More on staying mentally sharp....
Today's Post: Friday, 8-14-2009
This week has also been filled with news about ways to stay mentally sharp.
1. “Do high-fat diets make us stupid and lazy?”
-- was the headline on a story about research that found that rats overfed fat in their diet were significantly less mentally sharp and had far less stamina and were less inclined to exercise. The report also said the researches found that the cause for both things was that the rats that overfed fat had a compound in their blood that caused a drop in efficiency in getting sufficient oxygen to the mitochondria.
"....research published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) showed that in less than 10 days of eating a high-fat diet, rats had a decreased ability to exercise and experienced significant short-term memory loss...."
The researchers compared rats fed 7.5 % of calories as fat and rats fed a high-fat diet 55 % of calories as fat. The researchers found that within 4 days the muscles of the rats eating the high-fat diet were less able to use oxygen to support exercise. And within nine days the rats fed the high-fat diet “took longer to complete a maze and made more mistakes in the process than their low-fat-diet counterparts.”
Researchers then found increased levels of a protein called uncoupling protein 3 in the rats fed the high fat diet, which made the mitochondria of the rats less efficient at using oxygen needed to make energy within their cells. This made the rats less able to exercise and actually caused changes in the hearts of the rats similar to those causing heart failure. This likely also meant that the circulation to the rat’s brains was impaired. It also would directly impair the mitochondria in the nerve cells in the rat’s brains.
The news story neglected to say what kind of fat the researchers fed the rats.
And, study subjects WERE rats and not people.
However, given the low levels of excess LDL needed to cause mental decline in people, which we covered in our post last Friday, 8-14, I strongly suspect that eating excess saturated fat, omega 6 oils, and any hydrogenated vegetable oils very probably would duplicate this effect.
(Fatty cuts of grain fed meat, butter, cream, and full fat cheese can taste great. And oils high in omega 6 such as corn, soy, and canola may work OK in cooking. But you clearly would be well advised to avoid eating fatty cuts of grain fed meat, butter, cream, and full fat cheese at all often. Wild caught fish, nuts, lean poultry, and beans can replace fatty meat. And, nonfat and lowfat dairy products can replace higher fat versions and provide nonmeat protein. Lastly, beef fed only grass is leaner, has less saturated fat, and MUCH less omega 6 oils than fatty, grain fed beef. Grass fed lamb has similar benefits. So, if you like meat but only eat grass fed and don’t overdo how often you eat it, that also works.)
That means that eating in a way that causes a person to eat excess saturated fat, omega 6 oils, and any hydrogenated vegetable oils not only will lead to mental decline over many years, it will also make you less mentally able NOW. In addition, you will be less inclined to exercise or to benefit from it much if you do exercise. That means that you’ll be more likely to find it easy to put on excess fat and hard to lose it.
(It also means that employers might do well to both only hire people who don’t eat such stuff; but actually give people discounts on their health insurance, similar to those now given to people who don’t smoke or quit and those who successfully lose excess fat by many companies, to NOT eat these foods.)
Another study found that the people who ate the most meat tended to be the most likely to experience mental decline.
Lastly, this research strongly suggests that older people who supplement with CoQ10 or directly with the ubiquinol that your body makes from CoQ10, will be more mentally capable and able to exercise and benefit from the exercise they do. It also suggests that older people who are trying to lose excess fat would do well to supplement with CoQ10 or ubiquinol.
2. Two other studies found that eating the opposite way, specifically eating mostly a Mediterranean diet or eating fish at least twice a week or both, each independently lowered the incidence of mental decline.
The study that looked at the effects of the Mediterranean diet also found that the people who both followed it AND exercised regularly had the lowest rat of mental decline.
The Mediterranean diet minimizes the intake of dairy fats that are high in saturated fat, it minimizes heavy eating of fatty meats and it uses extra virgin olive oil instead of dairy fats or oils that are high in omega 6 oils. It also includes lots of vegetables. And, it includes garlic, onion, many savory spices, and red wine. The fiber and sterols from the vegetables lower excess LDL as does the olive oil. And, NOT eating junk carbohydrates plus eating garlic, onions, and drinking red wine each tend to increase your protective HDL.
And, the Mediterranean diet also tends to include more fish, seafood, and nuts.
In the email I get from www.vitacost.com , Allen S. Josephs, MD, their chairman & founder wrote this:
The people ”….who exercised at the highest level and whose diet was closest to that of a Mediterranean style…. reduced their risk of developing progressive cognitive loss by a whopping 60% compared to those who do not exercise or did not follow this type of diet.”
And, recently Reuters online health new had a story titled:
“More evidence that fish is brain food.”
In a newly reported study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that ....each increase in participants' reported fish intake -- from never, to some days of the week, to most or all days of the week -- the prevalence of dementia dipped by 19 percent.
