Friday, July 4, 2014

Science Reveals What Sitting All Day at Work Actually Does to Your Body


But there’s a problem: What many of the outlets did not report was that sitting for long periods did not explicitly cause cancer: It led to an increased risk of two specific types of the disease. These two types also happen to be linked to being overweight and obese, behaviors that are associated with sedentary behavior.

Here’s what the researchers actually found: After reviewing 43 studies, the researchers, who published their study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, discovered that people who sat for long periods of time had a higher chance of developing colon and endometrial cancer. The more time they spent on their butts, the more their risk increased.

In fact, for every additional two hours someone spent sitting, the researchers reported an 8% increase in their risk for developing colon cancer and a 10% increased risk for endometrial cancer.

So what is risk, anyway, and why does it matter? The 66% increase that TIME boasted in its headline sounds huge.

What that figure doesn’t include is the overall risk of developing the two types of cancer that the study found to be associated with more sitting time. For example, this table shows the percentage of American men who developed colon cancer over 10-, 20- and 30-year periods according to their age between 2008 and 2010.

If you’re a 30-year-old man, your risk of developing colon cancer by the time you turn 60 is just under 1%.

According to the study, every two-hour increase in sitting time led to an 8% increase in the risk for developing colon cancer.


click image to enlarge

So, theoretically, if you’re a man that spends eight hours sitting at the office each day and you were to start sitting for only six of them, you could decrease your colon cancer risk by about .08%.


As for the allegation that sitting causes breast cancer? That’s a conclusion the researchers who did the study explicitly did not find.


We know sitting is bad for us. Too much sedentary time can have dozens of unintended long-term consequences, from higher rates of chronic diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, to immediate effects such as strained and sore muscles.

Bonnie Berkowitz and Patterson Clark made an awesome infographic of all the health problems someone can develop just by spending too much time in a chair.



Fasting for three days can regenerate entire immune system, study finds




A person’s entire immune system can be rejuvenated by fasting for as little as three days as it triggers the body to start producing new white blood cells, a study suggests

Researchers say fasting “flips a regenerative switch” which prompts stem cells to create brand new white blood cells

Fasting for as little as three days can regenerate the entire immune system, even in the elderly, scientists have found in a breakthrough described as “remarkable”.

Although fasting diets have been criticised by nutritionists for being unhealthy, new research suggests starving the body kick-starts stem cells into producing new white blood cells, which fight off infection.
Scientists at the University of Southern California say the discovery could be particularly beneficial for people suffering from damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients on chemotherapy.

It could also help the elderly whose immune system becomes less effective as they age, making it harder for them to fight off even common diseases.

The researchers say fasting “flips a regenerative switch” which prompts stem cells to create brand new white blood cells, essentially regenerating the entire immune system.