Diets designed to boost brain health, targeted largely at older adults, are a new, noteworthy development in the field of nutrition.

The latest version is the Canadian Brain Health Food Guide, created by scientists in Toronto. Another, the MIND diet, comes from experts at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Both diets draw from a growing body of research suggesting that certain nutrients mostly found in plant-based foods, whole grains, beans, nuts, vegetable oils and fish help protect cells in the brain while fighting harmful inflammation and oxidation.

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Both have yielded preliminary, promising results in observational studies. The Canadian version similar to the Mediterranean diet but adapted to Western eating habits is associated with a 36 percent reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimers disease. The MIND diet a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) lowered the risk of Alzheimers by 53 percent.

Researchers responsible for both regimens will study them further in rigorous clinical trials being launched this year.

Still, the diets differ in several respects, reflecting varying interpretations of research regarding nutritions impact on the aging brain.

A few examples: The MIND diet recommends two servings of vegetables every day; the Canadian diet recommends five. The Canadian diet suggests that fish or seafood be eaten three times a week; the MIND diet says once is enough.

The MIND diet calls for at least three servings of whole grains a day; the Canadian diet doesnt make a specific recommendation. The Canadian diet calls for four servings of fruit each day; the MIND diet says that five half-cup portions of berries a week is all that is needed.

We asked Carol Greenwood, a professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto and a key force behind the Canadian diet, and Martha Clare Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center and originator of the MIND diet, to elaborate on research findings about nutrition and aging and their implications for older adults.

NUTRITION AND THE BRAIN

Its not yet well understood precisely how nutrition affects the brains of older adults. Most studies done to date have been in animals or younger adults.

What is clear: A poor diet can increase the risk of developing hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes, which in turn can end up compromising an individuals cognitive function. The corollary: A good diet that reduces the risk of chronic illness is beneficial to the brain.

Also, what people eat appears to have an effect on brain cells and how they function.

I dont think we know enough yet to say that nutrients in themselves support neurogenesis (the growth of neurons) and synaptogenesis (the growth of neural connections), Greenwood said. But pathways that are needed for these processes can be supported or impaired by someones nutritional status.

ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS

Several nutrients have been shown to have biological mechanisms related to neuropathology in the brain, Morris said.

On that list is Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant found in oils, nuts, seeds, whole grains and leafy green vegetables, which is associated with slower cognitive decline, a lower risk of dementia, and reduced accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins a key culprit in Alzheimers disease.

The brain is a site of great metabolic activity, Morris said. It uses an enormous amount of energy and in doing so generates a high level of free radical molecules, which are unstable and destructive. Vitamin E snatches up those free radicals and protects the brain from injury.

Also on her list is vitamin B12 found in animal products such as meat, eggs, cheese and fish and vitamin B9 (folate), found in green leafy vegetables, grains, nuts and beans.

Because aging affects stomach acids that facilitate the absorption of B12, everyone who gets to middle age should have a doctor check their B12 levels, Morris said. A deficiency of this vitamin can lead to confusion and memory problems, while folate deficiency is associated with cognitive decline and an increased risk of dementia.

Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and nuts oils, especially DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), are highly concentrated in the brain, where they are incorporated in cell membranes and play a role in the transmission of signals between cells.

A primary focus has to be maintaining healthy blood vessels in the brain, Greenwood said. So, heart health recommendations are similar in many ways to brain health recommendations, with this exception: The brain has higher levels of Omega-3s than any other tissue in the body, making adequate levels even more essential.

Other studies point to calcium, zinc and vitamins A, C and D as having a positive impact on the brain, though findings are sometimes inconsistent.

FOODS TO AVOID

For the most part, the Canadian and MIND diets concur on foods to be avoided or limited to once-a-week servings, especially saturated fats found in pastries, sweets, butter, red meat and fried and processed foods.

As for dairy products, theres no evidence one way or another. If you like your yogurt, keep eating it, Morris said. Greenwood adds a caveat: Make sure you consume low-fat dairy products as opposed to whole-fat versions.

OTHER HELPFUL DIETS

Randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that both the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet have a positive impact on various aspects of cognition, although neither was created specifically for that purpose.

At the end of the day, our [Canadian] diet, the MIND diet, the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet are not that different; theyre all likely to be helpful, Greenwood said.

