KNIGHT WATCH

IS THIS WHAT WE'VE BEEN "WEIGHTING" FOR?

When we sleep less, we eat more. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 16 participants were allowed only 5 hours of sleep at night, instead of the 7-9 hours experts recommend. When they were given 3 large meals a day plus snacks, they had less self-control than when rested. They also skipped breakfast and ate a lot more carbohydrates and fat at night, which makes weight gain likelier. In five days of shortened sleep the participants gained almost 2 pounds. Obviously, sleep can keep us from being “tired of weight gain”.

When we eat affects weight loss. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity monitored 420 overweight Spaniards on a 20-week diet. The participants were divided into 2 groups – early-eaters and late-eaters. Because lunch is the big meal in Spain, half the group ate before 3 pm and half after. The timing of breakfast and dinner had no effect, but the late-lunch eaters lost less weight and lost it more slowly. After considering caloric intake, energy expenditure and sleep amount, the finding held. Because eating earlier gives us more time to burn calories, maybe Americans’ big meal shouldn’t “weight”.

Snacks also affect weight loss. A study published in the journal Food Quality and Preference recruited 109 people and gave them a mid-afternoon snack of potato chips, pie or chocolate. The snacks ranged in size from .4 ounce to 7+ ounces. The researchers also measured participants’ hunger levels before and 15 minutes after snacking. Although the larger-portion group consumed 77% more food (approximately 103 more calories), small snacks were just as effective at curbing appetite 15 minutes later. It’s our brain – not our stomach - that usually dictates how hungry we feel and small snacks are sufficient “brain food”.

Money helps us lose weight. One hundred Mayo Clinic employees were divided into groups. Every group had classes on how to eat healthy and lose weight, but some groups also received financial incentives to lose weight. Each member of the financial-incentive groups received $20 for each pound lost, but had to pay $20 for each pound gained. After 52 weeks the financial-incentive groups had lost an average of 9 pounds compared to an average of 2 pounds lost by the just-classes groups. In 2013 about 86% of large employers offer incentives to help employees reach health goals. It “can pay” to lose weight.

SHOULD WE OR SHOULDN'T WE?

Eat a Mediterranean diet – fish, grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine included 7,000 people, ages 55-80, who all were at high risk for heart attacks and strokes. They were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 diets: low-fat, Mediterranean with more than ¼ cup of olive oil daily or Mediterranean with more than 1 ounce of walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts daily. After less than 5 years participants on the Mediterranean diets had 30% less risk of heart attack, stroke or dying from cardiovascular disease. These aren’t diets. They are “live-its”.

A drink a day may be good for your heart, but it increases your cancer risk. According to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, alcohol accounts for 3.5% of the more than 577,000 cancer deaths a year. Breast cancer was the most alcohol-related cancer death in women. Mouth and throat cancers were the most related deaths in men. Alcohol is also related to 15,500 deaths yearly from ovarian cancer and 9,180 from melanoma skin cancer. For more than 65% of adult Americans who are regular or occasional drinkers, this information may be hard to “drink in”.

Stay active. In a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, survey respondents were asked about their leisure-time physical activity and their happiness level. Based on their answers they were divided into active and inactive groups and happy and unhappy groups. People unhappy when first surveyed were excluded from the study. Happy people who were inactive at the study’s start were 49% and 45% likelier to be unhappy 2 and 4 years later compared to those who were active. However, those who became active were likelier to be happy 2 and 4 years later. Unfortunately, “running errands” doesn’t qualify as physical activity.

Low wages are bad for your heart. From 1999-2005 a study published in the European Journal of Public Health examined health data for 5,000 people ages 25-65 – none of whom had high blood pressure. Not surprisingly, workers with the lowest wages were likelier to have hypertension than workers with the highest wages. However, the link was strongest among women and people ages 25-44. In 2013 dollars hypertension became noticeable among those making $23/hr or less. Sleep, listening to favorite music and eating potassium-rich bananas reduce high blood pressure. Sometimes it’s easier to change a lifestyle than change a job.

