J Nutrition May, 2008

SUMMARY – Please start by reading the summary of the French plan to improve national health. I sure wish these 9 PROVEN ways to improve personal health were on the American political agenda.

Things you hopefully already know: eat a handful of nuts every day, get plenty of fish oil, add spices to your food, dieting by restricting your food intake leads to weight rebound so you end up gaining weight!

Details worth reading about in my summaries below: One paper explains the details of how getting enough fish oil improves mood, behavior, and long term health. Another explains why dieting by energy restriction changes your metabolism so that you are likely to gain weight after a brief weight loss – the key to weight loss is exercise, not diet fads. Certain amino acids help build and maintain your muscles, and there’s a link to where you can learn much more at Nutrition Investigator.

Happy May Day!

JUST CRITICAL DETAILS WORTH READING – Please put nutritious thoughts in your mind.

Benefits of cinnamon – Tristetraprolin (TTP/zinc finger protein 36) family proteins have antiinflammatory effects by destabilizing proinflammatory mRNA. TTP expression is reduced in fats of obese people with metabolic syndrome and brains of suicide victims and is induced by insulin and cinnamon polyphenol extract (CPE) in adipocytes, by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in macrophages, and by green tea polyphenol extract in rats.

Mechanism of Weight Rebound – These results support the hypothesis that ER results in a mass-adjusted decrease in EE in cats that is maintained after weight regain.

BCAAs stimulate muscle growth [what BCAAs are] – Collectively, these results suggest that dietary arginine supplementation increases mTOR signaling activity in skeletal muscle, but not in liver, …

Eating nuts every day are great for health – Nut consumption has been associated with reduced coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. In addition to cholesterol-lowering properties, almonds have been shown to lower oxidized LDL concentrations. However, little is known regarding their effects on other markers of oxidative stress. ..Antioxidant activity provides an additional possible mechanism, in addition to lowering cholesterol, that may account for the reduction in CHD risk with nut consumption.

French have proven rules for improved health – Healthy diet and lifestyle were associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases, particularly in men, thereby underlying relevance of the French nutritional recommendations.

French Government Public health objectives, points, thresholds

1. Reduce by at least 25% the percentage of low consumers of fruit and vegetables

2.Increase calcium intake: reduce by 25% the population whose calcium intakes fall below the recommended nutritional level

3. Reduce the average contribution of total fat intakes to <35% of total daily EI; reduce by one-quarter the average saturated fat intakes (<35% of total fat intakes)

4. Increase carbohydrate consumption to >50% of daily EI by increasing complex carbohydrate intake, reducing simple sugar intake, and increasing fiber intake by 50%

5. Reduce alcohol intake among drinkers to 20 g/d

6. Reduce mean blood cholesterol levels in the adult population by 5%

7. Reduce Systolic blood pressure in adults by 10 mm Hg

8. Reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI > 25 kg/m2) in adults by 20%

9. Increase daily Physical Activity by an increase of 25% in the number of people doing the equivalent of at least one-half hour of fast walking per day (such as climbing stairs or doing shopping/errands on foot)

Why fish oil helps your mood, health, and behavior – Recent evidence has suggested that an imbalance between membrane (n-3) and (n-6) fatty acids may contribute to the etiology of autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, the mechanisms by which eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), -linolenic acid (GLA), and arachidonic acid (AA) modulate neurotransmitters, behavior, and brain inflammation were evaluated…IL-1 administration slowed rat learning in the water maze and increased anxiety-like behavior…Arachidonic acid decreased NA in the hippocampus and amygdala, decreased DA in the frontal cortex, and decreased IL-10 in limbic brain regions.

I AM SURE GLAD THAT YOU ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR BODY. PLEASE HELP YOUR FRIENDS TO PAY ATTENTION TOO!