Dr. John's Health Matters
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Posts tagged "high"
Wednesday, Sep 2nd, 2009 ↓High-Carb, High-Fat Diets Better for Cognitive Performance →
September 1, 2009 (Medscape.com) — Diets high in carbohydrates or fat can lead to significantly better cognitive-performance and inflight-testing scores in pilots than diets high in protein, according to results reported in a poster presentation at the Military Health Research Forum (MHRF) 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri.
In addition, a high-carbohydrate diet helped study pilots sleep better, and a high-fat diet appeared to lead to significantly faster short-term memory.
“We started out thinking that the high-protein diet would lead to being the sharpest afterward,” said colead investigator Glenda Lindseth, RN, PhD, licensed registered dietician and professor of nursing at the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks. “But we were surprised by our findings that it was actually the high-carb or high-fat diets that were the best. Eating a diet that’s high in protein just isn’t going to help you perform optimally.”
“As a retired air-force pilot and a pilot for over 30 years, I believe this type of study is definitely needed,” said the other colead author, Paul Lindseth, PhD, professor of aviation and associate dean at the UND Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. “This is important for pilots in the military and in combat situations, where they need to be sharp and alert.”
For full medical article, see link above.
Tags: high carb carbohydrate fat protein macronutrient diet nutrition cognitive performance testing score sleep short term memory performance alertness
AHA limits sugar intake to protect heart →
Aug 27, 2009 (Presstv.com)—While Americans eat more than 22 teaspoons of sugar per day, the American Heart Association urges individuals to limit their sugar intake in order to remain healthy.
“For the first time we’ve created specific recommendations about the amount of sugars that can be consumed in a heart-healthy diet,” said Rachel Johnson lead author of a report published in Circulation.
According to the report, too much sugar not only leads to obesity but also places the individual at a greater risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
The new guidelines revealed that women should eat less than 100 calories (equal to six teaspoons or 25 grams) of added processed sugar per day.
The limit for moderately active women aged 51-55 is as low as 5 teaspoons (80 calories) and for sedentary women aged 71-75 is as low as 3 teaspoons (48 calories).
As for men, the permitted sugar amount is reported to be less than 150 calories, equal to nine teaspoons or 37.5 grams.
The new guidelines recommend active men aged 21-25 to eat less than 18 teaspoons (288 calories) and sedentary men aged 46-50 to eat less than 9 teaspoons (144 calories).
AHA officials say that the guidelines are only for “added sugars” used to make foods and drinks rather than the natural sugar found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, or milk.
They therefore urged food and beverage companies to limit the sugar content of their products.
PKH/HGH
Tags: heart disease cardiovascular disease diabetes high blood pressure hypertension stroke diet nutrition teaspoon calorie processed sugar content limit risk
High Blood Pressure Linked To Memory Problems In Middle Age →
Aug 26, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—High blood pressure is linked to memory problems in people over 45, according to research published in the August 25, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study found that people with high diastolic blood pressure, which is the bottom number of a blood pressure reading, were more likely to have cognitive impairment, or problems with their memory and thinking skills, than people with normal diastolic readings.
For every 10 point increase in the reading, the odds of a person having cognitive problems was seven percent higher. The results were valid after adjusting for other factors that could affect cognitive abilities, such as age, smoking status, exercise level, education, diabetes or high cholesterol.
The study involved nearly 20,000 people age 45 and older across the country who participated in the Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study and had never had a stroke or mini-stroke. A total of 1,505 of the participants, or 7.6 percent, had cognitive problems, and 9,844, or 49.6 percent, were taking medication for high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is defined as a reading equal to or higher than 140/90 or taking medication for high blood pressure.
“It’s possible that by preventing or treating high blood pressure, we could potentially prevent cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia,” said study author Georgios Tsivgoulis, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
Research has shown that high diastolic blood pressure leads to weakening of small arteries in the brain, which can result in the development of small areas of brain damage.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: memory high blood pressure cognitive impairment artery brain dementia damage stroke
Melon extract linked to cardiovascular benefits: Study →
Aug 25, 2009 (Nutraingredients.com)—Daily consumption of an antioxidant-rich melon extract may lower cholesterol levels and prevent hardening of the arteries, according to a study with hamsters fed a high fat diet.
Consumption of the commercially-available extract Extramel, produced by France’s Bionov, in combination with a high-fat diet was associated with a reduction in cholesterol levels and non-HDL cholesterol, compared to animals fed only the high-fat diet, according to findings published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.
“This study provides evidence for the first time that dietary supplementation of a melon juice concentrate rich in SOD protects against diet-induced oxidative stress and atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic hamsters, and no toxicity or evidence of other unwanted pharmacological effects of Extramel was noted at either levels of supplementation,” wrote the researchers, led by Jean-Max Rouanet from the University of Montpellier.
“This indicates that at the low doses used here Extramel is a safe nutraceutical supplement,” they added.
The melon-extract is a rich source of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). Dubbed ‘the enzyme of life’ when first discovered in 1968, it is the first antioxidant mobilised by the cell for defence. It is thought to be more powerful than antioxidant vitamins as it activates the body’s production of its own antioxidants, including catalase and glutathione peroxidase.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: melon extract supplement antioxidant cholesterol level cardiovascular hardening arteries high fat diet extramel nutrition diet prevention extramel superoxide dismutase vitamin
Low-carb Diets Linked To Atherosclerosis And Impaired Blood Vessel Growth →
Aug 25, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Even as low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets have proven successful at helping individuals rapidly lose weight, little is known about the diets’ long-term effects on vascular health.
