Improve your blood sugar control and decrease your blood pressure by eating more of a specific food

Eating low glycemic index foods is the key to keeping your blood sugar in a low and normal range. This is also important when it comes to reducing cardiovascular risk.

The reviewed research compared two different types of food for efficiency when it came to these issues (Jenkins DJ, et al. 2012). The participants had type II diabetes and were randomized to either a low glycemic index legume diet that encouraged the participants to increase legume intake by at least one cup per day, or to increase insoluble fiber by eating more whole wheat products for three months. Hemoglobin A1c was tested which is a measurement of long-term glucose control and coronary heart disease risk score was used as a secondary outcome.

The results showed that the reduction in hemoglobin A1c values were greater after the low glycemic index legume diet than after the high wheat fiber diet. It was also a greater reduction in systolic blood pressure on the low glycemic index legume diet than on the high wheat fiber diet.

I have, for many years now, recommended to incorporate legumes such as beans and lentils into the diet. I have not found anything as effective as this when it comes to lowering blood glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol. If you try this you will probably also find that you will have better energy and not get hungry as quickly.

If you would like to know more about the benefits of a low glycemic index diet, read the book "The Food Connection."

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Reference:

Jenkins DJ, Kendall CW, Augustin LS, Mitchell S, Sahye-Pudaruth S, Blanco Mejia S, Chiavaroli L, Mirrahimi A, Ireland C, Bashyam B, Vidgen E, de Souza RJ, Sievenpiper JL, Coveney J, Leiter LA, Josse RG. Effect of Legumes as Part of a Low Glycemic Index Diet on Glycemic Control and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Arch Intern Med. 2012 Oct 22:1-8. doi: 10.1001/2013.jamainternmed.70.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Anxiety and accelerated aging

We know that stress is unhealthy. The reviewed research is fascinating because it examined the relationship between the length of telomeres and anxiety (Okereke OI, et al. 2012). Shorter telomeres are thought to be a cause of poor health and aging. This means that this study gives us information on how anxiety may affect aging.

The participants were 5,243 women aged 42-69 years. The results showed that especially high phobic anxiety was associated with shorter telomeres. It could mean up to six years of accelerated aging.

If you have anxiety, I recommend to start meditating. Meditation is not only beneficial when it comes to reducing stress, it has also shown a lot of other benefits. I highly recommend it.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Okereke OI, Prescott J, Wong JY, Han J, Rexrode KM, De Vivo I. High phobic anxiety is related to lower leukocyte telomere length in women. PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e40516. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040516. Epub 2012 Jul 11.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Is a low carbohydrate, high protein diet increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease?

A low carbohydrate, high protein diet has been promoted by many as a healthy way to eat and also a way to lose weight. Since this is a low glycemic index diet you can certainly lose weight eating that way, but is it healthy long term? This is exactly what the reviewed study investigated (Lagiou P, et al.2012). The participants were 43,396 Swedish women aged 30-49 years at the start of the research. The participants were followed up for an average of 15.7 years.

The results were very interesting and showed that low carbohydrate, high-protein diets, used on a regular basis and without consideration of the nature of carbohydrates or the source of proteins are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

Other studies have shown that an increased intake of meat as a protein source is associated with increased mortality. The source of carbohydrates are also very important since high glycemic index carbohydrates are associated with insulin resistance and increased inflammation which both are risk factors for chronic disease.

In the book The Food Connection, you can read more about the benefits of a high carbohydrate low glycemic index diet.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Lagiou P, Sandin S, Lof M, Trichopoulos D, Adami HO, Weiderpass E. Low carbohydrate-high protein diet and incidence of cardiovascular diseases in Swedish women: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2012 Jun 26;344:e4026. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e4026.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Omega 3 fatty acids and memory

Research has shown that omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil provide numerous health benefits. The research reviewed investigated if working memory in young adults improved after taking fish oil containing 750 mg of DHA and 930 mg of EPA per day for 6 months (Narendran R, et al.2012).

The participants underwent a working memory task test and red blood cell membrane (RBC) fatty acid composition analysis before the start of the study and at the end after 6 months.

The performance on the working memory task improved after taking the supplements, and was consistent with reports in which higher DHA levels is related to improved cognitive performance.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Narendran R, Frankle WG, Mason NS, Muldoon MF, Moghaddam B. Improved working memory but no effect on striatal vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 after omega-3 polyunsaturated Fatty Acid supplementation. PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e46832. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046832. Epub 2012 Oct 3.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

More good news about olive oil

Olive oil has several health benefits and research keeps documenting more. The reviewed research evaluated the effect of olive oil related to biomarkers of bone growth (Fernández-Real JM, et al. 2012).

The study participants were elderly men with high cardiovascular risk and the follow up was 2 years. The participants were divided in 3 groups, one group was assigned to a Mediterranean diet enriched with nuts, another group to a Mediterranean diet enriched with virgin olive oil and the control diet was a low fat diet.

One of the markers tested for was osteocalcin which is a protein found in bone. Osteocalcin was also one of the markers that increased in the group assigned to the olive oil.

The researchers concluded that a Mediterranean style diet enriched with olive oil is associated with increased serum osteocalcin levels indicating a protective effect on bone.

If you cook with oil, olive oil seems to be the best oil you can use. You can for example stir fry vegetables and you can also use olive oil and vinegar for salad dressings.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

 

Fernández-Real JM, Bulló M, Moreno-Navarrete JM, Ricart W, Ros E, Estruch R, Salas-Salvadó J. A mediterranean diet enriched with olive oil is associated with higher serum total osteocalcin levels in elderly men at high cardiovascular risk. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Oct;97(10):3792-8. doi: 10.1210/jc.2012-2221. Epub 2012 Aug 1.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Cruciferous vegetables and breast cancer

Cruciferous vegetables are broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussels sprouts. These vegetables are considered some of the healthiest vegetables you can eat.

The research reviewed investigated the association between the intake of this type of vegetables and the risk of breast cancer (Liu X, Lv K. 2012). This was a meta-analysis where the researchers analyzed several articles on this topic to come up with a conclusion.

The results from this evaluation indicated that high consumption of cruciferous vegetables was significantly associated with reduced breast cancer risk.

A lot of people may not like these types of vegetables, but an easy way to use them is to include them in soups and stews. Steaming them and adding them to a meal with chicken, fish or turkey is another way.

If you know you are not going to eat enough of these vegetables, another way to get the benefits of the major substance responsible for most of the healthy results is to take some capsules of sulforaphane. You can read more about sulforaphane by clicking here.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Liu X, Lv K. Cruciferous vegetables intake is inversely associated with risk of breast cancer: A meta-analysis. Breast. 2012 Aug 6.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Factors affecting cognition

The participants were 6,401 adults, aged 39-63 years in 1991-1993. Data on weight using body mass index (BMI) was collected and metabolic status was evaluated using triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL). The participants were also evaluated for the use of lipid lowering drugs, if they had high blood pressure or if they were using blood pressure medications. Glucose was measured and it was recorded if the participants were using medications for diabetes. Four cognitive tests were administered in 1997-1999, 2002-2004, and 2007-2009. Abnormality of the metabolic status was defined as 2 or more of the above listed factors.

