Diets

Personalized Nutrition To Change Your Life?

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Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

 

personalized nutritionCan a personalize nutrition assessment provide you with information to assist your health strategy?  We’ve been told that genetic testing is the wave of the future. We’ve been promised that genetic testing will tell us which diseases we are most likely to develop. Of course, the unspoken assumption is that if we knew which diseases were most likely to kill us, we’d be highly motivated to make the diet and lifestyle changes needed to reduce the risk of that disease.

But what if a personalized nutrition assessment based on a simple online diet survey was just as effective at getting us to make better food choices as all those fancy genetic tests? That is just what a recent study suggests.

How Was The Study Designed?

food4me surveyThe study was based on a simple online diet survey called Food4Me developed by University College Dublin and Crème Software Ltd. The Food4Me diet survey asks people how many times per week or per day they eat basic food groups and develops personalized diet recommendations based on what they are actually eating. It is a very simple, user friendly, survey requiring only 5-10 minutes to complete. Consumer satisfaction with this kind of survey is high. For example:

  • 92% of participants said that “the Food4Me website was easy to use.”
  • 76% of participants were “satisfied with the detail of information they received in their personalized nutrition report.”
  • 80% of participants felt that “the dietary advice in the report was relevant to them.”

In spite of its simplicity and ease of use, the Food4Me survey is also quite robust. Previous studies have shown that the reproducibility and validity of the Food4Me diet survey compares very favorably with much more extensive dietary analyses (For example, R. Fallaize, et al., Journal of Medical Internet Research, 16: e190, 2014).

This study (International Journal of Epidemiology, 2016, 1-11, doi:110.093/ije/dyw186)  measured the effectiveness of the Food4Me personalized nutrition reports at improving health-related behaviors. It was a 6-month randomized control study of 1269 adults from 7 European countries. It compared 4 different interventions on health-related behavior changes. The 4 interventions were:

  • standardized dietary advice
  • personalized nutrition advice based on the Food4Me survey
  • personalized nutrition advice based on the Food4Me survey plus BMI and blood biomarkers
  • personalized nutrition advice based on all that plus genetic testing

Is Personalized Nutrition The Wave Of The Future?

The results of the study were quite striking:

  • Compared to the group who just received standardized diet advice, the groups who received personalized nutrition advice were significantly more successful at improving health related behaviors. In particular, the groups receiving personalized nutrition advice:
    • personalized nutrition healthy foodConsumed less red meat.
    • Consumed less saturated fat
    • Consumed less salt
    • Got more folate from their diet
    • Had an improved “Healthy Eating Index” (a measure of overall diet quality)
  • Adding information on blood biomarkers (cholesterol, carotenoids, omega-3s, and vitamin D) and genotype received did not enhance the effectiveness of the personalized nutrition recommendations at changing health behaviors.

 

What Does This Study Mean For You?

This is a single study, but it does suggest several interesting take-home lessons.

#1: We are much more likely to follow diet advice that is personalized to us than we are to follow standardized diet advice. This should come as no surprise. We’ve had generalized diet advice like the USDA Food Guide Pyramid and, more recently, the USDA My Plate guidelines for decades, and they haven’t moved the needle. Maybe people think of generalized guidelines as applying to other people and personalized guidelines as applying to them.  Personalized nutrition seems to be more effective.

#2: This was personalized diet advice, not weird diet advice. The participants were not being told to eat as much fat as they wanted. They weren’t being told that avoiding wheat will make them slimmer and smarter. They weren’t being told to eat like a caveman. They were being given USDA-approved diet recommendations. The only difference was that the dietary recommendations were personalized to them. For example, they were only being told to eat more fruits and vegetables if, in fact, fruits and vegetables were not a regular part of their daily diet. 

#3: Blood biomarkers did not provide any additional incentive to increase health related behaviors. I wouldn’t read too much into this observation. With the exception of cholesterol, the blood biomarkers selected for this study merely reinforced the diet analysis. For example, you could ask whether low blood carotenoid levels really provided any additional incentive to change their diet for an individual who was already told their intake of fruits and vegetables was low. If the study had measured disease-related blood biomarkers, it might have found that they provided additional incentive for individuals to make positive diet changes.

#4: Genetic testing did not provide any additional incentive to increase health related behaviors. This probably simply reflects the state of the science. Current genetic tests are only weakly predictive of major diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer so they provide little incentive to make major lifestyle changes. This may change in the future as we improve our understanding of genetic influences on disease risks.

Missed Opportunities

This study clearly showed that a simple online diet survey like the Food4Me personalized diet assessment is very useful for changing health-related dietary behavior. However, this study also missed several opportunities to create an even more valuable tool for improving health-related behaviors. For example, the study collected data on obesity and activity levels, but did not attempt to provide personalized lifestyle recommendations based on that data. In addition, 44% of the participants reported that they had a disease, but no attempt was made to include health goals in the personalized diet and lifestyle recommendations.

