Students need to find exercise time
It can be difficult for college students to find time to exercise on a regular basis. Juggling classes, homework, a social life and possibly a job takes up a big part of the day.
Making the time for fitness increases metabolism, making weight-loss easier. Also, exercise provides more energy to get through busy days. At least a half-hour of exercise four to five days a week will make a difference in appearance.
You are more likely to stick to an exercise program if you come up with a regular schedule. If you have more time and prefer a morning workout, then set aside a time each morning for exercise. If evenings are better, then pencil in some time after classes. Sure, there will be days when it is impossible to make time for your scheduled workout, but there will be even more of those days if you do not plan ahead.
One very important thing to remember when working out is to try various activities so you will not get bored. Even if you enjoy running, don’t do it everyday because you may begin to dislike it after awhile. Exercise will prove to be a fun experience if you combine various aerobic and weight routines every week. You will discover variety keeps you motivated each day.
– Margie Roberts
Lozenges effective in kicking habit
There is a new way to kick the smoking habit for those who feel they have unsuccessfully tried everything from the nicotine patch to the gum. Nicotine lozenges are now available in Great Britain in 2 mg and 4 mg doses. The lozenges triple the quitting efforts of a smoker by reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Dr. Chris Steele, director of one of Europe’s largest quit-smoking clinics in Manchester, England, conducted a recent study of the nicotine lozenges. This study included 1,800 smokers in the United States and England and proved that cigarette cravings were reduced by 23 percent in the first week.
According to Steele, the lozenges will prove to be more effective than the gum because they release about 25 percent more nicotine from each dose.
In comparison to the patch, which is used slowly over a long period of time, the lozenge is given on an as-needed basis.
“The results look positive,” said Dr. Tom Glynn, director of cancer science and trends at the American Cancer Society. “It’s a form of nicotine medication that people are used to taking.”
– Margie Roberts
Weight loss drug has hopeful effects
An experimental drug called C75 can decrease the appetite of a fat mouse by 90 percent and by 50 percent in a lean mouse during the first day of treatment.
The drug may not only cut the appetite of the mice, but also increase their metabolism.
“We need to continue the experiment longer to see if obese mice develop insensitivity to the compound as they approach a normal weight, but so far it’s encouraging. We are closing in on a powerful biological signal in weight control,” said Daniel Lane of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Tests of the drug will not be done on people for many years. Caution still needs to be taken to ensure that the drug will help obese humans lose weight.
– Margie Roberts
Diet responsible for forgetfulness
If you often find yourself forgetting important information like someone’s name or where you parked you car, you may want to look to your diet for the answer to your forgetfulness.
According to Web MD, what is eaten affects how clearly one thinks and concentrates, as well as intelligence level, memory and reaction time, and even how quickly the brain ages.
Though the brain makes up only two percent of total body weight, it uses up to 30 percent of the day’s calories.
Researchers at the Institute of Food Research in the United Kingdom reported that women on very low-calorie diets process information more slowly, take longer to react and have more trouble remembering sequences compared with non-dieting women.
– Abby Gabriel Hludzik
Blood test helps detect cancer early
A preliminary study suggests a simple blood test may be able to identify ovarian cancer at its earliest stage, when it’s hardest to spot but is most curable, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Around three-quarters of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed in advanced stages of the disease, when they have about a 20 percent chance of surviving five years. However, if the disease is caught early, the five-year survival rate is around 95 percent.
The experimental test measures the levels of five proteins found in the blood. The combined result in a blood sample is used to indicate the presence of cancer, said Emanuel Petricoin of the Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Martee Hensley, an ovarian cancer expert at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, called the test innovative and potentially useful but said it must be assessed in larger groups of women.
“We clearly need new technology,” and the experimental test might be “at least two or three steps in the right direction,” she said.
– Abby Gabriel Hludzik
