How Diabetes Harms the Brain

Diabetes can damage a number of organs, from the eyes to the kidneys and the heart. Now there’s fresh evidence that unchecked blood sugar can affect the brain as well, which may lead to drops in cognitive functions

When blood sugar levels start to climb in diabetes, a number of body systems are harmed—and that list includes the brain, since studies have linked diabetes with a higher risk of stroke and dementia. Now, a new study published in the journal Neurology reports that changes in blood vessel activity in the brains of diabetics may lead to drops in cognitive functions and their ability to perform daily activities.

Dr. Vera Novak, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and her colleagues followed a group of 65 older people. About half had type 2 diabetes, and half did not. After two years, the diabetic patients had lower scores on cognitive tests compared to when they began, while people without diabetes showed little change on the tests.

MORE: The Strange Way a Diabetes Drug May Help Skin Scars

What drove the decline, says Novak, were changes in the brains of the diabetic patients. Diabetes can cause blood vessels to be less responsive to the ebb and flow of demand in different parts of the brain. Normally, flexible vessels will swell slightly to increase blood flow and oxygen to areas that are more intensely active, such as regions involved in memory or higher reasoning during intellectual tasks. But unchecked blood sugar can make these vessels less malleable and therefore less responsive.

“When doing any task, from cognition to moving your fingers, you need to increase blood flow to that specific area of the brain,” says Novak. “With diabetes, however, that vasodilation ability is reduced, so you have fewer resources to perform any task.”

Read on:https://ti.me/1LX0xw9

Gout is possibly the worst joint inflammation of them all

Not all joint inflammations are created equal and gout is supposedly the worst of them all, reading the article that just appeared in the English paper The Independent, I pray the lord I’ll be spared from this pain. but than again it might be much smarter to adapt my lifestyle so as to increase my chances:

 Gout: What is it, what are the symptoms and how is it treated?
Gout diagnoses have doubled since 1990. It affects 1 in 40 adults in the UK, mainly men aged between 30 and 60

My medical school lecture on the subject of gout began with a picture of King Henry VIII – the archetypal king of excess. It’s therefore understandable that patients are surprised when diagnosed with a condition that could just as easily be associated with the modern diet. While gout has somehow retained its reputation as the “Disease of Kings”, the reality is that it doesn’t discriminate.

Gout is a disease caused by inflammation within a joint. A chemical in the blood called uric acid works to break down a substance called purine. If there is too much uric acid in the body, it crystallises to form deposits in the joints, tendons and tissues. These deposits cause the inflammation that we refer to as gout.

Excruciatingly painful

Gout diagnoses have doubled since 1990. It affects 1 in 40 adults in the UK, mainly men aged between 30 and 60. The big toe is the joint most commonly affected. Symptoms typically include a red, hot, swollen joint that is excruciatingly painful, often with a rapid onset. It can be difficult to determine if a patient is suffering from gout or an infection in the joint, as both appear quite similar. For that reason, patients should see their GP if symptoms develop..

You can read on at this link :https://ind.pn/1HcVbsn

Moov:the world’s most advanced fitness device

See on Amazon

I just discovered this new fitness app called “MOOV” which is being presented as “the world’s most advanced fitness device” and I must say it looks really really awesome and so much so I have just put it at the top of my Amazon wishlist and will be buying it shortly.

Here’s an excerpt of the BusinessInsider review which was published in may of this year:

I just tested out the ‘world’s most advanced fitness device’ for cycling — here’s what it was like

Recently I tried out Moov’s personal-fitness device, a wearable that offers workout data and virtual coaching in real time via updates using a smartphone screen and audio feedback.

Moov raised a ton of cash last year through crowd-funding, and this week it is rolling out its first cycling app, which is what I used the Moov for. (There are Moov apps for other activities, but I used only the cycling app.)

The Moov is a sleek circular gadget about the size of an Oreo cookie. The company calls it “the world’s most advanced fitness device.” For cycling, you wear it on your left or right leg using the provided ankle band, and it connects to your phone via Bluetooth. It charges via USB cable. The Moov device costs $79, and the cycling app is free.