 

The Bottom Line

  • A recent study showed that personalized nutrition recommendations based on a simple online survey were much more effective than standardized dietary advice at getting people to improve health-related eating habits.
  • Adding information on blood biomarkers and genetic tests did not enhance the effectiveness of the personalized nutrition recommendations at changing health behaviors.
  • The study did not evaluate the value of adding activity levels and health goals to the assessment. That perhaps represented a missed opportunity to create an even more powerful tool for positively influencing health-related behaviors.

 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Does The FODMAP Diet Reduce Gas and Bloating

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Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

 

fodmap dietCan the FODMAP diet help reduce gas, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation? Everyone suffers from one or more of these symptoms, but nobody talks about them. For some they represent an annoyance. For others they can be incapacitating.

When the symptoms become frequent and start to affect quality of life, the medical community starts to give them names. When the symptoms occur at least 3 days/month for at least 3 months and there are no known diseases causing the symptoms, it is called irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). If the symptoms are also associated with inflammation, it is called inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The principle forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

A Primer On IBS And IBD

IBS is fairly common. Between 10-15% of the US population has been diagnosed with IBS, but experts estimate that as much as 25% of the population experiences symptoms consistent with IBS.

It is also important to understand that IBS is a collection of symptoms, not a disease. The only difference between IBS and the gas, bloating, and diarrhea (or constipation) that many people experience on a fairly regular basis is the frequency and severity of symptoms – and that is an arbitrary distinction. Someone experiencing those symptoms an average of 2 days/month is not significantly different than someone experiencing those symptoms 3 times/month.

While severe IBS can be incapacitating, it does not appear to cause lasting damage to the intestine or predispose to other diseases. Finally, the causes of IBS are largely unknown. Stress, obesity, and food sensitivities may all play a role.

IBD is much less common (0.4% of the US population), but much more severe. It can cause permanent damage to the intestine and can predispose to several diseases, including cancer. For that reason, you should always consult with your physician if you have severe, chronic gastrointestinal issues.

Standard treatment of IBS and IBD has traditionally consisted of recommendations to:

  • Reduce weight if overweight
  • Increase exercise
  • Reduce stress
  • Limit caffeine and alcohol
  • Limit fatty foods
  • If diarrhea is the primary symptom, limit dairy products, fruits, and sweeteners such as sorbitol and xylitol.
  • If constipation is the primary symptom, increase dietary fiber

These interventions generally provide only partial relief of the symptoms, so medications are frequently prescribed to control the symptoms. Unfortunately, many of those medications have significant side effects.

Fortunately, research over the past decade suggests that there is a natural, holistic approach that can significantly reduce the symptoms associated with IBS and IBD, thus decreasing the reliance on medications to treat those diseases. It is something called the FODMAP diet. The FODMAP diet is rapidly becoming the standard of care for IBS and IBD, and the same diet also appears to significantly improve symptoms in people who merely experience gas, bloating, and diarrhea more frequently than they would like. More importantly, the principles behind the FODMAP diet can help almost everyone who experiences occasional gas, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation.

What Is The FODMAP Diet?

The FODMAP diet was devised over a decade ago by a group of scientists in Australia. Basically, they identified all of the kinds of foods that were known to cause gas, bloating, diarrhea, and/or constipation in susceptible people and put together a diet that was low in all of them.

FODMAP is an acronym that stands for:

  • F – fermentable carbohydrates
  • O – oligo-saccharides
  • D – di-saccharides
  • M – mono-saccharides
  • P – polyols

Of course, that statement comes under the “Aren’t you glad you asked?” category. It is meaningless to most people. A better way to understand this is to look at foods in the FODMAP category. They include:

  • gas and bloatingLactose, found in milk and milk products (especially for people who lack the enzyme lactase)
  • Fructose in high concentrations, found in foods like apples, pears, honey and agave syrup. (30-40% of individuals have problems absorbing fructose).
  • Fructans, found in foods like wheat, onions and garlic.
  • Galacto-oligosaccharides, found in foods like beans, lentils, and soybeans.
  • Polyols such as sorbitol and mannitol, found in fruits such as cherries, apricots, and apples, and as sweeteners added to many “sugar-free” foods.

These are all foods that are poorly digested or poorly absorbed, so they are fermented by intestinal bacteria. It is the fermentation of these foods by intestinal bacteria that causes the gas, bloating, and diarrhea.

Does The FODMAP Diet Work?

The evidence that the FODMAP diet is effective is pretty impressive. For example:

What Does This Mean For You?

