Researchers have found that two probiotic strains could help with anxiety issues

For those who thought probiotics were just for your digestive health, we’ve got some news for you.

New research published in the British Journal of Nutrition shows that two particular strains of probiotics — Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum –have “beneficial psychological effects in humans” and may play a key role in reducing some people’s anxiety.

The research by French scientists found that “levels of psychological distress, including measures of depression, anger-hostility, anxiety, and problem solving, were significantly improved in the probiotic group, compared with placebo.” According to the researchers:

These results provide further evidence that gut microflora play a role in stress, anxiety and depression, perhaps via the enteric nervous system as well as centrally. … Subject to the confirmation of these results, probiotics might offer a useful novel therapeutic approach to neuropathological disorders and/or as adjunct therapies in psychiatric disorders.

Research has shown probiotics to support immunity, as well as other important areas of one’s health. Probiotics, tiny microorganisms that help maintain a healthy balance of essential bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, are becoming increasingly popular in today’s health & nutrition market.

It is important to understand, though, that while some products claim to provide large quantities of probiotics, the diversity of strains, total bacterial count and protection of the probiotics are key elements in a powerful product.

Original article

According to the CDC, if current obesity trends don't change, one in three American adults will have diabetes by 2050

Alarming new statistics released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the number of people in the United States with diabetes could triple by 2050.

According to the CDC, “[t]he number of new diabetes cases a year will increase from 8 per 1,000 in 2008 to 15 per 1,000 in 2050″ if lifestyle changes in the general population aren’t made.

One in 10 U.S. adults now has diabetes. The CDC estimates show a sharp rise in diabetes over the next 40 years “due to an aging population more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, increases in minority groups that are at high risk for type 2 diabetes, and people with diabetes living longer.”

The CDC projections show an alarming increase in the number of cases of Type 2 diabetes, which is largely preventable. According to Ann Albright, PhD, RD, director of CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, changes in lifestyle — breaking bad habits, exercising regularly and eating a proper diet — could stem the disease  in individuals:

Successful programs to improve lifestyle choices on healthy eating and physical activity must be made more widely available, because the stakes are too high and the personal toll too devastating to fail.

According to recent studies, diabetes costs Americans “an estimated $174 billion annually, including $116 billion in direct medical costs.” And those costs are recurring, according to Irene O’Shaughnessy, an endocrinologist at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and the Medical College of Wisconsin, since instilling new habits generally takes time:

Diabetes is a very expensive disease. It is an overwhelming problem … Teaching people how to eat right takes multiple visits It’s an expensive program to staff, and you have to keep reinforcing the better habits. Prevention starts in the home with children growing up with a healthy lifestyle, and with educating parents so they don’t transfer bad habits to their children.

While some medical experts suggest consulting with a dietitian, it’s a costly visit: many insurance companies will only pay for a single visit, even though it takes multiple sessions to truly help change behaviors. According to Ramin Alemzadeh, a pediatric endocrinologist, 15 percent of the families in his Wisconsin practice “don’t want dietary counseling because their insurance company will deny the fee.”

Original article

The benefits of probiotics have been touted in a new report from Global Industry Analysts. According to a news article about the September 2010 report, “Research work was continuing to improve the efficacy of probiotic ingredients and the variety of platforms in which they could be present.”

The increased consumption is also a result of the probiotic product being available in the form of dietary supplements and food such as baked and dairy products, which induced major players to integrate probiotics with products such as chocolates, cheese, muffins, and sausages … With further advancement in technology, probiotics usage is likely to extend beyond the current realms of gut, dental, and immune health to several other areas of human health. As consumers across the world are becoming increasingly aware of the favorable benefits of the ‘friendly’ bacteria, the market is likely to reap rich gains in coming years.

The report also said that consumers looking to purchase a high-quality probiotics product are “increasingly likely to pay premiums”. But the question remains: What makes a high-quality probiotics product?

Many products on the market deliver a high total probiotic count, but they are only coming from one or two strains. That yields a product which does not deliver comprehensive support. According to research published in Food Research International, probiotic products which deliver multiple strains can offer more benefits that a single strain.

Diversity of strains, total bacterial count and protection of the probiotics are key elements in a powerful probiotic product. The digestive tract is home to 400-500 different types of microbes. These microbes include both healthy bacteria (probiotics) and potentially unhealthy bacteria.

