You can use your mind to reduce inflammation.

Inflammation is a risk factor for all chronic diseases, and inflammation will also increase any pain you may have. Wouldn't it be great if you could reduce inflammation by just using your mind? The good news is that you can! 

The reviewed research investigated this(Black DS, et.al.,2013). 39 dementia caregivers either meditated for 12 minutes daily for 8 weeks or listened to relaxing music.

In the participants who meditated, 68 genes were found to be expressed differently, 19 were up-regulated and 49 were down-regulated. Up-regulated genes included immunoglobulin-related transcripts and the ones which were down- regulated were pro-inflammatory cytokines.

What this means is that meditation may reverse a pattern of increased NF-kappaB driven inflammation and also reduce IRF1-related transcription of innate antiviral response genes which has been observed in healthy individuals confronting a significant life stressor.

This was accomplished by spending only 12 minutes per day of this special type of meditation.

Black DS1, Cole SW, Irwin MR, Breen E, St Cyr NM, Nazarian N, Khalsa DS, Lavretsky H. Yogic meditation reverses NF-κB and IRF-related transcriptome dynamics in leukocytes of family dementia caregivers in a randomized controlled trial. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2013 Mar;38(3):348-55. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.06.011. Epub 2012 Jul 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.

Higher Blood Glucose Makes Your Memory Suffer

Like so many others, you may have noticed that you can’t remember like you once could. Sadly, some of your most common habits may actually increase your risk for developing dementia. Pay attention to this - life expectancy is increasing! If you don't do anything to change, most likely you will get worse as you get older. But wait! There are changes you can do that will make a difference.

The reviewed research makes it clear that reduced memory is not a coincidence, and that you have quite a bit of control(Kerti L, et.al.,2013). The study participants were 141 individuals both men and women with an average age of 62.1 years. A verbal learning test was used and their fasting HbA1c, glucose and insulin were checked. HbA1c is a measurement of long term glucose control. MRI scans were implemented to assess hippocampal volume and microstructure.

The results were very interesting and showed that even in the absence of type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, chronically higher blood glucose levels had a negative influence on cognition possibly due to structural changes in brain areas relevant to learning.

The researchers stated that strategies aimed at lowering glucose levels even in the normal range may beneficially influence cognition.

Click here and learn how to take control!

Kerti L1, Witte AV, Winkler A, Grittner U, Rujescu D, Flöel A Higher glucose levels associated with lower memory and reduced hippocampal microstructure. Neurology. 2013 Nov 12;81(20):1746-52. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000435561.00234.ee. Epub 2013 Oct 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.

Is reducing your salt intake really that healthy?

Salt has a bad reputation. The news stories are always the same: salt is bad, reduce your salt intake! I think it’s time to question that.

We don't need the same amount of salt all the time. Why is that?

When it is hot and we perspire more, or when we exercise and perspire more, we lose more salt which needs to be replaced. On days like that, we need to eat more salt. One of the reasons why runners sometimes get cramps is because of a high salt loss and not enough salt intake to compensate.

The reviewed research is interesting because it looked at salt intake and mortality related to all cause mortality and cardiovascular disease events(Graudal N,et.al.,2014). Looking at data from 25 studies it was found that both low salt intake and high salt intake are associated with increased mortality.

This makes sense. Before you cut out all salt, make an assessment of how much you perspire and take into consideration what your blood pressure is.

If your blood pressure is high and your ankles are swollen, obviously you may need to reduce your salt intake. On the other hand if you perspire a lot because you exercise and your blood pressure is normal, you probably don't need to reduce your salt intake.

Graudal N1, Jürgens G, Baslund B, Alderman MH. Compared With Usual Sodium Intake, Low- and Excessive-Sodium Diets Are Associated With Increased Mortality: A Meta-Analysis. Am J Hypertens. 2014 Mar 20. [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.

Do you eat enough fat?

What you eat could have a significant effect on your memory. The Mediterranean diet provides many health benefits, but can it be made even more effective?