THE PATTERN COUNTS

Studies promoting the cognitive benefits of drinking tea or eating blueberries have garnered headlines recently. But a focus on individual foods is misguided, both experts suggested. What matters instead is dietary patterns and how components of various foods interact to promote brain health.

The bottom line: Concentrate on eating an assortment of foods that are good for you. As long as people are eating a healthful diet, they shouldnt have to worry about individual nutrients, Greenwood said.

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Depression affects more than 150 million people worldwide, making it a leading cause of losing healthy years of life as a result of disability. By 2020, depression may be second only to heart disease as the leading cause of healthy years of life lost. Why is depression so common? Well its said, Nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. But why would we evolve to get depressed?

Depression presents a baffling evolutionary puzzle. Despite its negative effects, it remains common and heritable, meaning a large part of the risk is passed through our genes. Presumably, there must be some kind of adaptive benefit or it would have been naturally selected against. Could depression be an evolutionary strategy to provide a defense against infection?

Infection has been the leading cause of mortality throughout human history, making it a critical force in natural selection. Indeed, because of infections, our average life expectancy before the industrial period was only 25 years, and it was not uncommon for half of our children to die without reaching adulthood.

When we become infected, there is a surge of inflammation as our body mounts a counter attack. Our body responds by feeling lousy, sick, weak, tired, and slow. We dont want to socialize. The only thing we do want to do is sleep. These symptoms are similar to the ones we experience during depression and are great for fighting infection. Slowing down not only helps us conserve energy to put up a good fight, it also reduces social contact so we dont infect others. We see this protective phenomenon in other social animals, like honeybees and mole rats, who feel compelled to crawl off and die alone to reduce the risk of infecting the rest of their community. Humans have even evolved to think poop and decaying flesh dont smell good to keep us safe from infection.

To explore the relationship between inflammation and mental health, we have to look back to 1887, when this connection was first noted by Dr. Julius Wagner-Jauregg, the only psychiatrist to ever win the Nobel Prize. What evidence have we accumulated in the past century that inflammation causes depression? We know that people who are depressed have raised inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein and that inflammatory illnesses are associated with greater rates of major depression. Indeed, we find depression in even more benign inflammatory conditions such as asthma and allergies. This is important as it suggests that the mood symptoms may be directly tied to the inflammation and are not simply the result of feeling bad about having a terrible disease.

We also know that you can induce depression by inducing inflammation. For example, when we give interferon for certain cancers or chronic infection, up to 50 percent of people go on to suffer major depression. Even just giving a vaccine can cause enough inflammation to trigger depressive symptoms. Taken together, these studies are strongly suggestive of inflammation being a causative factor of mood symptoms.

Can an anti-inflammatory diet help prevent depression? We didnt know until researchers followed the diets of about 43,000 women without depression for approximately 12 years. Those who ate a more inflammatory diet, characterized by more soda, refined grains and meat, became depressed. This finding suggests that chronic inflammation may underlie the association between diet and depression.

Normally, we think of omega-3s as anti-inflammatory, but researchers found fish to be pro-inflammatory, associated with increased C-reactive protein levels. This is consistent with recent findings that omega-3s dont seem to help with either depression or inflammation. As I discuss in my video,the most anti-inflammatory diet is a plant-based diet, which is capable of cutting C-reactive protein levels by an impressive 30 percent within two weeks, perhaps because of the anti-inflammatory properties of the antioxidants found in plants.

When free radicals cause oxidative damage, it may cause an autoimmune response in the body by changing the chemical structures of otherwise ubiquitous molecules to generate new structures that the body attacks as foreign. For example, when LDL cholesterol gets oxidized, our body creates antibodies against it that attack it. Likewise, clinical depression can be accompanied by increased oxidative stress and the autoimmune inflammatory responses it creates. Free radicals may thus lead to autoimmune inflammation.

In health,

Michael Greger, M.D.

PS: If you havent yet, you can subscribe to my free videoshereand watch my live, year-in-review presentations2015: Food as Medicine: Preventing and Treating the Most Dreaded Diseases with Diet, and my latest, 2016:How Not to Die: The Role of Diet in Preventing, Arresting, and Reversing Our Top 15 Killers.

