Skip Navigation.

January 2008 Vol. 13 No. 1

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

Table of Contents:


Exercise Significantly Lowers Risk of Dementia

People age 65 and older who regularly walk and get other forms of moderate exercise appear to significantly lower their risk of developing vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in the December 19, 2007, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The four-year study involved 749 men and women in Italy who were over age 65 and did not have memory problems at the beginning of the study. Researchers measured the amount of energy exerted in the participant’s weekly physical activities, including walking, climbing stairs, and moderate activities, such as house and yard work, gardening, and light carpentry.

By the end of the study, 54 people developed Alzheimer’s disease and 27 developed vascular dementia. The study found the top one-third of participants who exerted the most energy walking were 27 percent less likely to develop vascular dementia than those people in the bottom one-third of the group. Participants who scored in the top one-third for the most energy exerted in moderate activities lowered their risk of vascular dementia by 29 percent and people who scored in the top one-third for total physical activity lowered their risk by 24 percent compared to those in the bottom one-third.

Our findings show moderate physical activity, such as walking, and all physical activities combined lowered the risk of vascular dementia in the elderly independent of several socio-demographic, genetic and medical factors, said study author Giovanni Ravaglia, MD, with University Hospital S. Orsola Malpighi, in Bologna, Italy. It’s important to note that an easy-to-perform moderate activity like walking provided the same cognitive benefits as other, more demanding activities.

Ravaglia says it’s possible that physical activity may improve cerebral blood flow and lower the risk of cerebro-vascular disease, which is a risk factor for vascular dementia, but further research is needed about the mechanisms operating between physical activity and a person’s memory.

Contrary to some reports, the study found that physical activity was not associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, but Ravaglia says more research is needed before concluding that Alzheimer’s disease is not preventable through exercise.

The study was supported by grants from the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, Parkinson disease, and multiple sclerosis.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com.


Vitamin D May Block Cancer and Other Diseases

It sounds too good to be true a little inexpensive pill that could block the development of some cancers, strengthen bones, prevent multiple sclerosis and alleviate winter depression.

But it’s not science fiction. The new aspirin could be Vitamin D. Just as we discovered that aspirin can guard against heart disease, Vitamin D could become a useful weapon in the fight against MS, osteoporosis, mild depression and one of the most devastating diseases of our time — cancer.

As time has gone by, Vitamin D has raised its head as a sort of ambrosia for cancers, says Dr. Louise Parker, an epidemiologist and a world expert in the environmental exposures that can lead to cancer. Or, in the case of Vitamin D, the lack of exposure.

One of the most important sources of Vitamin D is from the sun and through your skin, says Dr. Parker.

The Canadian Cancer Society recommends that during the winter, Canadians take at least 1,000 units a day of Vitamin D, dubbed the sunshine vitamin.Those units can be contained in a tiny pill that comes in a bottle of 100 tablets ranging from $5 to $10, depending on the brand name.

Dr. Parker says 1,000 units a day is well beyond what you can obtain from your diet. Vitamin D is a bit of a rare vitamin, appearing only in fatty fish, cod liver oil and egg yolks. Even if you were to sunbathe in southern climates, you would not take in 1,000 units. She notes Vitamin D as a factor is turning up in study after study. It turns out people with lung and colon cancer are Vitamin D deficient. And it helps the body absorb calcium. In a study examining whether women who took Vitamin D had a lower risk of osteoporosis, it was found the women taking Vitamin D had stronger bones than those who did not take the vitamin. Years later, researchers went back to that study and found that the women who took Vitamin D also had fewer cancers.

Meanwhile, there is very little evidence that taking Vitamin D can harm you. Perhaps in huge doses it could cause kidney stones, but that has not been proven. On the average, 1,000 units a day is safe and is probably effective in reducing the risk of colon cancer, and maybe other cancers as well says Dr. Parker. So does she take Vitamin D and recommend it? Absolutely.


Can you explain how resistance training helps in insulin reaction?

Skeletal muscle through a positive stress response to exercise [the gradual progressive overload that is weight/resistance training] will manufacture more mitochondria-the organelle’s within the cell then actually burn foods in their broken down states [glucose from carbohydrates, free fatty acids [from dietary fats], and amino acids [from proteins].

The greater the mitochondria within the skeletal muscle-the more fuels that are burned-thereby producing more ATP-greater work results from the process of ATP then processed to ADP & PC.

This process is part of the reduced resistance the cell membrane to allow glucose to pass more readily across the cell wall to be burned in the Mitochondria. This easier glucose passes across the cell wall-the faster it is cleared from the blood stream-reducing the need for more insulin to be with taken as medication. Resistance exercise reduces the stress on the pancreas to produce and release more insulin as well when an individual improves over-all muscle tone.

What book did you recommend for diabetes?

There are several-of which “Diabetes and Exercise” is one of the better titles as well as “The Diabetic Athlete”, also “50 Secrets of the Longest Living People with Diabetes”


What supplements have been found to be helpful for brain function?

Ginkgo Biloba is an excellent supplement.

Very good website with information:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/ginkgo-biloba-000247.htm

Also the amino acid L-Tyrosine

http://www.raysahelian.com/tyrosine.html

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/drugs-treatments/rating/l-tyrosine-tyrosine


Hypertensive Clients and Exercise

For hypertensive clients you said they should workout with lighter weights and more reps and more rest between sets.

10-12 repetition range-critically important not to hold breath during the exertion phase.

Is this just when they are beginning to workout or is it the rule of thumb for them always?

Can gradually increase resistance -keeping the rep range no lower than 10 in any given set. Remember-the clients blood pressure should improve dramatically during the first 6-8 weeks of cardio, resistance training and improved diet.


Green Tea May Cut Prostate Cancer Risk

Drinking several cups of green tea every day may help keep prostate cancer from spreading, according to a study funded by the Japanese government. A study of nearly 50,000 Japanese men aged 40-69 found that those who drank five or more cups of green tea a day reduced their risk of having progressive prostate cancer by half, compared with those who drank a cup or less, according to the Epidemiology and Prevention Division of the National Cancer Center in Tokyo.

The study, carried out between 1990 and 2004 and released Wednesday, was the first to suggest green tea can help keep prostate cancer from spreading, the center said.

Catechin, a substance abundantly contained in green tea, may have inhibited cancerous cell growth or helped reduce testosterone, according to the research team.


What dyes have been linked to hyperactivity in children?

Red Dyes of any kind. Other dyes as well. Please read the following article: Food Coloring and ADHD — A British Study Shows Link Between Dyes and Hyper Behaviors

Artificial colors or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population.

http://www.feingold.org/McCann2007.html

Food dyes impair performance of hyperactive children on a laboratory learning test

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;207/4438/1485