Of all the food and beverage choices you face every day, what's calorie-free, virtually cost-free, and, oh yes, essential to keeping you alive? Plain ol' water. But those aren't the only reasons to drink it.
"Water drives basic body performance," says Beth Reardon, director of nutrition for Duke Integrative Medicine, part of the Duke University Health System. "All of the systems in the body require water for proper functioning, and so do 90 percent of all chemical reactions in the body."
Here are the top five reasons to quench your thirst with water.
It will help you de-stress
Why: Being sure to sip water throughout a stressful day can soothe stress-induced symptoms as diverse as headaches, tense muscles, fuzzy thinking, a pounding heart, and low energy. That's because stress taxes all your basic body systems -- and when you're dehydrated, the effects are magnified.
Given that more than half your body weight is water, Reardon says, "just a 2-percent reduction in hydration has a dramatic impact on energy levels and cognitive function." And dehydration further raises levels of cortisol -- the "stress hormone."
Water won't wash your stressors away. But it can provide you with more energy, ease tension, slow breathing, and reduce the strain on your heart.
Water-drinking tip: "Eight by eight -- eight 8-ounce glasses a day -- is a good general rule of thumb," Reardon says, "but it's a myth that's the magic amount for everyone, because there are so many variables." The "right" amount for you depends on factors including your age, your activity level, your health level, medications you're taking, and the weather. So how do you know if you're drinking enough? Follow your thirst, and know that you're on the right track if you have straw-colored urine, Reardon says.
You'll lose weight
Why: In a 2010 study of adults aged 55 to 75, drinking two 8-ounce glasses of water before meals was associated with almost four pounds more weight loss in 12 weeks than in a control group who ate a similar diet but didn't have the pre-meal H20. Participants drank an average of 1.5 cups of water a day before the study.
In part, the Virginia Tech researchers say, water is filling, so you feel fuller and eat less. An earlier study found those who drink water before meals consume an average of 75 fewer calories per meal. (Make that twice a day over a year, and that could add up to 14 pounds!) The Virginia Tech scientists also believe the water drinkers began swapping this zero-calorie beverage for sodas and other caloric beverages.
What's more, when you're well hydrated, your body is working closer to maximum efficiency -- enhancing aspects of weight loss, like digestion and muscle function, when you exercise.
Water-drinking tip: For variety's sake, try flavoring your water. Drop some fruit into a pitcher and let it sit a few minutes -- lemons, oranges, watermelon, and berries all work well. Or let an herbal or flavored green tea bag steep in unheated water to accent the taste.
You'll be less apt to get sick
Why: Hydration keeps your mucus membranes in top working order -- they're gatekeepers to the natural defense system that helps keep out germs such as cold and flu viruses. When these tissues dry out, germs can more easily penetrate to the nasopharynx, where the nasal passages and mouth meet. And if you catch a bug anyway, the severity of your illness is more likely to be lower if you've been drinking a lot of water.
Water is an especially smart health move when you're traveling. Most commercial planes fly at elevations between 30,000 and 35,000 feet, where humidity is 10 percent or lower. That means you're breathing dry air in a tight space filled with germs from dozens of people. Water keeps your mucus membranes moist -- and your defenses high -- even in that challenging situation.
Water-drinking tip: Bring an empty water bottle with you to the airport that you can fill for free once you're past security. Or buy the biggest bottle you can right before you board, and aim to finish it by flight's end. Don't hesitate to ask the flight attendant for refills while you're in the air.
Water, the Drink of Longevity
You'll be more comfortable
Why: It doesn't matter if the water you sip is hot or ice-cold. The act of drinking it will keep you warmer on a cold day -- and cool you off on a hot one.
"Your internal thermostat works better when you're well hydrated," Duke nutritionist Beth Reardon says. "Water helps regulate body temperature."
The body's temperature-regulating system, governed by the hypothalamus in the brain, is constantly picking up information that allows it to make adjustments to maintain a fairly steady core temperature. Hot sun? You'll sweat to cool down. Hatless in snow? The hypothalamus will know you're losing heat through your head and work to produce extra energy, such as shivering.
But these mechanisms work less well if you're dehydrated – and dehydration is a common risk for people of all ages, in winter as well as summer. In cold weather, for example, you lose water vapor through your breath. And many people tend to drink less water in cold weather because they don't think they need it as much as on hot, sunny days.
