The patients I see in my office are very self-selected. They tend to eat a lot better diet than the general population. I hope you are taking care of yourself “so when thy summons come to join that innumerable caravan that moves to the mysterious realms where each shall take his/her chamber in the silent halls of death” you have no regrets about your health. Hugo Rodier, MD
Diet quality has taken sharp decline for older Americans
“MedPage Today (3/11/22 Monaco) reported, “Over the past two decades, diet quality has taken a sharp decline for older Americans,” investigators concluded. When “scored based on the American Heart Association (AHA) 2020 Strategic Impact Goals for diet, the average primary score dropped by 7.9% from 2001 to 2018…for adults 65 and over,” the study revealed. What’s more, “the proportion of older adults who were classified as having a ‘poor diet quality’ jumped from 50.9% to 60.9%,” which “was defined as less than 40% adherence to the AHA goals.” The findings were published online in JAMA Network Open.”
Coffee Drinking Cuts Heart Disease Risk, Prolong Survival
Medscape Medical News, March 27, 2022. Marlene Busko.
“A trio of analyses based on the prospective UK Biobank cohort suggest that regular coffee drinking, especially a daily intake of two to three cups, is not only safe for the heart but may be cardioprotective. People without cardiovascular disease (CVD) with that level of coffee intake, compared with those who weren’t coffee drinkers, showed significantly reduced risks of death and a range of CVD endpoints, the reductions ranging from 8% to 15% over about 10 years. In a separate analysis, participants with CVD at baseline also showed significantly improved survival with coffee intake of two to three cups daily, and no increased risk of arrhythmias.
In a third cut of the UK Biobank data, the clinical benefits of the same level of coffee drinking were observed whether the coffee consumed was the “instant” kind for reconstitution with water or brewed from ground whole beans.
Some clinicians advise their patients that coffee drinking may trigger or worsen some types of heart disease, observed Peter M. Kistler, MD, the Alfred Hospital and Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia. But the current analyses suggest that “daily coffee intake should not be discouraged, but rather considered part of a healthy diet.”
Comment: yes, but there are some sensitive people who will see a faster heart rate, higher blood pressure and stomach irritation. The proof of the pudding….
J Am Heart Assoc. 2022;doi:10.1161/JAHA.121.024014
Comment: don’t fear the fat in avocados! Best thing to add to your sandwiches.
Berries, red wine lower mortality in Parkinson’s
J. Neurology Epub January 26, 2022
“In a prospective analysis of more than 1,200 participants… those who ate three or more servings of flavonoid-rich foods per week had a 70% lower mortality versus those consuming one or fewer servings of such foods per month.”
Comment: it’s about antioxidants, which are high in veggies. Interestingly, constipation, associated with low consumption of veggies, increases the risk of Parkinson’s three-fold. Think of Prebiotic fiber feeding your microbiome, the Brain-Gut connection.
Vitamin C and scar strength
The American J. of Clinical Nutrition 2022;115:8
“A double-blind controlled trial initiated in 1944 has led to the common narrative that a 10-mg daily vitamin C intake is adequate to prevent and treat impaired wound healing, and by inference, other collagen-related diseases such as heart disease or stroke. The findings show that a vitamin C intake that averages to 10 mg/d over a mean follow-up of 11.5 months was associated with a 42% weakened scar strength when compared with 80 mg vitamin C intake/d. The findings also show that a vitamin C intake that averages to 65 mg/d over a mean follow-up of 6.5 months failed to restore the normal wound-healing capacity of vitamin C–depleted tissues; such tissues had a 49% weaker scar strength when compared with nondepleted tissues. Thus, average daily vitamin C intakes ∼50% higher than the WHO recommends may fail to treat existing collagen-related pathologies. It is concluded that the prior lack of statistical analyses of a landmark trial may have led to a misleading narrative on the vitamin C needs for the prevention and treatment of collagen-related pathologies.”
Comment: Linus Pauling was vilified for stating this decades ago.
Low HDL, higher triglyceride levels as early as age 35 may be tied to Alzheimer’s disease later in life
“HealthDay (3/23/22 Mann) People “who developed Alzheimer’s disease later in life were more likely to have had lower levels of high density (HDL) or ‘good’ cholesterol and higher levels of dangerous blood fats called triglycerides as early as age 35 compared with folks who didn’t go on to develop dementia.” The study team arrived at this conclusion after examining “data on close to 5,000 people who underwent thorough exams about every four years for most of their lives, including during three specific age periods: 35-50, 51-60 and 61-70.” Published online in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.”
Comment: this is also tied to Type III Diabetes: the brain is seeing too much sugar because the liver is overwhelmed—fatty liver affects how we process cholesterol. Statin drugs don’t help this condition. Best to quit sugar and increase intake of omega oils.
Fewer than 10K steps daily reduce older adults’ mortality risk
Healio Minute, March 15, 2022
“Older adults can reduce their risk for all-cause mortality if they walk about 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day, according to findings published in The Lancet Public Health (2022;doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00302-9.) Also, adults aged younger than 60 years can reduce their mortality risk by walking about 8,000 to 10,000
Comment: walking is the best form of exercise for older people. Relaxing, too.
Healthy sleep behaviors may reduce impact of genetic predisposition, lifestyle factors on risk for mental disorders
“Healio (3/2/22 Gramigna) reports, “Healthy sleep behaviors may reduce the impact of genetic predisposition and lifestyle factors on the risk for mental disorders,” investigators concluded after examining “data from 402,290 participants from the U.K. Biobank who did not have baseline mental disorders,” then grouping “participants…into poor, intermediate and health sleep patterns based on their sleep score, calculated using data collected from five sleep behaviors.” The study revealed “an association between healthy sleep pattern and lower risk for overall mental disorder status…depressive disorders,” and “anxiety disorders. Published online, the journal Psychiatry Research.”
Comment: Epigenetics, “above genetics:” nurture, that is, how you take care of yourself.
Soy nut consumption improves cerebral blood flow and psychomotor speed
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2021;114:2097
“Longer-term soy nut consumption may improve cerebrovascular function of older adults, because regional Cerebral blood flow increased. Effects may underlie observed improvements in psychomotor speed.”
Comment: demonizing soy has to go. The only thing bad about it is the processing.
