Now, there are some organs we can continue on without. But the liver is not one of them.

The liver performs hundreds of vital functions, including regulating blood sugar and controlling blood clotting, metabolizing nutrients, and, of course, removing toxins and waste from the bloodstream.

We know that alcohol’s harm to the liver is a direct punch. However, new research has revealed that it’s actually a one-two punch…

What I mean is that, while alcohol is directly attacking the liver, it’s also opening the door to invaders that also play an active role in wreaking havoc on the liver.

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Alcohol lets bacteria into the liver

Let’s start with a primer on what alcohol does to the liver…

• Alcohol harms the liver by triggering inflammation and the buildup of fat, kickstarting fatty liver disease (not to be confused with NAFLD or MAFLD).
• The chemical acetaldehyde, which is produced when the liver metabolizes alcohol, accelerates this harmful process. It’s also considered a carcinogen.
• Continued drinking can lead to alcoholic hepatitis, characterized by inflamed and damaged liver cells.
• The most severe stage, irreversible cirrhosis, involves the formation of scar tissue that disrupts liver function and can end in liver failure. 

However, a study at UC San Diego has uncovered a previously unobserved series of events that causes even more damage to the liver…  

When scientists examined human liver biopsies, they found that chronic alcohol use impaired the production of a cellular signaling protein in the small intestine known as mAChR4.

When levels of this protein are lower, it interferes with the formation of cells known as goblet cell-associated antigen passages, or GAPs. These GAPs play a key role in teaching the immune system to respond to microbes that escape the gut.

Without this layer of protection, gut bacteria escape and enter vital organs, including the liver, where they compound the damage already being done by alcohol.

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Added protection for your liver

So when it comes to the liver, the best thing to do it avoid alcohol. But the researchers know that advice is not always easy for everyone.

They hope that by developing drugs that boost levels of mACHR, it may be possible to reverse the series of events that do so much harm to the liver and afford some level of protection.

But ultimately, alcohol is a toxin that directly damages the cells responsible for the tight junctures in the lining of the gut. Alcohol-induced inflammation makes the damage to the lining worse — increasing permeability.

Together, that creates a condition known as leaky gut, which allows bacteria of all sorts to not only reach the liver but also other organs.

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest limiting alcohol to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.

But it’s important to note that even low amounts are still associated with serious health risks, and for some individuals, especially those over 65, the recommended limit should be even lower. 

Sources:

Vicious Cycle Revealed: How Alcohol Helps Gut Bacteria Attack Your Liver — Science Alert

Alcohol Opens the Floodgates for Bad Bacteria — UC San Diego

The post Alcohol’s hidden partner in the attack on your liver appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And this is especially true when it comes to cancer.

In fact, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), up to 50 percent of all cancer cases in the United States could be completely eliminated simply by making simple lifestyle changes.

Here are the five changes they say are most important in cancer prevention…

Cancer’s modifiable risk factors

Their numbers come from a study of 1.78 million cancer cases from 2019 among US adults 30 years and over.

And they found that across the board, your chances of developing or dying from the disease can be dramatically reduced by making simple decisions that make your life healthier.

The researchers discovered that in 19 out of the 30 cancer types they studied, more than half of cases and deaths were linked to potentially modifiable risk factors.

These modifiable risk factors included:

• Cigarette smoking – Hands-down, this habit had the largest proportion of cancer cases attributable to it at a whopping 19.3 percent of cases overall. It’s never too late to quit.
• Excess body weight – Carrying around extra weight was associated with 7.6 percent of cancer cases.
• Alcohol consumption – Drinking was a risk factor in 5.4 percent of cases.
• UV radiation exposure – Sun exposure led to 4.6 percent of cases in the study.
• Physical inactivity – A sedentary lifestyle was directly linked to 3.1 percent of cancer cases.

In other words, if we would all avoid smoking, limit UV exposure and the amount of alcohol we drink while getting active and maintaining a healthy weight — 50 percent of cancer cases in the U.S. would simply disappear.

What’s behind it? Epigenetics.

The field of Epigenetics tells us that our environment, what we do, how we live, what we are exposed to and what we eat, can affect how our genes express themselves. That means if you have genes for a certain cancer, it’s not necessarily written in stone. By the same logic, if you have great genes, bad lifestyle factors could influence good genes to go bad.

More cancer protection

Now imagine if there was even more you could do to guard against cancer…

The good news is that you don’t have to imagine hard because science has already offered us a multitude of natural options, from foods and drinks to supplements.

Just a few include:

#1 – Avoiding low-quality foods

Research has shown that eating low-nutrient foods, like potato chips, sodas and refined flour could be causing the current cancer epidemic. In men, these foods were linked to colorectal cancer, cancer of the upper digestive tract and respiratory tract, stomach cancer and lung cancer. For women, they led to a higher risk of liver cancer and postmenopausal breast cancer.

#2 – Adding in anthocyanin-rich foods

Purple veggies and other foods packed with anthocyanins could hold the anti-cancer key we’ve all been looking for. That’s because studies have found that these molecules are capable of keeping cancer cells from spreading.

#3 – Drinking green tea

Researchers discovered epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant found in green tea, may increase levels of a natural anticancer protein known as p53. This protein guards the genome through its ability to repair DNA damage or destroy cancerous cells—and experts say it’s “arguably the most important protein in human cancer.”

#4 – Taking omega-3’s

Omega-3s are one of the most valuable weapons we currently have against cancer-causing inflammation. Not only that, they turn on genes that power up the immune system and block tumor growth.

Sources:

Almost 50%t of Cancer Deaths in US May Be Preventable, Study Finds — Science Alert

The post These 5 changes could eliminate half of all cancers appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But, despite the damage it can do, alcohol has never carried any such warning, other than those urging drinkers not to drive and not to drink while pregnant.

The present surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, wants to see this change. His 17-page advisory, titled “Alcohol and Cancer Risk,” outlines the evidence for a strong link between alcohol consumption and at least seven types of cancer.

What is a Surgeon General’s advisory?

A Surgeon General’s Advisory is a public statement that calls the American people’s attention to an urgent public health issue and provides recommendations for how it should be addressed.

Advisories are reserved for significant public health challenges that require the nation’s immediate awareness and action.

Health issues that have prompted a surgeon general’s advisory in the past include cigarettes, AIDS, and obesity.

In the late 1980s, Surgeon General Dr Everett Koop issued an advisory on deaths due to drunk driving in the United States. This advisory resulted in tougher blood-alcohol level standards and higher taxes on alcoholic beverages.

But this is the first time an advisory has warned us about the direct health consequences of drinking alcohol.

What the advisory says about alcohol and cancer

“Many people out there assume that as long as they’re drinking at the limits or below the limits of current guidelines of one a day for women and two for men, that there is no risk to their health or well-being,” Dr. Murthy said in an interview. “The data does not bear that out for cancer risk.”

Here are the main points of Dr. Murthy’s advisory:

1. Consuming alcohol increases the risk of developing at least seven types of cancer:
   • Mouth
   • Throat
   • Esophagus (esophageal cancer has doubled in adults under 65)
   • Voice box (also known as laryngeal cancer)
   • Breast
   • Liver
   • Colon and rectum
2. Alcohol causes cancer in four ways:
   • Alcohol breaks down into acetaldehyde, which damages DNA in multiple ways, resulting in an increased risk of cancer.
   • Alcohol induces oxidative stress, which increases cancer risk by damaging cells and increasing inflammation.
   • Alcohol affects estrogen levels which can increase breast cancer risk.
   • Alcohol leads to greater absorption of carcinogens.

How much is too much?

Dr. Murthy says it’s important to know that our cancer risk rises as we consume more alcohol.

At the same time, each person’s risk is particular to their family history, genetic makeup and exposure to environmental toxins.

“I wish we had a magic cutoff we could tell people is safe,” Dr. Murthy says. “What we do know is that less is better when it comes to reducing your cancer risk.”

“If an individual drinks occasionally for special events, or if you’re drinking a drink or two a week, your risk is likely to be significantly less than if you’re drinking every day.”

Three years ago, a Chinese study confirmed that alcohol causes cancer. But we still haven’t caught up with this news.

Dr. Murthy hopes that warning labels will convince us to avoid alcohol as much as possible.

Hopefully, his warning will make you rethink the amount of alcohol you consume. Just another way to buy yourself more years of a healthy life.

Sources:

Alcohol labels should carry cancer risk warning, U.S. surgeon general urges — NBC News

Surgeon general calls for cancer warnings on alcohol — NY Times

Alcohol and cancer risk — Office of the Surgeon General

New genetic study confirms that alcohol is a direct cause of cancer — Oxford Population Health

Alcohol metabolism genes and risks of site-specific cancers in Chinese adults: An 11-year prospective study — International Journal of Cancer

The post 7 cancers that may lead to warning on alcohol labels appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

We’ve been asking that question for a while. And while alcohol does have some health benefits, so far the evidence tips the scale toward “foe.”

Alcohol consumption is associated with higher risk of atrial fibrillation, dementia, and seven different types of cancer. It’s also been linked with accelerated muscle loss and aging of the brain.

Now there’s another reason to avoid alcohol — especially certain kinds…

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Aging and alcohol: Pick your poison

I don’t know anyone who isn’t interested in slowing the pace at which they age.

But if you’re doing all the right things — exercising, eating right and taking anti-aging supplements — your drinking habits could undo all of it…

A team of U.S.-based investigators analyzed DNA methylation levels in blood samples of participants enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. The analysis included participants with alcohol consumption and methylation data at examination year 15 and year 20. DNA methylation is a chemical modification that can alter gene expression.

Using this data, the researchers tracked four measures of epigenetic aging:

• intrinsic epigenetic age acceleration is associated with cell-intrinsic aging;
• extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration is connected with immunological aging;
• PhenoAge acceleration is linked with comorbidities and physical function;
• GrimAge acceleration is associated with lifespan and measures risk of mortality by analyzing positions on the DNA where methyl groups change with age.

Overall, the investigators found a link between cumulative consumption of liquor and total alcohol and GrimAge acceleration.

The number of days of binge drinking was also associated with GrimAge acceleration. Binge drinking was defined as consuming more than five drinks in one setting.

In short, liquor and total alcohol consumption, as well as binge drinking, all speed up biological aging.

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Liquor and total alcohol consumption were associated with a 0.31-year and 0.12-year greater GrimAge acceleration, respectively, per additional five alcohol years. That’s roughly 3.7 months and 1.4 months, respectively. Binge drinking was connected with a 1.38-year higher GrimAge acceleration

The researchers also identified noticeable differences between chronological age and cumulative beer and total alcohol consumption with GrimAge acceleration. Compared to older participants, younger participants showed greater biological aging.

By contrast, beer and wine consumption had marginal and no associations with GrimAge acceleration, respectively.

“Our findings provide novel insight into the association between cumulative alcohol-specific consumption on biological aging, illustrating the type of alcohol consumed may impact the aging process differently,” says Dr. Drew Nannini, a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University and lead author of the study.

Beer and wine, aging and responsible drinking

Given the results of this study, if you do decide to continue drinking, you may want to be especially careful when consuming hard liquor. While aging an additional 3.7 months over 5 years of consumption may not seem like a lot, it does add up. And you should avoid binge drinking at all costs, since that aged participants far faster than any other form of consumption.

It’s probably best to stick to modest amounts of beer and wine for the occasional drink. Or better yet, try one of the many nonalcoholic beer or wine options now available at most supermarkets and liquor stores. They can satisfy your craving without the alcohol-related risks and still provide a powerful flavonoid linked to improving metabolic syndrome.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults who choose to drink should do so in moderation. That means limiting alcohol to one drink or less daily for women or two drinks or less daily for men.

Sources:

1. Longtime Alcohol Consumption Speeds Up Biological Aging — Northwestern Medicine

2. Alcohol consumption and epigenetic age acceleration in young adults — Aging

3. Methylation — National Human Genome Research Institute

The post How alcohol speeds aging (and which drinks are worse) appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a painful autoimmune disease that attacks the joints.  People with RA experience joint stiffness, swelling and pain. It can even lead to severe disability in cases where joints become so swollen and disfigured that you’re unable to use them.

What exactly triggers RA is still a mystery, though experts suggest it’s a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental and lifestyle factors.

Experts are certain about one thing: Inflammation, particularly when it is chronic, is a driving factor in autoimmune disease. That’s because inflammation is one of the first cues that the body gives the immune system.

Some past research has shown diet can help tamp down inflammation. For that reason, diet protocols have been designed for certain autoimmune conditions and have been suggested as preventatives as well.

In fact, a team of scientists at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom has recently discovered five diet options that they say can help lower the risks of developing RA or help manage it if you have it…

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Foods that impact rheumatoid risk

The researcher started with a systematic review of 30 different studies involving nearly 10,000 people with RA. Specifically, they sought to explore the relationship between 32 different food groups, drinks and nutrients and the risk of developing the disease.

Remember, even if your DNA predisposes you to a condition, epigenetics has proven that factors, including lifestyle, can alter how genes function.

