risk of diabetes •

Abrupt Changes in Sleep Schedules May Up Heart Disease Risk

Waking up early to go to work on regular days and sleeping in over the weekend may bring some serious health outcomes. A group of researchers found that these kind of abrupt changes in sleep schedules may up heart disease risk and make people more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes.

The recent study involved 447 participants within the 30 to 54 age range, who weren’t working from home for at least 25 hours every week. Each participant was asked to wear a digital wristband that monitored their movement and sleep 24/7. Volunteers were tracked for a week and they were also asked to answer questions on their diet and physical activity.

Scientists found that close to 85 percent of participants slept longer when they didn’t have to go to work. Other participants said that they woke earlier on their free days. Study revealed those who slept a lot longer over the weekend than they did on their workdays had higher cholesterol levels, greater resistance to insulin (which significantly increases risk of diabetes), a higher BMI, and were more prone to gain weight.

Study authors explained that social jet lag, or the changes in sleep schedule that most people are exposed to on their days off, remained tied to a high risk of metabolic disorders and heart disease even after adjustments were made.

Researchers found results remained statistically significant after they were adjusted for factors that may also promote disease such as unhealthy diet and lack of exercise.

The study was published Wednesday in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Social jet lag is caused by a mismatch between people’s inner rhythm of their bodies and sleep schedules forced upon them by their social duties, study authors explained. Past studies had also linked social jet lag with high risk of obesity, heart disease, and stroke.

Patricia Wong, lead author of the study and researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, explained that even in healthy people that do not experience very large differences between their weekend and workday sleeping schedules, social jet lag may up their risk of metabolic disease such as diabetes or high cholesterol.

These metabolic issues can later lead to obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and stroke, Wong said. Nevertheless, she admitted that her team did not found evidence that social jet lag may directly cause those disorders. The group found just an association.

Dr. Wong believes that if her team’s findings are confirmed by future studies, we should pay more attention to the implications of our social obligations on our sleep and health.
Image Source: alternativa-za-vas.com

Each Sip of Coffee May lower Risk of Early Death from Chronic Disease

By Leave a Comment

A recent study suggests that the dark beverage can bring some hidden health benefits to drinkers since each sip of coffee may lower risk of early death from chronic disease including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Scientists found that people who moderately drink the caffeinated beverage have a lower risk of dying prematurely from a wide range of diseases and even suicide. Still, coffee was not proven effective in off-setting the negative outcomes of smoking, researchers noted.

The research team reported that regular coffee can help people lower their risk of death from those conditions as long as they don’t surpass a five cup daily limit. Even decaf coffee had positive outcomes on study participants’ health.

Investigators at Harvard University’s school of public health explained that if regular consumption of coffee stays within the 3 to 5 cups per day range, it is linked with a lower risk of early death from heart disease, diabetes, and suicide. Plus, overall mortality risk is also reduced.

Frank Hu, lead author of the study and nutrition expert with Harvard University’s school of public health, said that both caffeinated and decaf coffee were associated with lower risk of death, but the conclusions were only preliminary.

Prof Hu’s team sifted through data on over 200,000 physicians and nurses that were surveyed constantly on their eating habits, lifestyle patterns, and overall health for more than two decades.

The study revealed that coffee drinkers had lower risk of dying than people who didn’t drink. And the results were even clearer when study investigators didn’t take into account smokers. People who did not smoke but drank coffee had an 8 percent to 15 percent lower risk of dying. The risk was lowered by each sip.

Nevertheless, researchers didn’t find a cause-and-effect relationship between coffee consumption and lower mortality risk. Plus, there are also other factors that need to be factored in when drawing final conclusions. For instance, coffee-drinkers are also more prone to smoke, drink alcohol, and consume red meat in excess.

Additionally, other lifestyle choices may influence the study’s results such as physical activity, type of coffee preferred, and amount of added sugar in the dark beverage. Hu cautioned that the study’s findings do not advocate coffee as a way to ward off chronic disease.

Hu explained that diet and lifestyle choices can have a much greater effect on chronic disease than a few cups of java. He also cautioned that amount of sugar added to our daily coffee is a reason of concern and may offset the drink’s newly-found benefits.
Image Source: Pixabay

Homemade Meals May Cut Risk of Type 2 Diabetes by 13%

By Leave a Comment

Many of us long knew that cooking at home is healthier than dinning out or go for a ready meal, but a recent study suggests that homemade meals may cut risk of type 2 diabetes by 13%, as well.

Study authors reported that volunteers who reportedly ate two home-cooked lunches or dinners on a daily basis saw their risk of developing type 2 diabetes trimmed by 13 percent. There was also a control group with people who consumed less than six home-cooked meals per week.

Researchers argued that the improvement saw in diabetes risk is linked to a lower risk of becoming overweight for people who cook their meals themselves. Overweight and obesity were often linked to a high risk of diabetes by past research.

When people opt for homemade meals they are less likely to eat extra sugary, fatty or processed foods.

In the U.S., the number people with diabetes more than doubled since the mid-90s. Diabetes is a risk factor in a series of conditions including heart disease and stroke. Diabetes is also tied to a higher risk of becoming blind or losing one’s limbs through amputation.

The recent findings were based on data on more than 100,000 people who were monitored for 36 years. Participants reported what types of lunches and dinners they had, and their risk of diabetes was assessed by looking at their medical records.

The study analyzed eating behavior of about 58,000 women and over 40,000 men. None of these people were diagnosed with diabetes or heart disease when the study started. Nevertheless, researchers didn’t have any data on these participants’ breakfast, so they ha to limit their research only to their lunch and dinner.

The findings are consistent with past studies which had showed that dinning out, or eating takeaways or fast-food, are not only poor in nutritional value, but they may also boost risk of obesity in children and teens.

The recent study also revealed that home-cooked meals were linked to lower weight gain in middle-aged participants over the course of nearly a decade. Overweight and obesity are often tied to higher risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

Dr Geng Zong, co-author of the recent study and nutrition expert with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, argued that as people started to eat more at fast-food restaurants or opt for take-out, the risk of type 2 diabetes also increased.

While researchers couldn’t tell how many home-cooked dishes people should eat to decrease their diabetes risk, Dr. Zong believes that the more the better.
Image Source: Flickr

Categories