On the surface, this seems to be a good news, bad news story.

good news bad newsThe good news is that the FODMAP diet is incredibly effective at decreasing frequent gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea and constipation – and it really doesn’t matter whether you have been diagnosed with IBS or IBD, or you are just someone who suffers from those symptoms more frequently than you would like.

The bad news is that the FODMAP diet is very restrictive. You can appreciate that when you look at the list of high FODMAPs foods you need to avoid. That means:

  • The diet is very difficult to stick to long term. In the follow up study described above only 30% of the participants were able to stick with the diet for the full 16 months.
  • The diet restricts so many foods that you would really need the guidance of a registered dietitian to design a nutritionally adequate diet plan.

 

The reality, however,is that very few people actually need to restrict all the high FODMAP foods to enjoy significant relief from their symptoms. Clinically, most physicians test various FODMAPs in their IBS and IBD patients and only restrict the ones that cause symptoms. You can do exactly the same thing yourself. Start by reducing groups of high FODMAP foods on the list. Once you have identified which food groups cause your symptoms, you can test foods within that group one by one.

The most important news is that the FODMAP diet concept may help many people who struggle with occasional gas, bloating, and diarrhea. Let me give you one example:

  • Let’s suppose you have discovered that foods made from wheat flour cause you g.i. problems. You have concluded that you are gluten intolerant and carefully avoid foods containing gluten, but you still have occasional gas, bloating and diarrhea. You might be sensitive to the fructans in wheat, not the gluten. If so, a quick glance at the FODMAPs list suggests a number of fructan-containing foods you may be sensitive to that you would never have expected if you just focused on avoiding gluten. For example:
  • Vegetables: garlic, onions, asparagus, artichokes and snow peas might be causing you trouble.
  • Fruits: grapefruit, nectarines, plums and watermelon could be causing you problems.
  • Processed foods: Inulin, a naturally occurring fiber, found in Jerusalem artichokes, is primarily a fructan. Inulin and several other naturally occurring fructans are added to many processed foods to increase their fiber content. These foods might also be causing you trouble.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Most of us have probably identified one or two problem foods that we know give us gas. By using the FODMAPs list we may be able to identify other foods we should avoid.

 

The Bottom Line

  • By restricting all foods known to cause gas, bloating, diarrhea and constipation in susceptible individuals, scientists and clinicians have created something called the FODMAP diet.
  • The FODMAP diet has proven to be very effective at reducing those symptoms in people with IBS or IBD, but it is also equally effective at eliminating symptoms in individuals who simply suffer from gas, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or constipation more frequently than they would like.
  • The low FODMAP diet is also very restrictive, but the good news is that most people don’t need to eliminate all of the foods in the diet. You can systematically test and eliminate the individual foods that cause your symptoms.
  • Most importantly, the FODMAP concept can help us identify problem foods that we might have otherwise never suspected of giving us gas. You will find an example of how this concept works in the article above.
  • Gas, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea and constipation can also be caused by a number of serious diseases. For that reason, you should always consult with your physician if you have severe and chronic gastrointestinal issues.

 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Does Obesity Cause Cancer?

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Is The Obesity Epidemic Killing Us?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Does obesity cause cancer?

does obesity cause cancerYou probably already know that we are in the midst of a world-wide obesity epidemic. If not, here are some of the alarming statistics that characterize that epidemic:

  • The global prevalence of obesity has increased by 27.5% between 1980 and 2013.
  • 35% of the adult population worldwide is now overweight (BMI ≥ 25), including 12% who are classified as obese (BMI ≥30).
  • According to the NIH the situation is even worse in developed countries like the US where 75.1% of adults are now overweight, including 35.7% who are obese, and 6.3% who are very obese (BMI ≥40).

Unfortunately, overweight and obesity are not benign. You probably already knew that those excess pounds increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure and much more. You probably also knew that those excess pounds increase your risks of certain types of cancer such as colon, rectal, kidney, pancreatic, postmenopausal breast, ovarian and uterine cancer.

It’s been a little more difficult to determine just how much obesity increases cancer risk. However, a recent study suggests that the increased risk could be quite significant. In fact, if this study is correct, obesity may only be second to smoking as a preventable cause of cancer. The truth might just scare you skinny!

Does Obesity Cause Cancer?

cancer epidemicThe International Agency For Research On Cancer did a worldwide study, (Arnold et al, The Lancet Oncology 16: 36-45, 2015),  in which they looked at the effect of BMI on cancer incidence in adults aged 20 years or older. The BMI data was collected in 2002 and was segregated by sex and age groups. Recognizing that cancer takes decades to develop, they then collected data on newly diagnosed cancers in adults 30 and older in the same countries in 2012.  They were determined to get closer to answering the question, does obesity cause cancer?

