Diet
Another Sweet Saturday – 09.17.22
Our 1-year RCT indicated that a lifestyle intervention program can be highly successful in older adults with diabetes and chronic comorbidities. In this specific population, lifestyle intervention not only improved glycemic control associated with improved insulin action and secretion but also improved age-relevant outcomes such as body composition, physical function, and quality of life.
Alessandra Celli, Yoann Barnouin, Bryan Jiang, Dean Blevins, Georgia Colleluori, Sanjay Mediwala, Reina Armamento-Villareal, Clifford Qualls, Dennis T. Villareal; Lifestyle Intervention Strategy to Treat Diabetes in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Diabetes Care 1 September 2022; 45 (9): 1943–1952. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc22-0338
From the periods 1988–1994 to 2017 to March 2020, there was an increase in the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes (from 4.6% to 11.7%), but no change in prevalence of persistent undiagnosed diabetes (from 2.23% to 2.53%) or confirmed undiagnosed diabetes (from 1.10% to 1.23%). Consequently, the proportion of all undiagnosed diabetes cases declined from 32.8% to 17.8% (persistent undiagnosed diabetes) and from 19.3% to 9.5% (confirmed undiagnosed diabetes). Undiagnosed diabetes was more prevalent in older and obese adults, racial/ethnic minorities, and those without health care access. Among persons with diabetes, Asian Americans and those without health care access had the highest proportion of undiagnosed cases, with rates ranging from 23% to 61%.
Michael Fang, Dan Wang, Josef Coresh, Elizabeth Selvin; Undiagnosed Diabetes in U.S. Adults: Prevalence and Trends. Diabetes Care 1 September 2022; 45 (9): 1994–2002. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc22-0242
Remember, Stay as Thin as You Can as Long as You Can.
Variation in cardiovascular disease risk factors among older adults in the Hunter Community Study cohort: A comparison of diet quality versus polygenic risk score — Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics Notes
The study of Reay and colleagues was an analysis of data from a subset (n=1703) of the Hunter Community Study cohort, comprising 3253 Australian men and women aged 55-85 at recruitment (between 2004 and 2007). Across the cohort there were 138 participants self-reporting that they suffered angina, 176 atrial fibrillation, 689 high cholesterol, 758 hypertension, 129 a heart attack and 164 an arterial bypass surgery. The CVD phenotypes data had a large number of missing data points (only 1678 subjects responding).
…the ARFS (Australian Recommended Food Score) data suggest that dietary quality was poor across the whole cohort. In the absence of a wide distribution of diet quality it is difficult to evaluate the relationship of diet with disease endpoints (i.e. without a lot of participants consuming a healthy diet it is impossible to detect the effects of a healthy diet on lipids and CVD outcomes)
Variation in cardiovascular disease risk factors among older adults in the Hunter Community Study cohort: A comparison of diet quality versus polygenic risk score — Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics Notes
Study shortcomings noted. I am still planning on stir fried veggies with brown rice and Thai sauce for dinner tonight despite not knowing my exact CVD genetic risk.
Dinner. (There’s a fried egg hiding on the bottom of the bowl).
Covid-19 and a Plant Based Diet
Okinawa, one of the blue zone regions, is highlighted due to its extreme longevity, plant-based diet, and now, the population’s resistance to COVID-19.
People in Okinawa, for example, consume a predominantly plant-based diet rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants… They also consume abundant green leafy vegetables and soy products, with minimal fat (about 6% of the total energy intake). In addition to their high life expectancy and low mortality from cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers, Okinawans have enjoyed a remarkable resistance to COVID-19 mortality. As of June 16, 2021, the COVID-19 mortality in Okinawa, Japan, was 0.08% (163 deaths out of 19,782 cases), which is one-sixteenth that of Tokyo (mortality rate 1.3%; 2183 deaths out of 167,416 cases).
Can a Plant-Based Diet Mitigate the Risk of Severe COVID-19? — https://www.bluezones.com/2022/02/can-a-plant-based-diet-mitigate-the-risk-of-severe-covid-19/#
Journal Reference: Kahleova, H., Barnard, N.D. Can a plant-based diet help mitigate Covid-19?. Eur J Clin Nutr 76, 911–912 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-022-01082-w
Microbial Link Between Western-style Diet and Colon Cancer Risk
Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital with collaborators looked at data from more than 134,000 participants from two U.S.-wide prospective cohort studies. The team analyzed dietary patterns as well as DNA from Escherichia coli strains found in more than 1,000 colorectal tumors. The team looked for bacterial strains carrying a distinct genetic island known as polyketide synthase (pks). Pks encodes an enzyme that has been shown to cause mutations in human cells. Overall, the team found that Western diet was associated with colorectal tumors containing high amounts of pks+ E. coli but not with tumors containing little to no amount of pks+ E. coli.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Microbial link between Western-style diet and incidence of colorectal cancer uncovered.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 June 2022. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220627124937.htm.
