How much water should you drink every day to stay healthy and hydrated?

With a heat wave gripping much of the country, many people are guzzling more water than usual to try to stay cool and hydrated. The convention wisdom says we should be downing eight glasses of water a day. But that number isn’t based on any scientific studies, and doctors say it’s not necessarily the best advice.Drinking enough water is important to carry nutrients to your cells, flush bacteria from your system and prevent dehydration, especially during hot summer months when we lose more fluids through sweat. People who are getting a lot of exercise, or women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, may need more.

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And while plain water is a healthy choice that won’t add extra sugar and calories to your diet, other fluids can be part of the mix. “It’s really about fluids in general. Doesn’t necessarily have to be water,” Dr. Sharmeela Saha, director of the dialysis center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, told CBS News.

What you eat can make a difference too. Certain foods, including summer favorites like watermelon and other fruits, can count towards your daily water intake. “Lettuce, spinach, fruits in general, soups … those are all things that going to have a lot of water in them as well,” Saha said.

Experts say don’t ignore your thirst — it’s a sign your body needs more water. According to WebMD, other signs of dehydration may include weakness, dizziness, heart palpitations, sluggishness, fainting, or heart palpitations. Urine color may also indicate dehydration; if urine is dark yellow or amber colored, you’re probably not drinking enough fluids.

In addition to keeping you well hydrated, some research has shown drinking water right before a meal may benefit your diet, taking the edge off hunger to help you lose weight.

Source: cbsnews


Stressed? Walk outdoor to boost spirit

Group nature walks are linked with significantly lower depression, less perceived stress and enhanced mental health and well-being, the findings showed.

stressed Walk outdoor to boost spirit

The researchers found that people who had recently experienced stressful life events like a serious illness, death of a loved one, marital separation or unemployment especially saw a mood boost after outdoor group walks.

“Walking is an inexpensive, low-risk and accessible form of exercise and it turns out that combined with nature and group settings, it may be a very powerful, under-utilized stress buster,” said senior study author Sara Warber, an associate professor at the University of Michigan in the US.

“Our findings suggest that something as simple as joining an outdoor walking group may not only improve someone’s daily positive emotions but may also contribute as a non-pharmacological approach to serious conditions like depression,” Warber added.

For the study, the researchers evaluated 1,991 participants from the Walking for Health programme in Britain.

The findings appeared in the journal Ecopsychology.

Source: zee news


7 tips to be more energetic

Do you feel drained out and completely exhausted during the day no matter what you do?

Sometimes, it’s just the simple lack of energy that could be causing exhaustion and the over-tired feeling. All you need to do to correct the problem and keep your energy levels high is follow these energy boosting tips.

7 tips to be more energetic

Never skip breakfast: Being the first meal of the day, breakfast is the key determinant of your overall energy level throughout the day. When you skip your breakfast, your body slows down your metabolism to conserve energy. And without any readily available source to derive energy from, the brain signals various energy-related processes to slow down, making you feel energy-deprived. Therefore, it is extremely important that you eat a heavy breakfast packed with carbohydrates and proteins.

Have a balanced diet: Having a heavy breakfast doesn’t mean you should skip your lunch or any other meal for the day. But you need to control portion size and type of food you eat. Apart from carbohydrates and proteins, ensure that you include a lot of fruits like bananas, apples and berries in your diet. In fact, there are a lot of energy boosting foods like eggs, whole cereals, oats and nuts that you cannot afford to miss out if you constantly keep feeling low on energy.

Exercise: Without boosting your metabolism with physical activity, no matter what you eat you’ll feel lethargic. Whether it’s an early morning jog or an evening stroll in the park, any form of physical activity is good for your health and can boost your energy.

Drink more water: Sometimes, not drinking enough water could make you feel drained out and even dizzy. Water is required by all metabolic reactions of the body. So if the cells do not get enough water, the brain will automatically not allow you to be energetic. It is suggested that 7-10 glasses of water must be consumed by everyone. But, your water requirement will vary depending on your daily physical activity.

Don’t be stressed: Stress has the ability to lower both physical and mental energy, so lowering stress is the most crucial strategy you need to implement if you want elevated energy levels. Deep breathing, listening to good music, watching a good movie or meditating are some good ways to de-stress that you can try.

