Category: Health and Wellness

Pfizer To Apply For Emergency Use Of COVID-19 Vaccine By Late NovPfizer To Apply For Emergency Use Of COVID-19 Vaccine By Late Nov

Pfizer To Apply For Emergency Use Of COVID-19 Vaccine By Late Nov.

By RTTNews Staff Writer | Published: 10/16/2020 9:48 AM ET

Pfizer Inc (PFE) said Friday that it will apply for emergency authorization use of its COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. in the third week of November, once safety milestone is achieved.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants at least two months of safety data before authorizing emergency use of any experimental coronavirus vaccine.

Pfizer, which is developing vaccine candidate BNT162b2 with German BioNTech SE (BNTX), said it will continue running its trial through its final analysis point, even if it is declared effective at an earlier stage. The company expects to reach safety milestone in the third week of November.

"As I've said before, we are operating at the speed of science. This means we may know whether or not our vaccine is effective by the end of October," CEO Albert Bourla wrote in an open letter.

BNT162b2 vaccine candidate is based on BioNTech's mRNA technology and supported by Pfizer's global vaccine development and manufacturing capabilities. The vaccine candidate is currently being evaluated in a global Phase 3 study.

Earlier this month, Pfizer and BioNTech said that they have initiated a rolling submission to the European Medicines Agency for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Last month, the companies said they are on track to seek regulatory review for BNT162b2 as early as October 2020. If regulatory authorization or approval is obtained, the companies plan to supply up to 100 million doses worldwide by the end of 2020, and about 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Pernicious Anemia – Caused by Vitamin B12 DeficiencyPernicious Anemia – Caused by Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Pernicious Anemia – Caused by Vitamin B12 Deficiency

There are many articles found on the Internet regarding the importance of vitamin b12. Articles on the affects of vitamin b12 deficiency are even more readily found. I’ve compiled a few of the articles I’ve found while searching Google for "vitamin b12 deficiency." Some of these articles are listed below.

During my search, I’ve yet to find an article that says vitamin b12 is not an important vitamin. All of the articles I’ve read during my searches have stated the seriousness of a deficiency of vitamin b12. Before we get into the articles lets take a look at some of the vitamin b12 deficiency symptoms.

Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms, like those of many other treatable health conditions, can be virtually identical to age dementia symptoms, senile dementia symptoms and Alzheimer symptoms. As many as 20% of people over age 65 have low Vitamin B12 levels. Correcting the deficiency can help older people resume a full and normal lives.

Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms include:

  • Loss of appetite
  • Diarrhea
  • Numbness and tingling of hands and feet
  • Paleness
  • Shortness of breath
  • Fatigue
  • Weakness
  • Sore mouth and tongue
  • Confusion or change in mental status in severe or advanced cases. This is sometimes confused with dementia. More importantly, even a moderate deficiency of this important vitamin and its counterpart, folic acid, may ultimate contribute to the onset of Alzheimer disease or other related dementia.

The absorption of dietary vitamin B12 occurs in the small intestine and requires a secretion from the stomach known as intrinsic factor. If intrinsic factor is deficient, absorption of vitamin B12 is severely diminished. Vitamin B12 deficiency impairs the body’s ability to make blood, accelerates blood cell destruction, and damages the nervous system. The result is pernicious anemia (PA).[1]

Pernicious anemia (per-NISH-us uh-NEE-me-uh) is a condition in which the body does not make enough red blood cells due to a lack of vitamin B12 in the body. It usually occurs in people whose bodies have lost the ability to absorb vitamin B12 from food.[2]

Low stomach acid, known as hypochlorhydria, interferes with the absorption of B12 from food but not from supplements. Aging is associated with a decrease in the normal secretion of stomach acid. As a result, some older people with normal levels of intrinsic factor and with no clear cause for malabsorption will become vitamin B12-deficient unless they take at least a few micrograms per day of vitamin B12 from supplements.

From U.S. Army Health Clinic, Darmstadt, Germany.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency is a common cause of macrocytic anemia and has been implicated in a spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders. The role of B12 deficiency in hyperhomocysteinemia and the promotion of atherosclerosis is only now being explored. Diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency is typically based on measurement of serum vitamin B12 levels; however, about 50 percent of patients with subclinical disease have normal B12 levels. A more sensitive method of screening for vitamin B12 deficiency is measurement of serum methylmalonic acid and homocysteine levels, which are increased early in vitamin B12 deficiency. Use of the Schilling test for detection of pernicious anemia has been supplanted for the most part by serologic testing for parietal cell and intrinsic factor antibodies. Contrary to prevailing medical practice, studies show that supplementation with oral vitamin B12 is a safe and effective treatment for the B12 deficiency state. Even when intrinsic factor is not present to aid in the absorption of vitamin B12 (pernicious anemia) or in other diseases that affect the usual absorption sites in the terminal ileum, oral therapy remains effective.[3]

From the Department of Internal Medicine, New York University School of Medicine.

Recent evidence suggests that vitamin B12 deficiency in the elderly is more than classic pernicious anemia. Instead, it is a continuum from negative B12 balance to frank deficiency, which can be detected by low serum B12 levels long before changes occur in hemoglobin levels. Current findings in the literature suggest that subtle B12 deficiency is indeed clinically significant. Treatment may prevent significant neurologic and/or hematologic disease.[4]

From the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria.

Low serum vitamin B12 levels are not uncommon in the elderly. Patients with vitamin B12 deficiency manifest a spectrum of clinical findings. Pernicious anemia and malabsorption syndrome are the usual causes of vitamin B12 deficiency. Pernicious anemia is confirmed by the presence of intrinsic factor blocking antibody or abnormal results on the Schilling test. Patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency may have a normal Schilling test and no evidence of macrocytic anemia. In such patients, vitamin B12 deficiency is confirmed by determining serum levels of homocysteine and methylmalonic acid.[5]

From all of my research, pernicious anemia is usually easy to treat with vitamin B12 supplements or shots, although some people develop permanent nerve damage before they find out they have the disease and get treatment. Since pernicious anemia does increase the risk of developing stomach cancer, doctors may do periodic cancer tests to check for it. Overall, however, people with pernicious anemia who get proper lifelong treatment can have a normal life span.

I’m not a doctor or even a healthcare professional, but I am a thinker and I do a lot of research. Because of my age, I’m trying to prevent issues that may arise as a result of the aging process. With that in mind, I’ve taken the initiative to research pernicious anemia, a fairly common condition in the aging process.

If you or someone you know is affected by this condition, spend some time doing the research on your own. There are many b12 supplements, but not many have the same patented delivery system as TriVita’s® Sublingual Vitamin B12, a safe and effective means of getting vitamin b12 into your body. You can learn more about Vitamin B12 Deficiency by clicking on the previous link.

REFERENCES:

[1] https://www.publix.com/wellness/notes/Display.do?id=Concern&childId=Vitamin_B12_Deficiency

[2] https://www.medicinenet.com/pernicious_anemia/article.htm

[3] PMID: 12643357 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE], https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12643357?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=2&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed

[4] PMID: 2680773 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE], https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2680773?ordinalpos=16&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

[5]PMID: 2278533 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE], https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2278533?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

pernicious anemia

After further review and research, vitamin b12 is an important nutrient to help in the prevention of several diseases.

Pernicious anemia is a decrease in red blood cells that occurs when the body cannot properly absorb vitamin B12 from the gastrointestinal tract. Vitamin B12 is necessary for the formation of red blood cells.

Pernicious anemia is caused by a lack of intrinsic factor. Intrinsic factor is a protein produced by the stomach that helps the body absorb vitamin B12. When stomach does not have enough intrinsic factor, it cannot properly absorb the vitamin. Nerve and blood cells need vitamin B12 to function properly.

Jeffrey Sloe

Breastfeeding Supports Healthy Brains for Babies – and MomsBreastfeeding Supports Healthy Brains for Babies – and Moms

Breastfeeding Supports Healthy Brains for Babies – and Moms

The key is seafood for Mom, to replenish vital stores of DHA and other nutrients for her and her new child.

