Study Focused on Diet Versus Exercise People who lose weight often have a difficult time keeping it off for a long period of time. The study, which was conducted at the AHWC (Anschutz Health and Wealth Center) at the University of Colorado, was published in Obesity. The study found that physical activity helped people maintain weight loss much more effectively than chronically restricting their energy intake through a diet. The study involved subjects who had maintained the loss of 30 pounds or more for more than a year. It revealed some of the following information about diet versus exercise: Weight loss maintainers burned more calories every day than those who had normal body weight controls. Weight loss maintainers burned more calories in physical activity than overweight/obese individuals or individuals who had normal body weight. Weight loss maintainers consumed a similar amount of calories every day compared to overweight/obese individuals. The study was performed by measuring the total daily energy expenditure by collecting urine samples after providing subjects with water in which the hydrogen and the oxygen atoms are removed. An uncommon isotope of these elements is then added in their place. The resting metabolic rate of the subjects was also measured to figure out how much energy was used at rest compared to how much was used up as a result of physical activity. Both Diet and Exercise Are Important Maintaining a healthy diet is still important when it comes to maintaining one’s health; however, the recently published study revealed that exercise, in particular, will help keep off the weight a person has lost. For more weight loss related news, visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Here are 5 facts about brain health: The brain is always developing – Unlike the body, which stops growing in your late teens, the brain tends to keep developing throughout the 20s and will continue to change throughout your lifetime. The brain is fully functioning – There’s a popular misconception that humans only use 10 percent of their brains. This is simply not true; every part of your brain is functioning. The brain is full of neurons – Brains have over 100 billion neurons that process information. These neurons are referred to as “gray matter.” Studies have shown that children who were taught a second language before the age of five tend to develop denser gray matter in adulthood. The brain needs oxygen – Your entire body needs oxygen to run properly, but the brain needs a significant amount. In fact, 20 percent of the oxygen you inhale is used by the brain. Alcohol hurts the brain’s ability to function – This might seem obvious seeing as how the more alcohol you drink, the more impaired you become. Information travels at incredible speeds through the brain; it’s why we are able to form thoughts and execute actions so quickly. The brain processes information at roughly 268 miles per hour. When you drink alcohol, the speed at which information travels through your brain slows considerably. Learn more about your brain’s health and professional health advice by visiting us at The Benefits Store today. #brainhealthbrainawareness

Common causes of poisoning include household cleaning products, cosmetics, painkillers, and certain medications. Here are a few household safety tips that can help with preventing poisonings in your home: Keep food separate from poisonous items – This ensures that children don’t mistake anything that might be poisonous as food. Keep indoor plants out of reach – Younger children can and do put anything in their mouths. Some indoor plants can be poisonous if ingested, which is why you need to place them out of reach if you have kids. Keep poisonous items away from children – Make sure medicine is kept in cabinets that have locks or childproof latches on them. Any detergents or chemical products should be kept out of sight and out of reach. Even when storing them on the top shelf of your garage, keep toxics locked up – children have a habit of climbing. Put everything back – Once you’ve used something that might be poisonous, such as a medication, a cosmetic item or cleaning product, make sure you return it to its place. Safely discard poisonous items – All cleaning products, old medications, cosmetics, etc. should be sealed and taken to an outdoor trash can. Don’t just toss them into the nearest wastebasket where a child can access them. Store poisonous items in original containers – This ensures that even adults won’t get confused over what they’re taking and take something dangerous. Be sure to follow these safety tips for preventing poisoning in your home. If someone has been poisoned, call the National Poison Control Hotline, 1-800-222-1222 for assistance. For more health tips, visit us at The Benefits Store today. #preventingpoisoningpoisonprevention

