2012 Archives
2012 Archives:
Healthy Living
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Mental Activity Best Hope Against Late Cognitive Decline
Middle-Aged Adults Who Cycle or Stretch Improve Memory
Physical Activity and Physical Function in Older Adults: The 45 and Up Study (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2012)
Remember This: Exercise Boosts Your Brainpower
Sitting Too Much May Boost Odds of Dying
Strength Training May Give Boost to Seniors' Brains“Elderly women noticing the first signs of memory decline might ward off full-blown dementia by engaging in routine strength training, new research suggests. But while supervised weight-lifting seemed to boost mental functioning among those struggling with incipient memory loss, aerobics-based activity programs did not confer a similar mental health benefit, the study team found. "Most studies have looked at aerobic training, but this study compares both aerobic and strength training," explained study co-author Teresa Liu-Ambrose, an assistant professor in the department of physical therapy at the University of British Columbia. "And among people who don't yet have dementia but are already at a high risk in terms of mild memory and executive function impairment, our study shows that strength training, but not aerobics training, does have benefits for cognition." … The team cautioned that their findings may not necessarily apply to women of a different age group, or to men in general.”
The health benefits of dietary fiber: Beyond the usual suspects of type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and colon cancer (Metabolism-Clinical and Experimental 2012)
The mediterranean dietary pattern and breast cancer risk in Greek-Cypriot women: a case-control study (BMC Cancer. 2012) “Our results suggest that adherence to a diet pattern rich in vegetables, fish, legumes and olive oil may favorably influence the risk of breast cancer. This study is the first investigation of dietary effects on breast cancer risk in Cyprus, a country whose population has traditionally adhered to the Mediterranean diet.”
Use It or Lose It: Mind Games Help Healthy Older People Too
Walking May Lessen the Influence of Genes On Obesity by Half
Allergy Tests Should Only Confirm Diagnosis
Associations of dietary magnesium intake with mortality from cardiovascular disease: The JACC study. (Atherosclerosis. 2012) “In conclusion, dietary magnesium intake was associated with reduced mortality from cardiovascular disease in Japanese, especially for women. ”
Fasting may help prevent dementia and cancer “In the past, fasting was a commonly used medical treatment. New research suggests we should go back to the traditional therapy. Experts say drastically reducing dietary intake can trigger a protective process in the brain against age-related degeneration diseases like dementia. According to news reports released March 3 in Beijing, China, foreign media outlets reported that in the near future, family physicians may recommend that you should fast two days per week in order to prevent the brain from age-related shrinkage, and lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. In the past, fasting was a common therapy. New research now suggests that we should resume this traditional therapy because fasting seems to trigger a cascade of beneficial physiological changes in hormones and metabolism in the body.”
Fish oil plus exercise may do older muscles good
Flavonoid intake and cardiovascular disease mortality in a prospective cohort of US adults (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2012) “Flavonoid consumption was associated with lower risk of death from CVD. Most inverse associations appeared with intermediate intakes, suggesting that even relatively small amounts of flavonoid-rich foods may be beneficial.”
Fruit and Vegetable Intake and the Risk of Hypertension in Middle-Aged and Older Women (American Journal of Hypertension (2012)) “Many known nutrients rich in fruits and vegetables, such as fiber, potassium, magnesium, folate, and vitamin C, are postulated to lower BP. Trials that tested the BP-lowering effects of these nutrients in the form of dietary supplements have shown inconsistent results,30,31 suggesting that other components in fruits and vegetables or potential interactions among multiple nutrients may be responsible for the benefits. When we examined individual and subgroups of fruit and vegetable, a stronger inverse association was observed for green-leafy vegetables, dark-yellow vegetables, apples, oranges, and raisins. Dark-green and orange vegetables have been emphasized in the dietary recommendations by the US Department of Agriculture27 and Harvard healthy eating guidelines.32 It is possible that the nutrient components in these food subgroups have particularly strong effects on BP, but this hypothesis needs to be further investigated. Elimination of the associations after adjustment for BMI supports a concept that maintaining normal body weight could be one important pathway through which fruit and vegetable consumption may contribute to BP regulation.”
