February 5, 2019

Health Tips from Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen

Fiber up, blood pressure down “You are what you eat” is an old saying originally penned in 1826 by the gastronomic food-wizard Anthelme Brillat-Savarin in his essay on the physiology of gout. He wrote, “Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es” [Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are]. The same could be said for the trillions of bacteria in your guts: You are what they eat. Researchers have known for a while that the gut biome needs to be fed soluble fiber found in grains, veggies and fruits for […]
January 29, 2019

Olive Oil Markedly Extends Human Lifespan

Those who follow a Mediterranean diet have an increased quality of life with a lower mortality rate. The Mediterranean diet consists of a low intake of red meat and sweets with greater emphasis on fish, vegetables, mixed nuts, whole grains, wine (moderate consumption), and olive oil. Unrefined extra virgin olive oil, a chief component of the Mediterranean diet, has been given significant credit for the diet’s health-promoting ability, especially with its rich polyphenol content. Today, substantial new findings further validate extra virgin olive oil’s benefits for cardiovascular, bone, and brain health. Several of these studies were large-scale clinical trials on humans. One study in particular caught mainstream media attention. This study, […]
January 29, 2019

Your Brain Works Better With More Nutrients

The March 2019 issue of NeuroImage published findings from researchers at the University of Illinois of an association between higher plasma levels of specific nutrients and improved brain connectivity and cognitive performance in older individuals. The study included 116 participants aged 65 and 75 years. Plasma samples collected from the subjects were analyzed for 32 nutrients that are present in significant amounts in a Mediterranean diet. Subjects underwent tests of general intelligence, executive function and memory. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain assessed brain network efficiency within seven connectivity networks. “The basic question we were asking was whether diet and nutrition are […]
January 29, 2019

In This New Year, You Should Add a Little Zinc

Add a modest amount of zinc in your diet to reduce ‘wear and tear’ on DNA, suggests a study. The study has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers from the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Research Institute (CHORI) show that a modest 4 milligrams of extra zinc a day in the diet can have a profound, positive impact on cellular health that helps fight infections and diseases. This amount of zinc is equivalent to what biofortified crops like zinc rice and zinc wheat can add to the diet of vulnerable, nutrient deficient populations. CHORI Senior Scientist Janet […]
January 22, 2019

Coffee Compounds Could Slow Brain Degeneration

Drinking coffee has been linked with a decrease in the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. An article appearing on December 3, 2018 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could help explain it. Researchers at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School report the ability of two compounds occurring in coffee to help prevent the accumulation of harmful proteins associated with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia, the second most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. “Hyperphosphorylated alpha-synuclein in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites is a characteristic neuropathological feature of Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies,” write M. Maral Mouradian […]
January 8, 2019

Curcumin Could Improve Exercise Tolerance

In an article published on November 21, 2018 in the Journal of Applied Physiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers reported the outcome of a study which suggests that curcumin, a compound occurring in the spice turmeric, could help heart failure patients with exercise intolerance. “We hypothesized that reduced expression of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in skeletal muscle contributes to impaired exercise performance,” explain Ahmed M. Wafi and colleagues. “We further hypothesized that curcumin, a Nrf2 activator, would preserve or increase exercise capacity in heart failure.” “Although curcumin has been evaluated in several clinical trials for multiple diseases, its therapeutic potential […]
January 2, 2019

Is A High Carb Diet Good For Older Brains?

Research published in the November 20, 2018 issue of Cell Reports suggests a potential benefit for a diet low in protein and high in complex carbohydrates in older individuals. Acting on the findings of a study conducted in 2015 at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre which revealed that a low-protein, high- carbohydrate diet was as effective as a calorie restricted diet in regard to extending the life of mice, Professor of Geriatric Medicine David G. Le Couteur and colleagues evaluated the effects of three unrestricted low-protein, high-carbohydrate diets and a control diet on the brain’s hippocampus, which is an area involved in […]