April Health News

Mindfulness

• A recent meta-analysis and systematic review found moderate benefit of mindfulness on anxiety, depression, and chronic pain.
• Mindfulness-based stretching and breathing exercises led to clinical improvement in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and normalization of cortisol (stress hormone) levels. Another study showed a direct relationship between increased mindfulness and decreased cortisol levels.   
• In people recovering from substance abuse disorders, mindfulness-based relapse prevention was more effective than standard or cognitive-based therapies.
• Mindfulness-based intervention in Parkinson's Disease led to structural brain changes on MRI, including increased gray matter density. Short-term training seemed to prevent mind wandering in university students.

• To begin, do not meditate. Instead, take some time each day to notice what is happening in your life right now. 
• Put aside three minutes each day to do nothing but pay attention to how you are. Stop, breathe, and feel. Let the past be over and done with, and let what has not yet happened be off in the future. Give yourself a chance to be surprised.
• You might notice that your mind wanders constantly and that you have one restless thought after another. You might hear birds chirping outside. You might notice pain in your neck, or rumbling in your abdomen. You might notice that there is a longing in your heart, or a dream that is asking to be fulfilled.
• Right now, you don’t need to do anything about whatever it is that you find. The goal isn’t to have any particular experience, but rather to check in with how it really is to be you.                   - adapted from Michael Baime, MD

• The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh. My favorite book for the beginner. How to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life, from washing dishes, to answering the phone, to peeling an orange.
• Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Using mindfulness to reduce stress and benefit health.
• Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Lillian Cheung. How to apply mindfulness to eating and establish a more healthy relationship with food. 
• Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World by Mark Williams and Danny Penman. Practical steps you can take to break the cycle of stress and unhappiness. 

Featured Therapy: Essential Fatty Acids

• Vegetables and Fruits: cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts; leafy greens like spinach, kale, turnip greens; fruits such as berries, cherries, melon, lemon.
• Seeds: flax, chia, hemp and perilla; Nuts: walnuts, pecans.
• Wild, Cold-water Fish: salmon, sardines, herring, cod, haddock, mackerel, tuna (watch mercury), trout, halibut.
• Pasture-Raised meats, eggs, butter: when the animal eats its natural diet (grass, insects, etc.), its meat, eggs and milk will be rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

• Flax Oil supplies ALA, the parent omega-3 fatty acid. In order to be useful to the body, ALA must be converted into EPA and DHA. This is done in limited amounts; adequate zinc, magnesium, B and C vitamins are required. There is some research to support the use of ALA in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
• Algal Oil is the only vegan source of EPA and DHA. Clinical research to support the use of algal oil is minimal, but promising. Like fish sources, algal oil has been shown to improve cardiometabolic risk markers, and led to increased levels of omega-3 fatty acids in vegans.
• Krill Oil is derived from zooplankton and contains EPA and DHA.  Like algal oil, clinical research  is preliminary, but promising. Krill oil contains astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant, which may have the capacity to cross the blood-brain barrier and positively impact nervous system tissue.
• Fish Oil contains the highest concentration of EPA and DHA. The benefits of fish oil are well-documented for a range of health conditions. Make sure your fish oil is harvested from a sustainable fishery and third-party tested for quality, including heavy metal contamination.
  • Many of the health benefits of EPA and DHA are likely due to their effects on reducing inflammation, which is associated with a number chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and autoimmune disease. Reduction of inflammation has also been demonstrated in conditions such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease.
  • Cardiovascular benefits of EPA and DHA include: potent triglyceride-lowering effect (1, 2), reduction in blood pressure, prevention of myocardial infarction (heart attack) in heart models, and reduction of heart arrhythmias.
  • Beneficial for kidney disease, including IgA nephropathy, chronic renal failure, and diabetes-related complications.
  • DHA in particular seems to be beneficial for brain health. It improved learning and memory function in the setting of age-related cognitive decline. It has been shown to increase activity in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with executive functioning, during sustained attention tasks. 
• Borage and Evening Primrose Oil: These plant-based oils supply GLA. Although an omega-6 fatty acid, GLA seems to inhibit the formation of the inflammatory AA in the human body, ultimately reducing inflammation. GLA has been shown to be especially effective in:
  • Reducing signs and symptoms of active disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis; it also improved lipid profile in these patients.  
  • Changing fatty acid metabolism in favor of reduced inflammation in women with painful menses.
  • Improving clinical outcomes in atopic dermatitis, a generalized allergic skin condition.