Cut down the vices: Alcohol and cigarettes might rev up your mood and energy levels for a short period of time but that state will not persist forever and it will instead make you feel even more energy-deprived the next day. So, quit smoking and drink moderately, if you cant avoid it completely.

Surround yourself with cheerful people: We all know that negative emotions like anger, jealousy, fear and frustration just adds up to stress, blocking the positive energy flow. But what we forget is that just as there are people around us who bring our energies down, there are people who can help us regain them. Instead, we just cut ourselves from people who actually boost our energy. So the next time you’re feeling tired and exhausted, meet your friends, plan a short trip with them or just talk to them, and you’ll feel much better.

Source: the health site


Lifestyle change, stress management can reduce Alzheimer’s risk

Change in lifestyle accompanied by proper stress management and indulgence in cognitive activities and socialising can help manage and reduce the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, experts said.

Lifestyle change, stress management can reduce Alzheimer's risk

Though Alzheimer’s is not curable, but lifestyle modifications like engaging in physical activity, eating the right diet and socialising can delay the onset of the disease, they said.

“Alzheimer’s though is not curable as yet, being involved in activities that keep the brain active is the best way to mitigate the risks associated with Alzheimer’s,” said Manjari Tripathi, professor of neurology at AIIMS.

Tripathi was speaking to reporters at a conference on “How to reduce risks of Alzheimer’s and the new innovations in its treatment”, organised by the Delhi chapter of the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI). ARDSI in collaboration with the Netherlands embassy will Sep 19 host a discussion on Alzheimer’s and also release the World Alzheimer’s Report 2014.

She said physical activity, regular check-ups and abstaining from smoking and drinking were very important for every human to avoid Alzheimer’s. “It is important, as in the initial stages, the patients themselves do not realise that they are suffering from memory loss and very often consider it a minor problem,” she said.

According to scientific estimates published worldwide, a new case of Alzheimer’s arises every four seconds in the world, with the number of people with it set to double every 20 years. The studies also say that by 2040, over 82 million elderly people are expected to have Alzheimer’s if the current numbers hold and no preventive treatment become available.

Renu Vohra, member secretary of ARDSI’s Delhi chapter, said: “A brain-healthy diet is one that reduces the risk of heart disorders and keeps a check on diabetes. The intake of fish oils and folate reduces the dementia risk.” “Miling with friends and family members and having a large social network boost the emotional quotient. Stress clogs the mind and makes it virtually inactive, while the support system provides the healing and keeps one upbeat, at individual one should train the mind to stay calm and positive,” Vohra said.

Source: business standard


Yoga can help cope with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms

A new study has revealed that symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be reduced with help of “yogic breathing.”

Yoga can help cope with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have shown that a breathing-based meditation practice called Sudarshan Kriya Yoga can be an effective treatment for PTSD, which causes intrusive memories, heightened anxiety, and personality changes.

The hallmark of PTSD is hyperarousal, which can be defined as overreacting to innocuous stimuli, and is one aspect of the autonomic nervous system, the system that controls the beating of the heart and other body functions. It governs one’s ability to respond to his or her environment.

Sudarshan Kriya Yoga is a practice of controlled breathing that directly affects the autonomic nervous system. The team was interested in the practice because of its focus on manipulating the breath, and how that in turn may have consequences for the autonomic nervous system and specifically, hyperarousal.

The tests included measuring eye-blink startle magnitude and respiration rates in response to stimuli such as a noise burst in the laboratory. Respiration is one of the functions controlled by the autonomic nervous system; the eye-blink startle rate is an involuntary response that can be used to measure one component of hyperarousal. These two measurements reflect aspects of mental health because they affect how an individual regulates emotion.

The CIHM study included 21 soldiers: an active group of 11 and a control group of 10. Those who received the one-week training in yogic breathing showed lower anxiety, reduced respiration rates and fewer PTSD symptoms.

Sudarshan Kriya Yoga has already been shown to increase optimism in college students, and reduce stress and anxiety in people suffering from depression, and hence it may be an effective way to decrease suffering and, quite possibly, the incidence of suicide among veterans.

Source: zee news


Premature births may be linked to stress, new Alberta study suggests

A researcher at the University of Lethbridge says the cause of premature births could be linked back to stress in past generations This research could help understand Alberta’s pre-term birth rate, which is the highest in Canada.

