How Bodyfat Hurts Memory

 

Yes – you heard it right – excess bodyfat negatively impacts memory!   A large study, with over 11,000 people between 25 and 34 years old looked at inflammation using a standard test for overall inflammation levels called C-reactive protein (CRP).   The research showed a strong correlation between high BMI (body mass index) levels, CRP levels and working memory.   Working memory is memory associated with immediate conscious memory such as remembering a list of foods to buy at a store.   

There are several mechanisms that help explain how inflammation threatens memory.   Inflammation increases cortisol which is a stress hormone that is toxic to cells in the hippocampus - an area of the brain that is key to memory.   Excess inflammation also drives increased production of cytokines (chemical messengers) that have direct negative effects on the prefrontal cortex - another area of the brain that is key to memory.

High bodyfat levels and obesity drive inflammation all over the body and are linked to coronary artery disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

 

How to Adjust to the Fall Time Change

 

t’s that time of year again – time to fall back and set our clocks back one hour.   Resetting clocks in devices is simple.    Unfortunately, your body clock is not nearly as easy to reprogram.    This comes with some serious health consequences.  An hour time shift does not seem like a lot, but your body runs on a tight schedule and this one-hour change throws us off.

Scientists have documented that the shift to daylight saving time in the spring, when we lose an hour of sleep, is linked to an a much higher rate of attacks and car accidents.  Although we gain an hour to sleep – the fall change throws off the sleep cycle and that is where all the problems come from.

Over the last 20 years, scientists have documented that, in addition to the master clock in our brains, every cell in our body has a circadian rhythm and time-keeping mechanism. The body and cell’s circadian rhythm help regulate important functions such as sleep and metabolism. And increasingly, there's evidence that when our habits — such as when we eat and sleep — are out of sync with our internal clocks, it can harm us.

When we disrupt our routines with erratic sleep or eating habits, it can increase the risk of metabolic disease. For instance, overnight shift workers are at much higher risk of developing diabetes, obesity and even cancer! Research also shows that kids who don't have set bedtimes and mealtimes are also more likely to become overweight.

As days get shorter with less daylight, it's easy to fall into bad habits, and light exposure is key to regulating circadian rhythm.     It is the primary signal to turn on the body’s metabolic processes for sleep and rest to active and alert.

How to prepare for the dark days

Go to bed an hour or so earlier and get up 8 hours later. 

Maximize your exposure to daylight in the morning hours, since it gets dark so early in the evening.

Minimize Nighttime light 

Exposure to light and electromagnetic fields from computers, phones, tablets, and T.V.’s all act as a stimulant, so it is important to minimize nighttime light exposure and blue light exposure in particular.  Blue light comes from artificial lighting.   Blue wavelengths – which are beneficial during daylight hours because they boost attention, reaction times, and mood – are disruptive at night.   Energy efficient lighting is packed with blue light as our electronics.

So try to turn off lights and if you must use a computer get a blue light filtering program that will adjust the amount of blue light emitted by your computer, phone, and tablets such as flux – https://justgetflux.com and the Twilight app for your phone.   Both allow you to set times and adjust blue light output of your devices automatically based on time of day!  You can also buy blue blocking glasses to use in the evening.   This may seem gimmicky but there is very well done research supporting the effectiveness of reducing blue light in the evening through these and other measures!

Exercise for the Prevention and Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that afflicts almost one million Americans. It is characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons which control movement. As Parkinson’s Disease progresses patients have progressive loss of the control of movement.

Symptoms generally develop slowly over years and can include:

Tremors, mainly at rest

Limb rigidity and stiffness

Walking and balance problems

In addition to these movement symptoms there are non-motor symptoms.   Non-motor symptoms include Hyposmia (loss of smell), sleep disorders, constipation, anxiety and depression.    These symptoms often affect patients more than their motor symptoms.

Exercise and Parkinson’s Disease

Exercise helps prevent Parkinson’s and slows the progression of the disease for those affected.   High levels of moderate to vigorous activities in mid or later life lower risk.    