The results documented a faster cognitive decline in the participants with both obesity and metabolic abnormality.

The good news about this is that these are factors we can do something about by adapting a healthy lifestyle and eating habits. For a program that works, log on to thespecialeffectsdiet.com.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Singh-Manoux A, Czernichow S, Elbaz A, Dugravot A, Sabia S, Hagger-Johnson G, Kaffashian S, Zins M, Brunner EJ, Nabi H, Kivimäki M. Obesity phenotypes in midlife and cognition in early old age: the Whitehall II cohort study. Neurology. 2012 Aug 21;79(8):755-62. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182661f63.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

What is the truth about omega 3 fish oil?

If you watched the ABC evening news yesterday you would have seen a report they did on omega 3 fish oil and a study which they claimed showed no benefits of fish oil. They reported that this study, which was a meta analyses of several studies, did not show any cardiovascular benefits from taking omega 3 fish oil. What they did not report was that this study had several flaws and the numerous studies published showing multiple benefits of omega 3 fish oil.

ABC news is apparently not a reliable source of news, but rather an example of inferior reporting not to be trusted. If you search PubMed for omega 3 fish oil you will find a vast amount of research showing multiple benefits of omega 3 fish oil, including reduction of inflammation and pain, cardiovascular benefits and improved mood.

The research reviewed here is an example of one of these very recent studies which documented just the opposite results of what the study ABC reported on showed.

Most of the studies they analyzed included persons with high cardiovascular risk (Delgado-Lista J, et al. 2012). The researchers concluded that marine omega-3 fatty acids are effective in preventing cardiovascular events, cardiac death and coronary events, especially in persons with high cardiovascular risk.

To read more about the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids click here.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Delgado-Lista J, Perez-Martinez P, Lopez-Miranda J, Perez-Jimenez F. Long chain omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review. Br J Nutr. 2012 Jun;107 Suppl 2:S201-13.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

More evidence that it matters where the calories are coming from

There are still so called experts who claim that it does not matter where the calories are coming from when it comes to losing and maintaining your weight. Several studies designed in different ways have documented that it does make a difference where the calories are coming from. When we lose weight the metabolic rate tends to slow down, making it more difficult to maintain the weight. Food that slows the metabolic rate the least would be the most beneficial way to eat for weight loss and weight maintenance.

The research reviewed here provides even more evidence that the kind of food we eat makes a difference when it comes to resting energy expenditure, total energy expenditure and inflammation (Ebbeling CB, et al. 2012).

In this study 3 different diets were compared and the participants were overweight and obese young adults. After the participants lost 10-15% of their weight, they were either put on a low-fat diet (60% of energy from carbohydrate, 20% from fat, 20% from protein; high glycemic load), low-glycemic index diet (40% from carbohydrate, 40% from fat, and 20% from protein; moderate glycemic load), and very low-carbohydrate diet (10% from carbohydrate, 60% from fat, and 30% from protein; low glycemic load) in random order, each for 4 weeks.

The results showed that the decrease in resting energy expenditure was greatest with the low fat diet, intermediate with the low glycemic index diet and the least with the very low carbohydrate diet.

There are two things which are important here; the low glycemic index diet was not all that low since it was moderate glycemic load. What a lot of people call low glycemic index is in reality moderate glycemic index. The other important point is that the results also showed that the low carbohydrate diet increased inflammation.

One thing you don't want is increased inflammation, that contributes to chronic disease and pain, so the low carbohydrate diet is not a good choice. The low-fat, high glycemic load diet slowed the resting energy expenditure the most, so that is also not a good choice.

The best choice is a very low glycemic index diet based on carbohydrates without a huge amount of fat, but including good amounts of the healthy essential fats. That would decrease the resting energy expenditure the least and also decrease inflammation.

These are the type of recommendations you will find on thespecialeffectsdiet.com, providing you a program which can be downloaded directly to your computer.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Ebbeling CB, Swain JF, Feldman HA, Wong WW, Hachey DL, Garcia-Lago E, Ludwig DS. Effects of dietary composition on energy expenditure during weight-loss maintenance. JAMA. 2012 Jun

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

More evidence that certain foods will reduce inflammation

There has been a lot of debate and also confusion when it comes to different types of diets, as it relates to weight loss and health. There are however more and more research providing evidence that what the diet consists of (where the calories are coming from) is very important. It makes a big difference where the calories are coming from, both as it relates to losing weight and certainly when it relates to health.

One thing everybody agrees on is that if we reduce chronic inflammation our health will improve.

The research reviewed compared two different diets, one was low glycemic load, the other one was high glycemic load, and the researchers evaluated the effect they had on the inflammatory marker highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and some other markers (Neuhouser, ML,et al. 2012). The participants were healthy adults; one group had normal weight while one group was overweight. All participants completed two 28 days periods. After finishing one period eating low glycemic load food, they were switched to a high glycemic load period. The diets had identical macronutrient content as percentage calorie count, which means they had equal amounts of carbohydrates, fat and protein. All food was provided and the participants maintained weight and usual physical activity.

The results were interesting. The low glycemic load diet reduced hs-CRP for the participants with a high body fat percentage. The researchers concluded that carbohydrate quality independent of energy is important, and low glycemic load foods may improve inflammation.

This is especially interesting since these participants did not lose any weight, the weight was purposely kept the same, but inflammation still decreased.

The program you find at www.thespecialeffectsdiet.com is a very effective approach to reduce inflammation, and you will also lose weight if you need to.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Neuhouser ML, Schwarz Y, Wang C, Breymeyer K, Coronado G, Wang CY, Noar K, Song X, Lampe JW. A low-glycemic load diet reduces serum C-reactive protein and modestly increases adiponectin in overweight and obese adults. J Nutr. 2012 Feb;142(2):369-74. Epub 2011 Dec 21.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

The way meat is cooked can increase prostate cancer risk

The reviewed research investigated the association between red meat and poultry intake and advanced prostate cancer (Joshi AD, et al. 2012). The researchers looked at the cooking practices and the carcinogens that accumulate in cooked meats.

The researchers observed a positive association between risk of advanced prostate cancer and high intake of red meat cooked at high temperatures, cooked by pan-frying and cooked until well-done. An inverse association was observed for baked poultry. The carcinogens which accumulate in meat when cooked at high temperatures seem to be the problem.

