February is National Heart Month. Although heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women worldwide, it is preventable. That makes heart-health supplements a big business, which brings a lot of marketing fluff with it. From Examine.com, here are five supplements and foods that have actual evidence behind their effects and have been shown to help lower your risk for heart disease (remember to always consult with your physician before taking anything)…
Category Archives: Latest News
Military life is stressful on all concerned; efforts to help often fall short
The military has never been a particularly family-friendly career. (Thus the old saying that if Uncle Sam had wanted you to have a family, he’d have issued you one.) Yet 44 percent of military personnel have children, and families serve, too.
In recognition of the rigors of service, every branch of the military runs programs to support the psychological health of military families. But a report released in 2013 by the Institute of Medicine concluded that these efforts are falling short in many areas…
Benefits Of Eating Fish During Pregnancy Outweighs The Risks
A new study has found the benefits of eating fish while pregnant greatly outweigh the risks. The good that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish outweigh the potential risk of mercury exposure. The babies born to women with the highest blood levels of fatty acids (and mercury) showed improved performance on motor skills tests. The tests took a look at the child’s ability to grasp objects, roll over and other activities that require psychological functioning.
“Prenatal [mercury] exposure had no direct associations with neurodevelopmental outcomes,” researcher JJ Strain, Ph.D., and his colleagues wrote. Scientists have known for some time that fish is rich in fatty acids that are essential to brain development, MedPage Today reported. However, prenatal mercury exposure can be toxic for babies at high doses. To conduct the study, researchers took a look at pregnant women who consumed fish for a number of weeks. Resulting data showed that the Omega-3 fatty acids may have actually protected the baby’s brain from any harmful mercury,American Live Wire reported.
Inflammation is a major treatable cause of neurological problems after TBI
A new paper by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) argues that there is a widespread misunderstanding about the true nature of traumatic brain injury and how it causes chronic degenerative problems.
In a perspective article* published in the latest issue of Neurotherapeutics, the two authors – Alan Faden, MD, a neurologist and professor of anesthesiology, and David Loane, PhD, an assistant professor of anesthesiology, propose that chronic brain damage and neuropsychiatric problems after trauma are to a large degree caused by long-term inflammation in the brain. In their view, this inflammation is a key culprit behind the myriad symptoms that have been linked with traumatic brain injury and mild traumatic brain injury, including brain atrophy, depression and cognitive decline.
Dr. Faden and Dr. Loane also say that there has been too much emphasis on a specific diagnosis known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the set of symptoms and pathology that has been found in some former professional football players. They argue that this may deflect focus from other mechanisms, which may be more important and treatable. They say that although chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a serious problem, relatively few people have been diagnosed with this condition. Instead, they contend, researchers and journalists should focus more on the fact that even repeated concussive impacts or mild traumatic brain injury may trigger chronic brain inflammation that can persist for years and cause lasting damage.
Read article at: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/288131.php
How hemp seed oil could offer new hope to epilepsy sufferers
It is well established that the brain has metabolic requirements that must be satisfied by what we eat or in the case of infants, “what their mother eats”. In particular, dietary fats are fundamentally important for thinking, learning and memory abilities, as well as resisting or repairing brain damage.
The Link Between Nutrition, Exercise and Mood
Your brain is a complex network of nerves and chemical signals that depends on important macro- and micronutrients to function properly. Lack of specific nutrients, such as amino acids and selenium, affects brain chemistry, impacting mood, memory and cognitive function. On the other hand, eating more of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins, coupled with moving more, will literally feed your brain and positively support a healthy mood balance.
Foods That Support Mood
Tryptophan and tyrosine…
B vitamins…
Selenium…
Omega-3s…
Nutrient Timing and Mood…
Exercise and Mood…
Limiting Rest Is Found to Help Young Concussion Patients
Experts recommend that young people who have suffered a concussion get one or two days of rest at home, until symptoms start resolving, before gradually returning to school and physical activity.
But scientific evidence to support this approach is sparse, and some doctors have recommended that young patients remain inactive for even longer periods after a concussion.
Now a randomized trial has compared the approaches and found that among a group of patients ages 11 to 22, those with a concussion who were prescribed strict rest for five days by staff members of an emergency department actually reported more symptoms than those told to rest for one or two days. Recovery was also slower for the group receiving stricter rest, researchers reported Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
Diet rich in corn oil leads to lethargy and pre-diabetic symptoms: UBC study
Mice fed a high-fat diet rich in corn oil developed lethargy and pre-diabetic symptoms in less than two months, while mice eating olive oil remained active and healthy, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia. The group that was fed corn oil developed insulin resistance and impaired glucose disposal and showed reduced physical activity compared with mice on the olive oil diet and a low-fat control group.