ARE WE LISTENING TO HEALTH EXPERTS?

Don’t smoke. Graphic anti-smoking pictures are more effective than words in warning people about the dangers of smoking. A study published in the journal PLoS ONE included 3,330 adult smokers from diverse racial, ethnic, and income groups. Some were given written warnings about smoking and the others were given graphic pictures showing the consequences of smoking such as blackened lung, cancers and death. Across all racial and economic groups those who saw the pictures were more motivated to quit smoking. Now we wait to see if the Supreme Court allows cigarette companies to use their first amendment right as a “smoke screen”.

Be a vegetarian. It reduces your risk of being hospitalized or dying from heart disease. A study of 45,000 people published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that vegetarians were 28% less likely to develop heart disease during the study’s 11-year time period. Most of the difference in risk probably came from having better cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure. The researchers accounted for age, smoking, drinking, exercise, education level and socioeconomic background in making their calculations. Although 37% of Americans have heart and artery disease, only 3%-5% are vegetarians. It seems being a vegetarian might postpone “meating our Maker”.

Eat more potassium. Potassium reduces the risk of high blood pressure - which may, in turn, lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. The World Heath Organization recommends we get 3,510 milligrams of potassium daily. Beans and peas are the best sources, with up to 1,200 milligrams per cup. Also vegetables such as spinach, cabbage and parsley are potassium-rich. Fruits such as bananas, papayas and dates are good options too. Because heart disease and stroke are the major causes of death and disability around the world, snack on raisins and try to think of potassium as “potassiyum”.

Get angry. People who get angry live an average of 2 years longer than those who internalize their anger. A German study that analyzed 6,000 patients found those who held onto angry feelings risked having an elevated pulse and high blood pressure. They also had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease – such as heart attacks and sudden death. However, anger has to be expressed appropriately – no throwing things or punching walls. Yell, walk away, start a petition – anger can be constructive. It can tell you what you need to do – if you are able to “listen to reason”.

WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG NOW?

Daily workouts don’t undo the damage caused by sitting all day. Research done at the Mayo Clinic has shown sitting 9 hours a day is unhealthy for everyone. When we are sitting, our metabolic engines go to sleep, our muscles stop moving, our heart slows, our calorie-burning rate falls to about 1 calorie per minute and our insulin effectiveness drops, increasing the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Fat and cholesterol levels increase too. It seems movement is a big factor in determining who becomes obese. Getting up for 10 minutes every hour enables our bodies to “move with the times”.

Feeling you are stressed increases your stress. In a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, researchers analyzed 6 studies in which participants, who were followed for about 14 years, self-reported intense or frequent feelings of stress. Those who reported high levels of stress had a 27% higher risk of coronary heart disease. When people say they feel stressed, they are experiencing the flight-or-fight response. Adrenalin increases blood pressure to boost energy and this can strain the heart. Today’s stress isn’t caused by running from lions, but that’s how are bodies react to the “lion’s share” of our stress.

Soft drinks are linked to depression. A study presented to the American Academy of Neurology involved 263,900 U.S. adults ages 50-71, who answered questions about their beverage consumption between 1995 and 1996. Ten years later they were asked if they had been diagnosed with depression since 2000. People who drank 4 or more cans of soda daily were 30% likelier to have been diagnosed with depression than people who didn’t drink soda. Broken down it was 22% for regular soda drinkers, 31% for diet soda drinkers and 51% for diet fruit drink drinkers. This is information we need to “drink in”.

Nearly 20% of seniors discharged from the hospital will be re-admitted within 30 days with a completely different ailment from the one originally requiring hospitalization. That’s according to a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The phenomenon is known as “post-hospital syndrome”. After a hospital stay patients are often weak from lack of exercise, sleep deprivation or malnutrition. For the first 30 days after discharge they are susceptible to such things as infection, heart failure or wounds from a car accident or fall. Perhaps if patients were better prepared for discharge, hospitals wouldn’t need revolving doors.

DO AMERICANS HAVE A HEALTHY APPETITE FOR LIFE?

