Magnesium cream found to successfully treat high blood pressure without resorting to dangerous prescription medications

Using a magnesium cream may serve as an alternative or an add-on to drug treatment against high blood pressure, a study in PLOS One revealed.

According to the researchers at the University of Hertfordshire in the U.K., only 86 percent of the general population meet the recommended magnesium intake. The health experts noted that the essential mineral boosts immune function and heart health.

The scientists also stressed that adequate magnesium levels help prevent the onset of metabolic syndrome, a condition characterized by a combination of high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

To carry out the study, the researchers teamed up with the Centre for Magnesium Education and Research in Hawaii to examine a group of participants who were given either a magnesium cream or a placebo. The participants were instructed to apply two five ml spoonfuls of cream each daily for two weeks.

The experts then collected the participants’ urine sample after 12 to 14 days. The results showed that volunteers who applied magnesium cream exhibited a significant increase in magnesium levels in the blood. The scientists did not observe a similar increase in those who applied the placebo cream.

The findings may show potential in alleviating hypertension, which puts people at an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and vascular dementia. Hypertension currently affects 75 million Americans and 16 million people in the U.K.

“This study is the first to look at the absorbency of transdermal magnesium creams in human subjects, so is a significant step in determining whether or not these creams could potentially be used as an alternative to oral supplements. Our initial findings indicate that magnesium creams could well be a viable and effective alternative to taking oral magnesium supplements in tablet form,” study author Lindsy Kass told Daily Mail online.

“Low magnesium intake has been shown to cause many health problems, including high blood pressure and cardiovascular issues, so these creams could potentially be a good way to contribute to the increase in magnesium levels and therefore help in reducing the associated health problems. Many people do not like taking pills or have difficulty ingesting them, whereas a cream could be used easily on a daily basis – for example by rubbing it into the skin after showering,” Kass added.

However, the research team noted that these findings warranted further investigation.

Previous study shows magnesium intake promotes heart health

The recent findings on magnesium’s efficacy as a topical treatment were reflective of previous studies demonstrating the mineral’s cardiovascular benefits.

For instance, a meta-analysis published in December 2016 showed that a diet rich in magnesium may reduce the odds of developing heart disease and diabetes.(Related: Magnesium can improve heart health and prevent heart attack deaths (Opinion).)

As part of the study, a team of Chinese researchers pooled data on dietary magnesium intake and chronic disease prevalence from 40 studies published between 19999 and 2016.

The results showed that people with the highest dietary magnesium intake were 10 percent less likely to develop heart disease, 12 percent less likely to have a stroke, and 26 percent less likely to develop diabetes than those who had lower magnesium levels.

However, increasing magnesium levels by up to 100 milligrams a day helped reduce the odds of these adverse events. The research team noted that raising magnesium levels by the said amount slashed the risk of heart failure and stroke by 22 and sevent percent, respectively.

The health experts also said that increasing magnesium intake may result in a 19 percent reduction in diabetes risk and a 10 percent decrease in all-cause mortality risk.

“Increasing dietary magnesium intake is associated with a reduced risk of stroke, heart failure, diabetes, and all-cause mortality, but not CHD [coronary heart disease] or total CVD [cardiovascular disease]. These findings support the notion that increasing dietary magnesium might provide health benefits,” the researchers wrote in BMC Medicine.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Reuters.com

Journals.PLOS.org

BMCMedicine.BioMedCentral.com

Is this why so many city dwellers have health issues? Air pollution found to radically increase stress hormones and alter metabolism

There really is something to be said for getting out into the fresh country air for a day. There is a tangible difference in how much better one feels in the country than in the city, especially if you have a very demanding job. While the stresses and strains of fast-paced city life may partly explain this feeling, new research by Dr. Haidong Kan and colleagues from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, indicates that the air pollution found in industrialized cities also causes a spike in stress hormones, resulting in the development of diseases like stroke, diabetes and heart disease, and ultimately shortening lifespan.

Reuters is reporting that the study, which was published in the journal Circulation, focused specifically on the long-term health effects of the inhalation of particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter from industrial pollution. While the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the level of 2.5 PM be kept below 10 to maintain the health of city residents, in some cities these levels exceed 50.

For their study, researchers divided 55 healthy college students from the city of Shanghai, which has moderate pollution levels compared to other Chinese cities, into two groups. Functioning air purifiers were placed in the dorm rooms of one group, while non-working units were placed in the remaining students’ rooms for nine days. After a 12-day gap the machines were swapped and another nine-day test was conducted. The participants were given blood and urine tests at the end of each nine-day period to determine their exposure to PM.