Based on what they found, the researchers came up with some easy-to-follow dietary advice that could help stave off RA. Foods that were associated with a reduced risk of developing RA include:

• Oily fish
• Fresh vegetables
• Fruits
• Whole-grain cereals
• Beer

Yep, you read that last one right…

The team found that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption (specifically beer) was associated with a reduced risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Each two unit/week increase in alcohol linked to a four percent risk reduction.

However, it’s important to note that while lower alcohol intake was beneficial, the risk of rheumatoid began to rise once weekly alcohol intake surpassed about four pints of lower-strength beer/lager/cider per week or 3.5 standard glasses of wine.

According to research author Yuanyuan Dong, a PhD researcher in the university’s School of Food Science and Nutrition, “These findings offer a deeper understanding of how diet can impact rheumatoid arthritis risk and suggest potential dietary modifications for disease prevention and management.”

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On the other hand, the team also discovered that certain drinks could actually raise your rheumatoid risk, including coffee and tea.

But they point out that the association was low, with tea consumption increasing risk of the disease by four percent per cup. And they say that the risk with coffee was even less.

So considering the numerous health benefits of the two, you might want to take the warning with a grain of salt.

In addition to those foods, the researchers say that vitamin D was also linked to a lower risk of RA. Considering what the VITAL trial found about the sunshine vitamin and omega-3s, like you get from fish oil or oily fish, I’m not at all surprised.

For advanced relief of symptoms, try a fish oil supplement taken with cranberry juice. Previous research determined drinking cranberry juice with fish oil supplements can boost fish oil’s beneficial effects in people with RA by decreasing disease activity and inflammatory biomarkers.

Sources:

Eating oily fish, fruits and cereals and drinking one pint of beer a week can cut risk of rheumatoid arthritis — EurekAlert!

The right food for real rheumatoid arthritis relief — Easy Health Options

The post Beer’s weird connection to rheumatoid arthritis appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

It’s a time of celebrations and social gatherings, time with friends and family, and, of course, enjoying good food and, yes, good drink.

One of my favorite things about this time of year is that it’s ok to enjoy treats that I normally keep to a bare minimum the rest of the year — and to “make merry and bright” and raise a glass with friends.

But while it is perfectly fine to enjoy these tasty indulgences, to a degree, over-indulging has the potential to make the happiest time of the year, the scariest.

In fact, the alcohol, sweets and salty savory treats could leave you with a permanent heart condition…

Holiday heart syndrome

Holiday heart syndrome — a condition that includes atrial fibrillation (AFib) or irregular heartbeat, is associated with “binge” drinking.

In other words, drinking just 4 to 5 alcoholic drinks in a short period of time can lead to AFib and increase the risk for blood clots, stroke, heart failure and even heart attacks.

According to Blake Smith, M.D., a cardiac electrophysiologist at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Cardiovascular Institute, the syndrome was first recognized about 50 years ago.

“It was noted that multiple patients were being hospitalized with cardiac arrhythmias, particularly atrial fibrillation, after binge drinking alcohol. These events were noted to be more frequent around weekends and holidays when people are more prone to binge drinking,” explains Smith.

In other words, you may go weeks, even months without an alcoholic beverage, but spending several hours at a holiday party and having a few drinks can add up to trouble. Here’s why…

Increased alcohol consumption causes changes in the molecular signaling in the heart and abnormalities in the way the heart handles calcium which can trigger irregular heartbeat. It also leads to electrolyte disturbances, not to mention the direct toxic effects alcohol has on heart tissue.

It’s an unintended recipe for disaster, but the problem can be compounded…

Large meals that taste so good but are so bad

While drinking too much can trigger holiday heart syndrome, enjoying too much of those incredible holiday foods high in sodium and saturated fats can also set off AFib, as well as other heart conditions.

And here’s how: research has shown that consuming large meals can:

• Stimulate the vagal nerve, the nerve responsible for controlling your digestion, but also your heart rate.
• Boost levels of hormones in your blood that increase your heart rate and blood pressure.
• Elevate the risk of heart attack by almost four times within just two hours after eating.

Clearly, it’s not only the alcohol we need to take a moderate approach to during the holiday — but the food too.

Symptoms of holiday heart syndrome

If you’re suffering from AFib caused by holiday heart syndrome, you’re going to feel off and notice some definite symptoms…

This first is a sudden onset of palpitations. Your heart may feel like it’s racing in your chest or beating irregularly.  These fast or irregular beats can come and go or happen continuously.

Additional symptoms can include dizziness and shortness of breath. When you’re in AFib, you can also experience chest pain, especially if your heart rate is extremely high.

It’s important to note that doctors recommend that anyone who experiences severe symptoms or symptoms that last for more than a few minutes should seek medical attention.

While AFib caused by holiday heart syndrome often resolves within 12-24 hours after stopping alcohol, you should follow up with your doctor as soon as possible. Some people will require treatment with medications to slow their heart rate, a cardioversion procedure to restore normal rhythm, or blood thinners to reduce the risk of stroke.

Having a heart-healthy holiday season

The good news is that you can have a heart-healthy and enjoyable holiday season…

“While enjoying the holidays is important, moderation is key to keeping it heart-healthy,” Smith said. “Staying hydrated and not neglecting regular physical activity will also help.”

Research has shown that people who averaged between 2.5 and 5 hours of exercise per week, the minimum amount recommended by the American Heart Association, had a 60 percent reduced risk of developing AFib. Those who averaged greater than 5 hours of exercise per week showed a slightly greater risk reduction of 65 percent.

Smith recommends limiting alcohol to one drink per day for women, or two drinks per day for men, not overeating and keeping fatty, sugary and salty foods to a minimum.

The post Sweet, salty and boozy: A recipe for holiday heart syndrome appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The question of whether or not enjoying an alcoholic beverage provides health benefits seems to have sparked never-ending debate in the medical community.

It may have started with the French Paradox, a longevity theory that’s associated with drinking antioxidant-rich red wine with countering the effects of a French diet, high in artery-clogging saturated fats.

Over the years several other studies have linked moderate drinking with reduced risk for diabetes and reduced brain inflammation which could be protective against dementia.

But, at the same time, evidence has mounted demonstrating that drinking and a disease-free life simply don’t mix, especially if you want to live cancer-free.

That’s because alcohol has been found to be a direct cause of cancer — not just a supporting actor.

Now, experts have weighed in on exactly which types of cancers are fueled by alcohol and are nailing down how much drinking is too much if you want to keep that disease risk at bay.

Cancer directly linked to alcohol consumption

According to the American Association for Cancer Research drinking excessive levels of alcohol dramatically increases your risk for six different types of cancer.

These include:

• Breast cancer
• Colorectal cancer
• Liver cancer
• Stomach cancer
• Certain types of head and neck cancer
• Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

A report by researchers for the association found that “in the U.S., 5.4% of cancers were attributed to alcohol consumption in 2019, the most recent year for which data are available.”

How much is too much?

So if “excessive” drinking causes these cancers, how much does it take to put you at risk?

According to Dr. Céline Gounder, a medical contributor for CBS News, it equates to about three or more drinks per day for women and four or more drinks per day for men.

A standard drink would be 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces (a shot) of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor.

However, it’s important to note that some studies have shown that there really is no safe level of drinking and that even for moderate alcohol consumption, the risk of cancer far outweighs any possible benefits.

How alcohol sparks cancer

According to Dr. Gounder, “Some of this (cancer development) is happening through chronic inflammation. We also know that alcohol changes the microbiome, so those are the bacteria that live in your gut, and that can also increase the risk.”

Both of those issues can not only fuel cancer development, but they can also increase risks for other chronic diseases, like heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

So if you want to disease or cancer-proof your body, it looks like the less you drink, the better. Some experts will tell you there is no safe amount.

But if you’re a beer fan and want to enjoy the taste and feel of a good brew, you’re in luck. Non-alcoholic beers were put to the test and found to have benefits that could improve cardiovascular health and sleep.

Choices for non-alcoholic beers have also greatly improved over the last few years. You can find a range of award-winning microbrew and craft non-alcoholic varieties.

Sources:

Alcohol can increase your cancer risk. What experts say about how much is too much — CBS News

Cancer deaths in U.S. fell by 33% in 30 years, but alcohol remains a lesser-known risk factor — CBS News

There’s “no safe level of alcohol,” major new study concludes — CBS News

Study seems to settle the connection between cancer and alcohol — Easy Health Options

8+ ways an ingredient in beer can boost your health and fight cancer — Easy Health Options

The post 6 cancers associated with ‘too much’ alcohol appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Some studies have indicated that drinking certain types of alcohol, like red wine, in moderation, contributes to a healthy mouth and gut microbiome and reduces risks for heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and prostate cancer.

On the other hand, consuming even small amounts of alcohol has been linked with numerous serious health risks, including many of the same illnesses you just read could be reduced by moderate drinking.

Then there are the studies and anecdotal evidence that has linked alcohol to longevity — like the story of a French nun, Sister André, a supercentenarian who lived almost to her 119^th birthday. Her caregivers claim she enjoyed a glass of red wine daily.

So, what is the truth? A team of researchers tried to find out — and the news isn’t good for those who enjoy their cocktails…

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Flawed comparisons

Over the years, many studies have suggested moderate drinkers enjoy longer lives than those who abstain from alcohol.

The problem is many of those studies suffer from fundamental design flaws, says Dr. Tim Stockwell, a scientist with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria.

One major issue is those studies have generally focused on older adults and have not accounted for people’s lifetime drinking habits. The studies compared moderate drinkers with groups that either abstained or drank only occasionally.

Those groups also included some older adults who had quit or cut down on drinking because they had developed health conditions that forced them to do so.

“That makes people who continue to drink look much healthier by comparison,” Stockwell says.

For their analysis, Stockwell and his colleagues singled out 107 published studies that followed people over time and examined the relationship between drinking habits and longevity.

When they combined all the data, it appeared that light to moderate drinkers (those who drank between one drink per week and two per day) had a 14 percent lower risk of dying during the study period compared with those who didn’t drink alcohol at all.

But when they dug deeper, they found a handful of higher quality studies that included people who were younger than 55, on average, at the outset of the study and that made sure former and occasional drinkers were not considered abstainers.

In the higher-quality studies, drinking alcohol was not connected to a longer life.

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Stockwell notes that the image of alcohol as a health tonic is embedded in the public imagination, citing the “French paradox” as one example. The French paradox is the idea that red wine consumption offsets the rich, fatty diet of the French and explains their relatively low rates of heart disease.

The reality, he says, is that moderate drinking likely does not extend people’s lives and in fact can be hazardous to our health.

“There is simply no completely ‘safe’ level of drinking,” Stockwell says.

But what about the resveratrol in red wine?

The reason red wine often got a pass was because it contains resveratrol, the plant compound plentiful in the skins of red grapes responsible for launching decades of longevity and anti-aging research.

So if you have to give up that nightly glass of red wine, how else can you get resveratrol? Try a high-quality supplement or consume plenty of these other foods that contain it:

• Red grapes
• Dark chocolate (but tread lightly due to heavy metal content)
• Peanuts
• Pistachios
• Blueberries
• Cranberries

There are other nutrients that tied to longevity research, like nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN). NMN, a metabolite formed when our bodies process niacin (vitamin B3), can be found in abundant quantities in broccoli. Since NMN is derived from niacin, it’s important to get plenty of niacin-rich foods in your diet, including:

• Liver
• Salmon
• Turkey and white meat chicken
• Peanuts
• Avocado
• Brown rice
• Whole wheat products
• Mushrooms
• Fortified and enriched cereals and bread

Then there is pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), a powerful antioxidant considered a “longevity” nutrient because it lowers the risk of age-related disease. It does so by improving the function of the mitochondria, the so-called powerhouses of the body. PQQ can be found in supplements and the following foods:

• Kiwi
• Green peppers
• Parsley
• Papaya
• Spinach
• Celery
• Tofu
• Organ meats like kidney and liver

Sources:

The research was wrong: study shows moderate drinking won’t lengthen your life — EurekAlert!

Why Do Only Some Cohort Studies Find Health Benefits From Low-Volume Alcohol Use? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Study Characteristics That May Bias Mortality Risk Estimates — Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs

The post Alcohol and longevity: Does it help or hurt your lifespan appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Like many of us, you may have trouble sleeping on planes, so you order a glass of wine with your meal, thinking it will help you sleep.

Unfortunately, by doing that, you’re exposing your body to potentially dangerous effects. Here’s why…

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Think twice about alcohol on a plane

It’s a common myth that alcohol helps you sleep better. While it may help you fall asleep faster, alcohol decreases the quality of your sleep by disturbing the circadian cycle, resulting in light, fragmented sleep.

To top that off, drinking alcohol on a plane can contribute to dehydration, since alcohol is a diuretic. And alcohol makes it harder for the brain to make use of oxygen, an effect that can be magnified by exposure to altitude.

Researchers from the Aerospace Medicine at the German Aerospace Center have discovered another potentially harmful effect of consuming alcohol in flight. They split 40 volunteers between two sleep lab chambers: one at a normal ground level pressure, and another designed to mimic the pressure on an airplane cruising at around 8,000 feet.