Get the most out of home blood pressure monitoring “Encourage better control. Taking your own blood pressure measurements can result in better blood pressure control. You gain a stronger sense of responsibility for your health, and you may be even more motivated to control your blood pressure with an improved diet, physical activity and proper medication use.”
Green tea drinkers show less disability with age: study
Healthy Middle Age Makes a Big Difference
How To Get Fit With 3 Minutes Of Exercise A Week: BBC Doc Tries "HIT" “Insulin sensitivity is important for keeping blood sugar or glucose stable. When you eat, your digestion starts putting glucose into your bloodstream. This causes the pancreas to release insulin, a hormone that triggers body tissue to absorb circulating glucose. If your insulin sensitivity reduces, the pancreas has to release more and more insulin to keep blood glucose levels stable. Abnormally low insulin sensitivity is known as insulin resistance, a condition that results in high levels of insulin, glucose and fats circulating in the bloodstream. It is a main risk factor for metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. It is not clear how HIT affects insulin sensitivity, but Timmons, and some other scientists that Mosley spoke to, suggest it could be because HIT uses many more muscles than conventional aerobic training. HIT engages 80% of the muscles of the body, compared to up to 40% during moderate jogging or cycling. HIT engages not only leg muscles, but also the muscles in the upper body, such as the arms and shoulders. One of the effects of exercise is to break down glycogen in muscles. Glycogen is a stored form of glucose. The theory is that removing stores of glycogen makes way for fresh glucose to be deposited from the bloodstream. So the more muscle tissue that come under this influence, the more space that is available for new glucose deposits.”
Interaction of Aging and Exercise on the Cardiovascular System of Healthy Adults (Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 2012) “In these studies, physically active men and women at all ages were observed to have a superior functional capacity, as well as a lower rate of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality, as compared with matched sedentary individuals. In addition, a limited number of studies, involving healthy elderly men and women, have demonstrated that moderate-to-vigorous exercise training can substantially improve functional capacity and modify many of the age-related cardiovascular changes.”
Kids' Snacks Can Be Healthy and Inexpensive
Lifestyle and the Risk of Dementia in Japanese-American Men. (J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011)
Mediterranean Diet Lowers White Matter Hyperintensity Volume “"A Mediterranean-style diet may be protective against small vessel disease in the brain," senior investigator Clinton Wright, MD, from the University of Miami in Florida, told Medscape Medical News. "This is important because it suggests that a Mediterranean-style diet could lower the risk of vascular disease affecting the brain once confirmed in prospective studies." “
Mediterranean Diet Might Be Healthier for Brain “But they concluded it was likelier that the overall diet -- rather than any specific nutrients -- might somehow affect the brain. Another expert agreed that lifestyle, including diet, is key to brain health. "This just adds to the building body of evidence of the power of lifestyle changes, especially the Mediterranean diet, in disease modification and prevention, " said Dr. Robert Graham, an internist at Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York City. Previous research has suggested that eating a Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome, coronary heart disease, stroke and thought and memory disorders.”
Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Protect the Aging Brain
Replacing caloric beverages with water or diet beverages for weight loss in adults: main results of the Choose Healthy Options Consciously Everyday (CHOICE) randomized clinical trial1,2,3,4 (Am J Clin Nutr 2012)
Sleeping More Reduces Risk Of Alzheimer's
Steady Diet of Mental Stimulation Might Reduce Alzheimer's Risk “People who engage in activities such as reading and playing games throughout their lives may be lowering levels of a protein in their brains that is linked to Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests. Although whether the buildup of the protein, beta amyloid, causes Alzheimer's disease is debatable, it is a hallmark of the condition, the researchers noted. "Staying cognitively active over the lifetime may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by preventing the accumulation of Alzheimer's-related pathology," said study author Susan Landau, a research scientist at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.”
Sunny Skies Linked to Lower Stroke Risk
Swimming lowers older adults' blood pressure “On average, the swimmers started the study with a systolic blood pressure of 131 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Three months later, it was 122 mm Hg. Normal blood pressure is defined as an average reading no higher than 120/80 mm Hg. Readings of 140/90 or higher are considered high blood pressure, and anything in between is considered "pre-hypertension." Swimming is often promoted as a good way for older people to exercise, since it's easy on the joints and it's not likely to cause overheating. And many follow that advice: after walking, swimming is the second-most popular form of exercise among the older set.”
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