10/12/2020       By Eliza Leggatt

In 2008, I was nursing a broken heart – and a newborn baby. The joy of my firstborn’s arrival was overshadowed by the abrupt hormonal postpartum crash and some challenging personal issues in my life. It felt almost unbearable at times. We made it through that tough time together, thanks to supportive parents, a great pediatrician, and especially, breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is the single most beneficial gift any mother can give her child to impact their health, but amazingly, research shows the benefits for moms who are able to breastfeed are both immediate and long-lasting.

I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but breastfeeding my new baby was helping me as much as it was helping her. Studies indicate not only that breastfeeding mothers typically experience lower levels of depressive symptoms (Hahn-Holbrook, 2013) but oxytocin release during lactation can help regulate blood pressure, lower stress, and decrease levels of cortisol, sometimes called the “stress hormone” (Handlin, 2009).

Human breast milk is a marvel; a dynamic, medicinal food that is created and distinctly “personalized” for their infants by mothers at the most intimate and individual level. Its composition varies almost constantly, changing from feed to feed and even within feedings, according to and perhaps even influencing circadian rhythms of both mother and child (Sánchez et al., 2013).

Teeming with thousands of diverse bioactive molecules that offer protection against infection and inflammation, mother’s milk begins laying the foundation for a baby’s lifelong immune response. It starts and begins to form the immune system, develops internal organs, and jump-starts healthy microbial colonization of the newborn baby’s mostly sterile gut (Yu et al., 2018).

In recent years, the indispensable role of DHA, the brain’s main structural fat, has been increasingly understood to not only impact infant brain growth, but a new mother’s mental state as well. And while I was nursing that little baby, I was giving away that “superfat” and in desperate need of replenishment. My baby, like all babies, was completely dependent on me for the DHA that would help to grow her amazing brain.

Brain Growth Spurt

The growth of the new baby’s brain is occurring at an astonishing rate of one percent a day; the cerebellum has doubled by the time the baby is 90 days old (Holland, 2014). At birth, the newborn brain is already 25 percent of its adult weight. By age 2, it will reach over 75 percent of its adult weight (Dekaban, 1978).

During this short window of unparalleled cerebral growth, nourishing a baby’s brain is perhaps the most important work of breastfeeding. Babies are entirely dependent upon their mothers for omega-3 DHA, the primary structural fat of the brain whose critical role facilitates every neuronal function.

Lifelong benefits that breastfeeding also confers to mothers, such as a reduction in breast cancer risk (Bernier, 2000) are often noted, yet the needs of mothers during this pivotal time do not receive nearly enough attention. An abrupt shift occurs almost immediately after birth – just as the focus of the mother has shifted to her newly arrived child, so has everyone else’s.

Read the complete article, and see all the informational sources on the VitalChoice website.

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AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 AZD7442 Antibodies Advance Into 2 Phase III Trials Gets 486 Mln US FundAstraZeneca’s COVID-19 AZD7442 Antibodies Advance Into 2 Phase III Trials Gets 486 Mln US Fund

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 AZD7442 Antibodies Advance Into 2 Phase III Trials; Gets $486 Mln U.S. Fund

By RTTNews Staff Writer | Published: 10/12/2020 2:40 AM ET

AstraZeneca Plc. (AZN.L,AZN) announced Monday that its long-acting antibody or LAAB combination, AZD7442, will advance into two Phase III clinical trials for the prevention of COVID-19.

Further, the company said it has received support of around $486 million from the US Government for the development and supply of AZD7442. The US Government funding is for the development and supply of up to 100,000 doses starting towards the end of 2020. The US Government can acquire up to an additional one million doses in 2021 under a separate agreement.

The funding is received under an agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or BARDA, part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense.

AZD7442 is a combination of two LAABs derived from convalescent patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection. It was discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and licensed to AstraZeneca in June 2020.

The LAABs have been engineered with AstraZeneca’s proprietary half-life extension technology to increase the durability of the therapy for six to 12 months following a single administration. The combination of two LAABs is also designed to reduce the risk of resistance developed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The company noted that the two trials will enrol over 6,000 adults for the prevention of COVID-19 at sites in and outside the US that are due to begin in the next weeks.

one trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of AZD7442 to prevent infection for up to 12 months, in approximately 5,000 participants. The second trial will evaluate post-exposure prophylaxis and pre-emptive treatment in approximately 1,100 participants.

AstraZeneca is planning additional trials to evaluate AZD7442 in approximately 4,000 patients for the treatment of COVID-19. The additional trials will enroll around 4,000 adults for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

AstraZeneca said the agreement is not anticipated to impact its financial guidance for 2020 as the US Government funding is being offset by expenses to progress the clinical trials of AZD7442 as well as manufacturing process and upscaling costs.

Should the Phase III trials prove successful and AZD7442 become an approved medicine, the Company anticipates providing the medicine at commercial terms during and after the current coronavirus pandemic.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Article written by an RTT News Staff Writer, and posted on the RTT News.com website.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

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150 Million Covid Rapid Tests To Be Distributed Nationwide150 Million Covid Rapid Tests To Be Distributed Nationwide

150 Million Covid Rapid Tests To Be Distributed Nationwide

By RTTNews Staff Writer | Published: 9/29/2020 10:30 AM ET

The Trump Administration announced a national plan to distribute 150 million Abbott rapid point-of-care coronavirus tests in the coming weeks to assist Governors' efforts to safely reopen their states and schools.

Explaining its details at a White House news conference, President Donald Trump said 50 million tests will go to protect the most vulnerable communities, and 100 million tests will be given to states and territories to support efforts to reopen their economies and schools immediately.

This includes 18 million for nursing homes; 15 million for assisted living facilities; 10 million for home, health, and hospice care agencies; and nearly 1 million for historically black colleges, universities and tribal nation colleges.

6.5 million tests will be shipped to governors this week.

Trump claimed that over the last eight weeks, hospitalizations due to COVID infection have declined by 48 percent, and have reached the lowest point since March. Due to advances in treatment, the fatality rate has fallen 85 percent since April, he added.

Health and Human Services Department said the Abbott BinaxNOW Ag Card rapid test is a unique testing option to provide support to K-12 teachers and students, higher education, critical infrastructure, first responders, and other priorities as governors deem fit.

The BinaxNOW rapid test – the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-authorized antigen rapid point-of-care test that does not require an instrument – is easy to use, will produce COVID-19 test results in 15 minutes, and costs $5.

Admiral Brett Giroir, Assistant Secretary for Health, said testing may be performed by laboratories with a clear certificate of waiver. "This is not a home test. But during the health emergency, Seema Verma and CMS permits laboratories to extend their certificate to operate in temporary sites, like schools or churches or parking lots," he added.

The Federal government purchased Abbott BinaxNOW diagnostic tests on August 27 after FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to ensure they would be expeditiously distributed to vulnerable populations as quickly as possible. Significantly, the nation's governors will not have to compete for the initial BinaxNOW shipments, or take time to set up purchasing contracts.

Abbott Diagnostics said it plans to make up to 48 million tests available monthly in the U.S. in the coming weeks.

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Adult Obesity Increasing Worsens Outcomes From COVID-19: CDCAdult Obesity Increasing Worsens Outcomes From COVID-19: CDC

Adult Obesity Increasing; Worsens Outcomes From COVID-19: CDC

By RTTNews Staff Writer | Published: 9/18/2020 10:51 AM ET

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, show that adult obesity is increasing in the United States, and obese individuals are at heightened risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19.

The phenomenon remains high in 12 states, according to the 2019 Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps. Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia have an adult obesity prevalence at a rate of 35 percent or above. This is up from nine states in 2018 and six states in 2017.

Combined data from 2017-2019 show notable racial and ethnic disparities persist in adult obesity.

34 states and the District of Columbia had an obesity prevalence of 35 percent or higher among non-Hispanic Black adults.

In addition to the maps, CDC has released a summary statement on obesity and race and ethnicity as related to COVID-19 risk.

The pandemic has increased the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death among obese people, it says.

Being obese may triple the risk of hospitalization due to a COVID-19 infection. It has been found that obesity is linked to impaired immune function.

Obesity decreases lung capacity and reserve and can make ventilation more difficult.

It has also been found that the risk of death from COVID-19 increases with a rise in BMI (Body mass index).

Studies have demonstrated that obesity may be linked to lower vaccine responses for numerous diseases.

Obesity disproportionately impacts some racial and ethnic minority groups who are also at increased risk of contracting COVID-19.

