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Three year study finds Mediterranean diet could prevent loss of brain volume as you age

January 10, 2017 by Daniel Barker Leave a Comment

A new study has provided evidence that the so-called “Mediterranean diet” can help prevent the loss of brain volume in older people.

The three-year study, published January 4 in the journal Neurology, found that a diet heavy on olive oil, fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains, with moderate amounts of fish, wine and dairy, and small amounts of red meat and poultry, helped those around the age of 70 to retain more brain volume compared to those who did not strictly adhere to the Mediterranean diet.

Lead author Michelle Luciano, PhD, of the University of Edinburgh, said:

“As we age, the brain shrinks and we lose brain cells which can affect learning and memory. This study adds to the body of evidence that suggests the Mediterranean diet has a positive impact on brain health.”

Mediterranean diet provides ‘long-term protection to the brain’

The findings reflect earlier studies showing a link between the Mediterranean diet and brain health, but this study is unique, according to the authors, in that it followed the subjects over a period of time, rather than taking one-time measurements.

“In our study, eating habits were measured before brain volume was, which suggests that the diet may be able to provide long-term protection to the brain,” said Luciano.

The study involved more than 950 Scottish seniors around the age of 70 who did not suffer from dementia.

From Medical Xpress:

“Of those people, 562 had an MRI brain scan around age 73 to measure overall brain volume, gray matter volume and thickness of the cortex, which is the outer layer of the brain. From that group, 401 people then returned for a second MRI at age 76. These measurements were compared to how closely participants followed the Mediterranean diet. …

“People who didn’t follow as closely to the Mediterranean diet were more likely to have a higher loss of total brain volume over the three years than people who followed the diet more closely.”

The researchers found that those who followed the diet lost only half the amount of brain volume compared to the effects of normal aging.

No changes in cortical thickness or gray matter volume were found.

Interestingly, the researchers found – contrary to the results of other studies – that consuming more fish and less meat did not appear to have an effect, leading Luciano to suggest that other components of the Mediterranean diet may be responsible for its brain-boosting benefits, or that perhaps it’s due to “all of the components in combination.”

What exactly constitutes a Mediterranean diet?

It should be noted that the Mediterranean diet is not one particular group of dishes or ingredients – it is rather a general regional trend that includes many variations. These cuisines, which include Greek, Italian, Spanish and others, tend to contain common elements such as seafood, red wine and olive oil – all of which are produced in the Mediterranean region.

So, even though there is not one convenient definition of what constitutes the Mediterranean diet, the overall emphasis is on fresh fruits and vegetables, lean sources of protein, legumes and grains, and olive oil rather than butter.

Such a diet is not only good for the brain, but also for managing a healthy weight and preventing heart disease and diabetes. Studies have also found the diet to be effective in preventing strokes, reducing inflammation and lowering the risk of depression.

Another important difference between the Mediterranean diet and that which many Americans practice is that it includes few processed foods. Added sugar, preservatives, artificial flavorings and other questionable ingredients are a big contributor to health problems and obesity in the United States.

Any diet that includes fresh, unprocessed (preferably organic) ingredients will always be healthier than the junk that passes for food many Americans consume on a daily basis.

So, if you’d like to live to a ripe old age while keeping your mental faculties in sharp working condition, the Mediterranean diet may be right for you!

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Researchers confirm link between vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and autism traits

December 28, 2016 by Robert Jonathan Leave a Comment

A published study by researchers in Australia suggests that insufficient vitamin D levels among pregnant women may increase the likelihood of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their children.

Moreover, vitamin D supplements may be able to reduce the autism risk, according to the same study.

Vitamin D, in general, promotes optimum health and according to the Natural News Vitamin D Guide, can help ward off disease. When individuals become deficient in vitamin D, they often begin to suffer from bone pain, muscle weakness, cardiovascular conditions, low moods, and various other health conditions, as Natural News separately explained.

In the above-mentioned study published in the Molecular Psychiatry journal, the Queensland Brain Institute reports that women with low vitamin D levels as measured at about 20 weeks into their pregnancy were more likely to have a child who develops autistic traits by age 6.

The researchers defined a vitamin D deficiency as less than 25 nmols.

They reached their conclusion by reviewing about 4200 blood samples from multi-ethnic pregnant women and their kids in the so-called Generation R Study from Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Remarked University of Queensland professor John McGrath, the lead author, “This study provides further evidence that low vitamin D is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Just as taking folate in pregnancy has reduced the incidence of spina bifida, the result of this study suggests that prenatal vitamin D supplements may reduce the incidence of autism.”

Vitamin D is sometimes described as the sunshine vitamin, but Prof. McGrath added that spending more time in the sun is not the preferred way to increase vitamin D levels “because of the increased risk of skin cancer in countries like Australia. Instead, it’s feasible that a safe, inexpensive, and publicly accessible vitamin D supplement in at-risk groups may reduce the prevalence of this risk factor.”

