Dr. G’s May health ezine

Happy May to you.  So far it looks like we’re going to have a great month.  Here’s some news you can use.

For those of you who think we’re crazy to exercise, recent research has found a link between regular physical activity and mental and emotional health.

Exercise, fitness level, and depression: A large study of 5,451 men and 1,277 women tested participants’ level of aerobic fitness and compared it to their scores on a depression inventory and an emotional well-being assessment.  Results showed that people with a higher fitness score have a lower risk of developing depression and had higher emotional well-being scores. 

In addition, when the participants were assessed for their activity level, results showed that for each increase in weekly miles of exercise completed, protection from depression and improved emotional well-being increased.  In other words, the more participants exercised and the more fit they were, the better their mental and emotional health.

Another study relates the relationship between exercise and dementia:  A study of 1,740 mentally healthy people aged 65 and older were examined for six years to determine who developed dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Results showed people who exercised at least three or more days per week were 32 percent less likely to develop dementia than those who exercised less than three days per week. 

The reduction of Alzheimer’s disease in exercisers was found to be similar to dementia. It is thought that the reason is due to improved circulation and oxygen transport to the brain during exercise which improves cognitive function.

What it all means: You may be able to take an active role in your mental and emotional health. Evidence continues to show that regular physical activity has a positive effect on your brain as well as helping your body and is one of the key factors in being happy and emotionally healthy. In addition, moving your body could decrease your risk of developing more serious mental health problems including depression, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Sources: Galper, Trevedi, Barlow, et al. (2006). “Inverse Association Between Physical Activity and Mental Health in Men and Women”, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 38; Larson, Want, Bowen, et al. (2006).  “Exercise is Associated with Reduced Risk for Incident Dementia among Persons 65 Years of Age and Older.” Annals of Internal Medicine, 144.

Source: Northwestern Health Sciences University, www.nwhealth.edu/nwtoday/index.html

For those of you who still won’t exercise, here is the next best thing:

Laughter is a highly complex process. Joyous or mirthful laughter is considered a positive stress (eustress) that involves complicated brain activities leading to a positive effect on health. Norman Cousins first suggested the idea that humor and the associated laughter can benefit a person’s health in the 1970s. His ground-breaking work, as a layperson diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, documented his use of laughter in treating himself—with medical approval and oversight—into remission. He published his personal research results in the New England Journal of Medicine and is considered one of the original architects of mind-body medicine.

Dr. Lee S. Berk, a preventive care specialist and psychoneuroimmunology researcher at Loma Linda University’s Schools of Allied Health (SAHP) and Medicine, and director of the molecular research lab at SAHP, Loma Linda, CA, and Dr. Stanley Tan have picked up where Cousins left off. Since the 1980s, they have been studying the human body’s response to mirthful laughter and have found that laughter helps optimize many of the functions of various body systems. Berk and his colleagues were the first to establish that laughter helps optimize the hormones in the endocrine system, including decreasing the levels of cortisol and epinephrine, which lead to stress reduction. They have also shown that laughter has a positive effect on modulating components of the immune system, including increased production of antibodies and activation of the body’s protective cells, including T-cells and especially Natural Killer cells’ killing activity of tumor cells. Their studies have shown that repetitious “mirthful laughter,” which they call Laughercise©, causes the body to respond in a way similar to moderate physical exercise. Laughercise© enhances your mood, decreases stress hormones, enhances immune activity, lowers bad cholesterol and systolic blood pressure, and raises good cholesterol (HDL).

As Berk explains, “We are finally starting to realize that our everyday behaviors and emotions are modulating our bodies in many ways.” His latest research expands the role of laughter even further.

I’ve mentioned to you in the past the importance of eating healthy, and to particularly avoid “inflaming” your digestive system.  Here, again, are the top foods to eat and the top foods to avoid.  Bon apetite.

10 BEST ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FOODS

*Wild salmon, mackerel and other omega-3-fatty-acid-rich fish.
*Berries.
*Green, leafy vegetables (e.g., spinach and kale).
*Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, etc.).
*Deeply pigmented produce, such as sweet potatoes, eggplant and pomegranate…  along with carrots, plums, oranges, peppers, peas and red grapes.
*Nuts, particularly almonds, walnuts, and cashews.
*Whole grains, including sprouted grains.
*Tea — specifically black, green and white teas.  
*Cold-pressed fresh oils, including avocado, flaxseed and olive oils in particular.
*Spices (specifically, garlic, ginger, turmeric, saffron).

10 WORST INFLAMMATORY FOODS

*Desserts made with lots of sugar (cookies, candy, ice cream and so on).  
*Sweetened cereals. 
*”White” carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, white potatoes, English muffins, etc.).
*Non-diet soft drinks.
*Anything containing high-fructose corn syrup.
*Processed meats (bologna, salami, hotdogs, sausage and others made with preservatives and additives).
*French fries, potato chips and other fried snack foods.
*Fast foods, most specifically the ones that are high-fat, high-calorie, high simple carbohydrate — which describes most of the inexpensive offerings at quick-serve restaurants. 
*Margarine, because it contains processed sterols called stanols that have been implicated in both atherosclerosis and various fatty-deposit diseases.
*Organ meats such as liver, because these often contain undesirable products including antibiotics, fertilizer and other unwanted residues.

 THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH

The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart. – Benjamin Franklin

A wise man will not communicate his differing thoughts to unprepared minds, or in a disorderly manner. – Benjamin Whichcote

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. – Buddha

There is a difference between happiness and wisdom: He that thinks himself the happiest man really is so; but he that thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest fool. – Charles Caleb Colton

Cheers.  Dr. Ben

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