Here is a follow up on my recent blog on nutritionally deficient doctors: drugs commonly used for seizure disorders (carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital and primidone) raise Vitamin D requirements.[1] This is yet another reason why many of us need to supplement our diets.
Hugo Rodier, MD
Whole grain-rich diet reduces body weight
It also reduces systemic low-grade inflammation without inducing major changes of the gut microbiome.[2] If you have forsaken grains to follow a Paleo diet to lose weight, you may need to reassess that decision. But keep in mind that our microbiome is uniquely yours alone. This is why there is ambivalence on what is the best diet. Statistically, it is a plant-based Mediterranean diet because most of us are Mediterranean descendants. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If you have some money to spare you could do specific tests to see what diet is best for you. See article below.
Experts recommend plant-based diet
“The AP (1/17, Choi) says a new report from nutrition, agriculture and environmental experts “recommends a plant-based diet, based on previously published studies that have linked red meat to increased risk of health problems.” The recommendation also “comes amid recent studies of how eating habits affect the environment,” as the production of red meat “takes up land and feed to raise cattle, which also emit the greenhouse gas methane.” The diet, organized by Stockholm-based nonprofit EAT, “says red meat consumption on average needs to be slashed by half globally” and “encourages whole grains, beans, fruits and most vegetables.” Reuters (1/16, Kelland) reports that if the world followed the recommended diet, researchers said “more than 11 million premature deaths could be prevented each year, while greenhouse gas emissions would be cut and more land, water and biodiversity would be preserved.” Tim Lang, a professor at Britain’s University of London who co-led the research, said, “The food we eat and how we produce it determines the health of people and the planet, and we are currently getting this seriously wrong.”
Fatty Liver Epidemic
About one third of people suffer from this Pre-Diabetic condition. You can test for it with a blood test, the ALT and/or a Liver Ultrasound. It is caused by refined sugars in the diet and chemicals in the environment dubbed obesogens (pesticides, heavy metals, phthalates, BPA, etc.) When the liver is so affected, it does no optimally manage glucose and lipid levels, and it does not detoxify very well. The condition resolves by stopping the cause. The article “Effect of low free sugar diet vs usual diet on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in adolescent boys” clearly confirms that. Sadly, the authors conclude their study saying, “Findings should be considered preliminary. Further research needed.” Why don’t they come out, and admit we have known about cause and effect for decades? What are they afraid of? Rhetorical questions.
Internet addiction may affect up to eight percent of Americans
“Reuters (1/27, Borter) reported some “psychiatrists say internet addiction, characterized by a loss of control over internet use and disregard for the consequences of it, affects up to eight percent of Americans and is becoming more common around the world.” But, “neither the World Health Organization (WHO) nor the American Psychiatric Association recognize internet addiction as a disorder.” In 2018, “however, the WHO recognized the more specific Gaming Disorder following years of research in China, South Korea, and Taiwan, where” experts “have called it a public health crisis.”
Comment: read my blog about what is important being invisible to the eye. We live in a materialistic world where spiritual and emotional needs are neglected. This creates a vacuum that will not be filled with goods and gadgets. An internet addiction is no different than a food addiction or any other addiction.
Physical activity plays important role in reducing risk for depression
“TIME (1/25, Ducharme) reported that research published online Jan. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry revealed “more evidence than ever before that physical activity does play an important, and likely causal, role in reducing risk for depression.” For the study, investigators looked at “genetic data from more than 600,000 adults enrolled in multiple genomic association studies.”
Comment: we have known about this for decades, too. A recent study showed that Prozac is no better than exercising.[3] Why don’t we hear more about this? Another rhetorical question. Read related article below.
Higher levels of physical activity, motor abilities may be independently associated with better cognition
“NPR (1/16, Neighmond) reports that “even simple housework like cooking or cleaning may make a difference in brain health” as people age into their “70s and 80s.” For the study, investigators “looked at 454 older adults who were 70 or older when the research began.” Of these participants, “191 had behavioral signs of dementia and 263 did not.” Each participant was “given thinking and memory tests every year for 20 years.” After participants died, investigators examined their brains. MedPage Today (1/16, George) reports the postmortem study revealed that “higher levels of physical activity and motor abilities were independently associated with better cognition in older adults, even when brain lesions or biomarkers linked to dementia were present.” The findings were published online Jan. 16 in Neurology.”
