Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
More than one-third of adults in the United States are obese. With that number on the rise, the risk of developing obesity-related conditions like heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes is on the rise, as well. Your doctor has told you to start following …
According to the CDC, nearly 90 percent of Americans report drinking alcohol during their lifetimes, and more than half of adults say they have consumed alcohol in the past month. However, more than half of American adults also do not exercise. A new study suggests …
It’s no secret that even being moderately physically active can benefit your overall health, wellness and fitness and may reduce your risk for numerous chronic and preventable diseases. But what happens if you are a fit and active older adult and decide to stop exercising? A new study shows a strong, direct link between physical fitness and cognitive health – specifically in the brain’s blood flow.
The study was performed by the University of Maryland School of Public Health and published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Researchers set out to study how endurance exercise training improves cerebrovascular health and has positive effects on the hippocampus (important for learning and memory), while studying it’s benefits when the participant stopped exercising.
Using MRI brain scans, researchers measured the brain’s blood flow in healthy, physically fit older adults ages 50-89 years old before and after a 10-day period, where they stopped all exercise.
Lead author J. Carson Smith, associate professor of kinesiology at UMD explains that previous studies using mice and rats have shown that exercise increases the growth of new blood vessels and brain cells. Other research shows that exercise can protect the hippocampus from shrinking in older adults. “So, it is significant that people who stopped exercising for only 10 days showed a decrease in blood flow to brain regions that are important for maintaining cognitive health.”
The study’s results showed significant reductions in resting brain flow in eight brain regions. However, researchers found no significant change in cognitive function in the participants before or after they stopped exercising. It is important to note that the study names the participants “master athletes”, described as “a unique population and should not be considered equivalent to older adults who engage in regular moderate to vigorous intensity leisure-time physical activity.”
J. Carson Smith further explains, “We know that if you are less physically active, you are more likely to have cognitive problems and dementia as you age. However, we did not find any evidence that cognitive abilities have worsened after stopping exercising for just 10 days. But the take home message is simple – if you do stop exercising for 10 days, just as you will quickly lose your cardiovascular fitness, you will also experience a decrease in blood brain flow.”
Though the brain is only about 2% of the body’s total weight, it receives 15-20% of the body’s blood supply. Brain cells will die if the supply of blood (which carries oxygen) is stopped. The blood brings many materials that are necessary for the brain to function properly – oxygen, carbohydrates, amino acids, fats, hormones, and vitamins.[1]
Without a normal influx of blood flow, your brain can begin to get off track. Ralph Sacco, M.D., chief of neurology at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami and past president of the American Heart Association says, “When your brain doesn’t get the blood flow it needs, it can begin to malfunction. As a result, you could experience problems thinking, trouble with memory, difficulty finding your way from place to place and deterioration in cognitive function. If blood flow to the brain is abruptly blocked, you could even have a stroke.”
If you have questions or concerns about your blood flow or brain health in general, speak to your primary physician. He or she may suggest for you to test how well your memory is working or recommend you to a neuropsychologist, who uses brain puzzles and teasers to assess your cognitive function compared to others your age. Be sure you are following a healthy lifestyle – get plenty of physical exercise and follow a healthy diet. For help with how you can get your body back on track through exercise and nutrition, speak with a nutritionist or naturopathic doctor today!
Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/312627.php
[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53082/
By Nicole Crane, BS, NTP Working out is hard work! Whether you get up early, hit the gym during lunch, or pound the pavement before or after dinner, exercise takes time and dedication. That hard work also comes with significant rewards and health benefits. Just …
Expert Discussion: Energy and Immunity by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph. Why are you so tired? Because the power-plants inside your cells are old and wrinkly! Within each of your trillions of cells (with few exceptions) there are tiny power plants called mitochondria. Some cells have a …
Jerry Hickey is a pharmacist and radio personality and fills the esteemed role of Scientific Director and President of Invite Health. He has spent his professional life analyzing nutritional information and medical studies with the aim of creating the highest quality and most natural nutraceuticals for user’s maximum health benefits. Here, Jerry speaks about the benefits of NAC…
N-Acetyl-Cysteine, or NAC, is the stabilized version of the amino acid known as Cysteine. NAC is a conditionally-essential nutrient, required by the body in larger servings during times of stress, illness and recovery. It is known as a master antioxidant that helps support the regions of the brain that regulate mental health. It has many integral uses for the brain, liver and lungs. According to human clinical trials, NAC is effective in supporting lung health because it helps break down the immune system’s “chemical messengers”, known as leukotrienes. It also helps to break up mucus. NAC is the rate-limiting molecule involved in the synthesis of Glutathione, the Mother Antioxidant enzyme that protects your immune cells, neurotransmitters, and removes toxins in the liver. This makes NAC an extremely beneficial supplement for many people. It supports blood flow to the heart, protects the kidneys, and maintain a normal detoxification process in the liver.
In the winter, you want lung antioxidants. Why else would NAC be good in the winter? Because it gives energy to your immune system. The University of Genoa in Italy published their findings in the European Respiratory Journal about this – using almost 300 people over the age of 65 from 20 Italian medical centers. When they gave elderly people NAC over the winter it improved their immune function and strongly improved their resistance. Do you know why? N-Acetyl-Cysteine energized their immune cells, their white blood cells. Just like the lungs have to be soaked and rich in antioxidants like NAC, so does your white blood cell because when it encounters a virus or bacteria, it gobbles it up. That’s the process called phagocytosis. The white blood cell bumps into the bacteria that it doesn’t recognize it as being part of the person and it literally engulfs it and then it floods itself with hydrochloric acid and other chemicals that kill the bacteria. It literally dissolves the bacteria and the bacteria die. The white blood cell has to be protected from its own acids and its own chemical arsenal. It wages chemical warfare on viruses and bacteria and cancer cells. So, the envelope of the white blood cell, the membrane, the bilipid membrane, which is the outer layers of the white blood cell have to be rich in antioxidants. Once again, what are they? Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Selenium, B-Vitamins and NAC.
In the summer, you want it because of the pollution. I mean, the pollution rises dramatically in the summer. You know, I walk around in the city now and it feels clean. The air is clean, but it’s very dry so you want to NAC to protect your lungs from the dryness, because the dryness causes inflammation in your lungs. But in the summer, the pollution rates sky rocket. All that dampness holds the pollution down like it does in Athens, like it does in Los Angeles, all that moisture from the Hudson River, from the East River, from the Long Island Sound, from the Atlantic Ocean, holds the smog down. You need N-Acetyl-Cysteine to protect your lungs from that smog because that stuff causes violent inflammation in the lungs.
When you take NAC, you protect your immune system from its own chemical weapons, so it can go and fight bacteria and viruses and be energized. It has more energy to do its job. So, take N-Acetyl-Cysteine over the winter. You only have to take it twice a day with food. Always take N-Acetyl-Cysteine with meals. When you take NAC in the winter, take one with breakfast, one with dinner, drink your green tea. It will really help keep you healthy, because it’s really supporting your immune system. It’s a very important thing. In general, it’s great for the lungs. In general, it’s great for the eyeball. It’s great for the kidneys and liver. It is one of the best things for supporting good blood volume. You know, we’ve spoken about grape seed lowering blood pressure, well, NAC strongly supports blood flow too.
When is that important? Well, that’s important when you’re exercising. NAC opens up blood vessels, opens up blood flow and the channels that bring blood and oxygen and nutrition to your muscles. You get a better work out when you take NAC before workout. So, all you guys, 40, 50, 60 years old who are runners, take NAC about half an hour to an hour before the exercise with a meal will open up the blood vessels. Your muscles will get more oxygen. You’ll have greater endurance and you’ll be less sore and have less risk of an injury. You will do better and recover more quickly. N-Acetyl-Cysteine is also great for the brain but it also makes you feel good.
