Daily Archives: July 27, 2009
Yoga Helps Asthma Patients In 10 Weeks
Yoga Helps Asthma Patients In 10 Weeks
Adults with asthma reported increased quality of life and reduced asthma symptoms after 10 weeks of yoga practice, according to research presented today at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in Yoga. The study followed 20 subjects age 20-65 who were beginners at yoga.
Subjects received one-hour yoga classes twice per week and were asked to practice an additional half-hour weekly at home, for a total of 2.5 hours per week. After initial warm-ups, deep breathing and stretching, the participants practiced yoga positions, or asanas. The goal was to hold poses during deep breathing. According to lead researcher Amy Bidwell, M.S., this replicates the stress of an oncoming asthma attack. Most previous research measured the acute effects of yoga on asthma -for example, after a single, two-hour session. This study, said Bidwell, looked at the effect of a 10-week training program.
‘Provocative’ New Evidence Links Vitamin D And Other Nutrients To Heart Disease
Emerging research suggests that nutritional factors including vitamin D, magnesium, and others may influence the risk and progression of cardiovascular disease. The new data on nutrition and heart disease were the topic of a recent symposium and are summarized in the July issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (SSCI). The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and biomedical intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry.
“The prospect that macro- and micronutrients may play an important role in the appearance of diseases of the cardiovasculature and their progressive nature is both intriguing and provocative,” according to the article’s preface by Dr. Karl T. Weber. The article highlights key findings presented at the SSCI’s Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans earlier this year. The symposium was presented in conjunction with the SSCI’s Cardiovascular Club and the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences/North America.
One In Seven Young Canadian Adults Deficient In Vitamin C, Study Finds
Deficient In Vitamin C
One in seven young adults in Canada is deficient in vitamin C, according to a first-of-its kind study published today. The findings, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, suggest that young adults with a vitamin C (ascorbic acid) deficiency have significantly higher waist circumference, body mass index, inflammation and blood pressure – indicators of chronic disease and obesity – than do people with adequate blood levels of vitamin C.
The study – supported by the Advanced Foods and Materials Network, a national Network of Centres of Excellence – was conducted by University of Toronto researchers Ahmed El-Sohemy and Leah Cahill of the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Paul N. Corey of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health Sciences. Called Vitamin C Deficiency in a Population of Young Canadian Adults, the study involved 979 Toronto-based participants between the ages of 20 and 29.
American Academy Of Dermatology Issues Updated Position Statement On Vitamin D
The American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) recently issued an updated position statement on vitamin D after an updated review of the increasing body of scientific literature on this vitamin and its importance for optimal health.
The Academy continues to recommend that the public obtain vitamin D from nutritional sources and dietary supplements, and not from unprotected exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or indoor tanning devices, as UV radiation is a known risk factor for the development of skin cancer.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Vitamin D, Curcumin May Help Clear Amyloid Plaques
UCLA scientists and colleagues from UC Riverside and the Human BioMolecular Research Institute have found that a form of vitamin D, together with a chemical found in turmeric spice called curcumin, may help stimulate the immune system to clear the brain of amyloid beta, which forms the plaques considered the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
The early research findings, which appear in the July issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, may lead to new approaches in preventing and treating Alzheimer’s by utilizing the property of vitamin D3 – a form of vitamin D – both alone and together with natural or synthetic curcumin to boost the immune system in protecting the brain against amyloid beta.