High protein foods boost cardiovascular health, as much as quitting smoking or getting exercise

Eating foods rich in amino acids could be as good for your heart as stopping smoking or getting more exercise -- according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).

A new study published today reveals that people who eat high levels of certain amino acids found in meat and plant-based protein have lower blood pressure and arterial stiffness.

And the magnitude of the association is similar to those previously reported for lifestyle risk factors including salt intake, physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking.

Researchers investigated the effect of seven amino acids on cardiovascular health among almost 2,000 women with a healthy BMI. Data came from TwinsUK -- the biggest UK adult twin registry of 12,000 twins which is used to study the genetic and environmental causes of age related disease.

They studied their diet and compared it to clinical measures of blood pressure and blood vessel thickness and stiffness.

They found strong evidence that those who consumed the highest amounts of amino acids had lower measures of blood pressure and arterial stiffness.

But they found that the food source was important -- with a higher intake of amino acids from plant-based sources associated with lower blood pressure, and a higher intake from animal sources associated with lower levels of arterial stiffness.

Lead researcher Dr Amy Jennings, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "This research shows a protective effect of several amino acids on cardiovascular health.

"Increasing intake from protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, dairy produce, beans, lentils, broccoli and spinach could be an important and readily achievable way to reduce people's risk of cardiovascular disease.

"Results from previous studies have provided evidence that increased dietary protein may be associated with lower blood pressure. We wanted to know whether protein from animal sources or plant-based sources was more beneficial -- so we drilled down and looked at the different amino acids found in both meat and vegetables.

"We studied seven amino acids -- arginine, cysteine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, leucine, and tyrosine. Glutamic acid, leucine, and tyrosine are found in animal sources, and a higher intake was associated with lower levels of arterial stiffness.

"All seven amino acids, and particularly those from plant-based sources, were associated with lower blood pressure.

"The really surprising thing that we found is that amino acid intake has as much of an effect on blood pressure as established lifestyle risk factors such as salt intake, physical activity and alcohol consumption. For arterial stiffness, the association was similar to the magnitude of change previously associated with not smoking.

High blood pressure is one of the most potent risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease. A reduction in blood pressure leads to a reduction in mortality caused by stroke or coronary heart disease -- so changing your diet to include more meat, fish, dairy produce and pulses could help both prevent and treat the condition.

"Beneficial daily amounts equate to a 75g portion of steak, a 100g salmon fillet or a 500ml glass of skimmed milk," she added.

Prof Tim Spector from the department of Twin Research at King's college London said: "The finding that eating certain meat and plant proteins are linked to healthier blood pressure is an exciting finding. We need to understand the mechanism to see if it is direct or via our gut microbes."

Story Source

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of East Anglia. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference

A. Jennings, A. MacGregor, A. Welch, P. Chowienczyk, T. Spector, A. Cassidy. Amino Acid Intake Is Inversely Associated with Arterial Stiffness and Central Blood Pressure in Women. Journal of Nutrition, 2015; DOI: 10.3945/%u200Bjn.115.214700

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increase in MRSA infection

Recent study finds low vitamin D status is associated with MRSA infection

A recent study published by the journal Springer found that vitamin D deficiency is independently associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterial infection that typically occurs in hospitals or health care settings. Infections range in severity from only affecting the skin or soft tissue to life threatening infections of the internal organs. MRSA is resistant to several strains of antibiotics, making it difficult to treat.

In recent years, vitamin D has gained attention for its pathological processes in a number of infections. Past research has determined vitamin D increases the production of antimicrobial peptides, the body’s naturally occurring antibiotics. Despite these findings, few studies have been conducted to investigate the association between vitamin D deficiency and MRSA infections.

In the current study, researchers aimed to determine if vitamin D deficiency is significantly associated with MRSA infections. A total of 6,405 patients who had their vitamin D levels tested at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center (AVAMC) between January 2007 and August 2010 were included in the study. The patient’s vitamin D levels were cross referenced with a prospectively generated database of MRSA infections from October 2005 through December 2010.

Was vitamin D deficiency associated with the incidence of MRSA infections? Here is what the researchers found:

A total of 6.3% of patients experienced MRSA infections, ranging from 1 to 5 times, during the study duration.

* Vitamin D deficiency was significantly associated with MRSA infected patients (p < 0.0001).

* The mean vitamin D levels of MRSA infected individuals was 21.1 ng/mL (52.75 nmol/L) compared to 24 ng/mL (60 nmol/L) in non-MRSA patients (p < 0.001)

* Those who experienced a MRSA infection within 150 days of their initial vitamin D testing had a mean vitamin D status of 19.6 ng/ml (49 nmol/L). This was considered to be significantly lower than the vitamin D status of non-MRSA infected patients (p = 0.0025).

