The relaxation effects that come from being rocked as a child stay with us as adults –with profound effects on our sleep – reports a group of University of Geneva sleep scientists. The study found that sleeping in a rocking motion –as in a hammock—can make sleeping easier in those with insomnia.

The research also found that hammock sleeping increased the quality of sleep. Those that took a 45-minute nap in a hammock had considerably more N2-stage sleep –a sleep stage that’s particularly restful—than those that slept in a stationary bed.

More natural ways to fall asleep easily…

Warm regards,

Christian Goodman

Making massive lifestyle changes soon after a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes results in significantly better outcomes than gradual shifts, reports a research paper published in this week’s “Lancet.” In the research paper, a group of 590 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics were followed soon after discovering their disease.

The volunteers were randomized to undergo intense counseling to change their lifestyle or to receive standard care. Those that were asked to make large lifestyle changes had significantly better blood sugar control and fewer complications at the end of the 6-month follow-up period. Importantly, body weight and blood pressure also reduced in the intense-change group.

Naturally defeat diabetes in 30-days here…

To Your Health,

Shelly Manning

Everyone knows that exercise is a must for keeping diabetic blood sugars under wraps. However, a new study published in the Journal of Sports Sciences has found that intense interval training outperforms steady-state cardio in terms of blood sugar management.

The study included a group of nine newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic adults. The researchers asked one group to exercise with alternating bouts of intensity (interval training) while another was instructed to follow a standard 30 to 60 minute cardio workout. At the end of the 12-week intervention the interval trainers had better beta-cell function and insulin levels than those that relied on steady state cardio.

More ways to stop diabetes in its tracks…
To Your Health,

Jodi Knapp

It turns out that people with arthritis aren’t immune to the obesity epidemic, reports a new study commissioned by the CDC involving 400,000 research subjects. The CDC research, published in this week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found that the prevalence of obesity in arthritis patients significantly increased since 2003. Louisiana was hit the hardest –nearly half of their arthritis sufferers were also obese. But all 50 states saw a rise in the number of their arthritis citizen’s who were obese (only Washington DC was immune).

The importance of maintaining a healthy body weight in those with arthritis is a major public health concern. The study authors note that even a modest reduction in the amount of obese arthritis sufferers could potentially side step more than 110,000 knee replacements annually. Obesity worsens arthritis symptoms by increasing inflammation and adding to the weight that arthritic joints have to bear on a daily basis.

How to stop arthritis with a 21-day…

Revolutionary method to deal with obesity…

Those looking for motivation for managing their hypertension may find fuel for their efforts based on the results out of the Chinese Third Military Medical University in Chongqing. These researchers discovered that aggressively treating high blood pressure reduced Alzheimer’s disease risk by more than 1/3rd.

Additionally, they found that blood pressure nearly doubled Alzheimer’s disease risk in older people. Although this study was observational, they hypothesize that elevated blood pressure may impair blood flow to the brain, making brain cells more susceptible to damage or destruction. Also, levels protein that promotes the brain cell plaque development that causes Alzheimer’s, beta-amyloid, may increase in those with high blood pressure.

Here’s how you can drop blood pressure the natural way…

Tossing and turning at night may have less to do with stress and more to do with a deficiency of the essential minerals magnesium and calcium, according to a study conducted by the Human Nutrition Research Center in North Dakota. These researchers tied low magnesium and calcium levels with inability to fall asleep and poor sleep quality. In particular, low levels of these minerals tended to cause the research subjects to wake during the night.

The idea that a single mineral can cure insomnia may be appealing to the millions of Americans that struggle with insomnia. However, the study authors note that studies investigating the effects of these two minerals as a treatment of insomnia are still on the way. That doesn’t mean supplementing won’t work –the North Dakota based scientists report that people suffering from insomnia can benefit from taking magnesium and calcium together.

Learn other simple ways to treat insomnia here…

Move over LDL, there’s a new cholesterol-class in town that should appear on every health conscious person’s radar screen. The AHA recently released the fruits of a massive research review involving 500 heart-health studies from the last 3 decades. The bottom line? Triglycerides –a little-known, but important type of blood fat—is just as important for healthy hearts as well-known HDL and LDL cholesterol. Triglycerides above 200mg/dl significantly ups your odds of suffering from a heart attack or stroke.

The AHA report also highlighted the importance of lifestyle as an effective treatment to fight triglycerides naturally. They note that cutting sugar intake to less than 150 g per day is an important first step towards triglyceride reduction. Having a healthy BMI, exercising daily and cutting saturated fat are also important, the AHA adds. Their research shows that making these relatively minor lifestyle changes alone is enough to cut triglycerides in half.

Learn other natural ways to combat cholesterol and triglycerides…

Lower blood pressure naturally…

Type 2 diabetes wondering whether exercise is “worth it” now have a clear answer from a new research study out or Brazil.

In this study of 145 type 2 diabetics, 12-weeks of exercise was associated with dramatically lower levels of HbA1C –an indicator of blood glucose control over a 90-day period.

What makes the results from this study unique is that they found exercise’s benefit to be minimal unless it was combined with healthy eating.

This study, published in the May 2011 Journal of the American Medical Association, also discovered the threshold level where exercise begins to significantly benefit diabetes.

While nearly any amount can aid in stress reduction and weight loss, they found that 150 minutes per week aerobic exercise and resistance training was required to drop HbA1C to healthy levels.

Here are some other natural ways to fight diabetes…

The answer to why people of African descent are more likely to suffer from hypertension may be a difference in vitamin D levels, a new study conducted by University of Rochester researchers report.

Before the results of this research, scientists had assumed that African Americans were more susceptible to hypertension due to the way that their bodies processed salt. However, this research suggests that inadequate vitamin D status may explain this heart health gap.

The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, examined medical records and vitamin D status of approximately 10,000 black and white adults. They found that blacks were much more likely to be vitamin D deficient, the result of vitamin D production differences in the skin.

Those with the lowest vitamin D levels also tended to have the highest blood pressure. The study authors also note that, in addition to vitamin D status, lifestyle factors like diet and physical activity levels still play an important role.

Learn the secrets to remedy hypertension …

Men looking for natural ways to get over their erectile dysfunction may want to consider two natural treatments, research at the University of Guelph suggests.

This groundbreaking ED research to be published in Food Research International, reviewed the potential sexual-health promoting properties of dozens of natural herbs.

They found that the majority of the available clinical science didn’t support
the use of herbals for sexual function. However, ginseng and saffron were a tag team that worked to increase the sexual functioning of men in a number of research studies.

The researchers were spurred to action by the burgeoning popularity of prescription ED treatments like Cialis and Viagra. The scientists were concerned about the side effects –like headache and vision issues—that these drugs often bring on. They note that natural ginseng and saffron extracts were well tolerated in the studies they reviewed.

Learn more natural treatments for ED that really work…