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MARCH 2008
IF YOU’RE AGE 70 or older, your
nutritional needs—and the best ways
to meet them—aren’t the same as
somebody who’s 25, or even 50. So
Tufts experts have developed a food
pyramid especially for you.
The Modified Food Guide Pyramid
for Older Adults, an update to a
resource originally introduced in 1999,
reflects changes to correspond with the
new USDA food pyramid, MyPyramid.
That Internet-based program, debuted
in 2005, customizes dietary guidance
based on sex, age, height, weight and
exercise habits.…
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FEBRUARY 2007
ONE OF THE BIGGEST,
longest studies of aging and
health has identified nine risk
factors that are strongly linked
with a person’s odds of living
to at least a healthy age 85.The good news is that most of these keys to living a longer,healthier life are things you can control.
…
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JANUARY 2007
TWO NEW SCIENTIFIC reports,
issued simultaneously, conclude
that for most adults the benefits
of eating seafood outweigh the
risks of possible contaminants
such as mercury and PCBs. Although
differing on how strongly they weight
the evidence for seafood’s positive
effects, both studies generally back the
federal dietary guidelines’ and
American Heart Association’s recommendations
to eat fish twice a week.…
Read>>
|
APRIL 2007
IN A FINDING THAT challenges
many of the promises of the multibillion-
dollar diet and fitness industry,
a new study suggests that cutting
calories and exercising more
are both equally effective for losing
weight.…
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JANUARY 2007
ARE THE APPARENT hearthealthy
benefits of moderate
alcohol consumption actually
due to drinking? Or have previous
studies, which have
found that adults who drink moderate
amounts of alcohol have a lower risk
of heart attack than non-drinkers, been
confused by other lifestyle factors? For
example, moderate drinkers might also
be more likely to eat a healthy diet or
exercise regularly.…
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FEBRUARY 2006
THE SHIFTING scientific story
on “carbs” in your diet took
another twist at the American
Heart Association’s recent
Scientific Sessions: Results from
the OmniHeart study presented at the
conference showed that substituting
protein or monounsaturated fats for
10% of carbohydrates in an already
healthy diet can reduce heart-disease
risk.…
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$ 1.95
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FEBRUARY 2005
AWOMAN’S RISK from taking menopause hormones
may depend on the age she starts taking them, according
to an ongoing review of the two largest hormone studies.
Data from one of the studies, the Women’s Health
Initiative (WHI), linked estrogen-progestin pills such as
Prempro to increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and breast
cancer. So high were the risks, in fact, that the government
study was halted two years ago, and many women were
scared off hormone therapy altogether. (Subsequent analysis
also found risk from estrogen-only pills such as Premarin.)
But an earlier, 2000 analysis of data from the Nurses
Health Study (NHS), another hormone test, had found seemingly
contradictory results: Subjects who took hormones
were 40 percent less likely to suffer heart attacks.…
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FEBRUARY 2005
THESE DAYS, even Ronald McDonald is wearing
a pedometer. The McDonald’s fast-food
chain is giving away the step-counting gizmos
in the adult version of its Happy Meals. But
recent research on the accuracy of pedometers
may leave walkers decidedly un-happy.…
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FEBRUARY 2007
LOW-CARBOHYDRATE eating plans, such
as those popularized by the South Beach
and Zone diets, don’t appear to raise the
dieter’s risk of heart disease—despite
higher intake of fat and protein.…
Read>>
|
FEBRUARY 2007
EVEN AS EXPERTS are sounding
the alarm about a global
diabetes epidemic—predicting a
surge to 380 million diabetics,
7% of the world’s population,
by 2025…
Read>>
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FEBRUARY 2007
EVIDENCE CONTINUES to mount that keeping fit
may help protect your brain. Scottish and French
researchers, in two separate studies published in the
journal Neurology, recently concluded that people
with a greater degree of lifelong fitness are more likely
to have better cognitive function into old age.…
Read>>
|
MARCH 2007
AMERICANS DRINK ALMOST a quarter
of our daily calories, according to a new
analysis of government dietary data.…
Read>>
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MARCH 2006
FREQUENT EXERCISE seems
to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s
disease and other forms of
dementia, according to a new
study published in the Annals of
Internal Medicine. The findings add to
the mounting evidence that keeping
active can help keep your mind sharp
as you age.…
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MARCH 2008
IN STUDY AFTER STUDY, whole grains have been credited
with helping to lower your risk for a host of ailments,
including stroke, type-2 diabetes and heart disease,
as well as enhancing weight maintenance.…
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APRIL 2006
