Maybe it’s a car repair you keep putting off… or the health problems of aging parents weighing heavily on your mind.

Maybe you’re just stressed because you feel like you’re being pulled in too many directions.

Or, maybe, you’re just not drinking enough…

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Under-hydration over-amplifies your stress hormone

Even when you’re not thirsty enough to notice, being under-hydrated could be silently working against you — by intensifying your stress response and leading to trouble on the health front.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that individuals who drank less than 1.5 liters of fluid – equivalent to seven cups of tea – per day had a cortisol response to stress that was over 50% higher than those who met daily water intake recommendations.

When the body senses it’s dehydrated, whether due to inadequate fluid intake or fluid loss, it triggers the release of the hormone vasopressin, that acts primarily on the kidneys to promote water reabsorption.

The sustained release of vasopressin strains the kidneys, which are working harder than usual to maintain blood volume and electrolyte balance.

But vasopressin also acts on the brain’s stress-response center—the hypothalamus — telling it to make the adrenal glands pump out more and more cortisol.

Professor Neil Walsh, a physiologist in LJMU’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, and lead researcher, said, “Cortisol is the body’s primary stress hormone and exaggerated cortisol reactivity to stress is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and depression.”

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Easy and effective cortisol-reduction strategies

Being hydrated may help your body manage stress more effectively by preventing the release of excessive cortisol. But what happens if you drink enough and still feel like you’re on the stress struggle bus?

Look at your diet…

According to doctors at the Cleveland Clinic, foods that can slow the production of cortisol include:

• Magnesium-rich foods like bananas, avocados and dark chocolate
• Omega-3 foods, including salmon, anchovies and chia seeds
• Foods rich in probiotics for gut health, such as Greek yogurt, kombucha and sauerkraut

At the same time, avoid these foods known to increase cortisol release:

• Caffeinated drinks
• Alcohol
• High in sugar snacks
• Refined carbohydrates
• Unhealthy fats

For extra support, consider adaptogen herbs. They get their name because of their exceptional ability to help the body manage stress and restore balance.

They can also relieve adrenal fatigue. Your adrenal glands aren’t just home to cortisol. These tiny glands produce several hormones that impact metabolism, sugar levels, immune response, blood pressure, sexual function and more.

Here’s a list to get you started:

• Boswellia
• Holy Basil
• Ashwagandha
• Rhodiola
• L-Theanine

Sources:

How dehydration secretly fuels anxiety and health problems – ScienceDaily

Tips to Reduce Cortisol Levels and Dial Down Stress – Cleveland Clinic

The post The cortisol-link between stress and dehydration appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Then and now, LSD is followed by controversy. Considered mind-altering, some proponents believe it lowers brain barriers and opens consciousness.

But, it’s illegal, and not without risk. It can cause hallucinations that can persist and may be linked to schizophrenia, rapid heart rate, increased body temperature, delusions and even psychosis.

That hasn’t stopped researchers from exploring the potential health benefits of the drug. It’s been tested as a treatment for stroke-related brain damage as well as for depression, anxiety and addiction — because it can shift blood flow in the brain, reduce negative emotions and induce blissful states.

Obviously, it would be great if there were a way to get the benefits of LSD without any of the risks. One research team may be onto how — and it’s literally as easy as breathing…

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Breathwork could reduce psychological distress

Use of breathwork as a therapeutic tool for psychological distress is becoming more popular because some versions of it can lead to altered states of consciousness (ASCs) similar to those evoked by psychedelic substances like LSD.

High-ventilation breathwork (HVB), which involves gradually increasing the rate and depth of ventilation, has strong potential as a non-pharmacological alternative for treating psychological distress.

However, the neurobiological mechanisms and subjective experience underlying HVB’s impact on taking the mind to an altered state haven’t been studied extensively.

To fill this information gap, Amy Amla Kartar of Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the United Kingdom and colleagues characterized ASCs induced by HVB in experienced practitioners. They did so by analyzing self-reported data from 15 individuals who participated online, eight who participated in the lab, and 19 who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

They participated in a 20- to 30-minute session of cyclic breathing without pausing while listening to music. Then they answered a series of questionnaires within 30 minutes of finishing the breathwork session.

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The results were impressive. During all experimental sessions, participants reported reduced fear and negative emotions, with no adverse reactions. Across participants and experimental settings, HVB reliably enhanced ASCs dominated by Oceanic Boundlessness (OBN).

OBN is a term describing a set of feelings that include spiritual experiences, insightfulness, a blissful state, positively experienced depersonalization, and the experience of unity. It’s considered a defining aspect of ASCs evoked by psychedelics like psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms.”

The intensity of ASCs evoked by HVB caused a profound decrease in blood flow to parts of the brain implicated in representing the internal state of the body, including breathing, while increasing blood flow to brain regions involved in the processing of emotional memories. These blood flow changes correlated with psychedelic experiences, meaning they may be the source of the positive effects of the breathwork.

Interestingly, the intensity of HVB-induced ASCs was proportional to cardiovascular sympathetic activation, as indicated by a decrease in heart rate variability. This suggests a potential stress response, indicating that the positive changes induced by ASCs may occur even while the body’s stress response is activated.

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Getting started with breathwork

In short, this type of breathwork, combined with music, appears to induce altered states resembling those of psychedelics, calming negative emotions while reshaping brain activity.

The researchers caution that more research is needed. Still, the research—the first to use neuroimaging to map the neurophysiological changes caused by breathwork—indicates that breathwork may be a powerful tool in addressing psychological conditions.

You can find plenty of information online to practice breathwork. However, it’s not recommended to practice high-ventilation breathwork on your own, at least not until you have become adept at it.

It’s more intense, and without an experienced therapy guide during a session, you could experience dizziness, hyperventilation, fainting, or even become emotionally overwhelmed.

Seek a referral from a functional medicine clinic, specialist, counselor or wellness spa in your area to connect with a knowledgeable therapist  — and get ready to feel the bliss.

Sources:

Scientists reveal how breathwork unlocks psychedelic bliss in the brain — ScienceDaily

Neurobiological substrates of altered states of consciousness induced by high ventilation breathwork accompanied by music — PLOS One

LSD — Drugs.com

What is ‘breathwork’? And do I need to do it? — University of Wollongong Australia

High ventilation breathwork practices: An overview of their effects, mechanisms, and considerations for clinical applications — Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

The post Unlock bliss to relieve anxiety, depression and more appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

For one thing, it may take us longer to prepare our meals. We may also develop health issues that interfere with our eating habits.

Both of these factors can influence when we eat, making it more likely that our meals will be delayed.

Our sleep patterns may change, too. Becoming something of a “night owl” can increase the likelihood of having a late breakfast.

Why does any of this matter?

Eating breakfast later and later can have a cascading effect on aging adults, leading to an earlier death…

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Breakfast timing provides clues about health status

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have found that breakfast timing may be a valuable tool in monitoring the health of older adults.

Led by Dr. Hassan Dashti, a nutrition scientist and circadian biologist at Massachusetts General, the research team analyzed data from 2,945 adults in the UK ages 42 to 94. They then followed these subjects for more than 20 years.

They found that as older adults age, there is a tendency to eat breakfast and dinner at later times, narrowing the overall time window in which they eat each day and having a significant impact on their health and well-being.

Eating breakfast later was consistently associated with having physical and mental health conditions, including depression, fatigue, sleep problems and oral health problems.

But most alarming, a later breakfast was also associated with an increased risk of death during the follow-up period.

“Up until now, we had a limited insight into how the timing of meals evolves later in life and how this shift relates to overall health and longevity,” says Dr. Dashti.

“Our findings help fill that gap by showing that later meal timing, especially delayed breakfast, is tied to both health challenges and increased mortality risk in older adults. These results add new meaning to the saying that ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day,’ especially for older individuals.”

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The most important thing: Consistency

Dr. Dashti suggested that encouraging older adults to have consistent meal schedules could become part of broader strategies to promote healthy aging and longevity.

So if you tend to be a night owl and a late breakfast eater, take some steps to turn those habits around.

According to research from Harvard and MIT, pushing back your bedtime and wake time by just one hour can lower your depression risk by 23%.

And you’ll be doing yourself a favor in other ways, too. You’ll be reducing your risk of diabetes, heart disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

No matter what time you head off to bed, sticking to a regular sleep schedule is crucial — as well as aiming for 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night.

Duke University researchers found that going to bed and getting up at about the same time each day lowers your risk for obesity, hypertension, and stroke — even if your total sleep time is less than optimal.

Specifically, disrupted sleep has been shown to increase the number of white blood cells, known as monocytes and neutrophils, in the blood. These cells are known to contribute to the development of plaque inside the arteries and put individuals at risk for heart problems and strokes.

To improve your chances of being ready for bed in the evening…

• Try moving around during the day, taking short walks, preferably with friends or neighbors.
• Turn off electronics or TVs to reduce blue light, which can interfere with sleep.
• Aim for a consistent bedtime.
• Practice good sleep hygiene by avoiding falling asleep in a chair or on the couch.
• Stop drinking caffeine at least 6 hours before bed. Try some chamomile tea instead — but do so about 2 hours before bedtime to keep your bladder from waking you up.
• If needed, a bedtime snack of walnuts and cherries is a good source of natural sleep-promoting melatonin.
• Don’t forget to brush your teeth before bed.

Sweet dreams!

Sources:

Scientists reveal how breakfast timing may predict how long you live — Science Daily

Meal timing trajectories in older adults and their associations with morbidity, genetic profiles, and mortality — Communications Medicine

The post The clues breakfast timing holds about your longevity appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

They were a huge part of the drug culture of the 1960s and were especially known for psychedelic or hallucinogenic effects.

Who would have thought that the same chemical that produced powerful hallucinations might one day be found to help you live a longer and healthier life?

Not me, that’s for sure.

But ongoing research is showing this to be the case.

“Magic mushrooms” might just be the next weapon in the ongoing effort not just to live longer but to ensure those extra years are healthy ones…

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Psilocybin reduces oxidative stress and slows aging

“This study provides strong preclinical evidence that psilocybin may contribute to healthier aging — not just a longer lifespan, but a better quality of life in later years,” says Dr. Ali John Zarrabi, co-investigator of a study at Emory University in Atlanta.

Psilocybin is the active compound found in psychedelic mushrooms. When it is consumed, it forms a metabolite called psilocin.

Emory University researchers dosed 19-month-old mice — an age that in human years would correspond to between 60 and 65 — with psilocybin doses that ranged from 5mg to 15 mg over a 10-month period.

The treated mice lived 30% longer than untreated mice and also experienced better aging — including healthier physical traits like better fur condition and hair regrowth.

Psilocybin is known for its psychological effects, especially in regard to relieving depression and boosting the feel-good hormone, serotonin. But this research indicates that it also targets several key biological markers of aging, including reducing oxidative stress, enhancing DNA mechanisms and maintaining telomere length.

According to the researchers, these underlying cellular processes play a critical role in both aging and disease onset.

How do we explain this?

“Most cells in the body express serotonin receptors, and this study opens a new frontier for how psilocybin could influence systemic aging processes, particularly when administered later in life,” says Louise Hecker, PhD, senior author of the study and former associate professor at Emory University, where the work began and was funded.

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Not a fan of shrooms? You have choices

Dr. Zarrabi emphasized the importance of further research in older adults, as well as the well-documented overlap between physical and mental health.

“My hope is also that if psilocybin-assisted therapy is approved as an intervention for depression by the FDA in 2027, then having a better quality of life would also translate into a longer, healthier life.”

But until then, how do we increase our chances of living a long and healthy life?

For starters, just move. Switching to an active lifestyle at any point in adulthood has been shown to extend lifespan. And you control the dial on effort and benefits. The plan you’ll stick to is the one that will bring you results.

Eat the rainbow. This term was coined for a good reason: Colorful foods are rich in flavonoids that are linked to a disease-free, longer life.

Avoid foods that send aging into overdrive. Certain foods accelerate aging. You’ll find which ones here.

Take advantage of shortcuts that research shows can have a powerful effect on aging, including:

• Coffee: the healthy aging secret under our noses
• The vitamin that slowed biological aging 3 years
• Conquer inflammation, the link between unhealthy aging and a shorter lifespan

Lastly, just in case you need more convincing about the importance of movement, here’s a list of 40 things that can go wrong with your body and health if you don’t exercise at all.

Dr. Jesus Peteiro, the author of a 2019 Spanish study on exercise capacity (how long and how hard you can work out), sums it up for us: “Exercise as much as you can. Fitness protects against death from any cause.”

Sources:

Natural Compound Found in Mushrooms Delays Aging and Extends Lifespan, Study Suggests — SciTech Daily

Psilocybin treatment extends cellular lifespan and improves survival of aged mice — Nature Partner Journals’ Aging

The post The magic mushroom secret for slower aging, longer life appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But for the person with ADHD, who may experience frequent nights of insomnia, it can affect life in a more dramatic and ongoing way.

It turns out that it may be insomnia that’s dragging their mood and quality of life down, compounding the struggles associated with attention deficit and the challenges of emotional regulation when living with ADHD.

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Insomnia has a significant impact on people with ADHD

Adults with ADHD are at higher risk of depression and lower quality of life (QoL) and research has revealed that sleep problems associated with ADHD may be why.

Specifically, insomnia could be the “missing link” that connects ADHD with depression and poor life quality.

Dr. Sarah Chellappa is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Southampton in England. She is also the senior author of a recently published study.

“We know that sleep disruption can impact neurobehavioral and cognitive systems, including attention and emotional regulation. At the same time, sleep disruption may arise from ADHD-related impulsivity and hyperactivity, suggesting a reinforcing cycle between sleep disorders and ADHD,” says Dr Sarah Chellappa.

Researchers from the University of Southampton and the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience looked at data from the Netherlands Sleep Registry.

They singled out responses from 1,364 of the over ten thousand participants in the Registry, looking at answers to questions about ADHD traits, insomnia, circadian factors, depression and quality of life.

Their findings made it clear that ADHD traits were associated with worse depression and more severe insomnia — and that insomnia and other sleep disorders were the potential link between ADHD, depression and lower quality of life.

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Hope for better interventions… and what to do until then

Professor Samuele Cortese, a co-author of the study, is also from the University of Southampton.

“There needs to be more research to understand this complex interplay. By improving our understanding, we could uncover treatment options that improve the quality of life of people with ADHD,” he says.

“For instance, targeting insomnia complaints in individuals with higher ADHD traits, with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia or Sleep Restriction therapy may help improve their quality of life.”

But there are simple, safe ways for people with ADHD to help themselves right now.

Melatonin is a hormone your brain produces to regulate your sleep and wake cycles. People with ADHD tend to have inhibited melatonin release and more difficulty preparing their bodies for rest. A French study found that melatonin helps adults with sleep disorders and ADHD.

Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a phospholipid that’s normally abundant in the brain and nervous system. It stimulates dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in sleep and emotional regulation. An imbalance of dopamine can lead to depression.

Omega-3s. Besides being good for heart health, omega-3 fatty acids may improve symptoms of ADHD, including behavior, cognitive skills and focus.

Other supplements that research has linked with improvement in ADHD symptoms include zinc, iron, magnesium, ginkgo and ginseng.

Always talk with your doctor before adding a new supplement to your daily regimen, particularly if you are taking medications for ADHD or other conditions.

Sources:

Can’t sleep, can’t focus, can’t thrive? ADHD and insomnia may be a vicious cycle — Science Daily

Associations of ADHD traits, sleep/circadian factors, depression and quality of life — BMJ Mental Health

Melatonin, Omega 3 & Dietary Supplements: ADHD Hype or Help? — ADDitude

6 Natural Supplements That Benefit Most Brains — ADDitude

The post The vicious cycle of adult ADHD and insomnia appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Funny thing is, if you come to them with physical complaints, especially anything pain-related, they’ll often file that under the label of depression, too, and pull out that prescription form.

But they’ve been missing out on the actual physical toll of depression that research pioneer Dr. Philip Gold recently laid out in a landmark paper published in Brain Medicine’s Seymour Reichlin Centenary Festschrift collection.

Depression doesn’t just sometimes hurt. It contributes to the most common chronic diseases, cutting our lives short…

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Far beyond mood changes: Disease and shorter lifespan

“Depression’s toll reaches beyond mood and thought, extending into physical health risks like coronary artery disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and stroke,” explains Dr. Gold.

