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重新安装浏览器，或使用别的浏览器Happy Healthy Long Life: Sleep
a medical librarian's adventures in evidence-based living
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www.happyhealthylonglife.com
Let the Sleep Challenge Begin!!
Who's in?
I Hope You'll Join Me.
If you received this post via email,
to get to the web version, for a video, all the links, & to write or read the comments.
Dr. Eric Topol
&Sleep is much more important than we realize.  We're so wired to our wirless devices that we're not getting enough sleep--and that of course engenders a higher incidence of obesity, diabetes, depression, & all sorts of things.&  
Dr. Eric Topol, a renowned cardiologist & digital medical tech guru at the Scripps Institute, ran his own clinical trial with , a home sleep monitoring device, & discovered several mistakes he was making that compromised his quality of sleep.
By changing his behavior he was able to promote better sleep--a better quality sleep, & improve the most important phase three deep sleep & the phase four REM sleep.
1.  Power down the technology an hour before sleep.  No email or searching the web.
2.  Become more rigid & consistent about going to sleep earlier & at the same time.  
3.  Why do we need to get to sleep earlier?  The best sleep--the deepest sleep--occurs in the first third of the night.  If you go to sleep later, you are losing out--going against your own body's clock.
These simple changes made a tremendous difference to the quality of Topol's sleep--but, he stresses that every individual may need to change different factors to improve their own sleep.
 Eric Topol, MD, is the Chief Academic Officer at Scripps Health and the director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute. Dr. Topol is the author of . 
My Back Story
I slept like a baby while on vacation.
What was I doing differently?   No computer.  No iPhone.  No TV.  I went to sleep around 10 o'lock, & I was able to get 8 hours of sleep.  I felt amazing.
The first week back to work, I reverted to my old habits.  Stayed up too late.  Was on the computer in the evening, right before I went to bed.  I got up at 5:30 or 6:00 am, so I only got around 6 hours of sleep, at best.
On Wednesday night after a long day at work, I willpowered myself to take a walk when I got home, even though it was late, 7:20 pm.  
I brought along my iPhone & serendipitously selected a People's Pharmacy podcast from last December:  Dr. Kelly McGonigal, on 
McGonigal is a treasure trove of research & evidence on how to change habits, and she motivated me to try to improve my sleep time.  I need my 8 hours of sleep a night and I wasn't getting it! 
What's McGonigal's advice on changing a habit--and improving your willpower to do it?
Start small.  Don't try to do too much at once.  Pick something, & be consistent.
Read more about McGonigal on her Psychology Today, and a
My simple sleep improvement plan:
1.  Turn off my computer & iPhone at 9:00 pm
2.  Up to bed at 9:30.  Read until I'm sleepy.  Lights out at 10:00 pm
We'll see.
Here's what I posted on Facebook yesterday:
I've got the diet & exercise habits pretty well mastered.
Here's my next habit to use my willpower on: Going to Sleep no later than 10:00 pm so I can get 7 1/2 or 8 hours of sleep. Nothing feels better than being well-rested. I often stay up later than I should--& before I know it, it's 11:30. Big mistake.
Everything goes better with sleep! That's my new motto. Anyone care to join me working on this habit?  (lots of you said, &Yes!&)
Here's what I posted this morning, after my first night:
Sleep Challenge--Night 1: My goal--get 7.5-8 hours good quality sleep.
The Plan (at least on Sunday through Thurs.)
1. Computer/iPhone is OFF at 9:00 pm.
2. Lights dimmed if I watch any TV before going to bed.
3. Up to bed to read at 9:30 pm. 
4.  Lights out at 10:00 pm.
Honestly, this NEVER would have happened if I didn't go public about trying this. Glad I did.
What happened?  Success. I followed the plan. By 10 I was ready for lights out. Fell right to sleep. Woke up at 3 & 5 (normal for me) & went right back to sleep. I feel so well rested & raring to go. Ah, sweet sleep! 8 hours of it.How did you do? I'm determined to keep this up.
Hope you join me.
The research on sleep is unequivocal. We need more than we think. Turning off the computer early matters! Going to bed early (if you have a day job) makes a difference!
What Our Body Clock is Trying to Tell Us
Here's an excerpt from one of my all-time-oldie-but-goodie posts:  
8-10 pm: Time to wind down & relax.  Melatonin rises quickly at this time. 80% of our serotonin, our &perky hormone&, comes from the sun.  So when the sun fades, so do we. Suddenly we go from awake to drowsy.  We're like Cinderellas approaching midnight.  That's why you always feel better when you get home early from work, instead of fighting the &hormone flow& & working late or attending evening meetings.  We need this time to wind down.  It's true for me.  Now is the time to slow down and not feel guilty about it.  The brain is tired. It's time for a &mindless& activity like TV or a relaxing activity like knitting. Stay away from the computer or brain stimulating games or books. It will mess with your sleep!  I guess if I'm going to flop  down on the couch, I better stick to a novel, the newspaper or magazines.  Tip #1: Dim the lights a little to insure that you keep your melatonin high. Tip #2: Beware of alcohol this late in the day.  It will disturb your sleep.
10 pm or later:  Get to bed! There's no way around this if you want to be sharp and in a good mood the next morning! Get your 7-9 hours without exception.  This is not an option.  Your brain needs the time to consolidate memories and learning.  Your body needs the time to repair and rejuvenate. Lack of sleep will impair your mood, memory, logical reasoning, motor dexterity,  attention, executive function, appetite, and immune system.  Enough said.  Nod off with a book.  Keep your room dark or use eye shades (really!), to keep your melatonin high.  For previous posts on sleep, click and 
My Zeo:  Topol's Digital Sleep Coach Trial
Dr. Eric Topol tested this device out on himself, & it coached him to better quality sleep.  Imagine having your very own EEG device, tied to an alarm clock & a head band that monitors your brain waves while you're sleeping?
It gave tech-geek Topol lots & lots of charts, graphs & a Z-Q Score to let him know how well he slept.  The higher the score, the better the quality of sleep.  Starting out, he got a 67.  By turning off his computer an hour before sleep, & getting to bed earlier, he boosted his score to 90.  
It also showed him how he compared to other people in his age group.
Can't vouch for the device, but, the cost is fairly reasonable, starting at $99 on up.   
Dr. Eric Topol's TED Tech Talk
The  2 minute segment on My Zeo starts at 8:35 minutes into the video
If you don't see the video on your screen,
Sleep: Without 7 or 8 Hours You Won't Be at the Top of Your Game
A repost from February 10, 2008--three weeks after starting Happy Healthy Long Life
Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds.  ~JoJo Jensen, Dirt Farmer Wisdom, 2002
Dr. Eve Van Cauter, a sleep researcher and professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, says Americans have got it all wrong.  We take pride in how little sleep we get, as if getting 8 hours of sleep was for slackers.  Oh how wrong we are!