I tested the beta version of the app for iPhone 6, the final version of which will be available Wednesday at midnight PST, according to the company. The Android version of the app is still in beta testing and will be released in two to three weeks, the company said.

In case you’re wondering, the Moov never popped out of the ankle band while I was using it; it stayed firmly locked in until I took it out, and it never felt as if it might come loose…

Read more: https://uk.businessinsider.com/moov-cycling-app-2015-5?r=US#ixzz3fIPBjVjz

Click here if you want to check it out on Amazon 

Have you heard about all the Green Tea Benefits?

Much has been said about green tea benefits and how good it is for your health and how the Japanese who drink this all day long are in a better condition than most of us but did you know about all the benefits claimed by this amazing tea type?

Here’s an excerpt of an article listing 10 benefits and I must admit that after reading it I went straight to the kitchen and made me some green tea:

Top 10 New Health Benefits of Green Tea

Green tea is a refreshing, delicious, and healthy drink that many people across the world enjoy. Outside of being an enjoyable drink and carrying years of cultural heritage, research has suggested that numerous tangible benefits result from drinking it. From promoting heart health to perhaps preventing cancer to even fostering psychological well-being, green tea has made a name for itself as one of the most healthful drinks there is. Here, we explore ten different benefits of green tea.

List of the Best Green Tea Health Benefits
1. Heart Health

heart-health-green-teaIn many studies, regular consumption of green tea was linked to an overall decrease in cholesterol and blood pressure. It also was shown to prevent various heart diseases brought about by cholesterol and blood pressure, such as congestive heart failure and atherosclerosis (the progressive hardening and blocking of the arteries). Also observed was a tendency of green tea to ease blood flow just thirty minutes after consumption. High cholesterol and other forms of heart disease are almost always the products of many years of buildup, so adopting green tea into your lifestyle (combined with generally healthy practices) would lower your chances of future heart problems. Even drinking a cup a day can be a great investment for later life!
2. Mental Health

The cardiovascular benefits of green tea are also linked to improved brain function, because better blood flow results in the brain receiving more blood. This enhanced brain function generally includes better short-term cognitive and perceptual processing—essentially an increase in brainpower. Of course, this claim is backed by solid research, a Swiss study demonstrated, through MRIs, that regular drinkers of green tea had higher activity in the working-memory areas of their brains (the area of the brain concerned with perceptual and linguistic processing).
Further studies also hinted at green tea delaying or preventing Alzheimer’s disease by stopping the formation of harmful plaques. While green tea shouldn’t be mistaken for some sort of magical nootropic, incorporating it into your lifestyle should certainly help improve your mental capabilities by a degree.

3. Prevents and Helps Manage Diabetes

Diabetes (the type II variant) is a very common disease that results from the body not being able to properly process sugar. Green tea has been shown to manage blood sugar levels in people with diabetes; this is because it induces a biochemical interaction that helps cells metabolize sugar (mainly glucose) better. This has done wonders for people with diabetes who regularly consume green tea.
Regular consumption of green tea also seems to prevent diabetes. A Japanese study found that people who drank 6 cups of green tea a day were 33% less likely to develop type II diabetes. A series of similar studies also found that while most types of tea help with the prevention and management of diabetes, green tea is ideal for this purpose.

Here’s the link to the full article including the other 7 benefits:https://gazettereview.com/2015/07/best-health-benefits-of-green-tea/

Can grapefruit boost your heart health?

I just read an interesting story about how drinking your daily dose of grapefruit can boost your heart health however when I see that the study was part funded by a grant froma grant from the Florida Department of Citrus I get somewhat sceptical.

Anyway here’s an excerpt of that story as iyt appeared in the English Express so you can make up your own mind:

Grapefruit juice can boost the health of your heart
A DAILY glass of grapefruit juice keeps blood vessels healthy and could protect against heart disease, a study shows.

Half a pint a day enough to improve circulation.

Scientists believe flavanones, health-boosting chemicals found in citrus fruits, are responsible for the benefits.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest regular grapefruit juice consumption could play a vital part in warding off heart disease – Britain’s biggest killer.

Around 73,000 people a year in the UK die from heart-related illnesses.

Eating a diet rich in fruit has long been known to have a protective effect.

