Health & Fitness
Yoga exercise program tailored for pulmonary hypertension patients
A first-of-its-kind yoga exercise program has been developed by Henry Ford Hospital for patients living with pulmonary hypertension, a chronic lung disease that afflicts women at least two times more than men. Called Yoga for PH, the 40-minute program includes three yoga exercise levels and a nutrition and lifestyle discussion. It is available for free […]
Stress hormone linked to short-term memory loss as we age, animal study suggests
A new study at the University of Iowa reports a potential link between stress hormones and short-term memory loss in older adults. The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, reveals that having high levels of cortisol — a natural hormone in our body whose levels surge when we are stressed — can lead to […]
Mechanism could help old muscle grow
Sarcopenia — the significant loss of muscle mass and function that can occur as we age — is associated with many chronic conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity. In findings published online ahead of publication in the September 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal, researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research […]
Soft-drink tax worth its weight in lost kilos
A tax on sweetened soft drinks could be an effective weapon in the war against obesity, generating weight losses of up to 3.64 kilograms as individuals reduce their consumption. Researchers from Monash University, Imperial College London and University of York and Lancaster University, England have estimated the extent to which drinking habits would change if […]
How to Help Your Clients Develop a Positive Self-Image
Ahhh, summer is almost here. Newspapers and magazines, in fact the entire media, seems to have found a seasonally sensational way to fill space…and your client’s heads. Articles about the “Hottest Celebrity Beach Bodies of 2014” and “How to Get Your Beach Body On in One Month” help fuel unhealthy expectations about bodies, […]
Prental stress can increase risk of overweight in adulthood
There are indications that unborn children who are exposed to severe stress levels, have an increased risk of becoming overweight or developing obesity as adults. This is shown by a new registry study from Aarhus University published in PloS ONE. The researchers have previously shown that severe stress experienced by pregnant women can lead to […]
High-altitude weight loss may have an evolutionary advantage
Weight loss at high altitudes — something universally experienced by climbers and people who move to higher terrain — may not be a detrimental effect, but rather is likely an evolutionarily-programmed adaptation, according to a new article in BioEssays. Researchers explain that low oxygen causes fat and protein to be broken down, leading to the […]
Many overestimate exercise intensity, study shows
Do you work out for health benefits and feel you are exercising more than enough? You might be among the many Canadians who overrate how hard they work out or underestimate what moderate intensity exercise means, according to a recent study out of York University’s Faculty of Health. “Our study findings suggest that the majority […]
Fasting reduces cholesterol levels in prediabetic people over extended period of time, new research finds
For prediabetics, many interventions focus on lifestyle changes and weight loss, but new research on periodic fasting has identified a biological process in the body that converts bad cholesterol in fat cells to energy, thus combating diabetes risk factors. Researchers at the Intermountain Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, noticed that after […]
Canola oil may be an oil of choice for people with type 2 diabetes
Canola* is Canada’s oil and new research from St. Michael’s Hospital suggests it should also be one of the oils of choice for people with Type 2 diabetes. Dr. David Jenkins, head of the hospital’s Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre, compared people with Type 2 diabetes who ate either a low glycemic index […]