Now, a study led by a scientific team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) provides some of the first data on this subject, demonstrating that mice placed on a 12-week low carbohydrate/high-protein diet showed a significant increase in atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque in the heart’s arteries and a leading cause of heart attack and stroke. The findings also showed that the diet led to an impaired ability to form new blood vessels in tissues deprived of blood flow, as might occur during a heart attack.
Described in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study also found that standard markers of cardiovascular risk, including cholesterol, were not changed in the animals fed the low-carb diet, despite the clear evidence of increased vascular disease.
“It’s very difficult to know in clinical studies how diets affect vascular health,” says senior author Anthony Rosenzweig, MD, Director of Cardiovascular Research in BIDMC’s CardioVascular Institute and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “We, therefore, tend to rely on easily measured serum markers [such as cholesterol], which have been surprisingly reassuring in individuals on low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets, who do typically lose weight. But our research suggests that, at least in animals, these diets could be having adverse cardiovascular effects that are not reflected in simple serum markers.”
For full article, see link above.
Tags: cardiovascualr diet long term weight loss carbohydrate high protein atherosclerosis blood vessel cholesterol disease
Hypnosis Going Mainstream: Doctors Urged to Use Hypnosis to Alleviate Patient Pain During Some Procedures →
Aug 24, 2009 (NaturalNews.com)— A psychiatric researcher has called upon the United Kingdom’s medical regulatory body to add hypnotherapy to its list of approved treatments for a much wider variety of conditions, in a presentation at a joint conference of the joint conference of the Royal Society of Medicine, the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis and the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis.
“It is time for hypnosis to work its way into the mainstream of British medicine,” said David Spiegel of Stanford University. “There is solid science behind what sounds like mysticism and we need to get that message across to the bodies that influence this area. Hypnosis has no negative side-effects.”
Spiegel said that hypnosis is an effective treatment for a wide spectrum of conditions including allergies, high blood pressure and pain. He also urged that the procedure be used in lieu of anesthesia during some surgeries.
“It makes operations quicker, as the patient is able to talk to the surgeon as the operation proceeds, and it is cheaper than conventional pain relief. Since it does not interfere with the workings of the body, the patient recovers faster, too,” he said. “It is also extremely powerful as a means of pain relief. Hypnosis has been accepted and rejected because people are nervous of it. They think it’s either too powerful or not powerful enough, but, although the public are skeptical, the hardest part of the procedure is getting other doctors to accept it.”
Marie-Elisabeth Faymonville of Liege University Hospital in Belgium said that she has carried out more than 6,000 operations using a combination of hypnosis and local anesthesia.
“The local anesthetic is used only to deaden the surface of the skin while a scalpel slices through it. It has no effect inside the body,” she said. “The patient is conscious throughout the operation and this helps the doctor and patient work together. The patient may have to move during an operation and it’s simple to get them to do so if they remain conscious. We’ve even done a hysterectomy using the procedure.”
Sources for this story include: www.guardian.co.uk.
Tags: baby IVF metabolic disease blood pressure glucose level high obesity fat reproductive genes fetal growth nutrients
Football Injuries In US High School Athletes More Severe During Kickoff, Punting →
Injuries can occur during a sporting competition at any time. However, new research finds that during football, injuries sustained at the beginning or middle of a game are more severe compared to injuries sustained during the end or in overtime. This finding suggests that the changes of intensity throughout competition influence risk of severe injury.
The beginning of a football game accounted for 16 percent of injuries, with 54 percent occurring during the middle of the game. The end of the game or during overtime accounted for 30 percent of injuries, according to the study published in Research in Sports Medicine and conducted by researchers in the Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. This is the first study to assess the effects of competition intensity on injury severity in high school football.
“Not only does the time in competition affect injuries but also the phase of play,” explained one of the study’s authors, Dawn Comstock, PhD, principal investigator in CIRP at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “During kickoff and punting, a greater proportion of severe injuries occurred compared to all other phases of play. Thirty-three percent of injuries occurring during kickoff and punt were severe and 20 percent were concussions.”
For full article see link above.
Tags: football injury sport kickoff punti competition timing phase play severe concussion high school
Reducing Salt Intake Can Lower Blood Pressure →
July 29, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Adults who use less salt in their diet can experience a slight reduction in their blood pressure in the medium term. However, whether in the long term this can also reduce the risk of late complications in people with sustained high blood pressure, otherwise known as essential hypertension, and whether in the long term their anti-hypertensive medication can be reduced remains unresolved. This is the conclusion of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) in its final report published in the form of a rapid report on 20 July 2009. This rapid report is part of a package commissioned by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), in which the benefit of various non-drug treatment strategies for high blood pressure are to be assessed. Stress management and more physical activity are also included, as well as giving up smoking and cutting down alcohol consumption. IQWiG has already completed a report on the effect of weight reduction on blood pressure. For full article see link above.
Tags: blood pressure hypertension high cardiovasuclar prevention salt sodium reduction stress alcohol activity exercise weight
Diets Bad For The Teeth Are Also Bad For The Body →
July 12, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Dental disease may be a wake-up call that your diet is harming your body.
“The five-alarm fire bell of a tooth ache is difficult to ignore,” says Dr. Philippe P. Hujoel, professor of dental public health sciences at the University of Washington (UW) School of Dentistry in Seattle. Beyond the immediate distress, dental pain may portend future medical problems. It may be a warning that the high-glycemic diet that led to dental problems in the short term may, in the long term, lead to potentially serious chronic diseases.
For full article see link above.
