Chronic inflammation, cardiovascular disease and the link to vitamin B6

The study referred to here investigated the association of vitamin B-6 status with markers of inflammation and oxidative stress (Shen J, et al., 2010).

The results showed a strong dose-response relation of vitamin B-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory marker. Increased levels of vitamin B-6 were significantly associated with lower CRP concentrations and lower oxidative stress.

Vitamin B-6 levels were also significantly correlated with fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin, a long term marker of glucose control. Metabolic syndrome, obesity and diabetes were also significantly associated with low vitamin B-6 levels. These are all factors influencing cardiovascular disease risk.

As we learn more about the importance of not only B12 and folic acid, but also other B vitamins, taking a high quality B-complex makes a lot of sense. Click here, to read more about the benefits of B vitamins and what a good B-complex should contain.

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



Reference:

Shen J, Lai CQ, Mattei J, Ordovas JM, Tucker KL. Association of vitamin B-6 status with inflammation, oxidative stress, and chronic inflammatory conditions: the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Feb;91(2):337-42. Epub 2009 Dec 2.

Flaxseeds may modify estrogen metabolites and reduce tumor growth.

Flaxseed consumption provides several health benefits. Ground flaxseeds have also shown to help regulate estrogen metabolism by increasing the favorable estrogen metabolite 2-hydroxyestrone, but not the more active and potentially harmful 16alpha-hydroxyestrone (Brooks JD, et al. 2004). This results in a healthier ratio of 2-hydroxyestrone to 16alpha-hydroxyestrone. Higher levels of 16alpha-hydroxyestrone have been associated with estrogen related cancer.

Flaxseeds have also been documented to reduce tumor markers in postmenopausal breast cancer (Thompson LU, et al. 2005). A 30% increase of apoptosis (cell death) in tumor tissue was also observed.

The daily dose of flaxseeds used in both of these studies was 25 grams.

An easy way to take flaxseeds is to grind up 2 tablespoons in a coffee grinder, put it in a glass of water and drink it before breakfast and dinner.

For more information on the benefits of flaxseeds, click here.

To read the original abstracts, click on the references below.



References:

Brooks JD, Ward WE, Lewis JE, Hilditch J, Nickell L, Wong E, Thompson LU. Supplementation with flaxseed alters estrogen metabolism in postmenopausal women to a greater extent than does supplementation with an equal amount of soy. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Feb;79(2):318-25.

Thompson LU, Chen JM, Li T, Strasser-Weippl K, Goss PE. Dietary flaxseed alters tumor biological markers in postmenopausal breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2005 May 15;11(10):3828-35.

If you want to drink something uplifting, green tea may be it.

Green tea has been reported to provide many beneficial effects. The study referred to here was related to depression and included 1,058 Japanese individuals aged 70 years or more (Niu K., et al. 2009).

In this study group, 34.1% was found to have mild and severe depressive symptoms and 20.2% severe symptoms of depression. The results documented that a frequent consumption of green tea, 4 cups or more daily was associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms.

If you like drinking something hot, green tea would be a good choice.

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



Reference:

Green tea consumption is associated with depressive symptoms in the elderly. Niu K, Hozawa A, Kuriyama S, Ebihara S, Guo H, Nakaya N, Ohmori-Matsuda K, Takahashi H, Masamune Y, Asada M, Sasaki S, Arai H, Awata S, Nagatomi R, Tsuji I. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Dec;90(6):1615-22. Epub 2009 Oct 14.

Small changes can make a big difference in your health and weight.

You can get a good start in the new year by implementing some few healthy behavior. One thing that will make a good start in the morning and make it easier to lose weight or stay at a healthy weight is a high nutrient very low glycemic index breakfast.

Don’t get stuck thinking that you have to have certain things for breakfast. We are used to eating certain foods because of habit not necessarily because it makes sense health wise.

Here are two very healthy choices for breakfast. Start the day with a breakfast salad. An easy way to make it is by taking some few spoons of beans or lentils already cooked and add half a sliced tomato, half an avocado, and some few olives green or Greek if you like them. Sprinkle some few pumpkin seeds on top and add a little bit of olive oil and vinegar dressing. You can of course, also add other vegetables and lettuce to it if you like.

If you want something warm in the morning, try a lentil or bean soup. Put some few spoons of already cooked beans or lentils in a pan, add water, a little bit of salt, pepper and garlic powder and heat it up.

Beans and lentils are the best low glycemic form of carbohydrates you can eat to stabilize your blood sugar and give you prolonged energy. It will reduce cravings for sweets and keep you satisfied and full for a longer period of time.

Either you can cook beans and lentils yourself using dried ones, making enough for at least three days. You can keep them in the refrigerator and put them in different dishes. If you don’t want to cook them yourself use canned ones. It is still a lot better than cereal, bread, potatoes and rice. You can use all kinds of beans, they are all good. Be sure you have what you need at hand in the refrigerator, that way these changes are easy and quick to make.

It is one more thing you can do. Stop drinking soft drinks, juice and other sweet beverages. Fructose and sugar will in addition to make you gain fat, increase your cholesterol, LDL (the bad cholesterol) and triglycerides (Stanhope KL, et al. 2009).

