A high-fat diet could blow your mind
If you find yourself thinking “Fat chance I’ll remember that,” you may be on to something. If you’re part of the 66 percent of American adults who eat more unhealthy fats than recommended, you may be damaging your memory-related cognition — and that’s especially true if you eat a high-fat diet in the days or weeks leading up to surgery.
That’s the conclusion of researchers who examined lab rats’ responses to ingesting fatty foods for as few as three days. They found that the inflammation associated with the high-fat diet is enough to dim memory-building in older animals, and when the inflammation that comes along with surgery is added to that — well, that spells double trouble, even for younger ones. These findings are added to the researchers’ many other studies that show that unhealthy brain aging is often the result of long-term inflammation that hampers brain cells’ ability to bounce back from damage done to them.
The good news is that the researchers found that the omega-3 fatty acid DHA protects against the memory-damaging effects of inflammation and surgery. The researchers suggest that anyone who eats a high-fat diet can gain brain-protecting benefits by eating foods with DHA, such as fatty fish like salmon, herring and ocean trout, and taking supplements of fish oil or algal oil omega-3’s (containing DHA and EPA fatty acids).
Pros of probiotics
There are more than
100 autoimmune diseases affecting 50 million Americans and, in general, there are no cures. That, says the Cleveland Clinic, is because we’re not sure why your immune system turns on you and attacks healthy cells and tissue, as if they were outside invaders determined to cause sickness. And while great strides have been made in managing these diseases and their symptoms, slowing progression and improving the quality of life for folks who contend with them, it’s always great news to find out that there is a simple, safe way to help ease symptoms.
A recent study published in BMC Medicine found that taking probiotic supplements safely improves the symptoms of celiac disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (the most common form of lupus) and lupus nephritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriasis, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis, systemic sclerosis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Our recommended probiotics include Trubiotics and Digestive Advantage.