown that caffeine (about 3 mg/kg, the equivalent of a strong coffee) ingested half an hour before aerobic exercise significantly increases the rate of fat-burning. They also found that if the exercise is performed in the afternoon, the effects of the caffeine are more marked than in the morning.

In their study, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, the researchers aimed to determine whether caffeine – one of the most commonly-consumed ergogenic substances in the world to improve sports performance – actually does increase oxidation or “burning” of fat during exercise. Despite the fact that its consumption in the form of supplements is very common, the scientific evidence for its beneficial claims is scarce.

“The recommendation to exercise on an empty stomach in the morning to increase fat oxidation is commonplace. However, this recommendation may be lacking a scientific basis, as it is unknown whether this increase is due to exercising in the morning or due to going without food for a longer period of time,” explains the lead author of this research, Francisco José Amaro-Gahete of the UGR’s Department of Physiology. [Read more…] about A strong coffee half an hour before exercising increases fat-burning

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Medicaid expansion made mouths healthier, study finds

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As the pandemic’s economic effects drive more people to enroll in Medicaid as safety-net health insurance, a new study suggests that the program’s dental coverage can improve their oral health in ways that help them seek a new job or do better at the one they have.

The study focuses on the impact of dental coverage offered through Michigan’s Medicaid expansion, called the Healthy Michigan Plan. The researchers, from the University of Michigan, used a survey and interviews to assess the impact of this coverage on the health and lives of low-income people who enrolled.

In all, 60% of the 4,090 enrollees surveyed for the new study had visited a dentist at least once since enrolling in the Healthy Michigan Plan a year or two earlier, which the researchers verified with state records. [Read more…] about Medicaid expansion made mouths healthier, study finds

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