Nearly 19 million Americans take fish oil supplements and some 37 percent of us take vitamin D convinced they're good for our health. Now, long-awaited research on both supplements calls some of their health claims into question.
When researchers looked at cancer and overall cardiovascular events, they found no protective benefit from taking vitamin D or fish oil supplements. But when they looked only at heart attacks, they did find a benefit, especially for African-Americans and people who eat little fish. (Further study is needed to see whether those benefits hold up.)
The story prompted a wave of questions from our readers and listeners. Many of you wrote in asking, essentially, should I stop taking these supplements?
In October 2017, Drew Wynne collapsed inside a walk-in refrigerator at his coffee business in North Charleston, S.C. By the time his business partner found him crumpled on the floor, Wynne was dead. He had suffocated on a chemical called methylene chloride.
The 31-year-old's death is one of dozens blamed on popular paint removers sold under the brand names Goof-Off, Strypeeze, Klean Strip and Jasco among others.
Since 1980 more than 50 deaths have been attributed to methylene chloride. In 2017, the EPA proposed a ban on it and a second chemical, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone -- yet the ban has never materialized.
Health and safety experts caution consumers to avoid using products containing these chemicals — and some retailers have said they will stop selling them. Read more about how the EPA ban has been repeatedly delayed.
Ronnie Kaufman/Larry Hirshowitz/Getty Images/Blend Images
The federal government has just updated recommendations for physical activity for the first time in 10 years. The new guidelines are not shockingly different from the 2008 version.
So why update them? It turns out only about 20 percent of Americans have been meeting the bare minimum of 150 minutes a week (or 22 minutes a day) needed to stave off heart disease, certain cancers and cognitive decline. This couch potatoing is linked to $117 billion in annual health care costs.
So the new guidelines try to nudge us into motion by lowering the bar. The research suggests that even short bursts of physical activity make a difference. You don’t have to schedule an hour at the gym. Just take short walks, take the stairs, do some jumping jacks, vigorously clean your house, just do anything to get moving.
"Everything adds up and contributes to reduced risk for diseases and day-to-day feeling better," says Kathleen Janz, of the University of Iowa, who helped review the science of physical activity.
No comments:
Post a Comment