Men's Health

New Study Reveals Swimming Can Cut Men's Risk Of Dying In Half

A new study shows that swimming cuts men's risk of dying by about 50% compared to runners, walkers and sedentary peers. The University of South Carolina study led by Dr. Steven Blair evaluated comprehensive physical exams and behavioral surveys from thousands of people who were enrolled in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS) over the last 32 years. The results were presented at the 2008 World Aquatic Health(TM) Conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and have been published in the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education.

"Swimmers had the lowest death rate," explains Blair. He adds that the study takes into account age, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol intake, hypertension, other medical factors and family history. "This is the first report that examined mortality rates among swimmers in comparison with other types of physical activity and sedentary lifestyle. We conclude that men who swim for exercise have better survival rates than their sedentary peers," he summarizes.

The ACLS includes extensive medical and physical activity data on more than 40,000 men, age 20-90 years. "These lower rates in swimmers compared with walkers and sedentary men might well be expected," comments Dr. Blair, "but it is surprising that we also observed lower mortality in swimmers than in runners," he adds. "Therefore, swimming appears to be a healthful alternative to other types of physical activity." The study population was limited to white, well-educated, middle- to upper-class men. While this limits the generalizability of the study, it should not affect the study's internal validity, advises Blair. He explains that, "there is no compelling reason to assume that the benefits of swimming would be different for women or for men in other socioeconomic groups. In an earlier study in this same population we found that both women and men had similar benefits from swimming in terms of fitness and other health indicators."

Dr. Blair also found that regular swimmers had a higher cardiorespiratory fitness than walkers and sedentary people. He concludes that, "Swimming provides a healthful alternative to traditional modes of exercise for improving cardiorespiratory fitness and health for the general population, as well as for patients suffering from chronic diseases. Swimming may be a good alternative exercise for individuals who cannot participate in running or other forms of physical activity." Future research will compare injury information between swimming and other forms of physical activity.

Founded in 1965, National Swimming Pool Foundation(R) (NSPF(R)), which helped fund this research, is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving public health worldwide by encouraging healthier living through aquatic education and research. NSPF is the leading educator of aquatic facility operators and the chief philanthropic research sponsor in the aquatics field. For additional information, visit http://www.nspf.org.

National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF)
http://www.nspf.org

Are You Sexually Fit?

Lifestyle Changes for Better Sex

By Ian Kerner for Good in Bed

Whether you're a man or a woman, your sexual health and your overall health are intimately connected to each other in more ways than one. At Good in Bed, we take sexual fitness seriously. A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that erectile dysfunction is often an early indicator of poor cardiovascular health. Researchers followed more than 2,300 men for an average of four years and found that men with ED had a 58 percent greater risk of coronary heart disease.

Diet, exercise, stress management and nutrition all play a role in healthy sexual function. So are you sexually fit?

The Exercise Factor
Regular aerobic workouts help to keep the blood flowing and the arteries producing nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is the life blood of sexual arousal. Men who don't exercise are much more likely to experience bouts of erectile disorder than those who do; women who don't exercise are also more likely to experience arousal issues. Not only is overall blood flow heightened during aerobic exercise, but feel-good endorphins (natural opiates) that contribute to relaxation and sexual arousal are also released. Exercise also plays a major role in generating positive self-esteem, which is perhaps the most powerful sexual enhancer.

The Food Factor
A poor diet is a major contributor to heart disease, high cholesterol, arterial plaque and high blood pressure, among other conditions, all of which inhibit blood flow to the genitals and impact both desire and arousal. So what's key to the "desire diet"? Eat for the heart, and you're eating for desire. One of the keys to a healthy diet is the idea of nutrient density. In short, when the ratio of nutrients to calories in a food is high -- as is the case with most vegetables -- fat burns off and health is maximized. Hence, the more nutrient-dense foods you consume, the more you will be satisfied with fewer calories, and the less you will crave more high-calorie foods.

The Stress Factor
All stressed up with nowhere to go? Stress can take a major toll on your sex life. For men, work-related stress is particularly likely to inhibit desire, while women are often more susceptible to stressors that originate at home. Obviously, our sex lives themselves can be a source of stress and anxiety, all of which can create a vicious, destructive cycle. To have a healthy sex life, you have to be in the sort of relationship that supports having a healthy sex life. Communication, positive sentiment and mutual support are all part of the foundation of a healthy sex life. What happens outside the bedroom affects what happens inside the bedroom, but that doesn't mean you have to let outside stressors put a damper on intimacy.

The Sleep Factor
Sleep is as vital to our physical well-being as food and water, and even a single restless night will find its expression in higher levels of stress and lower levels of arousal. Conversely, those who are well rested are more able to have better sex.

The Vitamin Factor
L-arginine, an amino acid, is a building block of protein and converts to nitric oxide, which, as we discussed earlier, is vital to sexual arousal. Pycnogenol is a combination of many antioxidants extracted from the bark of a pine tree and is known to protect the heart, fight those nasty free radicals and increase sexual arousal. Omega-3s, which are found in certain fish oils, reduce plaque that builds up in arterial walls and impairs blood flow, hence increasing levels of sexual arousal and response. Vitamins C and E are powerful antioxidant supplements that protect against free radicals and reduce fatty deposits in the blood. Most of these vitamins and minerals can be found in a quality multivitamin or simply by eating nutritiously.

