Wine and Exercise: A Promising Combination

The European Society of Cardiology is currently convened in Barcelona for its annual congress, where an abundance of promising heart-disease research has been unveiled. Envious American eyes are on a study of regular wine consumption and its apparent health benefits.

Many studies in the past have found that wine drinkers have healthier hearts than abstainers, but the current trial—called In Vino Veritas (In Wine, Truth)—is one of the first studies to actually introduce wine into people’s lives and track its effects on their bodies.

Lead researcher Miloš Táborský, head of cardiology at the Palacký University Hospital in Olomouc in the Czech Republic, revealed the study's results in a presentation over the weekend, saying, “We found that moderate wine drinking was only protective in people who exercised. Red and white wine produced the same results.”

For one year, subjects drank “moderate” amounts of wine five days per week. For men, that meant 0.3 to 0.4 liters daily, about two to two-and-a-half glasses. For women it meant 0.2 to 0.3 liters, about one to two glasses. (A more common definition is one glass for women and two glasses for men.) Half of the 146 subjects drank pinot noir, and half drank a white “chardonnay-pinot.” The participants logged any and all alcohol consumption in journals, where they also kept track of their diets and physical activity.


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By itself, drinking wine did not appreciably affect cholesterol, blood glucose, triglycerides, or levels of inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein. It also did not appreciably damage people’s livers during the year, at least, based on liver-function tests.

But then Táborský and company ran a more specific analysis that looked at people who exercised. Among those who worked out twice per week and drank wine, there was significant improvement in cholesterol levels (increased HDL and decreased LDL) after a year of wine—red or white, no matter.

"Our current study shows that the combination of moderate wine drinking plus regular exercise improves markers of atherosclerosis," said Táborský, "suggesting that this combination is protective against cardiovascular disease."

Continue Here: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/working-with-the-wine-not-against-it/379504/

Exercise may speed up stroke recovery, Edinburgh scientist says

yoga pants

Regular exercise can speed recovery for stroke survivors and may reduce their risk of having another stroke, according to an Edinburgh scientist.

Professor Gillian Mead's findings contrast with commonly held fears that exercise may trigger a further stroke.

She has looked at how exercise benefits stroke recovery for 10 years.

People who have been active before their stroke are more likely to make a recovery but less is known how exercise can affect recovery after a stroke.

The Edinburgh University expert will be speaking about her research at a public event this week as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

Her findings reveal that a structured physical training plan - including aerobic, strength and balance training - can help stroke survivors to become more mobile, improve their balance and reducing their disability.

Exercise programmes

Professor Mead is currently investigating whether breaking up long periods of sitting or lying with short periods of movement might help to bring down the risk of having another stroke.

One in six people in Scotland will have a stroke in their lifetime and survivors can be left with varying degrees of disability.

More than half of all people who survive a stroke require support to live independently.

Professor Mead said: "We're working with fitness experts to determine the best exercise prescription for stroke survivors.

"It's also important that we understand more about the factors that put patients off from taking part in exercise programs, and how we can motivate them to take advantage of the benefits."

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-27023739

Low blood sugar identified as a cause of marital strife

Low levels of blood sugar can increase the risk of irritation with your partner turning into a blazing row, according to a study suggesting a physiological basis for marital disharmony.

Scientists found that blood glucose levels could predict whether someone was likely to feel angry enough with a spouse to secretly stick pins in a voodoo doll, meant to represent them, in psychological tests.

People with low glucose levels were also more likely than individuals with high levels of glucose to blast their partners with loud noise if they competed against them in a game, according to a second experiment.

The findings support the theory that hungry people are more likely than well-fed individuals to be angry. They also provide a scientific basis for suggesting that diet may play an important role in situations where people spend time together, whether at home, in schools or in prisons.

"People can relate to this that when they get hungry, they get cranky. We found that being 'hangry' – hungry and angry – can affect our behaviour in a bad way, even in our most intimate relationships," said Professor Brad Bushman of Ohio State University inColumbus, Ohio.

The three-year study involved 107 married couples, who were assessed for their general relationship satisfaction in order to see how happy they were with one another overall.

Over a period of 21 days, each couple monitored their blood glucose levels in the morning and evening and were given a voodoo doll and 51 pins, which they were supposed to stick in the doll when they were on their own, depending on how angry they felt towards their spouse.

The study, published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences', showed a clear link between low levels of blood glucose and the number of pins a spouse stuck into the voodoo doll, Professor Bushman said.

"Even those who reported they had good relationships with their spouses were more likely to express anger if their blood glucose levels were lower," he said.

