Posted on Cognitive dysfunction, Exercise

‘Brain endurance training’ promotes healthy aging

Exercise for older women

Brain endurance training (BET), a combined cognitive and exercise training method developed for athletes, boosts mental and physical abilities in older adults. 

According to a new study by researchers at the Universities of Birmingham, UK, and Extremadura, Spain, brain endurance training (BET) can improve attention, executive function (cognition), physical endurance, and resistance exercise performance. BET is a combined exercise and cognitive training method that was initially developed to increase endurance among elite athletes. 

The research has significant implications for healthy aging. Previous studies have shown that mental fatigue can impair both cognitive and physical performance, leading to issues such as poorer balance control, and increased risk of falls and accidents. This study, published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise, is the first to examine the benefits of BET for both cognitive and physical performance in older adults.

Corresponding author Professor Chris Ring said: “We have shown that BET could be an effective intervention to improve cognitive and physical performance in older adults, even when tired. This could have significant implications for improving this population’s health, including reducing the risk of falls and accidents.” 

In the experiment, 24 healthy sedentary women aged between 65-78 were allocated to one of three training groups: brain endurance training (BET), exercise training, and no training (control group). The first two groups each completed three 45-minute exercise sessions per week over eight weeks. Each session included 20 minutes of resistance and 25 minutes of endurance training. While the exercise sessions were the same for each of these groups, the BET group also completed a 20-minute cognitive task before exercising. 

All three groups completed a series of cognitive (reaction time and colour-matching tests) and physical tests (walk, chair-stand and arm-curl tests) to assess performance at the start and end of the study. Participants in the BET group outperformed the exercise-only group in the cognitive tasks, with a 7.8% increase in cognitive performance after exercise, compared to a 4.5% increase in the exercise-only group. Regarding physical performance, the BET group achieved a 29.9% improvement, compared to 22.4% for the exercise-only group. 

“BET is an effective countermeasure against mental fatigue and its detrimental effects on performance in older adults,” added Professor Ring. “While we still need to extend our research to include larger sample sizes including both men and women, these promising initial findings show we should do more to encourage older people to engage in BET to improve brain and body activities.”  

Posted on Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, Diet

Having a sweet tooth is linked to higher risk of depression, diabetes, and stroke, study finds

People with a preference for sweets are at a higher risk of developing depression, diabetes, and suffering a stroke, according to new research from the University of Surrey.
People with a preference for sweets are at a higher risk of developing depression, diabetes, and suffering a stroke, according to new research from the University of Surrey.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, utilized anonymized data on the food preferences of 180,000 volunteers from the UK Biobank. Artificial intelligence was employed to categorize them into three general profiles:

  • Health-conscious: prefer fruits and vegetables over animal-based and sweet foods. 
  • Omnivore: Likes most foods, including meats, fish, and some vegetables, as well as sweets and desserts. 
  • Sweet tooth: Prefer sweet foods and sugary drinks and is less interested in healthier options like fruit and vegetables.  

The Surrey team analyzed UK Biobank data on blood samples, measuring 2,923 proteins and 168 metabolites to observe how these levels varied in each group.

Proteins are essential for various functions in the body, such as fighting infections, muscle contractions, and cognitive processes. Metabolites, on the other hand, are small molecules produced during digestion and other chemical processes in the body, providing valuable insights into our body’s functioning. By comparing these blood-based proteins and metabolites, researchers can gain a better understanding of the biological variances between different groups.

Professor Nophar Geifman, said: 

“The foods that you like or dislike appear to be directly linked to your health. If your favorite foods are cakes, sweets, and sugary drinks, our study’s results suggest that this may have negative effects on your health. We found that the group with a sweet tooth is 31% more likely to have depression. Additionally, this group had higher rates of diabetes and vascular heart conditions compared to the other two groups.”

“Importantly, by utilizing data-driven artificial intelligence methods, we managed to categorize individuals based on their food preferences. These categories have significant associations with health outcomes and biological markers.”

“Processed sugar is a significant part of many people’s diets. These results provide further evidence that, as a society, we should be mindful of what we eat. It’s important to stress that we’re not trying to tell people what to do; our job is simply to inform.”

The researchers also looked at differences between the three groups in standard blood biochemistry tests.  

Professor Geifman continues: 

“In the sweet tooth group, they had higher levels of C reactive protein, which is a marker for inflammation. Their blood results also show higher levels of glucose and poor lipid profiles, which is a strong warning sign for diabetes and heart disease.” 

Conversely, the health-conscious group, which also had higher dietary fibre intake, had lower risks for heart failure, chronic kidney diseases and stroke, while the omnivore group had moderate health risks. 

According to the British Nutrition Foundation, on average, in the UK, between 9% to 12.5% of an individual’s calories come from free sugar – this is defined as sugar that is added to food or drink.  Biscuits, buns, cakes, pastries and fruit pies are the biggest single contributors for adults, but together, sugary soft drinks and alcoholic drinks contribute the most to free sugar intake. 

Posted on Autism

7 Most DANGEROUS Foods for Arthritis – Don’t Eat!

In this video, Dr. Diana Girnita, a board-certified rheumatologist, reveals the seven most dangerous foods that could make your arthritis symptoms worse without you realizing it. These foods can trigger inflammation, increasing joint pain and stiffness from dairy to sugar. She will count them from the least to the most harmful, offering practical tips for healthier alternatives. Watch until the end to discover the number one food to avoid. Simple dietary changes could lead to significant pain relief and an improved quality of life!