Spirit of Women magazine is a national publication presented to women by hospitals and their physicians. The magazine provides up-to-date, evidence-based healthcare information and promotes our hospitals as leaders in women's health excellence.
Issue link: https://spiritofwomen.epubxp.com/i/617196
2 8 S P I R I T O F W O M E N W I N T E R 2 016 w w w. s p i r i t o f w o m e n . c o m H E A L T H C E N T R A L D I E T SHUTTERSTOCK Dreaming of weight loss? The D's knees Knee pain is not just a sign of aging: It could suggest that you're not getting adequate vitamin D in your diet, say researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. Having insufficient vitamin D could increase your risk of developing knee osteoarthritis, a condition in which the natural cushioning between joints wears away, allowing bones to rub together. A study using participants who either had knee osteoarthritis or were at risk for it found that those with low vitamin D levels had more than double the risk of their knee osteoarthritis worsening, compared with volunteers who had healthy levels of vitamin D. Health experts recommend that adults age 70 and younger get at least 600 International Units (IU) of vitamin D daily; those over 70 should up the amount to 800 IU daily. • I f you're not getting enough sleep and you're struggling to lose weight, you may wonder whether fatigue is hindering your diet efforts. Probably not, suggests new research from Stanford University. Researchers looked at whether improved sleep quality and/or quantity combined with a traditional weight-loss regimen would lead to more significant weight loss. The study participants, who were healthy overweight or obese adults, were enrolled in an eight-month schedule of diet, exercise and behavior modification. In addition, they followed either a sleep-improvement program or attended a series of health lectures that did not include weight-loss, exercise or sleep topics. At the end of the study, both groups showed significant amounts of weight loss that were not statistically different. However, the sleep-focused group did get the added benefit of improved overall quality and quantity of sleep. • When knowledge isn't power It may seem counter-intuitive, but people who realize they're overweight or obese are more likely to put on extra pounds than those who are unaware that they weigh more than health experts recommend. That's the finding of new research published in the International Journal of Obesity. Researchers at the University of Liverpool in England looked at data from 14,000 adults and found that people who identified themselves as overweight were also more likely to report overeating in response to stress, a behavior that was predictive of future weight gain. Researchers theorize that realizing you are overweight is stressful in itself and thus leads to more stress-related overeating. The answer, they say, is finding ways to encourage weight loss without demonizing extra pounds and adding to the overweight person's body image challenges. • Southern fare and heart health What's not to love about traditional Southern-style meals with fried entrees, high-fat side dishes and sugar- sweetened iced tea? But frequently consuming a Southern-style diet could significantly raise your risk of heart disease and death, according to a new study published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. University of Alabama researchers looked at data from more than 17,000 participants in a national longitudinal study on strokes, and found five different dietary patterns in the responses: convenience, plant-based, sweets, Southern, and alcohol/salad. Those who adhered most closely to a Southern-style eating pattern ranked highest in increased risk of heart disease, according to the study findings. Earlier studies suggested that frequent Southern-style diners also have a 30 percent higher risk of stroke. If you often indulge in Southern-style meals, researchers recommend cutting back on consumption of these foods gradually so that you're more likely to stick with your dietary changes. •