Key parameters of exercise for Parkinson’s:

Task Intensity – higher is better meaning exercise must challenge the person.    

Task Specificity – the task must be specific to the motor circuits being affected – so using the area of the body affected is key.

Task Complexity – activity should be complex enough to engage the exerciser and require them to focus and engage.

To maximize benefit include activities that include an element of motor learning.   Introducing an element of skill development as part of an exercise program with activities such as dance or Tai Chi can be very beneficial. 

The Importance of Vigorous Aerobic Exercise

In addition to activities which challenge motor learning it is critical to engage in vigorous aerobic exercise.   This fits the overall requirement of engagement of the exerciser – more intense aerobic exercise requires more concentration and engagement!  Vigorous aerobic exercise is also shown to dramatically increase BDNF which is brain derived neurotrophic factor.   BDNF is like miracle grow for the brain – it is growth factor that is critical for maintaining synaptic connections and growing neurons.  Parkinson’s patients have decreased BDNF.

To learn more about exercise and Parkinson’s Disease check out this excellent interview with a leading Parkinson’s researcher:  https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/giselle-petzinger

 

The Benefits of Percussive Therapy

Percussive therapy has actually been around for a long time, but it was recently re-invented thanks to the invention of the Theragun.   Most of us have experienced a massage where the therapist deliver rapid taps/pressure to the body and know how good this can feel!

Theragun is the world’s first handheld Percussive Therapy Device.   Percussive Therapy can be defined as the rapid and repetitive application of pressure perpendicular to the body.    This percussive stimulus produces tissue pressure and vibration.  The stimulation distracts the brain from pain while delivering deep and effective treatment every time you use it.

The amplitude and frequency with which the Theragun comes on and off the body keeps the brain from acclimating to the stimulus so it keeps working overtime.    Amplitude is how far the head of the Theragun moves with each revolution and frequency is how many times per second a revolution is completed.    Amplitude and frequency combined with the level of pressure the user or therapist chooses to delivery determines the level of tissue vibration, pressure and percussive stimulus.

Theragun Percussive Therapy is massage reinvented™.  Theragun percussive therapy devices are scientifically calibrated with a 16mm amplitude to reach deep into muscles and stimulate heat and blood flow, helping to bring oxygen in and flush waste products out, improving the health and function of your muscles.   Theragun devices are scientifically calibrated to reach 60% deeper into muscle than the average home massager, at 40 times a second, for greater therapeutic benefits to the body.

One of the best features of Theragun products is their triangular handles which allow a person to self-administer a customized level of percussive stimulus to almost any area of their body without the need for another person!

Proven benefits of Percussive Therapy include:

Decreased soreness and stiffness

Increased blood flow

Maximizes warm-up and recovery

Decreases Lactic Acid

Enhanced recovery between work sets and interval allowing a better workout

Ideally Theragun should be used before, during and after your workout.    To learn more about Percussive Therapy and Theragun see a Workout Anytime Coach!    To get a sense of how Therabody works check out this short video:    https://youtu.be/TCn0dtnhknM

 

High-Intensity Interval Training Better for Seniors Too!

 

A recent long-term study proved that older adults get more benefit from high-intensity interval training.   The study showed that five years of high-intensity interval training increased quality of life, improved fitness and decreased mortality in a group of older adults.

Training Intensity is Key!

The Generation 100 Study randomly divided people in three different groups.   One group was assigned to do high-intensity interval using the 4X4 method twice a week, while the second group was instructed to train at a steady, moderate intensity for 50 minutes twice a week.   The control group exercised on their own without supervision and were given standard Norwegian Health Authorities' recommendations.

"Both physical and mental quality of life were better in the high-intensity group after five years than in the other two groups.   High-Intensity interval training also had the greatest protective effect on fitness," says the lead researcher of the study.

Does High-Intensity Training Lead to a Longer Life?

The short answer appears to be YES!    The high-intensity interval training group had significantly lower mortality during the five year study.     