In their journal article, the researchers explained that ASD is “characterised by repetitive or stereotyped behaviours, and deficits in social relationships.”

The Queensland group also noted that low prenatal vitamin levels have been linked to a increased risk of schizophrenia.

In identifying autism risk factors, McGrath and his team included gestational vitamin D deficiency among them. “The vitamin D system is best known for its impact on bone mineral density, however optimal concentrations of vitamin D are also required for brain function, via its role in calcium signalling, neurotrophic and neuroprotective actions, as well as its role in neuronal differentiation, maturation and growth.”

“Maybe we could prevent serious mental disorders like autism by making sure women have optimal vitamin D during pregnancy,” McGrath told ABC News of Australia.

Commenting on the findings, vitamin D advocate Andrew Whitehouse of the Telethon Kids Institute told News Corp Australia that more research is called for the potential link to autism. “There are likely dozens, if not hundreds, of different mechanisms that can lead to autism. Now this study gives us an inkling of one possible mechanism but before we think about anything we need to see a replication of this finding. What we know is that vitamin D during pregnancy is very important for how the baby develops,” Prof. Whitehouse noted.

Natural News has separately explored the purported relationship between vaccines and ASD. Earlier this month, Health Ranger Mike Adams observed that most of the research about vaccines, mercury, and autism occurs overseas, and outside of the UK for that matter, because most researchers who challenge the Big Pharma status quo will wind up ostracized. Recall that during the presidential debates, the media seemed intent on demonizing Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carson, and Dr. Rand Paul as anti-vaxxers merely for suggesting that childhood vaccinations should be administered incrementally.

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Japanese scientist claims eating ice cream for breakfast can make you more intelligent

December 9, 2016 by Amy Goodrich Leave a Comment

Ice cream for breakfast, is it too good to be true? According to Yoshihiko Koga, a professor at Tokyo’s Kyorin University, it’s not. He claims that people who eat ice cream for breakfast have faster reaction times and are better at processing information, Excite News reported.

Professor Yoshihiko Koga is an expert in psychophysiology which studies the interaction between the body and the mind. His research mainly focuses on the effect of certain foods and scents on stress as well as anti-aging. According to Excite News, Professor Koga has found that people who eat ice cream for breakfast have increased brainwave activity.

Can ice cream make you smarter?

The Japanese scientist asked his test subjects to eat a few spoonfuls of ice cream in the morning and had them complete mental exercises on a computer right after they consumed the frozen treat. After examination of the data, he found that his subject’s brains exhibited an increase in high-frequency alpha waves which are associated with concentration, relaxation, and mental coordination.

In a separate study, he analyzed the brain waves and mental alertness of those who had a more normal breakfast and discovered that when compared to the ice cream group, this group did not show an improvement when it comes to processing new information.

When Professor Yoshihiko Koga realized that the effect of improved mental alertness could be due the cold temperatures that send a shock through the brain to wake it up and make a person feel more alert, he set up another experiment where he asked volunteers to have ice-cold water upon waking. He reported that people who had drunk the cold filtered water did show some level of increased mental performance and alertness. However, the effect was not as pronounced as with the ice cream eaters. To the Professor, this was clear evidence for ice cream’s brain-boosting powers.

Professor Yoshihiko Koga hasn’t been the first to make the connection between ice cream and a mental boost. The Telegraph reported on a 2005 study where neuroscientists at the Institute of Psychiatry in London scanned the brains of volunteers as they ate vanilla ice cream and saw immediate results. The British researchers found that consuming ice cream activated the same pleasure spots of the brain that are also activated when people win money or listen to their favorite piece of music.

Health experts react with skepticism

Not long after the story that claimed eating ice cream for breakfast will make you smarter went viral on the internet, Business Insider published their side of the story. They said that there is just no good reason to believe there’s any truth to this claim.

First, besides the four-paragraph article on the Japanese website Excite News, there is no other link to be found to the original study by Professor Yoshihiko Koga. Furthermore, Excite News mentioned that the research was conducted in partnership with a mysterious, unnamed sweets company, which will undoubtfully gain by the news that sugary treats for breakfast are healthy.

Katie Barfoot, a Nutritional Psychology Doctoral Researcher at Reading University, said that a possible explanation for increased alertness is the mere presence of consuming breakfast versus not consuming breakfast. She added that our brain needs glucose to function, and a high glucose or sugary meal, such as ice cream, will aid mental capacity considerably compared to a fasted brain.

However, this does not condone eating dessert for breakfast. According to Katie, a study which explores the interaction between the consumption of low and high GI foods, while including a fasted group, would establish a better understanding of this increased mental capacity.

Nonetheless, various new sites have repeated the claim based on one dodgy Japanese study without even mentioning the very real dangers of sugar on our health. So while it is a fun story, the Natural News team does not recommend eating sugary treats such as ice cream for breakfast.

Sources:

Independent.co.uk

Telegraph.co.uk

BusinessInsider.com