In fact, considering that these conditions collectively reduce life expectancy by approximately 7 to 10 years in people suffering from them, depression clearly has an adverse effect on longevity itself.

To determine just how depression leads to these life-threatening diseases, Dr. Gold looked at the brain, discovering that people who are depressed experience striking changes in brain structure.

These changes include a 40% reduction in subgenual prefrontal cortex volume—a region that plays a critical role in regulating the stress response.

If that weren’t enough, these structural changes occur in conjunction with disruptions in multiple hormone systems, particularly involving corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and norepinephrine.

“The combined effects of CRH, norepinephrine, cortisol, and inflammatory pathways help explain why depression often leads to early onset of various illnesses and a shortened lifespan for those affected,” notes Dr. Gold, emphasizing the interconnected nature of these systems.

Clearly, the proof is in the pudding. And no matter what your doctor might say, depression is not only in your head.

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Don’t let depression rain on your good health

This isn’t the first we’ve heard about the impact of mental health on physical health…

In fact, scientists at Ohio State revealed a powerful connection between mental health and heart disease.  

“Heart disease and anxiety/depression interact such that each promotes the other,” said lead study author Philip Binkley, MD. “There appear to be mental processes that link heart disease with anxiety and depression that are currently under investigation. Both heart disease and anxiety/depression are associated with the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This is part of the so-called involuntary nervous system that increases heart rate, blood pressure and can also contribute to anxiety and depression.”

The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for the “fight or flight” response during any potential danger. On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system inhibits the body from overworking and restores the body to a calm and composed state.

So, if you’ve been living with depression, be sure you are heard when talking to a doctor about it. And when you see your primary physician, be sure he’s aware that you are dealing with depression so he can pay closer attention to what’s going on in your body.

In addition, these practices could help you mentally and physically:

• Boost your dopamine levels – This happiness hormone is linked to the nervous system and low levels can result in depression.
• Conscious movement – Yoga is a great way to reduce both depression and anxiety. Here are three of the most effective poses anyone can do.
• Foods – Researchers have found that certain foods can help DASH symptoms of depression. So be sure to put the right diet to work for you. Foods that contain the prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides (like legumes and nuts) are especially helpful at reducing anxiety levels.
• Supplements – If you’re deficient in certain amino acids or minerals, it can amp up your depression. Two of the most important are arginine and magnesium. Research has shown that people with depression also suffered low arginine levels which can lower the amount of nitric oxide in the body. Low levels of nitric oxide are necessary for healthy blood flow and facilitate heart health.

Sources:

Depression research pioneer Dr. Philip Gold maps disease’s full-body impact — EurekAlert!

The link between depression chronic illness and a shorter life — Easy Health Options

The amino acid deficiency that leads to depression — Easy Health Options

The post The full-body impact of depression: Chronic disease appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Take, for example, the connection between gum disease and conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease.

Many of us think of oral health as a separate entity from the rest of the body, because that’s exactly what the medical community has done. But this simply isn’t the case.

Your mouth is the gateway to the rest of your body. Keeping it clean prevents bacteria from fermenting and circulating throughout your body, triggering inflammation and disease.

And as if this weren’t enough, we’re finding that oral health and mental health are linked as well.

For people over 65, keeping your mouth healthy could lower your risk of experiencing depression and anxiety in your “golden years.”

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A healthy mouth = lower odds of depression and anxiety

A study of elderly adults in China found that people with better oral health were less likely to suffer from depression and anxiety.

They explored data from 3,188 people aged 65 and older who participated in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, a long-term project that tracks the health and well-being of senior adults.

Here are some of their interesting findings:

• People who brushed their teeth two or more times a day had a 22% lower chance of experiencing anxiety compared with those who brushed infrequently.
• People who ate fruits and vegetables daily were significantly less likely to develop anxiety.
• People who had undergone dental procedures to repair missing teeth had a 42% lower chance of experiencing depression.
• People who brushed their teeth regularly and ate fruits and vegetables daily were also less likely to suffer from dementia.

The study authors concluded that “oral health and dietary behavior are closely related to the susceptibility of middle-aged and elderly individuals to depression, anxiety, and dementia.”

But they are also quick to note that it cannot be assumed that poor oral hygiene causes depression or anxiety. In fact, the opposite relationship may exist, i.e., depression and anxiety may reduce a person’s ability to maintain good oral hygiene.

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Tips for added oral health benefits

Regardless of which causes which, we know that good oral hygiene is essential.

In case you’re not yet convinced that bad oral hygiene can be dangerous to your health, consider this:

• Skipping your brush-and-floss routine for just 24 hours can kick off periodontitis — severe gum disease that can lead to tooth damage or even tooth loss
• Klebsiella pneumoniae, a bacterium commonly found in the human mouth but rarely in the gut, can cause bowel disease and ulcerative colitis.
• Clinical trials have found that hospital patients who brushed their teeth twice daily had lower rates of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP).

But what else can a person do besides brush and floss?

Plenty. And as with many things, it starts with nutrition:

• Bleeding gums may signal a vitamin C deficiency. Make sure you’re including citrus fruits, berries and cruciferous vegetables in your diet.
• DIM (diindolylmethane) supplements can help maintain a healthy oral microbiome (DIM is found in broccoli, but you’d have to eat TONS of it to have any effect on your oral health).
• Other supplements are also effective in preventing gum disease, including grape seed extract and echinacea.

The moral of this story: Take good care of your mouth and you’ll set yourself up for a longer, healthier and happier life.

Sources:

Better oral health linked to lower risk of depression and anxiety in older adults — PsyPost

Modelling analysis of dietary behaviors and oral health status to assess the impact on the mental well-being of elderly individuals: a cross-sectional survey study — Frontiers in Nutrition

The post The oral health-mental health connection for happy aging appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That’s why one of our favorite sayings is “prevention is the best medicine.” However, working at preventing them all could seem daunting — unless there’s a connection.

That’s what’s so empowering about research revealing common risk factors that link stroke, dementia and late-life depression — and how modifying any one of them can reduce your risk of all three of these conditions…

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Many risk factors in common

Researchers have begun focusing on the root causes of disease and drawing commonalities between them. That’s especially helpful when the common factors are modifiable — meaning you can change them and impact your health.

Researchers at Mass General Brigham analyzed previous meta-analyses on three age-related brain diseases — stroke, dementia and late-life depression — and combined the data to identify modifiable risk factors shared by at least two out of the three diseases. They also estimated each risk factor’s relative impact on quality of life and early death.

In total, the researchers identified 17 risk factors shared by at least two of the three diseases:

• Blood pressure
• Kidney disease
• Fasting plasma glucose
• Total cholesterol
• Alcohol use
• Diet
• Hearing loss
• Pain
• Physical activity
• Purpose in life
• Sleep
• Smoking
• Social engagement
• Stress
• Body mass index
• Leisure time cognitive activity
• Depressive symptoms

Of the 17 risk factors, two had the most significant impact on the incidence and burden of all three diseases: high blood pressure and severe kidney disease.

Physical activity and engagement in leisure activities with a cognitive aspect, such as puzzles, were linked with a lower risk of disease. It’s possible, however, the researchers suspect, that individuals with brain disease may just be less capable of engaging in these types of activities. Then again, some pretty solid research already links exercise to reduced risk of stroke and Alzheimer’s.

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But the most exciting finding of all?

The researchers discovered that modifying any one of the 17 shared risk factors can reduce the risk of all three conditions. That’s great news for those of us overwhelmed by that long list.

“Our study identified 17 modifiable risk factors shared between stroke, dementia, and/or late-life depression, emphasizing that there are many different steps individuals can take to lower their risks for these age-related brain diseases,” says senior author Dr. Sanjula Singh of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.

“Dementia, stroke, and late-life depression are connected and intertwined, so if you develop one of them, there’s a substantial chance you may develop another one in the future,” says first author Dr. Jasper Senff of MGH.

“And because they share these overlapping risk factors, preventive efforts could lead to a reduction in the incidence of more than one of these diseases, which provides an opportunity to simultaneously reduce the burden of age-related brain diseases.”

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Tackling those risk factors

The researchers note that these findings can inform tools such as the McCance Center Brain Care Score, used by many healthcare professionals to determine brain health and offer guidance on improving it. Mass General Brigham researchers developed and validated the Brain Care Score and have updated it to reflect the latest scientific information.

The researchers emphasize the need for more investigations into modifiable risk factors of late-life depression and call for a randomized controlled trial to test an intervention using the Brain Care Score.

“Healthcare is increasingly complex,” says Dr Jonathan Rosand of MGH. “But these findings remind us that preventing disease can be very simple. Why? Because many of the most common diseases share the same risk factors.”

That long list of risk factors is intimidating. But since addressing even one of them can reduce your odds, I suggest starting with the two factors that all three diseases have in common: blood pressure and kidney function.

Fortunately, you can make a simple change to benefit both of those health markers: eating more fruits and vegetables.

Many components of a modern diet — including meats, processed foods, coffee and alcohol — are acidic. An overly acidic body can throw your pH balance out of whack and promote kidney dysfunction and high blood pressure.

Fruits and vegetables have an alkalizing effect that balances your pH, helping to lower blood pressure and improve kidney function as well as supporting cardiovascular function — and will also tackle another of those 17 risk factors: diet.

Not bad for one small change to your lifestyle.

Sources:

17 modifiable risk factors shared by stroke, dementia, and late-life depression — ScienceDaily

Modifiable risk factors for stroke, dementia and late-life depression: a systematic review and DALY-weighted risk factors for a composite outcome — Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry

The post 1 change in 17 risk factors reduces risk of stroke, dementia and depression appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

There’s no single genetic cause for dementia, but being aware of a family history of Alzheimer’s disease and the possibility of genes that raise your risk for it can put you in control of your health journey.

There are rare, hereditary causes of stroke as well. They include blood vessel disorders like Fabry’s disease and vasculitis, hematological disorders like sickle cell anemia and miscellaneous disorders like migrainous stroke and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

As for depression, researchers have not been able to definitively say whether it has a genetic component, though some believe heritability is between 40 and 50 percent and might be higher for severe depression.

Having a genetic predisposition for a brain disease may make you feel like there’s a ticking time bomb inside your brain — and there’s nothing you can do to disarm it. Luckily, new research indicates this may not be the case…

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What your brain care score says about genetic risk

Lots of research has revealed that certain habits can strongly impact the health of the brain. And now, that impact can be measured.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a tool that calculates a person’s “brain care score” (BSC) by measuring healthy lifestyle choices. The calculated score (which can range from 0 to 21) then reflects the combined risk for the most common causes of age-related brain health conditions.

But the real question is this: If you’re genetically predisposed to a brain disease, will a high brain score make any difference?

To find out, researchers analyzed data from 368,340 participants in the UK Biobank with an average age of 58 to determine whether their BCS affects their genetic predisposition to three brain diseases: stroke, late-life depression (LLD) and dementia.

The analysis found that individuals with a higher BCS, which reflects healthier habits, had a significant decrease in their risk of stroke, LLD and dementia even when they had a higher genetic predisposition to these conditions. In other words, the protective effect of their healthier lifestyle was strong enough to offset the increased risk from genetics.

“Our findings suggest that individuals who adopt healthy lifestyle choices can protect their brain health, regardless of their genetic risk,” the researchers say.

The research team found that even a modest five-point increase in the BCS through steps such as quitting smoking or controlling blood pressure is strongly linked to a lower risk of brain diseases.

The researchers say their work “emphasizes how powerful healthy lifestyle choices can be, even for those of us who, because of our genes, are at higher risk of deterioration in our brain health as we age.

“For all of us, including those with higher genetic risk, the BCS offers a simple and direct guide to what we can do to protect our brains as we age,” they note. “Patients can feel empowered to continue to modify behaviors to improve their health outcomes, regardless of their genetic risk.”

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Calculating your brain care score

The researchers are working to update the BCS to make it even more user-friendly. Right now, computing your BCS requires you to enter detailed information about your health. The researchers want the BCS tool to identify areas where users can improve their brain care without providing detailed information about their medical history.

“We are also studying how best to engage communities around the world with brain care tools that can enable them to take good care of their brains, prevent dementia, stroke and depression, and thereby help themselves and their loved ones to flourish,” the researchers say.

You can access the BCS calculator here. The BCS consists of three categories: physical, lifestyle, and social emotional. It measures activities you’re already engaged in that protect and prolong your brain health, including exercise, sleep, social interactions and lowering blood pressure.

The BCS is designed to be shared with your doctor so that they can help you improve your score and ensure you’re taking the best care of your brain possible.

When you access the BCS tool, it asks you for your blood pressure, blood sugar, total cholesterol and body mass index (BMI), all of which are typically recorded by your doctor. They can show you many different ways to improve these numbers over time.

The lifestyle measures requested by the BCS tool are all things you can track yourself: smoking, diet, alcohol consumption, exercise and sleep. Making even small adjustments in one or more of these areas over time can have a big impact on your BCS.

Science has proven that social emotional measures like stress and relationships can influence our physical health. When answering these questions, be as honest as you can so you get a correct BCS reading. And know that these are areas that can be easily improved simply by calling a friend or taking a few minutes to meditate.

Sources:

Research Spotlight: Higher brain care score found to improve brain health regardless of genetic risk — EurekAlert!

Brain Care Score — Massachusetts General Hospital

Health-Related Behaviors and Risk of Common Age-Related Brain Diseases Across Severities of Genetic Risk — Neurology

This Simple Online Tool Can Reveal Your Risk of Dementia and Depression — Everyday Health

Is Alzheimer’s Genetic? — Alzheimer’s Association

Is dementia hereditary? — Alzheimer’s Society

Rare and Hereditary Causes of Stroke — Cedars Sinai

Major Depression and Genetics — Stanford Medicine

The post Is your brain care score enough to beat dementia and stroke? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Before that, the only singing I’d done was in the shower or driving with the windows open on a beautiful spring day (exactly when I got the hunch!).

Now, ten years later, it’s the centerpiece of my life.

Singing magnificent music with my “chorus family” has not only eliminated the periodic bouts of depression I was prone to, but also given me a sense of belonging and community.

Moreover, I’ve developed deep friendships with people my age that will carry me well into my 70s and beyond.

So when I read a study from the United Kingdom proving that older adults can relieve depression and anxiety by “doing art” together, I wasn’t just reading a study. I was reading a confirmation of what I’d already experienced first-hand.

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It’s the togetherness that matters

Older adults are at a higher risk for developing depression due to factors like physical health issues, social isolation and loss. For similar reasons, they can also fall victim to anxiety.

Group arts interventions are already part of the UK’s social prescribing initiative, which connects patients to community activities to improve their well-being.

But so far, there has been limited evidence to support the use of group arts interventions for mental health.

Elizabeth Quinn, a PhD candidate at Queen Mary University in London, headed a meta-analysis – that is, an examination of data from studies on the same subject – drawing data from 39 studies in 21 countries.

The studies involved over 3,360 participants with depression and 949 participants with anxiety.

The results are quite remarkable. Not only were group arts interventions found to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, but these reductions were comparable with more traditional treatments, including antidepressant drugs, talk therapies or physical activity.

Older adults who lived in care homes (what we here in the U.S. call nursing homes) saw a significant reduction in depressive symptoms compared with those living in their own homes in the community.

Since adults in nursing homes are typically more vulnerable to depression, this means that the use of group art experiences could have a significant effect on their quality of life.

Most importantly, the benefits were consistent whether the art experience was painting, dancing, or making music, suggesting that the “magic” lies in the shared experience of creating together rather than in one specific art.

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An “artistic” alternative to drugs

Given the fact that antidepressant drugs are known to increase the risk of stroke and heart problems, wouldn’t it be worth giving “the arts” a try?

Mind you, this isn’t about how good a painter or singer you are. It’s about being with others and enjoying an activity where you create something and send it out into the world.

It could be a song or a painting that lives on your kitchen counter. Every time you look at it, you’ll remember the enjoyment and togetherness you felt while you created it.

If you’re wondering where to find a group to create with, Google could be your best friend.

Just a quick search for “group arts for older adults” turned up groups in Washington D.C., Missouri, California, and my home state of Maine. Community Centers and Local Commissions on Aging (usually at the county level) may also point you in the right direction.

Here’s a small painting I did in a group I found in my community. Nothing museum-worthy, but I smile every time I see it.