The report recommends that being active and eating a healthy diet can support optimal immune function and help prevent or manage chronic diseases that worsen outcomes from COVID-19.

These actions, as well as getting enough sleep and finding healthy ways to cope with stress are found to be helping with weight maintenance and improve overall health.

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Acella Pharma Recalls Thyroid Drugs For Sub PotencyAcella Pharma Recalls Thyroid Drugs For Sub Potency

Acella Pharma Recalls Thyroid Drugs For Sub Potency

By RTTNews Staff Writer | Published: 9/18/2020 8:53 AM ET

Acella Pharmaceuticals, LLC recalled certain lots of hypothyroidism medication NP Thyroid in the form of tablets due to super potency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement.

The company is recalling one lot of 15-mg and one lot of 120-mg of NP Thyroid that are packaged in 100 count bottles in strengths of 15 mg, and 120 mg, with expiration dates between October 2020, and November 2020. The drug is originally intended to treat an underactive thyroid.

According to the company, the product may have as low as 87 percent of the labeled amount of Liothyronine (T4), it added.

NP Thyroid is composed of levothyroxine and liothyronine and used to treat hypothyroidism. These lots were distributed across the U.S. to Acella's direct accounts, including wholesalers, pharmacies, and healthcare offices.

Acella noted that if patients are treated for hypothyroidism with these sub potent NP Thyroid tablets, they may experience signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism, including swelling of the thyroid gland or weight gain, fatigue, increased sensitivity to cold, constipation, dry skin, puffy face, hair loss, slow heart rate and depression.

Newborn infants or pregnant women who take sub potent NP Thyroid also may experience early miscarriage, fetal hyperthyroidism, and/or impairments to fetal neural and skeletal development.

Acella said it has received four reports of adverse events until date related to the recalled products.

"Patients who are currently taking NP Thyroid from the lots being recalled should not discontinue use without contacting their healthcare provider for further guidance and/or a replacement prescription," the company added.

In May, Acella Pharmaceuticals had recalled 13 lots of hypothyroidism medication NP Thyroid in the form of tablets due to super potency.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Eating Fish May Protect Our Brains From Air PollutionEating Fish May Protect Our Brains From Air Pollution

Eating Fish May Protect Our Brains From Air Pollution

Microscopic particles of air pollution can damage brain cells. Omega-3s could act as a shield.

September 7, 2020     By Nathaniel Scharping

Air pollution is a constant companion in modern society, often even for those of us living outside cities. And it's taking a toll on our health in the form of heart, lung and brain problems. Simply put, the more air pollution you're around, the more likely you are to die earlier (Pope, 2000).

Air pollution may be inescapable, but there's hope. A new study shows that people who eat a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids seem to be shielded from brain degeneration, even when they live in areas with high levels of air pollution (Chen et al., 2020).

The study, from researchers at Columbia University's Irving Medical Center, backs up years of prior research on omega-3s and the brain. Not only are the fatty acids crucial to developing and maintaining healthy brain cells, they likely also serve to protect them as well.

No Escape From Air Pollution

Even in places where the air isn't visibly dirty, pollution can be an issue. For their study, the researchers focused on particulate matter, a type of air pollution made up of microscopic particles and droplets such as smoke, soot and dust.

Particulate matter has many sources: vehicles, factories, agriculture, and even some natural processes. Wildfires are also potent producers, as millions of Californians were reminded this summer (Thurston et al., 2011).

So, while levels of particulate matter are falling on average nationwide, air pollution is still a serious problem in some areas of the U.S. Scientists classify most particulate matter air pollution into two categories:

  • 10 micrograms (or ten millionths of a gram) or smaller, known as PM10. Typical sources include construction-site dust, pollen, and wildfire smoke.
  • 5 micrograms or smaller, dubbed PM2.5. These are more likely to come from human-technology sources, especially vehicles.

Both classes are harmful to humans, but the smaller PM2.5 particles can penetrate deeper into the lungs when inhaled, making them potentially more dangerous. And for years, studies have pointed out the myriad health issues that these particles cause. Higher levels of airborne particulate matter are associated with heart and lung problems, as well as with premature deaths in general (Pope, 2000). High PM2.5 levels have also been linked to a number of brain issues, including inflammation and decreases in brain volume among older adults (Wilker et al., 2015).

This kind of brain damage can be a marker for cognitive decline in the elderly, and it can be difficult to recover from. That makes it crucial to prevent damage before it happens.

A Link Between Brain Health and Seafood

For this latest research, the scientists looked at data from a large study conducted between 1996 and 2006 called the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (WHIMS-MRI). It included over 1,300 healthy women between the ages of 65 and 80 who agreed to MRI scans of their brains, and who answered a battery of questions about their lifestyles, diets and more. The researchers also collected blood samples to measure levels of two important omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, in the women's bodies.

Then, the researchers used national data on air quality from the Environmental Protection Agency to track each participant's exposure to PM2.5 air pollution. With that data in hand, they could cross-reference three key things: air pollution exposure, brain health and omega-3 intake.

After accounting for a variety of factors, the researchers saw two clear trends. Women who were exposed to more air pollution had lost greater amounts of white matter in their brains, as well as brain volume in the hippocampus. But those with a diet that was rich in seafood — and therefore included plentiful omega-3s — had no such brain loss, even when they were exposed to air pollution.

The takeaway was that omega-3 fatty acids are likely to protect against the neurodegenerative effects of air pollution (Chen et al., 2020).

How Omega-3s Protect Our Brains

The researchers propose a few ways that omega-3s might help shield our brain health from particulate matter pollution. Omega-3s help protect and repair the protective myelin sheaths that shield our nerves and brain cells, keeping neurons intact and healthy. The fatty acids also help tamp down inflammation in our brains and bodies, preventing damage to cells (Chen et al., 2020).

The researchers say the effects they saw represent only a correlation, not causation. So, while people who ate more omega-3s were also protected from pollution, they couldn't show a direct cause-and-effect relationship. In addition, their study looked only at older women, so future research could better assess how omega-3s may shield other populations.

Still, scientists have been discovering associations between omega-3s and brain health for years. There’s enough evidence that even healthcare providers consistently recommend we get enough of the fatty acids in our diets.

Of course, omega-3s are good for us for many other reasons as well. They’re crucial building blocks for brain cells, and the fatty acids help keep our brains in top shape as we get older. Protecting us from air pollution is simply one more beneficial effect.

You can make sure your diet has enough omega-3s in it simply by consuming a few servings of seafood every week. Fish and other seafood, like Vital Choice’s wild-caught salmon, are the richest dietary sources of EPA and DHA, and they deliver a liberal helping of other essential nutrients as well, from vitamin D to antioxidants. An Alaskan sockeye fillet comes packed with almost 600 milligrams of EPA and over 1100 grams of DHA per serving.

In our dusty, smoggy, smoky world, these are nutrients that our beleaguered brains truly need.

Sources:

C. Arden Pope III (2000) Review: Epidemiological Basis for Particulate Air Pollution Health Standards, Aerosol Science & Technology, 32:1, 4-14, DOI:10.1080/027868200303885

Chen C, Xun P, Kaufman JD, et al. Erythrocyte omega-3 index, ambient fine particle exposure, and brain aging. Neurology. 2020;95(8):e995-e1007. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000010074

DiNicolantonio JJ, O’Keefe JH. Importance of maintaining a low omega–6/omega–3 ratio for reducing inflammation. Open Heart. 2018;5(2):e000946. doi:10.1136/openhrt-2018-000946

Thurston GD, Ito K, Lall R. A source apportionment of U.S. fine particulate matter air pollution. Atmospheric Environment. 2011;45(24):3924-3936. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.04.070

Wilker EH, Preis SR, Beiser AS, et al. Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter, Residential Proximity to Major Roads and Measures of Brain Structure. Stroke. 2015;46(5):1161-1166. doi:10.1161/strokeaha.114.008348

Witte AV, Kerti L, Hermannstädter HM, et al. Long-Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids Improve Brain Function and Structure in Older Adults. Cerebral Cortex. 2013;24(11):3059-3068. doi:10.1093/cercor/bht163

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The original article written by Nathaniel Scharping and posted on VitalChoice.com.

