Month: November 2015

A huge review of studies on pain relievers has found that a widely-used medicine may confer cardiovascular risks as serious as those found with Vioxx, an arthritis medicine that was withdrawn from the market two years ago.

The real problem for many people taking either Naproxen or Diclofenac is that either of these anti-inflammatories can cause stomach upset as well as heart problems depending on doses (Naproxen seems to be a bit safer).

What is Diclofenac?

Diclofenac, marketed as Voltaren, Cataflam, Solaraze and Arthrotec, an older non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), has been on the market for decades and is one of the most-widely prescribed anti-inflammatories in the world especially in Europe.

At commonly prescribed doses, it was found to increase the risk of cardiovascular events primarily heart attack and sudden death by 40%.

The good news from the study is that there are alternatives.

“European consumers would be better off switching [from diclofenac] to naproxen,”

says David Graham, a safety official at the US Food and Drug Administration, who authored an editorial accompanying the published review

. Naproxen was found to neither increase nor decrease cardiac risk.

The article originally showing up in Nature. Is another nail in the coffin of older testing to prove safety of many painkillers used today.

Quality of the Diclofenac Study

The meta-analysis, published online today by the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at 23 studies involving some 1.6 million people.

The studies were not gold-standard clinical trials, but the review’s huge scope lends it , says Graham. “It looked at all NSAIDs across the board, at all available evidence for those NSAIDs. In that regard, it’s unprecedented and in my view becomes authoritative.”

The study authors Patricia McGettigan of the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia, and David Henry of Newcastle Mater Hospital in Waratah, New South Wales call for a review of the regulatory status of diclofenac, which is marketed as a generic drug and also under the trade names Voltaren, Cataflam, Solaraze and Arthrotec.

For the future, researchers are aiming to find a class of anti-inflammatories that will both be kind to the stomach and to the heart.

Research released by the Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences this week shows promising news of a drug target, found in a mouse model, that slows the development of atherosclerosis. This might help a new class of ‘super NSAIDs’ not only steer clear of heart disease risk but work to reduce it.

Advice from Europen Medicines Agency

The CMDh agreed with the PRAC conclusion that although the benefits of systemic diclofenac still outweigh the risks, those risks were similar to the risks with COX-2 inhibitors, and it endorsed the recommendation that similar precautions should be applied.

The CMDh position will now be sent to the European Commission, which will take a legally binding decision throughout the European Union (EU).

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Walking to lose weight is a simple but powerful method that can help with your long-term weight loss goals. Walking is a natural, safe and enjoyable exercise that can be done in almost any environment.

While it doesn’t burn up calories as quickly as strenuous activities such as running, jogging or riding a bicycle, it can be surprisingly effective.

Walking is perhaps the most natural physical exercise you can do.

Walking Use To Be Super Popular

Long before there were automobiles or bicycles, and even before humans domesticated horses to ride on, walking was the way people got around.

In recent years, the sad fact is that many people only walk when they absolutely have to.

They may see walking as something you do to get from your car to the store, or from your driveway to the house.

If this describes you, and your goal is to lose and get healthier, it may be a good idea to change the way you see walking.

Get Started Walking Right Now!

The great thing about walking is that you can easily start at your own pace and gradually speed up. You can also practice walking almost anywhere.

If you live in the city, you can walk on sidewalks or in a park. If you live closer to nature, you can walk on wooded or mountain trails. If you live in the suburbs, you can still find either sidewalks or a public track.

You can, of course, get a treadmill, this will allow you to walk in place indoors. This can be good for bad weather, in winter, or for people with physical limitations that make it hard to leave the house.

Otherwise, it’s best to also walk outside when you can. The surroundings make it more interesting and it’s good to get fresh air as well (unless you live in a badly polluted city).

Consistency is Key

The key to getting the most benefit from walking is to do it consistently. Walking, unlike many other forms of exercise, can be done daily with no ill effects.

You may want to find a partner or group to make it more interesting and sociable. If you walk alone, you can carry an iPod or another device that allows you to listen to music. Just make sure you are alert to your surroundings at all times.

Walking is also something you can do as it was originally intended, as a way to get from Point A to Point B. You can get into the habit of walking to the store instead of driving.

If you go to a large mall or a downtown area, you can park your car once and walk to all of your destinations rather than driving to each one. Even if you work in an office you can take more walks around the building during breaks or lunch.

Losing weight is an equation with two main variables -calorie intake and calorie burning. Walking can help with burning calories, but you also have to pay attention to your intake.

You don’t have to go on an extreme starvation diet, but if you are taking in more calories than you need, you can gradually cut back. If you do this while also increasing your metabolism by walking regularly, you should start to see some results fairly quickly.

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I have written before and I am sure I will write again about the amazing advantages to doing compound exercises.

As a reminder, a compound exercise is one where you have many muscles involved in an exercise instead of an isolated exercise. A few examples of compound exercises are squats, bench press, deadlifts. Isolated exercise examples would be tricep push downs, Flyes, and bicep curls.

Squats are A Fantastic Exercise

One of the greatest exercises of them all is the squat. Squats will work your legs obviously but also your butt, your lower back, your abs, and all the connective muscles and ligaments between them.

My wife started a 30 day squat challenge and I decided to join along with her. I always seem to have a Love/Hate relationship with squats, I love to do them, but I always seem to get a lot of lower back pain the next day if I lift too heavy.

Of course, being a deskbound computer guy does not help me, I have a weaker core than my legs so my lower back is the weak point of squats for me. this 30 day challenge should help that.

What is the 30 Day Squat Challenge?

The idea of the 30 day squat challenge is to do a large number of squats over 30 days. The first day only has 30 squats, but the last day has 175 squats.

I am excited with this challenge as instead of doing squats once every few days so probably 5 times in a month or so, this challenge will have us doing squats for 25 days of the 30 days!

This is something that anyone can try and do. As opposed to the squats that I do at the gym with weights these squats are done with no weights so they can be done in your living room or basement and only take a few minutes a day.

The only thing to worry about with squats is that when you are doing squats you are lowering and raising your body in what is nowadays a not very natural manner. Do not worry if you fall over the first couple days trying this squat challenge. Don’t laugh, I was looking around and did it myself.

• The key to doing squats correctly is to do them smoothly.
• keep you arms in front of you, either crossed or straight out and
• lower your body down as if you were going to be sitting in a chair.
• Don’t go too low, only until your upper and lower legs are at a 90-degree bend
• And finally slowly raise yourself straight up. Form is crucial

Here is a great video that will show you how to do a squat correctly so that you have something to go by.

If you notice in the video, Alycia is showing us how to do the squat with the correct form and even talks about breathing correctly. This looks very easy when she is doing it but don’t worry if you have a bit of trouble as you are getting used to the exercise.

So there you have it. a 30 days squat challenge that will take only a few minutes a day, hopefully not break a lot of sweat, but make you feel in better control of your body as you strengthen your legs, back, and core.

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