Sources:

The art of well-being: group activities shown to ease depression and anxiety in older adults — Eureka Alert

Group arts interventions for depression and anxiety among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis — Nature Mental Health

The post Art by the numbers boosts seniors’ mental health appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The severity of this condition varies across age groups, but when it’s persistent, it’s a precursor to a host of serious health issues…

These include obesity, physical inactivity, a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.

The longer a person is lonely, the more likely they are to experience some of these effects.

Now, investigators believe there’s another ailment to add to that long list….

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NAFLD, loneliness and social isolation

Loneliness and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) share a common thread. Both are increasingly prevalent, and researchers are beginning to uncover a potential link between the two.

NAFLD is a chronic liver disease that affects roughly 30 percent of the global population, driven by rising rates of obesity, diabetes and aging.

An international team of researchers analyzed data from over 400,000 participants in the UK Biobank to determine whether there is a link between loneliness and social isolation and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

They characterized loneliness as “a distressing emotion arising from a discrepancy between desired and actual levels of social interaction” and social isolation as “having infrequent social connections.”

When reviewing detailed assessments of participants’ social connections and emotional well-being, they found loneliness increased the risk of developing NAFLD by 22 percent. In comparison, social isolation raised the risk by 13 percent. This was independent of traditional risk factors like obesity, diabetes and lifestyle behaviors.

Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, depression and inflammatory responses partly explained these associations. Up to 30 percent of the observed risk linked to loneliness was due to lifestyle factors like obesity, smoking and irregular physical activity, while depression contributed an additional 33 percent.

“Our findings provide robust evidence that loneliness and social isolation are not just mental health issues but also critical factors in the development of metabolic diseases like NAFLD,” says Jiaqi Huang, a professor at Central South University in China. “Interventions that target these social determinants, alongside promoting healthier lifestyles, could be transformative for public health.”

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Step up social connections and reduce NAFLD risks

In the meantime, if you feel lonely or socially isolated on a persistent basis, it might be a good idea to take some steps to engage with others regularly. Here are some suggestions for how to do that:

• Meet with friends and/or family in person at least once a week. Face-to-face contact is vitally important to staving off loneliness and isolation.
• Seek out community service activities that help people while fostering contact with others.
• Try a new hobby. Look for groups at your local library, YMCA or church that match your interests.
• Start or join a book group. If you love to read, this is a good way to meet other people and share your perspectives.

And don’t forget to lessen other risk factors for NAFLD. Exercise is one of the best ways. But if physical reasons prohibit that, NAFLD is largely influenced by diet.

Diet patterns that could reduce NAFLD risk include the Mediterranean, DASH, and plant-based diets. Be sure to get plenty of resistance starches, which have been shown to lower liver fat by 40%. And last but not least, reach for your liver’s strongest ally, NAC.

Sources:

Loneliness and social isolation linked to increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, study finds — EurekAlert!

Loneliness and Social Isolation with Risk of Incident Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, UK Biobank 2006 to 2022 — Health Data Science

Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation — Department of Health and Human Services

What is Causing Our Epidemic of Loneliness and How Can We Fix It? — Harvard Graduate School of Education

The post A ‘persistent’ feeling linked to fatty liver disease appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In fact, people living in the black hole of depression often suffer not only from negative psychological feelings but also from physical symptoms.

Even worse, depression has been found to lead to a frighteningly high rate of other chronic illnesses. This makes taking steps to support your mental well-being vital if depression has come knocking at your door.

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Depression drags your health down 30% faster.

Recent research involving 172,556 volunteers in the UK Biobank study delved into the likelihood a person with depression has of ending up with one (or multiple) long-term physical conditions.

The team followed participants for nearly seven years, focusing on 69 physical conditions. Ultimately, the research revealed two disturbing findings…

The first is that even at the start of the study, people with depression were already behind the eight ball. That’s because the research showed that those with depression had an average of three physical conditions compared with an average of two in people without depression.

And if that weren’t worrisome enough, the results revealed that over the study period, adults with a history of depression accrued those healthy problems 30% faster than those without depression.

The most common new conditions people with depression were likely to suffer included:

• Osteoarthritis
• Hypertension
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

The results highlight that a previous diagnosis of depression is a risk market for accelerated development of long-term physical health conditions — and that depression should be viewed as a “whole body” condition.

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Recognizing depression

It’s crucial that we recognize the signs of depression early on. This research underscores the fact that if we want to safeguard our physical health, we must be proactive in identifying and addressing depression.

Psychological feelings of depression can include things like persistent sadness, anxiousness, hopelessness or pessimism.

You might also feel irritable, worthless, or helpless and lose interest in hobbies or activities you once enjoyed.

However, as we mentioned earlier, physical signs of depression are also a possibility. These can be issues such as:

• Sleep problems – 75% of those with depression experience problems falling or staying asleep.
• Chest pain – Depression can raise your heart rate, respiration and blood pressure.
• Fatigue often includes feeling exhausted even when you’ve had enough rest.
• Pain – People who are depressed are three times more likely to experience regular pain and four times more likely to get intense, disabling neck or back pain.
• Digestive trouble – Living with depression can upset your GI system, leading to nausea, indigestion, diarrhea or constipation.
• Headaches – Both tension-type headaches and migraines are common in people with depression.
• Weight or appetite changes – Depression can cause appetite changes in either direction.
• Agitation or restlessness – Irritability or anger has been reported in up to two-thirds of people with depression.
• Sexual dysfunction – Either depression itself or the prescription drugs given for it can result in loss of sex drive and performance issues.

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Because of all these symptoms, you might be tempted to turn to medication to help your depression.

It’s essential to consult a healthcare professional. They can provide guidance on what to expect from medications and help you make informed decisions.

Over the years, we’ve learned that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, are only approximately 33% effective. Yet, they also carry a 33% higher risk of premature death.

For some people, talk therapy works better. You might consider using these lifestyle tips that research has shown to be key in breaking the catch-22 of depression.

Sources:

Depression linked with higher risk of long-term physical health conditions — EurekAlert!

9 physical signs you could have depression — Easy Health Options

Unraveling: The serotonin connection to depression — Easy Health Options

The post Depression can bring on physical illness 30% faster appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

When you’re young, your telomeres are nice and long. But as you age, they begin to gradually shorten, leading to cellular aging and age-related disease. But genetics as well as some factors within our control can cause this process to ramp up prematurely.

Some diseases linked to shorter telomeres include osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease. Now, research indicates a trio of age-related brain conditions could be added to this list — and demonstrates how short telomeres may not be the cause but instead a signal to heed…

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A biomarker that signals brain risks

The length of telomeres within leukocytes, or white blood cells, is a known marker of biological aging. Researchers analyzed data from more than 356,000 participants in the UK Biobank to explore links between telomere shortening and the onset of stroke, dementia or late-life depression — all conditions linked to cerebral small vessel disease, a condition associated with aging and accumulation of vascular risk factors.

The participants also had a Brain Care Score assessment to measure the impact of modifiable risk factors, such as lifestyle choices and social interactions. They were monitored for an average of 12 years, and the results were clear…

Compared to participants with longer leukocyte telomeres, people with the shortest leukocyte telomeres had:

• An 8% higher risk of stroke;
• A 19% greater risk of dementia;
• A 14% increase in late-life depression risk.

Overall, people with the shortest leukocyte telomere length had an 11% higher risk of developing at least one of these conditions than those with longer telomeres.

“Our findings suggest that, while leukocyte telomere length may be a well-known indicator of biological aging, it does not directly cause these age-related diseases,” says Dr. Tamara N. Kimball, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

“Instead, leukocyte telomere length may act more as a reflective marker of underlying biological processes and cellular stress that precede these age-related diseases.”

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Heeding the signal

Dr. Kimball added “In a clinical setting, leukocyte telomere length could help identify people who may need more intensive monitoring or preventive measures. It could also guide personalized interventions, including lifestyle adjustments and therapeutic approaches, to enhance overall health.”

During the study, they saw how this could work…

The analysis found that in people with a low Brain Care Score, an indicator of unfavorable lifestyle choices, shorter leukocyte telomeres were associated with an 11% increased risk for stroke, dementia and late-life depression.

However, in people with a high Brain Care Score — an indicator of favorable lifestyle choices — shorter leukocyte telomeres were not linked with a higher risk of these age-related brain diseases.

“This suggests that adopting healthier lifestyles and improving modifiable risk factor profile may lower the negative effects of shorter leukocyte telomeres,” Kimball says. “In short, it is never too late to start taking better care of your brain.”

Lifestyle choices that can accelerate telomere shortening include smoking, lack of exercise, ultra-processed foods, stress and exposure to pollutants. So, if you want to protect your telomeres and your brain — avoid these behaviors.

Exercise, even just brisk walking is associated with longer telomeres. In one study, researchers doung it could translate to the equivalent of turning biological age back 16 years.

You can also add the following foods and nutrients to your diet, all of which help preserve the length of telomeres:

• Flaxseed, an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.
• Spinach, a source of folate.
• Vitamin D.
• Berries, which contain resveratrol and plenty of antioxidants such as vitamin C.
• Oats, loaded with fiber to prevent telomere-damaging insulin resistance.
• Magnesium, found in a wide range of plant-based foods, as well as fish, poultry and beef.

Sources:

Biomarker tied to premature cell aging may signal stroke, dementia, late-life depression — EurekAlert!

Five foods that protect your telomeres and extend your life — Ornish Living

 Magnesium — Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

The post A signal before stroke and dementia appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But honestly, nothing beats that warm glow I get when I give a gift I’ve put so much thought and effort into to a friend or family member.

I love watching them open the gift and seeing their faces light up when they uncover what I’ve given them.

I’ve often wondered if everyone feels that way about gift-giving. The answer is, they do.

It turns out the old adage “it’s better to give than to receive” is true — and the reason is based on science…

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The love hormone: an unexpected benefit of gift giving

When you give a gift, particularly to someone you have a close relationship with, it activates key reward pathways in your brain, says Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas, science director at the Greater Good Science Center, a research center at the University of California, Berkeley.

Over the past decade, several studies have shown that spending money on someone other than yourself promotes happiness. And here’s why…

When we are generous — whether donating money to a charity or giving a loved one a present they really want — it creates more interaction between the parts of the brain that process social information and feel pleasure.

“Oftentimes, people refer to it as the ‘warm glow,’ this intrinsic delight in doing something for someone else,” Simon-Thomas says.

You can thank your brain for that — and for activating pathways that release the neurotransmitter oxytocin, the “love hormone” that signals trust, safety and connection.

Studies have indicated that oxytocin may have potential to treat conditions like osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s and tinnitus, and may have benefits that impact addiction, depression, anxiety, anorexia, autism spectrum disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. It also improves life satisfaction.

These feel-good effects on the brain begin long before you even hand over the gift. It starts when you start thinking about what to get and extends to shopping for and wrapping it. The whole experience activates those same reward pathways, Simon-Thomas says.

Studies suggest receiving a gift could engender a similar response in the brain. “If you’re given a gift from someone who cares about you a lot and you really love what they have gotten you, that is going to yield a very similar oxytocin-laden reward response,” Simon-Thomas says.

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Stress may offset that effect

While gift-giving and receiving can often lead to hopefulness and excitement, it can also bring up other emotions, including stress and anxiety, says Dr. Scott Rick, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

“When it goes right it can be a wonderful thing but can also come with a lot of anxiety over how much you’re spending or whether or not they will like the gift,” Rick says.

And when gift-giving becomes stressful, it can suck the joy out of the gift-giving experience.

“If you are really stressed that is overwhelming your ability to anticipate or savor the experience, then dopamine and oxytocin aren’t what’s being released in your brain,” Simon-Thomas says. “You’re probably just feeling stressed the whole time.”

In this case, she adds, it’s important to shift your mindset. If you’re stressed about finances, set expectations with friends and family up front. Instead of spending money, consider giving the gift of your time, whether to perform a needed task for them or to do something together. You can even give a handmade book with coupons that can be redeemed for one event, such as going to a movie together or washing the dishes for the giftee.

“A good gift involves some sacrifice — money, time or both,” Rick says. “It shows that you understand and know the person and can surprise them.”

As long as you’re giving from the heart, you could probably expect loads of the love hormone in return. But to boost oxytocin and other “good feel” hormones year-round, try these tips.

Sources:

What happens in your brain when you give a gift? — American Psychological Association

A neural link between generosity and happiness — Nature Communications

Does spending money on others promote happiness?: A registered replication report. — APA PsychNet

The post The scientific reason it really is better to give than receive appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Even if the antidepressant does provide relief, it often comes with its own set of problems: nausea, weight gain, fatigue, constipation, irritability, anxiety and low sex drive.

So what can you do? With a little effort, depression can be managed naturally. And as with many conditions, it all starts with what you’re eating…

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Foods with a major impact on depression

Previous studies have shown that following healthy eating plans like the heart-healthy DASH diet can help reduce the odds of developing depression. Now, a new and particularly strong study sheds light on why that may be true…

The study, led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney’s Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), involved 3,483 twins ages 45 and up from Australia, Denmark, Sweden and the U.S.

Twins, according to the MSU Twin Registry, are a valuable source for health and psychological research because their unique relationship allows researchers to pull apart and examine genetic and environmental influences.

The twins’ fruit and vegetable intake was followed for over 11 years — and low intake of fruit was measured as 0.3 servings on average per day, and low intake of vegetables was measured as 0.5 servings per day. By contrast, 2.1 servings a day was considered high fruit intake and 2.0 servings a day was considered high vegetable intake.

The study results found that higher intakes of both fruit and vegetables were linked with lower symptoms of depression over time.

Interestingly, the high category still fell well below the dietary recommendations of most countries. In one example, the American Heart Association recommends four to five servings each of fruits and vegetables each day.

“We found that fruit and vegetable consumption in the two large Scandinavian studies were particularly low, with the average for both being less than half the World Health Organization recommended intake of at least five serves per day,” says lead author and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Annabel Matison.

“We are unclear what the reduction in depression scores would be if intakes were increased to recommended levels,” Matison adds.

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Powerful nutrients are key

The researchers believe the beneficial relationship between fruits and vegetables and depression is most likely the result of higher levels of dietary fiber, vitamins and micronutrients — namely antioxidants.

That’s because those with major depression show lower levels of antioxidant markers when compared with healthy people.

Berries top the list of antioxidant-rich fruits. One landmark study showed just one cup of berries provided an entire day’s worth of disease-fighting antioxidants.

And dark, leafy greens and citrus fruits contain plenty of folate (vitamin B9), which plays an important role in the synthesis of serotonin and other neurotransmitters involved in mood regulation.

Consumption of fiber-rich fruits and vegetables also positively impact the gut-brain axis…

“The importance of the gut microbiome and its potential influence on depression as a result of inflammation, both systemic and neuroinflammation, is becoming increasingly well understood,” Matison says.

Getting the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables — four to five servings — may sound like a lot, but it’s easy to spread that across each meal.

You don’t have to rely solely on fresh produce, even though a daily salad is a great habit. Frozen produce is typically minimally processed (picked, cleaned, cut and frozen), making it a healthy choice.

Of course, a cup of berries could satisfy your fruit requirement. But it’s also good to mix it up and follow the “eat the rainbow” rule.

Sources:

Link between low fruit and vegetable intake and depression shown in twin studies — Scimex

Longitudinal associations between fruit and vegetable intakes and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults from four international twin cohorts — Scientific Reports

Treatment‐resistant depression: definition, prevalence, detection, management, and investigational interventions — World Psychiatry

When the first antidepressant doesn’t work: What’s next? — Vital Record

What Are Recommended Servings of Fruits and Vegetables? — Scripps

Fruits and Vegetables Serving Sizes Infographic — American Heart Association

The post Twins help reveal powerful reason diet links to depression appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

These days, I love having the occasional cookie with my afternoon tea, and I often reach for a square of chocolate after dinner.

I know sugar is not great for my health, but it doesn’t stop me from craving those sweet treats, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who gives in occasionally.

But the reasons for keeping that to a bare minimum are compelling, to say the least…

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Sweet tooth, sour health results

New research from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom took a look at food preferences of 180,000 volunteers within the UK Biobank and grouped them into three general profiles:

• Health-conscious: prefers fruits and vegetables over animal-based and sweet foods and has higher dietary fiber intake
• Omnivore: Likes most foods, including meats, fish and some vegetables, as well as sweets and desserts 
• Sweet tooth: Prefers sweet foods and sugary drinks; is less interested in healthier options like fruit and vegetables 

Then, researchers examined data on blood samples to measure 2,923 proteins — known for helping with functions including fighting infections to contracting muscles — and 168 metabolites — small molecules produced during digestion and other chemical processes in the body — that can indicate how well our body is functioning. 

