NICHOLAS BAKALARAUG. 1, 2017 Moderate consumption of alcohol may be tied to a reduced risk for Type 2 diabetes, a Danish study has found. Researchers used data on 28,704 men and 41,847 women free of diabetes at the start who reported how often they drank and the amounts of alcohol consumed. They followed the group for an average of five years. The observational study is in Diabetologia. After adjusting for diet, family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, physical activity, smoking and other factors, they found that compared with abstainers, men… Read more Moderate Drinking Tied to Lower Diabetes Risk – A NYT Article →
A useful article from Gut Microbiota New Watch Introduction For many years, humans have known that bacteria and other microorganisms are capable of transforming food substrates, making them both tasty and nutritious. More and more, chefs and other food-makers are putting bacteria to work to produce fermented foods. With delicious results. Besides flavour, though, are there other reasons to seek out fermented foods? Scientists around the world are trying to answer this question by studying the possible health benefits of consuming live cultures. Robert (Bob) Hutkins, Professor of Food Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln… Read more Your guide to the difference between fermented foods and probiotics →
Prebiotics are a very specific type of food. While many of the food ingredients we consume are digested immediately, prebiotics are a healthy non-digestible food ingredient. When the non-digestible ingredient reaches our large intestines, it allows for growth of bio-cultures . This can provide good digestive health. The positive effects prebiotics have by reaching the intestine in an unaltered form is known as the prebiotic effect. Prebiotic Effect A prebiotic effect occurs when there is an increase in the activity of healthy bacteria in the human intestine. The prebiotics… Read more What are Prebiotics and why we need them →
A cohort study published in journal Stroke has implicated diet soft drinks in increasing risk of stroke and dementia. Another good reason to stay away from drinks that are naturally sweetened, better still filtered drink water. Here’s the study abstract below http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2017/04/20/STROKEAHA.116.016027 Background and Purpose—Sugar- and artificially-sweetened beverage intake have been linked to cardiometabolic risk factors, which increase the risk of cerebrovascular disease and dementia. We examined whether sugar- or artificially sweetened beverage consumption was associated with the prospective risks of incident stroke or dementia in the community-based Framingham Heart… Read more Artificially sweetened soft drink consumption was associated with a higher risk of stroke and dementia. →
Whilst anti-depressants are still the number one choice for treating depression they have many limitations. Exercise on the other hand has very few limitations and many benefits. Lets compare these two treatment options. Anti-depressant drugs The first major limitation that may surprise you is that Anti-depressant medication is only effective in less than 50% of patients (1). Anti-depressants have numerous side effects including loss of libido, increased sleep, weight gain, dry mouth, and many of these side effects seem to plague older adults (2). Anxiety and diarrhea are often… Read more Another reason why exercise can rescue you from depression →
A recent study reminds us that bread is actually good for you, but it has to be bread made from whole wheat. A recent 6 week study on diets high in whole grains found that eating more whole grains foods (such as wholewheat bread, brown rice, oats) can improve your immune system and your gut microbiota. Here’s the original article and reference. 6 APR 2017 | Andreu Prados Dietary fibre is a key nutrient for optimizing gut health through fermentation by commensal microbiota in the colon. The vast majority of studies… Read more A diet rich in whole grains may lead to modest improvements in gut microbiota and immune response in healthy adults →
A recent meta-analysis of previous studies on MetS and anxiety concluded that there is a strong association between MetS and anxiety. This is more evidence that chronic diseases often involve mood / psycho-emotional problems (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.11.025). Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a major risk for heart disease and diabetes mellitus. MetS is also associated with systemic inflammation, which a risk factor for other chronic diseases like cancer. MetS refers to a cluster of abnormal changes in the body. MetS is diagnosed using a set of pathology tests and also clinical assessments. Lab tests include inflammatory markers… Read more New review shows a strong association between anxiety and metabolic syndrome (MetS) →
28 FEB 2017 | Kristina Campbell Let’s say you have a cold—and it’s a bad one. Your head constantly aches, your nose runs, and you cough until you almost choke. You can’t get warm, no matter how many blankets you wrap around yourself. Five days into this misery you’re exhausted and just want to resume your normal life. A massive temptation exists at this stage: to visit your doctor and ask for a prescription for antibiotics. In fact, the common cold—officially diagnosed as an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI)—is one… Read more Could probiotics each day keep antibiotic prescriptions at bay? →