Study Shows Omega 3 Benefits Fetal and Maternal Health
New studies show that taking omega 3 fish oil supplements is beneficial to both pregnant women and their developing baby. Omega-3 fatty acids are an essential dietary component and can only be obtained through diet, unlike other nutrients which can be synthesized by the body. While optimal dietary levels have not yet been established, while pregnant the levels required are increased. This nutrient has been studied extensively and shown to be critical for fetal neurodevelopment, timing of gestation, and optimal birth weight as well. Based on these research findings, pregnant women are recommended to consume two sources of these fatty acids per week from foods or supplements.
Read full article at: http://newswire.net/newsroom/pr/00086779-omega-3-fish-oil-and-pregnancy.html
TBI: Still Looking for Effective Early Intervention
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health concern, especially among young adults. Every 15 seconds, an American incurs a TBI, translating to approximately 1.5 million injuries annually. TBI’s primary insult often initiated a cascade of processes that continued to injure the brain, unfortunately causing more than 50,000 deaths and 80,000 permanent and serious disabilities. Progesterone’s extensive pleiotropic and neuroprotective properties lead researchers to employ it in small studies to treat TBI. A larger study published ahead of print in the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that progesterone’s role in treating TBI was questionable.
Do Concussions Lead To Suicide?
On Nov. 30, Kosta Karageorge, a defensive lineman for Ohio State, was found dead of a gunshot wound — an apparent suicide. His family cited his multiple sports-related concussions (Karageorge was also a wrestler) as contributing to confusion and depression that may have led to his death. If confirmed as a suicide, Karageorge’s death would be the latest in a series of suicides among current and former football players. As a result, players and advocates have increasingly linked depression and suicide to the long-term impact of repeat concussions.
Read full article at: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/do-concussions-lead-to-suicide/
Blow to the Head May Impact the Brain’s Waste Removal System and Cause Alzheimer’s
A blow to the head may actually disrupt the function of the brain’s waste removal system. The new findings reveal that head injuries may be far more dangerous than first thought, and could cause toxic proteins to accumulate in the brain and set the stage for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s
The brain is essentially closed off from the rest of the body by a complex system of molecular gateways, called the blood-brain barrier. This barrier tightly controls what enters and exits the brain. Consequently, the body’s normal waste removal system doesn’t extend to the brain.
In this case, the scientists found that mice, whose brains are similar to humans’, possess what amounts to a plumbing system that can pump cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), the fluid surrounding the brain, through brain tissue. This flushes away waste from the spaces between the brain’s cells. In fact, recent studies have shown that the glymphatic system is more active during sleep, which may explain the necessity for sleep.
Now, researchers have found that traumatic brain injury may impact the glymphatic system. During trauma, large numbers of tau proteins are shaken free from the axons and drift in the space between the brain’s cells. Once unmoored, these proteins stick together and, over time, form increasingly larger “tangles” that can become toxic.
“We know that traumatic brain injury early in life is a risk factor for the early development of dementia in the decades that follow,” said Maiken Nedergaard, senior author of the new article, in a news release. “This study shows that these injuries set into motion a cascading series of events that impair the brain’s ability to clear waste, allowing proteins like tau to spread throughout the brain and eventually reach toxic levels.”
Under normal circumstances, the glymphatic system can clear stray tau away from the brain. Yet it turns out that trauma can affect the glymphatic system and cause it to be unable to perform its function.
“For a long time, we have viewed neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s as a supply problem, meaning that we believed the brain was producing too much tau or amyloid beta,” said Benjamin Plog, co-author of the new study. “It now appears that these conditions may ultimately be linked to a clearance problem, where something is preventing the glymphatic system from removing waste from the brain fast enough.”
Is Your Fish Oil Poisoning You?
NOTE: This is a pretty well written article about the good and bad of fish oil supplements. In particular, a discussion about toxins like mercury and PCBs. Not 100% accurate, but worth reading. For the best quality supplements, I always recommend: concentrated triglyceride form from small fish (like anchovies), molecularly distilled, pharmaceutical grade, IFOS-certified. Here’s the article and the link to the whole thing:
You’ve been told to take it for everything from heart and brain health to supple skin and eye disorders. Heck, you even take it to ease sore joints and ease both depression and anxiety.
