Friday, December 31, 2010

Dark Chocolate May Promote Gut Health

Want to help ensure that the good bugs outnumber the bad in your belly?
 
New findings suggest it makes sense to cozy up with some cocoa, or enjoy a bit of extra dark chocolate.
 
In a preliminary clinical trial, people who drank a beverage rich in cocoa-derived antioxidants enjoyed a significant increase in their gut levels of beneficial bacteria.
 
Better yet, this increase was accompanied by reductions in a microbe associated with diarrhea and constipation (clostridia), and in blood levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and C-reactive protein (CRP) … a marker of inflammation linked to heart risks.
 
The study, which was conducted by researchers from the UK’s Reading University and chocolate giant Mars, Inc., is the first to demonstrate that cocoa flavanols can boost the numbers of beneficial bacteria in people’s guts.
 
Do flavanols act as antioxidants, gene-tweakers ... or both?
Most research into the potential cardiovascular benefits of cocoa and dark chocolate relates to presumed antioxidant effects of the flavanol-type polyphenols that abound in both.
 
And recent evidence reviews agree there's ample preliminary evidence that cocoa flavanols support vascular health in several ways (Corti R et al. 2009; Mulvihill EE et al. 2010; Ostertag LM et al. 2010; Rimbach G et al. 2009).
 
The flavanols in cocoa, tea, and berries are commonly referred to as “antioxidants”, because they display potent free-radical-squelching effects in test-tube experiments.
 
However, like other polyphenol compounds in plant foods, it’s increasingly apparent that flavanols exert their beneficial effects through “nutrigenomic” influences on gene switches in our cells … rather than through direct, substantial antioxidant effects in the body (Scheid L et al. 2010)
 
The most promising cocoa flavanols are procyanidins – which are also found in berries and grapes – and catechins (flavan-3-ols), which occur in green tea.
Before we delve into the details, let’s review the research on the role of intestinal microbe colonies in human health.
 
Probiotics and prebiotics: A quick primer
People’s gastrointestinal tracts play host to many millions of microbes, most of which are either neutral or beneficial.
 
Some, such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, seem virtually essential to immunity and overall health.
 
A healthy gut ecosystem is one in which beneficial micro-organisms greatly outnumber potentially harmful bugs. The opposite, unhealthful balance is referred to as “dysbiosis”.
 
The most critical microbial colonies occur in the colon, where, as the authors of a recent evidence review wrote, “… a true symbiosis [between probiotic microbes and] the host [person] exists that is a key for well-being and health.” (Roberfroid M et al. 2010)
 
Thanks to many human studies, it’s clear that certain foods or food factors can change the microbial composition of the gut in significant, beneficial ways.
 
“Probiotic” foods such as yogurt and fermented vegetables with active cultures contain the same beneficial microbes found in the human gut – mostly lactobacilli and bifidobacteria – and eating these cultured foods appears to support immune health by keeping gut-based pathogens in check.
 
(Doctors often prescribe lactobacilli supplements to patients taking antibiotic drugs, which kill these beneficial bacteria along with pathogenic microbes.)
 
In contrast, “prebiotic” food factors bring intestinal benefits indirectly, by serving as food for lactobacilli and other beneficial bacteria.
 
Prebiotics are defined as “non-digestible (by the host) food ingredients that have a beneficial effect through their selective metabolism in the intestinal tract.” (Gibson GR et al. 2004).
 
As the authors of the same evidence review put it, “… the prebiotic effect [of certain food factors] is now a well-established scientific fact.” (Roberfroid M et al. 2010)
 
The chief prebiotic supplements are three plant fibers called inulin, galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which are found in or derived from Jerusalem artichoke root, chicory root, burdock root, and beets.
 
Clinical study detects prebiotic potential from cocoa compound
Last year, the authors of a Nestle-funded human study reported that daily consumption of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) of dark chocolate lowered levels of stress-related hormones (cortisol) and neurotransmitters in participants diagnosed with anxiety.
 
Those changes were linked to changes the composition of their microbial gut colonies.
 
As they described the implications of their findings, “… subtle changes in dietary habits, such as eating dark chocolate, can benefit both host and microflora metabolism with potential long term health benefits”. (Rezzi S 2010).
 
Now, findings from the UK-Mars study suggest that cocoa flavanols may rival the prebiotic effects produced by fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which serve as popular prebiotic supplements.
 
The small but rigorously designed new study was a randomized, double-blind, crossover, controlled clinical trial, led by the University of Reading’s Jeremy Spencer, Ph.D., and sponsored by Mars, Inc. (Tzounis X et al. 2010)
 
For the trial, 21 healthy adults were divided into two groups, with each group assigned to consume a different flavanol-supplemented beverage daily:
Low-flavanol beverage providing 23mg of cocoa flavanols
High-flavanol beverage providing 494mg of cocoa flavanols
The trial began with both groups drinking their assigned beverage daily for four weeks, followed by a four-week “wash-out” period during which they drank neither flavanol-supplemented beverage.
 
The two groups then switched beverages for a further four weeks of daily consumption.
 
Compared with the low-flavanol drink, participants showed significant increases in their gut levels of beneficial bifidobacteria and lactobacilli when they were drinking the high-flavanol beverage.
 
These increases in beneficial microbes were accompanied by reductions in blood levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and CRP … a marker of inflammation linked to heart health.
 
As the authors wrote, “The increase in the growth of Lactobacillus spp. in response to cocoa flavanols is of note because this bacterial group is associated with beneficial effects in the gut, including an ability to prevent the growth of pathogenic organisms, and most currently accepted prebiotics [e.g., FOS] do not elicit changes [increases] in lactobacilli.” (Tzounis X et al. 2010)
 
The researchers noted that higher gut levels of bifidobacteria are “strongly associated with positive effects in the large intestine, thanks to the ability of bifidobacteria to inhibit the growth of pathogens, drive the synthesis of certain vitamins (e.g., vitamin B-9), and reduce plasma [blood] cholesterol levels.” (Tzounis X et al. 2010)
 
And the researchers noted that, in comparison with two prebiotic food fibers – fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and galactooligosaccharides (GOS) – the cocoa flavanols produced similarly substantial effects at a much lower dose.
 
While encouraging, these findings will need to be repeated in a larger trial and do not justify eating copious amounts of dark chocolate in an attempt to correct medically diagnosed dysbiosis.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Passion Flower: A Helpful Botanical for Relaxation

Passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) can be used to combat the effects of stress. The dried above-ground parts of the plant can be found in tincture and extract form - look for standardized whole-plant extracts or capsules containing no less than 0.8 percent flavonoids or isovitexin. Use passion flower for stress reduction, calming without sedation and relief from insomnia (usually combined with other sedative herbs). One dropperful of the tincture in a little warm water, or two capsules of extract, up to four times a day as needed is the adult dosage; children should take half that amount. Use caution if you're also taking MAO-inhibiting antidepressant drugs, and do not take passion flower when pregnant - active compounds may be uterine stimulants.

Eating Blueberries Can Slow Mental Decline

Supplementing the diet with blueberries for one month may slow and even reverse the decline in mental function associated with age, suggest results of a new study with lab rats.

Cognitive performance declines naturally with age, but new results published in Nutrition indicate that one month's supplementation of elderly rats with blueberries was associated with an improvement in the memory scores, as measured in a maze.

In addition, data showed that two months of consuming the bluer-enriched diet was associated with a prolongation of the benefits after the diet was stopped, and the performance of the aging rats was similar to that of younger rats.

“Therefore, 1-, 2-, and 4-months diets substantially reversed the age-related object memory impairment found in 19-month-old rats,” wrote researchers from the University of Houston and Tufts University U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging.

“This illustrates a surprisingly prompt and powerful effect of an antioxidant dietary intervention,” they added.

The berries are booming

Blueberry consumption has previously been linked to reduced risk of Alzheimer’s, and the beneficial effects of the blueberries are thought to be linked to their flavonoid content - in particular anthocyanins and flavanols. The exact way in which flavonoids affect the brain are unknown, but they have previously been shown to cross the blood brain barrier after dietary intake.

It is believed that they may exert their effects on learning and memory by enhancing existing neuronal connections, improving cellular communications and stimulating neuronal regeneration.

Benefits for four legs, benefits for two legs

Earlier this year, researchers from the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center reported that 12 weeks of consuming a daily drink of about 500 mL of blueberry juice was associated with improved learning and word list recall, as well as a suggestion of reduced depressive symptoms (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2010, Vol. 58, pp 3996–4000).

The study was said to be the first human trial to assess the potential benefits of blueberries on brain function in older adults with increased risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s.

The new study, led by Houston’s David Malin PhD, examined the effects of one or two months of consuming a blueberry-enriched diet in aging Fischer-344 rats.

Results showed that animals receiving the blueberry diet performed better than animals not receiving a berry-enriched diet, and that two months of supplementation resulted in a maintenance of the improved performance after the supplementation period ended. No such effects were observed in the one month group, said the researchers.

“One possible explanation [for this observation] is a ‘threshold hypothesis’,” said the researchers. “This hypothesis assumes there is a threshold concentration of antioxidants, particularly longer-lasting fat-soluble antioxidants, needed to maintain alleviation of memory impairment.

“The 2-month diet might have produced a larger surplus of antioxidant nutrients over the threshold, whereas the 1-month diet might have produced only a scant surplus above the threshold. Then, as the antioxidant nutrients are metabolized, the 1-month diet might soon lose its ability to prevent memory impairment, whereas this loss of effectiveness might hypothetically take much longer after the 2-month diet,” they added.

Furthermore, rats on the blueberry diet increased their memory scores, while the control animals displayed a decline in memory scores.

