About 43 percent of Americans take a supplement that includes calcium, thought to be a builder of strong bones. But now come researchers from Johns Hopkins University with a concern that calcium in the form of supplements may raise the risk of plaque buildup in arteries and heart damage, even though […]
Author: Art Jahnke
The Latest Supplements du Jour
Multivitamins, which, in the opinion of many experts, never did anything, are out. Vitamin D, probiotics and fish oil are in. That’s the word from the supplement fashion police, otherwise known as epidemiological researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. HealthDay reports their recent survey, which found that […]
It’s October. Get Ready To Gain Weight
First the bad news. As the New York Times puts it, this is probably the least you will weigh all year. Then some more bad news. The pounds that you put on, which should peak around New Year’s Day, won’t come off for another five months. This cheery prediction comes […]
Spinach May Enhance Performance. Or Not.
Popeye may have been right: eating spinach and other leafy greens that are high in nitrates could improve athletic performance. Or not.  Science Daily reports on research conducted at the University of Leuven in Belgium, where  27 “moderately trained” athletes were given nitrate supplements before  Sprint Interval Training (SIT), — […]
Exercise Spurs Fat-Burning Hormone
How, exactly, does exercise keep you thin? Researchers at the University of Florida have a pretty good idea. They have learned that Irisin, a hormone that surges when muscles are exerted, somehow tells the body to shed fat and hinders it from making more fat. A University of Florida news release reports […]
Exercise Brain Boost May Not Last
Faithful readers of New York Times health columnist Gretchen Reynolds probably know that she has several times extolled the brain benefits of exercise. Now comes Reynolds with some less than great news: those benefits may not last. Reynolds cites a new study from researchers at the University of Maryland that took […]
Even Baseball Players Are Getting Fat
Giving new meaning to the moniker “heavy hitters,” professional baseball players have been putting on the pounds. David E. Conroy, Penn State professor of kinesiology, looked at 145 years of data on professional baseball players’ body mass, and found that the athletes’ weight held steady for over 100 years, with the […]
Oxytocin For Body and Spirit
Oxytocin doesn’t just renew aging muscles, it can also renew your spirit. Researchers at Duke University have found that men reported a greater sense of spirituality shortly after taking oxytocin and a week later, and that people who took oxytocin also experienced more positive emotions during meditation. All good things. A […]
Meditation Improves Emotional Health
OK, perhaps it’s not all that surprising: meditation tends to level our emotions–in a good way. And according to researchers at Michigan State University, it does so even for people who are not particularly “mindful,” meaning those who don’t usually enjoy a moment-by-moment awareness of one’s thoughts, feelings and sensations. […]
Happy Spouse, Healthy You
It offers the same health benefit as exercise, but it’s a lot easier: keep your spouse happy. Researchers at Michigan State University who studied 1,981 married couples have found that people with happy spouses were much more likely to report better health, regardless of a person’s own happiness. A Michigan […]