Physical Activity and Telomere Length in U.S. Men and Women: An NHANES Investigation

What does this mean? Well it means exercise reduces aging!! This study measured the length of telomeres which are the endcaps of our chromosomes… kind of like those little hard plastic parts at the end of our shoestrings, as we age, they fray and get shorter. This is cellular aging… and exercise is kind of like aging’s kryptonite!

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743517301470

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Caregiver Stress

Caregiver health outcomes are affected and we need to find a way to support those who do the caring. There is no limit to the effects on a caregivers life and health. From cardiovascular disease and conditions such as broken heart syndrome to triggering a physiological process whereby heredity and environment interact, and genetics may be expressed ensuing in illnesses we might not have ordinarily experienced. A caregivers life will be influenced and show up in their work, relationships, health, virtually everywhere.  Despite our knowledge of the associations between caregivers stress and health outcomes little has been done and even less has been effective in reducing this stress. So what is the answer? We have a few ideas… see our blog post on Caring for the Caregiver. (Coming soon!).

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Caregiver Care: https://www.aafp.org/afp/2019/0601/p699.html

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Caregivers and Stress: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012800951200042X

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Reducing Caregiver Distress and Cardiovascular Risk: A Focus on Caregiver – Patient Relationship Quality: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0828282X19303411

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Inflammation: The Common Pathway of Stress-Related Diseases

Is inflammation the cause of nearly every disease and chronic illness? Well that might not be far from the truth! When we are under stress from exposure environmentally, physically, mentally and emotionally the body gets out of kilter and this imbalance in our physiology can lead to disease. It turns out that the activation or our bodies stress response is responsible for 75-90% of human diseases. And to go a step further there is a direct correlation between inflammation and stress related diseases.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5476783/

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Here are two other great articles. The first a study suggesting that when a person lives with chronic stress there is a failure to downregulate inflammatory responses due to stress associated glucocorticoid receptor resistance: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3341031/

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And if you want to read a great summarization of this article in layman’s terms: http://www.brainimmune.com/new-evidence-that-stress-induced-glucocorticoid-receptor-resistance-is-linked-to-inflammation-and-increased-disease-risk/ 

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Cilantro Leaf Harbors a Potent Potassium Channel-activating Anticonvulsant

I personally am absolutely crazy about cilantro! And as it turns out folk medicine was not wrong on this one. This recently published article in Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal explains how the molecular action of cilantro enables it to delay certain seizures that are common in epilepsy and other diseases. 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31311306

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Habitual Tea Drinking Modulates Brain Efficiency: Evidence From Brain Connectivity Evaluation

Teatime anyone? Evidence suggests that regular tea drinkers have better organized brain regions which in turn is associated with healthy cognitive function. There is an apparent protective effect against age-related decline in brain organization. The study was related to drinking green tea, oolong tea, or black tea at least four times a week.

https://www.aging-us.com/article/102023/text

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Tea Consumption Reduces the Incidence of Neurocognitive Disorders: Findings From the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study

Can drinking tea reduce the risk of cognitive decline by 50%? This study published in The journal of nutrition, health, & aging indicates that tea consumption was associated with lower risk of neurocognitive disorders among Chinese elderly. Drink up!!

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12603-016-0687-0

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Pentagamavunon-1 (PGV-1) Inhibits ROS Metabolic Enzymes and Suppresses Tumor Cell Growth by Inducing M Phase (Prometaphase) Arrest and Cell Senescence

Turmeric to the rescue… All the fuss about turmeric’s medicinal qualities has been spot on. Not only is turmeric a useful anti-inflammatory agent but new evidence is suggesting that an analogue of a molecule found in turmeric has anti-cancer effects. Pentagamavumon-1 (PGV-1) (the analogue) inhibits enzymes responsible for metabolism of reactive oxygen species therefore causing stress on the cells ultimately leading to cell death. Go turmeric!!

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-51244-3

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Association of the Functional Medicine Model of Care With Patient-Reported Health-Related Quality-of-Life Outcomes

Functional Medicine can improve your life in more ways than one. Many people are not aware that Cleveland Clinic has a center devoted to functional medicine that is a collaboration between Cleveland Clinic and the Institute of Functional Medicine. This center, led by Mark Hyman, MD, is devoted to the functional medicine approach of a personalized, systems-oriented model that looks at deep dives into a patients history, and considers interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex chronic disease. This study conducted there showed beneficial and sustainable improvements in health and had a noticeable effect on daily life compared to those seen in conventional primary care.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2753520

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The Trouble with CBD Oil

10 years ago most people would not have even known what CBD oil was and today they are buying it at convenience stores. Maybe not the best idea. This article looks at the known risks and issues related to the composition of CBD products. My question personally has never been about the benefits of CBD oil but rather the quality and unregulated production and sale of CBD oils. Don’t let the potential benefits gloss over that the risk of harmful contaminants is real; we often don’t know how pure these products are. We need to look at analytical methodology and third-party testing. I believe we should hold producers accountable for the quality and safety of their own products. I recommend CBD to patients daily but I have researched products and recommend what I consider only the highest quality. I recommend you speak to your provider or someone knowledgeable about CBD products before making a decision about using the products and determine what product might be best for you.

https://www.karger.com/article/FullText/489287