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The sun may lose some sting in the winter, but you can get burned The Weather NetworkThe sun may lose some sting in the winter, but you can get burned - The Weather Network
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Tuesday, February 28, 2023
The sun may lose some sting in the winter, but you can get burned - The Weather Network
The sun may lose some sting in the winter, but you can get burned - The Weather Network
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How much daily exercise makes an impact? - CTV News
When you can't fit your entire workout into a busy day, do you think there's no point in doing anything at all? You should rethink that mindset. Just 11 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic activity per day could lower your risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease or premature death, a large new study has found.
Aerobic activities include walking, dancing, running, jogging, cycling and swimming. You can gauge the intensity level of an activity by your heart rate and how hard you're breathing as you move. Generally, being able to talk but not sing during an activity would make it moderate intensity. Vigorous intensity is marked by the inability to carry on a conversation.
Higher levels of physical activity have been associated with lower rates of premature death and chronic disease, according to past research. But how the risk levels for these outcomes are affected by the amount of exercise someone gets has been more difficult to determine. To explore this impact, scientists largely from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom looked at data from 196 studies, amounting to more than 30 million adult participants who were followed for 10 years on average. The results of this latest study were published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The study mainly focused on participants who had done the minimum recommended amount of 150 minutes of exercise per week, or 22 minutes per day. Compared with inactive participants, adults who had done 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic physical activity per week had a 31% lower risk of dying from any cause, a 29% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 15% lower risk of dying from cancer.
The same amount of exercise was linked with a 27% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and 12% lower risk when it came to cancer.
"This is a compelling systematic review of existing research," said CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, who wasn't involved in the research. "We already knew that there was a strong correlation between increased physical activity and reduced risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer and premature death. This research confirms it, and furthermore states that a smaller amount than the 150 minutes of recommended exercise a week can help."
Even people who got just half the minimum recommended amount of physical activity benefited. Accumulating 75 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week — about 11 minutes of activity per day — was associated with a 23% lower risk of early death. Getting active for 75 minutes on a weekly basis was also enough to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 17% and cancer by 7%.
Beyond 150 minutes per week, any additional benefits were smaller.
"If you are someone who finds the idea of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week a bit daunting, then our findings should be good news," said study author Dr. Soren Brage, group leader of the Physical Activity Epidemiology group in the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, in a news release. "This is also a good starting position — if you find that 75 minutes a week is manageable, then you could try stepping it up gradually to the full recommended amount."
The authors' findings affirm the World Health Organization's position that doing some physical activity is better than doing none, even if you don't get the recommended amounts of exercise.
"One in 10 premature deaths could have been prevented if everyone achieved even half the recommended level of physical activity," the authors wrote in the study. Additionally, "10.9% and 5.2% of all incident cases of CVD (cardiovascular disease) and cancer would have been prevented."
Important note: If you experience pain while exercising, stop immediately. Check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise program.
A LITTLE EXERCISE EVERY DAY
The authors didn't have details on the specific types of physical activity the participants did. But some experts do have thoughts on how physical activity could reduce risk for chronic diseases and premature death.
"There are many potential mechanisms including the improvement and maintenance of body composition, insulin resistance and physical function because of a wide variety of favorable influences of aerobic activity," said Haruki Momma, an associate professor of medicine and science in sports and exercise at Tohoku University in Japan. Momma wasn't involved in the research.
Benefits could also include improvement to immune function, lung and heart health, inflammation levels, hypertension, cholesterol, and amount of body fat, said Eleanor Watts, a postdoctoral fellow in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute. Watts wasn't involved in the research.
"These translate into lower risk of getting chronic diseases," said Peter Katzmarzyk, associate executive director for population and public health sciences at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Katzmarzyk wasn't involved in the research.
The fact that participants who did only half the minimum recommended amount of exercise still experienced benefits doesn't mean people shouldn't aim for more exercise, but rather that "perfect shouldn't be the enemy of the good," Wen said. "Some is better than none."
To get up to 150 minutes of physical activity per week, find activities you enjoy, Wen said. "You are far more likely to engage in something you love doing than something you have to make yourself do."
And when it comes to how you fit in your exercise, you can think outside the box.
"Moderate activity doesn't have to involve what we normally think of (as) exercise, such as sports or running," said study coauthor Leandro Garcia, a lecturer in the school of medicine, dentistry and biomedical sciences at Queen's University Belfast, in a news release. "Sometimes, replacing some habits is all that is needed.
"For example, try to walk or cycle to your work or study place instead of using a car, or engage in active play with your kids or grand kids. Doing activities that you enjoy and that are easy to include in your weekly routine is an excellent way to become more active."
How much daily exercise makes an impact? - CTV News
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Ours to Tell: Meghan London-Symons - Grand River Hospital
My name is Meghan London-Symons. I've been a clinical and administrative secretary at GRH for nine months.