Eliminating red meat from your diet and finding other alternatives like chicken, fish and turkey or eating a vegetarian diet seems to be safer, since there are also other studies showing that red meat may not be the healthiest food.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Joshi AD, Corral R, Catsburg C, Lewinger JP, Koo J, John EM, Ingles SA, Stern MC. Red meat and poultry, cooking practices, genetic susceptibility and risk of prostate cancer: results from a multiethnic case-control study. Carcinogenesis. 2012 Aug 28.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Easy way to improve your blood vessels

We have heard a lot about the benefits of olive oil, but the research reviewed here is interesting because it measured endothelium function after using olive oil for 4 months. The endothelium is the lining inside the blood vessels.

The participants in the study were patients with early atherosclerosis which means they had started to develop deposits in the artery walls.

The research compared the effect of daily intake of 30 ml of olive oil, with 30 ml of epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG) supplemented olive oil (Widmer RJ, et al. 2012). Both endothelium function and inflammatory indicators were evaluated.

The results showed no difference after 4 months between the regular olive oil and the supplemented oil, but the regular olive oil improved endothelium function significantly and there was also a significant reduction in inflammatory markers.

This indicates that inflammation affects endothelial function. Just a little bit of olive oil as salad dressing every day can make a significant difference.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Widmer RJ, Freund MA, Flammer AJ, Sexton J, Lennon R, Romani A, Mulinacci N, Vinceri FF, Lerman LO, Lerman A. Beneficial effects of polyphenol-rich olive oil in patients with early atherosclerosis. Eur J Nutr. 2012 Aug 8.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Is more exercise better for fat loss?

Exercise is a necessity if you want to stay healthy, but how effective is it for losing weight if that is the only thing you change, and for how long do you have to exercise? The reviewed research was an attempt to clarify that and you may find the results surprising.

The researchers investigated the effect of aerobic exercise dosed two different ways (Rosenkilde M, et al. 2012). One group exercised for 30 minutes daily corresponding to 300 kcal/day, and another group exercised for 60 minutes daily corresponding to 600 kcal/day for 13 weeks. These 2 groups were compared to a control group which did not exercise. The participants were healthy, sedentary, moderately overweight young men. Body composition, accumulated energy balance, and the degree of compensation (lower metabolic rate, increased appetite) were measured.

The results showed that even if the exercise induced energy expenditure was twice as high in one group, the fat loss in the group that exercised for 30 minutes was 4 kg and the fat loss for the group that exercised for 60 minutes was 3.8 kg. No statistically significant changes were found in energy intake or none exercise physical activity that could explain the different compensatory responses associated with 30 vs. 60 min of daily aerobic exercise.

Unless you really enjoy exercising, spending hours doing it seems to be a waste of time, the body will just compensate by lowering the metabolic rate.

The smart way of losing weight would however be to also change the way you eat, that way you would see much better results. A very effective way to lose weight is to follow the program you find at thespecialeffectsdiet.com. There you will find an even more effective way of exercising and a way of eating that produce results both when it comes to weight loss and health.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Rosenkilde M, Auerbach P, Reichkendler MH, Ploug T, Stallknecht BM, Sjödin A. Body fat loss and compensatory mechanisms in response to different doses of aerobic exercise--a randomized controlled trial in overweight sedentary males. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2012 Sep;303(6):R571-9. Epub 2012 Aug 1.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Cardiovascular risk and glutathione

Glutathione is a very effective antioxidant the body produces. Antioxidants protect tissue from free radical damage. Oxidized LDL (the bad cholesterol) initiates atherosclerosis and glutathione protects against lipid oxidation.

The reviewed research investigated whether glutathione could reduce cardiovascular mortality (Buijsse B, et al. 2012). The study included participants who after 5 to 12 years of follow up had died of cardiovascular disease and also a control group.

The researchers concluded that individuals with both low HDL (the good cholesterol) and low glutathione activity are at markedly increased risk for death from cardiovascular disease.

Glutathione is a very important antioxidant that has been known for many years, but regular glutathione when taken orally is destroyed in the stomach and provides no benefits. There are however ways to overcome that now. A form called S-Acetyl Glutathione is not destroyed in the stomach and can be taken orally, providing the benefits of glutathione.

Click here to read more about the benefits of S-Acetyl Glutathione.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Buijsse B, Lee DH, Steffen L, Erickson RR, Luepker RV, Jacobs DR Jr, Holtzman JL. Low serum glutathione peroxidase activity is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality in individuals with low HDLc's. PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e38901. Epub 2012 Jun 15.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – -www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Compound from broccoli kills prostate cancer cells

We have probably all heard that eating broccoli is healthy, and the research reviewed here adds more evidence to that (Clarke JD, et al. 2011).

The study documented that sulforaphane a compound found in broccoli, selectively induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis (cell death) in benign hyperplasia and cancerous prostate epithelial cells, but not in normal cells. This was due to an inhibition of the enzyme deacetylase (HDAC) as well as affecting several other factors.

It is difficult to get high enough amounts of sulforaphane by just eating broccoli, but you can take sulforaphane in capsule form. Sulforaphane has also been found to provide other health benefits, you can read more about that by clicking here.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Clarke JD, Hsu A, Yu Z, Dashwood RH, Ho E. Differential effects of sulforaphane on histone deacetylases, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in normal prostate cells versus hyperplastic and cancerous prostate cells. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2011 Jul;55(7):999-1009. doi:10.1002/mnfr.201000547. Epub 2011 Mar 4.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – -www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Interesting results comparing sprint interval running with continuous running

Quite a bit of research has been conducted in the last few years on the benefits of high intensity short interval training. The reviewed study investigated the effects of sprint interval running and continuous running on insulin sensitivity and cholesterol (Sandvei M, et al. 2012). Good insulin sensitivity helps prevent type 2 diabetes as well as other chronic diseases.

The participants were healthy young people both men and women who either did 30 seconds sprints 3 times per week gradually increasing the sprints from 3 sprints the first week up to 10 sprints per week the last 2 weeks, or 30 minutes continuous running the first week gradually increasing the running time to 60 minutes per week for the last 2 weeks. The ones who sprinted rested 2 minutes between the sprint intervals. Real exercise time ended up being 5 minutes per week in the last 2 weeks for the sprinting group and 60 minutes per week for the group who did continuous running.

The results documented that sprint interval training was more effective in improving insulin sensitivity compared to continuous running and also reduced both total cholesterol and LDL, the bad cholesterol, which continuous running did not.

More and more evidence shows that exercising for long periods of time is not necessary, actually short periods with more intensity is more effective.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

www.TissueRecovery.com/Sprint-interval-running-increases.html" target="_blank">Sandvei M, Jeppesen PB, Støen L, Litleskare S, Johansen E, Stensrud T, Enoksen E, Hautala A, Martinmäki K, Kinnunen H, Tulppo M, Jensen J. Sprint interval running increases insulin sensitivity in young healthy subjects. Arch Physiol Biochem. 2012 Jul;118(3):139-47. Epub 2012 Apr 28.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

What you do can have a big impact on your eye sight as you get older

Losing our eye sight is not an attractive option, but there are a lot of things you can do to increase your odds of seeing well as you get older.

