A new University College London meta-review of studies on 600,000-plus U.S., European and Australian workers had some sobering findings about people that toil more than 55 hours a week: their risk of stroke is 33 percent higher than those that work the “old” 35-40 hour week. And long work weeks also up the risk of coronary heart disease by 13 percent. Read more about why long work hours may increase stroke risk so significantly.
Wellness Industry’s Attention to 9 Lifestyle Risk Factors Could Be Key to Reducing 2/3 of Alzheimer’s Cases
Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the most urgent healthcare crises today, and a large new study reveals just how powerful lifestyle choices—and hence, wellness establishments—could be in preventing it. Protecting against it involves things like: a healthy diet; folate, Vitamin C and E intake; coffee and fish consumption; and exercising the brain. And the researchers concluded that if nine risk factors (from obesity to carotid artery narrowing) were eliminated, then two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases could also be stopped. Read more to see what factors best protect against this terrible disease. READ THIS STUDY
Women: Step Away from the Desk and Lower Your Risk of Cancer & Early Mortality
Few medical studies have analyzed the relationship between sitting and total mortality. But a large (123,216 individuals) new study from the American Cancer Society found that women who sit for more than six hours/day were 37 percent more likely to die (over the 13-year study period)—and 10 percent more likely to get cancer—than those who sat less than three hours/day. Surprisingly, the “sitting risk” was lower for men: six-plus-hour-a-day male sitters were 18 percent more likely to die, but the cancer risk was not considerably higher.
New Stanford University Study: Acupuncture Reduces Pain after Surgery
The study of acupuncture during surgery is a relatively new area of research. But a recent, rigorously designed clinical trial showed that it significantly reduced pain and improved restoration of a normal diet after operations. Check out the findings
New Study: Walking in Nature Impacts Brain and May Reduce Depression
Last week Stanford University released the results of a study indicating that not all “walks” are created equal. People that walked for 90 minutes in a wild, natural area (as opposed to similar treks in busy city areas) showed significantly decreased activity in the “rumination” region of the brain, which regulates obsessive, negative thoughts and emotions. And ongoing rumination is a critical factor in depression.
More Vacations: Less Heart Disease
It’s summer vacation time, and there is a solid, body of medical evidence that suggests vacations are indeed good for one’s health. For instance, the famed Framingham Heart Study found that women who took a vacation once every six years or less were nearly eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease or have a heart attack than those who took at least two vacations a year. Another study of 12,000 men at high risk for coronary heart disease found that those who failed to take annual vacations were 32 percent more likely to die of a heart attack.
