Category: Longevity & Health

A survey by the University of Southampton of 352 traditional acupuncturists, suggests their work is supporting key UK public health targets for promoting healthy lifestyles. Four key health behaviours – diet, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption – are now established as primary causes of ill health in the UK. Large scale surveys have shown patients report making health behaviour changes as a result of complementary medical encounters. Usage of complementary medicine is associated with a belief that health is a result of personal behaviour that may include lifestyle.

This was the first nationwide survey of UK acupuncturists and their provision of lifestyle and behaviour change advice. Almost 58% of most recent patient visits included some such support, rising to 92% for chronic conditions in particular. Physical activity and dietary changes were most widely the targets, followed by sleep hygiene, alcohol and smoking.

(Lifestyle and health behaviour change support in traditional acupuncture: a mixed method survey study of reported practice (UK). BMC Complementary Medicine & Therapies, 21 September 2022.)

American researchers have found that morning and evening exercise offer different benefits to men and women. For women, morning exercise reduces both abdominal fat and blood pressure, whilst evening exercise improves muscle performance. In men, evening exercise is preferable if the aim is to reduce blood pressure.

Teams from Skidmore College, NY, and the State Universities of Arizona and California, recruited 30 women and 26 men. All were already exercise-trained, and aged 25 to 55. They were all given a 12 week multi-modal exercise program (resistance, interval, stretching & endurance), and randomised to perform it in either the morning (06.00 to 08.00) or evening (18.30 to 20.30). Participants were given a meal plan with timings, and had access to advice from a dietician. At baseline and week 12, measurements were made of strength, endurance, power, body composition, blood pressure, and dietary intake.

At week 12, 27 women and 20 men completed the study. For women, morning exercise improved lower body peak power, and reduced abdominal fat percentage, total body fat mass, and blood pressure, whilst evening exercise enhanced endurance and upper body strength.

For men, evening exercise increased fat oxidation and the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol, whilst reducing systolic blood pressure and fatigue. Men showed no difference in physical performance or body fat variables with time of day. They did show significant improvements in mood state, regardless of time of day.

The research team concludes that clinicians and fitness trainers aiming to more precisely target one outcome over the other, should bear in mind time of day when making physical activity recommendations to patients and clients.

(Morning Exercise Reduces Abdominal Fat and Blood Pressure in Women; Evening Exercise Increases Muscular Performance in Women and Lowers Blood Pressure in Men. Frontiers in Physiology, online 31 May 2022.)

A study following 2240 adults, mean age 65, over an eleven year period, indicates that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids may prolong life by up to five years. For comparison, being a smoker at the age of 65 is likely to subtract 4.7 years of life compared to non-smokers. The research originally set out to establish lifestyle factors which could indicate whether an individual could be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease eg unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, smoking etc. A 2018 study on 2500 people suggested that good omega-3 intake was associated with reduced mortality from all causes.

(Using an erythrocyte fatty acid fingerprint to predict risk of all-cause mortality: the Framingham Offspring Cohort. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 16 June 2021.)

Research by Penn State College of Medicine in the US, suggests that a higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower cancer risk. Seventeen observational studies looking at mushroom intake and cancer risk, published between 1966 and 2020, were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis.

Higher mushroom intake was associated with lower overall cancer risk, and with lower breast cancer risk in particular, although the latter could simply reflect the smaller number of studies on prostate, liver, stomach, ovarian and colorectal cancers. To put it into figures, a dose-response meta-analysis indicated that a mushroom consumption of 18 g per day, was associated with a 45% lower risk of total cancer, compared with zero dietary intake.

The authors speculate that the beneficial effects of mushrooms  may stem from antioxidant properties imparted by the ergothioneine and glutathione found in mushrooms.

(Higher Mushroom Consumption Is Associated with Lower Risk of Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies. Advances in Nutrition, 16 March 2021.)

Making your front garden greener, can help you to feel more happy, relaxed, and closer to nature. A four year collaborative project carried out by the universities of Sheffield, Westminster and Virginia, with the Royal Horticultural Society, looked at adding plants to previously bare front gardens in deprived streets of Greater Manchester.

Forty-two residents received a tree, a shrub (azalea), a climber (clematis), lavender, rosemary, spring bulbs, plus enough bedding plants to fill two containers. A second, control group of residents, received the same plants one year later. The researchers tracked residents’ cortisol levels before and after the planting, to use as an indicator of their stress levels.

Before the experiment, 24% of residents had healthy cortisol patterns. Over the course of the year following the plantings, this increased to 53% of residents. Additionally residents’ perceived stress levels decreased by 6% once the plants had been introduced. More than half (52%) of residents said their front garden contributed to them feeling happier; 40% said it helped them to feel more relaxed and a quarter said it helped them feel closer to nature.

Dr Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui, who conducted the experiment as part of her PhD research said, “We now have further evidence of the vital need to incorporate plants into our front gardens and domestic spaces. The stress reduction data is startling, in that there was such a significant response with a relatively small number of plants. Now we know that access to a tiny patch of nature has beneficial effects for our health.”

(RHS Website, accessed 8 March 2021.)