Most of us have to deal with pain, especially as we put on a lot of mileage. An important part of the physiology of pain is how the painful signals from the body are interpreted in the brain. There is plenty of evidence to show that our attitudes determine the severity of the pain. A bit of training and “attitude adjustments” should be part of any pain management program. See below.
Hugo Rodier, MD
Mindfulness ‘Changes the Biology’ of Pain
Medscape Medical News, August 15, 2022
“New research provides novel insight into how mindfulness alters pain-related activity in the brain, in findings that point to more targeted pain management.
In a randomized trial, more than 100 healthy individuals were assigned to an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program, a health improvement program (HEP) of the same length, or a waiting list. Scanning participants’ brains during a heat-based stimulus pain task showed those who completed the MBSR had a reduction in a brain signature linked to the sensory intensity of pain.
“Our finding supports the idea that for new practitioners, mindfulness training directly affects how sensory signals from the body are converted into a brain response,” Joseph Wielgosz, PhD, of the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in a release. Further analysis in long-term meditation practitioners showed the total time spent on intensive retreats was associated with neural changes associated with the perceived stress of pain.
“Just like an experienced athlete plays a sport differently than a first-timer, experienced mindfulness practitioners seem to use their mental ‘muscles’ differently in response to pain than first-time meditators,” Wielgosz noted. The findings were published online July 28 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.”
3,800-9,800 steps per day needed to reduce dementia risk
“CNN (9/6, LaMotte) reports that to reduce the risk for dementia, people “need between 3,800 and 9,800 [steps] each day,” according to findings published online in a brief report in JAMA Neurology. The study found that people aged 40-79 “who took 9,826 steps per day were 50% less likely to develop dementia within seven years.” In addition, people with a pace of over 40 steps a minute “were able to cut their risk of dementia by 57% with just 6,315 steps a day.”
Comments: unless you are an athlete, or wish to burn some calories, it is best to placidly walk along a river lined with trees. Rushing through physical activity to intensify the experience is not as relaxing. Dementia thrives on stress, physical and mental.
Daily use of multivitamin-mineral supplements may be tied to slower rate of cognitive decline
“Healio (9/14/22, Downey) reports, “The daily use of multivitamin-mineral supplements improved global cognition, episodic memory and executive function in older adults,” investigators concluded after conducting “a large randomized two-by-two factorial three-year trial that included 2,262 participants.” Medscape (9/14/22, Burton, Subscription Publication) reports the phase 3 COSMOS-Mind study, which “tested whether daily intake of cocoa extract vs placebo and a multivitamin-mineral vs placebo improved cognition in older adults,” revealed that “daily multivitamin use, but not cocoa, is linked to a significantly slower rate of age-related cognitive decline.” HealthDay (9/14/22, Reinberg) reports the study found that “taking a multivitamin over the course of three years reduced thinking declines by about 60%,” with greater benefits seen “among people with heart disease.” The findings were published online in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of The Alzheimer’s Association.”
Comment: the pharmaceutical industry has been casting aspersions on any research that validates nutritional supplements (ask yourself why). This one must have escaped their paid-for reviewers.
Fatty Liver tied to increased rate of dementia in older adults
“MedPage Today (7/13, Hamza) reports, “Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was associated with an increased rate of dementia in older adults,” investigators concluded. In the “analysis of 31,255 people 65 and older,” researchers found that people “with NAFLD had a higher rate of all-cause dementia versus the general population…after adjusting for cardiovascular comorbidities and other factors.” The findings were published online in the journal Neurology.”
Comment: we get Fatty Liver from eating too much sugar. Many other articles have shown that sugar is toxic to all organs, in particular the brain. Some doctors refer to aging brain issues as “Type III Diabetes.”
Ultra-processed food tied to increased risk of colorectal cancer, heart disease, early death
“CNN (9/1, LaMotte) reports, “Eating a lot of ultra-processed foods significantly increases men’s risk of colorectal cancer and can lead to heart disease and early death in both men and women, according to two…large-scale studies of people in the United States and Italy” published in The BMJ. The U.S. study “examined the diets of over 200,000 men and women for up to 28 years and found a link between ultra-processed foods and colorectal cancer…in men, but not women.” Meanwhile, the Italy-based study “compared the role of nutrient-poor foods…versus ultra-processed foods in the development of chronic disease and early death” and “found that both types of foods independently increased the risk of an early death, especially from cardiovascular diseases.”
Comment: too bad they didn’t include brain and cognitive issues in this study. Remember that the brain is quite vulnerable to any decrease in cardiovascular function.
Drinking two or more cups of tea daily may help stave off early death
“MedPage Today (8/29, Monaco) reports, “A few cups of tea a day might help to stave off an early death, a U.K. Biobank prospective cohort study showed.” The article adds, “Among nearly half a million middle-age adults, those who consumed two or more cups of tea a day saw a modest but lower risk for all-cause mortality over a median 11.2-year follow-up, reported” researchers in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Meanwhile, “in fully adjusted models for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, drinking more than two cups of tea per day was associated with a 14% to 24% lower risk for death from all cardiovascular diseases.”
Comment: as you read above, any improvement in cardiovascular health will positively impact brain health. Black, Green and Oolong tea are the best.
Daily prune consumption preserves, protects bones in postmenopausal women
“In postmenopausal women, eating prunes every day prevented loss of hip bone mineral density and protected against hip fractures, according to a randomized controlled trial published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “Our data supports the use of prunes to protect the hip from bone loss post-menopause,” Mary Jane De Souza, PhD, FACSM, distinguished professor of kinesiology and physiology and director of the Women’s Health and Exercise Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, said in a press release. “Indeed, these data may be especially valuable for postmenopausal women who cannot take pharmacological therapy to combat bone loss and need an alternative strategy.”
Comment: prunes are rich in potassium, fiber, antioxidants and vitamin K. The latter is particularly helpful in bone building. But prunes also help your bones, and the rest of your body, by improving your microbiome. This leads to better absorption of all nutrients, including indispensable minerals.
