The Brain-Gut connection is now a well-established fact. Yet, most people, despite fearing approaching senility, still eat poorly. The worst brain offender are refined sugars and pesticides. See “more food for thought “blog.
Hugo Rodier, MD
Growing body of evidence links microbiomes to brain health
“NBC News (7/19/23, Camero) reports, “New research presented Wednesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam highlights a growing body of evidence linking people’s microbiomes to” the health of their brains. For example, “one study found that chronic constipation was tied to worse cognitive abilities — the equivalent of three years of aging — while two other studies found that certain gut bacteria were associated with dementia risk.”
“According to CNN (7/19, Rogers), “bowel movement frequency and subjective cognitive function were also linked with the participants’ gut microbiomes.” Among people “with infrequent bowel movements and worse cognitive function, there was a depletion in good bacteria that produce butyrates, fatty acids which support the gut barrier that prevents bacteria and other microbes from entering your bloodstream.” In another “abstract of 140 middle-aged adults, having lower levels of neuroprotective gut bacteria Butyricicoccus and Ruminococcus was associated with elevated levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers,” researchers concluded.”
Replacing mayonnaise, margarine with olive oil tied to reduced risk for mortality from dementia
“Healio (7/24/23, Bascom) reports, “Replacing mayonnaise and margarine with olive oil may reduce the risk for mortality from dementia among adults in the United States,” researchers concluded after conducting “a study including 60,582 women and 31,801 men to evaluate the connections between olive oil intake and subsequent risk for dementia-related mortality, which they ascertained from death records.” The findings were presented at NUTRITION 2023.”
Comment: artificial oils are just as bad as artificial/refined sugars. Remember that the brain is 80% fat. I hope you don’t behave like it’s 100%.
Time-Varying Use of Proton Pump Inhibitors and Cognitive Impairment and Dementia
“Pantoprazole was the most frequently used PPI agent. Although the estimated hazard ratio for the time-varying use effect of each PPI showed different ranges, all agents were associated with an increased dementia risk.”
Comment: acid-blockers interfere with the digestion and absorption of nutrient functions of the microbiome.
Heart benefits of ‘weekend warrior’ physical activity similar to everyday exercise
Healio Minute, July 18, 2023
“People who concentrate physical activity into 1 to 2 days per week — so-called “weekend warriors” — derive CV benefits that are similar to those who spread exercise activity more evenly throughout the week, researchers reported. In an analysis of nearly 90,000 people who provided 1 week of accelerometer-based physical activity data, researchers found that the weekend warrior pattern of physical activity was associated with similarly lower risks for incident atrial fibrillation, MI, HF and stroke compared with physical activity patterns that were more evenly distributed throughout the week. “Our findings suggest that efforts to improve physical activity, even if concentrated within 1 to 2 days of the week, should be beneficial for cardiovascular risk. The mean age of participants was 62 years; 56% were women. The researchers compared three moderate to vigorous physical activity patterns: active weekend warrior ( 150 minutes with 50% of total moderate to vigorous physical activity achieved in 1 to 2 days), active regular ( 150 minutes and not meeting active weekend warrior status) and inactive (< 150 minutes). Researchers then assessed the same patterns using the sample median threshold of 230.4 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week. The main outcome was the associations between activity pattern and incident AF, MI, HF and stroke. The findings were published in JAMA.”
Comment: even avoiding prolonged sitting is beneficial. If you sit for more than 30 minutes, get up for 2 minutes. Exercise also reduces the risk of dementia.
Adults with depression more than twice as likely to get dementia later in life
“USA Today (7/24/23, Alltucker) reports, “A study of more than 1.4 million Danish adults found those diagnosed with depression were more than twice as likely to get dementia later in life,” an association suggesting that “depression may increase dementia risk,” according JAMA Neurology. After examining “a Danish registry of nearly 250,000 citizens diagnosed with depression and nearly 1.2 million without depression,” researchers found that “those with depression were 2.4 times more likely to have dementia later in life compared to those without depression.” According to CNN (7/24, Holcombe), the study provides “strong evidence that depression is not only an early symptom of dementia, but also that depression increases dementia risk.”
Comment: hmm, that ought to help you lift your depression—not.
Association of sugar-sweetened beverages with the risk of colorectal cancer
European J. of Clinical Nutrition Published: 12 July 2023
“The association between sugar-sweetened beverages intake and colorectal cancer (CRC) remains controversial. A meta-analysis was performed to clarify the correlation between sugar-sweetened beverages and CRC risk/mortality. It suggests that sugar-sweetened beverages intake may increase CRC risk, independent of CRC mortality. Whether CRC risk increases with increased sugar-sweetened beverage intake needs further investigation in the future.”
Comment: “controversial?” I guess the researchers went out for sandwiches when the 1931 Nobel Prize in Physiology was given to Dr. Warburg for his research showing that “cancer cells are ravenous for sugar.”
Kidney stone formers consume fewer veggies, more soft drinks
“Renal & Urology News (7/14/23, Charnow) reported, “Kidney stone formers have a lower consumption of vegetables, nuts, and seeds, and alcoholic beverages compared with nonformers, and they are more likely to consume soft drinks, according to a Swiss study.” The findings were published in the Journal of Renal Nutrition.”
Comment: instead of consuming those foods, kidney stone sufferers are eating more refined sugars.
Limit PSA Screening to Men With Symptoms
Neil Osterweil. Medscape Medical News, May 18, 2023
“A new strategy proposed by an international team of experts would limit the use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for screening tor prostate cancer to men younger than 70 years and at high risk or symptomatic. This would reduce potential harms from overdiagnosis and overtreatment, the risk for which is high with the on-demand screening that is the current standard of care in most wealthy nations. Instead a comprehensive nationwide program would base PSA testing on individual patient risk and direct those with abnormal results to a managed system of imaging, targeted biopsy only if indicated, and subsequent active monitoring or treatment for those with more aggressive disease features. Government health programs could actively discourage widespread PSA testing and implement policies that would effectively limit PSA-based screening only to men with urologic symptoms warranting further exploration.”
Comment: the same goes for the digital exam.