Water-drinking tip: Start by swapping out one soda, cup of coffee, or high-calorie hot chocolate a day with an equal amount of water. Carry a bottle of water with you all day long as a visual reminder to pause and sip. Sip more when you're physically active, whether in water, snow, or any weather condition.
It will help regulate your blood pressure
Why: In 2010, the American Red Cross discovered that when blood donors were given 16 ounces of water to drink before giving blood, there was a 20 percent drop in fainting after the procedure. That was an important finding for them, given that many of those who faint then chalk blood donation up as a bad experience and never return to give again.
It's not entirely clear what mechanism is at work. But the Red Cross was inspired to conduct a study after researchers at Vanderbilt University noticed that drinking water activated the parasympathetic nervous system -- related to the "fight or flight" system that makes you more alert, elevates blood pressure momentarily, and boosts energy. Fainting after donating blood is often connected to a drop in blood pressure, and they theorized that the water would counter that effect.
(Not drinking enough water on a regular basis can also raise blood pressure. That's because dehydration causes blood vessels to constrict as the body strives to conserve water that it loses through perspiration, urination, and breathing. When blood vessels constrict, however, the heart pumps harder, bringing blood pressure up.)
Water-drinking tip: Start your day with a glass of water for a simple energy boost that remedies any dehydration that may have occurred overnight. Keep a filled glass or bottle on your nightstand or an empty one next to the bathroom sink.
Showing posts with label blood vessel damage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blood vessel damage. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Friday, September 16, 2011
Star QB has to have part of leg amputated following freak injury
One of the top quarterback prospects in Virginia is facing a difficult and uncertain future that will almost certainly not include college football after he was forced to amputate part of one of his legs at a hospital in suburban Washington, D.C.
As first reported by the Charlottesville Daily Progress, Woodberry Forest (Va.) School quarterback Jacob Rainey had part of one of his legs amputated on Saturday, just more than a week after he suffered a freak injury in a final preseason football scrimmage against Flint Hill (Va.) High.
According to the Daily Progress, Rainey suffered a broken knee cap when he was cleanly tackled from behind by a Flint Hill player. After he arrived at the nearest hospital, doctors discovered that he had suffered other complications from the injury, most drastically a ruptured blood vessel.
In a statement released by Woodberry Forest officials it was revealed that Rainey was moved to Fairfax Inova hospital when his condition failed to improve. There, Inova doctors determined that he had severed the main artery in one of his legs and that he had to immediately undergo vascular surgery to avoid further serious health issues. The only solution was to amputate part of one of his legs, a procedure which was carried out on Saturday, just a day after Woodberry Forest opened the season with a 16-13 victory at Richmond (Va.) Benedictine High without its expected starting quarterback.
Woodberry coach Clinton Alexander was given the unenviable task of telling the rest of the team that Rainey would have to lose part of his leg, a job which immediately transformed the program's buoyant mood following its season-opening victory to a somber discussion of how the team could keep Rainey -- one of the top junior quarterback prospects in the state who was being recruited by a number of ACC programs -- involved in their season.
Alexander said that his team was still dealing with the shock of learning that one of their closest friends had suffered such a dramatic injury on the field, though he said that the close ties that made them particularly sensitive to his injury also will help the team move on from it.
"I have had situations in my career were we have had a player's parent pass away during the season and have had two players on two different teams die in a car accident, but nothing like this," Alexander told Prep Rally in an email.
"Our players love Jacob very much and were very upset when it happened and were very worried about him after he was taken to the hospital. Our team is very close, one of the benefits of a boarding school football program. They get so much time together on dorm that the depth of the relationships they form is quite amazing. This has certainly helped our players understand how important it is to care about each other and attempt to overcome adversity together."
One of the ways Woodberry Forest plans to memorialize their missing leader is by passing around his jersey number each week. In the team's first game at Benedictine, Rainey's closest friend, Nate Ripper, wore his number 9 jersey. In each subsequent week for the remainder of the season, a different player will don it to honor Rainey's place with the program.
Fittingly, Rainey will even be part of the group that decides which player wears his own jersey each week.
"One of our parents gave us the idea to allow a different player each week to wear Jacob's number 9 jersey in each game so he will be with us," Alexander told Prep Rally. "Our leadership committee which Jacob is part of makes the decision."