I am a certified Personal Trainer and have a deep passion for holistic health. When facing unemployment due to the pandemic I decided to go back to school for an industry that was in need, which aligned more with my passions and interests. I enrolled in Medical Office Administration at Westervelt College (now Anderson) and spent 6 weeks working through my practicum placement as a student at GRRCC! During my studies I worked as an Exercise Specialist at Woodstock Physiotherapy Clinic which was a very rewarding experience in itself. I graduated with Presidential Honors, and was the chosen Valedictorian for my class. As a student I knew I wanted to end up working at Grand River Hospital and a month after graduating I was given the opportunity. I have spent the last 9 months working in the Emergency Department and recently transferred to the Cancer Center. So my journey has come full circle.
What do you enjoy about working at GRH?
The feeling of making a difference every time I come to work! We all play a role in the process, no matter how small.
Can you tell us about a Black historical figure or leader who has inspired or influenced you?
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks unwittingly provided the greatest contributions to the advancement of medical research when doctors took a tissue sample for her treatment of cervical cancer and realized her cells had an ability to reproduce at such a fast rate that they did not die as other cultured cells normally do. Because of the speed of her cell division, they became known as “immortal”. HeLa cells (as they are commonly referred to) have allowed medical research to progress by leaps and bounds. They have been mass produced and used to develop the Polio vaccine, as well as progressing research in cancer, AIDS, gene mapping and much more. HeLa cells were sent on the Soviet satellite Sputnik-6 to determine the effects of extended space travel on human tissue. Scientist found that the cells reproduced even more rapidly in zero gravity! HeLa cells were also the first to be successfully cloned. All of these amazing breakthroughs achieved, and yet Henrietta was never asked for medical consent to harvest her cells. Although Henrietta ultimately succumbed to her disease, she has saved countless others. There isn’t a person alive today who hasn’t benefitted from the medical advancements made possible by the “immortal” Henrietta Lacks.
Can you recommend any resources or organizations that our hospital can work with to better serve Black patients and communities?
Carla Beharry is a Racial Justice and Somatic Health Equity Educator in the Waterloo Region and Toronto. She has been studying antiracism and racial justice initiatives for over 20 years, and is currently completing her Masters in Social Justice Education at OISE, University of Toronto. She has practiced homeopathic medicine for five years in Canada, and spent much of the past two decades working on HIV and sexual health education, yoga and meditation in Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Belize, Barbados, Bali and Portugal. Her work focuses on Anti-Racism and Health Equity education. She organizes learning sessions for Agencies, Clinics, School Boards and Organizations. For more about Carla or to reach out: carla@infiniteoceans.com | www.infiniteoceans.com | IG: @carla.beharry
Ours to Tell: Meghan London-Symons - Grand River Hospital
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The future of diagnosing and monitoring NAFLD/NASH could be noninvasive - Pharmaceutical Technology
The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) continues to increase, compounded by risk factors such as advanced age, obesity, ethnicity, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). As NAFLD progresses to NASH, the same factors also contribute to liver fibrogenesis (abnormal accumulation of fibrous tissue). Constant liver damage results in progressive scarring (fibrosis), which disrupts the structural integrity of the liver through fibrosis bands, parenchyma nodules, and blood vessel abnormalities, leading to cirrhosis. Hence, liver fibrosis is a key criterion that represents the severity of liver illnesses and is an important factor that helps physicians forecast the progression of liver disorders towards cirrhosis.
Although liver biopsies are currently considered to be the gold standard for the diagnosis and histological assessment of NAFLD/NASH, they are not without limitations (Li et al., 2022; Zeng et al., 2022). In addition to being a costly and invasive procedure, the estimated number of patients with NASH vastly outnumbers the number of specialists with the proper skills and expertise to perform and interpret a liver biopsy. Additionally, liver biopsies are prone to sampling errors, as fibrosis is not uniform throughout the liver, making it difficult to distinguish between the stages of fibrosis. As such, there has been much interest in developing non-invasive tests (NITs) to detect markers of fibrosis. These NITs are usually categorised based on the test’s modality, such as imaging or serum blood tests, or components like direct markers versus indirect markers of fibrosis.
Serum biomarkers identified via multi-biomarker panel blood tests and non-invasive imaging tests such as transient elastography (VCTE), shear wave elastography (SWE), and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) can be used to identify patients with liver steatosis, determine the stage of fibrosis, and diagnose NAFLD/NASH. While non-invasive imaging and serum blood tests are cost-effective, accessible, and have high reproducibility compared to a liver biopsy, they also have limitations. Table 1 highlights some of the key limitations of current NITs.
Despite these limitations, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) recently published its 2023 NAFLD Practice Guidance to suggest the use of vibration controlled transient elastography (VCTE), a patented technology used by Echosens’s FibroScan for detecting and diagnosing NAFLD in high-risk individuals, including those with type 2 diabetes. FibroScan is a non-invasive device that assesses the ‘hardness’, or stiffness, of the liver via transient elastography, an ultrasound-based technology.
