Plant flavonols significantly reduce Alzheimer’s risk

A new study published in the journal Neurology in January 2020 concludes that increasing the intake of plant flavonols steeply reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) by up to a half. In other words, AD could be prevented in many people simply by regularly eating and drinking more foods containing these compounds such as tea, oranges, and broccoli.

Alzheimer’s disease

AD is a progressive brain disorder in which the individual loses cognitive skills, including memory and thinking skills, and the ability to perform simple tasks. It is by far the leading cause of such disorders and affects over 5 million Americans.

One study was carried out on over 900 people, who were part of a community-wide ongoing larger research project called the Rush Memory and Aging (MAP) Project. These participants were assessed yearly for their neurologic health and dietary patterns, for an average of 6 years, but some for as long as 12 years. The average age was 81 years, and 3 out of 4 were female.

The findings

In the first study, 220/921 participants developed AD during the study. The risk of AD fell with a greater intake of flavonols. This finding held good even after the researchers adjusted for other health-associated factors – because those with the highest total flavonol intake were also the best educated, most active and took part in more cognitive activities. They also accounted for genetic factors like the presence of the APOE4 gene, and for cardiovascular risk factors that could influence the risk of AD, such as diabetes mellitus, history of heart attack, or stroke, or hypertension.

When classified into five groups based on decreasing flavonol intake, the participants in the first group (highest intake) consumed over 15 mg of flavonols a day. Compared to those in the lowest fifth (about 5 mg a day), these individuals showed an approximately 50% reduction in AD risk.

In concrete terms, 28 of 186 patients in the highest-intake group developed AD, vs. 54 of 182 in the lowest-intake group.

With respect to individual flavonols, kaempferol intake was linked to a reduction of almost 50%, and both myricetin and isorhamnetin by 40% each. A fourth flavonol, called quercetin, had no noticeable effect on AD risk.

Participants with the highest flavonol intake drank about one cup of black tea a day. Kale, and about a glass of red wine each day, could also supply flavonols.

Sources of flavonols

Kaempferol is richly present in green leafy vegetables, including spinach, broccoli, beans, tea and kale – and also in tea. Isorhamnetin-rich foods include olive oil, red wine, pears and tomato sauce. Myricetin is found in tea, kale, oranges, tomatoes and red wine.

Researcher Thomas Holland says, “More research is needed to confirm these results, but these are promising findings. Eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more tea could be a fairly inexpensive and easy way for people to help stave off Alzheimer's dementia.”

Implications

Many scientists disagree with the emphasis on flavonols. Though these were thought to have antioxidant activity in the body, this theory was discredited many decades earlier. Antioxidant activity ceases when they are ingested and subjected to the activity of enzymes in the digestive tract.

They point out that flavonols are found in many plants, fruits and vegetables, which have been associated with good health for centuries. Nutritionists say that the AD-delaying effects of such foods are likely due to other plant chemicals which are relatively more abundant. On the other hand, taking flavonol pills or tea extracts is unlikely to produce the same healthful effect, and overdoses could be counterproductive.

This is not to say that eating more flavonol-rich foods or drinking a cup of black tea in the morning would hurt, since any foods containing these chemicals would also contain many more healthful compounds including vitamins, minerals and plant fiber. Holland makes a valid point with his conclusion: “'With the elderly population increasing worldwide, any decrease in the number of people with this devastating disease, or even delaying it for a few years, could have an enormous benefit on public health.”

https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2020/01/29/WNL.0000000000008981

Plant flavonols significantly reduce Alzheimer’s risk

Study: Antioxidant flavonol linked to lower risk of Alzheimer's dementia

In continuation of my update on kaempferol, myricetin and  quercetin

 

                                                                 kaempferol

                                                                       

                                                                      myricetin

                                                 

                                                                          Quercetin

        

People who eat or drink more foods with the antioxidant flavonol, which is found in nearly all fruits and vegetables as well as tea, may be less likely to develop Alzheimer's dementia years later, according to a study published in the January 29, 2020, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"More research is needed to confirm these results, but these are promising findings," said study author Thomas M. Holland, MD, of Rush University in Chicago. "Eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more tea could be a fairly inexpensive and easy way for people to help stave off Alzheimer's dementia. With the elderly population increasing worldwide, any decrease in the number of people with this devastating disease, or even delaying it for a few years, could have an enormous benefit on public health."

Flavonols are a type of flavonoid, a group of phytochemicals found in plant pigments known for its beneficial effects on health.

The study involved 921 people with an average age of 81 who did not have Alzheimer's dementia. The people filled out a questionnaire each year on how often they ate certain foods. They were also asked about other factors, such as their level of education, how much time they spent doing physical activities and how much time they spent doing mentally engaging activities such as reading and playing games.

