Weekly Gravy « Weekly Gravy

All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

The smell of food is appetizing when you’re hungry. At the same time, it can be a turnoff if you’re full. That’s due to the interaction between two different parts of the brain involving sense of smell and behavior motivation, a new study finds. And it could be why some people can’t easily stop eating when they’re full, which contributes to obesity, researchers say. The weaker the connection between those two brain regions, the heavier people tend to become, results show. “The desire to eat is related to how appealing the smell of food is — food smells better when you are hungry than when you are full,” said study co-author Guangyu Zhou, a research assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “But if the brain circuits that help guide this behavior are disrupted, these signals may get confused, leading to food being rewarding even when you are full.” “If this happens, a person’s BMI could increase. And that is what we found,” Zhou added in a Northwestern news release. “When the structural connection between these two brain regions is weaker, a person’s BMI is higher, on average.” Odors play an important role in guiding motivation for behaviors like eating, researchers said. At the same time, how you perceive smells can be influenced by how hungry you are. But… read on > read on >

Following a vegetarian or vegan diet might just buy you a longer, healthier life, a new review finds. Staying away from meat was tied to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and early death, researchers reported in a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. After combing through nearly 50 studies on such diets that were published between 2000 and 2023, a clear pattern emerged: Both were linked to a lower risk of both cancer and heart disease linked to narrowed arteries. Notably, the diets seemed to reduce the risk of prostate cancer and gastrointestinal cancers like colon cancer. Vegetarian diets were also linked to a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. In addition, plant-based diets lowered the chances of obesity, inflammation and “bad” LDL cholesterol. “This research shows, in general, that a plant-based diet can be beneficial, and taking small steps in that direction can make a difference,” said review co-author Matthew Landry, an assistant professor of population health and disease prevention at the University of California, Irvine. “You don’t have to go completely vegan to see some of these benefits,” he told NBC News. “Even reducing a day or two per week of animal-based consumption can have benefits over time.” Still, Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, noted that… read on > read on >

Higher rates of blood vessel-damaging conditions like hypertension or diabetes may be driving up rates of cognitive decline and dementia among older American Indians, new research shows. The study found that 54% of American Indians ages 72 to 95 had some form of impairment in their thinking and/or memory skills, while 10% had dementia. The underlying causes: Vascular (blood vessel) damage and Alzheimer’s disease, in equal measure and sometimes overlapping. “These results underscore that cognitive impairment among elder American Indians is highly prevalent, more than previously thought,” said Dr. Amy Kelley, deputy director of the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA), which funded the study. “Considering how these new prevalence figures for American Indians are much higher than other groups… it is imperative that we address health disparities to help us find solutions,” she said in an NIA news release. The findings were based on data from nearly 400 participants in the ongoing Strong Heart Study, which has tracked the health of American Indian tribes in three U.S. geographic regions — the Northern Plains, Southern Plains and South — for over 30 years. The data showed that, among 216 participants now aged 72 to 95, about 35% had what’s known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often a precursor to dementia. That’s significantly higher than the level of MCI observed in similarly aged whites (12% to… read on > read on >

Climate change is likely to make brain conditions like stroke, migraine, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis even worse, a new review warns. The potential effects of a changing climate is likely to be substantial on a range of neurological conditions, researchers report May 15 in The Lancet Neurology journal. “There is clear evidence for an impact of the climate on some brain conditions, especially stroke and infections of the nervous system,” said lead researcher Sanjay Sisodiya, a professor with the University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology. For the review, researchers analyzed data from 332 studies published between 1968 and 2023. “The climatic variation that was shown to have an effect on brain diseases included extremes of temperature [both low and high], and greater temperature variation throughout the course of day — especially when these measures were seasonally unusual,” Sisodiya said in a university news release. Strokes increased during high temperature days or heat waves, researchers found. Meanwhile, people with dementia were more susceptible to temperature-related conditions like heat stroke or hypothermia, as well as more vulnerable during weather events like flooding or wildfires. “Reduced awareness of risk is combined with a diminished capacity to seek help or to mitigate potential harm, such as by drinking more in hot weather or by adjusting clothing,” the research team wrote. “Accordingly, greater temperature variation, hotter… read on > read on >

