Whole grains one of the most important food groups for preventing type 2 diabetes

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

The proportion who developed type 2 diabetes was lowest in the group which reported the highest wholegrain consumption, and increased for each group which had eaten less wholegrain. In the group with the highest wholegrain intake, the diabetes risk was 34 percent lower for men, and 22 percent lower for women, than in the group with the lowest wholegrain intake.

“It is unusual to be able to investigate such a large range when it comes to how much wholegrain people eat,” says Rikard Landberg. “If you divided American participants into 4 groups, the group that ate the most wholegrain would be the same level as the group that ate the least wholegrain in Denmark. In Europe, Scandinavia eats the most, Spain and Italy the least.”

Additionally, the study was uncommonly large, with 55,000 participants, over a long time span — 15 years.

My source article is here and the study abstract can be found here.

 

Low Carb Diets Are Bad

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

This study prospectively examined the relationship between low carbohydrate diets, all-cause death, and deaths from coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease (including stroke), and cancer in a nationally representative sample of 24,825 participants of the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) during 1999 to 2010. Compared to participants with the highest carbohydrate consumption, those with the lowest intake had a 32% higher risk of all-cause death over an average 6.4-year follow-up. In addition, risks of death from coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and cancer were increased by 51%, 50%, and 35%, respectively.

The results were confirmed in a meta-analysis of seven prospective cohort studies with 447,506 participants and an average follow-up 15.6 years, which found 15%, 13%, and 8% increased risks in total, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality with low (compared to high) carbohydrate diets.

For the source article click this link.

 

 

Longer daily fasting times improve health and longevity (in mice)

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

The scientists randomly divided 292 male mice into two diet groups. One group received a naturally sourced diet that was lower in purified sugars and fat, and higher in protein and fiber than the other diet. The mice in each diet group were then divided into three sub-groups based on how often they had access to food. The first group of mice had access to food around the clock. A second group of mice was fed 30 percent less calories per day than the first group. The third group was meal fed, getting a single meal that added up to the exact number of calories as the round-the-clock group. Both the meal-fed and calorie-restricted mice learned to eat quickly when food was available, resulting in longer daily fasting periods for both groups.

The scientists tracked the mice’s metabolic health through their lifespans until their natural deaths and examined them post-mortem. Meal-fed and calorie-restricted mice showed improvements in overall health, as evidenced by delays in common age-related damage to the liver and other organs, and extended longevity. The calorie-restricted mice also showed significant improvement in fasting glucose and insulin levels compared to the other groups. Interestingly, the researchers found that diet composition had no significant impact on lifespan in the meal fed and calorie restricted groups.

Source article here.

One of my neighbors is a mouse researcher.  I bet he’s really excited this weekend.

The NIH webpage on caloric restriction and fasting diets is here.

A Population-Based Study of the Bidirectional Association Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Type 2 Diabetes in Three Prospective U.S. Cohorts

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

CONCLUSIONS –  OSA is independently associated with an increased risk of diabetes, whereas insulin-treated diabetes is independently associated with a higher risk of OSA, particularly in women. Clinical awareness of this bidirectional association may improve prevention and treatment of both diseases. Future research aimed at elucidating the mechanisms that underlie each association may identify novel intervention targets.

Access the study here.

Daily low-dose aspirin found to have no effect on healthy life span in older people

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

In the total study population, treatment with 100 mg of low-dose aspirin per day did not affect survival free of dementia or disability. Among the people randomly assigned to take aspirin, 90.3 percent remained alive at the end of the treatment without persistent physical disability or dementia, compared with 90.5 percent of those taking a placebo. Rates of physical disability were similar, and rates of dementia were almost identical in both groups.

For the full NIH news release click here.

The Myth of Super Foods

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

The successful selling of superfoods to the wealthy is creating an impression that premium foods and superfoods equal good health and that they are a necessary part of any effort to improve the healthiness of a diet.

Everything in the produce aisle is a superfood, the rest is just window dressing. We need to start there and insure everyone has access to these, the basics of a healthful diet.

A most interesting perspective on super faddish super foods.  The full article is worth reading and can be found here.

Yikes.

What the News Left Out About K2

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

As a psychiatrist, I have encountered countless individuals in the emergency room who come through and do not want help. “What K2? I don’t use that stuff.” They will deny it, laugh it off, or scoff at me. They threaten to commit suicide if I don’t let them stay the night, and demand extra sandwiches and clothes. These individuals have the ability to decipher their options.  If the person’s thinking suddenly clears and there is no sign of physical instability, he or she can just walk out the emergency room almost minutes after presenting. In the dead of night, I’ve had unconscious patients who wake up abruptly only to demand to leave. I have no choice but to discharge them “home” to no particular address, since none are listed.

Here’s the link to the full article.

 

Only two percent of teens read newspaper, one-third have not read book for pleasure in last year

/ SupremeCmdr / 1 Comment

“Think about how difficult it must be to read even five pages of an 800-page college textbook when you’ve been used to spending most of your time switching between one digital activity and another in a matter of seconds,” she added. “It really highlights the challenges students and faculty both face in the current era.”

My source article

My random thoughts:

  • ADHD
  • Bad parenting
  • Technology addiction
  • Social media is not social
  • Social media is evil
  • The slow agonizing death of newspapers
  • Colleges and universities will be challenged
  • Put the cellphone down and keep your hands where I can see them.

There is a link to the full study in the source article.