Walk Faster To Improve Your Health
You already know walking can help you lose weight and improve your health. But an article in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that steps taken at a brisk pace are particularly beneficial for cardio-metabolic fitness (insulin, body weight, cholesterol and blood pressure).
An easy jet lag weapon
Sleeping pills, light-regulating apps, herbal remedies-there's enough jet lag advice to fill a 747. But one of the easiest tricks is to regulate your mealtimes. In a recent study of airline crew members on long flights, researchers found that travellers who eat at normal mealtimes in their destination time zone (as opposed to eating whenever they want) will likely experience fewer symptoms of jet lag-such as fatigue, moodiness and brain fog. Fortunately, many airlines serve on-board meals according to the time at their final stop. Of course, that means you've got to eat when, as well as what, they serve you.
How middle-aged memory works
Researchers at McGill University, Canada, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) to monitor the brain activity of people ages 19 to 76 as they viewed images on a screen and then were asked to recall details. In general, participants 40 and older recalled fewer elements than younger people, but the lead author noted that this "may not be a 'deficit' in brain function". Instead, as the FMRI data showed, middle-aged people tended to use a part of the brain involved with -introspection, suggesting that older people were simply more inwardly focused than their younger counterparts. Mindfulness meditation, which trains the brain to pay more attention to the outside world, can help strengthen recall ability.
Walk faster for your health
You already know walking can help you lose weight and improve your health. But an article in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that steps taken at a brisk pace are particularly beneficial for cardio-metabolic fitness (insulin, body weight, cholesterol and blood pressure). For healthy adults, a good target is 150 minutes per week at 100 steps or more per minute, the researchers said. Whatever your step count, more-and faster-is better.
Taking kidney stones for a ride
Doctors at Michigan State University's urology clinic love the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World. Why? Because a number of patients reported passing kidney stones after riding it. So the urologists put the roller coaster to the test. They used a 3D printer to create a model of a kidney containing urine and kidney stones, and then took it for a ride. The forces exerted by the coaster (which includes quick drops and sharp turns but does not turn upside down) did cause stones to dislodge, particularly when the model was placed near the back. Patients with kidney stones might get relief on a coaster ride, the lead researcher said.
Surprising risk factors for dementia
About two thirds of a person's risk for developing dementia can be blamed on a combination of genes, lifestyle factors and health conditions. The rest may be due to environmental triggers. In a review of 60 previous studies, analysts at the University of Edinburgh, UK, found that the strongest correlations were with air pollution, vitamin D deficiency and occupational exposure to certain pesticides (a concern for farmworkers but not for people exposed to trace amounts from produce). Want to see if you're in the clear? -Vitamin D deficiency can be diagnosed using a blood test and treated with supplements. To check your local air quality, tweet #Breathe <your location>. As a precaution, stay indoors when pollution levels are alarmingly high.
Hidden tooth infections may cause heart disease
According to research from the University of Helsinki in Finland, acute coronary syndrome is 2.7 times more common in people with an infection in the tip of one or more teeth's roots, possibly because it causes low-grade inflammation throughout the body. It can be detected with an X-ray and, in most cases, cured with root canal treatment.
