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Brain Health Health News Sugar Sweeteners

Why diet drinks can prematurely age your brain

Why diet drinks can prematurely age your brain
Customer in a restaurant having a carbonated beverage

Artificial sweeteners like aspartame and saccharin provide the sweetness of sugar without the calories. And if you have diabetes, you can consume these sweeteners without spiking your blood sugar.

Sounds perfect, right?

Not exactly.

What good is losing weight and looking trim if your memories are slowly being erased?

Take a look at the newest research on artificial sweeteners and what they do to your cognitive abilities…

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Artificial sweeteners steal your brain power

A large Brazilian study has found that the most common artificial sweeteners — those found in diet sodas, flavored waters, and processed snacks — are strongly associated with a decline in memory and loss of cognitive skills.

The study looked at seven low- and no-calorie sweeteners. You’ve probably seen some of these on your soda, chewing gum, or snack labels:

  • aspartame
  • saccharine
  • acesulfame-K
  • erythritol
  • xylitol
  • sorbitol
  • tagatose

The study followed 12,772 adults for an average of eight years. At the start, participants completed questionnaires about what they ate and drank during the past year. They were then broken up into three groups based on the total amount of artificial sweeteners they’d consumed.

All participants were given cognitive tests at the start, middle, and end of the study to track memory, language, and thinking skills over time. These tests looked at things like verbal fluency, working memory, word recall, and processing speed.

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People who consumed the highest amount of these sweeteners showed a 62 percent faster decline in overall thinking and memory skills than those who consumed the lowest amount — the equivalent of 1.6 years of extra brain aging.

Just to give you some perspective, for aspartame, a common sweetener, the highest amount was equal to drinking just one can of soda per day!

Other findings:

  • People under the age of 60 who consumed the highest amounts of sweeteners showed faster declines in verbal fluency and overall cognition.
  • The link to faster cognitive decline was stronger in participants with diabetes than in those without diabetes.

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Alternatives to artificial sweeteners

This isn’t the first time the alarm has sounded about the impact of artificial sweeteners on cognition.

In 2017, a study at Boston University found that people who drank diet soda daily were almost three times as likely to develop stroke and dementia when compared to those who did not.

In case you’re not already convinced to give up those diet sodas, here are some other scary things that artificial sweeteners can do to you:

Fortunately, there are healthier alternatives to sweetening your food and drink. And if you don’t overdo it, there’s no need to worry about the calories.

  • Honey – known for its antioxidant and antibacterial properties
  • Maple syrup – contains manganese and potassium, and has a lower glycemic index
  • Coconut sugar – made from the sap of the coconut palm
  • Stevia – a plant-based sweetener with no calories and no effect on blood sugar
  • Monk fruit – a natural sweetener with a sweetness level 300 times higher than sugar, and no calories or carbohydrates

So if you’re looking to stay healthy by losing those extra pounds, make sure you don’t lose your mind power, too.

Editor’s note: What do you really know about stroke? The truth is, only 10% of stroke survivors recover almost completely, and all doctors can offer is what to do after a stroke occurs. That’s unacceptable considering 80% of strokes are preventable! Click here to discover how to escape The Stroke Syndrome: 5 Signs it’s Stalking You — Plus the Hidden Causes and Preventive Measures You’ve Never Heard About!

Sources:

Sweeteners in diet drinks may steal years from the brain — Science Daily

Association Between Consumption of Low- and No-Calorie Artificial Sweeteners and Cognitive Decline — Neurology

Categories
Anti-Aging Fitness & Exercise Longevity

Doing this regularly could help you age in reverse

Doing this regularly could help you age in reverse
Carefree mid adult woman with long red hair wearing casual clothes is dancing and smiling at home in the living room, celebrating and enjoying life

Most of us think of our age as the number of years we’ve spent on this earth.

But there’s another measurement of age that has a far bigger impact…

Known as epigenetic or biological age, it presents a more accurate picture of how well your body’s cells and tissues are functioning. That makes it a more precise measure of age and risk for age-related disease.

The good news is that there are ways to slow down the epigenetic aging process and push back the onset of aging-related diseases, potentially increasing both your healthspan and lifespan.

And research has revealed one of the simplest and most effective ways to reverse your body’s aging clock is something you can do right now…

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Delivering measurable reductions in biological age

In research from Tohoku University, scientists reviewed existing evidence from studies showing that regular exercise, physical activity and fitness may influence epigenetic aging and potentially reverse it.

The results were compelling enough that you may just want to get up and dance — or walk, run, lift weights, go swimming, or engage in any type of exercise that floats your boat.

That’s because the deep dive into study after study revealed the incredible benefits of staying active for reducing epigenetic aging, including:

  • A study in mice that demonstrated that endurance and resistance training reduced age-related molecular changes in muscle tissue.
  • A human study that found exercising reduced biological age markers in blood and skeletal muscle.
  • Research that revealed that sedentary middle-aged women could reduce their epigenetic age by two years after just eight weeks of combined aerobic and strength training.
  • Another study that found older men with higher oxygen uptake levels, a key measure of cardiovascular fitness, had significantly slower epigenetic aging.

According to the scientists, “These findings suggest that maintaining physical fitness delays epigenetic aging in multiple organs and supports the notion that exercise as a geroprotector confers benefits to various organs.”

Considering all that can go wrong without exercise, I’m not really surprised.

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Which organs benefit most?

The research also was able to show that while exercise is excellent for slowing aging across your entire body, specific organs grab even bigger benefits.

Obviously, exercise offers benefits for your skeletal muscles, which are used to move your body as you exercise, allowing them to stay strong and healthy.

However, beyond muscle, regular physical training may also slow the aging process in your heart, liver, fat tissue, and even your gut (which controls a significant portion of your immune system).

The scientists do say, though, that if you want to experience to the fullest extent the anti-aging benefit exercise can deliver, the key is to leverage a structured exercise routine that is planned, repetitive and goal-directed.