DESPITE THE HEADLINES,
the latest findings on dietary
fat don’t mean you should
give up on watching the fat in
your food. True, the widelyreported $415 million governmentstudy, the Women’s Health Initiative(WHI) Dietary Modification Trial,generally failed to find benefits from alow-fat diet against breast and coloncancer or cardiovascular disease. …
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FEBRUARY 2008
Making sense of seemingly contrary findings on the risks from being overweight.…
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JANUARY 2007
Canola-oil makers have joined producers of olive oil in being
able to add a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-
approved “qualified health claim” to their labels. The FDA
recently okayed a petition filed by the US Canola Oil Association
(USCA) back in January 2006 for a claim that substituting canola
for products high in saturated fat, such as butter, can promote
heart health. A similar claim for olive oil was granted in 2004.…
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$ 1.95
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APRIL 2005
The popular image of overweight
people spending much of the
day sleeping may have it completely
backwards. A growing
body of research is beginning to
suggest a connection between obesity
and lack of sleep. Indeed, it may be no
coincidence that even as Americans’
hectic lives have led us to sleep less,
we’ve grown fatter. While it’s too soon
to say that getting a good night’s sleep
will help you lose weight, scientists are
starting to understand the complex
inter-relationships between sleep,
appetite and obesity.…
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MAY 2005
Diets that promise weight loss by substituting
steak for pasta and bacon for
bread may be a recipe for increased
heart-disease risk. A new report on a
15-year study of women’s health and
eating habits by the Mayo Clinic College
of Medicine suggests that if you’re
replacing carbohydrates with protein,
the type of protein you pick can make a
difference to your long-term health. The
researchers found an association
between eating more vegetable protein
and a reduced risk of heart disease. But
eating more red meat and dairy products
in place of carbohydrates was
linked to greater coronary heart disease
mortality.…
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MAY 2005
YOU’VE HEARD MOST of
Mireille Guiliano’s diet and
exercise advice before from others,
some of it even in the pages
of this newsletter: Eat more
slowly and eat smaller portions. Start
every day with a real breakfast. Favor
nuts, fruit, vegetables and fish, especially
salmon. Drink more water. Wine
and dark chocolate in moderation can’t
hurt and might help. Walk more, take
the stairs, and start resistance training.
Get a good night’s sleep.…
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MAY 2005
YOUR MOM’S SUGGESTION to “go outside and
play” may still be good advice—especially for men
worried about prostate cancer. Research recently presented
at the 2005 Multidisciplinary Prostate Cancer
Symposium connects high blood levels of vitamin
D—“the sunshine vitamin”—with reduced risk of developing
the most aggressive forms of prostate cancer.…
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JULY 2005
ARECENT HEADLINE in Time
magazine asked the question
many Americans are wondering
in the wake of a controversial
study by the National Cancer
Institute and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC): “Is it
OK to be pudgy?” The study, published
in the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA), is among the most
rigorous yet to look at the relationship
between weight and mortality. To the
bafflement of many scientists and the
consternation of America’s $46 billiona-
year diet industry, it found that people
who are overweight but not obese have
a lower risk of death than those of
“normal” weight, as defined by the government
using Body Mass Index (BMI).…
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APRIL 2007
When Beverly J. Tepper lectures,
she often leaves her
audience with their tongues
hanging out. Literally. As
part of a talk on taste sensitivity,
she passes out little circles of filter
paper embedded with what is, to
some people, a bitter-tasting compound
with the unappetizing name of 6-npropylthiouracil.…
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APRIL 2007
THE PLEASURE OF EATING—and the normal,
healthy desire to stop—is not affected
by bodyweight, says a new study that could
help in the search for a solution to the obesity
epidemic.…
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APRIL 2006
PEOPLE WHO CONSUME
regular daily portions of vegetables,
whole grains and fruit
tend to have healthier blood
pressure levels than their more
carnivorous peers, according to a new
British study. The findings bolster recommendations
that adults eat more
plant-based foods for the sake of their
cardiovascular health.…
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MAY 2007
IF YOU’RE A WOMAN age 65 or
older, new American Heart Association
prevention guidelines suggest
talking with your doctor about
the potential benefits and risks of
daily low-dose aspirin therapy to protect
your heart—even if you’re healthy
or at low risk of heart disease.…
