Following are the latest health news tips to help you follow a healthier daily lifestyle. These health news items are selected from news items based on criteria that can be easily implemented in your daily routine.
Health Benefits of a Plant-based Diet
Eating a plant-based diet reduces inflammatory dietary advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) by 79%, compared to a 15% reduction for a diet that includes meat and dairy products, according to a new study by researchers with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published in Obesity Science & Practice. The decrease in AGEs was associated with an average weight loss of 14 pounds and improved insulin sensitivity.
The authors say that these findings support prior observations of the favorable effects of low-AGEs diets on weight, body fat, and insulin resistance.
One in 10 older Americans has dementia
In the first nationally representative study of cognitive impairment prevalence in more than 20 years, Columbia University researchers have found almost 10% of U.S. adults ages 65 and older have dementia, while another 22% have mild cognitive impairment. People with dementia and mild cognitive impairment are more likely to be older, have lower levels of education, and to be racialized as Black or Hispanic. Men and women have similar rates of dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
This study is representative of the population of older adults and includes groups that have been historically excluded from dementia research but are at higher risk of developing cognitive impairment because of structural racism and income inequality. The study was published online Oct. 24 in the journal JAMA Neurology. For more information, visit cuimc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org.
Five hours’ sleep a night linked to higher risk of multiple diseases
Getting less than five hours of sleep in mid-to-late life could be linked to an increased risk of developing at least two chronic diseases, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.
People who reported getting five hours of sleep or less at age 50 were 20% more likely to have been diagnosed with a chronic disease and 40% more likely to be diagnosed with two or more chronic diseases over 25 years, compared to people who slept for up to seven hours. Additionally, sleeping for five hours or less at the age of 50, 60, and 70 was linked to a 30% to 40% increased risk of multi-morbidity when compared with those who slept for up to seven hours.
As people get older, their sleep habits and sleep structure change. However, it is recommended to sleep for 7 to 8 hours a night – as sleep durations above or below this have previously been associated with individual chronic diseases. Learn more about the study at University College London.
Gout Management Takes Patients Years
Gout impacts more than 9 million Americans and often entails years-long cycle of doctor visits, medications and ER trips, leading more than half of people with gout to report depression, anxiety or hopelessness. The findings appear in, “The Journey Toward Disease Management,” a national survey report released by the Alliance for Gout Awareness.
These national survey results remind us that gout is a chronic, debilitating disease, one that patients should work with a gout specialist from the earliest possible opportunity to get under control. There are many lifestyle adjustments that can help control gout. Though this disease feels crippling, gout can be managed successfully with appropriate care.
To learn more read the full report.
Probiotic supplement improves bothersome vaginal odor, symptoms at ‘warp speed’
Women who took a probiotic supplement for bothersome vaginal odor and symptoms such as irritation and painful urination reported substantial improvements within 2 weeks, according to study findings presented at the NAMS Annual Meeting.
The probiotic, Clairvee (Bonafide Health), is intended for women who report a vaginal odor “different than that which they think is normal for them” and other bothersome symptoms but who do not have an infection, according to Susan Kellogg Spadt, PhD, CRNP, director of female sexual medicine at the Center for Pelvic Medicine, Academic Urology of PA in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
The first study included 33 women aged 24 to 70 years who had no vaginal infection but reported bothersome vaginal odor, all of whom reported improvement for at least one vaginal symptom — such as itching, discharge, burning, dryness, odor, irritation or painful urination — within 4 weeks. Learn more Healio.com.
High blood pressure speeds up mental decline
A new study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease serves as an important reminder of the key role that controlling blood pressure plays in long-term brain health. “The findings suggest that high blood pressure causes faster cognitive decline, and that taking hypertension medication slows the pace of that decline,” says Deborah Levine, M.D., M.P.H.,, a professor of internal medicine at the U-M’s academic medical center, Michigan Medicine.
Levine and colleagues at the U-M Frankel Cardiovascular Center are currently studying other aspects of cognitive decline disparities, including her own team’s research on post-stroke cognitive declines. Source: University of Michigan
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