Currently viewing the category: "stroke"

Diet Soda Linked to Stroke

By On · Add Comment · In diet soda, Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS), sodium, soft drinks, stroke, weight gain

Put down that can of Diet Coke, dear reader.  It can be harmful to your health. So says a study conducted earlier this year, that showed diet soda drinkers to be at an increased risk for stroke.

Some believe that by drinking the diet variety of soft drinks, they bypass the harmful effects of sugar, thereby making a healthier choice in their beverage selection. But many of us have suspected that diet sodas have hidden harms, despite the inability of nutrition researchers to find them. Some recent studies, however, have shown that diet soda drinkers not only gain weight, but they do so even more than drinkers of regular soda. Doh! And now stroke.

Researchers followed 2,564 people in the large, multi-ethnic Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS). They collected soda drinking habits and followed the subjects for 9.3 years on average. They found that people who drank diet soda every day had a 61% higher risk of vascular events than those who reported no soda drinking. Researchers accounted for participants’ age, sex, race or ethnicity, smoking status, exercise, alcohol consumption and daily caloric intake. And even after researchers also accounted for patients’ metabolic syndrome, peripheral vascular disease and heart disease history, the increased risk persisted at a rate 48% higher.

Researchers believe the reason for the increased stroke risk has to do with sodium intake. A separate study showed that an increased intake of sodium also increased the risk of ischemic stroke (when a blood vessel blockage cuts off blood flow to the brain). Diet sodas contain between 35 and 40 milligrams of sodium per can. Not a massive amount by any means, but when multiplied by the numbers that many individuals imbibe in one day, and the sodium intake starts to approach dangerous levels.

The second study showed that individuals who consumed more than 4,000 milligrams of sodium a day had twice the risk of experiencing a stroke when compared to individuals with an intake of less than the recommended limit of 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day. Only a third of participants met the current U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans that recommend daily sodium intake fall below 2,300 mg, or about a teaspoon of salt. Only 12% of subjects met the American Heart Association‘s recommendations to consume less than 1,500 mg a day. Average intake was 3,031 milligrams.

Well I’m sure you can imagine me shaking my head in contempt. I just don’t have tolerance for the liquid sugar habit picked up by the majority of Americans. If you can’t see the writing on the wall–sodas (both regular and diet) cause negative health consequences like obesity, diabetes, rotten teeth and now stroke–then so be it. But stop thinking that diet soda is a healthier alternative to regular soda, because it’s not.

Stroke Belt = Goldmine

By On · Add Comment · In cardiovascular events, cognitive decline, health food stores, southeastern U.S., stroke, Stroke Belt, The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS), wellness, yoga studios

Here’s a sure-fire multimillion dollar money-maker for anyone wanting to enter a growth industry in an area of high need.  Consider opening health food stores, fitness clubs, yoga studios, healthy foods restaurants, and mind or bodywork practices in the American South.  The southeastern region of the United States is ripe for the health and wellness industry, as it is currently labelled the Stroke Belt due to the high incidence of cerebro- and cardiovascular diseases.

The 11-state cluster of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia share risk factors that researchers believe are to blame for the increased chance of cardiovascular events and cognitive decline.  Risk factors have been hypothesized to include increased rates of hypertension, low socioeconomic status, high fat diet, cultural lifestyle, quality of health care facilities, smoking, and infections.

The term Stroke Belt was coined in 1965 in response to 50% higher stroke mortality rates in the southeastern U.S.  A new study, called The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS), looked at 30,000 U.S. adults aged 45 or older from 2003-2007, following them for stroke and cognitive decline.  Participants included 56% from the Stroke Belt states and 44%  from the remaining states in the continental U.S., including the District of Columbia, which researchers collectively termed “non-Belt” states.

For their report on cognitive decline, the investigators included 23,913 REGARDS participants, made up only of African-Americans (38 percent) and European-Americans (62 percent) who reported no history of stroke at baseline and had normal cognitive status at the first assessment.  Researchers assessed brain function using the Six-item Screener (SIS)—a test of global cognitive function that includes item recall and temporal orientation.  Results showed Stroke Belt residents had a greater likelihood of cognitive impairment (18% higher) than non-Belt residents after adjusting for the influences of age, sex, race, and education level. The research team suggests that future studies should examine the impact of migration patterns, urban versus rural residence, socioeconomic factors, and educational quality on cognitive decline.