That’s because regular exercise, like riding an exercise bike, playing tennis, going for a jog or lifting weights, appears to have more potent effects on slowing epigenetic aging than general physical activity, such as walking or doing household chores.

In addition to exercise, restricting calories can also help reduce aging and even mortality risk. So you have choices. Do what feels right for you.

Editor’s note: Are you feeling unusually tired? You may think this is normal aging, but the problem could be your master hormone. When it’s not working, your risk of age-related diseases skyrockets. To reset what many call “the trigger for all disease” and live better, longer, click here to discover The Insulin Factor: How to Repair Your Body’s Master Controller and Conquer Chronic Disease!

Sources:

Exercise may actually reverse your body’s aging clock – ScienceDaily

Categories
Blood Pressure Healthy Aging Oral Health

The missing link for lower blood pressure with beet juice

The missing link for lower blood pressure with beet juice
Fresh and healthy beetroot juice, good for the hart and blood pressure

You may have read about the link between beets and heart health — particularly blood pressure.

In fact, several studies have shown that consuming beet juice can lower blood pressure in both healthy individuals and those with high blood pressure.

One reason is that beets are loaded with nitrates. The body converts nitrate into nitric oxide (NO), a signaling molecule that’s vital for the healthy functioning of blood vessels and, in turn, the regulation of blood pressure.

However, new research suggests there may be a caveat to this effect — particularly in younger adults…

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The role of the oral microbiome

A study by researchers at the University of Exeter in the U.K. recruited 39 adults under the age of 30, as well as 36 adults in their 60s and 70s. For two weeks, each group took a concentrated “shot” of beet juice twice a day. After a two-week reset period, participants consumed a placebo version of beet juice with the nitrate removed twice daily for two weeks.

The results were surprising. While the older adults saw a noticeable decrease in blood pressure after drinking the nitrate-rich beet juice for two weeks, the younger adults did not. No change was observed in either group after drinking the beet juice with nitrate removed.

“We know that a nitrate-rich diet has health benefits, and older people produce less of their own nitric oxide as they age,” says study author Anni Vanhatalo, a professor at the University of Exeter. “They also tend to have higher blood pressure, which can be linked to cardiovascular complications like heart attack and stroke.”

It’s known that an imbalance between beneficial and harmful oral bacteria can reduce the conversion of nitrate to nitric oxide. This prompted the researchers to use a gene sequencing method to analyze which bacteria were present in the mouth before and after each two-week period.

They made a fascinating discovery…

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While there were significant changes in the oral microbiome in both groups after drinking the nitrate-rich beet juice, the changes differed between the younger and older groups.

The older age group showed a notable decrease in the mouth bacteria Prevotella after drinking the unaltered beet juice with nitrate, as well as an increase in the growth of beneficial bacteria such as Neisseria. The younger group showed an increase in some beneficial bacteria, including Neisseria, but not to the same extent as the older group.

In short, the blood pressure-lowering effect of nitrate-rich beet juice in older people may be enhanced due to specific changes in their oral microbiome.

“This study shows that nitrate-rich foods alter the oral microbiome in a way that could result in less inflammation, as well as a lowering of blood pressure in older people,” says co-author Andy Jones, a professor at the University of Exeter. “This paves the way for larger studies to explore the influence of lifestyle factors and biological sex in how people respond to dietary nitrate supplementation.”

A previous study by the University of Exeter found that beet juice promoted healthier aging in just 10 days.

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Make the most of what beet juice can do

Dr. Lee Beniston of BBSRC says the study “opens up new opportunities for improving vascular health through nutrition.”

“Encouraging older adults to consume more nitrate-rich vegetables could have significant long-term health benefits,” Vanhatalo says. “The good news is that if you don’t like beetroot, there are many nitrate-rich alternatives like spinach, rocket, fennel, celery and kale.”

While it’s true that you can get nitrates from these other vegetables, you would have to eat a significant amount of them to obtain the same benefits as you would from a glass of beet juice.

That’s why most studies on dietary nitrate and heart health have used beet juice and beet powders, which are popular among athletes.

I’m not a big beet fan, but there are ways to make them more palatable. For instance, if you make your own beet juice with a blender or juicer, you can add celery, cucumber or apple for additional flavor. But nothing is easier than a pre-made beet powder you can mix with water or juice.

It’s essential to note that certain dental hygiene habits can affect the natural processes that facilitate the conversion of nitrates to nitric oxide.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas found that antiseptic mouthwash, particularly that containing chlorhexidine, interfered with that conversion process and led to a significant increase in systolic blood pressure in a group of 26 study participants.

Editor’s note: What do you really know about stroke? The truth is, only 10% of stroke survivors recover almost completely, and all doctors can offer is what to do after a stroke occurs. That’s unacceptable considering 80% of strokes are preventable! Click here to discover how to escape The Stroke Syndrome: 5 Signs it’s Stalking You — Plus the Hidden Causes and Preventive Measures You’ve Never Heard About!

Sources:

Beetroot juice lowers blood pressure in older people by changing oral microbiome — University of Exeter

Ageing modifies the oral microbiome, nitric oxide bioavailability and vascular responses to dietary nitrate supplementation — Free Radical Biology and Medicine

Categories
Health News Healthy Living Immune Health

Over-the-counter drugs that supercharge antibiotic resistance

Over-the-counter drugs that supercharge antibiotic resistance
Woman pouring pills from bottle into her hand

According to the CDC, the level of antibiotic resistance has grown to epidemic proportions.

In fact, in the U.S. alone, more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur every year, with new forms of resistance emerging at an accelerated pace.

You probably already know that the antibiotics used to fight bacterial infections can actually contribute to this resistance over time, especially when taken too frequently, when not finished as directed by a doctor, or when taken for conditions where antibiotics have no effect — viruses, for example.

But what you may not know is that other common medications are fueling the problem.

Two of the worst are likely in your medicine cabinet right now…

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The perfect conditions for resistant bacteria to thrive

Researchers from the University of South Australia have demonstrated that ibuprofen and acetaminophen not only drive antibiotic resistance when used individually, but also amplify it when used in combination.