By comparing BMIs in 2002 with the incidence of newly diagnosed cancers 10 years later they were able to calculate the effect of excess body weight (BMI ≥25) on cancer incidence. The results were startling:

  • They estimated that 481,000 new cases of cancer in 2012 in adults over 30 were attributable to excess weight.
  • That represents 3.6% of all new cancer cases, which makes overweight second only to smoking as a preventable cause of cancer.
  • Uterine cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, and colon cancer accounted for 63.6% of all cancers caused by overweight. Other cancers affected by excess weight were rectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, gallbladder cancer, and ovarian cancer.
  • The effect of excess weight on cancer risk was almost 3-fold greater for women (5.4% of new cancer cases) than for men (1.9% of new cancer cases).
  • In North America 111,000 new cases of cancer in 2012 for adults over 30 were attributable to excess weight. That represents 3.5% of all new cancers in men and 9.4% of all new cancers in women.
  • A quarter (about 118,000) of the worldwide cancer cases related to high BMI in 2012 could be attributed to the increase in BMI that has occurred since 1982.

The authors concluded “These findings emphasize the need for a global effort to abate the increasing numbers of people with high BMI. Assuming that the association between the high BMI and cancer is causal, the continuation of current patterns of population weight gain will lead to continuing increases in the future burden of cancer.”

What Does This Study Mean For You?

We have to stop kidding ourselves. That excess flab isn’t harmless. It is killing us, and cancer is a particularly gruesome way to go. It’s time to get serious about weight loss. Here are my top 5 tips for lasting weight loss.

  • fad dietsEat healthy low calorie meals and snacks with plenty of protein so that you maintain muscle mass while you are losing fat.
  • Avoid the fad diets. You don’t need to restrict carbohydrates or fats. You just need to focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy proteins and modest amounts of healthy fats and healthy carbohydrates.
  • Find an exercise program you like and stick with it every day.
  • Focus on true lifestyle change rather than short term diets. A good strategy is to make one healthy change at a time rather than trying to do everything at once.
  • Change how you think about food, think about exercise, and think about your ability to make the kinds of changes that will lead to permanent weight loss. Don’t think of yourself as a fat person who is trying to lose weight. Think of yourself as a skinny person who happens to have a few extra pounds that are on their way out.

Of course, getting to a healthier weight isn’t the only change you want to make if you are trying to reduce your risk of cancer. Here are my top 7 lifestyle change suggestions (besides weight loss) for reducing cancer risk.

  • healthy eatingIf you smoke, stop. No ifs, ands, or buts. Smoking is still the #1 cause of cancer.
  • Eat a healthy diet (including supplements to fill the gaps).
  • Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially those that are good sources of cancer-fighting antioxidants, carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols.
  • Eat fish and fish oil supplements to make sure that you get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Minimize saturated fats and avoid trans fats. Substitute olive oil for vegetable oils whenever possible.
  • If you drink alcohol, drink it in moderation.
  • Avoid sun exposure as much as possible, and use sunscreen when outdoors.
  • Eat healthy proteins.
  • Minimize consumption of red meats and processed meats.
  • Use chicken, fish and vegetable proteins whenever possible.
  • Soy protein is particularly helpful for reducing the risk of breast cancer. (Yes, those scary blogs about soy and breast cancer are wrong. For accurate information, just go to https://www.chaneyhealth.com/healthtips and type soy in the search box).
  • Get plenty of exercise.
  • Get regular check-ups.

So, does obesity cause cancer?  I think you now know the answer.

 

The Bottom Line

 

  • A recent study has shown:
  • 481,000 new cases of cancer worldwide each year are attributable to excess weight.
  • That represents 3.6% of all new cancer cases, which makes overweight second only to smoking as a preventable cause of cancer.
  • Uterine cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, and colon cancer accounted for 63.6% of all cancers caused by overweight.
  • The effect of excess weight on cancer risk was almost 3-fold greater for women (5.4% of new cancer cases) than for men (1.9% of new cancer cases).
  • In North America 111,000 new cases of cancer for adults over 30 are attributable to excess weight. That represents 3.5% of all new cancers in men and 9.4% of all new cancers in women.
  • That excess flab isn’t harmless. It is killing us, and cancer is a particularly gruesome way to go. For my top 5 tips for lasting weight loss and my top 7 tips for reducing your risk of cancer, read the article above.

 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Omega-3 And Blood Pressure: The Good News

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Will Fish Oil Lower Your Blood Pressure?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

 

omgega-3 and blood pressureIs there a relationship between omega-3 and blood pressure we should understand to for health benefits?