However, with the possibility of the first set of approvals for NASH therapies coming soon, data on the performance of NITs being used in current Phase III clinical trials could help address their limitations for diagnosis and treatment monitoring in NASH. In addition to making the diagnosis process more economic and accessible, the use of NITs in lieu of a liver biopsy could help shape the future treatment paradigm of NAFLD/NASH.
Li, G., et al. (2022) ‘Non-invasive tests of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease’, Chinese Medical Journal, 135(5), pp. 532–546. Available at: https://ift.tt/ub2kPvG
alcoholic_fatty_liver.7.aspx (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Patel, K. and Sebastiani, G. (2020) ‘Limitations of non-invasive tests for assessment of liver fibrosis’, JHEP Reports, 2(2). Available at: https://ift.tt/P4xJita (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Zeng, Y., et al. (2022) ‘Advance of serum biomarkers and combined diagnostic panels in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease’, Disease Markers. Available at: https://ift.tt/bZx3oNW (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
The future of diagnosing and monitoring NAFLD/NASH could be noninvasive - Pharmaceutical Technology
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Monday, February 27, 2023
Shigella: CDC warns of increase in drug-resistant stomach bug - BBC
US health officials are warning of a rise in a strain of a drug-resistant stomach bug that infects thousands of Americans each year.
Shigella bacteria causes fever, diarrhoea and stomach pain. Since 2015, officials have noted a rise in cases linked to the drug-resistant strain.
The inability to treat infections with medication led health officials to call it a "serious public health threat".
Without effective treatment, it could cause severe illness or even death.
In a statement on Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that while none of the infections recorded in 2015 were tied to the Shigella XDR strain, 5% of cases were linked to it in 2022.
In 2019, 1% of all US cases were linked to the strain, which is resistant to the five antibiotics that are most commonly used to treat it.
Shigella spreads "easily" through direct and surface contact with an infected person's faeces, the CDC says. It can lead to a form of dysentery named shigellosis, which is considered one of the leading causes of death linked to diarrhoea around the world.
Many cases can be managed through proper hydration and rest. Officials say it can be prevented by frequent hand washing. Currently, it causes less than five deaths in the US per year.
The increase in the XDR strain has most commonly been seen in homeless people, international travellers, men who have sex with men, and immunocompromised people, the CDC said.
"Given these potentially serious public health concerns, CDC asks healthcare professionals to be vigilant about suspecting and reporting cases of XDR Shigella infection to their local or state health department and educating patients and communities at increased risk about prevention and transmission," the agency said.
Officials in the UK also warned last year of a "unusually high number of cases" linked to the XDR strain.
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Shigella: CDC warns of increase in drug-resistant stomach bug - BBC
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'Stomach flu' cases return to the Thunder Bay area - Tbnewswatch.com
THUNDER BAY — The highly-contagious norovirus, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms, is once again making its way across Canada at a rate that matches levels reached before the pandemic.
The Public Health Agency of Canada reported recently that norovirus cases have generally increased across the country, and that infections have gone up specifically in several provinces, including Ontario.
Some individuals may also experience stomach pain, cramps, chills, fatigue, headache, muscle aches and low-grade fever, according to Health Canada.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit reports that the incidence of gastrointestinal illness in the city and area is on par with what was experienced pre-pandemic.
An outbreak caused by norovirus was confirmed last month in a local retirement home.
Since November, the health has confirmed a total of 10 gastrointestinal outbreaks, including the one in the retirement home, one in a section of St. Joseph's Hospital, one in a nursing home and seven in childcare facilities.
The outbreak on 3 South at St. Joseph's Hospital was declared last week, and remained in effect as of Monday, while the newest outbreak was declared Monday afternoon at Bethammi Nursing Home.
Norovirus has not been confirmed as the cause at either site.
A health unit spokesperson noted that testing for the norovirus can sometimes be problematic in institutional settings.
In the broader community, norovirus infections are not typically reportable to public health agencies, but the health unit does do follow-up when there are outbreaks that could be caused by the virus in institutions and daycare centres.
Aside from the retirement home outbreak, "There was no causative agent identified...as specimens are very hard to collect in facilities that could test such as retirement and long-term care homes, and testing is not a requirement in childcare facilities," the health unit said in a statement.
"More often than not, the norovirus agent isn't actually identified in an outbreak situation, but is the suspected cause due to the typical presentation of classic norovirus symptoms, and the high rates within a facility."
Diana Gowanlock, the health unit's acting director of health protection and chief nursing officer, said public health might not necessarily be aware of the actual number of cases in the community, but the frequency of outbreaks can be a good indicator.
"During the pandemic we didn't see as much norovirus, with the restrictions that were in place. There were less people getting together and having large gatherings, so what we're seeing now seems to be back to more normal levels that we would see from year to year," Gowanlock said.
The virus "is definitely not a fun infection to get," she said. "There's no specific treatment for it, but generally most people recover without any complications after a few hours to a few days."
Anyone with symptoms should stay home for 48 hours after symptoms are gone.
The bug can be acquired by touching a surface contaminated by an infected individual, so frequent handwashing or use of an alcohol-based sanitizer is strongly advised.