Sadly, Rainey isn't the first prep football victim to have to undergo such a drastic surgery in the past calendar year. In October 2010, McLouth (Kan.) High's star running back Trevor Roberts had to have the lower segment of his left leg removed after it became infected following a compound break in a game.
Amazingly, the Daily Progress reported that Rainey remained in high spirits despite the tragic circumstances that have befallen him. It seems unlikely that he will continue to garner the kind of recruiting interest he had attracted to this point, but he can at least rest easy knowing that one of the programs which had forged a bond with him was thinking about him just after his operation.
"A young man playing at Woodberry Forest suffered a tragic thing where he lost his leg," Virginia coach Mike London said in his weekly press conference Monday. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the whole Woodberry Forest football family and to this young man's family in particular. Wins and losses are important, but sometimes the realities of what's really important are the young men and the family members and the sons that we are responsible for."
Thu Sep 15
By Cameron Smith
As first reported by the Charlottesville Daily Progress, Woodberry Forest (Va.) School quarterback Jacob Rainey had part of one of his legs amputated on Saturday, just more than a week after he suffered a freak injury in a final preseason football scrimmage against Flint Hill (Va.) High.
According to the Daily Progress, Rainey suffered a broken knee cap when he was cleanly tackled from behind by a Flint Hill player. After he arrived at the nearest hospital, doctors discovered that he had suffered other complications from the injury, most drastically a ruptured blood vessel.
In a statement released by Woodberry Forest officials it was revealed that Rainey was moved to Fairfax Inova hospital when his condition failed to improve. There, Inova doctors determined that he had severed the main artery in one of his legs and that he had to immediately undergo vascular surgery to avoid further serious health issues. The only solution was to amputate part of one of his legs, a procedure which was carried out on Saturday, just a day after Woodberry Forest opened the season with a 16-13 victory at Richmond (Va.) Benedictine High without its expected starting quarterback.
Woodberry coach Clinton Alexander was given the unenviable task of telling the rest of the team that Rainey would have to lose part of his leg, a job which immediately transformed the program's buoyant mood following its season-opening victory to a somber discussion of how the team could keep Rainey -- one of the top junior quarterback prospects in the state who was being recruited by a number of ACC programs -- involved in their season.
Alexander said that his team was still dealing with the shock of learning that one of their closest friends had suffered such a dramatic injury on the field, though he said that the close ties that made them particularly sensitive to his injury also will help the team move on from it.
"I have had situations in my career were we have had a player's parent pass away during the season and have had two players on two different teams die in a car accident, but nothing like this," Alexander told Prep Rally in an email.
"Our players love Jacob very much and were very upset when it happened and were very worried about him after he was taken to the hospital. Our team is very close, one of the benefits of a boarding school football program. They get so much time together on dorm that the depth of the relationships they form is quite amazing. This has certainly helped our players understand how important it is to care about each other and attempt to overcome adversity together."
One of the ways Woodberry Forest plans to memorialize their missing leader is by passing around his jersey number each week. In the team's first game at Benedictine, Rainey's closest friend, Nate Ripper, wore his number 9 jersey. In each subsequent week for the remainder of the season, a different player will don it to honor Rainey's place with the program.
Fittingly, Rainey will even be part of the group that decides which player wears his own jersey each week.
"One of our parents gave us the idea to allow a different player each week to wear Jacob's number 9 jersey in each game so he will be with us," Alexander told Prep Rally. "Our leadership committee which Jacob is part of makes the decision."
Sadly, Rainey isn't the first prep football victim to have to undergo such a drastic surgery in the past calendar year. In October 2010, McLouth (Kan.) High's star running back Trevor Roberts had to have the lower segment of his left leg removed after it became infected following a compound break in a game.
Amazingly, the Daily Progress reported that Rainey remained in high spirits despite the tragic circumstances that have befallen him. It seems unlikely that he will continue to garner the kind of recruiting interest he had attracted to this point, but he can at least rest easy knowing that one of the programs which had forged a bond with him was thinking about him just after his operation.
"A young man playing at Woodberry Forest suffered a tragic thing where he lost his leg," Virginia coach Mike London said in his weekly press conference Monday. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the whole Woodberry Forest football family and to this young man's family in particular. Wins and losses are important, but sometimes the realities of what's really important are the young men and the family members and the sons that we are responsible for."
