Medical Study

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 …]

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 …]

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 …]

Study: Is Too Much HIIT Training Detrimental?

April 4, 2021 Tim Comments Off

A new research study[1] shows that extreme exercise training causes mitochondrial functional impairment and lowers glucose tolerance in healthy volunteers. The right amount of exercise training absolutely influences metabolic health through enhanced mitochondrial oxidative potential and increased glucose regulation and is also the preferred treatment in various metabolic complications. But too much of anything is not good, and it also applies in exercising. What was the Goal of the Research Study? Some studies show that intense blasts of exercise improve the number of mitochondria in our muscle cells, and more mitochondria provide better cellular and metabolic health. But there was also research where people did HIIT three times a week for six weeks, but there were no changes in their [Read more …]

Study: Five Servings of Fruits and Vegetables Per Day Reduces Risk of Death

March 4, 2021 Tim Comments Off

A new research study released by the American Heart Association (AHA)[1] shows that five servings of fruits and vegetables are the number of servings you need to eat everyday to live the longest. According to the study, two of those five servings should be fruits, and the other three should be vegetables. “This amount likely offers the most benefit in terms of prevention of major chronic disease and is a relatively achievable intake for the general public,” said lead author Dr. Dong Wang, a nutritionist and epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. What was the Goal of the Research Study? However, there are variations in benefits depending on the fruits and vegetables you are [Read more …]

Best Time to Exercise? Study Determines Afternoons are Better

February 4, 2021 VA Worker Comments Off

A new research study[1] shows that it is better for our bodies to work out at specific times of the day. Exercise training brings out higher metabolic effects in the afternoon instead of in the morning in metabolically compromised humans. It is because the circadian clock and metabolism are tightly associated. Therefore, the exact timing of interventions that target metabolic changes may influence their efficiency. What was the Goal of the Research Study? Previous experiments imply that every tissue in our bodies holds a kind of cellular clock that signals in response to biological messages related to our daily exposure to light, food, and sleep. Adjusted by our lifestyles, these clocks generate multiple circadian rhythms inside of us that induce [Read more …]