A growing understanding of the connection between our gut and our brain.

Although the interaction between our brain and gut has been studied for years, its complexities run deeper than initially thought. It seems that our minds are, in some part, controlled by the bacteria in our bowels.

The gut has defenses against pathogens, but, at the same time, it encourages the survival and growth of "healthy" gut bacteria.

Of course, these bacteria do benefit from the warmth and nutrition in our bowels, but it is not a one-way relationship - they also give back.

Some species benefit us by breaking dietary fiber down into short-chain fatty acids that we can then absorb and use. They metabolize a number of compounds on our behalf and play a role in the synthesis of  vitamins B and K.

On the other hand, recent research infers that imbalance of gut bacteria might be an important factor in inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.

The microbiome's role in health and disease is only slowly giving up its secrets. The latest and perhaps most remarkable finding is the ability that gut bacteria have to moderate our brain and behavior.

The links between our gut and brain are hormonal, immunological, and neural, via the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system, which governs the function of the gut. Collectively, they are termed the gut-brain axis.

These gut-brain conversations have been studied for some time. However, a new level to this partnership has recently been glimpsed; researchers are now considering the influence of our microbiome on the gut-brain axis. In other words, researchers are asking: do the bacteria in our gut affect our psychology and behavior?

The question is whether adding beneficial gut bacteria to an animal can make a difference. Research seems to say yes.

A study published in the Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, collated the results of studies looking at the effects of probiotics on central nervous system function in both humans and animals.

They examined 25 animal and 15 human studies, most of which used Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus over a 2-4-week period. Although, as the authors mention, translating animal studies like this into human terms is a dodgy game. They concluded: "These probiotics showed efficacy in improving psychiatric disorder-related behaviors including anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and memory abilities, including spatial and non-spatial memory."

Vitamin C delivers stunning benefits for obese individuals with hypertension and/or diabetes.

Vitamin C is certainly not something people get very excited about. We think of it as a means to avoid sniffles. And we envision a tall glass of orange juice. That's about it.

But there has been an amazing new finding involving the use of a daily supplement of 500mg of vitamin C in people at high risk for heart disease and diabetes related health complications.

In a group of obese people who had high blood pressure and/or diabetes taking a simple dose of 500mg of vitamin C for only eight weeks led to reductions, significant reductions in the inflammatory markers C Reactive Protein (51%), Interleukin 6 (36%) and in blood sugar levels (33%) and triglyceride levels (31%).

Slashing inflammation, reducing blood sugar levels and dropping triglyceride levels to this degree would be highly protective in these at risk individuals. It would be protective for anyone.

Never underestimate the power of simple things like vitamin C. My favorite is Carlson Non GMO Vitamin C Crystals. I stir a quarter of a scoop into water as I drink it throughout my day. (No sniffles here!)

Effect of vitamin C on inflammation and metabolic markers in hypertensive and/or diabetic obese adults: a randomized controlled trial. Drug Design, Development and Therapy, 2015;9:3405-3412

Strawberry Orange Ginger Smoothie

Fresh ginger gives this smoothie a refreshing and delicious taste.

The healing properties of ginger are similar to non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), therefore, it can regulate biochemical pathways which are activated with chronic inflammation. Adding ginger to your daily diet can soothe the aches and pain associated with aging. If you wake up with stiff joints or sore hands, this smoothie in the morning may put a smile on your face.

Ingredients

~1 cup orange juice.

~1 cup Vanilla Almond Milk

~1 tsp grated ginger root

~1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

In a blender, combine orange juice, milk, ginger root and berries. Puree until smooth. Serve cold.

Excellent source of vitamin C, potassium and anthocyanins (antioxidants in berries).

Tip: turn this into your daily serving of Omega-3 by adding a teaspoon of Carlson’s The Very Finest Fish Oil, Orange or Lemon Flavor. Adding the Omega-3 EPA/DHA rich oil boosts the ginger's inflammation balancing power and you'll be supporting heart, brain, and vision health too! And I assure you this taste award winning oil is never fishy. Try it you'll be hooked!

Inflammation Resolution the Key to Preventing or Reversing Alzheimer's disease Suggests Compelling New Study

Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids could help to prevent and even reverse the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. 