In fact, their research showed that when taking these medications, along with the broad-spectrum antibiotic ciprofloxacin for E. coli (a common bacterium that causes gut and urinary tract infections), the drugs made the bacteria highly resistant to the antibiotic.

“When bacteria were exposed to ciprofloxacin alongside ibuprofen and acetaminophen, they developed more genetic mutations than with the antibiotic alone, helping them grow faster and become highly resistant. Worryingly, the bacteria were not only resistant to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, but increased resistance was also observed to multiple other antibiotics from different classes,” observed lead researcher and associate professor, Rietie Venter.

According to scientists, taking Tylenol or ibuprofen actually activates the bacteria’s defenses, allowing them to expel the antibiotic and creating conditions that enable the bacteria to thrive.

Combat antibiotic resistance through wellness

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As the researchers point out, “Antibiotic resistance isn’t just about antibiotics anymore.”

And considering this is just one more antibiotic resistance threat in what seems to be an ever-growing list, it’s also one more reason why it’s vital to support your body’s natural immune response.

The key is to make sure that the response is balanced.

I say that because an immune response can be a double-edged sword. While an underactive response leaves the body open to illness, an overactive immune system cannot distinguish between the body’s own systems and invaders.

There are a few ways to help support your immune system so it’s up to the task…

Vitamin D3: A study published in the Frontiers of Immunology confirmed significant differences between the two types of vitamin D, with vitamin D2 having a questionable impact on human health. However, the study found that vitamin D3 could balance people’s immune systems by tamping down inflammatory response, and help strengthen defenses, even against viral infections.

Black seed or black seed oil: The black seeds of the Nigella sativa plant contain a compound called thymoquinone, considered to be an “immune system modulator,” meaning it promotes a balanced response.

Exercise: A 2005 study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise revealed that walking briskly for 30 minutes increased the number of natural killer cells, white blood cells and other important immune cells circulating in the body.

Thymus gland support: This gland is a key part of our immune system. Unfortunately, the thymus tends to shrink with age, and by the time we reach the age of 65, it’s largely unable to produce new T cells. But you can find ways to support it here.

When you do get a sickness that requires antibiotics, consider taking fish oil supplements with them. Research led by Flinders University discovered that omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in fish oil, can break down the ability of superbugs to become resistant to antibiotics.

Editor’s note: Regain your health and enjoy a full, vibrant life by defeating the real culprits of premature aging and sickness — excessive, damaging acid in your body! The truth is when you’re alkaline, wellness thrives and sickness takes a dive. Click here to discover The Alkaline Secret to Ultimate Vitality!

Sources:

Common painkillers like Advil and Tylenol supercharge antibiotic resistance – ScienceDaily

Antimicrobial Resistance Facts and Stats – CDC

Categories
Health News Healthy Diet Healthy Living Urinary Tract Health

The food that may give you an antibiotic-resistant UTI

Woman with UTI

Trying to eat healthier?

Then I’d venture to guess chicken is one of your go-to protein sources.

One of the healthiest diets around — the Mediterranean diet — encourages people to get most of their protein from lean sources like chicken and fish. So, chicken finds its way onto the plates of health-conscious people.

The problem is, chicken isn’t just a healthy source of lean protein. It’s a breeding ground for bacteria.

You probably know that you have to be extra careful when handling raw chicken — even more cautious than when you handle other types of meat.

Part of the reason is that dangerous bacteria like Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli are present in chicken while they’re alive, and stick around even after the bird is processed for sale in a supermarket.

If chicken is cooked at a high enough temperature, that should be enough to ensure your chicken is safe to eat.

However, it appears that even if you think you’re cooking your chicken thoroughly and don’t end up with food poisoning, these dangerous bacteria can still find their way into your body and cause an extremely uncomfortable, and often resistant, health problem…

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E.coli: The cause of resistant and recurrent urinary tract infections

A few years ago, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had a nagging suspicion about the poultry on our plates.

They thought it could be bringing dangerous bacteria into our bodies that eventually end up in the urinary tract and potentially the bladder, too.

They first began piecing together the connection between chicken and urinary tract infections (UTIs) after noticing that, in previous research, antibiotic-resistant UTIs were typically caused by a particular strain of E. coli related to the E. coli found in chicken.

“When we compared the fingerprints of the E. coli from the poultry and the human UTI cases, we found there’s an overlap of some genotypes,” said study author Dr. Lee Riley, a professor of infectious disease at Berkeley’s School of Public Health.

Since those findings in 2017, the treatment of UTIs has become complicated. Today, many of the E. coli strains behind UTIs have become resistant to multiple drugs, including fluoroquinolones like ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin.

A 2024 study found that patients with recurrent UTIs had higher rates of resistance and noted that resistance increases with subsequent infections.

It’s an uncomfortable and dangerous situation… one that could put your life in jeopardy. An untreated UTI, after all, can spread to your kidneys and even your bloodstream.

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How E. coli infects the urinary tract, and how to avoid it

It’s not an uncomfortable conversation, but we need to talk about how E. coli from chicken can make it into someone’s urinary tract.

They suspect that people who end up with these infections are either eating chicken that hasn’t been handled correctly in the kitchen or cooked thoroughly enough to kill the bacteria.

Of course, washing hands is paramount before cooking or handling food, but washing them after handling raw meat is just as important. When cooking chicken, ensure the meat has no pink tint (use a food thermometer to verify the chicken’s internal temperature is at least 165°F).

Still, how does the E. coli make it to the urinary tract?

Anatomy is the reason women are more prone to UTIs — though men have plenty of ways to end up with painful UTIs, too. But in women, the urethra, which carries urine from the bladder to exit the body, is typically shorter — and it’s in very close proximity to the anus.

This is the reason women grow up hearing the mantra “wipe front to back.” If you don’t wipe front to back, and you’ve ingested E. coli, it’s possible to bring the bacteria up from the anus to the urethra, where they can invade the urinary tract.

Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to antibiotic-resistant infections. Cranberry juice, already popular as a remedy, recently had its credibility backed by science. That’s why it’s included in this three-part system my friend Dr. Adria Schmedhorst shared, that could help you keep the threat of recurrent UTIs at bay.

Editor’s note: Did you know that when you take your body from acid to alkaline you can boost your energy, lose weight, soothe digestion, avoid illness and achieve wellness? Click here to discover The Alkaline Secret to Ultimate Vitality and revive your life today!

Sources:

  1. Did your urinary infection come from a chicken coop? — MedicalXpress. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  2. The Science of Why Chicken Goes Bad So Quickly — Gizmodo. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  3. Study Finds Kosher Chicken Has Highest Rate of Antibiotic-Resistant E. Coli — Food Safety News. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  4. How to prepare and cook chicken safely — The Telegraph. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  5. Chicken from Farm to Table — United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
Categories
Health News Immune System Inflammation

How viruses prematurely age your blood vessels

How viruses prematurely age your blood vessels
The human circulatory system, also known as the cardiovascular system, is made up of the heart and blood vessels that move blood throughout the body. The blood carries oxygen, nutrients, hormones, minerals, and other essential components to different parts of the body. Blood vessels also carry waste products and carbon dioxide away from organs and tissues.

Recently, a friend of mine got knocked down with Covid-19 again.

While she’s finally feeling better, she said that she was “surprised how much of a wallop that dang virus still packs.”

The truth is, though, a run-in with Covid-19 might put you out of commission for a week, thanks to the lingering cough, runny nose and sore throat, you may be left with an unexpected side effect.

That’s because research is revealing that suffering even a mild case of Covid-19 can actually age your blood vessels by five years.

Here’s what you need to know…

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Even worse in women

The research from Université Paris Cité, France, delved into the health data of almost 2,400 people from 16 different countries between September 2020 and February 2022. Each person was categorized according to whether they had never had Covid-19, had it recently but were not hospitalized, were hospitalized with it on a general ward or were hospitalized in an intensive care unit.

The researchers then measured each individual’s vascular age. The higher the measurement, the stiffer the blood vessels and the higher the vascular age of a person.

They found that anyone who had ever had Covid-19 were left with stiffer arteries that were aged years beyond their chronological age.

It was an effect that was even worse in women or those who lived with long Covid…

The researchers found that after a mild Covid-19 infection, women’s blood vessels had aged approximately five years. This is equivalent to a 3% increased risk of heart disease for a 60-year-old woman. And the worse the infection, the worse the blood vessel aged.

How the virus ages the blood vessels

According to the scientists, COVID-19’s effects on the vessels (especially in women) could be three-fold:

  1. Blood vessel lining – Because the virus acts on specific receptors in the lining of the blood vessels to enter and infect cells, it can cause vascular dysfunction and accelerated vascular aging.
  2. Inflammation – They also believe that the inflammation the virus triggers is a factor in the stiffening of blood vessels.
  3. Women’s unique response – Additionally, because women’s immune systems mount a more rapid and robust response than men’s, it can lead to increased damage to blood vessels after the initial infection.

However, it’s important to note that Covid-19 isn’t the only virus where this happens…

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Flu ages blood vessels, too

The flu can be just as dangerous to your blood vessels and heart. You may remember that a bout with the flu can lead to a heart attack.

Houston Methodist Hospital points out that “The reason influenza stresses the heart and vascular system so much has to do with the body’s inflammatory response to the infection.”

The white blood cells that your body produces to protect you can also cause what they call “a traffic jam of sorts.” This can cause blood clots and high blood pressure, plaque ruptures in arteries and even scarring and swelling of your heart.

Research from The Texas Heart Institute Journal also states that, “There is mounting evidence in support of a significant role for influenza infection in the development of atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque and stiffening of the arteries) and the triggering of its complications.”

And it lists explicitly the pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic (clotting) effects of influenza infection as the cause of blood vessel damage.

Supporting healthy blood vessels

Don’t wait to start taking care of your blood vessels. Maybe you’ve been lucky enough to avoid Covid or the flu, but there’s no guarantee you’ll always be so lucky.

Besides, even factors like air pollution can accelerate the aging, stiffening and the buildup of unwanted plaque in arteries. When you inhale polluted air, your immune system sets off an inflammatory process similar to what happens when the immune system goes into overdrive when faced with a viral infection.

The best ways to support blood vessel health include:

  • To support your arteries and douse inflammation, omega-3 fatty acids come out on top. For omega-3s, I stick to krill oil supplements due to their purity and high levels of astaxanthin. You can also get omega-3s in foods like salmon and walnuts.
  • Folate is another supplement that’s crucial to the health of the blood vessels. Beans have the most folate. You can also get folate from veggies like asparagus, turnip greens and broccoli.
  • Exercise is one of the best non-drug ways to reduce inflammation that can contribute to the aging of your blood vessels. It works by rendering pro-inflammatory molecules powerless.
  • And don’t forget vitamin D. Not only can it support the immune system, but it also delivers powerful support for quelling the fires of inflammation.

Editor’s note: What do you really know about stroke? The truth is, only 10% of stroke survivors recover almost completely, and all doctors can offer is what to do after a stroke occurs. That’s unacceptable considering 80% of strokes are preventable! Click here to discover how to escape The Stroke Syndrome: 5 Signs it’s Stalking You — Plus the Hidden Causes and Preventive Measures You’ve Never Heard About!

Sources:

Even mild Covid may leave blood vessels five years older — ScienceDaily

Flu and Heart Disease: The Surprising Connection That Should Convince You to Schedule Your Shot — Houston Methodist

Influenza and Cardiovascular Disease — NIH

COVID-19’s effect on the brain looks like stroke damage — Easy Health Options

Categories
Digestive Health Healthy Aging Healthy Diet Healthy Living

6 reasons to eat a pickle a day

6 reasons to eat a pickle a day
Photo taken in Mannheim, Germany

Whether they’re adding that final tangy bite to your favorite sandwich or serving one as a stand-alone snack, pickles aren’t just tasty…

They can also deliver a power-packed punch of vitamins and minerals to your diet that can help you get your health back on the right track.

