Staying Healthy Archive

Incorporating brief spurts of high-intensity physical activity throughout your day can help you move to the next fitness level.

If you're not very active but looking to move more, a new strategy might help you get going. Called high-intensity incidental physical activity, or HIIPA for short, it's a new take on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) — only you might find yourself vigorously pushing a vacuum instead of going for a run.

HIIPA (not to be confused with the HIPAA health care privacy rule) is a term coined in an editorial published online Sept. 3 by the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It borrows from the idea behind HIIT, which is a workout that alternates between high-intensity and low-intensity activity. But instead of performing these high-intensity intervals during exercise, HIIPA encourages otherwise sedentary people to add a few moderately strenuous physical activities during the course of their regular day. Anything that raises your heart rate counts — walking up a flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator, carrying in a load of groceries, or doing some heavy cleaning around the house. The editorial's authors, a team of international experts, say the goal is to perform an activity that gets you a little out of breath.

Heating plastics in the microwave may cause chemicals to leach into your foods.

Plastic is everywhere. It's in bowls, wraps, and a host of bottles and bags used to store foods and beverages. But in recent years more people have been asking whether exposing our food (and ourselves) to all of this plastic is safe.

Studies have found that certain chemicals in plastic can leach out of the plastic and into the food and beverages we eat. Some of these chemicals have been linked to health problems such as metabolic disorders (including obesity) and reduced fertility. This leaching can occur even faster and to a greater degree when plastic is exposed to heat. This means you might be getting an even higher dose of potentially harmful chemicals simply by microwaving your leftovers in a plastic container.

Research we're watching

While eating more foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids may lower the risk of heart attack, that doesn't seem to reduce the risk of developing diabetes, according to a study published Aug. 24 in The BMJ. Prompted by past findings that this type of healthy fat might reduce diabetes risk and improve blood sugar (glucose) control, researchers decided to look further into the issue. They reviewed 83 randomized trials involving more than 120,000 people, both with and without diabetes. Each trial went on for six months or longer. These trials looked at whether increasing consumption of omega-3 fats (derived from fish or plants), omega-6 fats (such as those in soybean or corn oil), or total polyunsaturated fats could help lower blood glucose or reduce the risk of developing diabetes. They found that increasing the amount of omega-3, omega-6, or total polyunsaturated fats in the diet over an average study period of nearly three years didn't seem to have any effect on glucose metabolism or diabetes risk. It didn't matter whether the additional healthy fats came from supplements, enriched foods, or foods that were naturally rich in these fats.

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One in three people ages 65 or older will suffer a fall. It's time to assess your balance and improve it.

Image: Jacob Ammentorp Lund/iStock

Many older adults focus on exercise and diet to stay healthy. But one of the worst offenders to health—poor balance—is often an afterthought. "I see a lot of older adults who are nonchalant about balance," says Liz Moritz, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Unfortunately, imbalance is a common cause of falls, which send millions of people in the United States to emergency departments each year with broken hips and head injuries. But there are many things you can do to improve your balance. The strategies below are some of the most effective.

No one needs to join a gym to exercise regularly. As many of the exercises we've selected for our workouts attest, your body offers the cheapest equipment available. A small investment in additional equipment—such as hand weights, resistance tubing, and a stability ball—greatly expands your exercise options.

Gyms do have advantages, though. Monthly fees are a big incentive to exercise. Classes offer companionship, a chance to learn proper technique, and opportunities to challenge your body and sample new trends. Gyms can afford sturdy equipment that would drain your bank account and take up floor space at home. Often personal trainers are available for weekly appointments, small group training sessions, or a short-term overhaul to freshen your routine. Also, for many people, being around others who are investing time and effort in their physical fitness is motivating.

Many people are seeking out what they perceive to be healthier alternatives to refined (granulated) white sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. They may have heard that plant-based natural or organic sweeteners such as agave syrup (sometimes called nectar) or coconut sugar are less likely to trigger spikes in blood sugar. Less-processed "raw" sugars, maple syrup, or honey also may be perceived as better options simply because they are more "natural" than highly refined table sugar.

Popular sugar alternatives do come from things in nature, such as tree sap or beehives. But the sugar in them is the same as what you'll find in a bag of "unnatural," refined white or confectioner's sugar. The same goes for sugars labeled "organic" or "raw." Though less-processed sugars may contain trace elements and minerals that refined white sugar lacks, they still end up as glucose (blood sugar) after the body breaks them down.

New recommendations could affect millions of people.

You may remember a time when taking a daily baby aspirin was almost a rite of passage for generally healthy older adults. The idea was that, for people with a low to moderate risk for heart disease, aspirin therapy was a simple and cost-effective way to help prevent a heart attack or stroke.

But taking aspirin increases the risk for bleeding in the stomach and brain (see "How aspirin affects the body").

Here's how to tell if you may have a drinking problem.

Alcoholic beverages are a "social lubricant." At holiday and other parties, bouts of excessive drinking can seem like part of the celebration. But here's something to think about as you raise your glass: drinking too much alcohol at a party — or at any time — can be a sign of alcohol use disorder (AUD).

What is AUD?

AUD is the umbrella term for problem drinking that stems from alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. While both are marked by problems stopping or controlling alcohol use, they're not the same.