Seventy-five percent of Americans thought obesity was a serious problem; but 55% thought it was a personal problem, 33% thought it was a community problem and 12% thought it was a combination of both.  That’s according to a 2012 Associated Press survey of 1,011 adults nationwide. Thirty-three percent of Americans said the government should be deeply involved in preventing obesity, 33% didn’t want the government involved and 34% were somewhere in the middle. Eighty percent supported nutritional guidelines, but 60% opposed taxing unhealthy foods and 75% opposed restrictions on food people can buy. Meanwhile, obesity “weighs heavily on” America’s health.

Although Americans spend more on healthcare than people in 16 other developed countries, we are unhealthier and die sooner – 75.6 years for men and just under 81 years for women, which ranked them second-last. According to a 2013 National Academy of Sciences’ report, Americans did worse in 9 areas: infant mortality, injury and homicide, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, drug abuse, obesity and diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, and disabilities. America’s very poor showing was attributed to things like our reliance on cars, fast food and resistance to being told what to do. Unfortunately, that’s the “American way”.

One in 24 Americans admitted to falling asleep while driving in the past month. That was one finding of a 2013 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which included nearly 150,000 drivers in 19 states and Washington, D.C. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 2% of crashes involve drowsy driving and those crashes are likelier to be fatal. Although young adults were likelier to drive drowsy, the number decreased with age. That was attributed to older drivers having learned from experience. Unfortunately, young drivers too often receive a “crash course” in the dangers of drowsy driving.

Thirty-one percent of young, American adults communicated with their parents more than once a day. In contrast, only 13% of their boomer parents communicated with their parents daily. That’s according to a 2013 survey published in AARP The Magazine. Sixty percent of young adults got together with their parents at least weekly, 79% were comfortable discussing life events with their parents and 81% were comfortable discussing finances. However, only 53% of boomer parents agreed it’s better for young adults to live at home than struggle on their own. Hopefully, the 63% of children who agreed belong to the agreeing parents.

WHAT MAKES US THE WAY WE ARE?

Being stressed-out makes us look bad. It reduces melanin, which pigments our skin; and our skin looks sallow. It weakens collagen and we get baggy skin under our eyes. It ages cells and we get wrinkles on our faces. Stress also causes a lack of sleep. If we don’t get enough sleep, our skin doesn’t have time to refresh itself at night and tighten up. There isn’t time for the water in our bodies to be distributed and it causes dark circles and bags under our eyes. Stress may be why they say, “Beauty is only skin deep”.

Long flights make us feel bad. The plane’s filtered, ultra-low-humidity air dries our airways, stripping our nostrils of their protective mucous. That makes it easier for germs to infect our body. The cabin’s low air pressure combined with our inactivity slow our blood circulation, which can cause blood coagulation that clogs our veins. Because the earth’s atmosphere thins out above 30,000 feet, we are exposed to more cosmic radiation. A cross-country flight produces about half the radiation produced by a chest x-ray. Crossing time zones quickly disrupts our circadian rhythms and we get jet lag. That’s the “plane-spoken” truth.

A flu shot makes us only 60% safe from the flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are several reasons for this. The shot doesn’t work for everyone – especially the elderly. It takes about 2 weeks for the vaccine to become effective. Thus we could get the flu during that time. We could be exposed to a strain of the flu not covered by the vaccine or we could be exposed to a completely different kind of virus (adenovirus, parainfluenza virus or respiratory syncytial virus) that causes flu-like symptoms. Basically, getting the flu after having a flu shot is a “flu-ke”.

Low testosterone levels can make men grouchy. Testosterone is a hormone that grows muscles, reduces fat in the body, affects energy and improves sexual desire. However, it also has neural-psycho effects. Men with low testosterone have difficulty concentrating and being tolerant. Certain metabolic and kidney diseases – including diabetes – cause low testosterone, but in healthy men testosterone levels start to gradually decline after age 60. According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, 30% of men over age 75 have low testosterone levels. Maybe a testosterone test would be a good anniversary gift for “men of a certain age”.

