If you’re prone to heavy snoring or sleep apnea, you could also be prone to something a lot more serious: memory and mild cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s, at a much earlier age. So say researchers out of New York University in the journal Neurology. They studied 2,470 people with an average age of 73 and found that those with breathing disorders during sleep experienced some form of cognitive decline more than a decade before those without the breathing problems (at age 77 instead of age 90).
But all is not lost: Those who treated their breathing disorders with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, however, were able to delay mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s by roughly 10 years. “The age of onset of (mild cognitive impairment) for people whose breathing problems were treated was almost identical to that of people who did not have any breathing problems at all.
Given that so many older adults have sleep breathing problems, these results are exciting. (Snoring and sleep apnea are linked to these health problems, too.)
The relationship between hormones and sleep is multifaceted; hormonal influences can play an important role in breathing during sleep cycles. Restoring, maximizing and balancing hormones using Bioidentical Hormones can help maintain optimum health and vitality, and has shown promise in alleviating sleep apnea.
Sources: Eureka Alert, Neurology, New York Times. The study was published online April 15 in Neurology.
Holistic Health Services in Los Angeles With Dr. Judi Goldstone
What Is Genetic Testing?
Gone are the days of waiting to develop a disease. Genomics (the study of DNA sequencing) is offering new possibilities for diagnosing, treating and even preventing diseases. With currently available genomic testing, it is possible to know what diseases you are at risk for. With this knowledge, lifestyle changes and even early treatment can be initiated to prevent diseases. A growing understanding of human genetics holds the promise to dramatically change health care through customized preventative care and treatments.
What is The Difference Between Genetic Testing & Genomic Testing
First, it is important to understand the difference between genetic testing and genomic testing. The word genetics refers to the study of individual genes and their role in disease or inheritance. Genomics refers to an individual’s entire genetic make-up. Genomic testing is used to the study of all of a person’s genes, including interactions of those genes with each other and with the environment. Genomics can provide a better understanding of how genes, lifestyle choices, and environmental factors can impact disease. Certain environmental or behavioral factors play a role in whether a disease develop; for instance, diet, exercise stress levels, and proximity to pollutants or toxins.
What Can Genomic Testing Be Used For?
Currently, genomic testing can be used to determine risk of developing cancer, heart disease, asthma, diabetes and certain inherited diseases. This type of testing can be used to improve or maintain health and wellness as well. Targeted nutrition and exercise, as well as drug response to specific medications, can be determined via genomics. Importantly, genomic testing can indicate treatments likely to cause adverse effects, and can also indicate what treatments may be most effective.
Genomic testing can also act as a catalyst for behavioral change. Clinical studies have shown that individuals who follow a genetically appropriate diet lose weight more easily. The genomic testing offered at SoCal BHRT tests a variety of genes that influence response to diet, metabolism, and exercise, as well as the propensity to develop certain health conditions and likely response to specific medications.
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Science now has an answer for midlife women wondering how long their menopausal heat waves can persist.
The answer: a long time. The typical duration of frequent hot flashes and night sweats is seven years, and for some women, symptoms persist for a dozen years or more, says a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
That’s much longer than the six months to two years long thought typical. It is also longer than the time limits many doctors put on treating the symptoms with hormones.
The findings suggest a need for better, longer-lasting treatments, and they also should reassure some women. There’s a lot of variability, if you experience symptoms for a long period of time, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong.
Hot flashes and night sweats can start at any point in that transition. A hot flash is a sudden, intense feeling of warmth, often accompanied by sweating and followed by chills. A night sweat is similar and often disrupts sleep.
Previous research showed that about 80% of U.S. women have at least some hot flashes. The cause is unclear, but it is thought that hormonal changes disrupt the body’s thermostat.
Among those who had frequent episodes, the median duration was 7.4 years, meaning half had symptoms longer and half had them for less time. Some were still having hot flashes after 13 years.
The median was 10.1 years for African-American women, 8.9 years for Hispanic women, 6.5 years for non-Hispanic white women, 5.4 years for women of Chinese descent and 4.8 years for women of Japanese descent.
The reasons for the racial and ethnic differences, seen in several studies, are unknown. Differences in genes, diet, childbearing histories and other factors could be at work.
Lifestyle changes can help with flashes!
• Avoid any hot flash triggers (such as spicy food, alcohol and caffeine).
• Sleep in a cool room.
• Dress in layers that can be removed easily.
• Have a cold drink of water when you fee a hot flash coming on.
• Don’t smoke.
In Dr. Goldstone’s opinion, bioidentical hormones combined with lifestyle changes are the best treatment options of all. Bioidentical hormones have the same structure as hormones in the human body and are made from plants.
Ref: JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 16, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8063
Now you can have your third daily cup of coffee and not feel unhealthy while you do it! According to a recent study, a third cup of coffee per day may be good for your heart.
Researchers found that people who drink between 3 to 5 cups of coffee per day are more likely to have less coronary artery calcium (CAC) than those who drink no coffee at all.
The study also found a correlation between people who drink between 1 to 3 cups of coffee a day and a reduced prevalence of CAC, according to a paper published Monday in the Journal Heart.
But you shouldn’t overdo it! Drinking more than 5 cups of coffee per day can be associated with higher levels of CAC, the authors note.
Calcium in the coronary artery isn’t always a major health risk, however at high enough levels it can be an early sign of coronary heart disease.
Coronary heart disease occurs when plaque builds up in the coronary arteries, which in turn reduces the flow of blood to the heart.
The authors of the study write that their results add to a growing body of evidence that moderate consumption of coffee is good for the heart.
Red Wine Compound Raises Neurogenesis
Note: Posted on March 12, 2015 in Anti-Aging Research Science Brain and Mental PerformanceFunctional Foods
The hippocampus – the region of the brain responsible for memory, experiences structural changes that are thought to contribute to aging-related memory and mood impairments. Ashok K. Shetty, fro, the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine (Texas, USA), and colleagues employed a lab animal model to study the potential effects of resveratrol – an antioxidant that is found in the skin of red grapes, as well as in red wine, peanuts and some berries. Among rats given resveratrol, neurogenesis (the growth and development of neurons) approximately doubled (as compared to control rats); as well, the resveratrol-treated rats also had significantly improved microvasculature, indicating improved blood flow, and had a lower level of chronic inflammation in the hippocampus.
Consequently, the team observed that spatial learning and memory improved in the resveratrol-treated rats, with the ability to make new spatial memories significantly declining among control rats at 22 to 25 months. Observing that: “These results provide novel evidence that resveratrol treatment in late middle age is efficacious for improving memory and mood function in old age,” the study authors submit that: “Modulation of the hippocampus plasticity and suppression of chronic low-level inflammation appear to underlie the functional benefits mediated by resveratrol.
Kodali M, Parihar VK, Hattiangady B, Mishra V, Shuai B, Shetty AK. “Resveratrol prevents age-related memory and mood dysfunction with increased hippocampal neurogenesis and microvasculature, and reduced glial activation.” Sci Rep. 2015 Jan 28;5:8075.
