Study opens door to possibility that nutritional intervention could prevent Alzheimer's disease

The incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is expected to triple in the coming decades and no cure has been found. Recently, interest in dietary approaches for prevention of cognitive decline has increased. In particular, the omega-3 fatty acids have shown anti-amyloid, anti-tau and anti-inflammatory actions in the brains of animals. In a new article published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, researchers have found that for patients with high omega-3 levels, blood flow in specific areas of the brain is increased.

Single photon emission computed tomography, or SPECT, can measure blood perfusion in the brain. Images acquired from subjects performing various cognitive tasks will show higher blood flow in specific brain regions. When these images were compared to the Omega-3 Index, a measure of the blood concentration of two omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), investigators found a statistically significant correlation between higher blood flow and higher Omega-3 Index. In addition, they evaluated the neuropsychological functions of the subjects and found that omega-3 levels also correlated with various psychological feelings using a standardized test battery (WebNeuro).

This study drew from a random sample of 166 participants from a psychiatric referral clinic for which Omega-3 Index results were available. The participants were categorized into two groups of higher EPA+DHA concentrations (>50th percentile) and lower concentrations (<50th percentile). Quantitative brain SPECT was conducted on 128 regions of their brains and each participant completed computerized testing of their neurocognitive status. Results indicated statistically significant relationships between the Omega-3 index, regional perfusion on brain SPECT in areas involved with memory, and neurocognitive testing.

Overall, the study showed positive relationships between omega-3 EPA+DHA status, brain perfusion, and cognition. Lead author Daniel G. Amen, MD, of the Amen Clinics Inc., Costa Mesa, CA, adds, "This is very important research because it shows a correlation between lower omega-3 fatty acid levels and reduced brain blood flow to regions important for learning, memory, depression and dementia." .This study opens the door to the possibility that relatively simple dietary changes could favorably impact cognitive function."

Article courtesy of medical news

Life's simple seven

Life's Simple 7 Developed by the American Heart Association, Life's Simple 7 is a list of habits designed to improve cardiovascular health.
Changes you can make	Target for ideal heart health
1. Stop smoking	Having never smoked, or having quit smoking for more than a year
2. Reduce blood sugar	Fasting blood glucose below 100 mg/dL
3. Control cholesterol	Total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL
4. Manage blood pressure	Blood pressure below 120/80 mm Hg
5. Lose weight	Body mass index (BMI) in the normal range (18.5–25)
6. Get active	At least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of intense exercise per week
7. Eat better	A diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, and nuts and limits red meats and sugar

Mindfulness techniques can be more than quiet contemplation

Different meditations to achieve focus, relaxation

Mindfulness—the practice of focusing on the here and now—seems to boost both your mood and overall well-being. You may think of mindfulness as something you do during meditation—that is, while you're sitting quietly with your eyes closed. If you can carve 20 minutes out of your day to meditate, that's great. But meditation is just one mindfulness technique. You can also practice informally, by simply being present in the moment during everyday activities.

For example, instead of trying to multitask and do two or more things at the same time (such as eating while you're driving or watching television), try to practice "single-tasking." That means doing one thing at a time and giving it your full attention. As you floss your teeth, pet the dog, or eat an apple, slow down the process and be fully present as it unfolds and involves all of your senses.

The goal of any mindfulness technique is to achieve a state of alert, focused relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment. This can help you refocus on the present moment. Below are suggestions of different meditations you can try, as found in the Harvard Special Health Report Positive Psychology.

Basic mindfulness meditation

Sit quietly and focus on your natural breathing or on a word or mantra (such as "om," "relax," or "peace") that you repeat silently. Allow thoughts to come and go without judgment and return to your focus on breath or mantra.

Body sensations

Notice subtle body sensations such as an itch or tingling without judgment and let them pass. Notice each part of your body in succession from head to toe.

Sights and sounds

Notice sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. Name them "sight," "sound," "smell," "taste," or "touch" without judgment and let them go.

Emotions

Allow emotions to be present without judging them. Practice a steady and relaxed naming of emotions: "joy," "anger," "frustration."

Urge surfing

When you feel a craving or an urge (to eat excess food, use an addictive substance, or practice an unwanted behavior), acknowledge the urge and understand that it will pass. Notice how your body feels as the craving enters. Replace the wish for the craving to go away with the certain knowledge that it will subside.

