Christine Bryant, Times correspondent
Red meat increases the risk of type 2 diabetes
Eating just two servings of red meat each week may increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, new research suggests.
Researchers at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health found that those who ate fewer servings of red meat and ate more plant-based proteins reduced their risk. Plant-based protein sources include nuts and legumes.
Researchers analyzed health data from more than 216,000 participants who completed food frequency questionnaires over a period of up to 36 years. During this time, more than 22,000 people developed type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that eating red meat was strongly associated with increased risk.
Source: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Pickleball is good for the heart
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Results from a new Apple Heart and Movement study show that tennis and pickleball, which are growing in popularity, offer many health benefits.
Data collected using Apple Watches revealed that study participants who played pickleball for extended periods of time had on average a heart rate lower than 70% of their estimated maximum heart rate.
Researchers found that pickleball practices lasted slightly longer than tennis practices (90 minutes versus 81 minutes). The maximum heart rate of a person playing tennis averaged 152 beats per minute, while that of a person playing pickleball averaged 143 beats per minute.
Cycling taps into the sunnier side of college students
Teaching middle school students to cycle could help improve their mental health, a new study suggests.
Researchers at Loma Linda University School of Medicine chose a program called Ride for Focus from the nonprofit Outride, which researches and provides cycling programs for young people, primarily middle school students. Before and after participating in a cycling class at least three days a week for six weeks or more, students completed questionnaires measuring their well-being.
They found that by integrating cycling into physical education lessons, students had a more positive outlook on life.
Source: Frontiers in Sports and Active Living magazine
Sweet diet linked to risk of kidney stones
Reducing your intake of sugary foods can help reduce your risk of kidney stones.
This is according to new findings by researchers at the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College in China, who analyzed more than 28,000 adults aged over 11. They found that those who consumed 25% of their daily calories from added sugars had an 88% higher risk of developing kidney stones compared to those who kept their daily intake to less than 5%.
The study, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, supports evidence that sugar increases the amount of calcium found in urine.
Source: Harvard Medical School
Drink less for brain health
A new study has linked excessive alcohol consumption to reduced volume in certain parts of the brain.
Researchers at Sierra Pacific VA Mental Illness Research and Stanford University say that while abstaining from alcohol may provide the most brain health benefits, cutting back could improve brain health. After analyzing the brains of 68 adult participants aged 28 to 70, researchers found that people diagnosed with alcohol use disorder had lower cortical volume than those without the disorder.
Although the study’s sample size was small, researchers said the findings offered insight into some of the lesser-known risks of excessive alcohol consumption.
Source: Alcohol: journal of clinical and experimental research