In addition, public health authorities recommend that high-touch surfaces be sanitized often.
'Stomach flu' cases return to the Thunder Bay area - Tbnewswatch.com
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A look at the impact of shingles in the workplace - Benefits Canada
Marcy spent six days off of work and, in addition to the eye drops, was prescribed pain medication to address a condition called post herpetic neuralgia, which affects one in 10 people who contract shingles and can become chronic. For Marcy, PHN lasted three months. She also went back to see Ravinatarajan a third time to get antibacterial cream to address a skin infection that resulted from scratching her face.
Read: An update on vaccine coverage in private drug plans
Marcy’s case represents the impact a case of shingles can have on both individual plan members and the workplace, said Ravinatarajan, a pharmacist, in a session supported by GSK during Benefits Canada’s 2023 Chronic Disease at Work conference in early February.
She encouraged plan sponsors to hold shingles vaccination campaigns in the workplace. “[Marcy] had absenteeism from work and presenteeism at work because, even though her shingles were crusted over, she didn’t feel comfortable seeing anyone and it was on her mind.”
Shingles, which is often referred to as herpes zoster, presents as red and itchy blisters. Once it onsets, a person will continue to develop blisters for five days and they can remain on the body for anywhere from two to four weeks. Immunocompromised people or those taking immune-suppressing medications are more than five-times more likely to develop shingles and can have a much longer bout with the virus, said Ravinatarajan, noting one in three Canadians will contract shingles at some point in their life.
While people often connect shingles with chickenpox, she said the two conditions are actually quite different and people who’ve had chickenpox in their life are still at risk of contracting shingles.
Read: Disease, health-care cost reductions among opportunities for plan sponsors around vaccines
Shingles most frequently presents on the chest and back, with the face the second most common place for it to occur. “We often think, ‘OK, if I’ve got shingles I can cover it up, I can still go about my day-to-day tasks,’ . . . but [having shingles on the face] can have huge complications for plan members and how they go about their lives,” said Ravinatarajan.
People with shingles aren’t supposed to be around others during the part of the illness when their blisters are still full and haven’t yet crusted over because they risk infecting others with the virus, which she said can have absenteeism implications for workplaces.
A 2012 study of individuals who had shingles in the journal Vaccine found that 64 per cent of patients missed at least three days of work because they had shingles and 76 per cent said they were less productive while at work due to the condition.
But Ravinatarajan also noted people who have shingles may continue to be absent from work even after they’re no longer contagious because they’re worried about their blisters being seen by others. “It goes back to having an impact on your mental health as well. When you’re not comfortable with yourself, you don’t have that confidence and, if it does end up as ocular shingles, it can impact your day-to-day sight as well.”
Read: Tips for handling difficult conversations about absenteeism
While shingles is understood to affect Canadians over the age of 60, she said anyone who’s 50 or older should be vaccinated against it, as well as anyone 18 or over who’s immunocompromised. While the Shingrix vaccine has a minimum 90 per cent efficacy at preventing the onset of shingles and is covered by provincial health plans, she noted many Canadians aren’t up-to-date on this and other vaccines.
Ravinatarajan encouraged plan sponsors to include it in their vaccine programs. “Prevention plays a huge part when it comes to health outcomes for individuals — we saw that through the pandemic when it came to COVID-19. And we see that in multiple other conditions where there is a vaccine.”
Read more coverage of the 2023 Chronic Disease at Work conference.
A look at the impact of shingles in the workplace - Benefits Canada
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Is burnt food a health risk? - The Star Kenya
Do you scrape the burnt bits off a piece of toast? Recent research suggests that might not be a bad idea…I
It's more than likely you still have some of the habits around eating and cooking that you learned from adults when you were young, maybe without even realising. Perhaps you never lick food off your knife, or you always throw salt over your shoulder to ward off evil spirits.
Many of these quirks are probably nothing more than superstition, but one in particular may have been unknowingly prescient a few decades ago, and grounded in a scientific discovery that was yet to happen.
In 2002, scientists at the University of Stockholm discovered that it might actually be wise to scrape the burnt bits off your toast. They found that a substance called acrylamide forms when we apply heat over 120C (248F) to certain foods – including potato, bread, biscuits, cereal, and coffee – and its sugar content reacts with the amino acid asparagine.
This process is called the Maillard reaction, and it causes food to brown and gives it that distinctive flavour. But scientists have found that doses of acrylamide is carcinogenic in animals, but only in doses much higher than those in human food.
Acrylamide could also increase the risk of humans developing cancer, especially children, according to the European Food Safety Authority. But researchers looking into the effects on humans have not yet been able to come to a definite conclusion.
"After almost 30 years of its classification as a 'probable human carcinogen', there is still inconsistent evidence of its definite carcinogenicity in humans. However, if we continue to do further studies on humans, we might have adequate data to change acrylamide's classification to a human carcinogen," says Fatima Saleh, associate professor of medical laboratory sciences at Beirut Arab University in Lebanon.
