Tai Chi And CBT Decrease Inflammation

Poor sleep has been linked to increased inflammation. Inflammation is known to cause or exacerbate musculoskeletal disorders as well as more serious diseases such as heart disease, stroke and cancer. Irwin and his colleagues conducted a randomised controlled trial looking into the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and Tai Chi on the inflammatory markers of subjects with insomnia. The participants were offered 2 hour weekly sessions for 4 months.

CBT was found to reduce systemic inflammation whereas Tai Chi reduced cellular inflammatory responses. Both interventions reduced the expression of genes encoding proinflammatory mediators.

High Cholesterol Linked To Tendon Problems

A group of Australian researchers have conducted a systematic review of literature to find articles that looked at the relationship between fat levels in blood and tendon pathology and/or pain. Their results were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. They found that people with altered tendon structure or tendon pain had significantly higher total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (“bad cholesterol”) and triglycerides, as well as lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (“good cholesterol”).

The researchers conclude that although a relationship exists between an individual’s lipid profile and tendon health, further longitudinal studies are required to determine whether it is a cause and effect relationship.

Interestingly, the results of the China Study, one of the most comprehensive studies of nutrition ever conducted, found that one of the best predictors of diseases of affluence (heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.) was blood cholesterol.

Positive Emotions Improve Health-Related Behaviours

Positive psychological states have been linked to better health and longevity. It’s believed to be partly due to the effect of positive emotions and moods on behaviour. Nancy Sin and her colleagues from the university of Penn State evaluated 5-year associations between positive affect and health behaviours in patients with coronary heart disease.

At baseline, they found that subjects with higher positive emotions and moods tended to have better health behaviours such as: physical activity, sleep quality, non-smoking and medication compliance. However, the baseline measurements of positive affect were not predictive of health behaviours at follow-up. Instead, it was increases in positive affect over the 5 years that were linked to improved physical activity, sleep quality and medication compliance.

The authors conclude that “efforts to sustain or enhance positive affect may be promising for promoting better health behaviours”. Although this may be easier said than done, positive psychology does offer methods and techniques to help achieve this aim.

Bedtime Affects Weight

A group of researchers from Berkeley and Columbia University looked at the relationship between bedtime and weight gain in young people. Their findings have been published in the journal Sleep. They followed over 3000 adolescents between 1994 and 2009. They found that a later bedtime during the workweek was associated with an increase in body mass index (BMI) over time. Even after controlling for sleep duration, screen time and exercise, the relationship was not attenuated. However, fast-food consumption was recognized as a mediator of the relationship. To summarise, if we want to keep off excess pounds we should get to bed earlier and obviously keep away from fast food!

Yoga Helps People With Arthritis

A group of researchers from McGill University looked at the effects of yoga on people with arthritis. Their findings were published in The Journal of Rheumatology. 75 sedentary adults with either rheumatoid arthritis or knee osteoarthritis and with a mean age of 52 years were randomly assigned to a yoga group or a waiting list. The yoga group took part in two 60 min classes and one home practice each week for 8 weeks duration. Yoga poses were modified to suit individual requirements.

Significant improvements were noted in physical, pain, general health, vitality, and mental health scales with most benefits still evident 9 months later. The researchers conclude that this new evidence suggests yoga may help sedentary individuals with arthritis safely increase physical activity, and improve physical and psychological health.

Why Do Statins Sometimes Cause Muscle Problems?

Statins are widely used to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Like a lot of drugs, statins come with some side effects. Myopathy, in the form of muscle weakness, pain and cramps is one of the most important adverse effects. A group of researchers from Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands may have found out why statins can sometimes cause muscle problems. Their findings are published in this month’s issue of Cell Metabolism.

They found that statins can significantly inhibit mitochondrial (complex III) activity. This effect is primarily from statin lactones rather than the acid forms. These findings could lead to new classes of cholesterol-lowering drugs without the unwanted muscle effects.

Tomatos May Trigger Gout Fare-Ups

Apparently tomatoes are the 4th most mentioned trigger for gout flare-ups after seafood, alcohol and red meat. This is according to a group of researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand. They have published a new paper in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders that may have found a biological basis to substantiate the claim. The study revealed a positive association between the consumption of tomatoes and blood urate levels.

Acupuncture Decreases High Blood Pressure

A recent study published in Medical Acupuncture has shown that electroacupuncture can significantly reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure in hypertensive subjects. After the treatment, plasma levels of norepinephrine, renin and aldosterone were all significantly decreased and this is thought to be related to the beneficial effects of the electroacupuncture.