* In a subgroup analysis of MRSA infected patients who experienced an infection within 150 days of their vitamin D testing, vitamin D deficiency ( < 20ng/ml; 50nmol/L) was determined as an independent risk factor for infection (OR: 2.25).

The researchers concluded:

“Our findings suggest that an independent association exists between vitamin D deficiency and MRSA infection in this cohort of patients.”

The researchers call for interventional studies in order to help determine if a causal relationship exists between vitamin D status and MRSA infections.

Sources:

Thomason, J. et al. Association between vitamin D deficiency and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection. Springer, 2015.

Vitamin D council

Sun light reduces blood pressure, improves mood and cardiovascular health plus suppresses multiple sclerosis symptoms.

The health benefits of sunlight are not just vitamin D, but those related to the release of nitric oxide, and the production of beta-endorphin,.

In addition to the benefits of vitamin D, several human skin diseases, like psoriasis, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis and localized scleroderma, can be treated with solar radiation (heliotherapy) or artificial UV radiation (phototherapy). UV exposure can suppress the clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis independently of vitamin D synthesis. Furthermore, UV generates nitric oxide (NO), which may reduce blood pressure and generally improve cardiovascular health. UVA-induced NO may also have antimicrobial effects and furthermore, act as a neurotransmitter. UV exposure may also improve mood through the release of endorphins, regulation of circadian rhythms which are all important components of life-long health and well-being  (Asta Juzenienea, Johan Moanab. Beneficial effects of UV radiation other than via vitamin D production,  Dermato-Endocrinology, Volume 4, Issue 2, 2012)

beta-endorphin

UV-exposer increases levels of a molecule called beta-endorphin, which acts similarly to morphine and heroin in the body. Endorphins circulating in the blood are able to carry feel-good messages to the brain.

This endorphin production may also explain why people are more generally drawn to sunny spots and often go to the beach on vacation.

Nitric oxide

Normal human keratinocytes secrete nitric oxide (NO) in response to UVA and UVB radiation, and In humans, NO is a powerful vasodilator with a short half-life of a few seconds in the blood. Long-known pharmaceuticals such as nitroglycerine and amyl nitrite were found to be precursors to nitric oxide more than a century after their first use in medicine.

Importantly Low levels of nitric oxide production such as synthesised by sun exposure are important in protecting organs such as the liver from ischemic damage (Nitric oxide produced by ultraviolet-irradiated keratinocytes stimulates melanogenesis.  J Clin Invest. 1997 Feb 15; 99(4): 635–642).  

Fish oil reduces both the risk of progression to psychotic disorder and psychiatric morbidity

Longer-term outcome in the prevention of psychotic disorders by the Vienna omega-3 study

G. Paul Amminger,Miriam R. Schäfer,Monika Schlögelhofer,Claudia M. Klier& Patrick D. McGorry

Nature Communications 6, Article number: 7934 doi:10.1038/ncomms8934

Received 26 November 2014 Accepted 29 June 2015 Published 11 August 2015

Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential for neural development and function. As key components of brain tissue, omega-3 PUFAs play critical roles in brain development and function, and a lack of these fatty acids has been implicated in a number of mental health conditions over the lifespan, including schizophrenia. We have previously shown that a 12-week intervention with omega-3 PUFAs reduced the risk of progression to psychotic disorder in young people with subthreshold psychotic states for a 12-month period compared with placebo. We have now completed a longer-term follow-up of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, at a median of 6.7 years. Here we show that brief intervention with omega-3 PUFAs reduced both the risk of progression to psychotic disorder and psychiatric morbidity in general in this study. The majority of the individuals from the omega-3 group did not show severe functional impairment and no longer experienced attenuated psychotic symptoms at follow-up.

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150811/ncomms8934/full/ncomms8934.html

Inactivity reduces people’s muscle strength & aerobics such as bike training is not enough to reverse muscle strength loss. You need weight training

Inactivity reduces people’s muscle strength

Aerobics such as bike training not enough to reverse muscle strength loss. You need weight training

NEWS release from The Center for Healthy Aging and the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen who conducted the research.

 New research reveals that it only takes two weeks of not using their legs for young people to lose a third of their muscular strength, leaving them on par with a person who is 40-50 years their senior.

Time and again, we are told that we need to stay physically active and exercise daily. But how quickly do we actually lose our muscular strength and muscle mass if we go from being averagely active to being highly inactive? For example when we are injured, fall ill or simply take a very relaxing holiday. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have examined what happens to the muscles in younger and older men after a period of high inactivity, by way of so-called immobilization with a leg pad.