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Mediterranean Diet Yields Gut-Linked Health LiftsMediterranean Diet Yields Gut-Linked Health Lifts

Mediterranean Diet Yields Gut-Linked Health Lifts

Clinical study sees immune, brain, bone boosts from gut biome benefits

02/24/2020   By Craig Weatherby

People across the globe are projected to live longer than ever before.

So, it’s important to find ways of lengthening their “healthspan” — in other words, to help people maintain good health throughout their lifespan.

Exercise and diet are key to healthy aging, but researchers have begun to look at the role played by people’s gut microbiomes.

Now, the encouraging results of a clinical trial show that closely following a Mediterranean-style diet changes the microbiome in ways that should promote wellness and healthier aging.

Specifically, the Mediterranean diet change people’s biomes in ways previously linked to reduced risk for frailty and to better thinking, memory, immunity, and bone strength.

Before we get to the intriguing results of this Europe-based trial, let’s quickly review what the microbiome is all about.

A briefer on the microbiome
The microbiome of an organ such as the skin or gut is the community of trillions of microbes that live within it.

Although these terms are often used interchangeably, a person’s gut microbiome is the genomes (e.g., DNA) of all the microorganisms living in their intestines, while their gut microbiota is the roster of microbes — mostly bacteria, viruses, and fungi — dwelling there.

Most of the microbes in your gut are either harmless or they benefit us by producing vitamins and fibrous, metabolically beneficial compounds like inulin, arabinoxylan, and resistant starch — while helping keep unfriendly microbes from becoming problematic.

The makeup of your microbiome is partly influenced by your personal genetics, and changes constantly in response to diet, physical activity, inflammation, medications, and more.

In addition to a person’s genetics diet, and lifestyle, the composition of their microbiome can either help prevent or promote physical disorders like diabetes and obesity as well as anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders.

Accordingly, an international team — led by Prof. Paul O’Toole of Ireland’s University College Cork — wanted to see if diet can make microbiome changes known to discourage chronic disease and promote healthy aging (Ghosh TS et al. 2020).

“Mediterranean microbiome” exerted healthful effects
For their year-long study, the international team recruited 612 people aged 65-79 — including 286 men and 326 women — living in the UK, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland.

The scientists randomly assigned the participants to one of two groups:

  • Maintain their usual diet.
  • Switch to a Mediterranean diet (MD), which meant eating more vegetables, beans, lentils, fruits, nuts, olive oil, and fish, but less red meat, dairy, and saturated fats (e.g., butter).

After one year, people in the Mediterranean diet group displayed microbiome changes linked to better cognitive function [thinking/memory], less inflammation, better bone strength, and reduced risk of frailty.

Overall, the Mediterranean diet group enjoyed several benefits:

  • Greater microbial diversity (more species — a good thing).
  • Fewer pro-inflammatory compounds produced in the body.
  • More microbes linked to sharper thinking and better memory.
  • More microbes linked to signs of reduced frailty, such as faster walking speeds and stronger hand grips.

At the outset of the study, many of the participants were considered pre-frail — meaning their bone strength and density would likely start decreasing.

And people in the Mediterranean diet group showed fewer signs of risk for frailty while those assigned to the regular-diet group showed more microbiome-related signs of risk for frailty.

What changed in the microbiomes of the Mediterranean diet group?
At the outset of the 12-month trial, the participants’ microbiomes varied by country, but one year later the microbiomes of the Mediterranean diet (MD) group had undergone significant changes:

  • More “MD-positive” microbes — in other words, ones that flourished on the diet.
  • Fewer “MD-negative” microbes, which either didn’t flourish on the diet and/or couldn’t compete with the MD-positive microbes.

Critically, the MD-positive microbes were types previously linked to less frailty and inflammation, and higher levels of cognitive (thinking/memory) function — benefits that also grew as the number of MD-negative microbes shrank.

Importantly, the extent of beneficial microbiome changes reflected how closely a person followed the Mediterranean diet — the closer their adherence, the bigger the benefits.

Why are the microbiome changes from a Mediterranean diet beneficial?
A closer look revealed that the benefits of the microbiome changes seen in the Mediterranean diet group likely stemmed from two things:

  • The MD-positive microbes produce short chain fatty acids that exert effects known to benefit several body systems.
  • The MD-negative microbes produce certain bile acids known to raise the risk of bowel cancer, insulin resistance, fatty liver, and cell damage.

Based on prior evidence, the beneficial microbiome changes among the Mediterranean diet group were likely caused — at least in part — by greater intakes of fiber and certain micronutrients: especially vitamins C, B1 (thiamine), B6 (pyridoxine), and B9 (folic acid), copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and magnesium.

Although the team linked negative changes in the control groups’ microbiomes to an increase in fat intake — primarily saturated and mono-unsaturated fats — relative to the Mediterranean diet group, the available evidence does not suggest that relatively high-fat diets are inherently unhealthful.

The trial’s results also showed that the microbiome changes seen in the Mediterranean group occurred regardless of a person’s age or body mass index, both of which can impact the microbiome.

Conclusions and next steps
Although the diet-driven microbiome changes seen in the Mediterranean group were relatively small, they produced big effects in just one year — and the researchers speculate that continuing the Mediterranean diet longer might further enhance the microbiome.

Future studies will need to focus on what key ingredients in a Mediterranean diet — other than the fiber and micronutrients mentioned above —were responsible for these positive microbiome changes.

Other possible microbiome-influencers in a Mediterranean-style diet include specific types of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and antioxidants.

Overall, the encouraging results of this study suggest that the closer you can stick to a Mediterranean-style diet, the more your gut microbiome will shift to a healthful, anti-aging mode.

They also suggest that you don’t necessarily need probiotic supplements to make significant, beneficial changes in your gut — ones likely to benefit mind and body alike.

 

Sources

  • De Filippis F, Pellegrini N, Vannini L, Jeffery IB, La Storia A, Laghi L, Serrazanetti DI, Di Cagno R, Ferrocino I, Lazzi C, Turroni S, Cocolin L, Brigidi P, Neviani E, Gobbetti M, O’Toole PW, Ercolini D. High-level adherence to a Mediterranean diet beneficially impacts the gut microbiota and associated metabolome. Gut. 2016 Nov;65(11):1812-1821. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2015-309957. Epub 2015 Sep 28.
  • Ghosh TS et al. Mediterranean diet intervention alters the gut microbiome in older people reducing frailty and improving health status: the NU-AGE 1-year dietary intervention across five European countries. Gut. 2020 Feb 17. pii: gutjnl-2019-319654. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-319654. [Epub ahead of print]

Original article posted on the VitalChoice.com site, by Craig Weatherby.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Jeffrey Sloe

Vitamin D Protects Against DementiaVitamin D Protects Against Dementia

Vitamin D Protects Against Dementia

Dr. Gary Small, M.D., writes:

Fat-soluble vitamin D protects bone health and helps the body absorb dietary calcium, magnesium, and other minerals.

We can get vitamin D from fish, liver, sunlight, and supplements.

Dr. David Llewellyn and his associates at the University of Exeter Medical School in the United Kingdom reported in the journal Neurology that low blood levels of vitamin D are also associated with a greater likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers measured blood levels of vitamin D in more than 1,600 adults with the average age of 73.

The subjects did not have dementia at the beginning of the study. Volunteers with vitamin D levels of less than 25 nmol/L were twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia at a follow-up five years later.

Earlier laboratory studies indicated that vitamin D helps break down brain-toxic amyloid proteins, which may explain the connection between low vitamin D and greater dementia risk.

The new study demonstrates an association with dementia risk but not a cause-and-effect relationship; however, it strongly suggests that getting adequate vitamin D may protect brain health.

Dr. Gary Small, MD, author of The Mind Health Report newsletter, is a professor of psychiatry and aging, and director of the UCLA Longevity Center. Dr. Small, one of the nation’s top brain health experts, frequently appears on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and The Dr. Oz Show. He is co-author with wife Gigi Vorgan of many popular books, including the best-sellers The Memory Bible and 2 Weeks to a Younger Brain This article came in an email.

Looking for a great source of Vitamin D that's designed for easy absorption? It starts with 5,000 IU of Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol), a bioavailable form that matches what your body produces naturally. Don't just take a Vitamin D supplement—absorb it!