Researchers who conducted the study reviewed here examined the risk for developing age related macular degeneration in women aged 55 to 74 years (Mares JA, et al. 2010).

They found that the women whose diets scored in the highest quintile compared with the lowest quintile of a healthy eating index had 46% lower odds for developing early age related macular degeneration.

Also interesting was that the women in the highest quintile compared with those in the lowest quintile for physical activity had a 54% lower odds for early age related macular degeneration.

Having a combination of 3 healthy behaviors, a healthy diet, physical activity and not smoking were associated with an amazing 71% lower odds for age related macular degeneration.

A healthy lifestyle makes a lot of sense. To learn the principles of eating healthy read one of the 2 books, "Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing" or "The Food Connection." Both books include a lot of easy to make recipes.

On our website tissuerecovery.com you can also find research on quick ways to exercise if you look at prior blogs. To read the original abstract click on the reference below.

Reference: Mares JA, Voland RP, Sondel SA, Millen AE, Larowe T, Moeller SM, Klein ML, Blodi BA, Chappell RJ, Tinker L, Ritenbaugh C, Gehrs KM, Sarto GE, Johnson E, Snodderly DM, Wallace RB. Healthy Lifestyles Related to Subsequent Prevalence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Arch Ophthalmol. 2010 Dec 13.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

What can you expect from effective probiotic

Probiotics have been in the news a lot lately. There are numerous brands on the market and also many different strains of bacterias promoted as being healthy and producing benefits for the gastrointestinal tract.

Most of these friendly bacterias are temperature sensitive and need to be refrigerated to keep their potency. Unless the type of bacterias included in the product have been documented to survive the acidity of the stomach they may not even get to the intestines alive providing little benefits.

An interesting type of probiotic shown to maintain and restore the natural flora in the large and small intestine is the yeast derived saccharomyces boulardii. The benefits of this product has been well documented by research and it is more practical to use since it does not require refrigeration. The article reviewed here summarizes the probiotic mechanisms of saccharomyces boulardii (Im E, Othoulakis C. 2010).

One of the main mechanisms of action included inhibition of activities of bacterial pathogens. It suppresses bacterial infection by inhibiting adhesion and overgrowth of bacteria and produces a serine protease that cleaves a certain type of toxin as well as stimulating antibody production against this toxin.

Saccharomyces boulardii also modifies signaling pathways involved in inflammatory and non-inflammatory intestinal diseases. It has been shown to inhibit main regulators of inflammation, one of them includes nuclear factor kB (NF-kB). It has been documented to interfere with the pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) by acting on T cells and improving diarrhea.

This is a potent probiotic which is practical to use and can also be taken when traveling to help decrease or help prevent traveler's diarrhea.

To read more about the benefits of this probiotic, click on "Gastrointestinal Support Formula."

The most effective way to take this formula is to take 2 capsules twice daily. You don't have to take it all the time. Take it once in a while, and if you have gastrointestinal symptoms. If you have to use antibiotics for any reason take it while you are taking the antibiotics and also take it a couple of weeks afterwards.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Im E, Pothoulakis C. [Recent advances in Saccharomyces boulardii research]. Gastroenterol Clin Biol. 2010 Sep;34 Suppl 1:S62-70.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

What is the most effective dietary approach to reduce cardiovascular risk factors?

The research reviewed evaluated randomized controlled trials comparing the Mediterranean style diet to low fat diets in overweight/obese individuals as it related to cardiovascular risk factors (Nordmann AJ, et al. 2011). 6 trials with 2,650 individuals of which 50% were women.

After 2 years of follow up, individuals assigned to a Mediterranean diet had more favorable changes in body weight, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol and highly sensitive C-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker).

A low fat diet is not the healthiest diet. It may be surprising to you, but certain types of fat will decrease cholesterol.

To learn about healthy food choices and the numerous benefits read the book "The Food Connection." The book also includes a lot of easy to make recipes.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Nordmann AJ, Suter-Zimmermann K, Bucher HC, Shai I, Tuttle KR, Estruch R, Briel M. Meta-analysis comparing Mediterranean to low-fat diets for modification of cardiovascular risk factors. Am J Med. 2011 Sep;124(9):841-51.e2.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Want to improve your cholesterol and glucose levels?

Cholesterol lowering drugs are big business, but most people could lower both their cholesterol and blood glucose levels by changing the way they eat.

The food we eat regularly will have a big impact on your biochemistry. By watching all the ads on TV you would not believe that, but rather think that it is a drug deficiency that is making you sick.

Food we are exposed to regularly send powerful signals to our genes, telling them to turn on or off, that way creating desirable or undesirable results in the body.

This is called epigenetics and means that while we cannot change our genes we can change the expression of our genes.

The study reviewed here is a good example of what food can accomplish. The researchers analyzed 50 randomized controlled trials which included 534, 906 participants (Kastorini CM, et al. 2011).

It was documented that the Mediterranean style diet reduced waist circumference, increased HDL (the good cholesterol), decreased triglycerides and glucose and decreased both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

By modifying the Mediterranean style diet even more impressive results can be accomplished in a comparatively short time. Read either one of the books, "Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing" or "The Food Connection" on ways to eat healthy. The books also include a lot of recipes to choose from.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

 

Kastorini CM, Milionis HJ, Esposito K, Giugliano D, Goudevenos JA, Panagiotakos DB.The effect of mediterranean diet on metabolic syndrome and its components a meta-analysis of 50 studies and 534,906 individuals. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2011 Mar 15;57(11):1299-313.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Want to avoid getting a stroke?

Avoiding ten risk factors can substantially improve your odds of not getting a stroke.

A recent published study in The Lancet, one the most respected medical journals in the world documented 10 risk factors associated with 90% of the risk of stroke (O’Donnell MJ, et al. 2010).

The study included patients from 22 countries and data was collected for three years. The stroke cases were categorized as ischemic stroke (stroke due to lack of blood supply to an area of the brain) and intracerebral hemorrhage stroke (stroke due to rupture of a blood vessel).

The risk factors significant for ischemic stroke were a history of hypertension (blood pressure more than 160/90 mmHg), smoking, high waist-to-hip ratio (fat around the waist), high diet risk score, low regular physical activity, diabetes, alcohol intake (more than 30 drinks per month or binge drinking), psychological stress and depression, cardiac causes (heart problems), and a high ratio of apolipoproteins B to A1 (blood markers of cardiovascular risk).

Hypertension, smoking, high waist-to-hip ratio and alcohol intake were significant risk factors for intracerebral hemorrhage stroke.

If you for the most part follow the food plan, recipes in the book, “The Food Connection,” you will reduce many of these risks. Your blood pressure would most likely be better and so would your waist-to-hip ratio. It would be unlikely that you would get diabetes, your cardiovascular risk would be reduced, your ratio of apolipoproteins B to A1 would be better and your diet risk score would be excellent.