Replacing 30 minutes of daily sitting with any kind of movement on a daily basis may increase lifespan
“TIME (1/15, Ducharme) reports new research “published in the American Journal of Epidemiology finds that replacing just 30 minutes of sitting with any kind of movement, every day, could help” people have a longer life. The study found that “getting up for half an hour of light activity – like walking, when a person would usually be sitting – corresponded to an estimated 17% lower risk of early death.” The study also found that “the same amount of moderate or vigorous exercise corresponded to about a 35% lower mortality risk. According to HealthDay (1/15, Preidt), “the new study involved nearly 8,000 American adults, aged 45 and older.” Participants “wore physical activity monitors for at least four days as part of research conducted between 2009 and 2013.” authors “then tracked deaths among the participants until 2017.”
Comment: OK, you don’t want to exercise. At least get your butt off the couch once a day! Go get your own beer!
High blood pressure affects gray matter volume (gmv)[4]
“BP ≥120/80 mm Hg was associated with lower GMV in regions that have previously been related to GM decline in older individuals with manifest hypertension. Our study shows that BP-associated GM alterations emerge continuously across the range of BP and earlier in adulthood than previously assumed. This suggests that treating hypertension or maintaining lower BP in early adulthood might be essential for preventing the pathophysiologic cascade of asymptomatic cerebrovascular disease to symptomatic end-organ damage, such as stroke or dementia.”
Comment: dementia and cognitive issues are overwhelmingly due to inflammation and poor circulation in the brain. Both are caused by refined sugar diets lacking in micronutrients like Omega oils. In a nutshell—high blood pressure is due to inflammation and it causes poor circulation. Blood at high pressure also pounds your brain harder.
Eating fried foods may increase risk of heart disease
“The New York Times (1/23, Bakalar) reports, “Eating fried foods may increase the risk of heart disease and death in women over 50,” research indicated. HealthDay (1/23, Thompson) reports investigators arrived at this conclusion after analyzing “data from the Women’s Health Initiative” from some “107,000 women between ages 50 and 79.” The findings were published online in the BMJ.”
Comment: “May?” Really? We have known about this for decades. Google transfats, but don’t ask the Coronel—he may have other fish to fry. Even natural oils can be harmful when subjected to high temperatures. They become oxidized and lose key micronutrients indispensable for arterial health.
Sleeping under six hours a night may lead to developing arterial plaque
“CNN (1/14, Lamotte) reports, “Sleeping fewer than six hours a night or waking frequently raises” the “risk of developing damaging plaque in arteries throughout” the body and not just in the heart, researchers concluded after examining data on some “4,000 Spanish men and women, with an average age of 46, who had no history of heart disease.” The findings were published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.”
Comment: I hope you don’t lose any sleep over this report.
Eating 25 to 30 grams of fiber daily may reduce risk for early death
“Reuters (1/10, Kelland) reports research “commissioned by the World Health Organization” reveals that “people who eat lots of high-fiber and whole grain foods have lower risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other chronic diseases than people whose diets are low in fiber.” The study found that for every eight-gram “increase in fiber eaten a day, total deaths and incidences of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer fell by” five “to 27 percent,” while also conferring “protection against stroke and breast cancer.”
Comment: remember that vegetables have 5-6 times more fiber than grains.
Exposure to pesticides or metals may be linked to cardiovascular diseases
“Reuters (1/9, Rapaport) reports that research suggests “workers who are exposed to pesticides or metals on the job may be significantly more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases.” Investigators looked at “data on occupational exposure to solvents, metals and pesticides for” more than 7,400 workers. The data indicated that “individuals who were exposed to pesticides were more than twice as likely overall to have conditions like heart disease, heart failure or…atrial fibrillation.” Meanwhile, “metal exposure was associated with a four-fold increase in risk for atrial fibrillation.” The findings were published in online in the journal Heart.”
Comment: get the lead out and eat your veggies!
Belief in genetic predispositions may have bigger impact on diet than actual genes
“The New York Times (1/9, Reynolds) reports a new study by researchers at Stanford University suggests that believing one has “a genetic predisposition to certain health characteristics, such as a low capacity for exercise or a tendency to overeat,” may be associated with an increased likelihood of such behaviors, “even if their DNA does not actually contain the gene variants in question.” The findings were published in Nature Human Behavior.”
Comment: read about EPIGENETICS.
- J. Neurology Reviews 2019 Jan p12 ↑
- J. Gut 2019 vol 68 Issue 1 ↑
- “Effects of moderate treadmill exercise and fluoxetine on behavioral and cognitive deficits, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction and alternations in hippocampal BDNF and mRNA expression of apoptosis,” J. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 2017;139:165↑
- J. Neurology January 23, 2019, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000006947 ↑
