Heart Health

Test Your Coronary Health at Home

A new study published this year in the journal Heart and Circulatory Physiology suggests your ability to touch your toes might be an indicator of heart health. Sit on the floor with your legs stretched straight out in front of you, toes pointing up. Reach forward from the hips. If you’re flexible enough to touch your toes, then your cardiac arteries probably are also flexible. Researchers found a clear correlation between inflexible bodies and inflexible arteries in people older than 40. Adults with poor results on the sit-and-reach test also tended to have relatively high readings of arterial stiffness. In short, the study concluded that “a less flexible body indicates arterial stiffening, especially in middle-aged and older adults.” Authors of the study aren’t saying inflexible people are in danger of a heart attack, but do say that the stiffer your arteries are, the less efficient your heart. They are currently conducting another study to determine just how and whether stretching directly affects the arteries. In the meantime, they say if you can’t touch your toes, you might consider talking to your cardiologist.

Click here to read the full New York Times article: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/phys-ed-can-touching-your-toes-test-your-arteries/

Weight Control

Shrink Your Diet to Shrink Your Stomach

Eating less food may, over time, lead to a smaller stomach. Studies have shown that significantly reducing caloric intake does produce measurable reductions in a person’s stomach capacity. But the reverse has also been shown to be true. Repeatedly eating large meals can lead to increased stomach capacity. Binge eaters especially have been shown to have larger stomach capacities. A 2001 study has shown that stomach capacity seems to be more related to binge eating behavior than to body weight. So, if you’re interested in curbing your appetite, it might help to restrict your diet to smaller meals throughout the day, and avoid those big dinners.

Click here to read the full New York Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/health/22real.html?ref=health

Aging Gracefully

Do We Get Colder With Age?

Studies have shown that as we age, our body temperature can decline. This becomes particularly pronounced in older people, as a drop of a couple degrees could lead to potentially serious fevers going unnoticed. One study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society examined nursing home patients and found that about half who had infections showed temperatures below 101 degrees, even though many had “robust” changes in temperature — an increase of 2.4 degrees or more — indicating a potentially serious fever. Getting a correct baseline body temperature is crucial to determining whether all you have is a low-grade fever, or a seriously high one.

Click here to read the full New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/health/29real.html?ref=health

Does Stiffness Come With Age?

Not necessarily. According to a Q&A in the New York Times, stiffness after being still for a long time can’t really be attributed to one thing. And it may have nothing to do with aging. It could actually be a symptom of a number of treatable conditions made more prevalent as we age. It could be a decrease in the amount of lubricating joint fluid associated with osteoarthritis. It could also be attributed to changes in bone architecture. The supporting structures like ligaments, tendons, and muscles become less flexible as we age, which can cause stiffness after being still. Joint stiffness could also be an indicator of certain rheumatologic conditions, so people experiencing it should talk to their doctor.

Click here to read the full New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22qna.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Cancer Care

Women Are More Susceptible to Developing Lung Cancer

Lung cancer kills more women each year than breast, ovarian and uterine cancers combined. And it’s prevalence in women is growing. One of the biggest risk factors for both men and women is cigarette smoking, and its prevalence in women has increased significantly since 1980. This is a major concern since data have shown that women may be more susceptible to developing lung cancer than men. Women may be more susceptible to the dangers of tobacco carcinogens because of hormonal influences, decreased DNA repair capacity, and increased levels of DNA adducts (a piece of DNA bonded to a cancer-causing chemical). They’re more likely to develop adenocarcinoma and tend to be younger when diagnosed with lung cancer. And women who do not smoke are more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than men who do not smoke. There are very clear differences in the biology, natural history, and response to therapy between men and women with this disease, and emerging literature provides a biological basis for these differences. These differences will be important considerations in the design of future trials of therapy and screening in lung cancer. If you smoke, make quitting your number one resolution for 2010.

Click here to read the full Medscape article: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/713744