Article Courtesy of  Julie Corliss Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter

4 tips for coping with an enlarged prostate

When a man reaches about age 25, his prostate begins to grow. This natural growth is called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and it is the most common cause of prostate enlargement. BPH is a benign condition that does not lead to prostate cancer, though the two problems can coexist. Although 50% to 60% of men with BPH may never develop any symptoms, others find that BPH can make life miserable. The symptoms of BPH include:

-          a hesitant, interrupted, weak urine stream

-          urgency, leaking, or dribbling

-          a sense of incomplete emptying

-          more frequent urination, especially at night.

As a result, many men seek treatment. The good news is that treatments are constantly being improved. Patients and their physicians now have more medications to choose from, so if one doesn't do the trick, another can be prescribed. And thanks to some refinements, surgical treatments are more effective and have fewer side effects than ever before.

But there are some things men dealing with BPH can do on their own. When symptoms are not particularly bothersome, watchful waiting may be the best way to proceed. This involves regular monitoring to make sure complications aren't developing, but no treatment. For more troubling symptoms, most doctors begin by recommending a combination of lifestyle changes and medication. Often this will be enough to relieve the worst symptoms and prevent the need for surgery.

Tips for relieving BPH symptoms

Four simple steps can help relieve some of the symptoms of BPH:

ü  Some men who are nervous and tense urinate more frequently. Reduce stress by exercising regularly and practicing relaxation techniques such as meditation.

ü  When you go to the bathroom, take the time to empty your bladder completely. This will reduce the need for subsequent trips to the toilet.

ü  Talk with your doctor about all prescription and over-the-counter medications you're taking; some may contribute to the problem. Your doctor may be able to adjust dosages or change your schedule for taking these drugs, or he or she may prescribe different medications that cause fewer urinary problems.

ü  Avoid drinking fluids in the evening, particularly caffeinated and alcoholic beverages. Both can affect the muscle tone of the bladder, and both stimulate the kidneys to produce urine, leading to nighttime urination.

Article courtesy of Harvard Health publications

Dangers Of Non-Stick Cookware & Safe Alternatives!

Most of us are pretty confident when it comes to identifying the types of food that we should eat and the types of food that we should avoid, yet despite our best efforts to maintain a wholesome lifestyle, there always seems to be something in our environment that is working against us. The tide of human modernity has inevitably drifted towards a convenience-based existence. This, in turn, has given rise to a unique scenario in which our bodies are now languishing under the heavy burden of toxic compounds that we absorb from various sources each day. Unfortunately, one of these sources in most twenty-first century households is cookware.

The Inconvenient Truth About Convenient Cookware

Out of all the different types of cookware available today, the most commonly used is PTFE-coated "non-stick" cookware which is also sometimes referred to as Teflon cookware. The most obvious benefit of this equipment is that it provides the capacity to cook any meal without the likelihood of having to scrape burnt remains off it afterward - an attractive proposition for convenience-minded consumers. In 2014, U.S. retail sales of non-stick cookware amounted to around 1.45 billion USD. With the average piece of non-stick cookware costing between $10-20 USD on Amazon.com, that figure boils down to somewhere between 70 - 150 million pieces of non-stick cookware being sold into American homes during 2014 alone. Extrapolate this data over a few decades, and you end up with a tremendous number of conventional non-stick cookware items in use across the United States.

So what's the issue with using non-stick cookware and why should it matter to you?

Nasty Little Abbreviations

Fluropolymers such as polytetrafluoroetheylene (PTFE) and substances containing polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAs) are commonly used to create conventional non-stick cooking surfaces. These materials are extremely toxic and highly resilient, both in relation to their interaction with the human body and also the wider environment. These compounds contain fluorinated chemicals which give rise to that slippery surface that we all enjoy cooking on. When exposed to heat, most non-stick cookware becomes a source of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is a long-chain chemical compound that has been linked to a frightening range of health problems including thyroid disease, infertility in women, organ damage and developmental and reproductive problems.

Interestingly, the US Environmental Protection Agency has also declared perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) to be "likely carcinogens", yet despite the warnings, these chemicals are still used in a wide array of household products. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered that roughly 98% of Americans now have traces of PFA’s or PFC's in their bodies.

Simple Solutions

There's clearly no argument as to whether conventional non-stick cookware has a negative impact on human health, so with that in mind, what are the alternatives?

1. Ceramic

Ceramic cookware is gaining popularity fast thanks to its ability to create a non-stick cooking surface while containing no traces of PTFE or PFOA. Brands such as Neoflam are using the most advanced ceramic technology to produce durable and heat efficient non-stick coatings that are safer and more environmentally friendly than conventional non-stick cookware.

