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Tag: Supplements

  • Study reveals low omega-3 intake among pregnant women despite health benefits

    Study reveals low omega-3 intake among pregnant women despite health benefits

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    Results from a new nationwide cohort study show that, despite strong recommendations in favor of consuming omega-3 fatty acids for optimal pregnancy outcomes and offspring health, 25% of participants reported rarely, or never eating fish during pregnancy, with fewer taking omega-3 supplements.

    The study, “Demographic and health characteristics associated with fish and n-3 fatty acid supplement intake during pregnancy: results from pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO program” was led by investigators at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and published February 27 in Public Health Nutrition. The study is timely, arriving as the World Health Organization and U.S. National Academies both plan to issue reports on the risks and benefits of fish consumption in pregnancy later this year.

    Omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients for supporting positive health outcomes. Getting enough of these nutrients during pregnancy is vital for preventing preterm birth and promoting optimal child health and neurodevelopment.”


    Emily Oken, study’s lead author, Harvard Medical School professor and chair of the Department of Population Medicine at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute

    Prior research looking at the demographic characteristics associated with fish and supplement intake during pregnancy has been limited, involving fewer participants and older data that may not represent current intake. The study team addressed this research gap using information on fish consumption reported by 10,800 pregnant women, and supplement intake information from 12,646 pregnant women from cohorts across the U.S. participating in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program.

    Study results showed that nearly 25% of participants reported not eating fish or eating it less than once per month, and only 16% took supplements. Contrary to expectations, supplement use was less common among those who consumed less fish, putting that group at even higher risk for insufficient omega-3 fatty acid intake. Similar to supplement use, older participants with a higher income and education consumed more fish. However, unlike supplements, fish consumption was higher in those with racial/ethnic identities other than non-Hispanic White and in those who used tobacco and nicotine products. The highest likelihood of supplement intake was among those who were older, had a higher education and income, and were non-Hispanic White or Asian. Additionally, supplement use was less common among those at higher risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes as a function of using tobacco or nicotine products or having a higher BMI.

    “Current evidence shows that the benefits of maternal consumption of low-mercury fish, or in its place, omega-3 supplements, outweigh any potential risks,” says Dr. Oken. “Our study provides updated information to inform much needed public health advice and resources to support clinical conversations to encourage consumption of low-mercury fish during pregnancy and intake of omega-3 supplements among those who do not consume fish.”

    Source:

    Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute

    Journal reference:

    Oken, E., et al. (2024) Demographic and health characteristics associated with fish and n-3 fatty acid supplement intake during pregnancy: results from pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO program. Public Health Nutrition. doi.org/10.1017/S136898002400051X

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  • Ginseng enhances muscle recovery and reduces fatigue in athletes

    Ginseng enhances muscle recovery and reduces fatigue in athletes

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    Ginseng is one of the most popular food supplements in the world. It is made out of various plants and herbs and is thought to provide many benefits, with numerous studies pointing at possible anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits as well as anti-cancer effects. A group of researchers at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has now found that it can also be helpful for exercise.

    According to the findings of the study, which was carried out as part of a master’s degree final project and was recently published in the open-access journal Nutrients, taking ginseng has a direct effect on reducing fatigue and helps muscles to recover after sport.

    “We’ve found that ginseng can play a significant role as a nutritional supplement when it comes to recovering after exercise,” said Borja Muñoz, a fitness coach and one of the study’s lead authors, who has conducted this research under the supervision of his tutor Patricia Martínez, a dietician and nutritionist and course instructor at the UOC’s Faculty of Health Sciences, together with the experts Rafael Bailón and Laura Esquius, a researcher at the UOC’s Foodlab group. To carry out the study, they systematically reviewed over 700 articles from the scientific literature and meticulously analyzed their findings to confirm these benefits for healthy adults engaging in physical exercise.

    When taken together with a balanced diet, ginseng can provide additional nutrition for athletes or anyone else who does physical exercise on a regular basis. It’s also worth noting that, unless it’s medically contraindicated in any given case, taking ginseng on a regular basis is considered beneficial (or at least not harmful) for healthy people.”