“The present study is encouraging in terms of potential human application,” wrote Dr Malin and his co-workers. “First, the present results suggest that even a relatively brief blueberry diet might produce measurable benefits. Second, the benefits of several months of the diet might be maintained for a considerable period after the diet is interrupted. Third, blueberry supplementation might possibly reverse some degree of memory impairment that has already developed.

“This raises the possibility that this sort of nutritional intervention might still be beneficial even after certain memory deficiencies have become evident,” they added.

Source: Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2010.05.001
“Short-term blueberry-enriched diet prevents and reverses object recognition memory loss in aging rats “
Authors: D.H. Malin, D.R. Lee, P. Goyarzu, Y-H. Chang, L.J. Ennis, E. Beckett, B. Shukitt-Hale, J.A. Joseph

Monday, December 13, 2010

Omega 3 Oils May Lower Cortisol and Help Reduce Body Fat

Cortisol is a vital hormone that’s key to regulating blood sugar and inflammation … and standing up to acute stresses such as fear, injury, and extreme exertion.
 
Chronically low cortisol levels – a condition known as Addison’s disease – were fatal before this hormone was discovered.
 
But chronically high cortisol levels – which can result from continual stress – is the more common problem, and produces several undesirable outcomes:
Thinning of the skin.
Decreased muscle mass.
Weakened immunity to infections.
Reduced bone formation, increased risk of osteoporosis.
Damage to the brain’s hippocampus and losses to learning and memory.
Chronically high cortisol levels kill brain cells (neurons) … which is the chief reason for the brain shrinkage seen in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of senility.
 
A few years ago, UCLA research in patients with mild cognitive impairment found that those who had a smaller-than-average hippocampus were more likely to develop full-blown dementia (Apostolova LG et al. 2006).
 
Cortisol levels rise rapidly in young people placed under stress, but fall back to normal within a few hours after the source of stress is removed. 
 
In contrast, cortisol levels remain high for days in older people, even after the source of stress is gone. 
 
Blood cortisol levels increase with age, and someone aged 65 will have higher average blood levels of cortisol compared with a 25-year-old.
 
Some anti-aging researchers call cortisol the “death hormone”, because it is associated with old age and disease. 
 
Black tea is shown to rapidly normalize cortisol levels after stress, while euphoric experiences – including music, massage, sexual intercourse, and laughing – can lower and stabilize cortisol levels (see “Black Tea May Confer Memory-Saving, Anti-Stress Benefits”).
 
Some studies indicate that fish oils moderate levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and/or the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which is a key player in the body’s “flight or fight” response to stress.
 
Five years ago, a small, controlled clinical trial provided the first evidence that fish oil supplements may actually make people feel less stressed (see “Eat Seafood to Ease Stress?”).
 
Fish oil has also been found to improve body composition in preliminary clinical studies … an outcome attributed to various physiological effects of omega-3s.
 
(See “Omega-3s Linked to Healthier Weight and Body Composition”.)
 

 
Now, the outcomes of two small, controlled clinical trials support the hypothesis that omega-3s possess cortisol-lowering and body-fat-reducing powers.
 
Gettysburg trial finds improved body composition and cuts in cortisol
Researchers at Pennsylvania’s Gettysburg College recruited 44 adults for a six-week trial designed to test the effects of safflower oil and fish oil on people’s body composition, metabolic rate, and cortisol levels.
 
The volunteers were divided in two groups, and each took a daily oil supplement:
Safflower oil – four grams, mostly omega-6 fatty acids
Fish oil – four grams, including 2400mg of omega-3 fatty acids (1600mg EPA + 800mg DHA).
 
In tests performed at the end of the six-week study, members of the fish oil group showed significantly lower cortisol levels.
 
In addition, the fish oil group shed body fat and gained lean muscle.
 
There was also a tendency for lower cortisol levels in the fish oil group … as well as a significant correlation between cuts in cortisol and gains in muscle mass … that is, the less cortisol people in the fish oil group had, the more muscle they gained.
 
As the authors wrote, “… [six] weeks of supplementation with FO [fish oil] significantly increased lean mass and decreased fat mass. These changes were significantly correlated with a reduction in salivary cortisol …” (Noreen EE et al. 2010)
 
Interestingly, while the results showed beneficial changes in body composition among the fish oil group, there was no difference in total body weight between the safflower and fish oil groups.
 
Nor were there any rises in resting metabolic rate – which would indicate increased calorie-burning – in either group.
 
Anglo-Iranian team reports that fish oil lowered cortisol
This study comes from the Anglo-Iranian collaboration that found omega-3 EPA equal to the anti-depressant drug fluoxetine (Prozac) among patients diagnosed with major depression … and that combining them provided results superior to either alone (Jazayeri S et al. 2008; see “Omega-3s Affirmed as Mood Lighteners”).
 
For their new study, they analyzed blood taken from the 42 patients who’d participated in the prior eight-week trial of EPA and fluoxetine, both before the trial began and after it ended.
 
The new analysis of the participants’ blood showed that cortisol levels dropped in both the omega-3 EPA group and the group that took both EPA and fluoxetine (Prozac).
 
Some scientists hypothesize that omega-3s might exert anti-depression effects in part by lowering levels of certain pro-inflammatory immune-system proteins (cytokines) associated with depression (IL-1beta and IL-6).
 
But the volunteers showed no changes in their blood levels of either chemical.
 
This led the Iranian team to an intriguing conclusion: “These findings suggest that EPA may exert its therapeutic [anti-depression] effects through reduction of cortisol.”
 
These studies provide good reasons to favor fishy diets … a lighter mood, a healthier body compositions, and healthier aging overall.
 
 

Benefit of Fish Oil for Depression Confirmed

About 21 million American adults suffer from mood disorders, including depression, the world's fourth leading cause of morbidity and death.
 
And a new review of the best clinical evidence strongly supports the conclusions of a prior review, which also found that omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil can enhance treatment of depression.
 
(See “Top Psych Panel Says Omega-3s Deter Depression”.)
 
Our bodies can make the two omega-3s essential to human life and health – EPA and DHA – from the short-chain omega-3 called ALA, which is found in a certain plant foods (leafy greens, walnuts, flax, canola oil).
 
But humans do this very inefficiently, converting only two to 10 percent of dietary ALA into DHA and EPA.
 
Pre-formed EPA and DHA are only found in seafood, with fatty fish having more than lean fish or shellfish. (Omega-3 supplements made from algae only contain DHA.)
 
The authors of a “meta-analysis” of 15 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies presented their results last week at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.
 
The study – funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and conducted by researchers from UCLA and the University of Illinois at Chicago – combined the results of 15 prior clinical trials to arrive at an overall conclusion.
 
The UCLA/UI team, led by John M. Davis, M.D., wrote that their analysis of the evidence showed that “… patients taking omega-3 with either EPA or a combination of EPA and DHA experienced clear antidepressant benefits”. (ACN 2010)
 
However, patients taking only omega-3 DHA showed no anti-depression benefits.
 
As Dr. Davis said, “Our analysis clarifies the precise type of omega-3 fatty acid that is effective for people with depression and explains why previous findings have been contradictory.” (ACN 2010)
 
While omega-3 EPA produces beneficial effects in patients with depression, neither EPA nor DHA appears to improve mood in people who are not depressed.
 
Davis and his team said their analysis suggests that women who consumed few omega-3s were more likely to experience depression during and after pregnancy than women with adequate omega-3s in their diets.
 
“The findings are unambiguous,” said Davis. “Omega-3 fatty acids have antidepressant properties, and this effect is ready to be tested in a large study to establish the dose range and to pave the way for FDA approval.” (ACN 2010)
 
And he made two key points: “In the meantime, omega-3 fatty acids containing EPA could be useful to augment effects of antidepressant medications … [but] patients should always talk with their mental health professional before taking omega-3 fatty acids to alleviate symptoms of depression.” (ACN 2010)

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Curb Sugar Cravings and Kick the Addiction

This is a wonderful article by Dr. Frank Lipman, an integrative physician:


As a serious sugar addict still struggling with my "addiction" I know first hand how difficult it is to get off sugar, and to stay off it. Part of the reason it's so hard to kick the habit is that over time our brains actually become addicted to the natural opioids that are triggered by sugar consumption. Much like the classic drugs of abuse such as cocaine, alcohol and nicotine, a diet loaded with sugar can generate excessive reward signals in the brain which can override one's self-control and lead to addiction.

One study out of France, presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, showed that when rats (who metabolize sugar much like we do) were given the choice between water sweetened with saccharin and intravenous cocaine, 94 percent chose the saccharin water. When the water was sweetened with sucrose (sugar), the same preference was observed -- the rats overwhelmingly chose the sugar water. When the rats were offered larger doses of cocaine, it did not alter their preference for the saccharin or sugar water. Even rats addicted to cocaine, switched to sweetened water when given the choice. In other words, intense sweetness was more rewarding to the brain than cocaine.

The American Psychiatric Association defines addiction to include three stages: bingeing, withdrawal and craving. Until recently, the rats had only met two of the elements of addiction, bingeing and withdrawal. But recent experiments by Princeton University scientist, Professor Bart Hoebel and his team showed craving and relapse as well. By showing that excess sugar led not only to bingeing and withdrawal, but to cravings for sweets as well, the final critical component of addiction fell into place and completed the picture of sugar as a highly addictive substance.

In stark contrast to this clinical assessment is the fact that for most of us, "something sweet" is a symbol of love and nurturance. As infants, our first food is lactose, or milk sugar. Later on, well-intended parents (me included) reward children with sugary snacks, giving them a "treat," turning a biochemically harmful substance into a comfort food. We become conditioned to need something sweet to feel complete or satisfied and continue to self-medicate with sugar as adults, using it to temporarily boost our mood or energy. But as any addict knows, one quick fix soon leaves you looking for another -- each hit of momentary satisfaction comes with a long term price.

