As per the famous Chinese proverb:
“If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day — go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.”
August 28th is National Thoughtful Day. It is a day to check in with yourself and see what you have been doing to spread thoughtfulness and joy to others and in the process to yourself as well.
It may be hard to eat “real food” for a multitude of reasons, be it time, cost, busy schedule etc. Nevertheless, our goal should be to eat as much real food as we possibly can.
Per UCSF “Healthy Diet with Less Sugar Is Linked to Younger Biological Age”.
“Researchers at UC San Francisco have found a link between following a diet that is rich in vitamins and minerals, especially one without much added sugar, and having a younger biological age at the cellular level.
They looked at how three different measures of healthy eating affected an “epigenetic clock” – a biochemical test that can approximate both health and lifespan – and found that the better people ate, the younger their cells looked. Even when people ate healthy diets, each gram of added sugar they consumed was associated with an increase in their epigenetic age.
For the cross-sectional study, researchers analyzed food records from 342 Black and white women with a mean age of 39 years from Northern California. Then, they compared their diets with epigenetic clock measures, which were derived from saliva samples.
Researchers scored the women’s diets to see how they compared to a Mediterranean-style diet rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods and then to a diet linked to lower risk for chronic disease.
Finally, they scored the women’s diets against a measure they created called the “Epigenetic Nutrient Index (ENI),” which is based on nutrients (not foods) that have been linked to anti-oxidative or anti-inflammatory processes and DNA maintenance and repair. These include Vitamins A, C, B12 and E, folate, selenium, magnesium, dietary fiber and isoflavones.
Adherence to any of the diets was significantly associated with lower epigenetic age, with the Mediterranean diet having the strongest association.
The researchers examined sugar intake separately and found that consuming foods with added sugar was associated with accelerated biological aging, even in the presence of an otherwise healthy diet."
The American Heart Association suggests that women consume no more than 100 calories (about 6 teaspoons or 24 grams) and men no more than 150 calories (about 9 teaspoons or 36 grams) of added sugar per day. With added sugar in much of every day foods we consume, it is not too hard to go way beyond that. The mediterranean diet has many health benefits which study after study continues to show us.
This study in JAMA Network Open gives us yet another reason to look at ways to limit added sugar and work on eating more healthier and nutritious foods.
Per Philippa Roxby & Elena Bailey, in BBC News “Two new dementia risks identified by major report”.
“Treating failing eyesight and high cholesterol are two new ways to lower the risk of dementia developing, a major report suggests.
Scientists have now identified 14 health issues which, if reduced or eliminated, could theoretically prevent nearly half of dementias in the world.
Most of the reason why we get dementia is down to things we cannot control, such as the genes we inherit from our parents and grandparents.
But 45% of our risk can be changed, according to international experts in the field, and can therefore be reduced."
The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care published a report on July 31, 2024 with recommendations to reduce dementia risk in the world. While we can’t change our genes, we can definitely work on reducing our other risk factors.
Photo by Shadi
Our bodies are made up of 60% of water. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day is important and even more so in the summer when it is easy to become dehydrated. Fruits and vegetables provide hydration in addition to nutrients and fiber.
Here are some foods to stock up on in the summer:
Incorporate theses foods in your meals…be it in salads, smoothies, side dish, main meal, or as snacks.
Per Deidre McPhillips, in CNN.com “Nearly half of adult cancer deaths in the US could be prevented by making lifestyle changes, study finds”.
“About 40% of new cancer cases among adults ages 30 and older in the United States — and nearly half of deaths — could be attributed to preventable risk factors, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society.
Smoking was the leading risk factor by far, the study found, contributing to nearly 1 in 5 cancer cases and nearly a third of cancer deaths. Other key risk factors included excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, diet and infections such as HPV.
Another recent study found that the risk for certain cancers was significantly reduced for people taking popular weight-loss and diabetes medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy.
As rates of early-onset cancer rise in the US, it’s especially important to create healthy habits early, experts say. It’s harder to quit smoking once you’ve started or lose weight that you’ve gained.
And making lifestyle changes to minimize exposure to certain factors can reduce cancer risk relatively quickly, experts say."
Prevention is the key but it is never too late to start working on decreasing your risk factors.
Per Linda Carroll, in NBC News “Drinking on a plane may be bad for your heart, new research suggests”.
“If you enjoy having a glass of wine or a cocktail before dozing off during long airplane flights, you might want to reconsider it, a new study suggests.