    Borja Muñoz, fitness coach and one of the study’s lead authors

    Evidence and benefits of ginseng

    The review has concluded that taking ginseng can significantly reduce post-exercise muscle damage in healthy adults. Furthermore, it improves muscle regeneration and helps the body recover from both muscle fatigue and damage after physical exercise.

    Specifically, the exertion and intensity involved in sport result in damage to muscles. This is mainly inflammatory damage. The active ingredients of the compounds contained in ginseng stimulate the central nervous system, have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and regulate cortisol, the stress hormone, benefiting many of the body’s metabolic functions and helping the immune system perform as it should.

    Specifically, taking ginseng systematically for a long time can mitigate the response of the biological markers, mainly creatine kinase (CK) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), responsible for exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammation. Furthermore, it reduces and mitigates the appearance of lactate in the blood. Lactate is a chemical compound produced by the body when muscles have insufficient oxygen due to overexertion that hinders muscles’ ability to contract, the main cause of muscle fatigue.

    Potential to reduce the risk of injury

    It should also be noted that, by reducing fatigue, taking ginseng on a regular basis may also help reduce the risk of injury, particularly in the case of muscles or ligaments, which can in turn improve athletic performance.

    “Although recovery times vary based on the nature of the injury and between individuals, the damaged structures share the same physiological processes. That’s why professionals in this field must obtain the most efficient physiological context, to ensure that each person can recover as well and as quickly as possible. This is where ginseng comes in, as it can play a significant role in recovering from injuries,” said Muñoz about the possible benefits to athletes, based on their own personal characteristics, of taking ginseng according to a schedule.

    A common product in traditional Chinese medicine

    The study arose from Muñoz’s interest in confirming by means of scientific evidence the empirical experiences observed by him when doing work experience as a fitness coach and injury specialist in a football club in China. Muñoz observed that ginseng, a supplement very commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, was widely used by football players, who reported beneficial effects from taking it.

    “Our aim was to learn more about the effects of ginseng in a specific situation, in this case in connection with exercise, and to provide verifiable evidence of its ability to improve the body’s response to the stimuli of chronic load in sport, helping athletes to recover between training sessions, as the footballers themselves reported that it worked just like an energy drink,” said Muñoz. In fact, there are currently countless products for athletes on the market, such as tablets and specific drinks.

    Establishing a scheduled consumption protocol for the future

    According to these experts, this may pave the way for studying the benefits of ginseng in greater depth and assessing how using it as a supplement can improve performance in sport. In fact, one of its main possible effects is stimulating and speeding up the body’s regeneration processes following muscle damage.

    “Of the possible future research we’re considering, a study to establish a scheduled consumption protocol to find out exactly how and when athletes should take ginseng to optimize its benefits within a given timeframe is particularly appealing, as the studies carried out in relation to these cases suffer from a lack of diversity and scientific evidence,” said Martínez.

    The authors stressed in this regard that the methodology to be used in each type of situation must be clarified in order to learn more about how to improve supplementation with ginseng. “There’s still a significant amount of work to do, as ginseng has potential to increase athletes’ physical performance and help prevent certain injuries, particularly muscle injuries,” concluded Muñoz.

     

    Source:

    Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

    Journal reference:

    Muñoz-Castellanos, B., et al. (2023). Effect of Ginseng Intake on Muscle Damage Induced by Exercise in Healthy Adults. Nutrients. doi.org/10.3390/nu16010090.

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  • Diets impact Parkinson’s motor symptoms, supplements show no benefit, study finds

    Diets impact Parkinson’s motor symptoms, supplements show no benefit, study finds

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    In a recent meta-analysis and systematic review published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers collated and reanalyzed data on the effects of diets (and, by extension, dietary patterns and supplements) in accelerating or attenuating Parkinson’s disease (PD). Their review and reassessment of data from 24 publications reveals that the Mediterranean, ketogenic, and other low-protein dietary regimes could effectively lower the total Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) score, improving overall motor function. Contrary to prior hypotheses, however, dietary interventions, including supplementation, were not observed to improve UPDRS or six-min walk test (6MWT) distance scores.

