Early-life exercise alters gut microbes, promotes healthy brain and metabolism

 

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

 

The human gut harbors a teeming menagerie of over 100 trillion microorganisms, and researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered that exercising early in life can alter that microbial community for the better, promoting healthier brain and metabolic activity over the course of a lifetime.

The research, which was recently published in the journal Immunology and Cell Biology, indicates that there may be a window of opportunity during early human development to optimize the chances of better lifelong health.

“Exercise affects many aspects of health, both metabolic and mental, and people are only now starting to look at the plasticity of these gut microbes,” said Monika Fleshner, a professor in CU-Boulder’s Department of Integrative Physiology and the senior author of the new study. “That is one of the novel aspects of this research.”

Microbes take up residence within human intestines shortly after birth and are vital to the development of the immune system and various neural functions. These microbes can add as many 5 million genes to a person’s overall genetic profile and thus have tremendous power to influence aspects of human physiology.

While this diverse microbial community remains somewhat malleable throughout adult life and can be influenced by environmental factors such as diet and sleep patterns, the researchers found that gut microorganisms are especially ‘plastic’ at a young age.

The study found that juvenile rats who voluntarily exercised every day developed a more beneficial microbial structure, including the expansion of probiotic bacterial species in their gut compared to both their sedentary counterparts and adult rats, even when the adult rats exercised as well.

The researchers have not, as of yet, pinpointed an exact age range when the gut microbe community is likeliest to change, but the preliminary findings indicate that earlier is better.

A robust, healthy community of gut microbes also appears to promote healthy brain function and provide anti-depressant effects, Fleshner said. Previous research has shown that the human brain responds to microbial signals from the gut, though the exact communication methods are still under investigation.

“Future research on this microbial ecosystem will hone in on how these microbes influence brain function in a long-lasting way,” said Agniezka Mika, a graduate researcher in CU-Boulder’s Department of Integrative Physiology and the lead author of the new study.

Going forward, the researchers also plan to explore novel means of encouraging positive gut microbe plasticity in adults, who tend to have stable microbial communities that are more resistant to change.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) supported this research.
Source

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Eating at the wrong time impairs learning and memory

 

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

An occasional late-night raid on turkey leftovers might be harmless but new research with mice suggests that making a habit of it could alter brain physiology.

Eating at times normally reserved for sleep causes a deficiency in the type of learning and memory controlled by the hippocampal area of the brain, according to findings in the journal eLife.
Researchers from the Semel Institute in the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) became interested in the cognitive effects of eating at inappropriate hours because it is already known to have an impact on metabolic health, for example leading to a pre-diabetic state.

“We have provided the first evidence that taking regular meals at the wrong time of day has far-reaching effects for learning and memory,” says first author Dawn Loh from the UCLA Laboratory of Circadian and Sleep Medicine.

“Since many people find themselves working or playing during times when they’d normally be asleep, it is important to know that this could dull some of the functions of the brain.”
The researchers stress that their findings have not been confirmed in humans, but highlight the fact that shift workers have been shown to perform less well on cognitive tests.

The current study shows that some learned behaviours are more affected than others. The team tested the ability of mice to recognise a novel object. Mice regularly fed during their sleep-time were significantly less able to recall the object. Long-term memory was also dramatically reduced, demonstrated during a fear conditioning experiment.

Both long-term memory and the ability to recognise a novel object are governed by the hippocampus. The hippocampus plays an important role in our ability to associate senses and emotional experiences with memory and our ability to organise and store new memories.

During an experience, nerve impulses are activated along specific pathways and, if we repeat the experience, the same pathways increase in strength. However, this effect was reduced when food was made available to mice during a six-hour window in the middle of their normal sleep time instead of a six-hour daytime window when the mice were active.

Some genes involved in both the circadian clock and in learning and memory are regulated by a protein called CREB (cAMP response element-binding protein). When CREB is less active, it decreases memory, and may play a role in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. In the mice fed at the wrong time, the total activity of CREB throughout the hippocampus was significantly reduced, with the strongest effects in the day.

However, the master pacemaker of the circadian system, the suprachiasmatic nucleus located in the hypothalamus, is unaffected. This leads to desynchrony between the clocks in the different brain regions (misalignment), which the authors suggest underlies the memory impairment.
“Modern schedules can lead us to eat around the clock so it is important to understand how the timing of food can impact cogitation” says Professor Christopher Colwell from the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA.

“For the first time, we have shown that simply adjusting the time when food is made available alters the molecular clock in the hippocampus and can alter the cognitive performance of mice.”

Eating at the wrong time also disrupted sleep patterns. The inappropriate feeding schedule resulted in the loss of the normal day/night difference in the amount of sleep although the total time spent asleep over 24 hours was not changed. Sleep became fragmented, with the mice catching up on sleep by grabbing more short naps throughout the day and night.

