Biking is a great low-impact cardio exercise, but it may also help prevent knee pain and arthritis, new research shows.

People who participated in biking or cycling at any point in their lives were 17% less likely to experience knee pain and 21% less likely to develop osteoarthritis in the knee joint, according to a new study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

The study included over 2,600 participants in their sixties, who were asked how often they biked or cycled during four time periods through their lifetime: ages 12 to 18, 19 to 34, 35 to 49, and age 50 and older.

Researchers analyzed data and compared outcomes for knee pain and osteoarthritis of the knee joints between participants who had a history of bicycling and participants who do not bike.

Based on our observational study, bicycling over a lifetime is associated with better knee health, including less knee pain and less damage to the joint, the studys lead author, Dr. Grace Lo, chief of rheumatology at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, told NBC News.

The more periods of time in life a person spent bicycling, the less likely she or he had knee pain and signs of osteoarthritis," Lo said.

Arthritis is a term used to describe the inflammation, pain and swelling of one or more joints. The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease.

Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage which cushions the bones that come together to form the knee joint wears down, causing the bones to rub together, per the Cleveland Clinic. This can cause pain, stiffness, and limited mobility.

Anyone can develop osteoarthritis, but the risk increases with age and symptoms typically appear in the fifties, TODAY.com previously reported. Other risk factors include previous joint injury or overuse, being overweight, and a family history of osteoarthritis, per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the study, researchers took X-rays of the participants to look for signs of arthritis in the knee joints. They found that people who participated in bicycling were less likely to have X-ray evidence and symptoms of osteoarthritis in the knees than non-bicyclers.

While osteoarthritis cannot be cured or reversed, lifestyle changes may help reduce symptoms. People with knee arthritis are often told to move their joints and engage in activities such as cycling, swimming, or walking as opposed to high-impact activities like running or tennis, per the Cleveland Clinic.

Previously, it wasn't clear which low-impact exercise may be most beneficial for knee health, until now.

The observational study did not prove cause and effect or explain why biking is protective, but the findings did suggest there is an association between cycling and less knee pain and damage.

Biking and cycling combine cardio and strength training, but are low-impact and put less pressure on the joints. We do know that activities that are non-weight bearing are less likely to cause pain. Thats probably a reason why people have less pain when bicycling as compared to other activities, Lo said.

Biking also builds and strengthens the muscles around the knees, without the pounding and stress on the joints from exercises such as running, NBC News previously reported.

According to Lo, participants who biked between 12 and 18 when most reported a history of biking may have built up their quadricep muscles, and that this development remained even if they stopped biking as they got older.

The study did not look at the differences between outdoor biking and indoor cycling or suggest how often people should bike. However, experts told NBC News that people who aren't active should start with two to three days of low-intensity biking.

According to thePhysical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults should get at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week or at least 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week.

Ideally, activity should be spread throughout the week for example, 30 minutes of biking or cycling five days a week.

When riding a bike outside, always remember to wear a helmet, obey traffic signs and signals, and use a bike lane when possible.

If you are cycling indoors, make sure to adjust the seat and handlebars to the appropriate height to avoid injury. (Here's a tutorial for setting up your spin bike and workouts for beginners.)

If you have concerns about knee pain, always talk to your doctor.

Caroline Kee is a health reporter at TODAY based in New York City.

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Cycling May Reduce Risk of Knee Pain and Arthritis, Study Finds - TODAY

(Beyond Pesticides, May 1, 2024) According to a new analysis by Consumer Reports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Pesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual Summary has once again failed to accurately portray the safety of some of the most commonly sold fruits and vegetables in the United States. A review of seven years of PDP data show that 20% of the foods tested pose a high risk to the public and 12 specific commodities are so dangerous that children or pregnant people should not eat more than one serving per day, according to Consumer Reports analysis. Consumer Reports contend that U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) pesticide residue tolerances are too lenient. To better evaluate potential health risks associated with various foods, Consumer Reports applied stricter residue limits than the EPA tolerances (see here for CRs analytical methodology). Notably, USDA certified organic food products are not permitted to be produced with the pesticides identified by the report. Pesticide residues found in organic, with rare exception, are a function of the off-target chemical-intensive agriculture pollution through pesticide drift, water contamination, or background soil residues.

