Dr. Jonny Bowden

Category: Anti-Aging

  • Drinking This Beverage Will Increase the Risk for Diabetes

    (Xinhua News Agency- Oct. 29, 2010)

    A new study has found that regular consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a clear and consistently greater risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

    According to the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers, the study provides empirical evidence that intake of sugary beverages should be limited to reduce risk of these conditions.

    The study appears online Wednesday in the journal Diabetes Care and will appear in the November print edition.

    “Many previous studies have examined the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of diabetes, and most have found positive associations but our study, which is a pooled analysis of the available studies, provides an overall picture of the magnitude of risk and the consistency of the evidence,” said lead author Vasanti Malik, a research fellow in the HSPH Department of Nutrition.

    Consumption of sugary drinks, the majority of which are sodas, has increased substantially in the U.S. and across the globe and previous scientific studies have shown consistent associations with weight gain and risk of obesity.

    However, this study is the first meta-analysis to quantitatively review the evidence linking sugar- sweetened beverages with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

    Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors, such as high blood pressure and excess body fat around the waist, that increase the risk of coronary artery disease, stroke and diabetes.

    The researchers, led by Malik and senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH, did a meta- analysis that pooled 11 studies that examined the association between sugar-sweetened beverages and those conditions. The studies included more than 300,000 participants and 15,043 cases of type 2 diabetes and 19,431 participants and 5,803 cases of metabolic syndrome.

    The findings showed that drinking one to two sugary drinks per day increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 26 percent and the risk of metabolic syndrome by 20 percent compared with those who consumed less than one sugary drink per month. Drinking one 12- ounce serving per day increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by about 15 percent.

    “The association that we observed between soda consumption and risk of diabetes is likely a cause-and-effect relationship because other studies have documented that sugary beverages cause weight gain, and weight gain is closely linked to the development of type 2 diabetes,” said Hu.

    While a number of factors are at work in the development of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, sugar-sweetened beverages represent one easily modifiable risk factor that if reduced will likely make an important impact, say the researchers.

    “People should limit how much sugar-sweetened beverages they drink and replace them with healthy alternatives, such as water, to reduce risk of diabetes as well as obesity, gout, tooth decay, and cardiovascular disease,” said Malik.

  • Media Culpa: More Low-Fat Lies (Part Two)

    Last week I told you about a study that got a ton of press in the media, a study that concluded that animal-based low-carb diets were associated with greater rates of death over time than vegetable-based low-carb diets.

    In the intervening week, I’ve had a chance to interview Dr. Teresa Fung, the lead author of the study, and I’ve also had a chance to read some of the scathing reviews of the study posted on the blogosphere (linked below). (more…)

  • Berries and your Brain: New Research from the ACS

    (report from the American Chemical Society (ACS) )

    Scientists today reported the first evidence that eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may help the aging brain stay healthy in a crucial but previously unrecognized way.  (more…)

  • What Your Brain Needs to Stay Sharp!

    Scientists at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal just published a study in the August 2010 Journal of Alzheimer’s Disorders that involved 70 patients with mild cognitive impairment.  Here’s what they found. (more…)

  • The Power of Possibility- Your Brain as a Powerful Anti-Aging Tool

    One of my favorite books ever is a recent one written by Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer (whose 1990 book, “Mindfulness” is responsible for injecting that word into our collective vocabulary).

    If you have even the slightest curiosity about the power of the mind (and brain) to affect illness, immunity and even aging, I highly recommend Langer’s latest book. Let me explain. (more…)

  • Can Pomegranate Juice Fight Cancer?

    Pomegranate juice may slow the progression of prostate cancer, according to long-term research results recently presented at the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association

    One of the screening tests used for finding prostate cancer early is the PSA test. PSA stands for prostate-specific antigen, a protein that’s produced by the prostate gland. . (more…)

  • The “Zestful” Anti-Aging Supplement You Already Have!

    I’m always fascinated by how quickly the mainstream health media likes to “jump” on stories that appear to show that vitamins don’t do anything. I’ve read an awful lot of these stories, but when you dig deeper, investigate the findings and read the actual studies that the headlines are based on, a very different picture often emerges.

    Here’s a typical example. A story by Virginia Sole-Smith, a journalist without a single credential in nutrition writing in Recbook magazine, advises readers to save money by skipping multivitamins. “It’s fine to finish up that bottle of vitamins”, she writes,  “but there’s no reason to buy another”. (more…)

  • Processed Meats: What’s Inside May Kill You

    Fascinating- and important- new research from the Harvard School of Public Health questions the common assumption that eating red meat increases the risk for heart attacks.

    The study actually analyzed the specific types of meat being eaten instead of lumping them all together. The researchers then looked at the relationship of specific types of meat and heart disease risk. When the data got broken down this way, some interesting findings emerged.

    Number one: The increase in heart disease risk is associated with processed varieties of meat like bacon, sausage, cold cuts and hot dogs.

    Number two: When you take those processed meats out of the equation, the connection between meat eating and heart disease disappears.

    Let me explain. (more…)

  • Research Findings: Fats Protect Your Brain

    Guest article adapted from the Life Extension Foundation

    The best strategy for treating mild cognitive impairment is to avoid it in the first place. This means getting plenty of exercise and good sleep, eating a healthy diet, keeping body weight down, avoiding diabetes, and taking the right nutritional supplements before you experience any signs of cognitive decline.

    Essential fatty acids are required for many biological functions, including protection from the oxidative effects of free radicals. (more…)

  • This Mineral May Reduce Your Risk For Colon Cancer!

    According to the American Cancer Society, the risk of a person having colorectal cancer in their lifetime is approximately 1 in 19, and it is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men and women.

    While cancer can strike even those who eat the healthiest diets and live the most exemplary lifestyles, we still want to do absolutely everything we can to reduce the risk of getting it as much as possible. A recent study suggests one way to do that is to consume a diet high in magnesium. (more…)