Healthy eating for older adults Archive

Sitting for more than eight hours a day and exercising very little has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and early death. An hour of moderate-intensity exercise may lessen that risk. 

Your dietary habits can promote cancer or protect against it.

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The link between cancer and diet is just as mysterious as the disease itself. Much research has pointed toward certain foods and nutrients that may help prevent—or, conversely, contribute to—certain types of cancer.

While there are many factors you can't change that increase your cancer risk, such as genetics and environment, there are others you can control. In fact, estimates suggest that less than 30% of a person's lifetime risk of getting cancer results from uncontrollable factors. The rest you have the power to change, including your diet.

Eating 70 grams (four servings) of whole grains daily may lower your risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to a study in Circulation. One serving of 100% whole-grain food contains about 16 grams. Examples include one slice of 100% whole-grain bread or a half cup of oatmeal or cooked whole-grain pasta. 

There is no conclusive evidence that fish oil supplements reduce inflammation. Diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids are a better bet.

Nasal irrigation using a neti pot was more effective than inhaling steam in relieving chronic sinus symptoms in a large randomized study.

An analysis of two observational studies involving 130,000 participants suggests that substituting plant protein for some animal protein may reduce the risk of early death by one-third in people with unhealthy lifestyles.

Some simple preventive measures can keep antibiotic-resistant bacteria at bay.

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Although the Zika virus got more publicity throughout the summer, another—and even scarier-sounding—microbe also made headlines. Dubbed a new "superbug," strains of E. coli resistant to the antibiotic colistin were found in the United States. Colistin is a drug often used when others fail to control a bacterial infection. Fortunately, the bacteria weren't resistant to other antibiotics, which cleared the infections. "Although this particular case of antibiotic resistance may not be as dire as the media made it sound, in general these increasingly high-level resistances are an enormous problem," says Dr. Sarah Fortune, professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Why superbugs are such a problem

Like other forms of life, bacteria are always evolving to become stronger and survive longer. One of the ways they increase their chances of survival is to acquire genes that help them resist threats—including natural enemies like viruses and man-made weapons like antibiotics. These genes can spring up within a bacterium through mutations and are passed down to subsequent generations of the microbe. In addition, they can be found on rings of DNA called plasmids, which can be transmitted to other types of bacteria, enabling the resistance to spread wider and faster. The E. coli strains discovered in 2016 raised concern because they carry the colistin-resistance gene on plasmids and thus have the potential to transfer the plasmids to bacteria that are already resistant to several other antibiotics.