The Consumer Reports results fly in the face of the rosy outlook reported by the USDA in its 2022 PDP Annual Summary, which found that 99% of the fruits and vegetables the agency tested had residues below the established [EPA] tolerances. Agencies typically point to acceptable or legal residues as protective of health and the environment, despite potential adverse effects associated with inadequate assessment of health outcomes, such as endocrine disruption, vulnerable population groups, exposure to mixtures and synergistic interactions, and more.

Beyond Pesticides reported in February that EPAs methodology for calculating acceptable levels of pesticides in food has long been criticized as inadequate. Scientists at Consumer Reports note that EPAs calculations of tolerable levels of pesticides in food are at least 10 times higher than they should be to adequately ensure the health and safety of the public and the countrys ecosystems. According to Consumer Reports, EPA has never applied the tenfold safety factor to certain pesticides required as by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 to protect vulnerable populations. [Readers and the public can reference Beyond Pesticides database Eating with a Conscience, which identifies the multiple pesticides that can be used on individual crops and the resulting exposures not only to consumers, but to farmworkers, farmers, neighboring communities, and the environment.]

Michael Hansen, PhD, senior scientist at Consumer Reports, states, The way the EPA assesses pesticide risk doesnt reflect cutting-edge science and cant account for all the ways the chemicals might affect peoples health, especially given that people are often exposed to multiple pesticides at a time.

To ensure the most up-to-date information, the list of pesticides to which the tenfold safety factor is applied by Consumer Reports is based on the latest scientific findings in the Endocrine Disruption Exchange, a database maintained by TEDX, a nonprofit research institute that uses publicly available scientific research to identify chemicals with at least one study demonstrating endocrine-disrupting properties. The tenfold safety factor is also applied by Consumer Reports to the list of endocrine disruptors identified by the European Commission. Consumer Reports analysis not only applies the tenfold safety factor to appropriate chemicals, but it also calculates the relative risk of each food based on the average amount, frequency, and number of pesticide residues found on each food type, and the relative potential of the pesticide to negatively affect human health. Together, this information was used to develop a ranking system from Very Low Risk to Very High Risk.

Of the 59 fruits and vegetables included in the analysis, which includes data from 2016-2024, 22 foods are identified as Moderate Risk or higher, including seven that were Very High Risk. This is based on data analyzed from nearly 30,000 samples taken between 2016-2024. With this methodology, it is advisable that some people limit their food consumption to no more than one-half serving per day for many commonly eaten vegetables, such as bell peppers, blueberries, potatoes, and strawberries.

Watermelon and green beans were identified as some of the highest risk foods. Watermelon carries a small but serious risk of contamination with oxamyl, a highly toxic insecticide. [See Beyond Pesticides Gateway on Pesticides here]. Similarly, while only four percent of domestically grown green beans from chemical-intensive agriculture tested positive for the insecticide acephate or one of its breakdown products, the levels found were up to 100 times higher than considered acceptable by Consumer Reports scientists. Perhaps more alarming is the fact that acephate has been illegal for use in green bean cultivation since 2011. (See here for Beyond Pesticides coverage.)

Consumer Reports analysis highlights the inadequacy of the PDP to adequately convey the potentially serious impacts of continuing to use toxic pesticides in the production of food. Beyond Pesticides has reported on the misleading nature of the PDP annual summary and how certain mainstream organizations, such as Blue Book Services/Produce, cover the annual update by reinforcing USDAs depiction of pesticide exposure in produce as safe.

USDAs PDP and EPAs risk assessment measures fail to account for vulnerable subpopulations, such as farmworkers, people with compromised health or preexisting health conditions, and children (see here and here). Beyond the residues of pesticides in and on food, exposure to pesticides used in crop production results in disproportionate risk and harm to farmworkers, their families (including children who are working as farmworkers), and fence line communities living near farms. [See here for coverage of a January 2024 report led by Nathan Donley, PhD, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity and Robert Bullard, PhD, executive director of the Robert D. Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University in Houston].

Similarly, the PDP Annual Report also fails to adequately promote the benefits of organically grown produce. Consumer Reports found that nearly all organically grown food tested had low or very low pesticide risk and only spinach and potatoes posed a moderate risk among domestically grown varieties. Beyond Pesticides notes, organic food products have been found to have zero contact with pesticides unless due to pesticide drift from other farming operations.