In fact, while the humble pickle isn’t typically considered a superfood, these six reasons for eating a pickle a day could be one of the easiest and tastiest “self-health” hacks around…

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The nitty-gritty on pickle nutrition

The secret behind the pickles’ powerful health benefits is all in their vinegary brine.

That’s because the salt that’s used to enhance the flavor, help in preservation and support the growth of beneficial bacteria during the fermentation process, also draws out water from the pickle, concentrating its vitamins and minerals.

To give you just a little taste, let’s take an approximate look at what a single whole dill pickle can deliver nutritionally:

  • 20% of the vitamin K you need each day to support healthy blood clotting and bone strength.
  • 6% of the calcium that’s essential for nerve function, strong bones and teeth.
  • 2% of the potassium necessary for muscle contractions, nerve signals and better blood pressure.
  • 3%-4% of the daily vitamin C you need for antioxidant protection and to keep your immune system healthy.
  • 1% of the vitamin A your body needs on a daily basis to keep your vision sharp, your immune system strong and your skin and other cells in optimal shape.

And that’s just in one pickle!

How pickles support your health

With all of those vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, you’re probably starting to see why pickles really can be an essential part of a healthy diet.

But let’s break down exactly what health benefits pickles offer. These include:

#1 – Better gut health and improved digestion

While not all pickles are fermented, you can find brands that are. They’re easy to pick out as their label will say ‘naturally fermented.’

The advantage of this type of pickle is the good bacteria, or probiotics, which support bacterial diversity and the balance of your microbiome. This can help support your digestion, regularity, immune function and more.

#2 – Disease-fighting power

In addition to the vitamins and minerals we already talked about, pickles are also packed with other nutrients that can help support a healthy body.

These include phosphorus, which helps your body produce energy and is essential for cell growth and repair, and folate, which may help reduce heart disease risk.

Finally, pickles also contain beta-carotene, which your body needs for healthy vision as it helps reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration. This common eye disease affects the macula, the part of the retina responsible for central vision. It can lead to blurred or distorted vision.

Beta-carotene may even lower your risk of chronic diseases, including respiratory diseases, cognitive decline, heart disease, stroke — and may even slow aging.

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#3 – Blood sugar health

Pickles are also good for your blood sugar thanks to a combination of that beta-carotene plus the vinegar used to brine them.

Beta-carotene plays a preventive role in the development of type 2 diabetes, improving glucose metabolism. And the vinegar in pickle juice can help curb blood sugar spikes, to help you maintain steady blood glucose.

#4 – Muscle relief

Pickle juice, which is rich in electrolytes, may even help alleviate muscle cramps by replenishing sodium lost during exercise.

Additionally, some experts believe that the vinegar itself might fight cramps by triggering the ‘gag reflex’, resulting in the muscles in the throat contracting and the muscles in the rest of the body relaxing.

According to Madison Shaw, RDN, a registered dietitian and personal trainer, “It basically disrupts that signal that’s being sent by the central nervous system to the muscles and tells the body, ‘All right, stop cramping.”

#5 – Cell health and protection

Because pickles deliver so many antioxidants, they can also help reduce free radical damage to your cells that accelerates aging and disease.

Research has shown that antioxidants can help maintain skin health, guarding against UV radiation, reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline, prevent eye disease and even reduce certain cancer risks.

 These include breast, lung and pancreatic cancers.

#6 – A slimmer you

Pickles could even offer help with weight loss.

Not only are they a low-calorie food, but pickles also have the power to help you feel full longer due to their high water content.  

And thanks to the vinegar in pickles, you could grab two weight loss benefits for the price of one.

That’s because not only does vinegar help decrease appetite, it also slows the absorption of other carbohydrates from the foods you eat, which can reduce the insulin spikes that cause your energy and mood to fluctuate and contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes.

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Pickles as part of a healthy diet

So it seems that pickles might join the apple in the ‘one a day to keep the doctor away’ mantra.

Just be aware that if you have blood pressure, kidney or liver concerns, the high levels of salt found in many pickles might not be for you. In this case, you can always opt for a low-sodium option.

Also, when incorporating pickles into your healthy diet, be sure to get enough calcium daily, as sodium can bind and leach the calcium you need to keep your bones strong.

Finally, if you decide to can pickles at home rather than using store-bought options, always follow all boiling and canning instructions carefully to prevent harmful bacteria from taking hold.

My favorite is to make fermented pickles with garlic and dill.

They’re crispy, crunchy and flavorful. And they get their delicious tanginess from light fermentation rather than vinegar.

Editor’s note: Did you know that when you take your body from acid to alkaline you can boost your energy, lose weight, soothe digestion, avoid illness and achieve wellness? Click here to discover The Alkaline Secret to Ultimate Vitality and revive your life today!

Sources:

What Pickles Can Do for Your Health — WebMD

β-Carotene: Preventive Role for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity: A Review — NIH

Does Drinking Pickle Juice Actually Help With Cramps? Here’s What Science Says — Good Housekeeping

Health Benefits of Beta Carotene — WebMD

Categories
Brain Health Diabetes Hypertension

The surprisingly common syndrome linked to Parkinson’s

The surprisingly common syndrome linked to Parkinson's
Portrait of a confident businessman standing with arms crossed in his modern living room

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a hot topic.

The main reason it’s top of mind is that at least one-third of all American adults have it.

If you’re one of them, you face an elevated risk of stroke, kidney disease and dementia, just to name a few dangerous conditions it can lead to.

Recently, researchers have uncovered another neurological condition they believe is strongly associated with MetS — one that steals both your body and your mind.

