Flavonoids and Prostate Cancer

 An abstract presented in October at the 11th Annual American Association for Cancer Research International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research found that higher flavonoid consumption was associated with less aggressive prostate cancer. Flavonoids are found in fruits, vegetables, and beverages such as tea, coffee, wine, and fruit drinks. The men in this study got a lot of their flavonoids from orange and grapefruit juice. Dean Ornish has published work on diet, lifestyle, and prostate cancer as well. He was able to reverse prostate cancer using diet and lifestyle. 

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Legumes and Type 2 Diabetes

Research published online October 22, 2012 in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people with type 2 diabetes who were eating a low glycemic index diet, benefited further by increasing their intake of legumes. A group eating more legumes was compared to a group eating more wheat fiber. The legume group lowered their hemoglobin A1c and systolic blood pressure more than the wheat fiber group. Type 2 diabetics benefit from dietary changes and exercise. 

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Healthy Mind and Healthy Bones

A study published in October through the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research found that people with a strong psychological sense of well-being had higher bone mineral density, particularly in the femoral neck. What is interesting, is that the researchers controlled for physical activity, age, gender, race, education, financial advantage, body weight, and smoking, yet still this association held up. Our sense of well-being affects the hormonal milieu in our body, which in turn can affect every system, apparently including the skeletal system. This is one more way the mind and body are not separate. 

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Optimism and Higher Levels of Antioxidants

A study published in the January 2013 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine found that optimistic people have higher levels of antioxidants in their blood. Carotenoids, a class of antioxidants, were anywhere from 3-13% higher, depending on age group, in optimistic people. Optimistic people tended to eat better and take better care of themselves overall. However, that alone did not explain all of the difference. Also, those with higher socioeconomic status tended to score high on optimism. What was interesting about this study is that rather than studying depressed people as is usually done, the researchers decided to study optimistic people and see how they are different. This was a cross-sectional study, so one can really only detect an association and not causation. 

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Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sunshine

The February 4, 2013 edition of the Annals of Rheumatic Disease has a study examining the effect of sunshine on the risk of getting the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis RA). The researchers used data from the Nurses Health Study (NHS) and Nurses Health Study II (NHSII). Exposure to sunshine without sunscreen did result in a lower risk of getting RA. I found it interesting that the researchers were able to tease out that part of the reason was the increased levels of vitamin D, which has significant immune system effects. But that is not the whole story. They said part of the reason could be the sunshine or UVB exposure itself. Obviously people with very light skin don't have the option of exposure to sunshine without significantly increasing their risk for skin cancer. Small amounts of sun exposure, though, probably is protective for others. Of course, one can also take vitamin D as a supplement (take the D3 form). 

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Fitness in Midlife Lowers Dementia Risk

A study published in the February 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine and using data from the Cooper Clinic Longitudinal Study at the Cooper INstitute (Dallas, TX), included 19,458 individuals who underwent standardized fitness testing in midlife (49.8 years), and in contrast to other studies using self-reported data, and who were then followed for an average of 25 years. Dementia was assessed from Medicare claims data. Participants with the highest level of fitness at midlife had a 36% reduction in risk of developing dementia from any cause during follow-up compared to those in the lowest fitness category. The authors commented that changes in the brain can occur up to 20 years prior to the onset of dementia, so the long follow-up in this study is important. They also pointed out that even if you're over 49, it is never too late to start a fitness program and decrease your odds of dementia. 

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Fish Oil and Strength Training in Older Women

We know that fish oil is good for your heart, blood vessels, preventing depression, neurological conditions, and for lowering triglycerides among other things. Now we can add to this list: improving strength gains in older women. A Brazilian study published in the February 2012 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined the effects of fish oil on 45 women around the age of 64 (+/- 1.4 years). The women were all started on a strength training program. Two groups of women were given fish oil (2000 mg/day) and the third was not. All started with about equal strength. However, after 90 days the fish oil supplemented group had significantly bigger gains in strength. 

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Coenzyme Q10 and Statins

Statins prevent the body from synthesizing cholesterol by blocking the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme—an enzyme also responsible for the synthesis of coenzyme Q10, also known as ubiquinone. Why do we care about this? CoQ10 is an essential component of our energy metabolism. Low levels of CoQ10 can lead to serious fatigue, poor heart function, and poor muscle metabolism. This is why everyone taking a statin needs to be on 100-200 mg of CoQ10 as well. A pilot study published in the December 5, 2012 issue of the Canadian Journal of physiology and Pharmacology found that giving patients who had statin-associated myopathy (muscle pain, stiffness, weakness) coenzyme Q10 decreased muscle pain, muscle cramps, and tiredness. 

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