At higher altitudes, blood oxygen levels (SpO₂) begin to drop, a condition known as hypobaric hypoxia.

The volunteers were divided into a total of four groups: those sleeping at normal pressure with or without having drunk alcohol, and those sleeping at cabin pressure with or without having drunk alcohol. Those who did drink were given the equivalent of two cans of beer or two glasses of wine.

During the study, participants were limited to four hours a night of sleep, likely to mimic the experience of disrupted sleep during flights.

At normal pressure, the average participant who consumed alcohol had an SpO₂ of 94.97 percent and a heart rate of 76.97 beats per minute (bpm). Those who did not have alcohol at normal pressure had an SpO₂ of 95.88 percent and a heart rate of 63.74 bpm.

The stats were even more worrying for those at the reduced cabin pressure. Those who drank had SpO₂ of 85.32 and a heart rate of 87.73 bpm, compared to 88.07 SpO₂ and 72.90 bpm for non-drinkers.

For comparison, a normal SpO₂ is 90 percent, and a normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 bpm depending on the individual.

Altogether, the findings suggest blood oxygen was lower and heart rate higher at airplane cabin conditions than at normal pressure — and that alcohol consumption increased those impacts.

These factors also reduced time spent in deep and REM sleep, both important for good sleep quality, but that may not be the worst of it…

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Putting extra pressure on your heart

So, what does this mean for your health? A low SpO₂ and a high heart rate put extra strain on your cardiovascular system. Therefore, the concern is that drinking in flight may unnecessarily increase the risk of heart problems, especially for those with pre-existing heart conditions.

It’s important to note that the study had a very small sample size and that the participants were all young and healthy. Future research can examine whether the shift in stats for the elderly and more vulnerable is even more pronounced.

Still, the researchers are cautioning people against having alcohol and a nap on a plane, especially if they have a heart condition.

“Public awareness of this topic should be raised through patient charities, public campaigns and written health advice of airlines,” the researchers write in their study. “Technical and economic constraints make it unlikely that an increase in cabin pressure will be implemented by airlines.”

It can be tempting to want to celebrate your vacation or the end of a long business trip with a cocktail in flight. But rather than drinking alcohol, consider making that drink a sparkling water with a splash of cranberry juice and a squeeze of lime. It’s still festive, and it will help ward off dehydration and poor sleep.

Sources:

Drinking Alcohol on Planes May Pose a Hidden Danger. Here’s Why. — Science Alert

What Is a Long-Haul Flight Actually Doing to Your Body? — Science Alert

Effects of moderate alcohol consumption and hypobaric hypoxia: implications for passengers’ sleep, oxygen saturation and heart rate on long-haul flights — Thorax

Alcohol & Flying: A Deadly Combination — Federal Aviation Administration

Alcohol and Sleep — Sleep Foundation

What’s a normal resting heart rate? — Mayo Clinic

The post What drinking alcohol on a plane can do to your heart appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Myths like…

“Only men have to worry about heart disease.” Or “maybe I’ll have to worry about it later, but right now I’m too young.”

But the truth is far different.

In fact, heart disease is the #1 killer of women. And no matter how young you are, the heart disease danger is real.

And according to researchers at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, your personal risk can be far higher than you think — especially if you drink alcohol regularly.

Higher intake, skyrocketing risk

The study, which focused on 18- to 65-year-old adults, was one of the largest and most diverse studies to date examining the links between alcohol and heart disease, leveraging data from more than 430,000 people over a four-year period.

And the results were clear…

As a woman, the more alcohol you drink, the harder it is on your heart.

The study showed that:

• Women who reported high alcohol intake (eight or more drinks per week) had a 45% higher risk of heart disease compared to low intake (one to two drinks a week).
• Women with high alcohol consumption had a 29% higher risk of heart problems than those who drank moderately (three to seven drinks per week)
• Women who binge drank (consumed more than three drinks in a single day) were 68% more likely to develop coronary heart disease.

“Women feel they’re protected against heart disease until they’re older, but this study shows that even when you’re young or middle-aged, if you are a heavy alcohol user or binge drink, you are at risk for coronary heart disease,” said Jamal Rana, MD, PhD, FACC, a cardiologist with The Permanente Medical Group.

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Improving heart health for women everywhere

So if you want to keep that ticker ticking, be sure to skip the things that are bad for your heart health, like too much alcohol.

And don’t forget to add nutrients that support your heart and blood vessels to your daily regimen.

Here’s how natural health experts and the American Heart Association recommend doing just that:

#1 — Stay active

Exercise and heart health go hand in hand. So shoot for at least 150 minutes per week of physical activity.

#2 — Watch your diet

A healthy heart requires a healthy diet. This means eating plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, fish, nuts and seeds. And it’s also about limiting sweetened drinks, refined carbs and processed foods.

#3 — Think positive

Studies have found that depression post-menopause can almost double a woman’s risk of stroke. So embrace positivity, take steps to manage your stress, and enjoy activities and time with friends and loved ones to help lift your mood.

#4 — Supplement strategically

Finally, add in nutrients that support the health of your heart and blood vessels, like:

• Vitamin K2 — The K vitamins are considered an emerging group of vitamins required for healthy aging, particularly K2 for heart health.
• Nattokinase — To promote normal smooth blood flow.
• CoQ10 — According to the Cleveland Heart Lab, not only could CoQ10 have “significant cardiovascular protective effects,” but it may help ward off heart disease down the road.
• Fish or krill oil — A mega-analysis validated the importance of omega-3s for lowering almost all cardiovascular disease outcomes.

Sources:

About Heart Disease in Women — Go Red for Women

Alcohol raises heart disease risk, particularly among women — ScienceDaily

The post When alcohol sets women up for heart disease appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That’s why breast cancer survivors (really, all cancer survivors) look to take back as much control as they can and want reliable recommendations for how they can minimize their risk of a recurrence.

So it was a relief when the American Cancer Society and the American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR) came out with their updated “Ten Recommendations for Cancer Prevention” in 2018.

But even better, research has now confirmed the positive impact of these recommendations before, during and after treatment…

7 recommendations that reduce recurrence by 37 percent

A prospective cohort study of 1,340 high-risk breast cancer patients was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

A prospective cohort study is one that focuses on a group of people (a cohort) over a period of time, collecting data on a particular factor of interest — in this case, adherence to seven of the ten cancer prevention recommendations.

The study focused on the following seven recommendations:

• healthy weight
• physical activity
• a diet rich in fruits and vegetables
• not smoking
• limited alcohol consumption
• limited consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages
• limited consumption of red and processed meat

Using both questionnaires and statistical analysis, the study authors determined that strong adherence to these guidelines was associated with a 37 percent reduction in recurrence and a 58 percent reduction in all-cause mortality.

“These are impressive numbers, especially considering that this was a high-risk breast cancer population,” says lead author Dr. Christine Ambrosone.

This study builds on previous research showing that a healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce the risk of cancer. For example, a 2020 systematic review of studies found that a healthy diet, normal body weight, physical activity, limiting alcohol, and not smoking were associated with more than a 58 percent reduction in the risk of many types of cancer including breast, colon, and lung.

Diet and breast cancer: A major factor

You’ll notice that five of these seven recommendations have to do with diet (I’m including normal body weight since that will come more easily if you follow the other four).

And the American Cancer Society and the American Institute of Cancer Research offered recommendations about what to eat and what to avoid. But if you need specifics, a couple of diets have been studied for their potential effects on decreasing cancer risk.

In 2017, researchers from Maastricht University in the Netherlands found that following a Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of ER-negative breast cancer by up to 40 percent. ER-negative breast cancer is a dangerous form of breast cancer that’s particularly hard to treat, so anything that can prevent women from getting this cancer in the first place is a huge deal.

A Mediterranean diet is high in nutrients such as omega-3s, B vitamins, vitamin D, zinc, folic acid, selenium and iron. Vitamin D is one of the most studied supplements for cancer prevention and treatment. Foods that can help include:

• mushrooms
• eggs
• yogurt
• cheese
• salmon
• canned tuna
• fortified cereal
• fortified orange juice

Milk and soy milk, good vitamin D sources, have had mixed reviews when it comes to cancer.

Christie Siebel, breast cancer survivor and senior clinical dietician at MD Anderson Cancer Center feels soy is a great alternative to animal protein and that there’s no reason to avoid eating it.

As far as milk goes, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine warns naturally occurring hormones and compounds in dairy products may play a role in increasing not only the risk of breast cancer but also ovarian and prostate cancers, according to a new narrative review published in the International Journal for Disease Reversal and Prevention.

Supplementing is always an option. Since vitamin D deficiency has been reported to be as high as 72 percent among cancer patients, talk to your doctor about adding vitamin D3 to your daily routine if you’re a cancer survivor.

Sources:

Lifestyle Recommendations Make a Difference for Breast Cancer Survivors Before, During, and After Treatment — Integrative Practitioner

Adherence to Cancer Prevention Lifestyle Recommendations Before, During, and 2 Years After Treatment for High-risk Breast Cancer — JAMA

The post 7 habits proven to reduce breast cancer recurrence appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

For instance, if you’re one of those people who loves a glass of red wine with dinner, you could be benefiting from a healthier mouth and gut microbiome. The antioxidants in red wine can also help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and prostate cancer.

Beer has been linked with numerous health benefits as well, including reduced inflammation, better heart health, lower cholesterol, improved blood sugar balance and a boost in weight loss.

However, there is also plenty of research that even a drink here and there can lead to a number of health problems such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cancer, liver disease, diabetes, pancreatitis and chronic lower respiratory infections.

The American Heart Association advises women to consume no more than one drink per day, and men to consume no more than two drinks per day. But researchers found that to keep your blood pressure in the healthy range, even that may be too much…

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Alcohol increases blood pressure in healthy adults

Researchers analyzed data from seven studies involving more than 19,000 adults ranging in age from 20 to the early 70s in the United States, Korea and Japan. None of the participants had previously been diagnosed with high blood pressure or other cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, liver disease, alcoholism or binge drinking.

Usual alcoholic beverage intake was recorded at the beginning of each study and translated into a usual number of grams of alcohol consumed daily. Then, they used a statistical technique to plot a curve showing the impact of alcohol consumption on changes in blood pressure over time.

When comparing people who drank alcohol with nondrinkers, what the researchers found was sobering:

• Systolic (top number) blood pressure rose 1.25 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) in people who consumed an average of 12 grams of alcohol per day. That’s less than the 14 grams of alcohol contained in one drink by U.S. measures (12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine or a 1.5 ounce shot of hard liquor).
• Systolic blood pressure rose by 4.9 mm Hg in people consuming an average of 48 grams of alcohol per day (roughly 3.4 drinks).
• Diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure rose 1.14 mm Hg in people consuming an average of 12 grams of alcohol per day and 3.1 mm Hg in people consuming an average of 48 grams of alcohol per day. The diastolic associations were seen in males but not females. Diastolic blood pressure isn’t as strong a predictor of heart disease risk as systolic is.

Bottom line: routine alcohol consumption raises blood pressure even in healthy adults with no existing hypertension or diabetes.

“We were somewhat surprised to see that consuming an already-low level of alcohol was also linked to higher blood pressure changes over time compared to no consumption — although far less than the blood pressure increase seen in heavy drinkers,” says senior study author Dr. Marco Vinceti of the Medical School of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia University in Italy and Boston University’s School of Public Health.

“Alcohol is certainly not the sole driver of increases in blood pressure; however, our findings confirm it contributes in a meaningful way,” Viceti adds. “Limiting alcohol intake is advised, and avoiding it is even better.”

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The higher the pressure, the stronger the link

Even though none of the participants had high blood pressure when they enrolled in the studies, their initial measurements did have an impact on the findings.

“We found participants with higher starting blood pressure readings had a stronger link between alcohol intake and blood pressure changes over time,” says study co-author Dr. Paul K. Whelton of Tulane University. “This suggests that people with a trend towards increased (although still not “high”) blood pressure may benefit the most from low to no alcohol consumption.”

The study results reinforce AHA guidance to limit alcohol intake and to remain a teetotaler if you already don’t drink. In fact, it might be advisable to have even less than the one- to two-drink daily limit cited by the AHA.

If you’re a daily drinker, you may want to cut back to once or twice a week or limit your consumption to special occasions. On the other nights, you can always replace your cocktail with a mocktail, or choose nonalcoholic wine or beer to go with your meal.

Sources:

Routinely drinking alcohol may raise blood pressure even in adults without hypertension — EurekAlert!

#BPraisers: Things That Raise Your Blood Pressure — American Heart Association

The post The sobering truth about alcohol and blood pressure appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

It can certainly be confusing, but some reported benefits seem to stand, study after study. Take heart health for example…

Light-to-moderate drinking has long been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

But until now, the actual mechanism behind this protective effect was unclear.

Thanks to a large-scale research review, we now have some answers that can be applied to protecting the heart…

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Alcohol calms the amygdala

A study by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and other major research hospitals involved more than 50,000 participants in the Mass General Brigham Biobank, a large research program designed to help researchers understand how people’s health is affected by their genes, lifestyle and environment.

