Tag Archives: exercise

International Blog Spotlight: Greece

August 21, 2017

BRAIN FITNESS DIET

Dr. Maria Psoma, medical Biopathologist

Can we reverse “brain aging” with nutrition and healthy lifestyle?

I was reading some studies from UCLA, which motivated me to further explore the question. It is a clinically proven fact that as we age, we experience cognitive decline: for some, the deterioration can continue until the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. When people reach the age of 85, statistics indicate that there is a 45% chance of this.

I was primarily reading research that focused on supplements, including high quality omega 3 fatty acids , Q10, B12, melatonin, and D3: combined with changes in nutrition and exercise.

Results were impressive; no medicine or pharmaceutical drug demonstrated the same success as nutrition and lifestyle changes. Clinical results showed improvement even among people in their 80s.

Another research conducted at Rush University, which included 900 participants between the ages of 58-98, followed the subjects for 4.5 years.

Three different nutrition interventions were implemented: the Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, and a combination called ”Brain Diet”.

The researchers investigated the influence of the diets in terms of prevention for Alzheimer’s, in addition to an evaluation of factors including age, sex, education, cardiological factors, and levels of physical activity.

The best results were from the ‘brain diet,’ with prevention percentages as high as 52%. The Mediterranean and DASH Diet had results between 35-405.

The basic ingredients of a healthy ‘brain diet:’

  1. Green leafy vegetables
  2. Raw nuts
  3. Berries (polyphenols)
  4. Beans
  5. Unprocessed cereals
  6. Fish
  7. Free range poultry
  8. Olive oil
  9. Red wine (resveratrol)

Foods that harm brain function:

  1. Sugar
  2. Red meat
  3. Saturated fat
  4. Fried foods

General Instructions of healthy lifestyle and nutrition practices:

—Limit simple carbohydrates (white flour, pasta) and any processed foods
—Consume unlimited fresh, colorful vegetables that are rich in antioxidants, in addition to fruits and fish
—Find time for yourself at least twice a day (yoga & breathing exercises can be beneficial)
—Sleep 7-8 hours per night, or at least 5 hours of quality, non-interrupted sleep
—Take the proper supplements after medical history & specific laboratory exams
—Care for your oral hygiene
—Engage in regular physical activity for at least 30 minutes, 3-4 times per week

Dr. Maria Psoma is a biopathologist with a PhD from the University of Athens. She is a Fellow and Board Certified in Anti-Aging Medicine, and a member of both the American Obesity Society & the International Society of Nutrigenomics.

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Email: [email protected]

Yoga Treating Back Pain

June 26, 2017

A new study indicates that yoga may be as effective for back pain as physical therapy.

The yoga protocol utilized in the study was developed by researchers at Boston Medical Center, with additional input from yoga instructors, doctors, and physical therapists. The study included 320 participants with moderate to severe back pain, all of whom received one of three approaches over a three-month time span: weekly yoga classes, 15 physical therapy visits, and clinical education surrounding ways to cope with back pain.

The findings, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, are directly in line with new guidelines for treating back pain from the American College of Physicians. concluded that yoga was as effective as physical therapy, and both groups were 20% less likely to use pain medication than those patients solely receiving education.

Dr. Robert Saper of Boston Medical Center, one of the report’s authors, states: “Yoga was as effective as physical therapy for reducing pain intensity. Perhaps most importantly, reducing pain medication use.” At the outset of the study, 70% of the patients were taking a form of pain medication; at the end of three months, the percentage of yoga and physical therapy participants still taking pain medication dropped to 50%.

As opiate overdoses are now the leading cause of death for adults under age 50, the results offer compelling reasons to find approaches for chronic pain that do not involve narcotics–including tai-chi, yoga, and massage. Saper remarks that if research shows that yoga can be as effective, perhaps it should be considered as a potential therapy that can “be more widely disseminated and covered by insurance.”

How to Save Your Brain

June 23, 2017

A report published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) cites promising evidence indicating that active cognitive training, blood pressure management, and physical activity may collectively help stave off age-related cognitive decline and dementia.

In 2015, the Alzheimer’s Association released similar findings that identified two critical activities that could minimize the risk of cognitive decline: increasing physical activity, and improving cardiovascular health. Dan G. Blazer, a member of the NASEM committee that conducted the study and the J.P. Gibbons Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at Duke University Medical Center, states: “What is good for the heart is good for the brain. Therefore, exercise and controlling high blood pressure are good for the brain.” While controlling blood pressure is good preventive practice to combat heart disease, it may also reduce memory less and dementia—likely because high blood pressure damages delicate blood vessels in the brain.

In terms of diet, a study released by Temple University found that extra-virgin olive helped fend off Alzheimer’s in mice. The mice fed a diet rich in extra-virgin olive oil showed better learning and memory skills than those who did not receive the diet. While the evidence surrounding diet is not as conclusive and plentiful as the research regarding exercise, the panel singled out diets that emphasized whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, and lower levels of salts.

Cognitive training has been receiving more attention recently, referring to tools and tactics engineered to improve reasoning, problem-solving, memory retention, and processing speed. In a randomized control trial reviewed by the committee titled “Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly,” participants who received cognitive training in processing speed and reasoning deduction demonstrated less decline than those who did not, over a time span of ten years.

More than 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, and the number is only expected to increase as the population ages. Statistics show that by 2050, numbers could reach up to 16 million. There is no cure, and few effective treatments. Yet the evidence suggests that these lifestyle changes may actively reduce risk, or at least delay the onset of dementia. Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging, advised people to “Try and avoid the tendency to sit down, watch television for endless hours at night. Get out there, do something.”