YOGURT SNACK MIGHT BE GOOD MEDICINE FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
The walkers and dancers were aerobically fitter, as expected. Even more important, their white matter seemed renewed. In the new scans, the nerve fibers in certain portions of their brains looked larger, and any tissue lesions had shrunk. BRAIN
FROM E1 thinning and developing small lesions as we age, dilapidations that can be precursors of cognitive decline. Worryingly, it also has been considered relatively static, with little plasticity, or ability to adapt much as our lives change.
But Agnieszka Burzynska, a professor of neuroscience and human development at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, suspected that science was underestimating white matter. “It’s been like the ugly, neglected stepsister” of gray matter, she says, ignored and misjudged. She considered it likely that white matter possessed as much plasticity as its gray counterpart and could refashion itself, especially if people began to move.
So, for the study, published online in June in NeuroImage, she and her graduate student Andrea Mendez Colmenares and other colleagues set out to make over people’s white matter. They began by gathering almost 250 older men and women who were sedentary but otherwise healthy. At the lab, they tested these volunteers’ current aerobic fitness and cognitive skills and also measured the health and function of their white matter, using a sophisticated form of MRI brain scan.
Then they divided the volunteers into groups, one of which began a supervised program of stretching and balance training three times a week, to serve as an active control. Another started walking together three times a week, briskly, for about 40 minutes. And the final group took up dancing, meeting three times a week to learn and practice line dances and group choreography. All of the groups trained for six months, then returned to the lab to repeat the tests from the study’s start.
And, for many, their bodies and brains had changed, the scientists found. The walkers and dancers were aerobically fitter, as expected. Even more important, their white matter seemed renewed. In the new scans, the nerve fibers in certain portions of their brains looked larger, and any tissue lesions had shrunk. These desirable alterations were most prevalent among the walkers, who also performed better on memory tests now. The dancers, in general, did not.
Meanwhile, the members of the control group, who had not exercised aerobically, showed declining white matter health after the six months, with greater thinning and tattering of their axons and falling cognitive scores.
For the exercisers, these findings “are very promising,” Burzynska says. They tell us that white matter remains plastic and active, whatever our age, and a few brisk walks a week might be enough, she says, to burnish the tissue and slow or stave off memory decline.
Of course, the brain changes were subtle and somewhat inconsistent. Burzynska and her colleagues had expected, for instance, that dancing would produce greater white matter and cognitive improvements than walking, she says, since dancing entails more learning and practice. But walking was more potent, suggesting that aerobic exercise, by itself, matters most for white matter health. “The dancers spent some of their time each session watching the instructors and not moving much,” Burzynska says. “That probably affected their results.”
Also, the study participants were past 60, inactive and worked out for only six months. It remains unclear whether the brains of younger, fitter people would likewise benefit or whether longer-term aerobic exercise might prompt larger improvements in memory and thinking. But, for now, Burzynska says, the results offer “a strong case for getting up and moving” for the sake of our white matter.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a serious condition that affects millions of Americans. Now, a recent study finds that there may be an easy way to help combat the condition with a simple snack in your fridge.
The study from researchers at the University of South Australia and the University of Maine shows that a higher intake of yogurt is associated with lower blood pressure with those who have hypertension.
The study, published in November in the International Dairy Journal, examined the self-reported food consumption and blood pressure levels of 915 community-dwelling adults, collected as a part of the Maine–Syracuse Longitudinal Study.
“This study showed for people with elevated blood pressure, even small amounts of (yogurt) were associated with lower blood pressure,” Dr. Alexandra Wade, a researcher on the study from University of South Australia, said in a news release. “And for those who consumed (yogurt) regularly, the results were even stronger, with blood pressure readings nearly seven points lower than those who did not consume (yogurt).”
The study was observational, meaning yogurt is not guaranteed to lower blood pressure, although researchers say their “findings suggest that the relationship between yogurt consumption and blood pressure is beneficial for individuals with hypertension.”
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost half of Americans — 116 million — have high blood pressure, which is a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Only 24 percent have their condition under control. CVDs are the leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide, including heart attacks and strokes.
But researchers say yogurt could play a role in changing that.
The study referred to separate research from 2018 that found people with high blood pressure who ate two or more servings of yogurt per week experienced a 17 to 21 percent lower risk of developing CVD than those who ate fewer than one serving per month. It did not indicate whether the benefit was specifically for people with high blood pressure or was a broad benefit for all. It also did not find evidence of lowered blood pressure for people who did not have hypertension.
Regardless, yogurt consumption could help those dealing with high blood pressure, researchers said.
“High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for cardiovascular disease, so it’s important that we continue to find ways to reduce and regulate it,” Wade said. “Yogurt is especially interesting because it also contains bacteria that promote the release of proteins which lowers blood pressure.”
The CDC reports that high blood pressure puts people at risk for heart disease and stroke, and was a primary or contributing cause of more than half a million deaths alone in 2019.
The recent study found that individuals who eat more yogurt regularly tend to be younger, female and have more years of education. A limitation in the study, researchers note, is that respondents did not specify what they considered a serving size of yogurt — or if the yogurt was high in fat or sugar.