Search for tag: "minutes"

Interviewer: If you're not really physically active and you don't quite know how to get that 30 minutes a day in that they say that you should of physical activity, you shouldn't completely give up because there is benefit to shorter amounts of exercise.

Dr. Troy Madsen is from the emergency department at University of Utah Health. And Troy, tell me about this recent study that came out that said even just little bits of activity could make a huge difference in your health.

Dr. Madsen: That's right, Scot. So there was a study in the journal "Nature Medicine" that looked at people who basically were pretty much sedentary. And then within this group, they compared people who were having just what they were describing as vigorous, intermittent lifestyle physical activity, which basically just means short bursts of energy like a minute long. So I'm talking like walking up the stairs, moving furniture, shoveling snow.

And they found that people who were just doing just a very minimal amount like that, maybe three times a day, had significant improvements over the next six or seven years in their cancer risk, in death from cancer, heart disease risk. Really surprising results just based on very small amounts of activity, just short bursts of activity that yielded big results for  them.

Interviewer: That's pretty incredible. Does that surprise you?

Dr. Madsen: Oh, it really surprised me, yeah. We always think, "Okay, you've got to get 30 minutes three times a week." And that's kind of the number we put out there. If you really want the health benefits of exercise, it has to be more than just a minute. But again, they were comparing people within groups where they were pretty much sedentary otherwise. They really weren't exercising, and they weren't doing 30 minutes three times a week.

But I think the point is if you happen to be in that group where you're just not getting a lot of activity, if you can just take the stairs, just do stuff that kind of gets your heart rate up, vigorous activity, a minute, two minutes two or three times a day, you will definitely see benefits compared to not doing those things.

Interviewer: So then if somebody starts incorporating that into their life, is that good enough, or can you actually then get more benefit if you do that more exercise like we tend to believe?

Dr. Madsen: Yeah, you definitely do get more benefit. So that's one thing they found as well. Once you went beyond that, certainly if you are going beyond that, you are getting additional benefit. But all that being said, the point they tried to drive home with this was there was a significant benefit from doing a lot less than what a person thinks they might need to do to get some benefit from exercise.

Interviewer: And what would your takeaway for a patient be with this information?

Dr. Madsen: My takeaway would be if you're just sedentary, you just don't exercise consistently, try just taking the stairs. Try doing something. Again, they talked about people who are saying they move furniture or they shovel their snow, just things like that. Short bursts of activity, just do that a few times a day. I think you're going to be better off in the long run for sure.

Interviewer: So are you advocating then that instead of that 30 minutes a day, if I'm getting that, I could just do one or two minutes a day?

Dr. Madsen: That's a great question, Scot. You're definitely better off doing the 30 minutes three times a week. No question about it. Researchers showed that as well in this study. But compared to those who were doing nothing, if you can at least get this one or two minutes a few times a day, you're better off than that group.

Interviewer: And maybe that'll get the ball rolling and help somebody get up to the 30 minutes that thought that they might not be able to do that.

Dr. Madsen: That's exactly right. I think you're going to get immediate benefits from it. There are long-term benefits. I think you're going to feel better doing it, and then hopefully get up to more of that 30 minutes three times a week.

Interviewer: And we're talking about internal health benefits. You might not necessarily see weight loss or anything like that.

Dr. Madsen: You might see a little weight loss too. But the study is talking specifically about, like you said, those internal benefits, reduced risk of death, heart disease, cancer years down the road, but I think you might even see maybe a little weight loss. You're going to feel better. You're going to feel more active, more mobile. So I think all of those things are going to have immediate benefits. 

Interviewer: How to handle a bloody nose that doesn't seem to want to stop bleeding. Emergency room Dr. Troy Madsen, what should a person do?

Dr. Madsen: Bloody noses are a very common thing that we see in the emergency department and these can be very messy and, sometimes, really tough to stop. But the thing I tell people, the key is if you're at home, hold pressure on your nose. Don't hold it on the bony part of your nose. Hold it on the soft part of your nose on the outside and hold pressure for 15 minutes. You'll be really tempted after two or three minutes to let up and look, but just keep holding pressure.