To see a comprehensive review of the study go here:  https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-high-intensity-older-people.html 

To learn how to perform the 4 X 4 interval training workout go here:   https://vimeo.com/75764170 

Exercise and Time Restricted Eating – A Powerful One – Two Punch for Breast Cancer Prevention!

 

Research shows that exercise is an important step in the prevention of breast cancer!  There are many studies that show strong evidence that exercise lowers the risk of breast cancer (along with colon cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, esophageal and stomach cancers!).

There is also strong evidence that exercise reduces anxiety, depressive symptoms, and fatigue in cancer patients.   Studies show that regular exercise reduces your risk of breast cancer by 20 – 30% with a 38% reduced risk of invasive breast cancers.

Studies also show that breast cancer patients with higher exercise levels have 29 – 41% lower risk of dying from breast cancer.

How Exercise Fights Cancer

Exercise has direct and powerful effects on human physiology that directly lower cancer risk including:

Improved insulin sensitivity – insulin resistance is directly linked to cancer growth and spread!

Improved blood circulation driving more oxygen into cells and helps the liver detoxify cancer causing substances.

Improved mitochondrial function – mitochondria are the energy factories of the cells and healthy mitochondria are key to prevention of many chronic diseases including cancer.

Decreased bodyfat levels – excess bodyfat produces copious amounts of estrogen and being overweight is an independent risk factor for breast cancer for this reason.

Improved immune function – a strong immune system is primed to recognize and destroy cancer cells before they form tumors!

Time Restricted Eating and Breast Cancer Prevention

Time restricted eating is exactly what it sounds like:  restricting your intake of food to a certain period of time each day.    Most Americans eat something every two hours for 16 – 18 hours per day.     Time restricted eating involves shortening this “feeding window” to somewhere between 8 and 12 hours per day.     

In the course of our evolution humans spent hundreds of thousands of years without constant access to food, and even as recently as the 50’s most people only ate two times per day.  Our bodies were not designed to have constant food intake all day, every day and doing so causes problems.

Every time we eat we secrete insulin which is necessary to absorb nutrients into our cells.  However frequent insulin secretion is one of the reasons so many Americans develop insulin resistance which frequently progresses to adult onset diabetes aka type 2 diabetes.   Woman with type 2 diabetes have a 23% higher risk for developing breast cancer and a 30.8% higher risk of breast cancer mortality

There is considerable research linking high evening/night-time calorie intake to elevated insulin resistance and inflammation both which drive breast cancer.

Enter Time-Restricted Eating where you simply restrict calorie intake to 11 - 12 hours per day - ideally having your first meal early in the day and finishing your last meal 11 hours later.   For example, an eating window of 7am - 6pm or 8am - 7pm.   Research has shown that this simple step can dramatically improve insulin sensitivity and inflammation and lower breast cancer risk.

A recent study analyzed data from the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living study and found that breast cancer survivors who didn’t eat for at least 13 hours overnight had a 36% reduction in the risk of recurrence and were 21% less likely to experience breast cancer related mortality. 

The proposed mechanism is reduced insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity, and this makes perfect sense because elevated insulin levels and decreased insulin levels are directly linked to cancer growth. Each 2-hour increase in nightly fasting was linked to progressively lower hemoglobin A1C levels which is a sign of improved insulin sensitivity.  

An advantage of time-restricted eating versus other dietary interventions like reduced calorie intake is that it is very simple to perform.   To learn more about time-restricted eating (which is also referred to as “intermittent fasting”) check out this previous blogpost on this subject:  http://workoutanytime.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting.html

 

How Strong Bones Rejuvenate the Mind and Body!

 

Scientists have discovered a hormone that helps your muscles stay stronger, your brain more alert and nimble, keeps your blood sugar under control, and makes your bones stronger.      

This hormone is called osteocalcin, and it is somewhat of a fountain of youth for your mind and body.  Bones create osteocalcin, and you can take steps to secrete more of it!