Just by implementing these two suggestions will make a nice difference in the way you feel, function and look.

If you want to know more about this approach and want more recipes, read one of the books “The Food Connection” or “Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing,” click here.

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




Reference:

Consuming fructose-sweetened, not glucose-sweetened, beverages increases visceral adiposity and lipids and decreases insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese humans. Stanhope KL, Schwarz JM, Keim NL, Griffen SC, Bremer AA, Graham JL, Hatcher B, Cox CL, Dyachenko A, Zhang W, McGahan JP, Seibert A, Krauss RM, Chiu S, Schaefer EJ, Ai M, Otokozawa S, Nakajima K, Nakano T, Beysen C, Hellerstein MK, Berglund L, Havel PJ. J Clin Invest. 2009 May;119(5):1322-34. doi: 10.1172/JCI37385. Epub 2009 Apr 20.

Reduce fructose intake and be healthier.

This does not mean that you should stop eating fruits. The primary sources of fructose are sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup.

It is interesting to notice that as fructose consumption world wide has increased so has the rate of diabetes. Excessive intake of fructose induces features of metabolic syndrome (Johnson RJ, et al. 2009).

The metabolic syndrome is a condition which includes insulin resistance, the stage before developing type 2 diabetes. It usually also includes elevated blood pressure and increased cholesterol and triglycerides.

One of the reasons fructose is inducing metabolic syndrome seems to be by raising uric acid levels. Extensive experimental and clinical data support uric acid as being involved in the development of the metabolic syndrome.

The researchers of this study states that simple public health measures could have a major impact on improving overall health.

Start to read labels and avoid products which use fructose as a sweetener. Also avoid products with high sugar content. Juices, shakes, soft drinks and other sweet beverages are big sources of both. Processed foods in general contain these ingredients to make it taste better and therefore sell better.

For more information and recipes using unprocessed food, read one of the books “The Food Connection” or “Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing,” click here.

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




Reference:

Hypothesis: could excessive fructose intake and uric acid cause type 2 diabetes? Johnson RJ, Perez-Pozo SE, Sautin YY, Manitius J, Sanchez-Lozada LG, Feig DI, Shafiu M, Segal M, Glassock RJ, Shimada M, Roncal C, Nakagawa T. Endocr Rev. 2009 Feb;30(1):96-116. Epub 2009 Jan 16.

Intelligence affected by fitness

During early adulthood, the central nervous system displays considerable plasticity. This means the nervous system can still adapt and change easily making it more susceptible to input.

The study referred to here is interesting because it shows that physical fitness is important for numerous reasons and it is very important to be fit early in life (Abery MA, et al. 2009).

The researchers in this study measured cardiovascular fitness using an ergometer cycle and found that fitness was positively associated with intelligence after adjusting for other relevant factors.

The results documented that changes in cardiovascular fitness between age 15 and 18 years predicted cognitive performance at the age of 18. It was also found that muscles strength was not associated with cognitive performance.

The researchers stated that cardiovascular fitness at age 18 years predicted educational achievements later in life.

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




Reference:

Cardiovascular fitness is associated with cognition in young adulthood. Aberg MA, Pedersen NL, Torén K, Svartengren M, Bäckstrand B, Johnsson T, Cooper-Kuhn CM, Aberg ND, Nilsson M, Kuhn HG. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Nov 30.

Silhouette of men biking photo by photographer Jef Maion. The material remains the intellectual property of their author.

Certain types of fat are contributing to ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory condition of the colon. The cell membranes of tissue cells in the body incorporate fat or so called phospholipids into the membranes.

Omega 6 fatty acids, the type of fat found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds are metabolized into arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is a precursor for inflammatory cytokines.

The study referred to here investigated if a high intake of linoleic acid, an omega 6 fatty acid, would increase the risk of developing ulcerative colitis (Tjonneland, A, et al. 2009). The participants were 203,193 men and women aged 30-74 years living in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Italy. They were followed for 4 years.

Of the ones developing ulcerative colitis, 47% were women.

The results showed that the highest quartile of intake of linoleic acid was associated with an increased risk of ulcerative colitis.

Usually you don’t have to worry about the intake of nuts and seeds. If you have a very high intake of omega 6 fat, it is usually caused by a high intake of vegetable oils.

It is healthier for a variety of reasons to decrease the intake of vegetable oils except olive oils, which has shown to be very beneficial.

What is also very important is to be sure you get enough of omega 3 fatty acids, which helps to reduce inflammation. For more information on the benefits of omega 3 fat, click here.

To read the original abstract click the reference below.



Reference:

Linoleic acid, a dietary n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid, and the aetiology of ulcerative colitis: a nested case-control study within a European prospective cohort study. IBD in EPIC Study Investigators, Tjonneland A, Overvad K, Bergmann MM, Nagel G, Linseisen J, Hallmans G, Palmqvist R, Sjodin H, Hagglund G, Berglund G, Lindgren S, Grip O, Palli D, Day NE, Khaw KT, Bingham S, Riboli E, Kennedy H, Hart A. Gut. 2009 Dec;58(12):1606-11. Epub 2009 Jul 23.