You hear terms like ALA, EPA, and DHA, as well as three versus six versus nine. And, if you are really in tune, you may even read about mercury toxicity, proper ratios, and environmental sustainability.
In fact, you take this must-have supplement daily, maybe even several times a day. But, what exactly are you taking?
Are you choking down toxins, taking a product made from a poor-quality or ineffective source, or maybe even destroying the environment in your quest for optimum health?
In short, are you truly supplementing your health or simply lining some manufacturer’s pockets?
Headed for Disaster: What We Know About Traumatic Brain Injury
In the wake of the suicide of Kosta Karageorge, an Ohio State University football player who allegedly suffered from debilitating concussions, questions once again have been raised about the link between brain injury and mental instability.
A coroner on Monday ordered a special exam to look for signs of traumatic brain injury in Karageorge, a defensive lineman for the powerhouse school, who apparently shot himself to death. The autopsy may shed some light on what happened to that young man, but there are thousands more playing football at various levels, who will soon need answers of their own. Here’s what we know about concussions and traumatic brain injury:
What is traumatic brain injury?
TBI is defined as a head injury due to blunt or penetrating trauma. TBIs have often been associated with war wounds, like soldiers in war who are exposed to explosives, and athletes, especially football players and boxers. The term “concussion” refers to a mild TBI — although doctors say they don’t consider any brain injury as simply mild.
A decision in August 2013 by the National Football League to settle with 4,500 ex-players over head injuries reflects a growing body of research showing that repeated concussions can cause permanent brain damage
What are the signs of TBI?
Confusion and amnesia are the clinical hallmarks of the condition. Multiple concussions can lead to other health problems like post-concussion syndrome, which involves headaches, dizziness and difficulty concentrating. Epilepsy, vertigo, personality changes, Parkinson’s disease and dementia have also been linked to repeat concussions in boxers and football players.
A degenerative disease tied to repeated jolts to the brain — chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE — has symptoms ranging from dementia to altered behavior, and perhaps to ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Sufferers of CTE can have difficulty maintaining relationships and those with advanced disease can spiral into depression and substance abuse — and sometimes end up taking their own lives, said Dr. Julian Bailes, chairman of the department of neurosurgery at the NorthShore University HealthSystem and co-director of the NorthShore Neurological Institute.
What happens during a concussion?
The brain can undergo a type of mini-seizure, according to David Hovda, a professor of neurosurgery and director of the Brain Injury Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. Afterward, the brain shuts down to try to repair itself.
Can TBI be treated?
UCLA’s Brain Injury Research Center said it identifies and removes severely damaged brain tissues, followed by neurointensive care of the patient. But TBI is difficult to treat due to the large variety of possible injury patterns and the brain’s complexity, the center noted.
It can take days or weeks for the brain to heal. Snyderman said people with concussions can fully recover but rest was key since even minor jolts can damage the brain after an injury. The danger is a suffering a second concussion, a rare complication known as “second impact syndrome” or brain swelling – particularly in children though this risk has led to the guidelines that address when an athlete should return to play.
Who suffers from TBI?
A new study released in September found an increase of visits to emergency rooms for TBIs by 29 percent over the last four years — with the biggest jumps coming among toddlers and seniors.
And some high school football players exhibit measurable brain changes after a single season of play even without suffering a concussion, according to a new study presented Monday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
In the professional sports arena, the suicides of former NFL players Junior Seau, Ray Easterling, Jovan Belcher and Dave Duerson helped bring attention to the issue.
Even without concussion, high school football players exhibit brain changes, study says
High school football players can undergo significant brain changes after only a single season— even if they don’t get a concussion, Wake Forest University researchers have found.
Scientists said the ongoing study of 24 students, ages 16 to 18, from a Winston-Salem, N.C. high school, is the largest and most comprehensive research of its kind.
“There’s been a lot of interest in NFL (National Football League) football and head impacts, and it’s gotten a lot of press,” study author Christopher T. Whitlow, associate professor of radiology at Wake Forest School of Medicine and radiologist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, told FoxNews.com.
“But for every one NFL player, there [are] 2,000 high school players. Seventy percent of people playing football are adolescents, and it’s a really understudied population,” he said.
To quantify how these hits affected the brain, researchers analyzed players using an advanced MRI technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) pre- and post-season. DTI identifies microstructural changes in the brain’s white matter— an area comprised of millions of nerve fibers called axons that connect various regions of the organ.
