Whole Life Times: Body Talk

April 2006 | Whole Health

Body Talk

by Elizabeth Barker

Not For the Faint of Heart

Itching for an all-out roller coaster rampage at Magic Mountain this spring? Check your heart health first. Anyone with high blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, a previous heart attack or an implanted pacemaker should keep off the coasters, suggests a German study presented at the American Heart Association’s annual Scientific Sessions. A group of 55 adults rode the two-minute Expedition GeForce roller coaster at Holiday Park in Hassioch, Germany, zooming down a 203-foot free fall at 75 miles per hour. The group’s average heart rate rose from 91 beats per minute to 153 beats, with 44 percent of riders experiencing irregular heart rhythms that lasted for up to five minutes after the ride. “The human heart is exquisitely sensitive to stress hormones,” explains La Jolla-based cardiologist Mimi Guarneri, M.D., author of the new book The Heart Speaks. A roller coaster ride triggers the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, putting riders at an increased risk for high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack, according to Guarneri. If you’re potentially at risk for heart disease, check with your doctor before stepping onto the Viper or Déjà Vu—or just stick to the Grand Carousel.

Chemical Alert

Yet another in the endless list of reasons to go organic: An insecticide used on some crops may contribute to male infertility, according to a report from the University of Michigan. In studying 268 men recruited from an infertility clinic, researchers discovered a link between lowered testosterone levels and exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos.

Restricted for most residential use in US in 2000, chlorpyrifos is still sprayed on a variety of food and feed crops and on golf courses. But despite its now-limited use, 90 percent of the study’s infertile participants showed detectable levels of TCPy (a substance produced when chlorpyrifos is metabolized). “It appears that low-level exposure [to chlorpyrifos] may be virtually unavoidable for most people,” says study author John D. Meeker, PhD. “However, things like choosing organic produce, washing fruits and vegetables before eating, and washing hands following outdoor work and activities that involve contact with the lawn or garden may help reduce exposure levels.”

Stronger Muscles, Sharper Brain

Here’s proof that it’s never too late to hop on that treadmill. In a new study from the Annals of Internal Medicine, older adults who exercised three or more times a week had up to a 40 percent lower risk for developing dementia than those who worked out fewer than three times a week. For six years, researchers followed 1,740 men and women over the age of 65, contacting participants every two years to assess their cognitive and physical function, exercise frequency and other lifestyle factors. As little as 15 minutes of walking three times a week appeared to benefit the study members, possibly due to increased blood flow to the brain during exercise, according to lead study author Eric B. Larson, MD. “Based on these findings, we can advise older people to ‘use it even after you start to lose it,’ because exercise may slow the progression of age-related problems in thinking,” Larson states.

Elizabeth Barker is a freelance writer living in Echo Park.

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