Episodes

  • Gratitude

    Gratitude
    Feb 11 2025
    Our mothers always told us we should be thankful for what we have. Now there’s evidence that doing just that will make us feel happy and even improve our health. Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California underook the first major study on gratitude. In his book Thanks! he says it’s a crucial element of happiness. Emmons says it’s about wanting what we have, and he advises that we begin by acknowledging that life is good, and that the source of life’s goodness is outside ourselves – it can be a spouse, a child, a parent or God. And he says gratitude should not be a reaction – it should be a state of mind.
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    1 min
  • Asthma Misdiagnosis

    Asthma Misdiagnosis
    Feb 10 2025
    Do you have asthma? It is extremely common, about three million Canadians have been diagnosed with the condition. But researchers now say if you are one of them, you should double-check. A study led by the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute found that fully a third of adults being treated for asthma don’t actually have the disorder, either because they have been misdiagnosed or have gone into remission.. Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the airways that causes shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. It can be brought on by a reaction to such allergens as dust, mould and pet dander, by sensitivities to paint fumes and tobacco smoke, and or even exercise or exposure to cold or hot, humid air. In a study of more than 600 adults, doctors found 203 of the participants were being unnecessarily and less than half of that group had received the proper lung function test at the time of their initial diagnosis. Although the tests which are called spirometry, are cheap and easy to perform, they are not necessarily readily available. The researchers want that to change. In addition to the misdiagnoses, at least 20% of the cases had gone into remission – another example of why it’s important to check to make sure you still need the medications you have been taking for awhile.
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    2 mins
  • Retirement Health

    Retirement Health
    Feb 9 2025
    The secret to a healthier retirement may be surprising: work. New research out of the U.S. shows that retirees who continue to work in some capacity, even part-time, are less likely to experience physical decline and disease. Researchers analyzed six years of information on the health, finances and employment status of over 12,000 men and women who were between the ages of 51 and 61 in 1992. Compared to those who quit working altogether, those who described themselves as officially retired but who continued to work part-time or in temp jobs were less likely to be diagnosed with eight diseases: high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, lung disease, heart disease, stroke, psychiatric problems and arthritis. And they also were also less likely to show signs of functional decline, like the inability to perform daily activities like walking or dressing. The study in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, says working can be good for many reasons including social context, and opportunities to interact and to learn new skills.
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    1 min
  • 15 Minutes of Exercise

    15 Minutes of Exercise
    Feb 8 2025
    Do you find it hard to find time for exercise? The latest findings from Taiwan show that getting as little as 15 minutes of physical activity a day can make you live longer. Currently, physical activity guidelines from authorities like the World Health Organization recommend that people exercise 30 minutes a day, five days a week, a benchmark that’s tough for many of us. RESEARCHERS studied more than 400,000 men and women in Taiwan for an average of eight years. The findings suggest it may take only half that recommended time — 15 minutes a day — to gain health benefits. After taking into account differences in age, weight, sex and a range of health-related indicators, they found that those15 minutes of moderate exercise increased life expectancy by three years compared to those who remained inactive. The low exercise group also had a reduction of 10 per cent in cancer mortality compared to the couch potatoes. Researchers say the findings are consistent with previous studies but this is the first to come up with the minimum level of exercise necessary. They hope this will make it more attractive for inactive people to find that life-lengthening quarter hour every day.
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    1 min
  • Biological Age

    Biological Age
    Feb 7 2025
    Why do some people seem to get old before their time while others look like they haven’t aged a day since college? A team of researchers from Duke University studied a nearly 1000 people born within a year of each other and found a huge gulf in the speed at which their bodies aged. The subjects were from the same town in New Zealand and were all born in 1972-73. The scientists looked at 18 different ageing-related traits when the group turned 26, 32 and 38 years old. They measured everything from kidney and liver function to cardiovascular fitness and the condition of their gums. They found that at the age of 38, the people's biological ages ranged from the late-20s to those who were nearly 60. In other words some people had almost stopped ageing during the period of the study, while others were gaining nearly three years of biological age for every twelve months that passed. One particularly interesting finding of the study was that the people who were physiologically older looked older, at least according to Duke undergraduates who were asked to guess their ages from their pictures. The researchers hope this work will help them prevent diseases by slowing down the the aging process.
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    1 min
  • Spicy Food and Longevity

    Spicy Food and Longevity
    Feb 6 2025
    Do you like spicy food? The science says it could help you live longer! Chinese researchers analyzed the diets of nearly 500,000 people for 7 years and found that those who ate spicy foods one or two days a week had a 10% reduced risk of death compared with those who ate such meals less than once a week. The risk was 14% lower for those who opted for hot food between three and seven days a week. The study published in BMJ said those who favoured spicy food had lower rates of heart disease, respiratory disease and cancer. The authors say that capsaicin, the main ingredient in chili peppers, had been found in other studies to have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The researchers still need more evidence from other populations to verify these findings before they would contemplate any change in dietary advice.
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    1 min
  • 5 Second Rule

    5 Second Rule
    Feb 3 2025
    You know the famous “five-second rule” —Well scientists are now saying it’s a bunch of baloney to think we can eat dropped food as long as it’s quickly scooped off the floor. Clemson University food researchers re-visited the long debated issue in National Geographic. Though previous research has shown we may have up to a minute to rescue certain types of spilled food before it becomes contaminated, this work makes a strong case for the “zero-second rule.” The study found that salmonella and other bacteria can live up to four weeks on dry surfaces and be immediately transferred to food. The zero-tolerance standard, however, conflicts with the findings by other researchers, who found, for instance, that it takes a minute for apple slices to pick up bacteria from a college dining room floor. Still, most researchers agree that the critical thing is not time, but location. Some say it’s okay to brush off the bagel that fell from the stroller onto the sidewalk and give it to your screaming child, for example, because the pavement is cleaner than the kitchen floor in terms of the types of germs that cause illnesses. They argue the kitchen floor, however, is probably a zero-second zone because the bacteria from uncooked meat and chicken juices are more hazardous than the ‘soil’ bacteria outside. The bathroom floor is another zero-second zone because it’s a great potential source of bacteria and shorter-lived viruses that can cause gastrointestinal illness if ingested.
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    2 mins
  • Foodies' Health

    Foodies' Health
    Jan 31 2025
    Are you a foodie? It means you’re passionate about food and love trying new dishes. Many people think those of us who fit this description are indulgent and gluttonous, let along pretentious. But a study from the famous Cornell Food and Brand Lab suggests the opposite: Foodies weigh less and could be in better health than the less discerning among us. The researchers asked 500 women about their weight satisfaction, lifestyle and personality traits and provided a list of 16 novel foods and asked them to report which ones they had tried. Those who had sampled nine or more of the foods on the list were considered "foodies" in the study and the rest were classified non-adventurous eaters. The research team adjusted the data to draw on possible associations between adventurous eating, BMI and body image. Those who said they had tried things like beef tongue, Kimchi and rabbit also described themselves as more concerned with the healthfulness of what they ate than did those who stuck to traditional fare. Foodies were also more physically active and their BMI’s were slightly lower than their counterparts. The study authors say these findings are important to dieters because they show that promoting adventurous eating may provide a way for people -- especially women -- to lose or maintain weight without feeling restricted by a strict diet.
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    2 mins