High blood pressure is a killer! It can kill you by causing heart attacks, strokes, congestive heart failure, kidney failure and much more.

High blood pressure is a serial killer. It doesn’t just kill a few people. It kills lots of people. The American Heart Association estimates that high blood pressure directly or indirectly caused 363,000 deaths in 2010. That is almost 1 person every second and represents a 41% increase from 2000. It’s because high blood pressure is not a rare disease.

  • 31% of Americans have high blood pressure, also called hypertension, (defined as a systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or more or a diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or more).
  • Another 30% of Americans have prehypertension (systolic blood pressure of 120-139 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure of 80-89 mm Hg).

That’s over 61% of Americans with abnormal blood pressure!

High blood pressure is a silent killer. That’s because it is a very insidious disease that sneaks up on you when you least expect it. Systolic blood pressure increases 0.6 mm Hg/year for most adults over 50. By age 75 or above 76-80% of American adults will have high blood pressure.  Even worse, many people with high blood pressure have no symptoms, so they don’t even know that their blood pressure is elevated. For them the first symptom of high blood pressure is often sudden death.

Blood pressure medications can harm your quality of life. Blood pressure medications save lives. However, like most drugs, blood pressure medications have a plethora of side effects – including weakness, dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, diarrhea or constipation, heartburn, depression, heart palpitations, and even memory loss . The many side effects associated with blood pressure medications lead to poor compliance, which is probably why only 47% of patients with high blood pressure are adequately controlled.

You do have natural options. By now you are probably wondering whether there are natural approaches for controlling your blood pressure that are both effective and lack side effects. The answer is a resounding YES! I’ll outline a holistic natural approach for keeping your blood pressure under control in a minute, but let me start with the good news about omega-3 fatty acids.

 

The Good News About Omega-3 and Blood Pressure

omega-3s lower blood pressureWhat’s the good news about omega-3 and blood pressure?  We’ve known for some time that omega-3 fatty acids helped lower blood pressure, but two recent studies have really highlighted just how strong the effect of omega-3s on lowering blood pressure is.

The first study (Miller et al, American Journal of Hypertension, 27: 885-896, 2014) was a meta-analysis of 70 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials of long chain omega-3 (EPA + DHA) supplementation and blood pressure.

Here are the results of this study:

  • In the group with normal blood pressure at the beginning of the study EPA + DHA supplementation decreased systolic blood pressure by 1.25 mm Hg.
  • Given that systolic blood pressure rises an average of 0.6 mm Hg/year in adults over 50, the authors estimated that omega-3 supplementation alone would delay the onset of age-related high blood pressure by 2 years.
  • In the group with elevated blood pressure not taking medication at the beginning of the study, EPA + DHA supplementation decreased systolic blood pressure by an impressive 4.51 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 3.05 mm Hg.
  • The authors noted that this decrease in systolic blood pressure could “prevent an individual from requiring medication [with all its side effects] to control their hypertension” or decrease the amount of medication required.

However, the doses of omega-3s used in these studies ranged from 1 to over 4 grams/day (mean dose = 3.8 grams/day). That sparked a second study (Minihane et al, Journal of Nutrition, 146: 516-523, 2016) to see whether lower levels of omega-3s might be equally effective. This study was an 8 week double-blind, placebo-controlled study comparing the effects of 0.7 or 1.8 grams of EPA + DHA per day (versus an 8:2 ratio of palm and soybean oil as a placebo) on blood pressure.

Here are the results of this study:

  • In the group with normal blood pressure at the beginning of the study, EPA + DHA supplementation caused no significant decrease in blood pressure. This could be due to the smaller number of subjects or the lower doses of EPA + DHA used in this study.
  • In the group with elevated blood pressure not taking medication at the beginning of the study, EPA + DHA supplementation decreased systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg and, the effect was essentially identical at 0.7 grams/day and 1.8 grams/day.
  • The authors concluded “Our data suggest that increased EPA + DHA intakes of only 0.7 grams/day may be an effective strategy for blood pressure control.”

A Holistic Approach To Blood Pressure Control

 

lower blood pressure dietThe latest information about omega-3 and blood pressure is good news indeed, but that’s not the only natural approach that lowers blood pressure. You have lots of other arrows in your quiver. For example:

  • The DASH diet (A diet that has lots of fresh fruits and vegetables; includes whole grains, low fat dairy, poultry, fish, beans, nuts and oils; and is low in sugar and red meats) reduces systolic blood pressure by 5-6 mm Hg. [Low sodium, low sodium/high-potassium, low-sodium/low-calorie, low-calorie and Mediterranean diets also lower blood pressure, but not by as much as the DASH diet].
  • Reducing sodium by about 1,150 mg/day reduces systolic blood pressure by 3-4 mm Hg.
  • Reducing excess weight by 5% reduces systolic blood pressure by 3 points.
  • Doing at least 40 minutes of aerobic exercise 3-4 times/week reduces systolic blood pressure by 2-5 mm Hg.

benefits of nitratesIf you’ve been keeping track, you’ve probably figured out that a holistic lifestyle that included at least 0.7 grams/day of long chain omega-3s (EPA + DHA) plus everything else in the list above could reduce your systolic blood pressure by a whopping 18-22 mm Hg.