No doubt, a typical southern lifestyle is not conducive to great public health.  This doesn’t mean there are no healthy people in the south (sometimes I feel I have to say that).  What it does mean is that eating a diet high in fried foods, heavy drinking, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and unsafe sex will lead to increased illness and shortened lives.  For sure these behaviors happen all over the country, let alone the world.  But the southern U.S. is plagued with high poverty rates; and regional lifestyle differences–like certain foods and activities–could account for the differences in cerebro- and cardiovascular disease rates.

So back to my business idea: The southeastern U.S. is ready for some healthy-choice businesses just like the ones we have on every street corner in the North.  Now I don’t mean to be offensive to my brothers and sisters in the south–I’m not suggesting you ain’t with it.  It’s just that–as an industry–the wellness trade hasn’t yet exploded in the south like it has in the rest of the country.  The explosion and the movement will occur concurrently.

Trust me, if you are an entrepreneur and are looking for an exciting new venture–wellness in the South is it!  Showing people that there is a better way, and then giving them the resources, the choices to live it…well that’s what I find super-exciting!  C’mon, the next John Mackey is ready to arise.  Start in the U.S. south–in my estimation, it’s a goldmine!

I Retract

By On · Add Comment · In carotid artery stenosis, heart disease, POM, pomegranate juice, stroke, tunica intima
Last month I wrote a post on the “Cheat Death” marketing campaign for POM–the pomegranate juice. I said I thought the advertisement was going a little far in their claims. I have since learned something about pomegranates in general, and the juice specifically, that is leading me to retract that post.

Here’s what I found out: Drinking three ounces of pomegranate juice every day reduced thickening of blood vessels (particularly the tunica intima layer) in people with severe carotid artery stenosis. The effects were cumulative, so that the longer study subjects drank pomegranate juice, the greater the effects. See the details here.

Carotid artery stenosis is narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to the brain. As the lumen of the arteries gets smaller, less blood can get through to the brain over time, and blood pressure increases as a result. High blood pressure can lead to heart disease or stroke–the two leading killers in the U.S.

If drinking pomegranate juice decreases blood vessel narrowing, which in turn lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke, then it does, in fact, cheat death. Thus, POM’s advertisement claiming such is…well, correct. I was wrong, they were right.

So here’s what I’m going to do in retribution. I’ve committed to drinking 3 oz. of POM pomegranate juice every day–for one year! One 16 oz. bottle costs $5.69, so my total cost for the year will be $389.41–a small price to pay for good health…and for passing false information. I’ll let you know how the experiment goes.

Wisdom

By On · Add Comment · In heart attack, medicine, nutritional supplements, paradigm, statins, stroke, vitamins

There has been a long history of competition between conventional medicine and proponents of nutritional supplements. Conventional medicine spends a lot of time “debunking” the utility of nutritional supplements. You know what I’m talking about; you’ve heard it; you’ve heard the medical “experts” on T.V. say that taking vitamin supplements is useless. I’ll bet it confused you.

It confused you because common sense tells you that vitamin supplements are helpful. It also confused you because you’ve heard from so many people–your chiropractor, your acupuncturist, your trainer, your nutritionist, other medical doctors, the same T.V. news program reporting on a different story–that taking vitamins is good for you. So which one is it: good for you, or not necessary?

Well you won’t get a straight answer any time soon, as the mainstream medical machine is stepping-up the propaganda. According to new reports, vitamins C and E are useless for cutting the risk of heart attack or stroke. So are vitamins B12 and folic acid, according to another report. However, a third report shows that the statin drug Crestor cuts the risk of heart attack and stroke as well as reduces deaths from both, even in people with normal cholesterol. Wow! Frickin’ drugs, man…they’re miraculous!

Okay, here’s my problem with these studies. Taking nature and trying to squeeze it into a faulty paradigm is erroneous at best, and dangerous at worst. Vitamins are substance not produced by the human body, but necessary for life. We get most of our vitamins from the foods we eat. But the important point is: we need them. We do not need drugs. Drugs are useful, but we don’t need them. We’ve gotten through ~200,000 years of evolution (or 99.9% of our existence) without drugs…but not without vitamins. True, we have been supplementing for a far shorter time than we have been taking drugs…but we need vitamins. So the real questions should be: Do vitamins supplements work, and what do they work for?

The problem with the types of studies mentioned above is that modern researchers are trying to fit a natural and essential substance into a medicinal paradigm. Today’s medical paradigm is a disease treatment paradigm, not a health paradigm. Nothing wrong with fighting disease, but it’s entirely different than enhancing health. To look at vitamins for their disease fighting properties alone is nonsensical. They are life giving substances, health-enhancing material–taking vitamin supplements promote life, they don’t necessarily fight disease. That’s where medicine goes wrong; with medicine everything is about fighting disease.