The only other things would be to avoid smoking, not drink too much and get some physical activity.

Physical activity would also most likely make you feel less stressed and depressed.

It does not have to be that difficult to reduce your risks and it certainly would be worth it. Added benefits would be that you will feel better and also have more energy.

To read about “The Food Connection,” click here.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

O'Donnell MJ, Xavier D, Liu L, Zhang H, Chin SL, Rao-Melacini P, Rangarajan S, Islam S, Pais P, McQueen MJ, Mondo C, Damasceno A, Lopez-Jaramillo P, Hankey GJ, Dans AL, Yusoff K, Truelsen T, Diener HC, Sacco RL, Ryglewicz D, Czlonkowska A, Weimar C, Wang X, Yusuf S; INTERSTROKE investigators. Risk factors for ischaemic and intracerebral haemorrhagic stroke in 22 countries (the INTERSTROKE study): a case-control study. Lancet. 2010 Jul 10;376(9735):112-23. Epub 2010 Jun 17.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Vitamin D and risk of Parkinson disease

A lot of research has been published recently on the importance of vitamin D.

The research reviewed here investigated vitamin D levels and its association to Parkinson disease (Knekt P, et al. 2010).

The follow-up period was 29 years and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level (the most common way of testing vitamin D) was determined from frozen samples stored at baseline.

The results showed that individuals with higher serum vitamin D concentration had a reduced risk of Parkinson disease.

This is one more reason to be sure you get enough vitamin D.

It is very common to have low levels of vitamin D because of inadequate sun exposure or regular use of sunscreen.

Taking between 1000 IU to 2000 IU of vitamin D3 daily will help. It is not recommended to take huge amounts of vitamin D, since vitamin D is not only a vitamin but also a hormone the body regulates. More is not always better.

You can safely take 1000 IU-2000 IU daily of vitamin D, but it is recommended to have a vitamin D test before taking higher amounts.

To read more about the benefits of vitamin D, click here.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Knekt P, Kilkkinen A, Rissanen H, Marniemi J, Saaksjarvi K, Heliovaara M. Serum vitamin D and the risk of Parkinson disease. Arch Neurol. 2010 Jul;67(7):808-11.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Transfatty acids and cancer risk

Transfatty acids are not a fat we need as compared to essential fatty acids like omega 3 and omega 6, which we do need.

Trans fats are formed when vegetable oils are hydrogenated, which makes the unsaturated fat into saturated fat. You are, for that reason, more likely to be exposed to transfat the more processed food you eat. French fries, for example, can contain varies amounts of transfatty acids depending on the source of oil used in the frying.

The research reviewed investigated transfatty acids and cancer risk (Hu J, et al. 2011). The study was conducted in Canada and matched varies forms of cancer cases with normal population controls.

It was found that dietary transfatty acids were positively associated with the risk of cancers of the colon, breast and prostate with a borderline association for pancreatic cancer.

The researchers concluded that a diet low in transfat may play a role in cancer prevention.

The more unprocessed food you eat the better off you are for several reasons.

To learn more about the benefits of unprocessed food read the book "The Food Connection" which also includes a lot of easy to make recipes.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

References:

Hu J, Vecchia CL, Groh MD, Negri E, Morrison H, Mery L; The Canadian Cancer Registries Epidemiology Research Group. Dietary transfatty acids and cancer risk. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2011 Jun 22.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

The way you cook your fish is important

A lot of research has been published on the benefits of fish and omega 3 fatty acids. 

The study referenced here is interesting because it compared the intake of fish, how it was prepared and how it related to the risk of heart failure (Belin RJ, et al. 2011).

84,493 women aged 50-79 were included in the investigation. Fish consumption were recorded according to frequency and if it was baked/broiled or fried.

The results documented that higher intake in the form of baked/broiled fish lowered heart failure risk.

This may not be a surprise considering all the research supporting the health benefits of omega 3 fats. What may surprise you is that it was also concluded that 1 or more servings of fried fish per week may increase the risk for heart failure.

If you don't like fish or want to avoid the preparation of it, but still like to get the benefits, you can take high quality fish oil capsules.

The beneficial fatty acids in fish oil are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) , so be sure to pick a product which contains high amounts of these ingredients since this can vary a lot from product to product.

That is the reason our "Better Fish Oil" now has even higher levels of EPA and DHA.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

References:

Belin RJ, Greenland P, Martin L, Oberman A, Tinker L, Robinson J, Larson J, Van Horn L, Lloyd-Jones D. Fish Intake and the Risk of Incident Heart Failure: The Women's Health Initiative. Circ Heart Fail. 2011 May 24.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

The many health benefits of flax seeds

The flax seed is a small seed, but it turns out that it can provide some amazing health benefits. The article reviewed here is a summary of research on flax lignans which are found in the shell of the flax seeds and not in the oil.

Flax lignans have been documented to reduce lipid and glucose concentrations, lowering blood pressure and decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation (Adolphe JL, et al. 2010). This means that flax seeds may have a preventive and protective effect for cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome includes a cluster of symptoms, some of them being insulin resistance, elevated lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides) and elevated blood pressure.

Flax seeds may also reduce cancer risk by preventing pre-cancerous cellular changes and by reducing angiogenesis and metastasis. Angiogenesis is the process of growing new blood vessels and is one of the steps in the formation of cancerous tumors.

Ground up flax seeds will also help to keep your gastrointestinal tract in good working order because it provides plenty of fiber.

This is an easy way to introduce flax seeds into your daily regime. Buy organic whole flax seeds and grind 2 tablespoons in a coffee grinder for approximately 10 seconds. Put it in a glass of water, stir and drink once to twice daily. You may want to introduce it slowly so you get used to the additional fiber and be sure you drink plenty of water.

I suggest you only grind what you are going to use at the time since the ground up seeds when exposed to the air will oxidize quickly. This is why I recommend to grind the seeds yourself instead of buying a big bag of already ground up seeds.

Another benefit you may notice especially if you use flax seeds twice daily is a softer and smoother skin, it will prevent dryness. To read the original abstract click on the reference below.

Reference: Adolphe JL, Whiting SJ, Juurlink BH, Thorpe LU, Alcorn J. Health effects with consumption of the flax lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside. Br J Nutr. 2010 Apr;103(7):929-38. Epub 2009 Dec 15.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

The health impact of white rice

White rice is a common food especially in Asia, but also in the USA. It is very common to have white rice served in restaurants.

Refined carbohydrates have been suggested to have a negative impact on the glucose metabolism. For that reason a large study involving 25,666 men and 33,622 women ages 44 to 75 years was conducted investigating the association between white rice intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes (Nanri A, et al. 2010). The study lasted for 5 years.

The results documented that there was a significant association between rice intake and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in women. In men it was found to be a positive association in persons who were not engaged in strenuous physical activity.

