Skip to content

Tag: healthy diet

Published on Leave a comment on A Good Diet Is Associated With Lower Rates Of Miscarriage

It absolutely makes sense that a good diet before and during pregnancy is associated with better pregnancy outcomes, including the risk for miscarriage.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham reviewed 20 studies (for a total of 63,838 women) and found that a good diet with healthy foods (both preconception and during pregnancy) is linked to a lower chance of miscarriage. On the other hand, a diet high in processed foods was associated with a doubling of miscarriage risk. Interestingly, higher intake of fried foods and a lower intake of chocolate is also associated with higher miscarriage odds.

What is a "good diet" linked to lower risk of miscarriage? One that is rich in fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs, and seafood. A high intake of fruits was linked to 61% reduction of miscarriage risk, high intake of vegetables had a 41% reduction, dairy was linked to a 37% reduction, and consumption of eggs had a 19% reduction. Seafood (fish) had a 19% reduction.

Hmmm.... overall the results sound like Mediterranean-style or healthy Nordic foods diets are beneficial. By the way, the researchers were unable to draw any conclusions regarding meat, red meat, white meat, fat, and oil.

There are many reasons for the lower rate of miscarriage with a healthy, whole foods diet: from an increased intake of all sorts of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, flavanols, etc.), rich in anti-oxidants, less oxidative stress, lower rates of inflammation, boosts the immune system, to feeding beneficial microbes in our gut microbiome.

Fun fact: the developing fetus can taste the foods the mother eats.

From Medical Xpress: Diet high in fruit and vegetables linked to lower miscarriage risk

A preconception and early-pregnancy diet that contains lots of fruit, vegetables, seafood, dairy, eggs and grain may be associated with reducing risk of miscarriage, a new review of research suggests. ...continue reading "A Good Diet Is Associated With Lower Rates Of Miscarriage"

Published on Leave a comment on Shrink Your Brain With An Unhealthy Diet

Over and over studies find that a person's diet is linked to health and diseases, and now a study finds that an unhealthy diet is linked to shrinkage of the brain, specifically the volume of the left hippocampus. The biggest effects on the hippocampus are found with both greater consumption of an unhealthy diet and lower consumption of a healthy diet.  The hippocampus is a brain structure associated with both learning and memory, as well as mood regulation, and is specifically implicated in depression. In dementia and Alzheimer's disease, the hippocampus is one of the first regions of the brain to suffer damage.

So....you want to protect your hippocampus from shrinkage. The researchers themselves  suggest that the effects may be reversible, and suggest "dietary interventions to promote hippocampal health". Once again, a healthy diet means lots of plant-based foods (for example, a Mediterranean based diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, berries, seeds), and decreasing a Western-style diet with highly processed foods, low fiber, lots of meat, fat,  and refined sugars. From Medscape:

Unhealthy Diet May Shrink the Brain

Consumption of an unhealthy Western diet characterized by meat, hamburgers, chips, and soft drinks, may reduce the volume of the left hippocampus, whereas a healthy diet of fresh vegetables and fish may increase hippocampal volume. In a study of more than 250 individuals, investigators found that during a period of 4 years, there was a difference of more than 200 cubic millimeters in hippocampal volume between individuals who ate a healthy diet and those who consumed an unhealthy diet.  ...continue reading "Shrink Your Brain With An Unhealthy Diet"

Published on

Two studies that talk about a healthy diet and health benefits.From Science Daily:

Home cooking a main ingredient in healthier diet, study shows

People who frequently cook meals at home eat healthier and consume fewer calories than those who cook less, according to new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research."When people cook most of their meals at home, they consume fewer carbohydrates, less sugar and less fat than those who cook less or not at all -- even if they are not trying to lose weight," says Julia A. Wolfson, MPP, a CLF-Lerner Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future and lead author of the study.The findings also suggest that those who frequently cooked at home -- six-to-seven nights a week -- also consumed fewer calories on the occasions when they ate out.