By comparing these blood-based proteins and metabolites, the researchers were able to get a clearer picture of any biological differences between the three groups. And their findings were alarming…

The sweet tooth group was 31 percent more likely to have depression and had higher rates of diabetes and vascular heart conditions (or stroke) compared to the other two groups.

“The foods that you like or dislike seem to directly link to your health,” says Nophar Geifman, senior author of the study and a professor at the University of Surrey. “If your favorite foods are cakes, sweets and sugary drinks, then our study’s results suggest that this may have negative effects on your health.

“Processed sugar is a key factor in the diet of many, and these results are yet more evidence that, as a society, we should do all that we can to think before we eat, stressing that no one wants to tell people what to do, our job is just informing people,” Geifman adds.

The researchers also saw differences in standard blood biochemistry tests. The sweet tooth group had higher levels of:

• C reactive protein, a marker for inflammation.
• Glucose and poor lipid profiles, both strong warning signs for diabetes and heart disease.

By contrast, the health-conscious group had lower risks for heart failure, chronic kidney diseases and stroke. The omnivore group had moderate health risks.

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Tricking your sweet taste buds

On average in the UK, between 9 and 12.5 percent of an individual’s calories come from free sugar, or sugar that is added to food and drink. Cookies, buns, cakes, pastries and fruit pies are the biggest single contributors for adults; however, when taken together, sugary soft drinks and alcoholic drinks contribute the most to free sugar intake.

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting calories from added sugars to 10 percent of daily intake, or about 12 teaspoons for a 2,000-calorie diet. Unfortunately, the average American gets about 18 and a half teaspoons of added sugars every day.

Cutting back on sugar can be tough for people with a sweet tooth, but there are ways to fool your taste buds into thinking they’re getting sugary satisfaction without actually consuming added sugars. The simplest way is to reach for fruit.

Berries are a great choice for a few reasons, but one that’s especially relevant to taming your sweet tooth…

A study from researchers at Loughborough University in England saw that munching on berries in the afternoon helped people consume significantly less food throughout the day. In their test, the researchers found that people who snacked on berries ate less at a later meal than folks who snacked on bars, cookies or other confectionery snacks.

Sources:

Having a sweet tooth is linked to higher risk of depression, diabetes, and stroke, study finds — EurekAlert!

Artificial intelligence driven definition of food preference endotypes in UK Biobank volunteers is associated with distinctive health outcomes and blood based metabolomic and proteomic profiles — Journal of Translational Medicine

Cut Down on Added Sugars — ODPHP

The post Stroke among sour health risks of a sweet tooth appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Illness, medications, loneliness and physical changes that limit mobility are some of the things that can cause depression.

But one of the biggest contributors is poor nutrition. Surprised?

We already know that the antioxidants found in certain fruits can protect the brain from age-related changes linked to Alzheimer’s and depression.

But what if you got a head start?

I mean, what if you started loading up on these vitamin-rich foods now, to avoid depression as a pitfall of old age?

That’s just what some new research suggests you do…

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Loading up on fruit in midlife pays off later

Researchers at the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine set out to answer this question: could specific diet or food items consumed earlier in life have an impact on mental well-being in later years?

Their longitudinal study followed 13,738 people from around age 45 to age 74. Participants filled out a periodic food frequency questionnaire to report their fruit and vegetable consumption.

At the end of the study, those who had regularly consumed higher amounts of fruit earlier in life were less likely to experience depressive symptoms when they were older.

Vegetables eaten over the same time period, though, had no association with the likelihood of depressive symptoms.

As for the reasons behind the connection between eating fruit and lower depression risk, the researchers offered no hard and fast conclusions.

But it seemed evident to them that the high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients found in many fruits had to have something to do with it…

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Which fruits top the list for best depression fighters?

In the study, oranges, tangerines, bananas, papayas, watermelons, apple and honey melon were the fruits most consumed by those whose depression risk was lowered.

The researchers believed the association could be the high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory micronutrients in these fruits — including vitamin C, carotenoids and flavonoids — which have been shown to reduce oxidative stress and inhibit inflammatory processes in the body that may affect the development of depression.

Antioxidants are instrumental in helping the body break down and utilize tryptophan effectively — a process that contributes to inflammation if it goes awry.

When everything goes right, tryptophan, an amino acid available in common foods, like milk, chicken, turkey and oats, works as a precursor to produce serotonin — a “happiness” hormone. Many anti-depressant medications aim to raise serotonin levels.

Most fruits will help you get your fill of antioxidants. Blueberries top the list of antioxidant-rich fruits, followed closely by raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. Apples, peaches, mangos, melons, cranberries, cherries, and red grapes are also great choices.

How much fruit to do the trick?

Professor Koh Woon Puay from the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme at NUS Medicine and Principal Investigator of the study, said, “In our study population, participants who had at least 3 servings of fruits a day, compared to those with less than one serving a day, were able to reduce the likelihood of aging-related depression significantly by at least 21 percent. This can be achieved by eating one to two servings of fruits after every meal.” 

To further boost serotonin production, consider vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. In a paper published in FASEB Journal, researchers suggest that optimizing intakes of these two nutrients would optimize brain serotonin concentrations.

Sources:

Boosting fruit intake during midlife can ward off late-life blues: NUS study — Eureka Alert

Association between consumption of fruits and vegetables in midlife and depressive symptoms in late life: the Singapore Chinese Health Study — Science Direct / The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging

Antioxidants in Fruits — Web MD

The post Eat this now to avoid depression pitfall of aging appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

We might also feel irritable, worthless or helpless and lose interest in hobbies or activities we once enjoyed. Depression can even make a person have dark thoughts that include suicide.

These feelings are associated with the mind. But depression isn’t just a disease of the mind; it affects the body as well and can result in actual physical symptoms of depression.

Knowing the physical symptoms may help someone struggling with depression understand the true source of their pain so they seek a resolution that really works. Here are the physical signs of depression to take note of…

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Sleep problems

According to Johns Hopkins, 75 percent of people with depression have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. This shortens the amount of restorative slow-wave sleep a person gets each night.

Oversleeping or sleeping too much is another hallmark of depression. While it’s unclear whether oversleeping causes health problems, it has been linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, headaches and a greater risk of dying from a medical condition.

Chest pain

While chest pain is normally associated with heart attack, it can actually be a symptom of depression. When you are depressed, your heart rate, respiration and blood pressure can increase and potentially trigger chest pain. Of course, if you experience chest pain, you should see a doctor immediately to rule out any heart, lung or stomach problems that might be causing it.

As far as the connection with heart health goes, depression can raise your risk of heart disease. And people who have had heart attacks are more likely to be depressed.

Fatigue

People who are depressed tend not to have the energy for everyday tasks. They often report feeling tired even if they’ve had plenty of sleep. Chronic fatigue can also cause depression, so the two can go hand in hand.

Pain

This is another situation where it can be difficult to know which comes first, the pain or the depression. When you live with ongoing pain, it can raise your risk of depression. And people who are depressed are three times as likely to experience regular pain and four times more likely to get intense, disabling neck or back pain.

Depression is connected to pain because the two conditions share chemical messengers in the brain: serotonin and norepinephrine. Dysregulation of these transmitters can cause both depression and pain.

Digestive issues

It’s become increasingly clear in recent years that there’s a strong connection between our brain and digestive system. This is why many of us get stomach pain or nausea when we’re stressed or worried.

Depression can upset the delicate balance of the digestive system and trigger nausea, indigestion, diarrhea or constipation. Some studies indicate both the depression and the stomach issues stem from the same cause: low levels of serotonin.

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Headaches

The type of headache that most commonly accompanies depression is tension-type headache. However, depressed individuals can also suffer from other primary headache disorders, like migraines or cluster headaches.

In fact, research shows that people with major depression are three times more likely to have migraines, and people with migraines are five times more likely to become depressed.

Weight or appetite changes

Depression can affect appetite in both directions. Some people can’t stop eating and gain weight. Others feel less hungry when they get depressed and lose weight as a result. This lack of appetite is likely caused by anhedonia, a core feature of depression that causes you to feel less pleasure from things you normally enjoy.

Depression has been linked to eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia or binge eating.

Agitation or restlessness

Surprisingly, depression doesn’t always just manifest as sadness or hopelessness; it can actually make you irritable or restless. One group of clinicians surveyed thousands of their psychiatric patients about whether they had recently experienced anger episodes. Two-thirds reported notable levels of irritability and anger, and half reported it at a moderate or severe level. Men are more likely than women to experience this symptom.

Sexual dysfunction

People who are depressed tend to lose interest in sex. This is in part because of the depression itself and in part because some prescription drugs for depression can affect sex drive and performance.

One activity addresses multiple symptoms

There is one activity that can help with many of the physical symptoms on this list: exercise. Research suggests regular exercise releases chemicals in the brain that make you feel good, improve your mood and reduce your sensitivity to pain. And exercise helps you sleep better as well.

Yoga has proven especially effective for reducing signs and symptoms of depression. But even just taking a walk around the block can help get those feel-good chemicals moving in your brain.

Sources:

Slideshow: Physical Symptoms of Depression — WebMD

Depression and Sleep: Understanding the Connection — Johns Hopkins Medicine

Oversleeping: Bad for Your Health? — Johns Hopkins Medicine

What Depression Feels Like — UPMC MyHealth Matters

The Link Between Depression and Physical Symptoms — The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry

A Moody Gut Often Accompanies Depression—New Study Helps Explain Why — Columbia University Irving Medical Center

The Link Between Mental Illness and Your Headaches — Verywell Health

If You’re Often Angry Or Irritable, You May Be Depressed — Harvard Catalyst

How Depression Affects Your Appetite — Plus, 5 Ways to Manage It — Everyday Health

The post 9 physical signs you could have depression appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Both these individuals can achieve mindfulness. And so can you…

When you’re being mindful, your awareness is focused on the present moment. At the same time, you’re calmly acknowledging and accepting your feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations without judgment.

When I think of mindfulness, it’s usually as a tool or an exercise to calm and focus my mind. But recent research suggests the benefits of mindfulness can go even further…

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Mindfulness improves well-being

Researchers from the University of Bath and the University of Southampton recruited 1,247 adults from 91 countries, most of whom were new to mindfulness.

Each participant was randomly assigned to either a 10-minute daily mindfulness routine or to a control group that listened to excerpts from Alice in Wonderland. The mindfulness sessions were delivered through the free mobile app Medito and included relaxation exercises, intention setting, body scans, breath-focused attention and self-reflection.

Over the course of the 30-day program, participants in the mindfulness group reported significant improvements in their mental health compared to the control group. Specifically, they experienced:

• A 19.2 percent greater reduction in depression
• A 12.6 percent greater decrease in anxiety
• A 7.1 percent more positive attitude toward health
• A 6.9 percent greater improvement in overall well-being
• A 6.5 percent greater increase in behavioral intentions to maintain a healthy lifestyle

What’s more, these benefits weren’t short-lived. Follow-up studies conducted one month after the program’s conclusion showed that participants maintained improvements in well-being, depression and healthy behaviors, including better sleep quality.

These results suggest the psychological skills developed through mindfulness — including increased awareness, self-control and intention setting — can help individuals adopt and maintain healthier habits ranging from regular exercise to improved sleep.

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Technology is taking mindfulness global

This study was one of the first to show the well-being and mental health benefits of mindfulness could arise from the changes to lifestyle behaviors it encourages. Next, the team is eager to research the potential of mindfulness for promoting regular exercise.

“It’s exciting to see the benefits of mindfulness extending beyond depression, well-being and anxiety and into other health behaviors such as sleeping better and building stronger intentions to live a healthy lifestyle,” says lead researcher Masha Remskar, a psychologist based at the University of Bath. “Mindfulness builds the psychological skills you need to build healthy habits — we hope to show in future work that once you’ve got those skills you can use them to improve several health behaviors from exercising regularly to stopping smoking.”

According to the study’s co-authors, digital technology has the potential to make mindfulness accessible to a global audience.

“The research underscores how digital technology — in this case, a freely available app — can help people integrate behavioral and psychological techniques into their lives, in a way that suits them,” says Dr. Ben Ainsworth, who leads the Digital Intervention Group at the University of Southampton.

Luckily, there’s no shortage of mindfulness apps to choose from. Some examples to try include Medito (the free app used in the study), Calm or Headspace.

Suppose you prefer to take a non-tech-based approach to mindfulness. In that case, there’s always this simple technique developed by Dr. Herbert Benson, director emeritus of the Harvard-affiliated Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine. It only takes 10 to 20 minutes twice a day and can be completed without any special equipment.

1. Find a quiet place in your home (or favorite outdoor spot) where you can sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed.
2. Allow your muscles to relax and choose a word, phrase, sound, short prayer or mantra to focus on and repeat over and over.
3. If stray thoughts disrupt, let them come and go but return to your chosen word, phrase, or prayer to regain focus.

Sources:

Just Ten Minutes of Mindfulness a Day Significantly Enhances Well-Being, Study Shows — Integrative Practitioner

Just 10 minutes of mindfulness daily boosts wellbeing and fights depression — University of Bath

Mindfulness improves psychological health and supports health behaviour cognitions: Evidence from a pragmatic RCT of a digital mindfulness-based intervention — British Journal of Health Psychology

The post Boost well-being and fight depression in 10 minutes a day appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But the research is clear: exercise helps relieve depression.

What’s more, at least one study found exercise to be 1.5 times more effective than depression medication!

In many of the studies, the participants performed moderate to intense exercise for at least 30 minutes at a time multiple times a week. Anyone with depression will tell you that committing to that much intense exercise can seem overwhelming.

The good news? It may not take that much effort to gain real benefits…

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Low to moderate activity is enough

Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in the United Kingdom conducted a review and analysis of seven global studies to examine the effect of physical activity on mental health.

“These conditions can be complex and necessitate a multi-pronged approach to treatment, which may encompass pharmacological interventions, psychotherapy and lifestyle changes,” says lead author Lee Smith, a professor of public health at ARU.

Their findings were promising…

First, they found there was indeed a particularly strong link between low and moderate physical activity and better mental health. Specifically, a 23 percent reduction was seen in depression risk and a 26 percent reduction in anxiety risk.

There was even an impact on more severe mental health conditions, including a reduction in psychosis/schizophrenia by 27 percent.

The researchers defined low and moderate physical activities as gardening, golfing and walking — activities that seem much easier to ease into.

Another perk about activities like these is that they get you out in the sun. In a different meta-analysis, the sunshine vitamin was found to ease depressive symptoms.

Interestingly, high-intensity exercise was not seen as helpful. Prof. Smith noted that high-intensity exercise may worsen stress-related responses in some individuals.

These results were consistent across the world, as well as across gender and age groups.

Smith says the results highlight the need for “precise exercise guidelines,” since “moderate exercise can improve mental health through biochemical reactions.”

“Acknowledging differences in people’s response to exercise is vital for effective mental health strategies, suggesting any activity recommendations should be tailored for the individual.”

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The key? Start small

According to Smith, the fact that even low to moderate levels of physical activity can benefit mental health is particularly important, since these levels of activity may be easier to achieve for people. They can make smaller lifestyle changes without feeling the need to commit to a high-intensity exercise program, he adds.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst recommends starting with just five minutes a day of any activity you enjoy, from walking or cycling to golf, tennis, swimming or even gardening. The key is to just get your body moving. As you start to feel better, you’ll naturally increase the time you spend doing whatever activities you choose.

Bear in mind that this isn’t a one-time fix — it’s a long-term treatment plan. So don’t give up if after the first five-minute session you don’t feel any different. Keep plugging away and it won’t take long before you’re experiencing exercise’s mood-boosting benefits.

Here are just a few of the ways physical activity can help:

• Interrupts the cycle of worries and negative thoughts that make you anxious and depressed
• Releases feel-good endorphins and other natural brain chemicals, which increase the availability of critical anti-anxiety neurochemicals
• Decreases muscle tension
• Boosts resilience against reoccurring destructive emotions
• Increases self-confidence and improves self-image

Sources:

Low intensity exercise linked to reduced depression — EurekAlert!

