New brain diet 'slows mental decline' - Health News. Thursday August 6 2. Researchers have developed a diet specifically for the brain. The headline was prompted by a US study of a new diet called MIND, which appeared to slow down ageing of the brain. The MIND diet was developed specifically to help improve brain function and reduce dementia, and is a combination of the Mediterranean diet and the blood pressure- lowering DASH diet. Both of these diets have previously shown positive effects on cognitive decline. The researchers wanted to see if they could narrow down which elements were the most important. An earlier study of the MIND diet found participants who stuck rigorously to the diet were 5. Alzheimer's disease. The MIND diet involves eating . While these results are encouraging, this type of study can only show an association between diet and improved brain function – it cannot prove causation. Even so, the study does lend weight to the potential benefits of eating this type of diet. Dr Clare Walton, of the Alzheimer's Society, told the Mail Online: . ![]() It was funded by the National Institute on Aging. The study was published in the peer- reviewed medical journal Alzheimer's and Dementia. In general, the media reported the story accurately, but the study's limitations were not fully explained. What kind of research was this? This was an observational study that aimed to investigate the relationship between the Mediterranean- Dietary Approach to Systolic Hypertension (DASH) diet intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) and its protective properties for cognitive decline seen with ageing. The MIND diet is a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets. Observational cohort studies and a secondary prevention trial have shown an inverse association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular risk. How to Develop Immunity. Your body is an incredibly smart machine, well designed to keep you healthy and defend against infection. White blood cells, including. Researchers say both diets have shown positive effects in delaying the decline in brain function in previously conducted randomised control trials. A number of other studies have also observed slower decline in mental abilities with high consumption of vegetables and green leafy vegetables. What did the research involve? Older adults from Chicago were assessed annually between February 2. ![]() ![]() ![]() This comprised 9. Their average age was 8. Welcome back to our health news roundup, previously What to Worry About This Week. We’ve renamed it Dose of Reality because health news isn’t always giving you. The headline was prompted by a US study of a new diet called MIND. Clinical recommendation Evidence Rating References; A toddler’s diet should include two or three servings of milk or other dairy products per day. The following guidance is based on the best available evidence. The full guideline gives details of the methods and the evidence used to develop the guidance (see. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, IBD, IBS, Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac, and Candida Diet Program. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD. Parents Forced to Say Goodbye to Terminally Ill 10-Month-Old Baby as Courts Decide to Take Him Off Life Support. Though the study spanned nine years, the average follow- up was 4. The study participants did not have dementia at the time of enrolment into the trial and individuals with known dementia were excluded from the study. Each participant underwent annual structured clinical evaluations and completed food frequency questionnaires, including total energy intake. The diets were scored according to how closely they followed the MIND diet. Brain function testing was performed using 2. Researchers also collected information on age, smoking history, weekly physical activity, mood, BMI, hypertension history and diabetes. Lastly, they used statistical methods to assess the relationship between the MIND diet and brain function score. What were the basic results? Higher MIND diet scores were associated with slower mental decline. This was true for all five mental tests, particularly for episodic memory, semantic memory and perceptual speed. People with MIND diet scores in the top third had a slower decline than those in the bottom third, which was equivalent to being 7. The results remained significant when potential outside factors (known as confounding factors) were taken into account, including hypertension, heart attack, stroke and diabetes. How did the researchers interpret the results? The researchers concluded that, . They said that, . The study has several strengths, including the large sample size, long observational period of up to nine years, regular annual assessment of cognitive functions, and comprehensive assessment of diet. However, one of the main limitations is that this type of study cannot show cause and effect – it can only show an association between the diet and slower mental decline. There may be other unmeasured factors that account for the results, such as genetics, other medical conditions or medication. It also relies on self- reported estimates of dietary intake, so there is a chance for recall and reporting bias. Also, the study population at the time of enrolment was free of dementia, so we do not know how this diet would work in people with, or at increased risk of, dementia. Overall, the study does lend weight to following the principles of this type of diet. Find out more about reducing the risk of dementia. Tomato- rich diet 'reduces prostate cancer risk' - Health News. Thursday August 2. Tomatoes are a rich source of the nutrient lycopene. Tomatoes . The study in question gathered a year’s dietary information from 1,8. The researchers compared the diets and adjusted the results to take into account factors such as age, family history of prostate cancer and ethnicity. They found that men who ate more than 1. As this was a case controlled study, and not a randomised controlled trial, it cannot prove that eating more tomatoes prevents prostate cancer. It can only show an association. The association is biologically plausible, because tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, a nutrient thought to protect against cell damage. However, the jury is still out on whether it really does protect cells. So a healthy, balanced diet, regular exercise and stopping smoking are still the way to go. It’s unlikely that focusing on one particular food will improve your health. Where did the story come