Frankly, this paradigm and disease-fighting model is severely limited, and becoming progressively more expensive. When we spend billions of dollars studying and focusing on a small percentage of the population’s health woes then, ultimately, to sustain the costs, the model must be carried over to the general population. Thus the powers that be start rationalizing why we need drugs “even in normal people.” I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy–these well meaning “experts” believe it. Why? Because they create studies, and collect data, that fit into their model. And the results, by design, are forced to reflect the operative paradigm, so we get limited knowledge. As it has been said: Knowledge comes from knowing the facts, but wisdom comes from asking the right questions. So validating substances, or the practices surrounding them, based on their disease-fighting capabilities alone is simply foolish.

Prehistoric Brain Tonic

By On · Add Comment · In antioxidant, blood flow, brain, concentration, free radicals, Ginkgo biloba, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), memory, stroke

Good news for health naturalists: Ginkgo biloba extracts have shown promise as both pre and post-stroke treatment in mice. We have all heard of ginkgo’s ability to improve blood flow to the brain, thereby enhancing memory and concentration. What better to help with stroke than a substance that increases blood flow to the brain?

A study out of John’s Hopkins University showed that mice given ginkgo before a stroke suffered only half the damage than mice not given the substance. And mice that received the extract five minutes following stroke had 60% less damage than mice not receiving it, while mice receiving ginkgo 4.5 hours following stroke had a third less damage. Wow! That’s incredible.

Researchers attribute ginkgo’s benefits to raising levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an enzyme that acts as an antioxidant protecting cells against free radical damage. Free radicals are toxins that can damage DNA leading to aging, degeneration, and cancer.

Ginkgo is one of the top five highest-selling medicinal herbs in the U.S. Ginkgo biloba is a living fossil–it is the lone surviving species of an ancient order of trees which died out millennia ago. It grows wildly in Eastern China and has long been used for its medicinal properties.

I’ve never taken Ginkgo, but I must start. I just can’t ignore all the many benefits it seems to offer. Since I’m into the power of my mind, why not an occasional tonic? I say occasional because I think it’s always good to practice prudence when it comes to taking herbs or tinctures. But every once in a while can’t hurt, now can it? Not according to this latest study. I do want to caution, though, that this study is preliminary, and extrapolating the findings to humans may be premature; but like I said, I just can’t ignore all the positive press this herb has been getting. So I’ll keep my eyes open, and my mind too; and I’ll keep you all informed.

It’s Done With Mirrors

By On · Add Comment · In brain, hemiplegia, imagery, limbs, neural, neurological, paralyzed, stroke, visualization

Here’s a tripper: Japanese scientists have discovered that recovery from stroke is faster when using a mirror to create the illusion that paralyzed limbs move in tandem with healthy ones. Just another study showing the incredible healing power of the mind.

Stroke causes hemiplegia–a condition where one side of the body becomes paralyzed–one of the more serious complications of this dreaded brain injury. Rehabilitation of hemiplegia is especially tricky, and regaining full use of the paralyzed half isn’t always successful.

But now with mirrors the rehab has gotten easier. What researchers did was place a mirror on the side of the stroke patient’s body. As the patient moved his or her healthy arm, it appeared that the paralyzed arm was also moving due to the impression in the mirror. This bilateral image of limb movement, the researchers found, actually tricks the brain into believing that there is normal motion. Apparently this visual imagery is necessary to create and maintain neural motor function, the ability to move.

This is simply fascinating to me. If the visual imagery caused by mirror trickery works on a neurological level, then what are the implications for other types of healing? And why would it only apply to mirrors? Wouldn’t simply visualizing healing processes also work? What does this mean for cancer patients? Or AIDS patients? Or people with high blood pressure? I mean, can’t we extrapolate these findings to other healing mechanisms? Well, we don’t know yet. But my guess is that adding visualization to any treatment or therapy–be it chemo or drugs–should do wonders to help the healing along.

As Kazu Amimoto, one of the study’s authors said, “The mental aspect of rehabilitation has far greater importance than previously understood and should be paid far more attention.” Indeed, Kazu–I think it’s coming.

