Staying Healthy Archive

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Q. I heard regular aerobic exercise is better for the brain than strength exercises (resistance training). Is that true?

A. The study you probably heard about involved rats, not humans. The rats were made to engage each day in sustained aerobic exercise, high-intensity interval training, or resistance training, or they were allowed to just be sedentary. At the end of the study, the researchers examined the rats' brains. The rats doing regular aerobic exercise had more brain cells than the sedentary rats. However, the rats made to perform high-intensity interval training or the ones doing resistance training did not have more brain cells than the sedentary rats.

Look for roomy toe boxes, soft inner soles, and sturdy heel counters to give you a better fit and help you stay on the go.

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Bunions, hammertoes, corns, and calluses all make shoe buying a chore. But the wrong shoes can impair your mobility and independence. "Pain from any of those conditions can alter your gait," says Dr. James Ioli, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Corns and calluses

Shoe hunt

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News Briefs

Here's something to jolt you off the couch and get you exercising: a study published Feb. 10, 2016, in Neurology links poor fitness levels in middle age to brain shrinkage 20 years later. Researchers, including some from Harvard Medical School, looked at the cardiovascular fitness of about 1,100 people, average age of 40, who were free of dementia and heart disease. The participants had taken treadmill tests to determine their cardiovascular fitness levels based on how much oxygen their bodies used during exercise. About 20 years later, participants took another treadmill test and underwent neuropsychological testing and MRI brain scans. The scans showed that people who were unfit in middle age had smaller brains in older age, compared with people who were fit in middle age. This doesn't prove that inactivity in midlife causes brain shrinkage. But previous studies have shown that regular, moderate-intensity exercise may be associated with slower brain aging.

If you're taking on the role of caregiver for the first time, you probably have many questions: What exactly will it entail? Where can you find help? How do you even start?

When faced with this kind of uncertainty, the best thing you can do for your loved one — and yourself — is to make a caregiving plan. Of course, your loved one's needs may change over time, and you can never plan for every last detail or eventuality. But if you begin by covering the basics, you will have an important foundation to build on later.

Heartburn is a common problem. It's caused by the backwash of stomach acid into the esophagus, the tube connecting the mouth and stomach. This is formally called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). More than just a minor discomfort, heartburn can significantly reduce quality of life. "Heartburn can cause damage to the esophagus and even increase the risk of cancer if ignored and untreated," says Dr. William Kormos, editor in chief of Harvard Men's Health Watch and a primary care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital.

These eight steps can help ease heartburn.

1. Eat in a heartburn-smart way. Large meals put pressure on the muscle that normally helps keep stomach contents from backing up into the esophagus. The more you eat, the longer it takes for the stomach to empty, which contributes to reflux. Try smaller, more frequent meals — and don't wolf down your food.
2. Avoid late-night eating. Having a meal or snack within three hours of lying down to sleep can worsen reflux, causing heartburn. Leave enough time for the stomach to clear out.
3. Don't exercise right after meals. Give your stomach time to empty; wait a couple of hours. But don't just lie down either, which will worsen reflux.
4. Sleep on an incline. Raising your torso up a bit with a wedge-shaped cushion may ease nighttime heartburn. Wedges are available from medical supply companies and some home goods stores. Don't just prop your head and shoulders up with regular pillows — doing so can actually increase pressure on the stomach by curling you up at the waist.
5. Identify and avoid foods associated with heartburn. Common offenders include fatty foods, spicy foods, tomatoes, garlic, milk, coffee, tea, cola, peppermint, and chocolate. Carbonated beverages cause belching, which also causes reflux.
6. Chew sugarless gum after a meal. Chewing gum promotes salivation, which helps neutralize acid, soothes the esophagus, and washes acid back down to the stomach. But avoid peppermint-flavored gum, which may trigger heartburn more than other flavors.
7. Rule out medication side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist whether any of the medications you take might cause pain resembling heartburn or contribute to reflux.
8. Lose weight if you need to. Being overweight puts more pressure on the stomach and pushes stomach contents into the esophagus. The tight-fitting clothing and belts that come with weight gain may also be a factor. 

For more on relieving heartburn and treating a sensitive gut, purchase The Sensitive Gut by Harvard Medical School.

There is no question that regular exercise is essential to good health. That fact alone is enough motivation for some folks. For others, setting meaningful personal goals — whether it's finishing a 10K race or getting back into those jeans you love — and keying into what motivates you can help launch a successful workout program.

Motivation takes many forms, so find the carrot (or stick) that works for you. Maybe you'd like to get ready to tackle new activities, like climbing a towering rock wall, churning through the water during a triathlon, or making it 26.2 miles in a marathon. Perhaps you just hope to feel fit and good about your body. Maybe a friendly bet with a spouse or friend — loser pays for kayaking lessons — or wanting to hold up your end of the bargain with a new exercise partner will do the trick.

Mosquitoes can transmit many viruses, such as, Zika, West Nile, dengue, and yellow fever.
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Ask the Doctor

Q. Why is it that we suddenly have epidemics of things like Zika virus that we've never heard about, and that we have no treatments or vaccines for? It feels like we should be better prepared than we apparently are. This worries me more than terrorism.