The connection is resolving inflammation. The beneficial fats may come to the affected person’s rescue by stimulating newly identified ‘resolution pathways’ in the brain, according to research outlining an ‘entirely new’ approach to the condition.

The new study, published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, demonstrates a new approach to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease – suggesting that omega-3 fatty acid derivatives stimulate the uptake of amyloid-beta proteins. The proteins are the alleged culprits in the deteriorating health of brains affected by this dreadful disease. They apparently kill brain cells and form Alzheimer's disease hallmark plaques.

Led by Professor Marianne Schultzberg from the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, the team behind the research revealed that normal inflammatory processes should ultimately lead to tissue repair in a process known as restoration. However, with Alzheimer's disease this normal process is interrupted – meaning that rather than repair and restore tissue, debris from dead cells and other microorganisms fails to be cleared away, and instead accumulates in the brain, wreaking havoc.

"Our hypothesis is that stimulation of resolution of inflammation in Alzheimer's disease may result in reduced neuronal death in the brain, and in turn have a beneficial effect in disease progression and cognition,” explained Schultzberg.

“This is an entirely new approach and provides the opportunity to develop new treatment principles for Alzheimer's disease," she said.

The Swedish team found protective compounds formed in the brain from omega-3 fatty acids help to induce the resolution process and stimulate the uptake or clearing away of amyloid-beta proteins that have been linked to the progression of Alzheimer's disease through the development of plaques.

The team will now try to prove the hypothesis by using animal models to see if omega-3 fatty acids can prevent memory loss and further loss of brain cells.

In the study, Dr Schultberg and her group examined cerebrospinal fluid from 15 patients with Alzheimer's disease, 20 patients with mild cognitive impairment and 21 control subjects. They also analyzed brain tissue from 10 Alzheimer's patients and 10 control subjects.

Schultzberg and her team looked for the presence, and comparative levels of several inflammatory molecules and receptors involved in the resolution pathway – including specialised pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), receptors, biosynthetic enzyme, and downstream effectors - in postmortem hippocampal tissue from AD patients and non-AD subjects.

SPMs were also measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

The team found that SPMs and SPM receptors were detected in the human brain – indicating the resolution pathway does exist in the brain. They also found that levels of the SPM lipoxin A₄ (LXA₄) were reduced in AD patients, both in the CSF and hippocampus.

In addition, an enzyme involved in LXA₄ synthesis and two SPM receptors were elevated in AD brains, said the team, while LXA₄ and RvD1 levels in CSF correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores.

As a result, the team concluded that the resolution pathway exists in the brain, adding that the alterations identified in the study “strongly suggest” a dysfunction of this pathway in Alzheimer’s disease.

They added that treatment with SPMs, or alternatively, by stimulating the resolution pathway – such as might occur with omega-3 fatty acid supplementation – “is suggested as a new and promising therapy in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.”

Source

CoEnzyme Q-10 for healthy teeth and gums!

CoEnzyme Q-10 for healthy teeth and gums!

Keeping your smile healthy may depend on antioxidants!

A new study on periodontal disease shows the importance of using the energy supplement CoEnzyme Q-10 on a daily basis. 

Researchers have found that coenzyme Q10 when applied topically to teeth for 28 days can reduce plaque induced gingivitis. 

The authors conclude "Promising results were obtained after the application of coenzyme Q10 as well as when it was used as an adjunct to scaling and root planing for treatment of plaque induced gingivitis".

Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease process resulting from the interaction of a bacterial attack and host inflammatory response. Arrays of molecules are considered to mediate the inflammatory response at one time or another, among these are free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Periodontal pathogens can induce ROS overproduction and thus may cause collagen and periodontal cell breakdown. When ROS are scavenged by antioxidants, there can be a reduction of collagen degradation.

Ubiquinol (a highly absorbable form of coenzyme Q-10) serves as an endogenous antioxidant which increases the concentration of Coenzyme Q-10 in the diseased gingiva and effectively suppresses advanced periodontal inflammation.