Learn more about the importance of the Vitamin D supplement.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Jeffrey Sloe

Who feels stuck in life?Who feels stuck in life?

Feeling stuck in life from time to time – is a part of being human.  Yet, if one dwells on being stuck one will remain stuck. Thus, you need to accept feeling stuck as an opportunity to regroup and revitalize. What you focus on is what you will experience. 

Furthermore, the good news is there are steps you can take to end stagnation, be more productive and move towards your goals faster than before!

Whether you find yourself in an exercise slump, relationship rut, a career funk, or business funk remember that you are far more powerful and empowered than any circumstance, situation or condition you may face.

Stagnation will be short-lived when you decide to make changes for the better.

These changes will give you direction to get out of being stuck. 

1. Release the past. 

Listen to the stories you tell yourself. Are you ruminating about past events? Are you unable to forgive yourself for mistakes? Are you blaming yourself or others for things that did not turn out the way you intended? Ask yourself why you are stuck on those memories, and what you can learn from them, thank them for teaching you, and move forward. You can't undo the past, but you can choose to learn from the past and to create peace. Forgiving yourself or others is a way to let go and move on.

2. Change your perspective. 

When you release the grip of the past, you will see your reality in new ways and feel freer to change your attitude. To gain a new perspective, meditate or spend time alone and listen to your inner voice. If you can, take a break from your daily routine to clear your mind and get distance from your current situation. Open yourself up to new people and ideas, and introduce regular physical activity into your routine. All of these changes will assist you to gain a new perspective and new possibilities.

3. Make small changes. 

People often think they need to make huge changes–turn the place upside down or throw everything out and start over.  On the contrary, making the right small changes make a huge difference. Change stimulates the brain that will improve creativity and clarity of mind. Start by changing your daily routine, moving things in your home, reengage with friends or make new friends. Every choice matters. You might be tempted to skip the little things because they don't seem important at the moment. However, an accumulation of small changes will assist you to accomplish your goals more effectively and efficiently, and you will become unstuck.

4. Explore your purpose. 

Your life purpose is not just your job, career, business, your responsibilities, or your goals—it's what makes you feel alive. These are the things you are passionate about and will fight for. Examples of a life purpose could be:

  • Helping others reach their full potential.
  • Growing within yourself.
  • Protecting animals from cruelty.
  • Engaging in a new hobby.
  • Exploring nature–include all elements (air, fire, water, soil).

You may need to change your life purpose if it no longer inspires you. Or, if you sense your chosen purpose has been fulfilled, this is a great time to choose another. Ask yourself the following questions as you consider your life purpose:

  • What do I enjoy doing for fun?
  • What are my favorite things to do?
  • What have I thought of doing and haven't?
  • When do I enjoy doing so much or become so committed to something that I lose track of time?
  • Who or what inspires me the most, and why?
  • What prompts me to feel good about myself?
  • What am I good at?

5. Believe in me. 

I trust myself that I can reach my expectations and move out of my comfort zone. Make a list of my strengths and positive traits, and remember what I am capable of. Many people sabotage their own progress—consciously or unconsciously—as a result of deep-seated fears and limiting beliefs. Ditch all fear and limiting beliefs. As the cliche goes–Fear is only False Evidence Appearing Real.  In fact, you create your fear, there is nothing to fear. Of course, there are reasons to avoid things, like stepping into a rattlesnake den, free fall off a building, but you don't need to fear snakes or heights in order to be mindful to make appropriate decisions to keep yourself safe. 

The first step to believing in yourself is to recognize your self-doubt. Pay attention to the ways you react to situations. Then you can work to reframe your self-doubt. Limitations like, "I can't", "I don't know", "What if…?" can be replaced with, "I can do it, I'll work on it," or "I will learn how." Another way to instill confidence in your abilities is to write down your past successes and keep the notes on hand when you need proof that you can do things that are challenging or new.

6. Practice Trust and Faith. 

Trust and Faith are the most powerful and empowering mindsets possible. Maybe you have had many disappointments that prompted you to feel helpless and hopeless. Maybe you are experiencing protective pessimism. You need to listen to what you say to yourself–when you hear yourself say, limiting comments or pessimistic words change to optimistic thoughts. Find a practice, such as mindfulness, meditation, affirmation, or reading inspirational articles/books regularly. Trust and Faith are a birthright. Everyone has the right to set forth Trust and Faith. Remind yourself to stay focused on Trust and Faith moment to moment all ways. 

7. Consider working with a professional–Holistic Mentor/Coach or a Mental/Emotional Healing Practitioner. 

If you discover you are unable to change unhealthy thought patterns, working with a Mental/Emotional Healing Practitioner to assist to you to discover why you are stuck and to find ways to get unstuck is more cost effective and practical than struggling. Being stuck can be debilitating beyond only feeling stuck; having professional support as you work to change long-established thinking patterns can be tremendously freeing and liberating. Asking for assistance can be the most hopeful and powerful step you can take.

This moment is the first moment of the rest of your life. Are you willing to take the steps required to claim your happiness, success, fulfillment, and enlightenment? Will you take advantage of the opportunity to create a new reality for your life? 

It's time to SHIFT and get prepared for what's coming up for your life… so I want you to put your heart and soul into paying close attention to how much mental, emotional and physical pain you are in. Then, step by step you can make the SHIFT gently, easily, and without having to deal with the mental and emotional pain and stress of not knowing what to do, not feeling your best, and all the other OLD WAYS that are holding you back. 
 
I want your daily feeling of being overwhelmed to be replaced with a feeling of freedom throughout your day. I look forward to giving you the tools to help you conquer the every-day fears that hold you back. Here’s to living your dream life NOW. 

There is no shame in asking for assistance to create happiness and success. If you have read the books, taken workshops, had psychic readings, taken prescriptions, and OTC drugs, etc. and still struggle; you might have emotional blocks preventing you from moving into your happiness and desires. 

You might need to ask for assistance to clear out the self-doubt, fear, guilt, shame or unworthiness. 

Here’s to living your dream life NOW. 
There is no shame in asking for assistance to create happiness and success. If you have read the books, taken workshops, had psychic readings, taken prescriptions, and OTC drugs, etc. and still struggle; you might have emotional blocks preventing you from moving into your happiness and desires. 

This is an investment in your health, happiness, success, fulfillment, and empowerment. Following the principles in this process will change your life forever and I want you to experience it yourself as soon as possible. Remember only you can take care of your happiness and mental, emotional, physical health and professional success.

 

You can do it!  Call me if you need assistance to overcome any blocks or sabotaging behaviors! 

For your convenience, I offer a 20-minute FREE no-obligation phone conversation to answer your questions and discuss how you can discover and create personal and professional success. http://drdorothy.net And you will receive value in the 20-minute conversation. 

 About Dr. Dorothy: 

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, Ph.D., Metaphysician – Certified Hypnosis and Deep Healing Practitioner, International Best Selling Author, and Speaker. Dr. Dorothy facilitates clearing blocks, fears, and limiting beliefs. You can live the life you desire. She brings awareness to concepts not typically obvious to one's thoughts and feelings. https://www.drdorothy.net

Reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe. Visit my Markethive site and sigup for FREE to receive 500 crypto coins.

Jeffrey Sloe

Do Brains Shrink as Bellies Grow?Do Brains Shrink as Bellies Grow?

Do Brains Shrink as Bellies Grow?

Emerging evidence may provide another reason to fight midriff fat

02/25/2019  :   By Craig Weatherby

Brain shrinkage is linked to alcoholism, aging, dementia, and chronic stress.

And the brain effects of chronic stress degrade mental performance and emotional health alike.

Stress stimulates release of the hormone cortisol, chronically high levels of which shrink key brain areas, while severe, chronic stress can even kill brain cells.

One of the key brain areas effected most by stress and accompanying cortisol elevation is the hippocampus, which is critical to memory functions.

Chronic stress also affects the structure of the amygdala — an area of the brain that’s key to emotions — in ways that tend to promote anxiety.

In addition to aging, alcohol consumption, and stress, diet, exercise, and the composition of your gut microbiome can influence brain volume and performance.

Examples of foods and experiences that can help normalize cortisol levels include black tea, fish, seafood-source omega-3 fatty acids, music, massage, meditation, sex, crying, and laughing.