Physical activity and prevention of mental health complications: An umbrella review — Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

The post A little exercise goes a long way to ease depression appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

What kind of question is that you might be thinking?

Doesn’t everyone know by now that we need enough physical activity to protect our heart from cardiovascular disease, and that sitting too much makes you a sitting duck for a heart attack?

But how does that work, exactly?

Most of us assume that our heart muscle gets stronger with exercise, just like any other muscle, and our blood pressure, weight and cholesterol get lower.

But there’s another step that happens before that.

It turns out that what happens in your brain kicks off the heart-protective effects of exercise…

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Exercise de-stresses your brain

A team of doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital set out to investigate the mechanisms behind both the psychological and cardiovascular benefits of physical activity.

To start with, Dr. Ahmed Tawakol of the Hospital’s Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center and his colleagues analyzed the medical records of 50,359 participants from the Massachusetts General Brigham Biobank. They’d all completed a survey asking about their levels and frequency of physical activity.

From this large group, 774 participants were selected to undergo brain imaging tests and measurements of stress-related brain activity.

Over a ten-year follow-up period, members of this group who met physical activity recommendations had a 23% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

These same people also tended to have lower stress-related brain activity. In particular, they showed functional gains in the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain known to restrain the brain’s stress centers.

This reduction in stress-related brain signaling partially accounted for physical activity’s cardiovascular benefit.

In other words, exercise dampened the stress centers in the brain, and this in turn removed some strain on the heart, thus offering a protective effect.

Depressed? Exercise is an extra advantage for your heart

Something else remarkable was noted: people with depression benefited even more from this exercise-brain-heart connection than those who were not depressed.

“Physical activity was roughly twice as effective in lowering cardiovascular disease risk among those with depression. Effects on the brain’s stress-related activity may explain this novel observation,” says Dr. Tawakol.

In simple terms, we already know that even a little physical activity can alleviate depression. Now we know why.

When exercise builds up the prefrontal cortex, stress is reduced, and depression alleviated.

This is great news considering the feedback loop with depression and heart disease.

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What this means for you

If we’re wise, we will treat all of this as more than just an interesting piece of scientific news.

We’ll take it as a reminder that exercise in some form is not optional, not if we want to continue functioning independently and enjoying life well into old age.

While this research proves the point, I hope this isn’t new information for you.

The prolonged sitting that many of us do (myself included) skyrockets our risk of dementia, diabetes, and blood clots in the leg that can be potentially life-threatening.

It doesn’t take a lot of time to prevent these effects. Personally, I’ve taken to getting out of my chair every 20 minutes and staying up for at least 20 minutes.

I do household chores, walk up and down the many stairs in my home, or, if it’s a nice day, take a short neighborhood walk. In most cases, I return to my desk with renewed focus.

If you sit a lot at work or consider yourself a “couch potato,” you’d be well advised to come up with a similar plan and stick to it. Being proactive now will give you a happier, healthier life later.

Sources:

Physical activity reduces stress-related brain activity to lower cardiovascular disease risk — Eureka Alert

Physical Activity Reduces Stress-Related Brain Activity to Lower Cardiovascular Disease Risk — Massachusetts General Hospital

The post Heart-healthy benefits of exercise start in the brain appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Having to worry about your blood pressure, taking medicines, going to multiple doctor visits and even spending time in the hospital can skyrocket your anxiety level.

And the physical limitations that come with heart issues can leave you feeling depressed.

Yet, these are symptoms that the medical community tends to ignore – a mistake that could worsen your outcomes and even increase your risk of death.

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Poor mental health, poor heart health

Research from a team of scientists at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center may be the first to reveal the powerful connection between mental health and heart disease.

“Heart disease and anxiety/depression interact such that each promotes the other,” said lead study author Philip Binkley, MD.

“There appear to be mental processes that link heart disease with anxiety and depression that are currently under investigation. Both heart disease and anxiety/depression are associated with the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This is part of the so-called involuntary nervous system that increases heart rate, blood pressure and can also contribute to anxiety and depression.”

He and his team followed over 1,500 adults with heart disease for three years who had hospital admission for blocked arteries or heart failure and had two or more health insurance claims for an anxiety disorder or depression.

To see how treating their mental health might impact their heart health over that time, some participants received both antidepressant medications and psychotherapy, others were given psychotherapy or medication for depression alone and about a third received no mental health treatment.

The results were impressive…

Up to a 75% reduction in hospitalization and ER visits

The best results were achieved by patients who were given both antidepressant medication and talk therapy.

The study showed that compared to participants who received no mental health treatment, people who benefitted from this dual approach were:

• 68 – 75% less likely to be re-hospitalized for a heart-related issue
• 67 – 74% less likely to have to return to the emergency room for their heart
• 67% less likely to die from any cause

Talk therapy alone reduced the risk of hospital readmission almost by half and reduced emergency room visits by up to 53%.

Medication alone was also successful, reducing hospital readmission by up to 58% and ER visits by up to 49%.

Clearly, caring for your heart means caring for your mental health.

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Simple tips to reduce anxiety and depression

So if you’re living with heart disease, it’s time to start addressing any feelings of anxiety and depression you might have. It’s something you and your doctor can discuss.

But remember that Dr. Binkley explained that heart disease, anxiety and depression are associated with activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for the “fight or flight” response during any potential danger. On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system inhibits the body from overworking and restores the body to a calm and composed state.

Stimulation of the vagus nerve has been known to help restore that balance.

In addition, these practices could help:

• Boost your dopamine levels – This happiness hormone is linked to the nervous system and low levels can result in depression.
• Conscious movement – Yoga is a great way to reduce both depression and anxiety. Here are three of the most effective poses anyone can do.
• Foods – Researchers have found that certain foods can help DASH symptoms of depression. So be sure to put the right diet to work for you. Foods that contain the prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides (like legumes and nuts) are especially helpful at reducing anxiety levels.
• Supplements – If you’re deficient in certain amino acids or minerals, it can amp up your depression. Two of the most important are arginine and magnesium.

Be sure to discuss any new supplements with your heart doctor.

Sources:

Treating anxiety, depression significantly impacts heart disease outcomes — EurekAlert!

The post How heart disease, anxiety and depression feed off each other appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In other words, if you suffer from MCI how likely are you to develop Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and will you or family members be able to see it coming?

Now, a new study has shed light on exactly what symptoms to be on the lookout for that can predict whether the problems with memory, language and judgment that go along with MCI will turn into an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

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The Neuropsychiatric Symptom Index

The research, performed at the Medical University of South Carolina, set out to quantify the connection between neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) and the journey from MCI to dementia.

For the study, the scientists recruited 300 patients with MCI, aged 65 and older, from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database.  

Each participant underwent a Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) assessment to document NPS symptoms — such as anxiety, depression, delusions, hallucinations, abnormal movement behavior and sleep disorders — as potential early signs of preclinical AD to establish a prediction model for AD.

And while the outcome showed that more than a quarter of the MCI patients went on to develop Alzheimer’s, those who experienced more neuropsychiatric symptoms were far more likely to end up in the Alzheimer’s group when everything was said and done.

The study showed that for each one-point increase in NPI score, there was a three percent increase in the risk of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

In fact, the study showed that paying attention to NPS symptoms was a better predictor of mental decline than other established Alzheimer’s risk factors, which include heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

When asked about the real-world implications of their research, the team had this to say, “If you feel down or anxious and you experience memory issues as you age, it is important to seek help early and get a thorough evaluation for both cognitive and mental health concerns.”

Evaluating the risk to you or your loved one

So if you or your loved one is living with MCI, evaluation of neuropsychiatric symptoms is key.

Your doctor should use the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire to understand not only which symptoms are present, but also their severity and the distress they cause to the caregiver.

By understanding the risk of progression from MCI to Alzheimer’s, both patients and families can be better prepared for the journey ahead.

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In addition to understanding progression risks, there are also steps you can take to reduce those risks at home. These include:

#1 – Exercising

Research, performed at Yonsei University College of Medicine, Republic of Korea, showed that physical activity can help prevent the slide from MCI to Alzheimer’s. Their study found that people with MCI, who exercised at a moderate or vigorous level for at least 10 minutes, more than once per week, had an 18 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

#2 – Using pink noise

Certain sounds when you sleep, known as ‘pink noise’, have been shown to result in memory improvement in subjects who suffer from mild cognitive impairment.

#3 – Eating mushrooms

Mushroom eating has been found to slash MCI in half! According to researchers, this is likely due to a specific compound in mushrooms known as ergothioneine, which fights free radical damage throughout the body.

#4 – Improving head-to-toe blood flow

A study found that men taking prescriptions for ED medication were 18 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s. That little blue pill works by increasing a molecule known as nitric oxide (NO) in the lining of the blood vessels. This causes the blood vessels to widen, increasing blood flow and boosting oxygen to all the body’s organs and tissues — including the brain.

Sources:

Neuropsychiatric symptoms predict which patients with mild cognitive impairment develop Alzheimer’s disease – EurekAlert!

The post The symptoms that predict whether MCI turns to Alzheimer’s appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The first thing to understand is that blood pressure is not static. It varies throughout the day — minute by minute. 

What it’s really doing is oscillating, sometimes quite profoundly, around a mean — and what we’re really interested in is what that mean is. So one reading in a doctor’s office does not a hypertension diagnosis make…

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Taking things into your own hands

What we really need are multiple readings that give us more information.  This is why I always ask my patients to get their own blood pressure cuffs and start taking their own readings at home. Home BP monitors are widely available and relatively inexpensive, and can be invaluable tools for facilitating BP evaluation and management.

The second thing to know is that there are multiple factors that can contribute to high blood pressure that are reversible: excess weight, inactivity, smoking, stimulants (like caffeine and alcohol), non-restorative sleep/sleep apnea, and high sodium intake/poor diet. 

These are not necessarily factors that are chip shots to solve or change, but it’s all doable. Most importantly, making inroads here – even if they’re only partial — can help reduce your readings enough that you can avoid medications or, at the very least, lower the drug doses needed to control them.

How anxiety and depression impact blood pressure

Finally, know that there is a significant connection between mental health and hypertension. Not just anxiety. Depression too can be linked. One recent study found a connection between depressive symptoms and high blood pressure years before hypertension was diagnosed.

The relationship between mental health and blood pressure is complex. On one hand, anxiety and depression may cause people to avoid taking medications or even skip medical appointments altogether. On the other hand, some antihypertensive medications, such as beta-blockers, can have depression and fatigue as side effects. 

High blood pressure causes low-grade inflammation. And inflammation can interfere with mood-regulating chemicals. Left untreated, hypertension can also increase stress-related hormones. And stress, of course, is not good for your mental health.

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We tend to think of mental and physical health separately, but they are so intertwined that it can be hard to tell what is the cause and what is the effect. Is stress making your blood pressure rise, or is hypertension causing your stress? While the answer isn’t always clear, the good news is that treating one should improve the other as well.

The best part is, the treatment doesn’t need to be just drugs, drugs, and more drugs! What we eat has a TREMENDOUS impact on both physical and mental health — including mood and blood pressure readings.  Consuming more whole food fiber, antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats is the key.  Sound familiar?

We’ve had lots of customers tell us their blood pressure has improved as a consequence of eating Step One Foods. But I’ll never forget the day that a customer marched into our offices and demanded to know if we put anti-depressants into the foods — because he had never felt better! Not everyone will have such dramatic improvements, but shouldn’t we all feed our bodies in a way that supports health on every level?

The post The significant link between blood pressure, anxiety and depression appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But what may not be as well-known is the immune system’s role in our psychological health. The immune system produces neurotransmitters like serotonin that affect your mood and is in turn influenced by the neurotransmitters released by the nervous system.

Unfortunately, stress can throw a wrench into the immune system’s complex and delicate workings…

Previous research shows stress can compromise the immune system’s ability to defend against disease — or even cause it to go haywire and cause rampant, damaging inflammation in the body.

One international team of researchers became interested in exploring the complicated connection between stress, the immune system and the brain. And what they discovered could have far-reaching implications for the treatment of depression…

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The effect of MMP-8 on behavior

In a study, the researchers uncovered a novel mechanism known as matrix metalloproteinaise-8 (MMP-8), an enzyme released from polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) that plays an important part in mediating inflammation.

Neutrophils, in general, are the body’s first responders to acute (sudden) inflammation. In chronic inflammation, their role is less understood, but they are associated with inflammatory diseases.

“We were able to show that stress increases the amount of [MMP-8], an enzyme in the blood of mice,” says first author Flurin Cathomas. “The same changes were found in patients with depression.”

When MMP-8 travels from the blood to the brain, it alters the functioning of certain neurons. The study found that this leads to behavioral changes in the affected mice; they withdraw and avoid social contact — which mimics behavior seen in humans with depression.

To prove that MMP-8 was responsible for the behavioral changes, the team removed the MMP-8 gene from some of the mice in the study. Compared to the control group, these mice did not display negative behavioral changes related to stress.

“Blood analyses of patients with depression indicate that the findings from the mouse models are also relevant for humans: both the monocytes and MMP-8 were increased in the blood of people with depression in comparison to healthy participants,” Cathomas says.

The findings are novel in two respects, according to Cathomas. “Firstly, they indicate a new ‘body-mind mechanism’, which might be relevant not only for stress-related mental illness, but also for other diseases that affect both the immune and nervous systems,” he says. And secondly, he adds, identifying the specific MMP-8 protein could be a potential starting point to develop new treatments for depression.

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Keep stress from hacking your immune system

More studies are required before these results translate to changes in clinical practice. But Cathomas notes this study “once again demonstrates the importance of the interaction between the immune system and the brain in the development of psychiatric disorders.

“These insights are already being incorporated into psychiatric treatment today,” he adds.

For now, there are many steps you can take on your own to help reduce stress that both support the health of your immune system and help fight depression. Here are a few to start with:

• Do yoga. If you want to bust stress, get a mood boost from endorphins and strengthen your immune system, yoga is the way to go. Attend a nearby class or check out some videos online to get started.
• Get some vitamin D. This “sunshine vitamin” not only helps support the immune system, but it also helps protect against stress and depressive symptoms. The easiest way to get vitamin D is through exposure to sunlight. But if you aren’t getting enough sun exposure, consider supplementing.
• Boost your omega–3s. Omega-3 fatty acids are powerful anti-inflammatory agents, and that may play some role in their ability to relieve depression on par with Prozac.
• Support your thyroid and adrenal glands. When your adrenals are constantly stressed, this sets off an autoimmune inflammatory response in your entire body which results in a constant assault of cortisol, the stress hormone. The adrenal-hypothalamus-pituitary feedback loop regulates the secretion of the stress hormone cortisol.
• Try frankincense essential oil. While there are separate essential oils that help with anxiety, depression and immune system support, frankincense may get to the root. Some research has shown that the Boswellic acid from frankincense stops inflammatory enzymes from working. Adding the essential oil to a diffuser can be very relaxing. Supplements are also available as Boswellia extract.

If feeling depressed, don’t hesitate to reach out to a healthcare professional.

Sources:

Stress influences brain and psyche via immune system — EurekAlert!

Circulating myeloid-derived MMP8 in stress susceptibility and depression — Nature

How does the immune system work? — InformedHealth.org

The Role of MMP8 in Cancer: A Systematic Review — International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Nature’s Medicine: Essential Oils for Depression, Anxiety and Immune Health — Cannizzaro Integrative Pediatric Center

The post Depressed? Your immune system may have been hacked appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Luckily, researchers from the University of Otago have found an easy — and tasty — way to chase away those blues…

All you have to do is reach for a furry green fruit packed with a mood-boosting vitamin…

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The depression-vitamin C connection

So what does vitamin C have to do with depression?

Well, while you might already know that certain vitamins like vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, are associated with a better mood, it just so happens that the vitamin C you get from foods like citrus fruit can play a role as well.

In fact, vitamin C intake has been associated with improved mood, vitality, well-being and lower rates of depression. And vitamin C deficiency has been shown to lead to higher levels of depression — and even cognitive impairment.

And that’s where those Otago researchers come in…

Pitting the common kiwi against the blues

While the team knew that vitamin C could have the power to boost mood, very little time had been put into determining just how quickly mood improvements could occur and whether vitamin C supplements or whole food sources were better.

So they set out to close that knowledge gap.

The researchers recruited 155 participants with low levels of vitamin C. Each participant took a vitamin C supplement or placebo or ate two kiwifruit daily for eight weeks. Kiwi are considered one of the premier dietary sources of vitamin C.