The pharmacology of coenzyme Q-10 indicates that it may be an agent for treatment of periodontitis. On the basis of on new concepts of synergism with nutritional supplements and host response, coenzyme Q-10 may possibly be effective as a topical and/or systemic role or adjunctive treatment for periodontitis either as a stand-alone biological or in combination with other synergistic antioxidants (i.e., vitamins C and E).

Read about the study here.

Sleep better with tart cherry juice...

Tart Montmorency cherries have been reported to contain high levels of phytochemicals that produce a wide array of benefits. Now those benefits extend to boosting melatonin, a molecule critical in regulating the sleep-wake cycle in humans.

A group of people were given tart cherry juice in the morning and again before bedtime. There were significant increases in time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency total with cherry juice supplementation.

The results suggest that consumption of a tart cherry juice concentrate provides an increase in exogenous melatonin that is beneficial in improving sleep duration and quality in healthy men and women and might be of benefit in managing disturbed sleep.

Other benefits have been seen for tart cherries including reduction in symptoms of gout, reduction in circulating inflammatory markers, pain relief after long distance running, reduced oxidative stress, improved recovery following exercise induced muscle damage, and improved sleep quality in late life insomnia. It appears that the phenolic compounds in the cherries act as free radical scavengers that reduce oxidative stress. The anti-inflammatory properties of tart cherries appear to rival those of noon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Cherries are high in protective phytonutrients called anthocyanins.

European Journal of Nutrition

“Effect of cherry juice ( Prunuscerasus) on melatonin levels and enhanced sleep quality.”

Ginger reduces inflammation and protects the colon.

Ginger supplement may reduce colon inflammation and cancer risk, suggests study

Ginger’s anti-inflammatory properties may play a role in reducing inflammation in the colon, possibly reducing the risks of developing colorectal cancer, according to new research.

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Ginger-supplement-may-reduce-colon-inflammation-and-cancer-risk-suggests-study?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_campaign=copyright

Studies link common painkillers to increased death risk...

Bad news for people who have high blood pressure and use NSAID’s routinely for pain relief. The habit may be downright deadly!

In persons who were average age 65 who had high blood pressure and reported chronic use of NSAID’s the NSAID use was associated with a 47% increase in the occurrence of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke. This was due to a 990% increase in all cause mortality, a 126% increase in cardiovascular mortality and a 66% increase in heart attacks.

Reference: "Harmful Effects of NSAIDs among Patients with Hypertension and Coronary Artery Disease"

See the study abstract here

The use of pain meds has also been associated with irregular heart rhythm. increased risk of irregular heart rhythm, also known as atrial fibrillation can be caused by common painkillers that are also used to treat inflammation.

Both the new generation anti-inflammatory drugs known as selective COX-2 inhibitors as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) were linked to the sometimes dangerous form of arrythmia. Atrial fibrillation is a condition associated with an augmented long term risk of stroke, heart failure and death.

Although these pain drugs have already been associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, this is the first study to link them to increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

See this study here

If you depend on these drugs for frequent pain relief you might want to try more holistic approaches to pain management. Go to the word cloud on the right side of the page and click on "pain" to bring up an earlier article that talks about omega 3's and vitamin D for pain relief.

Protecting against a second heart attack...

Have you or has a loved one had a heart attack? Would you like to know some tried and true steps for slashing the chance of a second one? Here are some steps…and there is a book on the subject. See the link at the bottom of this post.

For starters, if you are under the care of a doctor, fill your prescriptions and take your medications! Studies show that patients who fail to fill any of their prescriptions have an 80 % greater chance of dying in the year following their heart attack, compared to people who faithfully take their meds. Patients who pick and choose,  filling only some of their prescriptions have a 40 % increase in risk of death in the year following their heart attack. This is huge and easy to remedy. Take your meds…

Know about and avoid the plaque-building, heart stopping foods. Stop eating, or cut way back on foods from the western pattern diet—red meat, cream and cheese, and trans fats from margarines, spreads, chips and snack foods. Fried foods are particularly dangerous. Refined sugars are culprits too. These are the “heart attack on a plate” foods that explain the comparatively high rates of heart disease in western cultures. These foods hasten plaque buildup, increase inflammation, make you gain weight which burdens the heart and thus raise your risk of another heart attack. 