“Almost anything can be done if one proceeds slowly enough. Often we are discouraged by the enormity of a task or the length of a journey and become impatient with the difficulties we face. We lose faith in ourselves. Patience reminds us that what is in front of us is just this moment, just this step, just this breath.”

Joseph Goldstein

Whole Food Plant Based Diet

For some time, I’ve been puzzled about what constitutes a healthy diet. Surely I can’t be the only one? We’re fed so much conflicting and fluctuating advice that it’s difficult to know what to believe…and that’s without even delving into the plethora of commercial weight-losing fad diets out there! I think we can all appreciate that we are what we eat…but what should we eat?

I decided to do a little research, just because I thought someone out there must have the answer! After ploughing through a few books most of which were okayish to good I came across a book that was life changing! Incidentally, it had been on my reading list for a few years but after reading the summary, I decided  I wasn’t ready to apply the changes it recommended…

The book is “The China Study” by T. Colin Campbell. Campbell is professor emeritus of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University. He has been at the forefront of nutrition research for over 40 years and has authored over 300 research papers. He was program director of the China Study which was the culmination of a 20 year partnership between Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine. The China Study is considered the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted! In addition, he has served on numerous panels and boards tasked with allocating research grants and providing government with nutritional guidelines.

Although medicine has progressed over the last century, we’re still woefully inadequate at dealing with diseases of affluence such as cancer, diabetes and coronary heart disease. The main reason we’re struggling is that the answer lies not in medical breakthroughs but in our diet. It is possible to free ourselves from these diseases but the system has done a great job of burying the evidence. By the ‘system’ I mean: the pharmaceutical industry, food industry, medical industry, academia and government.  These industries are profoundly connected and intertwined but unfortunately they prioritise their own financial profit rather than our health. The players with the most money wield the greatest influence. Sadly, for us, the truth doesn’t financially benefit the ‘system’! Campbell writes about this in depth in both “The China Study” and “Whole”.

In “Whole”, Campbell briefly explains how a whole food, plant-based diet could help decrease global warming, preserve fresh water supplies, decrease human poverty and of course, stop the animal cruelty in modern livestock farms. It turns out that a lot of our problems are linked but our reductionist view has prevented us from seeing the whole picture.

In “The China Study”, Campbell amasses and impressive, both in depth and breadth, amount of evidence in favour of the health benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet. There is now overwhelming scientific evidence that this diet can help us:

• Live longer
• Look and feel younger
• Have more energy
• Lose weight
• Lower our blood cholesterol
• Prevent and even reverse heart disease
• Lower our risk of prostate, breast and other cancers
• Preserve our eyesight in our later years
• Prevent and treat diabetes
• Avoid surgery in many instances
• Vastly decrease the need for pharmaceutical drugs
• Keep our bones strong
• Avoid impotence
• Avoid stroke
• Prevent kidney stones
• Keep our baby from getting Type 1 diabetes
• Alleviate constipation
• Lower our blood pressure
• Avoid Alzheimer’s
• Beat arthritis
• And more…

Campbell’s 8 principles of food and health are:

1. Nutrition represents the combined activities of countless food substances. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
2. Vitamin supplements are not a panacea for good health.
3. There are virtually no nutrients in animal-based foods that are not better provided by plants.
4. Genes do not determine disease on their own. Genes function only by being activated, or expressed, and nutrition plays a critical role in determining which genes, good and bad, are expressed.
5. Nutrition can substantially control the adverse effects of noxious chemicals.
6. The same nutrition that prevents disease in its early stages (before diagnosis) can also halt or reverse disease in its later stages (after diagnosis).
7. Nutrition that is truly beneficial for one chronic disease will support health across the board.
8. Good nutrition creates health in all areas of existence. All parts are connected.

His advice is to “consume plant-based foods in forms as close to their natural state as possible (whole foods). Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, raw nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, and whole grains. Avoid heavily processed foods and animal products. Stay away from added salt, oil and sugar. Aim to get 80 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 10 percent from fat, and 10 percent from protein.”

I know this advice may contradict certain beliefs that we hold but the evidence against animal protein and dairy is pretty damning. I can only suggest that you read “The China Study” to familiarise yourself with the mountain of evidence. Whether we act on it or not is another question but at least it will be an informed decision! Exactly how we act on it is something I hope to tackle in another post.