We have all beleived that aspirin use will lower the risk of heart attack, mostly becuase it thins the blood. The problem I have always foudn though is that too much aspirin will stop the blood from clotting quickly and this in itslef almost led to a quick trip to the hospital for my wife last year.

This new study below though seems to show that it is not so obvious as to wether Aspirin really helps to prevent heart attacks but in itslef it is a good read with lots of findings

Long-term, low-dose aspirin provides no clear net value for primary prevention of cardiovascular events in apparently healthy adults, according to a meta-analysis of patient-level data.

In people not known to have cardiovascular disease, aspirin reduced composite MI, stroke, and vascular death rates to 0.51% per year compared with 0.57% among controls for a relative 12% reduction, according to Colin Baigent, B.M.B.Ch., of the University of Oxford, England, and colleagues in the Antithrombotic Trialists’ Collaboration. Read the rest of this entry »

I just found a reference to a report on Science Daily showing that obesity problems in North America can be directly attributed to overeating.

The study originated in Europe and included almost 2400 people as well as using stats on the amount of food grown as well as imported.

Here is a bit of a quote:

New research that uses an innovative approach to study, for the first time, the relative contributions of food and exercise habits to the development of the obesity epidemic has concluded that the rise in obesity in the United States since the 1970s was virtually all due to increased energy intake.

As much as we like to point fingers at a host of different causes of obesity, it seems that eating more calories is the number one culprit. Read the rest of this entry »

I have no idea how people will feel about this post but a couple of days ago Oprah had Kirsie Alley on again. There was hype on TV all week that Kirstie Alley would be on again and hints that she gained back her weight. Well in the big releal, yes she did gain the weight back plus apparently 20 pounds.

This story makes me mad for a lot of resasons. I follow celebrity stories a bit and never have emotion about them but this time I did.

Kirstie Ally has all the opportunity in the world. She has the fame of being an ex-TV star, she was a spokeperson for Jenny Craig, almost any trainer would love to work with her and probably for free. And in the end after weight loss Kirstie Alley would have anything that she wants, health, fame, fortune and all that stuff. Good drivers anyway

So, Kirstie Alley seems to have all the ingredients: opportunity, resources, and any number of great goals. Read the rest of this entry »

The Archives of Neurology is reporting in researching being published this month that there is some evidence of microbleeding in people that are taking aspirin on a regular basis. As we all know many people are taking a small dosage of aspirin to guard against heart problems and this research is something to be aware of although only you and your doctor can make an informed decision as to whether you should continue with that course of prevention

Aspirin and other platelet aggregation inhibitors may increase the likelihood of asymptomatic cerebral microbleeds among older adults, researchers said.

Past microbleeding — indicated by small deposits of the iron-storing protein hemosiderin on brain scans — was 71% more common with use of platelet aggregation inhibitors than without antithrombotic drugs, Monique Breteler, M.D., Ph.D., of Erasmus M.C. University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues found.

Aspirin users in the population-based study were also more likely to show microbleeding limited to lobular areas of the brain, the researchers reported online in the Archives of Neurology. Read the rest of this entry »

Wired Magazine has an article this month talking about a study showing that astronauts returning from the International Space Station and shuttle flights have 25% reduced strength in their calves. I am not sure how to react to this study. As we are all aware in our daily lives we live in gravity, sure, but we also have to walk around a lot while on the space station I am under the impression that this lack or gravity and close quarters means that there is not as much need to use your calves, arm strength is probably not reduced by much in comparison.

Here is the guts of the article:

Without stricter workouts, the bodies of long-distance space travelers will be ravaged by the time they return to Earth, or reach another planet.

A NASA-funded study of astronauts freshly returned from six-month stays aboard the International Space Station found that their calf muscles were about 15 percent smaller and 25 percent weaker than when they left. Read the rest of this entry »

A new three-in-one-pill could reduce the risk factors for heart disease and stroke by 50 per cent and revolutionize prevention of these medical conditions, which kill thousands of Canadians every year, according to a study released yesterday.

The study, published in the Lancet, showed that when blood-pressure medications, Aspirin and cholesterol-lowering medication were taken together in one pill, known as the Polycap, they were just as effective as when taken separately.

“People could take a pill a day and, literally, keep the doctor away,” said Salim Yusuf, a cardiologist and the study’s lead author. Read the rest of this entry »

This morning I found out about a restaurant in Phoenix that prides itself on serving really really unhealthy food, they brag about how unhealthy the food in the restaurant is.

The Heart Attack Grill also has a website with info about the menu including the fact that the biggest burger that they sell, a quad patty burger is 8,000 calories. And the staff are scantilly clad waitresses in nurses uniforms.

Yes we all know that this is not healthy, in fact the doctor, who runs that place (not a real doctor) says that most of the appeal is that everywhere we go we are told what is bad for us and what we should and should not eat and this is just a slap in the face to that kind of attitude.

Stevia has been used in sodas marketed as dietary supplements and in other countries for sweetening treats and other foods but before now was not officially approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Experts had predicted the FDA would approve before the end of the year and the market for natural-based sweeteners would rise exponentially. December is as close to the New Year as can be and seems like the perfect time for introducing new products.

Officially recognized by the FDA this week, Cargill received the notification in the form of a letter stating that they have no objection to the previously submitted research that rebaudioside A (rebiana)—Truvia’s scientific name—has been generally recognized as safe (GRAS). The letter continues to support Truvia’s safety and the research behind a panel of experts from an independent company that provided the data.

PepsiCo has also teamed up with Merisant to produce PureVia another stevia-based sweetener, which also received the same FDA safety letter this week.

Cargill has complete confidence in this product and is elated at the recent findings that stevia-based sweeteners are now safe for use by all consumers. Marcelo Montero, president of Cargill, stated, “The FDA brought the appropriate rigor to the process and we are extremely pleased with the news.” Read the rest of this entry »

It is said that hosting the Olympic games is an opportunity to showcase your country and this will lead to increased tourism over the coming years. Well China seems to have had another side effect to hosting the Olympics and that is getting more people interested in exercise and fitness.

The end of the Olympic Games has not been the end of exercise for Beijing, for people’s enthusiasm for keeping fit has been encouraged.

In a country where going to gyms was not as common, even in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, as in developed countries the immediate aftermath of the Games has seen greater interest in exercise.

“I liked watching the basketball games most. I myself wanted to play when I saw the players fight hard on the field, so I came here with my friends,” the 19-year-old Liu Bing said at an outside basketball field in downtown Beijing. Read the rest of this entry »

So Britney is trying to make the news again but this time it is for her diet.

Apparently Britney is on a diet with no sugar and is eating about 1200 calories a day. Let’s lookk at what that simple bit of info means.

First of all the “new” Britney Spears is training and getting ready for the annual VMA (Video Music Awards) show, that is the one that gave her such a bad rap last year. In getting this exercise alone Britney is going to get in better shape.

Spears also says she hits the gym on a regular basis, doing “lots of cardio and weights” five days a week.

Now lets look at the diet. The simple fact that she has a low caloric intake of 1200 calories with no sugar means that she is doing a diet more similar to the GI diet, more complex carbs anyway which should help her long term energy although giving up all of those coffee drinks that Britney Spears is famous for is sure going to be a tough habit to break.

“I eat chicken and salmon and rice. I eat avocados. I’ll have egg whites for breakfast and sometimes turkey burgers for lunch ” says Britney.

I for one am cheering for a Britney Spears Comeback, hope it goes well for her.