A Healthy Lifestyle is as effective as Voglibose and Nateglinide in Lowering 10-year Cardiac Mortality

This article presents two studies that show the superiority of a healthy lifestyle in lowering cardiac-related deaths compared to diabetes medications. And second, the importance of managing early diabetes to prevent cardiovascular deaths. The first study, Effects of voglibose and nateglinide on glycemic status and coronary atherosclerosis in early-stage diabetic patients, or the DIANA (DIAbetes…

Veggies Meat Carbohydrate Sequence Prevents After Meal Sugar Spike

This article presents a study that shows how to prevent the rapid rise of blood sugar after a meal or Post-Prandial Glycemia (PPG) PPG and atherosclerosis High blood sugar after meals is a risk factor for developing diabetes and atherosclerosis. It injures the inner lining of the arteries and starts or continues atherosclerosis.[1] PPG is…

Nattokinase is Nontoxic with a High Safety Margin

Two studies showed no safety concerns for nattokinase regarding toxicity and genotoxicity.[1] Nattokinase is derived from natto made from fermented soybeans, a Japanese food. The first was published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology in 2019. The authors are from Shenyang Pharmaceutical University and Sungen Biotech Company in China. The study was part of the preclinical evaluation…

Prebiotics can bring out Reflux

Yesterday I wrote about my experience with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in The Post Holiday Heartburn. Further readings into the causes of GERD lead me to another reason many may not be aware of. One of my articles about COVID-19, Gut Microbiome Changes even in mild COVID-19 and what to do about it discussed that…

Diseases of the Female Reproductive System Associated with Metabolic Syndrome

This article first came out on April 19, 20,19, and was rewritten with new information. This article points out several diseases of the female reproductive organs linked to metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome Metabolic syndrome is satisfied if someone has three of the five criteria. Waist circumference over 101 cm, 40 inches (Western men) or 90…

How to wash raw chicken to prevent bacterial contamination

This article shows how to properly wash chicken meat to avoid bacterial contamination on surrounding surfaces. The technique comes from the engineers, chemists, and mathematicians from Montana State University and a microbiologist from the University of Chemistry and Technology in the Czech Republic. They published their work in the Physics of Fluids in March 2022….

Insulin resistance, muscle weakness and silent strokes

A silent stroke has mild symptoms that it is often ignored. They are usually seen on a head CT scan as incidental findings. Silent strokes are warning signs of fatal and non-fatal strokes. With time, the brain tissue damage accumulates with silent strokes and manifests as vascular dementia. Silent stroke prevention is possible if the…

Caloric restriction mimics the positive effects of beta-blockers on the heart

This article features a study that showed that caloric restriction has the same benefits that beta-blockers provide to failing hearts. Beta-blockers like metoprolol and atenolol are recommended for people with congestive heart failure (CHF). Failing hearts cannot supply enough blood. That is why people with CHF constantly feel weak and short of breath. In heart…

Antiplatelets and beta-blockers increase heart attacks in 25-59-year-olds in warm weather

Nature Cardiovascular Research recently published a study that showed that some people who take antiplatelets and beta blockers have a higher risk of a non-fatal heart attack during warm weather. The authors were from Yale University and several prestigious institutions in Germany. The study evaluated 2,494 heart attack cases in Augsburg, Germany, during warm seasons…

Researchers stunned after partially reviving organs from one-hour dead pigs

In 2019, scientists from Yale used BrainEx technology to revive a pig’s brain after four hours of isolation from the body.[1] This time, the same group modified BrainEx into called OrganEx to partially revive the organs of a whole pig. Nature published the research in its August 3, 2022, edition.[2] How they did the experiment…

Exercise promotes new heart muscles

A new study showed that new heart muscles form in the hearts of older mice. It was published this month in Circulation. In the study, eight weeks of running exercise increased the formation of new heart muscle cells or cardiomyocytes in adult mice. (∼4.6 fold). The authors tested for the presence of new cardiomyocytes by…

Anti-inflammatory drugs may prolong back pain

Standard medical advice when someone has acute back pain is to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) like ibuprofen (Motrin™, Advil™) and diclofenac (Voltaren™). New research says that may cause more harm than good.  The new study adds new information on how the body works and how acute pain can become chronic pain (pain for more…

Meta-analysis shows exercise improves neuropathy

Neuropathy is a problem with nerve endings. The most common causes are diabetes and chemotherapy. We refer to the nerves supplying the upper and lower extremities when we talk of neuropathy in general, which is why it is also called peripheral neuropathy. Neuropathy can lead to other complications like gangrene, limb amputations, falls, persistent discomfort,…

The relationship between muscles, excess fat, disease burden, and life span

29 621 participants A higher cumulative morbidity burden in older adulthood was observed among those who were overweight (7.22 morbidity-years) and those with classes I and II obesity (9.80) compared with those with a normal BMI (6.10) in midlife (P < .001). Mean age at death was similar between those who were overweight (82.1 years…

Harvard: Light alcohol intake increases cardiac risks

A new study using Mendelian Randomization (MR) challenges previous recommendations that light alcohol consumption is good for the heart. The peer-reviewed study was published in the March 25 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.  Mendelian Randomization is a relatively new research tool that uses genes to establish cause and effect. Knowing what causes any condition like…

A drink a day shrinks the brain

The study Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank shows that one unit of alcohol drunk a day can lead to loss of gray and white matter in the brain. It was published in Nature Communications in March 2022.[1] The research involved 36,678 generally healthy, middle-aged adults from the…

COVID-19 News November 23, 2021

Mask up, even in your own house, city orders From: Russia Today Santa Cruz, California has enacted a mask mandate that controversially even requires face coverings in private homes, regardless of vaccination status. The order, which went into effect this week, comes in response to rising Covid-19 cases in the city. The indoor masking requirement…

The Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Asthma

Asthma is a disease of inflammation. Usually, inflammation is a response against something harmful like infections, toxins, and injuries. In asthma, the inflammation can be the result of the presence of excessive amounts of pro-inflammatory substances in the form of cytokines. It is not surprising then that anti-inflammatory drugs in the form of steroids are…

Sugar Increases Blood Pressure, Weight, Worsens Diabetes and COVID-19 Outcomes

According to the CDC, among U.S. adults, 29% have hypertension, 42.4% are obese, and 10.5% have diabetes. Prediabetes, the condition where the blood sugar is above normal but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes, is present in 88 million Americans or 1 in 3. Hypertension, obesity, and diabetes increase the risk of death…