Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
In a report published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), officials estimate that 3 out of 4 adults in the United States have a predicted “heart age” older than their chronological age, which increases their risk of heart attack and stroke. Your …
Vitamin D, commonly referred to as the “sunshine vitamin”, is naturally produced in the body through sun exposure but also can be consumed through some foods like fish and eggs and through supplementation. A vitamin D deficiency can occur for a number of reasons, which …
You’ve heard it all before – exercise regularly, follow a healthy diet, stop smoking and drinking. Doctors and scientists have always followed the same guidelines for overall health and wellness. But a new study from the journal Neurology shows a rather new advancement – following one particular diet may make your brain about five years younger.
An MRI was performed on 674 older adults (an average of 80 years old) who participated in the study to compare factors that included total brain volume and total gray matter volume. Gray matter is mainly composed of cell bodies that help carry out most of your conscious thoughts and coordination. White matter is composed of the axons that connect to the cell bodies, controlling pathways the messages or impulses travel through to get to the brain.
Food surveys were completed by the participants describing what they ate in the last year. The study’s results showed that the group who followed a Mediterranean diet had heaver brains with more gray and white matter.
The Mediterranean diet involves meals made of mostly plants like vegetables, fruits and beans. Fish and poultry are also included. The diet advises you to eat three servings of carbs a day, particularly whole grains but to limit the amount of meat, dairy and saturated fat you eat.
A combination of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet (requires you to eat less fish and fruit) dubbed the MIND diet, was created by scientists at Harvard and Rush University in Chicago. Their study concluded that people who ate a diet close to the MIND diet saw a 53% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s. The Mediterranean diet is suggested by these researchers to help you live longer, manage your weight better and lower the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CNN). Jun Wang, MS and Director of Nutrition for InVite® Health, has reported on the DASH diet in an article he wrote entitled, Supporting Approaches to Managing Hypertension –
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) is a flexible and balanced eating plan that is based on research studies and specifically designed to lower blood pressure. The DASH diet focuses on the intake of fruits, vegetables, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, which includes whole grains, fish, poultry, beans, seeds, nuts and vegetable oils. The diet also limits the intake of sodium, sweets, sugary beverages and red meats. The DASH diet is low in saturated and trans-fats and rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, fiber, and protein, along with the antioxidant pigments such as polyphenols and carotenoids found in produce. All of these components make this diet one of the best for cardiovascular health.
Former director of Nutrition for InVite® Health, Dr. Millie Lytle, ND, MPH, CNS has also reported on the Mediterranean Diet in an article entitled, Nutrigenomics for Prostate Health, which delved into the relationship between nutrients and genes. In her article, she reports the relationship between the Mediterranean Diet and prostate cancer –
Twenty men with diagnosed prostate cancer adhered to a Mediterranean diet, with specific adaptations, for three months. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), C-reactive protein (CRP) and DNA damage were evaluated at baseline and after three months of following the diet. Dietary data was collated from diet diaries and an adaptation of a validated Mediterranean diet questionnaire. A significant reduction in DNA damage compared to baseline was apparent, with particular benefit noted for overall adherence to the diet, increased intake of folate, vitamin, legumes and green tea. Higher intakes of red meat and dairy products were inversely associated with DNA damage, meaning higher red meat and dairy consumption was associated with abnormal cells. The results from this small feasibility study suggest that a high-antioxidant diet, modelled on Mediterranean traditions, may be of benefit for men with prostate cancer. Protection against DNA damage appears to be associated with the diet implemented, theorized to be due to reduction in free radical damage from Reactive Oxygen Species.
For more information on the Mediterranean Diet, visit The Mayo Clinic or speak to a nutritionist or primary physician.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/21/health/mediterranean-diet-healthier-brain/index.html
According to CNN, about a third of adults in the U.S. suffer from hypertension, a leading risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and other health problems. Recent government data provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have indicated that between …
New research presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress suggests that regular exercise can delay the aging process up to seven years. Those experts suggest that one 25-minute walk per day, can halve the risk of heart attack heath and add seven years to …
It’s difficult enough to get out of bed in the morning. But for those who must regularly take pills, check their blood sugar levels or give themselves insulin every morning, they may have it a lot harder. Though, maintaining your health, especially with diabetes is no easy task, leaving your diabetes untreated will only make matters much worse.