from? The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Bristol, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Bristol Nutrition Biomedical Research Unit, Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and the University of Oxford. It was funded by the NIHR and Cancer Research UK. The study was published in the peer- reviewed medical journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. The study is open- access so it is free to read online or download. In general, the media reported the story accurately but also reported different numbers of study participants, ranging from 1,8. This is because out of the 2. Several news sources have also reported that eating the recommended five portions of fruit or veg per day reduced the risk of prostate cancer by 2. This seems to have come directly from the lead researcher, but these figures are not clearly presented in the research paper. What kind of research was this? This was a case- control study looking at the diet, lifestyle and weight of men who had had a prostate check and were subsequently diagnosed with (cases) and without (controls) prostate cancer. The researchers wanted to see if there were any factors that reduced the risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer. A previous systematic review suggested that a diet high in calcium is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer and that diets high in selenium and lycopene are associated with reduced risk. Selenium is a chemical element essential for life that is found in animals and plants, but high levels are toxic. Lycopene is a nutrient found in red foods such as tomatoes and pink grapefruit. The researchers defined intake of selenium and lycopene as the “prostate cancer dietary index”. They looked at whether there was an association between men’s index scores and their risk of having prostate cancer. In addition, in 2. World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) made eight recommendations on diet, exercise and weight for cancer prevention. However, recent research has shown conflicting results as to whether these recommendations are applicable to prostate cancer. One large European study found that men who followed the recommendations did not have a lower general prostate cancer risk, and the other found that men did have a reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer. The researchers wanted to see if these recommendations should be changed to include any of the prostate cancer dietary index components for men and/or men at higher risk of prostate cancer. What did the research involve? The researchers used data collected from a large UK study called the Protec. T trial. In this trial, 2. Nearly half of the men then had a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test and 1. Before the test they were asked to fill out questionnaires on: lifestyle diet alcohol intake medical history family history They were also asked to provide information on their: physical activity level body mass index (BMI) waist circumference body size aged 2. Body size was self- estimated by looking at pictures on a scale of 1 to 9. All those selecting 1 to 3 were categorised as normal weight and those selecting 4 to 9 were considered overweight/obese. From this study the researchers identified 2,9. GP practice who did not have prostate cancer to act as controls. They then excluded anyone who did not return the questionnaires and those who did not provide all of the body metrics. This gave a sample of 1,8. The dietary questionnaires assessed how frequently they had consumed 1. This included an estimate of portion sizes. From this information, the men were assigned a score to reflect how well they had achieved the first six of the eight WCRF/AICR recommendations (they did not have enough information for “salt consumption” or “dietary supplements”). Adherence to each recommendation was scored (1 – complete adherence, 0. The researchers also looked at the intake of components of the “prostate cancer dietary index”: calcium, selenium and tomato products which they used as an indicator of lycopene intake (tomato juice, tomato sauce, pizza and baked beans). To be scored as adherent, men had to: eat less than 1,5. The results were adjusted to take into account the following confounders: age family history of prostate cancer self- reported diabetes ethnic group occupational class smoking status total energy intake BMI What were the basic results? After adjusting for possible confounding factors: being adherent to the tomato and tomato product recommendation by eating 1. OR) 0. 8. 2, 9. 5% confidence interval (CI) 0. OR 0. 9. 1, 9. 5% CI 0. WCFR/AICR adherence score was not associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer (OR 0. CI 0. 9. 4 to 1. 0. OR 0. 9. 4, 9. 5% CI 0. A 0. 2. 5 increase in adherence score could be achieved by increasing fruit and vegetable intake from less than 2. How did the researchers interpret the results? The researchers concluded that, “in addition to meeting the optimal intake for the three dietary factors associated with prostate cancer, men should maintain a healthy weight and an active lifestyle to reduce risk of developing prostate cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes”. They also say that “high intake of plant foods and tomato products in particular may help protect against prostate cancer, which warrants further investigations”. Conclusion. This large study has shown an association between the consumption of more than 1. However, as this was a case controlled study, and not a randomised controlled trial, it cannot prove that eating more tomatoes prevents prostate cancer. Strengths of the study include its large size and attempts to account for potential confounding factors, although there are some limitations to the study, including: reliance on the accuracy of the dietary questionnaires broad categories for self- estimate of body size This study does not provide enough evidence to change the recommendations for reducing the risk of prostate cancer. A healthy, balanced diet, regular exercise and stopping smoking are still the way to go, rather than relying on eating one exclusive food type such as tomatoes. Following the eight WCRF/AICR recommendations as listed above should also help prevent against other types of cancer as well as chronic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Analysis by Bazian. Edited by NHS Choices. Follow Behind the Headlines on Twitter. Join the Healthy Evidence forum.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
August 2017
Categories |