Interestingly, the scientists determined that even over just the nine-day period, levels of the stress hormones cortisone, cortisol, norepinephrine and epinephrine rose when the participants were exposed to the dirtier air. Their blood sugar, amino acid, fatty acid and lipid levels also rose, as did their blood pressure levels. The students also exhibited other indicators of molecular body tissue stress. This combination of stressors would likely lead to heart disease, diabetes and other health problems over time. (Related: Discover other ways in which our environment affects our health at Enviro.news)

“This research adds new evidence on how exposure to PM could affect our bodies, which may (ultimately) lead to higher cardiovascular risk,” Dr. Kan told Reuters Health. “Our result may indicate that particulate matter could affect the human body in more ways than we currently know. Thus, it is increasingly necessary for people to understand the importance of reducing their PM exposure.” (Related: Deep breathing of polluted air puts bike riders at higher risk of lung cancer and strokes.)

Exposure to pollution may not be the only way in which cities can negatively impact our health.

A 2014 study by researchers from the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, set out to determine the impact of stress on city dwellers’ brains. They discovered that in comparison to their country cousins, city slickers did not handle stress well at all.

The researchers purposely induced stress in study participants and then studied its effects on two areas of the brain: The amygdalas and the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC).

The Guardian explains their findings:

The amygdalas are known to be involved in assessing threats and generating fear, while the pACC in turn helps to regulate the amygdalas. In stressed citydwellers, the amygdalas appeared more active on the scanner; in people who lived in small towns, less so; in people who lived in the countryside, least of all.

And something even more intriguing was happening in the pACC. … Again, those with rural childhoods showed the least active pACCs, those with urban ones the most. In the urban group moreover, there seemed not to be the same smooth connection between the behaviour of the two brain regions that was observed in the others. An erratic link between the pACC and the amygdalas is often seen in those with schizophrenia too. And schizophrenic people are much more likely to live in cities.

Clearly, living in the city is not the best choice when it comes to either our mental or physical health. For those of us who have no option, however, it is important to get out into the country and breathe that fresh, clean air as often as possible.

Sources include:

Reuters.com

TheGuardian.com

Drink a Diet Coke, get a STROKE claims surprising research

While the serious health impact of sugary drinks like sodas and fruit juices has been recognized for some time, many people think that replacing these unhealthy drinks with artificially sweetened sodas is a safe and healthy option. Unfortunately, this is simply not true, as was once again highlighted recently in a study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.

For their study, researchers examined data collected on 2,888 people over the age of 45, and 1,484 adults older than 60, from the town of Framingham, Massachusetts. The information had been gathered for a study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Boston University, called the Framingham Heart Study.

The participants were divided into two groups: The adults over the age of 45 were studied to determine the risk of stroke, since strokes rarely strike at a younger age than 45, and the seniors over the age of 60 were studied to assess risk of dementia, since this debilitating condition is rare in people younger than 60.

The researchers calculated how many artificially sweetened and sugary beverages each person consumed between 1991 and 2001, and then measured that information against the number of people in each group who went on to develop dementia or have a stroke in the following decade.

Interestingly, though previous studies have clearly linked the consumption of sugary drinks to serious adverse health effects including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart failure, obesity and stroke, this particular study found no such correlation. It did determine, however, that participants in each group who drank an average of one artificially sweetened drink a day were nearly three times as likely to have suffered a stroke, and were also nearly three times as likely to have developed dementia.

Of course, the American Beverage Association has dismissed the study out of hand, claiming that the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have conducted extensive research into the matter and have determined that artificial sweeteners are safe for human consumption.

Well, let’s take a closer look at the “science” supporting the safety of such sweeteners by considering a study published in the journal PLoS ONE.

After a thorough meta-analysis of 31 major studies published between 1978 and 2014, a group of scientists from the University of Sydney concluded that almost all of these studies were nothing more than propaganda bought and paid for by the artificial sweetener industry itself. They determined that industry-funded studies were mysteriously 17 times more likely to determine that sweeteners were safe than impartial, independent studies.

“It’s alarming to see how much power the artificial sweetener industry has over the results of its funded research, with not only the data but also the conclusions of these studies emphasizing artificial sweeteners’ positive effects while neglecting mention of any drawbacks,” said Professor Lisa Bero, one of the study’s authors, and the head of the Charles Perkins Center’s bias node at the University of Sydney.

Alarmingly, the study also determined that close to half of these studies failed to disclose conflicts of interest, and that a third failed to disclose where their funding had come from. And the studies where there was a direct conflict of interest were seven times more likely to show positive outcomes than impartial studies.