Only 10% of us can get by on 5  hours a night.  That's for the Bill Clintons & Martha Stewarts of the world.  But then Dr. Van Cauter reminds us that Clinton had heart surgery in his 50s with no obvious risk factors.
The plain truth is, we all need 7 hours at the minimum, and 8 to 9 hours to really shine.  Sleep is necessary to restore our bodies, regulate our hormones, consolidate learning, keep our immune system functioning, and keep us emotionally stable. It is not an option!  Dr. David Dinges of the University of Pennsylvania, says if he put you in his sleep lab, and deprived you of sleep, it would only take a few days until you showed some serious impairments.  But the strange thing is, some people think they're just fine.  It's like a Catch-22, Dr. Dinges explains:
People (who have been deprived of sleep) often say, oh I'm good to go.  And it is the disconnect between your ability to introspect your alertness and impairment and how impaired you actually are cognitively is why we think a lot people believe that they're doing just fine when if fact they're not...
Dr. William Dement, chief of Stanford University's Division of Sleep, describes some of the devasting consequences of all the sleep-deprived people walking among us.  Aside from all the innocent victims of fatal truck accidents caused by sleep-deprived truck drivers, he reminds us of all the serious mistakes made at the hands of sleep-deprived workers.  A biggie was someone who forgot to convert inches to centimeters in the $6 billion mistake in the Mars mission!
So, what can we look forward to if we actually go to sleep early and get those 8 hours?  Besides actually feeling rested, in a good mood, more apt to lose weight, better concentration, patience and getting fewer colds?  Dr. Dement may convince you with this:
We've actually been studying this very closely in recent years, that if you take any individual and have them get extra sleep, their performance improves.  It's always like here's my personal best. I'm at my personal - well, it gets better (with the extra sleep). And that's a big surprise.
Dr. Dement is concerned that people feel they have too much to do to take the time for a good 8 hours, but yet they aren't knowledgeable enough about sleep to know that if they compromise the hours they get each night, their abilities to do what they have to do are severely decreased.
We were studying basketball players recently, and as you know, they have a personal best.  I can shoot 7 out 10 foul shots, and that's my absolute best.  They get extra sleep, it becomes 8 out of 10... People need to know that!
(so here it is folks)...the choice is going through life losing an hour of sleep at night, going through life as a zombie, or - giving up that one hour of being a zombie, for being wide awake, alert and at your peronal best all day long.  And I think the main thing is, a lot of people just haven't experienced that since they were kids.
And Dr. Dement's parting words, the take home message:
So when we actually do our sleep debt reduction maneuvers, people say, oh my God, I haven't felt this great in years! I didn't realize - and they are motivated to maintain it- and maintain the schedule.
What helps me:
Knowing that we actually sleep in two phases. It's a myth that we sleep 8 solid hours. There are 2 phases of 4 hours each, with a semi-wakeful state in the middle.  This is supposed to happen. When you wake up at 3 in the morning, resist the urge to get up, or look at the clock, or start thinking too much.  You will fall back to sleep. Give it some time.
Wishing you all sweet dreams! Do you notice a difference when you get a good night's sleep?  Do you need 8 hours to be at your best?
Want More Sleep Tips?   Dr. Mark Hyman's Sleep Rules
Excerpted from a January 12, 2010 HHLL Post
Dr. Hyman recommends these &rules& to get us back to our natural sleep rhythms.  &It may take weeks or months, but using these tools in a coordinated way will eventually reset our biological rhythms.& 
Hyman learned the hard way that even doctors can't compromise on sleep.
1.  Prioritize sleep, or suffer the consequences.
2.  Wind down, dim the lights, reduce mental stimuli, get off the computer two hours before sleep!  Do something more mentally relaxing. Take a little &holiday& before getting to bed in order to get your system physically and psychologically ready for sleep.  I've found this practice makes a major difference in my sleep quality.
3.  Practice the regular rhythms of sleep--go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.  Every single time I have to change my regular wake-up schedule in order to start work at 7:00 am, I have a terrible night's sleep!
4.  Use your bed for sleep and romance only--not reading or television. (I disagree! Reading in bed makes me sleepy)
5.  Create total darkness and quiet--consider using eye shades, earplugs, or a white noise machine.
6.  Avoid caffeine--it may seem to help you stay awake but it actually makes your sleep worse.
7.  Avoid alcohol--it helps you get to sleep but causes interruptions in sleep and poor-quality sleep.
8.  Get regular exposure to daylight for at least 20 minutes daily--the light from the sun enters your eyes and triggers your brain to release specific chemicals and hormones like melatonin that are vital to healthy sleep, mood, and aging.  Consider using a special light in the morning, like the
in the winter.
9.  Eat no later than three hours before bed--eating a heavy meal prior to bed will lead to a bad night's sleep.
10.  Don't exercise vigorously after dinner--it excites the body and makes it more difficult to get to sleep.
11.  Write your worries down--one hour before bed, write down the things that are causing you anxiety and make plans for what you might have to do the next day to reduce your worry.  It will free up your mind and energy to move into deep and restful sleep.
12.  Take a hot salt/soda/aromatherapy bath--raising your body temperature before bed helps to induce sleep. A hot bath also relaxes your muscles and reduces tension physically and psychologically. By adding one-and-a-half to one cup of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) and one-and-a-half to one cup of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to your bath, you will gain the benefits of magnesium absorbed through your skin and the alkaline-balancing effects of the baking soda, both of which help with sleep.  This was something I remember both my parents used to do, and neither had sleeping problems.
13.  Get a massage or stretch before bed--this helps relax the body making it easier to fall asleep.
14.  Warm your middle--this raises your core temperature and helps trigger the proper chemistry for sleep. Either a hot water bottle, heating pad, or warm body can do the trick.  works well for pre-heating my bed in the winter.
15.  Avoid medications that interfere with sleep--these include sedatives (these are used to treat insomnia, but ultimately lead to dependence and disruption of normal sleep rhythms and architecture), antihistamines, stimulants, cold medication, steroids, and headache medication that contains caffeine (such as Fioricet).
16.  Use herbal therapies--try passionflower, or 320 mg to 480 mg of valerian (valeriana officinalis) root extract standardized to 0.2 percent valerenic acid one hour before bed.  On occasion I've tried the valerian/hops combo and lemon balm recommended by herbal expert Dr. Tieraona Low Dog and they worked well.  . 
17.  Take 200 to 400 mg of
citrate or glycinate before bed--this relaxes the nervous system and muscles. If you already take a magnesium supplement, just take it before bed, instead of in the morning.