White rice has a high glycemic index which means it will elevate the blood sugar quite high. Brown rice is a little bit better, but it also has a high glycemic index even if it is somewhat lower than white rice and contains more nutrients.

If you are going to eat white rice it would be healthier if you mix it with beans or lentils, since both beans and lentils have a very low glycemic index. It would be even better of course to substitute the rice for beans or lentils.

You will find a lot of recipes with beans and lentils in the book, "The Food Connection" and with explanations why it makes sense to eat low glycemic, high nutrients meals.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Nanri A, Mizoue T, Noda M, Takahashi Y, Kato M, Inoue M, Tsugane S; for the Japan Public Health Center–based Prospective Study Group. Rice intake and type 2 diabetes in Japanese men and women: the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Dec;92(6):1468-1477. Epub 2010 Oct 27.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

The food that makes you lose weight and also improve your health

If you think that sounds good, you can also add that it is cheap to buy. This food is legumes.

I have recommended beans and lentils for many years because they are excellent low-glycemic index carbohydrates.

The study reviewed compared the effects of two calorie restricted diets (Hermdorff HH, et al. 2010). One was a legume-based diet and the other one a legume-restricted diet. The participants were overweight/ obese females and males. The study went on for four weeks.

After four weeks the participants on legume-based diet achieved a greater weight loss compared to the legume-restricted diet. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and systolic blood pressure only improved from eating the legume-based diet. The legume-based diet also resulted in a significantly higher reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP) and complement C(C3) both inflammatory markers.

To easily implement this type of eating read either one of the books, "Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing" or "The Food Connection." Both books are quick to read and include explanations and recipes. To read the original abstract click on the reference below.

Reference: Hermsdorff HH, Zulet MA, Abete I, Martínez JA. A legume-based hypocaloric diet reduces proinflammatory status and improves metabolic features in overweight/obese subjects. Eur J Nutr. 2010 May 25.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

The danger of a big waist

A recent study followed 21,787 participants with an age from 45 to 79 years for an average of 9.8 years (Arsenault BJ, et al. 2010). The researchers examined the relationship between high triglycerides levels (fat in the blood), high waist circumference and the risk of coronary artery disease in apparently healthy individuals.

The threshold used as a high waist circumference was 90 cm (35.4 inches) or more for men and 85 cm (33.4 inches) or more for women.

When participants with triglycerides and waist circumference below the threshold were compared with participants above the threshold it was found that the participants above the threshold had higher blood pressure, higher apolipoprotein B (a risk factor for cardiovascular disease) and higher C-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker). These participants also had lower levels of HDL (the good cholesterol) and apolipoprotein A-1 (high is good) and smaller LDL particles (not good).

This resulted in an increased risk for future coronary artery disease of 2.4% for the men and 3.84% for women.

If you want to reduce your waist line and reduce your triglycerides, read the book "The Food Connection" and get started.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Arsenault BJ, Lemieux I, Despres JP, Wareham NJ, Kastelein JJ, Khaw KT, Boekholdt SM. The hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype and the risk of coronary artery disease: results from the EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study. CMAJ. 2010 Jul 19.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Suprising benefit of omega 3 fatty acids

Loss of muscle mass as we get older is a common problem for many.

Omega 3 fatty acids have been found to stimulate protein anabolism (construction of protein) in animals, but it has not been known if omega 3 fatty acids are able to do the same in humans.

The study reviewed evaluated that by giving either omega 3 fatty acids or corn oil for 8 weeks to healthy older adults (Smith GI, et al. 2011).

Corn oil supplementation had no effect on the muscle protein synthesis (building of protein and tissue). What was interesting however was that the omega 3 fatty acids did stimulate the muscle protein synthesis. The dosage used in this study was 1.86g of EPA and 1.5g of DHA daily. EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are the active ingredients in omega 3 fish oil.

Exercise is of course important if you want to avoid losing muscle mass as you get older.

To take the amount of EPA, DHA used daily in this study you have to take a lot of ordinary fish oil capsules. You can avoid this by using a formula that has higher amount of EPA, DHA per capsule.

The "Better Fish Oil" is such a formula. To read more about the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids, click here.

To read the original abstracts, click on the references below.

Reference:

Smith GI, Atherton P, Reeds DN, Mohammed BS, Rankin D, Rennie MJ, Mittendorfer B. Dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation increases the rate of muscle protein synthesis in older adults: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Feb;93(2):402-12. Epub 2010 Dec 15.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Surprise health risk of diet soda

Usually the research reviewed here is published in national or international medical journals. The research reviewed this time was however presented at a recent international stroke conference (Anwar Z, et al. 2011). The study was both interesting and surprising and for that reason you should know about it.

The researchers investigated the association between drinking soda, both diet soda and regular soda and the risk of strokes in 3, 298 participants. The average follow up was 9.3 years during which 559 vascular events occurred.

It was documented that the subjects who drank diet soda everyday had a 61% higher risk of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke when compared to those who did not drink any soda.

If you want to drink something sparkly you are better off with carbonated water.

To read the full article click on the reference below, then click on the link that says Begin Manual Download. Reference:

Zane Anwar, Chuanhui Dong, Tatjana Rundek, Joanna Guzman, Mitchell Elkind, Ralph Sacco, et al. "Race-Ethnic Disparities in Ideal Cardiovascular Health in the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS)" (Abstract # W MP17). Presented at the 2011 International Stroke Conference and Nursing Symposium, 9 Feb. 2011. Stroke. 2011 Mar;42(3):e111-350. Epub 2011 Feb 7.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Smaller waist and impressive health benefits from minutes of exercise instead of hours

In the last few years quite a few studies have been published on the benefits of high intensity short interval training.

The research reviewed here investigated the effects of very high intensity sprint interval training on metabolic and vascular risk factors in overweight/obese sedentary men (Whyte LJ, et al. 2010).

The exercise consisted of 4 to 6 sets of 30 second sprints on a stationary bike 3 times weekly for 2 weeks. The participants cycled as hard as they could with a resistance set according to what's called the Wingate protocol and they rested for 4.5 minutes between the 30 second sprints.

This is very intense exercise, but the time spent exercising is not more than 2 to 3 minutes per exercise session. Per week it would not be more than 6 to 9 minutes total exercise time.

This is what the researchers found. After 2 weeks both maximum oxygen uptake and power output had increased significantly. Insulin sensitivity and resting fat oxidation rate (burning of fat for energy) were significantly higher and systolic blood pressure significantly lower.

Very interesting was also that both the waist and hip circumference decreased significantly compared with what it was when they started.

You can read more about the benefits of high intensity short interval training under Articles and Abstracts on our website tissuerecovery.com. To read the original abstract click on the reference below.