That’s significant because,as the graphic on the right shows, the CDC estimates that reducing high systolic blood pressure by only 12-13 mm Hg could substantially decrease your risk of disease.

 

A Word Of Caution

While holistic approaches have the potential to keep your blood pressure under control without the side effects of medications, it is important not to blindly rely on holistic approaches alone. There are also genetic and environmental risk factors involved in determining blood pressure. You could be doing everything right and still have high blood pressure. Plus, you need to remember that high blood pressure is a silent killer that often doesn’t have any detectable symptoms prior to that first heart attack or stroke.

My recommendations are:

  • Monitor your blood pressure on a regular basis.
  • If your blood pressure starts to become elevated, consult with your doctor about starting with natural approaches to bring your blood pressure back under control. Doctors are fully aware of the side effects of blood pressure medications, and most doctors are happy to encourage you to try natural approaches first.
  • Continue to monitor blood pressure as directed by your doctor. If natural approaches are insufficient to bring your blood pressure under control, they will prescribe the lowest dose of blood pressure medication possible to get your blood pressure where it needs to be.
  • Don’t stop making holistic lifestyle choices to reduce blood pressure just because you are on medication. The more you do to keep your blood pressure under control, the less medication your doctor will need to use (That means fewer side effects).

 

The Bottom Line

 

  • Recent studies have shown that supplementation with as little as 0.7 grams of long chain omega-3s (EPA + DHA) per day is sufficient to decrease systolic blood pressure by ~ 5 mm Hg in people with untreated hypertension (high blood pressure). If your blood pressure is currently in the normal range, it is not yet clear how much EPA + DHA you need to keep it there. That may require a higher dose.
  • When you combine that with other natural approaches such as the DASH diet, reducing sodium, losing weight, and increasing exercise you can decrease blood pressure by 18-22 mm Hg.
  • The CDC estimates that is enough to substantially decrease your risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, memory loss, kidney disease, erectile dysfunction, death from cardiovascular disease, and death from any cause.
  • The authors of these recent studies concluded that holistic lifestyle changes including substantially increasing omega-3 intake have the potential to significantly delay the onset of age-related hypertension and may allow people with elevated blood pressure to eliminate or substantially reduce the use of blood pressure medications – with their many side effects.
  • High blood pressure is a silent killer. It is important to monitor your blood pressure regularly. If it becomes elevated, work with your doctor to find the balance of natural approaches and medication that is right for you.

 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Can Supplementation Improve Teen Behavior?

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Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

 

can supplementation improve teen behaviorAll teenagers can be a handful at times. Experts tell us that their raging hormones are to blame, but could their junk food diets play a role as well? If so, would something as simple as supplementation improve teen behavior?

This has been a controversial issue, with some studies saying yes and other studies saying no. With that in mind I thought I would share a recent study that concludes supplementation may improve behavior in teens. While this one study will not resolve the controversy, it does provide some insight into why the results of previous studies have been so contradictory.

Can Supplementation Improve Teen Behavior?

This study (Tammam et al, British Journal of Nutrition, 115: 361-373, 2016) enrolled 196 healthy teens aged 13-16 from a large public school in London. The school was located in an economically depressed area of London where a large proportion of the adults were out of work and had no formal education. Many of the children attending that school had adverse home environments and poor nutrition.

This is an important point. The scientists running the study had specifically chosen a teenage school population that was likely to have poor nutritional status. This poor nutritional status was confirmed by blood samples taken at the beginning of the study which showed the teens were low in iron, folate, vitamin D, vitamin C and omega-3 fatty acids – all of which are important for brain health.

teen behvaviorThe students were given either a comprehensive multivitamin plus 541 mg of omega-3 fatty acids (containing 165 mg EPA and 116 mg DHA) or matched placebos for one school term (12 weeks). The study was fully blinded in that neither the students nor their teachers knew who had received the supplements and who had received the placebo.

Blood test taken at the end of the study showed that students taking the supplements had significantly higher blood levels of folate, vitamin C, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids (iron levels remained unchanged) while those nutrient levels were unchanged in the placebo group.

Teachers rated the student’s behavior using the Connors Clinical Index Teacher Rating Scale before the study began and again during the last week of the study. The results were clear cut. Behavior improved in the group receiving the supplements and worsened in the group receiving the placebo.