For more about the effects of fish and their omega-3s on cortisol levels and brain volume, see Fish Changes Brains for the Better, Omega-3s May Slow Brain Shrinkage, Omega-3s May Expand, Sharpen Brains, Fish Oil Aided Size and Health of Aging Brains, and Brain Benefits of Fish Bolstered by MRI Study.

Previous research linked excess belly fat to brain shrinkage — and the results of a recent British study reinforce those concerns.

This is just an excerpt from the article. To read the complete article click on Do Brains Shrink as Bellies Grow?

Interested in purchasing, or learning more about, Omega-3 fatty acid supplements, click on this link.

Article posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe.

Jeffrey Sloe

5 Scary Side Effects of a B-12 Deficiency5 Scary Side Effects of a B-12 Deficiency

5 Scary Side Effects of a B-12 Deficiency

B vitamins support normal functions performed by the brain and nervous system, support adrenal function. Vitamin B-12 is also required for critical metabolic processes like DNA synthesis, production of neurotransmitters, energy production and is required for the development of red blood cells.

Vitamin B-12 is found in animal-derived foods such as dairy, eggs, meat, poultry and fish. Diets that limit these foods and/or poor absorption may lead to a Vitamin B-12 deficiency. Prolonged Vitamin B-12 deficiency can lead to serious mental[2] and physical symptoms[1], such as:

  • Fatigue and muscle weakness
  • Irregular heartbeats
  • Personality and mood changes
  • Memory Loss
  • Dementia

Although deficiency can present differently for everyone, there are four basic stages:

Stage 1:

This is the earliest stage, so there are no noticeable signs or symptoms of deficiency. However, low levels can be detected through a blood test.

Stage 2:

Low blood levels of B-12 are detectable, and cellular dysfunction begins to set in. Some symptoms may start to be present.

Stage 3:

Neurological, psychological and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as indigestion and discomfort, may be present in this phase. Also, without sufficient levels of Vitamin B-12, methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine (HCY) build up in the body. An elevated level of HCY in blood is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease[3] and should be monitored by a physician.

Stage 4:

The final and most severe stage of B-12 deficiency can lead to lasting damage[2] to the nervous system.

Getting Enough Vitamin B-12

You can prevent these devastating side effects by including B-rich foods in your diet, supplementing when necessary with high-quality Vitamin B-12 and having your Vitamin B-12 levels checked as part of your annual physical exam.

References:

  1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/vitamin-deficiency-anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355025
  2. https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-B12
  3. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0301/p979.html

Original article written by and posted on Trivita.com

Posted by Jeffrey Sloe on Markethive

Jeffrey Sloe

Bone Value of Vitamin D Called into QuestionBone Value of Vitamin D Called into Question

Bone Value of Vitamin D Called into Question

Review found no effect, but didn’t address the vitamin’s other benefits

Supplemental vitamin D may not help prevent bone fractures, judging by the results of a new evidence review.

But none of the clinical trials included in the review lasted more than one year and the maximum doses provided weren’t much higher than the rather conservative U.S. RDA.

In addition, some — though not all — studies show that combining vitamin D with calcium does bolster bone strength.

Yet, in sadly predictable fashion, some headlines jumped to the ridiculous conclusion that “it’s time to toss your vitamin D pills”.

Those headlines are misleading because there’s good evidence linking supplemental vitamin D to enhanced heart and metabolic health and reduced risks of death from cancer and other causes.

And next month we expect to see results from “VITAL” clinical trial, which is testing the effects of vitamin D3 and omega-3 fish oil on the risks for cancer and cardiovascular disease.

That trial is exceptionally large (25,000+ participants) and lengthy (eight-year), and the doses being used are reasonably high, so it should provide a better sense of the heart and cancer value of both supplements.

In today’s article, we’ll do three things:

  • Scrutinize the negative conclusions of a recent evidence review.
  • Look at a recent study that boosts the cardiovascular value of vitamin D.
  • Review the evidence that vitamin D can reduce cancer and overall death rates.

Review sees little or no bone-health value from vitamin D pills
Recent, large-scale evidence reviews haven’t seen much effect of vitamin D on bone-mineral density or the risks for falls or fractures.

Likewise, earlier this month, researchers from New Zealand and Scotland reported results from an evidence review that also question the bone-protection value of supplemental vitamin D (Bolland MJ et al. 2018).

Most of the 81 clinical trials studied the effects of relatively modest doses of supplemental vitamin D (not combined with calcium) and lasted one year or less.

More than three quarters of the trials (77%) involved women over the age of 65, and more than two-thirds (68%) of the trials involved vitamin D doses of at least 800 IU.

The new evidence review was led by Mark Bolland, Ph.D., an associate professor of endocrinology at New Zealand’s University of Auckland.

As Bolland said, “Since the last major review of evidence in 2014, more than 30 randomized controlled trials on vitamin D and bone health have been published, nearly doubling the evidence base available. Our meta-analysis finds that vitamin D does not prevent fractures, falls or improve bone mineral density, whether at high or low dose.”

After analyzing the 81 trials, they found little evidence that vitamin D supplements prevent fractures or falls to significant extents, or significantly improve bone mineral density — even when the daily doses provided to participants reached 800 IU or more.

However, 800 IU is not a particularly high daily dose. The conservative U.S. RDA for children and adults is 600 IU, while leading vitamin D researchers recommend taking between 1,000 and 4,000 IU daily.

Specifically, the Kiwi-Scottish team found no clinically significant effect — defined as a 15% reduction in risk or greater — of vitamin D on total fractures, hip fractures, or falls.

Nor did the evidence reviewers found any effect of vitamin D at lower benefit-thresholds: a 7.5% reduction in the risk of falls and a 5% reduction in the risk of any fractures.

The evidence did show small bone-density gains in the lumbar spine, femoral (upper leg bone) "neck", and elsewhere in the body — but again, none of these gains were deemed clinically relevant.

Most of the trials (91%) covered by the review reported that supplementation achieved vitamin D blood levels of 50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL) — which the U.S. IOM considers barely adequate — while only about half reported achieving levels of 75 nmol/L (30 ng/mL) or more, which are generally considered adequate, but not optimal.

Official review saw bone benefit from vitamin D + calcium
A Tufts University team working on behalf of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found significant evidence that — in combination with calcium — supplemental vitamin D can reduce the risk of fractures in people who don’t get enough sun exposure, such as older adults in institutional settings.

As they reported, “Combined vitamin D and calcium supplementation can reduce fracture risk, but the effects may be smaller among community-dwelling older adults than among institutionalized elderly persons.” (Chung M et al. 2011)

Recent study found vitamin D can repair damaged cardiovascular tissue
Earlier this year, Ohio University scientists discovered that vitamin D can help restore damage to the cardiovascular system.

Their study shows that vitamin D3 can significantly restore damage to the cardiovascular system caused by hypertension, diabetes, or atherosclerosis, while also reducing the risk of heart attack.

That conclusion is supported by the findings from several studies. For example, see Vitamin D Heart-Health Link Affirmed, Vitamin D Lack Raises Heart-Death Risk, and Vitamin D Clinical Trial Detects Anti-Diabetes Benefits, which provide links to related reports.

Vitamin D3 is the optimally beneficial form, which the body makes in response to sun exposure, and for which wild salmon are the best food sources, by far (see Wild Salmon Beats Farmed for Vitamin D, Again.) Some supplements and a few plant foods, especially mushrooms, contain a form called vitamin D2, which isn’t as beneficial.

As lead author Dr. Tadeusz Malinski, M.D., said, “Generally, vitamin D3 is associated with the bones. However … many patients who have a heart attack will have a deficiency of D3. It doesn't mean that the deficiency caused the heart attack, but it increased the risk of heart attack. We used nano-sensors to see why vitamin D3 can be beneficial, especially for the function and restoration of the cardiovascular system.”

He and his team discovered that vitamin D3 powerfully stimulates production of nitric oxide (NO), which is a major signaling molecule in the regulation of blood flow and the prevention of dangerous arterial clots. They also found that vitamin D3 significantly reduces the level of oxidative stress (from an excess of free radicals) in the cardiovascular system.