DO WE NEED TO GAIN WEIGHT-LOSS INFORMATION?

Few Americans know all the risks of obesity. Although 70% of Americans knew heart disease and diabetes are the most serious consequences of obesity, only 15% knew it contributes to arthritis – especially in the knees. That’s according to a 2012 Associated Press survey of 1,011 adults nationwide. Only 7% knew fat increases the risk of cancers of the colon, breast, prostate and uterus; and only 5% knew it increases the risk of sleep apnea and asthma. However, no one knew that obesity increases the risk of infertility. It seems what we don’t know CAN hurt us.

Fewer American women are dieting. That was the finding of a 2012 survey of 3,800 adults done by the NPD Group, a research marketing firm. In 1992 thirty-five percent of women were dieting. In 2012 it was 23%. However, a survey by the International Food Information Council found there was only a 1% drop in the number of people saying they were dieting (56% to 55%) between 2007 and 2012. The difference in the studies’ findings was attributed to many of us now calling it “eating healthy” instead of calling it dieting. It’s a way of life instead of a “weigh of life”.

Skinny models undermine dieting goals. Researchers at Tilburg University in the Netherlands gave diaries to women starting a weight-loss program to record what they ate and when. Half the diaries had a picture of a skinny model on the cover and on every page. The other diaries had a neutral logo on them. The women using the skinny-model diaries slightly gained weight. When diaries with a skinny model and diaries with an average-weight model were used, the women using the skinny-model diaries again gained weight. Because they make weight-loss goals seem unattainable, skinny models aren’t “role models”.

Fructose may prevent us from feeling full. All sugars have the same amount of calories, but they don’t metabolize the same way in our bodies. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 20 young, normal-weight adults had MRI’s track blood flow in their brains before and after they had a drink containing glucose or fructose. Then the same procedure was repeated several weeks later. Fructose didn’t suppress activity in brain areas critical for reward and desire for food. Therefore, the desire to eat continued. Fructose is used in processed foods and sweetened beverages. Obviously, ingredient labels aren’t “sweet nothings”.

DO WE KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR US?

Eating more fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of breast cancer. In a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers analyzed 8 previous studies, totaling 3,055 case subjects and 3,956 matched control subjects. According to their findings, women with high circulating levels of carotenoids had low breast cancer risk. Carotenoids include a group of more than 700 micronutrients that help add deep green, yellow, orange or red colors to fruits and vegetables. Some produce high in carotenoids are carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes and tomatoes. Obviously, when choosing what foods we eat, we shouldn’t be “colorblind”.

Eating asparagus may prevent hangovers. According to a study published in the Journal of Food Science, the amino acids in asparagus seem to guard liver cells from toxins. Hangovers are a factor of how the body metabolizes alcohol, how alcohol affects blood flow to the brain and how alcohol affects the brain’s neurotransmitters. Other foods that have been linked to preventing hangovers when eaten before drinking are eggs, bananas and oats. However, the most important thing to do is drink lots of water – alternating each drink of alcohol with a drink of water. When drinking alcohol, being “highdrated” is very important.

Skin fillers may slow tissue aging. In a study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, researchers injected Restylane into the buttocks of about 2 dozen 80-year-olds. Then biopsies were performed at 1, 2, 4 and 12 weeks. Skin cells are surrounded by connective tissue largely made of collagen. When the tissue ages, it fragments, causing cell deterioration. When the filler was injected, it caused the skin cells to produce more collagen. The skin also became thicker and produced more blood vessels. Bottoms are used for skin tests because they are the body part least exposed to sun. That’s the “bottom line”.

You can literally throw your negative thoughts away. In a study published in Psychological Science, 83 people wrote down their thoughts about their body image. Then they threw away the pieces of paper or kept them. People who kept negative thoughts rated themselves more negatively, but those who threw away their thoughts had no change in how they rated their bodies. It’s much like smiling to feel happier and sitting up straight to feel more confident. Throwing away negative thoughts tricks your brain into marking those thoughts as gone. It takes practice, but it’s very positive “paperwork”.