The researchers also looked at disciplinary infringement logs (you can think of those as disciplinary problems severe enough to send the kids to the principal’s office), but the number of disciplinary incidents per child were too low to draw any statistically significant conclusions.

Why Are Supplementation and Teen Behavior Studies So Contradictory?

diet and behaviorAs I said at the beginning of this article, previous nutritional intervention trials looking at teen behavior problems have been conflicting. Some, like this study, have shown a clear benefit of supplementation on teenage behavior. Others have shown no benefit at all.

Most experts tend to treat all studies on a particular topic as equal. They throw all of the studies into a statistical pot and look at the average effect. When studies are contradictory, as is the case for studies looking at the effect of supplementation on teenage behavior, the positive and negative studies cancel each other out and the net effect is often close to zero. When that happens experts generally consider the intervention as “unproven”.

That is a valid approach, but I also like to look for patterns. I like to ask why the studies have come to such contradictory conclusions.

When you evaluate the studies on supplementation and teenage behavior carefully, a pattern starts to emerge. If most of the teenagers in the study have poor nutritional status or have severe behavior problems (such as teenagers in prison), the studies generally show a benefit of supplementation. If most of the teens in the study have good nutritional status at the beginning of the study, the results of supplementation are very difficult to detect. Similarly, if most of the teens in the study are well behaved to begin with, supplementation appears to have little effect.

What Does This Mean For Your Teenager(s)?

The causes of teenage behavior problems are many. Poor nutrition may play a significant role, but genetics, hormones, home environment and school environment are important as well. However, teen eating habits are often less than ideal. If you have a teenager with behavior problems and poor eating habits, supplementation is an inexpensive intervention that may just contribute to better behavior.   So, can supplementation improve teen behavior?  Maybe.

 

The Bottom Line

  • The study was performed in an economically depressed school district where many children suffered from poor nutritional status. Blood test taken at the beginning of the study showed that the students were low in iron, folate, vitamin C, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids. Blood tests taken at the end of the study showed improved nutritional status for every nutrient except iron in the group taking supplements.
  • When you combine this study with previous studies, a pattern emerges.  If most of the teenagers in the study have poor nutritional status or have severe behavior problems (such as teenagers in prison), the studies generally show a benefit of supplementation. If most of the teens in the study have good nutritional status at the beginning of the study, the results of supplementation are difficult to detect. Similarly, if most of the teens in the study are well behaved to begin with, supplementation appears to have little effect.
  • What does all of this mean to the general public? Nutritional status is just one component of teenage behavior. Hormones, genetics, home environment and school environment are important as well. However, teen eating habits are often less than ideal. If you have a teenager with behavior problems and poor eating habits, supplementation is an inexpensive intervention that may just contribute to better behavior.

 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

8 Weight Loss Myths

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Why Your Weight Is Increasing Rather Than Decreasing

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

 

weight lossUsually I review scholarly publications of clinical studies, but occasionally I find an article in the popular press that’s so good I just have to share it with you. The lead article about weight loss by Bonnie Liebman in the April 2015 issue of Nutrition Action is just such an article. She called it “8 Weight Mistakes”, but I think “8 Weight Loss Myths” would be a better title.

There are certain weight loss myths that are repeated so often that most people believe they are true. Unfortunately, each one of these myths is a “fat trap” that can sabotage your efforts to achieve a healthy weight. If your New Year’s weight loss resolution isn’t going as well as you would like, it may be because you are still holding on to one or more of these myths.

Weight Loss Myth #1: I Can Lose It Later

It’s easy to tell yourself that you don’t need to watch your weight during the holidays or while you are on vacation. After all you can cut back a bit when those special occasions are over and lose that extra weight. What makes that belief particularly insidious is that it actually worked for you when you were in your teens or early twenties. Why doesn’t it work anymore? There are 4 reasons:

  • dietOn most diets you lose muscle as well as fat. I have talked about this in a previous article, High Protein Diets and Weight Loss , but muscle is important because it burns off calories much faster than fat.
  • Your organs become smaller. For example, as you lose weight your heart doesn’t have to service as many miles of blood vessels, so it can become smaller as well. That’s important because your heart works so hard pumping blood that it burns off calories much faster than resting muscle.
  • Once you have lost a significant amount of weight exercise burns fewer calories. If you don’t believe that, try lugging an extra 10 or 20-pound weight up a flight of stairs.
  • Your metabolism slows down. This is particular true if you try to lose weight too fast as I have explained in my “3 Things Every Successful Diet Must Do” eBook, which is available at Health Tips From the Professor.

