Any Level of Physical Activity Helps Prolong Life

This makes perfect sense to me...keep moving!

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Any kind of exercise will help extend your life, say researchers who used a sophisticated test to arrive at that conclusion.

"There are plenty of reports out there saying that self-reported exercise like running or jogging is beneficial," said lead researcher Todd M. Manini, an exercise physiologist at the U.S. National Institute on Aging. "We wanted to see if just usual daily activity had a protective value."

His team's six-year study of 302 people between 70 and 82 years of age found that any sort of energy expenditure through physical activity was associated with a lower risk of death.

That finding, published in the July 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, is not entirely surprising. Organizations such as the American Heart Association have long said that some physical activity is better than none. What was unusual about this study was the exquisitely detailed measurements used to determine levels of physical activity, Manini said.

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Any Level of Physical Activity Helps Prolong Life - Forbes.com

From 38 to 55, 'life gets better and better'

Something we've been saying for a while...it really does get better! And continues to do so way past 50.
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Once characterized by angst and risky behavior, midlife now is believed by some experts to be the happiest time of adult life. "From age 30 to 50, life only gets better and better," said Ron Kessler, professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. "These are the best years of their lives."

From 38 to 55, 'life gets better and better'

HerHealthyLife.org

HerHealthyLife.org: "“Her Healthy Life” is a public education campaign to let women know about easy steps they can take to improve their health. By eating right, exercising and not smoking, you can reduce your risk for many diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and lung cancer. You can begin all of these health improvement steps on your own. This Web site gives you more information and resources for more help."

Quit Smoking!

I received one of the best phone calls yesterday!

As any health care provider can tell you, it's a wonderful feeling when someone makes a positive change in their lives.

In this case, it was a couple (former patients of mine)...he with heart disease, she with probable emphysema. I had been given them suggestions and recommendation to quit smoking for a few years - they were never "ready" to do that. I asked them several times to then please take their smoking out of doors...but at least get it out of the house and car - both enclosed spaces.

It turns out that the gentleman was hospitalized this past winter. When he came home...he was done with smoking. In an effort to support her husband, this woman took her smoking out of doors (yes, even in the rain). Over the next few months she found she was smoking less and less. It was then she realized I was "right" and stopped smoking all together.

She called me yesterday to tell me it's been 4 months since they stopped and they both feel great! You know what...so do I!

Breast Cancer and Soy

I happen to like soy. I add soy protein powders to my smoothies. I eat tofu. I enjoy tofu in many dishes. And as my body changes, I want to make sure I'm getting foods that are healthy, and may even diminish the few effects I'm seeing with being perimenopausal.

Because breast cancer has been an issue for the women in my family, I'm also concerned about keeping my breasts healthy.

The following study sheds some more light onto some of the positive aspects of soy.

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Soy Intake Might Trim Breast Cancer Risk
(Reuters Health) - Findings from a meta-analysis of published data suggest that soy intake may provide some protection against the development of breast cancer, researchers report in the April 5th issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

However, this result should be interpreted with caution, lead author Dr. Bruce J. Trock, from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and colleagues note. They emphasize that it would be premature to recommend high-dose isoflavone supplementation to stave off breast cancer.

The team notes that the association between soy intake and breast cancer risk has been unclear. Breast cancer rates are lowest in Asian countries, which may relate to the high intake of soy foods. On the other hand, epidemiologic studies have yielded conflicting results and experimental evidence has suggested that soy constituents may actually raise the cancer risk due to estrogenic effects.

The current analysis involved data from 18 epidemiologic studies published between 1978 and 2004.

In a pooled analysis that included all women, high soy intake seemed to cut the risk of breast cancer by 14%. When the analysis was confined to women in Asian countries, the association was not statistically significant.

High soy intake cut the risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women by 30%, slightly higher than the 23% reduction seen in postmenopausal women, according to the results of 10 studies that stratified the data by menopausal status.

Six of the remaining eight studies that did not provide menopausal-specific results showed no association between soy intake and breast cancer risk.

In a related editorial, Dr. Maria Elena Martinez, from the University of Arizona in Tucson, and colleagues "commend the authors for tackling this complex and controversial, yet highly important, issue." However, they add that further studies are needed to better understand the role of soy.

J Natl Cancer Inst 2006;98:430-431,459-471.

Allergy Season - Worse yet?

ABC News: Survival Strategies for Brutal Allergy Season: " Experts are calling this one of the worst allergy seasons on record, with people who never have had problems before reporting itching, coughing and sneezing."

Americans and their love affair with candy

Apparently in 2001, Americans spent $21 billion on candy!!! (Stats from Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, Nov 3, 2002).

And we wonder why we have problems with diabetes, obesity and our teeth.

Think about this. I'm not saying stop buying candy (well, maybe I am), but I am saying we have a serious problem with the foods we eat. Let's face it. No one puts that candy (or whatever) into our mouths. Isn't it time we take responsibility for our health?