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JULY 2005
THANKS TO THE ARSENAL
of powerful medical weapons
doctors now have at their disposal
to fight high cholesterol,
it’s easy to overlook the importance
of diet in that battle. Even if you
know to cut back on dietary fats, the
other side of the coin—what foods to
eat more of to combat high blood cholesterol—
often gets short shrift.…
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JULY 2005
VARIETY REALLY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE, at least
when it comes to keeping your brain sharp. Keeping
active can help ward off dementia, according to
researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the
University of Pittsburgh, but it’s the variety and not
the intensity of activity that counts. Their study, recently
published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, followed
3,375 men and women over the age of 65 for eight
years, quizzing them on their frequency of 15 common physical
activities for seniors. Participants in the widest variety of
activities were significantly less likely to develop dementia
over the period of the study.…
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JANUARY 2008
If you’ve been diligent with your workout
regimen but frustrated because
you can’t see the results on the bathroom
scale, take heart—literally. In fact,
your heart may be benefiting more than
you realize.…
Read>>
|
MAY 2007
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION may be better
than pounds of cure, according to a new
study that says adults would benefit from
getting their weight under control before
their most senior years.…
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MAY 2006
THE INK WAS HARDLY DRY
on the controversial news about
low-fat diets from the Women’s
Health Initiative (see last
month’s Healthletter) when a
second arm of the study reported more
results that seemed to contradict conventional
medical wisdom: In a sevenyear
trial of 36,282 postmenopausal
women, researchers found no significant
benefit from calcium and vitamin
D supplementation in preventing hip
fractures.…
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JUNE 2007
STARTING YOUR DAY with a
bowl of cereal is not just kids’
stuff. Findings presented at a
recent American Heart
Association conference suggest
that eating whole-grain breakfast cereal
can help protect against heart failure.…
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DECEMBER 2005
ODDS ARE, EVEN IF YOU’RE IN SHAPE NOW, eventually you’ll become overweight.…
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|
$ 1.95
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JUNE 2007
DESPITE HEADLINES about the Atkins diet “winning”
an extensive study comparing four popular
diets, the real take-away message from the findings is
a bit more complex.…
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DECEMBER 2005
YOUR MOTHER ALWAYS TOLD YOU breakfast
was the most important meal of the
day, and a new Michigan State University
study finds mom was right—at least if you’re
a woman watching her weight.…
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SEPTEMBER 2005
THE YOGURT ADS promise
that three servings a day will
help you squeeze into an “itsy
bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polkadot
bikini.” A prominent
researcher has patented the idea that
dairy products promote weight loss.
The dairy industry touts the claim in a
$200 million ad campaign. But the
Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine, a pro-vegetarian group that
believes milk isn’t healthy, is petitioning
the federal government, saying claims
that dairy consumption promotes
weight loss are false and misleading.…
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|
APRIL 2008
Want to live longer? A new study
shows just how powerful four
simple healthy habits can be in
warding off the Grim Reaper.…
Read>>
|
JULY 2007
THE GLYCEMIC INDEX, des -
pite its role in several popular
diet plans, may not really be
crucial to losing weight.
Findings from the first phase of
a new Tufts study suggest that, regardless
of a diet’s glycemic load, ultimately
it’s calories that count.…
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JUNE 2006
JUST BECAUSE that “sports drink” features athletes
in its ads doesn’t mean it’s your healthiest choice to
quench your thirst. In fact, a new proposed guidance
system for beverage consumption ranks sports drinks
near the bottom.…
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$ 1.95
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NOVEMBER 2005
Tufts researchers conclude that eating right is still smarter
than relying on supplements.…
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|
$ 1.95
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JUNE 2006
ARE THERE REALLY “good carbs” and “bad
carbs”? A new study suggests that relying on the
glycemic index to choose your carbohydrates is not
effective for controlling blood sugar levels or losing
weight.…
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$ 1.95
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JUNE 2006
HITTING THE WEIGHT ROOM twice a
week for an hour can help women prevent
or at least slow “middle-aged spread,” the
onerous buildup of tummy fat that often
takes hold with aging, a new study suggests.