Maintaining optimal digestive and immune health depends in large part on maintaining optimal bacterial balance within the digestive tract. With such tremendous diversity naturally present in the digestive tract, it is important to supplement with not just one strain, but numerous strains of probiotics, so that the most comprehensive benefit is received.

Original article.

According to new statistics released this month, more than half of U.S. adults are using supplements. The statistics show that 53 percent of American adults are using some form of supplementation.

Lead researcher Jaime Gahche and her counterparts called the use of supplements “widespread” in their assessment, and that supplements are “contributing substantially to total nutrient intake” in the United States.

The report looked at supplement use among adults from 2003 to 2006, and compared it to use in 1988 to 1994. Among the findings:

• Nearly 40 percent of all Americans use at least one multivitamin/multimineral product, with use more common among women than men. That is up from 30 percent in the previous findings.
• The newest statistics show that more than 60 percent of all women over the age of 60 use a calcium supplement, compared to less than 30 percent in previous reports.
• Supplemental vitamin D use has increased dramatically in both men and women since the first study, especially in adults over the age of 40.

The study’s authors point out that supplement usage information should be collected to have an accurate picture of total health. In an interview with WebMD, Gahche said:

Dietary supplement use has increased in adults over age 20 since 1994, and we have over one-half of Americans taking one or more supplements a day. This information is important because such a high prevalence of people take dietary supplements. So we need to make sure we capture this information when assessing nutritional status. If we only include food and beverages, we are missing out on a big proportion.

While supplements can help offset nutritional deficiencies, many experts agree that taking supplements is not a way to make up for a poor diet. This thinking, according to Dr. Orly Avitzur, medical adviser for Consumer Reports, has led to an explosion in the supplement market, which accounted for approximately $27 billion in spending in 2009.

“There’s no substitute for a healthy lifestyle,” Dr. Avitzur told CNN.

That’s why it’s important to talk with your Health Professional about the types of supplements available on the market, and how each can help you achieve your own optimal health. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be happening as often as it should.

According to a recent survey conducted by the American Association of Retired People and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, just 58% of people who take supplements discussed products with a health professional.

One of the most important reasons to discuss supplement use with your Health Professional is because not all supplements are created equal. There are great differences between products on the market today.

Some supplements work faster and more effectively than others, providing rapid absorption and higher nutrition value than others. This can be for a number of reasons: the method which the product is delivered through the body, the elimination of fillers and binders that provide little nutritional value to the products, and the quality of ingredients used to create the product.

When choosing a supplement – as a majority of Americans are doing based on the latest research – it’s important to note these differences. That way, you can be sure that the supplement you are using is best for you and your specific needs.

Omega-3s are polyunsaturated fatty acids that have long been linked to health benefits, especially heart health.  Omega-3 fatty acids have been scientifically proven to decrease triglyceride levels and the risks of arrhythmias, and thus the risks of sudden heart attacks.  Other benefits include slowing plaque buildup in the arteries and slightly lowering blood pressure.

Two of the most essential omega-3 fatty acids are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).  The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends a daily intake of three grams of EPA and DPA to promote good heart health.  Both EPA and DPA support normal platelet activity, and work to maintain normal triglyceride and cholesterol levels, and normal blood flow and pressure.  Consumption of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may also reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

There are a number of foods that can provide you with omega-3 fatty acids; however, the best source is fatty fish, such as salmon, albacore tuna, sardines and lake trout.   The AHA recommends two servings of fatty fish per week.    Other sources of omega-3s include nuts and seeds,  oils, and spinach.  Help promote a healthy heart and get in the habit of adding omega-3-rich foods to your diet.  Join us on Facebook and Twitter to learn about more great sources of omega-3 fatty acids!

Healthy eating is a big part of maintaining heart health; however, it is not the only part.  Engaging in regular physical activity is also important for improving heart health conditions.  The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, or 75 minutes of strenuous exercise each week.  Regular exercise improves cardiovascular health by strengthening the entire heart system, reducing feelings of stress, lowering blood pressure, increasing HDL or “good” cholesterol levels, and by improving the circulation and use of oxygen in the body.

