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Feb 13,
2007 PULL STRINGS FOR YOUR PANCREAS If the threat of bad breath isn’t enough motivation to floss, try this: Men with gum disease are at risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a Harvard study. Scientists analyzed health data from 52,000 men and found that those with gingivitis were 63 percent more likely to develop the often-fatal cancer. “Bacteria may spread from the mouth the organs,” says study author Dominique Michaud, Sc. D. Nitrosamines, carcinogens in food that react with the acid in saliva, may also be to blame.
GET A GRIP ON BP Building hand strength can lower your blood pressure, notes a study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology. In 8 weeks, people performing handgrip exercises lowered their systolic blood pressure by 15 points and their diastolic pressure by 5. “Blood-pressure response to grip training is greater than to aerobic exercise,” says lead author Maureen MacDonald, Ph.D. Subjects squeezed digital grippers—for 2 minutes four times per day, 3 days a week—but spring loaded grippers also work.
A BAD CASE OF LAZY EYE Next time you’re tempted to blow off exercising, consider hoe shortsighted you’re being. Skipping workouts could lead to blindness, say University of Wisconsin researchers. After testing the eyesight of nearly 4,000 people over a period of 15 years, the researchers determined that couch potatoes were 70 percent more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD) than the gm faithful. “Exercise improves endothelial function—the ability of blood vessels to expand and contract—so it may protect the vessels in the eyes against AMD,” says lead author Michael Knudston, M.S. Work out at least three tim |
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