Scientists are sure, however, that acrylamide is neurotoxic to humans, which means it can affect the nervous system. The exact cause for this are still not fully understood, but among the theories are that acrylamide attacks structural proteins within nerve cells or may inhibit anti-inflammatory systems that protect nerve cells from damage.
The toxic effects of acrylamide have been shown to be cumulative, which means that consuming a small amount of acrylamide over a long period of time could increase the risk of it affecting organs in the longer term.
More specifically, evidence from animal studies suggests that long-term exposure to dietary acrylamide could also increase the risk of neurodegenerative disease, such as dementia, and may be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in children, says Federica Laguzzi, assistant professor of cardiovascular and nutritional epidemiology at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
"Acrylamide passes through all tissue, including the placenta, because it has a low molecular weight and is soluble in water," says Laguzzi, who has found a link between higher acrylamide intake in pregnant people and the lower birth weight, head circumference and length of their newborn babies.
The potential mechanism behind acrylamide's role in increasing the risk of cancer in humans isn't yet known. Leo Schouten, an associate professor of epidemiology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, has a theory why it might happen.
After the 2002 discovery of the presence of acrylamide in our food by Swedish researchers, the Dutch Food Authority contacted investigators of the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer, including Schouten, to investigate whether dietary acrylamide was a risk for humans. Schouten and colleagues tried to capture an estimate of how much acrylamide people were consuming based on a questionnaire.
They discovered that the variation between people with low and high exposure in an elderly Dutch population could be explained mainly by one product popular in the Netherlands called ontbijtkoek, roughly translated as "breakfast cake", which was extremely high in acrylamide due to the use of baking soda in the production.
They investigated the link between non-smokers' acrylamide intake (as smoking also contains the substance) and all cancers, and found a higher risk of endometrial and ovarian cancers in women with high exposure to acrylamide. They have also found, in further studies, a slight link between acrylamide intake and kidney cancer.
However, these findings are yet to be confirmed by any other researchers. The closest is a US population study, which published findings in 2012 suggesting an increased risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer among non-smoking post-menopausal women who consumed high amounts of acrylamide. Of course, there could be other reasons for this – people who eat high levels of acrylamide might also follow other lifestyle choices that put them at a higher risk.
Other studies haven't found an association, or saw weaker associations. But it's unclear whether the association Schouten and his team found was incorrect, or if other studies weren't able to measure acrylamide intake accurately.
The mechanism behind acrylamide's potential cancer-causing effect could be related to hormones, Schouten says, because certain hormones have been associated with an increased risk of cancer, especially female genital cancers like endometrial and ovarian cancer.
"Acrylamide may affect oestrogen or progesterone, which would explain the female cancers, but this hasn't been proven," says Schouten.
Laboratory studies involving rats have also found links between acrylamide intake and cancer in mammary glands, thyroid gland, testes and the uterus, which also suggest a hormonal pathway, but this does not automatically mean a similar risk to humans.
In 2010, the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives suggested that more long-term studies are needed to further understand the link between acrylamide and cancer. It did, however, support efforts to reduce acrylamide levels in food.
But one of the biggest challenges is accurately measuring how much acrylamide we consume.
"It's well established that acrylamide is genotoxic and can cause cancer in animals, but the association between acrylamide and cancer in humans is still unclear," says Laguzzi. "Most epidemiological studies are performed with acrylamide intake measured through dietary questionnaires that rely on people's reporting, which can bias the results."
While Schouten believes he was able to accurately measure acrylamide in people's diets, not everyone agreed, including many toxicologists. Another way to measure acrylamide intake is by measuring biomarkers in urine and blood, but this hasn't found anything concrete, either, Schouten says.
It's important to do more research where acrylamide is measured with biomarkers, especially through blood, as this shows acrylamide intake over a longer period of time than urine, says Laguzzi.
Acrylamide has been measured through biomarkers in US studies, but only very recently. One study from 2022, using data spanning a decade, shows a link between acrylamide intake and deaths from cancer, but it couldn't conclude which cancers.
One reason there may not be much conclusive evidence that the levels of acrylamide in our diets can increase the risk of cancer is because we could have protective measures that limit the increased risks associated with our overdone chips.
Laguzzi has found no link between non-gynaecological cancer risk and acrylamide intake in her research summarising the population evidence of this association. She says this could be because either humans have good reparative mechanisms to help prevent both potential carcinogenic and neurotoxic effects, or because these studies were performed using inaccurate measures of dietary acrylamide exposure.
"Also, we don't just eat acrylamide on its own. It's in food, where there could also be other components, like antioxidants, that can help prevent the toxic mechanisms," she says.
Despite the absence of solid research showing the risks to humans of eating acrylamide, the food industry is taking measures to reduce it in our foods.
"The EU is in the process of setting maximum allowable levels for acrylamide in food, and that could have serious repercussions for the food supply chain," says Nigel Halford, whose research is helping farmers to reduce the potential for acrylamide formation in products made from wheat.
