Health News
5
Reduce risk of
diabetes |
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Reduced Vitamin D Levels Can Increase Incidence of Some
Cancers
- High Intensity Exercise Reduces Risk of Diabetes
- Stem Cells Could Help Cure Blindness
Reduced Vitamin D
Levels Can Increase
Incidence of Some Cancers
It’s known that exposure of skin to ultraviolet B radiation, or
sun’s UVB rays, stimulates the synthesis of vitamin D in the body.
This vitamin can of course also be obtained via the diet or
supplementation, but it’s our exposure to sun that stimulates our
body to produce this vitamin in sufficient quantities.
Now
researchers from the Moore’s Cancer Center at the University of
California, San Diego (UCSD) have reported their finding that women
exposed to a greater amount of sunlight, particularly UVB
radiation, have a lower incidence of ovarian cancer.
Earlier on, same UCSD team reported on another research, where
those who were less exposed to UVB rays experienced greater
incidence of kidney cancer. In other words, greater exposure to sun
meant reduced incidence of cancer.
The World Health Organization global study, using their cancer
incidence database compiled from 175 countries, shows a link
between deficiency of vitamin D and increased incidence in ovarian
cancer. This incidence of ovarian cancer was five times higher in
high latitude countries, such as Nordic countries, when compared to
the equatorial regions of Asia, South America and Africa.
Obviously, people in higher altitudes get less sun, whilst
people in lower altitudes tend to enjoy more sunlight exposure, for
longer periods of time. This stimulates vitamin D production and
accordingly reduces the chances of cancer.
High Intensity Exercise Reduces
Risk of Diabetes
Diabetics know that exercise is one of best ways to fight
elevated blood glucose or sugar levels. But high intensity exercise
is also a good all-rounder for everyone and the best way to shed
fat and improve cardiovascular health.
Now comes finding, reported in the Journal of Applied
Psychology, which shows that high intensity exercise is an
effective way to prevent or control diabetes.
The study split healthy women into 3 groups: the first group
engaged into hard exercise, the second group did moderate training,
while the third group did easy exercise. All women burned the same
number of calories through their exercises.
But the group that followed hard exercise, training most
intensely, showed a significant improvement in blood sugar
metabolism and fat burning.
The key to high intensity training is to exercise at 80% of your
capacity for about a minute, followed by a minute or two of active
rest. This is then repeated 7 or 8 times.
The result will be that you will burn fat faster, strengthen
your heart and reduce risk of diabetes. Or, if you have diabetes,
or are ‘border diabetic’, you will find that this kind if high
intensity exercise will keep your blood glucose levels down and
under control.
Stem Cells Could Help Cure
Blindness
Macular degeneration is the most common cause of blindness in
the elderly. This is also a common complication for people with
diabetes.
While stem cells research is still a cause of much controversy,
British scientists have developed a revolutionary new stem cells
treatment that could help restore sight in the blind. They used
stem cells basic cells, which have the ability to turn into
different types of tissue.
The experiments were done on blind mice. The stem cells were
injected into the back of the eye, where they replaced damaged
photoreceptors. These are the tiny light-sensitive cells on the
retina.
The injected stem cells then turned into photoreceptors and
successfully connected with the nerves leading to the brain. The
result was that the animals’ sight was restored to a quarter of
normal sight levels. Their sight could be improved even further by
increasing the number and type of stem cells used in the
transplant.
This is a promising new development that could transform the
lives of hundreds of thousands who have lost their sight. The first
operations on humans are expected to start taking place within a
decade.
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