Reference: Whyte LJ, Gill JM, Cathcart AJ. Effect of 2 weeks of sprint interval training on health-related outcomes in sedentary overweight/obese men. Metabolism. 2010 Oct;59(10):1421-8. Epub 2010 Feb 12.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Reduce your risk of death from inflammatory diseases

The study reviewed here investigated the connection between different foods and the risk of death from diseases in which inflammation or oxidative stress was a predominant contributor (Buyken AE, et al. 2010).

The participants both men and women were followed for 13 years. The results showed that women who ate foods in the highest glycemic index tertile had a 2.9 fold increased risk of inflammatory death compared with women in the lowest glycemic index tertile.

The glycemic index is a way of measuring how high a food is elevating the blood sugar after it has been ingested. In the case of this study, foods that elevated the blood sugar high had a detrimental effect.

To learn more about this and all the benefits of eating a high nutrient low glycemic index way, read the book “The Food Connection.”

The book also has a lot of easy to make recipes.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Buyken AE, Flood V, Empson M, Rochtchina E, Barclay AW, Brand-Miller J, Mitchell P. Carbohydrate nutrition and inflammatory disease mortality in older adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep;92(3):634-43. Epub 2010 Jun 23.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Reduce insulin resistance while at the same time support bone formation

Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are conditions which increase the risk for chronic disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are two examples. 

The study reviewed investigated the effect of oral magnesium supplementation on insulin sensitivity in overweight, insulin resistant, non-diabetic participants (Mooren FC, et al. 2011).

The study went on for 3 months and provided significant evidence that magnesium supplementation improves insulin sensitivity.

Magnesium is a very important mineral for several reasons and it is also important for bone formation (Sojka JE, Weaver CM. 1995).

It is better to take all of the most important minerals in a well balanced formula, since taking only one type of mineral can cause a decrease in another one.

The BMJ formula is an excellent way of getting all of the important minerals in a very bioavailable form. This formula also contains vitamin D, glucosamine sulfate and vitamin B6, supporting bones as well as joints. Click here to read more about the BMJ. To read the original abstract click on the reference below.

Reference: Mooren FC, Krüger K, Völker K, Golf SW, Wadepuhl M, Kraus A. Oral magnesium supplementation reduces insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects - a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2011 Mar;13(3):281-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-1326.2010.01332.x.

Sojka JE, Weaver CM. Magnesium supplementation and osteoporosis. Nutr Rev. 1995 Mar;53(3):71-4.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Red meat and the risk of stroke

Both red and processed meat has been implicated to increase the risk of several diseases. The two studies reviewed here specifically focused on the consumption of red and processed meat and the risk of stroke.

One of the investigations followed 40, 291 men aged 45-79 years for the average of 10.1 years (Larsson SC, et al. 2011). The conclusion from the research was that processed meat consumption is positively associated with the risk of stroke.

The second study followed 34,670 women for an average of 10.4 years (Larsson SC, et al. 2011).

It was found that both total red meat and processed meat consumption was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of cerebral infarction, but not total stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage or subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Cerebral infarctions are caused by the formation of a blood clot obstructing the blood supply to brain tissue.

The research was conducted on Swedish men and women.

You will find recipes without red meat or processed meat in the book "The Food Connection," which also explains about other interesting facts between food and chronic diseases.

To read the original abstracts, click on the references below.

References:

Larsson SC, Virtamo J, Wolk A. Red meat consumption and risk of stroke in Swedish men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Jun 8.

Larsson SC, Virtamo J, Wolk A. Red meat consumption and risk of stroke in Swedish women. Stroke. 2011 Feb;42(2):324-9. Epub 2010 Dec 16.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Protein source can affect risk of heart disease

It has been known for a while that fish intake is associated with a decreased risk for heart disease, but other protein sources have not been studied much. Fish reduce the risk of heart disease because of the omega 3 fat it contains.

What about protein sources like red meat, poultry and nuts?

This has also been investigated now following 81,136 women aged 30 to 55 years during 26 years of follow-up (Bernstein AM, et al. 2010).

The findings were very interesting and documented that higher intakes of red meat, excluding processed meat and also high fat dairy were significantly associated with elevated risk of coronary heart disease.

Higher intakes of poultry, fish and nuts were however significantly associated with lower risk.

1 serving per day of nuts was associated with a 30% lower risk for coronary heart disease compared with 1 serving per day of red meat. When 1 serving of red meat per day was compared with the following, low fat dairy was associated with 13% lower risk, poultry 19% and fish 24% lower risk.

Just by cutting down on red meat and eating some nuts everyday you can reduce your risk for heart disease.

For more ways to reduce your risk for serious disease read “The Food Connection.”

You can also access information with recommendations on different conditions by logging on to www.TissueRecovery.com.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Bernstein AM, Sun Q, Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, Willett WC. Major dietary protein sources and risk of coronary heart disease in women. Circulation. 2010 Aug 31;122(9):876-83. Epub 2010 Aug 16.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Protect your DNA

If we can protect our DNA we may be able to slow down aging. Slowing down the aging process appeals to most people, but the question is if it is possible with the resources we have now.

The research reviewed investigated if that was possible by implementing a couple of readily available resources (Gutierrez-Mariscal FM, et al. 2011).

The investigators did a crossover study for 4 weeks where the participants were assigned to either a Mediterranean diet, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) or a diet high in saturated fatty acids. This was carried out to determine the oxidative DNA damage from these two diets and also if CoQ10, which is a powerful antioxidant, could reduce the oxidative stress.

The results showed that the diet high in saturated fat caused the most oxidative damage and the Mediterranean diet plus the CoQ10 improved the oxidative DNA damage and reduced cellular oxidation.

You can read about many other benefits from eating a certain way and learn how to implement effective food choices in either one of the books, "Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing" and "The Food Connection."

You can also read more about the benefits of CoQ10 by clicking here.

To read the original abstracts, click on the references below.

Reference:

Gutierrez-Mariscal FM, Perez-Martinez P, Delgado-Lista J, Yubero-Serrano EM, Camargo A, Delgado-Casado N, Cruz-Teno C, Santos-Gonzalez M, Rodriguez-Cantalejo F, Castaño JP, Villalba-Montoro JM, Fuentes F, Perez-Jimenez F, Lopez-Miranda J. Mediterranean diet supplemented with coenzyme Q10 induces postprandial changes in p53 in response to oxidative DNA damage in elderly subjects. Age (Dordr). 2011 Mar 15.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Physical activity can make a big difference if you have prostate cancer

We are all aware that physical activity and exercise is healthy.

What we may not realize is how important it is and that it can even make a difference in cancer survival.

The study reviewed here evaluated the association of physical activity and prostate cancer survival in men who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and followed for 18 years (Kenfield SA, et al. 2011)

The physically active men had a lower risk of all-cause mortality.

Those who walked for 90 minutes or more per week at a normal to very brisk pace had a 46% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with shorter durations at an easy walking pace. The men with 3 hours or more per week of vigorous activity had a 49% lower risk of all-cause mortality.

