Zoomer Report

• Exercise & Disability

  There is more evidence on the benefits of exercise, especially as we age! A study published in the Annals of internal medicine finds that Zoomers who regularly exercise are less likely to suffer a disability -- and if they do, they tend to recover faster. Researchers recruited more than 1,600 sedentary adults ages 70 to 89. They randomly assigned half of them to an exercise program, while the other half attended health education classes. People in the exercise group did some strength and balance training, but moderate walking was the main activity. Over the next 3.5 years, people who exercised spent 25 percent less time with a major movement disability -- an inability to walk a quarter-mile -- compared to the other participants. Active seniors were 13 percent less likely to develop a movement disability. But the biggest benefit came later: Exercisers were one-third more likely to recover from their injuries – injuries that can otherwise become permanent. The bottom line, researchers say: It's never too late to start to reap the benefits of exercise.

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• Expiry Date Check

  Have you checked the expiry dates on your medications and other products lately? Most people do it infrequently, but it’s a good idea to clean out your medicine cabinet twice a year. After the expiry date, medications start to lose their effectiveness, and so do products like sunscreen - so if you keep taking them you may not be getting the treatment or the protection you need. Some drugs even become toxic. Storing medications in the wrong place can also reduce their efficacy. Many of us keep drugs in the bathroom, but they really should be put in places that are not humid. A poll showed that in addition to prescription drugs, the most common expired products people found at home were Sunscreen, Cough & Cold medicine, Allergy pills and Vitamins. And please be careful about how you dispose of old drugs. Don’t throw them in garbage or flush them down the toilet. Your pharmacist will take them back and dispose of them safely.

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• Diabetes & After Dinner Walk

  For people with type 2 diabetes, a short walk after eating may help lower blood sugar levels more than exercising at other times of the day, a new study shows. A measurement of blood sugar called postprandial glycemia, which has been linked with heart disease risk, averaged 12 percent lower when study participants took a walk after eating, compared with those who exercised at other times. The largest drop in postprandial glycemia, 22 percent, was achieved by walking after dinner, the study authors found. "If you have type 2 diabetes, there is a guideline to be active for at least 150 minutes a week," said study author Andrew Reynolds, a researcher at the University of Otago, in New Zealand. But, he added, "the benefits we observed due to physical activity after meals suggest that current guidelines should be amended to specify after-meal activity, particularly when meals contain a substantial amount of carbohydrates," he said. "Consider walking after you eat as part of your daily routine," he added. However, one U.S. diabetes specialist offered a caveat on that advice. Exercise is indeed part of good management and care for those with type 2 diabetes, said Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. But, he urged caution about the benefits of exercising right after meals. Because heart disease is common among those with type 2 diabetes, "we need to be careful in encouraging exercise after a meal, as the demands on the heart increase with meals," he explained. "This is especially important in people with heart disease, as diversion of blood from the coronary or carotid arteries to the gut is not always best for these patients." The study findings were published Oct. 17 in the journal Diabetologia. In the study, Reynolds and colleagues had 41 people with type 2 diabetes walk a total of 150 minutes a week. In the first phase of the study, participants walked for 30 minutes daily whenever they wanted. In the second phase, 30 days after the first phase, participants were told to take a 10-minute walk no later than five minutes after each meal. During both phases, blood sugar was monitored. Walking after meals lowered blood sugar levels more effectively among the participants, the study found. Improvements in controlling blood sugar with exercise have been shown by many trials, Zonszein noted, but exercise and good lifestyle are often not enough. "In type 2 diabetes, a combination of good lifestyles and proper medications is important for successful outcomes," he said. In a second study in the same issue of the journal, British researchers analyzed the findings of 23 studies on the relationship between physical activity and incidence of type 2 diabetes. In all, these studies included more than 1.2 million people. Among these participants, more than 82,000 developed type 2 diabetes, the researchers reported. The researchers found that those who exercised at least 150 minutes a week had a 26 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The results also suggested that exercising more than the recommended 150 minutes had even greater benefits in reducing the risk of diabetes, cutting it by more than half.

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• Meditation and Memory

  Here's something that may help older adults who are beginning to notice memory problems. It doesn't need a prescription, and you can do it at home... meditation. Researchers randomly assigned volunteers, with mild cognitive impairment, to either twelve weeks of meditation, and other yoga practices, or twelve weeks of memory enhancement training, which taught strategies for improving forgetfulness. In the end the study found both groups did a little better on tests of verbal memory but the meditation group showed a bigger change in tests of visual spacial memory, which is needed for navigating while walking or driving or trying to recall a location. The meditators also showed fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, for the researchers that's a key finding because one of the reasons it may be working is by easing anxiety over memory lapses. The study is published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

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• Botox and Emotion

  Here’s something to think about if you’re considering Botox injections. A new study finds people who receive the treatments to decrease their wrinkles may also lessen their ability to completely feel emotions. A side effect of the popular cosmetic injection is frozen muscles, meaning the face doesn’t as readily display emotion. But scientists have long thought it also works the other way, that facial expressions can also influence the brain about how we feel. The lead author of the study in the journal Emotion described it as a continuous feedback loop. The study participants were shown three types of videos that would evoke a negative reaction, a positive one and a mildly positive response. They rated their emotional reactions according to a scale. After Botox treatment, they repeated the procedure. There was a significant decrease from the first to second ratings in how strongly the Botox group felt their emotions. The biggest difference was in the mildly-positive video category. Researchers speculate that maybe facial expressions are more important in cases where the emotions are relatively mild. The response from cosmetic dermatologists? They say that that Botox dosage plays a big part. And that more doctors now tend to be conservative with dosage, allowing more facial movement. They also say most patients report improvement in mood and self-confidence after Botox.

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