While switching sugary drinks for diet sodas is clearly not a healthy option, there are many things you can do to improve your health overall, and directly reduce your risk of a stroke. Harvard Women’s Health Watch lists several things each of us can do to prevent a stroke, including:

Lower blood pressure: High blood pressure is one of the greatest risk factors for stroke. Reduce it by ensuring you have no more than half a teaspoon of salt a day; avoid high-cholesterol, processed foods like burgers and cheese; ensure you eat four to five cups of organic, non-GMO fruits and veggies each day; get daily exercise, and quit smoking. Exercise reduces stroke risk in its own right, and since smoking thickens the blood and increases plaque buildup in the arteries, quitting is one of the surest ways to improve your health.

Lose weight: Obesity leads to complications like diabetes and high blood pressure, and losing just 10 pounds can make all the difference to reducing your stroke risk.

Drink in moderation: Drinking one alcoholic drink a day has been found to reduce the risk of a stroke – any more than that will increase risk though, so don’t overdo it. Red wine is your best option since it contains resveratrol which protects heart and brain health.

Sources:

Edition.CNN.com

Stroke.AHAJournals.org

Health.Harvard.edu

NaturalNews.com

Shocking study reveals patients who go to the hospital on a weekend are more likely to die within 30 days

A recent report released by the National Health Services (NHS) in the U.K. revealed that being admitted to a hospital on a weekend increased the risk of dying within 30 days. The report also showed that weekend admission elevated the odds of a longer hospital stay. As part of the research, health experts examined data on more than 16.3 million patient admissions between October 2015 and September 2016 from 133 NHS trusts.

The research team found that patients admitted during the weekends had increased odds of 30-day mortality. The experts also found that patients admitted during “transition” days of Monday and Friday have higher mortality risk compared with those admitted during Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. The report further revealed that patients discharged on a Friday or over the weekend were at an increased risk of experiencing emergency readmission within a week. An NHS official stressed that up to 11,000 deaths per year were associated with this “weekend effect.”

According to the researchers, this weekend effect stemmed from a lack of inpatient and outpatient services during weekends. The experts stressed that more seasoned senior doctors were rarely available on Saturdays and Sundays. The report highlighted the staff shortage during weekends, which negatively impacted certain procedures such as x-rays, blood tests, and vital scans.

“It might be about how quick people get to hospital, how many porters or other non-medical staff are working. It might be that people are sicker when they get to hospital, because they may have been sitting at home for longer waiting for a GP appointment — we just do not know,” said Professor Mike Grocott, a critical care specialist at the University of Southampton in an article in DailyMail.co.uk.

Other studies demonstrate “weekend effect”

Numerous studies have previously established of link between weekend hospitalization and higher mortality risk. A study conducted by researchers at the Bristol University in the U.K. revealed that older patients with fractured hips who underwent surgery on a Saturday had a 10 percent higher risk of dying within a month following the procedure. The research team also found that hip surgery patients who were discharged on a Sunday had a 51.5 percent increased likelihood of dying within 30 days after the procedure. (Related: Want to live longer? Read some of the articles at Longevity.news).

A 2015 study also showed a correlation between weekend admission and higher mortality risk, especially among patients with cancer, heart problems, or stroke. As part of the study, researchers analyzed 14 million patients admitted to U.K. hospitals between 2013 and 2014. The study revealed that patients who were admitted on a Sunday were 15 percent more likely to die compared to those admitted on a Wednesday. The research team also found that patients admitted on a Saturday had a 10 percent increased risk of dying.

“We have shown a clear association between weekend admission and worse patient outcomes. Our analyses show that an increased proportion of higher risk patients are admitted on Saturday and Sunday, when services inside and outside the hospital are reduced. There is evidence that junior hospital doctors feel clinically exposed during the weekend and that hospital chief executives are concerned about levels of weekend cover…Patients generally accept the risks associated with their condition and with any necessary treatment, but they should never have to accept an increased risk because of the way healthcare services are designed and delivered,” the study authors wrote in the British Medical Journal. 

A study published in BMC Health Services Research also found that weekend hospitalization was an independent risk factor in increased mortality risk, especially among patients who had elective admissions. To carry out the study, researchers examined more than 1.5 million elective admissions and found that the mortality rate was 0.77 percent in those who were on weekend admission, compared with only 0.52 percent in those who had weekday admission. However, the research team stressed that the findings warrant further assessment.

Sources include: 

DailyMail.co.uk

TheGuardian.com

BMCHealthServRes.BioMedCentral.com