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YOUNG people could be putting their health at risk by following dieting fads such as going dairy free, experts have warned.

A survey by the National Osteoporosis Society found a fifth of under-25s are cutting out or reducing dairy in their diet, which can be dangerous if they do not get enough calcium from other sources.

The charity said that many young people take their dietary advice from bloggers and while some of it is sound, it is not always based on science and may not be right for everyone.

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Here, Sun nutritionist AMANDA URSELL sorts fact from fiction and answers eight of the most common questions about our diets.

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THE grapefruit diet was created in the 1920s and has been praised by celebs such as Kylie Minogue.

But scientists at Oxford University found no difference in weight between groups taking grapefruit or a placebo.

When eaten as the whole fruit, pink grapefruits are one of your five a day.

Check with your doctor before eating if you are taking cholesterol-lowering medication, as super-nutrients can interfere with them.

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CHOCOLATE is low on the glycaemic index, which measures how quickly carbohydrates are digested and how quickly they raise the level of blood sugar.

Chocolate squeaks into the low-GI bracket because digestion of the 24g of sugar in a 50g bar is slowed down by the 15g of fat it also provides.

But it will never be the same as a bowl of strawberries, so keep it as a treat.

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FULL-fat, semi-skimmed and skimmed milk all contain roughly the same amount of calcium, as the bone-building mineral is found in the watery part of milk not the fatty part.

So when fat is removed for semi-skimmed and skimmed milk, none of this vital mineral is lost.

A 200ml glass of skimmed milk contains around 250mg of calcium, compared to 240mg in the same amount of full-fat milk.

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There is little scientific evidence either way for this claim. But given that a stick of celery provides just two calories, the numbers really arent worth worrying about.

If you enjoy it, eat it. If you dont, choose another vegetable you like.

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NOT always. Wholemeal bread and pasta, natural yoghurt, porridge and frozen vegetables all undergo processing and these foods are not considered bad for us.

In fact, some processed foods, such as red kidney beans, are better for you than before they are treated.

On the other hand, overly refined processed foods, such as cakes, pies and biscuits, should be limited.

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GOOD news there is no strong conclusive evidence that chocolate or dairy products cause acne. Dark chocolate provides antioxidants that may actually help to protect the skin.

For healthy skin you should drink plenty of water and eat a balanced diet.

Foods with vitamins A, C and E, zinc, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine and selenium will also help.

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DRIED fruits, beans and seeds do contain calcium.

But they also have substances known as oxalates and phytates that grab on to the calcium they contain and reduce how much you can absorb.

The British Dietetic Association advises that they should not be used as your main source of calcium.

Milk, yoghurt, almond milk and fortified oat, rice and soya milk are much better sources.

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WE should have at least two portions of fish a week, including one serving (about 140g) of oily types such as salmon and mackerel. Oily fish is full of omega-3 essential fats, which are good for our hearts and the nervous systems of babies and children.

But some oily fish contain low levels of pollutants that build up, so pregnant or breastfeeding women are advised to stick to a maximum of two servings per week.

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We debunk fashionable diet trends and sort healthy facts from fiction about calcium, chocolate and whether your diet ... - The Sun

HAMDEN >> Skepticism was apparent by most of the people who came to learn what a road diet could mean for Whitney Avenue Wednesday night.

And after almost two hours of discussion, most left not convinced the plans are in the best interest of the town.

The state Department of Transportation has proposed the road diet for this summer, when it has plans to pave 2 miles of the road. After the new pavement is in place, the traffic lines drawn would reduce the number of lanes on the road, from two in each direction to one, with a third common lane down the middle that would be used by motorists on both sides to make left turns.

The plans are only for a portion of the road, according to DOT traffic engineer Ken Lussier. Its not a widening program, he said. The current edges would remain. We are simply repaving the road.

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The lane reassignment would be implemented from School Street to the Route 40 connector, Lussier said. The portion of Whitney Avenue from the Route 40 connector north to Mount Carmel Avenue will be paved but the lane configuration wont change, he said.

It wont come at any additional cost, since they will be repainting the lines with the repaving, Lussier said, and the project doesnt cost the town anything because Route 10 is a state road.