The bottom line is that sugar works the addiction and reward pathways in the brain in much the same way as many illegal drugs. And, like other drugs, it can destroy your health and lead to all sorts of ailments including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight gain, and premature aging. Sugar is basically a socially acceptable, legal, recreational drug, with deadly consequences -- and like with any drug addiction, you have to have a flexible but structured plan to beat it.

Here are some tips to help you cope with sugar cravings:

• Eat regularly. Eat three meals and two snacks or five small meals a day. For many people, if they don't eat regularly, their blood sugar levels drop, they feel hungry and are more likely to crave sweet sugary snacks.

• Choose whole foods. The closer a food is to its original form, the less processed sugar it will contain. Food in its natural form, including fruits and vegetables, usually presents no metabolic problems for a normal body, especially when consumed in variety.

• Have a breakfast of protein, fat and phytonutrients to start your day off right. Breakfast smoothies are ideal for this. The typical breakfast full of carbs and sugary or starchy foods is the worst option since you'll have cravings all day. Eating a good breakfast is essential to prevent sugar cravings

• Try incorporate protein and/or fat with each meal. This helps control blood sugar levels. Make sure they are healthy sources of each.

• Add spices. Coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom will naturally sweeten your foods and reduce cravings.

• Take a good quality multivitamin and mineral supplement, omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin D3. Nutrient deficiencies can make cravings worse and the fewer nutrient deficiencies, the fewer cravings. Certain nutrients seem to improve blood sugar control including chromium, vitamin B3 and magnesium

• Move your body. Exercise, dance or do some yoga. Whatever movement you enjoy will help reduce tension, boost your energy and decrease your need for a sugar lift.

• Get enough sleep. When we are tired we often use sugar for energy to counteract the exhaustion.

• Do a detox. My experience has been that when people do a detox, not only does it reset their appetites but it often decreases their sugar cravings. After the initial sugar cravings, which can be overwhelming, our bodies adjust and we won't even want the sugar anymore and the desire will disappear.

• Be open to explore the emotional issues around your sugar addiction. Many times our craving for sugar is more for an emotional need that isn't being met.

• Keep sugary snacks out of your house and office. It's difficult to snack on things that aren't there!

• Don't substitute artificial sweeteners for sugar. This will do little to alter your desire for sweets. If you do need a sweetener, try tevia, it's the healthiest.

• Learn to read labels. Although I would encourage you to eat as few foods as possible that have labels, educate yourself about what you're putting into your body. The longer the list of ingredients, the more likely sugar is going to be included on that list. So check the grams of sugar, and choose products with the least sugar per serving.

• Become familiar with sugar terminology. Recognize that all of these are sweeteners: corn syrup, corn sugar, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, honey, molasses, turbinado sugar and brown sugar.

• Sugar in disguise. Remember that most of the "complex" carbohydrates we consume like bread, bagels and pasta aren't really complex at all. They are usually highly refined and act just like sugars in the body and are to be avoided.

And here's how to handle an acute sugar craving:

• Take L-Glutamine, 1000-2000mg every couple of hours as necessary. It often relieves sugar cravings as the brain uses it for fuel.

• Take a "breathing break." Find a quiet spot, get comfortable and sit for a few minutes and focus on your breath. After a few minutes of this, the craving will pass.

• Distract yourself. Go for a walk, if possible, in nature. Cravings usually last for 10-20 minutes maximum. If you can distract yourself with something else, it often passes. The more you do this, the easier it gets and the cravings get easier to deal with.

• Drink lots of water. Sometimes drinking water or seltzer water can help with the sugar cravings. Also sometimes what we perceive as a food craving is really thirst.

• Have a piece of fruit. If you give in to your cravings, have a piece of fruit, it should satisfy a sweet craving and is much healthier.

If you follow these guidelines, perhaps you'll be able to have an occasional 'treat'. Be realistic with yourself and remember that a slip is not a failure. Don't get down on yourself if you slip, just dust yourself off and get back in the saddle. However, if even just a little causes you to lose control, then it's best to stay away from it completely. And my ultimate tip for sugar-free bliss is to remind ourselves to find and pursue "sweet satisfaction" in nourishing experiences other than food.

Frank Lipman, M.D., is the founder and director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in NYC and the author of "REVIVE; Stop Feeling Spent and Start Living Again" (2009) (previously called SPENT) and "TOTAL RENEWAL; 7 key steps to Resilience, Vitality and Long-Term Health" (2003). He is the creator of Eleven Eleven Wellness, Guided Health Solutions, leading edge integrative health programs to help you feel better than ever.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

UltraMeal Plus 360 Medical Food Shown to Help Metabolic Syndrome in Clinical Trial

The American Heart Association estimated that 50 million people in the U.S. have metabolic syndrome—a condition diagnosed in patients who present with a combination of risk factors such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, abdominal obesity, low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides. Although the Mayo Clinic asserted that while not all experts agree on the definition of metabolic syndrome or whether it even exists as a distinct medical condition, what’s certain is its ability to increases one’s risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and a host of other serious illnesses.

The first line of defense against the condition is a healthy diet and exercise. To that end, San Clemente, CA-based life sciences company, Metagenics, Inc. developed UltraMeal Plus and UltraMeal Plus 3600, a line of phytochemical-rich “medical food” powders that are to be mixed with water and consumed as a beverage.

According to Metagenics, each of the UltraMeal Plus incarnations are formulated to provide “specialized, multi-mechanistic nutritional support for patients with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease by supplying a combination of acacia extract, reduced iso-alpha acids (RIAA), plant sterols and heart-healthy soy protein and isoflavones.”

“UltraMeal Plus and UltraMeal Plus 3600 have the same macronutrient profile,” explained Dr. Robert Lerman, MD, PhD, the company’s director of medicine and extramural clinical research. “UltraMeal Plus 3600 has additional plant sterols (2 grams per serving) and the proprietary Selective Kinase Response Modulators in the form of rho iso-alpha acids and acacia proanthocyanidins (150 mg and 30 mg, respectively).”

UltraMeal Plus 3600 has been the subject of ongoing research conducted by three major universities charged with determining if the product’s condition-specific nutrients could favorably address metabolic syndrome. Early results have been favorable.

In a press release, Metagenics stated that UltraMeal Plus 3600 formulation, which contains soy protein and phytosterols, has demonstrated cholesterol-lowering effects. “These components may help modify cardiovascular risk factors such as total- and LDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein B which often coexist in patients with metabolic syndrome. Nutrients in its vitamin core are associated with prevention of elevation of another CVD risk factor, homocysteine. It also contains a proprietary blend of rho iso-alpha acids from hops and proanthocyanidins from the acacia plant. These phytochemical compounds have been shown to possess anti-inflammatory activity and demonstrated favorable modulations of the activity of protein kinases implicated in insulin signaling. Animal studies have documented reductions in both serum glucose and insulin.”

The two-arm, randomized trial involved 89 women from three study sites (University of Florida, Jacksonville, University of Connecticut, Storrs and University of California, Irvine). Each subject experienced 12 weeks of lifestyle therapy including a low glycemic load Mediterranean-style diet and regular, moderate exercise. Half of the women were randomly selected to consume two servings per day of UltraMeal Plus 3600—not as a meal replacement but in addition to regular meals. The beverage provided a total of 30 grams of soy protein, 4 grams of phytosterols, 300 mg rho iso-alpha acids, and 60 mg acacia proanthocyanidins.

Dr Lerman, one of the principle investigators of this clinical trial, said that while all subjects appear to show improvement in metabolic syndrome and risk factors for heart disease, those who additionally consumed UltraMeal Plus 3600 appeared to show even greater improvements, particularly in LDL-C, non-HDL-C, apolipoprotein B and Apo B/A-1 ratio.

“Even though there was no caloric restriction during the study, participants on average lost one pound per week over the 12 weeks,” stated Dr. Lerman. “We found that at the end of the study, 31.8% of the women in the control arm (consuming only the Mediterranean-style low-glycemic-load diet) had net resolution of metabolic syndrome. On the other hand, 44.4% of the women in the medical food arm (consuming the diet and UltraMeal Plus 3600) had net resolution of metabolic syndrome. In addition, there were statistically significant reductions in serum total cholesterol, LDL, non-HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, apo B/apo A-1 and homocysteine levels in women in the medical food arm compared to those in the control arm.”

Dr. Lerman said the clinical trial has positive, far-reaching implications. “Lifestyle modification is recommended as the first line of treatment for metabolic syndrome. This study provides evidence that UltraMeal Plus 3600 medical food can enhance the effects of a lifestyle modification program not only for those with metabolic syndrome but also for those exposed to other cardiovascular risk factors,” he said. “Approximately one-third of the adult population in the United States is afflicted with metabolic syndrome, a risk factor for diabetes mellitus as well as cardiovascular disease, the number one killer in the US. Ameliorating and preventing the development of this metabolic disorder will have significant public health impact.

“The multi-center clinical trial results further support the use of Metagenics’ UltraMeal Plus 3600 medical food as part of lifestyle therapy addressing metabolic syndrome and other chronic illnesses that may stem from it,” he continued. “We believe these results are solid evidence that our unique combination of lifestyle and targeted nutrition offers a powerful approach for naturopathic physicians in managing their patients’ suffering from this all-too-common condition.”

Dr. Lerman said that the research team at the University of Connecticut is finalizing the research manuscript for submission to a peer reviewed journal. In the meantime, he noted that Metagenics is continuing its active research program focusing on ameliorating effects of chronic illness.

Metagenics formulas are not sold in health food stores and are only available through licensed healthcare practitioners.

Leave Your Children Alone

This is a wonderful article written by Steve Nelson...

