Quote of the Day: Jim Gaffigan on Contaminated Fish

Posted on March 10, 2013 | Comments Off on Quote of the Day: Jim Gaffigan on Contaminated Fish

Has anyone even bothered to ask why the tuna are eating mercury?

—Jim Gaffigan

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Your Expensive Heart Drug May Be a Waste of Money

Posted on March 9, 2013 | 1 comment

…according to an article at MedPageToday.  Specific brands of extended-release niacin and fibrates are mentioned, among others.  I particularly like this quote of Dr. James Stein:

“So at least $4.5 billion was spent on drugs with uncertain benefit and known risks,” Stein said. “I’d much rather these patients focus on exercising and eating a healthy, Mediterranean-based diet, which has been proved to reduce heart attacks and strokes, than spending money on these agents.”

It’s a good idea to talk to the prescribing physician before stopping any of your drugs. 

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Does Diet Affect Age-Related Memory Loss and Dementia Risk?

Posted on March 9, 2013 | Comments Off on Does Diet Affect Age-Related Memory Loss and Dementia Risk?
dementia, memory loss, Mediterranean diet, low-carb diet, glycemic index, dementia memory loss

Don’t wait to take action until it’s too late

High blood insulin levels and insulin resistance promote age-related degeneration of the brain, leading to memory loss and dementia according to Robert Krikorian, Ph.D.  He’s a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center.  He has an article in a recent issue of Current Psychiatry – Online.

Proper insulin signaling in the brain is important for healthy functioning of our brains’ memory centers.  This signaling breaks down in the setting of insulin resistance and the associated high insulin levels.  Dr. Krikorian makes much of the fact that high insulin levels and insulin resistance are closely tied to obesity.  He writes that:

Waist circumference of ≥100 cm (39 inches) is a sensitive, specific, and independent predictor of hyperinsulinemia for men and women and a stronger predictor than body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and other measures of body fat.

Take-Home Points

Dr. Krikorian thinks that dietary approaches to the prevention of dementia are effective yet underutilized.  He mentions reduction of insulin levels by restricting calories or a ketogenic diet: they’ve been linked with improved memory in middle-aged and older adults.

Dr. K suggests the following measures to prevent dementia and memory loss:

  • eliminate high-glycemic foods like processed carbohydrates and sweets
  • replace high-glycemic foods with fruits and vegetables (the higher polyphenol intake may help by itself)
  • certain polyphenols, such as those found in berries, may be particularly helpful in improving brain metabolic function
  • keep your waist size under 39 inches, or aim for that if you’re overweight

I must mention that many, perhaps most, dementia experts are not as confident  as Dr. Krikorian that these dietary changes are effective.  I think they are, to a degree.

The Mediterranean diet is high in fruits and vegetables and relatively low-glycemic.  It’s usually mentioned by experts as the diet that may prevent dementia and slow its progression.

Read the full article.

I’ve written before about how blood sugars in the upper normal range are linked to brain degeneration.  Dr. Krikorian’s recommendations would tend to keep blood sugar levels in the lower end of the normal range.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Speaking of dementia and ketogenic, have you ever heard of the Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet?  (Free condensed version here.)

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Do You Know How To Perfectly Poach an Egg?

Posted on March 9, 2013 | Comments Off on Do You Know How To Perfectly Poach an Egg?

I don’t – never even tried.  Darya Pino found a video showing how to do it with a fine mesh strainer.

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Israeli President Shimon Peres Eats a Mediterranean Diet

Posted on March 8, 2013 | Comments Off on Israeli President Shimon Peres Eats a Mediterranean Diet

Brief details are here.  Peres is 89, BTW.  He seems to prefer low-fat dairy when he eats dairy.  Probably no particular need for that unless you’re watching your weight (calories).

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Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., Disputes That Mediterranean Diet is the Best

Posted on March 8, 2013 | Comments Off on Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., Disputes That Mediterranean Diet is the Best

From his article at the Huffington Post: 

My own personal opinion is you could design a dozen diet studies showing the superiority of a dozen different diets (from Atkins to Ornish to the Zone) as long as you compare each of them to the crap we’re eating now.

Read the rest.

