risk – KLINIK ONG

Even one cigarette a day can still kill you, study finds

By ongtim | January 26, 2018

If you think having just one cigarette a day won’t do any harm, you’re wrong. British researchers say lighting up just once a day was linked to a much higher risk of heart disease and stroke than might be expected.

The bottom line: “No safe level of smoking exists for cardiovascular disease,” wrote the team led by Allan Hacksaw, of UCL Cancer Institute at University College, London.

“Smokers should quit instead of cutting down, using appropriate cessation aids if needed, to significantly reduce their risk,” the study authors said.

And it’s a warning to the young that even so-called “light” smoking carries a heavy price, one expert said.

Young adults “often smoke lesser amounts than older adults,” noted Patricia Folan, who directs the Center for Tobacco Control at Northwell Health, in Great Neck, N.Y.

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Eating dinner after 7pm may increase risk of heart attack

By ongtim | September 1, 2016

Millions of Britons are increasing their risk of heart attacks by eating dinner after 7pm, experts have warned.

Researchers assessed more than 700 adults with high blood pressure, to see what difference their diet and eating times made to their health.

The study examined the types of foods eaten, amount of salt consumed, whether breakfast was eaten regularly and timing of evening meals.

The research found that eating dinner late had the most significant impact on overnight blood pressure.

Having dinner within two hours of bed time did more damage than the long-established risk of having a high salt diet, the study found.

Cardiologists at the world’s largest heart conference said the study suggested that when people eat could be as important as what they eat.

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Eating Whole Fresh fruits lowers risk of diabetes, drinking juice raises it

By ongtim | September 2, 2013

Eating more whole fresh fruit, especially blueberries, grapes, apples and pears, is linked to a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, but drinking more fruit juice has the opposite effect, says a study.

British, US and Singaporean researchers pored over data from three big health investigations that took place in the United States, spanning a quarter of a century in all.

More than 187,000 nurses and other professional caregivers were enrolled.

Their health was monitored over the following years, and they regularly answered questionnaires on their eating habits, weight, smoking, physical activity and other pointers to lifestyle.

Around 6.5 percent of the volunteers developed diabetes during the studies.

People who ate at least two servings each week of certain whole fruits, especially blueberries, grapes and apples, reduced their risk of Type 2 diabetes by as much as 23 percent compared to those who ate less than one serving per month.

“Our findings provide novel evidence suggesting certain fruits may be especially beneficial for lower diabetes risk,” said Qi Sun, an assistant professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

On the other hand, those who consumed one or more servings of fruit juice each day saw their risk of the disease increase by as much as 21 percent.

Swapping three servings of juice per week for whole fruits resulted in a seven-percent reduction in risk, although there was no such difference with strawberries and cantaloupe melon.

The paper, published on Friday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), says further work is needed to explore this “significant” difference.

It speculates that, even if the nutritional values of whole fruit and fruit juice are similar, the difference lies with the fact that one food is a semi-solid and the other a liquid.

“Fluids pass through the stomach to the intestine more rapidly than solids even if nutritional content is similar,” says the paper.

“For example, fruit juices lead to more rapid and larger changes in serum [blood] levels of glucose and insulin than whole fruits.”

The study also points to evidence that some kinds of fruit have a beneficial effect for health.

Berries and grapes, for instance, have compounds called anthocyanins which have been found to lower the risk of heart attacks.

But, say the authors, how or even whether this also applies to diabetes risks is for now unclear.

The investigation looked at data from the Nurses’ Health Study, which ran from 1984-2008; the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991-2009); and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2008).

Ten kinds of fruit were used in the questionnaire: grapes or raisins; peach, plums or apricots; prunes; bananas; cantaloupe melon; apples or pears; oranges; grapefruit; strawberries; and blueberries.

The fruit juices identified in the questionnaire were apple, orange, grapefruit and “other.” – AFP/Relaxnews, September 2, 2013.

Vegetarians cut heart risk by 32%

By ongtim | January 31, 2013

Ditching meat and fish in favour of a vegetarian diet can have a dramatic effect on the health of your heart, research suggests.

A study of 44,500 people in England and Scotland showed vegetarians were 32% less likely to die or need hospital treatment as a result of heart disease.

Differences in cholesterol levels, blood pressure and body weight are thought to be behind the health boost.

The findings were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Heart disease is a major blight in Western countries. It kills 94,000 people in the UK each year – more than any other disease, and 2.6 million people live with the condition.

The heart’s own blood supply becomes blocked up by fatty deposits in the arteries that nourish the heart muscle. It can cause angina or even lead to a heart attack if the blood vessels become completely blocked.

Scientists at the University of Oxford analysed data from 15,100 vegetarians and 29,400 people who ate meat and fish.

Over the course of 11 years, 169 people in the study died from heart disease and 1,066 needed hospital treatment – and they were more likely to have been meat and fish eaters than vegetarians.

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Men who drink sugary drink daily up risk of heart disease

By ongtim | March 15, 2012

BOSTON, March 15 — A new study has found that men who drink about a can of full-calorie soda or sugar-sweetened juice a day could be increasing their risk of developing heart disease by about 20 per cent.

Published in the journal Circulation, Harvard researchers followed 42,880 men over 22 years, measuring the different lipids and proteins in the participants’ bloodstream.

After controlling for risk factors like smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption and family medical history, scientists found that those who consumed sugary beverages on a daily basis had higher levels of triglycerides — or bad fat — and lower levels of good cholesterol or HDL levels compared to men who refrained from sugary drinks.

Both biomarkers are known to be associated with a higher risk of heart disease.

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Prolonged bottle feed increases obesity risk

By ongtim | May 9, 2011

Babies who are bottle-fed until the age of two are more likely to be obese when they start school, a US study suggests.

Writing in the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers found that children who were still regular bottle users at 24 months were 30% more likely to be obese aged five-and-a-half.

They analysed data from nearly 7,000 children across the United States.

Experts say bottle-feeding can make babies consume too many calories.

The research found 22% of the two-year-olds studied were using a bottle as their main drink container, or were put to bed with a bottle containing a calorie-filled drink.

Nearly a quarter of this group were found to be obese aged five, compared with 16% of children who had not been using a bottle at the age of two.

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