Higher Vitamin D Levels Correlated With Less Depression

Reprinted with permission of Life Extension 

The November, 2011 edition of Mayo Clinic Proceedings published the results of a cross-sectional study conducted by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Cooper Institute which uncovered a protective effect for high serum vitamin D levels against depression. The study, which included 12,594 men and women, is the largest of its kind to date.

University of Texas professor of psychiatry E. Sherwood Brown and his associates analyzed data from participants in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study, which enrolled patients from the Cooper Clinic from November, 2006, to October, 2010. Subjects were categorized as depressed in accordance with Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale scores, and serum samples were analyzed for 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.

Dr Brown’s team found a significant association between higher vitamin D levels and a decreased risk of depressive symptoms, especially among those with a history of the condition. For those without a history of depression, having a higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was associated with a 5 percent lower risk of the condition compared to having a low level, while among those with a history of depression, the risk for those with a high level was 10 percent lower.

Vitamin D’s impact on neurotransmitters, markers of inflammation and other factors could be behind its ability to reduce depression according to Dr Brown, who is the head of UT Southwestern’s psychoneuroendocrine research program. “Our findings suggest that screening for vitamin D levels in depressed patients – and perhaps screening for depression in people with low vitamin D levels – might be useful,” he concluded.

Vitamin B12 and folic acid improve memory in two year trial

Reprinted with permission of Life Extension

The January, 2012 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of an analysis of a randomized, controlled trial conducted by Australian researchers which found that supplementation with folic acid and vitamin B12 improved immediate and delayed memory in older men and women.

The current study analyzed data from a trial of 900 participants with elevated psychological distress between the ages 60 to 74 who received 400 micrograms folic acid plus 100 micrograms vitamin B12, or a placebo for two years. The original trial was designed to analyze the effect of the supplements and other factors on depressive symptoms. (Late life depression is a risk factor for cognitive impairment.) Cognitive function was assessed at the beginning of the study and at 12 and 24 months.

While orientation, attention, verbal memory and processing speed remained unchanged, greater improvements from baseline in immediate and delayed recall scores were observed among those who received vitamin B12 and folic acid compared with the placebo group. Plasma homocysteine, an amino acid that, when elevated, is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular events, increased by an average of 8.33 percent among those who received the B vitamins, and by 22.45 percent among those who received the placebo. Having a high homocysteine level at the beginning of the study was associated with reduced cognitive performance at 24 months, as were higher depression scores.

“The significant effect of folic acid plus vitamin B12 supplementation occurred in the later stage of the intervention, i.e., at 24 months,” Janine G. Walker and colleagues write. “It is possible that the effects of folic acid plus vitamin B12 supplementation are long term and operate by reducing vascular and other metabolic risk factors for cognitive impairment.”

“The prospect of using dietary supplements of folic acid and vitamin B12 to prevent cognitive decline appears promising,” they conclude. “More studies are needed to determine whether the benefits of folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation found in this trial could be replicated in other populations of older adults with increased risk of developing significant cognitive impairment.”

Coffee drinking associated with lower risk of endometrial cancer

Reprinted with permission of Life Extension

A report published this month in the American Association for Cancer Research journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention revealed a connection between coffee drinking and protection against the development of endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus). Preliminary research findings involving coffee suggest that the beverage may be protective against obesity-associated cancers, as well as those that have been associated with insulin and the major female hormone estrogen.

“Coffee has already been shown to be protective against diabetes due to its effect on insulin,” remarked senior researcher Edward Giovannucci, MD, ScD, who is a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. “So we hypothesized that we’d see a reduction in some cancers as well.”

Stroke risk declines with greater number of healthy lifestyle factors

 Reprinted with permission of Life Extension

The November 14, 2011 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine reports the outcome of a study which concluded that the greater number of healthy lifestyle factors one has, the more protection one gains against stroke. Stroke is a major cause of death worldwide, and its impact on survivors can be devastating.

Gang Hu, MD, PhD of Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and colleagues analyzed data from 17,287 men and 19,399 women without a history of heart disease or stroke who participated in surveys conducted in Finland in 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2002. Questionnaire responses provided information on medical history, physical activity levels, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, diet and other factors. Participants were followed through 2007, during which 1,167 ischemic strokes and 311 hemorrhagic strokes occurred.

