My Health Care: January 2014

Saturday, 25 January 2014

Netherland Has The Healthiest Food In The World

There’s a new research conducted, in which Netherlands considered best place in the world to eat followed by France and Switzerland. The rankings are based on the food affordability, food availability, food quality, and the rate of diet-related illnesses in each country. However; People in Chad are the worst off when it comes to their food consumption. United Kingdom made No 13, and United States at 21 places on the table of the best countries to eat. The survey is compiled by Oxfam saw researchers look at the food consumption in 125 countries. The study considered, whether people have sufficient to eat, can afford to eat, food available in good quality, and extent of diet related diseases. The Dutch country stay at the top place due to it has comparatively low food prices, low diabetes levels, and better nutritional diversity than its European rivals. Also in the top 12 countries were Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal. Therefore; these countries did not score well in all categories. The Netherlands has high levels of obesity with almost 1 in 5 of its population with a body mass index of more than 30. The healthy level is 18 to 25. On the top rating countries, like Australia has the highest obesity levels 27 % of Australians are obese. It is also revelead United States has the most affordable food in world, whereas Angola has the least affordable.

Chad is on the bottom of table, due to worst place to eat. Food is there of little nutritional value, expensive and prepared with limited access to hygienic conditions. And there children are underweight. Ethiopia and Angola are among the bottom of table. In these countries diets are led by nutrient poor cereals, roots and root vegetables. Highest quality of food is available in Iceland and lowest in Madagascar. Saudi Arabia has the highest rate in diabetes and highest obesity problems in Kuwait. However Nepal, Ethiopia and Bangladesh has less obesity rate. The malnutrition is most prevalent in Burundi 67% people are undernourished and 35% of children are underweight, Yemen India and Madagascar are next on malnutrition in the list. In India 44% children are underweight the highest in the world. Moreover; 18% of Saudi Arabia people are diabetic and 1/3 are obese. Kuwait has highest level of obesity 42% and in United States and Egypt a third of the populations are also obese. Interestingly the highest level of obesity in some middle income countries like Fiji, Mexico and Venezuela are among the worst 10. The highest levels of obesity in the world are actually found in the Pacific Islands but that they were not included in the study. The island of Nauru has the highest obesity rates in the world 71 % of the population is obese.Source: Charismatic Planet

Friday, 24 January 2014

Fish Oil Could Help in Prevent Alzheimer's

In the recent research shows, fish oil could help prevent Alzheimer's and give you a bigger brain. The people with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil can have bigger brain volumes in later age. The method may be the equivalent to preserving one or two years of brain health. Eating more fish may help you bigger brain and protection from Alzheimer’s. Shrinking brain vain is a sign of Alzheimer’s and it is highly advised in the recent study to eat fish at least twice a week, including one portion of oily fish. The key omega-3 fatty acids is docosahexaenoic acid which is supposed to support nerve cells communicate with each other.

The richest source is oily fish such as herring, mackerel and sardines. The study conducted on 1,111 women who were part of the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study. After 8 years women were aged around 78, MRI scans were taken to measure their brain volume; those with higher levels of omega-3s had bigger total brain volumes 8 years later. And those with double as high levels of fatty acids (7.5 vs. 3.4 %) had a 0.7 % bigger brain volume, with the increase measuring up to two inches. The lower levels of fatty acids were linked to smaller sized brains. It is important to achieve higher level of fatty acids through diet and use of supplements and effect on brain volume is equivalent of delaying the normal loss of brain cells that comes with aging by 1 or 2 years. The higher levels of omega-3s also had a 2.7 % bigger volume in the hippocampus area, the brain’s key memory center.

In Alzheimer’s disease, the hippocampus starts to shrink even before symptoms appear. The study suggests the higher tissue reserve of omega-3 fatty acids may slow the loss of cognitive function that can accompany brain atrophy. The higher omega-3 tissue levels can be obtained by dietary changes actually may help in delaying cognitive ageing and or dementia.’ So far the best dietary source of omega 3 fatty acids is oily fish because the human body cannot yield omega-3 fatty acids. Moreover white fish is also a healthy food including cod, haddock and plaice though it comprises lower levels of vital fatty acids. Also fish oil supplements are highly recommended as protection against heart attacks and unexpected death, with consistent fish eaters a third more likely to survive a heart attack. Omega-3 fats work in numerous ways to decrease heart attack risk by cutting blood fats, sinking the chances of a blood clot and blocking dangerous heart rhythms that might otherwise prove fatal.

Now it is well thought that omega-3 fatty acids in fish oils may decrease inflammation of the brain and play a part in brain development and nerve cell regeneration. There has been diverse evidence as to the benefits of omega-3 fish oils on the brain and whether they may defend against memory decline and dementia. The study advises that higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in blood are linked to bigger brain size but the likely reasons for this association need further investigation. The brain gets smaller in people with dementia, but it is unclear from the study what effect larger brain size would have on memory and thinking in the volunteers or their long-term risk of developing dementia. The right way to measure whether omega-3 could protect against dementia is through clinical trials and so far, trials of omega-3 supplementation have not shown benefits in protecting against cognitive decline. The brain shrinkage can be linked to dementia and bigger brain volumes could indicate a better ability to cope with the ravages of the condition, but it’s a big leap to draw this conclusion. Whilst interesting, this study still leaves us in the dark about what effect eating fish has on the development of dementia.

Via Charismatic Planet