Vegetarian diets may reduce heart disease

Many people choose to follow vegetarian diets. There can be many health advantages in doing so. For instance, vegetarian diets tend to be low in saturated fats and rich in natural antioxidants and other anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, which can have a wide range of benefits throughout the body.

 

According to recent research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who regularly consume nuts and legumes may reduce their risk of heart disease.

It was found that subjects who regularly consumed nuts were 24% less likely to suffer a fatal heart attack and 22% less likely to suffer a nonfatal heart attack compared with subjects who did not regularly consume nuts. Regular nut consumers also had a 13% reduced risk of diabetes compared to non-regular consumers. However, there was no significant correlation observed between nut consumption and stroke risk. 

Regular exercise helps people with clogged arteries and elderly with disability

Regular physical exercise is good both for our mental and physical health, not even to mention the financial payoff of reduced medical expenses. 

Although getting regular exercise is important at all ages, the benefits can be especially pronounced as we grow older. What many people don't realize is that you don't have to be an exercise fanatic or "gym rat" to realize significant health benefits; even moderate-intensity physical activity such as home-based walking ca n yield significant rewards. For example, people with poor circulation in their legs may benefit from a home-based walking plan. 

According to a recent study on patients with peripheral artery disease, it was found that patients with home-based walking exercise increased their six-minute walk distance from baseline to 12-month follow-up from 355.4 meters to 381.9 meters. 

In another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, it was found that getting regular exercise can help protect elderly adults against physical disability. The study involved 1,635 sedentary men and women aged 70 to 89 years who had physical limitations but were still able to walk 400 meters within 15 minutes without sitting and without the help of another person or a walker at the beginning of the study.

After an average of 2.6 years, subjects were evaluated for levels of major mobility disability and found that those elderly men and women who took part in a structured, moderate-intensity physical activity program had significantly less mobility disability than a control group who didn't exercise.

According to the study authors, “these results suggest the potential for structured physical activity as a feasible and effective intervention to reduce the burden of disability among vulnerable older persons.” And this can translate into a huge difference in quality of life.

Iodine deficiency common among pregnant women

According to the journal Pediatrics published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, many women of childbearing age are marginally iodine deficient and should be taking a supplement containing adequate iodide but only roughly 15% actually do so. 

Iodine is important because its deficiency, per se, can interfere with normal brain development in the offspring. Iodine is required to produce thyroid hormone, which has a crucial role in brain development. Thus adequate iodine is especially important in prenatal and neonatal nutrition. In addition, its deficiency increases vulnerability to the effects of certain environmental pollutants, such as nitrate, thiocyanate and perchlorate.

Iodine deficiency was widespread in the US presumably due to increased consumption of processed foods, which are prepared with non-iodized salt. It is now estimated that approximately one third of pregnant women in the US are iodine deficient.

According to the Academy, pregnant and breastfeeding women should use iodized salt and take a supplement that includes at least 150 micrograms of iodide. Combined intake from food and supplements should be 290 to 1,100 micrograms per day. 

The Academy also recommends that pregnant and lactating women avoid excessive exposure to excess nitrate, which is most commonly found in cigarette smoke and contaminated well water, and thiocyanate, which is in cigarette smoke. These chemicals can exacerbate the effects of iodine deficiency.