February 21, 2020 · 9:00 AM

Prevent Dementia With This Healthy Lifestyle

Yes, some cases of dementia are preventable. If you have a genetic predisposition to develop dementia, the deck is stacked against you. But it’s not hopeless. A healthy lifestyle will help you, too.

The research at hand was done in the UK and involved over 500,000 older adults of European ancestry, free of dementia and cognitive impairment at baseline.

So what are the healthy lifestyle characteristics linked to lower risk of dementia, whether you have genetic risk or not?

  • Physical activity
  • Not smoking
  • Healthy diet
  • Judicious alcohol consumption

Lifestyle details from the research report:

A healthy lifestyle score was constructed based on 4 well-established dementia risk factors (smoking status, physical activity, diet, and alcohol consumption) assessed at baseline using a touchscreen questionnaire. Participants scored 1 point for each of 4 healthy behaviors defined on the basis of national recommendations (full details in eTable 1 in Supplement 1). Smoking status was categorized as current or no current smoking. Regular physical activity was defined as meeting the American Heart Association recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week (or an equivalent combination) or engaging in moderate physical activity at least 5 days a week or vigorous activity once a week. Healthy diet was based on consumption of at least 4 of 7 commonly eaten food groups following recommendations on dietary priorities for cardiometabolic health, which are linked to better late-life cognition and reduced dementia risk. Previous studies of alcohol consumption and dementia risk support a U-shaped relationship, with moderate consumption associated with lower risk. Therefore, moderate consumption was defined as 0 to 14 g/d for women and 0 to 28 g/d for men, with the maximum limit reflecting US dietary guidelines.

Source: Association of Lifestyle and Genetic Risk With Incidence of Dementia | Dementia and Cognitive Impairment | JAMA | JAMA Network

What do they consider a healthy dementia-preventing diet? At least four of the following food groups and consumption levels:

  • Fruits: 3 or more servings a day
  • Veggies: 3 or more servings a day
  • Fish: 2 or more servings a week
  • Processed meats: no more than 1 serving a week
  • Unprocessed red meats: no more than 1.5 servings a week
  • Whole grains: 3 or more servings a day
  • Refined grains: no more than 1.5 servings a day

Regarding alcohol, the guideline is no more than one drink a day for women, and no more than two a day for men. Do a web search for standard drink sizes if needed. “One drink” is 14 grams of pure alcohol.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: You do know that the Mediterranean diet is linked to lower risk of dementia, don’t you?

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February 20, 2020 · 8:15 AM

Alarming Rise In Suicides Among Young Americans

This too shall pass

From The New York Times:

After declining for nearly two decades, the suicide rate among Americans ages 10 to 24 jumped 56 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And for the first time the gender gap in suicide has narrowed: Though the numbers of suicides are greater in males, the rates of suicide for female youths increased by 12.7 percent each year, compared with 7.1 percent for male youths.

If you or someone you know needs help dealing with suicidal thought, please please please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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February 19, 2020 · 7:00 AM

High Protein Diet May Prevent Weight Regain

Filet mignon and sautéed asparagus

Weight loss can change your metabolism in such a way that promotes regain of lost weight. For successful weight-losers with prediabetes, a higher protein diet could help with prevention of regain. How much higher protein? 25% versus the usual 15% of calories from fat.

This is important research since most people who lose fat weight gain it back, typically 6–12 months later.

For the boring details, keep reading.

ABSTRACT

Background

Weight loss has been associated with adaptations in energy expenditure. Identifying factors that counteract these adaptations are important for long-term weight loss and weight maintenance.

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate whether increased protein/carbohydrate ratio would reduce adaptive thermogenesis (AT) and the expected positive energy balance (EB) during weight maintenance after weight loss in participants with prediabetes in the postobese state.

Methods

In 38 participants, the effects of 2 diets differing in protein/carbohydrate ratio on energy expenditure and respiratory quotient (RQ) were assessed during 48-h respiration chamber measurements ∼34 mo after weight loss. Participants consumed a high-protein (HP) diet (n = 20; 13 women/7 men; age: 64.0 ± 6.2 y; BMI: 28.9 ± 4.0 kg/m 2) with 25:45:30% or a moderate-protein (MP) diet (n = 18; 9 women/9 men; age: 65.1 ± 5.8 y; BMI: 29.0 ± 3.8 kg/m 2) with 15:55:30% of energy from protein:carbohydrate:fat. Predicted resting energy expenditure (REEp) was calculated based on fat-free mass and fat mass. AT was assessed by subtracting measured resting energy expenditure (REE) from REEp. The main outcomes included differences in components of energy expenditure, substrate oxidation, and AT between groups.

