Health Pulse Knees in the news Knee osteoarthritis (OA) has been around ever since our ancestors got up on two legs, but researchers continue to uncover new facts about it. Some findings from recent studies: •• Noisy knees – grinding, cracking or popping sounds in the area – could signal that knee OA is on its way. But take heart: changing your lifestyle could keep the condition at bay. •• A little weight loss goes a long way: in a study of overweight or obese people, those who lost just five to 10 per cent of body weight showed less degeneration of knee joints. •• While you’re at it, fibre up: a survey of food habits determined that a high fibre intake could lower the risk of developing OA symptoms by as much as 30 per cent. •• If you already have knee OA, adopting the Mediterranean diet – think olive oil, produce, whole grains and fish – may help decrease your pain and disability. •• Think twice before having steroids injected into your arthritic knees; this strategy may relieve pain no better than a placebo and could increase cartilage loss. Source: berkeleywellness.com, arthritis.org Clean living? Maybe not Life is full of ironies: the sponge you use to wash your dishes is the dirtiest thing in your house. Your best bet is to replace it as soon as it starts to smell. More sobering news: your cell phone could be 10 times dirtier than your toilet seat. If you insist on taking your treasured device to the bathroom, be sure to wash your hands after you go. For similar reasons, give your remote control – a magnet for germy hands – a once-over with antibacterial wipes every now and then. And don’t kid yourself about your computer keyboard: it’s likely covered in germs. The fix? Shut down your computer, shake the keyboard to get rid of loose crumbs, then clean it with rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball or pad. Dr. Google will thank you. Source: webmd.com Be still, my heart Turn off those lights and close your eyes, stat: lack of sleep could raise your risk of heart attacks. A possible reason? Losing sleep can raise blood pressure and lead to inflammation. Here are a few other risk factors you can do something about: •• Where there’s air pollution, there’s a higher risk of heart attacks. Sitting in traffic, which combines car fumes with “stress fumes,” may be an especially noxious combination. Public transport, anyone? •• Think twice before returning to the buffet table for thirds: eating large portions in one sitting can raise blood pressure and heart rate, which could trigger a heart attack in some people. •• By all means join that fitness club, but don’t push yourself to the max. Extreme physical effort is the culprit behind about six per cent of heart attacks. •• Good thing you’re a snowbird: Being outside in the winter months can cause your arteries to narrow, making it harder for blood to reach your heart and forcing your heart to work harder to keep your body warm. Source: webmd.com Shades of grey Go ahead and blame your grey hair on your stressful life, but it’s mostly your genes that dictate when your hair follicles stop making pigment. That said, stress could cause you to shed hair faster than normal, and the hair that grows back could be grey. Health conditions that may whiten your crown include lack of vitamin B12, thyroid disease and vitiligo (a condition that destroys pigment-making cells). And here’s yet another reason to quit smoking: one study showed that smokers are 2.5 times more likely to grey prematurely than non-smokers. Smoking can also make silvery hair look yellow. Finally, avoid plucking those whities: over time, the practice may damage your follicles so they stop growing new hair. Source: webmd.com CSANews | SPRING 2018 | 39
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