The five healthy lifestyle factors evaluated in the study included being a lifelong nonsmoker, having a body mass index of less than 25, engaging in moderate to high levels of physical activity, consuming vegetables at least three times per week and having light to moderate weekly intake of alcohol. Compared to the risk of stroke experienced by those having one or no healthy factors, having two, three, four and five factors was associated with a 34, 43, 49 and 67 percent adjusted reduction. When stroke was analyzed according to type, having two, three, four and five factors was associated with a 33, 40, 50 and 70 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke and a 37, 51, 51 and 60 percent decreased risk of hemorrhagic stroke. These inverse associations were present in both younger and older participations and among those with and without high blood pressure or a history of diabetes.

“Our study demonstrates a graded inverse association between the number of healthy lifestyle factors and the risks of total, ischemic, and hemorrhagic stroke in both men and women,” the authors conclude. “Our findings suggest the important role of promoting a healthy lifestyle in the primary prevention of both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.”

5 Daily Anti-Aging Tips

1. Hydration is important for cellular functioning, so make sure you drink liquids regularly throughout the day.
2. The phytonutrients in plant-based foods are essential for health and wellness. Eat plenty of vegetables and low-sugar fruits every day.
3. Rest is necessary for your body to run optimally. The way to figure out how much sleep you need is to think about how much you sleep on a relaxing vacation, when you fall asleep naturally and wake up without an alarm. The number of hours you get on a relaxing vacation per day is generally how much time your body is craving for sleep.
4. Take time to have fun with your loved ones. Social support and positive experiences have been seen in studies to be beneficial to health.
5. Make sure to keep your body moving every day, even if it’s just walking up and down stairs at work or taking a noon-time stroll around the block. Exercise is key to living a long and healthy life

Eat Less Salt!

via To Your Health

Seems like simple advice; so why do so many people suffer the health consequences of excessive sodium consumption? These days, a major culprit isn’t what we sprinkle on our foods – it’s the food itself.

The fast- and processed-food industries offer a staggering variety of sodium-laden foods, many of which make a huge dent in your recommended daily allowance for sodium in a single serving. Example: Look closely at canned soup labels; many soups contain 2,000 mg or more of sodium per can – more than 80 percent of your RDA (currently 2,400 mg for adults under age 51 and 1,500 for those over age 51 or suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease.)

Sodium Gone Wild

Sodium plays an important role in the body in the proper amounts – it helps maintain fluid balance, transmit nerve impulses, and influence muscle contraction and relaxation – but too much can be a big problem. Sodium attracts and retains water; too much sodium will accumulate in the blood, increasing blood volume. The heart has to work harder to pump that blood, increasing arterial pressure. Chronic fluid retention and increased blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke and congestive heart failure.

Within reason, your kidneys can handle too little or too much sodium; if the body isn’t getting enough (which is rare), the kidneys hold on to sodium; if it’s getting too much, the kidneys excrete the excess through the urine. The problem is that the average American consumes so much sodium on a daily basis (3,400 mg on average, or 1,000 mg more than the RDA) that the kidneys can’t always eliminate enough.

The Potassium Connection

Potassium and sodium work together in the body to maintain cellular fluid balance. Cells actually have a sodium-potassium “pump”that helps facilitate this balance; by pumping sodium ions out of the cell in exchange for potassium ions, sodium is removed from the cell. As mentioned, sodium attracts water; if sodium stayed within the cell, it would effectively explode from the inward diffusion of water.

Because sodium and potassium have this vital balancing function on a cellular level, getting the right amounts of both in your diet is equally vital. That means limiting your sodium intake while ensuring you don’t ignore potassium. The RDA for potassium is currently 4,700 mg; ideal food sources include bananas, citrus juices, avocados, cantaloupes, tomatoes, potatoes and lima beans. (A medium banana provides in the neighborhood of 450 mg of potassium.)

Many foods contain potassium (particularly plant-based foods), but in today’s culture, you can see why people are struggling to meet their RDA for potassium and far exceeding it when it comes to sodium. The solution: Be a smart shopper. Evaluate the sodium content in your favorite foods and make wise decisions that ensure you come in at or under your daily requirement for sodium, not way above it. Talk to your doctor to learn more.