Education and Mental Preservation

By On · Add Comment · In aging, Alzheimer's, anti-aging, brain, cardiovascular health, cognitive, educated, elderly, memory, mental sharpness, stroke
Losing one’s memory is a natural consequence of aging, right? Not necessarily; in fact, it has been shown in several studies that the more one stimulates one’s mind–in the form of learning–the greater one’s chances of retaining mental sharpness well into old age. Yet another studyhas been released confirming these conclusions.Researchers at the University of Michigan have found that the more educated a person is, the better he or she performed on cognitive tests. Nothing new there, as we reported the same in this blog back in October. What is new, though, is that the study found that significant memory loss has declined in the elderly (people 70+) over the last decade, which may be due to that generation’s longer education and schooling when compared to previous ones. According to lead author Dr. Ken Langa, “the research reinforces other studies that suggest people who do mentally challenging tasks early on build up a reserve of brain power that helps them withstand later injuries to the brain, such as a mini-stroke.” He was also sure to point out the link between good cardiovascular health and brain health, another way to reduce mental decline, strokes and possibly Alzheimer’s.

You want to know why I keep plugging these studies? Because everyone seems to be into anti-aging these days. Great–here’s how to do it. My top seven tips to keeping the brain young:

  • Drink lots of water (1-2L per day)
  • Do 30-60 minutes of cardio (that makes you sweat) every week.
  • Learn something new at all times. Once you master it, move on tho the next thing. My favorites:
    • Languages (Chinese anyone?)
    • Musical instruments
    • Mathematics (always a great brain developer)
    • An art (photography, web design, sculpting, knitting)
    • Anything new (economics, poetry, cosmology, quantum physics, philosophy, psychology, etc.)
  • Take essential fatty acids (EFAs) daily
  • Meditate (sit in silence) every day
  • Practice daily gratitude (for your life exactly as it is now)

Do these things and rest assured that you will keep trucking through life sharp as a whip. Don’t just take my word for it, or the bevy of studies coming out each year; instead, prove it to yourself. And check back in with me when you hit your seventies–something tells me you’ll remember my words.

Sleep or Die!

By On · Add Comment · In heart attack, heart disease, sleep, stroke

OK, it’s been a while–vacation–but I’m back, so here goes. Research shows that people who do not get adequate sleep are twice as likely to die of heart disease. A 17-year British study looked at 10,000 government workers. Those who cut their sleep from seven hours a night to five or less had two times as much chance of dying of any cause, but especially from heart disease. Although the reasons for this are as of yet unknown, researchers believe it has to do with increased blood pressure, leading to heart attack and stroke, in those consistently robbing the sandman.

If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times, sleep is absolutely essential to maintaining good health. The importance of this study is that in today’s high paced, produce or crumble culture, more and more people are depriving themselves of sleep–and now we know it can kill you.

Hey, I’m the first one to admit that forcing oneself to rest is tough. I know–I run a business, I have a family, I blog!–sometimes, sleep has got to take the back burner. But consistently missing sleep will catch up with you sooner or later. It increases your risk of catching colds or flu. It increases your chances of injuring yourself or having an accident. And it disrupts your mental function and mental capacity significantly. So do yourself a favor: shut off the T.V., say goodnight to your friends, and go to bed–it’ll save you a few years of life. Now you know.

Gotta Eat Grains

By On · Add Comment · In carbohydrates, diet, fats, heart disease, high protein, low carb, natural foods, proteins, stroke

There’s a misconception among some people that a high protein, low carb diet is best – especially for those trying to remain slim. I’ve got nothing against low carb diets if they’re done for a short period of time to reach a goal, and then transitioned to a more balanced diet. But for some people this type of diet seems to be the Holy Grail.

I delight in bursting this bubble because I am convinced that over the long-haul this diet is just unhealthy. A new study shows that whole grains are important to preventing the thickening of arteries – a precursor to heart disease and stroke – so a balanced diet consisting of carbohydrates, proteins and fats is still the best.

I think that those people touting the high protein, low carb diet have evaluated it relative to a diet high in substandard carbs – french fries, bagels, corn dogs, pringles, Pop-Tarts, Cracker-Jacks…need I go on? Relative to diets high in processed carbohydrates, yeah, high protein, low carb is way better. But let’s get serious here.

I’ve always said that eating a diet rich in whole, natural foods is best. And it’s important to fill that diet with whole grains, fruits, vegetables, moderate portions of meat, cheese, fish and eggs, and of course, whole, natural fats and oils (avocados, butter, fish) in moderation. Trying to compare a fad diet to one balanced in junk is not going to lead you down the right road necessarily. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Eat whole, natural foods as you were meant to, and you shouldn’t have any problems.

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.