2. Cast Iron

Cast iron is extremely rugged, easy to clean, and if properly seasoned, it's also "non-stick" (minus the toxic cocktail of chemical compounds). Cooking with cast iron is a great way to experience many of the benefits that come with using non-stick cookware while also minimizing your exposure to harmful substances.

3. Heatproof Glass

Glass isn't the most dynamic cooking material and it's somewhat limited in the styles of cooking that it can accommodate, however, for oven baked dishes there aren't many materials more safe and affordable than heatproof glass. When choosing glassware for cooking, be sure to check that the glass is heatproof and of high quality construction. Pyrex has a great range of kitchen glassware for all sorts of different applications, including cooking.

4. Stone wear

Similar to ceramic, stonewear cooking equipment is a non-toxic alternative that usually involves a combination of crushed stone and a PTFE-free coating in order to achieve similar results to those of typical non-stick cookware.

5. Stainless Steel

Tried and tested, stainless steel is one of the safest cookware materials in existence and is an excellent non-stick alternative for many forms of cooking. It's worth noting that using frying pans and skillets that are made from stainless steel will sometimes result in ingredients sticking to the surface of the cookware when exposed to high temperatures. However, if you use ample amounts of a high quality cooking oil, you shouldn't have too much of a problem.

Article courtesy of food matters http://www.foodmatters.com/article/is-your-cookware-safe

Further reading references https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/PFCs_FactSheet.html

One step closer to finding out how wine may protect your neurons

Researchers have now found out how wine compounds are protective against neuronal death: they should pass through your stomach first

Let it be no misunderstanding: heavy alcohol intake has severe harmful effects. But already for several years, researchers have been finding that moderate wine intake can be beneficial in delaying the onset of cognitive impairments in aging and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Esteban-Fernández from the Institute of Food Science Research in Madrid and her colleagues have been investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying the neuro protective actions of wine, recently published in Frontiers in Nutrition.

Instead of investigating wine directly, they studied the compounds that are left after the wine has passed through the gut: the so-called wine-derived human gut metabolites. They selected some of these metabolites based on their presence in the urine and feces of people consuming wine on a regular and moderate basis. To explore the neuronal effect of these compounds, they added them to human cells under stress conditions that normally lead to neuronal cell dysfunction and death. These conditions are related to the initial stages of some neurodegenerative disorders.

They found that the metabolites are protecting the cells from dying due to the stress conditions. The most striking result, however, was that the metabolites are active at different points in the cell signaling cascade that is leading to this cell death. The exact composition of the wine metabolites is therefore important in the protective neuronal effect. And this composition depends on your gut microbiota composition, as the intestinal flora breaks down the wine into the different metabolites.

"In other words, differences in our gut microbiota are leading to the different metabolites. Which underpins the idea that humans benefit from food in different ways," Dr. Esteban-Fernández explains. "This individual difference is a factor not to be neglected to understand the health effects of certain foods. We are now in need to advance our understanding of the effect of diet in the promotion of normal brain function."

"It is very important to understand that certain food compounds are responsible for this health benefit in protecting against the onset of neurodegenerative diseases; no medication was involved. I am not advocating to replace medicines by diet, but I want to raise more awareness how your diet is helping to prevent diseases or reduces the risk of getting sick. It is more than feasible to go to the supermarket and buy vegetables and fruit: it depends only on the individuals to maintain a balanced diet."

Journal Reference:

1.     1.      A. Esteban-Fernández, C. Rendeiro, J. P. E. Spencer, D. Gigorro del Coso, M. D. González de Llano, B. Bartolomé, M. V. Moreno-Arribas. Neuroprotective Effects of Selected Microbial-Derived Phenolic Metabolites and Aroma Compounds from Wine in Human SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cells and Their Putative Mechanisms of Action. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2017; 4 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2017.00003

Use everyday habits to keep your memory in good shape

Your daily habits and lifestyle — what you eat and drink, whether you exercise, how stressed you are, and more — affect your mental health every bit as much as your physical health. A growing body of research indicates that regular exercise and a healthful diet can help protect your memory from aging-related decline.

