Brisk Walk Can Reduce Stroke, Heart Attacks Risks, and Extend Life


Elizabeth Renter
Activist Post

When you walk, do you stroll, or do you march like you’re on a mission. Researchers have found that how fast you walk may play a role in reducing your risk of stroke and heart disease—urging people to get out and walk some every day, but to do it quickly.

Scientists with the British Heart Foundation found that those people who walk briskly or even jog have a significantly lower risk of heart disease including stroke. This is when they were compared with those who walked more slowly or who lived sedentary lives.

The findings shouldn’t come as a surprise—the harder you work a muscle, the stronger it becomes.

Just like you would want to lift dumbbells instead of paperclips to strengthen your biceps, your heart needs a challenge to stay strong and healthy. A brisk walk or jog causes your heart to work harder, beating faster to keep oxygenated blood flowing through the body. And this makes for a healthier you.

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Study: Eating Beans Helps Diabetics

Diabetics can see an improvement in both their blood sugar levels and blood pressure if they add beans and other legumes to their diet, Canadian researchers report. 

Chickpeas, lentils and beans are rich in protein and fiber, and these may improve heart health. Because they are low on the glycemic index, a measure of sugar in foods, they may also help control diabetes, the researchers explained. 

"Legumes, which we always thought were good for the heart, actually are good for the heart in ways we didn't expect," said lead researcher Dr. David Jenkins, the Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Toronto. 

Among Type 2 diabetics, "not only did their glucose control become better, but -- and this surprised us -- it had a significant effect on blood pressure," he said.

Read more: Study: Eating Beans Helps Diabetics
Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.

Berries Help Prevent Mental Decline

Berries (φρούτα του δάσους)
Berries (Photo credit: aspros)
A new scientific review suggests that a few berries a day can help keep mental decline and other age-related illnesses at bay. 

In an article published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists concluded that eating berries like strawberries, blueberries and blackberries can help maintain a sharp memory and prevent the onset of mental decline due to their high levels of antioxidants which help protect cells from harmful free radicals. 

The study was released by the American Chemical Society.

Read more: Berries Help Prevent Mental Decline
Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.
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Research: Pomegranate May Reverse Blocked Arteries


Sayer Ji, Contributor
Activist Post

While technically a berry, pomegranate "fruit" may be nature's answer to turning the tide against the #1 cause of death in the industrialized world: heart disease. Let's start with what it tells us simply through experiencing it...

Pomegranate has a remarkable astringency, giving your mouth and gums that dry, puckering mouth feel. This cleansing sensation is technically caused, as with all astringents, by shrinking and disinfecting your mucous membranes.

Anyone who drinks pomegranate juice, or is lucky enough to eat one fresh, can understand why it is so effective at cleansing the circulatory system. Nature certainly planted enough poetic visual clues there for us: its juice looks like blood, and it does resemble a multi-chambered heart, at least when you consider its appearance in comparison to most other fruits.

But sometimes the obvious (in appearance and effect) is not compelling enough – certainly not for the hyper-rational, "evidence-based" folks in positions of medical and regulatory power today – so we have science to lend additional support and credibility, and perhaps even keep some of us from being fined or going to jail for stating the obvious, e.g. "This juice may be beneficial to your health."

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Study: Cherries Fight Gout

A pair of cherries from the same stalk. Prunus...
A pair of cherries from the same stalk. Prunus avium 'Stella'. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Cherries may no longer be for just topping off ice cream sundaes; in a new study of people with gout, eating the fruit was linked with a 35 percent to 75 percent lower risk of having an attack. 

While adopting a cherry regimen sounds pleasant enough, the study's lead author warns that the new study does not prove cherries prevent gout attacks, and he said patients should stick with their current gout medications. 

"They can go out and eat the cherries, but they shouldn't abandon their medical treatment at all," said Yuqing Zhang, a professor at the Boston University School of Medicine.

Read more: Study: Cherries Fight Gout
Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.
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New Supplement Provides Energy Shot to the Brain

of (cytidine diphosphate choline). Created usi...
of (cytidine diphosphate choline). Created using ACD/ChemSketch 10.0 and . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It sounds almost too good to be true: a dietary supplement that makes people feel more energetic and alert, boosts memory and mood, and has almost no side effects. 

Those are the reports from scientists about citicoline, a naturally occurring compound in the body that scientists believe enhances the brain’s ability to make brain cell membranes and the neurotransmitters involving attention, memory, alertness, and sense of well-being. Citicoline is a new ingredient in supplement drinks and is being sold in capsules.

Read more: New Supplement Provides Energy Shot to the Brain
Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.
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Six cups of coffee a day 'cuts risk of both womb and prostate cancer'

Women who drink four to six cups of coffee a day are less likely to suffer from womb cancer, while men who drink this amount are less likely to suffer prostate cancer, according to a study using 117,000 volunteers.

The effects were seen regardless of whether they drank regular or decaffeinated coffee, suggesting the effects are not linked to caffeine.

Although many people limit the amount of coffee they consume because it can cause a spike in blood pressure, recent studies suggest the drink may also offer health benefits.

Regular coffee drinkers also appear to have a lower risk of Type-2 diabetes, gallstones, colon cancer and even Parkinson’s disease.
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A heart surgeon tells all... including the patient who woke up and tried to move with her chest open

It sounds like the stuff of nightmares. Or perhaps a far-fetched Halloween spook-fest blockbuster. 

Waking up half way through major surgery, inadequate amounts of anesthetic having been administered.

In a candid Ask Me Anything question-and-answer Reddit feed a heart surgeon openly discussed some of his most harrowing experiences, including one when a woman awoke on the operating table, her chest wide open.
Asked by user 'MechaLincoln' to describe the strangest thing to have happened during his medical career, 'eternal_wait' wrote: 'A patient waking up and trying to move with her chest opened, a really bad mistake from the anesthesiologist that day.

Casual attitude: The unnamed surgeon posted a photograph of himself giving the thumbs-up as he gets ready to assist in a bypass operation
Casual attitude: The unnamed surgeon posted a photograph of himself giving the thumbs-up as he gets ready to assist in a bypass operation

'Cardiac surgery patients are at the highest risk of waking up during surgery because of the use of the artificial heart-lung machine, their drug distribution volume get really big so they need much more drugs to remain sleep.
 
'I've had other interesting moments,' the doctor added, 'but its really impressive to see a person with no heart trying to move.'
Fortunately for the patient in question she had no memory of the botched surgery after it was through, but others have been less lucky, as Reddit users were quick to point out.
In response the surgeon went onto explain that a drug named Midazolam is given in cases such as the woman's, 'that causes amnesia so the patient doesn't remember this traumatic experience.'
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