Thu Sep 15
By Cameron Smith
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Cause of Blood Vessel Damage in People with Diabetes Discovered
Researchers have identified a key mechanism that appears to contribute to blood vessel damage in people with diabetes....
The researchers said studies in mice show that the damage appears to involve two enzymes, fatty acid synthase (FAS) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) that interact in the cells that line blood vessel walls. First author Xiaochao Wei said, "We already knew that in diabetes there's a defect in the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels."
"People with diabetes also have depressed levels of fatty acid synthase. But this is the first time we've been able to link those observations together."
Wei studied mice that had been genetically engineered to make FAS in all of their tissues except the endothelial cells that line blood vessels. These so-called FASTie mice experienced problems in the vessels that were similar to those seen in animals with diabetes. "It turns out that there are strong parallels between the complete absence of FAS and the deficiencies in FAS induced by lack of insulin and by insulin resistance," said Clay F. Semenkovich, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine, professor of cell biology and physiology and chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Comparing FASTie mice to normal animals, as well as to mice with diabetes, Wei and Semenkovich determined that mice without FAS, and with low levels of FAS, could not make the substance that anchors nitric oxide synthase to the endothelial cells in blood vessels. "We've known for many years that to have an effect, NOS has to be anchored to the wall of the vessel," Semenkovich said.
"Xiaochao discovered that fatty acid synthase preferentially makes a lipid that attaches to NOS, allowing it to hook to the cell membrane and to produce normal, healthy blood vessels." In the FASTie mice, blood vessels were leaky, and in cases when the vessel was injured, the mice were unable to generate new blood vessel growth.
The actual mechanism involved in binding NOS to the endothelial cells is called palmitoylation. Without FAS, the genetically engineered mice lose NOS palmitoylation and are unable to modify NOS so that it will interact with the endothelial cell membrane. That results in blood vessel problems.
It's a long way, however, from a mouse to a person, so the researchers next looked at human endothelial cells, and they found that a similar mechanism was at work.
"Our findings strongly suggest that if we can use a drug or another enzyme to promote fatty acid synthase activity, specifically in blood vessels, it might be helpful to patients with diabetes," Wei said.
Journal of Biological Chemistry. Jan. 2011
The researchers said studies in mice show that the damage appears to involve two enzymes, fatty acid synthase (FAS) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) that interact in the cells that line blood vessel walls. First author Xiaochao Wei said, "We already knew that in diabetes there's a defect in the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels."
"People with diabetes also have depressed levels of fatty acid synthase. But this is the first time we've been able to link those observations together."
Wei studied mice that had been genetically engineered to make FAS in all of their tissues except the endothelial cells that line blood vessels. These so-called FASTie mice experienced problems in the vessels that were similar to those seen in animals with diabetes. "It turns out that there are strong parallels between the complete absence of FAS and the deficiencies in FAS induced by lack of insulin and by insulin resistance," said Clay F. Semenkovich, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine, professor of cell biology and physiology and chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Comparing FASTie mice to normal animals, as well as to mice with diabetes, Wei and Semenkovich determined that mice without FAS, and with low levels of FAS, could not make the substance that anchors nitric oxide synthase to the endothelial cells in blood vessels. "We've known for many years that to have an effect, NOS has to be anchored to the wall of the vessel," Semenkovich said.
"Xiaochao discovered that fatty acid synthase preferentially makes a lipid that attaches to NOS, allowing it to hook to the cell membrane and to produce normal, healthy blood vessels." In the FASTie mice, blood vessels were leaky, and in cases when the vessel was injured, the mice were unable to generate new blood vessel growth.
The actual mechanism involved in binding NOS to the endothelial cells is called palmitoylation. Without FAS, the genetically engineered mice lose NOS palmitoylation and are unable to modify NOS so that it will interact with the endothelial cell membrane. That results in blood vessel problems.
It's a long way, however, from a mouse to a person, so the researchers next looked at human endothelial cells, and they found that a similar mechanism was at work.
"Our findings strongly suggest that if we can use a drug or another enzyme to promote fatty acid synthase activity, specifically in blood vessels, it might be helpful to patients with diabetes," Wei said.
Journal of Biological Chemistry. Jan. 2011
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