Ganja Yoga Gains Popularity: But Marijuana and Yoga Harmful, Experts Claim

Ganja Yoga? Marijuana and yoga seem liked a good combination to Dee Dussault, a woman that specializes in yoga and has been smoking pot for four years. The idea: "When you're high, you can focus on your breath."

Some experts ask her - are you high? According to Right Pundits, Monica Voss, also a Toronto-based yoga instructor with 30 years of experience, thinks it could be dangerous.

"Some people might not be aware of their body when they're high and maybe they would injure themselves." 

While certainly that seems possible, the classes are reportedly popular.

The UK Independent reveals a class includes "a vaporizer café and chat (approximately 30 minutes), followed by a profoundly trippy yoga class, set to mystical music (approximately 75 minutes). Light munchies served afterward."

Via : nationalledger.com

Getting to the root of your stress

Researchers at The University of Western Ontario (Western) in Canada and Meir Medical Centre in Kfar-Saba in Israel collaborated to test a new method of measuring the stress hormone cortisol in strands of hair from 56 male patients experiencing a heart attack.

"Intuitively we know stress is not good for you, but it's not easy to measure," explained Gideon Koren, MD, FACMT, FRCP(C), a pediatrician, clinical pharmacologist, and toxicologist and Ivey Chair in Molecular Toxicology at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.

"We know that on average, hair grows one centimetre (cm) a month, and so if we take a hair sample six cm long, we can determine stress levels for six months by measuring the cortisol level in the hair." 

The data analysed in 56 male patients showed "hair cortisol content emerged as the strongest predictor of heart attack" above other "known risk factors," including smoking, diet, inactivity, genetics and hypertension.

Perhaps in the future, stress tests will include plucking a few strands of hair. However you shouldn't ignore other signs that a heart attack could be near like shooting pains (neck, jaw, shoulders, arms), difficulty catching your breath and chest discomfort.

Via : hindustantimes.com

Hormone In Hair Could Indicate Heart Disease Risk

A new study has found that levels of cortisol in the hair shaft can indicate a higher risk of heart attack.

In the new study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, scientists examined the levels of the stress-marking hormone in the hairshaft to provide a long-term assessment of stress levels.

A three-centimeter hair sample was found to indicate the levels of stress in an individual over three months, since hair grows at a rate of approximately one centimeter per month.

Redford Williams, MD, director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., told WebMD in response to the study: "This is yet another nail in the coffin of those who believe that stress is not a risk factor for heart attack. More research is needed before we get to the point that we routinely measure cortisol in the hair, but we are getting there."

The study was published online in the journal Stress. 

Via : Stress

Stress increases 'risk of death five-fold'

Researchers have found that people aged 65 or older were five times more likely to die within the six year follow-up period if they had high levels of stress hormones. 

They were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks, heart failure and strokes, but not more likely to die from other causes such as cancer, it was found. 

Short-term stress is thought to be good for health but chronic long-term stress can lead to damage in the lining of the blood vessels. 

Stress can also raise blood pressure and cholesterol which are known to be harmful to the heart and stressed people tend to eat a poorer diet and may be more likely to smoke. 

Researchers at VU University Medical Center in The Netherlands, measured levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in the urine of 861 people aged 65 or older. The measurement was taken once over a 24-hour period. 

They were then tracked for six years and any deaths recorded.
It was found that those with the highest levels of cortisol in their urine were five times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those with the lowest levels. 

They took into account other factors that could influence cardiovascular disease, such as socio-economic status, health problems such as obesity and high blood pressure and lifestyle factors such as smoking
The findings are due to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 

Dr Nicole Vogelzangs, lead author of the study, said: "Previous studies have suggested that cortisol might increase the risk of cardiovascular mortality, but until now, no study had directly tested this hypothesis. 

"The results of our study clearly show that cortisol levels in a general older population predict cardiovascular death, but not other causes of mortality. 

"Cortisol is an important component of the stress system of the human body but in higher concentrations can be harmful. 

"Our study shows that older persons with high levels of cortisol have an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. This finding significantly adds evidence to the belief that cortisol can be damaging to the cardiovascular system." 

One in three of all deaths in Britain are caused by cardiovascular disease, accounting for more than 200,000 deaths per year. 

Ellen Mason, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Stress is already associated with an increased risk of heart disease and this study throws up more evidence about the role of cortisol.
“However, there are other chemicals in our body besides cortisol which play a part when we’re stressed out. So although this study helps, there is still a lot left to learn. 

