The Medicine Called Sleep
Deep, adequate sleep is like a healing medicine to the body. But the opposite is true, too. In fact, consistently poor or insufficient sleep can contribute to diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems and weight gain, according to experts at the Cleveland Clinic.
Blood pressure, for example, rises and falls during sleep. But when sleep is interrupted, there can be an unhealthy impact on the blood pressure's normal variability, causing it to rise and setting off problems with the heart and arteries. (Read more about The Medicine Called Sleep)
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Chelation Therapy Would Be Great, if It Works
Chelation therapy, in which a chemical agent improves one's health by latching on to excess metal atoms in the body, forming complexes that are then excreted in the urine, so far has only limited proven effectiveness.
Claims are often made that chelation therapy is a good treatment for cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, mercury poisoning, chronic fatigue syndrome and other long-term conditions. But there is no scientific evidence for any of these (Read more about Chelation Therapy Would Be Great, if It Works)
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Four Predictors of Long Life
Evidence is mounting that some rather surprising attributes and habits of a person's life can pretty well foretell whether that man or woman will live to a ripe old age. Here are four of them:
-- Having strong legs. Leg strength translates into good flexibility, balance and endurance, which are crucial for avoiding the falls and other accidents that shorten so many seniors' lives. It's good to do squats, lunges and stair climbing to kill two birds with one stone: losing weight and gaining strength. (Read more about Four Predictors of Long Life)
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Compound in Indian Curry Attenuates Strokes
Curry may also be a pharmaceutical.
Research that's being conducted at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine is showing that curcumin, the biologically active compound in curry's main spice, turmeric, can diminish the size of blood clots in the brain. These clots form when a blood vessel bursts in the brain, causing a hemorrhagic stroke. These comprise 17 percent of strokes, according to the American Stroke Association.
As a bonus, curcumin reduces one's chances of coming down with cancer and Alzheimer's disease. (Read more about Compound in Indian Curry Attenuates Strokes)
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The Healing Influence of Religiousness
Study after study over the years has shown that practicing one's religion - with all of the persistence and sincerity that demands - inevitably leads to improved health and ability to recover from illness.
For example, a 1987-95 research investigation of 21,000 Americans found that those who attended worship services more than once a week experienced a seven-year greater life span than their counterparts who never attended such services.
Epidemiologist Jeff Levin, who wrote the book God, Faith and Health, conducted studies showing that older adults who thought of themselves as religious had better overall health than the faith-less. (Read more about The Healing Influence of Religiousness)
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As Goes Oral Health, So Goes General Health
Many studies are showing a persistent connection between gum disease and other ailments that afflict corners of the body far afield from the teeth.
Specifically, when gingivitis (early-stage gum disease) or full-blown periodontal disease is present, it's often the case that doctors find that a patient has diabetes, kidney disorders, preterm labor, certain types of cancer, osteoporosis or even Alzheimer's disease. (Read more about As Goes Oral Health, So Goes General Health)
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Chiropractic Technique Reduces Blood Pressure
A particular chiropractic adjustment has been shown to significantly improve high blood pressure, according to recent research.
"This procedure has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure medications given in combination," said study leader George Bakris, a medical doctor who is director of the University of Chicago hypertension center. "And it seems to be adverse-event free. We saw no side effects and no problems." (Read more about Chiropractic Technique Reduces Blood Pressure)
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Why Women Live Longer
Across the globe, women still live 5 to 10 years longer than men. Founder of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University explains why 85% of people over 100 years old are women.
One large reason is the large advantage women have over men in terms of cardiovascular disease. Women develop symptoms like heart attacks and strokes usually in their 70s and 80s, compared to men who develop them in their 50s and 60s. Doctors long believed the difference was due to estrogen, but studies show that this may not be the case. (Read more about Why Women Live Longer)
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Obesity Not Always Indicative of Cardiovascular Risk
Obese people do not always carry an increased risk of heart disease, while some individuals of normal weight do. Two studies published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, revealed that how fat was distributed, like fat around the abdomen, was a consistent risk factor for heart disease. People who have their abdominal cavity lined with fat appear to be more likely to develop insulin resistance and have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. (Read more about Obesity Not Always Indicative of Cardiovascular Risk)
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Clumsiness and Obesity Intertwined
Children with poor coordination could be at higher risk of obesity later in life. The research published in the British Medical Journal found that youngsters who performed least well in tests assessing cognitive and physical function were far morely likely to be obese by age 33. Researchers examined test results from the on-going National Child Development Study involving more than 11,000 people since 1958. (Read more about Clumsiness and Obesity Intertwined)
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