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I’ve always been of the opinion that eating processed foods loaded with high-fructose corn syrup or other sugars is neither smart nor healthful, and now a new study takes that premise one step further — sugar may actually be making us “stupid”.

In the past decade the increased consumption of processed foods laden with high fructose corn syrup has led Americans to gain weight; a lot of weight. In fact, 2/3 of Americans are now overweight and 1/3 are genuinely obese. This trend threatens to erode the great cardiovascular strides we’ve enjoyed over the last 30 years. In preventive cardiology we are all preparing for the looming storm of heart attacks and strokes that will strike our young population. In addition to the sedentary life style that is plaguing our nation, the shift to high carbohydrate diets is largely to blame for widespread obesity and a wide range of other debilitating ailments and conditions.

A new UCLA study has found an additional problem associated with the intake of high fructose corn syrup — binging on soda and sweets for as little as six weeks may negatively impact one’s intelligence – in addition to expanding our waistline! The study is the first to show that a diet high in fructose slows the brain, impairing memory and learning. The study also found that consuming omega-3 fatty acids could effectively counteract the disruptive effects of the sugar. (No, that does not mean you should follow your cookies with a fish oil chaser! You need to avoid the sugar in the first place.)

While many studies have revealed how fructose harms the body through diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, the UCLA study is the first to reveal the sweetener’s negative influence on brain function.  Read More…

A roundup of today’s important preventive health news.

• Study: Why Omega-3 Oils Help at Cellular Level – eurekalert!
• FDA Panel Recommends First Drug for HIV Prevention – medscape today
• Eye Changes May Predict Heart Disease in Blacks With Diabetes – health.com
• New Diagnostic Criteria for Alzheimer’s Disease – medscape today
• Early Biomarker for Pancreatic Cancer Identified – sciencedaily
• Marijuana May Relieve Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms – medical news today

related: more preventive health news from the Foundation for Preventive and Integrative Medicine

I’ve felt for quite some time that vitamin D — and D3 in particular — should be an important component of a healthy individual’s daily vitamin intake, often in the form of supplementation.

As we learn more and more about the promising role of vitamin D, additional patients with D deficiencies are being identified. Unfortunately, vitamin D is not found naturally in many foods, so most of our vitamin D is produced in our bodies by the action of sunlight on the skin.

Aging decreases our synthesis of vitamin D
Most vitamin D is produced in our bodies when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. As humans age, however, we often lose the ability to manufacture adequate amounts of vitamin D.  Research indicates that vitamin D is important not only for proper absorption of calcium and the maintenance of bone health, but also for maintaining healthy joints, a healthy cardiovascular system and healthy moods. In addition, vitamin D plays an important role in regulating cell division and differentiation and supports immune system function through its effects on macrophages, natural killer cells (NK), and T cells. Scientific data indicate that vitamin D also has a role in helping to maintain breast, prostate, colon, and kidney health. In other words, its impact in our bodies is far-reaching.

Vitamin D3 more effective than D2
A recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition* further supports my evidence-based belief that vitamin D3 is more effective than D2 (it can raise blood levels of vitamin D up to 70% better than D2). AJCN’s first-ever systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the effectiveness of the vitamin D forms supports the findings of many other researchers and studies.  (Note: vitamin D is found in two forms D3 or Cholecalciferol and D2, or Ergocalciferol. In contrast to Cholecalciferol, Ergocalciferol is not natural; it is a byproduct of irradiated fungi).

Check your vitamin D level
Ask your doctor to do a simple blood test for 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] that will provide the best measure of your vitamin D status. A 25(OH)D level of 40-50 ng/ml is currently thought to be optimal. If necessary, supplement with a daily multivitamin with adequate levels of vitamin D3 and then additional vitamin D3 as needed. A general rule of thumb is that your vitamin D level will rise 10 points for every 1,000 IU D3 taken daily.

Read that label
Look for the terms vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol on supplement labels. The D2 form of the vitamin (ergocalciferol) though widely used in fortification and supplements, is less potent and artificially derived.

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*Study: “Comparison of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 supplementation in raising serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status: a systematic review and meta-analysis1–3” — Laura Tripkovic, Helen Lambert, Kathryn Hart, Colin P Smith, Giselda Bucca, Simon Penson, Gemma Chope, Elina Hyppo ̈nen, Jacqueline Berry, Reinhold Vieth, and Susan Lanham-New

Our roundup of timely preventive health related news stories from around the web.

• Losing Weight When Obese Can Prevent or Cure Diabetes, Whatever the Initial BMI, Study Suggests – sciencedaily
• Role of Vitamin D Deficiency in Cardiovascular Disease – medscape today
• Comorbidities increase risk of mortality in COPD patients – eurekalerts.org
• New ESC Cardiovascular Disease Guidelines Emphasize Primary Prevention – theheart.org
• War on Smoking Offers Some Lessons for Obesity Fight – kaiser health news
• Sedentary Behavior: one definition to rule them all – PLoS Blogs
• Five Common Mistakes You’re Making at the Gym – time/healthland
• Rising Obesity Rates Might Mean More Rheumatioid Arthritis – health.com
• Joggers live much longer – medical news today

My recent interview on WPTV’s “Ask the Doctor” segment focusing on the diagnostic insights doctors can gain from advanced lipid testing.