The first part of the study evaluated the relationship between light/moderate alcohol consumption and major cardiovascular events. 

The researchers found that light/moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease events, even after accounting for factors like lifestyle choices and socioeconomic status.

Next, the researchers studied a subset of 754 individuals who had undergone previous PET/CT brain scans to look for cancer. They were looking for the effect of light/moderate alcohol consumption on stress-related brain activity.

The amygdala is the brain region associated with processing emotions — including stress responses.

When they looked at those 754 brain scans, researchers saw less stress signaling in the amygdalas of individuals who were light-to-moderate drinkers than in those who drank less or not at all.

Then, when they looked at individual histories of cardiovascular events, they found fewer heart attacks and strokes in light-to-moderate drinkers.

“We found that the brain changes in light to moderate drinkers explained a significant portion of the protective cardiac effects,” says Dr. Ahmed Tawakol of Mass. General Hospital.

The emotional piece of the puzzle

“When the amygdala is too alert and vigilant, the sympathetic nervous system is heightened, which drives up blood pressure and increases heart rate, and triggers the release of inflammatory cells,” explains Dr. Tawakol.

“If the stress is chronic, the result is hypertension, increased inflammation, and a substantial risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

Previous studies have tied strong emotional responses, like anger, to an increased risk of heart attack.

The final step, then, was for the researchers to look at whether light-to-moderate drinking would be even more effective at preventing heart attacks and strokes in people with a history of anxiety, who are prone to a chronically higher stress response — or “hyper-vigilant amygdala.”

Within the 50,000 people studied, they found that light-to-moderate drinking was associated with nearly double the protective effect.

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Now the bad news

But there is a downside to these findings…

The researchers also found that any drinking, even light-to-moderate alcohol consumption — one drink a day for women and 1-2 a day for men — increases cancer risk.

And if moderate drinking goes too far and becomes heavy drinking — more than 14 drinks per week — the risk for heart attack starts to increase while overall brain activity starts to decrease, which may indicate an adverse effect on cognitive health.

That’s why the study authors are looking for interventions that can measurably reduce the brain’s stress activity without the negative effects of alcohol.

They’re currently studying the effects of exercise, meditation, and drug-related therapies on stress-related neural networks and their possible positive effects on cardiovascular health.

Risk-free ways to lower stress and protect your heart

Of course, you don’t have to wait to reap the benefits of exercise and meditation on your mental and emotional state.

As far as meditation goes, start small.

Tell yourself you’re only going to meditate for five or ten minutes. When time is up, if you feel like meditating longer, keep going. Otherwise, stop. Eventually, you’ll build up a tolerance for longer meditations.

And exercise… well, where do I begin? And if you’re a couch potato, where do you begin?

Same advice — start small. No marathons. Get out and go for a walk. Or try yoga which balances your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Find an exercise class for beginners.

Need more options? Consider volunteering to help others. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that when people helped others, activity in the amygdala decreased — which equated to decreased stress levels too.

Before long, you’ll be stress-free, and you’ll have done it all yourself!

Sources:

Researchers uncover why light-to-moderate drinking is tied to better heart health —  Science Daily

Reduced Stress-Related Neural Network Activity Mediates the Effect of Alcohol on Cardiovascular Risk — Journal of the American College of Cardiology

The post Moderate drinking’s brain-changing effects on the heart appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Thanks to the contradictory research on alcohol and health, it’s a question that’s stumped a lot of us in recent years.

On the plus side, moderate drinking of alcohol (especially wine) has been linked to lower risk of heart failure and diabetes and a healthier gut microbiome.

But on the minus side, alcohol consumption is associated with higher risk of atrial fibrillation, dementia, and seven different types of cancer.

Now, add to that list another condition that can increase your risk of frailty later in life…

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Alcohol can accelerate muscle loss

A U.K. research team took a look at data from nearly 200,000 participants in the UK Biobank between the ages of 37 and 73 years, with most in their 50s and 60s. The researchers studied how much alcohol these participants were drinking and compared it with how much muscle they had.

“Alcohol intake is a major modifiable risk factor for many diseases, so we wanted to find out more about the relationship between drinking and muscle health as we age,” says Professor Ailsa Welch of the University of East Anglia.

Because larger people have more muscle mass, the researchers scaled for body size. They also took into account factors that could influence muscle size, such as protein consumption and physical activity.

When taking all these factors into account, the team found that those who drank a lot of alcohol had a lower amount of skeletal muscle, a condition known as sarcopenia, than those who drank less.

“We saw that it really became a problem when people were drinking 10 or more units a day — which is the equivalent of about a bottle of wine or four or five pints,” says Dr. Jane Skinner of the University of East Anglia.

Skinner adds that because alcohol consumption and muscle mass were measured in people at the same time, the researchers can’t be sure of a causal link. Still, the results indicate it might be a good idea to cut back on the booze.

“We know that losing muscle as we age leads to problems with weakness and frailty, so this suggests another reason to avoid drinking high amounts of alcohol routinely in middle and early older age,” Welch says.

The scourge of sarcopenia

Why is maintaining muscle mass as you get older so important? It helps you avoid a condition known as sarcopenia.

This age-related muscle loss puts you at higher risk of falls and loss of mobility, not to mention the following health complications:

• Diabetes — Less muscle means your body burns less glucose, making it harder to control blood sugar.
• Osteoporosis — Research indicates sarcopenia can triple your risk for this bone loss condition.
• Dementia — One study shows people with sarcopenia were six times more likely to have cognitive impairment than those without sarcopenia.
• Heart disease — Sarcopenia is linked to a stunning 77 percent increase in cardiovascular disease risk, which could be related to the lack of activity it causes.

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Who drinks that much?

It’s worth noting that a lot of alcohol’s bad effects are directly linked to how much you drink — the heavier the consumption, the worse your health risks.

Still, how many people drink the equivalent of a bottle of wine in one sitting? You’d be surprised…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about 39 million adults in the U.S. drink too much. They define “too much” as follows:

• For men, binge drinking (5 or more drinks consumed within 2 to 3 hours)
• For women, binge drinking (4 or more drinks consumed within 2 to 3 hours)
• For men, 15 or more drinks on average per week
• For women, 8 or more drinks on average per week

By these standards, it’s best to keep alcohol consumption to a maximum of one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men — and perhaps better to choose resveratrol-rich red wine or lager over hard liquor.

Sources:

Heavy drinkers risk muscle loss, new study finds — EurekAlert!

About 38 Million Adults in the US Drink Too Much — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The post Alcohol and aging add up to accelerated muscle loss appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

After all, research has shown that too much alcohol can hasten cognitive decline during three key periods in your life. It has linked alcohol with heart rhythm problems. It has given us mounting evidence that drinking and cancer may go hand-in-hand.

Yet, for all that, there’s confusion has still ruled the day, since many studies have focused solely on heavy drinking, leaving us to wonder if there is a safe level of alcohol we can enjoy.

This is especially true when it comes to the connection between alcohol and stroke risk.

“While high alcohol intake is known to increase stroke risk, there is some uncertainty about whether low-moderate alcohol intake affects stroke risk and whether the association of alcohol intake with stroke varies by region and population,” said Professor Martin O’Donnell, Professor of Neurovascular Medicine at University of Galway and Consultant Stroke Physician at Galway University Hospitals.

So, he and his team decided to rectify that lack of information as part of a worldwide study, known as INTERSTROKE.

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Stroke risk by how much and alcohol preference

Their global study looked at the alcohol consumption of almost 26,000 people, a quarter of which were current drinkers, and two-thirds of whom were teetotalers. 

And overall, the researchers found that high and moderate intake of alcohol was associated with increased odds of stroke. On the other hand, there was no link between low intake and stroke.

Their findings showed that:

• Current drinkers had a 14 percent higher chance of having any type of stroke and a 50 percent greater risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (a stroke due to bleeding), but no increased risk of ischemic stroke (a stroke due to a blood clot). 
• Binge drinking (having more than five drinks in one day at least once a month) was linked to a 39 percent increase in all strokes, a 29 percent increase in ischemic stroke, and a 76 percent increase in intracerebral hemorrhage. 
• High alcohol intake, which the researchers defined as more than 14 drinks per week for women and more than 21 drinks per week for men, increased stroke risk by 57 percent.

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The researchers even broke down stroke risk by the type of alcohol consumed.

“In this study, we also looked at the differences between types of alcohol. Predominant beer consumption was linked with a 21 percent increase in risk of stroke; this was significantly higher (73 percent) for intracerebral hemorrhage. Predominant wine consumption was not linked with risk of stroke – there was no increase or decrease,” says Professor Andrew Smyth, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at University of Galway.

So, it seems that drinking beer may carry a higher risk than a glass of wine.

Finally, the research delivered good news for anyone who was a drinker in the past but has since given up alcohol. Previous drinkers who have stopped have no increased risk of stroke!

Now that we know the real facts about alcohol and stroke risk, we’re all able to make better decisions about how much we consume and what type might help mitigate that risk.

Sources:

 University of Galway study identifies alcohol risk factors for acute stroke – EurekAlert!

The post Wine vs beer: One of these carries a higher stroke risk appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That’s why many of us are anxious to put scientifically proven ways to lower those risks to work.

But there’s been a lot of confusion surrounding one of those risk factors — drinking alcohol.

While some studies suggest heavy alcohol use increases dementia risk, others have found no connection between heavy drinking and dementia.

And a 2018 study actually suggested that moderate drinking was associated with reduced dementia risk compared with abstinence and heavy alcohol consumption.

So it’s easy to see why some of us aren’t sure which way is up when it comes to even just one daily glass of wine or a cocktail or two.

Thankfully, an international team of researchers decided to analyze more than a dozen studies to determine the impact of alcohol consumption on dementia risk. Here’s what they found…

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Abstinence could raise your dementia risk

Their meta-analysis covered 15 prospective epidemiological cohort studies from countries across six continents and included a total of 24,478 individuals over the age of 60.

The average age of participants was 71.8 years and none of those chosen for this research had any history of dementia at baseline and had at least one follow-up assessment for dementia.

According to the results, the risk of dementia was greater among alcohol abstainers than occasional light-moderate and moderate-heavy drinkers.

Among those who did not imbibe, the researchers found no differences between lifetime abstainers and former drinkers in terms of dementia risk.

And among current drinkers, there didn’t appear to be any consistent evidence to suggest a link between the amount of alcohol consumed later in life and dementia risk.

While these findings are relevant to the majority of older drinkers, the study doesn’t provide evidence on the associations between dementia risk and heavier drinking or alcohol use disorder, both of which are relatively rare in the general population.

Some previous studies have found that specific alcoholic beverage types, like wine, are more protective against dementia when compared with other types like spirits. But in this study, beverage type wasn’t consistently assessed and therefore couldn’t be considered.

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The protective effects of resveratrol

This was a huge study that looked at a lot of data, so it seems pretty conclusive that those who drink alcohol in moderation are in the best boat when it comes to avoiding dementia.

And even though this study didn’t delve into whether wine, beer or spirts are any healthier than each other, plenty of other studies have.

Red wine in particular has been linked with numerous health benefits, such as protecting against high blood pressure and heart disease, bringing balance to your blood sugar and keeping your brain sharp.

In blue zone populations, areas where people tend to live particularly long and disease-free lives — like the Greek isle of Ikaria, red wine is often consumed with the evening meal.

The healthful benefits of red wine have been attributed to resveratrol, a polyphenol that’s especially abundant in the skin of red grapes. Polyphenols are natural antioxidants that increase helpful bacteria in our gut, reduce harmful bacteria and prevent inflammation that can lead to heart disease and other chronic conditions.

One study of resveratrol concluded that taking a small dose regularly can improve cognitive function, blood flow and brain health. And a second found patients who took resveratrol showed significant improvements in processing speed and cognitive flexibility, both of which are part of executive functioning. This set of mental skills helps us focus, follow directions and handle emotions.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that supplementing with resveratrol daily has the potential to slow cognitive decline by as much as 10 years.

In short, if you want to continue to indulge in a daily alcoholic beverage and you want to stave off dementia, red wine is probably your best choice. Just keep your consumption down to one or two 5-ounce glasses a day at most to keep within that moderate consumption range.

Sources:

The relationship between alcohol use and dementia in adults aged more than 60 years: a combined analysis of prospective, individual-participant data from 15 international studies — Addiction

Both long term abstinence and heavy drinking may increase dementia risk — ScienceDaily

Increased risk for all-cause dementia in people who abstain from alcohol — News-Medical.Net

The post Why avoiding alcohol entirely may be bad for the brain appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But the truth is that magic mushrooms have begun to take their place in modern medicine.

In fact, psilocybin, a compound found in those mushrooms has shown promise in treating issues like autism and anxiety, thanks to its power to enhance wellbeing and create positive changes in empathy.

It’s even been shown to help fill the deep well of depression by flattening” the brain’s landscape and loosening the rigidity of depressed thinking.