“It’s important we all try and find ways to cope with stress which don’t involve unhealthy habits that increase your risk of heart disease, such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol and eating foods high in saturated fat and salt.”

Via : telegraph.co.uk

Why an obesity operation must be the last resort

It’s sad that we’re resorting increasingly to surgery to tackle obesity. The NHS carried out more than 4,000 weight-loss operations last year – nine times as many as in 2004.

Now a report by research body the Office of Health Economics argues for even more, claiming that more than £1billion could be saved in three years if a quarter of eligible patients were treated.

There may be some argument for being more cost-effective, reducing demands on the NHS, but I take these claims with a pinch of salt.

Government advisory body NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) states that weight-loss ops such as gastric bands and bypasses should only be used as a last resort. I agree.

To argue just for cost-effectiveness misses the point. This is a surgical remedy for something that should be tackled much earlier in a risk-free, low-cost way.

All operations carry risks, more so when patients are obese. Although relatively low, risks for a band can be serious, including a tear in the stomach wall, blockage, leakage or erosion of the band, plus potentially serious complications from nausea and vomiting if you overeat after the op.

For bypasses, complications may include leaks from the intestine or bowel, bowel obstruction, internal bleeding and clots. Then there are the usual risks of infection and a reaction to the anaesthetic. After both ops, eating a normal range of foods and portion sizes is no longer possible.

Yet, when people are given the right information, help and support, they can lose weight through lifestyle. A study of 20,000 people by the Medical Research Council concluded that, regardless of genes, lifestyle changes can shift a lot of excess weight.

I’m not suggesting losing weight is easy. There are many reasons people struggle, ranging from a lack of guidance and poor childhood habits to emotional issues.

But I think far more needs to be done to address obesity earlier. We need to start with better education about healthy eating in schools and more exercise in the curriculum.

More primary care trusts should issue prescriptions for exercise and weight-loss groups such as WeightWatchers and Slimming World. These clubs tackle the cause of obesity, educating their members and giving them the support they need to change their behaviour.

The Medical Research Council has found that people referred to WeightWatchers lost 15lb in a year compared with 9lb for those who had just seen their doctor.

People see celebs who’ve lost lots of weight with a band and think it’s a magic bullet. It’s not. We need to tackle why people overeat in the first place – something surgery doesn’t do.

Via : mirror.co.uk

Sleep Deprivation Increases Risk of Teenage Obesity

A new study has found that teenagers who don’t get enough sleep on weeknights are more likely to eat fatty foods that put them at risk for obesity and other health related problems.

The sleep study, published in the September issue of Sleep, involved 240 American teenagers ages 16 to 19. It suggest that teenagers who sleep for less than eight hours a night eat more fatty foods snacks compared with those who get more than eight hours. The new study also revealed that getting too little sleep can result in chronic changes in the diet that can increase the risk of obesity, especially in girls.

“There’s been a lot of research over the last five years implicating insufficient sleep with obesity. Some experimental studies on sleep deprivation in controlled laboratory environments show a craving for fatty foods among the participants who got less sleep”, said study author Dr. Susan Redline, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

The researchers explained that lack of sleep can affect metabolism by changing the level of appetite which over time can alter energy balance and increase the risk of obesity. They also concluded that sleep might be the missing link in the fight against obesity, which has focused solely on diet and exercise.

Via : dailyrosetta.com

BC Developing Better Ovarian Cancer Treatment

The agency of Oncology, British Columbia suggested including the removal or ligation of fallopian tubes
in hysterectomy to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer
.

The gynecologic oncologist Sarah Finlayson Vancouver General Hospital said that research done in the province show that in half of cases of fatal ovarian cancer, the tumor developed in the tubes. By changing the procedures during hysterectomy, she believes that the number of deaths could be reduced by 30-50% in 20 years.

Each year, nearly 50,000 surgical removal of the uterus are made in the country.

Recent studies have shown that 18% of women with ovarian cancer in British Columbia had undergone a hysterectomy who had left their fallopian tubes intact. The researchers believe that their removal would have prevented the disease.

In addition, researchers in the province have discovered that in 20% of cases, ovarian cancer was caused by a genetic mutation. According to them, tests by members of the family of a patient would identify women at risk of developing this type of cancer.

Via : eontarionow.com