• Yoga May Help Prevent Adolescent Mental Problems – medical news today
• Research Gets Closer to Genetic Roots of Glaucoma – health.com
• Better Health in Adulthood Starts With Early Prevention in Childhood – eurekAlert!
• TV Ads Linked to Unhealthy Diets in Young Adults – medpage today
• Gene ‘Switch’ Regenerates Damaged Heart Cells in Animal Study – eurekAlert!
• Study Suggests Intense Light Prevents, Treat Heart Attacks – science daily

Do you take a daily vitamin or supplement? Perhaps you should. Research suggests that supplement users are healthy people who tend to eat a better diet than most and who consider nutritional support one of several ways to protect their health. The primary reasons cited for taking a daily multiple vitamin include:

• Enhance energy and well-being
• Help defend against degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, and dementia
• Help manage existing health conditions such as arthritis and diabetes
• Slow the aging process

In fact, although we can’t make specific claims about nutritional supplements, a growing body of evidence shows a correlation between supplemental multivitamins and other nutrients and improved health, including the following:

• Reduced incidence of heart disease and stroke
• Protection against certain kinds of cancer
• Decreased incidence of certain birth defects
• Improved immune functioning
• Decreased number of sick days caused by infections among the elderly
• Delayed onset or progression of vision-robbing macular degeneration
• Reduced incidence of hip fractures from osteoporosis

A study undertaken by The Lewin Group found that given the myriad potential protective benefits, daily use of a multivitamin is a relatively inexpensive yet potentially powerful way to improve one’s health. They also noted that within a health insurance context, the five-year estimate of potential net savings resulting from daily multivitamin intake for adults over 65 is approximately 1.6 billion dollars.

Research shows that 80 to 90 percent of the population does not achieve the recommended daily value (RDV) for each vitamin and mineral, nor do they even come close. As if it weren’t hard enough to get the nutrients through our diet, 12 of the top 20 medications prescribed in the United States are drugs that can cause nutrient depletion — a situation exacerbated by the pace and stress of a daily multi-tasking lifestyle. In fact, marginal nutritional deficiencies are present in about 50% of the non multiple vitamin and mineral using population. And, keep in mind that the RDV levels for each nutrient are intended to guard against only severe nutrient deficiency diseases like Scurvy (vitamin C), but are not intended to serve as levels of vitamin and mineral intake that are optimal in regard to supporting biological functions, preventing degenerative diseases, and maximizing our well-being and longevity.

I advise my patients to take a simple  multivitamin/multimineral that contains USP Pharmaceutical Grade Quality ingredients, chelated minerals that enhance absorption and bioavailability and a coating that avoids lead and other heavy metals. A daily multivitamin should be independently assayed for purity and content and contain 100% of the recommended daily value (RDV) for all the essential vitamins and minerals.

In my interview (below) on WPTV’s “Ask the Doctor” segment I discuss non-invasive heart testing, women’s preventive cardiology, as well as the positive impact proper diet and moderate exercise can have on heart health.

• Avocado Oil: The ‘Olive Oil of the Americas’? – EurekAlerts
• Medical News: FDA Warns of Aliskiren Combos – medpage today
• Exercising Daily Lowers Alzheimer’s Risk, Even if You Start Later in Life – medical news today
• Depression Linked to a Greater Risk of Peripheral Artery Disease – AHA / heart .org
• Social Media: Tracking the Tell-Tale Heart – medpage today
• Tax on Salt Could Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Deaths by 3 Percent – EurekAlerts
• Researchers Find Soda Consumption Increases Overall Stroke Risk – science daily
• Diabetes Group Issues New Guideline on Blood Sugar – yahoo news

The antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin may play an even greater role in maintaining eye health than previously thought. A growing body of scientific literature supports the role of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin in maintaining eye health, particularly in combating age-related macular degeneration. In addition, a recent Finnish study suggests that these nutrients may also provide benefit for those at risk of cataracts.

The Finnish study indicates that oxidative stress plays an important role in cataractogenesis (the process of cataract formation) and that the dietary intake of antioxidants, specifically the beta-carotenes lutein and zeaxanthin, may reduce oxidation and thus decrease the risk of age-related cataracts. The study consists of 1689 elderly Finnish subjects (559 women and 1130 men) aged 61–80 years. One hundred and thirteen cases of incident age-related cataracts were confirmed, of which 108 cases were nuclear cataracts. After adjusting for several factors, including: age, examination year, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, serum LDL-cholesterol, serum HDL-cholesterol, use of oral corticosteroids, history of diabetes and history of hypertension and antihypertensive medication, the authors found that subjects with the highest blood plasma concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin had 42 and 41 percent lower risks of nuclear cataract when compared with those with the lowest concentrations. The study suggests that high plasma concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin were associated with a decreased risk of age-related nuclear cataract in the elderly population.

Risk factors
It should be noted that additional risk factors associated with age-related cataracts include: diabetes, prolonged exposure to sunlight, tobacco use and alcohol drinking.

Conclusions
Eating a healthful diet, in combination with regular exercise can also contribute to eye health — combating the formation of both age-related cataracts, and the progression of age-related macular degeneration (another leading cause of blindness in persons over 55).  Dietary sources of lutein and zeaxanthin include green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, broccoli, peas, squash, egg yolk, corn, orange peppers, oranges and honeydew melons. Taking a daily supplement with appropriate amounts of antioxidants lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin can also help your overall vision; and as the Finnish study suggests, help reduce the incidence of cataract formation.

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