March Wellness News Round-Up
Here is a collection of recent health news you can use. We’re focusing on whole-body health. Click on the links to read more about each topic.
Keep Your Cells Young: If you want to live a long and healthy life, you need long telomeres—they’re the tails that protect the ends of DNA strands. “Scientists believe the length of your telomeres determines your biological age,” says APOGEE’s integrative health advisor Woodson Merrell, M.D. “The longer they are the younger you are.” Short telomeres put your cells at risk for cancer and other diseases. In one recent study, prostate cancer patients who made lifestyle changes, including moderate exercise, stress reduction, improved nutrition and social support, boosted their levels of the enzyme that maintains telomeres by more than 29 percent.
De-Tox, Step One: Is one of your goals to “detox” your body this spring? Before you begin a juice fast or other regimen, reduce the number and amount of toxins you’re exposed to. One way: Get ride of the pesticides in your garage. In a recent study, researchers discovered that one common weed killer disrupted the sex hormones in frogs. Find a household hazardous waste disposal day in your community and start your spring cleaning.
A Healthy Gut Means Normal Weight: Scientists wondered why some people can eat and not gain weight, while others pack on the pounds following the same diet. In one study, the culprit (in mice at least) was “bad” bacteria in their gut. All of the fat mice had the same abnormal intestinal bacteria; none of the normal-weight mice did.
How Yoga Protects Against Weight Gain: If you mindlessly overeat when you’re stressed or emotional, consider a regular yoga practice. Researchers wondered why yoga practitioners were less likely to gain weight as they aged. In the study, they determined that people with a yoga habit are aware of what they eat and stop when they’re full. “Yoga leads to less weight gain over time,” said the main researcher.
Learn Now, Better Memory Later: To keep your brain fit, keep learning. A new study shows that learning stimulates production of BDNF, a substance that’s needed to form new memories. Researchers think that’s why learning keeps your brain healthy and protects against the memory and cognitive declines associated with aging. They said that learning anything helped boost production of BDNF—we’d recommend learning a new yoga asana, a sequence on Pilates apparatus, or a Zumba dance routine!
Tags: wellness news
