Top 10 Health Tips

Top 10 Health Tips

1. The faster you eat, the more weight you may gain

A Japanese study that followed more than 500 men over 8 years reported that faster eaters gained an average of 4.2 pounds during the study, while slow eaters gained only 1.5 pounds. It takes 20 minutes for your body to register how full you are. To slow yourself down, try sipping water between each bite of a meal.


Read the full story:Scarfing food down like a starving mutt can make you one pudgy pooch: Men who eat faster put on extra pounds over time, a new Japanese study reports.


The study followed nearly 530 men over 8 years. Even among guys with the same starting body mass index, men who reported at the beginning of the study that they were fast eaters gained the most weight over time. Fast eaters gained an average of 4.2 pounds during the study, while slow eaters gained only 1.5 pounds.


You’ve probably heard that fast eating is associated with being heavier, but this is the first time a study has showed that fast eaters actually gain more weight.


Why? “When eating delicious food, we tend to eat faster. This is true whether a person is thin or fat,” says Diana Williams, Ph.D, assistant professor in the department of psychology at Florida State University. Evidence shows that overweight people have a greater desire for high-fat, high-sugar foods. So fast eating might in part be the byproduct of eating junk food, which could explain the weight gain.


Your body also needs time to register hunger. The intestines release hormones to the brain that say “I’m full!” in response to nutrients, Williams explains. But it takes about 20 minutes for your body to register how full you are, says Milton Stokes, R.D., owner of One Source Nutrition.


One tip: Take a sip of water after every single bite—putting down your utensils to do so. It’ll slow you down and keep you hydrated.


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2. Playing music keeps your mind sharp as you age

If you don’t want to constantly be searching for your lost keys through the years, it might be time to pick up a guitar—and the sooner you do it, the better for your noggin. A University of Kansas Medical Center study showed that people who had played music for more than a decade had the best memory and cognition. Because playing music has been shown to arouse so many different sections of the brain, practicing can have broad benefits to keep you sharp.


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Researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center offered a cognitive exam—a test of memory, attention, and language functions, among other things—to 70 adults aged 60 to 83. They were divided into three groups based on lifetime musical experience: those who’d had no training; those who’d played an instrument for between 1 and 9 years; and those who’d played for more than a decade.


The longest-playing musicians performed best, followed by the shorter-term players, and—finally—the non-musicians.


All of the musicians had learned to play by age 10, a crucial aspect of the study. “Age of acquisition is really important,” says Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center and the study’s co-author.


As many of us are painfully aware, it’s easier to learn when you’re young: Research suggests that the intensive repetitive practice needed to learn an instrument can actually reorganize younger brains. That process can also help you build a mental bank to draw on later in life. “It’s not a dementia cure,” Hanna-Pladdy says, “but people with this cognitive reserve can function longer and more effectively.”


But why music? The question isn’t completely settled, but researchers speculate that because it engages so many areas of the brain, music training can have broad benefits. Of course, that doesn’t mean that playing an instrument is the only way to stay mentally fit. “The point is to be cognitively active, and this may be one of the most robust ways to do so,” says Hanna-Pladdy.


And remember: Mind and body go together. Not only can music help postpone mental decline, but so can losing that spare tire.


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3. Cure those nagging pains with better posture

Here’s a simple trick for your brain the next time you go to the doctor for a routine—but painful—shot. Stand up straight and try to have a dominant pose, says a Journal of Experimental Social Psychology study. When taking dominant yoga poses over submissive ones, people could stand pain longer. By acting dominant, you’re likely releasing more testosterone to combat the pain you otherwise would feel.
Headache? Stop Slouching!






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Keeling over in pain is the wrong thing to do next time you’re hurting. Standing up straight might increase your pain tolerance, published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.


In the study, one group adopted a dominant yoga pose—standing straight and taking up more space—while another group took a more submissive pose, involving kneeling and constricting their bodies. When researchers squeezed the subjects’ arms with a blood pressure cuff, those in the dominant pose said “stop” later, suggesting that they had a higher pain tolerance.


“A dominant posture can trick the brain into feeling in control,” says coauthor Vanessa Bohns, Ph.D., post-doctoral fellow at the University of Toronto. “But a submissive posture can activate stress reactions that can make the pain worse.”


Bohns also says that testosterone can play a part. “Putting people in power poses can temporarily increase testosterone,” she said, “which has been linked to increased pain tolerance.”


If you’re giving blood, having surgery, or getting a vaccination, try improving your posture. “A common instinct is to curl up and protect the body during a painful situation,” says Bohns. “But there’s no need to protect yourself at the doctor’s office.”


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4. Stay in touch with family to know if you should bump up a cancer screening

The American Cancer Society found that having a family member—even extended family—with cancer increased a person’s cancer risk substantially between the ages of 30 of 50, meaning that the colorectal cancer screening you thought you’d need at 50 might have to move up if your Uncle Ray recently was diagnosed.

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There’s actually a reason to keep in touch with Uncle Jim Bob and Cousin Nancy. Your family cancer history can change quite a bit between the ages of 30 and 50—which could mean you need earlier cancer screenings—according to a study in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.


The American Cancer Society’s screening schedule is the guideline most doctors use for average folks to schedule cancer tests. For example, it suggests that you should have your first colorectal cancer screening starting at age 50. However, having a close relative diagnosed with cancer can increase your risk and move up your screening schedule by a decade or even two.


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5. Avoid health problems other than sore thumbs with video games

Those marathon gaming nights of Madden on PS3 aren’t bad for you just because you aren’t acquiring enough sleep. Prolonged sitting can cause deep-vein thrombosis—a blood clot in the lower limbs that can work its way up to the heart or lungs, triggering a heart attack. If you have to stay on the controller for several hours to crack a level or are simply stuck to your desk at work, make sure you take breaks each hour to keep your blood flowing.