Now research has shown that psilocybin may have a powerful effect on alcohol dependency…

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Psilocybin: Promising mushroom therapy

Since the connection between alcohol use and depression is undeniable, it’s easy to see why researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine decided to test the power of psilocybin to overcome heavy drinking.

To do so, the team recruited men and women who were diagnosed with alcohol dependence and who consumed on average seven drinks on days when they drank.

Forty-eight patients were put in the psilocybin group and given at least one and up to three doses of the magic mushroom powerhouse. The other 45 patients received only an antihistamine as a placebo.

Then, all of the participants completed up to 12 psychotherapy sessions and were asked to report the percentage of heavy drinking days they experienced during that time and for up to 36 weeks. The researchers even took fingernail samples to ensure the participants were being truthful when they said they weren’t drinking or at least drinking less.

And guess what…

Within eight months from the start of their treatment, those who were given psilocybin reduced their heavy drinking by a whopping 83 percent compared to where they were when the study began!

Compare that to a reduction of only 51 percent in the placebo group.

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To top it off, the study showed that eight months after their first dose of psilocybin from magic mushrooms, almost half of the patients stopped drinking completely compared with less than a quarter of the placebo group.

“Our findings strongly suggest that psilocybin therapy is a promising means of treating alcohol use disorder, a complex disease that has proven notoriously difficult to manage,” says study senior author and psychiatrist Michael Bogenschutz, MD, director of the NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine.

In fact, according to Bogenschutz, “Beyond alcohol use disorder, this approach may prove useful in treating other addictions such as cigarette smoking and abuse of cocaine and opioids.”

However, there were some health effects that might hinder its use in some people…

The compound also raises blood pressure and heart rate and may result in overwhelming psychological effects. For these reasons, the researchers caution that it should only be used in carefully controlled settings under the supervision of a doctor.

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Unlocking the subconscious mind to break addiction

Magic mushrooms may not be everyone’s cup of tea. And since the research is still new, doctors and therapists may not be quite ready to begin administering it as a treatment for alcohol dependency.

But there are ways to unlock the power of the subconscious mind and perhaps encourage the same type of experiences and results found with psilocybin…

• Meditation has been found to alter certain brain regions that are specifically linked with depression, something that could also help curb a craving for alcohol consumption, without the worry of a hallucinogenic trip.
•  A mindfulness technique has previously been found to help participants cut down on drinking. In a study at University College of London, mindfulness training went up against relaxation therapy for the win. You can learn more about the 11-minute trick they found tames the alcohol urge, here.

For people who smoke and drink, it helps to ditch alcohol if they ditch cigarettes first. Nicotine and alcohol increase each habit’s pleasurable effects by activating an area of the brain known as the reward center, which can lead to increased alcohol consumption.

More reason to work at stopping both of these habits: They age your brain rapidly.

Sources:

How meditation helps with depression – Harvard

Psychedelic drug therapy may help treat alcohol addiction, study finds – ScienceDaily

The post The promising mushroom treatment for alcohol dependency appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In fact, while past research has demonstrated a link between drinking too much and the risk of developing atrial fibrillation, researchers at the University of Adelaide say one type of alcohol is safer for your heart than others if you aim is to avoid the heart condition

In other words, not all alcohol is created equal when it comes to your heart.

The dangers of atrial fibrillation and alcohol

What is atrial fibrillation (AFib)? And why should you be taking steps to prevent the condition from hitting your heart?

Well, if you haven’t heard of it before, here are the most important things to be aware of…

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AFib is basically an irregular or rapid heartbeat.

If you suffer from the heart problem, your symptoms may include:

• Heart palpitations
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness

And while just having those symptoms would be bad enough, it gets worse.

AFib also raises your risk of much more dangerous issues in the future, including stroke and heart failure. And it may even affect your brain health, leading to cognitive and memory problems.

Choose your drink wisely

Clearly, it’s important to protect your heart from the condition to protect your brain and your life.

The best bet is to avoid alcohol altogether. But that’s not always the easier choice.

That’s why those Australian researchers suggest not only limiting your alcohol consumption but also sticking to the type they found carried the least risk.

The researchers used data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale research database that holds the health information for half a million volunteers. And they came to two important conclusions:

• Drinking less than six drinks a week is associated with the lowest risk of developing AFib.
• Beer and cider consumption was associated with a greater risk of AFib, compared to red wine and white wine consumption

“Our findings suggest that responsible consumption of alcohol up to six drinks per week is safe in terms of minimizing your risk of atrial fibrillation,” said lead author Samuel Tu from the University of Adelaide’s Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders. “For those currently consuming alcohol, drinking red or white wine could potentially be a safer alternative to other types of alcoholic beverages.”

And this advice goes whether you’re male or female — six drinks a week only and stick to wine, not beer.

However, if you’re already living with a heart rhythm condition, the recommendation is different and very straightforward: cut down or, better, eliminate alcohol completely to reduce your symptoms.

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More ways to keep your heart rhythm in check

I have to say, I’m not that surprised that red wine was considered one of the safer options. The research didn’t dive into it, but I can’t help but wonder if it has anything to do with resveratrol — the compound in the skin of grapes that’s been researched for decades for its heart and healthy aging benefits.

But if you prefer the occasional drink, knowing this information can be part of your plan to avoid AFib. In addition to limiting your alcohol and giving up that beer in favor of wine, you can also help guard your heart against atrial fibrillation by:

• Maintaining healthy blood pressure. People with high blood pressure ara more than 1.5 times likely to develop AFib than someone with normal BP.
• Practicing yoga to balance your nervous system, which controls your heart rate.
• Snacking on nuts a couple of times a week.
• Walking just 30 minutes per day.
• Indulging your sweet tooth with cocoa.
• Getting plenty of omega-3s  in your diet.

Source:

Wine is safer than beer for minimizing risk of heart condition — Medical Xpress

The post Wine or beer: which is safer for your heart? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

What about two drinks? Or three beers? I’m not out of control, so there’s no harm, right?

Your body, and recent research, would disagree.

Binge drinking is defined for women as having four or more drinks in two hours; for men, it is five or more drinks in two hours.

If you’ve had enough to drink to give you a hangover the next morning, you’re setting yourself up for a potentially fatal heart problem, even if you’ve never had heart issues before.

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What is A-fib and why is it dangerous?

Atrial fibrillation, or A-fib, is an irregular and often very rapid heart rhythm, also known as a heart arrhythmia.

A-fib can cause a fast, pounding heartbeat, or palpitation, as well as shortness of breath or weakness.

It can also lead to blood clots in the heart and increases the risk of stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications.

But even more frightening is the fact that, for many people, it may be going on silently, with no symptoms at all.

Binge drinking linked to new cases of A-fib

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco have found a connection between increased alcohol consumption and hospital visits for A-fib.

By examining hospital records, medical records, and other data, they concluded that many new cases of A-Fib are triggered specifically by binge drinking.

More importantly, they found this to be true even in people with no prior record of heart problems.

Senior study author Dr. Gregory Marcus is a professor of Medicine at UCSF and associate chief of cardiology for research at UCSF Health.

“A ‘negative control’ analysis examining another common heart rhythm problem — supraventricular tachycardia — did not reveal the same relationships, suggesting there is something indeed uniquely important about the alcohol as a risk factor for acute atrial fibrillation, rather than alcohol as a general determinant of a medical visit or even all heart rhythm problems,” Marcus explained.

In other words, the connection between binge drinking and A-fib stood out in the research, and the same connection was not found between drinking and other heart problems.

Even one episode of binge drinking could be enough to set off A-fib. And what’s really scary is that, for some people, it’s a silent killer, with no heart pounding or other symptoms at all.

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But what about just one drink a day?

You may be thinking, “Binge drinking? That’s not me! I just like a glass of wine with my dinner every evening, to wind down.”

You could still be a target for A-fib.

A recent study in the European Heart Journal found that just one alcoholic drink a day was linked to a 16 percent greater risk of atrial fibrillation. Up to two drinks a day was associated with a 28% increased risk, and this went up to 47% for those who consumed more than four drinks per day.

But what about that recommendation we’ve been hearing for years — that a glass of wine each day is good for the heart?

Professor Renate Schnabel, a consultant cardiologist at the University Heart and Vascular Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany), lead author of this study, addresses this idea in light of her team’s findings:

“These findings are important as the regular consumption of alcohol, the ‘one glass of wine a day’ to protect the heart, as is often recommended for instance in the lay press, should probably no longer be suggested without balancing risks and possible benefits for all heart and blood vessel diseases, including atrial fibrillation.”

It’s certainly something to give some serious thought to.

Sources:

Binge Drinking Linked to First Episodes of Heart Rhythm Disorder — University of California San Francisco
One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation — Science Daily

Population-level analyses of alcohol consumption as a predictor of acute atrial fibrillation episodes — Nature Cardiovascular Research

Only Alcohol – Not Caffeine, Diet or Lack of Sleep – Might Trigger Heart Rhythm Condition — University of California San Francisco

The post The heart condition you can get from one episode of heavy drinking appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Yet, there’s one that most of us never even think about — esophageal cancer.

It causes minimal symptoms, so it’s often not suspected before it becomes so advanced that treatment is difficult.

And according to research published by the American Gastroenterological Association, rates of this cancer have close to doubled in adults under the age of 65.

While they’re trying to find out why — it’s important to know your risks…

Esophageal cancer and its precursor

The research was compiled by analyzing the electronic health record (EHR) data from the OneFlorida Clinical Data Research Network, which covers more than 40 percent of Florida residents (or approximately five million people).

And it presented a frightening picture of the number of people suffering from both esophageal cancer and its precursor, Barrett’s esophagus. Barrett’s esophagus is one of the first signs of the cancer, a lesion for esophageal adenocarcinoma, which begins in the glandular cells in the lining of the esophagus and then can progress and grow out of control.

What the research showed was that while both esophageal cancer and Barrett’s esophagus are still most commonly found in white males over the age of 65, the incidence of the two in other groups has changed dramatically.

In just a seven-year timeframe, between 2012 and 2019:

• Adults aged 45 to 64 experienced a nearly doubled rate of esophageal cancer from 49 per 100,000 to 94 per 100,000.
• There was also a whopping 50 percent increase in the precancerous condition Barrett’s esophagus from 304 to 466 per 100,000 patients.

Of course, you’re probably thinking just what I was when I first read those statisitcs…

Cancer screening has become more advanced, so why wouldn’t there be more cases.

But, not so fast.

The researchers thought that same thing, so they checked into whether a higher screening level was playing a role in driving up cases.

The study team assessed the rate of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) — the diagnostic test used to examine the esophagus – during this timeframe and found no increase that might explain the prevalence of the precancerous or cancerous condition.

In other words, rates of the cancer truly are going up.

“This strong growth in prevalence should be of concern to physicians, and we should consider screening more middle-aged patients for esophageal cancer if they are at higher risk,” said Bashar J. Qumseya, MD, MPH, FASGE, lead author of the study and associate professor of medicine and chief of endoscopy at the University of Florida, Gainesville. “Whenever we see increasing prevalence of any type of cancer, we should ask whether this is merely due to better screening or it is a true increase in the disease prevalence. In our study, it was due to the latter.”

Guarding against cancer of the esophagus

So with rates going up, what can you do to protect yourself?

Well first, Dr. Qumseya says that middle-aged patients with multiple risk factors should receive earlier and/or more frequent screening, just like that which is now recommended for colorectal cancer screening. “Many patients in the U.S. now have colonoscopies starting at age 45, so conducting an endoscopy at the same time, among those with multiple risk factors, could help capture more patients with Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer,” he said.

Second, you should address the risk factors for esophageal cancer themselves.

While these risk factors include age and male sex, risk factors that you can do something about include chronic acid reflux (GERD), as well as obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption. 

In other words, as for most things health-related, adopting a healthy lifestyle — which means not smoking, limiting alcohol, addressing digestive issues, exercising and following a healthy diet to avoid obesity — is the best advice.

But you should also pay attention to the hot beverages you drink.

Researchers from the American Cancer Society followed 50,045 individuals aged 40 to 75 years for an average of 10 years to monitor their hot tea drinking habits. They found that drinking very hot tea, up to three times a day, was associated with a 90 percent or higher risk of esophageal cancer.

So, whether you are a tea or coffee fan — let your hot drinks cool a bit before you enjoy them.

Sources:

Alarming rise found in esophageal cancer and Barrett’s esophagus in middle-aged adults — EurekAlert!

Key Statistics for Esophageal Cancer — American Cancer Society

The post Esophageal cancer doubles in adults under 65 appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

On the one hand, multiple studies have linked alcohol consumption to cancer, brain shrinkage and six other categories of serious health risks.

Just ten drinks per week — that’s two drinks after work each day — can shorten your life expectancy by two full years.

On the other hand, the antioxidants in red wine can help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, and beer has been shown to have value for improving blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Recently, one researcher set out to start untangling these inconsistencies — and it may come down to one thing that’s a contributing factor to most diseases…

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Do different drinks affect obesity differently?

Brittany Larsen, a student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Iowa State University, noticed how often the public hears conflicting information about the potential risks and benefits of alcohol.

