【推荐2】Exercising Safely

Exercise is a key part of staying healthy, but figuring out how to exercise safely can be tough.     1    .

    2    . It’s especially important to consult a doctor if you have a history of heart, bone, muscle, joint, or other medical conditions. Ask your doctor for advice on how to safely start exercising and to recommend exercises that benefit your specific condition.

Drink lots of water before, during, and after exercising. Try to drink about 2 cups (470 ml) of water before you exercise, and 1 cup (240 ml) every 15 to 20 minutes during your workout. Your body will need extra water to help your muscles work and to replace the fluids lost as you sweat.

    3    . However, if you’re trying to lose weight, limit your consumption of sports drinks, as they contain lots of sugar and can add extra calories to your diet.

Choose clothes that suit your activity. In general, wear clothes that won’t restrict your movement or blood flow.     4    . Wear short sleeves and light, breathable fabrics in hot temperatures, and wear layers if it’s cold.

Stop exercising if you experience pain.     5    . If you feel any soreness or sharp pain, stop the activity. Do your best to rest the affected area until the pain starts to subside. If you believe you’ve injured yourself, you might be able to treat it at home. However, seek medical attention if you hear a pop, experience severe pain, have uncontrolled bleeding, can’t move or bear weight on a joint.

【推荐3】Crohn’s disease is a constant source of trouble for sufferers. This long-term condition is commonly found in the small intestine (肠) and the symptoms can include stomachaches, joint pain and weight loss. A new study suggests that there may be a way to change the diet to take control of this difficult-to-treat disease.

One common cause of the condition, which affects as many as 780,000 Americans, is an overactive immune system that considers harmless gut bacteria as dangers and responds by producing inflammation (炎症). The new study suggests that a diet rich in health y fats and oil s such as coconut oil or cocoa butter may lead to specific changes in gut bacteria that could fight harmful inflammation.

Although the research was conducted on mice with a Crohn’s-like disease, the results are the first to show how high-fat diets can change gut bacteria to fight against inflammation, according to lead author Alexander Rodriguez-Palacios, PhD and Assistant Professor of Medicine at CWRU-M. In the study, the mice that were fed even a small amount of coconut oil or cocoa butter were found to have up to 30 percent fewer types of gut bacteria and less severe intestinal inflammation than those fed a typical diet. These findings suggest that there may be a beneficial Crohn’s disease diet that involves taking in “good” fats in normal amounts. Patients can substitute these good fats for other sources in their diets, Dr. Rodriguez-Palacios notes.

Humans and mice share many common genetic features, and by examining mice, scientists can gain valuable understanding about how humans function. However, humans may respond to dietary changes differently and in their own ways. For example, not all so-called good fats will work for all patients, Dr. Rodriguez-Palacios points out. He is hopeful that the diet could be beneficial to at least some patients, and it wouldn’t have the side effects and risks that come with medical treatments. “The trick now will be to really discover what makes a fat ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for Crohn’s patients,” he says.