Protect your DNA.

We would all like to be able to protect our DNA. New research may show us an easy way to do that.

In a recent study, green tea was compared to a placebo of water where DNA damage and resistance to an oxidative challenge was measured (Han KC, et al. 2010). This was a cross-over study using the same participants, but having a wash-out period of six weeks between the green tea and the placebo. The participants drank green tea for four weeks comparing the tea to a placebo of water.

The interesting results showed that the green tea provided a 20% decrease in DNA damage.

Even if you don’t like to drink green tea there is an easy way to get the benefits anyway.

You can take one capsule daily of the formula "Better Green Tea," that is all you need.

Research has also documented other benefits of green tea. To read about that, click here.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.


Reference:

Genoprotective effects of green tea ( Camellia sinensis) in human subjects: results of a controlled supplementation trial. Han KC, Wong WC, Benzie IF. Br J Nutr. 2010 Sep 1:1-8.

Improve cardiovascular health and improve your brain function.

More and more research is finding that the different functions of the body are related to each other. For that reason it may not be a surprise that cardiac output is related to brain function.

A recent study investigated if brain MRI variables were related to cardiac MRI assessed cardiac index in participants with an average age of 61 years (Jefferson AL, et al. 2010). Patients with cardiovascular disease were excluded.

It was interesting that participants in the bottom cardiac index tertile and also the ones in the middle tertile had significantly lower brain volume than the participants in the top tertile.

The researchers concluded that the results were in agreement with the hypothesis that decreased cardiac function is associated with accelerated brain aging.


If you value a good brain function keep your cardiovascular system in good shape. Do some type of aerobic exercise regularly, eat high nutrients low glycemic index meals regularly and avoid sugary sweet drinks. Read the book "The Food Connection" for recipes and explanations of other benefits of high nutrients low glycemic index meals.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.


Reference:

Jefferson AL, Himali JJ, Beiser AS, Au R, Massaro JM, Seshadri S, Gona P, Salton CJ, DeCarli C, O'Donnell CJ, Benjamin EJ, Wolf PA, Manning WJ. Cardiac index is associated with brain aging: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2010 Aug 17;122(7):690-7. Epub 2010 Aug 2.

The danger of a big waist

A recent study followed 21,787 participants with an age from 45 to 79 years for an average of 9.8 years (Arsenault BJ, et al. 2010). The researchers examined the relationship between high triglycerides levels (fat in the blood), high waist circumference and the risk of coronary artery disease in apparently healthy individuals.

The threshold used as a high waist circumference was 90 cm (35.4 inches) or more for men and 85 cm (33.4 inches) or more for women.

When participants with triglycerides and waist circumference below the threshold were compared with participants above the threshold it was found that the participants above the threshold had higher blood pressure, higher apolipoprotein B (a risk factor for cardiovascular disease) and higher C-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker). These participants also had lower levels of HDL (the good cholesterol) and apolipoprotein A-1 (high is good) and smaller LDL particles (not good).

This resulted in an increased risk for future coronary artery disease of 2.4% for the men and 3.84% for women.

If you want to reduce your waist line and reduce your triglycerides, read the book "The Food Connection" and get started.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.


Reference:

Arsenault BJ, Lemieux I, Després JP, Wareham NJ, Kastelein JJ, Khaw KT, Boekholdt SM. The hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype and the risk of coronary artery disease: results from the EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study. CMAJ. 2010 Jul 19.

Protein source can affect risk of heart disease

It has been known for a while that fish intake is associated with a decreased risk for heart disease, but other protein sources have not been studied much. Fish reduce the risk of heart disease because of the omega 3 fat it contains.

What about protein sources like red meat, poultry and nuts?

This has also been investigated now following 81,136 women aged 30 to 55 years during 26 years of follow-up (Bernstein AM, et al. 2010).

The findings were very interesting and documented that higher intakes of red meat, excluding processed meat and also high fat dairy were significantly associated with elevated risk of coronary heart disease.

Higher intakes of poultry, fish and nuts were however significantly associated with lower risk.

1 serving per day of nuts was associated with a 30% lower risk for coronary heart disease compared with 1 serving per day of red meat. When 1 serving of red meat per day was compared with the following, low fat dairy was associated with 13% lower risk, poultry 19% and fish 24% lower risk.

Just by cutting down on red meat and eating some nuts everyday you can reduce your risk for heart disease.



For more ways to reduce your risk for serious disease read “The Food Connection.”

You can also access information with recommendations on different conditions by logging on to www.tissuerecovery.com.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.


Reference:

Bernstein AM, Sun Q, Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, Willett WC. Major dietary protein sources and risk of coronary heart disease in women. Circulation. 2010 Aug 31;122(9):876-83. Epub 2010 Aug 16.

One simple thing you can do to reduce your risk for diabetes

The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has been associated with weight gain. These beverages include soft drinks, fruit drinks, iced tea, energy drinks and vitamin water.

These types of drinks have also now been associated with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (Malik VS, et al. 2010). Metabolic syndrome is a condition which includes insulin resistance, elevated cholesterol, triglycerides and elevated blood pressure.

When data from studies including 310,819 participants and 15,043 cases of type 2 diabetes was analyzed it was found that individuals in the highest quantile intake of these beverages (most often 1-2 servings per day) had a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those on the lowest quantile (none or less than 1 serving per month).

Just from eliminating these types of drinks you have a better chance of preventing both weight gain and serious diseases.

You can read about how low glycemic index foods impact health and learn how to make easy and quick low glycemic index meals by reading the book “The Food Connection.”

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.


Reference:

Malik VS, Popkin BM, Bray GA, Després JP, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sugar Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-analysis. Diabetes Care. 2010 Aug 6.