Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
In Episode 2 of Living A Healthy Life with Diabetes, Amanda Williams, MPH breaks down the difference between prediabetes and metabolic syndrome. Plus, essential nutrients to help counteract the impact of the SAD diet.
The American Heart Association reports that metabolic syndrome affects about 23% of adults. A new study now says that eating within a certain time window – intermittent fasting – can help tackle that.
According to scientists from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, obesity can break down our protective blood-brain barrier resulting in problems with learning and memory. This study is published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
According to Dr. Alan Pressman, former Radio Host and Director of Nutrition at InVite® Health, here’s what you need to know about the blood-brain barrier. “The blood-brain barrier is a highly selective permeable barrier that separates the circulating blood from the brain. It is simply the protective shield that surrounds your brain. It is formed by brain endothelial cells and allows the passage of water and selective transport of molecules such as glucose and amino acids that are crucial to internal function, while protecting against the transport of toxic substances.”
The blood-brain barrier can be broken down by factors like high blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction, infections, radiation and inflammation. Recent reports also mentioned the negative impact of alcohol, prescription drugs, elevated homocysteine and nutrient deficiencies as being contributing factors to blood-brain barrier integrity loss.
Researchers report that obese individuals with diabetes have higher rates of cognitive impairment as they age. In a model that mimics what happens to individuals with obesity and diabetes, young mice fed a high-fat diet got fat within two weeks, and by 16 weeks they showed increases in fasting glucose and insulin concentrations, all signs that diabetes could be part of their near future.
The researchers saw that obesity increased the permeability of the blood-brain barrier – diabetes promoted shrinkage of the cells, muscular cells started to lose their grip, blood vessels started to lose their tone and became dysfunctional and inflamed.
“If an individual has already progressed to insulin resistance, these studies underscore the importance of controlling blood sugar levels and avoiding progressing to insulin deficiency (diabetes), which opens the blood-brain barrier even further,” says Dr. Alexis M. Stranahan, neuroscientist in the MCG Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at August University.
The scientists report that the relative accessibility of blood vessels in the brain may also make them a good avenue for preventing obesity’s effects on the brain.
Protecting the blood-brain barrier is a prime goal in the practice of clinical nutrition. Here are some tips from our healthcare experts on how to protect it with lifestyle changes and supplementation, according to Dr. Alan Pressman.
Practice Good Gut and Digestive Health
According to Dr. Alan Pressman, “numerous research reports strongly suggest that a specific group of probiotics can strengthen the blood-brain barrier and also reduce the symptoms of anxiety, chronic fatigue, depression and also improve memory, concentration and focus.”†
Eat More Cruciferous Vegetables
Vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage contain important antioxidants and anti-inflammatory actions that can benefit your brain. Studies have shown that a phytochemical found in these vegetables called sulforaphane can help protect the blood-brain barrier and improve cognitive function.
From the Inside, Out
Important antioxidants like Resveratrol found in grapes and red wine, also have anti-inflammatory benefits and may help to restore the integrity of the blood-brain barrier.†
Omega-3 fatty acids, like fish and krill oil, are essential fats that are necessary for the normal functioning of your brain and nervous system.†
B vitamins, especially Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), has been shown to help restore the integrity of the blood-brain barrier.†
Goodbye Stress, Hello Rest!
Numerous studies have shown that chronic stress can increase inflammation and the permeability of the blood-brain barrier. Deep, restorative sleep is necessary for the optimal functions of your body, including your blood-brain barrier. Be sure to practice healthy sleeping patterns by limiting the amount of blue light you subject yourself to and going to bed at a good time each night.
Photo by I Yunmai on Unsplash In a statement released by the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) on Wednesday, September 12, 2018, new data on self-reported adult obesity prevalence for all 50 states for 2017 were reported. This data comes from the Behavioral …
Photo by Radu Florin on Unsplash According to data presented in Barcelona at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, higher levels of belly fat are associated with lower vitamin D levels in obese individuals. The study reports that vitamin D levels are lower in …
According to new research from Lund University in Sweden, there is a link between your gut bacteria and obesity; Certain amino acids in our blood can be connected to both obesity and the composition of the gut microbiome. Here’s what that means.
The human gut is home to vast colonies of bacteria, called gut microbiota. A balance of bacteria in the gut is important, as it supports proper digestion and overall health. Naturally present in the body, bacteria accounts for two pounds of bio-mass in your intestines, which needs a balance of beneficial bacteria to promote good health. This is where Probiotics come in.
Probiotics are friendly bacteria that make up the microbiome of your gut and digestive tract and are the key to good health, especially for good digestion and regularity. But levels of Probiotics decrease with age and can be impacted by factors like a poor diet and obesity. As levels decrease, problematic bacteria in the gut thrive and can lead to digestive problems like bloating and gas, and even impact your overall health.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of U.S. adults are obese. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death.
While previous studies have shown that individuals with diseases like obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes have various occurrences of different metabolites in the blood stream, the aim of this new study was to identify metabolites in the blood that can be linked to obesity like high body mass index (BMI) in order to investigate whether these obesity-related metabolites affect the composition of the bacterial flora in stool samples. Metabolites are substances that are essential to metabolism.
Read: 5 Reasons to Take Probiotics and Why They’re So Good For You
Blood and stool samples of the 674 participants were analyzed. They found 19 different metabolites that could be linked to a person’s BMI ; glutamate and BCAA (branded-chain and aromatic amino acids) had the strongest connection to obesity. They also found that obesity-related metabolites were liked to four different intestinal bacteria.
Marju Orho-Melander, professor of genetic epidemiology at Lund University, reports, “The differences in BMI were largely explained by the differences in the levels of glutamate and BCAA. This indicates that the metabolites and gut bacteria interact, rather than being independent of each other. This means that future studies should focus more on how the composition of gut bacteria can be modified to reduce the risk of obesity and associated metabolic diseases and cardiovascular disease.”