Protect heart to protect your brain
Cyclone Debbie wreaked havoc on the coast of northeastern Australia this spring. The torrential rains caused three major rivers to crest their banks, eventually creating a giant brown plume of sludge stretching 11 miles out to sea, polluting the waters around the Great Barrier Reef.
That sludge caused double damage to the reef by blocking the light that plants and animals need to survive and depositing high levels of nitrogen. Some scientists are saying the bleaching that’s devastating the reef is irreversible.
Just as those rivers ended up causing double damage to the reef, when you damage your arteries with smoking, obesity, high blood sugar, high LDL cholesterol and high blood pressure, you’re hurting your heart and your brain!
A new study that tracked more than 300 people for over 20 years found that middle-age folks with just one risk factor for heart disease (that’s smoking, obesity, high LDL cholesterol or high blood pressure again) were almost twice as likely by the time they were seniors to end up with amyloid deposits in the brain. Obesity was the strongest risk factor.
When blood vessels are damaged, amyloid can leak out into brain tissue-and then Alzheimer’s-related amyloid tangles build up.
Luckily, your damage may be reversible: You can save your brain by doing what’s best for your heart: If you smoke, quit; ditch the Five Food Felons; get in your 10,000 steps a day; lose weight if you need to; and reduce your blood pressure and lousy cholesterol using lifestyle changes and medications if needed.
Pain relief from dietary omega-3s
When comedian Joan Rivers commented on her emotional wounds and worries, the world laughed: “I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw that my bath toys were a toaster and a radio.” Finding ways to ease pain is one of the strongest human impulses — and one of the hardest things to do successfully.
So it was great news when a recent study published in Arthritis Care & Research reported that consumption of dietary omega-3s (but not supplements) eases pain in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers found that after taking an RA medication, methotrexate, for three months, about 20 per cent of study participants still had pain. A clear difference? Folks with persistent pain had measurably lower dietary intake of omega-3s.
When the dietary ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s in polyunsaturated oils — such as corn, safflower and soybean — is skewed, as it is in the American diet (should be a ratio of 1-to-1 but is 16-to-1 in favor of omega-6s) problems related to inflammation, such as pain, happen. Increasing dietary omega-3s helps restore a healthier balance. The researchers suggest that such pain-relieving benefits may happen because omega-3s boost production of resolvins (that’s the name!) that tamp down inflammatory immune responses and reduce nerve inflammation. Other studies also point to omega-3s’ painrelieving powers (including from supplements).
So if you have chronic pain, increase your weekly consumption of fish, such as salmon or sea trout; they’re loaded with DHA and EPA omega-3s. And go for plant sources that contain ALA omega-3: flax and chia seeds, walnuts, soybeans, canola oil, avocados and pumpkin seeds.
Be an active commuter
Most Mayan pyramids had 91 steps on each of their four sides, with one last step up to the altar (total 365). That meant the High Priest did a minimum of 92 stair steps — which translates to just over 3,000 flat walking steps — before starting work.
If you’re finding it hard to get your 10,000 daily steps into your busy workday schedule, we suggest you follow the Mayan example and anoint yourself High Priest or Priestess of your own health: Build some of your 10,000 steps a day into your commute!
For most Americans, the commute averages about 26 minutes. But nearly 17 per cent of workers have a travel time of 45 minutes or more. Use that time to:
• Drive to a parking spot that’s some distance from your work and walk the rest of the way, or park further away and take your bike out of your car and pedal to the office.
• Bike or walk from your house to a train/bus/light rail station that’ll bring you close to work. Then walk from there. Reverse the process after work.
• Get to work 15-30 minutes early and do stairclimbing (like the Mayan priests) before going to your desk. Walking downstairs burns 175 to 275 calories per hour, depending upon your weight. Climbing upstairs burns 530 to 835 calories per hour, also weight dependent.
• Remember; it seems to take between 21 and 66 days to make something an ingrained habit, but you can do this.
Woof — it’s good for kiddie gut biome
George Graham Vest was a U.S. senator in the late 1800s, but it’s the way he represented one of his constituents’ dogs, Old Drum, that has made him part of American history. To commemorate the passing of the loyal pooch, he declared: “The one absolutely unselfish friend man can have in this selfish world is ... his dog.” A statue of Old Drum still stands outside the Warrensburg, Missouri, courthouse.
Turns out, unconditional love is not the only benefit of having a canine companion. A new study, published in Microbiome, found that infants who are exposed to furry pets have a healthier mix of gut bacteria. Researchers analyzed fecal samples from more than 700 babies at around three months of age; those who had spent more time around four-legged friends had twice the normal levels of Ruminococcus and Oscillospira bacteria.
Past studies have linked higher levels of Ruminococcus in infancy to a lower risk of childhood allergies, and greater amounts of Oscillospira to a lower risk of obesity later in life. This new study adds to existing research that shows kids in regular contact with dogs in their first year of life have a 13 per cent lower risk of asthma.
So if you’re thinking about starting or expanding your family, you might want to add a dog to the mix. Prenatal exposure also confers benefits to newborns and gives you time to get the animal settled into household routines. Bonus: Besides giving unconditional love, a dog encourages more exercise and reduces stress.
Three nutrients that help prevent high blood pressure
The time-worn axiom “good things come in threes,” was said by ancient Romans (omne trium perfectum) and has been advocated by as distinguished a mind as Albert Einstein. He had a rule of three that he believed was the key to good scientific discoveries: 1. Out of clutter find simplicity; 2. From discord find harmony; 3. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
Another good scientific discovery that uses the rule of three was announced at the Experimental Biology 2017 meeting recently. Researchers tracked 2,600 men and women who had normal blood pressure at the start for 16 years. They found that the secret to avoiding high blood pressure is sufficient intake of potassium (bananas, fish, dark leafy greens), magnesium (dark leafy greens, dark chocolate) and calcium (dark leafy greens, almonds, broccoli, nonfat dairy). Low sodium intake didn’t help.
In fact, the research found that study participants who consumed less than 2,500 milligrams of sodium a day had higher blood pressure than participants who consumed greater amounts. Participants with higher combined intakes of sodium (3,717 milligrams per day, on average) and potassium (3,211 milligrams per day on average) had the lowest blood pressure!
If you do not yet have high blood pressure (more than 32 per cent of adults in the U.S. do), your best move is to make sure you have five to nine servings of fresh veggies and fruit daily, eat fish (salmon and sea trout) at least twice a week and enjoy a little dark chocolate. That’ll keep the pressure off!