The Age Factor
As we age, both men and women may find themselves taking longer to become sexually aroused or even losing interest in sex altogether. In men, waning testosterone levels can make a guy moody, irritable and depressed. Decreased testosterone also places men at a greater risk for heart disease, as well as making them more prone to injury due to decreasing bone density. For women, changes in sexuality associated with menopause may affect lubrication, arousal, orgasm and overall sex drive. But without a doubt, one of the more pronounced symptoms related to menopause (as well as its early onset during perimenopause) is reduced libido. But even so the capacity to have satisfying sexual relationships does not disappear with age. We remain sexual throughout our lives, and many couples find that sex becomes more intense and intimate as they age. It's not as simple as less hormones equals less sex. It's all about lifestyle: exercise, diet, sleep and a healthy engagement with life.

The Drug and Alcohol Factor
We all know that tobacco contributes to lung and heart disease, but many people don't realize that it seriously affects sexual health as well. Smoking damages the arteries affecting blood flow to the genitals, and it leads to a loss of desire and arousal in both men and women. In terms of alcohol consumption, most of us know that having a drink or two before sex may help us relax and ease our inhibitions. But high levels of consumption can also result in sexual dysfunction. From causing the loss of erections to preventing your ability to get or stay aroused, alcohol disables the natural sexual response of the autonomic nervous system. Other chemical substances, like marijuana and cocaine, also have known links to low sex drive and sexual dysfunction.

The Physical Wellness Factor
From temporary ankle sprains to lifelong high blood pressure to seasonal hay fever allergies to insulin-dependent diabetes, many of us suffer from health issues that require immediate to long-term treatment and care. It is important to realize that both the conditions and treatment may have some impact on your level of desire and sexual function. Even something as simple as going on the pill can wreak havoc on your libido. But regardless of what particular problems you may be suffering from, you can still find ways to incorporate sexual and emotional intimacy into your life.

Your Homework for Today:
As you go through your day, think about how each daily activity affects your sexual health and whether it fundamentally helps you or hurts you. Take notes as you go along. For example:

Walked halfway to work before getting on the subway and walked all the way home. (Helped)
Brought a healthy lunch instead of going to the cafeteria. (Helped)
Skipped afternoon cigarette break. (Helped)
Grabbed a handful of candy sitting by the copy machine. (Hurt)
Drank too much coffee. (Hurt)
Canceled a squeezed-in social obligation to make her day less hectic. (Helped)
Shut off computer and went to sleep at a reasonable hour, ignoring work e-mails that could wait until the next day, and slept for eight blessed hours. (Helped)

Once you've gone through your day, take a good look at your list and flesh it out. Are there more hurts than helps? What else could you do that would help? Are there behaviors that could be altered to move them from the hurt to the help category? Tomorrow, do your best to improve the ratio of helps to hurts.

Remember, for a lifetime of good health and good sexual function, get active, choose more nutritious foods and keep having sex! If you want more tips, come chat with our experts at Good in Bed.

Best and Worst Brain Foods

By David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding - Posted on Fri, May 01, 2009, 1:43 pm PDT

Eat This, Not That
by David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding a Yahoo! Health Expert for Nutrition

Visit Nutrition Home »

More By This Expert

If you want to make the right decisions in confusing times—Time to refinance? Explore a different career? Root for the singing spinster or the 12-year-old?—you need to pay special attention to what you eat. That’s right: Your grocery list can help with your to-do list. That’s because the right foods are a kind of clean-burning fuel for your body’s biggest energy hog: Your brain. A study in the Journal of Physiology makes the point that, though your brain represents only 2 percent of your body weight, it makes 20 percent of the energy demands on your resting metabolism.

On our new Eat This, Not That! Web site, we rounded up the best foods to munch on when you need a mental boost—and found studies that show, in fact, that you can be up to 200 percent more productive if you make the right eating choices. Stock up on these items to halt mental decline, jog your memory, sharpen your senses, improve your performance, activate your feel-good hormones, and protect your quick-witted sharpness, whether you’re 15, 40—or not admitting to any age whatsoever!

FOR SHORT-TERM MEMORY
Drink This!: COFFEE

Fresh-brewed joe is the ultimate brain fuel. Caffeine has been shown to retard the aging process and enhance short-term memory performance. In one study, British researchers found that just one cup of coffee helps improve attention and problem-solving skills.

Not That!: ENERGY DRINKS/TOO MUCH COFFEE

Ever heard of the concept “too much of a good thing”? If you OD on caffeine—too many cups, a jolt of caf from the late afternoon onward, a Red Bull cocktail—it can mess with your shuteye schedule. Sleep is reboot time for your mental computer, and you don’t want to mess with it.