She attributed this inconsistency to the fact that a lot of research focuses on “alcohol” as a single entity, rather than separately measuring the effects of beer, cider, red wine, white wine, champagne and whiskey.

Her focus in this study was on how drinking relates to obesity.

“Aging is often accompanied by an increase in the problematic fat that can lead to heightened cardiovascular disease risk,” she says.

Higher levels of body fat are also linked to different types of cancer and a higher risk of death.

“Considering these trends, it is vital for researchers like us to examine all the potential contributors to weight gain so that we can determine how to combat the problem.”

How the research was done

To start and tease out the differences among different alcoholic drinks as they relate to obesity, Larsen and her colleagues turned to the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database frequently used by health researchers.

They used a questionnaire to collect data from 1,869 adults ages 40 to 79 on their alcohol consumption, dietary habits, and lifestyle factors. They also recorded height and weight and took blood samples from each participant.

In addition, they measured body composition using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, or DEXA.

Normally used to measure bone density in the hips and lower spine, research has shown that DEXA is a highly accurate method of determining body composition, and for tracking changes in muscle and fat over time.

Finally, Larsen put it all together, using a statistical program to examine relationships between various types of alcoholic beverages and body composition.

Here’s what they found…

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Your drink of choice WILL affect your health outcome

Not surprisingly, drinking beer (and whiskey) was linked to higher levels of visceral fat, that infamous “beer belly” that’s associated with a higher risk of heart disease and metabolic syndrome.

In contrast, drinking wine showed no such association. In fact, the researchers found that drinking red wine was linked to having lower levels of visceral fat.

There was one nice surprise for older adults in this research.

Remember that I mentioned that DEXA is used to measure bone density?

Well, this research showed that adults who drink white wine in moderation had higher bone mineral density.

What does this mean?

Larsen hopes that other researchers will follow in her footsteps and probe the different health effects of different alcoholic drinks.

In the meantime, the information she presents is enough to inform your choices.

The most important thing, I think, is to stick with moderation as the key.

In other words, because white wine was associated with stronger bones here, doesn’t mean you should go out and drink white wine like water. But it is nice to know that the glass you enjoy after work could be having some beneficial effects.

And, if you’re a beer drinker, you probably already know that overdoing it will put the weight on — fast.

Sources:

Not All Kinds of Alcohol Are Equally Bad For Body Fat, Study Suggests — Science Alert

Beer, wine, and spirits differentially influence body composition in older white adults–a United Kingdom Biobank study — Obesity Science and Practice

DXA/DEXA beats BMI: Using an X-ray Exam to Measure Body Composition & Fat Loss — University of California San Francisco

The post When it comes to pros and cons, not all alcohol is equal appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Most people take it literally. They think it means that the heart has literally failed, or stopped working.

This is not the case.

But heart failure is nothing to take lightly.

It can get worse over time if left untreated and can set off a cascade of other serious health issues — or worsen those that already exist.

Knowing the risk factors for heart disease, as well as the warning signs and symptoms you need to take seriously, could save your life.

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Types of heart failure, and symptoms you should never ignore

Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle has become weak and can’t pump blood well enough to meet the body’s needs.

There are actually two types of heart failure:

• Reduced ejection fraction, where the heart doesn’t pump well
• Preserved ejection fraction, where the pump works, but the heart has trouble relaxing

Heart failure creates two problems in the body, known as congestion and perfusion.

There are classic symptoms that are brought about by each of these two problems. If you experience any of these, DO NOT ignore them.

Too many people understandably assume that these symptoms are caused by other things. But ignoring them for too long could be fatal.

The symptoms of congestion, also known as congestive heart failure, are:

• Shortness of breath
• Discomfort while lying flat and needing extra pillows
• Gasping for air in the middle of the night
• Edema, or swelling, in the legs and belly
• “Pitting” in the areas of swelling

Pitting refers to what happens when you press down on the skin in an area that’s swollen from heart failure.

“If you remove your thumb and you can still see that indentation, that’s heart failure,” says Dr. Satjit Bhusri, a cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

Perfusion, on the other hand, refers to the amount of blood that’s getting to your organs. All organs, including the brain, can be affected by poor perfusion because they’re receiving enough oxygen to function properly.

So it makes sense that the typical symptoms of poor perfusion from heart failure are fatigue, dizziness and fainting.

Unfortunately, it’s easy to write off fatigue and shortness of breath as being caused by exhaustion or other minor ailments.

“Shortness of breath and fatigue are the two most important symptoms that I don’t want patients to ignore,” says Dr. Bhusri of Lenox Hill Hospital. “They are very non-specific symptoms, but they can be the first signs and symptoms of heart failure and even heart attack.”

Prevention is the best treatment

“Heart failure” isn’t a standalone diagnosis. Rather, it’s usually caused by other related health problems. Often, treating the underlying cause can help improve symptoms and even prevent heart failure from progressing.

Here are eight common risk factors for heart failure:

• High blood pressure. The heart has to work harder, and when it can no longer keep up, heart failure can be the result
• Heart disease (coronary artery disease). Arteries that are clogged block adequate oxygen from reaching the heart, which also weakens heart function
• Heart attack. Part of the heart muscle dies, and the resulting scar tissue can damage the heart pump
• Cardiomyopathy. A weakened heart muscle caused by a viral infection.
• Heart valve damage. This may be either congenital (from birth) or damaged during the aging process (degenerative)
• Endocarditis. If this infection of the heart valve is detected early enough, heart failure may be prevented from occurring
• Chemotherapy.
• Alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

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4 behaviors you can change now to lower your risk

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are four behaviors that increase the risk of heart failure:

• Tobacco use. Nicotine raises blood pressure, and carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke reduces the amount of oxygen your blood can carry
• Too much alcohol. Also raises blood pressure, as well as triglycerides
• Lack of physical activity. Increases the chances of obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes
• Diet.  Lots of  saturated and trans fat has been linked to heart disease, and too much salt contributes to high blood pressure

If you practice any of these, it’s definitely time to make some healthy lifestyle change. There are also some science-backed ways to make improvements if you’ve been diagnosed:

Consider the Mediterranean diet. The diet makes good use of olive oil, which has been shown to improve cardiorespiratory fitness in heart failure patients.

Take up juicing. Drinking beetroot juice before exercise helped heart failure patients exercise longer and stronger and take in more oxygen.

And research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology focused on patients suffering from heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) and learned that a daily dose of juiced beets created astounding improvements: just 2.4 ounces of beet juice daily for a week packed a 24 percent boost in the patients’ abilities to perform aerobic exercise.

Sources:

Textbook Signs of Heart Failure You Should Never Ignore — healthination.com

8 Common Risk Factors of Heart Failure to Be Aware Of — healthination.com

Know Your Risk for Heart Disease — cdc.gov

The post 4 behaviors that put you in line for heart failure appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

For one thing, heavy drinking can actually change your DNA and make you crave alcohol even more.

Then there’s the strong connection between cancer and alcohol

And, of course, binge drinking can do permanent harm to your heart and liver.

Many people think it’s just heavy drinkers who pay the price alcohol exacts on their health.

But a recent, large-scale study proves that’s just not the case…

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The more alcohol you drink, the less brain you have

An analysis of data from more than 36,000 adults, led by a team from the University of Pennsylvania, revealed some scary findings for those of us who consider ourselves “light” drinkers.

The data was drawn from the UK Biobank, a database with genetic and medical information from half a million British middle-aged and older adults.

To give a sense of the impact of alcohol on the brain, the researchers compared the reductions in brain size linked with drinking to those that occur with aging.

And the results revealed that even light-to-moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a shrinking brain.

For example, when a 50-year-old increases from drinking about half a beer a day to a pint of beer or glass of wine a day, the associated brain changes are equivalent to two years of aging.

But with each additional drink, the alcohol reflected a greater aging effect in the brain…

Going from two to three alcoholic drinks at the same age was like your brain aging three and a half years

But reaching up to four drinks was dramatically different…

While going from no drinks daily to a daily average of one drink was associated with the equivalent of half a year of aging — the difference between zero and four drinks was more than 10 years of aging!

But haven’t we heard moderate drinking is healthy?

Perhaps you’ve read other studies that reported that drinking moderately does little harm, and may even do some good.

What’s the difference between those studies and this one that appears to show any amount of alcohol is shrinking and aging your brain?

Those earlier studies just weren’t large enough.

“The fact that we have such a large sample size allows us to find subtle patterns, even between drinking the equivalent of half a beer and one beer a day,” says Gideon Nave, a corresponding author on the study.

He continues, “Having this dataset is like having a microscope or a telescope with a more powerful lens,” Nave says. “You get a better resolution and start seeing patterns and associations you couldn’t before.”

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Is drinking any amount okay?

Right now you may be wondering if you should give up the glass of wine you enjoy with dinner or the one beer you drink to relax after work.

Based on the evidence, those who drink the most will benefit the most from drinking less.

“There is some evidence that the effect of drinking on the brain is exponential,” says Daviet. “So, one additional drink in a day could have more of an impact than any of the previous drinks that day. That means that cutting back on that final drink of the night might have a big effect in terms of brain aging.”

So, if you really can’t part with that one drink a day, at least don’t add any additional servings to it.

Even though the jump to two or three drinks a day doesn’t produce the dramatic 10-year age increase (and equivalent loss in brain matter) that four drinks could, it’s the next step up the ladder to heavy drinking. And that’s where the most damage takes place.

You might want to think about the type of alcohol you drink though. This study did not differentiate types of alcohol, but another study found that when it comes to AFib, beer and cider consumption was associated with the greater risk, compared to red or white wine consumption.

Because healthy heart function and blood circulation are important for a healthy brain, it may not be too far-fetched to assume the same may be better for the brain.

Wine drinkers also have a healthier gut microbiome. That’s beneficial for the gut-brain axis, the biochemical signaling that takes place between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system, which may be a factor in dementia development.

Of course, for help pumping up your brain volume for a younger brain, look no further than boosting your omega-3s. Just be sure to follow this advice about dosage.

Sources:

More alcohol, less brain: Association begins with an average of just one drink a day — Science Daily

Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank — Nature Communications

The post Study identifies how many years your brain ages per drink appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

So if you’re confused about whether or not you should raise a glass, you’re not alone.

After all, just in the past few years while some studies have found that alcohol use during certain periods of life can speed cognitive decline, others have determined that light drinking can act as a brain tonic, clearing away harmful toxins.

And while we’ve all heard about the French Paradox, wherein drinking red wine is said to lead to a healthier heart, doctors are now warning of the heart rhythm dangers of drinking.

If all of that weren’t confusing enough, there’s the question regarding alcohol and cancer.

Yup, even though evidence has mounted that alcohol could help fuel cancer, other research has pointed to an “alcohol sweet spot” that could actually reduce your cancer risk.

So which is it?

Is all drinking bad or just drinking to excess?

Well, it looks like the jury is finally in at least when it comes to the question of alcohol and cancer risk.

A direct cause, not just a supporting actor

You see, a big part of the issue that has kept all of us (scientists included) wondering what the truth behind the alcohol/cancer connection really is, was the fact that it has been difficult to establish whether drinking is a direct cause of cancer or simply a part of an overall lifestyle that led to its development.

So researchers from Oxford Population Health, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing set out to address these unknowns.

The team used a genetic approach to analyze the risk of alcohol for cancer development in 150,000 participants. Specifically, they compared participants who were born with one of two common genetic variations in East Asian populations to those without.

The two variants reduce alcohol tolerability and detoxification and result in an unpleasant ‘flushing effect’ — and are therefore strongly associated with lower alcohol intake.

They then combined this genetic information with questionnaires about drinking habits and tracked the participants for approximately 11 years to see who became cancer victims and who were spared.

And the results were clear…

Alcohol and cancer go hand-in-hand.

The team found that those with one to two copies of the alleles that result in the variants that lead people in Asia to drink less had a 13 to 25 percent lower risk of overall cancer. This included cancers that have been previously linked to alcohol use, particularly head, neck and esophageal cancer.

And those with two copies of the low-alcohol tolerability allele who drank very little alcohol had a 14 percent lower risk of developing any cancer, plus a 31 percent lower risk of developing those previously known alcohol-related cancers.

Saying goodbye to alcohol to cancer-proof your body

So if you want to keep cancer at bay, it’s best to keep the alcohol away.

Of course, that can be easier said than done at times, especially if you’re used to having a cocktail or glass of wine with your meals.

That’s why I like to keep this list of mocktails recipes (cocktails without the alcohol) handy.

My favorites are the Baby Bellini and the Designated Appletini.

It can also help to try this 11-minute trick to tame the alcohol urge when it strikes.

Sources:

New genetic study confirms that alcohol is a direct cause of cancer — Oxford Population Health

The post Study seems to settle the connection between cancer and alcohol appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

For a long time, the conventional wisdom has been that drinking in moderation — meaning an occasional cocktail before dinner or a glass of wine with your meal — won’t do any serious damage to your health.

In fact, certain alcoholic beverages have demonstrated health benefits…

Drinking red wine has been connected with a healthier mouth and gut microbiome, and the antioxidants in red wine can help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and prostate cancer. Beer has numerous health benefits as well, including reduced inflammation, better heart health, lower cholesterol, improved blood sugar balance and a boost in weight loss.

