HEALTH AND NUTRITION – Dr. Sopler's Facts and Stats on Ways to Keep You Healthy

A lot of research has been published on the importance of omega-3 fatty acid.
It’s not only important that you eat omega 3 fat, but it is important that you eat enough of omega 3 fat so that the ratio of  omega 6 to omega 3 is good.
The research reviewed here is interesting because it looks at the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats and its association to dementia and cognitive decline (Loef M., Walachia H.,2013). The research included both animal and human studies.

The results documented a  positive association between the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fat and cognitive decline, dementia  and an increased risk for Alzheimer’s decease. This was found in studies for both animals and humans.

Most people today have a higher ratio than what is desirable of omega six to Omega 3  fat because they are using vegetable oil when cooking, and they are not eating enough omega-3 fats. An easy way to correct that is to use a high quality fish oil. Two capsules daily of an oil that contains high amounts of EPA, DHA the active ingredients of Omega 3 fat will make a big difference.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Loef M, Walach H. The omega-6/omega-3 ratio and dementia or cognitive decline: a systematic review on human studies and biological evidence. J Nutr Gerontol Geriatr. 2013 Jan;32(1):1-23. doi: 10.1080/21551197.2012.752335.

It’s a common belief that artificially sweetened soft drinks are a good alternative to sugar sweetened ones. They are usually promoted as diet soft drinks, and people with Diabetes may also think it’s okay to drink this, because they don’t contain regular sugar.

The reviewed research is interesting because it compared regular sugar sweetened beverages with artificially sweetened ones, investigating the risk of type 2 diabetes (Fagherazzi G. et.al., 2013). A total of 66.118 women were followed from 1993.

The women who were in the highest quartiles of consumption of both beverages were at increased risk of type II diabetes. The artificially sweetened beverages were not any better at all.

Other studies have shown that people who drink artificially sweetened soft drinks don’t lose any more weight either. If you want something sparkly, try sparkling water instead.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Fagherazzi G, Vilier A, Saes Sartorelli D, Lajous M, Balkau B, Clavel-Chapelon F. Consumption of artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages and incident type 2 diabetes in the Etude Epidemiologique aupres des femmes de la Mutuelle Generale de l’Education Nationale-European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Mar;97(3):517-23. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.112.050997. Epub 2013 Jan 30.

No one can dispute that regular exercise is beneficial, but sometimes we tend to think that more is better.
The reviewed research investigated the effects of training for, and the participation in endurance competitions like marathon ultra-marathon, Iron-man distance triathlons and very long-distance bicycle racing (Patil HR, et.al.,2012).

In veteran extreme endurance athletes the recurrent injury and repair to the heart muscle that occur in these athletes may essentially create arrhythmias.

Chronic excessive and sustained endurance exercise may be associated with diastolic dysfunction, large-artery wall stiffening and coronary artery calcification.

Don’t draw the conclusion that exercise is dangerous, and that it is better not to exercise, because that is not true. Most endurance athletes don’t even develop these conditions, but if you’re thinking about starting to run marathons for health reasons, you may want to rethink that and instead start to do high-intensity interval training. High-intensity interval training takes a lot less time, and has shown to provide numerous health benefits.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Patil HR, O’Keefe JH, Lavie CJ, Magalski A, Vogel RA, McCullough PA. Cardiovascular damage resulting from chronic excessive endurance exercise. Mo Med. 2012 Jul-Aug;109(4):312-21.

The study referred here investigated if deep-fried food may increase the risk of prostate cancer (Stott-Miller M,et.al.,2013).

Other research suggests that high-heat cooking may increase the risk of prostate cancer possibly because of the formation of carcinogens.

The researchers found a positive association with prostate cancer risk for people that ate french fries, fried chicken, fried fish, and donuts one or more times per week. The association was even slightly stronger for more aggressive cancers.

Since it wasn’t clear if it was the high heat cooking or the frying that increased the risk, it’s better to just avoid both.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Stott-Miller M, Neuhouser ML, Stanford JL. Consumption of deep-fried foods and risk of prostate cancer. Prostate. 2013 Jan 17. doi: 10.1002/pros.22643.

Research has documented that walnuts improve cardiovascular risk factors.

The reviewed research investigated if walnuts may affect the risk of diabetes (Pan A.,et.al.,2013). 58.063 women aged 52 -77 years and also 79.893 women aged 35-52 years were followed over ten years. None of the women had Diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer at the start of the study. The consumption of walnuts and other nuts were assessed every 4 years.

The results showed that women that ate the most walnuts, 2 or more servings per week (1 serving was 28 g) had the lowest risk for Diabetes, but the ones who only ate 1-3 servings per month also showed a reduced risk compared to the women who never or rarely ate walnuts.

The women who ate other nuts also had a lower risk for Diabetes.

Nuts are both a convenient and good snack as long as you don’t have too many at one time. They have a very low glycemic index. Nuts can also be sprinkled on berries or a little bit of fruit as a healthy desert.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Pan A, Sun Q, Manson JE, Willett WC, Hu FB. Walnut Consumption Is Associated with Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Women. J Nutr. 2013 Feb 20.