Traffic studies show that more than 20,000 cars use the portion of the road from School Street to the connector, Lussier said, while that number drops to between 15,000 and 17,000 from the connector to Mount Carmel Avenue. The higher number meets the criteria for considering a road diet, Lussier said.

We have found that roads with traffic of 20,000 or more cars are good candidates, he said. Its also the area with the most number of accidents, he said. There were 164 accidents there in the last two years, he said, and many of those were rear-end crashes involving cars making left turns into businesses or homes.

A road diet has a safety focus, he said, admitting that it can lead to more congestion in heavier traffic times.

But several in the audience said they dont think the road reconfiguration will improve the roads safety.

How the heck are you supposed to look at all that and not have an accident, one woman asked, referring to the middle lane shared by cars going in both directions that are turning left.

It takes getting used to, Lussier admitted.

These are relatively new to Connecticut, he said. A portion of State Street in New Haven near the Hamden line was reconfigured using the road diet system, as well as Burnside Road in East Hartford, he said. The goal of those projects was to provide more shoulder room for bicyclists and pedestrians, he said, while the plan for Whitney Avenue is to improve safety.

One woman said she is afraid the change will lead drivers to take different routes to avoid that part of the road. I live off of Evergreen Avenue, and my concern is they will use it to cut through to avoid Route 10, she said. The road is busy enough already.

But resident Dan Garrett said he thinks the changes could improve the safety of the road. The fault for the problems on the road lies with drivers, he said.

If this will make it much safer, then its a great idea, Garrett said.

The change doesnt have to be permanent, DOT engineer Fred Kulakowski said. After the road is paved, the lines would be drawn using water-based paint that easily could be removed after a year if its decided the change hasnt improved safety, he said.

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In celebration of Earth Day, think about your diet and ask yourself how green is my diet?

Most peoples first thought is salad greens. Lettuce is the third most popular vegetable eaten by Americans, behind potatoes and tomatoes. A large salad can go a long way to meet the daily-recommended 2 to 3 cups of vegetables for adults. To get the most health benefits of your salad greens, choose deeply colored greens. These greens contain vitamins A, C and K, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, calcium, folate and fiber.

Remember there are other healthful fruits and vegetables to add this earthy color to your diet. Green cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale and cabbage are a great start. Cruciferous vegetables contain cancer-fighting plant compounds and vitamin C. Kale also provides vitamins A and K as well as anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Another potent cruciferous veggie is Brussels sprouts, with its vitamins A and C, folate and potassium.

Green beans and peas are common side dishes in the American diet. The fiber in these foods help lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar. Zucchini is another option, which is low in calories but rich in nutrients, including fiber, potassium, folate, vitamins A, C and B vitamins.

Green peppers can be eaten raw as a snack dipped in hummus or added to salads. Add them to stir-fry dishes or make stuffed peppers for a colorful entre. They provide a good source of many important nutrients, including vitamin C, beta carotene, folate and vitamin K.

A popular springtime vegetable, asparagus, is famous for its healthful dose of inulin, a prebiotic that promotes digestive health. The protein in asparagus (an amino acid called asparagine) helps cleanse the body of waste and is responsible for the odd-smelling urine some people experience after eating it.

Many people avoid avocados because of their high fat content. The fat (23 grams in a medium-sized fruit) is the heart-healthy monounsaturated kind. Avocados also contain lutein, an antioxidant that protects eye health and they are rich in vitamin E. Research shows that people who get the most vitamin E from their diet (not supplements) have a lower risk of Alzheimers disease. Add them to salads, tacos, soups, and sandwiches.

Kiwifruit is a nutrition powerhouse. This fuzzy green fruit provides 230 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C (almost twice that of an orange), more potassium than a banana, and 10 percent of the recommended daily allowances of vitamin E and folate. Slice some kiwi into your cereal, yogurt, or salad for a refreshing health boost.

Edamame, soybeans found in Japanese diets, are a complete plant-based protein popular for vegetarian and vegan diet. Whole soy foods like edamame are a smart and healthy choice and may lower cholesterol when eaten in place of fatty meat.

Go green with your diet by adding more of these fruits and vegetables to get a nutritional boost.

Lisa McCoy is a family and consumer-sciences educator with University of Maryland Extension in Washington County.

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Go green with your diet for Earth Day - Herald-Mail Media