Ah, autumn in New York. Brisk breezes, the New York City Marathon, Central Park ablaze with color... and neurotic parents interfering in their children's lives.

A few years ago an overly conscientious parent in my school took a month off work to help his son with the college application process. After mailing several applications he noticed that in the section calling for "names of parents" he had written his own parents' names. Little can top that except, perhaps, the mother who applied to a college on behalf of her daughter. Several months later the daughter was rather surprised to be accepted by this college, to which she had not applied.

While the nation gnashes its teeth waiting for Superman to visit failing schools we may be doing a more grave disservice to the kids who seem to be succeeding. Soccer moms and dads schlep their "travel team" kids hundreds of miles every weekend. Children in disposable diapers are in gymnastics camp, Suzuki violin lessons and Mandarin classes. High school students do six or seven hours of homework after chess club, volleyball, leading the film society and performing mandatory community service (isn't that an oxymoron?). All this to get a leg up on admission to an Ivy League school their parents chose for them.

Psychologist Wendy Mogel, author of Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children, reminisces fondly of childhood nights when she and her friends stuffed pillows into their nightgowns, slid them under the covers, and climbed naked onto the roof to feel cool breezes on bare bottoms and gaze with wonder at the night sky. In childhood I played baseball or football, climbed trees, or sneaked puffs from contraband cigarettes (disclaimer: we didn't know then what we know now!) with my friends from school dismissal until nightfall. My parents had no idea where I was until I arrived, invariably filthy and late, for dinner. These days the neighbors would call child welfare.

Too many children in this generation are overprotected, over-programmed, and destined for safe, joyless lives. In our success-obsessed competitive society there is less and less time for children to be children. This is no accident, as there seems a similar decline in time or inclination for adults to be children.

Such children remind me of high-strung show dogs: immaculately groomed, fastidiously trained and at risk for all kinds of problems. Ever seen the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, with vibrating thoroughbreds so eager to please, prancing nervously at handlers' sides, waiting for approval in the form of a small treat? The dogs in my family would pee on the judging stand, chase squirrels and sniff each other's bottoms. I think that's the way dogs are supposed to behave. Not that a little training is bad, but what's the good of a dog if you train all the dog out of him? And what's the good of a child if you train all the human out of her?

The irony is that these diligent efforts to ensure success and happiness are likely to do neither. The most interesting people I know have failed miserably at one time or another. To avoid flirtation with danger is to avoid falling in love with life. Human development requires unreasonable fits of passion, bad mistakes, stupid choices, daydreaming, utter panic, swaths of boredom, flights of fancy, fractured bones and broken hearts. Ask anyone you know to recount a few of the experiences that brought him or her the greatest joy or growth. I'll bet you won't hear anything of Advanced Placement courses, after-school Japanese lessons, organized soccer drills or test-prep for kindergarten.

If we adults are grim and studious, if we seemed scared about our children's futures, if we have no fun whatsoever as we rush from one highly structured activity to another, what on Earth would make our children want to become adults? Instead of pushing children to be what we wish (for them or for us?), we should heed Mogel's delightful metaphor: Think of your child as a wildflower seed in an unlabeled package. Sow the seed, occasionally water, and expose to lots of sunshine. Children, like unlabeled wildflowers, will blossom early or late in myriad brilliant and subtle colors if we just give them time and support. All the pushing and worry in the world won't change a sky-blue aster into a meadow rose.

If you want your children to be happy and successful, show them what happiness and success are. We adults should know that success isn't money, status or constant work. So go skiing on a Tuesday. Call in sick to work, go somewhere and come home filthy and late to dinner, take a chance, write a note to the teacher saying the family was having too much fun to do homework.

While you're at it, take the dog out to chase squirrels and stick his nose in strange places. After the children are in bed, climb naked on the roof and wonder at the moon. Then snuggle in bed with whomever you love and rest well, knowing that you have been a very, very good parent.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Fish Oil May Help Patients With Lung Cancer

EPA and DHA from fish oil have immune-modulating effects and may improve nutritional status in cancer. This study investigated the effects of an oral nutritional supplement containing (n-3) fatty acids on nutritional status and inflammatory markers in patients with non-small cell lung cancer undergoing multimodality treatment. In a double-blind experiment, 40 patients with stage III NSCLC were randomly assigned to receive 2 cans/d of a protein- and energy-dense oral nutritional supplement containing (n-3) fatty acids (2.0 g EPA + 0.9 g DHA/d) or an isocaloric control supplement.

The intervention group had a better weight maintenance than the control group after 2 and 4 wk, a better fat free mass maintenance after 3 and 5 wk, a reduced resting energy expenditure after 3 wk, and a trend for a greater mid-upper arm circumference and lower interleukin-6 production after 5 wk. After 4 wk, the intervention group had a higher energy and protein intake than the C group. In conclusion, a protein- and energy-dense oral nutritional supplement containing (n-3) fatty acids beneficially affects nutritional status during multimodality treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Exercise for Bone Health

Exercise and lifestyle
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD

Exercise and bone health — use them or lose them

I recently read a great quote by the Founding Director of the National Institute on Aging, Robert Butler, MD. He wrote, “If doctors could prescribe exercise in a pill form, it would be the single most widely prescribed drug in the world.” It’s interesting because almost all of us who are invested in our health already know that exercise is one of the most important factors in living a long and healthy life, but many of us are too busy to make time for it.

Exercising for your bones — simple ideas to get you started

Go dancing with a friend or partner.
Take a walk each night after dinner or try wearing a pedometer during the day to track how much you walk.
Ride your bike to friends’ houses, stores, and work.
Run up and down your stairs a few times a day.
Purchase or borrow a Nintendo Wii Fit program (includes dance parties, yoga, tennis games, boxing, and more).
Jump rope or simply hop on one leg, then the other — or on both.
Try the OsteoBall, Bosu Ball, or rubber flex bands (e.g., Thera-Band).
Rent or borrow a yoga, t’ai chi, or other exercise DVD, from the local library, a friend, or Netflix. (Several of the videos we recommend can be found in our store.)
Try bursting several times during your regular exercise routine.
Use an X-iser step machine for a few minutes a day. Use steppers, free weights, and other strength training devices at your local gym, or wear a weight vest or belt during your workout.
In my mission to explore and teach a natural, life-supporting approach to bone health maintenance and regeneration, nothing else I’ve found tells bone to build and rebuild itself quite like exercise. And with more exercise, you can not only improve the strength of your bones, but you can increase your overall health and longevity on all levels, just as Dr. Butler suggests.

If you’re serious about maintaining strong and healthy bones throughout your life — and despite the wide prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia, it is entirely possible — exercise should move up on your list of priorities. But what type of exercise is best for bones? You may have heard that certain forms of exercise are good for bone-building, while others, like swimming or biking, aren’t as helpful. Let’s take a closer look at exercise and help you determine what’s best for your bone — and your life.

If your bones could talk...

If your bones could talk, they would say, “Show me you really need me!” Though it feels and looks solid, living bone is dynamic tissue that is constantly altered in response to motion and movement. The more your bones are called upon to carry weight, the more your body puts its resources into building them to support that weight. Bone and muscle are part of the same unit, and as you build muscle, you build bone by default. Here’s why: muscles are attached to bones by tendons. When muscles contract, the tendons tug on your bones, stimulating them to grow. The stronger the muscle, the more powerful the stimulation on the bone.

The best news is that everyone, from a young athlete to an elderly person confined to a wheelchair, can build bone mass with a combination of exercise, an alkaline diet, and bone-healthy nutritional supplements. And there are many options out there for you to explore (see the box above). From hopping on one or both legs during the commercial breaks of your favorite TV show to biking back and forth to work, there’s a way for you to make exercise a part of your life, and once your bones are called upon, their mass will increase.

What and how much exercise helps build bone?

Mix it up!

Your bones respond best to unusual, unexpected bursts and varying combinations of forces, rather than routine workouts. Here are some ideas to help you achieve this:

Jump, skip or break into a jog when you wouldn’t normally.
Vary your weight-lifting repetitions, mixing heavier weights than you’re used to with lighter ones.
Include several bursts in your workout, where you increase your heart rate for a minute or so.
If you always use the treadmill, try dancing or yoga exercises every other work-out.
Try a whole body vibration platform if there’s one in your area
As I have written in my book, Better Bones, Better Body, regular lifelong exercise is best for bone, but it’s never too late to begin building bone density with exercise. Your age, gender, current bone mass, and training history are all factors that will influence your choice of exercise for bone health. (Curious about your bones? Take our Bone health profile.)

The optimal exercise routines for men’s and women’s bone health is unknown and subject to much debate. But we do know that different forms of exercise benefit bone mineralization and the mechanical properties of bone in different ways for men and women of different age groups.

The standard party line is that exercise that requires high forces or generates high impact on the body (such as gymnastics, dance, or weight-lifting) is necessary to improve bone density. Generally speaking, the greater the force or impact, the more bone-growth stimulation. Scientific evidence does suggest we most efficiently build bone mass with a combination of high-impact exercise (such as jumping) and weight-lifting (which can include push-ups, yogic arm balances, using a weighted vest, etc.).

But other properties of bone besides mass make it resilient, such as its water content and cross-sectional geometry. That’s why non-weight-bearing or resistance exercise such as swimming, biking, and isometric exercise (like using the OsteoBall®) also have value, in that they can increase your bones’ flexibility and compression strength. Resistance exercise also decreases your risk of falling and fractures by enhancing balance, coordination, and muscle strength.




One way to increase the forces of resistance on your bones is with Eastern forms of exercise such as yoga, t’ai chi, or qi gong, and other alternative systems such as Pilates. We’re just now beginning to understand that the benefits we gain from such mind–body disciplines extend much further than simply strength and flexibility.