That is what the reviewed research investigated. 522 participants both men and women at high vascular risk were followed for six and half years (Martinez-Lapiscinia EH,et.al.,2013). Two Mediterranean diets, either supplemented with extra virgin olive oil or mixed nuts were compared to a low-fat diet. Cognitive performance was evaluated using a Mini-Mental State Examination and also a clock drawing test.

Both of the Mediterranean diets, supplemented with either olive oil or nuts, improved the cognition compared to the low fat diet. The group with the most improvement was the group supplemented with extra virgin olive oil.

The "Special Effects Diet" provides you with the tools you need to implement a very effective way of eating to optimize your genetic potential.

Martínez-Lapiscina EH1, Clavero P, Toledo E, Estruch R, Salas-Salvadó J, San Julián B, Sanchez-Tainta A, Ros E, Valls-Pedret C, Martinez-Gonzalez MÁ. Mediterranean diet improves cognition: the PREDIMED-NAVARRA randomized trial. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2013 Dec;84(12):1318-25. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2012-304792. Epub 2013 May 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.

Tomatoes and breast cancer risk-reduction

You have probably heard that tomatoes are good for your eyes because of an antioxidant called lycopene. Did you know that tomatoes can make a difference with breast cancer risk? The reviewed research investigated just that (Llanos AA, et.al.,2014).

70 postmenopausal women at increased risk for breast cancer participated in the study. Their average age was 57.2 years. First they consumed a tomato-based diet which included at least 25 mg of lycopene daily for 10 weeks, and later they consumed a soy-based diet for 10 weeks which included at least 40 g of soy protein daily. The women were also tested for adiponectin and two other hormones.

Other research has documented a decreased risk for several types of cancers, including breast cancer when adiponectin is increasing(Kishida K, et. Al., 2014).

When the subjects consumed the tomato-based diet, it was found that the adiponectin concentration increased. This indicates that tomato-based food is especially beneficial for women who are at higher risk for postmenopausal breast cancer. Don’t forget that tomatoes are beneficial for other things - especially your eyes!

Llanos AA1, Peng J, Pennell ML, Krok JL, Vitolins MZ, Degraffinreid CR, Paskett ED. Effects of tomato and soy on serum adipokine concentrations in postmenopausal women at increased breast cancer risk: a cross-over dietary intervention trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Feb;99(2):625-32. doi: 10.1210/jc.2013-3222. Epub 2014 Jan 1.

Kishida K1, Funahashi T2, Shimomura I3. Adiponectin as a routine clinical biomarker. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Jan;28(1):119-30. doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2013.08.006. Epub 2013 Aug 20.

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 intensity exercise is best - but what kind?

I have written about high-intensity short-interval training several times, because more and more research is teaching us how to maximize our exercise benefits. Research has proven that it's a very effective way of exercising. So how can you use this principle when exercising to get the best results?

The secret is revealed in the reviewed research.(Cochran AJ,et.al.,2014). These researchers compared:

1. High-intensity short interval training performed on a stationary bike, done either for 30 seconds with 4 minutes of rest in between intervals repeated 4 times.

2. One set of continuous exercises that were matched for total energy output and required 4 minutes to complete as fast as possible.

Strangely enough, even though energy output was the same, the results were not!

After the first exercise session both protocols produced similar increases in markers of AMPK, p38 MAPK and PGC-1alpha mRNA expression. These are proteins related to mitochondrial energy production in muscles.

These proteins were also measured after six weeks of exercising three times per week. 

Here are the surprising results:

The continuous exercise protocol did not produce the same increase in these markers after six weeks as the short interval protocol with rest in between sets did. It turns out that intermittent stimulus is important for maximizing muscle adaptation.

If you want maximum results from exercise it needs to be short, very intensive intervals. You need rest in between the intervals to recover.

When you exercise this way your actual exercise time will be very short, only two minutes per session.

Cochran AJ1, Percival ME, Tricarico S, Little JP, Cermak N, Gillen JB, Tarnopolsky MA, Gibala MJ. Intermittent and continuous high-intensity exercise induce similar acute but different chronic muscle training adaptations. Exp Physiol. 2014 Feb 14. [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.