Results

EB (MP = 0.2 ± 0.9 MJ/d; HP = −0.5 ± 0.9 MJ/d) and RQ (MP = 0.84 ± 0.02; HP = 0.82 ± 0.02) were reduced and REE (MP: 7.3 ± 0.2 MJ/d compared with HP: 7.8 ± 0.2 MJ/d) was increased in the HP group compared with the MP group (P < 0.05). REE was not different from REEp in the HP group, whereas REE was lower than REEp in the MP group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, EB was positively related to AT (rs = 0.74; P < 0.001) and RQ (rs = 0.47; P < 0.01) in the whole group of participants.

Conclusions

In conclusion, an HP diet compared with an MP diet led to a negative EB and counteracted AT ∼34 mo after weight loss, in participants with prediabetes in the postobese state. These results indicate the relevance of compliance to an increased protein/carbohydrate ratio for long-term weight maintenance after weight loss. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01777893.

Source: High Compared with Moderate Protein Intake Reduces Adaptive Thermogenesis and Induces a Negative Energy Balance during Long-term Weight-Loss Maintenance in Participants with Prediabetes in the Postobese State: A PREVIEW Study | The Journal of Nutrition | Oxford Academic

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: I didn’t read the whole study. I leave that to you.

low-carb mediterranean diet

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February 16, 2020 · 8:00 AM

Exercise Cuts Your Risk of Cancer by Up to 25%

Exercise is a fountain of youth available to every one

From UPI:

In findings published Thursday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers at the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health report that people who engaged in physical activity as recommended by the National Institutes of Health were able to reduce their risk for seven different types of cancer by as much as 25 percent.

This included common—and deadly—forms of the disease like colon and breast cancers, as well as endometrial cancer, kidney cancer, myeloma, liver cancer, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

*  *  *

Updated federal guidelines for physical activity recommend that people should aim for two and a half to five hours per week of moderate-intensity activity or 75 to 150 minutes per week of “vigorous activity.”

Source: Exercise may reduce risk for cancer by as much as 25 percent – UPI.com

You can also reduce your risk of cancer by eating the traditional Mediterranean diet smoking, by not drinking excessive alcohol, and by not smoking.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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February 15, 2020 · 8:00 AM

U.S. Life Expectancy Is Decreasing

Advanced civilizational decline

Sir John Glubb studied various empires that existed over the last 4,000 years. He deduced that empires have predictable lifecycles, from origin to ascendence, to great power then decline and collapse. I’m not the only one to notice that the U.S. may be on the decline. Decreasing life expectancies are a potential marker of decline. Glubb died in 1986 at the age of 88. He lived through the decline of the British Empire.

From JAMA Network:

US life expectancy increased for most of the past 60 years, but the rate of increase slowed over time and life expectancy decreased after 2014. A major contributor has been an increase in mortality from specific causes (eg, drug overdoses, suicides, organ system diseases) among young and middle-aged adults of all racial groups, with an onset as early as the 1990s and with the largest relative increases occurring in the Ohio Valley and New England. The implications for public health and the economy are substantial, making it vital to understand the underlying causes.

Source: Life Expectancy and Mortality Rates in the United States, 1959-2017 | Population Health | JAMA | JAMA Network

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Maybe we’d live longer if we ate food congruent with our evolution instead ultra-processed man-made foods.

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February 13, 2020 · 9:00 AM

Dr David Ludwig Calls for More Research on Ketogenic Diets

Sous vide chicken and sautéed sugar snap peas. This meal is part of a ketogenic diet.

From The Journal of Nutrition:

Recently, ketogenic diets have received substantial attention from the general public and nutrition research community. These very-low-carbohydrate diets, with fat comprising >70% of calories, have been dismissed as fads. However, they have a long history in clinical medicine and human evolution. Ketogenic diets appear to be more effective than low-fat diets for treatment of obesity and diabetes. In addition to the reductions in blood glucose and insulin achievable through carbohydrate restriction, chronic ketosis might confer unique metabolic benefits of relevance to cancer, neurodegenerative conditions, and other diseases associated with insulin resistance. Based on available evidence, a well-formulated ketogenic diet does not appear to have major safety concerns for the general public and can be considered a first-line approach for obesity and diabetes. High-quality clinical trials of ketogenic diets will be needed to assess important questions about their long-term effects and full potential in clinical medicine.