What was very interesting was that men with 3 hours or more per week of vigorous activity had a 61% lower risk of dying from prostate cancer compared with men with less than 1 hour per week of vigorous activity.

It was concluded that a moderate amount of vigorous activity such as biking, tennis, jogging or swimming for 3 hours a week may substantially improve prostate cancer survival. To read the original abstract click on the reference below.

Reference: Kenfield SA, Stampfer MJ, Giovannucci E, Chan JM. Physical Activity and Survival After Prostate Cancer Diagnosis in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. J Clin Oncol. 2011 Jan 4.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Pesticides increase the risk for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes

Insulin resistance is a gradual process and if not addressed it can lead to type 2 diabetes. The cells in insulin resistant tissue are less responsive to insulin, causing the pancreas to compensate by producing more insulin in an attempt to transfer the blood glucose into the cells where it can be used for energy. There are several factors that can contribute to insulin resistance and it is interesting that pesticides seem to be one of these factors.

The first study reviewed here followed research participants for 20 years and examined if a low dose of pesticides predicted future adiposity, dyslipidemia (elevated cholesterol, triglycerides) and insulin resistance (Lee DH, et al. 2011). 8 organochlorine pesticides, 22 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 1 polybrominated biphenyl were measured.

The results showed many statistically significant associations of pesticides with dysmetabolic conditions appearing at low doses. The changes were the same as seen in insulin resistance and included higher body mass index (BMI), higher triglycerides, higher HOMA-IR (value for insulin resistance) and lower HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol).

An earlier study from 2010 found that exposure to some pesticides may be associated with the metabolic syndrome (Park SK, et al. 2010).

The metabolic syndrome is a condition where metabolic changes and symptoms are seen like insulin resistance, elevated cholesterol, triglycerides, lower HDL and high blood pressure.

In a very recent article the researchers stated that dioxins, pesticides and bisphenol A cause insulin resistance and alter beta-cell function in animals (Alonso-Magdalena P, et al. 2011). They continue to say that these chemicals are present in human blood and can accumulate and be released from adipocytes (fat cells) and bind to cellular receptors and other targets causing disruption of function.

To reduce your exposure to these chemicals you can buy certified organic produce and not use pesticide in your own garden.

To read the original abstracts, click on the references below.

References:

Alonso-Magdalena P, Quesada I, Nadal A. Endocrine disruptors in the etiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2011 Jun;7(6):346-53. Epub 2011 Apr 5.

Lee DH, Steffes MW, Sjödin A, Jones RS, Needham LL, Jacobs DR Jr. Low dose organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls predict obesity, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance among people free of diabetes. PLoS One. 2011 Jan 26;6(1):e15977.

Park SK, Son HK, Lee SK, Kang JH, Chang YS, Jacobs DR, Lee DH. Relationship between serum concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and metabolic syndrome among non-diabetic adults. J Prev Med Public Health. 2010 Jan;43(1):1-8.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Overweight and risk of dementia

The reviewed research evaluated the association of midlife overweight and dementia, Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia (Xu WL, et al. 2011).

This study was especially interesting because the study participants were 8,534 twin individuals with an average age of 74.4 years.

Height and weight of the participants were available at midlife (mean age 43.4) since the study was done in Sweden. Sweden has social medicine and keeps good records.

Overweight was recorded as a body mass index of 25-30 and obesity as a body mass index over 30.

The results documented that both overweight and obesity at midlife independently increase the risk of dementia, Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia.

The sooner you lose excess weight, if you have any, the better it is because overweight increases your risk for many other diseases as well.

The book "The Food Connection" explains what to do to get healthier without having to count calories and includes a lot of easy to make recipes.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Xu WL, Atti AR, Gatz M, Pedersen NL, Johansson B, Fratiglioni L. Midlife overweight and obesity increase late-life dementia risk: A population-based twin study. Neurology. 2011 May 3;76(18):1568-74.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Optimal nutrition during prolonged exercise

Prolonged exercise is considered more than 60 minutes of activity. If you exercise for more than 60 minutes or participate in an endurance race lasting more than 60 minutes, you will benefit from drinking a carbohydrate/electrolyte solution during the exercise.

It is generally accepted that 600 to 1200 ml per hour of fluid should be consumed, containing between 30 and 60 grams of carbohydrates and 0.5 to 0.7 grams of sodium (Na) per liter of fluid (Von Duvillard SP, et al. 2004). One liter is 1000 ml.

The carbohydrates help to prevent glycogen depletion and will help to improve performance. Carbohydrates are stored in the form of glycogen in the muscles and the liver and used as needed for energy. When glycogen stores are completely used up and energy has to be supplied mainly by fat, performance will be substantially reduced. The body will also start to break down its own protein at that point to help supply energy.

Sodium is important to help maintain fluid balance and prevent muscle cramping.

What is the best form of carbohydrates to use for this purpose and how much can we utilize?

The carbohydrates without doubt are important because they help improve performance, but it’s a limit to what we can absorb because the rate of gastric emptying. What has been commonly used is a solution of 4% to 8% carbohydrates per 100 ml of fluid.

Comparatively new research shows that a combination of glucose and fructose allows for more carbohydrates to be absorbed than if only a single source like glucose is used by itself.

It has been documented that during 120 minutes of cycling exercise when glucose of 1.2 grams per minute and 0.6 grams per minute of fructose was combined, it improved performance by 8%, compared to when glucose only was used (Currell K, Jeukendrup AE. 2008). This amount of carbohydrate would be 108 grams per hour, which is considerably more than the 60 grams commonly used.

Glucose is a high glycemic index carbohydrate and another source of high glycemic carbohydrate which has been used in many studies is maltodextrin.

Summary: When competing in an endurance race or exercise for more than 60 minutes, drink a carbohydrate solution consisting of glucose or maltodextrin and fructose. The drink should also include 0.7 grams of sodium per liter of fluid. The ratio of glucose to fructose should be 2:1 and the amount of total carbohydrates should not be exceeding 108 grams per hour, not exceeding 1200 ml of fluid per hour.

Start to drink early, probably before the first 60 minutes of activity, and drink every 15 minutes.

Don’t drink this type of high glycemic index solution when you are not exercising because that would, with time, make you less insulin sensitive.

You want to be as insulin sensitive as possible to allow maximum amount of glucose to be transferred into the cells for energy.

To maintain insulin sensitivity the main meals you eat during the day should be low glycemic index, but high in carbohydrates and nutrients. Read one of the books “Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing” or “The Food Connection” for explanations and recipes.

To read the original abstracts, click on the references below.

References:

Currell K, Jeukendrup AE. Superior endurance performance with ingestion of multiple transportable carbohydrates. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Feb;40(2):275-81.

Von Duvillard SP, Braun WA, Markofski M, Beneke R, Leithauser R. Fluids and hydration in prolonged endurance performance. Nutrition. 2004 Jul-Aug;20(7-8):651-6.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : – www.TissueRecovery.com Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.