18.  Other supplements and herbs can be helpful in getting some shuteye--try calcium, theanine (an amino acid from green tea), GABA, 5-HTP, and magnolia.
19.  Try one to three mg of melatonin at night--melatonin helps stabilize your sleep rhythms. I've taken melatonin on occasion, and it definitely helped me.
20.  Get a relaxation, meditation or guided imagery CD--any of these may help you get to sleep.
A big thank-you to Betsy K. for the heads-up about Topol & sleep!
Are You In?
I Hope So.
Share How It's Going & What Works for You.
Brain Food: The Seven Ingredients for Mental Well-Being
 &[I]t seems we've entered an ERA of OVERWHELM. 
A time when too many people's mental well-being is being stretched through multi-tasking, fragmented attention and information overload.
The trouble is, we are short on simple, clear information about good mental habits.
Few people know about what it takes to have optimum mental health, and the implications of being out of balance.
Without good information about the mind and brain, we may be stretching ourselves in ways that may have bigger implications than poor eating habits.&
-Dr. David Rock, the executive director of the NeuroLeadership Institute, writing for the
to go to the web version if you received this via email.
Every now & then I read something that's so wise, yet so simple--that rings true to my own experiences--that helps me to better understand my everyday reactions & feelings--and then gives me clear directions on how to make positive change happen in my life.
That's exactly what discovering Dr. David Rock & Dr. Daniel Siegel's, &Healthy Mind Platter&  has done for me.  Riffing off of the USDA's brand new recommendations for a healthy diet--Rock & Siegel have incorporated the latest neuropsychological research to visually share with us the 7 daily  activities needed for  &good mental nutrition.&  
Sometimes you just have to hear common sense advice from an &expert& to really believe it!
Ever notice how cranky, impatient, & fuzz-thinking you feel after a night of too-little sleep?
Is there any comparison between a long walk & heart-to-heart talk with a close friend versus connecting via emails, texts, or phone calls?
What about all those constant interruptions at work--or at home--when you're trying to complete a project that takes a lot of mental focus?  The emails, phone calls, barrage of questions, comments, and the daily work chatter.  Can anyone really concentrate in a cubicle office?  What about the sheer joy you feel when you're so focused on a project that you completely lose track of time?
And how often do you allow yourself the luxury of 100% do-nothing piddle around unscheduled time at home?   Rarely--I'm guessing.  Whoever just sits on a park bench, their couch, or in their backyard--or drives in their car or &ambles about&-without being connected or plugged into something that takes up all their attention--like the radio, an iPhone or iPod, a cellphone, a laptop,  a book/magazine/newspaper, or a companion?  I'm talking about 100% quiet time to just think or reflect.  No one I know.
This is a topic close to my heart--and one that I've written about often.  How can we find the right balance between purposeful work, family, friendships, self, obligations, & health?  How do we fit everything into our lives without making ourselves crazy busy, unfocused, stressed out, feeling put-upon, or unhealthy?
What can we cut out?  What should we add in?
Rock & Siegel's Seven Essential Mental Activities for Optimum Mental Health
&This platter has seven essential mental activities necessary for
optimum mental health in daily life. These seven daily activities make
up the full set of 'mental nutrition' that your brain needs to function
at its best.
By engaging regularly in each of these servings, you
enable your brain to coordinate and balance its activities, which
strengthens your brain's internal connections and your connections with
other people.&
The seven essential mental activities are  ( to go to Rock's full blog post):
Focus Time. When we closely focus on tasks in a goal-oriented way, taking on challenges that make deep connections in the brain.
Play Time. When we allow ourselves to be spontaneous
or creative, playfully enjoying novel experiences, which helps make new
connections in the brain.
Connecting Time. When we connect with other people, ideally in person, richly activating the brain's social circuitry.
Physical Time. When we move our bodies, aerobically if possible, which strengthens the brain in many ways.
Time In. When we quietly reflect internally,
focusing on sensations, images, feelings and thoughts, helping to better
integrate the brain.
Down Time. When we are non-focused, without any specific goal, and let our mind wander or simply relax, which helps our brain recharge.
Sleep Time. When we give the brain the rest it needs to consolidate learning and recover from the experiences of the day.
Consider this, folks!  Four of the activities essential to mental health involve No Purposeful Action!  That's right--to feel our best we need to carve out daily time to wind down, chill out, play, & sleep!  All activities that aren't goal-oriented.
Big thanks to my daughter-in-law who emailed Rock's
to me yesterday--at work--completely interrupting my focus (just kidding!) 
Apologies to all of you if this is &old news&--the HBR post came out on June 3, 2011.
As for me, it's totally liberating to learn that Down Time &doing absolutely nothing,&  Time In  &taking time out to just sit quietly & think&, Play Time, and Sleep Time are as important to my well-being as are healthy food, exercise, purposeful work, and friendships.  Doing nothing will never more be considered  a &guilty pleasure&--it's an essential one!
And it's so validating to learn that what I know in my heart to be true for me: Focus Time, Connection Time, & Exercise Time are all key players for happiness & well-being.
What's your opinion of the Essential Seven?
Any tips on how to make time for them all?
Do you agree or disagree with Essential Seven?
If you received this via email, to get to the web version of this post with graphs, links, & comments.
I hate to start a phone call with,&Sorry, I only have two minutes to talk.  But, I just had to tell you, that: 
Jon finally got a job. 
Bruce Springsteen's coming to town & you have to order the tickets tomorrow. 
Aunt Susie is in the hospital--but don't worry, she'll be OK. 
Mary just got engaged.  The wedding's in August. 
Come for dinner tomorrow.
&Sorry, I'll call you later with details.  Gotta run.&
I have no business posting anything today.   I've got to clean my house, shop for Monday's seder, and start cooking, now!  Then it's off to the
tonight.  Woo Hoo.  I'm excited.  Probably won't have any time to post until next Friday. 
This is my two-minute &gotta run--I'll call later&, but-I-just-had-to-tell-you-now post!
Oh, and BTW, HHLL just hit over a million blog post views this morning--with readers in 191 countries!
Just Sharing the News- Three Upcoming Events That Can Change Lives
On Tuesday, April 19th I have the opportunity to hear Dr. Dean Ornish speak on &The Power of Personalized Lifestyle Changes&  at a &closed to the public&  Wellness Grand Rounds.  Can't wait.
&We tend to think of advances in medicine as a new drug, laser, or surgical procedure--something high-tech and expensive.
This presentation will discuss the power of comprehensive lifestyle changes, reviewing more than 30 years of research using high-tech, state-of-the-art measures to prove the power of low-tech, low-cost, and often ancient interventions.
Also, the lecture will describe proven strategies for motivating people to make and maintain comprehensive lifestyle changes, as well as how to personalize a way of eating and living based on an individual's needs, genes, and preferences. 