FOR LONG-TERM MEMORY
Eat This!: BLUEBERRIES

Antioxidants in blueberries help protect the brain from free-radical damage and cut your risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. They can also improve cognitive processing (translation: thinking). Wild blueberries, if you can find them, have even more brain-boosting antioxidants than the cultivated variety, so book that vacation in Maine now. The berries will ripen in July.

Not That!: THE UNRIPE AND UNREADY

Here’s a cool tip: if your favorite berries are out of season, buy them frozen. The freezer locks in peak flavor and nutrients, so the berries’ antioxidant capacity is maxed out. Those pale, tough, and expensive off-season berries usually ripen on a truck, rather than on the bush, so they’re nutritional imposters compared to the real thing.

For more smart shopping tips, point your grocery cart to THIS story and learn how to pick the most delicious and nutritious while controlling your waistline!

TO THINK FASTER
Eat This!: SALMON OR MACKEREL

If the Internal Revenue Service picks you for some up-close-and-personal auditing, you’ll want to be on your toes when they vet your deductions list. So put salmon or mackerel on the grocery list. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fishes are a primary building block of brain tissue, so they’ll amp up your thinking power. Salmon is also rich in niacin, which can help ward off Alzheimer’s disease and slow the rate of cognitive decline.

Not That!: FULL-FAT ICE CREAM

Not all fats are created equal: Beware foods high in saturated fats, which can clog blood vessels and prevent the flow of nutrients and blood to the brain. Ice cream is not a brain-health food.

TO ENERGIZE:
Eat This!: HIGH-PROTEIN SALAD WITH VINAIGRETTE

The oil in the dressing will help slow down digestion of protein and carbs in the salad, stabilizing blood-sugar levels and keeping energy levels high. Build your salad on a bed of romaine and spinach for an added boost in riboflavin, and add chicken and a hard-boiled egg for more energizing protein.

For other tips on how to build the perfect salad, check out the Eat This, Not That! ultimate salad selector.

Not That!: PANCAKES OR BAGELS

MIT researchers analyzed blood samples from a group of people who had eaten either a high-protein or a high-carbohydrate breakfast. Two hours after eating, the carb eaters had tryptophan levels four times higher than those of the people who had eaten protein. The tryptophan in turkey is one of the reasons you crawl off for an afternoon nap after Thanksgiving dinner. So watch what you gobble.

TO CALM DOWN
Eat This!: LOW-FAT YOGURT OR MIXED NUTS

Scientists in Slovakia gave people 3 grams each of two amino acids—lysine and arginine—or a placebo, and asked them to deliver a speech. Blood measurements of stress hormones revealed that the amino acid-fortified guys were half as anxious during and after the speech as those who took the placebo. Yogurt is one of the best food sources of lysine; nuts pack loads of arginine.

Not That!: SODA

A study from the American Journal of Public Health found that people who drink 2½ cans of soda daily are three times more likely to be depressed and anxious, compared with those who drink fewer. So Mountain Dew is a Mental Don’t.

TO CONCENTRATE
Eat This!: PEPPERMINT TEA

The scent of peppermint helps you focus and boosts performance, according to researchers. Need to reach Chicago before nightfall, and you’re stuck in traffic around Cleveland? One study found that peppermint makes drivers more alert and less anxious.

Not That!: CANDY

Sugary foods incite sudden surges of glucose that, in the long term, cause sugar highs and lows, leading to a fuzzy state of mind. So you’ll need to avoid all the attention-busting sugar bombs on this list of the 20 most sugar-packed foods in America.

FOR GOOD MOODS AND GRINS
Eat This! ARUGULA OR SPINACH SALAD

Leafy greens—arugula, chard, spinach—are rich sources of B vitamins, which are key components on the assembly line that manufactures feel-good hormones such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. According to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, a lack of B6 can cause nervousness, irritability, and even depression.

Not That!: WHITE CHOCOLATE

White chocolate isn’t chocolate at all, since it contains no cocoa solids. So it won’t stimulate the euphoria-inducing mood boosters like serotonin, as real chocolate does. Grab the real thing, the darker the better. More cacao means more happy chemicals and less sugar, which will eventually pull you down.

FOR SHARPER SENSES
Eat This!: 1 TBSP OF GROUND FLAXSEED DAILY

Flax is the best source of alphalinoleic, or ALA—a healthy fat that improves the workings of the cerebral cortex, the area of the brain that processes sensory information, including that of pleasure. To meet your quota, sprinkle it on salads or mix it into a smoothie or shake.

Not That!: ALCOHOL

This one’s obvious, but worth mentioning anyway. A drink or two can increase arousal signals, but more than that will actually depress your nervous system. This makes you sloppy, not sharp.

Want more of all of the best and worst foods in America? Click here for the complete list of drinks, snacks, drive-thru foods, burgers, salads and everything else under the sun!

Finally, get your FREE Eat This, Not That! newsletter so you can have smart shopping and eating tips, tricks and tactics delivered straight to your inbox three times a week!

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Article published at http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/31477/best-and-worst-brain-foods/