    Study: Effects of dietary supplements, foods, and dietary patterns in Parkinson’s disease: meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized and crossover studies. Image Credit: Chinnapong / ShutterstockStudy: Effects of dietary supplements, foods, and dietary patterns in Parkinson’s disease: meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized and crossover studies. Image Credit: Chinnapong / Shutterstock

    Neurodegenerative diseases and diets

    Neurodegenerative diseases are age-related chronic non-transmissible conditions characterized by the loss of function of the peripheral nervous system or brain cells. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are the two most prevalent examples of neurodegenerative diseases, with the latter affecting more than 1% of all humans above 60, making it the most common movement disorder in the world.

    Unfortunately, as is the case for most neurodegenerative conditions, no cure for PD currently exists, with clinical interventions aimed at managing the condition and slowing its progress and research focused on PD prevention. The recent surge in PD incidence has been primarily attributed to the global evolution of dietary consumption and health behaviors, with suboptimal Western-style dietary regimes and sedentary lifestyles deemed the main culprits.

    “A healthy diet, lifestyle enhancement, antioxidant agents, and nutrients targeting anti-inflammatory can be a potentially effective strategy for treating PD.”

    A growing body of scientific evidence suggests the profound association between dietary choices and age-related clinical outcomes, with some diets observed to accelerate the onset and progression of PD while others reduce the risk of acquiring the disease. Despite many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and crossover studies revealing the dietary benefits, primarily related to the gut microbiome, of maintaining healthy diets, reviews and meta-analyses discussing their findings and consolidating their results remain severely lacking.

    About the study

    The present study is registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database, and its methodologies were designed to comply with both the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Data for the study was collated from eight online scientific publication repositories, namely PubMed, Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Weipu, from database initiation till June 26, 2022.

    Study inclusion criteria comprised study type (randomized controlled trial [RCTs]), language (English), study interventions, clinically confirmed PD, and results reported as Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) or International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society UPDRS (MDS-UPDRS) total score, UPDRS or MDS-UPDRS motor score, six-min walk test (6MWT), or quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI).

    Publication selection comprised title, abstract, and full-text screening phases, with in vitro experiments excluded from the analyses. Data extraction included study characteristics, patient sample size, dietary interventions (including intervention durations), and results. The Cochrane Risk of Bias instrument for randomized trials version 2 (ROB2) was used to assess included publications for bias risk across all five of its recommended parameters. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool was additionally used to evaluate data quality and effectiveness.

    Mean differences (MDs) and standard deviations (SDs) were used to standardize results for meta-analyses conducted in the Cochrane Collaboration’s Review Manager 5.4 software. I2 was computed to evaluate the degree of discrepancy between studies and the Chi-square test to estimate between-test heterogeneity. Finally, sensitivity analyses were carried out to assess potential publication bias.

    Study findings

    Initial database screening revealed 9,970 studies titles pertaining to the topic, 291 of which were duplicates. Abstract screening narrowed down the list to 28, which full-text screening further shortened to the final set of 24 publications.

    Results of the present meta-analyses elucidate that while QUICKI indices depict improvements following dietary supplementation, UPDRS (and its derivatives) and 6MWT scores show no such improvements. In contrast, systematic review findings suggest that some nutritional regimes, particularly the Mediterranean diet, ketogenic diets, and other diets featuring low-protein intakes, significantly lowered UPDRS scores and mitigated motor PD symptoms.

    “In the future, it is necessary to conduct a studies sample size with sufficient power to evaluate how different kinds of dietary intervention affect people with PD.”

    Journal reference:

    • Wu, L., Chu, L., Pang, Y. et al. Effects of dietary supplements, foods, and dietary patterns in Parkinson’s disease: meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized and crossover studies. Eur J Clin Nutr (2024), DOI – 10.1038/s41430-024-01411-1, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41430-024-01411-1

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  • Gut health linked to Alzheimer’s progression, study suggests diet as potential therapy

    Gut health linked to Alzheimer’s progression, study suggests diet as potential therapy

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    In a recent study published in the journal Nutrients, a team of researchers in Australia conducted a review to understand the species-level diversity of the gut microbiome and its role in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. They also investigated how confounding elements such as prebiotics and probiotics and diet influence the various stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

    Study: The Role of Diet and Gut Microbiota in Alzheimer’s Disease. Image Credit: Design_Cells / ShutterstockStudy: The Role of Diet and Gut Microbiota in Alzheimer’s Disease. Image Credit: Design_Cells / Shutterstock

    Background

    Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive impairments that have an impact on daily life and functioning. These cognitive impairments affect abilities such as decision-making, memory, problem-solving, thinking, and mobility, often accompanied by drastic personality changes. The cognitive decline is attributed to the formation of amyloid-beta plaques and the hyperphosphorylation of tau neurofibrillary tangles, which also result in inflammation.