Consumer Reports first began reviewing PDP data and presenting its own analysis in 2020. Since then, it has recommended that the public eat an organic diet whenever possible and has advocated for change in how pesticides are used and regulated. Not only is the production of organic food better for human health and the environment than chemical-intensive production, but emerging science reveals also what organic advocates have been saying for a long timein addition to lacking the toxic residues of conventional foods, organic food is more nutritious.

A study published by The Organic Center reveals that organic food is higher in certain key areas, such as total antioxidant capacity, total polyphenols, and two key flavonoids, quercetin and kaempferol, all of which are nutritionally significant (read a summary in the Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog). Another study published in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry looked specifically at the total phenolic content of marionberries, strawberries, and corn, and found that organically grown products contained higher total phenolics. Phenolics are important for plant health (defense against insects and diseases), and human health for their potent antioxidant activity and wide range of pharmacologic properties including anticancer, antioxidant, and platelet aggregation inhibition activity. For more on the health benefits of organic agriculture, see here.

Organic agricultural practices, which reject the use of harmful pesticides, are capable of the benefits the Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial is demonstrating. Not only does organic food remove the risk of ingesting toxic chemicals, it eliminates the risk posed to farmworkers and the environment. Such practices protect human and animal health, and support functional ecosystems and biodiversity. Widespread adoption of organic and certified organic regenerative agriculture can also lift human agro-activity out of its current chemical dead-end. The public has an important role to play in this transition: learn more about organic agriculture, advocate for it, and vote for organics by creating market demand for organic food.

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Sources:

Produce Without Pesticides, Consumer Reports, April 18, 2024 6 Fruits and Vegetables Loaded With Pesticides, Consumer Reports, April 18, 2024 Consumer Reports recently conducted its most comprehensive review of pesticides in 59 US fruits and vegetables, The Guardian, April 18, 2024 Healthy or high risk? New analysis warns of pesticide residues on some fruits and veggies, New Lede, April 18, 2024 Agricultural Justice, Beyond Pesticides website Gateway on Pesticide Hazards and Safe Pest Management, Beyond Pesticides website

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Pesticide Residues in Food Do Not Tell the Full Story on Hazards and the Importance of Organic - Beyond Pesticides

There will inevitably, and rightly, be an enormous level of affection for Rachel Daly after the shock news of her retirement from international football, which came merely 12 hours after appearing for England as a substitute against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday.

But beyond the recognition for this unique footballer full-back, wing-back, wide midfielder, winger and Womens Super League Golden Boot winner when actually used in her best position as a striker there are a couple of pertinent questions. Why has Daly made this decision? And what does it say about Sarina Wiegmans England? Dalys retirement message gave little away. But it seems clear this is a footballer who felt overlooked.

In the aftermath of Euro 2022 it seemed clear Alessia Russo would become Englands first-choice centre-forward. Ellen Whites retirement meant there was a vacancy up front. Russo had been introduced as a substitute in all six games at the Euros, scoring four times including the famous backheel against Sweden in a 4-0 semi-final victory. At 23, Russo was set to explode into a consistent world-class striker.

That, so far, has not quite happened. Russo scored nine WSL goals for Manchester United the season before Euro 2022, and improved only slightly to 10 in 2022-23. She moved to Arsenal last summer, but has only managed six this time around. Russos all-round game has improved, but her goalscoring return remains modest.

The goalscoring explosion has instead come from Daly. Her situation was always somewhat peculiar; primarily a full-back for England, but a centre-forward in the NWSL for Houston Dash, and in a brief loan spell for West Ham United during the behind-closed-doors 2020-21 campaign. But her move to Aston Villa, a week after the Euro 2022 success, meant her penalty-box threat could no longer be ignored by Wiegman. She won the Golden Boot, with 22 goals in 22 WSL games, which must have come as a surprise even to her considering she did not manage more than 10 in a season during her seven years in the NWSL.

That form was rightly rewarded with an opportunity up front for England. Against Italy in the second of their three Arnold Clark Cup games last February, Daly started as Englands No 9 for the first time, and in a 2-1 victory scored two classic centre-forwards headers. Russo started the other two matches, against South Korea and Belgium, managing a single goal. There was, therefore, a genuine debate about Englands best option up front: Russo or Daly.