As for Dr. Bowden’s repeated claim that there’s no specific Mediterranean diet, here’s one!  It’s as specific as any other mainstream named diet out there.

 

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Fred Hahn Says Two Weekly Seesions of Weight Training Are Optimal

Posted on March 7, 2013 | Comments Off on Fred Hahn Says Two Weekly Seesions of Weight Training Are Optimal

…in general.  See his recent blog post.  A snippet:

 “…2 weekly training sessions produced significantly better gains in lean weight than one session a week (3lbs. vs. <1lbs.) and better losses in fat mass.  Note that three strength sessions a week did not produce better gains in lean tissue. More exercise is not always better!”

I’m not very familiar with Fred’s exercise ideas, but they sound similar to what I’m doing personally.

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For Low Back Pain, Walking Program May Be Just As Good As Clinic-Based Muscle Strengthening

Posted on March 7, 2013 | Comments Off on For Low Back Pain, Walking Program May Be Just As Good As Clinic-Based Muscle Strengthening

…according to an article at ScienceDaily.  Excerpt:

Dr. Michal Katz-Leurer of Tel Aviv University’s Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine says that a simple aerobic walking program is as effective in alleviating lower back pain as muscle strengthening programs that require specialized equipment in rehabilitation clinics. The program includes walking two to three times a week for a period of 20 to 40 minutes.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?  You know what they say about that.  Since back pain tends to flare and regress spontaneously, I wonder if an untreated control group would have improved like the two active intervention groups.

Click for Dr. Briffa’s view of the study.

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Why Does the U.S. Rank Poorly In Longevity?

Posted on March 7, 2013 | Comments Off on Why Does the U.S. Rank Poorly In Longevity?

In the news once again is the poor ranking of the U.S. in terms of longevity compared to other developed countries.  As always, this will spark discussion about what can be done to improve our ranking.

The New England Journal of Medicine in 2007 published an article looking at the determinants of premature death (and poor health, by implication).  Here are some quotations from the article:

  • Health is influenced by factors in five domains – genetics, social circumstances, environmental exposures, behavioral patterns, and health care. When it comes to reducing early deaths, medical care has a relatively minor role.  [These five domains are the article author’s determinants of premature death.]
  • Even if the entire U.S. population had access to excellent medical care – which it does not – only a small fraction of these [early] deaths could be prevented.
  • The United States spends more on health care than any other nation in the world, yet it ranks poorly on nearly every measure of health status.
  • . . . inadequate health care accounts for only 10% of premature deaths . . .
  • The single greatest opportunity to improve health and reduce premature deaths lies in personal behavior [emphasis added].  In fact, behavioral causes account for nearly 40% of all deaths in the United States.
  • Although there has been disagreement over the actual number of deaths that can be attributed to obesity and physical inactivity combined, it is clear that this pair of factors and smoking are the top two behavioral causes of premature death.
  • If the public’s health is to improve, however, that improvement is more likely to come from behavioral change than from technological innovation.

Parker here again.

Behavioral patterns cause 40% of poor health and premature death.  Since healthcare determines only 10% of health status and premature death, let’s focus our health-promotion attention on the other 90%—behavioral patterns, social circumstances, genetics, and environmental exposure.  Bigger bang for the buck.

Don’t we the people already know what to do to improve our health?  Execution is the problem.

We’re smart enough to solve this problem.  But are we too lazy and spineless?

Steve Parker, M.D.

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Posted in Healthcare Reform, Longevity

Exercise Isn’t Supposed To Be Fun

Posted on March 7, 2013 | Comments Off on Exercise Isn’t Supposed To Be Fun

MP900049602Melanie Thomassian’s recent blog post on physical activity reminded me of a Ken Hutchins essay called “Exercise vs Recreation.”

One of the key take-away points of the essay for me is that exercise isn’t supposed to be fun.  Ken wrote, “Do not try to make exercise enjoyable.”  Getting your teeth cleaned isn’t supposed to be fun, either.

Once I got that through my thick skull, it made it easier for me to slog through my  twice weekly workouts.  Another excerpt:

We accept that both exercise and recreation are important in the overall scheme of fitness, and they overlap to a great degree.  But to reap maximum benefits of both or either they must first be well-defined and then be segregated in practice.

Read the whole thing.

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