And that’s good news since belly
fat—the deep fat that wraps itself around
organs—is linked with heart disease and
other ailments.…
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$ 1.95
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NOVEMBER 2005
LOOKING TO LOSE WEIGHT?
Two new studies on the effects of
obesity may give you some extra
incentive.…
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|
$ 1.95
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SEPTEMBER 2005
WHILE THE DEBATE over whether milk can really
help you lose weight rages on (see story on
page 1), an extensive new study suggests another
benefit of consuming low-fat dairy products,
such as skim milk: lowering men’s risk of developing
adult-onset diabetes.…
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|
$ 1.95
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NOVEMBER 2005
MOST YOGA SESSIONS aren’t strenuous enough
to meet the requirements for daily exercise or to
burn off lots of calories, but yoga may still indirectly help prevent “middle-aged spread.”…
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$ 1.95
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SEPTEMBER 2005
IT WAS DISNEY’S LITTLE MERMAID, Ariel,
who sang, “I’ve got gadgets and gizmos
aplenty, whozits and whatzits galore,” but
even she might draw the line at the wave of
new whozits and whatzits promising to help
count calories that you burn. These pricey
gizmos, from Timex as well as fitness companies
such as Polar and Nike, go beyond
the familiar pedometer to monitor heart
rates and energy consumption. Some are
home versions of the calorie-counters at fitness
clubs. Many look like—and double as—
wristwatches.…
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$ 1.95
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NOVEMBER 2006
HE DEBATE ABOUT weight and mortality has heated
up again, with two hefty new studies providing scientific
evidence for what most people have long suspected:
It’s better not to be too fat or too thin.…
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JULY 2007
COOKING FOODS at a lower heat—opting
for boiling, steaming or stewing food rather
than high-temperature grilling, broiling or
frying—may help prevent inflammationrelated
conditions of aging like diabetes
and cardiovascular disease, according to a
new study.…
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NOVEMBER 2006
EVEN AS RESEARCHERS seem to be confirming
the link between abnormal weight
and risk of death (see above), two other
new studies cast doubt on the most common
measure of overweight, obesity and
underweight: Body Mass Index (BMI).…
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NOVEMBER 2006
HIS HOLIDAY gift-giving season,
think beyond the
snowflake sweater and cheesesthrough-
the-mail! Consider supporting
your loved ones’ health…
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NOVEMBER 2006
CAN YOU EAT MORE FOOD than most Americans
but still consume fewer calories—while getting plenty
of key nutrients? Researchers at Penn State
University say the answer is yes,…
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$ 1.95
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OCTOBER 2005
Study suggests secret of low-carb,
high-protein diet fads.…
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|
$ 1.95
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JULY 2006
AMERICANS HAVE ACCEPTED an unhealthy level
of sleep deprivation as a way of life, opening themselves
to a host of costly accidents and illness. That’s
the conclusion of a special panel of the Institute of
Medicine (IOM), in their report on “Sleep Disorders
and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem.” …
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AUGUST 2007
MATURE WOMEN looking to slow age-related weight
gain can look to vitamin D and calcium for a little
extra help. A new study finds that postmenopausal
women taking supplemental amounts of those nutrients
gained less weight over time. The women even found it easier
to shed a few pounds than those who did not take the supplements.…
Read>>
|
AUGUST 2007
While “three square meals a day”
may be conventional wisdom, it’s
not the whole story for folks in
their 60s and beyond. A new study published
in the Journal of the American Dietetic
Association reports that regular snacking
may actually help seniors fill the nutritional
gap that often comes with aging.…
Read>>
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AUGUST 2006
THE PATH TO heart health
starts on your plate—but doesn’t
stop there. That’s the message of
new American Heart
Association (AHA) guidelines,
the first update to its official recommendations
in six years.…
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SEPTEMBER 2007
RESEARCHERS at Tufts’ Jean
Mayer USDA Human
Nutrition Research Center on
Aging (HNRCA) are turning
that old adage, “You are what
you eat,” on its head. They’re finding
that, at least in part, you eat what you
are—genetically speaking, that is.…
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JANUARY 2005
How to make the switch to healthier fats—without getting fat.…
