Aging
High-Protein Animal Diets as Risky as Smoking for Longevity
High protein diets are more popular than ever for satiety and weight loss. But do they help us live longer? This new study may surprise you. Read commentary from Today’s Practitioner editor on why Got Protein? may need some life-stage instructions and why Micheal Pollan’s advice to eat mostly plants is spot on.
Naked Mole Rat, “You are My Detox Hero,” by Kara Fitzgerald, ND
There’s no disputing naked mole rats are hideous. They’re beady-eyed, hairless, with massive protruding front teeth. They are so ugly we didn’t want to post their picture on our site for fear of scaring and permanently scarring our readers. But there is a lot we can learn about DETOX from NMRs, says Kara Fitzgerald ND, a speaker at the upcoming DETOX Summit. For instance, “they live forever, feel no pain, and they don’t get cancer,” she says.
Inadvertent Stereotyping Leads to Healthcare Disparities
Going to the doctor’s office is a stress-inducing event for many people But for blacks, it can be particularly terrifying, because of something called negative racial stereotyping. And while racial stereotyping may not be intentional, it can seep into a patient’s psyche in ways you might not realize. A first-of-its-kind study by researchers at USC and Loyola Marymount University (LMU) has found evidence that the persistent health disparities across race may, in part, be related to anxiety about being confronted by negative racial stereotypes while receiving healthcare. Black women who strongly identified with their race were more likely to feel anxious in a healthcare setting – particularly if that setting included messaging that promoted negative racial stereotypes, even if inadvertently. Posters can be one source of this negative stereotyping. In light of this research, Today’s Practitioner tracked down some positive messaging on aging that you can download for your office (high-resolution downloads available free for Today’s Practitioner’s registered users). By Cleopatra M Abdou and Adam W Fingerhut, published in the American Psychological Association journal Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, July 21, 2014, Vol. 20.
New Theory on Atherosclerosis: Massively Calcified Endosome Death
Integrating Diet and Physical Activity in Type-2 Diabetes Therapy to Reduce Inflammation
Dark Chocolate Improves Walking in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease
This interventional study measured the acute effect of dark chocolate on walking distance autonomy (WDA), artery dilatation and NOX2‐mediated oxidative stress in a population affected by moderate‐severe. Previous studies with antioxidant infusion provided evidence that oxidative stress is implicated in impairing WDA, while its inhibition was associated with maximal walking distance (MWD) improvement. In PAD patients dark but not milk chocolate acutely improved walking autonomy with a mechanism possibly related to an oxidative stress‐mediated mechanism involving NOX2 regulation.
Compelling Research on Vitamin D Supplementation for Blood Pressure Reduction
New genetic research provides compelling evidence that low levels of vitamin D have a causal role in the development of high blood pressure (hypertension). The findings, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology (June 26, 2014), suggest that vitamin D supplementation could be effective in combating some cases of hypertension. “In view of the costs and side effects associated with antihypertensive drugs, the potential to prevent or reduce blood pressure and therefore the risk of hypertension with vitamin D is very attractive”, said study leader Professor Elina Hyppönen from the University of South Australia.
Drop Diastolic & Systolic Blood Pressure with Yoga
Lifestyle modification is a cornerstone of hypertension (HPT) treatment, yet most recommendations currently focus on diet and exercise and do not consider stress reduction strategies. Yoga is a spiritual path that may reduce blood pressure (BP) through reducing stress, increasing parasympathetic activation, and altering baroreceptor sensitivity; however, despite reviews on yoga and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and anxiety that suggest yoga may reduce BP, no comprehensive review has yet focused on yoga and HPT. By Anupama Tyagi, MA, PhD(c) and Marc Cohen MBBS(Hons), PhD, BMedSc(Hons), FAMAC, FICAE, published Alternative Therapies in Health Medicine, Vol. 20, No. 10.
Are Today’s Adolescents Tomorrow’s Hip-Fracture Patients?
The seeds of the pernicious disease osteoporosis are sown during adolescence, when the skeleton is most active in absorbing dietary calcium and building up nearly all the bone mass that will carry the teenager throughout life. Along with calcium, both vitamin D and vitamin K (particularly vitamin K2) are essential for bone formation. Little research has been done to evaluate adolescents’ vitamin K requirements for optimal bone development, but recent papers indicate that vitamin K status plays an important role in children’s bone health, and that bone metabolism requires significantly more vitamin K than blood coagulation. Calcium and vitamin D intake is well understood in the medical community, though fewer physicians are aware of the importance of vitamin K2, and little has changed with respect to dietary intake. By Karan Baucom, MD; Lara Pizzorno, MA; and Joseph Pizzorno, ND, published in the J of Restorative Medicine, Osteoporosis: The Need for Prevention and Treatment.
Glutathione: Physiological and Clinical Relevance
As the risk of exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) grows, research is looking at the role of glutathione and modulating disease risk. Joe Pizzorno ND and Joseph Katizinger ND review glutathione (GSH) and how altered GSH status has been implicated in a number of chronic, acute, and age-related diseases, as well as the aging process itself. In this review, the authors briefly describe glutathione physiology and the clinical implications of altered GSH homeostasis, as well as research on the use of various forms of glutathione as a therapeutic strategy. By Joe Pizzorno ND and Joseph Katzinger, ND, published in J of Restorative Medicine, Vol. 1, No. 1
