Could This Be a Key To Preventing Dementia?

Hi and welcome to this week’s look at headlines in natural news on iHealthTube dot com.

The Mediterranean diet has shown to have a variety of health benefits, but now scientists are looking more closely at key component of that diet for its role in dementia and brain health.  Researchers at Temple University have found that extra-virgin olive oil protects memory and reduces the formation of amyloid plaques and other markers of Alzheimer’s disease.

The team also found that olive oil reduced brain inflammation, in fact, one of the lead investigators said that olive oil could be better than fruits and vegetables alone and as a monounsaturated vegetable fat, its healthier than saturated animal fats.

And another example of those good fats is from a study out of Ohio that shows a high fat diet may help harmful inflammation in the gut.

The study showed that so called ‘good fats’ from plants like coconut oil and cocoa butter, drastically reduced the kinds of bacteria in the gut in mice with Crohn’s-like disease.  Crohn’s disease is a debilitating inflammatory bowel syndrome that causes intestinal swelling, cramping and other symptoms… The mice that were fed the fatty diets had up to 30 percent fewer kinds of gut bacteria and resulted in less severe intestinal inflammation.  

Researchers feel that changing bad fats with good ones can have a beneficial effect on gut bacteria and inflammation in Crohn’s patients.

Another way to help reduce dangerous inflammation… get enough sleep!

Research out of Ohio State University is showing a lack of sleep can leave you cranky for sure… but it also can put you at risk for stress-related inflammation.  That type of inflammation is linked with higher cardiovascular disease, arthritis and much more…

The study used 43 couples who provided blood samples and recorded hours of sleep the previous two nights… then they were asked to resolve a topic that sparks conflict in their marriage… then another blood sample the following morning.

Those who slept less had greater inflammatory response to the conflict.  And for every hour of sleep lost… the levels of two inflammatory markers rose 6 percent.

That’s a look at what’s making headlines in natural health this week… keep up to date on the latest in natural health by going to iHealthTube dot com and signing up for our free email newsletter!