Just in case you are still a doubter, Ms. Liebman shared a study in her article that showed most people never lose all of the weight they gained during the holidays before the next holiday season starts. Does that sound familiar?

Weight Loss Myth #2: Once It’s Off, It’ll Stay Off

weight loss dietYou’ve heard this one before. However, even on the most successful diets, weight loss is temporary. Most people eventually regain all the weight they’ve lost and more. Again I’ve also covered the reason for this in my “3 Things Every Successful Diet Must Do” eBook, which is available at Health Tips From the Professor. To spare you the trouble of reading the book I will share the secret with you. Simply put: “Diets never work long term. Only true lifestyle change can lead to long term weight loss.”

However, that doesn’t stop people from believing that the next “magic” diet will be their ticket to permanent weight loss. It always amazes me that people fall for this same myth time after time.

Weight Loss Myth #3: Fat Is Fat, No Matter Where It Is

Most of you probably already knew that belly fat (the so-called apple shape) is metabolically more dangerous to our health than thigh & leg fat (the so-called pear shape). However, some of the other information Ms. Liebman shared was a surprise to me.

  • It turns out that belly fat is actually easier to lose than thigh & leg fat. As you add fat to your lower body you create lots of new fat cells fat is fat(2.6 billion new fat cells for every 3.5 pounds of fat). Once you add that extra fat to your lower body you’re pretty much stuck with it.
  • Of course, you can’t add new fat to your belly forever without creating new fat cells, and once you’ve created those new fat cells you may be stuck with your belly fat as well.

Weight Loss Myth #4: You Have To Go Out Of Your Way To Overeat

It’s really difficult to understand how anyone could believe in this myth. The fact is that we live in a “fat world”. There are fast food restaurants on virtually every street corner in every city and in virtually every mall in this country. Restaurant portion sizes are through the roof. Every social interaction seems to be centered around food or drink.

You don’t need to go out of your way to overeat. Overeating has become the American way. You actually need to go out of your way to avoid overeating.

Weight Loss Myth #5: All Extra Calories Are Equal

Research has confirmed what many of you probably suspected already. All calories are NOT equal. Calories from alcohol, saturated fats, trans fats and sugars make a beeline for your belly where they are converted into the most dangerous form of fat.

Weight Loss Myth #6: I Can Just Boost My Metabolism

boost metabolismMany Americans cling to the false hope that they can eat whatever they want as long as they take some sort of magic herb or pill to boost their metabolism. The fact is that natural metabolic boosters like green tea have a very modest effect on metabolism. They can play a role in a well-designed diet program, but they will never allow you to eat whatever you want and lose weight.

As for those magic herbs and drugs that promise to burn off fat calories without you lifting a finger, my advice is to avoid them like the plague. I’ve talked about many of them in my previous “Health Tips From the Professor” articles. For example, you might be interested in my articles “Are Dietary Supplements Safe?” or “Are Diet Pills Safe?”. The bottom line is that these metabolic boosters are dangerous – and they just might kill you.

Weight Loss Myth #7: There’s A Magic Bullet Diet

Hope springs eternal. Perhaps that’s why so many new diets appear each year. Some diets are low fat, some are low carbohydrate, some hearken back to cave man times, and others are just plain weird. Some of them actually do give better weight loss than others short term. However, when you follow people on those diets for two years or more, none of them work very well (see myth #2), and there isn’t a dimes worth of difference between them.

Weight Loss Myth #8: I Can Work Off The Extra Calories

exerciseThis is perhaps the most pervasive myth of all. This is the one that sells millions of gym memberships every January.

Don’t get me wrong. Diet plus exercise can be very beneficial because it helps you retain muscle mass as you are losing weight, especially if you are consuming enough protein to support the exercise.

However, exercise alone isn’t going to help you nearly as much as you think.

  • You’d have to ride your bicycle for an hour and 25 minutes to offset the 500 calorie dessert you just consumed at your favorite restaurant.
  • Exercise helps some people more than others. Studies show that some people get hungrier when they exercise. As a result, they eat more calories and actually gain weight rather than losing it.
  • Finally, don’t rely on your fitness trackers. Most of them grossly overestimate the calories you burn through exercise. If you use a fitness tracker you should cut their estimates for calories burned by 50% or more.

 

The Bottom Line

 

A recent article shared the 8 most common weight loss myths. If you actually believe any of these myths, you will have a very difficult time getting your weight under control.

  • I can lose it later.
  • Once it’s off, it’ll stay off.
  • Fat is fat, no matter where it is.
  • You have to go out of your way to overeat.
  • All extra calories are equal (A calorie is a calorie).
  • I can just boost my metabolism.
  • There is a magic bullet diet.
  • I can work off the extra calories.

 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

 

Health Tips From The Professor