Exercise can reduce risk of dementia
Exercise throughout a person’s life plays a significant role in reducing the risk of developing dementia, a study spanning 35 years has found. The Cardiff University study which began with 2,235 men from Caerphilly in 1979 found factors including diet and not smoking had an impact on preventing illnesses developing in older age. However exercise had the single biggest influence on dementia levels. The research by Cardiff University found the five factors that were integral to helping avoid disease were regular exercise, not smoking, low bodyweight, healthy diet and low alcohol intake. People in the study who followed four of these had a 60 per cent decline in dementia and cognitive decline rates.
Meditation and gene expression
Scientists have found the first evidence that meditation can reduce levels of pro-inflammatory genes which can lead to faster physical recovery from a stressful situation. The new study by researchers in Wisconsin, Spain and France found specific molecular changes in the body following a period of mindfulness meditation. The study probed the effects of a day of intensive mindfulness practice in a group of experienced meditators, compared to a group of untrained control subjects who engaged in quiet non-meditative activities. After eight hours of mindfulness practice, the meditators showed a range of genetic and molecular differences, including altered levels of gene-regulating machinery and reduced levels of pro-inflammatory genes, which in turn correlated with faster physical recovery from a stressful situation.
Eating moreIJ Stomach clock can help
Scientists have discovered the first ever evidence about nerves in the stomach that act like a circadian clock telling about the limit of food that one should eat. Researchers from the University of Adelaide have said that this new information could tell how the gut sends signals to the brain about when a person is full and when to not stop eating. In the University’s Nerve-Gut Research laboratory, Dr Stephen Kentish has investigated how the nerves in the stomach respond to stretch, which occurs as a consequence of food intake, at three-hourly intervals across one day. Kentish said that they have found that the nerves in the gut are at their least sensitive at time periods associated with being awake, thus more food can be consumed before one feels full.