If you look after 15 minutes and it's still bleeding, hold pressure for another 15 minutes. Look again, if it's still bleeding, another 15 minutes. So three times total. If it's still bleeding at that point, you may need to come to the emergency department, but 95% of the time, this is going to work. Most times, it's going to keep you out of the ER.

updated: February 22, 2021
originally published: January 25, 2019

Interviewer: Chewing your food. Is it as important as your mom said it is? We're going to find out next on The Scope.

Man: Medical news and research from University Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. You're listening to The Scope.

Interviewer: How important is chewing your food well, really, and what does that even mean? We're with Staci McIntosh. She's a registered dietitian and Assistant Professor at the Department of Nutrition at the University of Utah. How important is chewing your food?

Staci McIntosh: Chewing your food is important. It's the first step of mechanical digestion. It's important for not getting choked when you swallow.

Interviewer: That is important.

Staci McIntosh: More importantly, though, is taking your time throughout the meal however you do that. If you want to swallow your food whole and then take five minutes before you eat another bite, or if you want to chew your food 100 times before you take another bite.

Interviewer: Oh, okay. So, take your time. Why would I take my time? What's the purpose behind that?

Staci McIntosh: Because it takes about 20 to 25 minutes for the hormones in your body to reach your brain to tell you that you're full. If I eat an entire Big Mac meal in five minutes, that's not enough time for my brain to register when I'm full, but if I take 30 minutes to eat my dinner, then my brain is going to know that I'm full well before I finished that same amount of food.

Interviewer: So, inhaling your food is bad because you will overeat every time, it sounds like.

Staci McIntosh: Mm-hmm.

Interviewer: Let's talk about chewing as far as digestion is concerned. I've heard 20, 25 times per bite? You kind of rolled your eyes a little bit there.

Staci McIntosh: Our digestive system is really amazing.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Staci McIntosh: Our stomach, our small intestine will continue to go through all the muscular motions of mechanical digestion. The enzymes are going to get in there and will break apart the food [inaudible 1:46] the surface area until it eventually digests it all. Food doesn't just go through the system without being digested, nor does it sit there forever without being digested. It will eventually be digested. The more you chew it up, the less mechanical work your gut has to do.

Interviewer: What about nutritional assimilation in the body? The more that you chew, do you get more nutritional value.

Staci McIntosh: No.

Interviewer: No, really?

Staci McIntosh: No.

Interviewer: That's a myth?

Staci McIntosh: That's a myth. You will liberate some of the B vitamins from fiber a little bit more, early on, but we have a pretty good record in our gut of absorbing 95-99% of all the macronutrients--carbs, fats, and protein--and, much to a lesser degree, for the micronutrients--the vitamins and minerals--but, whether or not you chew five times or 25 times is not going to make that much of a difference.

Interviewer: So, just chew enough to get it down is the minimum, and if you enjoy it do it more?

Staci McIntosh: Sure.

Interviewer: So then I don't need to swish soft foods around in my mouth, like a banana or something, to mix it with the saliva?

Staci McIntosh: No, no.

Interviewer: You didn't like that too much.

Staci McIntosh: No, I can't imagine swishing a banana around in my mouth.

Interviewer: So, at the end of the day, it sounds like the amount of times that I chew my steak doesn't matter too much.

Staci McIntosh: Again, there is a big difference and there is statistical significance in studies that show the longer you take to consume your meal overall will make a difference in your satiety and your overall amount of calories consumed.

Interviewer: Gotcha.

Staci McIntosh: Whether you do that by taking longer to chew your food or if you take longer just in between bites, it's not going to make that much of a difference. I would certainly recommend that people chew their food appropriately, but counting the number of times you chew your food is a little obsessive.

Interviewer: I'm glad to hear that. So, it's more about just caloric intake than anything else?

Staci McIntosh: Caloric intake and the time. Your time will affect your caloric intake overall, but when it comes down to it, it is the caloric intake.

Man: We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. This is The Scope, University of Utah Health Sciences Radio.