Source: Ketogenic Diet: Evidence for Optimism but High-Quality Research Needed | The Journal of Nutrition | Oxford Academic

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Click the pic below or here for a ketogenic diet.

low-carb mediterranean diet

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February 12, 2020 · 7:00 AM

After Gestational Diabetes, How Do You Prevent Type 2 Diabetes?

Baby is still a few months away

From the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:

Based on the current evidence, a specific dietary intervention for diabetes prevention in women with prior GDM [gestational diabetes mellitus] can therefore not be recommended. Previous systematic reviews have also consistently concluded that evidence for an effect of combined diet and physical activity interventions is inconclusive, with the exception of strong evidence from the Diabetes Prevention Program. Findings from that intensive intervention that focused on diet and physical activity to achieve and maintain weight loss of at least 7% of initial body weight showed >50% reduction in the risk of developing T2DM in women at high risk of T2DM including women with previous GDM; however, this personalised lifestyle intervention is unlikely to be feasible for implementation in routine care. As a limited number of studies have examined diet-alone and physical activity-alone interventions, it remains unclear which diabetes prevention approach would be most effective for women with a GDM history.

Source: The Role of Diet in the Prevention of Diabetes among Women with Prior Gestational Diabetes: A Systematic Review of Intervention and Observational Studies – Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

If it were me? I’d lose the excess weight with a reasonable diet and exercise regularly.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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February 7, 2020 · 8:00 AM

Dietary Fat Should Influence Insulin Dosing In Type 1 Diabetes

Is this pane di casa?

Everyone with diabetes—whether type 1 or type 2—should know that the amount of carbohydrate in meals has in impact on insulin dosing. In general, the more carbs, the more insulin you need. Less well known is that dietary protein and fat also have an effect on insulin requirements. It’s complicated, and there’s quite a bit of variation from one individual to another. The study at hand involved folks with type 1 diabetes using an insulin pump. The test meal was a piece of bread (pane di casa, 45 g carb) plus avocado and other fats in varying amounts.

From Diabetes Care:

The current study has two important outcomes. First, the type of fat has no statistically or clinically significant impact on postprandial glycemia, but the amount of fat has a significant, dose-dependent effect. Second, the insulin delivery pattern, and in some cases total dose, needs to be adjusted based on the amount of fat in order to minimize the risk of early postprandial hypoglycemia and late postprandial hyperglycemia.

Source: Amount and Type of Dietary Fat, Postprandial Glycemia, and Insulin Requirements in Type 1 Diabetes: A Randomized Within-Subject Trial | Diabetes Care

Steve Parker, M.D.

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February 5, 2020 · 7:00 AM

Are You PWT1D or PWT2D?

A decade ago, some folks began to object to being called diabetics. Instead, they proposed “person with diabetes” or “people with diabetes.” Or simply PWD.

Given the major differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, I now propose PWT1D (person or people with type 1 diabetes) and PWT2D.

And so no one’s left out: PWLADA. Person with Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adulthood.

Whadda u think?

Steve Parker, M.D.

low-carb mediterranean diet

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February 4, 2020 · 9:00 AM

Alcohol Promotes Some Cancers, Inhibits Others

Alcohol is linked to higher risk of breast cancer

Do you drink alcohol in part because you think it’s good for heart and brain health? If so, you may be increasing your risk of cancer.

From JAMA Network:

Ample evidence has been available for some time indicating that alcohol use is a preventable risk factor for cancer, and the World Health Organization deemed alcohol a carcinogen more than 30 years ago. In the United States, it is estimated that 5.6% of incident cancer cases (approximately 87 000 each year) are associated with alcohol, including cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, liver, esophagus (squamous cell carcinoma), female breast, and colorectum.1 Type of alcohol does not appear to matter; all alcoholic beverages include ethanol, which increases levels of acetaldehyde and in turn promotes DNA damage. Moreover, even moderate levels of consumption (often defined as approximately 14-28 g/d, the equivalent of about 1-2 drinks) appear to be associated with higher risk of some cancers, including cancers of the female breast.2 A protective association has emerged for some cancers, with the most evidence for kidney, Hodgkin lymphoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.2 Nonetheless, the overall cancer burden associated with alcohol use is substantial and comparable with that of other preventable risk factors such as UV exposure and excess body weight.

Source: Alcohol and Cancer Risk: Clinical and Research Implications | Oncology | JAMA | JAMA Network

Steve Parker, M.D.

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