Sleep Archive

How to gain weight safely when you're down a few pounds.

You've spent your whole life trying to keep extra pounds off. Now your doctor says you actually need to gain a few pounds to stay healthy. But healthy weight gain isn't so simple. "Some people find it difficult to add enough calories to their usual diet. It takes a lot of effort," says registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Where to begin

A dietitian can help you come up with an eating plan based on your specific calorie needs. It starts with understanding how quickly you've lost weight and why (see "Why are you underweight?"). Your age, size, activity, amount of weight lost, and overall health will be key to designing a diet that's right for you.

Try simple measures first, like using a fiber supplement and treating underlying conditions.

Nobody wants to talk about or even imagine it. But loss of bowel control — known as fecal incontinence — is a problem for millions of adults in the United States, especially women.

"It becomes more common with age. It's socially isolating and takes away your dignity. You live in fear that you have stool in your pants and people can smell it. Some people won't even tell their doctors about it," says Dr. Kyle Staller, a gastroenterologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

News briefs

Ever hear the saying that drinking beer before wine can reduce hangover symptoms? It's just a myth, according to a small randomized study published Feb. 1, 2019, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers found out by dividing 90 men and women (ages 19 to 40) into four groups. One group drank beer first, and then wine; another group drank wine first, and then beer; and the last two groups drank only beer or only wine. All of the participants drank until they were intoxicated (measured by a breath test), and then rated their hangover symptoms (like headache and nausea) on the day after drinking. The process was repeated a week later, but this time the beer-first group drank wine first; the wine-first group drank beer first; the wine-only group drank only beer; and the beer-only group drank only wine. The results: everyone experienced hangovers, no matter what they drank or the order in which they drank it. The strongest predictors for hangover intensity were perceived drunkenness and vomiting. The bottom line: Drinking too much is unhealthy for anyone. If you drink at all, drink in moderation. That means no more than one drink per day for women, no more than two drinks per day for men.

Image: © draghicich/Getty Images

Are you doing everything you can to keep your heart healthy?

After decades of steady decline, the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) has risen over the past few years, according to the American Heart Association.

The good news is that an estimated 80% of all CVD cases — heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, and stroke — can be prevented. The key is to control high blood pressure and high cholesterol and to maintain healthy habits, such as exercising regularly, eating a plant-based diet, getting enough sleep, and not smoking.

Don't neglect healthy habits when planning your summer travels.

Before you leave for summer vacation, don't forget to pack some good health.

"While you should follow healthy habits year-round, you should give extra attention to certain areas when you travel, since you are often more active than usual," says Dr. Wynne Armand, a primary care physician at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Flexibility can decline as you age and raise your risk of injury. A daily stretching routine can help.

As you age, it's normal to become less limber. Your muscles shrink and your tendons lose their water content, which makes your body stiffer. But add in less activity from a sedentary lifestyle and your lack of flexibility can become even worse.

"When you sit too much and don't move around, the muscles in your hips, legs, and calves get tighter," says Dr. Lauren Elson of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and faculty editor for Harvard Health Publishing's special reports, Stretching and Starting to Exercise.

In the journals

How many push-ups can you do in a minute? The number may predict your risk of heart disease, suggests a study published online Feb. 15, 2019, by JAMA Network Open.

Harvard researchers analyzed data from 1,104 healthy firefighters, average age 40, who did not have cardiovascular disease. Each man performed as many push-ups as possible in one minute. The men also had treadmill tests to measure their cardiovascular health and aerobic fitness. After 10 years, the researchers found that the men who had originally performed the most push-ups were least likely to get heart disease.

In the journals

Lack of sleep may make you more sensitive to pain, according to a study in the Jan. 28, 2019, issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Researchers found that poor sleep interferes with certain pain centers of the brain and can change how a person perceives and reacts to discomfort. In the study, scientists scanned the brains of 25 healthy adults in two sleep environments: first, after they slept eight hours, and again after they were kept awake for 24 to 28 hours. During both scans, they also received uncomfortable levels of heat to their legs.

In the journals

Need another reason to monitor your intake of ultra-processed foods? Cutting down on your amounts could help you live longer.

In an observational study published online Feb. 11, 2019, by JAMA Internal Medicine, almost 45,000 adults ages 45 and older completed several dietary assessments over a two-year period. On average, ultra-processed foods made up about 15% of their daily diet as measured in grams.

Ask the doctors

Q. I recently read that I don't need to exercise all at once during the day to get health benefits. Is this true?

A. It's true — at least according to the newest version of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).