Then, using smartphone surveys, they tracked their vitality, mood, flourishing, sleep quality, sleep quantity and physical activity.

And the results were clear…

While supplementing with vitamin C can help, it’s the common kiwi for the win!

The team found that people who ate kiwis experienced an improvement in vitality and mood within just four days. But results really peaked around 14-16 days when participants felt they were especially “flourishing.”

Vitamin C, on the other hand, only marginally improved mood up until day 12.

According to the researchers, the results demonstrate the potential synergistic effects of consuming whole foods like kiwifruit.

So if you want to keep the blues away, eat two kiwi fruit a day.

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More causes and remedies for a blue mood

As much as vitamin deficiencies can contribute to a depressed mood, it’s important to know that some medications and other factors can as well.

In addition to adding kiwis to your daily diet, there are more steps you can take to help keep your mood in the green zone.

These include:

• Taking magnesium – A study from the University of Vermont found that magnesium supplements could be an effective treatment for depression, with some participants experiencing mood improvements within two weeks.
• Avoiding sugar – Sugar not only steals the vitamin C you consume, it fuels the inflammation that can worsen depression.
• Enjoying cultural activities – Research from the University College London shows that you can significantly slash your depression risk as you age by planning cultural outings like going to a museum or a movie.
• Exercising regularly – Just 10 minutes a day of physical activity can lead to a happier you, so why not get moving?

The above list makes up about half of these 7 things happy people do that reduce depression by 57 percent.

Remember, if a blue mood gives way to depression, it’s important to reach out to a healthcare professional.

Source:

Furry fruit improves mental health – fast – EurekAlert!

The post The furry green fruit that chases away the blues appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Unlike other amino acids, which are the “building blocks of protein,” taurine has particular functions within the body, one of which is supporting the general function of your central nervous system.

Perhaps there’s a connection between this role and the apparent link between taurine levels and depression that scientists at several Korean research institutions have made…

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Low taurine could mean higher depression risk

Using ultra-high magnetic field 7T human MRI (7T MRI), their study found lower taurine levels in the hippocampus of women (aged 19 to 29) with depression than in those who were not depressed.

The Korean research team plans on looking further into whether there is a causal relationship here, and what that might be.

One possibility they propose is that taurine may be involved in the regulation of other neurotransmitters, such as GABA or serotonin, both of which regulate mood in general, and anxiety in particular.

In fact, previous research has indicated that supplementing taurine can reduce depression-like and anxious behaviors.

Taurine levels drop substantially with age. Specifically in people, the taurine levels in 60-year-olds are only about one-third of the levels in 5-year-olds.

But depression isn’t the only reason to work at keeping your taurine levels up…

Taurine’s importance: now and for the long haul

Dr. Bruce Ames is a highly respected biochemist whose “triage theory” explains why deficiencies — even ones without overt symptoms — could contribute to the aging process.

According to Dr. Ames, nutrition science ignores the fact that most vitamins and minerals are not only needed to maintain our day-to-day health but are also required for processes that impact our long-term health.

One of those is taurine. In addition to nervous system functions, it’s been found to impact immune function, obesity and the building of bone.

When we’re deficient in one of these vitamins, minerals or amino acids used in so many of the body’s processes, the body rations it. And you can guess where it goes: to the processes that ensure immediate survival.

That means that any processes related to longevity get the short end of the stick.

In mice who were supplemented taurine daily, the result was an increase in lifespan — the equivalent of about seven to eight human years.

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How to get more taurine

While taurine appears to play a major role in slowing the aging process in animals, more research is needed to confirm a similar role in humans.

But other studies have shown that taurine may also have a role in boosting heart health, improving glucose metabolism, and supporting a healthy liver. And now it appears it may have a significant impact on mental health.

So there’s no harm in making sure you get enough. Just don’t go over 3000mg a day if you supplement. If you have kidney problems, consult your doctor first.

Supplementing is a good idea if you eat a vegan or vegetarian diet since the main sources of taurine are animal proteins.

Taurine is found in:

• Tuna
• Tilapia
• Scallops
• Octopus
• Turkey
• Chicken
• Beef
• eggs
• Dairy products

Sources:

Taurine Levels in Brain Linked to Depression — Neuroscience News

Association Between Taurine Level in the Hippocampus and Major Depressive Disorder in Young Women: A Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study at 7T — Biological Psychiatry

The “triage theory”: micronutrient deficiencies cause insidious damage that accelerates age-associated chronic disease — bruceames.org

The post The missing amino acid linked to depression appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

My children have finally left the nest, and I relish my time alone. I have plenty of neighbors right outside my door to call on when I feel the need for some social contact.

So, even though I live alone, I am far from lonely. But there are those who live alone and feel it.

That’s a problem because chronic loneliness can kill you.

It causes tissue damage and inflammation that lead to Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure and heart disease. In fact, research has suggested that the effects of loneliness and social isolation are more detrimental to your health and wellness than smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Not only that, but the emotional pain of feeling lonely is leading more and more older adults to seek help from someone they trust — their doctors.

And that’s putting them in a dangerous situation that may not be aware of: taking drugs that are especially risky for them…

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Loneliness and dangerous prescriptions go together

According to researchers at the University of California San Francisco, older adults who self-identify as lonely are nearly twice as likely to be prescribed opioids for pain, and two-and-a-half times more likely to take sedatives and anti-anxiety medications from their doctors.

The researchers used data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a population-based study of health and social factors.

They found that seniors who identified as moderately lonely or very lonely were eight to eleven percent more likely to use prescription opioids than non-lonely seniors.

And 23 percent of the “very lonely” group used anti-anxiety medications and sedatives — including anticholinergic drugs known to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s — compared with only nine percent of those who said they were not lonely.

In addition to taking drugs that could steal their memories and their lives, these prescriptions are on the danger list for seniors for other reasons as well…

They can increase the danger of falls and other accidents that can leave seniors with life-threatening broken bones or fractures — not to mention drug dependency.

Medications can also contribute to vitamin deficiencies…

Vitamin deficiencies can sneak up on older adults in two ways: The body becomes less efficient at metabolizing the nutrients we receive from food and many medications we rely on in our older years can interfere with nutrient absorption.

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What is social prescribing?

Dr. Ashwin Kotwal of the UCSF Division of Geriatrics says that, instead of prescribing psychotropic drugs for older adults who are lonely, doctors should be “social prescribing” to local resources in the community.

Social prescribing is an approach that seeks to fill in the gaps by connecting people with community resources.

For seniors, especially, that may be the only prescription they need. That’s because, according to Dr. Kotwal, older people are more socially active than other age groups and frequently play major roles in community.

When they are not socially active, he adds, we need to recognize there is a problem. But the first step should be social prescribing instead of medication.

“We don’t want to pathologize loneliness. Most people experience loneliness at some point in their lives, but when experiences of loneliness persist for many months or years, it can cause physiologic changes, such as a ramped-up stress response, sleep problems, and even heart disease,” said Kotwal. “And, a lack of social contact can erode our social skills, making it more difficult over time to connect with others and creating a vicious cycle.”

When health professionals practice social prescribing, they refer patients to sources in the community to improve their health, rather than turning to drugs as a first course of treatment, or risk the pitfalls of polypharmacy (when someone is taking multiple medications and sometimes from different doctors).

For example, study after study has shown that music is medicine. One study proved that singing in a choir could increase one’s lifespan by fifty percent.

Source:

65+ and lonely? Don’t talk to your doctor about another prescription — Eureka Alert

The post ‘Loneliness’ prescriptions are putting older adults in jeopardy appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

We’ve set the clocks back… and that means fewer hours of sunlight for the coming months.

That’s not that big of a deal for everyone.  But if your mood takes a major hit and plummets at the first signs of fall or winter, then you know the winter blues are just around the corner.

Like other types of depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can be serious and debilitating for those who suffer from it.

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Not everyone is affected by SAD in the same way, but general symptoms include:

• Sad, anxious or “empty” feelings
• Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness
• Irritability, restlessness
• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
• Fatigue and decreased energy
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering details and making decisions
• Difficulty sleeping or oversleeping
• Changes in weight
• Thoughts of death or suicide

I suffered from SAD for decades. I often joked with my friends that if I could just hibernate like the bears till spring, I would be so much better. For me, just being mindful of the disorder and understanding why I felt the way I did during the winter months helped me control those feelings of depression to a large extent.

Additionally, I learned to allow myself to just give in and get the extra sleep my body craves as winter creeps closer. An early 8 pm bedtime is not unusual for me… at least till I adjust.

I also learned to pamper myself in the winter — with warm baths, warm PJs and warm cocoa or fresh apple cider. But I have to admit… once I hit menopause the cold hasn’t bothered me half as much.

But I know for others the depression can go much deeper and their need for treatment can be more urgent. Aside from seeking antidepressant pharmaceuticals from your doctor, there are other ways — without side effects — to boost your mood and alleviate some SAD symptoms.

Light therapy for seasonal affective disorder

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Light therapy involves exposure to artificial light that mimics the natural outdoor light that is sorely lacking during the winter months.

The devices are called light boxes and are made by several manufacturers. They can range in price from around $40 on up. Some light boxes use white light, while others use blue light. There is more research supporting the use of bright white light than blue light to help with SAD symptoms.

If you decide to try light therapy, it’s important to look for a light box designed to filter out most UV light.

The effectiveness of light therapy depends on daily use. You’d want to situate your light box in an area where you can be within two feet of it for at least 30 minutes each day, preferably in the morning. If you have an office job, you could consider keeping it on your desk and using it for the first half hour you work. At home, maybe you’d prefer to put it on a coffee table or side table while you read a book or enjoy your morning cup of joe.

Get plenty of vitamin D

Did you know scientists believe there is a link between vitamin D — the sunshine vitamin — and depression? That makes perfect sense when you consider the amount of natural vitamin D you get from the sun, and how drastically that can change when we set the clocks back.

An Oregon study showed that young adult women with lower levels of vitamin D had greater incidences of depression throughout a five-week study.  The researchers concluded that some women could simply get more vitamin D and prevent depressive mood states.

The National Institutes of Health’s recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D is 600 IUs a day. But most alternative health practitioners will tell you that is woefully inadequate and that a therapeutic serving of 4,000 to 5,000 IUs will do you better.

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Eat mood-boosting foods

One 2013 study, published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, examined the relationship between diet and mood in 281 young adults. In this study, participants who ate more fruits and vegetables felt calmer, happier and more energetic.

Junk and processed food can have the opposite effect. They stimulate short-term reward centers in the central nervous system. But over time, they can lead to dependency and mood imbalances, along with all-too-common long-term health consequences.

For a list of mood-boosting foods from Dr. Isaac Eliaz, click here.

Consider mood-boosting supplements and exercise

• Exercise and yoga. Exercise can work wonders against depressive symptoms. A study at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, shows that exercise can drag people out of major depression.
• The evidence for vitamin D as a depression fighter has been stacking up for years. I take 3000 to 5000 IU daily.
• Ashwagandha is an adaptogen herb, meaning it helps you better adapt to changes that affect stress levels and mood.
• St. John’s wort has been shown just as effective at controlling depression as both tricyclic antidepressants and SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors).
• L-Tryptophan may help mood swings and other problems that may be linked to serotonin processing.
• Mental fatigue can creep in when lack of daylight makes you feel sluggish. L-theanine could be the solution you’re searching for. It’s an amino acid that can boost cognitive performance, especially when it’s combined with caffeine.

Talk about how seasonal affective disorder makes you feel

There’s absolutely no shame in letting your friends and family, even coworkers know how you feel. A strong support system is very important and an understanding ear can go a long way in helping you feel better. And remember — spring will return.

The post Does setting the clock back make you blue? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Stress changes our metabolism and leads to weight gain and diabetes.  It can cause cancer to spread and your biological clock to tick faster. And perhaps most well-known is how stress damages the heart.

But stress, especially when it’s chronic, can also play a number on your brain…

It can block the formation of new memories while impairing the brain’s ability to retrieve memories it’s already formed. This is backed up by research reported in the Journal of Neuroscience that found chronic stress leads to brain inflammation and memory loss.

Does that mean chronic stress may be linked to dementia or Alzheimer’s? It’s not topping any list right now of modifiable risk factors you can control to reduce your risk of these dreaded mind stealers, but that may soon change…

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Stress, depression and Alzheimer’s

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden used Region Stockholm’s administrative healthcare database to identify 44,447 patients between the ages of 18 and 65 with a diagnosis of chronic stress and/or depression between 2012 and 2013. They then followed these patients for eight years to see how many of them were later diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s disease.

Chronic stress is constant and persists over an extended period of time, as opposed to the kind of stress you might feel when someone cuts you off in traffic or when you’re selling your house and moving.

Results showed that the risk of Alzheimer’s disease was more than twice as high in patients with chronic stress and in patients with depression than it was in patients without either condition. And in patients with both chronic stress and depression, the risk was up to four times as high.

The risk of developing MCI was elevated about as much as the risk of Alzheimer’s.

“The risk is still very small and the causality is unknown,” says the study’s last author Dr. Axel C. Carlsson, docent at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet. “That said, the finding is important in that it enables us to improve preventative efforts and understand links with the other risk factors for dementia.”

Because Alzheimer’s rates are rising with our life expectancy, and many new diagnostic methods and early intervention therapies have been developed in recent years, it’s important to identify more risk factors for the disease.

“We show here that the diagnosis is more common in people who have suffered chronic stress or depression, but more studies will be required if we’re to demonstrate any causality there,” Carlsson says.

The researchers plan to continue their work and develop questionnaires and cognitive tests to help with the early identification of people at risk of dementia.

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Ways to fight stress and protect your brain

Luckily, there are ways of handling stress that have the added bonus of helping to protect against Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related illnesses.

Take yoga, for instance. Yoga’s emphasis on slow, deliberate movement has been shown to help build up the brain’s left prefrontal cortex, an area responsible for important mental functions like learning and memory. It’s been shown even to reverse memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s.

Meditation is another way to gain both peace of mind and better brain health. Research has shown that practicing meditation regularly can increase brain density, boost connections between neurons, decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety, provide clarity of thought and increase positive mood endorphins.

It’s easy to get started using meditation videos on YouTube, as well as meditation apps for your smartphone.

Practice emotional regulation. Optimistic people practice something known as antecedent-focused emotion regulation. They purposely change their focus, thus heading off negative emotions and stress before they begin. It cuts down on ruminating—which is linked with cognitive decline and brain aging.

Finally, there’s an amino acid that can both help you manage your stress and sharpen your focus and attention. Try taking 250 to 400 mg of L-theanine a day to help lower cortisol levels and give your brain a boost.

Sources:

Study indicates possible link between chronic stress and Alzheimer’s disease — Karolina Institutet

Stress, depression, and risk of dementia – a cohort study in the total population between 18 and 65 years old in Region Stockholm — Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy

Memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s reversed for first time — UCLA

The post Stressed or depressed? Your Alzheimer’s risk may be 4 times higher appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Usually, a blue mood is temporary, while depression lingers, grows more intense and interferes with your day-to-day activities. With depression, symptoms like fatigue, lack of enthusiasm and feelings of worthlessness keep you from finding enjoyment or purpose in life.

The factors influencing depression are complex and researchers are still working to understand all the nuances. But one international team has made some fascinating discoveries about the role lifestyle plays…

Lifestyle could be key to resolving depression

These researchers examined data from almost 290,000 people in the UK Biobank followed over a nine-year period. The UK Biobank is a biomedical database of genetic, lifestyle and health information about its participants.

Of those 290,000 people, about 13,000 had depression. The team then took a look at a combination of components, including lifestyle, genetics, brain structure and the immune and metabolic systems to identify the roles they may play in depression.

Out of all those, they were able to identify seven healthy lifestyle factors linked with a lower risk of depression. Then, to weigh the impact of each factor, the researchers split the participants into one of three groups based on the number of healthy lifestyle factors they adhered to.

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And they weren’t too surprised to find the folks in the favorable lifestyle group (those who could tick off the most from the list) were 57 percent less likely to develop depression compared to those in the unfavorable lifestyle group. Those in the intermediate lifestyle group were 41 percent less likely.

They also learned that out of the seven lifestyle factors, getting between seven and nine hours a night of sleep made the biggest difference, so we’ll consider it #1. Regularly getting a good night’s sleep reduced the risk of depression, including single depressive episodes and treatment-resistant depression, by 22 percent.

