Aging & Health

Study: Protect Yourself from Flu with Aerobic Activity

May 20, 2023 Tim Comments Off

A new research study[1] shows that strenuous-intensity aerobic physical activity for at least 75 min/week has significant health benefits and can help defend against disease and mortality from infectious illnesses. What was the Goal of the Research Study? This study aimed to expand on the influenza and pneumonia findings presented by Zhao and colleagues. In an earlier study they conducted on leisure-time physical activity and cause-specific mortality among National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) participants from 1997 through 2014, they noted that US adults who completed the aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines had a 54% lower adjusted risk of influenza and pneumonia mortality, compared to those who didn’t meet any guideline. Influenza and pneumonia rank in the top ten causes of death in [Read more …]

Grip Strength - indicator of strength and fitness

Grip strength is inversely associated with DNA methylation age acceleration

January 29, 2023 VA Worker Comments Off

A new research study[2] shows that those with relatively weak handgrip strength showed signs of accelerated aging of their DNA. Grip strength is a reliable marker of general muscle quality and strength. Those with weak handgrip have genes that appear to be growing old faster than those with greater strength. What was the Goal of the Research Study? The goal of this study was to resolve whether grip strength was associated with measures of DNA methylation (DNAm) age acceleration. There is huge evidence linking muscular weakness, as defined by low grip strength, to a host of negative aging-related health results. Given these links, grip strength has been labeled a ‘biomarker of aging’, but the pathways connecting grip strength to negative [Read more …]

Flavonols to Slow Cognitive Decline?

January 17, 2023 Tim Comments Off

A new research study[1] suggests that eating more flavonols, antioxidants found in many vegetables, fruits, tea, and wine, may delay the speed of memory loss. They play a huge role in stimulating cell growth, fighting environmental stress, and drawing insects for pollination. What are Flavonols Flavonols are polyphenols that belong to the flavonoid family. Also known as 3-hydroxylamines, flavonols are the most widespread flavonoids in plant food. They are colorless molecules that compile primarily in the outer and aerial tissues of plants and plant products and work as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and vasodilatation effects. They also have been deemed possible anticancer agents and regulate various cellular signaling pathways. The most familiar flavonols found in foods include quercetin, isorhamnetin, kaempferol, [Read more …]

Hydration – The Key To Living Longer and Healthier?

January 5, 2023 VA Worker Comments Off

A new research study[1] suggests that well-hydrated adults may be healthier, less likely to develop chronic diseases like lung and heart disease and live longer than people who don’t get enough fluids. We all know that water is essential to all living things, especially to us humans, as it regulates body temperature, delivers oxygen throughout the body, flushes body waste, protects your spinal cord and other sensitive tissues, and many more. According to a study by the National Institutes of Health, drinking enough water is also associated with a lower risk of dying early or a lower risk of being biologically older than your chronological age. What was the Goal of the Research Study? Some people age faster than others; [Read more …]

As Little as Three Minutes Of Exercise Every Thirty Minutes Can Help With Glucose Control

September 29, 2021 Tim Comments Off

A new research study[1] shows that as little as three minutes of exercise every thirty minutes can help glucose control. Under free-living conditions, breaking sitting modestly improved activity behavior. Breaking sitting was inadequate to modulate glucose tolerance or the skeletal muscle lipidome. Activity breaks decreased fasting blood glucose levels and daily glucose variation compared with baseline, with an inclination to reduce fasting LDLc. What was the Goal of the Research Study? Because of technology, lifestyles nowadays became inactive. Instead of going out to eat, people can order food with just a few clicks on their mobile phones. In Europe, more than one-third of the population is physically inactive, and they spend their leisure time watching tv. This growth of inactive [Read more …]

Research Study: As Little as 2 minutes of HIIT Training Shows Benefits

August 18, 2021 Tim Comments Off

A new research study[1] shows that a four-second power cycling training increases maximal anaerobic power, peak oxygen consumption, and total blood volume. [2] A mere four seconds of all-out exercise, repeated two or three dozen times, could be all many of us need to build and maintain our fitness, strength, and physical power, according to an inspiring new study of the potency of super-quick workouts. What was the Goal of the Research Study? Past studies show that workouts with extreme intervals varying in length from four minutes or even less enhanced phases of health and fitness to similar or a greater degree than much more extended sessions of endless, gentler exercise, like walking or jogging. The optimal duration of the [Read more …]

Study Finds Best Time to Exercise is the Evening

May 29, 2021 VA Worker Comments Off

A new research study[1] shows that performing exercise in the afternoon or early evening may confer the greatest metabolic health benefits. What was the Goal of the Research Study? Everyone knows exercise and doing a range of activities have several health benefits, but the time to exercise for optimal health benefits is currently unknown. Timing is crucial in increasing the profitable result of exercise on metabolic pathways within muscle and systemic energy homeostasis. The outcomes of past studies have been inconsistent. [2] Some suggest morning workouts burn more fat than evening exercise. Others find the reverse. And some recent experiments show that intense early exercise reduces blood-sugar control, while the same activities, executed later, smooth blood-sugar spikes and enhance metabolic [Read more …]

Study: Lack of Sleep in Middle Age May Be Linked to Dementia

April 29, 2021 Tim Comments Off

A new research study[1] shows that persistent short sleep duration at age 50, 60, and 70 compared to persistent normal sleep duration was associated with a 30% increased dementia risk independently of sociodemographic, behavioural, cardiometabolic, and mental health factors. These conclusions imply that short sleep duration in midlife is linked with an increased risk of late-onset dementia. What was the Goal of the Research Study? In this study, the researchers utilized data from the Whitehall II cohort study traversing 30 years to study the connection of sleep duration at age 50, 60, and 70 with incident dementia, and to examine whether patterns of change in sleep duration over this period were connected with dementia. The researchers explore whether mental disorders [Read more …]

Study: Exercise May Help Slow Cognitive Decline

April 10, 2021 Tim Comments Off

A new research study[1] shows that exercise may help slow cognitive deterioration in some people with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder that affects the nervous system, which leads to shivering, stiffness, and trouble with walking, balance, and coordination. A new study published on the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, tells that exercise may help slow cognitive decline for some people with the disease. What was the Goal of the Research Study? The goal of the study is to learn whether more significant physical activity could change the negative association of APOE ε4 with longitudinal cognitive differences in early Parkinson’s disease. APOE e4 is a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s [Read more …]

Coffee Before Exercise Increases Fat Burn

April 3, 2021 Tim Comments Off

A new research study[1] shows that caffeine improves the maximal fat oxidation (MFO) rate and aerobic capacity, which are lower in the morning than in the afternoon. The result of the study validates the earlier reported diurnal variation in the whole-body fat oxidation rate during graded exercise in active caffeine-naïve men and shows that the acute ingestion of 3 mg/kg of caffeine boosts MFO, Fatmax, and VO2max independent of the time of day. What was the Goal of the Research Study? Metabolic flexibility has lately been proposed as an additional key factor influencing performance in endurance exercises. Athletes’ endurance is lower early in the morning and late at night than in the afternoon, and that MFO and Fatmax are higher [Read more …]