Wolfson and co-author Sara N. Bleich, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School, analyzed data from the 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from more than 9,000 participants aged 20 and older... The researchers found that 8 percent of adults cooked dinner once or less a week and this group consumed, on an average day, 2,301 total calories, 84 grams of fat and 135 grams of sugar. Forty-eight percent of participants cooked dinner six to seven times a week and they consumed 2,164 calories, 81 grams of fat and 119 grams of sugar on an average day.

The research found blacks are more likely to live in households where cooking occurs less frequently than whites; and individuals who work more than 35 hours a week outside the home also cook less often.

From Medical Xpress:

Healthy diets are good for the kidneys

A healthy diet may help protect the kidneys, according to two studies that will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2014 November 11¬-16 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA. Dietary modifications may be a low-cost, simple intervention to reduce the burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD). 

A higher-quality diet, as measured using 3 different scoring systems for dietary qualities known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, was associated with a 16% to 23% reduced risk of needing dialysis or dying from kidney problems. Higher-quality diets included those high in fruits, vegetables, and unsaturated fats. The researchers also found that high sodium intake (average of 4.7g g/day) was linked with an increased risk of needing dialysis or dying from kidney problems, but no benefit was seen for low sodium intake (average 2.0 g/day) compared with moderate intake. In contrast, high potassium intake was associated with a reduced future risk.

Published on

According to a recent large Swedish study, a healthy lifestyle lowers the risk of ischemic stroke (caused by a blood clot) - up to 54% lower risk. But unfortunately it does not lower the risk for a hemorrhagic stroke.

A healthy lifestyle was considered to be: healthy diet, moderate alcohol consumption, not smoking, being physically active, and being a normal weight (not overweight or obese). The more healthy life-style factors, the lower the risk for an ischemic stroke. In this study, healthy foods were considered to be: fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans), nuts, low-fat dairy foods, whole grain foods, and fish. 

From Science Daily: Healthy lifestyle may cut stroke risk in half for women

Women with a healthy diet and lifestyle may be less likely to have a stroke by more than half, according to a study. The study looked at five factors that make up a healthy lifestyle: healthy diet; moderate alcohol consumption; never smoking; physically active; and healthy body mass index (BMI). Compared with women with none of the five healthy factors, women with all five factors had a 54-percent lower risk of stroke.

For the study, 31,696 Swedish women with an average age of about 60 completed a 350-item questionnaire about their diet and lifestyle. They were then followed for an average of 10 years. A healthy diet was defined as within the top 50 percent of a recommended food score measuring how often the participants ate healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. Moderate alcohol consumption was defined as three to nine drinks per week. Physically active was defined as walking or biking at least 40 minutes a day along with more vigorous exercise at least one hour per week. Healthy BMI was considered below 25.

Most of the women had two or three of the healthy factors. Only 589 women had all five healthy factors, and 1,535 had none. There were 1,554 strokes among study participants. The risk of stroke steadily decreased with each additional healthy lifestyle factor.

Women who had a healthier diet were 13 percent less likely to have a type of stroke called a cerebral infarction than those whose diet was not as healthy. Women with healthier diets had a rate of 28 strokes per 10,000 women per year compared to 43 strokes per 10,000 women per year among those with a less healthy diet.

Cerebral infarction is the most common cause of stroke, accounting for up to 80 to 85 percent of all strokes. Cerebral infarction is caused by a blockage in a blood vessel preventing blood and oxygen from getting to an area of the brain.

There was no relationship between the healthy factors and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Hemorrhagic stroke, which is caused by bleeding in and around the brain, accounts for about 15 to 20 percent of all strokes.