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Reference

The paper ‘Misaligned feeding impairs memories’ can be freely accessed online at http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09460. Contents, including text, figures, and data, are free to re¬use under a CC BY 4.0 license.
About eLife

eLife is a unique collaboration between the funders and practitioners of research to improve the way important research is selected, presented, and shared. eLife publishes outstanding works across the life sciences and biomedicine — from basic biological research to applied, translational, and clinical studies. eLife is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society, and the Wellcome Trust. Learn more at elifesciences.org

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How different fluids affect hydration: a new study

 

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

First published December 23, 2015, doi: 10.3945/​ajcn.115.114769
Am J Clin Nutr
ajcn114769

A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index 1

Ronald J Maughan2,*, Phillip Watson2, Philip AA Cordery2, Neil P Walsh3, Samuel J Oliver3, Alberto Dolci3, Nidia Rodriguez-Sanchez4, and Stuart DR Galloway4

Author Affiliations

2School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom;
3School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, United Kingdom; and
4School of Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom

Author Notes

↵1 Supported by a grant from the European Hydration Institute.
↵*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: r.j.maughan@lboro.ac.uk.

Abstract

Background: The identification of beverages that promote longer-term fluid retention and maintenance of fluid balance is of real clinical and practical benefit in situations in which free access to fluids is limited or when frequent breaks for urination are not desirable. The postingestion diuretic response is likely to be influenced by several beverage characteristics, including the volume ingested, energy density, electrolyte content, and the presence of diuretic agents.

Objective: This study investigated the effects of 13 different commonly consumed drinks on urine output and fluid balance when ingested in a euhydrated state, with a view to establishing a beverage hydration index (BHI), i.e., the volume of urine produced after drinking expressed relative to a standard treatment (still water) for each beverage.

Design: Each subject (n = 72, euhydrated and fasted male subjects) ingested 1 L still water or 1 of 3 other commercially available beverages over a period of 30 min. Urine output was then collected for the subsequent 4 h. The BHI was corrected for the water content of drinks and was calculated as the amount of water retained at 2 h after ingestion relative to that observed after the ingestion of still water.

Results: Total urine masses (mean ± SD) over 4 h were smaller than the still-water control (1337 ± 330 g) after an oral rehydration solution (ORS) (1038 ± 333 g, P < 0.001), full-fat milk (1052 ± 267 g, P < 0.001), and skimmed milk (1049 ± 334 g, P < 0.001). Cumulative urine output at 4 h after ingestion of cola, diet cola, hot tea, iced tea, coffee, lager, orange juice, sparkling water, and a sports drink were not different from the response to water ingestion. The mean BHI at 2 h was 1.54 ± 0.74 for the ORS, 1.50 ± 0.58 for full-fat milk, and 1.58 ± 0.60 for skimmed milk.
Conclusions: BHI may be a useful measure to identify the short-term hydration potential of different beverages when ingested in a euhydrated state. This trial was registered at www.isrctn.com as ISRCTN13014105.

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The impact of yoga on atrial fibrillation: A review of The Yoga My Heart Study.

 

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

  

J Arrhythm. 2015 Dec;31(6):337-8. doi: 10.1016/j.joa.2015.05.001. Epub 2015 Jun 6.
The impact of yoga on atrial fibrillation: A review of The Yoga My Heart Study.
Deutsch SB1, Krivitsky EL1.

Author information

1University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, 1 Tampa General Circle, Tampa, FL 33606, USA.

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia affecting thousands of individuals worldwide.
It is a conduction disorder that causes the heart to beat irregularly and rapidly.

There are a few medical approaches to manage this costly health care burden: antiarrhythmics to maintain normal sinus rhythm, beta blockers to achieve rate control while allowing atrial fibrillation to persist, and electro-physiologic intervention for rate and rhythm control.

These treatments can be costly and are not without side effects.

Yoga, an intervention that is available to people worldwide, has shown some promise in combating this widespread heart disorder.

Source

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Brief periods of standing, walking tied to better blood sugar

 

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

(Reuters Health) – Older women at risk for type 2 diabetes may want to break up prolonged periods of sitting by standing or going for short walks, suggests a new study from the UK.

Researchers found standing up or walking every so often improved blood sugar, or glucose, levels among postmenopausal women at risk for diabetes, compared to those who sat for 7.5 hours.

“We were really interested in seeing whether breaking up that sitting time with standing or walking had a role in breaking up glucose levels throughout the day,” said lead author Joseph Henson, of the University of Leicester.

The study involved 22 overweight postmenopausal women at risk for diabetes, and three possible daily routines. The women were randomly assigned to follow two of the routines on separate days, at least a week apart. Either they would sit for 7.5 hours, or they would break up the time by standing up for five minutes every half hour, or they’d walk for five minutes every half hour.