The Mediterranean diet has already been shown to be great for a person’s physical health, but new research finds that following the Mediterranean diet also can lift your mood. People on the diet tended to have lower levels of anxiety and stress, researchers reported recently in the journal Nutrients. “It’s a big tick for the Mediterranean diet,” said researcher Evangeline Mantzioris, with the University of South Australia. “Through a relatively easy lifestyle change, people can markedly improve their stress and anxiety levels. Who wouldn’t want to give it a go?” The Mediterranean diet involves plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts, legumes and olive oil, researchers said. Fish and seafood should be eaten at least twice a week, and dairy and lean proteins eaten daily in smaller portions. The diet encourages minimal consumption of red meats and processed foods and cutting out sugary beverages. For this study, researchers surveyed nearly 300 Australians aged 60 and older regarding their diet and their symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. People who ate in ways that closely tracked a Mediterranean diet had lower levels of stress and anxiety, even after researchers accounted for other factors. The researchers also found that specific elements of a Mediterranean diet — fruit, nuts, legumes and low consumption of sugary beverages — were associated with less stress and anxiety. No… read on > read on >

People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face more than triple the odds of bruxism, otherwise known as teeth grinding, a new study finds. The small study of 76 Brazilian adults (38 diagnosed with PTSD and 38 without the condition) found much higher incidence of daytime teeth grinding. “Our study showed that PTSD can be manifested orally, in bruxism and a higher level of pain after a clinical dental examination. This requires joint action by psychiatrists, psychologists and dentists in screening and treatment of both health conditions,” said study lead author Dr. Ana Cristina de Oliveira Solis of the University of Sao Paulo. The findings were published recently in the journal Clinical Oral Investigations. According to background information supplied by the researchers, it’s thought that between 8% and 30% of people habitually grind their teeth during waking hours. While it’s well known that PTSD can manifest in psychological ways, such as flashbacks, nightmares, sleeplessness and self-destructive behaviors, there’s been little study of its effect on oral health, the researchers said. Everyone in the study underwent an examination to determine the health of their teeth and gums. “Oral hygiene was not found to be associated with the problem,” Solis said in a journal news release. “Periodontal examination, which included measurement of bacterial plaque and gingival bleeding [or bleeding on probing], showed that patients with PTSD and controls… read on > read on >

Preeclampsia can be a life-threatening complication of pregnancy, but a new blood test can help predict a woman’s risk for the condition while she is in her first trimester, the test’s maker said Wednesday. It’s the first test in the United States that can be used between 11 and 14 weeks gestation to determine the risk of preeclampsia before 34 weeks of pregnancy, Labcorp said in a news release announcing the launch of the test. “By giving healthcare providers another tool to assess preeclampsia risk in their pregnant patients with objective biomarkers, we’re helping to advance prenatal care and improve outcomes for mothers and their babies,” Labcorp’s Chief Medical and Scientific Officer Dr. Brian Caveney said in the news release. Roughly one in 25 U.S. pregnancies is affected by preeclampsia, which poses an even greater risk for Black women, who experience the condition at a 60% higher rate than white women do, the company noted. Still, some doctors wonder how much it will help. “It is currently unclear how useful the Labcorp test will be in accurately predicting risk for developing preeclampsia and whether it is appropriate for all pregnant patients,” Dr. Christopher Zahn, interim CEO at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), told CNN. “Before a screening test can be successfully employed, there needs to be an evidence-based intervention to either prevent or reduce the impact of… read on > read on >