Aerobic exercise is especially good for heart health because it helps improve the use of oxygen and over time, helps decrease your heart rate and blood pressure.  Types of aerobic exercise include walking, jogging, swimming, bicycling, and jump-roping, among others.  Walking is an aerobic exercise that has been studied and found to have great heart health benefits.  According to the AHA, walking is the most effective form of exercise to promote heart health, and studies show that for every hour of walking, life expectancy may increase up to two hours.  Use American Heart Month as the inspiration to integrate at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise into your daily schedule- the results could be life-changing!  Here are a few suggestions:

• Park farther away from entrances so that you increase the distances that you walk throughout the day.  Between work, school, shopping centers, etc. – the distances add up!
• Always take the stairs.
• When possible, avoid drive-thru service.
• Play with your kids.  Encourage them to run and play outside by joining them!  Ride bikes, skate, race, jump rope, and play games like soccer and basketball that call for a lot of moving.  If you have to stay in, play the interactive video games that require standing and moving.
• When shopping, simply browse and take a couple of laps through the mall or grocery store before you go through and actually make purchases.
• If your job has a gym or workout facility, use 30 minutes of your lunch break to eat and the other 30 to take a run on the treadmill.  If your job doesn’t have a facility, a few of laps around the parking lot is a great alternative.
• Get together with other parents at your kids’ schools and extracurricular activities.  Form a workout group or take brisk walks while your kids are practicing.
• Take early morning jogs.  A cool, brisk jog will wake you up and give you energy for the rest of your day.

When it comes to heart health, there are only a few key elements that you need to integrate into your lifestyle that can contribute to a stronger, healthier heart.   Last year, the American Heart Association (AHA) crafted a list of essential guidelines  to promote optimal heart health.

Life’s Simple Seven ™, as the list has been titled, is a checklist that everyone can use to achieve better cardiovascular health.  A nationwide study by AHA of almost 18,000 adults showed those who followed at least five of the guidelines to have a 55% lower risk of death over five years than those who followed none.  While even seven guidelines may seem like a small checklist to follow, an AHA study reports that “less than 1% [of Americans] meet all seven of [the] criteria,” compared to the 35% of Americans who report that they are in good health.

The checklist urges people to meet the following seven guidelines:

-Get active:  It is recommended that you get 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise.

-Control cholesterol: Desirable cholesterol levels fall under 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL)

-Eat better:  Load your diet with foods that are high in nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, but low in substances like saturated fat, sodium and sugar.

-Manage blood pressure: Normal blood pressure levels are less than 120 mm Hg systolic and less than 80 mm Hg diastolic, or 120 over 80.

-Lose weight:  Anyone with a body mass index, or BMI, of 25 and higher is considered overweight.  You can calculate your BMI with the following formula:

[(your weight in pounds) X 703] ÷ (your height in inches X your height in inches)

-Reduce blood sugar:  Monitor blood sugar levels.  According to AHA, people with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease.

-Stop smoking:  Smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease and it increases the risk of excessive build up in the arteries, which in turn can lead to heart attacks.

Dr. Graveline has an interesting background that makes him particularly suited to speak on the topic of statin drugs. He’s a medical doctor with 23 years of experience whose health was seriously damaged by a statin drug. His personal questions brought him out of retirement to investigate statins, which he’s been doing for the past 10 years.

As a former astronaut, he would get annual physicals at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. In 1999 his cholesterol hit 280 and he was given a prescription for Lipitor.

“When they suggested Lipitor (10 mg), I went along with it because I had no reason to be particularly worried about statin drugs,” he says. “I had used it a year or so before my retirement, but I wasn’t a big user.”

However, it quickly became apparent that something was seriously wrong.

“It was six weeks later when I experienced my first episode of what was later diagnosed as transient global amnesia,” Dr. Graveline says.

“This is an unusual form of amnesia wherein you immediately, without the slightest warning, are unable to formulate new memory and you can no longer communicate. Not because you cannot talk, but you can’t remember the last syllable that was spoken to you. So nothing you say is relevant anymore. In addition, you have a retrograde loss of memory, sometimes decades into the past.”

He “woke up” about six hours later in the office of a neurologist, who gave him the diagnosis: transient global amnesia. He quit taking the Lipitor despite the reassurances from his doctors that the drug was not of concern, and that it was just a coincidence.

He had no relapses during the remainder of the year, but his cholesterol was still around 280 at his next physical. He was again urged to take Lipitor, and he relented.