High Blood Pressure Treatment Program A study was performed in which patients with hypertension were given at-home BP (blood pressure) measuring devices. When they measured their blood pressure, the Bluetooth-enabled device would transmit the information automatically into their electronic medical records. The medications these patients were prescribed were then adjusted on a biweekly interval, based on their weekly average blood pressure. Out of all of the participants, 81% of those enrolled and 91 percent of those that regularly measured their blood pressure at home reached their blood pressure goals within an average of seven weeks. The study showed patients with high blood pressure can potentially be treated more effectively as long as they regularly measure their own blood pressure while at home. Of course, in addition to taking their prescribed medications, there are other steps needed to lower and maintain a healthy blood pressure. Reducing and Treating High Blood Pressure at Home The following are a few tips for reducing your blood pressure and maintaining healthy blood pressure. They can also make treating high blood pressure at home more effective. Eat healthy – High cholesterol levels result in high blood pressure, so make sure you eat good foods and lower bad fats. Reduce the sodium in your diet as well. Exercise – Even if you aren’t overweight, exercising can help lower your blood pressure. Lose weight – Blood pressure tends to increase as weight increases. If you’re overweight, you need to lose weight by eating healthier and exercising regularly. Manage stress – Stress leads to high blood pressure. Reduce unhealthy activities – Quit smoking and limit how much alcohol you drink. High blood pressure is something you can treat at home. For more health tips, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today. #HighBloodPressure #Treatinghighbloodpressure

Sleeping-In on the Weekend Won’t Help A study was recently conducted at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. It focused on whether or not weekend catch-up sleep is protective. It turns out that even if you sleep longer on the weekends in an attempt to make up loss of sleep during the week, you’re more likely to eat too much and to gain weight as a result. The problem is that sleeping extra hours on the weekend to try to make up for the lack of sleep you got during the week won’t correct your body’s inability to regulate blood sugar. And if you’re not getting enough sleep during the week in the first place, then you’re probably doing things that could hurt your health long-term, such as overeating. Lack of Sleep Can Hurt Your Health The Johns Hopkins study involved 35 subjects divided into three groups. Each group had different sleep requirements over the course of a 10-day period. None of these subjects had health issues or newborns that could impact their sleep. The first group was allowed nine hours of sleep each night. The second group was allowed five hours of sleep a night. The third group was allowed to sleep five hours a night during the week, but was given the chance to sleep as long as they wanted during the weekend. Both sleep-deprived groups ate more after dinner and gained weight following the study, despite one of those groups being allowed to catch up on sleep during the weekend. People eat more when they are sleep deprived because their bodies are burning more calories. Sleeping-in during the weekends won’t help if you’re not getting enough sleep during the week. For more health news, visit The Benefits Store today. #GettingEnoughSleep #sleep #SleepAwareness #sleepingin

A muscular physique has always been something that people wanted and worked for. People go to the gym every day to build muscle, and historically, people have admired those with muscular physiques. However, it turns out that having a muscular physique isn’t just beneficial in terms of how you look, but it could also protect you against cancer. How Muscle Mass Can Benefit the Fight Against Cancer Researchers from Osaka University in Japan recently published a study in Scientific Reports focusing on sarcopenia, a disease that causes the loss of skeletal muscle mass. The study revealed that sarcopenia is associated with poor response to treatments for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (referred to as programmed death inhibitors, or PD-1 inhibitors). PD-1 inhibitors are a new class of drugs that work along with the immune systems of patients to increase their ability to attack cancer cells. For those PD-1 inhibitors to be effective, the patient must have a strong immune system. One of the current challenges involved with their use is that only a specific subset of patients experienced long-term, progression-free survival rates. One of the risk factors associated with poor outcomes for a number of different types of cancer is sarcopenia. This is because a dysregulated immune system leads to muscle degradation. The study focused on the medical results of 42 subjects with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. They were treated with PD-1 inhibitors and had undergone a skeletal muscle mass assessment before being treated. It turned out that patients that had sarcopenia before starting treatment had much worse outcomes than those without sarcopenia. The study basically revealed the baseline skeletal muscle mass of an individual has a big impact on how effective PD-1 inhibitors are against cancer. Unfortunately, muscle degradation is common in patients with advanced cancer, but there are drugs that could help increase skeletal muscle mass prior to treatment. Advancements in cancer research are being made every day. Keep up-to-date on all the latest health news at The Benefits Store. #cancer #cancertreatment