Dr. Malinski made an important point: “There are not many, if any, known systems which can be used to restore cardiovascular endothelial cells which are already damaged, and vitamin D3 can do it. This is a very inexpensive solution to repair the cardiovascular system. We don't have to develop a new drug. We already have it.”

Because damage to cardiovascular tissues can go unnoticed for long periods of time, it seems wise to maintain abundant blood levels of vitamin D3.

Other reviews tie vitamin D to reduced death and fracture risk
Focusing on the bone-health effects of vitamin D can easily distract attention from the hormone-like nutrient’s broad effects in the body.

Four evidence reviews published from 2007 to 2014 found evidence that supplemental vitamin D may reduce the risk of death from cancer and other causes:

  • “The data suggest that supplementation of vitamin D is effective in preventing overall mortality in a long-term treatment, whereas it is not significantly effective in a treatment duration shorter than 3 years.” (Zheng Y et al. 2013)
  • “Over 2-7 years of duration, vitamin D supplementation (400-1100 IU per day) had little effect on total cancer incidence … but significantly reduced total cancer mortality.” (Keum N et al. 2014)
  • “Intake of ordinary doses of vitamin D supplements seems to be associated with decreases in total mortality rates.” (Autier P et al. 2007)
  • “Evidence from observational studies indicates inverse associations of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D with risks of death due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other causes. Supplementation with vitamin D3 significantly reduces overall mortality among older adults.” (Chowdhury R et al. 2014)

Given the substantial evidence that vitamin D enhances heart and metabolic health and may reduce the risk of death from cancer and other causes, it doesn’t make sense for media reports — or physicians who should know better — to suggest tossing your vitamin D supplements.

Sources

  • Autier P, Gandini S. Vitamin D supplementation and total mortality: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Arch Intern Med. 2007 Sep 10;167(16):1730-7. Review.
  • Bolland MJ, Grey A, Avenell A. Effects of vitamin D supplementation on musculoskeletal health: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and trial sequential analysis. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2018 Oct 4. pii: S2213-8587(18)30265-1. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(18)30265-1.
  • Chowdhury R, Kunutsor S, Vitezova A, Oliver-Williams C, Chowdhury S, Kiefte-de-Jong JC, Khan H, Baena CP, Prabhakaran D, Hoshen MB, Feldman BS, Pan A, Johnson L, Crowe F, Hu FB, Franco OH. Vitamin D and risk of cause specific death: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational cohort and randomised intervention studies. BMJ. 2014 Apr 1;348:g1903. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g1903. Review.
  • Chung M, Lee J, Terasawa T, Lau J, Trikalinos TA. Vitamin D with or without calcium supplementation for prevention of cancer and fractures: an updated meta-analysis for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2011 Dec 20;155(12):827-38. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-155-12-201112200-00005. Review.
  • Keum N, Giovannucci E. Vitamin D supplements and cancer incidence and mortality: a meta-analysis. Br J Cancer. 2014 Aug 26;111(5):976-80. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2014.294. Epub 2014 Jun 10.
  • Zheng Y, Zhu J, Zhou M, Cui L, Yao W, Liu Y. Meta-analysis of long-term vitamin D supplementation on overall mortality. PLoS One. 2013 Dec 3;8(12):e82109. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082109. eCollection 2013.

Article courtesy of and posted on the Vital Choice website

Article posted by Jeffrey Sloe

Jeffrey Sloe

How Best to Fuel Your Body After a WorkoutHow Best to Fuel Your Body After a Workout

How Best to Fuel Your Body After a Workout

Posted 8/6/2018 by UHBlog

Learn how to recover from a hard workout by fueling your body correctly. We can help.

All athletes know two things to be true: There’s nothing better than a post-workout high, and, after you sweat, you’re ready for a good meal.

If you want to make the most of your time off the field, your game plan should include high-performance foods, says registered dietitian nutritionist and board-certified sports dietitian Amy Jamieson-Petonic.
 

“Post-game nutrition promotes recovery and your ability to get back in the game faster,” she says.

Fuel Up First

First, you want to make sure your body is fueled for the workout.

“The goals of a pre-event meal are to top off your glycogen stores and to build and repair muscle tissue, Ms. Jamieson-Petonic says. “Make sure these meals are low in fat and fiber so you don’t have gastrointestinal distress.”

The meal should be eaten three to four hours prior to your activity. Then, 30 to 60 minutes before the event, have a lighter snack, such as a piece of fruit or sports bar and a sports drink or water.

Eat to Replenish

After the workout, your nutritional recovery should happen within 15 to 60 minutes post-exercise. Keep in mind the following steps:

  1. Restore fluids and electrolytes.
  2. Replace muscle fuel (meaning carbohydrates).
  3. Provide protein to repair/stimulate new tissue development.

“During exercise, you lose nutrients and fluid, so it’s important to replace them,” Ms. Jamieson-Petonic says. “Make sure to take in fluid and eat approximately 200 to 300 calories within the first two hours following exercise, and then continue to refuel from there.”

Some ideas of appropriate recovery meals include:

  • Graham crackers with peanut butter, a banana, and low-fat chocolate milk
  • Rice bowl with beans, cheese, salsa, avocado and whole-wheat tortilla chips
  • Whole-wheat pita with turkey, veggies, pretzels and low-fat milk
  • Stir fry with lean steak, broccoli, peppers, carrots and brown rice

Amy Jamieson-Petonic, M.Ed., RDN, CSSD, LD is a registered dietitian nutritionist and board-certified sports dietitian at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. You can request an appointment with Jamieson-Petonic or any other healthcare professional online.

The article was posted on the University Hospitals Blog

Markethive Blog Blog post by Jeffrey Sloe 

NOTE: My personal comments: I don't always have the time and/or the proper groceries in the house, so it's not always easy to prepare and eat a recovery meal. However, I always have a supply of Essential Ammino Acids supplements, which helps me to maintain my strength, alnog with the repairing and building of muscle tissue.

 

Jeffrey Sloe

Why You’re Always Saying: I’ll Get to It TomorrowWhy You’re Always Saying: I’ll Get to It Tomorrow

Why You’re Always Saying: I’ll Get to It Tomorrow

Posted 8/29/2018 by UHBlog

Chronic procrastination may be behind your muscle fatigue. Don't put off asking us how to get your tasks and health back on track.

The legal brief must be filed at week's end, but you decide to hit the links today. A few days later, you pledge to work from home while tending to a sick child, but watch a Seinfeld TV marathon instead. Upon returning to the office, you spend hours scrolling through emails when the realization strikes: The brief is due tomorrow.

Everybody procrastinates to some extent, says clinical psychologist Jennifer Levin, PhD, but some people have more of a chronic problem with it.

Consider these facts: A DePaul University researcher found that 20 percent of people are chronic procrastinators, while a study at Bishop's University in Quebec discovered a correlation between chronic procrastination and high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Other evidence shows that delaying duties can also lead to ; 

  • Stress and anxiety
  • Fatigue
  • Poor sleep
  • Muscle tension
  • Headaches
  • Emotional issues
  • Absenteeism from work

Why it happens

Dr. Levin says reasons for procrastinating are unique to each individual, but may include:

  • Boredom with a task
  • Anxiety about the ability to complete a task
  • Desire to do other things that bring instant gratification, such as checking social media
  • More serious emotional concerns, such as depression

“It's essentially avoidance,” she says. “Although it feels good in the very short term, your anxiety goes up and gets much bigger as the deadline gets closer. The task hasn't changed, but you have less time to do it and it causes stress.”

Procrastination has impact

There are consequences to putting off thing, Dr. Levin says. This can include coworkers having to do the work for you or getting upset with you because you're not meeting deadlines, Dr. Levin says.

This, in turn, can lead to employees developing physical issues, missing work and worrying about the security of their job. Their employers may see increasing insurance claims and premiums and lower productivity.

Some people who procrastinate at work may also put off taking care of their health. They may not eat a balanced diet, exercise or get necessary medical screenings.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to combat procrastination, but some that Dr. Levin recommends are:

  • Divide projects into small tasks and set a deadline for each phase.
  • Follow the Premack Principle: No prize before completing a hard task. If you enjoy checking emails, but detest assembling the PowerPoint presentation for tomorrow's meeting, don't allow yourself to look at your inbox until you complete a set number of sections of the presentation. If you're a manager, consider granting your team a half-day vacation if they finish a project early and proficiently.
  • Dig in immediately. If you procrastinate because you fear not being up to the task, getting started might boost your confidence. If you run into problems, you'll still have time to seek help.
  • Download a smartphone app to help you stay on track such as the Pacifica app, which can help with goal-setting and stress reduction.