The people were tested yearly to see if they had developed Alzheimer's dementia. They were followed for an average of six years. The researchers used various tests to determine that 220 people developed Alzheimer's dementia during the study.

The people were divided into five groups based on how much flavonol they had in their diet. The average amount of flavonol intake in US adults is about 16 to 20 milligrams per day. In the study, the lowest group had intake of about 5.3 mg per day and the highest group consumed an average of 15.3 mg per day.

The study found that people in the highest group were 48 percent less likely to later develop Alzheimer's dementia than the people in the lowest group after adjusting for genetic predisposition and demographic and lifestyle factors. Of the 186 people in the highest group, 28 people, or 15 percent, developed Alzheimer's dementia, compared to 54 people, or 30 percent, of the 182 people in the lowest group.

The results were the same after researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect the risk of Alzheimer's dementia, such as, diabetes, previous heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure.

The study also broke the flavonols down into four types: isorhamnetin, kaempferol, myricetin and quercetin. The top food contributors for each category were: pears, olive oil, wine and tomato sauce for isorhamnetin; kale, beans, tea, spinach and broccoli for kaempferol; tea, wine, kale, oranges and tomatoes for myricetin; and tomatoes, kale, apples and tea for quercetin.

People who had high intake of isorhamnetin were 38 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's. Those with high intake of kaempferol were 51 percent less likely to develop dementia. And those with high intake of myricetin were also 38 percent less likely to develop dementia. Quercetin was not tied to a lower risk of Alzheimer's dementia.

Holland noted that the study shows an association between dietary flavonols and Alzheimer's risk but does not prove that flavonols directly cause a reduction in disease risk.

Other limitations of the study are that the food frequency questionnaire, although valid, was self-reported, so people may not accurately remember what they eat, and the majority of participants were white people, so the results may not reflect the general population.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myricetin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercetin

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-high-hemoglobin-linked-dementia.html

Tea Drinking Linked to Reduced Risk for Atherosclerotic CVD

In continuation of my update on Tea

Habitual tea consumption is associated with a reduced risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality, according to a study published online Jan. 9 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Xinyan Wang, from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, and colleagues examined the association of tea consumption with the risk for atherosclerotic CVD and all-cause mortality among 100,902 general Chinese adults in 15 provinces in China. Standardized questionnaires were used to obtain information on tea consumption.

The researchers found that 3,683 atherosclerotic CVD events, 1,477 atherosclerotic CVD deaths, and 5,479 all-cause deaths were recorded during a median follow-up of 7.3 years. For habitual tea drinkers, the hazard ratios were 0.80, 0.78, and 0.85 for atherosclerotic CVD incidence, atherosclerotic CVD mortality, and all-cause mortality, respectively, compared with never or nonhabitual tea drinkers. At the index age of 50 years, habitual tea drinkers were free from atherosclerotic CVD for 1.41 more years and had a life expectancy of 1.26 years longer. Among participants who kept the habit during follow-up, the observed inverse associations were strengthened.

"Our findings give a further insight into the beneficial role of tea consumption, and have great public health implications for guiding primary prevention among general Chinese adults," the authors write.

Is Green Tea a Fad or a Real Health Boost?

In continuation of my updates on Green tea

Green tea is a popular health trend, with many people sipping in hopes of deriving benefits from the brew.

There's nothing wrong with that, dietitians say -- green tea is a healthy drink loaded with antioxidants. But the jury's still out on many of its purported health benefits.

"Clinical trials related to green tea are still in their early stages," said Nancy Farrell Allen, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Fredericksburg, Va. "I say drink it, enjoy it. It's not going to hurt, and it might have worthy benefits to it. But nutrition is a science, and it takes time for our understanding to evolve."

Green tea's potential health benefits derive from catechins, which are powerful antioxidant compounds known as flavonoids, said Chelsey Schneider, clinical nutrition supervisor at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Cancer Center in New York City.

One catechin in particular, known as EGCG, is found at higher levels in green tea than in either white or black tea, she said.

"This compound can be even stronger than vitamin C and E, which are very, very strong antioxidants," Schneider said. Antioxidants help prevent damage to cells.

Green, black and white tea all come from the same plant, said Allen, who is a spokeswoman for the Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition.

Green tea is made from the leaves of the mature plant, while white tea is made of leaves plucked early in development. Black tea is made from green tea leaves that are laid out and covered with a damp cloth, she said.

"They dry and blacken and ferment a little, giving black tea that darker, richer flavor," Allen said. But this process also reduces levels of catechins in black tea.

Weight loss has been associated with green tea, with experts suggesting that its mixture of caffeine and catechins can enhance a person's metabolism and processing of fat, according to the University of California-Davis Department of Nutrition.

But it appears that folks have to drink a lot of green tea to get substantial weight loss benefits and carefully watch the rest of their diet, UC-Davis says.

