Category: harvardhealth_news_UNDEFINED

Strength training triggers many body reactions that protect people against chronic disease. For example, strengthening muscles helps reduce blood sugar, lower blood pressure, burn calories, and discourage chronic inflammation. Evidence suggests that getting 30 to 60 minutes of weekly strength training leads to the highest amount of health benefits. That’s in line with the recommendation from the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. But doctors say any amount of strength training can help health.

Limiting meals to a certain window of time each day, an approach called time-restricted eating, didn’t appear to help people lose any more weight compared with ordinary calorie restriction in a small randomized trial published in 2022.

In 2022, Pfizer voluntarily recalled some blood pressure medications, including Accuretic (quinapril hydrochloride plus hydrochlorothiazide), Accupril (quinapril hydrochloride), and two related generic formulations.

Brain damage can cause the language disorder aphasia. It affects a person’s ability to understand or produce speech. Coping with aphasia requires treatment for the underlying cause and speech therapy to learn how to communicate despite language deficits. If the cause of the aphasia improves, so may the aphasia. But many people will continue to live with some level of aphasia, especially if the cause of brain damage is a progressive disease, such as Alzheimer’s.

Some studies have found that drinking any amount of alcohol is unhealthy. But more than 100 large studies have found that people who have one drink per day have lower risks of cardiovascular disease. How can both be true? It depends on a person’s current state of health, lifestyle habits (such as diet, exercise, and smoking), family history of disease, and the quantity of alcohol consumed. People who don’t usually drink have no need to start: there are better ways to achieve a healthy heart.

In the spring of 2021, the 21st Century Cures Act began requiring health care providers to make almost all patient information available in electronic medical records, without charge or delay. This information includes all notes health care providers jot down about patient visits, medical tests, procedures, and hospitalizations. Reading these notes may make some patients feel anxious, or even offended if a doctor uses language that comes across as judgmental. But studies suggest that note reading helps many people manage their health and catch mistakes in their medical records.

A virtual village is a group of older adults who live in their own homes, near each other, and agree to help each other. They form a self-governing nonprofit organization and volunteer to provide village services such as transportation, friendly visits, errands, exercise and social events, a dedicated hotline, and referrals to vetted services and suppliers. The village won’t replace an assisted living facility or nursing home, but it may help delay the transition.

Healthier alternatives to standard white pasta include spiralized vegetable “zoodles” (made from zucchini or yellow squash) as well as pasta made from whole-wheat flour, buckwheat flour, edamame (soybeans), chickpeas, or red lentils.

A 2022 study found that egg consumption equal to about one per day and greater dietary cholesterol intake were linked to a slightly higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

A 2022 study suggests that using a smartwatch capable of estimating blood oxygen levels and recording an electrocardiogram could be an effective way to remotely monitor people at home following a minimally invasive heart valve replacement.