Instead, build a diet of foods that heal the arteries, reduce inflammation and strengthen your heart. The most well studied and scientifically endorsed diet for cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment is the Mediterranean Diet. In this diet, extra virgin olive oil is the primary source of fat. Fresh dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale and collard greens, and vegetables of all types figure prominently. You’ll enjoy fresh fruits such as figs, apples and pears. Instead of refined “white flour” breads and cereals, you’ll have heart healthy and slimming whole grains such as oatmeal. You’ll eat the cholesterol lowering legumes such as lentils. In addition, your primary protein will be Omega 3 rich fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines. Snacks might be walnuts or macadamia nuts, and you will enjoy a relaxing glass of antioxidant rich red wine with meals. And as the name of this blog hints… a daily treat of rich and decadent deep, dark chocolate has been proven to help treat and reverse heart disease.

Walk. Every step counts. A daily exercise regimen  is integral to reversing heart disease. Walking is one of the simplest, safest and least expensive heart-health-promoting strategies. Walking longer distances frequently has been proven to be the best exercise prescription for heart patients. Exercise improves your tendency to gain weight, raises protective HDL cholesterol, normalizes blood pressure levels, helps to open and clear clogged blood vessels, and boosts mood.

Take these heart smart supplements. Not all supplements are created equally when it comes to treating and reversing plaque build-up. A few stand out among the crowd and should be in every heart attack survivor’s medicine chest:

Niacin, the B vitamin available over the counter or as a prescription drug, has been proven to possess the greatest capacity to increase your blood level of “good” cholesterol, HDL—compared to other drugs.

With over thirty years of research supporting its safety and effectiveness, you and your doctor should discuss adding this vitamin as a second agent on top of your statin to boost your fight against plaque. Please note that a normal effect of Niacin is the “ Niacin Flush” which demonstrates the vitamin’s efficacy as a vasodilator. The flush makes your face, neck, chest and arms turn bright red and itch..it isn’t harmful, but you should know that it might happen. Drinking a glass of cold water or taking an aspirin with your niacin can reduce the severity of the flush, and it usually passes in about 30 minutes. There is a no-flush version of niacin called Enduracin which you can find via the internet.

           

Omega 3’s from the Sea. Did you know that taking the right Omega 3s actually slashes your risk of a first or second heart attack?
Lovaza is the Omega 3 prescription fish oil supplement, recommended by many doctors today, and guaranteed by the Food and Drug Administration to be free of contaminants and impurities. One Lovaza capsule provides approximately 900 milligrams of mixed EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids.

But! You don’t have to involve your insurance in order to afford Lovaza, however. There are high quality, Omega 3 supplements sold in natural food stores and online, that supply the American Heart Association’s suggested amount of 1000 mg of EPA and DHA combined in two capsules or in a teaspoon full of liquid, and they cost far less than the prescription form does. Not to mention reducing the burden of the cost of health care, for all of us…just be sure the product label states that it has been tested by an FDA registered lab and found to be fresh, fully potent and free of detrimental levels of major contaminants such as mercury lead and PCB’s.

The American Heart Association says all heart patients should be taking 1000 to 4000 mg of EPA and DHA daily—under their doctor’s supervision. Note: the higher dose is for patients who need to reduce their triglyceride levels.

           

Vitamin D.  Inadequate dietary intake of this essential nutrient results in vitamin D deficiency, and studies are accumulating suggesting that a low vitamin D status negatively affects cardiovascular health. In fact major studies show that being deficient can double your risk of heart attack! I suggest that at your next check-up ask your doctor to test your vitamin D level and to consider taking a daily supplement of vitamin D, to boost your level, if it is indeed low. Scroll down for a separate post on new reasons to take higher doses of vitamin D.

CoEnzyme Q-10. Some of the medications that heart patients take deplete this important heart strengthening nutrient. Some researchers suggest that the depletion of COQ10 could account for some side effects associated with statin drugs such as muscle pain and elevated liver enzymes which suggest liver damage. I suggest 100 mg daily.

Some of the points above were adapted from an article promoting the book you see here...

it's on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Prevent-Second-Heart-Attack-Reverse/dp/030746525X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299525150&sr=8-1