There are many types of eating disorders and not all of them result in the individual looking emaciated. Keeping this in mind, here are 5 facts that can give you a better understanding of eating disorders and how they may affect you: You can still be close to or even above your ideal body weight and suffer from an eating disorder. Patients who suffer from Bulimia Nervosa often appear to be at a healthy weight. However, they may be engaging in bingeing and purging behaviors. If they are constantly going to the bathroom following a meal, this may be a sign they are vomiting what they have just eaten. The main cause of eating disorders is body dissatisfaction. A person who might be suffering from an eating disorder will often spend an inordinate amount of time looking at themselves in the mirror, may make frequent negative comments about their physical appearance, and will insist they are overweight even if they aren’t. A disruption in normal eating patterns in a person can indicate they have an eating disorder. Common disruptions include: bingeing certain foods consuming excessive amounts of appetite suppressants developing a strong dislike for foods previously enjoyed drinking too much water and/or coffee eating smaller portions than usual no longer eating with others Individuals with eating disorders often develop eating rituals, such as moving their food around their plate, chewing for a long time before swallowing, cutting their food into smaller pieces, and taking much longer to eat. These rituals are meant to make it look like they are eating when, in fact, they are not. Eating disorders can be accompanied by: dental erosions hair loss irregular menstrual cycles low blood pressure and pulse low energy vulnerability to upper respiratory infections These are five facts about eating disorders you should know. For more health tips, visit us at The Benefits Store.

The Risks of High Blood Pressure According to 2017 studies, it’s estimated about 50% of American adults have high blood pressure. This is a huge increase from 2003, when roughly 30 percent of American adults had high blood pressure. The following are some of the potential dangers of high blood pressure: According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), around 30% of American adults had stage 1 high blood pressure in 2017. High blood pressure is one of the biggest risk factors for stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, and congestive heart failure. In 2013, high blood pressure was named one of the primary or contributing causes of death for over 360,000 Americans. One in every 6 American adults has high total cholesterol, which is linked to high blood pressure. The health risks caused by high blood pressure costs the U.S. an estimated $46 billion a year in healthcare services, medication costs, and missed days of work. Preventing High Blood Pressure You can make a number of lifestyle changes to help prevent high blood pressure. This includes: Drinking alcohol in moderation Eating healthy Engaging in routine exercise Maintaining a healthy weight Managing stress Quitting smoking Anyone can be at risk for high blood pressure, but improving your overall wellness can help prevent it. Healthy lifestyle changes can also help prevent other potential health complications that are linked to high blood pressure. For more information about high blood pressure or for more health tips in general, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today. #HighBloodPressure #PreventingHighBloodPressure #RisksofHighBloodPressure

Work Pressure Study The study was performed at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. It included 3,872 participants; both men and women. Participants were investigated on three different occasions over a 20-year period. Their ages ranged from 30-50 or 40-60. Participants were asked about their workplaces: How much time they had to perform their work duties How often they were given contradictory demands What they felt the psychological pressure was These questions helped identify the level of job demands. Additionally, questions were asked about: How often participants learned something new at work Whether their job required imagination or advanced skills Whether they were able to choose what to do and how to do it as part of their job The men and women that had little control in their work tended to gain more weight over the course of the study. However, long-term exposure to high job demands affected women much more than men. Major weight gain occurred over the course of 20 years for over 50% of the women who were subjected to high work demands. The gain in weight was roughly 20 percent higher than women who were subject to lower job demands. Researchers believe the reason women were affected long-term was possibly due to the combination of their job demands as well as the greater responsibility that most women have at home as well. Those factors often make it difficult for them to maintain a healthy weight because they may not have the time to exercise regularly. For more health news, continue visiting us at The Benefits Store. #femaleweightgain #gainingweight #jobstress