But Daly has not received many more chances. She was a substitute in the penalty-shootout victory in the Finalissima against Brazil this time last year, and also the 2-0 home defeat by Australia, where she partnered Russo in the final half hour, playing just off her. She did start up front in a goalless draw with Portugal shortly before the World Cup, but was substituted at half-time and dropped for Russo for Englands opening 1-0 win over Haiti.

From then, Daly returned to the side as a left-back and left wing-back, starting the next six matches, including the final. When England were 1-0 down at half-time to Spain, Wiegman surprisingly took off both Russo and Daly, who might have fancied her chances of being switched up front. No that was her tournament over, and Wiegman ended up turning to third-choice Bethany England and regular plan B Millie Bright.

Since then, Russo has generally led the line. Even when Wiegman has left the Arsenal forward out, she has favoured a rotating trio with Lauren Hemp usually deployed through the middle rather than in her usual position on the wing.

This week, it seems, was the final straw for Daly. She was not used at all in the 1-1 draw against Sweden. Russo started up front, headed in the opener, and when substituted 10 minutes from time, winger Chloe Kelly came on, and Hemp moved up front. For the trip to the Republic of Ireland, with Wiegman making five changes, Daly might have expected a rare start. No she got only four minutes to impress.

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All of which has prompted the early retirement of a striker who has outscored Russo 29-16 in the WSL since Euro 2022. Most would agree Russos all-round game is superior, particularly in terms of bringing others into play, and it is reasonable that Wiegman considers her a better option.

But you can understand the frustration from Dalys perspective: getting a chance up front, taking it with two great headers against Italy, and then only being sporadically used in that role. To Dalys great credit, she has never complained about being used at left-back, but now finds herself behind Niamh Charles in the pecking order. Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter might also be preferred in that role when Bright and Leah Williamson are available for selection together in the middle, for the first time in over a year.

Dalys retirement is a huge personal decision. She is only 32, and surely has another few years left in her. She would surely have travelled to Euro 2025 next summer. With respect to Aston Villa, she does not play for one of the WSLs title contenders, so international football was her best chance of winning another major trophy. It must also be acknowledged that a players commercial opportunities are much greater when they are involved with England, whose popularity remains absolutely huge despite a slightly disappointing recent run of form.

For England, this is a significant blow. Russo was the only other proper centre-forward in this weeks squad selection. Her form is inconsistent, and if she goes down injured then Wiegman will probably be counting on Tottenham striker England in and out of the squad over the past couple of years. Ebony Salmon has also been involved, but is ultimately Dalys back-up at Villa. Nikita Parris, who was part of the Euro 2022 squad and has scored eight WSL goals this season, is another option. Chelseas Aggie Beever-Jones is promising, but a different type of attacker and has only nine WSL starts to her name. Hemp still seems at home on the wing. None of these players compare to the player who is for a couple of months still the WSLs current Golden Boot holder.

All of which leaves us to conclude that Wiegman, seemingly so adept at keeping non-playing squad members happy, has played this situation badly and perhaps taken Daly for granted.

There are some who insist playing for your country is a privilege that should never be refused, but 32-year-olds dont want to spend their time constantly getting call-ups, travelling around Europe, giving 100 per cent in training and then not getting a chance, especially when the alternative is conditioning your body properly for upcoming WSL tests. Wiegmans coaching of England has been outstanding for the most part, but Dalys retirement, for the first time, will lead to questions about her managerial acumen.

(Top photo: Naomi Baker The FA via Getty Images)

Originally posted here:
Daly's England retirement is understandable but it raises difficult questions for Wiegman - The Athletic

Movies

Much is open-ended about this realist yet dreamlike exploration of midlife crisis and regret set in Vietnam

The question of what the title means, or what the movie means, remain open; even so, this is a quietly amazing feature debut from 34-year-old Thien An Pham, born in Vietnam and based in Houston, Texas. Its a jewel of slow cinema set initially in Saigon and then the mountainous, lush central highlands far from the city; it is a zero-gravity epic quest, floating towards its strange narrative destiny and then maybe floating up over that to something else. Its compassionate, intimate, spiritual and mysterious in ways that reminded me of Tsai Ming-liang or Edward Yang.

