The AntiAging Answers Blog is my mini-journal about Anti Aging. It
-- lets you know whenever any new Web pages appear on AntiAgingAnswers.net, telling you about the latest anti aging information
-- keeps you up-to-date with other new postings or new antiaging research
Recent research indicates that eating oily fish once or twice a week may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 35 percent.
This may be because people with the highest levels of omega 3 fatty acids in their blood are 40 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease.
What is the best way to get omega 3 fatty acids? Wild salmon is one of the best ways. It provides a high level of the omega 3's. Just don't buy the farmed salmon (another name for it is Atlantic Salmon). These salmon are fed poor diets and have a much lower ratio of omega 3 fatty acids to omega 6 fatty acids.
Recent research published in the journal of Infection and Immunity found that certain types of probiotics may help the immune system fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
One of the problems with the over use of antibiotics is the development of pathogens that become resistant to antibiotics. Researchers tested 2 groups of mice and found that when each group of mice were given the harmful bacteria, the mice that were also given the probiotic, Barnesiella, were able to clear out the pathogens from their systems.
This study may mean that researchers can develop probiotic cultures that can offer protection against these pathogens.
You can create your own probiotics at home by making cultured foods and drinks such as kefir and cultured vegetables.
If you would like to learn more about probiotics and creating them in cultured foods, see http://www.antiaginganswers.net/fermented_foods.html
Japanese researchers have published a study in the journal, Atherosclerosis, found that increased magnesium in the diet may reduce the risk of cardiovascular death by 50%.
A number of other studies have found that low magnesium levels are linked with cardiovascular risk factors such as:
In addition, many people take large amounts of calcium which upsets the calcium-magnesium ratio with too much calcium.
Daily requirements for magnesium are 320 mg for women and 420 mg for men, yet many people take in much less in their daily diet. Magnesium can be obtained from vegetables, nuts and legumes. Magnesium supplements are also available.
A recent study by the University of Guelph and published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, found that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids can inhibit the growth of breast cancer tumors by 30%.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer found in women around the world.
Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in salmon, walnuts and grass fed beef. Omega-3 supplements are also available.
Today, people tend to have diets high in omega-6 fatty acids (found in processed food) and low in omega-3 fatty acids. Eating a diet of whole foods, including seafood such as wild salmon, and supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids helps to increase levels of omega-3's in the body.
Vitamins A, D and K2 are important for keeping us healthy and strong. They work together to support our bones and our immune systems. Yet these very vitamins are often missing from our modern diets.
In the 1930's Weston Price, DDS spent 10 years studying remote, traditional cultures throughout the world. Dr. Price believed that by studying the diets of these healthy groups of people, he could find out what they were eating that maintained their extraordinary health.
Dr. Price sent the food back to the U.S. for laboratory analysis. He found that these traditional cultures ate least 10 times the amount of fat soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A and D) compared to Americans at that time. (It would probably be more that 10 times today!)
He also found that there was a nutrient that was common across these cultures that he called Activator X. Dr. Price didn't know what it was, but the cultures that ate significant amount of Activator X were extremely strong and healthy throughout their lives.
Today, scientists believe that Ativator X is vitamin K2.
Today vitamins A, D and K2 are lacking in our modern day processed diets.
Where can we get these vitamins today?
We can get them from grass fed animal products such as:
Yet these are the very foods that we have been told to avoid! Try adding these foods to your diet and see how you feel. The vitamins that they provide have been shown to be critical for your health.
If you think that changing from full sugar sodas to diet sodas will help you lose weight - think again!
Research published in 2011 showed that people who drank at least 2 diet sodas a day increased their waist size 6 times more than people who didn't drink diet soda!
Another study that was published in 2005 showed that people who drank more than 2 cans of diet soda a day had a 57% increased risk in obesity. Ironically, people that drank more than 2 cans of regular soda a day only increased their obesity risk by 47%!
Why would drinking sodas with artificial sweeteners instead of regular sugar cause weight gain?
The answer may be in another 2011 study that showed that aspartame, or NutraSweet, (often found in diet sodas) raised blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice.
When we eat food than raises our blood sugar, it affects our insulin levels and leads to weight gain. In general, eating the sugar fructose and eating grains negatively impact our blood sugar and our insulin levels.
Protein, fats and vegetables do not tend to impact our insulin levels the same way fructose and grains impact our insulin.
It just goes to show that not all calories affect us in the same way. By eating mainly protein, vegetables and fats, our blood sugar will remain more stable and we will be less likely to gain weight.