But there’s also plenty of evidence that drinking alcohol — even moderately — opens you up to a flood of health risks.

For instance, if you drink during certain key periods in life, you can speed up cognitive decline. Drinking alcohol has been linked with higher risk of several diseases, including cardiovascular disease, liver disease, diabetes, lower respiratory infections, tuberculosis, epilepsy and pancreatitis. And rates of alcohol abuse and alcohol-related deaths have skyrocketed in recent years, particularly among women.

One of the most worrying health risks of alcohol consumption is that it might increase your chances of getting cancer. In an earlier review of 10 years of study data, researchers found associations between drinking alcohol and developing cancers of the oropharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon, rectum and breast.

And these findings were just confirmed again…

Even moderate drinking increases cancer risk

According to the study by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), drinking alcohol substantially increases the risk of several forms of cancer, including breast, colon, liver and oral cancers.

The global study attributed a total of 741,300 new cases of cancer to alcohol consumption, with alcohol accounting for 8.4 out of every 100,000 cancer cases worldwide. When looking at specific cancers, alcohol consumption was attributed to:

• 31.6 percent of esophageal cancer cases
• 20.2 percent of lip and oral cavity cancer cases
• 17.3 percent of liver cancer cases
• 4.4 percent of breast cancer cases

While heavy drinkers made up the bulk of total cancer cases, elevated cancer risk was found even in light to moderate drinkers, a category that includes those having up to two drinks a day. Light to moderate drinkers represented 1 out of 7 new cancer cases in 2020 and more than 100,000 cases worldwide.

“All drinking involves risk,” says study co-author Dr. Jürgen Rehm of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto. “And with alcohol-related cancers, all levels of consumption are associated with some risk.  For example, each standard-sized glass of wine per day is associated with a 6 percent higher risk for developing female breast cancer.”

Because studies investigating the link between light to moderate drinking and cancer are relatively new, Dr. Rehm says the public policy does not yet reflect the degree of risk involved in even drinking small amounts of alcohol and advises governments to consider requiring the inclusion of this information on alcoholic beverage labels.

How alcohol causes cancer

Researchers say there are a number of ways alcohol can cause cancer, including:

• DNA damage. Alcohol can damage DNA and keep the body from repairing it. These DNA-damaged cells can then turn into cancer cells.
• Chronic alcohol consumption can also result in liver cirrhosis, which can lead to liver cancer.
• Alcohol use can also affect the body’s management of sex hormones, which can result in breast cancer.
• If you drink and smoke, your risk of head and neck cancer increases since alcohol increases the absorption of tobacco carcinogens.

So, should you stop drinking altogether? If you want to lower your cancer risk, then yes, you should avoid consuming alcoholic beverages. Luckily there are some ways to make the transition easier…

Stock your fridge with fruit juices (just be sure to avoid juices with cancer-fueling added sugars) and sparkling water so you can create your own alcohol-free happy hour mocktails.

And when you’re out at the bar with your friends, ask the bartender if they have any nonalcoholic specialty cocktails — they’re becoming quite popular these days with more people looking to cut back on the booze.

If you still want to drink beer and wine for their health benefits, there are plenty of nonalcoholic versions you can try. Nonalcoholic beer has become widely available in stores, and there are even microbreweries specializing in nonalcoholic beer — my husband is a big fan of this one. And wineries are beginning to turn out nonalcoholic wines as well — here’s a list of some to try.

You can also take supplements containing the flavonoids found in wine (such as resveratrol) or the hops used to make beer, which is where the health benefits of these beverages come from.

Sources:

New WHO study links moderate alcohol use with higher cancer risk — Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Global burden of cancer in 2020 attributable to alcohol consumption: a population-based study — The Lancet Oncology

The post Evidence mounts: To avoid cancer trade your cocktail for a mocktail appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And it does have some basis in fact, since several studies have shown a slightly higher risk of heart problems for people who never drink alcohol, with some research showing a risk reduction with moderate drinking.

Yet the truth is that while you have that handful of studies on one side, a significant body of research also shows that drinking too much alcohol regularly leads to heart failure.

So, is alcohol another Goldilocks phenomenon, where, as long as you keep your drinking to that “just right” area, you’re not only safe but better off when it comes to your heart?

Well, not according to a new study…

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Abnormal heart rhythm

In the largest study of its kind, researchers have reported in the European Heart Journal that just one alcoholic drink per day is enough to raise your risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib) — an abnormal heart rhythm that can lead to stroke and death.

The team studied nearly 108,000 people following up for an average of close to 14 years. And their results show that one drink per day, equivalent to a small (120 ml) glass of wine, a small beer (330 ml) or 40 ml of spirits, is linked to a 16 percent increased risk of developing AFib.

As lead researcher, Professor Renate Schnabel, a consultant cardiologist at the University Heart and Vascular Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany), puts it, “These findings are important as the regular consumption of alcohol, the ‘one glass of wine a day’ to protect the heart, as is often recommended for instance in the lay press, should probably no longer be suggested without balancing risks and possible benefits for all heart and blood vessel diseases, including atrial fibrillation.”

And the more you drink, the more your risks go up!

Up to two drinks a day was associated with a 28 percent increased risk and this went up to 47 percent for those who consumed more than four.

Now, if you’re wondering why alcohol (even small amounts) and AFib go hand-in-hand, the answer is that even the researchers don’t know.

However, they do point out that previous studies have shown that heavy drinking over a short period of time (we’re looking at you New Year’s Eve!) can trigger ‘holiday heart syndrome’ (an irregular heartbeat brought on by alcohol consumption) in some people.

And for some AFib patients, even drinking a few sips of alcohol can trigger arrhythmia episodes.

So while we don’t know the why, we do know that there’s a direct connection between drinking and heart rhythm abnormalities.

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Keeping your heart in rhythm

So if you want to guard your heart against AFib, it’s time to ditch that rule that one glass of wine a day (or any alcohol, for that matter) is ok.

But right about now, you may be thinking, “but what about the polyphenol benefits of red wine?” — like resveratrol. Well, drinking wine isn’t the only way to get resveratrol, and as we’re learning, doesn’t appear to be the healthiest way. If you’re concerned about Afib, try supplementing the heart-healthy nutrient instead.

In addition to avoiding alcohol, a few ways to protect your normal heart rhythm include:

• Maintaining healthy blood pressure
• Keeping your weight in check
• Staying active by walking approximately 30 minutes each day
• Adding a heart-healthy snack of nuts to your daily diet

Sources:

One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation — ScienceDaily

AFIB AND HEART FAILURE PROTECTION YOU CAN SNACK ON — Easy Health Options

PREVENTION IS KEY IN AVOIDING ATRIAL FIBRILLATION — Easy Health Options

THE TRICK TO KEEPING YOUR HEART BEATING RIGHT — Easy Health Options

The post What a daily glass of alcohol does to your heart rhythm appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The Average US adult doubles their intake of Alcohol between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, according to a survey of 2,000 Americans. During this current Pandemic, which has been a time of heightened stress and anxiety, American adults have sharply increased their alcohol consumption. They may consume more alcohol at home as a way of coping. We often forget alcohol is a depressant, and currently, we need to figure out other ways to lift our feelings. 

But it’s also important to be aware of the major impact drinking alcohol can have on your health, from cradle to grave…

Alcohol and your brain

A team of researchers in Australia and the UK looked at study data suggesting three critical periods in life of dynamic brain changes that are most sensitive to the harmful effects of alcohol:

The researchers warn that alcohol during these three critical periods “could increase sensitivity to the effects of environmental exposures,” and say that harm prevention policies “must take the long view.”

• During pregnancy, alcohol use — Heavy consumption of alcohol and binge drinking in pregnancy interrupts the process of normal development of the fetus including reductions in brain volume and cognitive impairment. The potentially devasting effects of fetal alcohol syndrome suggest no safe level of alcohol use for a pregnant woman. 

According to the CDC, the National Institute of Health, and the World Health organization recommend that pregnant women not drink. Women who drink while pregnant can have significant issues, including miscarriage, stillbirth, and numerous potential congenital disabilities if the child survives. 

Data from the recent UK and Australian study also suggests that even low or moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy is significantly associated with poorer psychological and behavioral outcomes in offspring.

• Alcohol use in Adolescence — During adolescence, the brain is undergoing significant structural and functional changes. During this critical time, alcohol exposure impairs memory skills and could later set the stage for cognitive problems into adulthood. Binge drinking in adolescence is associated with reduced brain volume, poorer white matter development (critical for efficient brain functioning), and small to moderate deficits in a range of cognitive functions.

• Older adults and alcohol use — Excessive alcohol consumption over time can lead to brain damage and alcohol-related dementia (ARD), which is more severe than general cognitive decline.In fact, alcohol use disorders are among the most decisive modifiable risk factors for all types of early-onset dementia compared to high blood pressure and smoking.

Still, even moderate alcohol use results in a small but significant loss of brain volume in midlife. Older women are more sensitive than men to the effects of alcohol. 

Future studies are needed to test the demographic trends on alcohol use and brain health. An integrated approach to harm reduction is needed at all ages, including training and care pathways that consider the human brain at risk. 

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Tips for cutting back on drinking

If you find you drink alcohol regularly and would like to cut down, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) suggests that the following steps may be helpful:

1. Don’t keep alcohol in your house.
2. Sip your drink. Try to drink water after having an alcoholic drink.
3. Choose alcohol-free days. Try to abstain for a week or a month to see how you feel physically and emotionally without alcohol
4. Keep busy and try new hobbies or activities.
5. Ask for support.
6. Keep a diary of your drinking and set a drinking goal.

A good rule of thumb is to keep your drinking below the recommended guidelines: no more than one standard drink per day for women and men ages 65 and older, and no more than two standard drinks per day for men under 65. These limits may be too high for people who have certain medical conditions or for some older adults. Your doctor can help you determine what’s right for you.

Sources:

Drinking linked to a decline in brain health from cradle to grave — Eurekalert!

Americans double their drinking during the holidays — Beverage daily.com  

Moderate alcohol consumption as risk factor for adverse brain outcomes and cognitive decline:  longitudinal cohort study — British Medical Journal

The effect of alcohol use on human adolescent brain structures and systems — NIH

11 ways to curb your drinking — Harvard health publishing

The post Three key periods in life when alcohol can hasten cognitive decline appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Now, though, according to a new study, there’s one more lifestyle change you might need to add to your to-do list to make sure you don’t add high blood pressure to your list of diagnoses…

Watch how much alcohol you drink.

In fact, according to the scientists from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine who conducted the study, if you have diabetes, there should be a hard and fast limit to your alcohol consumption.

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When you’re already at risk

The reason for the study was pretty simple…

Since the American Heart Association, excessive drinking can increase the risk of high blood pressure, and people with Type 2 diabetes are already at increased risk for high blood pressure, the researchers wanted to finally determine what level of alcohol is safe for diabetics — and how much is just too much.

So, the scientists gathered data on the relationship between alcohol consumption and blood pressure in more than 10,000 adults with Type 2 diabetes over a period of five years.

That allowed them to split everyone up into groups based on their drinking habits:

• Group 1 was the light drinkers at 1-7 drinks per week
• Group 2 was the moderate consumers at 8-14 drinks per week
• Group 3 was heavy drinkers, ringing in at 15 or more drinks per week

To put it into perspective, the team classified one alcoholic beverage as either a 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.

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Then they compared each person’s drinking category to their blood pressure, and here’s what they found…

• Light drinking was not associated with elevated blood pressure or either stage of high blood pressure.
• Moderate drinking (anything over eight drinks a week or one drink per day) was associated with a 79 percent increased risk of elevated blood pressure, boosting the odds of Stage 1 high blood pressure by 66 percent and Stage 2 high blood pressure by 62 percent.
• Heavy drinking led to a whopping 91 percent increase in the risk of elevated blood pressure, raising the chances that a person suffered from Stage 1 high blood pressure by 149 percent and Stage 2 high blood pressure by 204 percent!

It came down to the fact that the more alcohol you drink, the higher your risk of developing high blood pressure.

Keeping it to one or fewer

This means that if you have diabetes, the only safe level of alcohol for your blood pressure is to stay at or below one drink per day. It’s a simple step, but it’s one your heart will thank you for taking.

Sources:

Lifestyle Changes After a Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes — NCBI

Diabetes and High Blood Pressure — WebMD

More than one drink a day may raise high blood pressure risk in adults with Type 2 diabetes — EurekAlert!

The post Diabetics face serious blood pressure risk if breaking the ‘one drink’ rule appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Every night, you uncork a bottle of wine, pour a reasonable sized glass, and put the bottle in the fridge. You practice the kind of drinking that everyone tells you is safe (or maybe even beneficial) from a health perspective.

If that’s the case, you should be proud of yourself for not over-indulging. Too many people get carried away with friends on the weekend, overdo it at the bar after work or take down a whole six-pack on the couch watching baseball — and they pay greatly for it. They have a greater risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, liver disease, and cancer.