Here’s more about that discovery, and how you can keep MetS from wrecking your life

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Components of MetS linked to Parkinson’s symptoms

In a large-scale study, an international group of researchers has determined that having metabolic syndrome was tied to a greater risk of Parkinson’s disease.

The study followed 467,200 subjects over a period of almost 15 years. In participants with MetS, there were 5.21 new cases of Parkinson’s per 10,000 person-years; in those without MetS, only 4.87 new cases.

While the researchers acknowledge that some of these people may have had a genetic predisposition toward Parkinson’s, they still identify several potential mechanisms by which MetS may lead to Parkinson’s.

First, the individual components of MetS, including hypertension, high blood triglycerides and high blood sugar, may each contribute to insulin resistance, oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. All of these, in turn, may lead to changes in neuroinflammation, but insulin resistance especially has a long history of harming the brain.

Second, hypertension and high fat in the blood can lead to white matter lesions in the brain, which may further contribute to the development of Parkinson’s symptoms.

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How to avoid MetS

It’s clear that MetS is a lot more than just being overweight and having high blood sugar.

But there are clues you can follow even before you measure your waist or take your blood pressure:

  • You crave carbs and sweets
  • You’re tired and sluggish, no matter how much sleep you get
  • You put on weight easily, but have a hard time losing it
  • You feel sluggish after eating
  • Your blood pressure is rising steadily over time
  • Your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol keeps climbing

Anything you can do to keep from developing this syndrome will lower your risk of any number of life-threatening conditions.

So where do you start?

Maintain a healthy weight through your diet and physical activity. You may want to consider a Mediterranean diet or its first cousin, the MIND diet. Both diets have been shown to delay the onset of Parkinson’s and prevent MetS.

Control blood sugar. If you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, follow your doctor’s recommendations for managing blood sugar levels.

Manage cholesterol. Maintain healthy cholesterol levels by eating a heart-healthy diet and, if needed, taking cholesterol-lowering medications.

Limit alcohol intake: Excessive alcohol consumption can contribute to metabolic syndrome.

Get regular sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night.

Talk to your doctor. If you have a family history of MetS or any of its components, or if you are at high risk, talk to your doctor about preventive measures.

Editor’s note: What do you really know about stroke? The truth is, only 10% of stroke survivors recover almost completely, and all doctors can offer is what to do after a stroke occurs. That’s unacceptable considering 80% of strokes are preventable! Click here to discover how to escape The Stroke Syndrome: 5 Signs it’s Stalking You — Plus the Hidden Causes and Preventive Measures You’ve Never Heard About!

Sources:

Parkinson’s Risk Rises With Metabolic Syndrome  — Medpage Today

Metabolic Syndrome and Incidence of Parkinson Disease — Neurology

Categories
Diabetes Fats Oils Healthy Diet Heart Health Inflammation

Do seed oils really deserve their bad reputation?

Do seed oils really deserve their bad reputation?
Sunflower oil

Seed oils have often been associated with poor health and disease for some time now. But you may have even noticed an uptick in health articles to that effect over the last couple of years.

The argument? Seed oils contain high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, which some experts have suggested may contribute to inflammation — a condition considered a root cause of disease.

In fact, some research has shown these oils increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity.

But what if everything we’ve been told about seed oils is wrong?

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Linoleic acid and cardiometabolic health

Linoleic acid is the primary omega-6 fatty acid consumed from vegetable oils, particularly seed oils.

“There has been increasing attention on seed oils, with some claiming these oils promote inflammation and raise cardiometabolic risk,” says Dr. Kevin C. Maki, a professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington and chief scientist at Midwest Biomedical Research.

Maki and other investigators analyzed data from almost 1,900 people in an observational cohort study. Their findings were surprising:

  • Higher levels of linoleic acid in the blood were consistently associated with lower levels of biomarkers for risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
  • Specifically, participants with higher levels of linoleic acid demonstrated lower levels of glucose and insulin as well as HOMA-IR, a biomarker of insulin resistance.
  • They also had reduced levels of inflammation biomarkers, including C-reactive protein, glycoprotein acetyls and serum amyloid A.

These results are consistent with those from observational studies that have found a link between higher intake of linoleic acid and lower risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.

The findings of this latest study are believed to be even stronger because of the measurements taken…

“Although other studies have assessed relationships between linoleic acid and cardiometabolic risk factors, our study used objective biomarkers rather than diet records or food frequency questionnaires to assess linoleic acid intake,” Maki says. “We also measured a range of markers of inflammation and indicators of glucose metabolism.”

In summary, instead of fueling disease, linoleic acid may actually help protect against heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

“We saw consistent results across the different biomarkers measured,” Maki says. “People with higher levels of linoleic acid in their blood tended to have a healthier overall risk profile for heart disease and diabetes.”

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Should you eat more, less or seek balance?

The researchers say these results support the need for additional research. But one thing’s for sure: Since omega-6 fatty acids are found in popular vegetable oils like canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, and soybean oil, many of us already get a significant amount of them in our diet.

That means you don’t need to focus on getting more. Instead, balance may be what to aim for. Your ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids should be 1:1.

In fact, the experts at Harvard recommend: Eat more omega-3s, not fewer omega-6s. But the American Heart Association reports that intake of omega-3s by US adults is “abysmally low.”

So, even though we’re discussing omega-6 fatty acids here, it’s important to consider the amount of omega-3s in your diet. Omega-3s help balance the possibility of inflammation connected to omega-6.

However, there are still considerations when using seed oils for cooking…

Absolutely avoid partially hydrogenated oil, which is high in trans fats — the worst kind of fat for your health. That means avoiding them in ultra-processed foods, such as baked goods, fried foods and some shortenings, makes good sense.

And, if cooking with seed oils, choose cold-pressed seed oils rather than heat-processed ones. The cold-pressing process does not involve chemical solvents like hexane.

Hexane is used in the chemical extraction of refined or commercial oils. Though exposure in cooking oil is very low, hexane can cause symptoms ranging from mild dizziness to severe, potentially permanent nerve damage.