Childhood Obesity Impacts Midlife Cognition
A new study of the impact of childhood fitness and obesity on cognition in middle age, followed over 1200 people who were children in 1985 for over 30 years, has found that better performance on physical tests is related to better cognition later in life and may protect against dementia in later years.
Monash University. “30-year study links childhood obesity and fitness to midlife cognition.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220616121556.htm (accessed June 17, 2022)
We’re doomed.
Risks of an Expanding Waistline – Health Secrets of a SuperAger
Forty-four percent of U.S. adults 50 and over have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of interrelated health issues that increases risk for heart attack, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. It also raises the risk of poor immune function and severe disease due to viral infections. […]
Risks of an Expanding Waistline – Tufts — Health Secrets of a SuperAger
Thanks Tony.
READ THIS BOOK
Now that I have your attention…
“Some of the best evidence for the role of exercise in maintaining weight loss comes from the National Weight Control Registry, an online group of over ten thousand men and women who have lost at least thirty pounds and kept it off for at least a year. These folks defy the cynical view that meaningful, sustainable weight loss is impossible. The average Registry member has lost over sixty pounds and kept it off for more than four years. They are truly exceptional…Nearly all of them (98 percent) report changing their diet to lose weight, which makes sense given how diet can affect the reward and satiety systems in our brain and impact how much we eat.”
Pontzer, Herman. Burn (pp. 255-256). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
It took a while for me to find the manila folder hanging somewhere in one of my file drawers. Surprising because I have a lot less paper files gathering dust in hanging folders. I know it’s here but where? Ah, there it is… Desk 2 south of the tax files, north of my paper life insurance policies. I am participant number 8784.
The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) was established in 1994 by Rena Wing, Ph.D. from Brown Medical School and James O. Hill, Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. This study is the largest investigation of long-term successful weight loss maintenance. Few individuals succeed at long-term weight loss. The NWCR was developed to identify and investigate the characteristics of individuals who have succeeded at long-term weight loss. The NWCR is tracking over 10,000 individuals who have lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off for long periods of time. http://www.nwcr.ws/
I started sending data to this study in 2007. Most years I get one annual survey. Occasionally I’ve received and completed a number of smaller supplemental surveys. I am 8784 and have kept the weight off for nearly 50 years. Since the Great Melt of 1975 I’ve cycled between 163 and 205 pounds. For the past decade I carried 200-205 pounds on my 5.10 frame. During the first year of the pandemic I dropped 25 pounds (again). Currently I’m holding around 170.
I am exceptional but you can be exceptional too. 8784 signing out.
Diet Quality and Covid-19 Risk/Severity
Poor metabolic health and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors have been associated with higher risk and severity of COVID-19.
A dietary pattern characterized by healthy plant-based foods was associated with lower risk and severity of COVID-19.
We found evidence of a synergistic association of poor diet and increased socioeconomic deprivation with COVID-19 risk that was higher than the sum of the risk associated with each factor alone.
Merino J, Joshi AD, Nguyen LH, et al
Diet quality and risk and severity of COVID-19: a prospective cohort study
Gut 2021;70:2096-2104. — https://gut.bmj.com/content/70/11/2096
In six countries, plant-based diets or pescatarian diets were associated with lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19. These dietary patterns may be considered for protection against severe COVID-19 In 2884 front-line healthcare workers from six countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, USA), individuals who reported following plant-based diets and plant-based diets or pescatarian diets that were higher in vegetables, legumes and nuts, and lower in poultry and red and processed meats, had 73% and 59% lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19, respectively.
Kim H, Rebholz CM, Hegde S, et al. Plant-based diets, pescatarian diets and COVID-19 severity: a population-based case–control study in six countries
BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health 2021;4:doi: 10.1136/bmjnph-2021-000272 — https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/4/1/257
Eat your vegetables!
MIND Your Diet
MIND diet is associated with better cognitive functioning independently of brain pathology, suggesting that the MIND diet may contribute to cognitive resilience in older adults.
Dhana, Klodian et al. ‘MIND Diet, Common Brain Pathologies, and Cognition in Community-Dwelling Older Adults’. 1 Jan. 2021 : 683 – 692. — https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad210107
So, what is the MIND diet?
The traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern includes mainly whole, minimally processed plant foods including cereal grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and fish with small amounts of meat, milk, and dairy products and a regular modest amount of alcohol.4 The DASH diet emphasizes fruit, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and includes whole grains, poultry, fish, and nuts, and is reduced in fats, red meat, sweets, and sugar-containing beverages.4 Combining the two diets, the MIND diet emphasizes natural, plant-based foods, specifically promoting an increase in the consumption of berries and green leafy vegetables, with limited intakes of animal-based and high saturated fat foods.
What Are the Components to the MIND Diet? — https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(15)01251-4/fulltext
I became aware of the MIND diet earlier this year. It’s nice to know my dietary pattern has a name.
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