Category: Longevity & Health

A study carried out at the University of Eastern Finland, suggests that frequent saunas are associated with significantly reduced risk of dementia in men.

The effects of sauna use on the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia were studied in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (KIHD), which gathered data for 20 years on more than 2000 middle-aged men living in eastern Finland. Based on their sauna useage, participants were divided into three groups: those taking a sauna once a week; those taking one 2–3 times a week; those taking one 4–7 times a week.

The more frequently saunas were taken, the lower was the risk of dementia. Among those taking a sauna 4–7 times a week, the risk of any form of dementia was 66% lower and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease 65% lower than among those taking a sauna just once a week.

Previous results from the KIHD study have shown that frequent sauna bathing also significantly reduces the risk of sudden cardiac death, the risk of death due to coronary artery disease and other cardiac events, as well as overall mortality. According to Professor Jari Laukkanen, the study leader, saunas may protect both the heart and memory to some extent via similar, still poorly known mechanisms. The sense of well-being and relaxation may also play a role.

(University of Eastern Finland, online news, accessed 4 January 2017.)

There is one supplement you should consider taking from this point in the year: vitamin D. Last summer, Public Health England issued new advice that all adults, and children over the age of one, should get at least 10 micrograms of vitamin D per day. Vitamin D is found in oily fish eg salmon, red meat, liver and egg yolks. It can also be found in fortified foods such as breakfast cereals. It’s difficult however to get the recommended amount of vitamin D from diet alone, and our main source is from the action of sunlight on our skin. From October to the end of March, sunshine in the UK is too weak to achieve this, and we are largely covered up and/or indoors anyway, so these are the months in which it is particularly important to consider a supplement.

It’s relatively cheap too: checking today, you can buy 3 months supply in Exeter High Street for £3-59.

It is accepted that vitamin D is needed for healthy bones, teeth and muscle. There may also be associations (although causality has not been established) between low vitamin D status and a host of other conditions such as dementia, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and some thyroid problems. This year, two separate studies from Australia have linked vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy with autism, and deficiency in childhood with allergic disorders such as asthma and eczema. It is a vitamin about which we still have much to learn.

If October is that point in the year when your mood and overall health starts to dip a little, then read on. An impact study published this year by the University of Derby, concluded that people who took part in the June 2015 “30 Days Wild” nature engagement campaign, experienced significant increases in levels of health and happiness.

The campaign called on people to “do something wild” every day for a month. Suggestions were given as to how they could engage with nature in a variety of activities, ranging from momentarily stopping to notice a wildflower or picking and eating a wild berry, to letting a patch of lawn grow longer or going for a walk in the woods. The researchers point out that happiness in the UK has previously been observed to remain constant between May and October, with 1% variations in late autumn and early spring. It was therefore reasonable to assume that any changes reported by participants, were due to their regular engagement with nature. Participants were surveyed at baseline, in July and at follow-up in September.

There were statistically significant increases in participants’ connection to nature, health, happiness and conservation behaviour, and these improvements were sustained at the September follow-up. The researchers suggest that the reported health improvement was related to the improvement in happiness, mediated by the increased nature connection. They also say their findings suggest that connection to nature may provide people with resilience to meet the challenges of everyday life, while also facilitating exercise, social contact and a sense of purpose.

(30 Days Wild: Development and Evaluation of a Large-Scale Nature Engagement Campaign to Improve Well-Being. PLOS One, 18 February 2016.
Summary at Devon Wildlife Trust accessed October 2016.)

A very large international study led by the US National Institutes of Health, has concluded that people with the highest levels of leisure-time physical activity have a reduced risk of 13 of 26 types of cancer studied.

Data was pooled from 12 studies that together followed a total of 1.44 million people over time. Participants were 19 to 98 years old and from the United States and Europe, 57% female, and with no history of cancer. The studies assessed physical activity by using surveys that asked about time spent in moderate to vigorous leisure-time physical activities, such as walking, running, or swimming. The median level of activity was about 150 minutes of moderate-intensity work per week. This is comparable to the minimum level of physical activity that experts recommend. Participants were followed for a median of 11 years.

The researchers found that people with the highest level of leisure-time physical activity had a reduced risk for 13 of 26 types of cancer compared to those with the lowest level of activity. People with the highest activity had a 20% lower risk for 7 cancer types: oesophageal adenocarcinoma, liver, lung, kidney, gastric cardia, endometrial, and myeloid leukemia. They also had a 10-20% lower risk for myeloma and cancers of the head and neck, rectum, bladder and breast.

Factors such as age, sex, smoking, alcohol, diet, education, ethnicity and body mass index (BMI) were controlled for. Ten of the 13 associations remained after adjusting for BMI. This suggests that for the majority of cancers, physical activity reduces risk through mechanisms other than lowering body weight.

(Association of Leisure-Time Physical Activity With Risk of 26 Types of Cancer in 1.44 Million Adults. JAMA Internal Medicine, online 16 May 2016.)

A review by Natural England of projects which set out to achieve greater involvement by people, in the natural environment, has identified a number of key benefits for participants’ mental health. The review spanned activities such as therapeutic gardening, food growing and environmental conservation work. Groups taking part were drawn from both the general population and those who were already experiencing mental health problems.

Benefits identified included: improvements in depression, anxiety and stress related symptoms; improvements in dementia-related symptoms; improved self-esteem, confidence, happiness, satisfaction, mood and quality of life; increased attention capacity and cognition; sense of peace, calm or relaxation; increased social contact, sense of belonging and personal achievement.

(A review of nature-based interventions for mental health care. Natural England Commissioned Report NECR204, uploaded 9 February 2016.)