New Diet and Exercise Routine Together Yield Best Results

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Going on a diet and starting an exercise routine are the keys to losing weight and getting in shape, and a new study suggests that starting both at once is better than trying one at a time.

Researchers started with 200 people over the age of 45 who were inactive and did not eat well. They were split into four groups: new diet and exercise habits at the same time; diet changes first and starting exercise a few months later; starting exercise first and making diet changes a few months later; and no diet or exercise changes.

After being tracked for a year, researchers found that those who adopted a new diet and exercise plan at the same time were most likely to meet national guidelines for exercise (150 minutes a week) and diet (five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day) and to keep their saturated fat levels low.

Even so, the most successful group at first had trouble meeting their exercise goal, but did so within the year. Researchers added that if you’re only able to start with one lifestyle change, pick exercise, as changing your food habits could interfere with creating an exercise routine. Establishing the routine can also take time for those with busy schedules, whereas food changes are easier to incorporate into your daily life.

“With dietary habits, you have no choice; you have to eat,” said study author Abby King, a professor of health research and policy at Stanford University. “You don’t have to find extra time to eat because it’s already in your schedule. So the focus is more on substituting the right kinds of food to eat.”

Eating Mushrooms May Be as Good as Vitamin D Supplements

If you’re lacking in vitamin D, boosting your mushroom intake might be the answer.

Researchers from Boston University found that eating mushrooms might be just as effective as taking a vitamin D pill supplement, though further research still needs to be done.

Kurt Kennel, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said mushrooms are likely “a very reasonable approach for people who want to get vitamin D from foods that are not animal-based.”

Other foods that naturally contain vitamin D include swordfish, salmon, tuna, eggs and Swiss cheese.

"Cinnamon Challenge" Poses Real Danger to Lungs

Have you heard of the cinnamon challenge? If not, your kids probably have.

It’s a trendy dare that involves swallowing a tablespoon of cinnamon at once without water, and trying not to cough or gag while friends film it and put it on YouTube.

But a new article published in the May issue of Pediatrics warns that the “cinnamon challenge” can have very real and dangerous health effects, especially to the lungs.

“The spice triggers a severe gag reflex in response to a caustic sensation in the mouth and throat,” the study authors wrote. The cinnamon can be inhaled into the lungs, which could cause inflammation, thickening and scarring.

This dare isn’t going away: There were 51 calls to U.S. poison centers related to teens trying the cinnamon challenge in 2011, reports the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), and in just the first three months of 2012, the AAPCC received 139 calls. Of those, 122 were classified as intentional misuse or abuse and 30 required medical evaluation

Low Hormone Levels Could Explain PTSD Symptoms

There may be a new explanation for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disordersymptoms: hormones.

According to preliminary new research, nearly half of veterans with blast injuries in the study had low levels of pituitary hormones, which have been associated with PTSD-like symptoms. But this low hormone level can be treated more easily.

It’s already known that traumatic brain injuries, like ones caused by blast injuries, can cause the hormone deficiency hypopituitarism: it affects about 40 percent of people with a traumatic brain injury, according to a 2005 study in the European Journal of Endocrinology.

“This could be a largely missed opportunity for successful treatment, said Charles W. Wilkinson, PhD, lead researcher and associate professor of psychiatry at the VA Puget Sound, in a statement. “We’re not diagnosing definite disorders in this study—these individuals would still need a clinical evaluation. But if even 10 percent of these veterans have hypopituitarism, it’s a problem that physicians should be aware of.”

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