Both older and younger people lose muscular strength

"Our experiments reveal that inactivity affects the muscular strength in young and older men equally. Having had one leg immobilized for two weeks, young people lose up to a third of their muscular strength, while older people lose approx. one fourth. A young man who is immobilized for two weeks loses muscular strength in his leg equivalent to ageing by 40 or 50 years, " says Andreas Vigelsø, PhD at the Center for Healthy Aging and the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen.

Young people lose twice as much muscle mass

With age, our total muscle mass diminishes, which is why young men have approx. one kilogram more muscle mass in each leg than older men. Both groups lose muscle mass when immobilized for two weeks – young men lose 485 grams on average, while older men lose approx. 250 grams. The participants’ physical fitness was also reduced while their one leg was immobilized in a pad.

"The more muscle mass you have, the more you’ll lose. Which means that if you’re fit and become injured, you’ll most likely lose more muscle mass than someone who is unfit, over the same period of time. But even though older people lose less muscle mass and their level of fitness is reduced slightly less than in young people, the loss of muscle mass is presumably more critical for older people, because it is likely to have a greater impact on their general health and quality of life, " Martin Gram, researcher at the Center for Healthy Aging and the Department of Biomedical Sciences, explains.

Cycling is not enough

After two weeks of immobilization, the participants bicycle-trained 3-4 times a week for six weeks.

"Unfortunately, bicycle-training is not enough for the participants to regain their original muscular strength. Cycling is, however, sufficient to help people regain lost muscle mass and reach their former fitness level. If you want to regain your muscular strength following a period of inactivity; you need to include weight training", Andreas Vigelsø states.

"It’s interesting that inactivity causes such rapid loss of muscle mass, in fact it’ll take you three times the amount of time you were inactive to regain the muscle mass that you’ve lost. This may be caused by the fact that when we’re inactive, it’s 24 hours a day," Martin Gram concludes.

These results have just been published in the scientific Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. The Nordea-fonden supports the research carried out by the Center for Healthy Aging.

Sleep - Every hour less per night for teenagers increases the risk of sadness, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts

Teenagers Who Don't Get Enough Sleep at Higher Risk for Mental Health Problems

Every hour less per night increases the risk of sadness, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts

The researchers surveyed an ethnically diverse sample of 27,939 suburban high school students in Virginia. Although teenagers need about nine hours of sleep a night on average, according to the National Institutes of Health, only 3 percent of students reported getting that amount, and 20 percent of participants indicated that they got five hours or less. The average amount reported was 6.5 hours every weekday night. After controlling for background variables such as family status and income, the researchers determined that each hour of lost sleep was associated with a 38 percent increase in the odds of feeling sad and #hopeless, a 42 percent increase in considering suicide, a 58 percent increase in #suicide attempts and a 23 percent increase in substance #abuse.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence February 2015

Cherries may reduce upper respiratory Symptoms

Juice made from Montmorency cherries may reduce the development of upper respiratory tract symptoms after running a marathon

Abstract

Background

Prolonged exercise, such as #marathon #running, has been associated with an increase in respiratory mucosal #inflammation. The aim of this pilot study was to examine the effects of Montmorency cherry juice on markers of stress, immunity and inflammation following a Marathon.

Methods

Twenty recreational Marathon runners consumed either cherry juice (CJ) or placebo (PL) before and after a Marathon race. Markers of mucosal immunity secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), salivary cortisol, inflammation (CRP) and self-reported incidence and severity of upper respiratory tract symptoms (URTS) were measured before and following the race.

Results

All variables except secretory IgA and IgG concentrations in saliva showed a significant time effect (P <0.01). Serum CRP showed a significant interaction and treatment effect (P < 0.01). The CRP increase at 24 and 48 h post-Marathon was lower (P < 0.01) in the CJ group compared to PL group. Mucosal immunity and salivary cortisol showed no interaction effect or treatment effect. The incidence and severity of URTS was significantly greater than baseline at 24 h and 48 h following the race in the PL group and was also greater than the CJ group (P < 0.05). No URTS were reported in the CJ group whereas 50 % of runners in the PL group reported URTS at 24 h and 48 h post-Marathon.

Conclusions

This is the first study that provides encouraging evidence of the potential role of Montmorency cherries in reducing the development of URTS post-Marathon possibly caused by exercise-induced hyperventilation trauma, and/or other infectious and non-infectious factors.

Lygeri Dimitriou, Jessica A Hill, Influence of a montmorency cherry juice blend on indices of exercise-induced stress and upper respiratory tract symptoms following marathon running—a pilot investigation, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2015, 12:22 doi:10.1186/s12970-015-0085-8