Finally, the presentation will describe many of the health policy implications of comprehensive lifestyle changes as both medically effective and cost effective.&
On Thursday, April 21st I'm attending the following Slate &The Hive&/Cleveland Clinic: Fighting Childhood Obesity National Forum--8:30-12:15 am.   Registration is open & online. 
Read more about the background behind this event,
Consider attending a 3-day low-cost wellness weekend event in beautiful Athens, Ohio on May 19-21,  that's open to the public, and co-sponsored by Ohio University Colleges of Health Professions & the Ohio University College of Osteopathics Medicine.  or more information.
It's an opportunity to see & hear many of the pioneers who are responsible for newest trend in &low-tech& &low-cost& disease reversal through plant-based nutrition: Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Jeff Novick, MS,RD, Dr. Hans Diehl,  Rip Esselstyn, and many others.
Appalachian Health Summit
  May 20-21, 2011
Health Summit Links:      
Friday Conference for:      
Free Saturday Conference:
Summit Speakers
Roger L. Greenlaw, MD
Dr. Greenlaw is founder and president of a prominent gastroenterology
group since 1975.
He received his MD in internal medicine from the
University of Missouri, completed a gastroenterology fellowship at Yale,
and served on the faculty of the University of Illinois College of
Medicine at Rockford, attaining the rank of Clinical Professor of
Medicine. Dr. Greenlaw is board certified in Internal Medicine,
Gastroenterology, and Holistic Medicine.
Dr. Greenlaw practices
holistic gastroenterology with an emphasis on lifestyle medicine.
John H. Kelly Jr, MD, MPH
Dr. Kelly completed an MD/MPH degree program at Loma Linda University
School of Medicine in 2000 and his Master's of Public Health in
Epidemiology in 2002.
Dr. Kelly is the primary architect and Founding
President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and was a
recipient of the AMA Foundation's Excellence in Medicine Leadership
Award in 2004.
Dr. Kelly's lifestyle medicine practice is located in
Rocky Mount, Virginia. .
Dr. Michelle May, MD
Author and recovered yoyo dieter, Dr. May delivers her crucial and
timely message with passion, energy, and humor that transforms the way
her audiences view weight management. She is the award-winning author of
Am I Hungry? What to Do When Diets Don't Work and Eat What You Love,
Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle which
reinforces her powerful message for lasting change. She founded Am
IHungry?(r) Workshops, and won the Excellence in Patient Education
Innovation Award. She has trained over 170 Am I Hungry?(r) Facilitators
worldwide. .
Jeffrey Novick, MS, RD, LD, LN
With over 24 years of experience as a nutritionist and dietitian, Mr.
Novick offers an insightful and humorous approach to nutrition and
health. He holds both bachelor and graduate degrees in Nutrition from
Indiana State University. Currently, Mr. Novick serves as Vice President
for Executive Health Exams International, Adjunct Professor at the
School of Health Sciences for Kaplan University, and lectures at the
McDougall program in Santa Rosa, CA.
Jim Pshock
As a consulting company, Bravo Wellness offers services and tools to
business partners desiring results-based wellness programs. Their
successes have been unequaled in the industry.
Bravo's founder, Jim
Pshock, has been at the forefront of the use of result-based wellness
incentives since 2004. Mr. Pshock has worked closely with the Department
of Labor, Internal Revenue Service and Centers for Medicaid and
Medicare to understand the practical application of these new
regulations and is uniquely positioned to lead this initiative.
Rodney Snow, M.D.
Dr. Snow is a third year Endocrinology and Metabolism Fellow at the
University of Virginia, where he has helped to start an insulin
resistance clinic in 2009 to treat patients who have type 2 diabetes
mellitus, metabolic syndrome and obesity with lifestyle interventions
and a vegan diet.
He received the National Institutes of Health Ruth R.
Kirschstein National Research Service Award for his ongoing study of
the impact of plant based nutrition on insulin resistant type 2 diabetes
Micheal O. Thorner, M.D.
Dr. Thorner is a David C. Harrison Teaching Professor of Internal
Medicine at the University of Virginia, is a fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, of the Royal College of Physicians
(London), and Master of the American College of Physicians.
His current
research is on the epidemic of diabetes and obesity with patients who
have these conditions and their responses to supervised lifestyle
changes which have allowed them to stop insulin therapy.
Dr. Thorner,
Dr. Snow and others are assembling a model of how the normal homeostatic
mechanisms are subverted by a modern lifestyle and the Western diet.
Steven G. Aldana, PhD
Dr. Aldana has published over 60 scientific articles on the prevention,
arrest, and reversal of America's most common chronic diseases. He has
written 7 books on the ability of healthy lifestyle habits to prevent
cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes, and many chronic diseases.
His most recent book, The Culprit and The Cure is currently being used
by over 4,500 companies and corporations in an effort to boost
productivity and reduce employee related health expenses. The Harvard
School of Public Health says this book is &better than the best
medicines&.
T. Colin Campbell, PhDdwd
For more than 40 years, Dr. Colin Campbell has been at the forefront of
nutrition research.
His legacy, the China Study, is the most
comprehensive study of health and nutrition ever conducted.
was a partnership project between the Chinese and American governments
that produced statistically significant associations between various
dietary factors and disease.
Dr. Campbell is a Professor Emeritus of
Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University.
He received his
master's degree and PhD from Cornell, served as a Research Associate at
MIT, and taught at Virginia Tech for 10 years before returning to
Cornell Chair. .
Antonia Demas, Ph.D.
Dr. Demas has a Ph.D. in education, nutrition, and anthropology from
Cornell University.
She is the founder and director of the Food Studies
Institute, based in Trumansburg, New York, a non-profit devoted to
improving the long-term health and education of children. Her
curriculum, Food Is Elementary, has been used successfully in more than
2,000 schools in 33 states.
She consults, trains, and certifies
teachers as food educators in the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Demas is a
Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and
at the University of Illinois Medical School.
Hans Diehl, DrHSc, MPH,CNS
Dr. Diehl is an epidemiologically trained lifestyle interventionist with
a doctorate in Health Science and a Masters in Public Health Nutrition,
both from Loma Linda University, where he is a Clinical Professor of
Preventive Medicine.
Dr. Diehl directs of the Lifestyle Medicine
Institute in California and is founder of the CHIP Program (Coronary
Health Improvement Project). With more than 50,000 alumni, CHIP
advocates a healthier lifestyle to prevent and reverse diseases. His
book &Health Power& has sold over 2 million copies.
D. W. Edington
Dr. Edington is the director of the University of Michigan's Health
Management Research Center.
Dr. Edington's research focuses on the
precursors of disease and vitality. His interest is in the relationships
between healthy lifestyles, vitality and quality of life, as they
benefit both individuals and organizations. He is specifically
interested in how individual health promotion, worksite wellness
activities and programs within organizations impact health care cost
containment, productivity, and human resource development.
Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr, MD
Dr. Esselstyn has been associated with the Cleveland Clinic since 1968.
During that time he served as President of the Staff and as a member of
the Board of Governors. In 2005, he became the first recipient of the
Benjamin Spock Award for Compassion in Medicine. In 1995, he published
his benchmark long-term nutritional study: arresting and reversing
coronary artery disease in severely ill patients. Twelve years later he
updated and published the study in his book Prevent and Reverse Heart
Disease. .
Rip Esselstyn
Rip was born in upper New York state and moved to Austin Texas to become
an All-American swimmer. After spending 10 years as a professional
triathlete Rip joined the Austin Fire Department in 1997. His New York
Times bestseller &Engine2 Diet& contains a groundbreaking nutritional
program with indisputable, dramatic results in lowering cholesterol and
losing weight in just 4 weeks. For more information log on to: .
Frank Schwartz, MD
Professor of Endocrinology, Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine (OU-COM), Dept. of Specialty M J. O. Watson, D.O.,
Chair for Diabetes Research and the D ARHI Diabetes Endocrine
Center at OU-COM. His clinical practice addresses all diseases related
pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal,
ovary, testis and metabolic diseases such as diabetes or metabolic bone
disease. The center was designed to meet the complex health care
challenges of the diabetes epidemic in the country and specifically in
Appalachia. Under his direction the ARHI Diabetes/Endocrine Center has
established outreach programs in several underserved cities in the
Tania Basta, PhD, MPH, CHES
Panel Discussion Moderator: &Putting it all together: Action Steps for a Healthier Appalachia&
This Week's Reading List:   Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?  What's the Single Best Exercise?  How Much Sleep Do You Need?
How Much Do You Move?
Getting the Most Bang for Your Exercise Buck
How Much Sleep Do You Need?
AMERICAN SLUMBER Number of hours of sleep (self-reported) on weeknights.
I wish I had time to write about these great reads--but responsibilities await.  Learn & enjoy!
From this week's New York Times:
  Or, why some of us can't seem to shed a pound?  A quick worthwhile read.
, by Gretchen Reynolds.   For me it's the combo-pak of spinning, yoga, weights, & walking!   Aerobics, flexibility, balance-training, weight-bearing, & strength-training.
by Maggie Jones.   I had to get up at 4:30 am on Friday morning to go to an out-of-town meeting--and it turned me into a crabby impatient brain-dead librarian. That's what operating on 4 hours of poor quality sleep does to me.  I need 7-8 hours of the restful stuff to feel my best.
If you missed my , be sure to read, the Sunday's New York Times Magazine article:  Gary Taubes.    It's eye-opening & controversial.
If I want to be on top of my game, energetic, happy, nice, patient, healthy, and clear-headed, I need to EAT HEALTHY FOOD, GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP, AND EXERCISE.  It's that simple.
I'm also a sucker for lists.  So, when I came across these three &Rules Lists& I wanted to &capture them& for future reference.
Food Rules: Your Dietary Do's and Don'ts, by Michael Pollan, New York Times Magazine Food Issue, October 11, 2009.  Earlier in the year Michael posted a request for readers' rules on Tara Parker-Pope's Well blog.  He received 2,500 responses, and offered his favorite 20 in this issue.    He has recently published a short-useful-funny paperback--with 64 short simple rules-- based on his now famous saying, &Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly Plants.&  For a short interview about the book, .  I've provided a &mash-up& of my favorites. Some from NYT's readers and some from Michael's book.
Sleep Tips:  How to Sleep Better, Lose Weight, and Live Longer, by Mark Hyman, MD, practicing physician and pioneer in functional medicine.  Huffington Post, Jan. 9, 2010. 
Realistic Resolutions From Dr. Oz, by Tara Parker-Pope, Well Blog, New York Times Dec. 29, 2009.  .
Eat.  Michael Pollan's Food Rules
 1.  Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human being would keep in the pantry.
2.  If it came from a plant, if it was made in a plant, don't.
3.  Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.  Aim for a pound or more of fruits and vegetables a day.
4.  Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.  And when & if you do--Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
5.  Eat your colors.
6.  Eat well-grown food from healthy soil.
7.  Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacteria or fungi.  Many cultures swear by the health benefits of fermented foods: yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, natto, and tempeh.
8.  Pay more, eat less.  
9.  Eat less.  Eat slowly.  Stop before you're full.
10.  Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods.
11.  Try not to eat alone.
12.  Cook.  
13.  Don't leave the table until you've finished your fruit.  &My parents are both from Italy & one of our family rules was that you could not leave the table until you had finished your fruit.  'Non si puo lasciare la tavolo fino che hai finito la frutta.' It was a great way to incorporate fruit into our diets and also helped satiate our sweet tooths, keeping us away from less healthful sweets.&  Marta C. Larusso
14.  &Don't eat anything that took more energy to ship than to grow.&  Carrie Cizauskas
15.  &Never eat anything that is pretending
e.g. 'textured vegetable protein' or veggie burgers (fake meat), no artificial sweeteners, no margarine (fake butter), no 'low fat' sour cream no turkey bacon, no 'chocolate-flavor sauce' that doesn't contain chocolate, no 'quorn'.  If I want something that tastes like meat or butter, I would rather have the real thing than some chemical concoction pretending to be more healthful.&  Sonya Legg  (I'm still sticking with my Field Roast sausages and Gardein.  See rule #22)
16.  &Make and take your own lunch to work.  My father has always done this, and so have I.  It saves money, and you know what you are eating.&  Hope Donovan Rider  (love this one!)
17.  &If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple then you are not hungry.&  Emma Fogt  (needless to say--this one is my favorite!)
18.  &The Chinese have a saying, 'Eat until you are seven-tenths full and save the other three-tenths for hunger'.  That way, food always tastes good, and you don't eat too much.&  Nancy Ni
19.  &One of my top rules for eating comes from economics.  The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility reminds me that each additional bite is generally less satisfying than the previous bite.  This helps me slow down, savor the first bites, stop eating sooner.&  Laura Kelley
20.  &No second helpings, no matter how scrumptious.&  Karen Harmin
21.  &It's better to pay the grocer than the doctor' was the saying that my Italian grandmother would frequently use to remind us of the love and attention to detail that went into her cooking.&  John Forti.
22.  Break the rules once in awhile!
Sleep.  Dr. Mark Hyman's Sleep Rules
Dr. Hyman recommends these &rules& to get us back to our natural sleep rhythms.  &It may take weeks or months, but using these tools in a coordinated way will eventually reset our biological rhythms.&  Hyman learned the hard way that even doctors can't compromise on sleep.