In a small pilot study, some young women looking to lose weight on a low-calorie keto diet got an unexpected benefit: Their acne began to clear up. “These findings represent an opportunity to control a skin disease that affects most teenagers and many adults at some point in their lifetimes, causing distress, embarrassment, anxiety and low self-confidence among sufferers, robbing them of their quality of life,” said lead study author Luigi Barrea, of the Università Telematica Pegaso in Naples, Italy. His team presented its findings Tuesday at the European Congress on Obesity on Vienna, Italy. As Barrea’s group explained, acne is thought to be a chronic inflammatory illness affecting what’s known as the pilosebaceous unit: the hair follicle, hair shaft and nearby sebaceous gland. About 9% of the world’s population is affected by acne, largely in the teenage years. According to the Italian researchers, acne has long been linked with obesity, perhaps because both conditions are tied to rising inflammation and oxidative stress. Could the ketogenic diet fight that underlying inflammation and oxidative stress? “While the role of diet in acne is inconclusive, the very low-calorie ketogenic diet is known for aiding weight loss and generating anti-inflammatory ketone bodies that provide energy when dietary carbohydrates are scarce, as well as promoting resistance against inflammatory and oxidative stress,” Barrea explained in a meeting news release. “We thought… read on > read on >

People who regularly ride bikes throughout their life are less likely to develop knee arthritis, a new study suggests. Bicyclists are 17% less likely to have knee pain and 21% less likely to have symptoms of knee arthritis, compared to people who’ve never biked, researchers discovered. It also appears that people who’ve biked all their lives have a lower risk of knee arthritis than people who’ve only pedaled at one point or another, results show. “Each increase in the number of age periods engaged in bicycling resulted in lower likelihood of reporting knee pain” and knee arthritis detected by both symptoms and X-rays, said lead researcher Dr. Grace Lo, an associate professor of medicine in allergy, immunology and rheumatology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Doctors often encourage regular physical activity to prevent knee arthritis, but some exercises tend to be more effective than others. For this study, researchers analyzed data from more than 2,600 people ages 45 to 79 participating in a study of knee arthritis. About half of the people said they had a consistent history of biking. The participants were asked about their bicycling activities during four age periods of their lives — 12 to 18, 19 to 34, 35 to 49 and 50 or older. These activities could include either outdoor biking or riding an indoor stationary cycle. The new… read on > read on >

A competitive game with a potential cash reward appeared to help overweight British men lose weight, researchers report. The incentive was winning the “Game of Stones” — a stone is a British measurement of body weight equal to 14 pounds — and pocketing the equivalent of just over $500 in American dollars if the man achieved weight-loss goals. Weight loss was more successful among men who engaged in Games of Stones versus those who weren’t offered the challenge, said a team led by Dr. Pat Hoddinott, of the University of Stirling in Scotland. Nevil Chesterfield, 68, lost weight and called Game of Stones “a real success for me.” “The financial incentive was important — it did give the project tremendous credibility when I explained it to my peer group,” he said in a news release from the University of Bristol, which partnered in the research. “Partaking in a university study sounds worthy, and the fact that it is intended to inform future health policy gives seriousness, but the payments for hitting targets takes it to new heights, particularly with male friends. To them, it becomes something more than some sort of diet,” Chesterfield said. The premise of Game of Stones was simple. Men living with obesity were promised the cash reward if they met three weight-loss targets: 5% weight loss at three months, 10% at… read on > read on >

Weekly Gravy

Look Good – Feel Good – Feed Good

A little about: Weekly Gravy

All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Brain’s ‘Food Smell’ Circuitry Might Drive Overeating

Plant-Based Diets Lower Risk of Heart Trouble, Cancer and Death

Brain Decline, Dementia Common Among Older American Indians

Stroke, Migraine, Alzheimer’s: Climate Change Will Likely Make Them Worse

Mediterranean Diet Could Be a Stress-Buster, Study Finds

PTSD Triples Odds for Teeth Grinding, Study Finds

New Blood Test Could Help Spot Preeclampsia in First Trimester

Could a Low-Cal Keto Diet Help Ease Acne?

Pedal Power: Biking Could Help Prevent Knee Arthritis

One Key to Weight Loss for Men: Competing for Cash