Health News 2

An apple a day...

IN THIS ISSUE:

• An Apple a Day ...
• Avoid Inflamation to Minimize Alzheimer's Risk
• More Life After 50

An Apple a Day …

A new study by the Athens Medical School in Greece shows that aortic flexibility and blood flow improved when 17 "young, healthy volunteers" ate about four ounces of dark chocolate over a 3-hour period. A similar dark chocolate praise was reported by another study last year.

The truth in the matter however, is that the cardio benefits of chocolate are almost certainly the work of flavanoids, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory chemicals that give fruits and vegetables their colour. So skip the chocolate bar and go with an apple instead – your teeth will love it, too.

And if you’re a diabetic and follow the Low Glycaemic nutritional approach to keeping the blood sugar down, apples are by far the preferred choice fruit for diabetics. (For more information about the Low Glycaemic approach, read The G.I. Factor: The Glucose Revolution, by Dr Jennie Brand Miller, Kaye Foster-Powell, Dr Stephen Colagiuri and Dr Anthony Leeds. Visit www.usyd.edu.au or www.hha.com.au.)

To learn more about Glycemic Index, visit http://www.glycemicindex.com/ .

For those who might prefer grapes: a recent study offers evidence that the flavanoid content of certain grapes may inhibit an enzyme that helps cancer cells multiply.

(Source: Health Sciences Institute)

Avoid Inflammation to Minimize Alzheimer’s Risk

Speaking of teeth: The recent findings suggest that brushing your teeth regularly could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s later in life.

About 40 years ago, 10,000 sets of twins enrolled into Swedish Twin Registry. They completed questionnaires that included detailed dental data. Last month researchers gathered in Washington, D.C., for the first Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Prevention of Dementia. The University of California (USC) team, in conjunction with researchers from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, found 109 instances where one twin was diagnosed with dementia and the other wasn’t. Those with Alzheimer’s were four times more likely to have developed periodontal disease in middle age compared to their twins.

This study, however, doesn’t translate into the simplistic advice that flossing may prevent Alzheimer’s. Rather, according to Margaret Gatz – the lead author of the study and a psychology professor at USC – the results indicate that an "inflammatory burden" on the body may play a significant role in triggering the genetic inclination to develop Alzheimer’s.

Brushing and flossing teeth daily will help prevent gum disease. But there’s something else you can do to keep inflammation at bay. A number of different studies have confirmed that low doses of vitamin D supplements lowered the levels of inflammatory markers, including C-reactive proteins, in critically ill patients. A moderate amount of sun exposure each day prompts your body to produce vitamin D. This is the best source of vitamin D, but it’s also available in salmon, sardines and cod liver oil, which provides more than 1,300 IU of vitamin D per tablespoon.

(Source: Health Sciences Institute)

More Life After 50

Blood pressure check

Data from 3,128 subjects in the Framingham Heart Study who had their 50^th birthday was analyzed. Twenty-two percent of the men in the study had normal blood pressure at the age of 50, and this group survived on average 7.2 years longer without cardiovascular disease. Similar findings were observed among women.

Research collaborator Dr Anna Peters, of the Monash University Central and Eastern Clinical School in Melbourne, Australia, summarized: "What is really surprising is the unexpectedly large number of years difference in life expectancy between those with hypertension and those without. And while those with lower blood pressure lived longer, they also lived healthier lives. So, by preventing hypertension you would have a much higher life expectancy and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease."

(Source: Life Extension Foundation)

Newsletters archive

Health News 1 Health News 2 Health News 3 Health News 4 Health News 5

Health News 6 Health News 7 Health News 8 Health News 9