DTI measures fractional anisotropy (FA), or the movement of water molecules along these axons. A uniform direction of the water molecules indicates healthy white matter, while an arbitrary movement indicates decreased FA— or microstructural abnormalities. Decreased FA was most prevalent among the heavy-hitter group, the study authors noted.
“Our objective hasn’t been to say that football is bad— it’s to look at ways to increase the safety of the game,” Stitzel said. “We know we can do that through equipment, but we can also do that through rule changes, and better diagnosis and treatment.”
The 11 Most Destructive Nutrition Lies Ever Told
1. Eggs Are Unhealthy
Bottom Line: Eggs do not cause heart disease and are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. Eggs for breakfast can help you lose weight.
2. Saturated Fat is Bad For You
Bottom Line: Newer studies have proven that saturated fat does not cause heart disease. Natural foods that are high in saturated fat are good for you.
3. Everybody Should be Eating Grains
Bottom Line: Grains are relatively low in nutrients compared to other real foods like vegetables. The gluten grains in particular may lead to a variety of health problems.
4. Eating a Lot of Protein is Bad For Your Bones and Kidneys
Bottom Line: Eating a high protein diet is associated with improved bone health and a lower risk of fracture. High protein also lowers blood pressure and improves diabetes symptoms, which should lower the risk of kidney failure.
5. Low-Fat Foods Are Good For You
Bottom Line: Low-fat foods are usually highly processed products loaded with sugar, corn syrup or artificial sweeteners. They are extremely unhealthy.
6. You Should Eat Many Small Meals Throughout The Day
Bottom Line: There is no evidence that eating many small meals throughout the day is better than fewer, bigger meals. Not eating from time to time is good for you. Increased meal frequency is associated with colon cancer.
7. Carbs Should Be Your Biggest Source of Calories
Bottom Line: The low-fat, high-carb diet is a miserable failure and has been proven repeatedly to be vastly inferior to lower-carb, higher-fat diets.
8. High Omega-6 Seed and Vegetable Oils Are Good For You
Bottom Line: Humans need to get Omega-6 and Omega-3 fats in a certain ratio. Eating excess Omega-6 from seed oils raises your risk of disease.
9. Low Carb Diets Are Dangerous
Bottom Line: Low-carb diets are the healthiest, easiest and most effective way to lose weight and reverse metabolic disease. It is a scientific fact.
10. Sugar is Unhealthy Because it Contains “Empty” Calories
Bottom Line: The harmful effects of sugar go way beyond empty calories. Sugar wreaks havoc on our metabolism and sets us up for weight gain and many serious diseases.
11. High Fat Foods Will Make You Fat
Bottom Line: A diet that is high in fat AND high in carbs will make you fat, but it’s NOT because of the fat. In fact, diets that are high in fat (and low in carbs) cause much greater fat loss than diets that are low in fat.
12. Anything Else?
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Impact of Multiple Concussions on Emotional Distress, Post-Concussive Symptoms, and Neurocognitive Functioning in Active Duty United States Marines Independent of Combat Exposure or Emotional Distress
Controversy exists as to whether the lingering effects of concussion on emotional, physical, and cognitive symptoms is because of the effects of brain trauma or purely to emotional factors such as post-traumatic stress disorder or depression. This study examines the independent effects of concussion on persistent symptoms. The Defense Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment, a clinical decision support tool, was used to assess neurobehavioral functioning in 646 United States Marines, all of whom were fit for duty. Marines were assessed for concussion history, post-concussive symptoms, emotional distress, neurocognitive functioning, and deployment history. Results showed that a recent concussion or ever having experienced a concussion was associated with an increase in emotional distress, but not with persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS) or neurocognitive functioning. Having had multiple lifetime concussions, however, was associated with greater emotional distress, PPCS, and reduced neurocognitive functioning that needs attention and rapid discrimination, but not for memory-based tasks. These results are independent of deployment history, combat exposure, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Results supported earlier findings that a previous concussion is not generally associated with post-concussive symptoms independent of covariates. In contrast with other studies that failed to find a unique contribution for concussion to PPCS, however, evidence of recent and multiple concussion was seen across a range of emotional distress, post-concussive symptoms, and neurocognitive functioning in this study population. Results are discussed in terms of implications for assessing concussion on return from combat.
Kessler Foundation researchers explore impact of traumatic brain injury on longterm memory
Kessler Foundation researchers have authored a new article that provides insight into the variable impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on long-term memory. The article, “Working memory capacity links cognitive reserve with long-term memory in moderate to severe TBI: a translational approach,” was epublished ahead of print on October 7 in the Journal of Neurology.