Practices like yoga and t’ai chi can improve balance, coordination, and focus — not to mention providing a boost in confidence! As we age, many of us become less confident when moving about, and while it’s good to be careful, hesitancy can make us more likely to fall and possibly fracture. And whether you’ve been diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia or not, falling puts you at risk of fracture.

Several recent scientific studies document the positive effects of yoga on bone health in women of all ages. Results showed increased bone density in the spine and hips as measured by DEXA scans, as well as reduced markers of bone turnover.

In addition to the physical effects, there’s often a psychological benefit to Eastern practices. This can help enhance our natural mind-body connection and calm the autonomic nervous system, lowering adrenaline and cortisol, our primary stress hormones. These actions ultimately help bone and whole-body health. As Dr. Paul Lam notes on his Tai Chi for Osteoporosis DVD, “Practicing Tai Chi strengthens from the inside out.” When beginning from our hearts and minds, we are capable of great things in the whole body.

If it seems overwhelming to join a class to learn exercises, you might try familiarizing yourself first with the concepts with a DVD like the ones we offer on our website or take a look at a YouTube video on-line. You may find you prefer practicing in the comfort of your own home, or that you’re ready to find a local class. What I like about attending a class is that most instructors lead the class to move in different ways each session, rather than sticking with the same routine. And variety is great for bone.

Exercise: one way to stem menopausal bone loss

While both men and women can develop osteoporosis, women are far more likely than men to experience bone loss, and the critical time in their lives for bone health is the menopause transition. For years we’ve been told that women can lose up to one-fifth of their bone mass during the menopause transition, and that estrogen is the crucial player. But there is actually much more to the story — waning estrogen doesn’t make it impossible to build bone in perimenopause and menopause. Women’s bodies maintain bone best when our hormones are balanced, not just when they’re present at certain premenopausal levels. It also helps to exercise, eat an alkalizing diet, and take a quality multivitamin designed for bone building, like the ones we offer in our Personal Program for Better Bones.

I always tell women, the bone you’ve got is good. Let’s keep it! Exercise is an excellent way to maintain the bone you already have during this crucial transition time, and more rigorous strength training can make a big difference to bone mineral density during the early postmenopausal years.

If you want to build bone during the menopause transition, it may take a more intensive exercise plan. In the case of early post menopausal women with osteopenia, some research indicates that the isolated effect of simply increasing habitual physical activity does little to increase muscle strength. But don’t be discouraged by that — it just tells us that women with a diagnosis of osteopenia or who are otherwise at higher risk need a more deliberate exercise program than simply increasing habitual physical activity.

Exercise for those with osteoporosis or osteopenia

Some exercise “don’ts” in osteoporosis

Some exercises aren’t recommended for those who have fractured or who have severe osteoporosis. Flexion exercises where you bend your spine significantly forward can increase the risk of vertebral fractures by putting excessive pressure on the vertebral bodies. Such exercises may include crunches where you round your back, touching your toes from a standing position, pulling your knees into your chest and lifting your chin and neck while on your back, or rounding your back over and downward while in a seated position. Extension exercises where you stretch up and flex backwards are generally safe for everyone.


Caption: Exercise “don’ts” for those with osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures of the spine. Exercises that curve or bend the spine increase your chances of vertebral fracture.

It’s common for people diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia to be a little afraid of exercise, because they are worried their bones might fracture with any unusual activity. Such caution is warranted in some situations, such as if your bone density is very low compared to other women your age, or if your body is in a very deconditioned state. But in the vast majority, this is not the case. Almost everyone can start with a program of walking, and most can safely undertake a significant bone-building exercise program with great success. But it’s important to work with your healthcare practitioner and take care not to put excessive stress on weakened bones.

Take a look at our Better Bones Exercise Plan to begin your process, and make sure you discuss your goals with your practitioner.

How to get results — a Better Bones approach

For most of us, almost any exercise — as long it’s regular and not so intensive it causes damage — is good bone exercise. Your bones are designed to naturally break down and rebuild themselves to support the demands you place on them. But truly amazing changes come about when all the body’s systems are working synergistically. Here are the three core elements of our integrative bone health approach:

Create an exercise plan. Because everyone is starting from a different place, we put together a guide to help you design Your Better Bones Exercise Plan in a way that fits your unique needs and lifestyle.

Eat a plant-based, alkalizing diet. Just by living and breathing, we create an internal acid load, and because our bones are the body’s great buffers, an overly acidifying diet leaches buffering minerals from the bones to alkalize the blood. In contrast, fruits and vegetables provide alkalizing mineral reserves to counterbalance acid-forming metabolic processes. (See our articles on acid-alkaline balance).

Boost your bone-building vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and amino acids. Because even the healthiest diet doesn’t necessarily supply all that you need, I recommend taking high-quality nutritional supplements to ensure that you’re getting all 20 essential bone-building nutrients, such as vitamin D, vitamin K, calcium, potassium, and magnesium.

Combining these three elements — regular exercise, an alkalizing diet, and high-quality supplements — will make it much more likely for you to get the results you’re looking for. Adopting this approach can also give you a surprising bonus: improved energy and whole-body wellness, well into old age.

Exercise that replenishes you in every way

Tips for safe exercise

Exercise within your comfort zone.
Avoid movements that cause pain.
Maintain good posture and avoid rounding your back.
Be sure to warm up and stretch your muscles.
Work with a physical therapist if you have experienced an osteoporotic fracture.
As a mother and busy practitioner myself, I know how tough it can be to find the time and inspiration to exercise regularly. But it’s so important for your bones, and I promise, when you find something you love doing, it will become second nature.

Be creative, explore, and be willing to try something new or combine different forms of exercise. Avoid anything that feels like one more chore. When you exercise in a way that replenishes you it triggers the reward cascade in your brain — you’ll know it when you experience it!

There is so much out there. Fully embracing your exercise routine will not only help you to maintain and build new bone, but will enhance your outlook, longevity, and whole-body health.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Low Vitamin D Associatwd with Depression in Older Adulta

A new study in London investigated the association between vitamin D deficiency and depressive symptoms in a national community sample of older people. Vitamin D deficiency is common in older people with potential effects on mood.

Methods: Data were analyzed from 2070 participants aged 65 years who had participated in the 2005 Health Survey for England. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale) had been measured. Covariates included age, sex, social class, season of examination, and physical health status.

Results: Depressive symptoms were associated with clinical vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D levels <10 ng/mL; present in 9.8%) independent of other covariates but not with broader deficiency states. This association was not modified by season of examination.

Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is associated with late-life depression in older adults.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

SAMe May Be Beneficial for Depression

Study Shows SAMe May Ease Depression

By TARA PARKER-POPE
A popular dietary supplement called SAMe may help depressed patients who don’t respond to prescription antidepressant treatment, a new study shows.

SAMe stands for S-adenosyl methionine, a naturally occurring molecule that is widely used in Europe for depression, arthritis and other ailments. It is found throughout the human body, with high concentrations in the liver, adrenal glands and brain.

The latest research, conducted by investigators at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, is important not only because it suggests another treatment option for patients with depression, but because it also offers news clues into the physical pathways of depression that could ultimately lead to more effective treatments.

“There are many directions in research that this opens up,” said Dr. George I. Papakostas, director of treatment resistant depression studies at Mass General and the study’s lead author. “It provides clues to new treatments, and it provides clues to understanding what causes depression as well as what goes on biochemically when people get better from depression.”

The researchers studied the use of SAMe or a placebo in 73 adults with depression who were not responding to prescription antidepressant treatment. All of the study subjects continued to take the prescription antidepressant, but 39 of them were randomly assigned to receive SAMe for six weeks. The remaining 34 patients received a placebo in addition to their regular prescription treatment.

After six weeks of treatment, 36 percent of the patients taking a combination of SAMe and an antidepressant showed improvement, compared to just 18 percent of those taking the antidepressant and placebo. And about 26 percent of patients in the SAMe group experienced a complete remission of symptoms, compared to just 12 percent in the placebo group, according to a report published in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

The research offers hope to patients who haven’t been helped by traditional antidepressant treatment. Studies suggest that for more than half of depressed patients, antidepressants alone don’t eliminate symptoms. As a result, doctors are looking for additional treatments to help these patients, referred to as “nonresponders.”

Modern antidepressants essentially work by building up concentrations of neurotransmitters, which amplifies their effect on the brain. It’s not clear exactly how SAMe works to curb depression, but researchers have several theories. SAMe may influence the expression of genes involved in depression or alter the function of different receptors and structures that transport neurotransmitters in the brain. The molecule also may be directly involved in the creation of neurotransmitters.

“Most antidepressants we use are acting on neurotransmitters in the brain,” said Dr. J. Craig Nelson, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, and author of an editorial accompanying the study. “It may be that SAMe is facilitating the synthesis of the neurotransmitters that the drugs then act on. That’s probably the best hypothesis.”

Other studies have suggested that SAMe can relieve symptoms of depression. A 2002 analysis of depression trials conducted by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality found that SAMe use resulted in clinically meaningful benefits to depressed patients compared to placebo, and that the supplement worked as well as tricyclic antidepressants, a category of prescription drugs.

In his editorial, Dr. Nelson notes that SAMe is typically not covered by insurance companies, and that although the cost is relatively low, it is still more than the drug co-payments required by most health plans. A monthly supply of the same brand of supplement studied would be about $143, the editorial notes.

Dr. Nelson, who was not involved in the Harvard study, said the results need to be replicated in a larger study, and that more information is needed on dosing, side effects and long-term treatment with SAMe, among other things. Dr. Papakostas agrees the study “needs replication” but said he is hopeful about the potential for future research.

“It’s a huge advancement in terms of expanding the types of medications we have to treat depression,” Dr. Papakostas said. “In the last 60 years of depression research, all the treatments have focused on similar mechanisms of action. This is one of the first few studies that suggests a different mechanism. It’s a medication that works differently than everything else.”