1.  Prioritize sleep, or suffer the consequences.
2.  Wind down, dim the lights, reduce mental stimuli, get off the computer two hours before sleep!  Do something more mentally relaxing. Take a little &holiday& before getting to bed in order to get your system physically and psychologically ready for sleep.  I've found this practice makes a major difference in my sleep quality.
3.  Practice the regular rhythms of sleep--go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.  Every single time I have to change my regular wake-up schedule in order to start work at 7:00 am, I have a terrible night's sleep!
4.  Use your bed for sleep and romance only--not reading or television.
5.  Create total darkness and quiet--consider using eye shades, earplugs, or a white noise machine.
6.  Avoid caffeine--it may seem to help you stay awake but it actually makes your sleep worse.
7.  Avoid alcohol--it helps you get to sleep but causes interruptions in sleep and poor-quality sleep.
8.  Get regular exposure to daylight for at least 20 minutes daily--the light from the sun enters your eyes and triggers your brain to release specific chemicals and hormones like melatonin that are vital to healthy sleep, mood, and aging.  Consider using a special light in the morning, like the
in the winter.
9.  Eat no later than three hours before bed--eating a heavy meal prior to bed will lead to a bad night's sleep.
10.  Don't exercise vigorously after dinner--it excites the body and makes it more difficult to get to sleep.
11.  Write your worries down--one hour before bed, write down the things that are causing you anxiety and make plans for what you might have to do the next day to reduce your worry.  It will free up your mind and energy to move into deep and restful sleep.
12.  Take a hot salt/soda/aromatherapy bath--raising your body temperature before bed helps to induce sleep. A hot bath also relaxes your muscles and reduces tension physically and psychologically. By adding one-and-a-half to one cup of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) and one-and-a-half to one cup of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to your bath, you will gain the benefits of magnesium absorbed through your skin and the alkaline-balancing effects of the baking soda, both of which help with sleep.  This was something I remember both my parents used to do, and neither had sleeping problems.
13.  Get a massage or stretch before bed--this helps relax the body making it easier to fall asleep.
14.  Warm your middle--this raises your core temperature and helps trigger the proper chemistry for sleep. Either a hot water bottle, heating pad, or warm body can do the trick.  works well for pre-heating my bed in the winter.
15.  Avoid medications that interfere with sleep--these include sedatives (these are used to treat insomnia, but ultimately lead to dependence and disruption of normal sleep rhythms and architecture), antihistamines, stimulants, cold medication, steroids, and headache medication that contains caffeine (such as Fioricet).
16.  Use herbal therapies--try passionflower, or 320 mg to 480 mg of valerian (valeriana officinalis) root extract standardized to 0.2 percent valerenic acid one hour before bed.  On occasion I've tried the valerian/hops combo and lemon balm recommended by herbal expert Dr. Tieraona Low Dog and they worked well.  . 
17.  Take 200 to 400 mg of
citrate or glycinate before bed--this relaxes the nervous system and muscles. If you already take a magnesium supplement, just take it before bed, instead of in the morning.
18.  Other supplements and herbs can be helpful in getting some shuteye--try calcium, theanine (an amino acid from green tea), GABA, 5-HTP, and magnolia.
19.  Try one to three mg of melatonin at night--melatonin helps stabilize your sleep rhythms. I've taken melatonin on occasion, and it definitely helped me.
20.  Get a relaxation, meditation or guided imagery CD--any of these may help you get to sleep.
Exercise.  (and Eat and Sleep) Realistic Rules From Dr. Oz
Dr. Oz needs no introduction  This short list of 7 rules covers all the basics.
1.  Commit to family night.  Resolve to eat as a family at least once a week.  My kids are all grown-up, but this rule still works for empty-nesters.  For kids, its benefit is in healthier eating, home-cooking, and conversation. Research also shows it lowers the risk of behaviors like drug abuse and alcohol use.  Oz recommends cooking with your kids.  Works for empty-nesters, too--and when the &kids& are visiting!
2.  Do seven minutes of yoga a day.  We  can all spare seven minutes a day.  Dr. Timothy McCall, the medical editor of Yoga Journal, says 15 minutes of yoga done daily at home trumps going to one or less classes a week.  Oz advises if you haven't tried yoga, try one class to understand what it's all about.  &It centers me and allows me to loosen my limbs up so I don't have nagging small injuries.&  I think yoga is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
3.  Go to bed earlier.  To figure out what time you need to go to bed--choose a wake-up time, and count back seven and a half hours.  No compromises.  Oz strongly advises turning off all electronics one half hour before bedtime.  He never sacrifices this rule-ever. 
4.  Always keep nuts or a healthful snack in your purse or pocket.  It's the key to prevent overeating.
5.  Make a space in front of your television.  Since very few of us are ready to give up TV, Oz recommends that we &use it& to improve our health.  Do stretches, use your treadmill or exercise bike, lift weights or do core exercise while you watch TV.  That's where I do my core exercises.  It's where my husband lifts weights.
6.  Floss.  It reduces the risk for heart attack, inflammation, and periodontal disease.  Just do it!
7.  Give it two weeks.
&Once You're Through Learning, You're Through&
-John Wooden, retired UCLA basketball coach, 98 years old-So, how do I decide what I'm including in my brain back-up?  Simple.  If it's something new to me--something I'd never heard about before--or if it's a piece of information that brings new understanding to something I already know, &I back it up&.I'm trying to make these just &Info Nuggets& with links to the source if you want to know more.How Safe Is Your Cell Phone?  Check Out the New Environmental Working Group Report 9/11/2009
Cell phone safety is near the bottom of my worry list, which is why I took the cheapest phone Verizon was offering when I needed a new phone & wanted one that with a keyboard for texting.  Big Mistake!  Turns out my phone (the LG EnV2) is on the lower end of the safety scale (Maximum radiation 1.28 W/kg) and the EWG suggests I ought to replace it with something safer, or start using a head set.
Why should we care about our cell phones?  Although the research is still ongoing, four billion people around the globe own cell phones, and more of us are choosing to use cells over landlines.  What are the risks from the radiation cell phones emit?  There are significantly higher risks for brain and salivary gland tumors among  people using cell phones for 10 years or longer.  Children are at a greater risk--and men carrying phones clipped to their waist or in a front pocket put their sperm at risk--where soft body tissues absorb radiation.This was news to me. Ways to limit radiation exposure:
1.  Listen More, Talk Less:  Your phone only emits radiation when you talk or text, but not when you're receiving messages, or listening.2.  Choose Texting Over Talking:  Phones use less power (which means less radiation) when you text--and when you text, the phone is away from your head.3.  Poor Signal? Stay Off the Phone:   Fewer bars on the phone means that it emits more radiation to get the signal to the tower.  Make and take calls when your phone has a strong signal.  I never gave this a second thought!your cell phone is here.  There's no &search screen&, so click on your Edit button on the top toolbar, and type in your cell phone name.  Keep hitting &next& until your model number appears.