    Recent studies have also found that the gut microbiome-brain axis plays a vital role in influencing the risk of mental health disorders such as depression and various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. Individuals with mild cognitive impairments and Alzheimer’s disease have been found to have lower diversity indices for gut microbiota as compared to healthy controls.

    Various factors such as age, genetics, diet, and antibiotic usage are known to impact the gut microbiome, and understanding the interactions between these factors, the gut microbiome, and its potential links to Alzheimer’s disease could help in the early identification of individuals at risk of developing the disease.

    Alzheimer’s disease and gut microbiota

    In the present review, the researchers discussed the incidence rate of Alzheimer’s disease worldwide and in Australia. They also shed light on the incidence rates of dementia and young-onset dementia and the mortality risk associated with dementia. Studies from the United States (U.S.) have shown that the annual health costs associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are over 600 billion U.S. dollars, and it is expected to increase significantly by 2030.

    The review also covered what is known about Alzheimer’s disease pathology, including detailed discussions about the formation of amyloid-beta plaques in the brain, starting with the orbitofrontal, temporal, and basal neocortex regions and eventually spreading to the amygdala, basal ganglia, hippocampus, and diencephalon.

    Numerous hypotheses have been put forth to explain the mechanisms through which amyloid-beta peptides and tau neurofibrillary tangles contribute to the neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease, such as hyperphosphorylation of tau neurofibrillary tangles and the amyloid cascade. The review expanded on these hypotheses, as well as other potential mechanisms such as mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation.

    Studies investigating the link between gut microbiota and Alzheimer’s disease have reported an association between specific gut microbes and varying levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid. Other studies have found a link between the composition of the gut microbiome and levels of amyloid peptide in the brain. The researchers presented an in-depth discussion of the existing research on associations between specific gut microbes and various pathological aspects of Alzheimer’s disease.

    Diet, gut microbiome, and Alzheimer’s disease

    The fact that diet plays a pivotal role in influencing gut microbiome composition and diversity is a well-supported finding. The composition of the gut microbiome can also be modified through specific dietary patterns and the consumption of various supplements, which can, in turn, have an impact on the gut-brain axis and influence Alzheimer’s disease pathology.

    The review extensively discussed the role of various dietary components such as protein, fiber, fat, and polyphenols and various dietary patterns in influencing the gut microbiome environment and composition. It also reported on studies that found significant improvements in the cognitive function of Alzheimer’s disease patients after specific dietary patterns such as the ketogenic diet, Mediterranean diet, and diets targeting hypertension and neurodegeneration.

    The researchers also found that although the body of research on the use of pre and probiotics supplements as therapeutic options for Alzheimer’s disease is still limited, various studies have reported that the use of pre and probiotics and combinations of the two can modify Alzheimer’s disease progression and related neuropathology.

    Conclusions

    To summarize, the review comprehensively examines the existing research on the interplay between diet, gut microbiota, and Alzheimer’s disease pathology. The findings suggest that gut dysbiosis is strongly linked to the progression of the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease and presents a potential avenue for non-invasive therapy and risk modification.

    Journal reference:

    • Dissanayaka, D. M. Sithara, Jayasena, V., Rainey-Smith, S. R., Martins, R. N., & Fernando, W. M. A. D. B. (2024). The Role of Diet and Gut Microbiota in Alzheimer’s Disease. Nutrients, 16(3). DOI 10.3390/nu16030412, https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/3/412

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  • Gingko biloba compound injections linked to better stroke outcomes

    Gingko biloba compound injections linked to better stroke outcomes

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    People with ischemic (clot-caused) stroke had better early recovery of cognitive function if treated with intravenous injections of a combination of biologically active components of ginkgo biloba during the first two weeks after the stroke, according to a preliminary study to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2024. The meeting will be held in Phoenix, Feb. 7-9, and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health.