The Reuter’s story also had this.: “Lab studies show that omega-3 fats have a number of properties that could help stave off dementia -- including actions that protect nerve cells, limit inflammation and help prevent the build-up of the amyloid proteins seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
In short, eating fish works 3 ways to prevent mental decline.
a) It gives you high quality protein you do NOT have to eat fatty meat to get. So eating it allows you to get solid nutrition while eating less fatty meat, which as we’ve seen prevents mental decline.
b) The omega 3 oils in many kinds of wild caught fish lowers inflammation, lowers triglycerides, and prevents excess blood clotting which in turn helps keep your blood vessels and heart health and free of plaque. That insures your brain gets proper circulation.
c) The omega 3 oils also are said to have been found to “….help prevent the build-up of the amyloid proteins seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.” So, eating fish high in these oils or taking purified fish oil supplements high in omega 3 oils apparently also directly prevents Alzheimer’s disease to some degree –IN ADDITION to the other two effects!
3. Dr Dharma Khalsa sells brain protective supplements including PS, phosphatidyl serine.
He says that research has found that taking this supplement preserves the physical flexibility and integrity of the surfaces in brain cells and protects them from becoming stiff and dysfunctional from oxidation, like a very old tire, in the phase he uses in describing the effect.
It’s been found that having older people begin taking 100 mg a day of PS can restore the brain function they had up to 10 or 12 years earlier.
Recently, he sent an email that I saw that said that research also found that people who take 100 mg a day of PS are 20 % less likely to get mental decline of any kind.
4. We’ve also posted several times on the research that shows that taking 500 to 600 mg a day of turmeric or the curcumin compounds in it very likely prevents the build-up of the amyloid plaques that apparently cause Alzheimer's disease. It may even partially reverse the build up of amyloid plaques for people who begin taking it. (I include that for readers of this post who may not have seen those other posts.)
This set of things strongly suggests that if you eat mostly a Mediterranean diet, eat wild caught fish &/or take omega 3 supplements, get regular exercise, sharply minimize eating excess saturated fat &omega 6 oils, eat no hydrogenated vegetable oils, and take CoQ10 or ubiquinol, take PS, and take turmeric, your chances of getting Alzheimer's disease or age related mental decline may approach zero.
Today's Post: Friday, 8-14-2009
This week has also been filled with news about ways to stay mentally sharp.
1. “Do high-fat diets make us stupid and lazy?”
-- was the headline on a story about research that found that rats overfed fat in their diet were significantly less mentally sharp and had far less stamina and were less inclined to exercise. The report also said the researches found that the cause for both things was that the rats that overfed fat had a compound in their blood that caused a drop in efficiency in getting sufficient oxygen to the mitochondria.
"....research published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) showed that in less than 10 days of eating a high-fat diet, rats had a decreased ability to exercise and experienced significant short-term memory loss...."
The researchers compared rats fed 7.5 % of calories as fat and rats fed a high-fat diet 55 % of calories as fat. The researchers found that within 4 days the muscles of the rats eating the high-fat diet were less able to use oxygen to support exercise. And within nine days the rats fed the high-fat diet “took longer to complete a maze and made more mistakes in the process than their low-fat-diet counterparts.”
Researchers then found increased levels of a protein called uncoupling protein 3 in the rats fed the high fat diet, which made the mitochondria of the rats less efficient at using oxygen needed to make energy within their cells. This made the rats less able to exercise and actually caused changes in the hearts of the rats similar to those causing heart failure. This likely also meant that the circulation to the rat’s brains was impaired. It also would directly impair the mitochondria in the nerve cells in the rat’s brains.
The news story neglected to say what kind of fat the researchers fed the rats.
And, study subjects WERE rats and not people.
However, given the low levels of excess LDL needed to cause mental decline in people, which we covered in our post last Friday, 8-14, I strongly suspect that eating excess saturated fat, omega 6 oils, and any hydrogenated vegetable oils very probably would duplicate this effect.
(Fatty cuts of grain fed meat, butter, cream, and full fat cheese can taste great. And oils high in omega 6 such as corn, soy, and canola may work OK in cooking. But you clearly would be well advised to avoid eating fatty cuts of grain fed meat, butter, cream, and full fat cheese at all often. Wild caught fish, nuts, lean poultry, and beans can replace fatty meat. And, nonfat and lowfat dairy products can replace higher fat versions and provide nonmeat protein. Lastly, beef fed only grass is leaner, has less saturated fat, and MUCH less omega 6 oils than fatty, grain fed beef. Grass fed lamb has similar benefits. So, if you like meat but only eat grass fed and don’t overdo how often you eat it, that also works.)