Published on

What if a doctor said you could avoid years of taking medication (and all their side effects and cost), better heart health, and avoid a heart attack by adopting some lifestyle changes. Could you do it? Would you? How to avoid 4 out 5 heart attacks, from Medical Xpress:

Healthy lifestyle choices may dramatically reduce risk of heart attack in men

Following a healthy lifestyle, including maintaining a healthy weight and diet, exercise, not smoking and moderating alcohol intake, could prevent four out of five coronary events in men, according to a new study publishing today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

While mortality from heart disease has declined in recent decades, with much of the reduction attributed to medical therapies, the authors said prevention through a healthy lifestyle avoids potential side effects of medication and is more cost effective for population-wide reductions in coronary heart disease. 

For the study, researchers examined a population of 20,721 healthy Swedish men aged 45-79 years of age and followed them for 11 years. Lifestyle choices were assessed through a questionnaire exploring diet, alcohol consumption, smoking status, level of physical activity and abdominal adiposity (belly fat). Men in the study with the lowest risk were non-smokers, walked or cycled for at least 40 minutes per day, exercised at least one hour per week, had a waist circumference below 95 centimeters, consumed moderate amounts of alcohol, and followed a healthy diet with a regular consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, reduced-fat dairy products, whole grains and fish.

The researchers found a clear reduction in risk for heart attack for each individual lifestyle factor the participants practiced. For instance having a low-risk diet together with a moderate alcohol consumption led to an estimated 35 percent lower risk of heart attack compared to the high-risk group, those who practice none of the low-risk factors.

Men who combined the low-risk diet and moderate alcohol consumption with not smoking, being physically active and having a low amount of abdominal fat, had 86 percent lower risk. Researchers found similar results in men with hypertension and high cholesterol levels.

The burden of cardiovascular disease could be significantly reduced through programs targeted to men and promoting low-risk lifestyle choices. Even in those who take medication, an additional reduction in risk for chronic heart disease has been observed in those with a healthy lifestyle.

From John M., a cardiac electrophysiologist, who expressed his frustration with unnecessary heart disease, and commented on this study on drjohnm.org:

Let’s stop the unnecessary treatment of heart disease

There are many reasons doctors suffer from burnout and compassion fatigue. One of the least-mentioned of these reasons is that much of what we do is so damn unnecessary. In the US, the land of excess everything, caregivers, especially cardiologists, spend most of our time treating human beings that didn’t need to have disease.

Let’s be clear and honest: Lifestyle-related disease is largely unnecessary.

These days, there is so much unnecessary disease that caregivers, especially cardiologists, rarely see it. We look past the obesity right to the cholesterol number and ECG. And then we pull out the prescription pad for the guideline-directed pills. Just typing that causes me angst.

Published on

Another study showing the health benefits of eating berries, including lingonberries. Note that it was done in mice. From the January 23, 2014 Science Daily:

Lingonberries halt effects of high-fat diet

Lingonberries almost completely prevented weight gain in mice fed a high-fat diet, a study at Lund University in Sweden has found -- whereas the 'super berry' açai led to increased weight gain. The Scandinavian berries also produced lower blood sugar levels and cholesterol.

Some of the mice were fed a low-fat diet, while the majority of the animals were fed a diet high in fat. They were then divided into groups, where all except a control group were fed a type of berry -- lingonberry, bilberry, raspberry, crowberry, blackberry, prune, blackcurrant or açai berry.

When the mice were compared after three months, it could be observed that the lingonberry group had by far the best results. The mice that had eaten lingonberries had not put on more weight than the mice that had eaten a low-fat diet -- and their blood sugar and insulin readings were similar to those of the 'low-fat' mice. Their cholesterol levels and levels of fat in the liver were also lower than those of the animals who received a high-fat diet without any berries.

Blackcurrants and bilberries also produced good effects, although not as pronounced as the lingonberries. The açai berries, on the other hand, came last, although they had actually been included in the study for the opposite reason -- the researchers wanted to see how well the Nordic berries would do in comparison with the Brazilian 'super berry'.

The good results from lingonberries may be due to their polyphenol content, according to the researchers. They will now continue to work on understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the effect of the lingonberries. They will also see whether the effect can be observed in humans.