Osteocalcin tends to decrease as we age with the decline beginning in the thirties for woman and in the fifties for mean.   Scientists believe this decline is one of the main reasons older people lose mental and physical function.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center did animal tests and showed that injections of osteocalcin into older animals and showed that it resulted in dramatic improvements in muscle function to the level of younger animals.   The injections also improved animal brain functions like recall and learning to levels that rivaled younger animals.

Research from Europe and Australia showed that woman in their 70’s with the highest levels of osteocalcin had better mental skills that allow processing of information and decision making.

How to Increase Osteocalcin

The most important step to increasing osteocalcin in exercise!  Research from the Medical College of Georgia showed that running or walking twenty minutes per day increase osteocalcin.

But aerobic exercise is not the only way to increase osteocalcin levels – resistance training can also increase osteocalcin particularly if it is coupled with adequate intake of key minerals such as calcium.

Choline - The Most Important Nutrient You Never Hear About!

 

Choline has recently been added to the list of essential nutrients for several reasons.  In a 2020 review, the Dietary Advisory Committee found that most Americans are deficient in Choline.

Studies show higher choline intake is linked to decreased heart disease risk and well as a 24% drop in breast cancer risk.  Choline supports optimal health at all stages of life and plays a critical role in healthy fetal development, helps maintain cognition and memory, boosts energy, and helps regulate muscle control.

Choline has several key functions:

Helps the body produce key cellular messaging compounds

Is critical for proper cell structure and cell membrane composition

Is necessary for fat transport and metabolism

Is required for DNA synthesis

Choline and Brain Function

Choline Is key for nervous system health because choline is required for the synthesis of acetylcholine (ACH) which is a neurotransmitter used throughout the brain and body.

ACH decreases with age and decreased ACH levels directly reduce cognitive function.   ACH supports alertness, attention, and learning.  ACH levels are critical for memory, and in Alzheimer's patients ACH levels are lowered.   

ACH levels are lowered by many common over the counter antihistamines taken for allergies and sleep such as Benadryl.  These drugs are directly linked to increased dementia risk for this reason.

 How Much Choline?

 Your body produces some choline, but you still require a substantial amount of dietary choline.

The newly established daily value for choline is 500 mg per day. You can get it from choline supplements or foods including eggs (113 mg of choline per egg), beef liver (290 mg of choline per 2.4 ounces), chicken liver (222 mg of choline per 2.4 ounces), cod (249 mg per 85 grams), and more.

Adequate dietary choline intake is particularly challenging for vegetarians and even more so vegans because the best dietary sources of choline are from animal products.   It is very difficult to get the 550 mg RDA of choline from purely plant sources.   For this reason, it is worth aging Vegetarians or Vegans consider taking a highly bioavailable choline supplement like Alpha GPC.

Too Much Choline

Although many people do not get enough choline – too much can cause a fishy body odor, vomiting, heavy sweating and salivation, low blood pressure, and liver damage

Groups at High Risk for Choline Deficiency

Pregnant woman - According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, there is an increased risk of neural tube birth defects in babies of women who consume less than 300 mg of choline per day when compared to pregnant women who get at least 500 mg daily.

Because choline will be pulled from the mother's blood to supply adequate amounts to the fetus, pregnant and lactating women have higher choline needs, yet only 5% get enough, according to one study.

Endurance athletes — Endurance exercises, like marathons and triathlons, can deplete choline levels. Studies show that supplementing with choline before these types of stressful exercises can help keep the levels of choline in the blood from getting too low.

People who drink a lot of alcohol — Excess alcohol consumption can increase your need for more choline while simultaneously increasing your risk of deficiency.

Postmenopausal women — Postmenopausal women have lower estrogen concentrations, which can increase the risk of organ dysfunction in response to a low-choline diet.

The Cable-Pull Through - the Best Exercise You are Not Doing!

 

Cable Pull-Throughs may be the best exercise you aren’t doing!   They share a lot in common with the Kettlebell Swing, but they are much easier to learn and can really help to groove the hip hinge pattern.   The pull-through is fantastic for building posterior chain strength and directly carries over to the field of play by teaching you how to use your glutes and hamstrings to produce hip extension for running and jumping.   Specifically, it teaches you to separate your low back from your hips during the hip hinge pattern.    