While acrylamide isn't found in plants, asparagine, which is the substance that turns into acrylamide when heated, is.
"Acrylamide affects quite a wide range of foods that come from cereal grains, so it's quite big deal for the food industry," he says.
Wheat grain accumulates much more asparagine than necessary, and it seems to accumulate more when it doesn't get all the nutrients it needs, Halford says, particularly sulphur. Halford is trying to stop this processes genetically, using the gene editing technique Crispr.
At the other end of the supply chain, many producers have been urged to reduce the acrylamide content of their products where possible, especially in baby food.
This has been quite successful, says Schouten, who is pleased that the Dutch breakfast cake ontbijtkoek has around 20% of the acrylamide it used to have, by changing how it's produced.
There are also ways to reduce acrylamide at home when cooking, says Saleh. She advises that, when making chips, for example, soaking cut potatoes in hot water for 10 minutes can reduce their acrylamide formation by almost 90%.
The scientific interest toward acrylamide health risk has grown again in the recent years, says Laguzzi. It will be a long process, but within a few years, any link between acrylamide intake and cancer risk will hopefully be clearer, she says. In the meantime, that habit of scraping the burnt bits off your toast might not be such a bad idea.
Is burnt food a health risk? - The Star Kenya
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Fitness: When life is a pain in the knees, keep moving - Vancouver Sun
Giving up exercise won't make your achy joints feel better in the long run.
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If it seems like there’s an epidemic of achy knees out there, you’re not wrong. Osteoarthritis affects more than four million Canadians, which means one in seven adults lives with joint pain. By 2040, that number is expected to grow to 12 million.
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Admittedly, not all of those people have sore knees. The hands, big toe and hips are also common sites for osteoarthritis, but knees account for almost 80 per cent of all cases — a number that has been increasing in recent years.
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The exact cause of osteoarthritis is still a mystery, but previous knee injury, family history of osteoarthritis, abnormally shaped joints, excess weight, an occupation that requires lots of kneeling or squatting, and being female can increase the risk of being in the large cohort of Canadians complaining about sore knees.
For most, osteoarthritis hits around middle age when the cartilage in the knee starts breaking down. And contrary to what you may have heard, high-impact activities like running don’t speed up its onset. Being active is good for your knees, circulating more joint-friendly nutrients to help replenish aging joints and cartilage. So if your knees are just starting to hurt, don’t give up exercise thinking it will make your achy joints feel better.
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That said, there’s no doubt the symptoms of osteoarthritis can make the activities of daily life less enjoyable. Joint pain, stiffness and swelling and muscle weakness make going up stairs, sitting and rising out of a chair and walking uncomfortable. The same can be said for playing tennis, sitting cross-legged in a yoga class or squatting and lunging at the gym, which is why so many people with sore knees give up on exercise altogether.
So if being active is part of the solution, which types of exercise are best for knees that ache?
According to Linda Li, professor of physical therapy at the University of British Columbia and senior scientist at Arthritis Research Canada, a mix of strength training and aerobic exercise is ideal.
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“You want the strongest muscles possible to support a joint that’s not healthy,” she said.
Indeed, the majority of studies report a reduction in joint pain and sensitivity and improved functional movement within a few weeks of starting an exercise program. And many study subjects report that a single bout of exercise improved pain right away, as well as making it easier to perform everyday tasks.
That doesn’t mean all forms of exercise are knee-friendly. Cycling, Pilates, yoga and tai chi have been shown to be particularly effective at reducing discomfort and improving joint range of motion. Li says exercising in a warm pool is a good place to start, with swimming, aqua fitness and water running as possible options.
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And don’t discount running on land, even if it seems counterintuitive to pound the pavement. The right type of program will allow most runners to continue doing what they love, provided they’re willing to modify their training plan based on managing their symptoms.
While we’re talking about pain, how do you know whether an exercise is helping or hurting your knees? Normally pain is considered a red flag, with most exercise professionals recommending stopping or, at the very least, modifying your workout if it hurts.
Li says finding that sweet spot between just enough and too much exercise can be challenging, which is why she says it’s a good idea to track your symptoms over time, noting when pain is at its worst and how long it takes to abate after your workout.
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“Exercise needs to be challenging to produce the best results, and in most cases the joint will calm down after a couple of hours,” she said. “If it lingers for more than a day or two, it’s a sign you probably pushed too hard.”
A recent article published in Annals of Internal Medicine compared the effects of a “high-dose” exercise intervention — a 70- to 90-minute workout with 11 exercises — to a five-exercise, 20-minute workout, each performed three times a week for 12 weeks. Both protocols resulted in similar improvements in knee function and quality of life, with the exception of sports and recreation activities in which the high-dose workout proved more effective.
Given that exercise goals and pain tolerance vary considerably between individuals, it’s often beneficial to find an athletic therapist, physiotherapist or strength and conditioning specialist to help achieve the right balance of exercises to feed and strengthen the joints. You don’t need an intense workout to benefit your knees. Regularity is more important than intensity. That said, when it comes to strength training, you need to effectively challenge the muscles, so make sure your workouts progress as you get stronger.