That means that eating in a way that causes a person to eat excess saturated fat, omega 6 oils, and any hydrogenated vegetable oils not only will lead to mental decline over many years, it will also make you less mentally able NOW. In addition, you will be less inclined to exercise or to benefit from it much if you do exercise. That means that you’ll be more likely to find it easy to put on excess fat and hard to lose it.
(It also means that employers might do well to both only hire people who don’t eat such stuff; but actually give people discounts on their health insurance, similar to those now given to people who don’t smoke or quit and those who successfully lose excess fat by many companies, to NOT eat these foods.)
Another study found that the people who ate the most meat tended to be the most likely to experience mental decline.
Lastly, this research strongly suggests that older people who supplement with CoQ10 or directly with the ubiquinol that your body makes from CoQ10, will be more mentally capable and able to exercise and benefit from the exercise they do. It also suggests that older people who are trying to lose excess fat would do well to supplement with CoQ10 or ubiquinol.
2. Two other studies found that eating the opposite way, specifically eating mostly a Mediterranean diet or eating fish at least twice a week or both, each independently lowered the incidence of mental decline.
The study that looked at the effects of the Mediterranean diet also found that the people who both followed it AND exercised regularly had the lowest rat of mental decline.
The Mediterranean diet minimizes the intake of dairy fats that are high in saturated fat, it minimizes heavy eating of fatty meats and it uses extra virgin olive oil instead of dairy fats or oils that are high in omega 6 oils. It also includes lots of vegetables. And, it includes garlic, onion, many savory spices, and red wine. The fiber and sterols from the vegetables lower excess LDL as does the olive oil. And, NOT eating junk carbohydrates plus eating garlic, onions, and drinking red wine each tend to increase your protective HDL.
And, the Mediterranean diet also tends to include more fish, seafood, and nuts.
In the email I get from www.vitacost.com , Allen S. Josephs, MD, their chairman & founder wrote this:
The people ”….who exercised at the highest level and whose diet was closest to that of a Mediterranean style…. reduced their risk of developing progressive cognitive loss by a whopping 60% compared to those who do not exercise or did not follow this type of diet.”
And, recently Reuters online health new had a story titled:
“More evidence that fish is brain food.”
In a newly reported study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that ....each increase in participants' reported fish intake -- from never, to some days of the week, to most or all days of the week -- the prevalence of dementia dipped by 19 percent.
The Reuter’s story also had this.: “Lab studies show that omega-3 fats have a number of properties that could help stave off dementia -- including actions that protect nerve cells, limit inflammation and help prevent the build-up of the amyloid proteins seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
In short, eating fish works 3 ways to prevent mental decline.
a) It gives you high quality protein you do NOT have to eat fatty meat to get. So eating it allows you to get solid nutrition while eating less fatty meat, which as we’ve seen prevents mental decline.
b) The omega 3 oils in many kinds of wild caught fish lowers inflammation, lowers triglycerides, and prevents excess blood clotting which in turn helps keep your blood vessels and heart health and free of plaque. That insures your brain gets proper circulation.
c) The omega 3 oils also are said to have been found to “….help prevent the build-up of the amyloid proteins seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.” So, eating fish high in these oils or taking purified fish oil supplements high in omega 3 oils apparently also directly prevents Alzheimer’s disease to some degree –IN ADDITION to the other two effects!
3. Dr Dharma Khalsa sells brain protective supplements including PS, phosphatidyl serine.
He says that research has found that taking this supplement preserves the physical flexibility and integrity of the surfaces in brain cells and protects them from becoming stiff and dysfunctional from oxidation, like a very old tire, in the phase he uses in describing the effect.
It’s been found that having older people begin taking 100 mg a day of PS can restore the brain function they had up to 10 or 12 years earlier.
Recently, he sent an email that I saw that said that research also found that people who take 100 mg a day of PS are 20 % less likely to get mental decline of any kind.
4. We’ve also posted several times on the research that shows that taking 500 to 600 mg a day of turmeric or the curcumin compounds in it very likely prevents the build-up of the amyloid plaques that apparently cause Alzheimer's disease. It may even partially reverse the build up of amyloid plaques for people who begin taking it. (I include that for readers of this post who may not have seen those other posts.)
This set of things strongly suggests that if you eat mostly a Mediterranean diet, eat wild caught fish &/or take omega 3 supplements, get regular exercise, sharply minimize eating excess saturated fat &omega 6 oils, eat no hydrogenated vegetable oils, and take CoQ10 or ubiquinol, take PS, and take turmeric, your chances of getting Alzheimer's disease or age related mental decline may approach zero.
Labels: brain protective supplements, lose weight more easily, protect your brain; prevent Alzheimer's disease; prevent age related mental decline, stay mentally sharp
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