Many people use their low back to produce movement which sets them up for injury!   The pull-through also provides full-range loading with no dead spots in the movement which teaches you to maintain full-body tension throughout the entire range of motion for hip extension and flexion.

The pull-through is also an excellent choice for people with low back issues because it places much less load on the spine yet provides the benefits of a deadlift or other hip hinge movements like the kettlebell swing.  Last but not least the pull-through can help as a corrective exercise for people who consistently fall into the pattern of being hamstring dominant in classic glute exercise like supine bridges. 

When doing bridges aka hip lifts many people will have hamstring cramps because they are not effectively activating their glutes so consequently compensate by overusing their hamstrings.    For these folks cable pull throughs can often completely fix the problem by teaching them to use their glutes more and hamstrings less for hip extension!

How to do a Cable Pull-Through

 Set an adjustable cable in a low position – not necessarily the lowest position because you want the line of pull to be more horizontal than vertical which is one of the big advantages of using a cable over a free weight! Keep in mind standing hip extension is more of a horizontal movement than a vertical one.

1. Attached a tricep rope to the end of the cable so you can grasp both ends of the rope.
2. For this movement you will face away from the cable with a slightly wide stance and think about pushing the knees out from the center. You are going to reach down and back through your legs and grasp both ends of the rope.
3. This is NOT a squat movement – so sit back like you are trying to touch a wall behind you with your butt. Keep pushing back until your hands are past your knees.
4. Keep your spine straight the whole time! This means maintaining the natural arch of the low back and not allowing your upper back to round – you will really feel the stretch in the hamstrings if you are doing it correctly!
5. Your head should follow the hip hinge with chin-tucked slightly throughout – you do NOT want to hyper-extend the neck!
6. At the top of the movement concentrate on squeezing the glutes at the top without locking the knees.
7. A good starting point is 3 – 4 sets of 8 – 15 reps and this is NOT about moving as much weight as you can or trying to rack the stack! Be mindful during the movement and make sure the back stays flat, neck does not hyper-extend, and you feel those glutes firing!

For a great visual watch this video teaching the movement by Tony Gentilcore:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZFRe50WzpM 

New Vitamin D/Covid Study

 

IMPORTANT NEW VITAMIN D FOR COVID STUDY. There have been several studies showing a relationship between Vitamin D intake and Covid - long story short - having your levels correct makes an ENORMOUS difference in risk and outcome should you contract Covid-19. This body of evidence has been strengthened even more but a full randomized controlled clinical trial - the gold standard in research and WOW.

The first randomized controlled trial (RCT) of vitamin D in COVID-19 has just been published (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960076020302764?via%3Dihub) The results are astounding: vitamin D nearly abolished the odds of requiring treatment in ICU. Although the number of deaths was too small to say for sure, vitamin D may actually abolish the risk of death from COVID-19..

You should ALWAYS take Vitamin D with vitamin K2 which is the fat-soluble version of K. K works synergistically with D to make sure calcium goes where it is supposed to - into your bones - not your tissues or arteries.

Ideally get your levels checked and then supplement - you can get a blood test or a finger stick test and neither require a prescription. You want your blood levels between 40 - 80 ideally. The only way to KNOW this is testing. For most Caucasians who do not get much sunlight you will need to take 5,000iu per day of Vitamin D3 to get into this range, but it can vary considerably based on genetics. I require 10,000iu per day in winter months to stay there. People of color require even more. Sunlight can and does create D in most people very well, but you have to be careful of getting burned.

Now is the time to be getting your levels optimized as we head into fall and winter - do not let those levels drop! There are many other benefits to optimizing D levels including cardiovascular health, bone health, muscle mass in aging adults, etc. This list is long and impressive - single most important supplement to get right! 

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27Sarah Troutman, Amanda Maurer and 25 others

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