“I admit I was concerned, but I had talked to maybe 30 doctors and a few pharmacologists during the interval,” Dr. Graveline says. “They all said “statins don’t do that.” So I allowed myself to go back on statins but this time I took just 5 mg.

…[E]ight weeks later, I had my second, and my worst episode. In this one, I was a 13-year-old high school student for 12 hours… This is what convinced me, when I finally woke up, that something was wrong with the statin drugs. And yet, the doctors were, for years after that, still saying that this was just a remarkable coincidence.

This took me out of retirement and I’ve been actively involved in researching statin drugs ever since.”

Statin Drugs: Not Nearly as Safe as You’re Told

Dr. Graveline has since published a book about his discoveries called Lipitor: Thief of Memory.

“In trying to reach an explanation, I called Joe Graedon and asked him if he had ever heard of any unusual reactions associated with statins,” Dr. Graveline says of his initial investigations.

He was directed to the statin effects study by Beatrice Golomb in San Diego, California, and his story was also published in a syndicated newspaper column. Within weeks, the web site he had created received reports of 22 cases of transient global amnesia, along with hundreds of cases of cognitive damage. At present, over 2,000 cases of transient global amnesia associated with the use of statins have been reported to FDA’s MedWatch.

But cognitive problems are not the only harmful aspect of these drugs. Other serious adverse reactions include:

• Personality changes / mood disorders
• Muscle problems, polyneuropathy (nerve damage in the hands and feet), and rhabdomyolysis (a serious degenerative muscle tissue condition)
• Sexual dysfunction
• Immune suppression
• Pancreas or liver dysfunction, including a potential increase in liver enzymes
• Cataracts

According to Dr. Graveline, a form of Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS may also be a side effect, although the US FDA is resistant to accept the link found by their Swedish counterpart, and has so far refused to issue a warning.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on this in July 2007 when Ralph Edwards, who directs the Vigibase in Sweden (the equivalent of the US MedWatch), reported ALS-like conditions in statin users worldwide,” Dr. Graveline says.

He has since forwarded hundreds of cases to MedWatch, but the FDA still has not been moved to act, and doctors are therefore unaware of the connection between this deadly disease and statin use.

“[W]e have anecdotal evidence that if you stop the statin drug early enough, some of these cases regress. That’s why we thought it was important that FDA issue a warning, but they haven’t,” Dr. Graveline says.

Today, all of these adverse effects, including the cognitive problems Dr. Graveline warned about 10 years ago, are supported by published research. MedWatch has received about 80,000 reports of adverse events related to statin drugs, and remember, only an estimated one to 10 percent of side effects are ever reported, so the true scope of statins’ adverse effects are still greatly underestimated.

For a more in-depth explanation of how statins damage your mitochondria and DNA, resulting in a variety of health problems, please listen to the interview in its entirety or read through the transcript as he discusses far more than I can include here.

How Statins Harm Your Brain Function

As is often the case with pharmaceutical drugs, the side effects end up teaching us new things about how the human body works. When statins first hit the market, conventional medicine was unaware of the importance of cholesterol for proper brain function. Now, researchers believe that statins’ adverse effects on cognition are due to cholesterol insufficiency.

Research also began to emerge in 2001 showing the importance of cholesterol in the formation of memories.

“Then we have… dolichols,” Dr. Graveline says. “[W]hen a statin is used, it blocks the mevalonate pathway to get at cholesterol inhibition. It works very beautifully. But in so doing, it blocks CoQ10, dolichols, as well as other major biochemicals…

[D]olichol is one that most doctors have never even heard of before, but it just so happens that dolichols are almost as important as CoQ10 and cholesterol in cell processing.”

In fact, dolichols are vital to a number of cellular processes, including:

• Glycoprotein synthesis
• Cell identification
• Cell communication
• Immunodefense
• Neurohormone formation

Dr. Graveline goes on to explain that dolichols influence all the hormones involved with your mental condition, including your emotions and moods. And if you do not have sufficient dolichol, your entire process of neurohormone production will be altered—with potentially devastating results.

“[T]here are thousands of reports of aggressiveness and hostility, increased sensitivity, paranoia, depression and homicidal ideation,” Dr. Graveline says.

There are also numerous reports of suicide.

“This whole range of what I call personality- or emotion and behavioral responses have to do with the dolichol deficiency brought on by the mevalonate blockade,” Dr. Graveline explains.