A series of lab experiments discovered that when people fall asleep after consuming alcohol at the low air pressures typically experienced during airline flights, blood oxygen drops to worrisome levels and heart rates increase even in those who are healthy and young, according to the report published in the journal Thorax.
Even when we don’t drink, commercial flying can be taxing for the body. Dry cabin air can cause dehydration and being immobile in cramped seats for hours can sometimes trigger blood clots in the legs. At cruising altitude, cabin pressure is set to what would be experienced between 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level, which can contribute to lower oxygen saturation in the blood. As air pressure decreases the amount of oxygen a person takes in with each breath also declines, according to the National Institutes of Health.
For the study, 48 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 40 were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Half would go to a sleep lab that had air pressure at sea level, while the other half would sleep in an altitude chamber that mimicked the air pressure found on planes traveling at cruising altitude.
Twelve people in each group slept for four hours after having consumed the equivalent of two cans of beer or two glasses of wine, while the other 12 slept after consuming no alcohol. After a break of two days, the procedure was reversed, so that those who had consumed alcohol before sleeping now slept with no alcohol on board and vice versa.
People who drank before falling asleep in the altitude chamber on average had their blood oxygen saturation drop to 85%, while their heart rates rose to compensate for the lower oxygen levels to an average of nearly 88 beats per minute.
That’s compared to a blood oxygen saturation drop to 95% and a heart rate rise to 77 beats per minute in those who consumed alcohol at sea level before falling asleep."
This study consisted of healthy individuals and showed these results. It would be worthwile to see what happens in the elderly and patients with underlying health conditions such as chornic lung disease and heart disease. This just adds another reason not to drink and fly.
Per Dennis Thompson, in U.S. News & World Report “Lifestyle Changes May Slow or Prevent Alzheimer’s in People at High Risk”.
“New research shows that a set of healthy lifestyle habits can help preserve brain function in folks with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia.
About 71% of patients who ate healthy, exercised regularly and engaged in stress management had their dementia symptoms either remain stable or improve without the use of any drugs, researchers reported June 7 in the journal Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy.
By comparison, about 68% of patients in a control group without these lifestyle changes experienced a worsening of their symptoms, results show.
Researchers also found that the more patients changed their lives in healthy ways and stuck to those changes, the greater the benefit for their brain power.
For the study, researchers recruited 51 people with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or early dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. They were randomly assigned to either the lifestyle change group or a control group.
The people in the lifestyle change group participated in an intensive program with four components:
- A whole-foods, plant-based diet low in harmful fats, refined carbs, alcohol and sweeteners.
- Moderate aerobic exercise and strength training at least a half-hour each day.
- Stress management, including meditation, stretching, breathing and guided imagery, for one hour a day.
- Support groups for patients and their partners for one hour three times a week.
Results after 20 weeks showed significant differences in the lifestyle group versus the control group, both in brain function and in blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer’s like the protein amyloid."
Although this was a study with a small group, the results are hopeful and positive results were seen in just 20 weeks. These same changes may have a role in the prevention of cognitive impairment… so a little more reason to eat well, exercise, and stress less.
Photo by Diana Polekhina
Being skinny does not always mean being healthy. Skinny fat or normal weight obesity refers to those that have a normal weight and BMI for their height but have a high percentage of body fat and not enough muscle mass.
Per Bronwyn Thompson, in NEW ATLAS “World-first tooth-regrowing drug will be given to humans in September”.
“The world’s first human trial of a drug that can regenerate teeth will begin in a few months, less than a year on from news of its success in animals. This paves the way for the medicine to be commercially available as early as 2030.
The trial, which will take place at Kyoto University Hospital from September to August 2025, will treat 30 males aged 30-64 who are missing at least one molar. The intravenous treatment will be tested for its efficacy on human dentition, after it successfully grew new teeth in ferret and mouse models with no significant side effects.
Following this 11-month first stage, the researchers will then trial the drug on patients aged 2-7 who are missing at least four teeth due to congenital tooth deficiency, which is estimated to affect 1% of people.
Researchers are then looking at expanding the trial to those with partial edentulism, or people missing one to five permanent teeth due to environmental factors. The incidence of this varies from country to country, but it’s estimated around 5% of Americans are missing teeth, with a much higher incidence among older adults.
The medicine itself deactivates the uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1) protein, which suppresses tooth growth….. blocking USAG-1’s interaction with other proteins encourages bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, which triggers new bone to generate."
This could provide promise to people of all ages and could provide an alternative to implants and dentures.