The study was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health, but the SAMe pills and placebo pills were provided by the dietary supplement maker Pharmavite. Dr. Papkostas, Dr. Nelson and other researchers involved in the study all disclosed several financial relationships with makers of prescription antidepressants.

New Study Links Osteoporosis Drugs to Cancer

New Study Links Oral Bisphosphonates to Esophageal Cancer

A case-control study in BMJ finds that oral bisphosphonates are associated with increased risk for esophageal cancer, thus contradicting a recent JAMA study finding no such link.

In the current study, British researchers used a national database to identify nearly 16,000 adults diagnosed with esophageal, stomach, or colorectal cancer over a 10-year period, and matched them with some 78,000 controls without cancer. Prescriptions for bisphosphonates were then assessed for the 7.5 years before diagnosis.

Bisphosphonate prescriptions were associated with a 30% increase in risk for esophageal cancer, with the elevated risk largely limited to patients with 10 or more prescriptions. The drugs did not appear to increase risk for stomach or colorectal cancer.

The researchers, noting that the contradictory JAMA study used the same database, say the disparate result may be due, in part, to the longer follow-up and greater number of controls in the current study.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Drinking Water Before Meals Can Lead to Weight Loss

Last week, scientists reported results of a three-month clinical trial, whose results confirm that drinking two eight-ounce glasses of water before meals leads to substantial weight loss. The weight-loss findings were presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the study was funded by The Institute for Public Health and Water Research.

“We are presenting results of the first randomized controlled intervention trial demonstrating that increased water consumption is an effective weight loss strategy,” said senior author Brenda Davy, Ph.D., of Virginia Tech. Dr. Davy went on to say, “…we found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake.” She pointed out that folklore and everyday experience long have suggested that water can help promote weight loss. But there has been surprisingly little scientific information on the topic.

Dr. Davy cited an earlier study by her group, which showed that middle aged and older people who drank two cups of water right before eating a meal consumed 75 to 90 fewer calories during it (Van Walleghen EL et al. 2007). The current study involved 48 adults aged 55-75 years, divided into two groups: One group drank 2 cups of water prior to their meals and the other did not. All of the subjects ate a low-calorie diet during the study. Over the course of 12 weeks, water drinkers lost about 15.5 pounds, while the non-water drinkers lost about 11 pounds.

As the authors concluded, “Thus, when combined with a hypocaloric [low calorie] diet, consuming 500 ml [16 ounces of] water prior to each main meal leads to greater weight loss than a hypocaloric diet alone in middle-aged and older adults.” (Dennis EA et al. 2010)

Davy said drinking ample water before a meal may work simply because people feel fuller and eat less calorie-containing food during the meal. Increased water consumption may also help people lose weight if they drink it in place of sweetened calorie-containing beverages, said Davy.

Sources
American Chemical Society (ACS). Clinical trial confirms effectiveness of simple appetite control method. August 23, 2010. Accessed at http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=222&content_id=CNBP_025391
Davy BM, Dennis EA, Dengo AL, Wilson KL, Davy KP. Water consumption reduces energy intake at a breakfast meal in obese older adults. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Jul;108(7):1236-9.
Dennis EA, Dengo AL, Comber DL, Flack KD, Savla J, Davy KP, Davy BM. Water consumption increases weight loss during a hypocaloric diet intervention in middle-aged and older adults. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010 Feb;18(2):300-7. Epub 2009 Aug 6.
Dennis EA, Flack KD, Davy BM. Beverage consumption and adult weight management: A review. Eat Behav. 2009 Dec;10(4):237-46. Epub 2009 Jul 16. Review.
Van Walleghen EL, Orr JS, Gentile CL, Davy BM. Pre-meal water consumption reduces meal energy intake in older but not younger subjects. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 Jan;15(1):93-9.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Write Off Weight

Keeping a journal has a hidden health benefit: A recent study indicates that keeping track of your eating habits in a diary or journal can help to double your weight loss. The study, published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine followed almost 1,700 overweight or obese men and women with an average weight of 212 pounds.

After 20 weeks of study participation (which included weekly group meetings, recommended daily reduction of 500 calories, 30 or more minutes of daily moderate intensity exercise, and daily journal entries of food intake and exercise minutes) the total average loss was about 13 pounds. But the more that the participants wrote in their journals, the more weight they lost - on average, about twice as much as those who did not maintain records.
By keeping a simple food diary, you can more objectively determine how much you are eating and become accountable for your food intake. Try to enter the portions eaten after each meal, and use whatever method works best for you - pen and paper, a smartphone application (such as the iPhone's "Notes"), or a spreadsheet on a personal computer - to help keep the process consistent.

Omega 3s Essential for Mental Health

Omega-3s and Mental Health: A Report from ISSFAL 2010
By Joyce A. Nettleton, D.Sc.
 
Folklore has long held that fish is brain food … a belief increasingly bolstered by scientific evidence.
 
Three years ago, experts appointed by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) found the evidence that omega-3s support mental health quite compelling, albeit inconclusive. [Editor’s note: See “Top Psych Panel Says Omega-3s Deter Depression, Bipolar Disorder”.]
 
The APA’s expert panel concluded that abundant intake of omega-3s from seafood (DHA and EPA) helps support mental health ... and that the evidence warrants urgent research designed to better define omega-3s’ potential to prevent or treat specific mental problems.
 
Their positive position was based on what’s already known about key brain structures and functions – which rely heavily on omega-3 DHA – and an emerging body of evidence concerning omega-3s and mental conditions.
 
Our brains are mostly fat, and more than half of that heady stuff is omega-3 DHA.
 
We must have omega-3 DHA and EPA to survive or thrive, and can only obtain them in two ways:
Easily and abundantly from fish (especially fatty fish like sardines, tuna, and salmon).
Make small amount in our bodies from plant-form omega-3 ALA, in a very inefficient conversion process that’s hindered further by the flood of competing omega-6 fats, which Americans consume in unhealthful excess. (ALA is most abundant in walnuts, flax or hemp seed, leafy greens, beans, and grass-fed livestock.)
The APA panel also relied on the evidence existing then (in 2007). This included cell and animal studies, some preliminary clinical trials … and a larger number of epidemiological studies, in which scientists survey or follow groups of people, looking for any associations between health and diet.
 
Large, well-controlled clinical trials are the evidentiary gold standard, but because omega-3s are practically un-patentable products, therefore holding little profit potential, they rarely get funded by drug firms.
 
And costly clinical trials won’t get government funding without a persuasive body of lab and epidemiological evidence … a tipping point the APA panel thought we’d passed three years ago.
 
Here’s my summary of new and recent evidence concerning omega-3s and three major mental conditions (depression, suicide, and schizophrenia) … including papers presented at ISSFAL by the researchers themselves.
 
Depression
Some, but not all, studies have detected significant symptomatic improvements in people diagnosed with major depression who consumed modest amounts of omega-3s from fish (EPA and DHA) … with or without medication.
 
There is some evidence suggesting that omega-3 EPA may be more effective than omega-3 DHA or both together, but this possibility requires additional research.
 
Last summer, French researchers reported the results of a clinical trial involving 432 patients with depression, half of whom also had anxiety disorder.
[Editor’s note: We covered this report in a prior issue of Vital Choices; see “Fish Oil Rivals Antidepressants in Clinical Trial”.]
 
The patients were given about 1 gram per day of EPA or placebo for 8 weeks (St-André E et al., 2010; Lesperance F et al. 2010).
 
At the end of the treatment there were no differences in assessment scores between the two groups.
 
However, when the analysis excluded patients with anxiety disorder, EPA was associated with a significant improvement in depressive symptoms.
 
And in a study of pregnant women diagnosed with anxiety and depression, researchers observed that having higher levels of anxiety, but not depression, was associated with lower blood levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (Bartke N et al. 2010).
 
Women with lower blood levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and anxiety or depression also had shorter gestation times, attributable in part to their low omega-3 and omega-6 status.
 
Suicide
One of the most intriguing ISSFAL presentations noted that suicide deaths in the US military now outnumber the deaths from combat in current US engagements. The military suicide rate overall recently exceeded the civilian rate, for the first time since records have been kept.
 
A team of investigators that included renowned research psychiatrist Joseph Hibbeln, M.D., – from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism – proposed that low omega-3 status might increase the risk of depression and suicide in the US military. [Editor’s note: For more about Dr. Hibbeln’s work, see “‘Captain of the Happier Meal’ Gets a Salute”.]
 
To test this idea, they measured the long-chain omega-3s in the blood of 800 active duty suicide individuals and matched their leading characteristics to 800 controls (Hibbeln J et al., 2010).
 
The team’s analysis indicated that those with the highest levels of DHA were significantly less likely to die by suicide than those with the lowest levels.
 
An important contributing factor to suicide was the experience of seeing a soldier wounded or killed.
 
These observations suggest that low DHA status may be a risk factor for suicide, but might be overturned by dietary intervention … a possibility these investigators hope to test.
 
Schizophrenia
The ISSFAL presentations included a report of research in Tunisian schizophrenics, which supported the prior observation that individuals with schizophrenia have significantly lower levels of omega-6 ARA and omega-3 DHA in their red blood cells compared with non-schizophrenic individuals (Feki M et al. 2010).
 
Both of these fatty acids are essential to brain function, and blood levels fell as the severity of the symptoms increased … adding yet more evidence that deficits in long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids occur in schizophrenic patients, and that disease severity increases as blood levels drop.
 
The Tunisian findings fit with a University of Cincinnati study, which showed that DHA levels in the orbito-frontal cortex brain region are lower in people with schizophrenia, compared with normal individuals (McNamara RK et al., 2007).
 
