Prevent strokes the easy way

You don't want to experience a stroke: you may not survive it, or it may leave you disabled. There are several things you can implement to help prevent strokes, but the research reviewed here investigated one very simple prevention technique.

The investigators used published research to assess stroke events and the association between vitamin B supplementation in 54,913 participants (Ji Y, et.al., 2013). They found that B vitamin supplementation significantly reduced stroke events because it reduced homocysteine, which is a toxic amino acid. Interestingly, no significant benefit was found using vitamin B12 alone.

It can't be much simpler, just take a good quality vitamin B-complex  every day!

Be aware that not all vitamin B-complex formulas are equal. There is more than one form of the B vitamins, and some forms provide more benefits than others. Providing the metabolites of the B vitamins is also an additional way of ensuring that you receive all the benefits you can from your B vitamin formula.

References:

Ji Y, Tan S, Xu Y, Chandra A, Shi C, Song B, Qin J, Gao Y. Vitamin B supplementation, homocysteine levels, and the risk of cerebrovascular disease: A meta-analysis. Neurology. 2013 Oct 8;81(15):1298-307. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182a823cc. Epub 2013 Sep 18.

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.

Walk fast to get help with with weight loss

Walking has been promoted as an easy way to lose weight and stay in shape, but is it really effective? That is exactly what the reviewed researched investigated.

The participants a total of 4511 adults aged 18-64 years were included in the study(Fan JX, et.al.2013). The body mass index (BMI) were measured and accelerometers were used to evaluate minutes per day of high intensity bouts of walking of either 10 minutes or more, or less than 10 minutes. This was compared with lower intensity walking of 10 minutes or more per day and lower intensity walking of less than 10 minutes per day.

It was found that both higher intensity short-duration or walking long-duration were related to reduced BMI or risk of overweight/obesity. Neither the short walks or the long walks of lower intensity were found to have a positive effect on BMI or risk of overweight/obesity.

The message is that even less than 10 minutes of walking per day can help you prevent weight gain if it is high intensity walking. This is another example showing that it is the intensity of the exercise you do that is important, not the time you spend doing it. The more intense you exercise, the less time you need to spend doing it.


Reference:

Fan JX, Brown BB, Hanson H, Kowaleski-Jones L, Smith KR, Zick CD Moderate to vigorous physical activity and weight outcomes: does every minute count? Am J Health Promot. 2013 Sep-Oct;28(1):41-9. doi: 10.4278/ajhp.120606-QUAL-286. Epub 2013 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.

Reduce breast cancer risk with omega 3 fat from a fish source

 The health benefits of taking omega 3 fatty acids coming from fish is collecting more and more documented evidence. The reviewed research investigated a huge number of articles including approximately 50,000 breast cancer cases involving more than 2 million participants (Zheng JS, et.al., 2013).

The researchers concluded that higher consumption of omega 3 fatty acids from a marine source is associated with a lower risk of breast cancer. The analysis indicated that the breast cancer risk was reduced by 5 percent per 0.1g/day of the fatty acids.

According to this you may be able to reduce your risk quite a bit by taking a couple of fish oil capsules per day. 

Is some fish oil really better than others? Yes! Most fish oils on the market are ethyl esters because that's cheaper to produce. Fish oil in a triglyceride form is better absorbed than ethyl esters. Look for a formula that has high amounts of the active ingredients of omega 3 fat - EPA and DHA. Make sure that the oil comes in the form of triglycerides which offers better stability to the fatty acids and prevents breakdown and oxidation.

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

Reference:

Zheng JS, Hu XJ, Zhao YM, Yang J, Li D. Intake of fish and marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of breast cancer: meta-analysis of data from 21 independent prospective cohort studies. BMJ. 2013 Jun 27;346:f3706. doi: 10.1136/bmj.f3706.

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.

How to reduce your risk of dementia

It’s great that you and I are probably going to live longer, but the idea of being mentally impaired by dementia is terrifying. Dementia affects more people than you may be aware of: for that reason it makes a lot of sense to do what we can to prevent it.

The reviewed research evaluated the relationship between glucose levels and the risk of dementia (Crane PK, et.al. 2013). The researchers used 35,264 measurements of glucose levels and 10,208 measurements of glycated hemoglobin levels from 2067 participants without dementia to examine the relationship between glucose levels and the risk of dementia. Glycated hemoglobin is a measurement of long-term glucose control. The average follow up time was 6.8 years and there were participants both with and without diabetes included in the study.

The results documented that higher glucose levels were related to an increased risk for dementia both in participants without diabetes as well as participants with diabetes.

Just by making some changes to the composition of your meals you can reduce the risk of dementia. Click here to find out how you can learn to modify your diet and reduce your potential for dementia.

Reference:

Crane PK, Walker R, Hubbard RA, Li G, Nathan DM, Zheng H, Haneuse S, Craft S, Montine TJ, Kahn SE, McCormick W, McCurry SM, Bowen JD, Larson EB. Glucose levels and risk of dementia. N Engl J Med. 2013 Aug 8;369(6):540-8. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1215740.

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.

Inflammation: it's dangerous!

You might think of inflammation as something you don't have a problem with unless you have a hot and swollen joint or have recently injured yourself. Even then, it may look like a localized reaction not affecting any other part of your body.

This is far from the truth. Any type of inflammation, in any area of the body, will also affect the rest of the body.

The most dangerous form of inflammation may actually be what we call low grade inflammation because we may not have any visible signs. This means you don't have to have a swollen joint to have an issue with it. This type of inflammation becomes systemic, which means it will affect your whole body and can be measured testing different inflammatory markers. It is also a risk factor for chronic disease, and cardiovascular disease is one of them.

The reviewed research investigated something interesting. The researchers  measured several inflammatory markers: three of them were C-reactive protein, TNF-alpha and IL-6 in both heathy and non healthy obese and non obese participants(Phillips CM, Perry IJ, 2013). The results showed that the determining factor if somebody was metabolically healthy or unhealthy was   the degree of inflammation even if they were obese.

This does not mean that it is a good idea to be obese, because that usually leads to increased inflammation, but somebody who is overweight may have a lower risk for cardiovascular disease if they have very low inflammatory markers.

It is very important to keep inflammation low. You can significantly lower inflammation by eating a certain way. For more information on how to lower inflammation with your diet, click here.

Reference:

Phillips CM, Perry IJ. Does Inflammation Determine Metabolic Health Status in Obese and Nonobese Adults? J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Aug 26. [Epub ahead of print]

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.