Exercise

Physical fitness and mental fitness go together. People who exercise regularly tend to stay mentally sharp into their 70s, 80s, and beyond. Although the precise "dose" of exercise isn't known, research suggests that the exercise should be moderate to vigorous and regular. Examples of moderate exercise include brisk walking, stationary bicycling, water aerobics, and competitive table tennis. Vigorous activities include jogging, high-impact aerobic dancing, square dancing, and tennis

Exercise helps memory in several ways. It reduces the risk of developing several potentially memory-robbing conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. Exercise is good for the lungs, and people who have good lung function send more oxygen to their brains. There is some evidence that exercise helps build new connections between brain cells and improves communication between them. Finally, exercise has been linked to increased production of neurotrophins, substances that nourish brain cells and help protect them against damage from stroke and other injuries.

Here are some ways to build physical activity into your daily routine:

·         Walk instead of driving when possible.

·         Set aside time each day for exercise. For extra motivation, ask your spouse or a friend to join you.

·         Use the stairs instead of the elevator.

·         Plant a garden and tend it.

·         Take an exercise class or join a health club.

·         Swim regularly, if you have access to a pool or beach.

·         Learn a sport that requires modest physical exertion, such as tennis.

Go Mediterranean

Mediterranean-type diets highlight whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats from fish, nuts, and healthy oils. This eating style helps promote heart health and may also lessen the risk of memory and thinking problems later in life. In a study that followed more than 2,000 people over four years, those who most closely followed a Mediterranean-type diet had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. A later study suggested that following a Mediterranean-type diet could slow the conversion of mild cognitive impairment into full-blown dementia.

The types of fat that predominate in the diet also seem to affect memory. As part of the national Women's Health Initiative, 482 women ages 60 and older were observed for three years. They reported on their diets, and researchers tested their memory and thinking skills at the beginning of the study and at the end. Those who ate more unsaturated fat (which is abundant in vegetable oils and fatty fish) and less saturated fat (from red meat and full-fat dairy foods) had significantly less decline in memory than those who ate relatively little unsaturated fat.

Eating several servings of fruits and vegetables can also protect memory. Foods from plants are chock full of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that may protect against age-related deterioration throughout the body.

Article courtesy of Harvard health publications

2 ways to protect your heart: Improve sleep and manage stress

If you have heart disease, you’re probably all too familiar with tenets of a heart-healthy lifestyle; eat wisely, get regular physical activity, keep weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar on target; and if you smoke, quit. What you might not know is that sufficient, good-quality sleep and stress control also offer genuine benefits to your heart.

Sleep

Two sleep-related problems that plague many people — sleep deprivation and sleep apnea — have been linked to a higher risk of heart disease.

• Sleep deprivation. Over time, inadequate or poor quality sleep can increase the risk for a number of chronic health problems, including heart disease. Studies have linked short-term sleep deprivation with several well-known contributors to heart disease, including high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and high blood pressure.

• Sleep apnea. This common cause of loud, disruptive snoring makes people temporarily stop breathing many times during the night. Up to 83% of people with heart disease also have sleep apnea, according to some estimates.
  
  In the most common form, obstructive sleep apnea, soft tissue in the upper part of the mouth or back of the throat completely blocks the airway. Oxygen levels dip and the brain sends an urgent “Breathe now!” signal. That signal briefly wakes the sleeper and makes him or her gasp for air. That signal also jolts the same stress hormone and nerve pathways that are stimulated when you are angry or frightened. As a result, the heart beats faster and blood pressure rises—along with other things that can threaten heart health such as inflammation and an increase in blood clotting ability.

If you snore often and loudly — especially if you find yourself tired during the day — talk with your doctor about an evaluation for sleep apnea.

Check your stress (and negative thoughts) at the door

A growing body of evidence suggests that psychological factors are — literally — heartfelt, and can contribute to cardiac risk. Stress from all sorts of challenging situations and events plays a significant role in cardiovascular symptoms and outcome, particularly heart attack risk. The same is true for depression, anxiety, anger, hostility, and social isolation. Acting alone, each of these factors heightens your chances of developing heart problems. But these issues often occur together, for example, psychological stress often leads to anxiety, depression can lead to social isolation, and so on.

Does reducing stress, or changing how you respond to it, actually reduce your chances of developing heart disease or having a heart attack? The answer isn’t entirely clear, but many studies suggest the answer is “yes.” There is much to learn about exactly how. Research indicates that constant stress contributes biologically to heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and the formation of artery-clogging deposits. Other research finds that chronic stress may make it harder to sleep, eat well, quit smoking, and exercise.

Fortunately, you can learn healthier ways to respond to stress that may help your heart and improve your quality of life. These include relaxation exercises (deep breathing, guided imagery), physical activity (walking, yoga), and staying connected with friends, co-workers, family members.

Article courtesy of Harvard health Publications