And evidence is growing that different psychiatric disorders may be related to DHA deficits in different regions of the brain.
 
For example, when researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism measured omega-3 levels in the brain’s hippocampus region, they found no significant differences between mentally healthy people and patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (Hamazaki H et al., 2010).
 
We may lack irrefutable proof that dietary omega-3s provide significant preventive or therapeutic benefits for the major mental health conditions.
 
But the scientists at ISSFAL certainly recommend urgent research into the effects of dietary fats on mental health … especially omega-3s and America’s badly skewed omega-3/omega-6 intake balance.
 

Thursday, August 12, 2010

How to Feel Full with Smaller Portions

How full would you feel if you thought you were eating a big portion, but the actual amount of food was smaller than it seemed? Or if you thought you were eating a small portion, but really received a large one? Research from England suggests that feeling satisfied depends on the amount you think you're eating, and not necessarily the amount you actually consume. In an experiment, half the participants were shown a small portion of fruit to be used for a smoothie while the other half was shown a large portion. Both groups were asked how satisfying they expected the smoothie to be. Three hours later, they were asked to rate how full they felt. Those who were shown the large portion reported feeling more full, even though the smoothies they received were actually made with the smaller amount of fruit. In another test, researchers rigged up a soup bowl so that the amount of soup could be increased or decreased without the eater's awareness. Afterward, "fullness" ratings proved to be related to the remembered amount of soup in the bowl, not the actual amount consumed. The research was reported at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior.

My take? Large portions - the "supersize" factor - play a central role in the current obesity epidemic. Other studies have shown how easily people fall into the habit of consuming oversized portions. In one clinical trial, researchers tracked the food consumption of nearly two dozen adults for 11 days. First, they gave their volunteers standard sized servings. Then they gave them portions that were 50 percent larger. The participants consistently ate more when they were provided with more to eat. In general, research has shown that people eat more when given large portions. We've got to get into the habit of cutting back on portion sizes, particularly in restaurants, where you can safely assume that the portions are too big (half is plenty).

Friday, August 6, 2010

Standard American Diet Linked to ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the subject of considerable controversy. Many observers decry the now-routine use of stimulant drugs like Ritalin to control symptoms. Meanwhile, others say that ADHD diagnoses represent the "medicalization" of behaviors that fall at one end of the normal scale ... which may be signs of an unusally creative, intelligent mind.

Claims that ADHD is an imaginary disease were undermined by a recent UC Davis study showing that two brain areas failed to connect when children with ADHD attempted a task that measures attention (Mazaheri A et al. 2010).

Now, a new study from Australia lends support to the idea that nutritionally inferior diets may play a role in elicting the disorder. The term “standard American diet” is used by nutrition researchers to describe the most common eating pattern in this country. And that semi-official appellation yields an acronym – SAD – that’s all too fitting in light of the clearly adverse health impacts of the nation’s dominant eating pattern.

The standard American diet is high in sugars, refined starches (white flour products), pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats, saturated fats, and sodium … but low in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fish. As it happens, the standard Australian diet closely resembles the standard American diet, and has equally adverse health effects. So Americans should be concerned by new research that links the standard Australian diet to increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among adolescents.

The new findings suggests that risk of ADHD in Australian adolescents could be linked to Western diets, which tend to be high in total fat, saturated fat, refined sugar, and sodium.

Before we examine the Aussie study, let’s quickly review the evidence concerning diet and food additives as an ADHD risk factor.

ADHD risk factors: A look at the evidence
Some studies have found links between food additives and ADHD, but the evidence is mixed and points to greater susceptibility in some children than others.

Evidence of a link between sugar alone and higher ADHD risk or transitory behavior problems is considerably weaker.

On the prevention side, some research suggests a potential role for omega-3 fatty acids in reducing the risks of ADHD and improving behavior and learning among children with ADHD. And last year, a Spanish scientific team that reviewed all of the available evidence noted the factors most closely linked to ADHD risk or prevention, including a possible role of the omega-3/omega-6 fat intake imbalance characteristic of Western diets. “[ADHD] has been related to many factors such as diet, additives, toxic substances from the environment, low protein diets with a high carbohydrate content, unbalanced minerals intake, deficits in intake of essential fatty acids, phospholipids, and amino acids, thyroid disorders, and vitamin B complex disorders ...One of the changes that we want to emphasize is related to the omega-6-rich vegetable oils that dominate human consumption and the reduction in fatty acids from the omega-3 family. The effect of an omega-3 intake deficit is even worse when the amount of dietary omega-6 fat increases ...”

Eaten in excess, omega-6 fatty acids tend to promote inflammation and are associated with higher risk of depression and cancer, while omega-3s tend to have opposite effects.

Omega-6 fats compete with dietary omega-3s for absorption, and omega-6s abound in processed and prepared foods and the cheap vegetable oils most commonly used in them and in American kitchens (corn, soy, safflower, cottonseed, and sunflower).

The authors of the new study analyzed the dietary patterns of 1,799 adolescents and classified their diets as “Healthy” or “Western” (Howard AL et al. 2010).
The teens were participants in the Raine Study from Perth, Australia. Researchers have been tracking this group of children since their birth in 1989.

Young teens were defined as eating a “Healthy” diet pattern if they consumed relatively high amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and fish. This diet pattern also tended to deliver more omega-3 fatty acids, folate (a B vitamin involved in brain health), and fiber.

The “Western” diet pattern was defined as one in which teens tended to eat more takeout foods, sweets, pastries, and processed, fried, or refined foods. This diet pattern delivered less omega-3s but more total fat, saturated fat, omega-6 fats, refined sugar, and sodium.

A team led by child nutrition specialist Wendy Oddy, Ph.D., compared the teens’ diet patterns to their health records, looking for any diagnoses of ADHD by the age of 14 years. Out of the total of 1,799 teens, 115 (91 boys and 24 girls) had been diagnosed with ADHD by age 14.

After adjusting the results to account for various known social and family influences on ADHD risk, the Aussie team found that, compared with kids eating the “Healthy” diet, the kids who ate a “Western” style diet were more than twice as likely to have received an ADHD diagnosis.

When they looked at specific foods, an ADHD diagnosis was associated with diets especially high in takeout foods, processed meats, red meat, high-fat dairy products, sweets, and pastries.

Scientists attribute some of “Healthy” diet’s protection to omega-3s
Professor Oddy attributed some of the risk reduction of the Health diet pattern to fish fats: “We suggest that a Western dietary pattern may indicate the adolescent has a less optimal fatty acid profile, whereas a diet higher in omega-3 fatty acids is thought to hold benefits for mental health and optimal brain function.” (TICHR 2010)

She also proposed that the Western dietary pattern doesn’t provide enough of certain other essential micronutrients needed for optimal attention and concentration.

The Aussies did not deny the possible influence of artificial additives, nor the possibility that kids susceptible to ADHD tend to make bad, impulsive eating choices: “… we cannot be sure whether a poor diet leads to ADHD or whether ADHD leads to poor dietary choices and cravings.” (TICHR 2010)

Needless to say, we need more studies to confirm the link seen in this study, and to pinpoint the food choices most responsible for raising the risk of ADHD.

Sources
Ambrosini GL, Oddy WH, Robinson M, O'Sullivan TA, Hands BP, de Klerk NH, Silburn SR, Zubrick SR, Kendall GE, Stanley FJ, Beilin LJ. Adolescent dietary patterns are associated with lifestyle and family psycho-social factors. Public Health Nutr. 2009 Oct;12(10):1807-15. Epub 2009 Jan 23.
Boris M, Mandel FS. Foods and additives are common causes of the attention deficit hyperactive disorder in children. Ann Allergy. 1994 May;72(5):462-8. Review.
Carter CM, Urbanowicz M, Hemsley R, Mantilla L, Strobel S, Graham PJ, Taylor E. Effects of a few food diet in attention deficit disorder. Arch Dis Child. 1993 Nov;69(5):564-8.PMID: 8257176
Cruz NV, Bahna SL. Do food or additives cause behavior disorders? Pediatr Ann. 2006 Oct;35(10):744-5, 748-54. Review.
Howard AL, Robinson M, Smith GJ, Ambrosini GL, Piek JP, Oddy WH. ADHD Is Associated With a 'Western' Dietary Pattern in Adolescents. J Atten Disord. 2010 Jul 14. [Epub ahead of print]
Krummel DA, Seligson FH, Guthrie HA. Hyperactivity: is candy causal? Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 1996 Jan;36(1-2):31-47. Review.
Mattes JA, Gittelman R. Effects of artificial food colorings in children with hyperactive symptoms. A critical review and results of a controlled study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1981 Jun;38(6):714-8.
Mazaheri A, Coffey-Corina S, Mangun GR, Bekker EM, Berry AS, Corbett BA. Functional disconnection of frontal cortex and visual cortex in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2010 Apr 1;67(7):617-23. Epub 2010 Jan 8.
Quintero J, Rodríguez-Quirós J, Correas-Lauffer J, Pérez-Templado J. [Nutritional aspects of attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder] Rev Neurol. 2009 Sep 16-30;49(6):307-12. Review. Spanish.
Rojas NL, Chan E. Old and new controversies in the alternative treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev. 2005;11(2):116-30. Review.
Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (TICHR). Western diet link to ADHD. July 29, 2010. Accessed at http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/media/1185

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Fish Oil Supplements May Lower Breast Cancer Risk

Millions of Americans already take fish oil to keep their hearts healthy and to treat ailments ranging from arthritis to depression. Now, a new study suggests that the supplements may also help women lower their risk of breast cancer.

Postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 76 who took fish oil were 32 percent less likely to develop certain types of breast cancer than women who didn't, the study found.