The women ate a standardized breakfast and lunch, and the researchers then took blood samples throughout the day.

“After eating, there is a big spike in glucose levels,” said Henson. “In those with impaired glucose regulation, they’re not able to bring them back down to normal levels that quickly.”

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Back pain: Prevention and management in the workplace

 

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2015 Jun;29(3):483-94. doi: 10.1016/j.berh.2015.04.028. Epub 2015 May 31.

Back pain: Prevention and management in the workplace.

Schaafsma FG1, Anema JR2, van der Beek AJ3.

Author information

1Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Research Centre for Insurance Medicine, Collaboration Between AMC-UMCG-UWV-VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: f.schaafsma@vumc.nl.
2Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Research Centre for Insurance Medicine, Collaboration Between AMC-UMCG-UWV-VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
3Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Research Centre for Insurance Medicine, Collaboration Between AMC-UMCG-UWV-VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Body@Work, Research Center Physical Activity, Work and Health, TNO-VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Despite all the efforts in studying work-related risk factors for low back pain (LBP), interventions targeting these risk factors to prevent LBP have no proven cost-effectiveness. Even with adequate implementation strategies for these interventions on group level, these did not result in the reduction of incident LBP. Physical exercise, however, does have a primary preventive effect on LBP.
For secondary prevention, it seems that there are more opportunities to cost-effectively intervene in reducing the risk of long-term sickness absence due to LBP.
Starting at the earliest moment possible with proper assessment of risk factors for long-term sickness absence related to the individual, the underlying mechanisms of the LBP, and also factors related to the workplace by a well-trained clinician, may increase the potential of effective return to work (RTW) management.
More research on how to overcome barriers in the uptake of these effective interventions in relation to policy-specific environments, and with regard to proper financing of RTW management is necessary.
Source

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Even if they exercise, heart disease patients who sit a lot have worse health

 

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

 

Ottawa, November 25, 2015 – Patients with heart disease who sit a lot have worse health even if they exercise, reveals research from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, and published today in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention.1
“Get up and move every 30 minutes to improve health.”
“Limiting the amount of time we spend sitting may be as important as the amount we exercise,” said lead author Dr Stephanie Prince, post-doctorate fellow in the Division of Prevention and Rehabilitation, University of Ottawa Heart Institute. “Sitting, watching TV, working at a computer and driving in a car are all sedentary behaviours and we need to take breaks from them.”
Previous research has shown that being sedentary increases the risk of cardiovascular disease but until now its effect on patients with established heart disease was unknown.
The current study investigated levels of sedentary behaviour and the effect on health in 278 patients with coronary artery disease. The patients had been through a cardiac rehabilitation programme which taught them how to improve their levels of exercise in the long term.
Patients wore an activity monitor during their waking hours for nine days. The monitors allowed the researchers to measure how long patients spent being sedentary, or doing light, moderate or vigorous levels of physical activity.
The researchers also assessed various markers of health including body mass index (BMI, in kg/m2) and cardiorespiratory fitness. Next they looked at whether the amount of time a person spent being sedentary (which was mainly sitting) was related to these markers of health.
The researchers found that patients with coronary artery disease spent an average of eight hours each day being sedentary. “This was surprising given that they had taken classes on how to exercise more,” said Dr Prince. “We assumed they would be less sedentary but they spent the majority of their day sitting.”
Men spent more time sitting than women – an average of one hour more each day. This was primarily because women tended to do more light intensity movement – things like light housework, walking to the end of the drive, or running errands.
Dr Prince said: “Women with coronary artery disease spend less time sitting for long periods but we need to do more research to understand why. There is some research from the past which suggests that at around the age of 60 men become more sedentary than women and may watch more TV.”
The researchers found that patients who sat more had a higher BMI. They also had lower cardiorespiratory fitness, which was assessed using VO2 peak. This is the maximum rate at which the heart, lungs and muscles use oxygen during an exercise test (also called aerobic capacity).
“These relationships remained even when we controlled for an individual’s age, gender or physical activity levels,” said Dr Prince. “In other words, people who sat for longer periods were heavier and less fit regardless of how much they exercised.”
Practical tips to get moving:

• Get up and move every 30 minutes
• Stand up during TV commercials or, even better, do light exercises while watching TV
• Set a timer and take regular breaks from your desk
• Take lunch breaks outside instead of in front of the computer
• Go to bed instead of sitting in front of the TV and get the benefits of sleeping
• Monitor your activity patterns to find out when you are most sedentary.

Dr Prince emphasized that sitting less was not a replacement for exercise. “It’s important to limit prolonged bouts of sitting and in addition to be physically active,” she said. “Sedentary time may be another area of focus for cardiac rehabilitation programmes along with exercise.”
Source

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