A hot bath after a tiring day can relax body and mind and improve sleep quality. Recently, a joint study by the National Cancer Research Center of Japan and the Osaka Institute of Health and Safety has confirmed for the first time that daily bathing can reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease and stroke.
The research team conducted a questionnaire survey and a 20-year follow-up study targeting 30,000 Japanese residents. Participants were between 40 and 59 years old and had no history of cardiovascular disease or cancer. Researchers divided the participants into three groups: “less than 2 times a week,” “3 to 4 times a week,” and “almost every day” according to their daily bathing frequency. The risk of cardiovascular disease among those who took a bath before going to bed decreased by 28%. Among them, the risk of ischemic heart disease was reduced by 35%, the risk of stroke was reduced by 26%, and the risk of cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction was reduced by 46% and 23%, respectively. After adjusting for factors such as body mass index, eating habits, smoking and drinking, education, sleep, exercise, occupation, stress, and happiness in statistics, the conclusion still holds. The research was published in the journal Heart.
Previous studies have shown that taking a bath has the effect of improving diabetes and obesity. The researchers reminded that the elderly should take a moderate bath according to their age and physical condition, and avoid excessive water temperature or too long to avoid accidents.
Fasting + Vitamin C can help treat cancer
With the development and progress of modern medicine and the continuous emergence of innovative therapies, the cure rate and survival rate of cancer continue to increase, which is expected to become a preventable and curable chronic disease. Recently, a joint study by the United States and Italy showed that simulated fasting combined with vitamin C supplementation can effectively treat certain types of cancer.
As early as the 1970s, scientists have begun research on vitamin C treatment of malignant tumors, and the anti-cancer effect of high-dose vitamin C has always attracted attention. The joint team of the University of Southern California and the IFOM Cancer Institute in Milan, Italy hypothesized that simulated fasting can create an environment in which cancer cells can grow unsustainably and healthy cells can survive normally, thereby enhancing the anti-cancer effect of vitamin C. Researchers conducted experiments on mice suffering from colorectal cancer and found that the combination of “fasting + vitamin C” indeed inhibited the growth of cancer cells and delayed tumor progression. Some mice even experienced cancer regression. The research report was published in the journal Nature Communications.
The senior author of the study, Professor Walter Longo of the University of Southern California, said that the new study shows for the first time how a completely non-toxic intervention can effectively treat aggressive cancer. The combination of simulated fasting and vitamin C will produce a “1+1>2” effect, which is especially effective for cancers with KRAS gene mutations. The incidence of KRAS gene mutations in cancer patients is about 1/4, making cancer more difficult to treat and reducing survival rates. The research team is about to carry out relevant human clinical trials to further verify the effect.
Mushrooms gain muscle more than meat
Nowadays, many people are gradually reducing their meat intake for environmental protection and health considerations. A new study from the University of Exeter in the UK shows that compared with animal protein, edible fungus protein has longer muscles.
Milk is one of the main sources of muscle growth, so the research team compared milk protein with other protein sources. Researchers evaluated the protein absorption process of 20 young healthy men at rest and after resistance exercise. Participants took milk protein or bacterial protein after exercise. In the following hours, the researchers used tracking tools to monitor them The muscle growth rate in the body was measured. The results showed that the muscle growth rate of the participants in the milk protein group increased by an average of 60%, and the muscle growth rate of the edible fungus protein group doubled on this basis. The results of the study were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Benjamin Wall, associate professor of nutritional physiology at the University of Exeter, pointed out that the study brings good news to people who choose non-animal protein to aid exercise, because eating mushrooms may promote muscle growth better than eating meat and eggs.
