Monthly Archives: February 2019

Gastric band Surgery In France BMI: A double-edged sword in your risk of dementia An analysis of international data on more than a million people who were followed over time confirms two links between BMI and dementia – one ties midlife obesity to higher risk, and the other ties being underweight near disease onset to higher risk. New research clarifies how both obesity and lower-than-average BMI are linked to dementia. A report on the longitudinal study, which was conducted by researchers across Europe and led by University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom, is published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. The findings may explain the mixed evidence on the relationship between higher body mass index (BMI) and dementia risk; there is some that points to higher BMI being tied to raised risk, and there is some that suggests the opposite. The reason for the confusion is because there are two things going on, says lead study author Mika Kivimäki, who is a professor in UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology & Health. “One is an adverse effect of excess body fat on dementia risk,” he notes. “The other is weight loss due to preclinical dementia.” This might explain why those who develop dementia tend to have above-average BMI two decades before disease symptoms appear, but nearer the time of onset, their BMI is lower than healthy counterparts who do not develop it. Dementia numbers rising Worldwide, there are around 47 million people living with dementia, an irreversible, deteriorating brain disease that progressively diminishes ability to remember, think, and live independently. The risk of developing dementia rises with age, and because of the rising number of elderly people in the world, global numbers of the disease are soaring. As there is currently no cure for dementia, or even treatments that slow it down, the already huge impact that the disease has on individuals, their families, communities, health systems, and costs will become overwhelming. Estimates suggest that by 2030, there will be 75 million people living with dementia worldwide, rising to 132 million by 2050. Alzheimer’s disease – a condition that gradually destroys cells and tissue in the brain – is the main cause of dementia, accounting for around 65 percent of cases. While estimates vary, it is thought that there are around 5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, where dementia is a leading cause of death among older people. High midlife BMI means higher dementia risk For their new study, Prof. Kivimäki and colleagues pooled and analyzed data from 39 longitudinal population studies. Altogether, the data covered a total of 1,349,857 individuals from France, Finland, Sweden, the U.K., and the U.S. All were free of dementia when they enrolled and underwent measurement of weight and height to assess their BMI. By searching hospital and prescription records and death registries, the studies had established that 6,894 of the participants developed

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Gastric band Surgery In France Battle of the sexes: Are women fitter than men? A new study shows that when women exercise, their body processes oxygen a lot faster than men’s. This indicates superior aerobic fitness, explain the researchers. In other words, women may be naturally fitter than men. When it comes to aerobic fitness exercise – such as running – women may outperform men, suggests new research. As society is making more and more progress in the sociopolitical realm of gender equality, there are fields where, in addition to equality and fairness, physical differences between the sexes matter a great deal. Athletic training is one such field. But new research challenges the traditional belief that men are athletically superior to women. In fact, by measuring women’s response to aerobic training, a new study suggests that the opposite may be true. The new study examined sex differences in the body’s response to aerobic fitness; more specifically, it focused on how sex affects the body’s ability to process oxygen once it starts to exercise. Thomas Beltrame, from the University of Waterloo in Canada, led the research, and the findings were published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. Women outperformed men by 30 percent As Beltrame and colleagues explain in their paper, the previous studies that have decreed men are capable of faster oxygen intake – a standard measure of fitness – than women were conducted in children and older adults. However, the matter had not been investigated in healthy young adults. So, the researchers hypothesized that in this population sample, too, the findings of previous research would hold true – men would have a faster oxygen turnover. Beltrame and team set out to test out their hypothesis. They recruited 18 healthy young participants; nine of them were male, nine female. All participants were highly active, with similar ages, weight, and levels of aerobic fitness. Participants were asked to engage in an “incremental cardiopulmonary treadmill exercise test,” as well as in three treadmill exercise tests of moderate intensity. The tests revealed that “the peripheral and pulmonary oxygen extraction dynamics were remarkably faster in women.” More specifically, women circulated oxygen in their body 30 percent faster than men, on a constant basis. In other words, women may be naturally more athletic. The hypothesis was disproven. Findings may change athletic training Richard Hughson, a professor in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at Waterloo and a corresponding author of the study, explains the meaning of the test results. “We found that women’s muscles extract oxygen from the blood faster, which, scientifically speaking, indicates a superior aerobic system,” he says. Oxygen uptake is a standard measure of aerobic fitness, and it describes the amount of oxygen that the body can take in and use per minute. As the American College of Sports Medicine explain, our oxygen consumption