But there has been less research on precisely what it is in citrus fruits that helps to sustain a healthy heart.

Researchers at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research at Clermont-Ferrand, France, recruited 48 healthy women aged between 50 and 65 – one of the highest risk groups for heart disease.

Half the group was given a daily quota of 340 millilitres – roughly half a pint – of grapefruit juice packed with flavanones and the rest an identical-looking drink but with no flavanones.

After a few months the two groups then swapped over..

Funny they don’t mention that here but  I suppose fresh grapefruit juice will undoubtedly be a whole better than the stuff you can buy in a botlle.

Read on:https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/589280/Grapefruit-juice-health-heart

Finding the right heart smart balance

Here’s a very interesting article from  Johns Hopkins Medicine, part of the integrated global health enterprise and one of the leading health care systems in the United States which also includes the Johns Hopkins university school of medicine and the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

And here’s the good news: You don’t need to cut out all fat from your diet to eat in a heart-healthy way. But according to recent thinking, say Johns Hopkins researchers, you do need to know your good fats from the not-so-good kinds.
Fats and Your Food: Striking a Heart-Smart Balance

Fat has become a bad word in heart health, but it’s more complicated than that. While it’s true that carrying extra body fat is bad for you, the types of fats that come from different foods are not all the same. Your body needs dietary fats in order to function. And the new thinking is that trying to cut out all fats from your diet may actually be contributing to obesity.

“There’s been a big shift in thinking about what makes a healthy diet,” says Kerry Stewart, Ed.D., a professor of medicine in the cardiology division at The Johns Hopkins University. Research at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere shows that cutting out dietary fat alone doesn’t have much of an impact on reducing cholesterol levels. “People need fat, carbohydrates and protein—the major macronutrients—for good, balanced health,” Stewart says.

One key to heart health is the type of fat you eat. All fats contain the same number of calories—9 calories per gram. But the three main types have different effects in the body.

Read on:https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/healthy_heart/eat_smart/fats-and-your-food-striking-a-heart-smart-balance

This Very Expensive Diabetes Drug Helps Promote Weight Loss

A new promising diabetes drug has been announced but it’s also very very expensive:

Saxenda: This Diabetes Drug Helps Promote Weight Loss, But There’s A Catch

Saxenda is a treatment for diabetes that could also help people looking to lose weight. People who injected the drug every day for a year lost an average of 18.5 pounds, compared with six pounds among a control group taking a placebo.

Liraglutide (popularly known as Saxenda) was studied in 3,700 overweight and obese people who have not been diagnosed with diabetes. However, around half the subjects in the study exhibited prediabetes. Subjects in the study were divided into an experimental group of 2,500 participants who received injections of the drug, and a control population of 1,200 people were provided with a placebo. All the subjects in the experiment were provided with lifestyle counseling aimed at teaching methods to promote weight loss.

After 56 weeks, 63 percent of subjects receiving the drug lost 5 percent or more of their body weight, while 33 percent lost at least 10 percent of their initial body mass. This compared with 27 percent and 10 percent, respectively, among participants receiving a placebo.

“It is a very effective drug. It seems to be as good as any of the others on the market, so it adds another possibility for doctors to treat patients who are having trouble either losing weight or maintaining weight loss once they get the weight off,” Xavier Pi-Sunyer from the Columbia University Medical Center said…

Read on: https://www.techtimes.com/articles/65665/20150703/saxenda-diabetes-drug-helps-promote-weight-loss-theres-catch.htm

Are fitness foods as good as claimed?

Are you one of those fitness food shoppers? Do you actually go out and buy specific types/brands because they claim to be fitness foods?

I suggest you read the article below before you continue doing so:

Fitness’ foods may be making us less fit

Wheaties, “The Breakfast of Champions,” has been featuring athletes on its boxes since it first put Lou Gehrig there in 1934. Today, many other food products are packaged to suggest they promote fitness: protein bars, energy drinks, yogurt, and more. There’s even Fit & Active pork bacon.

Just because a food is marketed as a “fitness” food, however, doesn’t mean it will improve one’s health. In fact, such foods can backfire for health-conscious consumers.