If these strategies don't work, talk to your doctor because an anxiety disorder or depression may be the culprit, she says.

Jennifer Levin, PhD is a clinical psychologist at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and UH Psychiatry in Beachwood and associate professor of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. You can request an appointment with Dr. Levin or any other doctor online; use link below.

Article courtesy of the University Hospital's Blog

Link to Jennifer Levin, PhD

Posted by: Jeffrey Sloe

Jeffrey Sloe

Omega-3s from Fish Linked to Healthier AgingOmega-3s from Fish Linked to Healthier Aging

Omega-3s from Fish Linked to Healthier Aging

22-year study tied higher omega-3 blood levels to better health outcomes

11/01/2018     By Craig Weatherby

Harvard researchers once estimated that the average American’s lack of omega-3 fatty acids from seafood could cause up to 96,000 premature deaths annually in this country.

Out of a dozen dietary, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors, the Harvard team ranked low omega-3 intakes as the sixth most dangerous risk factor for premature death (Danaei G et al. 2009).

In fact, they ranked low omega-3 intake as a bigger risk factor than high intake of trans fatty acids, also known as trans fats. To learn more, see Omega-3 Deficiency May Cause 90,000-Plus Deaths Annually.

Now, the results of an extraordinarily long, reliable study link higher omega-3 blood levels to healthier aging, by reducing the risks for diseases known to cripple or kill people as they grow older.

New study links higher omega-3 blood levels to healthier aging

For the study, Tufts University researchers lead colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh, the universities of Texas, Washington, New Mexico, and Oregon, and more.

The team, led by Heidi Lai of Tufts, looked for any links between blood levels of specific omega-3 fatty acids — three from seafood plus one found only in plants — and healthy aging (Lai HT et al. 2018).

Their analysis was based on blood test and health data gathered from 2,622 adults who’d taken part in the U.S. Cardiovascular Health study from 1992 to 2015.

Among the volunteers — whose average age was 74 years — 63% were women and 11% were from non-white ethnic groups.

At the outset of the original Cardiovascular Health study, the researchers conducting that investigation measured the participants’ blood levels of various omega-3 fats, whose levels were measured again six and 13 years later.

The blood tests measured four different omega-3 fats — EPA, DHA, and DPA from seafood, and ALA from plant foods — whose differences we describe under “Important distinctions among omega-3s”, below.

Based on those measurements, the participants were divided into five groups (quintiles), based on omega-3 levels that ranged from lowest to highest.

After reviewing the participants’ medical records, the researchers found that 89% experienced unhealthy aging over the study period, while 11% experienced healthy aging — which was defined as being free of major chronic diseases and mental or physical dysfunctions.

Comparison of each participants’ omega-3 blood levels to their health status revealed that those with the highest levels of seafood-derived omega-3 EPA were 24% less likely to experience unhealthy aging, compared to those the lowest EPA levels.

In addition, the participants who fell into the top three quintiles of seafood-derived DPA blood levels were 18-21% less likely to experience unhealthy aging.

Surprisingly, neither seafood-derived DHA nor plant-derived ALA were associated with healthier aging.

The authors said that the link between high EPA levels and low risk for unhealthy aging might relate to EPA’s role in regulating blood pressure, heart rate, and inflammation.

However, DHA also plays a key role in regulating inflammation, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, dementia, and other conditions associated with aging — which makes the lack of a link between DHA and healthy aging very surprising.

It’s important to note that this was an observational study, and as such doesn't allow any firm conclusions about a cause-effect relationship between omega-3 levels and health outcomes.

And although the results of the analysis were adjusted to account for the known health effects of various social, economic, and lifestyle factors, some of the observed links between omega-3 levels and health risks might be related to other, unmeasured factors.

That said, the study was unusually long (up to 22 years of monitoring), and relied on blood tests, rather than mere estimates of omega-3 intakes based on diet questionnaires.

When all was said and done, the researchers’ analysis linked higher blood levels of omega-3s from seafood — EPA and DPA — to a lower risk of unhealthy aging.

As they wrote, “These findings … support guidelines [that call] for increased dietary consumption of fish among older adults.”

We’d add that the findings also support higher consumption of fish amongst people of all ages, because it takes decades for diseases to develop, and it makes no sense to wait.

New findings fit with those of prior studies

In addition to the 2009 Harvard study described at the beginning of this article, two similar ones verify the anti-aging benefits of omega-3s from seafood.

Five years ago, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health linked higher omega-3 blood levels to reduced risk of death from any cause — especially deaths from coronary heart disease — in older adults (Mozaffarian D et al. 2013).

That same year, a separate study from the Harvard School of Public Health linked higher blood levels of omega-3 DHA and EPA — but not higher levels of omega-3 ALA or omega-6 fatty acids — to reduced risk for cardiovascular disease (de Oliveira Otto MC et al. 2013).

The findings of that second study undermine persistent advice to replace animal fats like butter and lard with vegetable oils, without making important distinctions among various vegetable oils.

Unfortunately, most of the cheap vegetable oils consumed in the US are very high in omega-6 fatty acids — a fact that explains America’s extremely excessive, hence pro-inflammatory, intake of omega-6 fats.

Rather than corn, soy, safflower, and sunflower oils, which are very high in omega-6 fats, it’s better to choose oils that are high in monounsaturated oleic acid and/or omega-3 ALA.

The best choices are extra-virgin olive oil, high-oleic sunflower oil, macadamia nut oil, and canola oil (look for non-GMO canola).

Important distinctions among omega-3s

Seafood is the only good source of EPA, DHA and DPA, while considerably smaller amounts of ALA are found in certain plant foods — especially leafy green vegetables, walnuts, and flax seeds or flaxseed oil.

Omega-3 DHA and EPA are both essential to immune function — especially inflammation control — while DHA is essential to brain and eye function and child development.

Our bodies can only convert very small proportions — one to 10% — of dietary ALA into EPA and can only turn small proportions of that EPA into DHA.

That limitation explains why it’s a very good idea to either eat ample amounts of seafood — especially fatty species like salmon and sardines — or take supplemental fish or krill oil.

While ALA is modestly healthful, studies don’t find it nearly as beneficial as DHA or EPA, which are the only omega-3s the human body requires to survive and thrive.

In fact, virtually all dietary ALA that isn’t used to make EPA and DHA gets “burned” as fuel.

Sources

  • Danaei G, Ding EL, Mozaffarian D, Taylor B, Rehm J, Murray CJ, Ezzati M. The preventable causes of death in the United States: comparative risk assessment of dietary, lifestyle, and metabolic risk factors. PLoS Med. 2009 Apr 28;6(4):e1000058. Epub 2009 Apr 28.
  • de Oliveira Otto MC, Wu JH, Baylin A, Vaidya D, Rich SS, Tsai MY, Jacobs DR Jr, Mozaffarian D. Circulating and dietary omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and incidence of CVD in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. J Am Heart Assoc. 2013 Dec 18;2(6):e000506. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.113.000506.
  • Lai HT, de Oliveira Otto MC, Lemaitre RN, McKnight B, Song X, King IB, Chaves PH, Odden MC, Newman AB, Siscovick DS, Mozaffarian D. Serial circulating omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and healthy ageing among older adults in the Cardiovascular Health Study: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2018 Oct 17;363:k4067. doi: 10.1136/bmj.k4067. Erratum in: BMJ. 2018 Oct 23;363:k4445.
  • Mozaffarian D, Lemaitre RN, King IB, Song X, Huang H, Sacks FM, Rimm EB, Wang M, Siscovick DS. Plasma phospholipid long-chain ω-3 fatty acids and total and cause-specific mortality in older adults: a cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2013 Apr 2;158(7):515-25. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-158-7-201304020-00003.
  • Zhu Y, Ferrara A, Forman MR. Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and healthy ageing. BMJ. 2018 Oct 17;363:k4263. doi: 10.1136/bmj.k4263

Original article posted on Vital Choice's website

Article posted by Jeffrey Sloe

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