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Article content
Keep in mind, too, that everyone’s pain threshold is different. What works for some is too uncomfortable for others.
As for those who are just starting to experience a dull ache in the knees, exercise is even more important. Regular physical activity has been shown to delay or prevent further functional decline. Stronger joints are protective against injury and can better support the activities of everyday life.
Maintain or improve aerobic fitness by walking, swimming, running or cycling; improve range of motion and joint stability with yoga, Pilates or tai chi; and strengthen the muscles around the joint with resistance training using machines, light weights or elastic bands.
And above all, keep moving.
Fitness: When life is a pain in the knees, keep moving - Vancouver Sun
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Sunday, February 26, 2023
Fitness: When life is a pain in the knees, keep moving - The Intelligencer
Giving up exercise won't make your achy joints feel better in the long run.
Article content
If it seems like there’s an epidemic of achy knees out there, you’re not wrong. Osteoarthritis affects more than four million Canadians, which means one in seven adults lives with joint pain. By 2040, that number is expected to grow to 12 million.
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Article content
Admittedly, not all of those people have sore knees. The hands, big toe and hips are also common sites for osteoarthritis, but knees account for almost 80 per cent of all cases — a number that has been increasing in recent years.
The exact cause of osteoarthritis is still a mystery, but previous knee injury, family history of osteoarthritis, abnormally shaped joints, excess weight, an occupation that requires lots of kneeling or squatting, and being female can increase the risk of being in the large cohort of Canadians complaining about sore knees.
For most, osteoarthritis hits around middle age when the cartilage in the knee starts breaking down. And contrary to what you may have heard, high-impact activities like running don’t speed up its onset. Being active is good for your knees, circulating more joint-friendly nutrients to help replenish aging joints and cartilage. So if your knees are just starting to hurt, don’t give up exercise thinking it will make your achy joints feel better.
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Article content
That said, there’s no doubt the symptoms of osteoarthritis can make the activities of daily life less enjoyable. Joint pain, stiffness and swelling and muscle weakness make going up stairs, sitting and rising out of a chair and walking uncomfortable. The same can be said for playing tennis, sitting cross-legged in a yoga class or squatting and lunging at the gym, which is why so many people with sore knees give up on exercise altogether.
So if being active is part of the solution, which types of exercise are best for knees that ache?
According to Linda Li, professor of physical therapy at the University of British Columbia and senior scientist at Arthritis Research Canada, a mix of strength training and aerobic exercise is ideal.
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Article content
“You want the strongest muscles possible to support a joint that’s not healthy,” she said.
Indeed, the majority of studies report a reduction in joint pain and sensitivity and improved functional movement within a few weeks of starting an exercise program. And many study subjects report that a single bout of exercise improved pain right away, as well as making it easier to perform everyday tasks.
That doesn’t mean all forms of exercise are knee-friendly. Cycling, Pilates, yoga and tai chi have been shown to be particularly effective at reducing discomfort and improving joint range of motion. Li says exercising in a warm pool is a good place to start, with swimming, aqua fitness and water running as possible options.
Advertisement 5
Article content
And don’t discount running on land, even if it seems counterintuitive to pound the pavement. The right type of program will allow most runners to continue doing what they love, provided they’re willing to modify their training plan based on managing their symptoms.
While we’re talking about pain, how do you know whether an exercise is helping or hurting your knees? Normally pain is considered a red flag, with most exercise professionals recommending stopping or, at the very least, modifying your workout if it hurts.
Li says finding that sweet spot between just enough and too much exercise can be challenging, which is why she says it’s a good idea to track your symptoms over time, noting when pain is at its worst and how long it takes to abate after your workout.
Advertisement 6
Article content
“Exercise needs to be challenging to produce the best results, and in most cases the joint will calm down after a couple of hours,” she said. “If it lingers for more than a day or two, it’s a sign you probably pushed too hard.”
A recent article published in Annals of Internal Medicine compared the effects of a “high-dose” exercise intervention — a 70- to 90-minute workout with 11 exercises — to a five-exercise, 20-minute workout, each performed three times a week for 12 weeks. Both protocols resulted in similar improvements in knee function and quality of life, with the exception of sports and recreation activities in which the high-dose workout proved more effective.
Given that exercise goals and pain tolerance vary considerably between individuals, it’s often beneficial to find an athletic therapist, physiotherapist or strength and conditioning specialist to help achieve the right balance of exercises to feed and strengthen the joints. You don’t need an intense workout to benefit your knees. Regularity is more important than intensity. That said, when it comes to strength training, you need to effectively challenge the muscles, so make sure your workouts progress as you get stronger.
Advertisement 7
Article content
Keep in mind, too, that everyone’s pain threshold is different. What works for some is too uncomfortable for others.
As for those who are just starting to experience a dull ache in the knees, exercise is even more important. Regular physical activity has been shown to delay or prevent further functional decline. Stronger joints are protective against injury and can better support the activities of everyday life.