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Gastric band Surgery In France What are the possible benefits of MCT oil? Medium-chain triglycerides are a type of fat that is found in certain oils and dairy products. MCT oil is a supplement made of these fats. But what are the potential health benefits of MCT oil?Many articles in circulation recommend the use of MCT oil. They claim that it can help people lose weight and that it has several other benefits. This article explores the health benefits of MCT oil, as supported by scientific evidence. It also considers the risks around the use of MCT oil, as well as where to source it and how it can be used. Overview MCT oil can be derived from coconuts, and is often used to aid weight loss or improve stamina. MCT oil is a dietary supplement that is made up of MCT fats, which are fats that can be found in coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and dairy products. MCT oil is mainly used by people looking to lose weight, or boost their endurance during a workout. Some supporters of MCT oil also claim it can improve the ability to think, as well as help with various forms of dementia. What are MCTs and why are they different from other fats? Fats are made up of chains of carbon atoms, and most of the fats in a person’s diet are made up of 13 to 21 of these atoms. These are called long-chain fatty acids. In contrast, short-chain fatty acids are made up of 6 or fewer carbon atoms. MCTs refers to medium-chain triglycerides that sit in the middle of the other two types. They are of medium length and made up of 6 to 12 carbon atoms. MCTs are found in coconut oil and are processed by the body in a different way to long-chain fatty acids. Unlike other fats, they go straight from the gut to the liver. From here, they are used as a source of energy or turned into ketones. Ketones are substances produced when the liver breaks down a lot of fat, and they can be used by the brain for energy instead of glucose or sugar. As the calories in MCTs are used straightaway, they are less likely to be stored as fat. This principle is the basis of the ketogenic diet, which many people believe is an effective way to lose weight. Potential health benefits of MCT oil There are several potential health benefits of MCT oil. Some of these are supported by scientific evidence, while others are yet to be proven. Each potential benefit and its available evidence is explored below: 1. Better brain and memory function The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation have reported the pros and cons of MCTs in respect of brain and memory function, as well as their potential benefits for those with Alzheimer’s disease. But to what extent are the claims surrounding MCTs backed up by scientific evidence? A 2016 review notes that in three studies, the brain’s take-up of ketones in people with Alzheimer’s was the same as in healthy people. In contrast, the brain’s take-up of glucose was poorer in those with Alzheimer’s than healthy people. The reviewers also note that ketosis has a slight beneficial

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Gastric band Surgery In France Is this the formula for reversing type 2 diabetes? The first-year results of a clinical trial have shown that almost half of people partaking in an intensive weight management program delivered through primary care achieved remission of their type 2 diabetes without medication. A trial has shown that type 2 diabetes is reversible if weight is lost and kept off. The trial, which is called the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), builds on earlier work by co-lead investigator Prof. Roy Taylor, director of the Magnetic Resonance Centre at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. The earlier work showed that a radical change in diet can reverse type 2 diabetes. The results of the trial, recently reported in The Lancet, suggest that remission of type 2 diabetes may be achievable through intensive weight management programs supported by routine primary care. The team’s findings revealed that after 12 months of radical weight management, participants lost an average of 10 kilograms (22 pounds), and that 45.6 percent of them went back to being non-diabetic without medication. ‘Long-term maintenance of weight loss’ focus Prof. Taylor says that significant weight loss reduces the amount of fat in the liver and pancreas so that they can start working normally again. “What we’re seeing from DiRECT,” he remarks, “is that losing weight isn’t just linked to better management of type 2 diabetes: significant weight loss could actually result in lasting remission.” “Our findings suggest that even if you have had type 2 diabetes for 6 years,” adds trial co-leader Prof. Michael Lean, chair of Human Nutrition at the University of Glasgow in the U.K., “putting the disease into remission is feasible.” He says that their approach differs from the conventional way of managing type 2 diabetes in that it focuses “on the need for long-term maintenance of weight loss through diet and exercise and encourage flexibility to optimize individual results.” Diabetes is a global health problem Diabetes is a disease in which the body either does not make enough or cannot effectively use insulin, which is a hormone that helps cells to absorb and turn blood sugar into energy. In type 2 diabetes, the body’s cells do not react to insulin as they should, which is known as insulin resistance. The pancreas – an organ that produces insulin – tries to compensate by producing more insulin, but eventually it cannot make enough, and blood sugar levels go up. High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, damages many parts of the body and can lead to severe health problems, including heart disease, vision impairment, and kidney disease. Of the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who have diabetes, the vast majority have type 2, which results largely from carrying too much weight and not being physically active. In the United States, around 90-95 percent of the 30 million people with diabetes have type 2. And while it normally strikes people aged 45 and

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