Reduce your cardiovascular risk with the right fat

Common opinion goes like this: fat creates heart disease. New research is questioning that assumption and proving the opposite, that fat can be heart protective. The research reviewed is one of these studies.

 

7447 participants were assigned to one of three diets: 

 

1. A Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil

 

2. A Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts 

 

3. A control diet where the participants were advised to reduce fat intake (Estruch R,et.al.,2013). 

 

The results showed that the Mediterranean diet supplemented with
extra-virgin olive oil or nuts reduced the incidence of major cardiovascular events.

 

Good sources of healthy fat are avocados, nuts, seeds and olive oil. Fish like wild salmon is a good source of omega 3 fat which is also very important.

 

The Special Effects Diet program explains how to create healthy meals that are even more effective than the standard Mediterranean diet.

 

References:

 

Estruch R, Ros E, Salas-Salvadó J, Covas MI, Corella D, Arós F, Gómez-Gracia E, Ruiz-Gutiérrez V, Fiol M, Lapetra J, Lamuela-Raventos RM, Serra-Majem L, Pintó X, Basora J, Muñoz MA, Sorlí JV, Martínez JA, Martínez-González MA. Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet. N Engl J Med. 2013 Apr 4;368(14):1279-90. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1200303. Epub 2013 Feb 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.

Improve Your Glucose Control with Green Tea

 Don't risk poor health! Increased inflammation is a risk factor for all chronic diseases. Poor glucose control is tissue destructive and will increase low grade inflammation. You need to improve your insulin sensitivity to increase glucose control. 

 

If you want to feel great and function well, you need to do all you can to be as insulin sensitive as possible.

 

The reviewed research shows us an easy way to help improve insulin sensitivity which leads to better glucose control. These researchers looked at data from seventeen randomized controlled studies that evaluated the effects of green tea and green tea extract on glucose control and insulin sensitivity(Liu K,et.al.,2013).

 

Green tea significantly reduced fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c, a measure of long term glucose control.

 

If you don't like drinking green tea, there is an easy way to get all the benefits! Take it as a capsule in a concentrated form. Just be sure what you are taking is not contaminated from pesticides. To learn more click here.

 

References:

 

Liu K, Zhou R, Wang B, Chen K, Shi LY, Zhu JD, Mi MT. Effect of green tea on glucose control and insulin sensitivity: a meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Aug;98(2):340-8. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.112.052746. Epub 2013 Jun 26.

 

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.

High blood levels of omega 3 = Low incidence of mini strokes

Many studies rely on food questionnaires to calculate omega 3 fatty acid intake, but questionnaires can never be as accurate as a blood test. The reviewed research is especially interesting. Not only were blood levels of omega 3 fatty acid measured: 3660 participants also had MRI scans of their brains at the start of the study and were even rescanned 5 years later (Virtanen JK,et.al.,2013).
 

When comparing participants with the highest level of omega 3 fatty acids to participants with the lowest levels, the ones with the highest levels had a 40 percent lower occurrence of mini strokes.

 

Higher omega 3 fatty acids are also associated with improved white matter of the brain. White matter is the nerve fibers and the myelin sheath, providing insulation and acceleration of impulse conduction.

 

The omega 3 fatty acids referred to here are the ones found in fish. The plant derived fatty acids, even though some of them will be converted to EPA and DHA the active ingredients in omega 3 fat, did not show the same benefits.

More and more evidence confirming the health benefits of omega 3 fat is appearing all the time, and this study is another example.

 

Virtanen JK, Siscovick DS, Lemaitre RN, Longstreth WT, Spiegelman D, Rimm EB, King IB, Mozaffarian D. Circulating omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and subclinical brain abnormalities on MRI in older adults: the cardiovascular health study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2013 Oct 10;2(5):e000305. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.113.000305. PMID: 24113325 [PubMed - in process]
 

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.

Memory and the Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet has proven to be beneficial for the prevention of several common chronic diseases. The research reviewed investigated the link between cognition/dementia, and how well the participants followed a Mediterranean diet. (Lourida I, et.al.,2013).

Information from eleven observational studies and one randomized controlled study were analyzed. Results suggested that consistent adherence to the diet led to better cognitive function, slower cognitive decline and a lower risk for developing Alzheimer disease.

Surprised? It makes perfect sense when we look at the reasons for Alzheimer disease. More and more research shows that insulin resistance of brain tissue is one of the major reasons for Alzheimer’s. So it makes sense that a Mediterranean style diet helps with prevention.
 

Holiday season is approaching, and knowing how to regulate the glycemic index of your meals will be very useful. 2 important measures to take are:
 

1. Slowing down the absorption of glucose (sugar) when you eat.
 

2. Lowering the blood glucose after you eat.
 

You will learn these 2 great tips and more from "The Special Effects Diet" program. Download it now from www.tissuerecovery.com to get an early start fighting holiday weight gain!
 

Lourida I, Soni M, Thompson-Coon J, Purandare N, Lang IA, Ukoumunne OC, Llewellyn DJ. Mediterranean diet, cognitive function, and dementia: a systematic review. Epidemiology. 2013 Jul;24(4):479-89. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3182944410.
 

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.

Enjoy your snacking with no weight gain

Ever wonder what to eat if you get hungry between meals? The reviewed research investigated the response to almonds not only as a snack, but also when eaten with a meal (Tan SY, Mattes RD, 2013).

The study went on for 4 weeks. The participants with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes either had 43 grams of almonds with breakfast or lunch, or they had it as a morning snack or afternoon snack.

The effects were most noticeable in the snack groups. It was found that the almonds lowered the blood glucose after eating and when consumed as snacks they also reduced hunger and the desire to eat. Without being told to reduce the calorie intake, the daily energy intake was reduced, and the almonds did not increase the risk for weight gain when compared with the control group.

Research comparing different types of snacks with the same calorie content has also provided surprising, and very useful information when it comes to keeping your weight down. You can read about these and other interesting facts in "The Special Effects Diet program" which can be downloaded immediately from our website www.tissuerecovery.com.
 

Resources:
 

Tan SY, Mattes RD. Appetitive, dietary and health effects of almonds consumed with meals or as snacks: a randomized, controlled trial. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2013 Oct 2. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2013.184. [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.

Depression, inflammation and oxidative stress

Research has indicated that inflammation is one of the reasons for depression. The reviewed study is especially interesting since biomarkers of both inflammation and oxidative stress were measured in the 80 participants diagnosed with depression and also in the control group (Baek D., Park Y., 2013).

Levels of omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA which are the active ingredients in omega 3 fat, were measured in the red blood cells together with levels of omega 6 fatty acids.

Red blood cell levels of omega 3 fatty acids were found to be inversely associated with both markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, while omega 6 fatty acids were positively associated with inflammation and oxidative stress.

The same associations were found in the participants with or without depression.

This clearly shows that higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids are related to less inflammation.

Most people eating a regular diet get too much omega 6 fat compared with omega 3, a ratio indicating inflammation. Inflammation is a risk factor for all chronic diseases and just taking 2 capsules of fish oil daily can help reduce inflammation as long as the fish oil you take has high amounts of EPA and DHA. Click here to read about a fish oil which offers more benefits.

References

Baek D, Park Y. Association between erythrocyte n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in patients with and without depression. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2013 Sep 21. pii: S0952-3278(13)00189-0. doi: 10.1016/j.plefa.2013.09.008. [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.