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What we know about mindfulness and meditation

March 29, 2012 By 1 Comment

The phrase “living in the moment” is a buzz word in our modern society that denotes a life well-lived. With its roots lie in Buddhism, the idea of “mindfulness” and “living in the moment” has taken root in modern American culture.

From best-selling books like Eat, Pray, Love to yoga classes offered at nearly every gym in the country, the idea of living in the moment is en vogue. But does it really lead to a happier life?

A systematic review of the evidence found  that mindfulness-based therapy – which encourages patients to focus on their breathing and their body, to notice but not judge their thoughts and to generally live in the moment – does yield positive benefits.

The review, published last year in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, is focused on mindfulness as a treatment for psychological disorders. It looked at 39 studies involving 1,140 participants who received mindfulness-based therapy for a range of conditions including cancer, generalized anxiety disorder and depression.

The review concluded that mindfulness-based therapy somewhat helped ease the mental stress of people recovering from cancer and other serious illnesses. The treatment had the strongest benefits for people diagnosed with mood disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder and recurring depression.

That’s not to say that a daily meditation session can help cure severe depression or anxiety disorders, but it is a useful tool along with other treatment and for patient with more mild cases.

On a personal note, I don’t suffer from depression or mood disorders, but I do find that a few minutes spent focused on my breath and calming my mind helps me to focus and stay positive for the rest of the day. I find it’s a habit worth cultivating.

Filed Under: Evidence-Based Living, Health and Wellness, In The Media Tagged With: , , , ,

The buzz on red meat

March 20, 2012 By 3 Comments

Last week, the headlines on meat consumption were inflammatory to say the least.

The Los Angeles Times: All red meat is bad for you, study finds Fox News: Red meat linked to premature death, research finds
The BBC: More Red Meat, More Mortality
The New York Times: Red Meat Increases Death, Cancer and Heart Risk

The researchers, from the Harvard School of Public Health, followed the diets and health outcomes of 37,000 men and 83,000 women over more than two decades. The found those who ate protein sources other than red meat were more likely to live longer. But what’s really at work here?

I found several systematic reviews on red meat consumption that give a broader look at this issue.

One published in the journal Circulation found 20 case-controlled studies and randomized controlled trials that assessed the effect of red meat consumption on health and concluded that eating processed meats, but not red meat, is associated with higher incidence of heart disease and diabetes.

Another review looked at the link between red meat consumption and colorectal cancer, and found eating red meat on a daily basis is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer and eating processed meats regularly is associated with an even higher risk of colorectal cancer.

And a third review found little evidence available on the links between red meat consumption and stroke risk.

As much as I love a good burger or juicy steak, the available evidence shows that eating red meat regularly is bad for your health. It is worth noting ,though, that in each study, the conclusions were drawn based on participants consuming red meat every day.

Personally, I’m going to stick with my motto of everything in moderation, and still enjoy a nice cut of beef once in a while.

Filed Under: Evidence-Based Living, In The Media Tagged With: , , , , ,

The body of evidence on chocolate and heart disease

March 15, 2012 By 2 Comments

If you regularly read any health or wellness publications, you’ve likely heard the assertion that chocolate is good for you – usually phrased something like this: “Thinking about skipping dessert?  Think again. A new study shows that chocolate is actually heart-healthy.”

But what does all of the evidence say about chocolate?  Is it really good for your health?  A systematic review published in the Journal of Nutrition has found that, yes, chocolate is really good for your health.

The review looked at the effect of flavonoid-rich cocoa on all cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin sensitivity.  It also evaluated the dose-response relationships between cocoa and cardiovascular risk factors.

The review included a total of twenty-four studies with 1,106 participants.  It found that chocolate had positive effects on a number of cardiovascular risk factors – blood pressure, insulin resistance, lipid profiles and cholesterol.

While that’s good news for dessert-lovers far and wide, there was a limitation of the available evidence – the studies only looked at benefits over the short-term – days or weeks. The review concluded with a call for long-term investigations into effects of cocoa on the heart.

In the meantime, you can still pass the chocolate to me.