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All those hours you spend killing aliens on your TV might cost you big time. If your social life hasn’t already suffered from playing video games all night long, consider this: A 20-year-old British man recently died after sitting around and playing his Xbox 360 all night without a break.


The cause? Deep-vein thrombosis, a blood clot in the lower limbs caused by prolonged sitting that can come loose and work its way up to the heart or lungs, triggering a heart attack.


As many as 2 million Americans are diagnosed with DVT annually, but thousands of cases go unreported, especially among younger desk jockeys and marathon gamers. “Since the pain is similar to a cramp, men write it off,” says John Laird, M.D., medical director of the vascular center at the University of California at Davis.


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6. Easy ways to avoid exercise-induced asthma

Not much is worse for an athlete than a good run or game of basketball taking a nosedive because your chest tightens up. Asthma is a disease caused by inflammation, and sadly many of us eat foods that help contribute to that inflammation. An Indiana University review found that certain foods, though, can increase or decrease your risk for an attack.




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What you put in your shopping cart might help you put down the inhaler: An Indiana University review finds that many foods might stave off the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma.


“Asthma is a disease of chronic inflammation in the airways, and most foods Americans eat contribute to this inflammation,” says study co-author Sally Head, Ph.D. (c), a medical student at Indiana University.


We’re not telling you to leave your inhaler at home, of course—but choosing the right foods may help you use it less often. Here’s what might affect your asthma.


Salt

A University of Colorado study found that people who maintained a low-salt diet (between 1,300 to 1,500 mg/day) had improved breathing post-exercise than those who followed a high-sodium diet. Why? Scientists believe sodium infiltrates smooth muscle cells like those in your lungs, and upsets the calcium levels. This imbalance triggers the cells to contract, causing labored breathing.


Though more research is needed to determine how big of a role salt plays in lung function, it doesn’t hurt to cut back your sodium intake. Seventy-seven percent of Americans’ salt intake comes from restaurant and processed meals—foods you should avoid anyway.


Antioxidants

Asthma patients are known to generate more free radicals—chemicals that may produce mucous and cause the lungs and airway to narrow. Even worse, asthmatics tend to be deficient in antioxidants, which fight off the damaging effects of these molecules.


An Israeli study found that people who took a mega dose (64 mg/day) of beta-carotene for a week only had a 5 percent decrease in forced expiratory volume, a measurement of lung function, after exercising compared to a 25 percent drop for those taking a placebo. Five servings of fruits and vegetables (think: dark leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes, and cantaloupe) daily can provide up to 8 mg of beta-carotene. The Institute of Medicine recommends consuming between 3 mg to 6 mg per day.


Another study found that when participants took 30 mg of lycopene for a week, their asthma attacks weren’t as severe when compared to no treatment. (Doctors recommend anywhere from 2 to 30 mg daily.) Ask your doctor about introducing a supplement into your diet, and fill up on lycopene-loaded fruits like watermelon (9 to 13 milligrams of lycopene in 1.5 cups) and tomatoes (3 mg in a medium tomato).


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7. A simple way to cure your blues

If you’re bummed because of a recent layoff or you were dumped recently, hitting the gym for 30 to 45 minutes three to four times a week could really help your mental outlook. A University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study found that 28 percent of depressed people eliminated their symptoms of depression when they worked out that much. The results were even better for men, and it was even more effective when they worked out longer.


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Working out can eliminate signs of depression in people who are already taking medication, but still having symptoms, according to a new University of Texas study.


“About 70 percent of people on medication will still have signs of depression,” explains study author Madhukar Trivedi, M.D., professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “One treatment usually leads to improvement, not remission.”


In the study, 28 percent of people who worked out on a treadmill or stationary bike for 30 to 45 minutes, 3 to 4 times a week eliminated their symptoms. When another group exercised 2 to 3 times a week for 20 to 30 minutes, 16 percent saw symptoms disappear. “When we compared to other studies, we even found that exercise was just as effective as taking an additional medication,” says Dr. Trivedi.


This was especially true for men. Researchers found that men had a very low remission rate when they exercised only a little, but a high rate when they exercised a lot. (Women were less polarized.)


Researchers aren’t quite sure why depressed men need more exercise, but it certainly effects your hormones. “Exercise releases serotonin, which can help reduce symptoms of depression,” explains Dr. Trivedi. “We think that the feeling of accomplishment plays a role, too.”


If you’re feeling low, sign up for a 5K to boost both your serotonin and confidence, or better yet, try the Men’s Health urbanathion in a city near you. Just be sure to keep exercising after the race.


Trivedi also notes that exercise can’t replace a doctor when it comes to depression treatment. “Think of it like diabetes,” he says. “You’d eat right, but you’d still go for check-ups.”


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8. Maybe you should avoid plastic altogether

If you always bring a sandwich to work in a plastic bag or drink from a plastic water bottle, listen up: Even BPA-free plastics can seep harmful chemicals like estrogen into your food or drink, according to a study in Environmental Health Perspectives. The best way to combat this is to use stainless-steel water bottles and glass containers.


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9. Add some light to your (morning) life

If you’re always moving like a zombie after the alarm goes off in the morning, maybe you should be a reverse vampire and seek extra light before you awake. In a study, when sleepers were exposed to gradually intensifying light a half hour before the woke up, they felt more alert than sleepers who woke up to a sudden burst of light.

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10. Kick diabetes

 with this drink that’s available everywhere It’s more available than coffee or tea, and we don’t mean soda. Staying hydrated with 34 ounces of water a day made people in a 9-year French study 36 percent less likely to develop high blood sugar or diabetes. Why? If you’re dehydrated, your brain tells your liver to make more glucose for the body.


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