Best yet, look to whole-food sources of omega-6, like sunflower seeds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds as well.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Try it for $1! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Myth-busting study shows controversial seed oils reduce inflammation — ScienceDaily

Are seed oils bad for you? A registered dietitian explains the facts — Colorado State University

Categories
Diabetes Health News Healthy Diet

What you need to know about French fries and diabetes

What you need to know about French fries and diabetes

I have to admit that my own personal guilty pleasure is potatoes — from French fried to twice-baked, I am a potato lover through and through.

However, more often than not, I feel I have to skip over my preferred side dish to avoid carbs, eat healthier and keep my blood sugar in the green zone.

But what if I told you that a new study is providing good news for potato lovers like me everywhere — revealing that there is a way to eat potatoes, without significantly impacting your diabetes risk.

And it’s even offering insight into just how often it’s okay to go all out and enjoy some French-fried goodness…

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Boiled, baked, mashed or fried, oh my!

Scientists reported in the BMJ that while past research had linked eating potatoes to an increased risk of blood sugar problems, no one had ever determined if how the potatoes were prepared made a difference to that risk.

So they set out to fill that gap in our nutrition knowledge…

To begin, they analyzed data collected over a 40-year period from 205,000 health professionals who participated in three extensive U.S. studies conducted between 1984 and 2021. These participants were free of diabetes, heart disease or cancer when it started, and completed detailed food questionnaires every four years.

After measuring the risk of type 2 diabetes based on the intake of different preparation methods of potatoes — boiled, baked, or mashed versus French fries — here’s what they found…

  • Eating three weekly servings of total potatoes increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 5%.
  • However, eating French fries three times a week skyrockets that risk to 20%.

All in all, they say that choosing baked, boiled or mashed potatoes was not associated with a significantly increased risk. But you might think twice or thrice about having French fries three times a week.

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Wise choices keep your risk low

This means keeping potatoes on the menu — especially if your guilty pleasure is creamy mashed potatoes or a baked potato with a pat of butter and topped with chives — doesn’t present a significant threat.

It also appears that the risk of diabetes is most significantly impacted by French fries when consumed three times a week. That means you may still be able to indulge once a week without losing control of your blood sugar.

So what could you replace those other two servings of fries with to help keep your type 2 diabetes odds low?

The researchers found that substituting baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes with whole grains lowered diabetes risk by 4%. But replacing French fries with whole grains lowered it by 19%.

You know what else would make for a great substitution? Berries.

  • Previous studies have shown that people who consume the most anthocyanin-rich foods, like berries, are least likely to experience chronic inflammation, a condition long associated with metabolic syndrome and blood sugar issues.
  • Berries also contain flavones, a phenolic compound, shown to improve levels of a protein (adiponectin) which helps regulate several metabolic processes, including glucose levels.
  • Some berries, such as the Amazonian Jaboticaba berry, can help lower postprandial glycemia (blood sugar levels after meals).
  • Best of all, most berries are antioxidant powerhouses. That’s a big deal because antioxidants guard against the development of diabetes. They support overall glycemic control by improving insulin sensitivity and slowing carbohydrate digestion.
  • Berries are also excellent appetite suppressants.

So, don’t be afraid of the potatoes, as long as you choose good substitutes to keep your French fry habit to one or fewer servings a week. And when you do eat fries, make them at home. This video from America’s Test Kitchen shows how to make them from scratch in an air fryer.

But, whatever you do, steer clear of rice. The researchers found that white rice, as a substitute for potatoes, increased type 2 diabetes risk.

Editor’s note: Are you feeling unusually tired? You may think this is normal aging, but the problem could be your master hormone. When it’s not working, your risk of age-related diseases skyrockets. To reset what many call “the trigger for all disease” and live better, longer, click here to discover The Insulin Factor: How to Repair Your Body’s Master Controller and Conquer Chronic Disease!

Sources:

What scientists discovered about french fries and diabetes — ScienceDaily

Categories
Cleanse Healthy Home Healthy Living

The cholesterol fix that sweeps forever chemicals away

The cholesterol fix that sweeps forever chemicals away
matcha Collagen powder is add to glass of water with a spoon. Healthy and anti-age concept

PFAS are highly useful chemicals.

But they’re also poisoning us.

Because their use is so widespread, they’re practically impossible to avoid, and even harder to eliminate — hence their nickname, “forever chemicals.”

According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, PFAS molecules have a chain of linked carbon and fluorine atoms. Because the carbon-fluorine bond is one of the strongest, these chemicals do not degrade easily in the environment, your home or your body.

“Every person in the United States, essentially, is walking around with PFAS in their body,” says Dr. Jennifer Schlezinger, a Boston University School of Public Health professor of environmental health.

Except now, purely by happenstance, Dr. Schlezinger may have found a ridiculously easy way to start ridding our bodies of these chemicals…

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Lowering cholesterol and cleansing PFAS

Perfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS, are used to make coats waterproof, pans nonstick and furniture stain-resistant.

You’ll also find PFAS in food wrap and containers, cosmetics and personal care products, increasing the ways we are exposed.

Some research shows PFAS are excreted in urine, but it takes nearly four years for levels to drop by half. So, they build up in concentration. Continuous exposure ensures a cycle in which they are never entirely removed from your body.

The damage they do to our health is linked to breast and testicular cancer, the death of our brain cells and the destruction of our immune systems.

Dr. Schlezinger has long studied the role of environmental toxins in disease development and adverse health effects. But it was a personal quest to lower her cholesterol levels that inadvertently led to a solution to remove forever chemicals from our bodies — and it’s something anyone can do.

Taking a drug-free approach, Dr. Schlezinger discovered that cholestyramine, a gel-forming dietary fiber, could help reduce her cholesterol.  

When taken with meals, cholestyramine binds to bile acids, eliminating them from the body through normal digestive processes. The body has to replace the lost bile acid, so it draws cholesterol from the blood to do so, thus reducing cholesterol levels.