Betul Hatipoglu, MD, an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic explains, “If you don’t take care of yourself, diabetes complications typically start within 5 years; within 10 to 15 years, the majority of patients will progress to have multiple health issues.” She goes on to advise that eating a nutritious diet, regularly exercising and taking your medication may not only stop complications for progressing, but can reverse them. [1]
Here are some ways your body can take a turn for the worst when you stop taking care of your diabetes –
Your cholesterol and blood pressure will rise
Insulin is a hormone that regulates your blood sugar. With Type 1 diabetes, your body stops producing insulin all togethe
r. With Type 2 diabetes, your body produces insulin but cannot properly use it. Because of this, your “good cholesterol” levels become low and the levels of harmful blood fats (triglycerides) rise. Your blood pressure may also rise due to hardened, narrow arteries brought on by the insulin resistance. This is why about 70% of people with both types of diabetes have hypertension, a major risk factor for stroke, heart disease and cognitive decline.[2] Robert Gabbay, MD, PhD, and chief medical officer at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston says, “Failing to control high blood pressure and high cholesterol, either with a diet and exercise alone or by adding medications, accelerates the rate at which all your other complications progress.”
Your vision health declines
Retinopathy, the damage to the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, plagues more than 4 million people with diabetes to some degree.[3] This is because your high blood pressure levels damage your eye’s blood vessels. There are no early on-set symptoms but the longer you let this condition go untreated, the more your vision will fade. Prevention says, a study on people with Type 2 found that when HbA1c levels (a measure of blood glucose) rose by one percent, the risk of developing vision problems increased by about one third. Hatipoglu agrees – “In 20 years, about 80% of people with diabetes will have retinopathy, and about 10,000 will go blind each year.”
Stay tuned for kidney failure
Your kidney’s, the bean-shaped organs located near the middle of your back, are basically “trash collectors”. Every day, your kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to sift out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra water, which is then removed from your body through urination.[4] When you have this condition, high blood glucose thickens the structures within your kidneys. According to Prevention and Hatipoglu, “About 7% of the time, you’ll already have protein leaking into your urine (an early sign of kidney problems) by the time you receive a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. About half of those who don’t take steps to control their diabetes will sustain kidney damage within 10 years and 40% will progress to kidney failure, which will require dialysis or a kidney transplant.”
Get ready for nerve damage
Gabbay explains, “At first you might have no symptoms or feel a mild tingling or numbness in your hands or feet, but eventually, neuropathy can cause pain, weakness, and digestive troubles as it strikes the nerves that control your gastrointestinal tract.” Neuropathy is nerve damage caused by high blood glucose. According to Prevention, about 7.5% of people already have it when they’re diagnosed with diabetes. If glucose levels are not checked regularly, this risk is heightened.
Save your feet
Because there may be damage to the nerves that work between your brain and lower body, your feet can be affected greatly. As your muscle tones become weaker, you may develop bunions, flat feet or other deformities that may cause ulcers, numbness and poor circulation.[5] An infection in your feet may even spread to the bone, warranting about 73,000 lower-limb amputations per year, says Gabbay. This is why, while suffering from diabetes, it’s important to take care of your feet.
Your Heart health will decline
High blood sugar can directly affect your cardiovascular health – from your veins to the muscles of your heart. Hatipoglu says, “Anyone with diabetes has nearly double the risk of heart attack, and their risk of stroke quadruples. Heart attack is the number one killer in diabetics.”
An earlier death
A recent study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) has concluded that women with type 1 diabetes can expect to live 13 years less than people without the disease. Diabetes ranks as the 7th leaving cause of death, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Sources:
[1] http://www.prevention.com/health/what-happens-when-you-dont-treat-diabetes
[2] http://www.prevention.com/health/what-happens-when-you-dont-treat-diabetes
[3] http://www.prevention.com/health/what-happens-when-you-dont-treat-diabetes
[4] http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/function-kidneys
[5] http://www.prevention.com/health/what-happens-when-you-dont-treat-diabetes