    Ginkgo biloba is an herb extracted from the dried leaves and seeds of the gingko tree, one of the oldest living tree species and native to East Asia. It is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and available as a supplement in the U.S. Compounded therapies of the active ingredients of gingko biloba, delivered by IV, are widely used to treat stroke in China because of its potential antioxidant properties that may protect nerve cells from damage. Ginkgo biloba is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for any medicinal use, and there is not enough evidence to support any non-FDA approved use, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

    In early 2023, researchers from this study published the results of a multicenter trial in China indicating that people with ischemic stroke had better recovery from their overall stroke symptoms if they were treated with daily injections of ginkgo diterpene lactone meglumine (GDLM), a combination of the biologically active components of ginkgo biloba. The current investigation analyzed the cognitive recovery of participants in that study.

    If our positive results are confirmed in other trials, GDLM injections may someday be used to improve cognitive function for patients after ischemic stroke.”


    Anxin Wang, Ph.D., associate professor of clinical epidemiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital of the Capital Medical University, Beijing

    The researchers analyzed the cognitive recovery of 3,163 stroke survivors (average age of 63 years; 36% women) treated for mild to moderate ischemic stroke at 100 centers in China. Starting within 48 hours of the stroke, about half of the stroke survivors were randomly selected to receive daily, intravenous injections of 25 mg of GDLM for 14 days, while the other half received daily, intravenous placebo injections. Cognitive performance was assessed before treatment, at 14 days and at 90 days using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA), a 30-point face-to-face screening test of cognitive performance often used with stroke survivors. At baseline -; within 48 hours of the stroke and before beginning treatment, most patients’ cognitive status was moderately impaired, with an average score of 17 out of 30.

    Compared to their initial cognitive screening results:

    • By day 14, stroke survivors who received the ginkgo biloba compound injections had improved cognitive scores in comparison to those who received the placebo (an average of 3.93 points vs. 3.62 points higher, respectively); and

    • By day 90, those who received the ginkgo biloba compound injections had even more improved cognitive scores compared to those who received the placebo (an average of 5.51 points vs. 5.04 points).

    “The proportion of patients who reached a clinically significant level of improvement was 20% higher in the GDLM group, indicating that GDLM injections may improve cognitive function in patients with acute ischemic stroke,” Wang said. “Since the follow-up time in this study was only 90 days, the longer-term effect of GDLM injections requires longer-term research.”

    “GDLM has shown a neuroprotective effect through multiple mechanisms, such as expanding brain blood vessels and improving brain cells tolerance to hypoxia (inadequate oxygen) and increasing cerebral blood flow. GDLM also has neuroprotective antioxidation, anti-inflammation and anti-apoptosis (cell death) properties,” Wang said. “Additionally, laboratory studies have previously indicated that GDLM may promote secretion of chemicals associated with avoiding neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.”

    In a 2022 American Heart Association Scientific Statement: Complementary and Alternative Medicines in the Management of Heart Failure, it was noted there may be some benefits and potentially serious risks to complementary and alternative medicines, so involving the health care team is critical.

    “While this American Heart Association statement focused on the use of supplements in patients with heart failure, the same approach and caution should be used when treating all cardiovascular diseases including stroke,” said Chair of the scientific statement writing committee Sheryl L. Chow, Pharm.D., FAHA, an associate professor of pharmacy practice and administration at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, and an associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, Irvine. “Stroke patients should not take gingko biloba or other herbs or supplements without discussing it with their doctor and pharmacist. If this new research proves to be effective in future clinical trials it may be a valuable tool for after-stroke care; however, efficacy and safety would need to be demonstrated to meet the same standards as all prescription medications and secure FDA approval.” Dr. Chow was not involved in this study.

    The study was an exploratory analysis conducted within a larger trial, so the results need to be confirmed in an independent trial. These results of adults in China may not be generalizable to people in other countries.

    Source:

    American Heart Association

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