The researchers looked at 14 other popular supplements (including gingko biloba, black cohosh, soy, and St. John's wort), but only fish oil -- which contains concentrated amounts of the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, tuna, and other fish -- had any connection to breast cancer risk.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Yoga Can Help Cancer Survivors

Cancer survivors often feel fatigued and have trouble sleeping for months -- or even years -- after their last chemotherapy or radiation session. Now, a new study shows that yoga can help them sleep better, feel more energized, and cut back on sleeping medications.

"We really wanted to find something useful, because right now there are not a lot of good treatments out there for fatigue," says the lead author of the study, Karen Mustian, an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in Rochester, New York.

Compared with sleep medication, yoga "can be really empowering," says Suzanne Danhauer, a professor of psychosocial oncology at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Sleep medications aren't always effective and can have side effects, and people who've just been through cancer treatment may not want to take any more drugs, adds Danhauer, who studies the benefits of yoga for cancer patients but didn't participate in the new study.

The study included 410 cancer survivors who had completed treatment in the previous two years and had been experiencing sleep problems for at least two months. All but 16 of the patients were women, and 75 percent were breast cancer survivors. In addition to the standard post-treatment care that everyone received, half of the study participants attended 75-minute yoga sessions twice a week for a month.

The sessions, which were based on two forms of low-intensity yoga known as Hatha yoga and restorative yoga, included breathing exercises, meditation, and 18 different poses. "This wasn't some kind of power Vinyasa yoga class," says Mustian. "It was gentle."

At the beginning of the study, just under 85 percent of the participants in both the yoga and control groups were experiencing sleep problems. By the end, 31 percent of the patients who'd done yoga were sleeping soundly, compared with just 16 percent of the control group. The yoga participants were also using about 20 percent less sleep medication, on average, while the people in the control group actually upped their intake of sleep drugs by 5 percent.

Additionally, the yoga participants had substantially lower levels of fatigue and daytime sleepiness compared with the control group.

The study, the largest of its kind to date, was funded by the National Cancer Institute and will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in early June.

Danhauer says the findings are good news because yoga that's appropriate for recovering cancer patients is widely accessible and affordable.

"You will probably find someone in your community who has training in Hatha yoga or restorative yoga," Mustian says. She recommends classes that feature one (or both) of these approaches and an instructor who's certified by the Yoga Alliance. Ideally, she adds, the instructor will also be experienced in working with patients with health problems.

Many of the nation's top cancer centers, such as the Stanford Cancer Center at Stanford University, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, have their own yoga programs.

At the Albert Einstein Cancer Center in the Bronx, New York, where researchers have been studying yoga in cancer survivors for the past 10 years, patients can continue practicing yoga at the center even if they're no longer participating in the study. "We have several patients who have been doing it for years," says Alyson Moadel, the director of the center's psychosocial oncology program.

Monday, June 14, 2010

B Vitamins Linked to Less Depression in Elderly

Increased intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 may reduce the risk of seniors developing depressive symptoms, says a new study with 3,500 Chicagoans.

For every 10 milligram increase in the intake of vitamin B6 and for every 10 microgram increase in vitamin B12 the risk of developing symptoms of depression were decreased by 2 per cent per year, according to findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study adds to previous reports linking B vitamin intakes and a lower risk of depression. The World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that within 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem; it ranks depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, with around 120 million people affected.

Despite earlier reports on the potential anti-depressive benefits of the B vitamins, researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Illinois report that “very little prospective evidence from population-based studies of older adults”.

Led by Kimberly Skarupski, the researchers obtained data from 3,500 over 65 year-olds in Chicago. The volunteers were living in a normal community and were bi-racial with 59 per cent being African American. Dietary intakes were quantified using food frequency questionnaires and depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale.

Over an average of 7.2 years of follow-up, the researchers noted that increased intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 were associated with a “decreased likelihood of incident depression”. The intakes of the vitamins came from both food and supplements, said the researchers.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Standard American Diet Linked to Depression in Women

Two studies link diets high in processed foods, sugar, and omega-6 fats to depression in women and ties whole-food diets to a reduced risk

Earlier this year, British researchers reported that people who ate “junky” diets – such as the average American diet – were more likely to suffer from depression. The UK team analyzed diet and health data collected from 3,486 men and women (average age 55.6 years).
Based on how often the participants had eaten specific amounts of various foods during the previous year, researchers categorized them as falling into one of two dietary patterns. A “whole food” diet was defined as one dominated by vegetables, fruits and fish, while a “processed food” diet was marked by high intake of sweets, fried foods, processed meats, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products.

Women who ate a junky “Western” diet were 52 percent more likely to develop depression and 76 percent more likely to develop anxiety.
The risk of depression or anxiety disorders was about 34 percent lower among women eating a “Traditional” Australian diet.
Surprisingly, the risk of depression was 29 percent higher in women who ate a Modern (“spa” style) diet.
Compared with the Traditional Australian diet, the Western and Modern style diets were likely higher in omega-6 fats, excessive intake of which has been associated with depression.
Five years later, the volunteers completed a questionnaire designed to measure depression symptoms.

The researchers’ analysis indicated that diets dominated by processed foods produced a greater risk of being diagnosed with depression after five years. Conversely, the recruits whose self-reported diets were highest in whole foods were the least likely to develop signs of depression by the end of the half-decade study (Akbaraly TN et al. 2009).

Now the results of another study – this one involving only women – confirm those findings and strengthen the diet-depression connection in females.

Aussie study examines food-mood links in women
Researchers from the University of Melbourne conducted an epidemiological (diet-health) study in 1,046 female volunteers aged 20 to 93 (Jacka FN et al. 2010).

The women were followed for 10 years and answered a diet survey every other year.

Based on their responses to the surveys, the women were categorized as belonging to one of three diet groups:

“Traditional Australian” Diet – Dominated by vegetables, fruit, beef, lamb, fish, and whole-grain foods.
“Western” Diet – Dominated by meat pies, processed meats, pizza, chips, hamburgers, white bread, sugar, flavored milk drinks, and beer.
“Modern” Diet – Dominated by fruits and salads plus fish, tofu, beans, nuts, yogurt, and red wine.
The “Traditional Australian” diet resembles the tradtional diet of rural Americans in the 19th century, which is enjoying a comeback in the “slow food” movement, the “locavore” (local food) movement, and among folks aware of Weston A. Price, DDS, whose pioneering diet-health research was the first to link diverse traditional diets to better overall health.

The term “Western” diet is another name for what nutrition researchers have long called the “Standard American Diet” … an eating pattern whose acronym (SAD) says it all.

Likewise, the diet pattern the Aussie team called “Modern” is one most people would recognize as a typical “spa” or “South Beach” style diet.

New findings support traditional Aussie/American diets full of diverse whole foods
The Aussie team’s analysis showed that the women who ate a Western diet were 52 percent more likely than average to develop signs of a depression disorder … and they were 76 percent more likely to develop signs of an anxiety disorder.

In contrast, the risk of depression/anxiety disorders was about 34 percent lower than average among women who ate a Traditional Australian diet.

That finding supports the view of Weston A. Price, and it supports his view – now backed by substantial evidence and accepted by many biomedical researchers – that saturated fat from whole foods like lamb and beef is not unhealthful.

Surprisingly, the risk of depression was 29 percent higher than average in women who ate the “Modern”, spa-style diet characterized by fruits and salads plus fish, tofu, beans, nuts, yogurt, and red wine. However, their risk of anxiety was seven percent lower than average.

Importantly, the associations between the three diet styles and risk of depression/anxiety disorders persisted after the research team adjusted the results to account for a variety of factors known to influence the with risk of mood disorders: age, weight, socio-economic status, education, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

Do omega-6 fats explain the depressing effects that ”modern” diets seem to share?
The researchers posed two explanations for why women eating a “Modern”, spa-style diet had a higher risk of depression, compared to women who fell into the Traditional diet category.

First, they thought it could be a consequence of “reverse causality”, wherein the younger, more educated women that dominated the Modern diet group were more likely to have mild depression and had turned to the diet in an attempt to improve their mood.

And the Aussies posed a second possible explanation for the mood advantage of the Traditional diet versus the Modern diet:

“[It could be that the key] … components of the traditional dietary pattern, such as vegetables, red meat, whole-grain foods, and high-fat dairy products, are particularly pertinent to the outcomes in question.”

In other words, they think that there may something about that particular mix of whole foods that does more do deter depression, compared to the mix of foods in the Modern, “spa” style diet.

However, they failed to address another likely explanation – excessive intake of omega-6 fats – for the higher depression risks seen in women eating the Western or Modern diets.

Judging from the limited lists of foods provided in their descriptions of the Western and Modern diet patterns, it seems safe to presume that those diets also included vegetable oils and packaged/frozen foods that are high in omega-6 fats.

So, compared with the Traditional Australian diet, the mix of foods in the Western and Modern style diets would probably deliver more omega-6 fats, excessive intake of which has been strongly associated with depression risk.

The association between excessive intake of omega-6 fats and greater depression risk holds true even when a diet contain reasonable amounts of omega-3s, as the Modern diet would, given that it included fish.

The bottom line seems clear: diets high in non-nutritious, processed foods put women (and men) at greater risk of developing anxiety and/or depression disorders.

Sources

Akbaraly TN, Brunner EJ, Ferrie JE, Marmot MG, Kivimaki M, Singh-Manoux A. Dietary pattern and depressive symptoms in middle age. Br J Psychiatry. 2009 Nov;195(5):408-13.
Jacka FN, Pasco JA, Mykletun A, Williams LJ, Hodge AM, O’Reilly SL, Nicholson GC, Kotowicz MA, Berk M. Association of Western and traditional diets with depression and anxiety in women. Am J Psychiatry. 2010 Mar;167(3):305-11. Epub 2010 Jan 4.
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