In a second experiment after the 21-day period, the couples took part in a laboratory test where they played a computer game against their partner, allowing the winner to blast their spouse with a loud noise through headphones.


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In fact, the scientists had arranged it so that each individual played against a computer rather than their spouse without their knowing it, so that they were sure to lose about half the games they played.

Again, when blood sugar levels fell, individuals were more likely to give longer and louder blasts of noise than when sugar levels were higher.

Comparing the first and second part of the study, the scientists also found that those people who stuck more pins in the dolls were more likely to show real aggression as louder and longer noises.

Professor Bushman suggested that the effect could be explained by the energy needed to maintain the self-control to overcome aggression. With low blood glucose, there is a greater chance of losing self-control.

"It's simple advice but it works: before you have a difficult conversation with your spouse, make sure you're not hungry," he said. (©Independent News Service)

Irish Independent

Doctors Help Severe Obese Texas girl

Alexis Shapiro's liver was to large and doctors were forced to operate using sleeve gastrectomy. This will hopefully help 200-pound 12-year-old to lose weight. The Texas teen has  a rare  hypothalamic obesity that results for her to gain weight and makes her hungry every time.

Avoid Flu by doing Vigorous Exercise

By doing a minimum of two and a half  hours of vigorous exercise a week can help you prevent from having a flu.

A total of 4800 participants took the survey online conducted by  the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

A moderate exercise will  not help prevent the flu and flu rates have been down this year's winter.

There health status are monitored weekly and  are then required to log in each week and note how they are feeling, and whether or not they have any flu-like signs.

The study shows that 100 cases of flu per 1,000 people can be avoided just  by doing vigorous exercise. 


This data is also the lowest for the past five years the survey was conducted. During the winter season only 4.7 percent catch flu for this year compared to 6 percent last year and 5 percent of the children reported flu symptoms compared to a 7.9 percent last year.

According to Dr Alma Adler, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that results should be taken with cautions but results prove the benefits of exercising. A fine weather is a chance to exercise and increase your immunity during spring time.

Flu Survey helps government in their health programs, and can be access into Public Health England's national flu surveillance programmes and is released at the beginning of National Science & Engineering Week.

Excessive Sugar in your diet can lead to heart disease

Eating foods loaded with lots sugar can help increase the risk of premature death from heart disease that is why citizens are urging Canadian and U.S. governments to offer dietary limits on sugar.

For an individual taking 2000 calories a day that is equivalent to drinking a bottle of soft drink in vending machines would reach the new level of the latest U.S. study that suggests the risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD).

According to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta "A higher percentage of calories from added sugar is associated with significantly increased risk of CVD mortality,"

This finding was based on the national health and diet surveys between 1988 and 2010 of more than 30,000 Americans with an average age of 44. The results suggest that a fatal heart risk is increased once added sugar intake goes beyond 15 per cent of total calories.

"Too much sugar does not just make us fat; it can also make us sick," said Laura Schmidt, a health policy specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.

The American Heart Association suggest not more than 25 grams a day or six teaspoons of sugar for women (five per cent of a 2,000-calorie a day diet) and 38 grams or nine teaspoons a day for men (7.5 per cent of daily calories).

In 2005, a team of experts at the Institute of Medicine, suggest that the Canadian and U.S. governments, should limit sugar consumption to less than 25 per cent of total calories. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests less than 10 per cent of the total daily consumption.

According to the study there were 831 people who have died from heart ailment in the span of the 15 year study. The study also included other factors that causes heart disease such as smoking, inactivity and excess weight into account.

5 Common Yoga Mistakes to Avoid

During my 15 years of teaching yoga, I have noticed some common mistakes that counter the benefits of yoga and can be downright dangerous. These problem-habits, such as forgetting to breathe, can sometimes reflect and reinforce how we live our daily life. If we rush through life, forgetting to take time to breathe, we will likely do the same in our yoga practice.

Ashley Green Working Out in Blue Tank Top

Fitness tips to follow without using the gym

We always hear these different methods to exercise but how do we know which ones truly work? Well, not everyone is the same, so not every fitness tip will work. However, there are a few pieces of advice you may actually be interested in following!

On your bike, Runners

Once you’re hooked on running it can be hard to be convinced of the merits of doing anything different, but in fact variety is the key to making you run better and for longer.

Exercise that is different to running, but enhances it, is called cross training. There’s nothing not to like about cross training if you consider what it’s good for: injury prevention, rehabilitation, improving fitness, promoting recovery, boosting motivation - to name a few.