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$ 1.95
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JANUARY 2005
Lower blood sugar, avoiding traffic jams, finishing high school all linked to reduced risk.…
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$ 1.95
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JANUARY 2005
THE NEXT DRUG IN YOUR MEDICINE CABINET
might come from the spice aisle of the gro c e ry store .…
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$ 1.95
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OCTOBER 2006
LADIES, RAISE YOUR GLASSES—of low-fat milk,
that is. There’s even more good news about low-fat
dairy and women’s health.…
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|
$ 1.95
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OCTOBER 2006
NEED ANOTHER REASON to lose that
“spare tire”? A large European study suggests
that adults who carry much of their
fat around the middle may be at increased
risk for colon cancer.…
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SEPTEMBER 2007
As if green tea didn’t have enough
cheerleaders among the scientific
community, a new study based in
China has linked the traditional Asian quaff
with reducing the risk for colorectal cancer
by more than half.…
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$ 1.95
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AUGUST 2006
JUST IN CASE YOU NEEDED one more
good reason to shed those extra pounds, a
new study links obesity and breast cancer
risk. Unlike genetics or family history,
researchers point out, weight is at least a
risk factor women can do something about.…
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|
NOVEMBER 2007
Experts from the American Heart
Asso ciation and the American
College of sports Medicine(ACSM)recently
issued new recommendations
for exercising—spelling
out minimum levels…
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SEPTEMBER 2006
BOTHERED BY persistent
heartburn or acid reflux—the
painful symptoms of gastroesophageal
reflux disease
(GERD), which is caused by
stomach acids backing up into your
esophagus? Relief may be as close as
your bathroom scale.…
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|
NOVEMBER 2007
New Menu Planner will help you meet healthy-eating goals.…
Read>>
|
NOVEMBER 2007
Worried about your risk of heart disease?
Get out the tape measure.
A new study indicates that your
waist-to-hip ratio is a better predictor of
atherosclerosis risk than waist circumference
alone or even the highly touted Body
Mass Index (BMI).…
Read>>
|
DECEMBER 2007
REGULAR EXERCISE that keeps the heart strong
may also strengthen cartilage in the knees and protect
older patients from osteoarthritis, according to a
new Australian study.…
Read>>
|
$ 1.95
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DECEMBER 2007
A new study in the UK has shown that a diet rich in
fish, fruit and vegetables and low in saturated fats—
the main components of what is sometimes called the
“Mediterranean diet”…
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|
DECEMBER 2007
RESEARCHERS in the Netherlands have found
another possible benefit of eating more whole
grains—a trimmer waistline.…
Read>>
|
OCTOBER 2007
Accepting food cravings and keeping
them in check may be an important
component of weight management,
according to new Tufts research.…
Read>>
|
OCTOBER 2007
DO RECENT FINDINGS linking even diet soft-drink
consumption to metabolic syndrome mean, what the
heck, you might as well have that sugary cola? Not
so fast. It’s true that researchers found that people
who consumed one or more soft drink daily were
48% more likely to develop metabolic syndrome—a precursor
to heart disease and type-2 diabetes—than those averaging
less than one soda daily. Soda drinkers were also at
greater risk for components of the syndrome, such as obesity,
hypertension and unhealthy cholesterol levels.…
Read>>
|
OCTOBER 2007
For years, you’ve been meaning to
make healthy lifestyle changes—eating
more fruits and vegetables, exercising,
quitting smoking—but you just haven’t
followed through. If you’re thinking now
it’s too late, a new study says think again!…
Read>>
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$ 1.95
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JANUARY 2006
WANT A QUICK ASSESSMENT of your
risk for heart disease? Get out the tape
measure.…
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|
$ 1.95
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FEBRUARY 2006
GETTING UP OFF YOUR DUFF can add almost four
years to your life, according to a new analysis of
data from the long-running Framingham Heart
Study. Although many previous studies have shown
a range of health benefits from physical activity—…
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|
JANUARY 2007
Cardiovascular disease and age-related
macular degeneration (AMD) may
share common risk factors, such as
blood pressure, weight, systemic inflammation
and (it’s hypothesized) dysfunction of
the cells that line blood vessels. So might
an active lifestyle, known to help protect
the heart, also help protect your eyes?
