Walking and Health News
Walk and Live Longer
Taking brisk, half-hour walks just six times a month appeared to cut the risk of premature death by 44 percent among twins in a study researchers say is the first to separate the influences of heredity and exercise on longevity. The study tracked almost 16,000 healthy men and women in a national registry of twins in Finland for an average of 19 years. Findings appear in The Journal of the American Medical Association. This follows up on other studies reported the New England Journal of Medicine, see 01/11/98.
Exercise May Cut Breast Cancer Risk
Researcher Marilie D. Gammon of Columbia School of Public Health in New
York City in a report was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found
that recent studies showed a risk reduction for breast cancer from 12% to 60%. She
reviewed 16 studies on recreational exercise. It can be a brisk walk, doesn't have to be a
marathon. But still unclear is when in life exercise is the most important - teenage years
or older years. See my article on other studies regarding walking for breast cancer and
other disease prevention" 07/20/97.
Vitamin B6 and Folate and Heart Health
Vitamin B6 and Folate have been the focus of a couple recent reports from the American
Heart Association. These vitamins were found in a large study of over 80,000 nurses that
intake prevented coronary heart disease. The AHA suggests 400 mcg/day of folate and 3
mg/day of B6 to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, as found in a study published
in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In the February issue of Circulation, the journal of the AHA, another study of people with
blockages in their blood vessels bolsters evidence that vitamin B-6 and folic acid play a
role in preventing heart disease and strokes. Those with a vitamin B-6 deficiency were
nearly twice as likely to have the illnesses.