Green tea also has been tied to heart health.

For example, green tea was shown to reduce "bad" LDL cholesterol in a 2018 study of more than 80,000 Chinese published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Evidence suggests catechins in green tea also could lower risk of heart attacks, help blood vessels relax and reduce inflammation, UC-Davis says.

Green tea even has been associated with a lower risk of some cancers.

The American Cancer Society says studies have linked green tea to a reduction in ovarian cancer risk. And UC-Davis said experimental models have shown that green tea might reduce risk of a variety of other cancers.

But a 2016 evidence review by the Cochrane Library concluded that there is "insufficient and conflicting evidence to give any firm recommendations regarding green tea consumption for cancer prevention."

Schneider said the research is limited. "Some small studies say green tea can maybe be preventative for certain cancers, like breast, ovarian, endometrial, pancreatic and oral cancers, but there aren't so many conclusive human trials that support that," she said.

Green tea also might help keep your brain younger. A 2014 study in the journal PLOS One found that Japanese who drank more green tea had significantly less decline in brain function, although researchers couldn't rule out the possibility that these folks might have other healthy habits that helped keep them mentally sharp.

One caveat with all of this research is that it tends to take place in Asian countries, where people drink much more green tea. There might be significant differences for Americans.

And the way you take your green tea could diminish any potential positive effects, Schneider added.

"A lot of people are adding processed white sugar to their green tea, which really makes something beautiful and healthy into something unhealthy," she said.

Adding milk or cream to your tea also might not be a good idea.

"There are some studies that say having milk in green tea can actually block the effects of you absorbing the antioxidant," Schneider said. "If it was me, I'd drink it straight up."

Ginger: A Flavorful and Healing Root

 Zesty ginger is more than just a great way to dress up your favorite recipes. It contains a potent immunity booster -- its active compound gingerol is an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory compound.

Ginger is also a source of vitamin C and the minerals potassium and magnesium.

Ginger root is inexpensive and easy to find in the produce aisle of your local grocery store. Look for a piece that's firm and smooth. It may have many nubs, but they shouldn't be shrivelled. The skin should be a light brown and fairly smooth. Ginger keeps well for up to a few weeks in the produce bin of your fridge. Keep it wrapped in a paper towel and change the towel whenever it gets damp.

Many people peel ginger with a spoon, scraping off the skin with an edge. But a veggie peeler works too and may be faster. When a recipe calls for minced ginger, after peeling, make horizontal slices and then cut each slice into matchsticks and cut the match sticks into tiny pieces. For grated ginger, you could use a mini food processor or, even better, a microplane -- just run one trimmed end of a piece of ginger across the metal mesh and let the ginger and its juice fall into a bowl.

Ginger is perfect for jazzing up salad dressings and marinades and for making a herbal tea. 

Ginger: A Flavorful and Healing Root  

Veggies, Fruits and Grains Keep Your Heart Pumping

  

As if you needed any more proof that fruits, vegetables and whole grains are good for you, a new study finds they may cut your chances of heart As if you needed any more proof that fruits, vegetables and whole grains are good for you, a new study finds they may cut your chances of heart failure by 41%.

Conversely, the so-called Southern diet, which focuses on meats, fried and processed foods and lots of sweet tea, was tied to a 72% increased risk of heart failure.

"Eat more plants, limit red and processed meat," said lead researcher Dr. Kyla Lara, a cardiology fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Lara cautioned that this study cannot prove different diets cause or prevent heart failure, only that they are linked.

Nearly 6 million American adults suffer from heart failure, and that number is expected to rise with the aging population. The condition occurs when the heart does not pump blood sufficiently to meet the body's needs.

Steps to prevent heart failure include not smoking, keeping blood pressure under control, maintaining a healthy weight and eating healthy foods.

Getting people to eat healthier requires that they be educated about the benefits of plant-based diets and have access to low-cost healthy foods, Lara said.

"Animal meat is not necessary for a nutritious diet, in terms of health promotion and quality of life," she said. "Now is the time to get on board with a plant-based diet -- it's going to be the future of health."

In the study, Lara and her colleagues collected data on more than 16,000 men and women, 45 and older, who took part in a large U.S. stroke study. None of the participants had heart disease at the start of the study. Participants completed a questionnaire that asked them about their diet.

The diets were classified into five types:

Convenience, which was heavy on meats, pasta, Mexican food, pizza and fast food.

Plant-based, which included vegetables, fruits, beans and fish.

Sweets and fats, which was heavy on desserts, bread, sweet breakfast foods, chocolate and other sugars.

Southern, which was heavy on fried foods, processed meats, eggs, added fats, and sugar-sweetened drinks.

Alcohol and salads, which was heavy on wine, liquor, beer, leafy greens and salad dressing.

After nearly nine years of follow-up, 363 participants developed heart failure.