Memory impairment affects 54% to 84% of individuals with TBI. While the variable impact of TBI on long-term memory has been recognized, the underlying cognitive mechanisms have not been detailed in this population. This variability in impairment among individuals with comparable injuries has been explained, in part, by the theory of cognitive reserve, i.e., higher intellectual enrichment confers a protective effect on long-term memory. To test the role of working memory in the protective effect of cognitive reserve on long-term memory, scientists evaluated 50 patients with moderate to severe TBI for working memory, long-term memory and cognitive reserve.
“Our results support working memory as a possible mediator in the relationship between cognitive reserve and long-term memory and this finding corroborates our related work in multiple sclerosis,” said Dr. Sandry, lead author. “We need more research to determine the value of including working memory in cognitive rehabilitation trials,” he added. “It remains to be seen whether treatment strategies aimed at working memory will lead to improvement in long-term memory in individuals with TBI and those with memory impairments caused by other conditions.”
Health: Toy Related Injuries Increasing
This is the time of year many parents are shopping for toys for their children. Now a new study shows injuries from toys, especially the ride-on type, have significantly increased. Foot-powered scooters are popular and fun for kids, but also dangerous.
New research from Nationwide Children’s Hospitalshows injuries related to toys have increased nearly 40 percent in the past two decades. For small children, the hazard is choking on small toys, but toys on wheels caused the most injuries. Dr. Gary Smith with the Hospital says, “Injuries associated with ride-on toys typically resulted from a fall. And those injuries were often cuts to the face or the head, sometimes, fractures, and more rarely, a traumatic brain injury.”
Ride-on toys include scooters, wagons, tricycles and motorized cars for kids. Bicycles were not included in the study. “When parents buy toys, they need to read warning labels and information on package to make sure that toy is appropriate for that child base on their child’s age,” says Dr. Smith. He adds, when it comes to ride-on toys, children should be supervised and always wear a helmet.
Researchers say every three minutes a child is treated in the emergency room for a toy related injury and those numbers are growing. The Toy Industry Association says while the injuries may happen when a toy was being used, that doesn’t mean the toy itself caused the injury.
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/12/01/health-toy-related-injuries-increasing/
Omega 3 Fish Oils protect against hangovers, brain damage from alcohol
Omega-3 fish oil might help protect against alcohol-related neurodamage and the risk of eventual dementia, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Many human studies have shown that long-term alcohol abuse causes brain damage and increases the risk of dementia. The new study found that in brain cells exposed to high levels of alcohol, a fish oil compound protected against inflammation and neuronal cell death.
The study was conducted by Michael A. Collins, PhD, Edward J. Neafsey, PhD, and colleagues at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, and collaborators at the University of Kentucky and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Collins and colleagues exposed cultures of adult rat brain cells over several days to concentrations of alcohol equivalent to about four times the legal limit for driving — a concentration seen in chronic alcoholics. These brain cultures were compared with cultures exposed to the same high levels of alcohol, plus a compound found in fish oil called omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Researchers found there was up to 90 percent less neuroinflammation and neuronal death in the brain cells exposed to alcohol plus DHA than in the cells exposed to alcohol alone. An earlier meta-analysis by Collins and Neafsey, which pooled the results of about 75 studies, found that moderate social drinking may have the opposite effect of reducing the risk of dementia and/or cognitive impairment during aging. (Moderate drinking is defined as a maximum of two drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women.)
It appears that limited amounts of alcohol might, in effect, tend to make brain cells more fit. Alcohol in moderate amounts stresses cells and thus toughens them up to cope with major stresses and insults down the road that could cause dementia. But too much alcohol overwhelms the cells, leading to neuroinflammation and cell death.
Further studies are needed to confirm whether fish oil protects against alcohol-related cognitive injury and dementia in adult rodent models. “Fish oil has the potential of helping preserve brain integrity in chronic alcohol abusers,” Collins said. “At the very least, it is unlikely that it would hurt them.”
But Collins added that the best way for an alcohol abuser to protect the brain is to cut back to low or moderate amounts or quit entirely. “We don’t want people to think it is okay to take a few fish oil capsules and then continue to go on abusing alcohol,” he said. PLOS ONE is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access online journal. Collins earlier reported findings at the 14th Congress of the European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism in Warsaw.
http://northdenvernews.com/omega-3-fish-oils-protect-hangovers-brain-damage-alcohol/