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin
tested that idea in a population-based study
of 3,874 citizens of Beaver Dam, Wisc., ages
43 to 86. The study found that regular exercise
three or more times a week was associated
with as much as a 70% reduction in
the risk of developing AMD.…
Read>>
|
$ 1.95
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SEPTEMBER 2006
CAN A HEART-HEALTHY LIFESTYLE really
make a difference? A new study published
in the American Heart Association journal
Circulation says yes—and that it’s never too
late to start. Researchers at the Harvard
School of Public Health (HSPH) identified
five key healthy lifestyle factors, then
looked at 42,847 men, ages 40 to 75, over
a 16-year period to see how their lifestyles
matched up with risk of coronary heart disease
(CHD). The study found that even
men taking antihypertensive or lipid-lowering
medications may reduce their risk of
heart problems through lifestyle choices.…
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|
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MAY 2005
Is the Prilosec shortage giving you heartburn?
Now might be the time to switch to a
cheaper medication—or to consider diet and
lifestyle changes that could prevent heartburn
in the first place.…
Buy>>
|
JUNE 2008
CONSTANTLY TIRED? Get up
off the couch and move! Two
new studies add to the growing
body of evidence that light
exercise—in some cases as little
as 10 minutes a day—can do more to
replenish energy levels and beat the
“blahs” than taking it easy.…
Read>>
|
$ 1.95
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MAY 2008
Dieting with whole grains trims belly fat and chronic-disease risk.
Cutting calories by filling up on whole grains may be
better for your belly as well as your heart. Researchers
at Penn State report that dieters who consume plenty
of whole grains lose more abdominal fat and improve
levels of a marker of inflammation linked to diabetes, hypertension
and cardiovascular disease.…
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|
JULY 2008
A brisk walk may not exactly lead
you to the fountain of youth—but a
new research review suggests it’s
a good start. According to the report in
the British Journal of Sports Medicine, vigorous
walking for about an hour a day,
five times a week, can boost your maximal
oxygen intake by as much as 25%
within just three months. That’s enough
to turn back the clock on 12 years of
natural decline with aging. For seniors, it
could also add a dozen years of functional
independence.…
Read>>
|
JULY 2008
A tape measure may be as good a
gauge of healthy weight as your
bathroom scale. Though obesity
raises your risk for chronic health conditions,
recent research suggests that
where you carry extra pounds makes a
difference. New studies link “belly fat”
with increased risk of death, heart disease
and cancer, even risk of dementia.…
Read>>
|
JULY 2008
Making some simple dietary changes,
losing a few pounds and adding a
little light exercise to your daily routine
can significantly lower your risk factors
for diabetes and heart disease. So says a
new Finnish study that found even small
lifestyle changes helped reduce abdominal
obesity and metabolic syndrome—the cluster
of risk factors including waist circumference,
blood pressure, cholesterol and blood
sugar levels—by as much as 15%.…
Read>>
|
AUGUST 2008
ARE YOU GETTING enough fruits and vegetables to keep your muscles strong as you age? If you’re like most Americans, the answer is probably no.Although you surely already know something about the health benefits of foods from plants, that mention of muscles may surprise you. But new Tufts research suggests that fruits and vegetables rich in potassium may help preserve muscle mass in older adults.Loss of muscle mass with aging leads tosarcopenia, a condition first identified by Tufts scientists that’s associated with frailty and increased risk of dangerous falls.…
Read>>
|
AUGUST 2008
Casting a wide net in the effort to
prevent cancer, scientists have
found that eating fish—and the
omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil
may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.
Lead author Megan N. Hall, ScD,
RD, of Columbia University and colleagues
studied 21,376 men participating
in the Physicians’ Health Study over
a span of 22 years. The researchers
found that the men who ate the most
fish had a 40% reduced risk of colorectal
cancer. Similarly, those with the
highest dietary intake of omega-3s from
fish had a 26% lower risk of colorectal
cancer, compared to the men with the
lowest intake of omega-3s.…
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AUGUST 2008
Milk may do your body good, but not
by helping you lose weight. A new
review of 49 randomized clinical
trials testing the effect of dairy products
and calcium supplements on body weight
concludes that neither plays a key role in
weight reduction. Despite dairy-industry
claims, 41 of the studies reviewed showed
no significant effect of dairy consumption
on body weight; only five trials had positive
weight-loss results, while one linked dairy
consumption to a reduced rate of body-fat
buildup. Two clinical trials actually associated
dairy intake with gaining weight.…
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AUGUST 2008
Here goes one more excuse for not
exercising, right out the window:
Even if you’re overweight or obese,
regular physical activity reduces your risk
for heart disease. It’s not just that exercise
helps you lose weight. Researchers behind
a new study, published in the Archives of
Internal Medicine, suspect that physical
activity directly combats heart disease.…
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OCTOBER 2008
The “good” type of cholesterol—high-density lipoprotein, or HDL—appears
to help protect against heart attack
and stroke. Now research suggests HDL
may also be good for your memory.…
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OCTOBER 2008
Juice drinks boost your risk, while fruits and vegetables protect you.