Premature births may be linked to stress

Researchers subjected rats to stress late in pregnancy and observed their offspring. They found that the daughters of stressed rats had shorter pregnancies than the daughters of rats not subjected to stress, and that the grand-daughters of stressed rats also showed shorter pregnancies even if their mothers had not been stressed.

“I think if you understand the mechanisms of how this is being generated — the footprint of stress — we have a means of predicting the risk of pre-term birth in future generations and finding certain interventions,” said Gerlinde Metz, a professor of neuroscience and Alberta Heritage Foundation Medical Senior Scholar at the university and one of the researchers on the team.

Metz says stress can alter the genes, meaning mothers-to-be can pass the altered genes on to their babies and that’s why the future generations showed the effects of the original rat’s stress. The study looked at four generations of maternally-related rats.

It found the stressed rats and their offspring also gained less weight during pregnancy and had higher blood glucose levels. As well, their offspring were smaller and had delays in behavioural development, all effects which were amplified over successive generations.

Metz says the study could help provide clues to the causes of pre-term births in humans as well as help other researchers identify the predictors and possible interventions for the pre-term births.

Source; cbc news


Healthy lifestyle cuts down negative effects of stress

Healthy lifestyle cuts down negative effects of stressA new study has revealed that following a healthy lifestyle, that comprises of a healthy diet, sleep and exercise, counters the negative effects of stress.

According to the study by UC San Francisco, the participants who exercised, slept well and ate well had less telomere shortening than the ones who didn’t maintain healthy lifestyles, even when they had similar levels of stress.

Eli Puterman said that it’s very important that we promote healthy living, especially under circumstances of typical experiences of life stressors like death, caregiving and job loss.

The researchers found that women who engaged in lower levels of healthy behaviors, there was a significantly greater decline in telomere length in their immune cells for every major life stressor that occurred during the year.

Yet women who maintained active lifestyles, healthy diets, and good quality sleep appeared protected when exposed to stress – accumulated life stressors did not appear to lead to greater shortening.

The study was published in Molecular Psychiatry.

Source: dna india


Stress Slows Metabolism

Stress Slows Metabolism

If you crave chocolate cake or Ben and Jerry’s after a stressful day, you could gain over 10 pounds in a year, warns a new study.

The research, published in Biological Psychiatry, suggests that women burn fewer calories when under stress. The study participants who reported stress also had higher insulin levels.

“This means that, over time, stressors could lead to weight gain,” said Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology at The Ohio State University and lead author of the study, in a press release. “We know from other data that we’re more likely to eat the wrong foods when we’re stressed, and our data say that when we eat the wrong foods, weight gain becomes more likely because we are burning fewer calories.”

Researchers questioned 58 middle-aged women about their stress levels, and then served them a 930-calorie meal, complete with biscuits, gravy and 60 grams of fat. The researchers then measured how long it took the women to burn those calories (their metabolic rate). The stressed-out burned 104 fewer calories than the care-free women.

The researchers also noted that women with a history of depression combined with stress had a bigger rise in triglycerides after the meal. High levels of triglycerides are associated with cardiovascular disease.

“With depression, we found there was an additional layer. In women who had stress the day before and a history of depression, triglycerides after the meal peaked the highest,” Kiecolt-Glaser said. “The double whammy of past depression as well as daily stressors was a really bad combination.”

While it’s unclear whether the effect would be the same in men, it’s probably safer for everyone to reach for a green smoothie after a long day.

Source: discovery news


Stress eating could pack on 11 extra pounds a year

Stress eating could pack on 11 extra pounds a year

Researchers sure know how to take the “comfort” out of comfort food.

It seems that experiencing one or more stressful events the day prior to eating just one single high-fat meal — the kind we’re most likely to indulge in when frazzled — slows the body’s metabolism so much that women could potentially experience an 11-pound weight gain over the course of a year, according to a new study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Participants included 58 healthy women, 38 of whom were breast cancer survivors and 20 of whom were similar in terms of demographics.The average age of participants was 53. During two visits with the research team, participants received either a meal high in saturated fat, the so-called “bad fat,” or a meal high in sunflower oil, a monounsaturated fat that is associated with various health benefits. The meal itself was a whopper: 930 calories with 60 grams of fat — about the same as a double-deck burger and medium fries. The researchers used standardized clinical tools to rank stressors and to assess major depressive disorder.

