Staying Healthy Archive

News briefs

Eating a diet high in foods tied to inflammation — such as processed meat, sweets, and refined grains — is associated with many health problems, including an increased risk for colon cancer, heart disease, stroke, or diabetes. A Harvard study published online May 7, 2020, by Gastroenterology found another potential risk: Crohn's disease, a condition characterized by areas of inflammation throughout the large and small intestines. Researchers evaluated 30 years' worth of self-reported diet information from more than 208,000 men and women. Diets were scored based on foods that promote inflammation. Compared with people who had the lowest inflammatory diet scores, people with the highest scores had a 51% higher risk for developing Crohn's disease. The risk for Crohn's doubled among people who went from a low- to a high-inflammatory diet during the study. The study is observational and doesn't prove that an inflammatory diet causes Crohn's disease. But with so many other risks associated with foods that promote inflammation, it's important to eat as many foods that fight inflammation as possible. In other words, focus on whole, unprocessed foods with no added sugar — such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes (beans, lentils), fish, poultry, nuts, seeds, a little bit of low-fat dairy, and olive oil.

Image: © dla4/Getty Images

News briefs

Here's a finding worth toasting if you're partial to a tipple: a study published online June 29, 2020, by JAMA Network Open linked low-to-moderate alcohol drinking in middle age with better cognitive (thinking) skills in older age. Researchers analyzed the health data of about 20,000 adults (average age 61) who took part in cognitive screenings every few years during a nine-year period and reported how much alcohol they drank each week. Men who had fewer than 15 drinks per week, and women who had fewer than eight drinks per week, were considered moderate drinkers. And they're the ones who appeared to have better word recall and vocabulary over time, and slower rates of cognitive decline, compared with people who never drank. The study is observational and doesn't prove that drinking alcohol protects the brain. In fact, the subject is debated: some studies have suggested that moderate alcohol drinking is associated with better cardiovascular health compared with heavy alcohol intake, but other studies have found that drinking any amount of alcohol increases the risk for high blood pressure and stroke. The takeaway: if you're going to raise a glass, do so only in moderation.

Image: © Ridofranz/Getty Images

In many places, gyms are opening after shutting down due to the COVID pandemic, but your home may still be the ideal place to maintain your fitness.

As gyms and fitness centers reopen, they must follow strict guidelines for sanitation, social distancing, occupancy, and more. Even if these facilities are considered safe by most standards, their patrons still may not feel comfortable, especially older adults and others who are at a higher risk for COVID.

So how do you maintain your fitness when you can't follow your usual exercise routine?

In the journals

Vitamin K is an often ignored nutrient, but new research has found that low levels among older adults may increase their risk of early death. The findings were published in the June 2020 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers looked at about 4,000 adults ages 54 to 76 who were involved in three studies. Everyone was free of heart disease at the start of the analysis. The researchers categorized the people according to their blood levels of vitamin K, and compared that information with rates of heart disease and death over 13 years. The results showed no definite link between vitamin K levels and heart disease. However, people with the lowest vitamin K levels were 19% more likely to die during the study period than those whose K levels were adequate.

In the journals

If you are ever hospitalized for a hip fracture, using an anti-osteoporosis medication may protect you from another bone fracture. A study in the September 2020 issue of Bone examined data on almost 78,000 people ages 50 and older hospitalized with hip fractures. About 10,000 were given anti-osteoporosis medication — usually alendronate (Fosamax) — within one year.

People who began treatment 15 to 84 days after their fracture were less likely to be hospitalized for another kind of fracture in the future compared with people who began treatment later. Those who first took medication after 252 days had the highest risk. The researchers were not able to measure the participants' bone density, so it's possible some people had especially strong or weak bones, which may have influenced the outcome.

In the journals

Lowering high blood pressure with medication is good for the brain as well as the heart, suggests a study published online May 19, 2020, by JAMA.

Scientists reviewed 14 trials involving more than 96,000 people who had their high blood pressure monitored without medication vs. those who took one or more blood pressure drugs, such as beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, and angiotensin-receptor blockers. Almost 58% were men, and the average age was 69. The people were tested for dementia or cognitive impairment (trouble learning a new task, concentrating, or making decisions) before taking medication. They were tested again an average of four years later.

Even in an unusual year, tried-and-true strategies are still the best way to prevent illness.

Staying healthy is likely at the top of your list almost every winter. But this year, in the midst of a pandemic, it may be even more of a concern than usual. You might wonder: should you be taking special supplements to boost your immune system, or investing in cleaning devices to zap germs?

While the viral threats may be different from usual this year, the truth is that you should still be using many of the same strategies that you use in a typical year, says Michael Starnbach, a professor of microbiology at Harvard Medical School. Below are five of his top tips that can help you keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

These heavily marketed liquid meals and nutrition shakes aren't always the best option for your health. Here's what you need to look for.

Supplemental nutrition shakes and drinks can be helpful for people who struggle with a loss of appetite, have difficulty chewing, have trouble preparing balanced meals, or are recovering from surgery or an illness. But these nutrition shakes aren't magic bullets for nutrition. "The danger is that people see a lot of minerals and vitamins and think more is better," says geriatrician Dr. Suzanne Salamon, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. "If you use the drinks as meal substitutes that might be okay. It's not okay to eat a full meal and then drink a supplement, unless the goal is to gain weight or stop weight loss. It's too many calories."

The nutrition drinks

Supplemental nutrition drinks provide a healthy balance of protein, carbohydrate, and fat. There are hundreds of varieties that fall into two general categories.

Having your sleep interrupted by the need to urinate (the medical term is nocturia) is a common cause of sleep loss, especially among older adults. Nearly two-thirds of adults ages 55 to 84 deal with this problem at least a few nights per week.

People with mild cases may wake two times a night; in severe cases, it may be as many as five or six times. The result can be significant sleep loss and daytime fatigue.