A TRIO OF STUDIES published in
the Archives of Internal Medicine sheds new light on the importance of diet in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes—and especially the role of calories. In an accompanying editorial, Mark N. Feinglos, MD, and Susan E. Totten, RD, of Duke University Medical Center, summarized the findings: “Until we have more information, we have to assume that calories trump everything else, and that our number-one goal for the reduction of new cases of type 2 diabetes…should be to reduce the intake of high energy,
low-benefit foods.”…
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OCTOBER 2008
What’s the real takeaway of the
recent, much-publicized study in
Israel pitting the controversial
Atkins diet against low-fat and
Mediterranean-style plans? That
depends on your point of view:…
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OCTOBER 2008
While you don’t actually have to
begin each entry “Dear Diary,”
keeping a food diary can be a
valuable tool for losing weight. An observational study of 1,685 overweight or obese patients reports a connection between recording what you eat and successful weight loss: As the number of daily food records per week went up, so did the pounds of weight that subjects dropped.…
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NOVEMBER 2008
THE SAME HEALTHY HABITS that help protect your heart may also reduce your risk of stroke, according to a new study published in Circulation. People who exercised and ate a healthy diet, drank alcohol in moderation, watched their weight and stayed away from smoking were about 80% less likely to suffer the most common type of stroke than those with the unhealthiest habits.…
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NOVEMBER 2008
Looking to reduce your risk of hypertension or lower your already high blood pressure? Lowering your sodium by eschewing the salt-shaker and reducing salt intake from processed foods is an obvious and responsible step. But don’t stop there: Anew research review shows that boosting your potassium level can be just as important for healthy blood pressure—and may protect your heart in the bargain.…
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DECEMBER 2008
While studying the benefits of vitamin K in battling bone loss, Tufts researchers and their colleagues have uncovered an unexpected dividend from the vitamin: Reducing the risk of insulin resistance in older men, thereby helping to protect against diabetes. The study, led by Sarah L. Booth, PhD, director of the Vitamin K Research Laboratory at Tufts’ Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, was published in Diabetes Care.…
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DECEMBER 2008
You already know that keeping active whether walking the treadmill at the gym or gardening in the backyard-can help your heart and your waistline. Now a major Japanese epidemiological study adds to the growing evidence that getting off the couch can also reduce your risk of cancer.…
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JANUARY 2009
Don’t be intimidated by the figure of 2 1/2 hours a week of physical activity in the new federal exercise guidelines, says Tufts’ Miriam Nelson, PhD, who served as vice chair of the expert panel behind the recommendations. “Any activity is better than nothing. That’s the really important message,” says Nelson, an associate professor at the Friedman School and director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition. “Don’t think, ‘I’ll never get there.’ It’s important to take a stepwise approach.”…
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MARCH 2009
Even an occasional workout could cut your risk 18%.
Anew study of the relationship
between weight, physical activity
and the risk of heart failure in men
shows the benefits of losing even a few pounds or exercising just a couple of times a month. On the other hand, men who were both obese and inactive were almost three times as likely to suffer heart failure as lean and active men (See
Box). …
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MARCH 2009
Tufts researchers have found that low-carbohydrate diets, such as the popular Atkins Diet, may reduce
cognitive ability. Researchers theorized that low-carb diets could have a negative impact on thinking and
cognition because the brain doesn’t store glucose, its primary fuel, but depends on the body’s production of it
from carbohydrates in the diet. After only a day or two, even the glucose stored by the body is exhausted and must be replenished by food. …
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MARCH 2009
Although walking is the most popular way adults engage in physical activity, little research has been done on walking’s effect on weight—until now. A new study following 4,995 men and women over a 15-year period finds that regular walking is an effective way to counter the tendency to pack on pounds as people add years to their age. …
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