Filed Under: Evidence-Based Living, Health and Wellness Tagged With: , , , ,

A clearinghouse of education evidence

March 8, 2012 By 1 Comment

Parents across the nation send their children to public schools with the confidence that principals and teachers are providing an environment where children can learn, grow and thrive.

We hear so much about in the news about ways to improve our education system – especially in this presidential election year, when candidates are offering proposals and counter-proposals to fix our schools.

But is there any evidence as to what really works?  As a parent of young children, our schools are one important place where I want to see evidence-based guidelines put in place.

The best place I’ve found for evidence-based information on education is called the What Works Clearinghouse, an initiative by the U.S. Department of Education that conducts systematic reviews on education research to provide educators with the information they need to make evidence-based decisions.

The project is a true treasure trove of information, with research reviews on a myriad of topics including dropout prevention, school choice, early childhood education and student behavior, to name just a few.

On a recent cruise through the site, several topics piqued my interested including:

I’m certainly going to share this amazing resource with my son’s teachers, and use to gather information about the curriculums he’ll be learning in elementary school.  As a parent, it’s a relief to know there’s a place to look for reliable, evidence-based information on education.

Filed Under: Evidence-Based Living, policy, The Learning Center, Youth Development Tagged With: , , , , ,

How your working environment impacts your health

March 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Adopting a healthy lifestyle can be tough these days, especially for parents working hard to make ends meet. Yes, there are gyms and organic grocery stores, on-demand yoga and healthy cooking magazines.  But for working parents, long hours and irregular schedules make can make it difficult to eat healthily and exercise.

A cadre of researchers are Cornell’s College of Human Ecology are working on this problem, conducting the research and pulling together the best evidence to help families exercise more and eat healthier.

Among them is nutritional sciences professor Carole Devine, who has created and evaluated a program that helps change workplace environments to support physical activity and healthy eating.

The program, called Small Steps are Easier Together, is an active collaboration between Cornell faculty, Cooperative Extension educators and worksite leadership teams across New York. Pilot studies have been conducted in 23 sites since 2006. It involves worksites creating wellness leadership teams, who work with Cornell researchers to implement evidence-based strategies – like creating walking groups, posting maps, and offering more fruit and vegetable options in the cafeteria – to increase walking and promote healthier eating.

The most recent analysis of the program included 188  participants in 10 rural worksites. It found the percentage of sedentary women had declined to from 42 percent to 26 percent. A total of 35 percent of the women moved to a higher activity level.

Devine is also pulling together the evidence on how working conditions impact food decisions for families at home and on the job.

Her research has found that the stress of a busy job impacts parents’ ability to serve healthy meals, leading them to serve quicker and less healthy meals, such as fast food. She’s investigated a variety of coping strategies such as negotiating a more flexible work schedule and teaming up with a neighbor to take turns preparing meals.

Devine’s work highlights the connections between work environments and health, and provide some evidence-based strategies to improve public health.

Filed Under: Cornell Cooperative Extension, Evidence-Based Living, Health and Wellness Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Playground time pays off in the classroom

March 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Sometimes when I drive past our local elementary school playground, I think back fondly to my time spent hanging upside down on the monkey bars and swinging as high as I could muster.

It has long been recognized that children need physical activity to break up the day.  But in recent years, it has become clear that school recess has even broader effects.  A new systematic review published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine shows a positive relationship between physical activity and academic performance – essentially demonstrating that recess helps kids learn.

The authors reviewed 14 studies over the past 20 years that collected data about physical activity or fitness and academic performance or cognition on children ages 6 to 18, and found that children who were more physically active performed better in school.

Researchers believe that exercise increases blood and oxygen flow to the brain. It also leads bodies to produce more of the neurotransmitters responsible for improving mood and boosts growth factors that help create new nerve cells.

But the available evidence has a fault. Of the studies included in the review, only two of them were classified as high-quality, primarily because of the measurements instruments used.

What’s needed, the researchers concluded are more studies that examine the dose-response relationship between physical activity and academic performance – essentially, how much exercise is optimal for helping kids in the classroom.

Filed Under: Evidence-Based Living, Health and Wellness, Youth Development Tagged With: , , ,
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