Newbriefs: Gut Health; Physical Activity; Stroke; Coronary Heart Disease; Artificial Sweeteners
Improve Gut Health To Improve Frailty, Aging
Frailty is linked with poor gut microbiota, and a new study, published in , Feb. 17, 2020, found that improving gut microbiota with the NU-AGE diet, a version of the Mediterranean diet tailored to older people that helps reduce inflammation, may reduce frailty and improve aging. Researchers profiled the gut microbiota of 612 non-frail people from five European countries, and then administered a yearlong NU-AGE diet. The diet improved short-chain fatty acids—the primary source of energy for cells lining the colon—and lowered production of secondary bile acids, p-cresols (bad bacteria), ethanol (from alcohol, which contributes to fatty liver disease), and carbon dioxide. It also reduced inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein and interleukin-17.
Getting Physical Can Help You Stick to Your Diet
People who exercise are likely to eat less in the hour after physical activity, according to a small study conducted at Drexel University and published in the March 2020 issue of . Among 130 participants who were obese or overweight and enrolled in a behavioral weight-loss program, results showed that among those who engaged in one hour of physical activity, their risk of overeating in the next hour was cut in half, to 5 percent. Furthermore, for every additional 10 minutes of physical activity, participants’ likelihood of overeating was reduced by 1 percent. Activity was tracked by hip-worn accelerometers, which measure physicial acceleration as compared to a body at rest.
Reduce Your Odds of a Stroke By Consuming Fruits and Vegetables
People who eat the most fruits and vegetables (200 grams [g] per day) combined have the lowest risk of ischemic stroke (when an artery in the brain becomes blocked by a clot), according to an observational study revealed in , Feb. 24, 2020. Participants (418,329 adults across nine countries) filled out dietary recall questionnaires specific by country for a period of one year. Low risk also was associated with high levels of dietary fiber (10 g), milk (200 g), yogurt (100 g), and cheese (30 g). Higher risk was associated with red meat consumption (50 g per day).
Choose More Plant-Based Foods to Lower Your Risk of Coronary Heart Disease
Choline strengthens memory and mood while also helping with muscle control and protecting and building cell membranes. Choline can be found in red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, spinach, peanuts, beets, and wheat. But bacteria in your gut like to feast on choline, and in doing so, they give off trimethylamine. Once trimethylamine reaches your liver, it converts to trimethylamine n-oxide (TMAO). A study published in , Feb. 7, 2020, found that as TMAO increases, so does your risk of coronary heart disease. A group of 760 healthy women had their plasma TMAO levels measured at the start of the study (1989 to 1990) and then again 10 years later (2000 to 2002). Results showed that increased TMAO over the 10-year period was directly related to coronary heart disease risk, and it didn’t matter the amount to start with. If TMAO levels went up, so did heart disease risk. To lower TMAO and heart disease risk, consume less red meat and more plant-based whole foods.
Sit Less, Move More; It’s Better for Your Heart
Researchers evaluated the differences in cardiometabolic (heart disease) risk from total sitting and average sitting durations among Hispanic (102) and non-Hispanic (416) postmenopausal women. Participants (average age 63.6, with an average body mass index [BMI] of 31.4) wore accelerometers (a device that measures acceleration) to record movement. The longer women sat on a daily basis, the higher the impact on their health, according to the study published in , Feb. 17, 2020. Sitting negatively affected BMI, waist circumference, and insulin resistance—a precursor to prediabetes—among all women.
Don’t Mix Artificial Sweeteners with Carbs
Combining drinks artificially sweetened with sucralose (Splenda) with carbohydrates (French fries, bread), creates a chemical reaction that can throw off your body’s ability to adjust insulin levels to reduce blood sugar. This reaction does not happen when these two items are consumed separately, according to research published in , March 3, 2020. Over a period of 10 days, 45 healthy adults ages 20 to 45, who were non-regular drinkers of low-calorie sweeteners, drank seven drinks (355 milliliters) artificially sweetened with 32 grams of sucralose. Insulin levels were measured before and after. Both test and control groups received sucralose, but only the test group was given the non-sweet carbohydrate maltodextrin (120 calories). Brain response to sweet, sour, salty, and savory tastes was measured using magnetic resonance imaging. Glucose tolerance was measured using an oral glucose tolerance test, which involves overnight fasting.
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