“It’s not just something that occurs in an occasional person… You know we’re all the same and yet we’re all different… You give one medicine to 10 people and if you’re really lucky, in six of them it will do what it’s supposed to do. That’s the way it is with this. I expect there are some people that won’t get any effects of dolichol suppression because they have alternative pathways. The same thing probably holds for CoQ10.”

That said, it’s important to realize that your brain also requires cholesterol in order for memory formation to function normally. In essence, statins suppress a number of vital elements for proper brain functioning, including cholesterol, antioxidants and co-factors like CoQ10, and dolichol.

At the same time, statins also create mitochondrial DNA and cellular damage, including in your brain.

Your brain uses glial cells as factories for producing its own cholesterol on demand. Unfortunately, glial cells are affected by statins in the same way as your liver cells, or any other cell in our body. So if you take a statin, you’re also harming your glial cells and when they cease to function normally, that on-demand cholesterol capability also ceases and your brain can no longer function properly.

The Importance of CoQ10 or, if You’re Over 40, Ubiquinol

It’s now clear that if you take statin drugs without taking CoQ10, your health is at serious risk as statin drugs deplete your body of this essential co-enzyme. As your body gets more and more depleted of CoQ10, you may suffer from fatigue, muscle weakness and soreness, and eventually heart failure. Coenzyme Q10 is also very important in the process of neutralizing free radicals.

So when your CoQ10 is depleted, you enter a vicious cycle of increased free radicals, loss of cellular energy, and damaged mitochondrial DNA.

Unfortunately, the majority of people who take statins are unaware of their need for CoQ10, and physicians rarely advise their patients to take this supplement along with their statin—at least in the United States. It’s also important to supplement right from the start. According to Dr. Graveline, once the mitochondrial damage and mutations are formed they cannot be reversed—no matter how much CoQ10 you take.

So early intervention is key. (Dr. Graveline goes into further detail of how CoQ10 offers protection against mitochondrial DNA damage in this interview, so for more information, please listen to it in its entirety.)If you decide to take a CoQ10 supplement and are over the age of 40, it’s important to choose the reduced version, called ubiquinol.

Ubiquinol is a FAR more effective form—I personally take 1-3 a day as it has far-ranging health benefits. Dr. Graveline concurs with this recommendation.

As for dosage, Dr. Graveline makes the following recommendation:

• If you have symptoms of statin damage such as muscle pain, take anywhere from 200 to 500 mg
• If you just want to use it preventively, 200 mg or less should be sufficient

There’s also evidence that CoQ10/ubiquinol is beneficial for Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, and even cancer, and that large doses may be justified in those cases as well.

In addition, CoQ10 is believed to play an important role in preventing premature aging in general by preventing telomere shortening, which can slow or potentially even reverse the aging process. This is just one of the additional benefits of CoQ10, and one of the reasons why I take ubiquinol daily even though I’ve never been on a statin drug.

There are no reported side effects of CoQ10 supplementation, and neither I nor Dr. Graveline have ever heard of anyone overdosing on it. The only drawback is cost.

However, if you’re taking ubiquinol, here’s some cost-saving information for you.

Certified reduced ubiquinol is only manufactured by one company in the entire world, a Japanese company called Kaneca. They own the patent. So, as long as it’s certified ubiquinol, you can buy the cheapest brand you can find, because they’re all the same.

Other Valuable Antioxidants for Optimal Health—Especially if You’re Taking a Statin

CoQ10, or preferably the reduced version, ubiquinol, is at the top of the list of important supplements when you’re taking a statin drug. But there are also other antioxidants and nutrients that can be helpful. For example, selenium is also seriously inhibited by statin drugs, and selenium, along with magnesium, are commonly involved as co-factors in a variety of biological functions.

Other important nutrients include:

• VitaminC
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E—An emerging form of vitamin E called tocotrienol is 50 times more powerful than tocopherol, which has been used for the past 60 years. It also helps produce cholesterol and has other biochemical advantages
• Alpha-lipoic acid
• L-carnitine—which helps metabolize fats properly. Since about 70 percent of your muscles’ energy comes from fats, it’s important to have the ability to metabolize them. INSERT LINE BREAK According to Dr. Graveline: “If you take L-carnitine and find that you suddenly feel much better, then you’ve just proven you need it for the rest of your life because you’re one of those people who have a dysfunction in this capability; you don’t have the means to properly burn fats at our muscle level… naturally you would then get weak when exercising. So it’s useful for making a diagnosis. If nothing happens after three months of a good dose, then I would say you can forget about L-carnitine.”

