Stroke risk declines with greater number of healthy lifestyle factors

 Reprinted with permission of Life Extension

The November 14, 2011 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine reports the outcome of a study which concluded that the greater number of healthy lifestyle factors one has, the more protection one gains against stroke. Stroke is a major cause of death worldwide, and its impact on survivors can be devastating.

Gang Hu, MD, PhD of Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and colleagues analyzed data from 17,287 men and 19,399 women without a history of heart disease or stroke who participated in surveys conducted in Finland in 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2002. Questionnaire responses provided information on medical history, physical activity levels, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, diet and other factors. Participants were followed through 2007, during which 1,167 ischemic strokes and 311 hemorrhagic strokes occurred.

The five healthy lifestyle factors evaluated in the study included being a lifelong nonsmoker, having a body mass index of less than 25, engaging in moderate to high levels of physical activity, consuming vegetables at least three times per week and having light to moderate weekly intake of alcohol. Compared to the risk of stroke experienced by those having one or no healthy factors, having two, three, four and five factors was associated with a 34, 43, 49 and 67 percent adjusted reduction. When stroke was analyzed according to type, having two, three, four and five factors was associated with a 33, 40, 50 and 70 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke and a 37, 51, 51 and 60 percent decreased risk of hemorrhagic stroke. These inverse associations were present in both younger and older participations and among those with and without high blood pressure or a history of diabetes.

“Our study demonstrates a graded inverse association between the number of healthy lifestyle factors and the risks of total, ischemic, and hemorrhagic stroke in both men and women,” the authors conclude. “Our findings suggest the important role of promoting a healthy lifestyle in the primary prevention of both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.”

Gym Class Strengthens Kids’ Brains As Well As Bodies

via Organic Gardening

As public schools across America trim their budgets, one of the first casualties is gym class. Sadly, eliminating gym classes not only cuts into children’s physical fitness, it diminishes their intellectual performance as well. Research from the California Department of Education reveals that children who are more fit perform twice as well on academic tests as their unfit peers. And a panel of researchers who conducted a massive review of over 850 studies on the effects of physical activity on school-age children corroborates those findings. The researchers found that 30 to 45 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise 3 to 5 days a week enhanced memory, concentration, mood, classroom behavior, self-concept, and academic performance in the kids. The panel recommended at least one hour a day of moderate to vigorous exercise to optimize children’s cognitive development, as well as physical health.

Blast the Fat!

via To Your Health

Your body is similar to your car. You put fuel in your car so that it will take you to your destination. Your body does the same, but it uses a few different types of fuel. It can burn sugar (carbs), it can burn fat, and if it doesn’t have any excess sugar or fat, it can actually burn muscle tissue (which we want to minimize as much as possible). How much you burn of either type of fuel depends on your exercise methods and habits such as what you eat before you head to the gym. For now, let’s focus mainly on different exercises that will help you burn fat. But know that your eating habits have a direct effect on fat burning or lack of.

A great way to burn fat and lots of calories is through interval (circuit) training. Interval training breaks up the work with periods of rest. Not only does interval training allow you to improve your fitness quickly; it is also more effective than continuous exercise for burning lots of calories during exercise and increasing your after workout metabolic rate. Studies have shown that “after burn” and interval training (circuit) can last up to 36 hours after. (This basically means you are still burning calories at a higher rate when you are finished than normal).

Here are some fantastic interval training exercises that will help you burn calories and lose weight:

Sitting Is Killing You

Via: Medical Billing And Coding

Protect Your Child From Concussions

Protect That Noggin!

Children reap a variety of benefits from athletics. Organized sports in particular help foster a sense of teamwork, pride in accomplishment, individual drive and commitment, and of course, a background in physical fitness that is likely to stay with them their entire lives.

There’s also a risk of injury, of course, and the latest news isn’t encouraging. According to a study in the September 2010 issue of Pediatrics, which analyzed data from emergency-room departments nationwide, approximately half of the nearly 500,000 ER visits for concussions (from 2001-2005) involving children and

Regular Exercise Halves Your Chance of Catching a Cold

via Lifehacker

As if you needed more motivation to exercise: A recent study conducted by U.S. researchers found that people who exercise regularly are about half as likely to catch the common cold.

What’s more, those fit folks who do manage to find themselves under the weather experience a less severe infection than their unfit counterparts. It’s all sounding good so far, but, as the BBC reports, there is a small peculiarity (emphasis ours):

For their study, US researchers asked the healthy volunteers to keep a record of any coughs and sniffles they experienced over a three-month period during the autumn and winter.