The benefit of the plant-based diet was significant, but after taking into account factors such as weight, waist size, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the negative effect of the Southern diet was no longer statistically significant, Lara said.

It might be that the increased risk for heart failure in this group was due to obesity and excess belly fat or other factors, she said.

None of the other diets showed a statistically significant association with heart failure, and no association was seen between any diet and the type of heart failure people developed, the researchers noted.

The findings were published April 22 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

"Our lifestyle, such as what we eat, if we are physically active and smoking or vaping, can contribute significantly to a poorly functioning heart, which in turn affects our quality of life and ultimately how soon we die," said Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center in New York City.

Plant-based diets have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive [thinking] decline, type 2 diabetes, several cancers, depression and obesity," said Heller, who wasn't involved with the study.

For optimal health, people need to cut back on fried foods, cheese, fast food and junk foods, and processed and red meats, she said.

"It is sad and frustrating when I see patients who could quite literally save their lives by making healthier choices, but instead opt for a burger and fries," Heller said.

A cheeseburger, fries and milkshake meal sounds innocent enough, but it can add up to more than 2,600 calories, 65 grams of saturated fat and 3,400 milligrams of salt, she said.

Heller advises people to include a minimum of one high-fiber food to every meal. "Dietary fiber is only found in plant foods, such as spinach, oranges, quinoa and lentils."

Also try having meatless dinners two or three nights a week, like a grilled vegetable and black bean burrito, pasta primavera or an edamame and fresh vegetable stir fry, she suggested.failure by 41%.

Conversely, the so-called Southern diet, which focuses on meats, fried and processed foods and lots of sweet tea, was tied to a 72% increased risk of heart failure.

"Eat more plants, limit red and processed meat," said lead researcher Dr. Kyla Lara, a cardiology fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Lara cautioned that this study cannot prove different diets cause or prevent heart failure, only that they are linked.

Nearly 6 million American adults suffer from heart failure, and that number is expected to rise with the aging population. The condition occurs when the heart does not pump blood sufficiently to meet the body's needs.

Steps to prevent heart failure include not smoking, keeping blood pressure under control, maintaining a healthy weight and eating healthy foods.

Getting people to eat healthier requires that they be educated about the benefits of plant-based diets and have access to low-cost healthy foods, Lara said.

"Animal meat is not necessary for a nutritious diet, in terms of health promotion and quality of life," she said. "Now is the time to get on board with a plant-based diet -- it's going to be the future of health."

In the study, Lara and her colleagues collected data on more than 16,000 men and women, 45 and older, who took part in a large U.S. stroke study. None of the participants had heart disease at the start of the study. Participants completed a questionnaire that asked them about their diet.

The diets were classified into five types:

• Convenience, which was heavy on meats, pasta, Mexican food, pizza and fast food.

• Plant-based, which included vegetables, fruits, beans and fish.

• Sweets and fats, which was heavy on desserts, bread, sweet breakfast foods, chocolate and other sugars.

• Southern, which was heavy on fried foods, processed meats, eggs, added fats, and sugar-sweetened drinks.

• Alcohol and salads, which was heavy on wine, liquor, beer, leafy greens and salad dressing.

After nearly nine years of follow-up, 363 participants developed heart failure.

The benefit of the plant-based diet was significant, but after taking into account factors such as weight, waist size, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the negative effect of the Southern diet was no longer statistically significant, Lara said.

It might be that the increased risk for heart failure in this group was due to obesity and excess belly fat or other factors, she said.

None of the other diets showed a statistically significant association with heart failure, and no association was seen between any diet and the type of heart failure people developed, the researchers noted.

The findings were published April 22 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

"Our lifestyle, such as what we eat, if we are physically active and smoking or vaping, can contribute significantly to a poorly functioning heart, which in turn affects our quality of life and ultimately how soon we die," said Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center in New York City.

Plant-based diets have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive [thinking] decline, type 2 diabetes, several cancers, depression and obesity," said Heller, who wasn't involved with the study.

For optimal health, people need to cut back on fried foods, cheese, fast food and junk foods, and processed and red meats, she said.

"It is sad and frustrating when I see patients who could quite literally save their lives by making healthier choices, but instead opt for a burger and fries," Heller said.

A cheeseburger, fries and milkshake meal sounds innocent enough, but it can add up to more than 2,600 calories, 65 grams of saturated fat and 3,400 milligrams of salt, she said.

Heller advises people to include a minimum of one high-fiber food to every meal. "Dietary fiber is only found in plant foods, such as spinach, oranges, quinoa and lentils."

Also try having meatless dinners two or three nights a week, like a grilled vegetable and black bean burrito, pasta primavera or an edamame and fresh vegetable stir fry, she suggested.

Veggies, Fruits and Grains Keep Your Heart Pumping