Five Easy Steps to Stay Safe (and Private) on Facebook.  Read Sarah Perez' step-by-step guide to changing your Facebook settings
Full Disclosure:  I don't use Facebook, (so I'm in no position to have an opinion here) but now that I've read Sarah's article I'd feel a lot more in control of my privacy if I decide to sign up.  Read her original article--the one posted on
for an easy-to-understand graphic step-by-step guide on how to change your settings and restrict access in very specific ways.  You can be as safe and as private as you like! This version, beats the New York Times version of her article, hands down!Step 1:  Why You Need to Make Friend Lists (and no--your friends won't know what lists they are on)Step 2:  Restrict Who Can See What's On Your ProfileStep 3:  Restrict Who Can See Your Address & Phone NumberStep 4:  How to Change Who Can FIND You on Facebook via SearchStep 5:  How to Stop Sharing Personal Info With Unknown Applications
And be sure to scroll down to read comment #12 which basically warns against using any apps (like quizzes) & how your information is still vulnerable if your friends use apps--regardless of your settings.&There are two separate privacy concerns with apps:
1) If you personally run any app, like our (ACLU) quiz, that app has
access to almost all of the information in your profile, on your wall,
and so forth. Currently, there is NO privacy setting that limits what
the apps you choose to run can access - every app you run has access to
almost everything (contact info being one of the few exceptions).
2) If your friend runs an app, like our quiz, that app has access to your
information based on your &application privacy settings& (see step 5
above). You can opt out, but (as Sarah said) if you don't the default
is that your friends' apps have access to most of your information.&
--Chris,creator of the ACLU Quiz application, ACLU Northern California-If You've Got High Cholesterol, You Might Want to Consider a Bone Density TestScientists at UCLA have figured out exactly how a fatty diet and high cholesterol contribute to bone loss--which helps to explain why bone fractures are reduced when cholesterol levels are reduced.Here's the deal:  That nasty oxidized LDL cholesterol causes our immune T cells to pump out a chemical--called RANKL--which in turn causes bone damage.  Eating a diet high in saturated fats increases the level of oxidized LDL--and in turn signals the T cells to produce a higher level of bone-damaging RANKL---and when RANKL is manufactured for long periods of time it results in excessive bone damage. Dr. Rita Effros, a UCLA professor led the study, and published it in Clinical Immunology on 8/20/09.  Read about it   One more reason to ditch a high-fat-cholesterol-producing diet.Why Women Who Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding Need to Get the Seasonal Flu Shot and the H1N1 When It's Available1.  Pregnant women in South America, Central America and Australia fared less well than others during their recent outbreak of H1N1.  CDC data from April 15-May 18, 2009, on the first US cases of H1N1 in pregnant women, showed 32% of pregnant women infected with H1N1 were hospitalized, and by June, 6 had died.  Read the Lancet article 2.  Pregnancy puts women at a higher risk of complications from flu because as a woman advances in her pregnancy her immune system becomes compromised.3.  Both the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) & the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology recommend pregnant women get both the seasonal flu shot--which is available now--and the H1N1 shot when it becomes available in mid-October.4.&# expectant women around the country are currently participating in a clinical trial with the H1N1 vaccine.  Those results are expected in the beginning of October.Excerpts From the Empowered Patient: Surviving H1N1 With Baby in Belly 9/17/09  
If I get the vaccine while pregnant, will this also protect the baby when he/she is born?
&One of the things the body does very well is give antibodies to the
babies,& says Dr. Buddy Creech, a researcher conducting clinical trials
on pregnant women at Vanderbilt University. &It's one of the greatest
reasons we vaccinate pregnant women.& Creech says past flu
studies have found that when women get flu shots before giving birth,
they help build immunity for their child that is particularly helpful
during the infant's first few months of life. &If we're going to protect those children, it'll be with vaccines rather than drugs,& Creech says. Is it safe to get vaccinated while breastfeeding? Should my newborn also be vaccinated?
According to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, the
H1N1 vaccine will be recommended for children ages six months and
older. Newborns and infants younger than 6 months cannot receive the
vaccine. Health officials say breastfeeding is one way a mother
might be able to help protect her baby. &The vaccine is safe if she
breastfeeds, and she may even pass along some immunity to her infant,&
says Tepper of the CDC. &It will also reduce the chance that [the mom]
will get the flu and pass it to her infant.&According to the CDC:  Mothers who are breastfeeding should continue to nurse their babies
while being treated for the flu. Breast milk passes on antibodies from
the mother to a baby. Antibodies help fight off infection.Be sure to read the CDC seasonal & H1N1 site for pregnant & nursing mother!  Sabriya Rice's CNN Empowered Patient article on H1N1 & Pregnancy  Ice Cream on the Brain.  How Eating Tasty High Fat Foods Like Meat, Milk, Butter, & Cheese Changes Our Brain Chemistry and Makes Us Just Want to Eat MoreI found the summary of this &fat addiction& research fascinating.  It was led by Dr. Deborah Clegg, out of the University of Southwestern Texas Medical Center.  Reminds of.  Here's an excerpt:Dr. Deborah Clegg and colleagues suggest that fat molecules from
certain foods can change brain chemistry in a very short period,
causing appetite-suppressing signals to be ignored. “Normally, our body is primed to say when we’ve had enough, but that
doesn’t always happen when we’re eating something good,” said Clegg,
senior author of the rodent study appearing in the September issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.“What we’ve shown in this study is that someone’s entire brain
chemistry can change in a very short period of time. Our findings
suggest that when you eat something high in fat, your brain gets ‘hit’
with the fatty acids, and you become resistant to insulin and leptin,”
Dr. Clegg said. “Since you’re not being told by the brain to stop eating, you overeat.”The foods that are responsible for this brain chemistry change contain Palmitic Fat--and it's found in ice cream, butter, cheese, milk, and meat.  Not exactly a big surprise.  Maybe that explains why I have no self-control with ice cream or cheese.  To read the PsychCentral article, To read the UT Southwestern Medical Center press release, A Poor Night's Sleep Can Give You a Cold.  More Proof of What We Already KnowNo excuses!  It's cold & flu season.  No matter how busy you are, make sure you get a good night's sleep.  Plain & simple, and coming out of the Archives of Internal Medicine:  If you don't get enough sleep prior to exposure to cold viruses, you are lowering your resistance and have a better chance of getting sick.Read Anahad O'Connor's article in the NYT's  Really? The Claim: Lack of Sleep Increases the Risk of Catching a Cold.  Worried About Your Tap Water and Don't Won't To Invest In A Water Filtration System?  Give Up Bottled Water with the Z-Pitcher from ZeroWaterFor $40 you can get a BPA free water filter pitcher that outperforms Brita.  I heard about this a couple months ago from Beth Greer, of SuperNaturalMom, and it's recommended by The Daily Green, Consumer Reports, Bottlemania author, Elizabeth Royte and more.   The company's effective demo showed Houston, TX water at 271 ppm and
Bensalem, PA water at 157 (New York City's was at 11 ppm--phew!). After
running the water through a ZeroWater filter, a follow-up TDS meter
test read 000 for all samples.  -fIt is a five-stage unit that takes almost everything out of the water- it is certified
to meet the highest standards for removal of lead, iron, zinc and
mercury. Although there are no standards to certify it for antibiotics,
hormones and perchlorate, they tested it and it removed almost all of
them as well. Read More Reviews on ZeroWater & the Z-Pitcher
Once You're Through Learning, You're Through&
-John Wooden, retired UCLA basketball coach, 98 years old-My piles of interesting health-related articles for my blog have been growing exponentially this crazy busy summer. Now it's time to either blog about it--or dump the piles in the recycle bin.  This time I'm zeroing in on the brain--how to keep it going for as long as possible.  Here's my brain prescription based on my piles of files:
Make sure your cholesterol numbers are down earlier than your 40's--or you risk both vascular dementia or Alzheimer's.