The other six factors impacted depression risk accordingly:

• Frequent social connection reduced the risk of depression by 18 percent and protected the most against recurrent depressive disorder;
• Never smoking reduced depression risk by 20 percent;
• Regular physical activity by 14 percent;
• Low-to-moderate sedentary behavior by 13 percent;
• Moderate alcohol consumption by 11 percent;
• and healthy diet by 6 percent.

Interestingly, genetic risk had a much smaller impact on depression risk than lifestyle — and past research has shown that as well about other genetic conditions.

“Although our DNA — the genetic hand we’ve been dealt — can increase our risk of depression, we’ve shown that a healthy lifestyle is potentially more important,” says Barbara Sahakian, a professor at the University of Cambridge.

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How do lifestyle factors take depression down?

By examining MRI brain scans from just under 33,000 of the participants, the team was able to find several regions of the brain where the presence of more neurons and connections was associated with a healthy lifestyle.

They also studied biomarkers in the blood that indicated problems with the immune system or metabolism. Among those found to be connected to lifestyle was C-reactive protein, a molecule the body produces in response to stress, and triglycerides, one of the primary forms of fat the body uses to store energy for later.

Low vitamin D levels have been linked to C-reactive protein, also considered a chronic disease biomarker.

To put it simply, a poor lifestyle affects our immune system and metabolism, which in turn increases our risk of depression.

How to break the catch-22 of depression

All this is great news for helping to prevent depression. But what if you already have depression? In that case, it may be hard enough to make one lifestyle shift, let alone seven.

Ease into it by choosing one area to focus on, then take one step toward being healthier in that area.

For example, if you’re having trouble with exercise, try picking one type of exercise and doing it once a week to begin with. Yoga is a good choice because it’s been proven to help with depression. But even taking a walk around the neighborhood is a great start, particularly since on a sunny day it can give you a depression-fighting vitamin D boost.

As for diet, did you know some foods can help fight depression? Try adding a few to your daily menu, especially since they’re great for your overall health, too.

Sources:

1. Healthy lifestyle can help prevent depression — and new research may explain why — ScienceDaily

2. The brain structure, immunometabolic and genetic mechanisms underlying the association between lifestyle and depression — Nature Mental Health

The post 7 things happy people do that reduce depression by 57% appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And although the surgery itself went well, the pain of recovery kept me from getting the sleep I needed to truly feel better. The longer I went without rest, the more stressed I felt and the more pain I felt.

It was a cycle that seemed to build and build — until finally I had enough and broke down in tears.

Luckily, I had a doctor that recognized what was happening and addressed not only my pain, but my sleep issues, so that I could start feeling like myself again pretty quickly.

But not everyone is so lucky, especially those that live with chronic pain, rather than an acute condition, like I experienced.

In fact, according to researchers at the Regenstrief Institute, although symptoms of the body and mind seem to go hand-in-hand, doctors all too often neglect signs of depression and anxiety in patients suffering from chronic pain.

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The relationship between pain and mood

According to Kurt Kroenke, M.D., of Regenstrief Institute, pain, which is the most common symptom that takes a person into the doctor’s office, is inextricably linked to depression and anxiety — making it vital that a physician delve deeper than the just muscles and nerves.

“One of the reasons for the bi-directional linkage between pain and depression, as well as anxiety, is the existence of a feedback loop,” says Kroenke. “Individuals with pain don’t sleep well and their resulting tiredness affects their mood, making them vulnerable to depression and anxiety. Having problems with depression or anxiety can increase susceptibility to pain.”

Additionally, studies have proven that areas in the brain that control the level of pain a person experiences are also connected to regions that work to regulate mood.

This creates a close association between mental and physical symptoms.

It also explains why researchers have long known that successfully treating depression and anxiety can result in an improvement in pain.

And while reducing pain has not been found to have as profound an impact on anxiety and depression as improving mental health does on pain, taking an active approach to both ends of that feedback loop can bring big benefits.

“Symptoms of the body and the mind are frequent fellow travelers,” Dr. Kroenke reminds us. “But patients seeing their primary care physician for a headache, back or muscle or leg pain or stomachache often neglect to mention the symptoms commonly associated with depression and anxiety that they are also experiencing such as fatigue, lack of motivation, nervousness and moodiness. And physicians don’t always ask about symptoms beyond the ones which brought the patient into the office.

“Un- or under-treated, these emotional symptoms can cause long-term suffering and impaired quality of life.”

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Breaking the feedback loop

So if you want to feel better, don’t forget to care for your emotional health, as well as take steps to reduce your pain.

To improve pain symptoms, consider these 10 natural pain relievers backed by science.

And to help overcome mood problems that are keeping you down, try taking a few small steps that can add up fast like:

• Move for just 10 minutes a day – As little as 10 minutes of exercise each day can offer powerful relief from depression.
• Downward dog – Yoga is great medicine for depression. And as an added bonus, it can help ease chronic pain too!
• Natural anti-inflammatories – Omega-3s offer big benefits against both depression and pain thanks to their anti-inflammatory properties.
• Magnesium power – A study of 126 adults with mild to moderate depression showed that just six weeks of taking 248 milligrams of elemental magnesium per day resulted in a significant improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms.

Sources:

Symptoms of the body and the mind are frequent fellow travelers — ScienceDaily

The post Break the feedback loop that fuels pain appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Moving your body is good for your mental health.

Regular exercise can lift your mood. The endorphins that are released during moderate exercise, cardio and weight training are like a natural “happiness drug,” one with no side effects.

Still, many people are skeptical. Can a round of cardio really replace my antidepressant?

That’s why it’s good to see a large-scale review that pulls together evidence of just how effective exercise is at alleviating depression and anxiety.

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Large-scale review shows exercise more effective on mental health

Antidepressants and anxiety medications have a long list of side effects…

They don’t always work, they’ve been linked to dementia and they can cause weight gain.

But exercise has nothing but good side effects…

“Physical activity is known to help improve mental health. Yet despite the evidence, it has not been widely adopted as a first-choice treatment,” says Dr. Ben Singh, lead researcher of the University of South Australia review.

The review is the most comprehensive to date on this subject, encompassing:

• 97 reviews;
• 1039 trials;
• and 128,119 participants!

The findings showed that physical activity is 1.5 times more effective than counseling or the leading medications for managing depression–and the effects were fast…

The review showed that exercise interventions that were 12 weeks or shorter were the most effective at reducing mental health symptoms, highlighting the speed at which physical activity can make a change.

The largest benefits were seen in people with clinical depression, HIV and kidney disease, in pregnant and postpartum women, and physically healthy individuals.

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It doesn’t take much to start seeing results

Some comments from Dr. Singh about the review’s findings will make them both relevant and easily applicable for most of us.

“Higher intensity exercise had greater improvements for depression and anxiety, while longer durations had smaller effects when compared to short and mid-duration bursts.

Translation: Short sessions of high-intensity exercise alternated with rest (better known as high-intensity interval training, or HIIT) are better for depression and anxiety than long exercise sessions.

HIIT increases blood flow to the brain, which may have something to do with its positive effects on your mental state. It also helps lower dementia risk.

 But if that seems too strenuous, Dr. Singh has good news…

“We also found that all types of physical activity and exercise were beneficial, including aerobic exercise such as walking, resistance training, Pilates, and yoga.

Translation: you can easily find the exercise that suits you and reap the same benefits.

 “Importantly, the research shows that it doesn’t take much for exercise to make a positive change to your mental health.”

In fact, the review showed that exercise interventions of just twelve weeks or less were the most effective.

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Some exercises give your mental health an extra boost

While a range of physical activities can reap benefits for your mental health, as noted above, one study found that three, in particular, were especially good:

• Team sports. Exercising with a team improved mental health the most. It reduced the number of lousy mental health days per month by 22.3 percent.
• Cycling. The simple act of hopping on a bike reduced bad mental health days by 21.6 percent.
• Aerobic/gym exercise. Heart-pounding, sweaty exercise sessions were effective as well. They led to a 20.1 percent decrease in days each month where you just don’t want to get out of bed.

Here’s another thought: when and where weather permits, take your exercise routine outdoors

In her 2019 book, The Joy of Movement, Stanford University health lecturer Dr. Kelly McGonigal cites a study showing that “green exercise” can reduce depressive symptoms.

“So many people who struggle with anxiety, grief or depression find a kind of relief in being active in nature that they don’t find any other way,” she says.

“It actually alters what’s happening in your brain in a way that looks really similar to meditation,” she says. “People report feeling connected to all of life … and they feel more hopeful about life itself.”

Sources:

Exercise more effective than medicines to manage mental health — Eureka Alert

Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews — British Journal of Sports Medicine

Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1·2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: a cross-sectional study — The Lancet Psychiatry

The post Exercise relieves depression better than medication appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

You may be taking a common medication right now that increases your risk of developing dementia by as much as 50 percent!

To date, a few studies have raised a number of medications into the dementia-causing spotlight. You may want to take this list and have a look in your medicine cabinet…

Oxybutynin (Ditropan XL) for bladder control

Anticholinergic drugs, like oxybutynin, are prescribed for the treatment of urinary incontinence. Essentially, they stop the involuntary nerve impulses that cause things like muscle cramps, urination, coughing and sneezing.

To do this, they block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from binding to receptors on nerve cells. But acetylcholine is also critical for memory function.

That’s why using anticholinergics can put people at higher risk for developing Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and possibly, dementia.

Researchers suggest there are other options but physicians turn to this drug because it’s a cheaper option. And it seems, at your expense…

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Taking these types of drugs for more than three years has been linked to a significantly increased risk of dementia.

What can you do for bladder control instead?

I’ve previously covered the use of pumpkin seed extract and Kegel exercises for bladder issues, two natural options with proven effectiveness.

Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for allergies and colds

Reaching for those antihistamines to address your seasonal allergies — sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, hives, skin rash, itching, and other cold symptoms — may seem like a good idea.

However, this commonly used medication is also an anticholinergic medication and may increase your dementia risk. That’s why it’s important to take the lowest dose possible for the shortest amount of time.

Try these natural allergy symptom-relievers.

Tricyclic antidepressants

Anticholinergic effects appear to be responsible for the cognitive effects of tricyclic antidepressants. The effects of these drugs appear to be dose-dependent, with low doses coinciding with subtle cognitive impairment and increasing to not-so-subtle impairment as dosages are increased

Some popular medications in this group include:

• Amitriptyline (Elavil, Endep)
• Clomipramine (Anafranil)
• Imipramine (Tofranil)
• Trimipramine (Surmontil)
• Doxepin (Sinequan, Adapin)

Taking antidepressants may be useful for those with severe clinical depression. However, there are other alternatives to tricyclic antidepressants. And since these have been shown to increase the risk of dementia, discussing alternatives with your physician is a great idea.

Since antidepressants are not all that useful to most people, consider trying proven alternatives. You may also be surprised to learn how much vitamin deficiencies affect depression.

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Doxepin hydrochloride (Silenor) for insomnia

If you have trouble staying asleep, your physician may prescribe you doxepin hydrochloride. But if you’re a regular user dosing around 10 mg per day and continue to do that for three years, your risk of dementia can skyrocket.

All of these medications are classed in the category of ‘anticholinergic’ medications and have an average usage between 8 to 37 percent. It’s not unknown that these meds cause immediate cognitive effects such as altered attention, changes to working memory, and slower cognitive speed. But when following your physician’s advice, you probably don’t expect to up your risk of dementia by more than 50 percent.

Unfortunately, there are too many drugs to list here… but you can learn about other prescriptions for amnesia and brain robbery that my colleague Margaret Cantwell wrote about, including Xanax and Lipitor to name a few.

Sometimes it’s the simplest of solutions that are the remedy, like adopting the bedtime routine of a toddler. You might be surprised at how well this works!

Sources:

1. 2017 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures — Alzheimer’s Association. Retrieved 2 June, 2017
2. Gray SL, et al. Cumulative Use of Strong Anticholinergics and Incident Dementia. — JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(3):401-407.
3. Common anticholinergic drugs like Benadryl linked to increased dementia risk — Merz B. (2015). Harvard Health Blog. Retrieved 2 June, 2017

The post 4 drugs that can give you dementia appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In the U.S. depression affects one in 10 of us, and it often goes untreated.

One study found among those newly diagnosed with depression, only about a third get treatment. That number dips further among older people. In fact, patients over the age of 60 were half as likely to seek treatment for depression as those under age 44.

But, even with treatment, depression can be a tough nut to crack. Roughly 31 percent of people with depression have either no response or a poor response to medication.

With those odds, it’s helpful to know of complementary or alternative therapies that may help manage depression.

Take green tea, for instance.

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Previous research has found that people who drink four or more cups of green tea daily are 44 percent less likely to have symptoms of depression than those who drink only one cup per day or less.

Another study showed an association between frequent consumption of green tea and a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms in the community-dwelling elderly population.

But to understand how tea could truly affect the brain’s mood center, scientists turned to mice — and what they found is extremely encouraging…

The impact of matcha

Matcha is a powdered form of green tea that has over a thousand more antioxidant levels than its whole-leaf green tea counterparts. When you boil regular green tea, you throw away the leaves, which contain most of the antioxidants. Because matcha uses the entire leaf pulverized into a powder, it contains all of green tea’s antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals.

How could matcha possibly affect depression? It may come down to matcha’s effect on the brain’s happy chemicals: serotonin and dopamine. Both carry messages between nerve cells in the brain.

Serotonin influences learning, memory, and happiness and regulates body temperature, sleep, sexual behavior and hunger. Dopamine impacts mood and motivation, as well as learning, heart rate, sleep, attention, and pain processing, among other functions.

Experts believe a lack of one or both of these chemical messengers may contribute to depression. For instance, inadequate levels of dopamine can make a person feel less motivated and less interested in life.

In an animal study involving mice, when the researchers examined the mice’s brains, they found that matcha appeared to affect systems of dopamine in stress-sensitive mice. These results suggest that matcha causes an antidepressant-like effect by activating the dopaminergic system in the brain.

The study results also indicate that mental state is an important factor that affects the physiological benefits of matcha since only the mice under high mental stress were impacted, compared to another group of mice.

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Making matcha at home

Other studies on green tea and depression have identified two ingredients potentially responsible for its feel-good effects. One is L-theanine, a calming amino acid known to reduce mental and physical stress and enhance crucial neurotransmitter activity.

The other is a potent antioxidant known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which contributes to an increase in brain alpha wave activity. When you’re in an alpha wave state, you’re awake and alert but relaxed.

You can now buy the tea at many grocery stores or online. Just make sure you get the actual powdered matcha, and that it’s 100 percent matcha with no fillers or sweeteners.

To make matcha, take roughly a quarter teaspoon and put it through a small sifter into your cup. Matcha clumps very easily, so you want to make sure your drink isn’t lumpy.

Next, pour in two ounces of hot (not boiling) water. You want the water to be just below the boiling point. Then you need a whisk to stir it — a fork or spoon won’t mix it enough.

Whisk the matcha vigorously in a zig-zag motion. Don’t do it in a circular motion or you won’t get that foamy top that’s characteristic of good matcha. A bamboo whisk known as a chasen, can make the whisking process easier and more complete.

After the tea has dissolved and a foamy top has appeared, pour in another six ounces of hot water, whisk again until foamy, and serve. Or, if you want to make your own matcha latte, add six ounces of heated milk instead of water.

Sources:

Could matcha tea have anti-depressant properties? — Medical News Today

Matcha Tea Powder’s Antidepressant-like Effect through the Activation of the Dopaminergic System in Mice Is Dependent on Social Isolation Stress — Nutrients

Vast Majority of People With Depression Aren’t Getting Treatment, Global Review Finds — Science Alert

Why Are So Many People With Depression Not Getting Treatment? — Forbes

Green tea and coffee consumption is inversely associated with depressive symptoms in a Japanese working population — Public Health Nutrition

Green tea consumption is associated with depressive symptoms in the elderly — The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Matcha 101 – What It Is and How to Use It — Love & Lemons

The post Matcha tea: Nature’s antidepressant in a cup appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But there’s plenty we can do to slow those changes down — and possibly even avoid the most common, physical and mental age-related ailments.

Some of those things are easy, like taking advantage of anti-aging and longevity supplements, like niacin (vitamin B3), resveratrol, pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and vitamin D3.