But even though moderate drinking is far better than binge-drinking (drinking four or more drinks in a couple of hours), it’s not totally without repercussions…

Case in point? Even the tiniest sip of alcohol every day could be aging your brain faster.

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A sip of alcohol sucks the youth out of your brain

Here’s my motto when it comes to brain aging: the slower, the better. As your brain ages, your memory slips, your cognitive abilities decline, and you lose your independence. Who wants that?

Now, there’s no way to stop brain aging completely. But our brains age at different rates depending on our genetics, environment and lifestyle habits. One habit that leads to quicker brain aging? Drinking alcohol.

A new study from researchers at the University of Southern California shows that even a small sip of alcohol daily makes your brain age faster.

In the study, researchers analyzed brain images from 11,651 people. They found that for every gram of alcohol these people consumed per day, their brain aged by a week.

Now, to put that in perspective, one standard drink contains roughly 14 grams of alcohol. So, one gram is a tiny amount. It’s like one big sip.

If you’re drinking a glass per day, that’s a good 14 extra weeks of brain aging. Actually, it’s even worse…

When researchers calculated the difference in brain age between daily drinkers and those who didn’t drink daily, they found that people who drank had five months of extra brain aging.

And god help you if you’re binge-drinking regularly. Your brain’s probably aging at lightning speed!

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Should you stop drinking for your brain’s sake?

If you love a nightly drink, and you don’t mind having a brain that’s five months older than your peers, have at it. It’s not like it ages your brain by five years.

But even though five months might not seem like that big of a difference, it’s still evidence that tiny amounts of alcohol negatively impact your brain — and possibly other parts of your body.

If you’re looking for other ways to keep your brain young (besides laying off the hooch), you have plenty of options…

• Exercise is one of the best ways to slow (or even reverse!) brain aging.
• Cannabis may be another way to slow down brain aging, although we need more research to know for sure.
• Eating more veggies could help keep your brain young too.
• Getting enough sleep is key to keeping brain aging at bay as well.
• The size of your waistline also makes a big difference in your brain health.

My take here? A healthy lifestyle makes for a healthier brain. It’s common sense, really. But a reminder’s always nice to get us back on track.

Sources:

1. Association of relative brain age with tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and genetic variants — Scientific Reports
2. Alcohol and the Brain: Scientists Quantify How Much a Gram Ages the Mind — Inverse
3. Binge Drinking — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
4. What happens to the brain as we age? — Medical News Today
5. What Is A Standard Drink? — National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

The post What that daily drink does to your brain’s age appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

We’ve known for a long time that heavy alcohol consumption is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (A-fib), a condition where your heart rhythm becomes irregular and puts you at a higher risk of stroke. A 2018 study found that even mild to moderate alcohol consumption increases the risk of A-fib.

Heck, a 2016 study found that just living in an area where you have easy access to alcohol increases your odds of developing A-fib. So the connection is solidly supported by science. But here’s what we still need to know….

What happens when you give up drinking alcohol? Will your A-fib improve? Go away altogether? Or will it stay the same because the damage has already been done?

Luckily, a new study has the answer…

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Ditching alcohol makes a difference in A-fib…

But it’s not a complete cure. A recent study led by researchers at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia found that people with A-fib who give up alcohol have less frequent and less severe A-fib attacks than those who continue drinking.

The study included 170 people who were drinking roughly two alcoholic drinks per day on average. Half were asked to stop drinking alcohol and the other half were told to continue drinking as usual for six months. Here’s what happened once six months was up…

People who gave up alcohol had significantly fewer A-fib symptoms, although their A-fib didn’t go away completely. About 53 percent of people in the non-drinking group had A-fib episodes, while 73 percent of people in the drinking group had A-fib episodes.

Researchers say that giving up alcohol offered the same A-fib benefits as the drugs they prescribe to treat A-fib.

In addition to experiencing less A-fib symptoms, people who gave up drinking alcohol also lost an average of 8.4 pounds in six months. Plus, they had lower blood pressure by the end of the study.

Why are drinking alcohol and A-fib connected in the first place?

Well, researchers say that alcohol can cause scarring in the heart. This scarring can interfere with the electrical activity that controls your heart’s rhythm, causing the irregular heart rhythm characteristic of A-fib.

A few ways to alleviate A-fib

Quitting alcohol may not be the one and only answer to A-fib, but it’s definitely part of the answer. If you have A-fib and you can give up alcohol completely, do it. At the very least, try to cut back significantly.

You can also take other approaches to improve A-fib, like losing weight, quitting smoking and exercising regularly. And when it comes to exercise, you may want to try one type in particular — yoga.

A 2016 study found that practicing yoga improved the mental and physical health of people with intermittent A-fib. In fact, it gave them lower blood pressure, a lower heart rate and a higher quality of life.

Want one more simple way to lower your risk of A-fib?

Eat more nuts. A 2018 study found that eating three servings of nuts per week lowers the risk of A-fib by nearly 20 percent. So, stop drinking and start snacking!

Sources:

1. One way to help ease A-fib: give up drinking — MedicalXpress
2. How much is too much? Even moderate alcohol consumption is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation — EurekAlert!
3. Effects of yoga in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation – a randomized controlled study — European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing
4. What’s to know about paroxysmal atrial fibrillation? — Medical News Today

The post Trouble with A-fib? Giving up this drink is good medicine appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But the connection between alcohol and cancer isn’t as straightforward as it seems.

Sure, giving up alcohol is far better for your health and cancer risk than drinking too much. But there may be a drinking sweet spot that reduces your cancer risk more than giving up alcohol altogether.

In fact, a recent study from researchers at Queen’s University Belfast found that light drinking prevents you from getting cancer better than cutting alcohol out completely.

Cut cancer risk with a few drinks

A new study published in the journal PLOS Medicine found that drinking a few drinks per week is better for your cancer risk and lifespan than avoiding alcohol altogether.

The study included 99,654 adults between 55 and 74 years old. Study participants completed questionnaires about their alcohol habits. Researchers also tracked their medical records for nearly nine years to keep up with cancer diagnoses and death. And here’s what they found…

People who drank lightly — less than 0.5 drinks per day — had the lowest risk of death and cancer. People who drank more than 0.5 drinks per day obviously had the highest risk. And people who gave up alcohol altogether came in a close second.

“We had expected light drinkers to be at a similar combined risk to never drinkers, so the reduced risk in light drinkers was surprising,” said lead study author Andrew Kunzmann, a research fellow at Queen’s University Belfast.

Why does a dash of alcohol daily decrease your risk of disease and death?

Well, that’s still up for debate. But there’s plenty of evidence that light drinking protects your cardiovascular system. And a healthy cardiovascular system can contribute to better health and a lower risk of dying.

Half a drink… really?

Now, you may be thinking… who wants to drink half a drink? That’s no fun. But remember, that 0.5 figure I mentioned earlier is an average.

People in the study didn’t necessarily drink mini cocktails every day. They probably drank one to three drinks per week, which averages out to 0.5 drinks per day or less.

If you want to use light drinking to lower your cancer risk, you may also be wondering… what’s the best drink to choose for your weekly, biweekly or triweekly treat?

Well, drinks without added sugar are always healthier than sweet drinks. And hard liquor that’s clear (like vodka and gin) is better for you than the darker varieties. It has less calories and is easier on the body.

That said, red wine is probably your healthiest option because it’s packed with antioxidants. Beer’s high in antioxidants too, but it’s also higher in calories.

Whatever you choose to drink, don’t let one drink spiral into two… or three… or four. Alcohol is the third biggest contributor to cancer deaths. And if you drink more than 0.5 drinks per day, you have a much higher risk. So, if you can’t consume it in moderation, cut it out.

The post Do light drinkers have less cancer than teetotalers? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Alcohol, after all, has been shown to cause at least seven types of cancer, interfere with quality sleep and contribute to rapid aging.

Not to mention the brain shrinkage associated with even just a couple of servings a day. The truth is, the more you drink, the less brain you have.

But cutting back on cocktails isn’t always easy…

If you’re a social drinker, for example, you may struggle to stick to one cocktail when friends keep ordering more. Or, if you and your spouse like to drink wine with dinner, you may be tempted to finish off the whole bottle, because you know it won’t be as good the next day. Whatever your reason for over-imbibing at times, you’re not alone…

According to 2015 statistics from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, close to 30 percent of US adults reported binge drinking (having 4 to 5 drinks on one occasion) within the past month. Now, if you binge drink (or even just drink a bit too heavily sometimes) that doesn’t mean you’re an alcoholic. But it does mean you should think about scaling back for health reasons.

Of course, habits are hard to break. Sometimes sheer will doesn’t cut it. So, I’m going to share with you an 11-minute solution that could lead to less drinking and better health…

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Managing alcohol consumption with mindfulness

A study from the University College London found that mindfulness training could help you cut back on cocktails.

In the study, a group of 68 heavy drinkers (who weren’t considered alcoholics) were divided into two groups. One group learned relaxation strategies, while the other group learned mindfulness techniques.

People in the relaxation group didn’t cut back on cocktails at all during the week following their relaxation training. But people in the mindfulness group did cut back. They drank 9.3 fewer units of alcohol (about three pints of beer) less in the week following their mindfulness training than they had the week before.

Now, if you’re unclear on the difference between relaxation training and mindfulness training, let me explain…

In the study, relaxation training included a guided audio relaxation recording that prompted participants to soften their muscles, calm and unwind their minds and release tension in their bodies. The mindfulness training, which was also delivered through audio recording, taught them to be more aware of their feelings and bodily sensations. More specifically, it told them to pay attention to their cravings rather than suppressing them. When they noticed bodily sensations such as cravings, they were taught to think of them as temporary events that they didn’t need to act on.

Of course, the mindfulness training was the only one that succeeded in getting participants to scale back on alcohol… and it only took 11 minutes. The reason it works, according to researchers, is because it taught them to overcome their knee-jerk reactions.

“Practicing mindfulness can make a person more aware of their tendency to respond reflexively to urges,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Sunjeev Kamboj.  “By being more aware of their cravings, we think the study participants were able to bring intention back into the equation, instead of automatically reaching for the drink when they feel a craving.”

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Becoming more mindful

So, how can you use mindfulness to drink less and ultimately improve your health?

Well, you can start by:

• Consciously observing your cravings without getting consumed in them. Approach cravings with a sense of detachment and curiosity. When you notice a craving, acknowledge it, then pay close attention to how it makes you feel.
• Recognizing that you can feel a craving without acting on it.
• Reminding yourself that the craving you’re feeling is a temporary sensation that will eventually pass.

You can also try this guided mindfulness meditation video for overcoming cravings. As an added bonus, you can use these mindfulness techniques for unhealthy food cravings, smoking and other unwanted behaviors too. So, a bit of mindfulness goes a long way on the path toward better health.

The post 11-minute trick tames the alcohol urge appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Chalk it up to a learning experience and hopefully, it doesn’t happen again, right? Unfortunately for far too many of us, it does happen again… and even again.

But even one night of heavy drinking takes a terrible toll on your body — and not just the day after. The latest research shows that it could take your body a full four days to recover from the damage you’ve done with one night of overindulgence.

This is your body on binge drinking…

A study sponsored by WHOOP, a company that makes an athletic performance optimization tracker, found that it can take college athletes up to four days to recover physiologically from a night of heavy drinking.

The physiological effects these athletes experienced included things like an increased resting heart rate (their heart was working hard even when they weren’t doing anything physically strenuous) and lower heart rate variability (a longer time between each heartbeat).

Both of these physiological effects are also associated with the aging process. Basically, the older you get, the more likely you are to have an increased resting heart rate and lower heart rate variability. And, based on how a night of heavy drinking affects these two measures, it’s essentially the equivalent of aging yourself 12 years in one night!

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Now, this study was obviously done to show that heavy drinking keeps athletes from performing at their physical best. But, athlete or not, alcohol prevents you from being your physical best too…

When you have a hangover, your body is essentially trying to rid itself of a poison you’ve intentionally ingested (too much alcohol). Detoxing this “poison” puts unnecessary stress on your body, which is why your heart rate and variability suffer. It also causes inflammation, promotes dehydration and hinders your immune system, putting you more at risk for infection and disease.

All of this may explain why your mind and body feel so bad the day after drinking too much. It also explains why alcohol consumption is tied to an increased risk of serious, chronic diseases like cognitive decline, atrial fibrillation, diabetes and liver failure.

Fun vs. a four-day hangover

So is a night of fun worth a four-day hangover? That’s up to you to decide, but I’d say probably not. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a cocktail from time to time. A drink or two per day may even improve your heart health and stroke risk. But throwing back one too many cocktails transforms a potentially healthful practice into a recipe for physical disaster.

Sources:

1. “The Four-Day Hangover.” WHOOP.com. https://thelocker.whoop.com. Retrieved March 23, 2017.

2. Breslow. “Alcohol and the Collegiate WHOOP Athlete.” WHOOP, Inc., 2016.

3. “Inside the ‘Tinderization’ of today’s NBA.” ESPN.com. http://www.espn.com. Retrieved March 23, 2017.

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