Keep that waist whittled when you're middle-aged.  Banish the belly fat.  Weight in your middle during middle-age ups your dementia risk.
Bring on the berries and the Concord grapes to protect your brain through old age.  Research shows both protective benefits from aging, and improvements in learning and motor skills.
Keep your blood sugar stable (even if you're healthy) by exercising and eating high-fiber low-glycemic foods like beans, nuts, oatmeal, and quinoa.  Blood sugar spikes damage the memory center of the brain.
Indulge in a mid-day nap of at least 1 hour.  Mid-day REM sleep enhances problem-solving.
For the best sleep, keep your bedroom cool.
Dementia Risk is Linked to Even Slightly High Levels of Cholesterol at MidlifeI was all ears when I read this study.  As far as I'm concerned--it's all about protecting the brain as we age, trumping heart disease and cancer.  This study out of California underscores the advice we've been hearing for years:  If it's good for the heart--it's good for the brain. Alzheimer's Disease gets all the attention, but tiny silent strokes diminish the blood supply to the brain resulting in a slow progression of vascular dementia.  Both diseases are years in the making.  Too bad we wait until it shows its ugly face in our 70's or 80's before we scramble to do something about it.  Finally, we have a large study of almost 10,000 multi-ethnic participants who were followed for almost 40 years through Kaiser Permanente in California to provide epidemiologic evidence that even modest increases in cholesterol at midlife result in a substantially increased risk of dementia 20 to 40 years down the road.Bottom line:  Those with blood cholesterol levels over 240 in their mid-40's were 57% more likely to develop dementia than those who were at optimal levels.  Even borderline cholesterol levels between 200 and 239 were at a 50% greater risk of developing dementia.If you don't take statins--or if you don't want to take statins--now you have one more good reason to consider a plant-based diet to prevent both heart disease and dementia is one fell swoop.  The cholesterol drops are considerable with a plant-based diet.  Source:  Whitmer, RA, Solomon, A. et al.  &Midlife Serum Cholesterol and Increased Risk of Alzheimer's and Vascular Dementia Three Decades Later,&  Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive D 2009 Aug. 4;28:75-80.Read more about the study . Rachel Whitmer--Kaiser Permanente's Dementia Guru.  A Fat Belly at Midlife Increases the Risk of DementiaBells went off when I read about the Kaiser cholesterol-dementia-midlife study.  Rachel Whitmer--the senior epidemiologist--sounded so familiar.  Where had I heard that name before?Sure enough, Dr. Rachel Whitmer, who was the chief investigator in the cholesterol study, was also involved in a 2008 study linking excess belly fat to dementia.  I wrote about it in April 2008.  It bears repeating.Belly Fat & the Dementia Connection.  Rachel Whitmer, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, reported in the March 26 2008 online issue of Neurology
on her study that followed 6,583 Kaiser Health Plan members.  The study
began in the late 1960s and early 1970s and measured the abdominal fat
of this large group of 40 and 45 year olds.  She followed up with them
between 1994 and 2006 when they had reached their 70s and beyond.
Back in 2005 Whitmer had previously reported that senior citizens
who were overweight at middle age were 74 percent more likely to
develop dementia.  This new study specifically looked at whether belly
fat was the culprit.
Those people who were obese and had the most belly fat
in their 40s were 3.6 times more likely to develop dementia than those
with the least amount of belly fat.
Those who were overweight--a step below obese--and had
large bellies in their 40s, were 2.3 times more likely to develop
21 percent of those with high levels of belly fat developed dementia.
The belly fat dementia connection persisted, even when
researchers adjusted their statistics to take into account the effect
of stroke & diabetes.
Other recent studies found that obese middle-aged adults have decreased brain volume compared with those of normal weight, decreased hippocampal (the memory center) brain volume and greater
brain atrophy.
These findings imply that the harmful effects of belly fat on the
brain may start long before clinical signs of dementia appear and are
not limited only to those whom are overweight.  Rather chilling, I'd say!
Waist circumference guidelines:Women-Keep it at 30 inches or under
Waist of over 31 inches (about 80cm) indicates
slight health risk.
Waist of over 35 inches (about 90cm) indicates substantially increased
Men-Keep it at 36 inches or under
Waist of over 37 inches (about 94cm) indicates
slight health risk.
Waist of over 40 inches (about 102cm) indicates substantially increased
risk.Read more:  Source: Whitmer, R. et al.  &Central obesity and increased risk of dementia more than three decades later,&  Neurology; 2008 Sep 30;71(14):1057-64. Epub 2008 Mar 26
It's Grape Juice and Berries to Improve the Aging Brain James A. Joseph is the Director of the Neuroscience Lab at the Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.  He is THE expert in the health effects of berries & grapes.  Check out some of his research projects,   I had heard him speak on brain nutrition on a People's Pharmacy podcast back in April 2009. 
to hear it.So, when my friend Anna told me he had a &just published& review article in The Journal of Nutrition called &Grape Juice, Berries, and Walnuts Affect Brain Aging and Behavior&,  I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.Yes, we all know that berries & grapes are full of potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that both protect & enhance the brain--at least in lab rats--but does this research translate to humans?Joseph's own lab studies have suggested that blueberries, strawberries, walnuts and Concord grape juice can decrease the damaging oxidative stress and inflammation in the aging brain, as well as improve the ability of neurons to communicate with ea}