In a study of 536 college students, published online this month in the Journal of Marketing Research, fitness branding led to higher levels of consumption and less physical activity than a snack without such labeling.

Fitness labeling is not regulated, so such foods can be high in sugar or calories, says study author Jörg Königstorfer, chair of sport and health management at Technische Universität München in Germany. “Don’t rely on these misleading labels.”

Königstorfer, together with Penn State marketing professor Hans Baumgartner, invited health-conscious college students to taste-test a trail mix snack labeled either “Trail Mix” or “Fitness,” the latter adorned with a picture of a running shoe.

Volunteers offered the “Fitness” snack ate far more than those given the one marked “Trail Mix.” Unless, however, they were told that the fitness-labeled snack wasn’t good for their diet. In that case, those with the fitness-labeled snack ate less than the control group. ..

Here’s the link to the original article: https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2015/07/03/fitness-foods-may-making-less-fit/rjtnBVGfSmswfc9hQATYEK/story.html

9 Easy Exercises That Will Help Ease Back Pain

Do you suffer from back pain too? An incredible amount of people do and some like me, actually will visit their chiropractor twice a month as a preventive measure in order to avoid anything worse from building up.

Whether you are under regular treatment or not here below is an article that covers some very interesting exercises than can really help:

Backache is becoming a chronic problem that people in the urban areas have to constantly deal with. The unhealthy lifestyle and stressful daily commute can be blamed for the same, but there’s little we can do to escape the pain. Exercising is one way to minimise the damage and help you get rid of the shooting pain that’s making your life miserable. So here are 9 super simple, must-do exercises that will surely benefit your back.

1. Lengthen the spine: This is an easy move that focuses on your posture. To lengthen your spine you need to stand straight without arching your back and take a deep breath while pulling yourself. Keep yourself at the same height as you breath out. Continue this breathing process that will strengthen your abdominal muscles and help ease back stiffness.

2. The pelvic tilt: Here you need to lie straight on your back with knees bent. Tighten your stomach muscles and flatten your back on the floor. Hold this pose for five seconds and repeat another two to three times.

3. The alternative knee press: This exercise works on your lower back muscles easing stiffness. You need to lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Using both your hands pull up one knee and press it to your chest. Hold for 30 seconds and return to the first position. Repeat with the other leg…

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Weight surgery for diabetes treatment?

Would you ever consider weight surgery to treat your diabetes? Well a recent study indicates it works better than diet or exercising.

That being said I don’t know whether I would want to go through that would you?

Anyway here’s that story:

Weight Surgery Treats Diabetes Better Than Diet, Exercise

In a small study of obese patients, weight-loss surgery was better at keeping type 2 diabetes at bay than diet and exercise alone, researchers report.

In fact, three years after weight-loss surgery, more than two-thirds of those who had a procedure called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass to shrink their stomach didn’t need any diabetes medications.

And one-third of the people who chose a procedure called adjustable gastric banding no longer needed diabetes medications three years after surgery, the study found.

“Surgical treatments show promise for durable, longer-term, type 2 diabetes control in people with obesity,” said lead researcher Dr. Anita Courcoulas, a professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
ALERT Longevity In A Glass? Daily Drink Can Reverse Memory Loss.

The report was published July 1 online in JAMA Surgery.

The researchers recruited 61 obese patients with type 2 diabetes for the study. They were between the ages of 25 and 55 years old.

The researchers randomly assigned the study volunteers to either an intensive weight-loss program for one year followed by a less intensive program for two years, or weight-loss surgery. Some patients had a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and others had adjustable gastric banding.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass reduces the size of the stomach to a small pouch — about the size of an egg — which reduces the amount of food you can eat. Adjustable gastric banding restricts the size of the opening to the stomach, also decreasing the amount of food you can eat.

In terms of type 2 diabetes, researchers found there was more improvement in the surgical groups than in the lifestyle-only treatment group. Forty percent of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and 29 percent of the adjustable gastric banding patients achieved complete or partial remission of their diabetes at three years, Courcoulas said. No remission was seen in the nonsurgical group..

Read on: https://www.newsmax.com/Health/Health-News/diabetes-surgery-weight-diet/2015/07/01/id/653127/