Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
?: @culturekitty Beets are a powerful superfood. Its reddish-brown betalains are powerful antioxidants that protect the walls of arteries. Trimethylglycine detoxifies homocysteine; elevated homocysteine is implicated in clogged arteries. The natural nitrates create nitric oxide, responsible for healthy blood flow, heart and circulatory health, and …
Just because the leaves are changing color and the temperature is dropping, doesn’t mean your motivation should follow suit! If the colder weather and lack of motivation is keeping you from your fitness goals, these 10 fall-inspired fitness tips may help. Make a motivation board …
Depression is a disorder that affects around 6.7% of adults in the United States each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that more than 300 million people currently live with the disorder. This disorder is not a normal “up and down” of emotions; this illness greatly affects mood, body, behavior and the mind and commonly interferes with daily function.
An Australia-based not-for-profit group called Black Dog Institute launched a one month campaign, encouraging people to exercise as, their website reports, regular physical activity can help to prevent and treat depression. This report comes out of a study led by Professor Samuel Harvey from the Black Dog Institute, which analyzed data collected from 33,908 Norwegian adults who were followed over a period of 11 years. He explains, “We’ve known for some time that exercise has a role to play in treating symptoms of depression, but this is the first time we have been able to quantify the potential of physical activity in terms of reducing future levels of depression.”
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By analyzing data collected through the Nord-Trondelag Health Study (one of the largest population studies to date), researchers were able to conclude that just one hour of exercise per week can deliver “significant protection against depression.”
All healthy participants recruited were required to self-assess their physical activity status, including how often they exercise and at what intensity – mild, moderate and intense. Later, participants were given a self-assessment questionnaire to report any states of depression or anxiety. Variables including socioeconomic status, body mass index and alcohol and substance abuse were adjusted to ensure the consistency of the results.
It was found that those who did not engage in any physical exercise to begin with were 44% more likely than their peers who exercised for 1 to 2 hours each week to develop depression.
Also observed were mental health benefits within the first hour undertaken each week. The authors of the study further conclude that around 12% of depression cases might have been prevented if the participants had done at least 1 hour of physical exercise per week. “We are still trying to determine exactly why exercise can have this protective effect, but we believe it is from the combined impact of the various physical and social benefits of physical activity.” He continues, “If we can find ways to increase the population’s level of physical activity even by a small amount, then this is likely to bring substantial physical and mental health benefits.”
The results of this study were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report in June 2017 that says there is evidence that three interventions may slow cognitive decline and the onset of dementia, though much more testing is needed. What is Dementia? According to the Alzheimer’s Association, …
A new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine says that packing the recommended amount of weekly exercise into just one or two workout sessions may lower your risk of death close to risk levels that regular exercise offers. Though WHO (the World Health …
Researchers at the School of Comprehensive Rehabilitation, Osaka Prefecture University in Japan studied 91 elderly subjects who were fragile and institutionalized in nursing homes for a three month period. One group received counseling on falls, and was given two individualized and one group exercise class each week, and had objects that were hazards for falling removed from their living space. The second group was given the same counseling and hazard removal but received a twice a week guided exercise regimen to specifically build strength and reduce fall risk. The third group was given 900 IU of Vitamin D3 each day with food. The last group received both the 900 IU of Vitamin D3 combined with the twice a week guided exercise regimen.
Vitamin D cut the incidence of falling by 43%. The twice a week exercise cut the incidence of falling by 53%. Adding the vitamin to the guided twice weekly exercise reduced the incidence of falling by 73%. The research is published online ahead of print in the International Journal of Gerontology.
Vitamin D has become one of the most highly recommended dietary supplements over the last few years by healthcare professionals. This vitamin is not technically an essential vitamin, since the body naturally synthesizes the “sunshine vitamin” through a chemical reaction between the sun’s UV rays and the cholesterol on your skin. Nevertheless, it has been estimated that approximately 70% of North Americans have Vitamin D deficiencies. This is due to a combination of factors: low levels of sunlight for most of the year, obesity, sun avoidance, and low consumption of foods high in Vitamin D such as fatty fish (salmon, tuna, sardines). Inadequate levels of this vitamin in the body often leads to conditions such as rickets and osteomalacia, which bring on symptoms like bone and muscle pain, enlarged joints, and easily fractured bones. Given the high prevalence of this deficiency, this could be the most essential of all the conditionally essential vitamins.
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Vitamin D3 supplementation can effectively reverse common vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D3 is the active form of vitamin D. It is sourced from sheep’s wool and easily absorbed by the body. Vitamin D3 1000IU may be taken in multiple servings to increase Vitamin D levels and correct deficiencies. Research suggests that an adequate supply of vitamin D can help maintain normal blood sugar levels and support blood pressure already within normal range, when taken as part of a well-balanced diet. Vitamin D may help promote a healthy immune response as well by activating T and B cells of the immune system. In fact without sufficient vitamin D levels, the immune system cannot function properly to resist infection.
Despite these results, there is no saying that vitamin D prevents falls altogether; falls will still inevitably happen amongst the elderly. When they do occur, it’s important to be prepared and for the elderly faller to be escorted to hospital as soon as possible. If you know an elderly person who’s fragile or taking frequent falls, as well as getting them some Vitamin D, it may be worth looking into a fall detection device for top safety.