Bile acid and PFAS are both surfactants. They are built to stick to fiber. Dr. Schlezinger wondered if gel-forming fibers could help expel PFAS just as they do with bile acids.

In clinical trials using an oat beta-glucan supplement (a gel-forming fiber), Dr. Schlezinger indeed found a statistically significant effect on PFAS levels.

She is continuing her work to find the optimal gel-forming fiber to decrease PFAS levels.

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A healthy step in the right direction

Despite the success of her initial trials, Dr Schlezinger wants to be clear about a few things…

One, she is not recommending a high-fiber diet to lower cholesterol or to remove PFAS. A supplement is much more accessible. For example, she’s testing a fiber known as psyllium, the key ingredient in Metamucil.

Second, she’s not implying that taking a fiber supplement for a few months will eliminate PFAS from your body. It’s unclear how long it could take.

But it appears to be a step in the right direction. The vast majority of Americans consume nowhere near the recommended daily fiber intake.

Dr. Schlezinger has been taking a scoop of oat beta-glucan in pomegranate juice before meals, and her cholesterol is back to normal.

But if gelled fiber is not appealing to you, there is another option that holds promise…

Probiotics. Research has shown that some gut bacteria have a remarkably high capacity to soak up PFAS from the gut environment at a range of concentrations and store these in clumps inside their cells.

Mice with these bacteria had more PFAS in their stool, meaning they were able to help it exit their bodies.

Staying regular may also reduce the amount of time PFAS spend in the gut, where they can leak through the gut barrier into the bloodstream.

Regardless of how effective these methods are, they also offer other health benefits and may be our best chance to reduce our PFAS exposure somewhat.

Editor’s note: Have you heard of EDTA chelation therapy? It was developed originally to remove lead and other contaminants, including heavy metals, from the body. Its uses now run the gamut from varicose veins to circulation. Click here to discover Chelation: Natural Miracle for Protecting Your Heart and Enhancing Your Health!

Sources:

Supplement could help remove forever chemicals from the body — Futurity

An oat fiber intervention for reducing PFAS body burden: A pilot study in male C57Bl/6 J mice — Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology

Categories
Cancer Fitness & Exercise Immune System

Boost your cancer-killing white blood cells in 30 minutes

Boost your cancer-killing white blood cells in 30 minutes
30 Minutes - Red Kitchen Egg Timer In Apple Shape

Being a health writer, I have a good grasp of how our immune system works.

I’ve written about it often, including how to know if your immune system isn’t working properly, how to slow immune system aging and how inflammation can turn your immune system harmful.

And when it comes to the involvement of blood cells, I’m quite familiar with the immune system’s first line of defense: white blood cells that help fight infection and disease, including “killer T cells” that help fight cancer.

However, there are more kinds of white blood cells than I’d known about. And not all of them are “good guys.”

In fact, some of them support the growth of cancer — but you’re not helpless to take them down…

Just 30 minutes can destroy cancer-causing cells

Tiia Koivula is a doctoral researcher at the University of Turku in Finland. She is the lead author of a study that alerted me to the fact that, while some white blood cells support our immune system and fight disease, just as many are busy promoting disease.

Including cancer.

“The balance of different types of white blood cells determines whether the immune system works to destroy cancer or to support it. If there are more cancer-destroying cells than cancer-promoting cells in the tumor area, the body is more capable of fighting cancer.”

Her study looked at twenty newly diagnosed breast cancer patients who had not yet started treatments.

During the study, these patients pedaled a stationary bicycle for 30 minutes. Three different blood samples were taken: before they started pedaling, during the exercise, and after they’d finished the exercise.

The blood samples showed that cancer-killing cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells increased the most. On the other hand, the number of cancer-promoting regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells did not change.

The researchers also looked at the proportion of different types of white blood cells relative to the total white blood cell count. The proportion of natural killer cells increased significantly, while the proportion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells decreased.

But you might be wondering: do those new cancer-killing cells stick around?

“In this study, it was seen that the number of almost all white blood cell types decreased back to resting values one hour after the exercise,” says Koivula.

“With the current knowledge, we cannot say where the white blood cells go after the exercise, but in preclinical studies, cancer-destroying cells have been seen to migrate into the tumor area.”

The evidence for cancer-slaying exercise piles up

Exercise fighting cancer? It’s not nearly as farfetched as it seems…

Edith Cowan University showed that men with advanced prostate cancer could increase levels of proteins called myokines by engaging in six months of exercise training. Myokines suppress tumor growth and fight the growth of new cancer cells.

Even better, in a follow-up study of a similar group of men, those same anti-cancer molecules increased in a single bout of vigorous exercise.

But exercise shouldn’t be something we only turn to after a cancer diagnosis…

When researchers in Tel Aviv found high-intensity exercise starves cancer cells of glucose preventing spread or metastasis, they suggested regular exercise could provide permanent cancer protection because it changes the tissue of internal organs to become similar to muscle tissue.

That means exercise will make your organs burn glucose like muscles do leaving less fuel for glucose-loving cancer cells.

And it doesn’t end there…

A team of scientists from The MD Anderson Cancer Center pitted exercise against a genetic cancer predisposition known as Lynch Syndrome — and found it resulted in statistically significant changes in gene expression. That’s epigenetics at work!

So the Finnish study isn’t really that much of a leap.

It’s just the latest in a growing collection of data pointing to the importance of regular exercise to avoid or beat cancer.

Editor’s note: Discover how to live a cancer prevention lifestyle — using foods, vitamins, minerals and herbs — as well as little-known therapies allowed in other countries but denied to you by American mainstream medicine. Click here to discover Surviving Cancer! A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding the Causes, Treatments and Big Business Behind Medicine’s Most Frightening Diagnosis!

Sources:

Already 30 minutes of exercise increases the proportion of tumor-killing white blood cells in blood — Eureka Alert

The effect of exercise and disease status on mobilization of anti-tumorigenic and pro-tumorigenic immune cells in women with breast cancer — Frontiers