After the participants indulged, metabolic rate, or how efficient these women were at burning calories and fat, was measured. Blood sugar levels, triglycerides, insulin and the stress hormone cortisol were also assessed.

Results showed that on average study participants who reported one or more stressors, such as arguments with co-workers or spouses, disagreements with friends, trouble with children or work-related pressures, during the previous 24 hours burned 104 fewer calories than non-stressed women in the seven hours after eating the high-fat meal.

That difference, say researchers, could result in an 11 pound weight gain in one year. And they also experienced less fat oxidation in which so-called large fat molecules are converted into smaller molecules used as fuel.

“The question we were asking is whether stress affects metabolism, and I was so surprised at the magnitude of the effect,” says Dr. Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology at The Ohio State University and lead author of the study.

It’s no secret that stress makes many of us turn to these high-fat-high-sugar comfort foods. And other studies do show that people who experience stress and other mood disruptions are at higher risk of obesity. The primary reason is overindulgence on high-fat, high-calorie comfort foods.

“We know from other data that we’re more likely to eat the wrong foods when we’re stressed, and our data say that when we eat the wrong foods, weight gain becomes more likely because we are burning fewer calories,” says Kiecolt-Glaser.

Researchers did find that a history of depression alone did not affect metabolic rate, but depression combined with previous stressors led to a steeper immediate rise in a form of fat called triglycerides. High triglyceride levels are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

How stress makes us pack on the pounds is indeed a complicated and still poorly understood process. “The relationship between stress and eating is really complex both from a biological view as well as from a psychosocial view, and there is no nice clear pathway that explains everything that is happening,” says Dr. Leslie Heinberg, Director of Behavioral Services for the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute of the Cleveland Clinic. “But what this study does is give us more information on other potential pathways.”

The study is small and there are limitations. “This was a very controlled, one-time thing, and I do think the 11 pounds a year goes beyond the data,” she says, since people may compensate for their indulgences at later meals in the real world. And self-reported stressors can be squishy, despite efforts to control the differences between say the angst of having to give a speech or having a fight with a co-worker. Another complication was the fact that most study participants were breast cancer survivors, which can add even more stress.

Obesity is still at crisis levels both here in the U.S. and globally. It doesn’t help that humans “. . . are biologically set to put on weight and keep on weight and even with diets, exercise or surgery, we are fighting a big biological tide,” says Heinberg.

“What this (study) and other lab studies show is that there’s more to obesity than a lack of willpower, it’s a complex biological problem.”

If you’re looking for a bright side, TODAY Diet and Nutrition Editor Madelyn Fernstrom notes that the impact of stress is a small fraction of the picture: Most weight gain is caused by overeating, plain and simple.

“The good news is that the 100 calories a day extra can be offset by a 30 minute walk,” she says. “This can mean the difference between weight stability and weight gain.”

Source: today


Digital addiction a psychiatric disorder: Experts

digital

Obsession with online gaming was the main manifestation in the past but addiction to social media and video downloading are now the trend

Do you find it difficult to leave your smartphone even for a minute or have cravings to check it without any real purpose? Chances are you have become an addict and need professional help. According to psychiatrists, medical authorities worldwide need to formally recognise addiction to internet and digital devices as a disorder.

“Singaporeans spend an average of 38 minutes per session on Facebook, almost twice as long as Americans,” said a latest study by Experian, a global information services company. According to Adrian Wang, a psychiatrist at the Gleneagles Medical Centre in Singapore, digital addiction should now be classified as a psychiatric disorder.

“Patients come for stress anxiety-related problems but their coping mechanism is to go online, go on to social media,” Wang was quoted as saying in a South China Morning Post report. Obsession with online gaming was the main manifestation in the past but addiction to social media and video downloading are now the trend.
In terms of physical symptoms, more people, especially young, are reporting “text neck” or “iNeck” pain. “Many people have their heads lowered and are now using their mobile devices constantly on the go while queuing or even crossing the roads, leading to neck pain,” psychiatrists said.

They define digital addiction by symptoms like inability to control craving, anxiety when separated from a smartphone, loss in productivity in studies or at work and the need to constantly check one’s phone.

Source: gulf news