The common cold can be quite a nuisance; unfortunately, there is yet to be a cure for it. However, there are a number of home remedies that can help alleviate some of your symptoms and which can help you recover quicker. The following are five home remedies that are particularly effective if you have a cold: Drink lots of liquids – You’ll want to make sure to stay hydrated. To flush out the toxins in your body, be sure to drink lots of liquids, such as water or juice. Staying hydrated will help loosen congestion. Avoid liquids such as sodas and alcohol, which actually contribute to dehydration. Sip on warm liquids – If you have a sore throat, sipping on warm liquids can be very soothing. It can also help to ease your congestion by increasing mucus flow. Warm liquids like chicken soup, tea, and warm water with lemon juice are all good options. Avoid drinking coffee. Gargle salt water – A sore throat is a common cold symptom that can be incredibly uncomfortable. Gargle an eight-ounce glass of water with a half teaspoon of salt to help soothe the pain. Add moisture to your indoor air – Adding moisture to the air inside your home is a good way to reduce congestion and prevent your throat from drying out. A cool mist vaporizer or a humidifier are both effective ways to add moisture to your air. Get lots of rest – The most important remedy is rest. Your body uses a lot of energy fighting off a cold. The more rest you get, the more likely you are to recover quickly. If your symptoms are particularly bad and these home remedies aren’t quite doing the trick, then you may want to try an over-the-counter cough and cold medication. There are decongestants and antihistamines that are appropriate for patients ages 5 and older, and they may offer some relief from your cold symptoms. For more health tips and general advice, visit us at The Benefits Store today. #homeremediesforacold

Sleeping Too Much Most experts recommend adults sleep at least 6 to eight hours a night. Getting plenty of sleep helps promote a healthy body and a fully functioning brain the next day. But this doesn’t mean the more you sleep, the better. In fact, sleeping too much can actually be detrimental to your health. A new study revealed adults who sleep more than they should may be more at risk for heart disease and even death. Researchers spent almost eight years studying the effects of sleep by analyzing data from almost 117,000 adults 35-70 in 21 countries. The following are some of the conclusions they were able to draw from the research: Individuals sleeping between six and eight hours a night experienced a 7.8 per 1,000 rate of heart disease and death. Individuals sleeping between eight and nine hours a night experienced an 8.4 per 1,000 rate of heart disease and death. Individuals sleeping between nine and 10 hours a night experienced a 10.4 per 1,000 rate of heart disease and death. Individuals sleeping over 10 hours a night experienced a 14.8 per 1,000 rate of heart disease and death. The risk of heart disease and death jumps five percent, 17 percent, and 41 percent for every hour you sleep per night over the recommended amount. The rate of heart disease and death also increased for people who slept less than the recommended amount: individuals who sleep less than six hours a night have an average rate of heart disease and death of 9.4 per 1,000. One thing worth noting is that sleeping too much doesn’t directly cause heart disease and death. Sleeping too much is a symptom of an underlying problem that increases the rate of heart disease and death. Poor health often causes people to sleep more than they should because the body is attempting to recover. For more information and advice concerning how sleep affects your health, by visiting us at The Benefits Store today. #homeremediesforacold

The last thing you expect to give you lung cancer is your home’s indoor air. But if you don’t have your home tested for radon gas, that’s exactly what could happen. According to an assessment published by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in 2003, radon gas causes an estimated 21,000 deaths a year. Unfortunately, a lot of people are unfamiliar with radon gas, which is why January was named National Radon Gas Action Month. What is Radon Gas? Radon gas is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that cannot be seen, tasted or smelled, which is one of the reasons it’s so dangerous. Unless your home is specifically tested for radon gas, you may never know that it’s there. Radon gas is formed when the uranium that’s naturally present in soil, rock, and water breaks down. Radon gas can exit the ground and enter your home through cracks and holes in the foundation. Because of the way radon gas enters, houses with basements tend to be more at-risk. Testing for Radon Gas There are two ways you can test your home for the presence of radon gas. They include passive testing and active testing. Passive testing includes the use of charcoal liquid scintillation devices, alpha-track detectors, and charcoal canisters, which do not need power to work. They will need to be exposed to your home’s air for a certain amount of time to collect samples. Active testing devices require power and measure and record the levels of radon in your air using continuous working level monitors and continuous radon monitors. If the level of radon gas found in your home is at the level of four picocuries of radon per liter or higher, you need to install a system that will reduce those levels. If you haven’t tested your home for radon, then you should do so to help reduce the risk of getting lung cancer. For more information about lung cancer or for health tips in general, visit us at the Benefits Store today. #radongas #radongastesting