WHAT'S BEEN FOUND ABOUT LOST WEIGHT?

Memory of our meals affects our hunger. In a study published in PLoS ONE, 50 people were shown a picture of a cup of soup and 50 were shown a picture of a bowl of soup. Afterward the participants were asked to eat soup until they came to a line on their bowl. They didn’t know how much soup they ate because a covert system removed or added soup to the bowl. Two to three hours later those who’d seen the picture of the bowl of soup felt less hungry – whether or not they’d eaten more soup. Perhaps our mantra should be “Remember more, eat less”.

Guilt about what we eat increases our sense of pleasure. In a combined university study 20 women looked at covers of health magazines and 20 looked at covers of magazines unrelated to healthy living. Afterward they all ate a chocolate candy and answered questions about how much they enjoyed it. Those who’d looked at the health magazines enjoyed the chocolate 16% more. Their being primed to feel guilty increased their pleasure. Because our thin-obsessed culture connects guilt and pleasure, our brains start to expect pleasure when we experience guilt. It’s a gastronomic guilt trip.

Cutting fat keeps us slim. In a study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers reviewed 33 other studies involving 73,589 men, women and children. The participants were various ages and in various stages of health. Some ate less fat than usual and some ate their usual amount. When the effect on their bodies was measured 6 months later, those who ate low fat foods had slimmer waists, lower bad cholesterol and had lost an average of 3.5 pounds. The participants who cut down more on fat lost more weight – and didn’t find it again for at least 7 years.

Aerobic workouts are better for loosing weight than resistance training. In a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, 234 overweight and obese adults were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 workouts: aerobic, resistance or a combination of both. The regimen lasted 8 months. The aerobic and combination groups lost more weight and fat, but the combination group had to exercise twice as long. That’s because resistance training increases lean body mass, but it doesn’t burn fat well. So, unless you have time on your hands, aerobic exercise is the way to get weight and fat off your body.

WILL ANY GOOD COME FROM THIS?

Pesticides in tap water have been linked to food allergies. Researchers at the American College of Allergies, Asthma and Immunology discovered people with more dichlorophenols in their urine were much likelier to have food allergies. Dichlorophenols are a type of chlorine put in some pesticides to kill bacteria. It’s thought dichlorophenols also kill the good bacteria in the human digestive system, causing food allergies. Unfortunately, drinking bottled water isn’t a sure fix. These pesticide chemicals are in fruits, fruit juices and any foods made with cocoa powder. Fighting against dichlorophenols may become the new cause for chocoholics.

There is a link between diabetes and dementia. A Japanese study followed 1,017 men and women for 15 years. All were 60 or over when the study started and all were screened for diabetes and prediabetes. Twenty-seven percent of those with diabetes developed dementia compared to 20% of the participants without diabetes. Also, 25% of those with prediabetes developed dementia. Diabetes could be connected to dementia because it contributes to vascular disease, which disrupts oxygen flow to the brain. Considering 105 million Americans had diabetes or prediabetes in 2012, controlling blood sugar requires serious “sweet talk” with one’s doctor.

Stress and depression may be linked to stroke. A study published in the journal Stroke tracked 4,120 people – average age 77 – for 10 years using interviews and hospital records. During the study there were 151 deaths from strokes and 452 hospitalizations from strokes. By using standardized scales of psychosocial distress, researchers determined participants with the most stress, depression, negative outlook and general dissatisfaction were 3 times likelier to die from a stroke and 54% likelier to be hospitalized because of stroke than those with the least distress. Often the difference between stroke death and hospitalization is a “stroke of luck”.

A simple sitting test may predict longevity. A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology followed 2002 adults aged 51-80 for approximately 6.3 years. Initially they were asked to sit on the floor and get up using the least amount of bodily support. A perfect score was 10, but a point was deducted for each body part leaned on getting down or up. Scorers of 0-3 were 6.5 times likelier to die during the study than those scoring 8-10. Scorers of 3.5-5.5 were 3.8 times likelier and scorers of 6-7.4 were 1.8 times likelier. This gives new meaning to “sit in judgment”.