Others may be harder… like following a better diet. But adding up to ten years to your life is certainly worth it.

Still, others may seem even harder: plenty of studies show regular exercise can protect your brain from cognitive decline.

If you follow all or most of these lifestyle habits that research has provided, you’ve got the recipe for living your senior years as long and healthy as possible.

But there’s one thing that’s like the icing on the cake…

It can give these other activities just enough “extra” to make them work better together — plus add in one elusive factor that many seniors are missing out on…

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A regular routine to health and happiness

“There’s something about getting going early, staying active all day and following the same routine each day that seems to be protecting older adults,” said lead author Stephen Smagula, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh.

And that “something” isn’t only an important component for healthy aging — but for mental health too.

A team led by the University of Pittsburgh researchers found older adults who consistently get up early and remain active throughout the day are happier and perform better on cognitive tests than those with irregular activity patterns.

To confirm this they recruited 1,800 people over the age of 65 to measure their daily activity patterns and identify links with mental health and cognition. Questionnaires helped to assess their cognitive function and any symptoms of depression.

The results suggest that patterns of activity matter just as much — if not more — for healthy aging and mental health as how intense the activity is.

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According to Smagula, “Many older adults had robust patterns; they get up before 7 a.m. on average, and they keep going; they stay active for 15 hours or so each day.”

Another group made up of roughly a third of participants had consistent daily routines, but they were active for only 13.4 hours a day because they rose later in the morning or settled down earlier in the evening. This group showed more depression symptoms and poorer cognition than the early risers.

The remaining participants had inconsistent activity patterns across days and erratic periods of activity throughout each day. This group had the highest rates of depression and performed worst on cognitive tests.

“This is a different way of thinking about activity; you may not need to be sprinting or running a marathon but simply staying engaged with activities throughout the day,” Smagula says.

This study also indicated that the relationship between mental health and activity patterns is sort of a two-way street. Depression or cognitive impairment can make it harder to follow a consistent routine, while having a disrupted activity rhythm may worsen depression or cognitive impairment.

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Developing a consistent activity schedule

Smagula says the first step to developing a consistent routine, including better sleep, is waking up at the same time each day — regardless of your fatigue level.

The next is having a realistic plan for keeping active throughout the day.

“This can be really hard — especially if you’re in a slump or recovering from an injury — so it’s important to be reasonable with yourself,” he says. “A plan could include making a list of activities you enjoy and scheduling time to meet a friend or neighbor.”

External time cues called “zeitgebers” can also assist in creating a stable routine. Zeitgebers include sunlight, exercise and eating. Having a pet, which often demands meals and walks at the same time each day, can be an important social zeitgeber.

“Most people are aware of the importance of good sleep and exercise, but I think what’s missing from this picture is the daily, or circadian, pattern of activity,” Smagula says. “Having something to wake up for each morning and having a full day that you find purposeful and rewarding might be what’s important for us sleeping well at night and aging well.”

And that’s the icing on the cake.

Join the early birds. Forget the worm — but grab all the health and happiness you deserve by being active throughout your day.

Sources:

Older Adults with Regular Activity Routines Are Happier and Do Better on Cognitive Tests, Study Finds — UPMC

Association of 24-Hour Activity Pattern Phenotypes With Depression Symptoms and Cognitive Performance in Aging — JAMA Psychiatry

The post The habit the healthiest and happiest seniors practice appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

I depended heavily on my teacher’s assistant to prepare lesson materials, guide students, and generally help run the classroom.

When my usually competent and pleasant teacher’s assistant became irritable and resistant to my directions, I wondered if she was going through some life difficulties.

But when she began having to write down even the simplest of directions I gave her, and even then couldn’t carry them out, I knew something was seriously wrong.

At 53 years old, she was falling victim to early-onset Alzheimer’s dementia.

It’s important to know the signs so that you or a loved one can seek help immediately if you believe this is happening.

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How early is early?

Most people with dementia first experience symptoms around age 65 or older. However, some people develop symptoms earlier in life — sometimes as young as their 30s.

Matthew Cohen is an associate professor of communication sciences and disorders at the University of Delaware and associate director of the Delaware Center for Cognitive Aging Research.

He says that many symptoms of early-onset dementia are the same as dementia that occurs later in life, with one exception.

In early-onset dementia, a person is more likely to show noticeable changes in their mood, personality, behavior, or communication abilities.

This is what I first noticed in my teacher’s aide.

10 signs of early-onset dementia to watch for

Professor Cohen notes that it’s normal for the brain to make mistakes at any age, but especially as it ages.

But when do those mistakes add up to something worrisome?

He offers 10 signs and symptoms that might suggest there’s something more going on…

1. Daily problems with thinking and/or memory. Asking the same question over and over again, not just once, is a sign. So is relying more heavily on memory aids or on other people to remember simple things, as occurred with my teacher’s aide.

2. New difficulty handling financial affairs. Difficulty balancing a checkbook or paying bills, when before it was simple, could be a sign of dementia. Also, falling for scams is a clue that something’s wrong that wasn’t before.

3. Familiar tasks become challenging. Driving to a familiar location, or remembering the rules of a favorite game, suddenly aren’t easy anymore.

4. Losing track of dates and places. Missing appointments when someone was always punctual is a warning sign.

5. Changes in visual perception.  Suddenly, someone has trouble understanding visual images, like road signs, or judging spatial relationships, like distances when driving.

6. New problems with spoken or written language. We all have trouble finding the right word sometimes. But if it’s constant, or notably worse than most people your age, it’s worth getting checked. Also, if you find yourself suddenly working harder to follow a conversation, this could be a sign.

7. Misplacing things. Everyone misplaces things from time to time. But if someone is unable to retrace their steps, or accuses others of stealing the item, it could be a sign of dementia.

8. Making uncharacteristically bad decisions. Doing things that are dangerous, or unhealthy, when this does not fit with a person’s typical personality or behavior, is worth noting.

9. Paying less attention to personal care. If someone becomes noticeably sloppy, poorly dressed, or ungroomed who was not this way before, it’s worthy of attention.

10. Changes in mood and personality. For example, if someone is often confused, suspicious of others, or depressed; if they show a loss of empathy (not showing concern for other people’s feelings); or if they just seem to have forgotten how to act in public (make rude comments, take food from someone else’s plate, etc.), this should definitely be checked out.

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What to do about signs of early-onset dementia

If you notice these signs talk to a doctor or another health care provider you’re comfortable with and trust.

But the first steps may actually begin years before these symptoms…

According to Professor Cohen, as many as 40 percent of early onset cases can be delayed with a healthy lifestyle, including diet, exercise and sleep.

Managing medical conditions like high blood pressure can also play a role. It’s been speculated for years that high blood pressure may lead to dementia, but just recently, using new research techniques, researchers were able to see areas of the brain damaged by the condition.

And avoiding one vitamin deficiency, in particular, is worth paying attention to: The University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute has found people who took vitamin D supplements had 40 percent fewer dementia diagnoses than those who did not take the supplements.

Sources:

Spotting Early Signs of Dementia — Neuroscience News

The post 10 signs of early-onset dementia appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In fact, it’s already been shown that people who live with depression are at far higher risk of chronic disease and even early death.

However, what we didn’t know was why…

But that’s all changed thanks to groundbreaking research from a team of scientists at the University of Connecticut who have discovered an undeniable link between depression, disease and death in something called senescent cells.

Old, malfunctioning cells

While ‘senescent’ sounds like a big word, it really just means a cell in the body that has gotten old and is no longer working properly.

Put simply, when a cell gets old, it begins to function differently and much less efficiently than a “young” cell.

When this happens, the aging cell begins to produce proteins that lead to damage, promote inflammation and other unhealthy conditions, and block the replication of stem cells — the cells in your body that are capable of promoting the regeneration of tissue, even your blood.

So it’s no surprise that these proteins that wreak so much havoc can be measured in the blood. And it’s a fact that the Connecticut researchers used to finally nail down the connection depression has to death and disease…

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The depression/senescence link

The team took blood from 426 people with late-in-life depression. They measured the levels of proteins associated with aging in each person’s blood. They then compared those levels with measures of the participant’s overall health, medical problems, brain function and the severity of their depression.

And sure enough…

The researchers discovered that older adults with depression have more senescent cells than their peers. In other words, people who live with depression are actually aging faster than those without depression.

And according to the researchers, this holds no matter the severity of the depression experienced.

Additionally, the results showed that:

• Accelerated aging was associated with worse overall heart health.
• People with higher levels of aging-associated proteins were more likely to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and multiple medical problems.
• An increase of the proteins from senescent cells was associated with worse performance on tests of brain health, like working memory and other cognitive skills.

That last one — poor brain health due to accelerated aging — is what the researchers believe is the main link to depression.

And it’s why the team is now looking at whether therapies to reduce the number of aged, “senescent” cells in a person’s body can improve late-in-life depression. They are also looking at specific sources and patterns of proteins associated with aging, to see if this might lead to personalized treatments in the future.

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Keeping your cells youthful

If you suffer from depression, the most important thing to do is to talk to someone about it. Seniors often face unique hurdles that can compound loneliness and the depression that comes with it. That’s why getting involved in your community and staying in touch with family and friends is very important.

Additionally, there are a few ways we can work at promoting our cellular health until those scientists come through with personalized treatments they plan to pursue…

• Fisetin – This natural compound found in foods like strawberries has been shown in two separate studies to be a senotherapeutic capable of specifically targeting only senescent cells to rein in the damage and slow aging.
• Resveratrol – Found in red wine, the skin of grapes and dark chocolate, resveratrol doesn’t reduce the number of senescent cells, but instead helps trigger their rejuvenation, so that they can begin to act like young cells again.
• Grape seed extract – One of the polyphenols found in grape seeds, known as PCC1, has been shown to specifically promote the death of senescent cells while leaving normal cells unaffected.

Sources:

Depressed, and aging fast — ScienceDaily

The post Accelerated aging and depression: More than just the blues appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Almost by definition, depression can cause fatigue and lack of motivation, which in turn can get in the way of making behavioral changes that might help, like exercising regularly.

We’re finding out that the long-standing theory of a serotonin imbalance being the cause of depression is little more than a myth, which is why medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, are often of little use.

But there is another way around depression, a natural pathway within our bodies that may hold the key.

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The gut-brain axis: key to mood regulation

We talk about having a “gut  feeling.” Research has shown that this association between our gut and our brain may have crept into our language by way of a biological pathway known as the gut-brain axis.

The gut-brain axis is like a two-way road of nerves that connects the central nervous system (our brain and spinal cord, controlling thought and movement) with our enteric nervous system, a web of nerves that regulates our gastrointestinal tract.

The teeming mass of microbes that make up a healthy gut microbiome play a major role in this connection between brain and gut. They control the production of neurotransmitters and other chemicals that influence the immune system, metabolic functions and even mental health.

Take the bacteria Lactobacillus for example. Many species of this bacteria produce the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which plays an important role in inhibiting brain activity and controlling unwanted thoughts — which can be a problem in both anxiety and depression.

We know that we can regulate debilitating anxiety by controlling the bacterial environment of our gut. So what about depression?

Probiotic use alters brain neurons to relieve depression

Scientists at the University of Basel have shown that taking probiotics as an add-on therapy resulted in an improvement of depressive symptoms.

The clinical trial involved patient volunteers from the University’s psychiatric clinic who were currently having depressive episodes.

They were randomly assigned to either receive a formulation of live microbes or a placebo for 31 days while continuing to take their antidepressant medications. The study participants nor the study staff knew which patients were taking probiotics or the placebo.

The researchers used a clinical scale to measure depression at the start of the trial (as a baseline) and again upon conclusion.

They found the probiotic group showed fewer depressive symptoms than the placebo group.

But most impressive of all?

Compared with those who took a placebo, brain imaging in those who took probiotics revealed less neural activity in the putamen, a brain area involved in emotional processing and associated with depression.

In other words, adding probiotics to the gut affected actual changes in the brain.

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Be selective when shopping for a probiotic supplement

The makeup of the bacteria in our guts has been linked to high blood pressure and dozens of other conditions, so even if you’re not dealing with anxiety or depression, it’s a good idea to support your gut microbiome.

But just as everyone’s gut is different, all those probiotic supplements you see in your health food store are different, too.

In this particular study, the researchers used a specific formulation of eight strains of bacteria. Some of the strains in the formula were:

• Lactobacillus paracasei     
• Lactobacillus plantarum     
• Lactobacillus acidophilus  
• Bifidobacterium longum     
• Bifidobacterium infantis      
• Bifidobacterium breve        
• Streptococcus thermophilus

Remember, the right foods can also help promote a healthy and balanced gut microbiome as well — especially fermented foods like:

• Yogurt
• Sauerkraut
• Kefir
• Miso
• Kombucha
• Buttermilk
• Cottage cheese

If you’re currently being treated for depression do not stop any medication without consulting with your physician.

Sources:

Neuroimaging Supports Probiotic Add-on Intervention That Improves Patients’ Depressive Symptoms — Neuroscience News

Effects of a probiotic add-on treatment on fronto-limbic brain structure, function, and perfusion in depression: Secondary neuroimaging findings of a randomized controlled trial — Journal of Affective Disorders

What are probiotics? — Web MD

The post Brain imaging shows common supplement’s impact on depression appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Depression is a persistent feeling of sadness that isn’t so easy to push through. It interferes with your daily life and even takes the joy from places where you once found it.

But the truth is, depression is an illness that not only steals your happiness — it can also make you far more likely to suffer from other serious ailments as well.

In fact, research has already linked depression to everything from cancer to diabetes and hypertension thanks to the chemical pathway that connects inflammation to these disease processes.

Now, researchers at the University of Galway in Ireland have found yet another dire reason for patients and doctors alike to work hard at treating depression: a higher risk for stroke…

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Increased stroke risk, decreased chance of recovery

Their research involved almost 27,000 participants from the INTERSTROKE study that spanned 32 countries. Approximately half of the participants had suffered a stroke, while the other half were stroke-free.

Participants completed questionnaires at the beginning of the study that delved into risk factors, like high blood pressure and diabetes. And the researchers took a deep look at any symptoms of depression each person had experienced within the year before the study.

So how did all that data boil down?

After adjusting for all other factors that can affect stroke risk, the data showed that people with symptoms of depression before stroke had a 46 percent higher chance of stroke than someone who had not suffered from depression.

And the more symptoms a person had, the higher that stroke risk.

Unfortunately, that was only the tip of the iceberg…

The research also showed that suffering from depression can also make it less likely you’ll recover if you do have a stroke. Those with depression were more likely to have worse outcomes one month after the stroke than participants without depression.

“In this study, we gained deeper insights into how depressive symptoms can contribute to stroke,” said study author Robert P. Murphy, MBBS. “Our results show that symptoms of depression can have an impact on mental health, but also increase the risk of stroke. Physicians should be looking for these symptoms of depression and can use this information to help guide health initiatives focused on stroke prevention.”

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A two-pronged approach to reduce risk

This means that if you want to avoid having a stroke, you not only have to focus on the health of your arteries and blood flow, but also your mood.

To keep your blood vessels at their best and your blood flowing smoothly, try passive stretching. This artery “workout” has been found to increase blood flow and dilation of vessels and decrease arterial stiffness in as little as 12 weeks.

To help fight depression, you may need the help of a psychiatrist. But there are two good reasons to consider supplementing a combination of omega-3 fatty acids and phosphatidylserine (PS for short)…

A 2015 study found that taking 100 mg of PS, plus an omega-3 supplement containing 119 mg of DHA and 70 mg of EPA three times a day for 12 weeks improved mood and lowered levels of the “stress hormone” cortisol in participants with late-life depression.

And there’s a bonus to supplementing omega-3s in regard to stroke risk…

Chronic inflammation in the blood vessels is normally controlled by “stop signals” called resolvins. Resolvins are formed from omega-3 fatty acids bind to a receptor called GPR32, activating the receptor’s ability to counteract inflammation in blood vessels, essentially switching off inflammation and stimulating tissue repair and healing. 

This process is known as resolution of inflammation, and researchers believe this is how omega-3s, like those found in fatty fish, fish oil or krill oil, protect the brain from stroke.

Sources:

The Effects of Phosphatidylserine and Omega-3 Fatty Acid-Containing Supplement on Late Life Depression – NIH

People with symptoms of depression may have an increased risk of stroke – EurekAlert!

The post The stroke risk linked to depression appeared first on Easy Health Options®.