The Sad Truth: Even Your Doctor has Been Mislead About Cholesterol

That said, aside from taking CoQ10 if you’re on a statin, your diet really should be your primary source of nutrients. (For vitamin D, you’d ideally get it from sun exposure.) Supplements are just that; supplemental to an otherwise healthy diet.

“I think that when you have a statin associated muscle or nerve or even brain dysfunction, this is where you’ve got to go because that’s where the trouble is,” Dr. Graveline agrees.

“[I]f it’s cholesterol inhibition, you just eat more eggs… I can’t believe I went 17 years and never ate an egg. I can’t believe how gullible I was. I was this young medical doctor; I marched to that band of the cholesterol-causation people… I did everything I was supposed to do, and it was all wrong. I can’t believe that I was led astray, maybe for 25 years of my practice! It’s so bad to have to look back and realize you’ve been treating cardiovascular disease erroneously because you were doing what you were asked to do.The sad truth is that cholesterol, our supposed enemy for 35 years, has nothing to do with cardiovascular disease. it is the most important biochemical in your body.

… We all listened to what amounts to brainwashing. The brainwashing that we got from 1955 on, to just recently… They have liberalized the diet stuff recently though, so people are back to eating eggs and drinking whole milk and eating butter. I went around recommending margarine for so long, and margarine is what’s causing disease—butter is what’s helping to cure it. It’s incredible!”

This is true for the majority of our conventional medical professionals. They simply do not know better… which is all the more reason to arm yourself with the information you need to take control of your own health. Shunning statin drugs and addressing your lifestyle is the way to go if you have high cholesterol. For more information, please see my statin index page which includes a plethora of free guidance and clear advice.

More Information

Dr. Graveline covers a lot of information in this interview, so I highly recommend you listen to the entire interview, or read through the transcript. You can also find more information on his web site: www.SpaceDoc.net .

Dr. Graveline’s site serves both as a tool for reporting statin complications, and a database of adverse effects, which are then forwarded to the appropriate agencies.

Dr. Mercola is the founder of the world’s most visited natural health web site, Mercola.com. You can learn the hazardous side effects of OTC Remedies by getting a FREE copy of his latest special report The Dangers of Over the Counter Remedies by going to his Report Page.

Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.  There is not yet a cure for Alzheimer’s, nor is there an exact known cause.  What does exist, however, is continuous research on the risk factors and symptoms associated with the disease and potential ways to make life easier for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers.

Recently, antioxidants have been examined as a potential weapon in the fight against Alzheimer’s.  Antioxidants go to bat for your body’s cells every day and have already been considered as a means to improve skin and muscles.  In Alzheimer’s patients, antioxidants are now under review for their ability to lessen the presence of amino acids that are associated with illness.

Researchers at the Catholic University of San Antonio in Murcia, Spain recently conducted an eight-month long study on the effect of regular intake of antioxidant-rich beverages on homocysteine production levels.  Homocysteine is an amino acid that has been associated with inflammation and cardiovascular ailments, both of which are common in Alzheimer’s patients.  The study results concluded that, “patients that took [antioxidant-rich beverages] show lower increase in homocysteine concentrations (especially patients of the moderate phase Alzheimer’s Disease).” In other words, patients (especially those who had not yet reached advanced phases of the disease) did not produce as much of the sickness-causing amino acids when they regularly consumed the antioxidant-rich beverages as those who did not.

The controlled clinic trial consisted of 100 women who were randomly divided into two groups, one of which was given a polyphenol-rich antioxidant beverage and the other which was given a placebo.  The 100 women consisted of 48 patients (with varying degrees of Alzheimer’s disease) and 52 women without Alzheimer’s.  According to researchers, the results “suggest that [an] antioxidant drink diminishes cardiovascular risk associated to hyperhomocysteinemia in Alzheimer’s patients.” A previous study on the higher rates of cardiovascular disease in children with a genetic condition causing extreme elevation in homocysteine levels supports the results of the researchers.

Antioxidants have a known and established role of protecting cells; however, research continues to shed light on other potential health benefits that they may provide.