Maintain or improve aerobic fitness by walking, swimming, running or cycling; improve range of motion and joint stability with yoga, Pilates or tai chi; and strengthen the muscles around the joint with resistance training using machines, light weights or elastic bands.
And above all, keep moving.
Fitness: When life is a pain in the knees, keep moving - The Intelligencer
Read More
Fitness: When life is a pain in the knees, keep moving - Ottawa Citizen
Giving up exercise won't make your achy joints feel better in the long run.
Article content
If it seems like there’s an epidemic of achy knees out there, you’re not wrong. Osteoarthritis affects more than four million Canadians, which means one in seven adults lives with joint pain. By 2040, that number is expected to grow to 12 million.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Admittedly, not all of those people have sore knees. The hands, big toe and hips are also common sites for osteoarthritis, but knees account for almost 80 per cent of all cases — a number that has been increasing in recent years.
Article content
The exact cause of osteoarthritis is still a mystery, but previous knee injury, family history of osteoarthritis, abnormally shaped joints, excess weight, an occupation that requires lots of kneeling or squatting, and being female can increase the risk of being in the large cohort of Canadians complaining about sore knees.
For most, osteoarthritis hits around middle age when the cartilage in the knee starts breaking down. And contrary to what you may have heard, high-impact activities like running don’t speed up its onset. Being active is good for your knees, circulating more joint-friendly nutrients to help replenish aging joints and cartilage. So if your knees are just starting to hurt, don’t give up exercise thinking it will make your achy joints feel better.
Advertisement 3
Article content
That said, there’s no doubt the symptoms of osteoarthritis can make the activities of daily life less enjoyable. Joint pain, stiffness and swelling and muscle weakness make going up stairs, sitting and rising out of a chair and walking uncomfortable. The same can be said for playing tennis, sitting cross-legged in a yoga class or squatting and lunging at the gym, which is why so many people with sore knees give up on exercise altogether.
So if being active is part of the solution, which types of exercise are best for knees that ache?
According to Linda Li, professor of physical therapy at the University of British Columbia and senior scientist at Arthritis Research Canada, a mix of strength training and aerobic exercise is ideal.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“You want the strongest muscles possible to support a joint that’s not healthy,” she said.
Indeed, the majority of studies report a reduction in joint pain and sensitivity and improved functional movement within a few weeks of starting an exercise program. And many study subjects report that a single bout of exercise improved pain right away, as well as making it easier to perform everyday tasks.
That doesn’t mean all forms of exercise are knee-friendly. Cycling, Pilates, yoga and tai chi have been shown to be particularly effective at reducing discomfort and improving joint range of motion. Li says exercising in a warm pool is a good place to start, with swimming, aqua fitness and water running as possible options.
Advertisement 5
Article content
And don’t discount running on land, even if it seems counterintuitive to pound the pavement. The right type of program will allow most runners to continue doing what they love, provided they’re willing to modify their training plan based on managing their symptoms.
While we’re talking about pain, how do you know whether an exercise is helping or hurting your knees? Normally pain is considered a red flag, with most exercise professionals recommending stopping or, at the very least, modifying your workout if it hurts.
Li says finding that sweet spot between just enough and too much exercise can be challenging, which is why she says it’s a good idea to track your symptoms over time, noting when pain is at its worst and how long it takes to abate after your workout.
Advertisement 6
Article content
“Exercise needs to be challenging to produce the best results, and in most cases the joint will calm down after a couple of hours,” she said. “If it lingers for more than a day or two, it’s a sign you probably pushed too hard.”
A recent article published in Annals of Internal Medicine compared the effects of a “high-dose” exercise intervention — a 70- to 90-minute workout with 11 exercises — to a five-exercise, 20-minute workout, each performed three times a week for 12 weeks. Both protocols resulted in similar improvements in knee function and quality of life, with the exception of sports and recreation activities in which the high-dose workout proved more effective.
Given that exercise goals and pain tolerance vary considerably between individuals, it’s often beneficial to find an athletic therapist, physiotherapist or strength and conditioning specialist to help achieve the right balance of exercises to feed and strengthen the joints. You don’t need an intense workout to benefit your knees. Regularity is more important than intensity. That said, when it comes to strength training, you need to effectively challenge the muscles, so make sure your workouts progress as you get stronger.
Advertisement 7
Article content
Keep in mind, too, that everyone’s pain threshold is different. What works for some is too uncomfortable for others.
As for those who are just starting to experience a dull ache in the knees, exercise is even more important. Regular physical activity has been shown to delay or prevent further functional decline. Stronger joints are protective against injury and can better support the activities of everyday life.
Maintain or improve aerobic fitness by walking, swimming, running or cycling; improve range of motion and joint stability with yoga, Pilates or tai chi; and strengthen the muscles around the joint with resistance training using machines, light weights or elastic bands.
And above all, keep moving.
Fitness: When life is a pain in the knees, keep moving - Ottawa Citizen
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