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is presented in a calm, unforced realist style with many long, unbroken middle-distance shots, with closeups a rarity. There is a flashback and a dream-sequence presented in exactly the same way, leading to the woozy feeling that past and present, reality and reverie are all folding in on each other. The refusal of explicit emotion does not prevent one fiercely erotic kissing scene, or a moment where a young woman declares her adoration for Frank Capras Its a Wonderful Life and wonders aloud: Why cant they make movies like that any more? I can actually imagine Bob Rafelson making this film in 1972 (at half the length) with the same narrative structure, the same elements of midlife male crisis and regret.

In the noisy, bustling city, Thien (Le Phong Vu) is having an unhurried conversation with his friends about religious faith and the meaning of life at an outdoor cafe when they are stunned by a deafening motorbike crash just a few yards away. His later session at a massage parlour is tragicomically interrupted by a call on his smartphone. The fatality in that crash turns out to have been his sister-in-law, Hanh, whose five-year-old son, Dao (Nguyen Thinh), miraculously survived. Now it is Thiens duty to take Hanhs coffined body in a rented van to her home village for burial (with little Dao as well).

This is also his own home village and that of his brother, Tam, Hanhs husband, who ran out on her and his son years ago. Thien must make a reckoning with Thao (Nguyen Thi Truc Quynh), a young woman from that village with whom he once had a romantic understanding; she could help him to do something about poor little Dao, whose grief about his mother can only be guessed at. He must also track down his runaway brother and what? Break the news? Use this tragedy as a path to reconciliation? Or make sense of his own life and his place in a vast, placidly indifferent world?

The camera drifts and turns with the slow deliberation of an aircraft carrier: characters will move out of shot and keep talking off screen until the camera catches up with them and they are back in the frame. A still tableau will turn out to be an almost imperceptibly slow zoom. Thien has arresting encounters: an old man who once fought with the South Vietnamese at the Battle of Vung R, and an old woman who is as enigmatic as a wraith. One entire sequence is simply Thiens viewpoint, in silence, as he drives on his motor-scooter down roads where the headlights of oncoming traffic flare into a screen-filling dazzle.

Is Thien having a breakdown? Or are these recent, desperately sad events simply giving articulation to a breakdown he might have had anyway? If Hanh had not died, would he not have muddled on with his unsatisfying, anonymous life in the city, and never thought to contact Thao or Tam ever again? The panoramic intelligence of this film is a wonder.

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is at the ICA, London, from 8 March.

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Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell review jewel of slow cinema is a wondrous meditation on faith and death - The Guardian

Dr. Frank Vaught Jr. will give a presentation titled Building Community Through Collaboration and Mentorship at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, in Leach Theatre of Castleman Hall, located on the Missouri S&T campus at 10th and Main streets in Rolla. The event is free and open to the public.

Vaught is the founder and owner of Health on Earth Wellness Centers, LLC, in Crestwood, Illinois. He is a chiropractic physician, a community leader for personal health and wellness, a military veteran and an inspirational speaker. He lives in the Chicago area with his family.

Dr. Vaughts topic of building community through collaboration and mentorship can inspire and assist all individuals who are striving to build a more inclusive community, whether at S&T or elsewhere, says Dr. Nicole Arleane Roberson, vice chancellor of diversity, equity and inclusion, and chief diversity officer at Missouri S&T.

While on campus on Jan. 26, Vaught will also hold a special session with students to discuss key leadership principles they can implement in their professional and personal lives.

Vaught earned a bachelors degree in biology from Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri, and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Logan College of Chiropractic in Chesterfield, Missouri. He served in the U.S. Army for eight years, where he studied hospital medical nutrition at Fort Lee in Virginia and Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

Since 2004, Vaught has provided chiropractic care and physical rehabilitation services at Health on Earth Wellness Centers. His practice focuses on prenatal and family care, athletic injuries, and personal injury. He also co-founded three other health and wellness locations in Illinois.

Learn more about Vaught at his website, drfrankvaught.com.

Originally posted here:
Motivational speaker to talk at S&T about building community - Missouri S&T News and Research