JUST RELAX: Tai chi, qigong, yoga and prayer all reduce stress,
says Herbert Benson, a professor at Harvard Medical School and director
of the Mind-Body Medical Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A
stressful situation prompts the body to produce the hormones adrenaline
and noradrenaline. This increases metabolism, blood pressure, pulse and
breathing rates and can quadruple blood flow.
The stress-induced fight-or-flight response can be countered with
relaxation, which triggers the release of nitric oxide and interrupts the
synthesis of noradrenaline. To use a relaxation technique, eliminate all
distractions, repeat a word, sound, prayer or movement and try to clear
your mind of thoughts.
A CUP A DAY: Drinking tea regularly can help ward off bacterial
infection, says Jack Bukowski of Harvard Medical School. Teas that are
produced from a tea bush—black, green and oolong—contain
substances called alkylamines, which stimulate white blood cells to fight
infection. In a preliminary study, Bukowski found that white blood cells
taken from non-tea-drinkers once they began drinking five to six cups a
day destroyed bacteria in culture three to five times more effectively
than white blood cells taken from a control group of non-tea-drinkers.
Tea isn’t a cure, he says, “but it’s an effective first
line of defense.” Because the same white-blood-cell mechanism
fights cancer, he is also researching the effects of tea on
tumors.
THE FLINTSTONE DIET: Many people suffer from high cholesterol
because the modern-day, Western diet defies our evolutionary makeup,
according to David Jenkins, a professor at the University of
Toronto’s Department of Nutritional Science.
“We have stone-age bodies in the fast lane,” he says.
“Our genes are far older than the lifestyle we’ve
adopted.” To test his hypothesis, Jenkins conducted a study in
which he replicated a five-million-year-old Miocene diet—what early
humans might have eaten before the discovery of fire and the practice of
hunting. Heavy in leafy vegetables, fruits, nuts, cabbage and eggplant,
the diet held cholesterol levels in check as effectively as do statin
drugs.
HOT FLASH: The root of the black cohosh, used by Native Americans
to treat ailments as varied as arthritis and snake bites, shows promise
as a remedy for menopausal symptoms. A series of German studies conducted
from 1982 to 1991 consistently showed that it reduces hot flashes,
dryness and fatigue.
A report by the National Institutes of Health described this
preliminary evidence as encouraging. And other reports, including one
from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, say the
plant, a relative of buttercups, may be helpful in treating menopausal
symptoms.
Black cohosh, though, is not recommended for women with breast
cancer—it may have dangerous cross-effects with chemotherapy drugs
and it may also encourage tumors to metastasize.
BARE BONES: In addition to an adequate intake of calcium and
vitamin D, exercise is a key component in preventing osteoporosis. A
proper exercise routine will improve balance and therefore minimize the
risk of falling. Exercise also makes bones stronger, says Lawrence Raisz,
director of the University of Connecticut Center for Osteoporosis.
“A bone that isn’t subject to impact shrinks,” he says.
Weight lifting and resistance training, on the other hand, make bones
stronger. Walking, jogging, tennis and soccer improve bone health, while
biking and swimming do not, according to the National Osteoporosis
Foundation. The benefits from exercise last only as long as the person
keeps working out. If regular impact stops, Raisz says, bones soon begin
to shed the density they gained.
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